Thursday, January 28, 2016
Temporary lane configurations, restrictions on US 36 over weekend
Playing with snow indoors relieves cooped-up energy
High Court to Planned Parenthood shooting judge: Explain yourself
The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered a judge to explain why he's keeping certain records in the Planned Parenthood shooting case secret. The High Court gave El Paso District Court Judge Gilbert Martinez until Feb. 16 to answer in writing.
The ruling comes after more than two dozen media outlets signed a petition asking the Supreme Court to get involved.
The news organizations want to see affidavits of probable cause in the case, which could offer new details about the accused gunman and his actions. But those records are under seal by Judge Martinez, and when media asked the judge to unseal them he declined, saying it would be "contrary to public interest." Under Colorado's open records laws, law enforcement and court officers often get to decide what's in the public's interest when asked for records and documents.
From the blog of Jeffrey Roberts, director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition:
The media consortium, in the petition it filed on Jan. 15, argued that Martinez’ order could keep the affidavits secret for more than a year, which would “deprive the public of knowing the most basic facts of what prompted government authorities to arrest Dear, to search his residence, and to file (a) 179-count criminal complaint.”
About 25 outlets and media groups had earlier asked Martinez in an official court motion to unseal the records.
They want those records because law enforcement officials haven't provided detailed information about what exactly happened on Black Friday when Robert Dear, 57, gunned down three people and barricaded himself in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs for five hours before succumbing to police. Media hope examining documents in the case could help uncover new details for the public.
But Judge Martinez rejected that motion, and so the media consortium went over his head to the State Supreme Court, arguing the judge was in violation of the U.S. and Colorado Constitutions. Both constitutions give the public a presumed right of access to records and documents after someone in Colorado has been formally charged with a crime.
In December, Dear made several outbursts in court, shouting that he is guilty and calling himself a "warrior for the babies."
The latest news in the case came earlier this month when the unkept, wild-eyed inmate made a jailhouse phone call to a Denver TV station and told them, among other things, that he thought the FBI had been breaking into his mobile home in Hartsel and cutting holes in his clothes. The FBI declined to comment, citing a gag order.
Dear is currently awaiting a mental health evaluation, which could take months.
According to the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, the media groups involved include in-state and national outlets such as ABC, The Associated Press, CNN, CBS, KCNC-TV, The Colorado Springs Independent, The Denver Post, Dow Jones, First Look Media, Fox News, Gannett, The Gazette, KDVR-TV, KMGH-TV, KRDO-TV, KTTV-TV, KUSA-TV, KWGN-TV, NBC Universal, The New York Times, Rocky Mountain PBS, E.W Scripps, TEGNA, Tribune Media and The Washington Post.
[Photo credit: Brian Turner via Flickr]
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Descriptomatic Review and Bonus
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via YouTube http://youtu.be/a7mj-QC5sN0
ReClick Review and Bonus
Get it + our bonuses here: http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/get_info/ See it on my blog: http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/reclick/ Hey guys, thanks for watching my Reclick Review. I really loved this software because it's rare to see something of this quality at such a low price. ReClick is coming out on the 1st of February at 11am US EST. To pick it up at the best price, make sure that you come back to this link right on 11am. Remember that the ReClick Bonus is only available through my link below: Get it + my bonuses here: You can find me at my site: http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/reclick/ Connect with me on FB: http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/ccnfacebook/ Follow me on Twitter: http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/ccntwit/ Tags: Reclick Reclick review Reclick bonus Reclick scam Reclick demo
via YouTube http://youtu.be/f0FaBhNTX_I
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Monday, January 25, 2016
Guv bashes Colorado Care, shocking fellow Dems
ColoradoCare, the November ballot measure that seeks to set up a single-payer health care system in Colorado, recently got a thumbs-down from Gov. John Hickenlooper. His comments indicate the $25 billion proposal is causing an inter-party squabble with fellow Democrats who back the measure.
Hickenlooper talked about ColoradoCare at a Jan. 6 meeting hosted by the Colorado Forum. But his remarks came to light only this week, because reporters who attempted to cover the governor’s speech were kicked out of the meeting.
Complete Colorado, a conservative online news organization, filed an open records request to get the governor’s comments, and released them yesterday, along with the complete audio recording.
“I can’t imagine there’s any chance that [ColoradoCare] will pass,” Hickenlooper told the audience. “But I can tell you there are a couple [of] large health care related companies that are looking at moving their headquarters here, and they saw that, that that’s going to be on the ballot, and, and they paused.”
Hickenlooper’s remarks came as a surprise to Sen. Irene Aguilar, D-Denver, the “force behind the creation of ColoradoCare,” according to the measure’s website. She told The Colorado Independent today that her understanding was that the governor would stay neutral on the issue.
Aguilar added that she plans to speak to the governor’s staff about his comments.
Hickenlooper’s remarks were cheered by Tony Gagliardi, who heads the Colorado chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business. “We’re pleased to see the governor come out publicly against this,” he told The Independent. The cost, estimated at $25 billion, is more than the size of the entire state government, Gagliardi noted.
“We congratulate the governor for standing up and saying ‘no, this isn’t in the best interests of Coloradans,’” Gagliardi said.
This afternoon, Hickenlooper issued a statement through a spokesperson that said the state had made great strides in expanding access to affordable, quality health care. Reforms are "just beginning to bear fruit, and it would be premature to dramatically remake our health care system at this time."
