About this time last year, I called on my colleagues in Congress to set aside our political differences and sit together – instead of divided by party – during the president’s State of the Union Address. For one night of civility, Members of Congress broke over a century of partisan tradition to make a symbolic gesture of national unity.

The movement is catching on, and lawmakers are committing to sit together with a member of the opposite party in even greater numbers than last year. But – in addition to making bipartisan seating a permanent tradition – I’m expanding my request.

In the 24 hours leading up to the State of the Union Address, I’m calling on my colleagues to propose constructive solutions instead of launching political attacks.

Help me. Let Congress know that civility and bipartisanship should not be limited to one night per year – “24 hours of civility” is a good start.

I can tell you that a lot of the things I’m most proud of accomplishing last year would not have been possible without bipartisan support – permanently banning earmarks; bringing a balanced budget amendment to the Senate floor for a vote; and spurring job growth in our mountain communities, to name just a few. We pulled it off by working across the political aisle to pass legislation, not on taking potshots at the opposition.

Congress’s approval rating is at 13 percent right now. That’s a pretty strong signal to me that the American people are fed up with the hyper-partisanship that has hog-tied the legislative process – they want results. And bipartisanship is the vehicle to get us there.

Working together is the way we do things in the West, and that’s how I work in Washington, D.C. It’s time for Congress to follow Colorado’s lead, collaborate even where we have differences and lead by example.

I hope you will join me in calling for 24 hours of civility.

Warm regards,
Mark Udall

Being a cutting edge community web site on the front line of international politics, we receive a lot of information from geopolitical think tanks, Washington insiders and intellectual type people seeking The Citizen’s consult. As humble guardians of small town liberty and community happenings we are reaching out to the brilliant minds of the Ark River Valley to gather thoughts on the circus that is American politics today.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been thinking about politicians recently and noticed some coverage on the GOP debates. Then, while visiting the hamlet of Colorado Springs yesterday I stumbled into a hornet’s nest of opinionated military men in a small downtown store. The walls were littered with bumper stickers and t-shirts promoting libertarian and far right candidates and issues. As I sought out change for the parking meter, I tried to avoid the temptation to “get into it” with these burly westerners. But, because my wife wasn’t there I couldn’t help do a little fishing: “howdy boys, nice store. The damn system just seems broke-ed, eh?” (I don’t know where my pseudo hillbilly slang comes from when I’m with fringe characters. With dirty hippies I quote Joni Mitchell. I blame my parents).

We got a live one Jimmy.

Looking at a bumper sticker that said “Peace Through Superior Firepower,” I waited. All looked to the man holding court behind the counter as he checked a text in the phone holster attached to his belt. Looking up slowly he finally said “Ron Paul man are ya?” The games had begun. Quoting my favorite Doug Greenism I said “it’s hard knowin not known eh?”

Arms crossed, the men squinted at me in unison as I quietly looked at the flag-adorned walls. They wanted easy prey. I just wanted a burrito around the corner. Then, walking to the front of the store and looking through the blinds one of the guys in a tight t-shirt said “Obama is runnin a damn welfare state and driving American liberties into the ground.” I gave them nothing. It was like hiding a ball from a labrador. I said, “whelp, things are pretty messed up in this world, and ya gotta wonder if he’s made it worse, or saved our sorry asses. It’s all so damn complicated, we’ll probably never know.” I fought the temptation to spit, and thinking of my wife’s elbow I didn’t mention “banks,” “the gold standard” or “military industrial complex.”

Let me be clear, I’m a lover of freedom and I admired these guys. Sheep maybe, ditto heads perhaps, they understand that you have to take a stand for what you believe in. Opening a store to express your opinions requires a big effort and makes a tavern smack talker look like a part time patriot. So, remembering the importance of seeking common ground I said “I suppose most people just wanna make a buck, maybe that’s the problem. We just gotta look after each other in this (crazy ass) world (shit).”

Nods all around.

After the standard friendly chatter about Salida and the sunny day, the c.o. announced that he also had some pro Obama stuff for sale. I passed, but took my change.

Things will move quickly as the GOP grudge match rolls forward, so if you have some thoughts as we wrap up the SC debates, let us know. If you want to write more than a few hundred words, have your own op-ed, or simply want to ask the community a question, let us know so we can post it: salidacitizen@gmail.com. Obama supposedly has a billion dollars in his war chest, Wisconsin has over a million signatures for throwing out Walker, and Bennet and Udall are apparently against SOPA. Politics, take it where you will Salida.

—bd

In a recent Gallup Poll, 76% of those polled thought that most members of Congress should be replaced. However, only 39% thought that their own member of Congress should be replaced.

This wasn’t the first time I had heard a statistic like this, but it started the wheels turning in my head, because somewhere on the edge of my consciousness it occurred to me that this isn’t just an amusing factoid..It might actually be the key to why Congress is able to maintain itself year after year in a dysfunctional state.

Why would someone’s own Congressperson get this 37% edge?  This was my stream of consciousness struggle with the answer.  Congress is an institution.  It is big, powerful and inaccessible.  It rarely gets anything useful done and, if it is responsive at all, it is responsive to wealthy contributors or ideologues at the far ends of the political spectrum.  It is not surprising that its approval numbers are abysmal.

However, your Congressperson is not an institution.  He or she is a human being (I mean they are probably a human being; they look like one anyway). And they are a powerful human being.  They are in the newspaper and on television.  When they speak, they usually say something that sounds good.  In fact, they have people who work for them whose job it is to come up with things to say that sound good.

So, here is a powerful person, who in their public statements—and these are the only statements you get to hear—sounds like they are on your side.  It can’t be their fault that Congress doesn’t work.  It must be all the others.

I’m thinking that there may be some transference here. (Transference is “the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person’s childhood”).  Perhaps our Congressperson is a semi-benevolent mother or father figure, who inspires some unjustified positive feelings.

So, we take an objective view of Congress as a whole.  We realize that Congress doesn’t work for us (76% of us do), and want to replace it. And yet, we take a subjective view of our own Congressperson, who we fondly think of as a someone with whom we have a human connection and is on our side.

PEOPLE, THIS ISN’T POSSIBLE.  IT IS NOT POSSIBLE THAT EACH INDIVIDUAL CONGRESSPERSON IS ON OUR SIDE AND YET WHEN THEY ALL GET TOGETHER THEY DON’T WORK FOR US.  SOMETHING DOESN’T ADD UP.

The problem is there is no way to vote against Congress.  You can only vote for or against your own Congressperson.

At CleanSlateNow.org, we feel that there is a key difference between Congress people who take special interest money and those who decide not to.  This is why we are compiling a list of who does and does not take this money.

However, it happens to be the case that most of Congress finances their campaigns from interests other than their constituents, creating a conflict of interest.

If we want to change Congress, we are going to have to come to terms with the probability that even our own Congressperson is part of the problem.

I raise this for discussion. What do you think?  I encourage you to make comments or ask questions on the blog.

Please feel free to forward this email to your list or republish in any other format.  Liking us on Facebookhelps and if you know people who would like to get our emails, have them sign up on theCleanSlateNow.org website or just send us their email addresses.

Sincerely,

Ken Gordon
http://www.cleanslatenow.org/

A growing body of evidence suggests that the meritocratic ideal is in trouble in America. Income inequality is growing to levels not seen since the (first) Gilded Age. But social mobility is not increasing at anything like the same pace….Everywhere you look in modern America – in the Hollywood Hills or the canyons of Wall Street, in the Nashville recording studios or the clapboard houses of Cambridge, Massachusetts  – you see elites mastering the art of perpetuating themselves.  America is increasingly looking like imperial Britain, with dynastic ties proliferating, social circles interlocking, mechanisms of social exclusion strengthening, and a gap widening between the people who make decisions and shape the culture and the vast majority of working stiffs.

Click to comment.

On Nov.1, voters in 72 cities and towns will be going to the polls across the state. Elections will be held for candidates (like mayor and city council) and on ballot questions, like tax increases. Four cities have cancelled their regularly scheduled elections: Dacono, Fort Morgan, Las Animas, and Wray.

Based upon data collected by the Colorado Municipal League (CML) from reporting municipal clerks, this election cycle will cost $1.5 million. It should be noted that half of this total comes from Denver (whose election costs will be partially reimbursed by Denver Public Schools).

Debt

Several cities will ask voters to approve various debt questions: Aurora ($114 million for community recreation centers); Boulder ($49 million for various capital improvements); Bow Mar ($3.2 million for street paving); Canon City ($5.1 million for library improvements); and Durango ($4 million for a purchase of water shares).

