SandBox Comments: Red State "RS Interview: Ovide Lamontagne (R CAND, NH-GOV PRI)"

"This should have been up yesterday, but the various technical breakdowns that I was having were fairly epic.  Anyway: you probably remember Ovide Lamontagne as being a NH Senate Republican primary candidate in 2010… and for graciously conceding the race when he lost the primary, which may have well saved the GOP that seat in the general election.  At any rate, he’s currently the only Republican candidate in the NH-GOV primary, and we spoke yesterday about the race and his plans for the campaign...."
(Moe Lane via Red State)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: SkyHi Daily "William Hamilton: College, Iraq, and Afghanistan: Who pays?"

"....That leaves Iran, which has the largest armed forces in the region and an abiding hatred for the United States. If, as many experts predict, Iraq becomes a vassal state of Iran, what are the options for an industrialized world that depends so heavily upon the oil of the Persian Gulf?

Despite our nuclear submarines in the Persian Gulf and our aircraft carrier task groups operating in the Mediterranean and in the Arabian Ocean, we really do not have any meaningful way of force projection into the heartland of Iran. So, unless the Saudis are willing to take on the Iranians, the industrialized world must make nice-nice with the Iranian regime..."
(William Hamilton)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: Aspen Times "Charlie Leonard: Greece is falling — are we next?"

"...Let's put the work of the Supercommittee in perspective. If you total up all the federal budgets of the next 10 years, we are on course to spend more than $40 trillion and borrow another $15 trillion to pay for it all. Yet we have a Supercommittee that is struggling to find ways to cut $1.2 trillion, or about 2 percent, of federal spending over the next 10 years. Even if the committee succeeds, we are still on a Greek-like path to financial ruin — we just buy ourselves a couple of more years...."
(Charlie Leonard)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: National Review/The Editors "Goodbye, Greece"

"How does one say “Goodnight, Irene” in Greek? Or “Show Me the Way to Go Home”? Or, if neither of those classic festivity-enders does the trick, “Hit the Road, Jack”? In any case, the message needs to be sent: The party is over, and it is time for Greece to be shown the door, if the Greeks cannot find it themselves, and exit the eurozone.

A Greek default appears to be imminent. The question is whether it is to be an orderly default or a chaotic one. At the moment, the odds are about even between those two possibilities...."
(National Review)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: Scott Tipton "Tipton Stands Up For Private Property Rights"

"Tipton Stands Up For Private Property Rights

Washington, DC — Rep. Scott Tipton is taking a stand for private property rights by urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reconsider implementing a permit condition to require the transfer of privately held water rights to the federal government in order to utilize National Forest System lands. Tipton expressed concern over the impact the requirement would have on water rights held by ski areas and ranchers.

In the letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Tipton writes, “Water rights established under state law are property rights for purposes of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Congress has not delegated to the Forest Service the authority to require permittees to transfer ownership of water rights to the United States as a permit condition…

“Likewise, the Property Clause does not give the agency the authority to use permitting conditions to obtain federal ownership of water rights that have been developed or acquired by private parties. In the absence of such authority, the agency cannot demand such a transfer of ownership without just compensation. Rather than unlawfully taking property from private entities, the agency must acquire and exercise water rights in priority in accordance with state laws.

“It has been a long-standing policy of the Department and the Forest Service to ensure that private property rights, including water rights, will be recognized and protected in the course of special use permitting decisions for water supply facilities. Secretary Madigan and Secretary Glickman provided assurances to Congress in the 1990s to recognize and respect the role of the States in water allocation and administration, as did Under-Secretary Rey in 2005. I have serious concerns that the agency intends to depart from this longstanding policy by virtue of its recent permitting decisions and related policies.

Because of the significant percentage of water that originates on National Forest System lands in the West, such a change in policy would pose a threat to the current system of state allocation and administration of water rights…"
(Scott Tipton Press Release)

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SandBox Comments: Colorado News Agency "GOP, guv to lock horns over senior property-tax break?"

"With Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper’s proposal for the budget now on the table, House Republicans today prepared to draw a line in the sand over a voter-approved property-tax exemption for senior citizens. Hickenlooper proposes suspending the senior homestead exemption for yet another year in order to hold onto approximately $100 million for the state’s strained budget...."
(Debi Brazzale)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: The Atlantic "How the Hashtag Became a Campaign Battleground"

Ah, yes.

Welcome to the world of 'hashtags'.

You know you've 'arrived' in the world of Twitter when you have at least one (sandboxblogs has 8 nearly exclusive to us that are used by tweeters daily....hooray for us!).

"One of the most contested battles in the online political arena in recent weeks was a fight over Obama's new push to make policy by executive order -- and which ideological camp could best define the hashtag that described it.

"We can't wait," proclaimed the president on Monday, Oct. 24, announcing that in the absence of congressional action on his jobs plan, he'd be advancing orders on mortgages, school loans, opportunities for veterans, and more.

Republicans had a field day. "#WeCantWait to make @BarackObama a one-term president," tweeted Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus that day. A flurry of tweets followed. By Tuesday afternoon, the White House, which, notably, initially hadn't bothered making use of the tweet-friendly mantra as a hashtag, made an attempt to reclaim it. Tweeted the White House: "#WeCantWait for today's Office Hours" -- a reference to an online chat with economic advisor Brian Deese on Obama's new initiative. Minority Leader Pelosi tried her own spin. "#WeCantWait for GOP to stop blocking #AmericanJobsAct & #ChinaCurrency jobs bill," she tweeted, adding a kick at the end: "PS to GOP: #HashtagsArentAJobsBill." Oh, snap...."