"While we do not support this proposal, we respect the motives of those behind it," Hickenlooper said.
Photo credit: takomabibelot, Creative Commons, Flickr.
People’s Fair adds DeLutes to arts efforts #peoplesfair
The Capitol Hill People’s Fair is excited to announce a new collaboration for the 2016 festival with the Denver Arts Festival (formerly the Downtown Denver Arts Festival). The People’s Fair and Jim DeLutes, director of the DAF, will collaborate… Continue Reading
The post People's Fair adds DeLutes to arts efforts #peoplesfair appeared first on thecherrycreeknews.com.
Syrian Peace talks to start this week
North Denver News - The Voice for the New North Denver
The long delayed intra-Syrian peace talks will start at the end of the week on January 29 and invitations will be sent out on Tuesday; the talks, jump-started by the progress and threat of ISIS.
Government backers of different opposition groups have stalemated the talks so far because of their opinions as to who should and who should not be allowed to come to Geneva. U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura says he wants to get the negotiations off on the right foot, so he will not divulge the names of the people on the invitation list.
But, he notes the Security Council considers Islamic State and the Al Nusra Front as terrorist organizations, so they will not be invited. Otherwise, he says the invitations will be broadly based on the principle of inclusiveness. He says women and civil society members, who have been largely absent from previous Syrian peace negotiations, will be present in large numbers.
Agenda
He says the agenda will include discussions of new governance, a new constitution and new elections. But, he says the first priority of the talks will be to achieve a broad cease-fire and to stop the threat posed by IS, also known as ISIL.
“The suspension of fighting regarding ISIL in particular and Al Nusra is not on the table. But, there is plenty of other suspensions of fighting that can take place,” he said.
De Mistura says the talks will begin without preconditions. He says the parties will not be meeting face to face, so he is aiming for proximity talks. He expects to be involved in a lot of shuttling among the different delegations until direct talks can begin.
Six month timeline
He says the negotiations will go on for six months in what he calls a staggered, chronological, proximity approach.
“That will be the way we try to make it different from the past. This is not Geneva three. This is leading to what we hope will be a Geneva success story, if we are able to push it forward,” he said,
U.N. mediator de Mistura says the first round of talks will last between two and three weeks. He says he expects the process to be an uphill battle, with a lot of posturing and many “walk-ins” and “walk-outs” by the participants.
He says the main obstacles to achieving a peace agreement are lack of trust and lack of political will.
Speaking during a visit to Laos Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry said it is better to wait a few days to open talks and properly set up the process rather than have it fall apart on the first day.
"What we are trying to do is make sure that we are absolutely certain that when they [the talks] start, everybody is clear about roles and what's happening, so that you don't go there and wind up with a question mark or a failure," Kerry said.
Opposition groups
He reiterated U.S. support for the opposition, following comments from opposition officials who said they felt like they were being pressured into the talks.
"The position of the United States is and hasn't changed," Kerry said. "We are still supporting the opposition, politically, financially and militarily."
He also said it is ultimately up to the Syrian parties to decide the future of their country, including the role of President Bashar al-Assad.
"I told them you have a veto, and so does he and so you're going to have to decide how to move forward," he said.
Kerry also downplayed comments from the Syrian government indicating it would not bend on its positions heading into the talks.
The U.N. has twice before tried to broker an agreement for Syria, but that attempt at peace ended two years ago with little progress.
The post Syrian Peace talks to start this week was first published by North Denver News
Home stretch for the Iowa Caucuses
For months, the candidates who want to be the next U.S. president have been campaigning and debating as they try to convince voters that no one is better suited for the job. A week from Monday, voters in Iowa will… Continue Reading
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ISIS releases video showing #Paris terrorists
The Islamic State group has released a video that apparently shows nine militants who took part in the terror attacks in Paris beheading and killing prisoners in Iraq and Syria. It features shots from the November attacks, calling the men… Continue Reading
The post ISIS releases video showing #Paris terrorists appeared first on thecherrycreeknews.com.
Colorado high school dropout rates rise for first time in nearly a decade
A rise in the number of high school dropouts has the Colorado Department of Education scrambling for solutions.
High school dropout rates have increased slightly for the first time in eight years, the Colorado Department of Education reports.
Statewide, public schools saw 586 more students drop out in 2014-2015 than in the previous school year, a 0.1 percentage point increase. The dropout rate for students in grades seven through 12 is currently 2.5 percent.
It may seem like a small increase, but the CDE is paying attention. “The department is concerned about the small increase in the dropout rate,” Gretchen Morgan, interim associate commissioner of innovation, choice and engagement at the CDE, said in a statement.
“We know that earning a diploma or GED can have life-long impact on young people,” Morgan added. “We think there are important lessons to be learned from schools and districts who continue to reduce dropout rates this year. Now that the data is released, we will shift our focus to learning about those programs.”
The slight change has not yet manifested in the overall on-time graduation rate, which remains at 77.3 percent. This rate is significantly higher for female students than for males (81.2 versus 73.6 percent). On-time graduation rates for minority students have risen 1.1 percentage points over the past year.
Morgan says that the state’s insistence on giving students more time has been good for overall graduation rates. “This year, as in past years, there are significant increases in graduation rates when we include students who graduate in their fifth-and sixth-year,” she said.
