'76 Blog

I am blessed to be in Colorado but I am most blessed because I have the absolute honor of calling myself an American. My mother and father are my inspiration. My father dreamt of coming to America and conferred with his family about his desire. His sister agreed to sell her gold to purchase a ticket for the young couple to come to America in addition to some spending money - -one hundred dollars. They started their life in the mire of desperation and poverty in one room of a terrible apartment in Brooklyn, New York City, where I was born. Editor: Karthik Venkatraj is completing a John Jay Fellowship, a postgraduate year helping prepare young Americans for public service on biblical foundations, in the tradition of our nation's first Chief Justice and a co-author of the Federalist Papers, John Jay.  We're delighted that he will be interning with us at Centennial Institute this semester and contributing frequently to '76 Blog.  This post responds to my request for Karthik to introduce himself to our readers - John Andrews Eventually, my father found a job in the subways of New York City ferrying x-rays between hospitals and my mother found a job as a nurse’s aide in a busy Manhattan hospital. Ten years later, my father would be graduating from New York University as a PhD in Molecular Biology and my mother would be finishing her M.D. and working at the Oncology Ward in Albert Einstein Hospital.  This position was a far cry from their struggle to make ends meet each month as well as raise a child. Indeed, I can distinctly remember the culmination of a month’s paycheck in a splurge of eight dollars at a run-down Chinese buffet in Brooklyn. Their narrative can be found in no other nation, their ability to succeed can be predicated on no other ideals than those of America. My parents ensured their children were cognizant of their narrative and of the greatness that is our nation; thus, it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise when I raised my right hand to pledge defend our nation against all enemies. In response to the attacks of September 11th, I decided to enlist in the Army National Guard and soon entered the ROTC program at Texas A&M University’s Corps of Cadets in addition to serving within the Texas Army National Guard Armor Squadron. In five years, I would be appointed to serve within the Pentagon under the Bush Administration, travel on a diplomatic mission with the Army to my parent’s homeland of India, study Arabic with the Army in the foothills of the Atlas mountains, serve as an appointee to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and graduate as one of two distinguished military graduates from the largest commissioning program in the nation outside of the service academies. Once again, this narrative would be possible in no other country, within the context of any other ideals than that of our nation. But the ideals that informed and propelled my narrative and that of my parents were not based in the progressive thought dominating our nation’s modern political landscape but hearkens to those debates in the Continental Congress of Philadelphia, in the impassioned petitions of John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison within the Federalist Papers, within the Declaration of Independence, and within the Constitution of 1787. And that is why I am here at Centennial Institute, because I want a better nation for my children and their children, a nation with values and a solid moral compass. I am here because I am convicted that it is the duty of all Americans to preserve our republic and I am very concerned that we are losing that duty. I, like most Americans, do not want to see an America of 2076 as an irrelevant nation that has passed the torch of global leadership to another country but as a nation renewed and convicted in its role as a global leader. Above all, I am a concerned American who wants to foster a revival of the Spirit of 1776 in our nation - - a spirit that created what is now known as the greatest experiment that the world has ever witnessed, that of our democracy. Let us not be naïve to see that our nation has great challenges ahead of her; an enormous deficit that seems insurmountable, a war on multiple fronts with a virulent and violent enemy, failing schools struggling to compete on a global scale, a sluggish economy as well as a rising unemployment rate, a society mired in a degradation of traditional values, and a government unresponsive to common sense approaches. I will stop here because our role is not to merely articulate a litany of issues but to find solutions to them. Indeed, the state of our democracy is predicated on our search. Some may ask: “Where is the Spirit of 1776? Where is our nation going?”  I would answer that the Spirit of 1776 is here: it’s in the coffee shops and diners, it’s in dinnertime conversations of families, it’s in the workers of a coal mine punching in, it’s in the ranches and farms of rural America, in the junior baseball leagues, in our servicemen and women, in the pastors writing their sermon for their Sunday service. In short, the Spirit is in you, it’s in all Americans who love and care for our republic. The way this spirit will manifest and direct our people will determine 2076. Let us not forget the absolute providence that has guided our nation since its conception and to this point in our nation’s history. Let us take solace in the fact that this spirit, properly guided and convicted, in conjunction with providence has and will always lead to miraculous events and glorious beginnings. My name is Karthik Venkatraj and I am a concerned American, analyzing and revering our past but looking at our future. I take solace in the fact that there are millions of Americans like me, who want America to not only see another centennial but to see its best centennial ever. I believe in the inherent goodness and exceptionalism of our nation and its people and I look forward to our progression towards a better America together. As we say in the military, it’s something worth fighting for. Your fellow patriot,Karthik    

Former Colorado Education Commissioner William Moloney and former Heritage Foundation education analyst Krista Kafer, both now serving as Centennial Institute Fellows, are featured on Issue Monday, Jan. 31 at 7pm at the CCU Beckman Center, with a briefing on the institute's latest policy paper, "Much Better Schools on Much Lower Budgets."  All are welcome at no charge, but reservations are required.  Send your name and the number in your party to Centennial@ccu.edu.

