Dave Chandler

Chandler Signs 'Voters First' Pledge

Dave Chandler, candidate for U.S. House for Colorado's 7th Congressional District is a signer of the 'Voters First' Pledge to put voters before lobbyists and special interest campaign donors.

The list of signers was announced today.

Link: Voters First Pledge

The public is losing faith in Congress. With so much pressure to fundraise to win and keep their offices, politicians focus on donors rather than the people they are supposed to represent. Too many politicians appear to care more about what lobbyists and powerful interests think than they do about the pressing problems faced by most Americans.

Voters are tired of “politics as usual.” We want solutions that improve fairness in campaign fundraising and allow new voices and ideas to be heard. We want an end to the headlines about scandals involving the powerful interests and lobbyists in Washington. We want more public reporting of the relationships between lobbyists and the people we elect to serve our interests.

Powerful interests and lobbyists spend millions of dollars to gain access to our elected officials, and are rewarded with billions of taxpayer dollars in return. Potential leaders of tomorrow who refuse to play this game or don’t have access to millions can’t get a start in politics today.

It’s time to clean up Congress by putting voters first. For our nation’s future, vision and voters should matter more than donors and their dollars.

In 2006, American voters are demanding real change that goes beyond empty slogans. To ensure that Congress is accountable to voters, we urge all candidates to sign the Voters First Pledge.

By signing below, I pledge to put voters before lobbyists by supporting legislation to:

Make Elections Fair. Establish and enforce campaign spending limits by providing a set amount of public funding for all candidates who agree to take no private contributions.

Restore Accountability. Pass and enforce meaningful new restrictions on gifts and travel from lobbyists and other powerful interests for members of Congress.

Protect Voters’ Right-To-Know. Require full disclosure on the internet of all lobbyists’ contributions and any fundraising help members of Congress get from lobbyists.

The Voters First Pledge drive is a joint campaign of Public Campaign Action Fund, Common Cause, Public Citizen, and other national and state groups.

SIGNED
Dave Chandler

Fearmongering, A Lobbyist and Perlmutter

For Immediate Release
September 26, 2006

Chandler Charges Perlmutter With Fearmongering

(Arvada) - Seventh Congressional District candidate, Dave Chandler, today called upon Democrat Ed Perlmutter to “stop the fearmongering” over the Deer Trails hazardous waste landfill near the town of Last Chance in Adams County.

“Perlmutter is way out of bounds with his rhetoric when he talks about ‘dumping of nuclear waste’ and ensuring ‘that the 7th District does not become a radioactive sacrifice zone’,” charged Chandler.

Perlmutter made those claims in a press release issued last week and in a recently run television ad.

Chandler, himself, toured the Deer Trail hazardous waste landfill owned by Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., last Tuesday.

“This landfill is now licensed to accept waste products like the sludge from the treatment of some of our drinking water that has very small amounts of radioactivity,” said Chandler. “They can accept nothing that measures over 2000 picocuries -- a picocurie is a trillionth of a curie -- not much more than the normal background radiation that we all live with every day.”

“That hardly deserves conjuring up fearful images of burying nuclear power plant fuel rods in Adams County,” said Chandler. “What Ed is saying is clearly deceptive and seems to be meant to scare people. He should stop it right now.”

Chandler said that it is particularly interesting that a lobbyist, Charles N. Malick, specifically mentioned as a supporter on the Perlmutter web site, has been retained by American Ecology, a competitor of Clean Harbors based in Idaho.

“That looks like a lot of influence from a lobbyist on this issue,” said Chandler. “We need a member of Congress for this district that does not appear to be so easily swayed.”

Chandler said that the responsible environmental position is that we must accept the consequences of our daily activities that produce hazardous waste.

“'Out of sight, out of mind' is not progressive environmental policy,” said Chandler who is running on the Green Party ticket. “We all drink water, we all use electricity generated from burning coal that produces low level radioactive bottom ash. It isn’t responsible to think that such inconvenient by-products of our modern lives should all be shipped out of state.”

