Ritter Drops Out of Governor’s Race (2)
Ritter Out of the Running
Two days after Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announced that he would not run for re-election the state’s political elite – in both parties – are scrambling. At this moment nothing is clear concerning how it will all play out. A few comments are in order now though. Read more…
The Passing of Adrienne Harber
Adrienne Harber, of Boulder, died recently of liver cancer. Unfortunately, once diagnosed, it spread quickly. She died shortly after the condition was diagnosed. Virginia Culver’s obituary of Harber printed in the Denver Post (click on her name above) does Adrienne justice. It is very nice and appropriate.
I saw Adrienne twice in the past year, the first time at a small informal memorial of another long time friend and Jewish progressive – Hedda Dayan who was her dear and long time friend. We spoke at some length then. I also saw her at WILPF meeting of which she was a dedicated member. I was asked to talk about lobbying for Middle East peace a few weeks later. It was a good productive meeting. Read more…
1. If you haven’t heard by now (those in Colorado), Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has announced this morning that he will not run for re-election in 2010, shaking up the political map of the state a bit. It is too early to speculate very much about `why’ or how this opens up things in the upcoming gubernatorial contest. There will be plenty of speculation of both his political and personal life. I’ll reserve my own for several weeks until some of the dust – and other speculation – settles. While I am a little surprised, it’s not that much. Ritter has become very unpopular, not just among Republicans, but in Democratic Party circles here as well.
2. Ed Quillen had a piece in Sunday’s (January 4, 2010) Denver Post which touches on many of the themes I wrote about yesterday. I had not seen his article until after writing mine. Interesting that despite the attempts of the Republican Party’s big rollers to avoid a primary fight in the governor’s race (by pressuring Penry to drop out – which seems to be an established fact by now), that the party’s right wing still might run a candidate and force a primary, forcing the leadership to speak to the issues.
More soon.
More Bennet and Romanoff (and a little McInnis and Penry)
Michael Bennet and Steve Farber at an Allied Jewish Men's Event in Support of Israel During The Gaza War Last Year
Anschutz, Mizel, McInnis and Penry
According to political pundits, Andrew Romanoff’s run to challenge Michael Bennet for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate seat is all but over and that the former Colorado state legislator has given up. True enough Bennett has lined up a great deal of support from monied interests in the state and beyond. He and Steve Farber, a key player in Denver’s Democratic Party, seem to have made their peace. And Bennet’s political support also appears to have crossed party lines. Read more…
Gaza Freedom March – Jean Athey – Letter 4
(Note: Jean Athey and I served in the Peace Corps together in Tunisia in the 1960s. She is on the Gaza Freedom March, trying to enter Gaza from Egypt. The Egyptian government of Hosni Mubarek – who is just as responsible for the siege of Gaza as are the Israelis – refused the group’s entry into Gaza with needed medical and humanitarian aid. `The Group’ consists of 1400 people from all over the world, including several from Colorado who have also been sending us updates. Since the last letter Jean posted just two days ago, the situation in Cairo has seriously deteriorated with the Egyptian police beating up and jailing many of the Gaza protestors. Jean lives in Maryland outside of Washington DC. Early this year [Nov 18] I published her desciption of a trip to the West Bank. Her other letters from Gaza can be read by clicking to this link – rjp)
Gaza Freedom March
Fourth Letter: December 31, 2009
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Tonight we will ring in the New Year in Tahrir Square, altogether. We hope, we pray, that 2010 will bring some relief and some hope for all Palestinians and, especially, that the siege of Gaza will end.
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Over 1300 people came to Cairo this week from all over the world, hoping to join Palestinians today in a nonviolent Gaza Freedom March to end the blockade. Since we were prohibited from going to Gaza, we decided to march in Cairo today instead. We hoped to step off at 10 a.m., the same time as the march in Gaza was to begin. Read more…
Gaza Freedom March: Jean Athey Reports
Gaza Freedom March
Second Letter: December 27-28
Jean Athey
(Note: Jean Athey and I served in the Peace Corps together in Tunisia in the 1960s. She is on the Gaza Freedom March, trying to enter Gaza from Egypt. The Egyptian government of Hosni Mubarek – who is just as responsible for the siege of Gaza as are the Israelis – appears at this writing to be blocking the group’s entry into Gaza with needed medical and humanitarian aid. `The Group’ consists of 1400 people from all over the world, including several from Colorado who have also been sending us updates. Jean lives in Maryland outside of Washington DC. Early this year [Nov 18] I published her desciption of a trip to the West Bank. Her other letters from Gaza can be read by clicking to this link – rjp)
We are determined to break the siege. The situation of the people of Gaza is intolerable, and the world must respond.
The first day in Cairo was a bit chaotic: Organizers struggled to communicate with over 1,300 people dispersed in various hotels throughout Cairo, many of whom did not have email or phone service. Some of us found that our hotel reservations were imaginary, and so we had to make alternative arrangements. Despite the challenges, it was an amazing day. Read more…
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Is Apparently Prepared To Sell Israel F-22 Jet Fighters
It certainly seems on the surface that the Obama Administration and Netanyahu’s Israeli government are locked in a nasty struggle over Israel’s Settlement policy with Obama trying to nudge Israel to make concessions and Netanyahu obstinately resisting (with Israel’s majority and the American Jewish Community cheering `Bibi’ on).
Yet US-Israeli relations proceed on a number of levels and for the most part, the relations between the two countries are better than ever and in some key ways, strenghtening and not weakening. Read more…
Yemen (1):The Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Kills Dozens of Women and Children In Yemen
Attacks on Yemen
According to an ABC News statement on Christmas “on orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. launched [two] cruise missiles early Thursday (December 24th) against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, administration officials told ABC News in a report broadcast on ABC World News with Charles Gibson.” In what appears to be a separate incident a US jet plan repeatedly strafed the home of Sa’ada govenor Hassan Mohammed Manna. Read more…
Nader Hashemi on the Death of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri
Note – Dr. Nader Hashemi teaches at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies where I also happen to be employed
Bennet and Romanoff – Again, or is it still?
It is two months now – the October 13 entry – since I wrote about the primary contest here in Colorado between Michael Bennet and Andrew Romanoff for the Democratic Party nomination for the US Senate.
The comments I got – and continue to get – about my thoughts continue to flow in, including several from friends tonight. There have been many others. It does suggest how seriously people take this primary contest. I do too
Interesting that my friends active in the labor movement remain cool-to-hostile to both. Same is true with those politically connected Black and Chicano acquaintances to whom I posed the question. Among these key Democratic constituencies, my informal sampling suggest something less than enthusiasm for either. Their opinions haven’t changed much since, nor have mine. Still there are some thoughts to add about the contest Read more…
View from the Left Bank: Rob Prince's Blog 