National Journal Online today asked contributors to its Education Experts Blog for ideas on what 2011 may hold in school reform, since divided government in Washington means "it's likely that any changes on the federal level will be incremental. That means it's up to the folks at the local level--the school boards, the superintendents, and the unions--to turn around the failing schools and lift up the ones languishing in the middle." Colorado's Bob Schaffer, one of the experts surveyed, posted this response with praise for Centennial Institute's recent policy brief on "Much Better Schools on Much Lower Budgets." The Best Answers Are Indeed LocalBob SchafferChairman, Colorado State Board of Education, and former U.S. Congressman There’s certainly nothing good about a flat economy. There’s even less that’s positive about the precarious actions our federal government has tripped through over the past three years that have made matters worse. Economic uncertainty, however, should be embraced by school leaders as good enough a reason as any to insist upon structural reforms to improve education systems. Treating teachers like real professionals instead of union workers comes to mind. So does, applying more market forces to demand quality improvement. It’s always a good time to treat more parents like customers and children like real Americans. The most pragmatic answers about school improvement are indeed local in nature. Solutions that fail to acknowledge the Constitution’s placement of these matters squarely within the jurisdiction of the states, local communities and ultimately parents, are European-style fads that rarely work very well and never work for long. Former Commissioner of Education for Colorado, Dr. Bill Moloney recently released an uplifting issue brief suggesting we can achieve “better schools on lower budgets.” Produced for the Denver-based Centennial Institute, Moloney’s paper makes a sobering analysis of situations in Colorado that are similar to those of other states. In his report (CLICK HERE), he makes a compelling case for questioning contemporary fads that have sidetracked America’s public schools, for discarding many of them and for abandoning academic distractions that tend to divert precious classrooms resources. For example, class-size reduction has shown little beneficial impact, he asserts, certainly not for the money. Dr. Moloney’s report is worth a read by anyone serious about education policy, reform and management. Attention to what states and school districts can actually do offers the promise of yielding far greater practical results than does the current federal inclination to hurl larger grenades of yet-to-be-printed cash in the general direction of the country’s most serious academic crisis points. Dr. Moloney is right when he points out, “nothing is beyond our reach, if we care enough.”  

Next Monday, Dec. 13, Centennial Institute will assist President Bill Armstrong in welcoming Gov. Bill Ritter for a return visit to the CCU campus.  Ritter spoke here during his campaign for governor in 2006.  He joins us again during his final month in office *** Scroll down for a complete calendar of events, December 2010 to April 2011 *** for a noontime talk in the CCU Events Center to review the accomplishments, challenges, and lessons of the past four years.  Anyone may attend, but you will need a reservation.  Email us with your name and the number in your party at Centennial@ccu.edu. A month from now, Centennial will start the New Year of 2011 with a bang on Wednesday, Jan. 12, when advocates from the left and right face off in a debate on immigration policy.  Rosemary Jenks of Numbers USA and former state Sen. David Schultheis will make the conservative case.  Daniel Carroll Rodas of Denver Seminary and state Sen. Lucia Guzman will make the liberal case. The debate will be held just off the CCU campus at Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, 7pm on Jan. 12.  Once again, anyone may attend, but you will need a reservation.  Email us with your name and the number in your party at Centennial@ccu.edu. Click for more on the immigration debate: Immigration Debate Jan. 12 And scroll down for our full calendar of Winter-Spring 2011 events.  You are always welcome! CENTENNIAL INSTITUTEEvents, Winter 2010-2011----------------------------------------Monday, December 13, 12 noonCCU Events CenterHonored Guest: Gov. Bill Ritter“A Vision for Colorado’s Future”------------------------------------------Wednesday, January 12, 7pmLakewood Cultural CenterImmigration Debate: “Which Way America?”Rosemary Jenks & David Schultheisvs. Daniel Carroll & Lucia Guzman-----------------------------------------(Invitation Only)Friday, January 21, 730amBusiness Council Breakfast“Making Poor Nations Rich”Dr. Benjamin Powell----------------------------------------  Thursday, February 10, 730amDowntown Policy Breakfast“New Hope for the Inner City”Dr. Robert Woodson----------------------------------------  (Invitation Only)Friday, February 18, 730amBusiness Council Breakfast“Will Obamacare Survive?”Dr. Sally Pipes----------------------------------------Monday, February 28, 7pmCCU Beckman CenterIssue Monday: “Better Schools on Lower Budgets”William Moloney & Krista Kafer----------------------------------------(Invitation Only)Friday, March 18, 730amBusiness Council Breakfast “Free Speech & Campaign Finance”Dr. Bradley Smith-----------------------------------------(Invitation Only)Friday, April 15, 730amBusiness Council Breakfast “Ten Books that Worsened the World”Dr. Benjamin Wiker-----------------------------------------Thursday, April 21, 7pmCCU Music CenterForeign Policy Debate:“United Nations Pro & Con”Presenters TBA------------------------------------------AND BACK BY POPULAR DEMANDFriday, July 29 – Sunday, July 31Denver Marriott City CenterWestern Conservative Summit 2011Presenters & Pricing TBASee WesternConservativeSummit.com------------------------------------------Admission Free except where noted Reservations RequiredReserve at Centennial@ccu.edu  Or Call 303.963.3424John Andrews, Director      

Hear how center-right media on the Web in Colorado are breaking news and changing the political conversation. And learn how you can be a part of it. A couple of weeks ago, for example, a twenty-something from Denver with a videocam cruised a Bennet Senate rally and made ripples nationally on CNN. That was none other than Kelly Maher of WhoSaidYouSaid.com.  Join her next Monday evening, along with Michael Sandoval,the Battle '10 Colorado reporter for National Review Online, and Todd Shepherd of CompleteColorado.com, for a panel discussion and how-to roundtable.  The moderator will be Stephen Keating, the Centennial Institute fellow for new media. When: Monday, Nov. 15, 7-9pm. Where: School of Business, Room 103, at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, on Cedar two blocks east of Garrison.  Open to the public, no charge, but you will need reservations.  Email centennial@ccu.edu or call 303.963.3424. Stephen Keating, below, covered cable TV and was business editor for the Denver Post before reinventing himself as an online journalistic entrepreneur.

(Tribune Syndicate, Sept. 23) Raise your hand if you believe government has too little involvement in our lives. Put down your hands, members of the Obama administration. During a previous political uprising in the 1980s, academic institutions managed to fend off conservative attacks on some of the subjects taught on their campuses — from “peace studies” to kinky sexual practices, to bad history — with cries of “academic freedom.” Where are those cries now that the federal government is on the verge of regulating the content of subject matter on college campuses and changing the way these institutions are accredited? According to a Centennial Institute policy brief, a proposed new rule by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) “would place private colleges and universities under the ultimate control of state governments, rather than independent accrediting agencies. The notice of proposed rulemaking was posted in the Federal Register on June 18 for a public comment period ending Aug. 2. It could take effect as soon as November.” Former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong, now president of Colorado Christian University, wrote a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan on July 30. In it, he warned of an “all-out politicization of American higher education, endangering academic freedom, due process and First Amendment rights.” The American Council on Education, in a letter of its own, warned of “heavy compliance burdens” and “regulations that appear to overrule state law.” Armstrong says the attempt by the government to regulate curricula “is part of an unprecedented power grab in which government has already moved to dominate such industries as automobiles, energy, health care, banking, home loans and student loans — and now seeks dominance over the colleges and universities themselves.” Two Colorado Republican congressmen, Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman, have also sent letters to DOE in which they noted the proposed ruling would undermine “long-established independent accrediting agencies” (Lamborn) and potentially involve the government “in setting course requirements, quality measures, faculty qualifications and various mandates about how and what to teach.” (Coffman). Imagine the outcry if someone identified with the tea party movement had made similar demands of a Republican administration concerning what is taught at Harvard or UC Berkeley. There would be protests in the quads and a lawsuit by the ACLU. Conservatives have long believed that most universities are part of an “iron triangle” (along with big media and government) that keeps liberals and secularists in power. Controlling what is taught in schools, rather than encouraging true academic freedom, has been a successful strategy for shaping — some would say twisting — young minds and directing them in accordance with what statists and “living constitution” advocates believe. If imposing outside agendas — from textbook content to course selection — is supposedly bad when conservatives do it (mostly in reaction to the liberal assault on any ideas that conflict with theirs), why is it not equally onerous when liberals push for state control and the dictation of course content at private colleges and universities? It’s going to take more than one college president and two congressmen writing a letter to the secretary of education about this latest attempted government power grab. More members of Congress, other college presidents and newspaper editorialists must express opposition to this attack on the right of educators to teach what they believe to be essential courses that will result in a properly educated student who is fit for the real world. This should not be confused with the liberal-secularist view of the world, which is what those behind this regulation apparently want to impose on students and their parents who, in many cases, are footing the bill and too often contributing to the destruction of young minds.  

Should private colleges and universities be subjected to adversarial oversight by politicians in 50 state capitals?  That's the question posed by federal regulations set to take effect on Nov. 1, unless congressional objections slow down the timetable.  Centennial Institute Policy Brief No. 2010-1, "No Political Oversight for Private Colleges," written by education expert Krista Kafer and released today, analyzes the proposal and concludes it is regulatory overreach, "unnecessary and unacceptable." As Kafer explains in the introduction: "The Education Department is set to mandate more government control over a private-sector accreditation process that has served higher education well.  To what purpose?  The new regulations offer little benefit to these institutions, their students, or the taxpayers. Abuses by a few unethical, for-profit colleges do not justify a power grab against 6,000 nonprofit schools.  If states politicize their authorization process, colleges may face the choice of compromising their mission or closing their doors. In a nation founded on the free exchange of ideas, that’s wrong.  Policymakers should withdraw the proposed regulations." "No Political Oversight for Private Colleges" is available here:  Centennial Policy Brief No. 2010-1.pdf (80.58 kb) Here is the proposed regulation as published in the Federal Register, June 18 2010. 

Centennial Institute, Colorado Christian University's public policy think tank, announced its event calendar for fall 2010, including the hope of a Governor candidates debate in September and a Senate candidates debate in October.  Invitations are pending with the major campaigns, and director John Andrews said the prospects of confirmation are good.  (Scroll down for complete fall calendar below photo.)  Andrews also noted that the Issue Monday series will continue each month, legendary conservative strategist Ralph Reed will speak on campus Oct. 12, and a joint conference with the Heritage Foundation on effective compassion in public policy will take place Nov. 10-11, featuring Jay Richards and Robert Woodson.  In addition, supporters who have joined the Centennial Business Council or CCU President's Circle are invited to several breakfast and dinner events. (Scroll down for complete fall calendar below photo.)  Photo: Upstairs in the CCU Beckman Center, where institute functions are often held, a new "wall of fame" honors our speakers from the recent Western Conservative Summit and many previous occasions.  Scroll down for event listing below photo. For reservations or information on any of the following events, please email centennial@ccu.edu or call 303.963.3424.   (Invitation Only)Friday, September 17, 730amBusiness Council Breakfast“Race in America: Thinking Anew”Thomas Krannawitter  CCU Political Scientist----------------------------------------  Monday, September 20, 7pmCCU Music CenterIssue Monday: “Election Preview”Mike Kopp, Jon Caldara, Todd Vitale, Mike Littwin----------------------------------------Wednesday, September 22, 12 noonCCU Dining Commons Annex"Sharia Targets America: Are We Ready?"John GuandoloFormer FBI Special Agent----------------------------------------(Invitation Only)Thursday, September 23, 6pmPresident’s Circle Dinner “Which Way America?”Franklin Graham Evangelist & Humanitarian----------------------------------------- (Tentative) Tuesday, September 28, 7pmLakewood Cultural CenterGovernor Candidates Debate-----------------------------------------Tuesday, October 12, 7pmCCU Music CenterLecture: “Faith and Politics in a Secular Age”Ralph Reed, Founder, Faith & Freedom Coalition-----------------------------------------(Invitation Only)Wednesday, Oct. 13, 730amBusiness Council Breakfast “Campaign 2010, Opportunity 2011”Ralph Reed, Founder, Faith & Freedom Coalition----------------------------------------(Tentative) Friday, October 15, 7pmCCU Music CenterSenate Candidates Debate----------------------------------------Monday, October 25, 7pmCCU Beckman Center 210Issue Monday: “Reality Checkon Iraq and Afghanistan” Bill Roggio Editor, Long War Journal----------------------------------------Wednesday, Nov. 10, 7pmand Thursday, Nov. 11, 7pmCCU Music CenterConference: “Seek the Welfare of the City”Jointly sponsored with The Heritage Foundation----------------------------------------(Invitation Only)Friday, November 12, 730amBusiness Council Breakfast “Real Compassion for the Poor”Robert Woodson, Center forNeighborhood Enterprise-----------------------------------------Monday, November 15, 7pmCCU School of Business 103Issue Monday: “Deeper Lessons from Election Day”Panel of CCU Politics and History Faculty----------------------------------------(Tentative)Monday, December 6, 7pmCCU Music CenterDebate: “Immigration Hard Line or Soft?”-----------------------------------------Admission Free except where noted Reservations RequiredReserve at Centennial@ccu.edu  Or Call 303.963.3424John Andrews, Director Version 083010    

