Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is warning voters that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's policies, particularly his efforts to boost bike riding, are "converting Denver into a United Nations community."

"This is all very well-disguised, but it will be exposed," Maes told about 50 supporters who showed up at a campaign rally last week in Centennial.

Maes said in a later interview that he once thought the mayor's efforts to promote cycling and other environmental initiatives were harmless and well-meaning. Now he realizes "that's exactly the attitude they want you to have."

"This is bigger than it looks like on the surface, and it could threaten our personal freedoms," Maes said.

Um. So here are the facts as they've been reported. Dog-owner Jerry Douthett  had a seriously infected big toe and was ignoring medical treatment. Earlier this week, he and his wife went out to celebrate her new status as an American citizen; Douthett had too much to drink, came home and passed out in bed. He awoke to find blood-stained sheets because his dog Kiko HAD EATEN HIS INFECTED TOE. Turns out, had the dog not eaten the bad toe, the infection may have killed Douthett. Good Doggie!

Having considered the trial evidence and the arguments of counsel, the court pursuant to FRCP 52(a) finds that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and that its enforcement must be enjoined.

Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8.

Decisive victory conditions met. Brian Leubitz at Calitics said yesterday:

[Possible outcomes:]

3. WIN - Prop 8 is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and/or the Due Process Clause. This would be our ultimate victory, and really, what Olson and Boies are going for in this case.

(paraphrasing here)

"When you get in a car, you put the car in 'D' to go forward and in 'R' to go backward."

It started in San Francisco, came of age at Woodstock, and changed us and the world forever. Time Life presents Flower Power: Music of the Love Generation. Listen to hits from the most impressionable artists of the '60s and '70s love generation including: The Mamas and the Papas, The Byrds, The Youngbloods, Jefferson Airplane, and many more.

Includes 2 FREE Bonus CDs: Summer of Love plus a groovy collector's box.

Wyclef Jean supported the anti-Aristide coup and sides with the U.S.-backed rightwing gov there:

During the Obama inaugural celebration, Jean famously and perversely serenaded Colin Powell, the Bush administration secretary of state during the U.S. destabilization campaign and eventual coup against Aristide, with Bob Marley's "Redemption Song."

Jean also produced the movie, "The Ghosts of Cite Soleil," an anti-Aristide and Lavalas hit piece, which tells us that President Aristide left voluntarily, without mention of his kidnapping by the U.S. military, and presents the main coup leaders in a favorable light. It features interviews with sweatshop owners Andy Apaid and Charles Henry Baker without telling us they hate Aristide because he raised the minimum wage and sought to give all Haitians a seat at the table by democratizing Haiti's economy, a program opposed by the rich in Haiti.

http://sfbayview.com/2010/wyclef-jean-for-president-of-haiti-look-beyond-the-hype/

And from Bruce Dixon, about Jean's charity for Haiti and allegations about its questionable funding practices:

But it's worth noting that Wyclef Jean has family ties to the group of gangsters and thugs that the Clinton-era CIA installed in office when it removed Haiti's elected president, Jean-Betrand Aristide from office in the 1990s. Wyclef Jean has repeated the contemptible lie all over black radio that Aristide skipped the country with $900 million stolen from Haitians. We understand where this comes from. Wyclef's uncle was the Washington DC representative of the short-lived 1990s un-elected gangster government of Haiti. He runs a right wing rag of a Haitian newspaper dedicated to spreading outrageous and self-serving falsehoods against Lavalas, the only Haitian party capable of winning free elections in that unhappy country.  If Wyclef will lie about that, we wonder what else he'd lie about, and why we should trust him with our money.

Speed limits are much lower. Accidents don't often cause fatalities. They do happen, but not nearly as often.

Big difference here vs. USA, no expectation of immediate gratification. There's a lot more patience. It doesn't matter to me if it's fatalistic patience or not, people here simply are. Also, politeness counts.

The $1 sale of Newsweek magazine to billionaire Sidney Harman, who is married to a member of Congress, is raising questions about the struggling magazine's new connections to partisan politics.

Harman, husband of California Democrat Rep. Jane Harman, has long financially supported Democratic candidates and has been associated with numerous center-left groups over the past decades.

Although history was made in 2008 more history could have been made had Hilary had become the VP.  After the Biden selection I had hoped that in 2012 Obama would pick Hilary to be VP and that Biden would become Sec Of State which was the actual office that Biden really wanted more than being VP. I felt this was a way for Obama being fair to Hilary plus it was a path that Obama could clear for Hilary in the road to the presidency in 2016.