Nearly one third of all students who dropped out during the 2014 school year have reenrolled in school this year.
Said Morgan, “We continue to see value in offering additional time to students."
Photo Credit: The U.S. National Archives, Creative Commons, Flickr
National mood driving presidential race
Negativity in the moods of voters is driving the dynamics of the presidential race, according to new Monmouth poll. The starkest finding on the Republican side is that GOP voters who feel that the harsh rhetoric of politics today is justified are… Continue Reading
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Why death penalty abolitionists hit the snooze button in Colorado this year
Activists working to put a stop to Colorado's death penalty have decided not to push a legislative agenda this year. Capital punishment advocates are moving forward to make it easier for prosecutors to secure a death sentence.
One day in early December, a group of about two dozen activists, academics, lawyers, funders, and others gathered at the First Baptist Church in downtown Denver. Lawmakers were about to return to the Capitol for another year of legislative pugilism, and the meeting was set up to strategize about an issue the group had been working on for years: How to get rid of the death penalty in Colorado.
In the spring, lawmakers next door in conservative Nebraska had voted to abolish capital punishment, overriding Gov. Pete Ricketts veto, and becoming the first conservative state to do so in four decades. But a measure to thwart abolition hit Nebraska’s ballot soon after. Funded by that state’s governor and his father, the ballot measure has put the issue on hold for Nebraska voters to decide later this year.
Meanwhile, within the borders of our own square state, jurors in August decided not to sentence the killer in the Aurora theater shooting to death because they couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. Not long after, a different jury chose to give a man convicted of killing five people in Fero’s Bar and Grill in Denver life in prison instead of lethal injection. Then, in December, a gunman had shouted out in a Colorado Springs courtroom that he was guilty of slaughtering three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic, perhaps setting the stage for yet another made-for-TV death penalty trial against the backdrop of the Rockies.
In was around the time of the Colorado Springs rampage that a conservative Nebraska legislator named Colby Coash would travel to Colorado. His charge: Meet one-on-one and in groups with Republican lawmakers here to explain the success of repeal in Nebraska, and to talk about his personal Road to Damascus moment when he’d attended an execution rally outside a prison in college. On the pro-death side of the rally, he told lawmakers, he recalled a raucous bacchanal complete with fireworks, a band, and whoops and hollers as a clock counted down toward the execution. On the other side of the rally, people prayed silently and soberly in protest. That night, Coash saw an ugliness to state-sponsored execution that he didn’t want to be a part of.
In an interview, Coash told The Colorado Independent that he left his meetings with Colorado lawmakers feeling like he’d given them some new things to think about when it comes to the conservative argument for ending capital punishment.
“My hope for Colorado is that they will follow Nebraska's lead … and see the death penalty in the same way Nebraska saw the death penalty, which is a broken, inefficient government program that just doesn't need to be on the books anymore,” he said.
‘Quite divided’
By the time of their December meeting, with the legislative session just around the corner, some of the anti-death penalty allies felt the time was ripe to get behind a big push to repeal capital punishment in Colorado once and for all. If, of course, lawmakers saw an opportunity to do so this year. After all, 2016 is an election year in a split-partisan Capitol when each member of the House is up for re-election along with half the Senate.
“The group was quite divided about whether this was the right time or not,” says Stacy Anderson who runs Colorado’s anti-death penalty Better Priorities Initiative.
There were essentially three camps.
In one camp was Bob Autobee, the father of a prison guard who was killed in 2002 by an inmate already in prison for the death of his 11-month-old daughter. Autobee, a former corrections officer himself whose life unravelled after his son’s murder, originally supported the death penalty for his son’s killer, Edward Montour. But over the years, Autobee refound religion and became an ardent opponent of capital punishment. He’s forgiven the man who fatally bashed his son’s head with a giant soup ladle, and even protested outside the courthouse telling potential jurors in Montour’s case, “My son wouldn’t want the death penalty.”
Autobee doesn't want to see any time wasted in the legislature or at the ballot box. So he made his case at December’s meeting to support a repeal bill he hoped lawmakers would introduce and try to pass by the end of the legislative session this spring.
In an interview with The Colorado Independent, Autobee said he doesn't know if he has “10 good years left,” and is sick of playing the waiting game.
“My point is we've got to do it now and we've got to do it loud and hard,” he says, noting he doesn’t see the point in putting legislative efforts on hold. “We've waited too long.”
Also at that meeting was Jeremy Sheets, an exoneree who spent four years on death row in Nebraska before the Supreme Court there overturned his conviction in 2000.
He now lives in Aurora and wears a shirt almost every day urging people to talk to him about his experience as a death row survivor. He wants immediate action on abolition and was frustrated at the meeting by the presence of some who were there from out of state and were suggesting they all cool their heels a bit because one lawmaker or another isn’t ready. At the time, Sheets remembers thinking: Why are you even wasting my time asking me to come here if you're just going to try and tell me not to do anything?
“I'm kind of frustrated with what's going on— that there is really nothing much going on,” Sheets told The Independent.
His view: “We have to keep pushing to end the death penalty.”
