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February 10, 2006 09:00 AM UTC

Friday Open Thread

  • 46 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

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46 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

  1. Was I the only one to catch this yesterday?

    Funny enough, I actually searched for the truth in this Pols post, and sadly enough I found it.

    I can’t believe David Balmer is heir apparent. Now that he is coming into leadership we can’t assume his sordid past won’t come to light.
    -Resume Fraud
    According to the Denver Post (Oct. 13th 2004) Balmer claimed he was a clerk for a state supreme court Judge when in fact he was only a summer intern!
    -Kidnapping
    Apparently in 1995 he disappeared and the police found his car with blood stains. (Denver Post)
    And there is more where that came from.

    Not only that but “he reappeared wet and battered on a stranger’s doorstep…and he suffered memory loss.” according to the same article.

    In the midst of cover-ups and scandals, no one has paid enough attention to those in our own back yards. As sad as it is to say, our GOP electeds need to fess up to their history if we want to gain any trust back in this state.

  4. I remember reading a Peggy Lowe article during the 2004 election that referenced Balmer’s “disapperance” and I thought it sounded fishy.  I’m sure there’s more to it.  I also hear that his “pay to play” fundraising tactics are way over the top.  Keep digging!

  7. Right Angle, if Alice Madden is elected governor, Balmer will end up in jail. She hates him.  Oh, I know, the U.S. Constitition bans a bill of attainder, but as I’m sure Phoenix Rising would remind us, the constitition is a “living document.”  Surely we can find a judge willing to sentence Balmer to the goosegow on the grounds of raising too much money for the wrong party!

  8. MillerLong –
    You’re an idiot.  Balmer’s not going anywhere.  I’d bet money you’re the same person that was trying to spark rumors yesterday.

    Balmer’s stronger than ever and one of the best reps we have at the capitol.  Stop trying to spread lies.

  9. Lil’ Irish –

    So, which of Miller Long’s statements about Rep. Balmer are untrue?  The resume fraud, the kidnapping/amnesia story, or pay to play?

  11. RightAngle – MillerLite – whoever you are –

    You made the charge, it’s your burden to prove.  Way to dig up dirt from NC though, that’s kind of impressive considering its 11 years old.

  12. Balmer abused his wife.  His brother-in-laws kidnapped him, beat the stuffing out of him and then turned him loose during his CD primary campaign back in NC.  He feigned amnesia when coming back literally all wet.

  14. A Democratic Party takeover of the House is apparently the only thing that will shake the House GOP leadership out of its stupidity…

    Tom DeLay – indicted for money laundering – is deciding the destination of our taxpayer dollars.  Delay – admonished for misusing Homeland Security resources – will have control over DHS appropriations.  And DeLay – who is still under investigation, and who has several friends under investigation – will be controlling Department of Justice funding.

    Plus ?a change, plus c?est la m?me chose.  Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

  15. Show me when and where any of this is true or where he admitted it was true and I’ll happily quit defending him.  I don’t mean heresay either.

    What’s YOUR motive for digging up an 11 year old story?  People don’t just accidently come by that crap, you must have been looking. 

    And quit posting with three or four different handles, we all know it’s the same damn person, at least give us that much credit.

  16. Dead Bird, neither you or any other liberal would recognize the original intent of the constitution if it bit you on your nose.  For openers, show me exactly where the constitition defines a right to abortion?  Then, show me where it says homosexuals have a right to marry?  Just imagine walking into that hall in Philadelphia and saying: “I’m sure you guys intend to establish an exclusionary rule whose only possible purpose would be to exclude evidence that would establish the guilt of a criminal?”
    Show me any of those clauses, Dead Bird, and I’ll buy you lunch.  To your crowd, the constitution changes every time you can give five wild-eyed liberals to declare it has.

  19. Abortion and gay marriage are wedge issues used to distract from more important constitutional issues. Here’s one, directly from the constitution, which is not open to interpretation:

    Section 4 – Disqualification

    The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

    We’re in the midst of the battle, and if I could tell the future I’d be on Oprah. But breaking international treaties, domestic spying, lying to the American public to get us into a war against a sovereign nation, all qualify.

    Most reprehensible, and wherever one stands on the right/left spectrum it must be condemned, is the utter inability of the administration to tell the truth. Space doesn’t allow the long list of fallacies hoisted upon the people by this reckless, incompetent, dangerously corrupt administration.

  20. Let’s not forget Treason as an impeachable offense.

    New York Times:

    I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, told a grand jury that he was authorized by his “superiors” to disclose classified information to reporters about Iraq’s weapons capability in June and July 2003, according to a document filed by a federal prosecutor.
    Associated Press:
    A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration’s defense of intelligence used to justify invading Iraq, according to court papers.
    Washington Post:
    Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff testified that his bosses instructed him to leak information to reporters from a high-level intelligence report that suggested Iraq was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction, according to court records in the CIA leak case.

    Cheney was one of the “superiors” I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby said had authorized him to make the disclosures, according to sources familiar with the investigation into Libby’s discussions with reporters about CIA operative Valerie Plame.
    Reuters:
    Vice President Dick Cheney directed his aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby to use classified material to discredit a critic of the Bush administration’s Iraq war effort, the National Journal reported on Thursday.