Chandler says that if he is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the 7th Congressional District, he will always look to protect the health and environmental safety of area residents. He also said that because he will reject any and all gifts, honorariums, junkets and campaign contributions from lobbyists, he will be able to put the best interests of the citizens of the 7th district first.

Contact:

Dave Chandler

303-424-9897
[email protected]

Censored, But There

The candidate for Colorado's 7th Congressional District, Dave Chandler, who was censored by the refusal of organizers to allow third party nominees to participate -- showed up anyway.

Dave handed out flyers explaining his position on a Northwest Beltway and his opposition to the corrupting influence of special interest Political Action Committee money on our politics.

Dave reports that the discussion between Perlmutter and O'Donnell was utterly predictable.

"I could have told you what they were going to say before either of them openned their mouths," said Dave.

"It was pretty much politicians behaving as bickering, traditional politicians."

If Dave had been permitted to participate, the audience would have heard more about the real change we need in our political system.

"Perlmutter claims he is for change," said Dave. "But I think he is talking about thousand and thousands of campaign contribution coins and dollar bills."

"And O'Donnell's attempts to distance himself from George Bush and the radical Republican Party is, well, it would be sad if we didn't know that Bush and Cheney have raised hundreds of thousand of dollars for his campaign."

Dave just says that voters can read about him and his positions on the issues on this web site and they will know who really will bring reform and change to the nation's capital.

"It is still all about 'Principle Before Politics'. That's why you should vote for Dave Chandler for Congress."

Censoring Colorado Candidates

The PLAN Jeffco/CINQ candidate forum is keeping the Green Party's 7th CD candidate OUT of the DEBATE!

"This kind of censorship of third party candidates is simply undemocratic," says Dave Chandler.
"Let freedom -- and all its voices -- ring!"

The Plan Jeffco organizer for the event confirmed to Dave last night that no candidates -- other than those of the big, establishment parties -- will be allowed to participate in the question and answer part of the forum. The organizer said (in so many words) that the tired, old major party candidates just didn't want third party candidates to be there.

"It shows the pathetic weakness and torpidity of the Democrats and Republicans," Chandler says. "They are absolutely petrified that we might actually persuade someone to vote their conscience and principles -- instead of falling in-line mindlessly for 'the party'."

The forum is scheduled for tonight, Monday evening, September 25.

Candidate 'Meet and Greet' -- which is open to the public and all candidates -- is between 6:00 and 7:00PM.

The actual question and answer period is CENSORING all third party candidates.

The event is to be held at the American Mountaineering Center, 710 10th Street, Golden.

MAP

If you can spare an hour, come out to Golden between 6:00 and 7:00PM and support Dave's (and all American's) "freedom of speech".

"I'm going to be there. The controversial Northwest Beltway is a key part of why CINQ (Citizens Involved in the Northwest Quadrant) is co-sponsoring this forum. I'm the only candidate who has been a beltway opponent for years and is still against the sprawl-promoting highway."

"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
Thomas Jefferson; inscription around the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial

Staying Alive

Freed from the contraint of offending big-monied campaign contributors, Colorado 7th Congressional District candidate, Dave Chandler, believes that we need fundamental reform of our health care system.

Dave thinks that the 'Physicians for a National Health Program' (PNHP) is a good place to start a national discussion about how we pay for and receive care from doctors and other health care professionals.

"With premiums rising every year, with out co-pays going up, and our waits for appointments getting longer, we've got to be bold and daring in looking for new ways to provide health care to all Americans," says Dave.

"What the Physicians for a National Health Program proposes may not be exactly how a final, implemented program might look like," Chandler said, "But this plan is a good place to start having this necessary discussion."

"Explore the Physicians for a National Health Program web site. I think folks of all political persuasions will find it interesting, provocative and informative."

Dave recommends reading the Frequently Asked Questions about the single-payer plan.