In another camp were people like Michael Radelet, a professor at the University of Denver who studies the death penalty and takes the long view — a very long view — on abolition. The professor had earlier predicted that if Nebraska's legislature scrapped the death penalty, the issue would come right back on the 2016 presidential-election-year ballot. The chances, he believes, are good that voters in November might send abolition down in flames, setting the movement back who knows how long.
Radelet isn't one for quick fixes.
“I oppose the death penalty, and I think that to try to abolish the death penalty this year or next year would be the dumbest thing in the world for death penalty abolitionists,” he told The Independent.
At December’s meeting, Radelet made his case for putting the issue on hold this year. He believes public opinion in Colorado right now is just about split between death and life without parole. An election-year bill to repeal capital punishment, he believes, would increase the likelihood of a ballot measure aimed at keeping the death penalty in place. His concern: an effort by death penalty proponents — police and prosecutors, among others— would wage a well-funded campaign to keep capital punishment on the books at a time when the Colorado electorate has yet to reach a tipping point on abolition. Public opinion just isn't there yet for a confident win for abolitionists at the ballot box, he asserted.
Instead, Radelet would rather see Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper commute the two-and-a-half sentences for the three inmates currently on death row. Hickenlooper has already given a temporary reprieve to one, Nathan Dunlap. Fully commuting Dunlap’s sentence and those of Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray would, in effect, push forward the next scheduled execution about two decades. By then, public opinion will shift in abolition's favor, Radelet believes.
“We know the direction that public opinion is going in,” he says. “It’s going firmly against the death penalty.”
Colorado hasn’t executed anyone since 1997. The last time a jury unanimously sent someone to death was in 2008. Because of how long these cases drag out in Colorado’s justice system, some death penalty opponents argue the state already has de facto abolition.
Hickenlooper has no plans to commute sentences at this time, says his spokeswoman Kathy Green.
In the third camp at December’s meeting were those on the fence between pushing immediately for abolition and waiting until after the election year. One of them was Carla Turner who runs Coloradans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
“I feel divided,” she says about it now. “I really see the reason on both sides.”
Ultimately, some in the group left the meeting that day in December feeling ambivalent.
If a lawmaker were to introduce a repeal bill when the session started this month, they’d support it. If not, well, they'd continue their work outside the legislature, educating the public, holding forums, and generally tilling the soil of public opinion in a way they hope some day will better the conditions for their cause.
‘The opposing team is going full speed ahead’
Fast forward to this week, and no one has come forward with a repeal bill in the legislature.
Hickenlooper told reporters at the start of the session he would not support one this year, though he believes Coloradans are moving in the direction of repeal. Democratic Minority Leader Lucia Guzman said she would not sponsor a repeal bill this year even though she'll work to fight for abolition over the next few years she's in the Senate.
Over lunch on a recent Wednesday at his office across the street from the Capitol, Denver Democratic Sen. Pat Steadman said he’s disappointed in the lack of legislative effort.
“I thought we were going to do it this year, or at least make a good run at it,” he said.
But at the start of the session, legislative leaders, advocates, political consultants and funders had all circled the wagons and basically told him and others they were hitting the snooze button.
For his part, Autobee says he plans to start picketing outside the Capitol just to let the political class know he's not going anywhere.
“Every minute we waste is putting us further behind because the opposing team is going full speed ahead,” he says.
Indeed they are.
Last week, Republican Sen. Kevin Lundberg of the Loveland area dropped something of a bombshell. He introduced a bill that would make it easier for juries in Colorado to put people to death.
Currently, all 12 jurors in a death penalty case must unanimously decide on a death sentence. Lundberg’s bill, if passed, would make it so only 9 out of the 12 jurors would be enough. The move was in direct response to the recent non-unanimous jury verdicts in the Aurora theater shooting trial and the Fero’s bar killing trial over the summer, Lundberg says. Five other Republican supporters are on the bill. No Democrats currently support it.
In an interview with The Independent, Lundberg said he came up with the idea on his own and hadn’t talked to the District Attorneys Council before he filed the bill. He said he isn’t totally set on nine jurors, either. Maybe it could be 10 or 11, but no fewer than nine. He just doesn’t think one juror should poison the well in a death penalty trial.
“Part of what I’m trying to do is say ‘Let’s look at it, let’s talk about it, let’s determine what should be occurring here,’” he said. “If the policy is that the death penalty is appropriate for the worst of crimes, then a jury should not be composed of people who disagree with that basic point. And yet a juror could misrepresent their views until they get to that point, and I’m saying I don’t think one juror should skew that principle.”
Death penalty opponents were quick to point out a particular irony: It would still take a unanimous jury to convict someone for driving under the influence or for shoplifting in Colorado, but not to sentence someone to death.
Doug Wilson, the head of the State Public Defender’s Office, said he’d been expecting such a bill to drop this session. He’s not so sure it would pass constitutional muster.
“If it were to pass, they will once again jeopardize their death convictions and death verdicts as they did when we had three-judge sentencing as opposed to jury sentencing,” he said. In 1995 lawmakers changed the law so a three-judge panel could decide a death sentence, but that was deemed unconstitutional less than a decade later, and now only juries can deliver execution verdicts.
Meanwhile, in the lower chamber, Republican Rep. Kim Ransom of Douglas County told The Independent she’s considering a bill that would give prosecutors a do-over with a new jury if they fail to win a death penalty verdict with the first.
A statewide conversation
With no proposed legislation to roll back capital punishment this year, people with loud voices on the other side of the issue have been making noise.
