SandBoxBlogs: National Review "The Truth about Fracking"

Kevin D. Williamson:
"In the middle-of-frackin’-nowhere Pennsylvania, Boy Genius is showing off his giant robot: It’s about 150 feet tall, God and the almighty engineers alone know how many hundreds of tons of steel, and four big, flat duck feet on bright orange legs. “Yeah, this is kind of cool,” he says of his supersized Erector Set project.

“You can set those feet at 45 degrees, and it will walk around in circles all day,” a colleague adds.

But Boy Genius is not letting himself get too excited about all this — it’s pretty clearly not his first giant robot, and he’s a lot more excited about his seismic-imaging system: “It’s kind of like a GPS, but it’s underground and it works with the Earth’s magnetic characteristics.” Nods all around — that is cool.

Everybody here has a three-day beard and a hardhat and steel-toed work boots, but there’s a strong whiff of chess club and Science Olympiad in the air, young men who are no strangers to the pocket protector, who in adolescence discovered an unusual facility for fluid dynamics and now are beavering away at mind-clutchingly complex technical problems, one of which is how to get a 150-foot-tall tower of machinery from A to B without taking it apart and trucking it (solution: add feet). That giant robot may walk, but it isn’t too fast: It can take half a day to move 20 feet, because this isn’t a Transformers movie, this is The Play, and Boy Genius is a member of the startlingly youthful and bespectacled tribe of engineers swarming out of the University of Pittsburgh and the Colorado School of Mines and Penn State and into the booming gas fields of Pennsylvania, where the math weenies are running the show in the Marcellus shale, figuring out how to relentlessly suck a Saudi Arabia’s worth of natural gas out of a vein of hot and impermeable rock thousands of feet beneath the green valleys of Penn’s woods. Forget about your wildcatters, your roughnecks, your swaggering Texans in big hats: The nerds have taken over...." (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "GJ welcomes home navy seal"

We do think our returning military are special "E-6 Navy Seal Karl “Gus” Gustavson".  Regardless of what heroics you take in stride every day.

Thank you for your service.  Welcome home.

Richie Ann Ashcraft:
"E-6 Navy Seal Karl “Gus” Gustavson received a much deserved hero’s welcome Thursday morning after returning home for the second time from Afghanistan to his home town of Grand Junction.

Gustavson declined to speak about his service and said “there’s not much about work that I can really talk about.”

But, whatever it is he does do, it’s something important, dangerous and worthy of an immense amount of respect from his fellow veterans who turned out at Grand Junction Regional Airport to welcome him home.
“This is the second time we’ve welcomed him home. You’ll have to ask him what he does but I can tell you he really deserves it,” said Art Edwards, one of more than 20 Colorado Patriot Guard Riders and Legion Guard Riders who came to say thank you.

“Just think about all that’s happened in the last six months and that should tell you,” said Jim McNeill, a friend of Gus’ father. “I can tell you, he’s really, really special.” McNeill was looking forward to finally meeting Gus, after sending numerous care packages throughout the past year filled with food and candy as a showing of support.

Gustavson doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. “Not that I’m not special,” he said with a laugh...."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Iowa Republican/Kevin Hall "Democrat Operative Reverses Plea; Guilty of Stealing Secretary of State’s Identity"

See related stories and commentary:
http://sandboxcommentators.blogspot.com/2012/01/sandbox-comments-breaking-news-iowa.html 

http://sandboxcommentators.blogspot.com/2012/01/sandbox-comments-iowa-republican-kevins.html

http://sandboxcommentators.blogspot.com/2012/01/sandbox-comments-iowa-republican-dem.html

http://www.dailyiowan.com/2012/03/07/Opinions/27358.html

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/2857180/posts?page=1

Kevin Hall:
"Democrat operative Zach Edwards changed his initial not guilty plea to guilty and received a light sentence for stealing Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s identity. The plea was officially filed by Iowa Courts on Thursday. He pled guilty to identity theft, a simple misdemeanor.

Edwards received a deferred sentence of one year probation, 20 hours of community service within 120 days and a $65 fine. If he completes probation successfully, the simple misdemeanor charge is dismissed without a conviction being entered on his record. Edwards was originally charged with an aggravated misdemeanor and faced a maximum of two years in prison and a $6,250 fine. He was represented by prominent Republican attorney Matt Whitaker.

Zach Edwards was the Iowa Director of New Media for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. At the time of his arrest, he served in a similar capacity for Link Strategies, a Democrat consultant group closely aligned with Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and several prominent Democrats around the country.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Edwards tried to use the identities of Secretary of State Matt Schultz, and/or his brother Thomas, with the intent to falsely implicate Secretary Schultz in illegal or unethical behavior. The Secretary of State’s office discovered the crime and reported it to authorities. Edwards was fired from his position at Link Strategies following the arrest...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: KREX News 5 "Mountain Biker Hospitalized After Falling Off 20-Foot Cliff"

Every person who hikes, bikes, fishes, hunts, skis, snowboards, snowmobiles, etc. etc. should purchase a CORSAR card every year.