Dave says that he is particularly impresses with two facts pointed out by PNHP. First:

"Currently, the U.S. health care system is outrageously expensive, yet inadequate. Despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of the industrialized nations ($7,129 per capita), the United States performs poorly in comparison on major health indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality and immunization rates. Moreover, the other advanced nations provide comprehensive coverage to their entire populations, while the U.S. leaves 46 million completely uninsured and millions more inadequately covered.

The reason we spend more and get less than the rest of the world is because we have a patchwork system of for-profit payers. Private insurers necessarily waste health dollars on things that have nothing to do with care: overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay. Doctors and hospitals must maintain costly administrative staffs to deal with the bureaucracy. Combined, this needless administration consumes one-third (31 percent) of Americans’ health dollars."

"We have got to find a way to improve efficiency to get our money's worth out of our health care dollars," says Dave.

"Secondly, on top of our private insurance, today, now, we are paying with tax dollars almost two-thirds of health care costs in this nation already," Chandler points out. "That is duplicative and wasteful."

"Currently, about 64% of our health care system is financed by public money: federal and state taxes, property taxes and tax subsidies. These funds pay for Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, coverage for public employees (including teachers), elected officials, military personnel, etc. There are also hefty tax subsidies to employers to help pay for their employees’ health insurance. About 17% of heath care is financed by all of us individually through out-of-pocket payments, such as co-pays, deductibles, the uninsured paying directly for care, people paying privately for premiums, etc. Private employers only pay 19% of health care costs. In all, it is a very “regressive” way to finance health care, in that the poor pay a much higher percentage of their income for health care than higher income individuals do."

A member of the U.S. House of Representatives that is not beholden to special interest groups for campaign contributions and is not captive to the influences of special interest lobbyists will be in a unique postion to examine plans and make proposals that can benefit the vast majority of Americans and residents of Colorado's 7th Congressional District.

It is time to say 'no' to the big, establishment political parties and their cautious candidates who depend upon special interests to get them elected. It is time to say 'yes' to an independent-minded candidate like Dave Chandler.

"If we are going to improve our health care financing system in the United States, we have to move beyond the 'Democrat' position and the 'Republican' position. We'll need representatives free from the influence of insurance company lobbyists, drug company lobbyists, HMO lobbyist, and all the big-money special interests.

"My candidacy gives you a way to vote for that kind of new political freedom -- that can do what is best for all Americans and for all of our great country!"

Vote Dave Chandler for Congress!

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com

Don't Vote Democrat (Don't Vote Republican, Either)

Dave Comments:

For voters in Colorado's 7th Congressional District, here is short article (below) I found this morning at The Huffington Post.

Here in the 7th CD what we have in effect are two incumbents running against each other. O'Donnell postures as the heir apparent to 'Both Ways' Bob Beauprez -- and Perlmutter takes a slight edge in Democrat voter registration to imply that his election is a done deal.

We need things to change in this country ... many, many folks agree with that sentiment. Voting for the nominees of the two big, establishment, "incumbent" parties is going to only result in the same old tired rhetoric and same old tired 'solutions'.

Voters in this district have an opportunity to send to the U.S. House of Representatives a delegate that will offer new ideas, be free from special interests, and take a new perspective to Washington, D.C. You don't have to agree with everything I propose, I would be just one of 435 representatives ... but just think of the the message it would send that Coloradoans really do support genuine reform and making government more representative of the people.

I agree with this fellow, Greg Saunders. Don't vote Democrat. But don't vote Republican, either. Vote with courage to renew our Republic.

Vote for Dave Chandler.

Dave

Link: Don't Vote Democrat | Greg Saunders/The Huffington Post

I'm not kidding. If the last week is any indicator of what we've got to look forward to in a Democratic Congress, then don't bother. The last time they were in charge we got the Patriot Act, the Iraq War resolution, and the Medicare drug bill. Now with every poll supporting the Democrats and the Republicans on the ropes, these cowards are still afraid to throw the first punch.