One of them is George Brauchler.
Brauchler is the 18 Judicial District Attorney who prosecuted the Aurora theater shooting trial last year. For years, long before Brauchler took office, the 18th Judicial District had been a hub for death penalty prosecutions, something he calls a historical anomaly.
Once the Aurora theater trial ended in August and the national reporters went away, Brauchler’s profile did not diminish. In the weeks after the trial, Republicans courted him to get in the GOP primary so he could take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet who is up for re-election this year. In late September, Brauchler announced that he would pass on the U.S. Senate race, but he still remains a prominent political figure beyond his stature as a suburban prosecutor.
In December, Robert Sanchez of Denver’s 5280 magazine profiled Brauchler for a multi-page feature that called him “Colorado’s most visible proponent of capital punishment.” Among other personal details, the article examined how Brauchler’s support of the death penalty runs up against his Catholicism.
In a recent interview with The Colorado Independent, Brauchler said he did not feel Coloradans have had a substantial statewide conversation about the death penalty. This is despite two death penalty trials over the summer, and a 2014 gubernatorial race that at times seemed to revolve solely around the fate of Nathan Dunlap, the man who in 1993 murdered several people in a Chuck-E-Cheese and to whom Hickenlooper gave a temporary reprieve. Once a pro-death penalty governor, Hickenlooper has since come out against it after immersing himself in research as Dunlap’s execution date neared. In his executive order granting the Dunlap reprieve, the Governor wrote that the “Repeal of the death penalty ought to be raised with the people of Colorado and not just their elected representatives.” That’s when he called for a statewide conversation on the issue.
Nearly three years — and one re-election — later, some on both sides of the issue say that conversation hasn’t happened.
“My guess is the only person having this conversation is the guy you're talking to right now … Nobody else is having this conversation,” Brauchler said. “In what way has this conversation taken place? If it's the vote of a single juror in Aurora theater and a single juror in Fero's bar and therefore we've had a public discussion about it, that's nonsense. That's ridiculous.”
In the weeks prior to the start of the latest legislative session, Brauchler said he expected a repeal bill to come up this year. And if it did, similar to what’s happening next door in Nebraska, Brauchler said he would like voters to decide whether to keep or scrap capital punishment at the ballot box this year. That, he says, would be a real conversation.
“I'd want to participate in the information part of that and say ‘Look, here's why I think the death penalty is appropriate to have and why [in] Colorado— unlike maybe Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and others— we use it the right way,” he said. “I mean, we don't drag it out for murders of one in most cases. We don't drag it out for routine murders.”
On the other side of Brauchler on the death penalty debate is Doug Wilson, who runs the State Public Defender’s Office and oversees the attorneys who represented Aurora theater shooter James Holmes and now the admitted Planned Parenthood shooter, Robert Dear. Lately, Wilson and Brauchler have been locking horns, sniping at each other in the press and on social media, largely about one key aspect of any informed conversation about the death penalty— how much it’s costing Colorado taxpayers.
In response to dozens of open records requests from media, Wilson’s office has released an aggregate figure showing how much it spent on capital cases— $6.3 million on 10 cases since 2002— but didn’t break them down by case. Wilson says he’s ethically bound not to divulge information about particular cases. Brauchler says that seems “silly.” But the two agree on one thing: The public has no idea how much Colorado taxpayers spend on trying to carry out capital punishment — and not enough people are talking about it.
To find out the true costs of the death penalty in Colorado will likely take a lot of open records requests, perhaps even a lawsuit. But there could be another way.
Wilson says he’d like to see lawmakers this session convene a legislative hearing. That process could happen formally or informally. It could come in the form of an existing committee or a new select committee set up by leadership specifically to deal with this issue. Committee members could invite all the stakeholders to the table: prosecutors, public defenders, agency employees from the departments of Corrections, Human Resources, Public Safety and others, staffers from the attorney general’s office, local law enforcement, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, members of the judicial department — whoever. They could bring in every government entity involved in dealing with death penalty cases (or just a specific case) to ask about particular costs.
In Colorado, committees can obtain subpoena power and can put people under oath, but it’s not necessarily easy and is rarely done. To issue a subpoena for someone to testify before a committee would require approval from the General Assembly.
‘Live From Death Row’
Whether such a committee will convene in the absence of a death penalty repeal bill this year remains to be seen, though some in the abolition movement are pushing for it. In the meantime, they plan to keep a conversation going as best they can.
Carla Turner, who directs Coloradans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, a nonprofit educational campaign, is working with the Better Priorities Initiative, which is dedicated to ending capital punishment, on a string of public forums beginning next month.
In February, the groups will kick off a ‘State of the Death Penalty’ lecture series on the third Wednesday of each month when they’ll talk about combating bad legislation, work on figuring out how to uncover the hidden costs of capital punishment in Colorado, and the possibility of pushing for a statewide commission or task force on the issue.
In March, the groups are planning an event called ‘Live From Death Row’ in partnership with the Jesuit Regis University. A panel of experts will give a presentation along with family members of murder victims, and they hope to schedule a call-in from a death row inmate, though not from Colorado.
For Radelet, the University of Denver professor, more education on the issue and no executions scheduled for the near term is the best hope for abolition.
