SandBoxBlogs: Command Posts "Doolittle Raid Reading and Viewing List"

(See related story and comments here)

A must read.  

Peruse official photos in this incredible collection.  Read the stories gathered and link to historical data that you may have never known before.

'Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders', thank you so much for your service.

Photo Credit:   "Lt. Hite, blindfolded by his captors, is led from a Japanese transport plane after he and the other seven flyers were flown from Shanghai to Tokyo. After about 45 days in Japan, all eight were taken back to China by ship and imprisoned in Shanghai. Image and caption credit: Pacific Air Forces."

Photo Credit:  "Brigadier General James H. Doolittle Poses beside an Army Air Forces recruiting poster alluding to his April 1942 bombing raid on Japan. Photograph was taken circa 1943. Image and caption credit: Naval Historical Center."

SandBoxBlogs: Eagle county Times "Diagnosis: Vail Hospital’s – Struggle with Credibility"

Clayton Moore:
"Is there something unhealthy going on at Vail’s Hospital – the Vail Valley Medical Center – VVMC?

You decide.

In a story first brought by Business Briefs – based on BB’s Public Record search – BB posted the 2009 compensation some of the VVMC officers have received.  The information can be verified from a review of that non-profits (public record) 2009 Federal 990 Tax Return.  (Click Here)  ECT readers can “cut to the chase – compensation” with a quick look at Page 47 of that return (Click Here)....."

(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: The Hill's E2 Wire "House clears highway bill with pipeline mandate, thwarts Obama"

Thank you, Congress!!  On to Senate.  Then max pressure on the White House by putting it right back on his desk until he signs.

The Keystone Pipeline is a bi-partisan, millions of jobs making project. 

"The House, defying a White House veto threat, passed GOP legislation Wednesday that extends transportation program funding through September and mandates construction of a controversial oil pipeline from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries.

All but 14 Republicans, with support from 70 Democrats, voted 293-197 for legislation that falls far short of Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) earlier plan to move a sweeping five-year, $260 billion package..."
(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: CBS Political Hotsheet "Ralph Nader: "Far too little difference" between Obama, Romney"

SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent "The Supreme Court will strike down Obamacare"

James Kellogg
"With his signature legislation in jeopardy, President Obama fired a cannon shot across the bow of the Supreme Court in a news conference on April 2. He declared that an “unelected group of people” should not turn to “judicial activism” with the “unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.”

Who is he trying to kid?

Disregard for a moment, the plethora of unelected “czars” the president has empowered over nearly every facet of our lives. Set aside the fact that striking down unconstitutional legislation is the court's duty and the antipathy of judicial activism. And never mind that the health care legislation squeaked through the House of Representatives by a margin of 219 to 212, despite a huge Democrat majority and a flagrant disregard for Congressional rules.

Let's focus on the one pertinent issue; Obamacare is a repudiation of the U.S. Constitution.

Judicial review of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act centers on the unprecedented use of Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 (Commerce Clause) of the U.S. Constitution to force Americans and legal residents to purchase health care coverage or pay a tax penalty.

In effect, Obamacare attempts to use the Commerce Clause to grant police power (i.e., the power to compel individuals to take specific action for the “public good”) to the federal government. That's a big problem....."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: KJCT News 8 "New Business Plan Proposed By USPS"

Janelle Ericsson:
"GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., -- Saturday delivery is on the proposed chopping block as the U.S. Postal Service looks for other ways to stay on budget. The post master general introduced the new piece of legislation to congress Tuesday in an attempt to avoid a bailout.


The postal service says it does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses. It relies entirely on the sales of postage, and services to fund it's operations. It says as more people turn to electronic payments and internet to keep in touch USPS says it cannot keep operating the same....."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "State House, Senate races take shape"

Caddie Nath:
".....Sitting Republican lawmakers Randy Baumgardner and Jean White, both vying for Senate District 8, and House District 61 hopefuls Debra Irvine and David Justice all won enough support from party delegates at Friday's assembly to land spots on the primary ballot.

Constitutionalist and expected underdog Justice made a strong showing against Breckenridge's Irvine for the party nomination for House District 61. The delegates voted 44-43 in favor of Irvine, whose name will appear first on the primary ballot June 26.

