While Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and state Attorney General John Suthers make telephone calls to DOJ, three of our Congresspersons are taking action instead of waiting for answers from the Justice Department on Colorado's newly passed Amendment 64. (Amendment 64 legalizes adult possession of small amounts of marijuana, creates a regulatory scheme to license growers and retail outlets and imposes excise taxes on wholesale sales. The text is here.)

Rep. Diana DeGette says she is putting the final touches on a bill that would amend the preemption section of the federal drug law to add a clause that excludes state marijuana laws. The Denver Post, in an editorial, applauds her for taking action and for urging the Justice Department to "show restraint." Reps. Jared Polis and Ed Perlmutter are also working, with DeGette and independently, on federal bills that would allow Amendment 64 to proceed, rather than waiting for an answer from D.O.J. [More...]

Rep. Perlmutter's spokeswoman told the Colorado Independent:[More...]

Colorado's Amendment 64, the ballot initiative that will decriminalize personal adult use of marijuana and regulate marijuana sales in Colorado, will benefit the entire state, not just marijuana users.

The Colorado Center on Law and Policy report on Amendment 64, concludes that Amendment 64 is likely to produce $60 million in new revenue and savings to Colorado. In addition to creating new jobs, particularly in construction, it will generate $24 million a year in state revenue for schools, specifically the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) capital construction program.

As opponents of the measure launch their final ad blitz this week, take a look at who supports Amendment 64.

• More than 300 Physicians
• two dozen clergy
• Colorado's largest labor union
• More than 130 members of the Academic Community [More...]

Mitt Romney is pathetic. He's holding a "storm relief" campaign event tomorrow -- in Ohio, with NASCAR driver Richard Petty and singer Randy Owen. Is there anything the shameless know-nothing won't exploit in his attempt to win the election? AmericaBlog has more.

Earlier today, as his MittMobile van drove around, supposedly collecting supplies, he asked people to donate canned goods and blankets. Had he bothered to check the Red Cross website, he would have seen this is exactly what the relief agencies advises against doing. It can actually impede aid efforts.

Hey, Mitt, if you want to help, how about writing a check and making a personal donation? Or better yet, staying out of the way.

On a lighter note, check out #romneystormtips and #mittstormtips on Twitter -- some funny ones below: [More..]

I'm watching the local news. 7 news reports the crowd showing up for Mitt Romney tonight at Red Rocks tonight exceeded the outdoor amphitheater's 10,000 capacity. (The campaign gave out 25,000 tickets.)

Unless several thousand went to see Kid Rock perform for Romney instead of Romney himself that's a big showing. (Kid Rock sang Born Free and yes, I'm being facetious.) Also stumping for Romney at the event: New Mexico's female "Latino Governor" The news referred to her as "star power" and said the appearance of star power "wasn't an accident." The supporters placed closest to Romney were those holding signs that read "Democrats for Romney."

Traffic to Red Rocks was seriously delayed at rush hour, but the news said part of the reason was someone had hit a deer. [More...]

Rosa Linda Cafe is a long-standing, family owned, really good Mexican food restaurant in Denver that contributes to the community. Here are the awards it has received.

Now the family is getting death threats. Why? The Romney campaign learned owners Oscar Aguirre and his parents are Mormon. In an attempt to capitalize on this, it asked the restaurant to allow it to hold a campaign event at the restaurant. The restaurant, which says it does not support either party (they are Independents) or hold political events, declined.

"It was presented to us that (Romney) wanted to do a political stump here. (He wanted to) talk about our small business (and) because we share our religious views with the candidate and are Latinos it would be great for him to do a campaign stop," Aguire said. "We did say 'no' because we are not Republicans, nor are we Democrats. We will welcome any sitting President of the United States. But, we did not want to be a campaign stop."

The threats started after Denver's Westword learned of the rejection, and wrote a story. (Skip the comments, you'll want to take a shower afterwards.) [More...]

The Denver Post picked a terrible week to add a most annoying feature to its website. There's now an animated bar across the bottom of every page. I haven't been able to close it. It may be the most annoying media feature next to sites that automatically play video when you click on a news article (ABC News in particular.) It's even more annoying than sites like MSNBC where you have to scroll halfway down the page before you get to the article.

