DMYR June Meeting Featuring Lynn Bartels And David Harsanyi

Join Denver Metro Young Republicans on June 23rd for our June General Meeting. This month we are pleased to welcome members of the local Media, including Lynn Bartels (formerly of the Rocky Mountain News) and David Harsanyi, reporters from the Denver Post. They will discuss the media’s role in politics help us break down the current state of the Republican Party in Colorado.





HAVE YOUR QUESTIONS READY for these Colorado media standouts!

Our Agenda will also include election of 7 County Directors from each of our member counties (Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson). See By-laws for qualifications of officers.

These individuals will be responsible for coordinating DMYR activities in their county, providing communication between their County Chairmen/officers and the DMYR board, and tracking DMYR activism in their county in conjunction with the DMYR Activism Director. If you are ready to step up and play a critical role in your County and THE top Young Republican Organization in Colorado, we encourage you to run for these positions!

As always, if you have questions about politics, the party, or the political process in general, we are always ready to listen and answer your questions. We are ready to help YOU make a difference in your Community and the Republican Party through Education and Activism!

Meeting Date: Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Meeting Time: social hour begins at 5:30pm, meeting starts at 6:30pm
Meeting Location: Club M @ Hamburger Mary’s, 700 East 17th Avenue, Denver, CO 80203 [map] — Our own private bar! Entrance on the NorthEast corner of the building.

***Please be sure to join the DMYR Group and RSVP for this event on Facebook! And come hungry, as Mary’s has the best burgers in town!!***

Founding Bloggers: Roasting Obama (Video)

Can comedians skewer the presumptive nominee for the Democrats (or his wife, for that matter), or will Barack Obama be off limits?

Barack Obama At Invesco Field--History Or Fiasco?

That's a question that won't be definitively answered until at least after the DNC has been concluded, and most likely not until after the election itself.

But speculation is the stuff of which blogs are made . . .

Rampant backchannel speculation and vague sources (at least initially) talking about a possible venue switch of monumental proportions for Barack Obama's acceptance speech on August 28 were confirmed earlier today by Obama's campaign. Logistical, security, and fundraising questions that have so far hounded the city and the DNCC in recent weeks were dismissed in a Monday conference call with DNC chair Howard Dean and Obama campaign staff. Dean, Obama staffers, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and the U.S. Secret Service all believe they can pay for the event and tackle the logistical nightmare it represents--approximately $3 million extra. However, given the nearly 11th hour decision to change the venue (Coors Field was also briefly under consideration) and the DNCC's not exactly stellar record of performance, Denver residents and political observers (among others) will continue to call into question the city and host committee's ability to pull the event off smoothly. Traffic congestion and questions about the DNC's economic impact continue to be of concern to media types and regular Denver residents and businesses as well.

Then there's the MSM. Changing venues with so little lead time may cause the networks to give priority to the Invesco Field event and shortchange the rest of the convention schedule and Pepsi Center preparations in favor of focusing on the sheer Super Bowl-like spectacle that will likely be hyped over the next seven weeks. The MSM has already grumbled about accommodations during the convention (and threatening bad press), and were not pleased by the city's decision to place the Public Demonstration Zone in Parking Lot A of the Pepsi Center, right next to the media tents. If the DNC really does become more of a "coronation" of Obama--now that the path to the nomination has been cleared--then the more "mundane" convention events will be eschewed in favor of the main event. Media logistics and costs will no doubt dictate the final decision over prioritization of convention coverage.

DemConWatch (a lefty blog with good insider info) asserts that the real reason for the announcement Monday was to quell MSM complaints and ease concerns ahead of the rescheduled media walkthrough tomorrow that had been postponed last month, a rather reasonable supposition at this point, and more convincing than other, more political explanations. Convention preparations and Pepsi Center construction also, coincidentally, began Monday. They also have a few more media-related logistical questions for the Invesco Field shindig.

And the event itself? Will it rain on Obama's "super-sized arrogance"? Or will the open-air venue provide undeniably "stunning visuals" in spite of security concerns? Will the sight of tens of thousands of Americans screaming "Yes, we can" in unison be an inspiration and demonstrate the "change" that appears to be craved by the electorate, or a disquieting scene of unsavory "groupthink" and political theater that isn't very becoming in republic? At least one YouTuber has already invoked Godwin's Law (and taken a swipe at Recreate '68 in the process) with a very Nurembergian comparison. Of course it doesn't help that Obama promotes mandatory volunteerism, or a "civilian national security force."