Medical Marijuana

There are proposed taxes on medical marijuana products in Breckenridge, Brush, Commerce City, Frisco, and Palisade. Six cities and towns have questions on the ballot concerning whether or not to allow the sale of the product: Brush, Fort Collins, Oak Creek, Palisade, Steamboat Springs, and Yampa

Tax Increases

There are a number of municipalities with a variety of tax increases on the ballot. There will be sales tax increases in Avon (transit), Canon City (library improvements), Oak Creek (police), and Nucla (emergency medical care). Fort Lupton wants to continue an expiring sales tax for street improvements.

There will be property tax increases proposed in Aurora (connected with the city’s debt question), Bow Mar, Silver Cliff, and Walsenburg.

Lodging or short term rental tax proposals for marketing and tourism promotion will occur in Brighton, Eagle, and Sterling.

Voters within the Steamboat Springs local marketing district will consider whether to raise taxes to support commercial air service at the Hayden airport.

Boulder voters will consider an increase in that city’s utility occupation tax.

Other measures

Boulder voters will consider whether to establish a municipal electric system. Colorado has 29 such gas and/or electric systems in the state currently. In Longmont, voters will face a question dealing with municipal broadband entry. Pueblo voters will decide whether to award an electric franchise to San Isabel Electric.

Term limit questions are up in Fort Lupton (extend them) and in Platteville (abolish them).

Allowing cities and towns to publish ordinances or other legal information by title only or on a municipal web site will be considered in Brighton, Castle Pines, Lafayette, Lamar, Monte Vista, Oak Creek, and Platteville.

Mandatory sick leave on various employers will be considered in Denver. A corporate personhood measure will be before Boulder’s voters.

Whether to appoint, rather than elect, the clerk and the treasurer is up in Castle Pines.

Lafayette voters will consider whether or not to establish a youth advisory board.

Loveland voters will consider a TABOR-related 12-year revenue retention measure.

Englewood voters will consider a measure spelling out how certain motor vehicles are to be regulated on private property.

CML is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1923 and represents the interests of 265 cities and towns. For more information on the Colorado Municipal League, or to view the report, please visit www.cml.org or call 303-831-6411.

In tiny Villa Grove a handful of diverse citizens are singing loud and clear. From, roughly, noon to 4:00 PM Sundays a gathering is scheduled at the Villa Grove Park, on the east-side of urban Villa Grove.

See You Out There!
Jim Williams, 719-221-3306

How does the global “Occupy Movement” translate to Salida, Chaffee County and other rural communities? Additionally, do you feel there is a possibility we will see a fusion between The Tea Party and the Occupy movement? —a better “Occupy” mission list can be found here.

A broad spectrum of political views is appreciated, so please pass on to your lefty and righty friends. Keep this Penguin image in mind as you write your comment below, and consider that your words may be read by our youth.

-Cit Team

DENVER— Monday, the Reapportionment Commission approved new Colorado House and Senate district maps. If the maps are approved by the Colorado Supreme Court, candidates will run for office in the new districts in the 2012 election. New map boundaries will be operative for the 2012 election cycle, but Coloradans will continue to be represented by their current legislator until the 2012 victors are sworn in January of 2013.

In the reapportionment map pending court approval, Senate District 5, currently held by Senator Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass), will add Eagle and Lake counties and lose the six-counties of the San Luis Valley (Saguache, Mineral, Rio Grande, Alamosa, Conejos & Costilla).

Senator Schwartz offered the following comment on her new senate district, approved yesterday by the Commission:

“These changes to my district are bittersweet – I will truly miss representing the San Luis Valley given the relationships that have developed over the past six years, but I welcome the chance to represent Eagle and Lake counties and look forward to getting to know new constituents and their issues.”

To view the maps, please visit the Reapportionment Commission website: www.Colorado.gov/Reapportionment

Senator Schwartz made the following comments in her testimony before the PUC today:

“Traditional telephone and television networks have been re-purposed to deliver broadband services (i.e. DSL, Cable Modems).  However, going forward telephone and television service is simply becoming just another application that is delivered by broadband (i.e. VoIP, IPTV).

“Broadband service has evolved to become a utility of universal necessity.  This need is driven by advances in the applications and services that are delivered through broadband connectivity and the way that people now use them in business and conducting their daily lives.

“Policies should be considered that encourage universal access to the same levels of broadband service statewide and eliminate inequity of price and availability among regions with varying population density and economic capability.  Such approaches will ensure that future economic opportunity is available to everyone, everywhere throughout Colorado.”

