If you are not yet registered, you still have time. The last day to register to vote in Colorado is October 6th. If you are not sure about your status, you can verify your voter registration information online. It will take you less than 5 minutes.

If you have not requested your Mail In Ballot, do so now. We are trying to get as many voting by mail-in ballot as possible to avoid the electronic voting machine problems. You can avoid the long lines, the cold weather, and the grumpy voters by sitting at home taking your time to cast your votes.

You can print off the Colorado Mail-In Ballot Application, fill it out, sign it and mail, fax or email it as a PDF to your County Clerk’s office no later than Tuesday, October 28, 2008. However, don’t wait that long, the election is November 4, 2008 so the sooner the better! It is strongly advised that instead of requesting a mail-in ballot so late you instead go to one of the early voting locations in your county and cast your vote.

If you are a first time voter and you register by mail to vote in the State of Colorado, you are required to submit with your application one of the following forms of identification when you return your Mail-In Ballot Application. DO NOT include original documents with the application. Please submit a copy of one of the following forms of identification:

I haven't been around in much the past few days so I'm not sure if this has been posted. Even if it has, it's great to watch again. This took place on Monday in Denver.

Oh, a side note, Bob "Big Oil" Schaffer is sitting right there in the front row, the 40ish man with glass in the suit sitting between two older men, one in a white shirt the other in a suit.

Schaffer, who is currently running for Colorado's Senate seat, is one of Colorado's former Congressman who went to bed with Bush and the oilmen, left after his term and went straight to work for Aspect Energy, one of the first U.S. companies to get oil and gas contracts from the KRG; Schaffer is also under investigation for his role in that. In fact, his campaign is financed almost entirely by the oil companies.

Mark Undall, one Colorado's current Congressman is also running for that Senate seat. 

WASHINGTON — With six months left in office, the Bush administration moved Tuesday to accelerate oil-shale development across the Rocky Mountain West.

Shale deposits in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming could provide 800 billion barrels of oil, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said, enough to meet U.S. demand at current levels "for 110 years."

"We need to be doing more to develop our own energy here at home," Kempthorne said. "Public lands have a significant role to play in meeting our domestic energy needs."

Tuesday's release of draft rules for shale exploration by the Bureau of Land Management was the latest shot in the growing battle of politicians pointing fingers over $4-per-gallon gas and oil as high as $147 per barrel.

Oil shale, along with drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is part of the solution, Republicans say.

Democrats counter that none of those actions would lower energy costs in the short term and that more must be done to develop alternative energy. In the case of shale, some argue, too many uncertainties exist to move forward aggressively.

"The administration is trying to set the stage for a last-minute fire sale of commercial oil-shale leases in western Colorado, despite the fact that we are still years away from knowing if the technologies for developing oil shale on a commercial scale are even viable," said Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar.

In a conference call with reporters, Kempthorne said it would be 2015 before shale development produced oil. Even so, he said, that could affect gas prices by signaling to the futures market that the U.S. is ramping up domestic production.

For now, the Interior Department is limited in what it can do. Language inserted in a spending bill by Salazar bars the department from issuing final rules on oil-shale development. That moratorium expires Oct. 1. Kempthorne and Republicans want to prevent Salazar from extending that through 2009.

Kempthorne said he plans to move swiftly if given an opening.

Issuing the preliminary regulations started the clock on the final regulations, which could be published in about two months if the moratorium dies.

Environmental groups that oppose oil-shale development said the 235- page BLM document with preliminary rules is unnecessary. In it, the BLM states that "currently, there is no oil-shale industry and the oil-shale extractive technology is still in its rudimentary stages."

Bob Schaffer is the Republican opponent to Democrat Mark Udall in Colorado's political race for Wayne Allard's U.S. Senate Seat. Today, Huffington Post published some fact finding by Sam Stein that indicates Bob Schaffer's oil interests in Iraq may not have served U.S. interests in Iraq.

This story is a good indication that if elected Bob Schaffer wouldn't serve the interests of people in Colorado and the United States either. 

But I know what she is saying...

"Now I've had countless conversations since the end of my campaign," she began. "And I know how difficult it is for people who have invested their time, energy and emotion -- just their entire being -- into any campaign or cause. ... When it is over, I know how difficult that is ... how challenging it is to turn on a dime. It is a process. It does take time for people to take a deep breath, to go forward. ... But anyone who voted for me has so much in common with those who voted for Barack. ... It is critical that we join forces. The Democratic Party is a family -- sometimes a dysfunctional family -- but it is a family. We care about what is going to happen to health care [and education], and in Afghanistan in Iraq. ... That work cannot be done if we do not have a Democratic president in the White House!"

As she wrapped up her remarks and began to introduce Obama, Clinton said, "this is the man -- this is the one -- we should be voting for. ... Do it for your children. Do it for your jobs. Do it for the education of future generations."