Instead, we see the torture issue (yeah, that's how far we've sunk) being co-opted by a group the media have dubbed the Republican "Rebels" whose grand act of rebellion consisted of giving the President the right to do whatever he wants. Charles Peirce has it exactly right :

And the Democratic Party was nowhere in this debate. It contributed nothing. On the question of whether or not the United States will reconfigure itself as a nation which tortures its purported enemies and then grants itself absolution through adjectives -- "Aggressive interrogation techniques" -- the Democratic Party had...no opinion. On the issue of allowing a demonstrably incompetent president as many of the de facto powers of a despot that you could wedge into a bill without having the Constitution spontaneously combust in the Archives, well, the Democratic Party was more pissed off at Hugo Chavez.

This was as tactically idiotic as it was morally blind. On the subject of what kind of a nation we are, and to what extent we will live up to the best of our ideals, the Democratic Party was as mute and neutral as a stone. Human rights no longer have a viable political constituency in the United States of America.

Since the Democrats don't seem to be interested in convincing the public to vote for them, then here's a better idea: This November vote against every incumbent on the ballot. Whether they're part of the Republican, Democrat, or Connecticut for Lieberman parties, throw out the whole damn lot of them. If the choice is between a party that openly supports the destruction of habeas corpus or a party that's too timid to take a stand in favor of basic human decency, then I'd rather just roll the dice and try to start over with a clean slate.

Time for 'Real' Change!

Voters in Colorado's 7th Congressional District have a real choice this election when it comes to changing our currently corrupt campaign contributions system.

A new national poll shows that voters are fed-up with politics as usual and are ready for "someone new" to represent them.

In the 7th Congressional District there is only one candidate committed to bringing representation to the federal government back to ALL of the people -- Dave Chandler.

Dave is committed and genuine on this issue in a way that the big party "politics as usual" candidates are not ... he doesn't say one thing and do another -- he practices what he preaches!

Link-PDF: CBS News/New York Times Poll - September 20, 2006

When it comes to Congress as a whole, cleaning house is the apparent message. Just 12% of voters say most members of Congress have done their job well enough to deserve reelection, while three in four believe it’s time to give new people a chance. Historically, few voters have said that most members of Congress deserve reelection.

MOST MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
(Among registered voters)
Deserves re-election ...... Now: 12%
Time for someone new ...... Now: 76%
On specific characteristics, voters continue to rate their own Congressman better than the legislative body as a whole. But no one’s marks are stellar.

46% of voters say their own Representative is more interested in serving the people of his district, but a sizable number - 43% - say he or she is more interested in helping special interest groups. Half say their Congressman understands their needs and problems, but 44% say he or she does not. Larger percentages of voters view most members of Congress as more interested in helping special interests,
and not understanding people like them.

CONGRESS 2006
(Among registered voters)
Most members Representative of Congress
Deserve reelection ...... 12%
Time for new person ...... 76%

More interested in helping:
People in their district ...... 18%
Special interest groups ...... 75%

Understands needs & problems of people like you:
Yes ...... 28%
No ...... 68%

This poll reveals how Americans are feeling about the Congress and the state of politics in this country.

If voters in the 7th Congressional District genuinely believe it is "time for a new person" to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives -- they have one clear choice: Dave Chandler.

The Democrat and Republican may present different faces but they are sadly just continuations of the same old politics as usual.

Consider this report from the Tuesday, September 19, Rocky Mountain News:

... Perlmutter, who is running for Congress in the 7th District, twice criticized lobbyists in his online candidate questionnaire for the Rocky Mountain News.

"Congress is beholden to lobbyists more interested in raiding the treasury than in addressing tough problems in a bipartisan way," he said.

"Lobbyists are in charge of writing legislation in Congress and we have seen the worst ethics problems since Watergate," he also said.

Perlmutter is married to Deana Perlmutter, a senior vice president with Dutko Worldwide who manages its Denver office.

She has billed her clients - including Sprint, Level 3 Communications and the city of Houston - nearly $4 million since 1998, according to federal lobbying records.

Dutko, in 2005, was ranked third in the nation in terms of lobbying revenue, according to opense crets.org, the Web site of the Center for Responsive Politics, which describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit research group that tracks money in politics. ...

