Jeffco commissioners approve tower

Right next to death, taxes, globalization and the tides, there's high definition television. Here's a clip from the Post's story "Jeffco approves TV tower on top of Lookout Mountain":

Jefferson County commissioners today unanimously approved rezoning for a digital-TV broadcast tower on Lookout Mountain.

Saying they felt trumped by a quickly passed federal law, the commissioners said they will enforce building and zoning codes for the 730-foot-high tower.

Lake Cedar Group, a consortium of local TV stations, has sought rezoning for the tower so it can broadcast high-definition TV to the metro Denver area by the federal deadline of February 2009.

"The best way to manage this is to affirm the previous board's approval and continue to monitor compliance with building codes authorized by the official development plan," Commissioner Kevin McCasky said of 2003 actions.

Commissioner Kathy Hartman said was "not exactly thrilled to find myself" in a position of the federal government saying that the county did not have jurisdiction over local issues such as health consequences of tower radiation.

"If we had voted no, everyone would ignore us, and it would have no effect," Hartman said.

There are two stories here. The first is about the tower itself, advancing technology, and the health concerns of the surrounding community. The second is about the way in which our Senators and even the Jeffco commissioners have attempted to gain control of the situation.

In December of last year, I published a story called "More federal government trampling of local concerns." My opinion remains unchanged. Both sides have valid arguments and Washington was too quick to assert itself.

An even better example of this tendency is the Bush administration's decision not to wait for the recommendations of a local committee before proceeding with the auction of oil and gas leases on roadless Colorado land.

I don't mind a strong federal government because issues like terrorism and global warming can't be solved at the local level. But in some cases, Washington simply goes too far.

Salazar meets with Bush and I have my second meltdown of the week

So what can I write about today, given that Coloradolib's 2nd All Positive, All The Time Week is nearing its end?

Well, Colorado Senator Ken Salazar is the second high-ranking Colorado Democrat to meet with the President this week. Sounds promising. The Post reports:

Sen. Ken Salazar met with President Bush Friday to discuss energy policy and request additional funding for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado.

Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, and nine other U.S. senators also attended the hour-long meeting at the White House, which Salazar said the president called to declare that energy was "on his mind" and demonstrate that he has a "working knowledge of alternative fuels."

"My main point to the president was that he's right to spotlight the energy issues that are facing our country and we need (his) leadership in order to get something done," Salazar said.

The topic of global warming did not come up.

So that sounds positive. Wait a second. No it doesn't. It sounds like an egregious example of political fluff. Let's try again. What else is going on? Ann Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot."

I give up. All Positive, All The Time Week is hard.

Larimer County Dems take on estate tax issue, voice support for Ken Salazar

Today the Larimer County Democrats put out a press release "supporting fiscally responsible estate tax reform to further protect Colorado's family farms, ranches, and small business, while condemning falsehoods in a recently published op-ed."

The op-ed in question was penned by CD3 Democrat John Salazar and CD4 Republican Marilyn Musgrave. And it outlines their plan to do away with the estate tax.

The Larimer County Democrats' release reads, in part:

"Musgrave is irresponsibly advancing myths that have long since been exploded," said Larimer County Democratic Party Chair Adam Bowen. "The deceptive and fuzzy math in this column severely questions Musgrave's basic familiarity with the subject." [Ed. - Complete release posted in the comments]

The press release came with a draft of a resolution that the Larimer County Democrats passed last Thursday. It's interesting not just because of its strong stand, but because it ends on a positive note:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LARIMER COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY that it supports the efforts of Senator Ken Salazar to encourage a bipartisan solution to the estate tax that is fiscally responsible and sustains Colorado's vital family farms, ranches, and small businesses.

So a big sign of support for Ken and a slap on the wrist to John, courtesy of the Larimer County Democrats.

Assorted snark, policy edition

• Iraq: DeGette, Udall, John Salazar, Perlmutter
• Energy: Ritter, Ken Salazar
• Amendment 41: Ward, CoCo

Assorted snark from the 2008 primaries

• McEwan to Edwards: "Adios."
• Hillary to Rove: "Boo!"
• Russert to Dems: "Huh?"
• Tancredo to House: "Whichever."

And finally, SquareState points out that the Ken Salazar for Vice-President rumors I wrote about last year are still swirling.

Evan Bayh would probably make a better runningmate for Hillary, Richardson or Obama. But an Edwards/Salazar ticket would be just about perfect.

Vote for America's best Senator

Poll here. Currently Ken Salazar is in 39th place, while Wayne Allard is 76th. Hat-tip to Wonkette.

More about how cool Ken Salazar is

Ken Salazar is so popular. I think I prefer "Clintazar" over "Hillaken."

The Rocky adores Tom Tancredo

Explain how a dispute between Senator Ken Salazar and Congressman Tom Tancredo justifies the Rocky headline, "Colorado senators clash over Spanish speech." Um, did we elect a Senator Tancredo at some point?

I'm sure the Rocky will fix the headline shortly. At least, I sincerely hope they will.

Salazar delivered a speech in English and Spanish. Tancredo got whiny. That's the extent of the argument. And it exposes three critical facts:

1. Salazar has more courage than I sometimes give him credit for.

2. Tancredo's problem is not with illegal immigration. It's with what he sees as the dillution of a white, Judeo-Christian heritage. As Luis wrote at Square State, "Ah, but Tancredo is only opposed to the 'illegal' aspect of immigration -- it has nothing to do with having a problem with Latino culture. Riiiiiiiight."

3. The Denver papers love Tom Tancredo. Truly, madly, deeply. And nauseatingly.

There's more at Daily Kos.

Allard, Salazar, DeGette, Udall, other Salazar, Musgrave, Lamborn, Perlmutter seek blizzard relief for farmers

Meanwhile, Tom Tancredo is busy proving he's a maverick. The Rocky explains.

Ken Salazar presides over the Senate

Democratic Colorado Senator Ken Salazar presided over the opening of the 110th Congress at the Senate today. Democratic goals for the first 100 hours include impeachi... Just kidding. According to The Washington Post:

Democrats have given themselves a mere 100 hours to break the bonds between lobbyist and lawmaker, boost homeland security, raise the minimum wage, fund stem cell research, lower prescription drug prices, slash student loan interest rates and free the country from its dependence on international oil.

Post, Sentinel pick up Salazar for VP rumors

Read 'em here and here. My original post is here.

Hillary Clinton [heart] Ken Salazar?

On The Chris Matthews Show this morning, one of the 12 regulars opined that Hillary Clinton's best choice for a runningmate would be Colorado Senator Ken Salazar.

UPDATE: Jason Bane discusses this post at 5280's Elevated Voices.

UPDATE: Jeralyn Merritt links to this post at TalkLeft.

UPDATE: The transcipt of the show is now online here:

MATTHEWS: ...We put it to the Matthews Meter, 12 of our regular panelists. Who would Hillary pick? This one's all over the map: four say Barack Obama, three say Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, who just dropped out of the presidential race a few weeks back, two say John Edwards, and two say New Mexico governor Bill Richardson. In fact, there's one vote there for Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado.