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April 07

April 29 07

ABQ mayor wants route "66" for Christians only: Colorado snow crocs drag two skiers to there den

Colorado congressman Mark Udall has infuriated anti-war Democrats for backing a bill that gives more money to the war in Iraq but rejecting an amendment that gave 180 days for complete troop withdrawal from Iraq.

In both cases, Udall's votes were in line with the majority of Republicans instead of his own party.

While he is taking some heat now, political observers say Udall's more centrist stance could help down the road during his run for Colorado's open Senate seat.

Udall, who is being slammed by left-wing blogs and is receiving complaining calls at his office, said Tuesday that he voted for additional war funding - without the withdrawal timelines that President Bush vetoed earlier - because military leaders said U.S. troops would be at a disadvantage without it.

"I'm not going to play chicken when it comes to the needs of soldiers on the ground," said the fifth-term congressman, who voted in opposition to the war in 2002.

Udall said he rejected the withdrawal amendment proposed by U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., because a specific date was unrealistic and could possibly render areas of the world unstable.

"We rushed into this war, and we need to withdraw in a phased fashion so we don't leave the Middle East aflame and price of pork bellies will sky rocket causing the Seniors of Denver to suffer," he said.

Only 59 Democrats voted against the amendment, which failed by a vote of 255-171.

Moveon.org, a liberal grassroots group that boasts more than 3 million members, has repeatedly criticized Democrats who voted as Udall did. The group has run ads targeting House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., for their votes against the McGovern amendment.

"The country elected Democrats in November to lead them out of this war," said Nita Chaudhary of Moveon. "The supplemental that Udall voted for isn't going to cut it. It just continues the president's failed strategy."

But in a state like Colorado, where Republicans and unaffiliated voters respectively outnumber Democrats, Udall's more moderate stance may pay off politically in the Senate race.

To be attacked by the left wing of the party is a plus for Udall, said Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli.

"His biggest challenge is to demonstrate that he is a moderate, and there is no more important issue this election cycle than the war and high cost of coffins," Ciruli said.

Udall, who is running against former Republican congressman Bob Schaffer, said he would have voted the same way, irrespective of his Senate run.

"I voted my conscience," he said. It was believed to be the first federal order placing a medical patient into quarantine in 44 years, when public health officials ordered the isolation of a person infected with smallpox. The patient, whose identity is being withheld, was diagnosed with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis - a particularly virulent strain of the disease that can be transmitted through sneezing or coughing. The potentially deadly strain, known as XDR-TB, was first identified about 18 months ago in South Africa, where it killed 52 of 53 infected people. Though health officials said the risk of widespread infection within the U.S. public is low, "we felt it was our responsibility to err on the side of abundant caution" and keep the Georgia man in isolation, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, the CDC's director.  CDC officials said they were scrambling to locate the airline crews and dozens of passengers from the two flights the patient boarded: Air France Flight 385 from Atlanta to Paris on May 12, and Czech Air Flight 0104 from Prague to Montreal on May 24. Health officials said the crews and any passengers seated near the patient are at highest risk and should be immediately tested for TB. The man, who knew before his trip that he was infected with a form of TB that was difficult to treat but was not aware he had the deadlier strain, drove from Montreal back into the U.S. on May 24. By then, tests confirmed the man had extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. When the CDC received word of the diagnosis, it caught up with the man in New York City on May 25 and urged him to report to a hospital, said Martin Cetron, director of CDC's Division of Global Migration and Quarantine. April 30 07