Blizzard Of Criticism For Hickenlooper Over Snow Removal

Persistent cold weather and frequent snowfall are to blame for the seeming lack of progress in battling side-streets encrusted with icy ruts several inches deep, not the city, says Mayor “No Longer Teflon” John Hickenlooper.

The mayor’s reelection in May could feature this slogan–”Don’t pick on Hick, he didn’t make it snow!”

Too bad Denver is so far to left that there is no viable Republican or independent candidate to challenge Mayor Hickenlooper. In fact, just imagine the outcry if Hick were a Republican!

As of February 1, the city promises updates on snow/ice removal around the city.

Bob Schaffer Still "Undecided" On 2008 Senate Run

ColoradoPols claims the scoop on Schaffer’s expected run, but Schaffer himself says “there’s plenty of time” for a decision:

Fort Collins resident Bob Schaffer flew to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to meet with politicos but said he hasn’t decided whether to run for Senate in 2008.

Reached on his cell phone as he changed planes, Schaffer, a Republican, said he planned to have dinner with senators and meet with “political folks” during his trip.

The political blog Colorado Pols reported Tuesday that Schaffer had decided to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Loveland Republican Sen. Wayne Allard, who earlier this month said he wouldn’t seek a third term because of a pledge he made to voters to serve only two terms. Schaffer said he hadn’t yet made the call.

“There’s not a campaign yet, and I don’t know if there will be,” Schaffer told the Coloradoan. “I’m just doing a lot of assessing right now.”

After Allard’s announcement, Schaffer told the Coloradoan he was inundated with calls but that he wouldn’t rush to a decision.

“There’s plenty of time,” Schaffer said Tuesday.

ColoradoPols would be better served if it revealed at least some evidence for the claim other than speculation and the rather obvious fact that a Schaffer run, while not set in stone, is widely expected. Hardly a scoop of any earth-shattering significance.

Cross posted at Political Avalanche

Gisele Bundchen Turns Down Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez

Non-moonbat supermodel Gisele Bundchen reveals just how highly lowly regarded Hugo Chavez is outside of Venezuela (h/t Publius Pundit via Gateway Pundit):

AMERICANS aren’t the only ones repulsed by bloviating Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen was in Rio de Janeiro last Friday on the same day the Marxist strongman was in town for the Mercosur summit. According to Brazil’s Glamurama magazine gossip Anderson Antunes, “Once Chavez learned that Gisele was in town, he told his people he would like to meet her, but Gisele declined.” Apparently, Bundchen decided the meeting would be “too publicized and Chavez is not a very popular politician outside of his country.” A rep for Bundchen declined comment.

Dictators–always misunderstood.

Can’t a strongman catch a break?

I guess the maverick Marxist will be left to comfort himself with this:

Moonbat Bloggers To Gather At 2008 Denver Democratic Convention

Oh goodie, the Nutroots/tinfoil-hatters will invade Denver:

ProgressNowAction and America’s top progressive blogger—Markos Moulitsas, founder of DailyKos.com–have teamed up to convene ProgressCon2008, a national convening of bloggers, internet organizers and non-profit leaders during the Democratic National Convention in Denver, August 25-28, 2008.

“The Convention is coming to our hometown of Denver and we’re teaming up with Markos to host our friends in the progressive community in style,” stated Bobby Clark, Deputy Director of ProgressNowAction, Colorado’s largest online progressive organization.

ProgressNow’s offices in the state-of-the-art Alliance Center are perfectly situated in the lower downtown area of Denver, an easy walk to both the Pepsi Center and Colorado Convention Center–the two venues that will house most of the Democratic Convention activities.

“We’re already making plans for this location to serve as a headquarters away from home for progressive bloggers, netroots organizers, and non-profit representatives from across the country,” stated Clark.

Bringing the fever-swamp to LoDo–along with the Anarchist’s “Recreate ‘68″–are the only downsides to the Democratic invasion of Denver next August.

Five Myths About Urban Sprawl And America’s Dependence On Cars

True?

1. Americans are addicted to driving.

2. Public transit can reduce traffic congestion.

3. We can cut air pollution only if we stop driving.

4. We’re paving over America.

5. We can’t deal with global warming unless we stop driving.

No. No. No. No. No.