And just take a look at the FEC reports for both Perlmutter and O'Donnell:

Special Interest Campaign Contributions to Perlmutter

Special Interest Campaign Contributions to O'Donnell

Look at those special interest contributions! Thousands and thousands of dollars given in order to influence the actions of just one person in the federal government. Is it any wonder that 75% of registered voters believe members of Congress are "more interested in helping special interest groups"? With those kinds of special interest contributions is it any wonder that 68% answer 'No' when asked if Congress "Understands needs & problems of people like you"?

Real, genuine change and reform will happen only if we say NO to this kind of big money, special interests campaigning.

Let's have the courage to vote for REAL CHANGE!

Dave Chandler has signed the Voters First Pledge.
Dave Chandler supporters public finance of election campaigns -- It is OUR democracy. It belongs to ALL of us.
Dave Chandler walks the talk ... he will only accept campign contributions of $500 or less from individuals.

All of this means that Dave in Congress will be free to act in good conscience for the best interests of all the residents of the 7th district.

Nothing will change if we keep electing the same tainted politicians to office ... have the courage to Vote to Renew the Republic.

Dave Chandler for Congress.

"Out of sight, out of mind" Not Progressive Environmental Policy

Congressional candidate for Colorado's 7th district, Dave Chandler, says Democrat Perlmutter is pandering and Republican O'Donnell is irresolute on a local environmental issue.

It is a curious thing.

Apparently Ed Perlmutter and Rick O'Donnell believe that other communities can not do enough for the Denver metro area -- they should take all of the radioactive hazardous waste that we want to ship to them. We don't want to live with it -- so the New Mexicans and Idahoans can live with it.

Perlmutter is trying to make an issue out of the Deer Trail hazard waste storage facility in Adams County being permitted to accept tailings from a Denver radium mill that operated between 1915 to 1927. In the 1920s this radium 'dirt' was used to pave streets in the Capitol Hill area.

According to the Commerce City Beacon:

"For several years now, Denver street crews have systematically attacked the 350,000 tons, approximately 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil at 44 different sites throughout the city. In an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers, the radium laced soils, asphalt and rock has been shipped via gondola rail car to the U.S. Ecology dump in Grand View, Idaho.

With 86,823 cubic yards of waste remaining, the 2006-2007 streets projects have been postponed because the Rocky Mountain Low Level Radioactive Waste Board denied Denver’s request for a permit to export the waste to Idaho."

So, even though 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated Denver dirt has already been sent to Idaho, Perlmutter thinks that our Rocky Mountain neighbor to the northwest needs to do a whole lot more. “There is no reason for Deer Trail to become a regional radioactive waste dump for waste from out of state because there are already places outside of Colorado that can take it," says Perlmutter.

And Rick O'Donnell now apparently agrees with Perlmutter. The Denver Post reports:

"We're not talking about materials from Energy Department defense-grade weapons - there's no nuclear material, uranium or plutonium," O'Donnell was quoted as telling Environment and Energy Daily, an online publication based in Washington, D.C., that tracks energy and environmental policies.

O'Donnell's campaign said he hadn't been fully aware of the issue when he spoke with the reporter. It said O'Donnell now opposes the dumping of low-level radioactive waste at the 250-acre Clean Harbors Deer Trail Facility near Last Chance.

(There's your dynamic two-party system for ya ... they agree to agree.)

But let's be clear -- a tremendous amount of high level and low level radioactive waste has been sent out of Colorado in recent years.

From the Shattuck superfund site, according to the EPA: In the course of the work to complete the remediation of the monolith, perimeter soils, and Bannock Street ROW, a total of 2244 railcars containing approximately 243,101 tons of soil and monolith materials were shipped to U.S. Ecology" in Grand View, Idaho.

According to the Department of Energy from the Rocky Flats clean up, "over 15,000 cubic meters of transuranic/transuranic mixed waste to WIPP" (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) in New Mexico.