 A Rested Clinton Tells NYC Women Obama "Is The One"

For those that may not have heard there is a new partybuilder blog site at http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/PartyBuilderBloggers.

The purpose of this Party Builder Group is to “Build” our party and get as many Democrats elected as we can this year. Yes, the group is moderated and yes, each person has control over their own blog in that you have the option to delete offensive replies.  In addition, you can find a group from your town or city to hook up with to work on your State and Local races.

If you would like to help promote your Democratic Candidates then come on over and really, help to “Build” the Democratic Party. Many have already joined and there's room for many more.

DEMOCRATS 08 AND BEYOND! 

 Register to vote, and send Voltage to play at the Democratic National Convention.  We have songs that are perfect for the event already written, and I am already the number one democrat at the DNC.

For those that may not have heard there is a new partybuilder blog site at http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/PartyBuilderBloggers.

The purpose of this Party Builder Group is to “Build” our party and get as many Democrats elected as we can this year. Yes, the group is moderated and yes, each person has control over their own blog in that you have the option to delete offensive replies.  In addition, you can find a group from your town or city to hook up with to work on your State and Local races.

If you would like to help promote your Democratic Candidates then come on over and really, help to “Build” the Democratic Party. Many have already joined and there's room for many more.

This week the Senate Republicans stopped a Democratic proposal that would have hit the big oil companies with a windfall profits tax and taken away billions of dollars in tax breaks.  Their reasoning was it would punish Big Oil, making them angry and causing them to increase gas prices.  The energy package would have imposed a 25% tax on any “unreasonable” profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies and rescind 17 Billion Dollars in tax breaks. Together they made 36 Billion Dollars during January, February and March of 2008.

Republican Bob Schaffer, a former Colorado U.S. Congressman who helped give many of those tax breaks to Big Oil is now running for the retiring U.S. Senator Wayne Allard’s Senate seat.  In fact, Bob Schaffer has now taken over $190,000 from Big Oil and gas companies just for this election to help him gain that seat. This is the third of the Bob “Big Oil” Schaffer series.

Even if you don’t read the article, watch these three very short and to the point you tubes on Big Oil Bob Schaffer and Big Oil Bob and one more Why Spoil Beauty?

Denver: With Vice-President Dick Cheney due to arrive in Colorado tomorrow for a fundraiser for Bob Schaffer, ProgressNowAction launched a multimedia campaign to raise public awareness of Schaffer's personal ties to big oil and war profiteering. The group called on Schaffer to immediately disclose how much he and his oil company are making from an oil contract Schaffer lobbied for in Iraq.

 

Mark Udall and Barack Obama have the political experience to bring about a comprehensive energy strategy for Colorado and the United States.

Recently, Coloradopols.com posted a discussion about a voting realignment in Colorado.  Maybe November's election will make Colorado a blue state.

Kathleen Sebelius, the Governor of Kansas, promoted Kansas as a leader in renewable energy at the American Wind Energy Association's Wind Power 2008 Conference.  In her remarks at the conference, she cited a poll by Land Institute which showed 3 out of 4 Kansans want a comprehensive energy strategy.

 In Colorado, Ken Salazar advocates renewable energy investment as a means for Americans to achieve independence.  He thinks that tax incentives are the answer.

Wayne Allard will be vacating his U.S. Senate Seat.  Mark Udall is the Democratic candidate for that position.

www.barackobama.org links to a new website called fightthesmears.com.

Also, one of my friends at democrats.org, Claudia in California or CJ, posted that she was leaving PartyBuilder.  I think it was her that said FemDemo was kicked off the PartyBuilder site.  Another friend, Lincoln Park Dem, posted some smears against McCain that I thought were informative. 

This part two of Republican Bob Schaffer's involments with big oil.

Again another great You Tube on Bob “Big Oil” Schaffer

Denver: ProgressNowAction delivered an oversized check for $33,000,000,000 (33 billion) from Big Oil made payable to Bob Schaffer at the home in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado where President Bush is due to arrive later today for an exclusive fundraiser.

"George Bush and Bob Schaffer are for a government of Big Oil, by Big Oil, for Big Oil," stated Michael Huttner, Executive Director of ProgressNowAction at the press conference today.  "Big Oil's check for 33 billion dollars to Bob Schaffer represents the amount of tax breaks for big oil that Schaffer voted for while in Congress."

As a Congressman, Schaffer voted for over $33 billion in tax breaks for Big Oil (HR 4, vote 320, 8/2/2001)

"Thanks to George Bush and Bob Schaffer we've had skyrocketing gas prices and record profits for oil companies," stated Huttner.  The people of Colorado have had enough of lawmakers, like Schaffer, who are in the backpocket of the oil industry."