More details will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, as plans for staging, admission, media participation, and decorations/embellishments (flyovers, fireworks) are released--giving Denver a better idea of what will happening in the largest outdoor venue in Colorado, and fueling even more blogospheric discussion. There won't be a repeat of the emptiness that occurred at the LA Coliseum in 1960 (extremely unlikely), but the increased possibility of attending an "historic" event will likely bring even more Obama supporters to Denver in hopes of snagging a ticket to the event or simply being in the immediate area--to say "I was in Denver." At the very least, more media coverage (and an altered protest zone set up in the vicinity of Invesco Field) might draw an even more sizeable contingent of media-seeking protestors, some of whom might attempt to infiltrate the stadium, a possibility that was formerly closed due to the stringent admission requirements at the tightly controlled Pepsi Center. And be sure to look for more helicopter flyovers and blimp-cams covering the mass of vehicles--are they green?--and people shuffling into Invesco Field, as the MSM announcers repeat the capacity of the stadium at least 1000 times.

It seems apparent that, cynicism aside, both Obama and his campaign advisors have determined that a "public" acceptance speech and subsequent rally (still tightly controlled but much more expansive) will more helpfully propel the campaign's perceived momentum and build on the Obama brand of "change." Any possible logistical hassles or negative public backlash have been ruled out or determined to be of little consequence. A public swell of support and positive post-convention bounce are clearly expected and, depending on coordination and positioning, down-ticket benefits as well.

Obama's speech will likely tap into MLK's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech that coincidentally took place on the same date, August 28. Direct comparisons to JFK's outdoor acceptance speech in 1960 also make use of the "change" element. It is interesting that a candidate so overtly in favor of "change" would so overtly channel two 1960's icons and their legacies. The question will be how closely the speech imitates or explicitly references those symbols and nostalgic memories, and how that imagery and rhetoric will play in the days and weeks following the DNC.

While this is still a recent development, it seems logical and even expected. As Obama gained traction and built momentum "breaking the mold" of Presidential aspirants, yet another predictable convention hardly seemed adequate. Convention protestor shenanigans aside, Obama's acceptance speech--for better or worse--will provide the iconic cap to a convention week Denver will not soon forget.

100 Days To Denver's Democratic National Convention

It's the final countdown!

Drunkablog has the lowdown on final preparations for August's DNC.

Meanwhile, the Denver Post dishes on the Democrats' potential meltdown should the nominee not be in place before the convention--and on the awkward situation facing the rival Clinton/Obama camps, including shared housing quarters:

Soon, so soon, they will be here. Thousands of delegates, hundreds of campaign staffers, bunches of bloggers, and all of them potentially divided.

After more than a year and a half on the campaign trail, fueled by an unprecedented total half-billion dollars, worn by 16-hour- plus days on buses and planes to stadiums and churches and greasy spoons in every corner of the United States, teams Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama finally will come to town.

In but 101 days.

And if Democrats don't use that time to figure out how to heal the wounds and bring the teams together for the teary-eyed, hearts- aflutter historic coronation that is supposed to be the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the audience will notice.

With more than 15,000 members of the media watching, with technology that makes amateur posting of images and videos to a worldwide audience instantaneous, the audience will notice.

"What has to happen is that all of us who are family members remain family members," said Leah Daughtry, the chief executive for the Democratic National Convention Committee.

"That means respecting everyone and making sure everyone's contributions are respected and honored and recognized and acknowledged," Daughtry said. "And those are simple things to do. It doesn't require a lot of the convention. It means you get a room. It means you get a credential. It means you get to participate."

The MSM acknowledges the bloggers, and then dismissed them as "amateurs."

The way things are headed, with shrinking staffs at mainstream media outlets both local and national, there may not be an MSM in 2012.

One can only hope. We'll see just how many "amateurs" cover the DNC, providing alternate content--the stuff they won't show you on TV.

Denver Media And Political Week In Review 042508

Highlights from local media types dishing on Rush Limbaugh, Recreate '68, Colorado College--and other political banter from this past week:

Dave and Lois on "The Ride Home" (850KOA):
Dave and Lois press Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) on his call for Rush Limbaugh to face a "public reprimand" for his comments regarding Denver and the Democratic National Convention (interview starts at about the 1/4 mark of the audio)

Rush Limbaugh defends his comments, discusses the Denver MSM's coverage of his comments and the relative coverage of Recreate '68

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Mike Rosen (850KOA):
Fri--(9am, 10am) Rosen discussing the Limbaugh comments; "winning at all costs" not an option for Rosen
Tue--(11am) Adam Kissel, Foundation for Individual Rights in Higher Education, discusses the Colorado College case