So, I agree with the Thursday, September 14, editorial of the Rocky Mountain News:

"Denver has put its effort to get rid of radium-bearing pavement on hold because it's no longer willing to ship the material all the way to Idaho.

And it shouldn't have to. A site near the town of Last Chance in Adams County has been cleared by the state health department to take the low-level radioactive waste.

But the county stubbornly refuses to let it go there, even though other landfills in its jurisdiction take more dangerous materials. ...

... The squabble has been going on for more than a year, and now Democrat Ed Perlmutter is trying to exploit the issue in the 7th District congressional race. ...

... The pavement isn't the kind of stuff that should be going, say, to Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The low-level waste emits less radioactivity than someone would be exposed to in a year from being outdoors.

The Last Chance facility was licensed by the state late last year but Adams County continues to refuse to let in the waste on grounds that it might also have to take similar, perhaps more dangerous, waste from other sources. But if any waste were more dangerous, the state could revoke the permit. ...

... The facility is cleared to accept materials that fall below the state threshold for radioactive waste: 0.002 microcuries per gram. This covers naturally occurring radioactive materials that are so low-level that they're technically exempted from the state's definition of radioactive waste.

It's time for Adams County to relent so Denver can resume its pavement-clearing program. Denver saves a little money, the county earns a little money and no harm is done to the local environment or residents. "

Part of human existence is that we have to live with the consequences of our actions. It is part of the trade-offs that we make every single day in our society. We drive cars, we have to accept some level of accidents and pollution; we buy packaged food at the grocery store, we have to hire someone to cart away our trash into a nearby landfill; we benefit from modern medicine, we must figure out ways of disposing of medical waste safely.

In this case, for instance, we want to be able to buy lumber and rose bushes at the Home Depot built on the decontaminated radium mill site, we may just have to find a place to put the detritus of the clean up.

What is wrong and unfair about that?

"Out of sight, out of mind" is not a progressive environmental policy. But you hope it sounds good if you're a traditional, establishment politican trying to pander to 'green' voters.

Like global warming, we cannot take steps to mitigate negative impacts and work on solutions if we refuse to recognize that the problem exists, or we ignore it, or we just try and shove the 'inconvenient truth' under the carpet.

If we want to live with less toxic waste there are things we can do, as this Greenpeace fact sheet points out:

SOLUTION:
• Dangerous chemicals should be replaced by safer substitutes.
• Manufacturers must take responsibility for the disposal of their products.
• All chemicals should be fully tested before they are allowed on the market

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
• Tell Congress to pass legislation that requires the substitution of dangerous chemicals with safer alternatives.
• Buy only from companies that make clean products; for example, many companies have eliminated vinyl (PVC) from their products and packaging.
• Contact companies and demand to know what chemicals are used in their products.

Strict monitoring of waste sites like Deer Trail is part of the license and the law. Demanding that public health officials be diligent in supervising this site is critical -- we should always be requiring accountablility for the safe operation of this site from its owners and the government. I also support as part of any monitoring process -- oversight from a citizen board which includes both independent scientists and members of effected communities.

If I am elected to Congress, I will be an advocate for no-nonsense action to protect our environment and the health of the residents of the 7th district. But, since I do not take special interest campaign contributions and will not involve myself with Washington, D.C. lobbyists, I will be a free, independent voice for doing the right thing.

We can do more to keep ourselves safer from unpleasant side effects of our modern lives, but not by waffling or by making ridiculous statements like Perlmutter's: "We have to ensure that the 7th District does not become a radioactive sacrifice zone."

'Pandering' Perlmutter and 'Irresolute' Rick are not demonstrating the kind of thoughtful representation that common sense thinking people in the 7th Congressional District deserve.

A vote for Dave Chandler for Congress will be a ballot cast for a fresh, new way of representing the people of Colorado.

Action Needed on Global Warming

Global warming is real and we must take it seriously.

Every month or so, a new study is released that says scientists are surprised at how quickly the global warming phenomena is happening.

The news report linked to below is just the latest to provide us with important information about the impacts of global warming.