(Nancy Scola)

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SandBox Comments: Aspen Times "The sun doesn't shine on Aspen City Hall"

Another  great letter supporting the efforts of Marilyn Marks to bring transparency to our elections:

"....Aspen may not need transparent elections, but those of us in rural Colorado need all the oversight on government we can get. Please stop fighting against the sunshine in the rest of the state. Don't appeal the solid, citizen-friendly court ruling."
(Allen Jones, Villa Grove)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: Aspen Daily News "Judge unlikely to allow key evidence in pending cocaine case"

Evidence — including nearly 1.5 ounces of cocaine and a handgun — in the case against an Eastern European man will likely be suppressed today, according to a judge’s order released Wednesday.

Judge Gail Nichols of Pitkin County District Court wrote that Aspen police Detective Walter Chi unlawfully remained in the apartment of the suspect, Andrian Arapu, 25, of Moldova, after he was detained by immigration agents April 6. Nichols also cited the fact that other police officers and agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entered the defendant’s apartment without permission.....

......Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin declined comment when asked if the warrant would hold up without Chi’s observations.

If both he and Van Ness “agree that, without the tainted information, the search warrant affidavit does not establish the requisite probable cause, the court will suppress the evidence of the gun and cocaine seen by Detective Chi ... and will also suppress the evidence seized as a result of the search warrant,” Nichols wrote...."
(Chad Abraham)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: "Aspen Times "Aspen, other resorts plan joint announcement"

Interesting to see a tight-lipped Jeff Hanle.

The day after voters in Steamboat Springs and Winter Park area ratcheted up the Yampa Valley Regional Airport with their full support and the money to back them up.

The Aspen Skico has spent a lot of years trying to sell Aspen on the destination for the elite and wealthy.

The past year or so the Aspen Skico has also put forth a lot of finger-pointing propoganda that has a great deal of disinformation about Vail Resorts and Steamboat Springs.  There are no 'fire-sale prices' in either resort.  The only 'monopoly' that either resort has is their tourism marketing foresight to wisely spend their money building infrastructure that is able to house permanent draws and very large events.

While Aspen Skico has rested on its laurels.

Unless there is some very good money and revenue ability coming direct from the Aspen Skico to either of these resorts; both should begin to rest on their own laurels and not tie themselves to a 'flat' Aspen ski market.

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: Summit County Citizens Voice "Geothermal energy could easily replace coal"

SandBox Nanny is a big fan of both geothermal energy exploration and biomass fuels studies.

Both have great potential to solve many US energy needs.

Thank you for a very interesting article today goes to the respected voice for the environment, Bob Berwyn.  Up and over on The Summit County Citizens Voice.

"SUMMIT COUNTY — Geothermal resources in the U.S. could produce at least 3 million megawatts of power — more than 10 times the amount currently produced by coal-fired power plants today — according to a new report issued by Southern Methodist University’s Geothermal Laboratory.

The study, funded by a grant from Google.org, used Google Earth technology to help map vast reserves of a renewable energy resource that is realistically accessible using current technology.

The estimated amounts and locations of heat stored in the Earth’s crust included in this study are based on nearly 35,000 data sites and will help pinpoint  locations for resources capable of supporting large-scale commercial geothermal energy production.

Based on the additional data, primarily drawn from oil and gas drilling, larger local variations can be seen in temperatures at depth, highlighting more detail for potential power sites than was previously evident in the eastern portion of the U.S. For example, eastern West Virginia has been identified as part of a larger Appalachian trend of higher heat flow and temperature.

Conventional U.S. geothermal production has been restricted largely to the western third of the country in geographically unique and tectonically active locations. For instance, The Geysers Field north of San Francisco is home to more than a dozen large power plants that have been tapping naturally occurring steam reservoirs to produce electricity for more than 40 years...."
(Bob Berwyn)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: Glenwood Springs Post Independent "Antero temporarily pulls South Gravel Trend drilling plan"

Thank you, Antero!

For pulling off, well over a month ago, the drilling plan review that was on the COGCC schedule for December.

Knowing that long before John's poking Silt Mayor David Moore on behalf of the submission of public comments from the citizens of Silt...you were on top of things is a terrific feeling.

The citizens of Garfield County can remain feeling comfortable that their local oil and gas officials are looking out for everyone's interests.

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: Vail Daily "Group petitions EPA over air in 8 western states"

"DENVER (AP) — An environmental group has petitioned the federal government to reduce air pollutants in eight western states.

WildEarth Guardians says that by law, the Environmental Protection Agency has to designate areas as "nonattainment" areas if they violate certain air-quality standards and put them on the path to cleaning up.

The group's petition contends 15 areas should be labeled nonattainment areas for violating standards limiting particulate matter to less than 10 microns in diameter, or about one-seventh the width of a human hair. It said the EPA should declare six other areas "serious" nonattainment areas.

WildEarth Guardians also wants the EPA to call for Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming to revise their state plans for complying with the Clean Air Act.

The EPA had no immediate comment..."
(Vail Daily)
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SandBox Comments: Summit County Citizens Voice "Food: A classic French meal to share with friends"

"International travel sometimes presents language barriers. A trip to Nice in the south of France was no different. Going to the store always held a bit of a mystery. Sometimes I just had to take a chance on what I was buying. As my friend, Santos, would say, “At least I didn’t come home with roller skates...”

(Tom Castrigno)

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