“There are many kind Coloradans who think the solution is to go out tomorrow and abolish the death penalty,” he says. “And I think if we did that it would come back and bite us in the ass.”
Photo credit: Abd allah Foteih, Creative Commons, Flickr.
VIDEO STRIKE REVIEW AND BONUS
EARN YOUR BONUS: http://northdenvernews.com/video-strike-review-and-bonus-roundup/ Video Strike Pro is a new software application that makes creating top converting videos brain dead simple. And follows up by posting to them to social media for floods of buying traffic so you’re driving passive profits and building your list on autopilot. But NOTHING beats the ease of use of this one.. = Check out VIDEO Strike Pro (it’s just $14.93 during the earlybird discount – 3 hours only, hurry) What this amazing software can do : [YES] Instant Screen recording and Upload [YES] Create Slide based marketing videos [YES] Comes with 500+ Graphics elements [YES] 100s of Cartoon elements included [YES] T-Shirt Designer Built in (make videos to sell tshirts) [YES] Easiest Drag-n-Drop Interface ever… [YES] Generate HD Quality Videos [YES] Instantly Upload to Facebook and Youtube = GO SEE ALL THESE FEATURES IN ACTION (demo video) What it’s not… [NO] Complex Software [NO] Monthly or Yearly fees [NO] Expensive Cost of Purchase [NO] Learning or Training needed Also, you’ll get constant updates and improvements along with feature requests and fast responsive support. Video Software often is very expensive but the best part about this one is that its very, very affordable.
via YouTube http://youtu.be/6ATzKuK5O3M
Video Strike review and bonus roundup
North Denver News - The Voice for the New North Denver
Video Strike Pro is a new software application that makes creating top converting videos brain dead simple. And follows up by posting to them to social media for floods of buying traffic so you’re driving passive profits and building your list on autopilot.
But NOTHING beats the ease of use of this one..
=> Check out VIDEO Strike Pro
(it’s just $14.93 during the earlybird discount – 3 hours only, hurry)
What this amazing software can do :
[YES] Instant Screen recording and Upload
[YES] Create Slide based marketing videos
[YES] Comes with 500+ Graphics elements
[YES] 100s of Cartoon elements included
[YES] T-Shirt Designer Built in (make videos to sell tshirts)
[YES] Easiest Drag-n-Drop Interface ever…
[YES] Generate HD Quality Videos
[YES] Instantly Upload to Facebook and Youtube
=>> GO SEE ALL THESE FEATURES IN ACTION (demo video)
What it’s not…
[NO] Complex Software
[NO] Monthly or Yearly fees
[NO] Expensive Cost of Purchase
[NO] Learning or Training needed
Also, you’ll get constant updates and improvements along with feature requests and fast responsive support. Video Software often is very expensive but the best part about this one is that its very, very affordable.
=>> Get Your Copy for just $14.93 NOW (hurry, discount active)
This is the best video software deal you’ll ever see.
Usability, you ask?
All you need to do is..
– Login to the software
– Create your slides and add graphics by choosing
among the thousands they provide, complete with
drag-and-drop support.
– Use the presentations for webinars, sales
videos, training videos or to promote affiliate
products.
huge share of the video market with zero extra effort and without wasting hours editing your Powerpoint
slides.In fact, Video Strike is most affordable Video Maker + Screen Recorder ever created…
PLUS it doesn't even matter which niche you're in, if you use videos in any way in your marketing or if
you want to finally make a financial killing by crushing your competition with the best presentations in
the marketplace – then Video Strike is made FOR YOU!
The post Video Strike review and bonus roundup was first published by North Denver News
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Social Connect Review and Bonus wrap-up UPDATED
Alrighty, then. What is the buzz on Sam Bakker‘s Social Connect and what are the bonuses… Here's a quick rundown: So just what is Social Connect? In short, it is a full-featured comment system designed to create engagement and capture commenters to build… Continue Reading
The post Social Connect Review and Bonus wrap-up UPDATED appeared first on thecherrycreeknews.com.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Social Connect review and bonus bro-fest
North Denver News - The Voice for the New North Denver
Alrighty, then. What is the buzz on Sam Bakker‘s Social Connect and what are the bonuses…
Here's a quick rundown:
So just what is Social Connect? In short, it is a full-featured comment system designed to create engagement and capture commenters to build a list and remarket to. At first blush, that may not be as wow as many internet marketing products it does actually provide many competitive advantages to users, and really plows a virgin furrow.
Web publishers use comments nearly universally as they are a the easiest means to not only get feedback but also to engage with site visitors. They are ubiquitous, built into WordPress and every other CMS systems, and almost all Web 2.0s. Comments are common on sales pages, squeeze pages and even on promotional pages such as bonus pages or review pages. But challenges exist with the way many people choose to integrate comments. Most of these issues are caused by the fact that sites use a general purpose commenting system, like the native WordPress platform or the Facebook comments widget.
Into the gap steps Social Connect. What if there was a way to turn comments into super
profitable leads for your business? What if there was a way to build massive social proof and
sell lots of products with comments?