Well what I wanted back then in 2008 maybe becoming a reality.  The news yesterday (Hardball) was talking about this switching of jobs.  Past governor of Virginia Wilder  is totally in favor of this switch.  Biden could not win in 2016 but Hilary could especially when both Clinton's would be fighting for votes.  Biden might be a good vote getter but the two Clinton's together would do a much better job

 Obama will have a tough fight in 2012 for re election with white voters especially now with his low approval ratings.  His chance of winning in 2012 would be greater if he makes this job switch in 2012.  I doubt if Hilary wants to be Sec Of State for another four years anyway.  Hilary would have a greater role though as VP than Biden did.  I think she would press for that.  Hilary would also be big in bringing in the women votes in 2012 and 2016.
I think Hilary is going to run in 2016 no matter what so why not prepare the path through the VP

What about his ties to the anti-Aristide right wing and his support of the coup?

Oops, then there's this in WaPo:

But an analysis of the charity's tax returns raises questions about how it has spent money in the past, with administrative expenses that appear to be higher than comparable charities and payments to businesses owned by the musician and a board member, including $100,000 for a performance by Jean at a 2006 benefit concert.

"It seems clear that a significant amount of the monies that this charity raises go for costs other than providing benefits to Haitians in need," said Dean Zerbe, national managing director of Alliant Group, a tax services company, and the former tax counsel to the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees charities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/15/AR2010011504024.html

And from gawker:

Jean has a long history of using Yele Haiti's money for his own commercial gain. In 2005, 2006, and 2007, the foundation paid out a total of $410,000 to commercial entities controlled in whole or in part by Wyclef, including a whopping $250,000 for advertising time on a Haitian television station he co-owns. According to internal financial statements obtained by Gawker in January, Jean didn't contribute a single dollar to Yele Haiti's American operation during the year he founded it, and its founding executive director resigned because he "saw hundreds of thousands of dollars going to business needs and nothing going to the charity, when it seemed that part of Wyclef's new PR strategy focuses on his charitable endeavors." In 2006, he demanded a $100,000 fee to perform at a Yele Haiti fundraiser  designed to raise money for his own hometown. The event was canceled in part because securing Jean's participation was too expensive.

http://gawker.com/5492081/wyclef-jean-paid-his-mistress-105000-through-his-haiti-charity

And from the Haiti Information Project:

Wyclef's uncle is Raymond Joseph, the highest-ranking official abroad representing the U.S.-installed government in Haiti. He is the un-elected government's representative in Washington. Wyclef's uncle, who he has often praised, is responsible for fomenting outrageous lies about Aristide and members the Lavalas political party that has contributed to the current climate of witch-hunts, arbitrary arrests and murders in Haiti today. Wyclef's uncle is also the co-publisher of Haiti Observateur, a right-wing rag that has been an apologist for the killers in the Haitian military going back as far as the brutal coup against Aristide in 1991.

On October 26th Haitan police entered the pro-Aristide slum of Fort Nationale and summarily executed 13 young men. Wyclef said nothing. On October 28th the Haitian police executed five young men, babies really, in the pro-Aristide slum of Bel Air. Wyclef said nothing. If Wyclef really wants to be part of Haiti's political dialogue he would acknowledge these facts. Unfortunately, Wyclef is fronting. There is nothing substantial in his offer until he proves otherwise. HIP wishes Wyclef the best for his next concert in Haiti. We all want peace in Haiti. Most of us want peace with justice.

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HIP/11_2_4.html

An article that places Jean's candidacy in the context of what's happening in Haiti politically, and implies that he is probably a carefully-selected front man for the U.S./U.N. takeover of Haiti:

Let us be clear. Jean and his uncle, the Haitian ambassador to the U.S., are both cozy with the self-appointed czar of Haiti, Bill Clinton, whose plans for the Caribbean nation are to make it a neo-colony for a reconstructed tourist industry and a pool of cheap labor for U.S. factories. Wyclef Jean is the perfect front man. The Haitian elite and its U.S./U.N. sponsors are counting on his appeal to the youth to derail the people's movement for democracy and their call for the return of President Aristide. Most Haitians will not be hoodwinked by the likes of Wyclef Jean.

http://newamericamedia.org/2010/08/rapper-is-no-friend-of-haiti----wyclef-opposed-aristide.php

I'd sure as hell vote for him for pres of the USA knowing nothing but his music.

Right, what's a little rightwing thuggery and charity-stealing if a guy can sing, right?

    96°F
    Feels Like: 117°
and we are not at peak yet.