But Irvine and her supporters continue to argue she is the only Republican candidate who can beat incumbent Democrat Rep. Millie Hamner in the general elections in November.

“We can only do this if we put conservatives into office and we support candidates who can actually win,” Irvine said in a statement following the assembly.

Justice's agenda — he advocates dissolving the Internal Revenue Service and eliminating all state tourism funding — could make him a harder sell for more moderate voters...." (Read more?  Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Newsmax "Rubio's Immigration Push a Potential Lift for GOP"

"....The 40-year-old freshman lawmaker is looking at unveiling his bill in the coming weeks. The early outlines have drawn interest and skepticism from pro-immigration groups. Rubio's political motivation also has been questioned, especially since congressional Republicans and Democrats say legislation as ambitious as immigration is unlikely to be done seven months from the election.

"Is this really a legislative initiative or a political ploy?" asked Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice. "If it's about a political ploy, it's about throwing a lifeline to Romney, rather than throwing a lifeline to the dreamers."

Joaquin Castro, a Democratic member of the Texas legislature and a candidate for the U.S. House, said Rubio must be troubled by the GOP talk.

"It must be difficult for a Hispanic Republican to sit there and listen to all of the harsh rhetoric coming from the Republican Party about his community," Castro said in an interview.

Rubio insists that Democrats, who controlled the White House, Senate and House for two years and never completed immigration legislation, are "just panicked about the prospects of losing this issue as a campaign tool."...."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Family Security Matters "Immigration Control: Boots on the Ground or Eyes in the Sky?"

For those who are interested, this is a great feed to either alert yourself to or subscribe to.  Gives wide ranges of information keeping you up to date on immigration issues as they relate to public security.

(Read the article?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: KREX News 5 "Mesa County Working to Improve Law Enforcement"

A special thank you goes out to the Mesa County Sheriff's Dept., for having the courage to and taking the much needed step to,  bring accountability to prosecutors and agencies.  

Amanda Brandeis:
"MESA COUNTY, Colo.- Mesa County is one of seven counties in the nation involved in a research project that aims to help law enforcement make better decisions on the job.

Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey said, "There is now a large body of research out there that is very informative about things. For example, if you do certain things you can increase the chances of an offender not getting back into the system. Or if you do certain things wrong, you can increase the chances of that offender staying in the system."

The project is called the Evidence Based Decision Making Project (EBDM Project). Mesa County applied to be a part of the project and was selected.

Hilkey also said, "The entire goal of this project is to, number one, not cause any more harm, and not keep people in the system who shouldn't be in the system, but also, for those people who need to be in the system, do the right thing with them and make decisions that are informed by research."...."
(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Obama slammed for weak polar bear conservation plan"

First, 'SandBox Nanny' has to make her peace today with the undeniable fact that rabid liberal Andy Stone, up on the Aspen Times, made the SandBox roundup cut for the day.

And now Bob Berwyn, appears to be in one of his 'utterly shameless marketing of global warming information moods' by shamelessly using a 'catchy to conservative Nanny's eye' headline bashing Barack Obama in combination with exploitative posting of cute photos of her beloved polar bears:

"Polar bears won't get much help from a new protection plan proposed by the Obama administration...."
(Photo courtesy  USFWS/Scott Schliebe)

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Times/Andy Stone "Is downtown Aspen just a kiddie pool full of plucked chickens?"

(sighs...laughs instead of cry...rolls eyes....sighs again....)

There really is (believe it or not) a bar of standards and a formula she has for picking the stories that are SandBox worthy.

Andy Stone rarely, rarely makes the bar cut.

But today, (Nanny has shoved his link off to the side as long as she can in her posting) and now she has to deal with him....(isn't it just like the aggravating cuss??#^*!@!)... Andy actually has a few things of worth in his column today.

(sighs...rolls eyes...will he ever pull it all together so he can get one fully rational and moderately tolerant column pulled together???!!...sighs...sips from cuppa...rolls eyes...puts on soothing Tranquil Woods cd...)

Here are the snippets as Andy 'makes the cut':

"So it seems that Aspen is about to be inundated by a wave of uncontrolled development. A tsunami of tsuris..."