Everyone knows how powerful it is to build social proof around your products or services. Amazon does this with their reviews… Forums and blogs do it with their comments… Social Connect can build more social proof and communities for your visitors to get more sales and higher conversions:
Here's Brett Rutecky's take:
The first thing I noticed is that the social log in buttons only show on the sign up page, not on the registration page. I think it makes sense to have them on both pages if they are enabled. Second I wish that people who make comments where able to edit their comments later. As it currently is they can only delete them, not edit them. Finally I noticed that the system will show the number of people who are ‘online’. It gets this number from the people who are logged in. What this means is that if people just leave the page, without logging out, the system will still show them as being online. In a way this might be a good thing since it makes it look like your comment box is always active, however I wish there was some kind of automatic inactivity timeout that logs people off and removes them from the list of people online automatically.
Neither of these things are bugs though, they are more like suggestions for improvement. Overall I think Social Connect is a very good system with a lot of options and functionality. While it may not have the ‘hype appeal’ of some push button get rich quick products (that are often nonsense) it is in fact what a good software should be. It's a functional tool and frankly its just a better, more engaging way to use comments, while also building your email list.
Early Bird Bonus #9: Blog Theme Generator
Instantly BOOST The Profits Of Your Niche Blogs With Your Own Exclusive,
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- STOP Losing Visitors And Search Engine Ranking Through Third Party Themes
- Instantly Customize Existing Themes
- Quick And Easy Photo Cropping, Theme Creation & Customization
Early Bird Bonus #10: WP Email Countdown Plugin
A Powerful And Crazy Profitable WordPress Plugin That Allows You To Inject Scarcity In Your Emails With Effective Countdown Timers That Will Make People Do Your Bidding And Generate RESULTS For You!
- It's easy to install and to run
- Several useful customization options; you can modify and customize the plugin your way by choosing countdown style, effects, animation, style and much, much more!
- In-depth statistics are included: this is something really cool as it can reveal interesting data that you can use to make better business decisions (and thus, increase your profits).
- Proven to work like a charm: increase your conversion rates and click-through rates and make more sales!
- Grab your subscribers attention in a fraction of a second and "force" them to buy from you!
Early Bird Bonus #11: Contact Automator
A revolutionary new program that allows you to create little applications that sit in your prospects system tray (The bottom right of your screen beside the time). This application will check whatever URL you tell it to as often as you want. And every time the URL updates, it lets your prospects know!
What does this mean to you? It means you can basically follow your prospects about, long after they leave your site, and literally FORCE them to look at your latest products and offers! Here are just a few of the ways you will benefit from ‘Contact Automator':
- Newsletters – Guaranteed delivery of every issue of your newsletter — no more accidental filtering or blocking of the e-mail version by ISPs and filtering software!
- Special Offer Alerts – Your prospects get instant notification of all your latest special offers!
- Backend Promoter – Strike up affiliate partnerships and promote them through ‘Contact Automator'.
- Affiliate Updater/Motivator – Inform your affiliate's of your new promotional material and products. Keep them up to date with their affiliate stats and motivate them to make YOU more money!
- Membership Sites – Run your membership site through ‘Contact Automator', now your members will always know as soon as you add new content.
- Product Updates – Inform your customers of the latest updates to your products so they can get instant access without even opening their browser or email program!
- Download Area – Have your website download area contained within ‘Contact Automator' so you can bring people back to your offers long after they download your freebies!
Early Bird Bonus #12: WP Like Pop
Convert Qualified Traffic with Eye-Grabbing Animated Social Pop-Ups That Activate At The Bottom of Your Blog
The post Social Connect review and bonus bro-fest was first published by North Denver News
Friday, January 22, 2016
Did Camille, a Democratic robot, call to talk about Mike Coffman?
Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the land. And if you live in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District and happen to be on the Democrats' mighty list of targeted voters, you may have heard from a robot named Camille.
If she called you, and if you're anything like me, you probably just hung up on her. What you missed, though, was a notable first in this year's race for the 6th Congressional District seat between state Sen. Morgan Carroll, the latest Democrat the party has sent to slay incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Coffman — who handily defeated her predecessors.
Camille opens her chat talking about how today marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Then the robot starts swinging mightily at Coffman's record on abortion, citing how he's pushing for more government interference in women's privacy by wanting to ban the procedure — even in cases of rape and incest.
Coffman's trying to roll back healthcare, the robot says, and asks you to call the congressman and "tell him to stop attacking a woman’s constitutional right to make personal medical decisions."
The Dems don't hand out stats about how many folks received this call, which party they belonged to, whether they're registered to vote, or what their racial or gender makeup is. There are probably numbers outlining how many people picked up, hung up or listened to the whole thing — but those aren't publicly available. And only Coffman knows how many nasty calls he received today at the order of a robot named Camille.
Zach Hunter from the National Republican Congressional Committee wrote The Colorado Independent the following about the ringing robot: "These calls are just a feeble attempt to distract attention from Morgan Carroll’s ultra-liberal record. Whether it is her efforts to coddle Iran in the state Senate, her silence on the Iran nuclear deal, or her willingness to bring GITMO detainees to [Colorado], Carroll has given 6th District voters every reason to question her judgement on the most important issues.”
The NRCC blasted out a radio ad attacking Carroll for her stance on Guantanamo Bay. It's notable Hunter didn't blast the concept of robocalls. Sixth District residents will likely be getting their fair share from Coffman's side too.
Curious about what exactly Camille the Democratic robot said? Here was her script:
Hi, this is Camille calling on behalf of the DCCC.
