The Democracy Corps-Third Way survey released Monday finds that by a 10-point margin — 51 percent to 41 percent — Americans think the standing of the United States has dropped during the first 13 months of Mr. Obama’s presidency

Why did you answer this way?

WWW.COLORADO.GOV/GOVERNOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2010

CONTACTS

Evan Dreyer, Governor’s Office, 720.350.8370, evan.dreyer@state.co.us

Mark Stutz, Xcel Energy, 303.294.2300, mark.stutz@xcelenergy.com

GOV. RITTER, XCEL & COALITION ANNOUNCE ENERGY PLAN

Proposal seeks to cut air pollution and create jobs in homegrown energy sector

Gov. Bill Ritter, Xcel Energy and a coalition of lawmakers, energy companies and environmentalists announced agreement today on legislation that will lead the nation in cutting air pollution, creating jobs and increasing the use of cleaner energy sources.

The proposed Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act would require Xcel Energy to sharply reduce pollutants by retiring, retrofitting or repowering Front Range coal-fired power plants by the end of 2017 and replacing them with facilities fueled by natural gas and other lower- or non-emitting energy sources.

“Colorado’s New Energy Economy is already leading the country toward a cleaner and more secure energy future,” Gov. Ritter said. “This proposal will keep Colorado at the forefront of America’s energy revolution. It will protect consumers, clean our air and protect public health, and create new jobs by increasing demand for Colorado-produced natural gas.”

The Governor thanked Xcel Energy for its national leadership and for partnering with Colorado to create a more diverse and secure energy portfolio and to protect the state’s environment. Gov. Ritter said he hopes the proposal is supported by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Under the proposal, Xcel Energy would work with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to submit plans by Aug. 15 to the state Public Utilities Commissions to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions at coal plants by up to 80 percent over the next eight years, likely sooner. Xcel is Colorado’s largest utility, serving more than 1.1 million residential customers.

Xcel Energy’s plan would include an evaluation of retiring or retrofitting 900 megawatts of coal-fired capacity at metro-area power plants, giving primary consideration to replacing or repowering those plants with natural gas and other lower-emitting resources.

“Xcel Energy supports proposed legislation to establish a comprehensive process for addressing more stringent current and future federal Clean Air Act requirements,” said David Eves, president and CEO for Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company. “The company is optimistic that any final legislative proposal would focus on meeting these requirements in a fashion that is cost-effective for consumers and ensures ongoing system reliability. We look forward to working with the Governor’s Office and the General Assembly to develop the framework that will help us to meet these goals.”

State Sen. Bruce Whitehead, who will be a sponsor of the legislation in the Senate: “This is a perfect example of how we in Colorado build broad coalitions to solve our biggest challenges. We once again are demonstrating to the rest of the country how to increase economic, energy and environmental security.”

Rep. Judy Solano, a House sponsor: “One of my top priorities is creating jobs in Colorado’s nationally recognized clean energy economy. This groundbreaking proposal will help ensure stable, reliable and affordable energy for the people and businesses of our state.”

Martha Rudolph, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: “The proposed Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act would protect the health of Coloradans by significantly reducing many harmful air pollutants, including those that contribute to the formation of ozone, and improve visibility conditions in our most pristine parks and wilderness areas. Utilizing the cleaner-burning home-grown energy in this proposal would help Colorado make significant progress toward meeting federal Clean Air Act requirements.”

Colorado Energy & Air Quality Facts

Colorado has the third-largest reserves of natural gas and is the seventh-largest producer of natural gas, with more than 41,000 active oil and gas wells.

Colorado’s population is expected to double to 10 million people over the next 40 years.

Even as the Governor’s Energy Office helps home- and business-owners save money and energy through efficiency and conservation measures, Colorado still will need an estimated 2-4 gigawatts of additional electricity by 2020 to keep pace with population growth and other demands. Colorado currently consumes 11 GW of electricity during peak summertime load periods.

Natural gas can play a key role as a cleaner-burning source of baseload electricity generation, which also will support increased use of wind and solar as a major source of power.

Reducing regional haze is a national visibility goal in the federal Clean Air Act meant to restore vistas in certain wilderness areas and national parks to natural levels.

Regional haze comes from numerous sources, including in-state power plants, and it impairs visibility in Colorado’s wilderness areas and national parks.

Colorado is working aggressively on its Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) with the U.S. EPA and other stakeholder groups.

