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Denver Open Acupuncture
a sliding scale community acupuncture clinic
1345 East 22nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80205
303-837-8166 email
Jennifer Gross, L.Ac., M.Ac.O.M.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Denver Art Museum
Colorado Media Matters will host media figures and political personalities for a panel discussion on how the Colorado media covered the 2008 election. Please save the date so that you can attend this discussion.
There are many questions facing us as we transition towards the next administration. Most pressing is the economy. How will Obama tackle this issue? And, additionally, how much will he be able to accomplish in his first term. This also depends on how close we are to the magical number of 60 in the Senate. That means Jim Martin defeating Saxby Chambliss.
Here is a discussion on these issues with our friend and blogger extraordinaire - Steve Balboni, and details for helping phone bank for the Senate race in Georgia.
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You've all been to those events where you introduce yourself by standing up and saying three words that illustrate why you're there, who you are, and so on, right? I used to point to my hair and say, "Turning Colorado blue!" (And whaddaya know, it worked!)
I managed to survive my county wide Voter Reg project, and to be brutally honest I was planning to pretty much coast from October 6 through the election, because I really didn't think there would be much left to do. (I know, clearly I was deranged.) But everyone had caught fire, and new projects kept being proposed, new events kept being set up, and so for the last month my Three Words were a snarly "God, what NOW?!?!"
But here we all are. We not only survived, we did a whole lot of winning! Here in Prowers, our voter turnout was 72.61%, and 58 percent of that was Early or Mail-In voting, so NO ONE got disenfranchised this year because the lines were so long they couldn't get in. The county still went roughly 2 to 1 in favor of the GOP, but we can work on that over the next two years. :)
I think it may take just a little while to adjust to semi-normal life, but I'll do my best. For now, here is a really great song that helped get me through. It's called "I Approve This Message", although a good alternate title would be "We, The People".
Hey, any song that mentions St. Molly of Austin and has lyrics like these:
"I am the precinct walker
I am the polling place volunteer
I am the statistician and 4 out of 5 of me approve this message...."
ProgressNowAction's Election Night 2008 Winners and Losers below, in alphabetical order.
Winners
Employees of Colorado
Due to the tremendous leadership of the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, CEA, and SEIU, Colorado employees will not have to work for less, be silenced, or be treated as second class citizens. Firefighters, teachers, and nurses joined forces to become a credible voice. Their efforts appear to have killed 2 ballot measures, 47 and 49 that would have been horrible for employees throughout our state.
State Senator-elect Evie Hudak
Hudak is a true fighter and won this state legislative seat that was the most targeted by both sides. Hudak speaks her mind. She works tirelessly. She's dedicated to children. And with Republicans outnumbering Democrats by 6% in Senate District 19, Evie appears to be a huge victor over extreme right-winger Libby Szabo.
"Democracy Superhero" Carol Kreck
This 60-year-old librarian turned into a Democracy Superstar after standing up for free-speech with her "McCain=Bush" sign. The video of her being escorted out of a McCain open town-hall in Denver got over 300,000 viewers on YouTube and a spot on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
Congresswoman-elect Betsy Markey
Markey flipped the 4th CD that has a 35-year history of voting Republican. She stayed positive even while her opponent Musgrave made-up an entire story to smear her. Ethical and hard working, Markey will deliver on needs sorely overdue in the district. Hats off to her campaign and spokesman too.
The People of Colorado
Obama is the change we need. And the change doesn't stop there: Colorado voters also rejected out-of-state special interests and right-wing extremists. The world's greatest democracy just took a giant leap forward tonight in restoring its credibility and global peace.
Governor Bill Ritter
Even though Amendment 58 didn't pass, Ritter earned respect as the "David" in fighting for the people of Colorado against the "Goliath" of Big Oil. Ritter stood up for taxpayers and higher education against out-of-state oil companies and endless personal attacks. We applaud Ritter for his continued mission to make Colorado a national leader on renewable energy.
Colorado Youth Voters
Initial reports from Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, and Greeley report that youth voters, 18-29 year olds, turned out in enormous numbers today. Credit goes to New Era Colorado for its unprecedented campus operations.
Ted "The Negotiator" Trimpa
Trimpa, more than anyone, preserved the balance between labor and business in Colorado. He led the team that removed four destructive items from the ballot. Well on his way to being a national player, he's featured in this week's Time magazine. Truly Colorado's answer to Karl Rove and then some. Rock Star Energy Drink should hire him as their poster-child after he consumed them during his successful negotiations.
Senator-elect Mark Udall
Udall will continue to be a national leader in the fight for renewable energy, the environment and everything that is great about Colorado. He works well with members of both side of the aisle, which is the sort of statesmanship that Colorado needs. A shout out as well to Mike Melanson, who stayed calm and collected from the start, and who oversaw their top-notch campaign communications and online team.
Al "The Architect" Yates
Since starting in 2003, he earned the name the architect and a stellar national reputation by spearheading the independent operations leading to Colorado's continued progressive success since 2004. With a Markey victory over Musgrave, a race in which Yates deserves massive credit, he finally gives Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where he served as university president a congressional voice in DC.
Amendments (7% reporting)
Amendment 46 is losing (barely) 50-49%.
Amendment 47 is losing 54-45%.
Amendment 48 is losing 74-25%!!!
Amendment 50 is winning 57-42%.
Amendment 51 is losing 60-39%.
Amendment 58 is losing 55-44%.
Amendment 59 is winning 56-43%.
There are some consistent numbers for the Republican candidates. The night is far from over, of course, but these are good early results. Let's bring these races home!
Haha. The Denver Post has called CO for Obama and Udall already. Let's get some votes counted first, folks.
Widestreets.net will be monitoring the lines at all the Weld County vote centers. The site features a nice, color coded map, showing line sizes and vote center location. If you're voting in Weld, check it out before heading to the polls.