The Post should fire whatever agency came up with this lame idea. Until it removes the obnoxious bottom bar, I'm not reading the Denver Post.

So where to get local news of the upcoming presidential debate and other issues?

• 7 News (KMGH)
• CBS News Denver
• 9 News (KUSA)

Update: Today there is an arrow in the center of the bar you can click on to collapse. I also was able to block it with my virus software. So I'll be reading the Denver Post again.

Miguel Alonso Contreras-Perez, an army deserter and convicted rapist serving an indeterminate (up to life) sentence has been identified as the suspect in the killing of a Sgt. Mary Ricard, 55, a prison kitchen worker at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility near Ordway, Colorado. Another prison staffer, Sgt. Lori Gann was seriously injured in the attack which occurred as as Ricard, who was working on her day off, was supervising inmates preparing breakfast. There are 1,000 inmates at the prison.

Contreras-Perez pleaded guilty in 2004 to kidnapping a 14 year old girl at a bus stop at 6:30 a.m. and sexually assaulting her in 2002. The victim said he was wearing military clothing. He went AWOL from Fort Carson a month after the crime, and traveled to Utah, where he turned himself in at a police station and confessed. (Ex-soldier gets 35 years Man pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping 14-year-old girl The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado) February 3, 2004.)

He was returned to Colorado, pleaded guilty and sentenced in 2004. He was 22 at the time of the crime, and according to the victim, married with two children. (Teen rape victim wants people to understand The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado) February 3, 2003 Monday). [More...]

Last week the Denver Post commissioned Survey USA to do a poll on the presidential race, gun control, Amendment 64 (to legalize small amounts of marijuana for personal use) and other topics.

The paper, perhaps to milk traffic, released the results in bits and drabs over a few days, making it difficult to read the actual survey results or report on it in one article. Each day they'd have a reporter attach a little graphic of results for the topic they were disclosing that day. It's very frustrating way to analyze a poll that way. Nonetheless, enough of the results are now out to the report major findings.

51% of Coloradans support Amendment 64 to legalize marijuana. Despite the Aurora shootings, 56% of Coloradans don't want stricter gun control laws; and Obama and Romney are statistically tied. [More..]

I suppose everyone has their bottom line about a luxury with which they refuse to part. In Al Sharpton's case, it is the power breakfast at the New York Lowes' Regency Hotel, which is closing for a year for renovations. He says, of the restaurant that charges $8 for a cup of coffee and $24 for an omelette:

“All my life, I’ve fought for the 99 percent, but I guess this time I will have to fight for the 1 percent to have a place to have breakfast.”

What does he like about it so much?

Where else, he asked, would a United States senator like Barbara Boxer stop by his table in a jogging suit, without makeup, to harangue him about what to discuss on his talk show on MSNBC?

One person who is probably glad to see the hotel close is John Edwards: It's where Rielle Hunter picked him up at the bar the fateful evening they met. If only he'd gone to a different hotel for drinks, his entire life might have turned out differently. [More...]

Here's the live stream for President Obama's appearance in Boulder today. He is just beginning. "Hello Colorado."

President Obama stopped for breakfast at The Buff restaurant.

Obama ordered the Ole Skillet, which includes red skinned potatoes, chili verde jalapenos, white onions, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and two eggs a with side of toast

Reminds me of when Blagojevich stopped to eat on his way to FCI Englewood.

Obama stayed at the Westin in Westminister last night. Quips from his speech below:

More legal documents to review. You folks enjoy the GOP Convention. I'll enjoy my legal documents.

Tomorrow though, all college football all the time.

Open Thread.

The Colorado Center on Law and Policy has released a report on the state and local budget impact of Amendment 64, the November ballot initiative to legalize personal adult use of marijuana in Colorado. The report finds Amendment 64 would:

• initially result in $60 million annually in combined revenue and savings for state and local governments in Colorado, which could double to more than $100 million within the first five years of implementation;
• save local and state law enforcement officials more than $12 million in the first year of operation;
• generate $24 million annually in state revenue for the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) capital construction program
• create more than 350 new jobs, the majority of which will be in the construction industry.

[More...]