An overflow crowd packed the CCU Business School on August 9 as Centennial Institute resumed its Issue Monday series.  "Energy Insanity and Its Remedies" was the topic.  John Harpole, founder and president of Denver-based Mercator Energy, and Jim Felton, director of communications for the oil and gas heavyweight Bill Barrett Corporation, were the speakers.  I launched the discussion by noting that whereas fashionable opinion calls for ever less energy use, we at Centennial Institute see the increasing use of energy as a proxy for the increasing well-being of everyone -- a key to human flourishing.  Among the questions we invited Felton and Harpole to address were:  How are Bill Ritter's anti-oil policies hurting the Colorado economy?  How are Ken Salazar's anti-oil policies hurting the US economy?  What's the real potential of renewables & the best way to get there? How well has our state's wind mandate lived up to promises?  What are the policy priorities for this election and next year? John Harpole (at right in photo) warned that a train wreck is impending as government-mandated wind energy collides with EPA pollution standards.  His PowerPoint presentation is here.  Jim Felton's remarks were based on the following text: I'm asked to talk about energy a bit, But I see timing isn't the best right now, at least as the nation is concerned.  After all energy is a topic a bit down the list of those issues of primary importance to Americans. The Pew Research Center recently found the economy, jobs, and terrorism to be the top three of 21 issues listed as their importance to the American commonweal these days Of the 21 categories listed, energy was squeezed in the middle of the pack between the military and health insurance.  Global warming, BTW, came in at 21.  Energy, however, certainly impacts those top three, and further impacts the military deficit spending, the environment as several other issues on the list. I'll try to cover that ground a bit in the next 15-20 minutes. But first, a word from our sponsors: Thanks to Centennial Institute for this opportunity to introduce Bill Barrett Corp to many of you.  For those not familiar with BBC, we are a Denver based exploration and production company who just this week completed its 8th year in business.  You're a true local if you remember it was Barrett Resources back nearly 30 years ago that first solved the engineering and geology by getting natural gas to flow from the tight gas formations that provide the basis of energy development in the area today Six years ago we bought the rights to some 19,000 acres South of Silt, and have since spent north of a billion dollars in developing the natural gas resource We also hold a 90% in some 40 thousand acres atop the Roan Plateau, which is about 60 square miles.  To put that acreage number in perspective, the Roan, defined geologically by the outcropping of the mesa Verde formation, is nearly a million acres, or 15-hundred square miles.  Also known as the Naval oil shale reserve, you are TRULY a local if you remember when the federal government designated it as an energy asset of national importance- THAT happened nearly a CENTURY AGO.   SO LET'S EXAMINE ENERGY IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT"S on AMERICA'S MIND TODAY Top of the list, THE ECONOMY- some regarding energy and the economy in Colorado Several years ago, the state legislature pursued an economic impact of oil and gas in Colorado.  The School of Mines did the analysis, and it found oil and gas to be a $23 billion dollar industry. The figure is interesting, by the way, because 23 billion is what the industry generated for the federal treasury in 2008.....in other words oil and gas production, which takes place on less than half a percent of all federal lands, was the second biggest source of income for the federal government after, you guessed it- IS and our friendly collection agency known as the IRS. SO, if numbers give you indigestion after dinner, you might want to grab a Rolaid or two for a bit INCOME 90% ($21 billion) is directly tied to A DRILL BIT TURNING (D And c and extraction) $61 K salary is 32% higher than state average (2003)   OUTPUT O and G accounts for 70% of state mineral royalties O and G accounts for over three quarters of all federal mineral royalties O and G account for nearly 90% of all severance tax (88.7%) Over $1.2 B generated in mineral royalty and lease payments.  Over 60% (approx. $550 million) is then re-spent in Colorado. TAXES $640 MM  (property tax on production and equipment,  severance taxes,  fed and state royalties, $30 million state royalties) NOW IN THE PICEANCE COST ENVIRONMENT "PB has the most expensive overall investment for d and c in the state" At about $1.6 mm to D and C, is about three times what it costs to D and C in the Northern DC Reasons: tight sands need more intensive stimulation Topo Deeper wells (average > 8,000)   CAP EX Over a quarter (27%) of D and C and re-completes stay in the basin; 43% stays in basin OR STATE   TOTAL D and C and Re-complete investment ins 2005 dollars was nearly $1.3 billion  ($1,288,511,555)   BONUS AND LEASE PAYMENTS   Over $80,000 per well (5159 wells) 20% of all royalty and lease payments stay in the basin or over $83 million Two thirds of that was considered disposable income, or some $58 million   SUM TOTALS   Direct (f: D and C and Re-completes) + extraction is 3.1 billion (88% is from extraction- $2.7 billion)     Induced and indirect (as per IMPLAN guidelines) account for another $266 million for a total of $3.4   SO...ONTO TO JOBS,   As I look out and see business owners and entrepreneurs, I know the announcement this week by the Labor Department showing Grand Jct. lost more jobs per capita than anyplace else in the country is months of old news. I consider anyone who creates a job for another person an American Hero, and I salute you.   SO , condolences to many in your area, who, it seems, have had to bear YOUR inordinate amount of pain this past year. My own company had two rounds of lay offs last year, and it's sad and scary.   