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Jon Caldara ("Independent Thinking"):

Chainsaw Etiquette at Colorado College


Eco-Theology 21st Century Religion

Colorado Snowpack April Update

For Winter Year 2007-2008 (in black) on April 12 when the majority of Colorado's ski resorts closed, compared to the past three winters and the 30 year average (in red):



More proof the MSM can't get the story straight--two stories from 9NEWS reporting on recent concerns about flooding following a bountiful, near-record winter snowfall season, produced within 7 hours of each other on Monday. The first indicates the flooding concerns have abated--and the headline agrees--"Climatologist: Dry spell cuts flood threat from Colo. snow melt" (published at approximately 10 AM):

A Colorado weather expert says several weeks of dry weather have reduced the risk of flooding from Colorado's deep mountain snows.

State Climatologist Nolan Doesken said Monday the deep snow is a cause for concern but the threat has decreased.

Doesken says Colorado's snow usually melts off gradually as warm temperatures work their way up to high elevation, reducing the chance of floods.

Major flooding becomes more of a threat when snow melts quickly.

Doesken says not all of Colorado has benefited from deep snow.

Much of the Eastern Plains have been dry since last summer.

He says recent storms have reduced the threat of drought but the area still needs spring storms to keep from drying out again.

Here is the second story, not an update, but a rehash of comments from the same State Climatologist, Nolan Doesken (at around 5 PM). Note the wide difference in tone, especially the headline--"Higher than normal snowpack raising risk for flooding":

Snowpack at higher elevations is at levels researchers have not seen in a decade.

"Basin wide, the snowpack is 110 percent to 130 percent than average. There is a concern for flooding because it's been years since we've had this much of a snowpack where the snow is deep at high elevations, all the way from northern New Mexico to the Colorado/Wyoming border," said Colorado climatologist and Colorado State University researcher Nolan Doesken.

Doesken says on a scale of one to 10, the risk of flooding in river basins like the San Juan, Rio Grande and Gunnison basins is "a five or six." So far, spring temperatures have been relatively cool, said Doesken. Depending on the precipitation in the coming weeks, Doesken says the risk of flooding may be increased even further.

"There's still plenty of time, lots of different ways the snowmelt could occur, but when there's a lot of snow and when spring has been cool, that does increase the chances of flooding later on," said Doesken.

Snow at elevations 10,000 feet and above usually begins to melt in May and continues on through June. Doesken says if there are many consecutive days of warm temperatures, then flooding is more likely, but he emphasized that Colorado has historically had a "well-behaved" snowmelt.

Shortly after it became clear that Colorado's snowpack would be well above average--in record setting territory perhaps as second wettest in 113 years--the local MSM started stoking the "imminent flooding" story, no doubt trying to bring the focus back on to climate change and global warming causing all the snow to melt rapidly.

Apparently someone at 9NEWS didn't get the memo. The first story appears to have the basic theme of the climatologist right--there is still a chance that a rapid warm-up will cause some minor flooding concerns, but that risk diminishes over time as normal melting occurs. The second story buries the climatologist's estimate of "a five or six" with fearmongering headlines about the raised risk of flooding.

At least get the story straight, 9NEWS. It was the same climatologist and interview, fer Chrissakes!

"Brown Pride" Vandals Hit Denver Suburb, Local MSM Silent

**Malkin-lanche--thanks Michelle! Here is another local MSM nugget for you--9NEWS, within the span of just 7 hours covering the same State Climatologist's estimate for flooding concerns, declares that the flooding risk in Colorado has been both reduced (first story) and raised (second story). Also, if you're interested in the moonbats at the Democratic National Convention, click on the DNC archival link above for extensive coverage . . .

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Not completely silent, actually. More like another case of the MSM "disappearing" an inconvenient story.

Normally a picture of vandalism like the following--on three homes, a mailbox, a dumpster and 15 vehicles hit with spray paint--elicits some explanation or speculation--even a mention of the nature of the tagging:



--but nothing appears in either report from the Denver Post, who after first publishing a blurb with two accompanying photos, released a second picture-less story (here, with screencaps):


and here:

So why the disappearing pictures in the follow-up, DP? Commenters had already begun to ask why there was no mention of the nature of the tagging in the story, a completely legitimate question.

CBS4's story and video were similarly silent on the nature of the tags, and through careful editing (or manipulation) of their video report managed to obscure what was written (video on right hand side):

Vandals spray painted more than a dozen cars and a few homes in the Smoky Hill area of Centennial over the weekend, Arapahoe County sheriff's deputies said.