"And this time, we are being told, the people to blame are not the developers who seek to create ever-taller buildings in hope of attaining ever-taller stacks of money."

"In case you've been asleep — as certain council members seem to have been — it all began with a bursting pustule of local outrage over a spate of outrageously tall downtown buildings. (No need to wade back into the vile swamps of those events — except perhaps to note that if it took Jesus to chase the moneylenders out of the Temple and Joshua to topple the walls of Jericho, then it is apparently going to take an act of God to do something about that desecration known as the new Aspen Art Museum. So, come on, Jehovah! We're counting on you.)"

"Anyway, realizing there is no limit (height-wise or otherwise) to greed, the City Council began to see that only actual legal limits would stop the development of even more of the damnable buildings that threaten to block out the sun."

And so, Councilman Torre (who eschews a last name but might be trying to qualify for the sobriquet Torre the Fearless or even, egads, Torre the Wise) suggested an ordinance limiting downtown building heights to 28 feet"
"But — and here's the tricky part — Torre the Wise realized what would happen once the prospect of a height limitation was mentioned. The Four Developers of the Apocalypse (OK, there are a lot more than four of them) would rush to pile up applications, $1,000 bills and lawyers to whatever dizzying heights were necessary to beat the deadline before the new law went into effect."

"Sort of like calling in Mario Batali to whip up a delicious dinner with whatever is leftover when the sharks get done with that kiddie pool full of chickens."

"And, just for the record, I don't actually blame the developers.

That's right.

Greed is a natural part of the human condition — just like bubonic plague. You don't “blame” people with the plague. They're just victims. And you do whatever you can, whatever you must, to avoid their deadly contagion.

The greedy are no more to “blame” than those sharks in the kiddie pool.

But the people who refused to stock up on shark repellent. Or refused to call Shark Be-Gone. Well, make no mistake, they deserve our condemnation."

(Dare to read the whole thing??  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Protesters air concerns about Grand Junction credit union"

The lack of non-profit oversight in America is astonishing.  There is nothing that oversees the ethics and financial oversight of IRS classified 501C3 or 501C6 non-profit organizations.

If you were to sit down and so some serious online research into how much crime is charged against non-profits or their employees, boards of directors as individuals and administrators; you would be shocked at the numbers.  These positions of public trust really have no one to answer to except themselves within their own board of directors.

Read up on a troubling trend and consequence of no oversight here.

See related story and public comments here.

See a sister story on current issues in Colorado with non-profit credit union policies here.

Take a look and read up on what protestors in Grand Junction have to say by clicking the title.

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

SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent/Your Letters "Take time to study compressor impacts"

(See related stories and public comments here and here)

If you are not of a certain age and/or never lived rural while growing up, you probably have no idea how a party line telephone system worked.

Or remember Lily Tomlin and her 'one ringie, dingie...two ringie, dingie' schtick.

You may know how to text message however.  May even understand the basis, theory and execution of mass viral marketing.  Or simply know  what you know because you've experienced the fast thumb action of your teens sneaking their phones at the dinner table or been the receiving end of the power of the internet.

The concept of them all is the same.

What happens when you take an aging 'party liner' who literally has an entourage wake tailing her at all times  and put her in the media spotlight?

Why, it's safe to bet that she's going to get on the horn and stay glued to it for as long as anyone can be 'stirred into action'.

The days of party lines and gossip chains of the old school really passed quite some time ago.

Instead, what we have now in this day and age, in a growing portion of the social classes, is something called tolerance and equality.  Good communities just don't suffer covert bullies well anymore.  Not much room at the Inn.

You see, an 'aging party liner' could take a different track and probably find more respect for her position if she did so.  There were so many great suggestions from the general public on the CMC compressor station story when it broke (click links within post) that show the way.

Join our trusted, respected and appreciated CMC Trustees instead of the fauxtrage in the background.  The compressor station must happen.  It is a given and is coming.

Wouldn't it be nice to find a home for it and a way to make it fit in to the Spring Valley community instead of this old, tiresome and blatantly obvious PR push?

just sayin.

David Evans:
"I recently searched Wikipedia for more information about gas compressor stations like the one proposed for the Colorado Mountain College campus. I learned that “Natural gas compressor stations are known to cause many environmental problems, including air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise pollution.” Some sites have emitted extremely high levels of carcinogenic and neurotoxic air pollution.