Colorado lost 100,000 jobs in 2009 alone.   News from our state capital notes - our Unemployment office is getting 14,000 calls a week and the state is paying out $20 million a WEEK in unemployment benefits (lent to Colorado  from the federal government lent by the Chinese) - compare that to 2007 when we paid out $300 million a year!   So what does Oil and Gas mean to EMPLOYMENT in Colorado Again, the School of mines notes   71,000 Direct Multiplier is another 71,000 jobs Indirect multiplier is 1.67   TOTAL: 190,000 direct and indirect jobs     WHERE THE JOBS COME FROM IN THE VALUE CHAIN   90% of those are derived directly from turning the drill bit (d and c and extraction) D and C and Extraction pay the highest, and are the biggest multiplier (2 and 5.63, respectively) Government is the biggest benefactor of the indirect jobs at 14%  (approx.) Payroll is $4.3 billion (2003)   INDIRECT: Legal services Custom computer programming Management of companies Real estate Power generation Architectural and engineering Scientific research and development Truck transportation   INDUCED:   Health care (doctors/dentists) Restaurants and bars Real estate Hospital Moto vehicle and parts Food and beverage stores Insurance carriers General merchandise     63% related to D and C and recompletions   PAYROLL: $399 million, 51% directly related to D and D and RC SALARIES "earnings per work in the industries that DIRECTLY support oil and gas were $74,000 in 2005.  INDIRECT earnings were $50,000, INDUCED were $31,000   SO, BOTTOM LINE IN THE PICEANCE:   School of Mines shows : 4092 direct 2574 indirect TOTAL: 6694   Financial impact of  3.4 billion   CONSERVATIVE FOR TWO REASONS: basin wide, NOT state wide.  Did NOT contemplate big transmission or transportation projects like pipelines.   If you want more, google CERI, CSM and look for publications     KEEPING WITH THE UPBEAT TONE OF TODAY'S SPEECH, let's address Energy and TERRORISM   Does anyone really think we're spending nearly $10 billion a month to spread democracy in Iraq?    They don't like us because we are over there, and we are over their for their oil... I mean, remember that just a few years before barack Obama was bowing before the Saudi prince last year,  George Bush holding hands with another one when oil was over $130 barrel .   Our need for imported oil  means $700 billion a year to fund madrassas, to brainwash a whole new generation of suicide bombers.  That blood and treasure weakens our industrial base, weakens our dollar, and strengthens our enemies by giving them more resources with which to try to destroy us.   The peace dividend would not only include bringing more soldiers home, but it would mean using less energy.  The DOD biggest energy consumer in the country ..   SO, some thoughts about foreign oil and reducing our dependency on it.   What if we replaced 25% OF OUR Oil consumption (we import well over half our oil) with domestic natural gas?   It would work like this-  you may want to reach for the Rolaids again)   The latest is 19,489,000 a day equates to displacing 4,874,000 bbl   Over a billion and a half barrels displaced over a year   One barrel equals 6000 cubic feet of gas = roughly 8 TP   TCF               Volume of natural gas necessary to displace 25% of domestic oil consumption = 8 tcf/yr   perspective...produced 20.5 in 2008, the highest level in nearly 30 years.      Percent increase in natural gas production to achieve 25% displacement of oil = 39 %     Consumer savings associated with displacing 25% of domestic oil consumption with natural gas  $59 billion (at $6 gas and $80 oil)     Additional jobs created NATIONALLY by increasing natural gas production by 39% = 1.4 million jobs (extrapolated from CERI study)...i.e. direct and indirect                                                                                Additional jobs created in COLORADO by increasing regional natural gas consumption by 39% = 120,000 jobs     Additional revenue to government (advalorum, severance, and government royalty) in COLORADO by increasing natural gas production by 39 % (based on $6/mcf) = $300 million/yr   It would take about FIVE years to get to 28 TCF a year   There are environmental benefits as well.       Electric Power Sector (4 TCF per Year to replace 75 Worst Coal Plants)   Reduce SO2 (sulphur Dioxide) Emissions by 55% Reduce Mercury emissions by 32% Reduce GHG emissions by 15%     Perhaps most promising of all, the last four years have seen a revolution in our ability to product clean burning, domestic, abundant affordable natural gas.   Technological advances have unleashed what many see is a century's worth of supply of this versatile and efficient (energy generated for energy consumed) fuel   Natural gas, I contend, is emerging as perhaps the most significant element in strengthening a balanced domestic energy portfolio than ever before...   Let's look at said Portfolio  HANDOUT CROSSHATCH   Hand out cross hatch...   Here is a takeaway I want you all to have....it's energy policy on one page.     Each side adds up to 100% of the demand and supply equation....look at petroleum and natural gas in relation to transportation...the example I mentioned above gives you a sense as to what could happen if you adopt a strategy to decrease foreign imports, trade deficits, or greenhouse gasses.   GIVE THEM A MINUTE   SO what about our environment? Well, you're all aware of the new COGCC rules, whose adoption of an additional 177 pages of additional rules led the Wall Street Journal to refer to them as the most  far-reaching drilling restrictions in the nation. But in the west, the feds are the landlord.   *Roughly 50% of the land in the west is owned by Federal and state governments -The Energy Information Administration of the Dept of Energy notes that:   ??Multiple agencies have regulatory and permitting requirements -10 Agencies and over 100 regulations have to met to drill one well »Department of Energy »Department of Interior »Bureau of Land Management »National Forest Service »National Wildlife and Fisheries »Environmental Protection Agency »Department of Transportation »State Oil and Gas Commissions »County Planning Commissions »State Wildlife Agencies State Historical Preservation Office and more.   Just SOME of the federal laws are............   Minerals leasing Act Federal Land Policy and Management Act National Environmental Policy Act Clean Water Act Clear Air Act Safe Drinking Water Cat Endangers Species Act National Historic Preservation Act   The clean air act itself occupies over 12,000 pages in the federal register.   Back to Policy on a Page   I contend policy should be strategic and forward looking, not a reaction to past developments.   That's what the Nature Conservancy has done.  The organization has tackled the idea of energy sprawl, in other words, a kind of kilowatt per acre comparison.   Here's some examples:   America has one million MW of installed capacity. Because U.S. demand for electricity has been growing at about 2% per year - we need to build 10-20,000 MW of new capacity every year to keep pace with growth.   I'm sure most of us have seen the 7.5 acres of solar panels at DIA.  That array, for $13 million dollars, supplies the facility with just TWO percent of the airport's energy needs. Sadly, that that 2% is a LOT higher than the overall percentage contribution solar is currently making nation wide   Multiplying everything by 50 to get to the 100%, a rough calculation shows then that  you would need 350 acres at a cost, then, upwards of half a BILLION dollars, just to power DIA with solar.    Duke Energy's  51-megawatt Kit Carson Windpower Project will occupy  6,000 acres near Burlington The Kit Carson project will consist of 34 GE wind turbines, each capable of generating 1.5 MW of electricity, Duke said.  Given today's wind generally operates at 33% capacity, that translates to half a megawatt a day from what, at 300 foot high each, looks like a futuristic city landscape covering OVER NINE SQUARE MILES for 17 megawatts... REMEMBER...we need 10 to 20 thousand megawatts of additional power A YEAR for the U.S....that's 6 million acres of wind A YEAR.....that covers our entire state in 11 years   And finally- What is needed on calm days and cold nights for back up?  Only natural gas provides the immediate back up power to Until electricity can be stored, wind and solar can realistically be considered supplements, not replacements. After all, in 2008, old fashioned, dirty, inefficient WOOD produced more energy for America than wind and solar combined.     What the Nature Conservancy ultimately determined is that, within the next 20 years, the nation will need land the size of Colorado to accommodate energy infrastructure, production and transmission facilities.   Again, one last string of numbers for perspective   66 million in Colorado 23 acres are federal 8 are either wilderness or de facto wilderness: Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, Road less, Wilderness Study Areas and the like 2.5 Piceance Nearly 1 million for the Roan   Who is going to allow?  Where?  When everything proposed is litigated....HOW   Remember, the census bureau projects 100 million more Americans by 2050   A growing population and growing (hopefully by 2050 then) economy makes conservation and efficiency more important than ever. That said, I think it nearly impossible to reverse demand through conservation.....I think you can merely slow it tho   So back to our policy on a page: My point is we need it all, we have what we need, but in what ratios?    We need it all, and we'll need more of all of it     Still,  we haven't allowed anyone to build a new refinery in the U.S. in over 30 years. We expect the lights to come on when we flip the switch, but we don't like coal, the source of 40% of our electricity - it's dirty and mining scars the earth. We also don't like nuclear power, the source of nearly 20% of our electricity -- it's clean, but we're afraid of it. Hydropower, the source of about 6% of our electricity is clean and renewable. But it has also been blacklisted - dams hurt fish.   SO with that, some closing thoughts;   There is no energy panacea: renewables are inefficient, have big footprints, and require fossil fuel back up.  Nuclear has its waste issues.  Ethanol burns a lot of gas, and requires four gallons of water for every gallon of fuel produced.  Fossil fuels emit carbon.     Self determination for rural communities, even entire states in the west, is becoming increasingly difficult.  There are literally BILLIONS of dollars from out of state foundations focused on limiting the multiple use charter that is the mandate of managers of public lands.   If you don't actively chart your own destiny as a state or community, someone else will   FINALLY : our ability to control our own energy destiny is MORE RELIANT ON POLICY THAN GEOLOGY- we are legislating deepening dependence at our own peril.  