Read it all.

Five Myths About Urban Sprawl And America’s Dependence On Cars

True?

1. Americans are addicted to driving.

2. Public transit can reduce traffic congestion.

3. We can cut air pollution only if we stop driving.

4. We’re paving over America.

5. We can’t deal with global warming unless we stop driving.

No. No. No. No. No.

Read it all.

Go Ahead, "Make My Day Better"

Why shouldn’t law-abiding citizens have a reasonable expectation of safety in their own vehicles or at their place of business?:

Starting this week a state bill seeking to give protection from prosecution to people who use deadly force while protecting themselves at a business or in a vehicle will be debated.

It is called the “Make My Day Better” bill. The sponsor is State Representative Cory Gardner.

“Why should our ability to protect ourselves from harm be any different in our business or vehicle than it is in our home?” asked Gardner.

Gardner says the bill seeks to extend the protection given to people under the “Make My Day” law which is already on the books. According to that law, a person who has a reasonable belief that their life or their family’s life is in danger is justified to use any force necessary, including lethal force. That law deals with the domain of a person’s house only. Gardner’s bill seeks to extend that to businesses and cars.

“We need to stop treating victims like criminals,” Gardner said.

Democrats object to the possibility of an increase in vigilante justice, though it is more likely that they simply don’t want to further extend gun rights (the main form of protection used in “deadly force”). On the other hand–

One thing Gardner and Fitz-Gerald agree on is the need for input from district attorneys and law enforcement.

The input from these groups is not only prudent, but welcome on the bill, and would certainly help to increase the type of fact-finding necessary to make the argument for the bill that much stronger. No doubt the potential for “deadly force” as a deterrent would increase if the law was extended to one’s business and vehicle.

Tancredo Nixes 3rd-Party Candidacy

Tancredo has no plan to run as anything but a Republican:

“From the beginning, we’ve had no intention to run as a third-party candidate, ever, and we’ll never consider that because he’s a Republican, period,” said T.Q. Houlton, spokesman for the newly formed Tancredo for a Secure America Exploratory Committee.

The potential for a repeat of 1992 when Republicans were split by the candidacy of Ross Perot, or 2000 when Ralph Nader siphoned off votes from Al Gore, is always a distinct possibility. Tancredo realizes that his underdog status in the Republican Party would give his issue more visibility than running as an ignored 3rd-party candidate. Tancredo still believes that a core group of Republicans in the House still feel the same way about immigration, and severing ties and campaigning in 3rd-party guise would not help the cause in any significant way.

Allard Investigates Vandalism At Capitol During Protest

Protestors spray-painted graffiti on the Capitol during Saturday’s protest as police watched. Sen. Wayne Allard expressed his outrage and seeks answers as to why Capitol police were pulled back and no arrests were made:

Sen. Wayne Allard has demanded a meeting with U.S. Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse after reports officers were ordered not to interfere with anti-war protesters who spray-painted graffiti on the historic west front steps of the capitol building on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators descended on Washington, D.C., over the weekend, and most of their march went off peacefully. But near the end of the march, a small number of protesters reportedly broke from the group and approached the Capitol building, spray-painting graffiti on the historic west front steps.

Allard, ranking Republican on the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Capitol complex, sent a letter to Morse on Monday, saying he was “dismayed,” demanding a full report and explanation for a lack of arrests.

“The media have reported that U.S. Capitol Police were given specific instructions to not interfere with or confront these actions,” Allard wrote. “It is my understanding protesters were allowed to spray paint the Capitol steps and deface buildings around the area while Capitol Police were instructed to not arrest anyone engaging in these unlawful acts.”

“On a day when thousands came to Washington, D.C., to exercise their First Amendment rights, the actions of a select few have tarnished their efforts by defacing the United States Capitol and several other government buildings,” Allard wrote. “I am disgusted by these actions, and lack of efforts to protect public property.”

Peaceful protesting is one thing. Defacing public property–the Capitol no less–with graffiti is both unlawful and unwarranted. Captain Ed thinks resignations are in order.

Tom Tancredo–"David vs. Goliath"

“Yes, it’s David and Goliath. There’s no two ways about it,” he said. “But you know what? David won.”