The SIP will include strategies for air quality monitoring, for reducing emissions from major stationary sources that are impairing visibility and for tracking progress.

The Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs proposal will help Colorado meet its goals under the Regional Haze SIP by using cleaner-burning homegrown energy.

Reducing nitrogen oxide also will help protect and improve ecosystem health in Colorado’s high alpine environments, especially in Rocky Mountain National Park where nitrogen oxide emissions are currently contributing to ecosystem degradation.

I’m sorry, what the…?

More in a bit…

from the OUA’s website:

The fundamental shift to a more urban and metropolitan society — across the globe — demands a new Federal vision that recognizes metropolitan areas as dynamic engines that drive the nation’s economy and a new  Federal  policy that capitalizes on their economic, social, physical and human assets, for the benefit of all.

The inaugural British Tea Party will take place on Saturday in my home town of Brighton, and I’ll be speaking. Do try to come: here are the details.

Read the article at the Telegraph

from Daniel Hannan

For the sake of being fair, this power should not be given to anyone, not a extreme conservative all the way though the Nolan Chart to the extreme statist. I hate that Bush secured so much overreaching power with the Patriot Act, much of it unconstitutional. This bill, I fear, is yet another attempt for more power of our everyday lives.

I do also fear what China, Russia, Iran and others, but do we give up more freedoms for possible attacks on our infrastructure? I want to see a solution that will keep the bad guys out, and for the Government to leave it’s citizens alone.

The president would have the power to safeguard essential federal and private Web resources under draft Senate cybersecurity legislation.

According to an aide familiar with the proposal, the bill includes a mandate for federal agencies to prepare emergency response plans in the event of a massive, nationwide cyberattack.

The president would then have the ability to initiate those network contingency plans to ensure key federal or private services did not go offline during a cyberattack of unprecedented scope, the aide said.

Read entire article… at The Hill

PJTV has some thoughts on this in their National Security Review:

Wake-Up Crash: Why A Cyber Pearl Harbor Might Help Us Before It’s Too Late

http://www.pjtv.com/v/3158

Morning Session

Afternoon Session

CSPAN’s coverage of the GOP’s press breifing

CSPAN’s coverage of the Dem’s press breifing

Opinions pieces:

http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=2064

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/02/26/summit-strategems/

Obama Shows Testy Side at Health Care Summit fox news

Who Won the Health Care Summit – Politics – The Atlantic

Why This Health-Care Summit Won‘t Be a Game Changer – The Gaggle …

Echoing GOP, conservative media declare GOP the winner of health …‎ -

The Summit that Wasn?t?An Opportunity Squandered‎ -

Health care summit underscores divisions

(CNSNews.com) — More than 300 U.S. soldiers have died in  the war in Afghanistan since May 15, 2009, the day when the first major wave of new troops ordered by President Barack Obama arrived in the country.

The 308 U.S. casualties in Afghanistan since then account for about a third of the total of 920 U.S. casualties in the eight-year war.

Of the 308 soldiers who have died since mid-May 2009, 287 were killed by enemy action, according to a CNSNews.com database of all casualties in the Afghanistan theatre of war.

The southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar located along the Afghan border with Pakistan have been the deadliest regions for U.S. soldiers since President Obama’s escalation in U.S. forces in the region began.

Approximately 81 U.S. soldiers have died in combat in Helmand and 58 in Kandahar, for a total of 139 in those two provinces.  That is about 45 percent of the U.S. casualties in Afghanistan since May 15 of last year.

Read entire article

Van Jones, the environmental justice advocate who relinquished his post as a White House adviser five months ago after coming under fire from conservative activists, is reemerging on the public policy stage to push for green jobs.

In his first interview since stepping down as President Obama’s environmental adviser on Sept. 5, Jones said that a green jobs policy represents the best chance of both aiding poor Americans and bridging the political divide.

“When the food fight is over, there’s one spot of clean common ground in American politics, and that is the need for us to be leading on energy, clean energy, and for us as a country to be more secure with all those jobs,” Jones said Tuesday.

Jones, who has been consulting for companies and nonprofits on environmental issues, will start teaching at Princeton University in June and is rejoining the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, next month. On Friday, he will receive the NAACP’s President’s Award, for achievement in public service, the organization announced Tuesday.

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022304889.html?wpisrc=nl_fed