"I got up and saw all of this and everything because it was pretty much just almost all the way around the car," said Jordan Egelston, one victim.

Fifteen cars, three houses and a few mailboxes were hit by taggers. Victims spent much of their Sunday cleaning up the mess.

Investigators said they aren't sure who is responsible for the destruction.

"It could be gang related potentially it could also just be juveniles out in the neighborhood causing vandalism in general," said Lt. Kevin Heaton of the sheriff's office.

Heaton said investigators didn't have any good leads.

"I hope they get caught and everything because it's just dumb what they did," said Alex Oglesby, another victim of the vandals.

Here is a screencap of the partially obscured word "brown"--clearly visible in totality in the first picture at the top of this post:



Elsewhere can be seen the repeated "BP" ("Brown Pride") and unknown (at least to me) "BK". If these were, as the police speculated, merely gang or cretin-related, why omit the wording of the tagging? In other words, if "White Pride" or anti-Semitic symbols had been spraypainted over quite a large swath of property (remember, just one word at a university has the moonbats up in a rage), would the local MSM have conveniently ignored this fact?

Maybe it was a bunch of stupid kids. Or gang-related (focusing more on the gang name or culture than ethnic pride). But the silence on the messages contained in the overnight trashing of private property is both revealing and completely unsurprising.

Related--Freedom Folks has this week's Blogs 4 Borders video blogburst up.

No Room At The DNC Inn, MSM Threatens Bad Press For Denver

Drunkablog reported Tuesday that the MSM is prepared to deal Denver a black eye in publicity (cow town?) if their accommodations for August's Democratic National Convention don't meet their exacting standards:

Some predict that if journalists get upset about conditions, long commutes or other issues, their woes could contribute to an unwelcomed storyline during Denver's coming-out party on the national stage.

"Reporters are the worst. They're just notoriously self-centered when it comes to their hotel accommodations," said Carl Hulse, veteran correspondent for The New York Times and a member of the Standing Committee of Correspondents.

If there are housing troubles, "It could potentially reflect on Denver's ability to handle such a great event," Hulse said. "If people don't have rooms, they're going to ask the question: 'Should the convention have been here in the first place?'"

Want some cheese with that whine MSM?

Perhaps the aggrieved journalists will join the Recreate '68 mob, to demand better accommodations and an end to oppression . . . oh, nevermind.

Blogging And Transparency

Ben DeGrow has an interesting post detailing liberal RMN columnist Jason Salzman's call for full blogger disclosure--in the name of credibility and a sense of separation from "professional journalism standards."

As I commented on Ben's blog, coming from the MSM–where editorials are unsigned, wire stories often unbylined, and even named writers obscure, often omitting any semblance of identity or disclosure, and even rather poor "journalistic standards"--it seems awfully arrogant to demand “full disclosure” from bloggers.

Thursday Morning Linkage

First the bias:

After years of Colorado's MSM going on and on about the lingering effects of the drought from 2002, Colorado finally has a year where each basin is above 100%, and the overall snowpack is approximately 130% of the 30 year average. The story? The snow is going to melt (I know, shocking), and that means spring flooding! Nothing like a little MSM sensationalism.

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Or perhaps the state's economy. The headline? "Colorado unemployment inches up to 4.2 percent in January." The story? Much, much different. The numbers:

Colorado's unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.2 percent in January as the labor market weakened slightly, state labor officials said Tuesday.

The number of Coloradans with jobs rose by 14,500 while the number of unemployed rose by 7,100, the state Department of Labor and Employment said. [a net gain of 7,400 jobs]

Total employment in January was 74,000 higher than a year earlier, but about 116,000 couldn't find work, up from about 104,000 a year ago.

"Colorado continues to display modest employment gains in the face of a national economy seemingly on the verge of contraction," said Don Mares, the department director.

The spin is clear--the rest of the country as a whole is not fairing as well, but Colorado is showing only "modest" gains. How about resiliency or, you know, strength?

But that isn't the whole story. Seems the estimated unemployment increases of the final four months of last year were nonexistent, and had to be revised:

The department also said its revised report on 2007 largely erased large increases in unemployment originally reported late last year.

After revision, adjusted unemployment rates stayed essentially flat the final four months of the year.

The department originally reported increases of one-tenth of a percentage point in September and four-tenths in both November and December.

The October rate had showed a decline of two-tenths of a percentage point.

Mares said the state's major labor indicators were mostly positive in 2007, with an average annual jobless rate of 3.8 percent, down from 4.3 percent in 2006.