Submitted by Ceal Smith

They, and dozens of other Saguache County ranchers and citizens have been fighting the massive installation of 8,000 forty-foot hydrogen-fueled dish Stirling SunCatchers, for over two years.

As reported in the Pueblo Chieftain, “Tessera’s original proposal failed to meet state limits for noise and drew sharp criticism from county residents for its effects on neighboring property, wildlife and the environment”.

“Now we can focus on what we do want, rather than fight ill-borne projects generated by those who care nothing for rural places” said Sullivan, in an email blast to members of the San Luis Valley Renewable Communities Alliance (RCA), the citizen’s group that worked to stop the destructive project.

“There are ways and means to utilize and increase the value from our resources, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for all of us, without sacrificing the livelihoods and properties of any of our neighbors”, said Alliance board member Chuck Tidd.

Tidd and others in the RCA are working to develop solar gardens in Saguache County and create a roadmap for the San Luis Valley to become a model of energy self-sufficiency in Colorado rather than the State’s first industrial solar sacrifice zone, but they admit it will be a long, uphill battle.

“Tessera is the first industrial solar proposal to get to the permitting stage in Colorado, and even though the SunCatcher technology has failed, it won’t be the last”, said RCA founder Ceal Smith. “If the utilities and ‘Big Solar’ industrialists have their way, all of Colorado’s solar energy will be generated here”, said Smith. The San Luis Valley may have slightly more solar insolation than the rest of Colorado, but the cost of new transmission needed and inefficiencies of exporting electricity hundreds of miles to the Front Range makes utterly no sense, unless you’re a utility company with a legislative blank check for new infrastructure”, said Smith.

In, Democratizing the Electricity System, a new report from the Institute for Self-Reliance, John Farrell makes the case that “wind and solar are available everywhere, and renewable energy can be economically harnessed at small scales across the country, state and community” through distributed generation, while saving ratepayers billions, spurring energy efficiency and renewing local economies.

“This is the model for the future that we’d like to see the San Luis Valley be a leader in, rather than more of the outmoded, centralized old energy model that no longer works for our communities, economy or environment”, said Smith.

Renewable Communities Alliance
Saguache, CO
(719) 256-5780

On the Senate Republicans’ fight against fair districts tonight, Senate President Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont) offered the following comment:

“If there’s one thing I learned in the Navy it’s that the only people afraid of a fair fight are those who can only win by hitting below the belt. In April, Republicans admitted to deliberately drawing districts to give their party an unfair political advantage and solidify their majority for the next decade. Colorado does not want Congressmen for life. Colorado voters deserve fair and competitive congressional districts that allow them to hold their elected representatives accountable.”

At the beginning of this legislative session, legislators formed an historic bipartisan redistricting committee. As originally conceived, the bipartisan committee was to work together to take input from people across the state and use that input to create a map that all sides could agree on. For the past 30 years, Colorado congressional maps have been settled in court, a costly and contentious outcome that legislators hope to avoid.

Since the committee completed its work on Friday, April 22, the Democrats and Republicans have each introduced their own maps, but neither map had consensus amongst legislators. Last week, Senate Democrats introduced the “Colorado Compromise” redistricting map. The Colorado Compromise map came together by taking public input given at meetings around the state, and it incorporates ideas advanced by both parties. The Colorado Compromise map includes districts that are competitive (five out of seven districts have less than a seven point difference between registered Republicans and Democrats) and that protect communities of interest such as city and county boundaries and transportation corridors.

Below is a copy of the Colorado Compromise redistricting map and the correlating voter registration numbers for each congressional district:

Points of Compromise:

Below are points of compromise between “The Colorado Compromise” map released today and previous maps, both Democratic and Republican:

CD2-Does not put Grand Junction and Boulder in the same district. Central Mountain Community and tourism-based economy whole while other maps put Eagle County with parts of Weld County.

CD3- Does not put Grand Junction and Boulder in the same district. Keeps Western Slope whole to the same extent that Republican maps do.

CD4-Keeps Northern Colorado together and is more compact; while other maps have put Fort Collins and Baca County (South Eastern corner of Colorado) in the same district.

CD5-Keeps El Paso County whole based upon Republican requests. 5 military bases are kept together while other maps put Park (a Central Mountain County) with Elbert (an Eastern Plains County) in the same district.

CD6-Preserves E-470, C-470, I-225 transportation corridors while alternate maps put Parker with East Colfax in the same district.

CD7-Protects city integrity while alternate maps have split cities like Arvada, Westminster and Littleton.