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On this day in: 1903 - The Wright Brothers made their first powered and heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1935 - First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane. 1969 - Project Blue Book: The USAF closes its study of UFOs, stating that sightings were generated as a result of "A mild form of mass hysteria, Individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or seek publicity, psychopathological persons, and misidentification of various conventional objects."

In today’s Denver Post:

Speaking of caucuses — those are the neighborhood meetings largely attended by the political diehards — Colorado party leaders are still hoping for a good turnout in February. By some accounts, there was a slight increase in party affiliation by the Dec. 5 registration deadline. Larimer County's Scott Doyle said his county experienced a "bump."

In 2004, only about 15,000 Democrats attended their caucuses in more than 3,100 precincts statewide. That's roughly five people per precinct. Some years have drawn only two people to a precinct.

But this year being a presidential election year, and with Colorado now viewed as a swing state, party leaders hope they can draw more voters to the schools and community centers where the meetings are held.

For the first time, this year's caucuses will poll affiliated voters on their presidential choices, then get that information to county chairs. They, in turn, will advise party headquarters in time to alert the media before bedtime. This will be the only voice Coloradans will have in selecting the presidential nominees in each party, since we don't have a presidential primary.

"People [in both parties] should attend these neighborhood meetings and participate with all the enthusiasm they can muster," said Bill Compton, the Colorado Democratic Party's policy director.

I posted this comment in response to the above:
The February 5 Colorado Caucus has the potential of being well attended, but only if our major Colorado newspapers give it adequate coverage. To learn more, attend the Denver Grassroots Rally January 4; we'll be giving awards to the best pre-December 5 (registration date to vote in the Colorado Caucus) news coverage. For details and to RSVP see http://cocacop.meetup.com/2

I just sent this to the Rocky Mountain News Online as a news tip:

I think readers would really be interested in news right now about the February 5th Colorado Caucus, how it will work, and how people who want to attend can find out where to go. Best research I've seen says that only 8% of the people in Colorado even know we have a system similar to the Iowa Caucus.

One of the Boulder newspapers ran a front page story about the December 5 registration deadline for voting in the February 5 caucus that mentioned me. A man emailed me, "What is the history of this, and why haven't I heard of it before?" Good questions! I think your readers would be very interested in the answers NOW, while there is still time to figure out where to go February 5 and how to participate.

Every two years we get a chance for a state-wide civics lesson here in Colorado with our wonderful caucus-assembly system for nominating candidates to the primary ballot. Shouldn't it receive at least as much coverage between now and and February 5 as you give the Bronco's or the Rockies' training camps?

How about giving it news coverage NOW and each week between now and February 5, give adequate coverage to the HUGH story February 5, and THEN write an editorial about what should be done for 2010?

A few of us are holding a free, open meeting each month to try and help people learn about how to pick a party and participate, could someone from the RMN join us for our next meeting January 4? http://cocacop.meetup.com/2

PoliticsWest has a great overview of the upcoming Colorado legislative session and a list of the Colorado Senate and House seats that will be contested.

Catholic Answers Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics
If you take your Catholic faith seriously then this voter’s
guide is for you. It will help you cast your vote in an
informed manner consistent with Catholic moral teaching
and fundamental human rights. This guide will help you
tell the difference between candidates’ positions that are
morally acceptable and ones that are so contrary to fundamental
moral principles that they are inconsistent with
public service.