It is a cold grey day here in the Connecticut Berkshires and my brother is out in his woods paintballing with our sons and a number of their friends. (Some will be happy to hear that his enterprising effort to lead a flanking attack resulted in him being hit with yellow paintballs seven times in a few seconds: he looks like an heroic frying pan.)

It is pretty cold and grey on the political front too. Those with memories long enough must be thinking of the 1974 Post-Watergate election catastrophe - dubious economy, foreign policy disasters, ethical outrage.

Dow Blog (whose threatened demise was worrying me recently) has put up a succinct summary of the wasted opportunities arising from the electoral gyrations of the past few years. Sometimes it is useful to read a refresher on this fairly complex business:

On the other side were imperious neoconservatives, conflating Israeli and American interests, driven to create a Pax Americana at the point of a bayonet. The neocons were aligned with business interests, those who believe in the myth of homo economicus, who sought mass immigration as a means of keeping wages low, and who see tax policy and tort reform as more important than the murder of unborn children.

I continue to believe that when citizen volunteers, with family concerns pressing, invest the time to write 1,500 word essays, all cannot be lost. I commend his post earlier this week too, particularly the later portion:

Where were the men who possess the character of William Jennings Bryan, willing to resign rather than go along for the ride?

Colorado Gov. “MIA” Bill Owens (R) — who endorsed a Spanish-language Guide instructing illegal aliens how to evade detection and exploit public services in Colorado (Bill Owens’ Guide For Illegal Aliens: Cash In On Colorado ) yesterday said he supports a high tech fence at the Mexican-US border. The Governor was confused about the length of that border, guessing it was 900-miles when it’s actually 2000 miles.

(Owens backs fence to close off U.S. border By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News, October 28, 2005 ).

Owens is feeling the squeeze as two Referenda (C & D) he supports, which create blank checks for the State government when Owens refuses to answer questions regarding the costs of illegal aliens and anchor babies to Citizen-taxpayers.

Citing ignorance, Owens claims that costs are all “Federal mandates”, and nothing he can do will change that, ignoring 2003’s Colorado Title 24-72-1 (Secure and Verifiable Identity Documents), pushed by Owens and cronies which codifies provisions of the full range of services for illegal aliens claiming they have children five years or younger.

In the meantime, we await the Governor’s response to a petition some of us delivered to Owens’ office (http://www.freespeechforum.org,) demanding he declare a State of Emergency, reverse sanctuary policies (such as above: Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 24-72-1-106), designate overflow holding areas for illegals awaiting deportation (ending current catch-and-release policies) and enforcing the State Constitution’s Official English Act. Three weeks later, the Governor hasn’t bothered to respond to request for a meeting to discuss this point.