    Court papers released last week show that Libby was authorized to disclose classified information to news reporters by “his superiors,” in an effort to counteract diplomat Joe Wilson’s charge that the Bush administration twisted intelligence on Iraq’s nuclear weapons to justify the 2003 invasion.

  22. Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

    Amendment X: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

    Translation: the Constitution was not meant to define a finite set of rights, nor to empower the Government to restrict unwritten rights or powers.  It is therefore not incumbent upon me to find a “right to abortion” or a “right to homosexual marriage” in the Constitution, but for you to find a clause which allows for their restriction.

    Amendment XIV, Paragraph 1 (in part): No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

    Translation: The Bill of Rights is extended to the States, and all people are to be granted equal protection of under the law.

    I might add that in Romer v. Evans, the SCOTUS opinon states in part:

    In the ordinary case, a law will be sustained if it can be said to advance a legitimate government interest, even if the law seems unwise or works to the disadvantage of a particular group, or if the rationale for it seems tenuous. By requiring that the classification bear a rational relationship to an independent and legitimate legislative end, we ensure that classifications are not drawn for the purpose of disadvantaging the group burdened by the law.

    […] “If the constitutional conception of ‘equal protection of the laws’ means anything, it must at the very least mean that a bare . . . desire to harm a politically unpopular group cannot constitute a legitimate governmental interest.” […]

    Our own State Constitution states that no civil or political right shall be denied anyone based on their belief or disagreement with any religion.  Since the basis for the anti-choice side of the abortion debate is in theology, it would seem that our own Constitution forbids the prohibition of abortion at least until the point where evidence indicates a foetus is viable and independently conscious, and even after that where it would endanger the life of the mother.

  23. Does lying to Congress constitute grounds for impeachment?  How about willful and continued violation of the law?  Maybe willful violation of treaties, which are considered the law of the land?  Or assumption of duties contravened in the Constitution?  Or violation of the Constitution (multiple provisions)?

    Much better than one of those whacky blogs, as you say…

  24. PS – could we not post long URLs on the site?

    Either:
    (a) post HTML links (<a href=”URL“>short description</a>)  OR
    (b) Go over to TinyURL (tinyurl.com) and get a short URL made up for your link

    Thanks – long links make for bad browsing.

  25. Dead Bird, you’re just as looney as Sir Robin.  To repeat, pissing off some whack job on a blog does not constitute grounds for impeachment.  Your arrogance and egomania have reached truly insane levels, merely by bloviating you think you have established an impeachable offense beyond all reasonable doubt.
    Get a life.

  26. Voyageur: What medications are you non-compliant with…..again? What does “pissing off some whack job on the blog” have to do with the treason, high crimes and misdemeanors of this president? For all your wit and charm, I’m afraid you’re hopeless.

  27. “Amendment X: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
      It is therefore not incumbent upon me to find a “right to abortion” or a “right to homosexual marriage” in the Constitution, but for you to find a clause which allows for their restriction.”
    Just to underscore that you are a constitutional nitwit, Dead Bird, let me explain what the tenth amendment means. 
    The right to abortion is not in the constitition, nor is the federal government given the power to prohibit it.  For 200 plus years it was a “right reserved to the states.”  Roe. V. Wade strictly speaking struck down state laws on that subject — exercising a power in no way granted to the feds.  in 1973, your side was the one trying to strike down state laws against abortion, and therefore to quote the tenth amendment as your argument is like quoting the Torah to justify eating shellfish.
    You only embarrass yourself when you try to play with the big boys, Dead Bird.  Stick to blaming the U.S. for the fact that a nutcase runs Iran.

  28. Okay, I’ll admit that 11 years ago Balmer made a mistake by padding his resume, he apparently paid for that already. 

    He did something over a decade ago in another state and you’re trying to hang him for it now?  Where were you a year ago when this all came out here in Colorado two years ago?

    What are your motives, people don’t just pop off with this kind of hate for no reason.  Are you planning on running against him?  Did he vote against one of your bills or something?

  29. What the hell is with you people with your “impeach him now” crap?
    Don’t you think if there was a REAL impeachable offense done by the President, that militant wacko liberals like “Ted (hic) Kennedy the Non-Sinkable” would have him tarred and feathered by now?
    Give that shit a break. Life is too short to be obsessed with meaningless bullshit. Find something else to get an ulcer over like “why god oh why did our beloved Hick back out?”.

  30. Also when Sirrah Robin and his ilk start in with the “President Lied” to get us into Iraq crap, let’s not forget that Kerry and Kennedy spent most of 2002 ragging on Bush to do something about Saddam. He did…

  31. “Kerry and Kennedy”
    Now there is a pair I want representing me!
    I bet Sirhan Sirhan Robin idolizes those two. You can just see the snake in Kerry’s eyes and Kennedy proved what worthless pond scum he is when he let Mary Jo die without even trying to get help.
    Money is all you need to buy some liberals I guess.