In yet another sign of widespread appeal for Barack Obama, a hunters association has endorsed Barack Obama, and reinforced their confidence in Barack Obama's support for gun rights and the second amendment.
As you may have read in my past posts on the GOP stealing the election in Colorado, you know that those of us in Colorado are frankly worried about the real possibility of our votes being stolen on election day.
At issue, Sec. of State Mike Coffman's voter purges, in violation of the law. Well, I am pleased to announce, that late last night, a district court judge presided over a settlement between the parties, i.e., the Secretary of State has been stopped.
Here again, the litany against Coffman:
Here are a couple of reasons why we shouldn't take anything for granted.
* Record turnouts are expected on Election Day, but it's unclear if polling places are ready for the deluge of new voters. With long waits and new voting technology in several states, polls can't predict how voters will react.
* Polls -- even exit polls -- got it wrong in 2004. Not much has changed: On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, the polls showed Barack Obama up by 8.3 points in the average of all state polls. The media had started to write off Hillary Clinton and declare Obama the winner. By the end of the day, Hillary Clinton was declared the winner with a margin of victory of 2.6 points. The campaign that was supposed to be "over" went on for another five months.
The lesson of this polling story is clear. It ain't over until it's over.
So as we work for an environmental leader in the White House and champions in Congress, don't take anything for granted.
Do what you can. Join us on the campaign trail so that on November 5th, you'll be able to say that we did enough.
...from Aurora, Colorado... your candidate for the CU Board of Regents in CD6... the winner of endorsements by the Aurora Sentinel AND the Denver Post... AJ Clemmons!!!
A few days ago, I received an email from a friend about a prayer request for someone who lost their child from gun violence. Being busy with the campaign, I almost did not take a second to open the email. I am glad I took a moment to read about the tragedy, and I hope you will take a moment to read this diary and request.
Over this past election cycle, I was fortunate enough to actually meet candidates I like and interview them. I sought out Larry Kissell and Betsy Markey because their opponents, Robin Hayes and Marilyn Musgrave, both betrayed their constituents by supporting the job killing CAFTA agreement.
As you may know, his opponent, Robin Hayes, has been caught lying about saying liberals are people who hate America.
Betsy's opponent Musgrave, is running ads that have earned her the label of 'an agent of hate' I was glad to find that both Larry and Betsy were impressive in their own right and had many important leadership qualities that were much more in line with the constituents of their district. Watch their interviews below...
(I wonder how many women will be going as Sarah Palin this year. As for me, is it too Y2K to wear a name tag that says "Chad." I'm all about the subtle. - promoted by johne)
Find your inner Frankenstein, knock on some doors in costume, then party down with like-minded monsters at Trick or Vote-the nation's spookiest get-out-the-vote effort. It's happening in Denver at the Gothic Theater with New Era Colorado.
It's a glorious day in the high country of Colorado. Even though it's 24 degrees outside with a few inches of the traditional "GOTV-time" snow, there is nothing that's gonna stop Colorado. We may be going door to door on snowshoes this week, but that's ok. We are determined to change our country and make history in our state.
And you ask why GCD are you so certain that Colorado is going to add nine electors to the win column for Barack Obama? The answer is because of the organizers. People like the young man that wrote the poem and put it to video that I share with you to share with the world.
The people have spoken
Our leader is the one whose ears are large
Because he hears the voice of this nation
You don't want to miss this one. I guarantee that you will want to share it with the world.
See the video and read the poem on the flip. Flip it good.
(Help this go viral at GCD Daily Kos.)
He's the right man to lead America back to prosperity
In unsteady times, it may seem obvious to gravitate toward the veteran politician, but in this campaign, it's been the newcomer who has had the steady hand.
Colorado is among the least-prepared states to deal with potential voting-system meltdowns on Election Day, a report released Thursday says.
The report - from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law, Common Cause and the Verified Voting Foundation - looked at four areas of preparedness in all 50 states.
Those included polling-place contingency plans, ballot accounting and reconciliation requirements, use of a verifiable paper trail and whether the state conducted post-election audits of paper records.
Colorado was among 10 states that received the worst rankings of "needs improvement" or "inadequate" in three of the four categories. The others were Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Here are some facts from when Coffman worked the IRAQI elections during his time overseas:
Trained registration clerks who "personally complete the [registration] form for each person in a legible manner". ("Voter Registration Update Procedures", Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq. June 2005 Pg. 9)
The establishment of 550 voter registration centers with 12 paid staff each to ensure that all Iraqis are registered to vote properly. ("Voter Registration Update Procedures", Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq. June 2005 Pg. 5)
Unlike here in Colorado, Coffman was part of an Iraqi project that provided for:
Same day voter registration for Iraqi's voting overseas
Registration using four different forms of identification with no preference between them.
An extended voter registration deadline in some provinces in order to allow more Iraqis to register.
Coloradoans are worse off than the 14.3 Million Iraqis that were registered in just 6 weeks. That is 4 times as many that have been registered over years in Colorado.
Shouldn't Coffman set the bar here at least as high as they did in Iraq?
In my previous diaries here and here, I highlighted the evidence thoroughly documented by Colorado Ethics Watch which showed a pattern of 2 different violations of the law by Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, and his recent ruling to disenfranchise thousands of voters for not checking an obscure box on voter registration forms.
Now, the heavy hitters are getting into the game, including America Votes. Watch the interview with Rich Pelletier, State Director for Colorado's branch of America Votes, where he discusses a coming lawsuit and the plot by Mike Coffman to strip voters of their vote.
"Most of Obama's gains over the last three weeks can be traced to the Hispanic vote.
Where his lead among those voters was previously 57-36, he has now upped it to 71-21."
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