Colorado's search and rescue teams and all of our first responders are some of the best in the world.  You never know when you or a loved one may need them.  For less cost than a latte' you can financially support their work on your behalf.

Courtney Griffin:
"Loma- Rescue crews rushed to the aid of a mountain biker who fell 20 feet off a cliff Sunday afternoon. The biker, whose identity remains unknown, was riding along a cliff on Mary's Loop near the Loma boat ramps when he lost control and fell. Officials said that area is dangerous; they've seen many riders have problems on the same trail...." 
(Read more?  See the trail?  Click title.  Buy a CORSAR?  Click link above)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent/Your Letters "Make marijuana a true prescription drug"

Out of the mouths of the kids:

Kayla Kline:
"On my way to Glenwood Springs High School, I pass two dispensaries. I see two ads for medical cannabis while reading the local paper in the morning. I pass one dispensary before I cross the Grand Avenue bridge, and another just down the road.

In the paper I can always count on finding an article or an ad about medical marijuana. “Valley teen: Marijuana is ‘widely available.'” That article sure grabbed my attention. The article talked about a student in Carbondale and his dance with the medical marijuana epidemic. When asked where he would get his supply, he stated, “[My provider] would go down to the dispensary once or twice a week and get his marijuana, then he'd give it to me.”

In the local news briefs on March 8, another headline nabbed my attention: “Teen arrested for Carbondale dispensary break-in.” If you ask me, these dispensaries are nothing but trouble.

A group of us students at GSHS have been studying public policy. We are not out to say that marijuana should be legal or illegal. That's a lost argument.

We are looking into ways that medical marijuana could be better distributed. The main thing we have found when we asked our peers, “Do you think, upon seeing medical marijuana dispensaries, that marijuana is becoming socially acceptable?” is that 80 percent of the time, the answer was yes.

We have come up with a policy idea in which medical marijuana would be distributed through a pharmacy, like every other prescription medication. It would be given in a regulated dose with the information on usage as well as the patient's name on the prescription bottle. It would be handled by licensed pharmacists, and could only be obtained by prescription from a licensed doctor local to the patient's area of residence.

There would be less chance of abuse going unnoticed, it would follow the same guidelines as any other prescription drug, and be viewed, as it should be, strictly as a prescription drug...."
(Read orig. letter?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News/Letter to the Editor "Keep the land public"

'SandBox Nanny' has been a 'news junkie' since her late teens.  And that...is a long time...

Throughout the years she has noticed that the sheer volume of vitriol output does come from liberals.  The vast majority of the time one can find conservatives in defense mode.  Rather than get into finger-pointing, smart defenders have developed what 'Nanny' calls the 'mirror defense'.

From the position of taking the higher road one can very effectively shine a reflective mirror on to those who antagonize.

Jennifer Isenhart shows beautiful execution of the 'mirror defense' today.  Up on the Aspen Daily News.

Jennifer Isenhart, New Castle:
"Editor:

I recently had the pleasure of partaking in one of our freedoms: The right to speak at a town hall meeting. I took my two minutes to speak then sat quietly listening to others who had the right to do the same. I am writing at this moment in regards to the “heckler” leaving the meeting, speaking against my belief instead of taking the time to share theirs with me. I will not stoop down to a level below the beliefs I am so passionate about.

People might be quick to judge me just because I have a “No Hidden Gems” sticker displayed on my vehicle or for what I may speak about publicly. But no one has ever stopped to take a minute to ask me about my passions and beliefs on public lands, or to share theirs.

Hidden Gems supporters might be surprised that I see things very similarly to them. I care about our public lands, and even more this great planet we live on. I wish to protect it, and just like you I want the younger generation and those beyond to enjoy it just as I have. Yes, that may be by a motorized route to a special destination where we believe in teaching the younger generation to be good stewards of the land and to work hard to keep the land just the way it is — public.

I don’t believe wilderness is the answer for every piece of land. You can bet I won’t give up on the possibility of there being a better way. Maybe I could be a part of some new legislation, and I would invite you to be also, because deep down we all walk on the same path, just in different shoes. So as I proudly display my sticker I do so with an open heart and mind, and you will continue to see me out there on the trails working hard to keep them clean, promoting responsible use and standing strong for the belief that everyone should have that right to use it as well...."  (Read original letter?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."\

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice " Morning photo: The winter that wasn’t?"

All credit Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — Lots of grumbling from tourists and old-timers alike on this winter, or the lack thereof, but was it really as bad as all that? You’ve seen all the stats on snowfall and temperature, now have a look at some of the photos showing that, yes, there was a winter in Summit County, with snow, cold, fog, ice … and it’s not over yet. My money is on a snowy and cold late March and early April.

And just as food for thought, I’d like to throw out there that a cycle of big wet winters (like last year), followed by a relatively short and mild winter (like this year so far), is probably beneficial to some plants and perhaps even animals in ways that we don’t even begin to understand. We just have to let go of the idea that we humans are at the center of the universe. All these pictures were taken before winter even formally began on the calendar...."  (See more?  Order photos?  Click title)