The 2007 average was the lowest since 2.7 percent in 2000.

Total employment grew by 65,700 last year while the average number of unemployed residents dropped by 11,600.

Compared to the downturn a few years ago following the tech bust and post 9/11 effects, and considering the current oil, currency, and stock market uncertainty, Colorado looks to be doing quite well. Not excellent, but certainly better than a story leading with the unemployment rise (which could also be revised) or a "mostly positive, modest" description.

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This one's a few days old, but it looks like the state's greenies and global warmenists are enjoying their time in the sun with Colorado's Democratic controlled House, Senate, and Governorship:

These are happy times for the environmental movement under the dome.

As the legislative session begins its second half this week, every one of the the dozen bills the groups have identified this year as priorities is still on the road to passing.

The bills touch areas of state policy from water use to power generation to wildlife protection. Two are awaiting the signature of the governor, who, by the way, doesn't seem to go a day without mentioning the "new energy economy." That phrase was at least partially created by the environmental community.

Both chambers of the legislature also have "pro-conservation majorities," as the environmentalists put it.

"There are many Democratic constituencies that have influence under the dome," said political analyst Eric Sondermann. "But my perception is that the environmental constituency is first among equals."

Nothing like a little payback from Gov. Ritter.

Has Colorado gone green, imbibing from Al Gore's global warming climate change kool-aid sippy-cup:

Environmental lobbyists say that, after years of getting their bills killed in Republican legislatures, their ideas have gained wider appeal in a world of rising gas prices and greater acknowledgment of climate change. They credit voters for bringing to power the current crop of conservation-minded lawmakers — mostly Democrats but also several environment-friendly Republicans — who in turn have looked favorably upon the environmental agenda.

"It really has been a pretty incredible shift," said Carrie Doyle, the executive director of Colorado Conservation Voters. "I think what's leading this shift are voters' concerns."

Environmental leaders say they also have become more politically skilled in recent years. They work to build coalitions more often, with farmers, ranchers, hunters, fishermen, local elected officials, business owners — anybody who might have an interest in land or water.

They shoot more for incremental change. And they are more willing to compromise on issues to see at least part of their goals enacted.

Incremental change? Translation--back door, Trojan horse approach. Death by a 1000 cuts. Same thing.

There is a cost to all this environmental correctness, as Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, points out, "All of us want to protect the air and the water and the land," Gardner said. "We just don't want to sell Coloradans down the river to get there."

Come on Rep. Gardner. The science is settled. Don't be a big business shilling climate change heretic!

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In other news:

In another follow-up to last December's church shootings, Colorado Springs Police release a 450 page report that includes Matthew Murray's angry letter to God.

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Democrat State Sen. Chris Romer's I-70 plan, updated with citizen input includes tolls, trucking restrictions, lane reversal, and trip preregistration. Yep, that'll work. Apparently, the bill is not being so well-received, even by members of his own party.

Around The Blogosphere 110107

Michael at Best Destiny catches the MSM playing loose with the facts on an illegal immigration story.

Ben at Mount Virtus riffs on the meaning of polls of GOP evangelicals this far away from the election.

Other stories:
From the good news in academia department (admittedly small, but every now and then they get one right)--CU system actively recruiting veterans, says perspective of students with military service unique and desired

State GOP lawmakers revealed their illegal immigration bills scheduled for the 2008 session

Diane Carman's Parting Shot--Love A Democrat, Because They Are More Diverse

Liberal Denver Post columnist Diane Carman has some parting words for her fellow Coloradans as she moves to a position at CU-Denver's School of Public Affairs, and can't help but take a swipe at the state's conservative majority:

Next, learn to love a Democrat.

This is easier than it looks because unlike Republicans, they come in an array of colors, sizes, net worths, sexual orientations and attitudes. There's got to be one among the thousands who will be visiting Denver next summer whom you can tolerate, even if you've been living in Delta all your life and have never seen one before.

Here's a tip for those of you in El Paso County: Don't approach them with your handguns drawn. It leaves the wrong impression.

Not unlike the rest of liberal elites in the MSM, Carman paints in uninformed, broad strokes of stereotypical generalizations--all Republicans must be WASPs, male, heterosexual and wealthy. If anything, Colorado's GOP/conservative constituency is anything but ideologically unified, and no, not all Republicans own guns or have conceal-carry permits.

Note to Carman--you get real (and do some factchecking, fer chrissakes!). Transferring from the rarefied confines of the MSM to the ivory tower of academia doesn't exactly represent much of a stretch ideologically or professionally, does it Diane?