I watched videos on YouTube that documented extreme noise emissions, explosions and fires at several gas compressor stations. The Hollywood film “Erin Brockovich” documents one community's difficult fight to stop and clean up chromium VI and other toxic chemicals that were released into the soil and aquifer from a gas compressor station.

Any decision to install a gas compressor station on CMC's residential college campus should be made with very careful consideration of the risks involved and the measures the gas company is planning to make sure that the above environmental problems cannot happen in this installation.

The articles in the Post Independent I have read describing this proposed installation have not mentioned any such due diligence on the part of either SourceGas or Colorado Mountain College.

Spring Valley is a very quiet, environmentally clean corner of the Roaring Fork Valley. It's better to take the time and do the work to be sure that this is a good decision."

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

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "County looks for greater social services influence in housing rules"

Strife and friction equal forward thrust.  Without the friction to move our issues forward; problems and needs would not be met or solved.

Many of our greatest accomplishments have been born out of our frustration as a nation.

What is it, that 'something' that a natural leader has within them that human instinct gravitates toward when in need?  What makes a follower instead of a leader?  Why is it, that one of the most powerful things to watch is a reluctant leader, or leader by default, in a crisis take charge and do what they instinctually know to do.

What would happen, right now, if all these voices, all this public angst and concern running through Valley communities just stopped?  Right now.  Eased back on the friction and let passive, sunny skies 'all the time' energy take back over? 

The leaders among us are not there to pull you through the crisis. 

They are there to pull you to the sunny skies and let as little harm as possible come to you while in crisis.  Even the reluctant leaders instinctually understand the dynamic.

This is an appalling statement  of true crisis causing problems, from APCHA Director Tom McCabe:
"“We as a housing authority don’t even know what most of the programs are that are available in the federal realm,” he told the commissioners."

This is a statement of sunny skies in the future from Nan Sundeen:
"“The community has changed and it’s a great time to look at our paradigm for affordable housing,” she said."

This is a bloviating political statement, that if stroked properly, has great potential to be listening to you when you all cut loose more friction, angst and tension to this particular commissioner.  Just the Facts.  Just politics:  
"“We need to find out how to integrate housing and health and human services in a way that’s meaningful for people before they arrive at a crisis,” said Commission Chair Michael Owsley."

Some ideas on how to propel said commissioner to greater heights, could be found in the sister story in today's Aspen Daily. 

Help PitCo spend that $10 million just sitting around burning a hole in their pocket. 

Like say....with an incredible multi-functional facility that houses emergency human services, homeless shelter, food and meals in addition to a county liaison that holds the sole purpose to connect the dots between human beings and aid for whatever ails them?  Spend it on something we need and of worth?  Or spend it on another deed restricted housing boondoggle or rental investments all the way down valley?  Hmmmmm.......
"PitCo needs help spending $10 million on......"

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

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Business Journal "Little Nell to host Colorado's first ever Master Sommelier exam"

"ASPEN, Colo—The Court of Master Sommeliers is holding its Master Sommelier Exam at The Little Nell in Aspen this May. The exam, dubbed “the hardest test in the world,” has a pass rate of approximately 10 percent and is being held for the first time in Colorado.

“There are only 118 master sommeliers in North America, and eight of them have worked or do work at The Little Nell,” said Jay Fletcher, chairman emeritus of the Court of Master Sommeliers. “The Little Nell has had more masters come through its wine program than any other establishment in the country. It’s the perfect place to hold this exam and see who the next masters will be.”  (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Summit view"

All photo credit:  Ed Carley

"I’ve been taking photos of mountains since 2002 when I moved to Boone, North Carolina to attend Appalachian State University, and where I began carrying a camera with me on my hiking and rock climbing adventures. My first taste of the Colorado Rockies came in 2003 when I spent the summer living in Crested Butte and mountain biking in every spare moment. I moved to Summit County in 2007 and have been a full time resident since then. In that time I’ve carried my camera with me on many hiking, biking and snowboarding excursions in to these amazing mountains. I’m happy to share my photos with Summit County Citizens Voice readers....." (follow @ed_carley or click credit link)