Today is the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on Roe v. Wade, which said that a woman’s constitutional right to privacy extends to her ability to make personal medical decisions, including the right to have a safe and legal abortion.
Roe has been the law of the land for decades, and a majority of Americans agree that a woman has the right to make her own medical decisions.
But Congressman Mike Coffman is pushing for more government interference into your right to privacy.
He has stated clearly that he supports a dangerous abortion ban – even in the cases of rape and incest.
Shockingly, Mike Coffman and House Republicans are planning to vote yet again to roll back healthcare access for thousands of hardworking Coloradans.
Call Mike Coffman at (720) 748-7514 and tell him to stop attacking a woman’s constitutional right to make personal medical decisions.
Paid for by the DCCC and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. (202) 863-1500. 430 S. Capitol Street, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003
Photo credit: Pascal, Creative Commons, Flickr.
Colorado House Dems praise Roe vs. Wade. Republicans storm out
Roughly two dozen Colorado House Democrats took to the floor to recognize the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision.
Other House Democrats stood in silence while their collegues touted the importance of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the nation.
Colorado Republicans, however, would have nothing of it. More than half of the GOP House members walked off the floor, several expressing disgust at the Democrats’ comments.
Photo credit: thecrazyfilmgirl, Creative Commons, Flickr.
Tube Hero review, Tube Hero bonus – looking at YouTube optimization research
North Denver News - The Voice for the New North Denver
Tube Hero is out today. We take a look at the Tube Hero bonus landscape and the Tube Hero review roundup:
YouTube has become a household name and it is the third most visited site on the Internet, attracting viewers of all ages, worldwide. Because of this, YouTube is a really efficient marketing tool and a must have asset for any organization. Most people watch trailers, funny videos, reviews and must more. However, these are not the only subjects that you can find on this website. Users can also put promotional videos that hold superb potential in expanding your online visibility.
Uploading videos on YouTube is free, although doing it well have require tools to produce and edit videos. It has the identical impression of television ads without you having to pay kilos cash and YouTube viewers can replay the videos anytime they need and as many times as they wish. But research is key to positioning the videos, and research is the goal of Tube Hero.
There may be other strategies in promoting your business, but videos are by far the most recommended method in attracting attention. In fact, YouTube is on the top list among search engines like Google. Nonetheless, even if you have a nicely thought out video, some people won’t be able to check it out because you do not have the right marketing strategy and the keywords you are using are not helping. You might be confused as to how to start using YouTube as a marketing tool and get more audience. That is the explanation why Tube Hero was created.
Here's Cyril Jeet's take:
What's unqiue about this —
is that it's got money data. Tells you in money terms what a keyword is worth, so if you're targeting it, you can get an estimate of what you can make from it.
That's something new that I haven't seen in many software.It's got some other new things to, but you better see it to find out.
Tube Hero is an Adobe Air app (works in both Mac and PC) that can help not just businesses but also those individuals who want to have higher video rankings and better of all, it virtually takes your competitors commissions and traffic right from under their noses. This software program helps you snoop around, outplay, and outrank other videos. With just some easy clicks, you can dominate your specialized niche on YouTube.
Quickly, simply and easily analysis the factor so other videos are using to rank for a keyword including grabbing the tags which Google has hidden for you.
Analyse any channel (yours or your competitions)at a click of a button so you can see what’s popular and plan your niche domination with your video content.
Track video rankings over time so you can see how you are doing for a keyword at a glance.
Extract related keywords data from Google’s keyword planner and let’s you mine ranking videos, as well as ad money being spent in the niche and competition… so you can pick out the keywords with the most effective protential for profit and rankings.
The post Tube Hero review, Tube Hero bonus – looking at YouTube optimization research was first published by North Denver News
Smartphone use hinders education — but students won’t quit
College students spend more class time than ever playing with their smartphones and other digital devices, according to a new University of Nebraska report.
The study, which surveyed 675 students in 26 states, found that on average, students check their phones during class more than 11 times a day. Barney McCoy, the report's lead author and an associate professor of broadcasting and journalism, said students aren't just glancing down to see if someone is trying to reach them.
"They basically say about 20, 21 percent of their time is spent either text messaging or checking social media, those kinds of things that really take them away from the discussion or the activities that are taking place in the classroom," McCoy said. "That really adds up."
For a typical four-year education, McCoy said, the average student may be distracted for two-thirds of a school year. He said students admit to the downsides of looking at their phones instead of their professors: missing out on lessons, lower grades, and being called out for not paying attention. However, he said, most students say they can't or won't change their behavior.
Students cited boredom as the top reason they turn to their phones during class, and more than one in four said they had the right to use devices whenever they wanted. McCoy said part of the responsibility falls on professors to use new technology to engage students – by challenging them to Google a topic in real time, for example – which can add to the learning experience. But he said the findings suggest students and professors both could benefit by establishing ground rules.
"We need to have conversations that build those expectations in and try and build a consensus about why we're in a classroom to begin with," he said. "And that's hopefully to effectively learn, and if you're a professor, to effectively teach."
McCoy first surveyed students in 2013, and two years later the use of digital devices during class time has increased slightly. In 2015, the number of students who said they never use devices for non-classroom purposes dropped to 3 percent, compared with 8 percent in 2013.
The study is online at en.calameo.com.
Photo credit: Nazareth College, Creative Commons, Flickr.