There are large, worldwide and national actions that can be taken to mitigate the effects of global climate change. The United States should sign-on to the Kyoto Accords, for instance. We need to have renewed international discussions about the impact of the growing human population on this planet. We also should initiate talks and research into the 'Peak Oil' phenomenon and what consequence there may be on us and on the global environment of diminishing sources of 'cheap' petroleum.

In our country, I am supportive of mandating the there be increased fuel efficiency for all new cars sold in America. This is important because a legal requirement equalizes the marketplace for all automobile manufactures. It is entirely possible that simply by increasing miles per gallon by ten percent, our reliance on Middle Eastern oil can be significantly decreased. The other benefit to this course of action is the emission of less carbon per mile -- contributing to less greenhouse gases being placed into the atmosphere.

As the owners of two Toyota Prius hybrid cars and a scooter for short trips, our family can testify that it is not necessary to have any particularly noticable change in one's quality of life by using more fuel efficient vehicles.

I support efforts like the Apollo Alliance and would be in favor of significant and substantial increases in funding for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), headquartered in Golden, to move us forward quickly to energy independence and start ending our reliance on fossil fuels. The day will come in the not so distant future when we will need alternative energy sources to fuel our economy -- the sooner we make a major, top priority commitment to this effort, the better off we all will be.

For Colorado (and the nation), I would also be supportive of 'emissions caps and trading' as a market oriented approach to achieving reductions in the release of carbon dioxide by business and industry. Legislation to implement this kind of program was just recently passed in California.

Finally, we can all do our small but important part in reducing the amount of greenhouse gases set lose into the environment by conserving our use of energy. Our family replaced almost every regular incandescent light bulb in our home years ago with energy efficient fluorescent bulbs -- and we have hardly noticed any difference in quality of lighting of our home. These light bulbs use "66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer." And ... that means a bit less coal is burned and a bit less carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere.

If I am elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, protection of our environment will always be very important ... because this wonderful state of Colorado and this beautiful planet is where we live -- the condition and health of our natural environment determines how well we and our posterity live and thrive.

Link: Scientists Find New Global Warming 'Time Bomb’ | Associated Press

Global warming gases trapped in the soil are bubbling out of the thawing permafrost in amounts far higher than previously thought and may trigger what researchers warn is a climate time bomb.

Methane - a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide - is being released from the permafrost at a rate five times faster than thought, according to a study being published today in the journal Nature. The findings are based on new, more accurate measuring techniques.

‘‘The effects can be huge,’’ said lead author Katey Walter of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks said. ‘‘It’s coming out a lot and there’s a lot more to come out.’’

Scientists worry about a global warming vicious cycle that was not part of their already gloomy climate forecast: Warming already under way thaws permafrost, soil that has been continuously frozen for thousands of years. Thawed permafrost releases methane and carbon dioxide. Those gases reach the atmosphere and help trap heat on Earth in the greenhouse effect. The trapped heat thaws more permafrost and so on.

‘‘The higher the temperature gets, the more permafrost we melt, the more tendency it is to become a more vicious cycle,’’ said Chris Field, director of global ecology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, who was not part of the study. ‘‘That’s the thing that is scary about this whole thing. There are lots of mechanisms that tend to be self-perpetuating and relatively few that tend to shut it off.’’ ...

League Forum Update - "I'll be there!"

The Colorado 7th Congressional District forum sponsored by the Jeffco League of Women voters that was to take place this Thursday evening has been cancelled. Contradicting its own stated principles, the Jeffco League has DIS-invited third party candidates for that office, including Dave Chandler.

It has been rescheduled for Wednesday, October 18, beginning at 6:30 PM at the Denver Marriott West (1717 Denver West Blvd, Golden, 80401 - MAP).

Invited to participate or not -- Dave says: "I'll be there!"

“Let us not be afraid of debate or dissent -- let us encourage it.”
U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, April 16, 1959

“Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuous revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions.”
President Ronald Reagan, May 31, 1988