Obama versus the Denver Broncos at Invesco

The Denver Broncos took on the Dallas Cowboys at Invesco Field on Saturday. It was the second of four pre-season games. Not that it matters, but the Broncos won. More than 60,000 people were there (in spite of the rain), which is good for a game that doesn’t count. But…

Before he hits Denver, Ralph Nader defends his candidacy — again

As Ralph Nader continues his fifth campaign for the presidency, he joins an elite club of independent mainstays—Gus Hall for the U.S. Communist Party (4 runs), Howard Phillips for the Constitution Party (3 runs), Norman Thomas for the Socialist Party (6 runs). Nader’s message, like his rumpled suits, has changed…

An update on our Obama speech rejection letter

And stay out! In an August 15 blog about my wife being rejected for Barack Obama acceptance-speech tickets despite having registered for them within fifteen minutes of former Denver mayor Federico Peña announcing, “It’s first come, first served,” I promised to eat some of my accusatory words if more positive…

Did Fox News darken Barack Obama?

Barack Obama in an image from Fox News (above) and his own website. During one of my regular surfing expeditions through the Internet, I came upon the photo of Barack Obama above, which appeared on a Fox News election page ranking the net’s list of the top eleven conventions in…

Denver International Airport gets ready for its close-up

Land here, Dems. I just made a fast trip out of DIA, which has been spruced up in anticipation of the hordes of politicos and pundits heading to town this weekend. Acres of carpet have been replaced (and recycled in the greenest way possible), the gift stores are stocked with…

The Rocky Mountain News‘s Obama-Kenya Mea Culpa

Rocky Mountain News editor/publisher/president John Temple. Rocky Mountain News editor/publisher/president John Temple’s August 16 column “8-word Gaffe Ripples Across the Web” is an apologia for a big botch reported about in this More Messages blog — an erroneous Rocky web piece that claimed Barack Obama holds joint citizenship with the…

Who will save the hookers at the DNC?

An image from the Street’s Hope website. The hookers are coming. Get your prayer books ready. That’s the mantra of a local Christian group planning to help save sex workers during the Democratic National Convention. Streets Hope, a group dedicated to getting hookers off the streets, claims that “an estimated…

Convention’s walking woes spells promise for pedicabs

Steve Meyer. As noted in a recent Westword story, Denver is essentially ground zero for the growing international pedicab industry thanks to local pedicab designer/promoter Steve Meyer. Meyer had hoped his company, Main Street Pedicabs, would play a large role in the eco-focused Democratic National Convention, but his hopes were…

Get down with your green self at the DNC eco-carnival

The green scene. As anyone who’s moseyed across the new Highland Bridge over I-25 can attest, the stretch of 16th Street right there is turning into one of the choicest locales around, thanks to its killer views of downtown and its connection between hopping Highlands and busy Platte Street. No…

The DNC party list: There ain’t no party like a policy-wonk party

“A little bit softer now, Hillary.” All dressed up for the DNC and nowhere to go? Fear not, since here’s the tentative list of the myriad shindigs, bashes and blow-outs planned throughout the city during the convention, August 23 to 28. As this schedule demonstrates, there’s ain’t no party like…

Our Obama speech rejection letter

“Admit you? No way.” While watching the August 6 news conference at which the ticket giveaway plan for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s August 28 Invesco Field at Mile High acceptance speech was announced, I had a nagging sense that the sunny platitudes being dispensed by Denver National Convention…

Jared Polis’ sexuality: no big deal

Jared Polis. In following up on Democratic congressional candidate Jared Polis’ primary victory, the August 14 Denver Post put the focus on his homosexuality. “Polis’ Win a Big Gain for Gay Movement” appeared on page one of the Denver & the West section, while the editoral page featured a full-color…

Rich Sallinger’s protest warehouse story goes viral

Channel 4’s Rich Sallinger. It didn’t take long for Channel 4 investigator Rich Sallinger’s report about a warehouse where police plan to take protesters if there are mass arrests at the Democratic National Convention to move beyond the station’s website. Alex Jones, a filmmaker and talk-show host, is among those…

Bill Ritter and Federico Peña: America’s got talent?

It’s The Bill and Feddy Show! Considering the amount of cheese the folks at the Democratic National Convention Committee have been churning out in the weeks leading up to this year’s big show, they must think the forthcoming festivities are taking place in Wisconsin. Exhibit A is a video teasing…

We miss you already, Douglas Bruce

His bark was worse than his bite. Really. The August 12 primary election results don’t overflow with surprises. The electorate proved again that name recognition is the most important factor when turnout is low. Hence the victories of Mike Coffman, well known as Colorado’s secretary of state, and former Westword…

Keith Olbermann slaps Rocky Mountain News for Obama-Kenya Gaffe

The turban doesn’t prove Kenyan citizenship, either. Thank goodness Countdown With Keith Olbermann’s nightly “Worst Person in the World” feature is flexible, or else the man with his name in the program’s title wouldn’t have been able to award the August 12 bronze to our own Rocky Mountain News. The…

Do no-obligation Obama tickets have strings attached?

Volunteers wanted. I was waiting by my phone for the call or text that was supposed to be coming from the Obama campaign today, letting me know if I’d be given a ticket to the acceptance speech at Invesco on August 28. Instead, I received an e-mail from a friend…

Barack Obama Gets His Derek Zoolander On

“I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking.” Wait a second. Is that Barack Obama striking the famous “Blue Steel” pose perfected by Derek Zoolander? Pretty damn close — and it’s all thanks to the artistry of one Ron Keas, who’s whipped…

Yippies Attack Pepsi Center with Peace Bats

Actually, there were only four Yippies — one for every two journalists desperately trying to fill their DNC quota. The sixty or so younger activists who had also attended the “consulta” gathering of DNC protest groups at the Tivoli center earlier on Sunday wanted nothing to do with the Yippie…