There are those who say Russia, because of its energy reserves, is more powerful than any time in its history.  There are those who say China and India are striking energy alliances around the globe  to compete with the U.S. for resources and economic power.    Energy is too important to our national and economic security to be politicized.  Much has been made of Geo Bush allowing oil and gas to lease wherever industry wanted, but Bill Clinton allowed 50 percent more acreage to be leased than George Bush, and it was Bill Clinton who signed into law the transfer of the Roan from the DOE (which had drilled a few dozen wells up there) to the BLM for the expressed purpose of developing what many geologists say is the most prolific undrilled on shore natural gas province in the country on a per acre basis at nearly  9 trillion cubic feet.                I suggest Mark Twain's advice: respect those who seek the truth, be wary of those who claim to have found it.  You've been very generous with your time....thank you.           Jim Felton Communications Manager 303-312-8103 ___________________________ BILL BARRETT CORPORATION 1099 18th Street, Suite 2300 Denver, CO 80202 T- 303.293.9100 |  F- 303.291.0420 www.billbarrettcorp.com <http://www.billbarrettcorp.com/>              

(Scripps Howard Syndicate) Just maybe, possibly, conceivably we've come to a non-violent revolutionary moment in America, and here's one reason I think so: A Denver area conference. Called the Western Conservative Summit 2010, it impressed me not just because of the recitation of principles to which I subscribe -- individual liberty, limited government, constitutionalism, strength in the face of our enemies -- but because of the mood conveyed by both the audience of some 600 and more than a dozen speakers. Their disposition struck me as cheerful, positive and informed more by an idea of mission than anger at the other side. Dennis Prager, a radio talk show host, told the crowd that liberals were mostly good people, that many people in his own family were liberals. Don't attack them, he said. It's their fallacious arguments you want to deal with. He spoke of the great slogan on coins, "E Pluribus Unum," meaning of course that out of many different people, we are still one as a nation. Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota talked about self-sacrifice, unity and dedication to one another as Americans. She ended her speech with the true story of four chaplains in World War II, a Jewish rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest and two Protestant pastors. Aboard a ship that was hit by a torpedo, they did everything they could to help the men aboard survive, even taking off their own lifejackets to give to others. They went down with the ship, their arms linked together. Putting such earnestly conveyed feelings of purposes beyond the narrowly partisan together with various acute analyses, I had an image of an emotionally balanced, powerful, alert, energized, morally informed, widely inclusive force awakened from slumber by an overly leftist administration and marching toward something pretty big.  I don't mean just possible conservative control of the House after the November election, but rather long-term, significant efforts to subdue the threat of runaway statism while maintaining this country as "the last, best hope of earth," in the words of Abraham Lincoln.  Of course, one regional gathering does not a revolution make. In and of itself, it proved nothing, though quite a bit, it seems to me, in the context of the town hall and Tea Party protests, of radio, cable TV and Internet commentary coming on top of what is being said in more traditional media and of polls telling us that increasing numbers of Americans are frightened about the direction of government. It is extraordinary to see the Tea Party rallies involving everyday, middle class Americans. Bashed, of course, as racists -- unlike Prager, many liberals cannot live without the ad hominem slur -- they are nothing of the kind. What set them off as much as anything was a new, ill-conceived, vastly controlling, misrepresented health-care entitlement that will cost hundreds of billions over the years on top of other entitlements that could be economically ruinous all by themselves. If you think the Tea Party represents just a tiny slice of America in its disenchantment with almost all things concerning Barack Obama, check out a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll saying close to six in 10 voters think the president is more apt to be wrong than right in policies. Most would agree with the Tea Party that the president's handling of the economy is better described as a mishandling of the economy. The public has even less use for both parties in Congress, as it should, given the irresponsibility of so many Republican and Democratic members. Some might think conservatives are still too unrepresentative of the whole to have long-term sway. But consider, first, that the latest Gallup poll says 42 percent of Americans call themselves conservatives while only 20 percent say they are liberal. Then consider estimates that no more than 40 to 45 percent of American colonists were clearly behind the independence movement while 20 percent remained steadfastly loyal to Great Britain.  Remember who came out on top?  (Jay Ambrose, formerly Washington director of editorial policy for Scripps Howard newspapers and the editor of dailies in El Paso and Denver, is a columnist living in Colorado. He can be reached at SpeaktoJay@aol.com.)