  32. Why has no one stepped forward to defend the conviction rate of Bill Ritter while he served as District Attorney of Denver? Perhaps the conviction rate was so bad that it cannot be defended?

  33. How much do you want to bet?
    Jenn Veiga will work hard to make sure that Fran Coleman loses and loses big.
    Jenn for some reason does not like Gay bashing even when done by Ann Ragsdale and Fran Coleman as they both did in 2003. It did not work but just because it did not work does not make it right

  35. Sirhan Sirhan Robin!  Good one, Gecko!  Now, we know what he did that made him bravely run away!  Robin, you are simply a person wracked by mental illnesses.  I would pity you if you didn’t insist on inflicting your aimless babble and your often grotesque cut and pastes in a dialogue generally inhabited by rational soul.  But no, Congress can’t impeach the president on the unsupported word of a whack job.  Impeachment must originate in the House, so if you really have evidence, take it to Diana DeGette and let her run with it.  We both know her staff won’t let you get within a quarter mile of her with your hate-filled rantings.

  36. There’s actually another possibility, Tough on Logic.  That’s that your transparent smears are so unfounded that nobody takes you seriously.  Now, be a good boy and go back to watching internet porn, the adults are trying to have a serious discussion here.

  37. It’s wearisome, but let me point out that putting a Kennedy killers name before mine, while stating that I idolotize the Kennedy’s ranks at the top of “aimless babble”, and is neither rational or soulful. Indeed, you both are ghouls.

    A serious discussion? LOLOL You couldn’t have a substantive discussion if your life depended on it.

  38. You did it again, poor wretch.  You hopelessly mangled that last assault.  Sirhan Sirhan Robin aptly captures the fierceness of your hates and the incoherence of your expression.  Face it, Gecko’s shot hit the target dead center.

  39. In case you missed it, Sir Loin, my shot at “tough on logic” was aimed at the shill who calls himself “tough on crime,” not at you.  He’s the one who keeps launching mindless smears at Bill Ritter, then whining when no one takes him seriously.

  40. “The fierceness of my hates”….LOLOL

    You miss everything, Voyageur. Your arrows are shaped like boomerangs:-)

    Let’s discuss why Owens vetoed any meaningfull reform at health care for Coloradans.

    Let’s discuss why “Big Oil” while making record profits are millions of dollars in arrears paying their fees for drilling on public lands.

    Let’s discuss how science is being ignored so that the GOP base can manipulate public opinion on the wedge issues.

    Let’s discuss the lies of this administration. And, by the way, if any Democrats get swept up in the corruption scandals, let’s vote them out as well.

    You can’t handle the truth.

  42. From DailyKos.com: (By the way Voyeur…you heartless souless ghoul….you have NOTHING!)

    The blood they bleed is the blood of heroes.  The men and women of our armed forces put their lives on the line for this country, and in doing so they earn our lifelong respect.  Democrats realize that as a nation, we are indebted to those who are willing to die in its name.  Republicans, on the other hand, don’t understand the concept of being indebted to a soldier’s sacrifice. Indebted to lobbyists for filling their campaign coffers? They understand that perfectly. Indebted to the families of those who return from battle in coffins? Never.

    The President’s 2007 Budget boasts a 7% increase in defense spending, with billions poured into military operations overseas and programs here at home. You would assume that this President who prides himself on being a “War President” would take care of the thousands of men and women who fight that war for him, under his command.  Instead, this Commander-in-Thief has sneaked in when the world is distracted by the faux outrage over funeral politics and the latest propaganda du jour, and he has robbed our heroes of what they earned the second they put on a United States uniform.  Bush’s defense budget proves that there isn’t a yellow ribbon big enough to cover the huge, gaping wound that will form as a result of his cuts in troop benefits.

  43. “Wild eyed liberals”, “Sirhan Sirhan Robin”, “Sir Loin”, “Heartless Souless Ghoul”….

    The entertainment value of this site never fails..keep posting people!!!!

  44. “Wild eyed liberals”, “Sirhan Sirhan Robin”, “Sir Loin”, “Heartless Souless Ghoul”….

    The entertainment value of this site never fails..keep posting people!!!!

  45. Voyageur – you know very well that Roe was decided on privacy/control of one’s own body grounds.  You also know that you ignored the second part of my post on the 14th Amendment – you know, the one that says that rights are protected from the States as well as the Federal governemtn…  (posted something similar yesterday and got rejected as spam)

  46. I know, Dead Bird, that only you would be stupid enough to try to find a justification for Roe vs Wade in the 10th Amendment, which is in the constitution to specifically underscore the state rights that Roe  vitiated. And, in fact, if Roe was overturned, it would not outlaw abortion, only let 50 states handle the matter as they choose.  There’s no way to be polite about it, boy, that was just a stupid argument. Stick with rotating hate screeds about the president with Sir Robin.  Constitutional law is way, way, over your head.  In the unlikely event you do decide to do 5 minutes research before next making a complete idiot out of yourself, let me give one one hint:  Griswold.
    And before you ask, no, he’s not a character on the Simpsons.  She’s not even a he.

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