May 29, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: Red State "One Metric on Impact: SWATting "

Erick Erickson:
"Last week I wrote about the Speedway Bomber and current left-wing activist Brett Kimberlin. In 2011, after writing about Kimberlin, LA County Prosecutor Patrick Frey was rousted out of bed after midnight by the LA County SWAT Team. Someone had called 911 claiming to be Frey saying he’d just murdered his wife.

Sunday night as my family and sister’s family were around the dinner table and playing outside, sheriff’s deputies pulled into my driveway responding to an accidental shooting at my home.

One deputy was in the driveway. Another blocked the end of the driveway with his car. A neighbor tells me another was up the hill from the house.

There was no shooting at my home. Someone called 911, claimed to be at my home, and claimed to witness a shooting at my home.

As the one deputy and I spoke, the other deputy walked up the driveway, positioned himself behind the car in the driveway, and kept his eyes on me and his hand on his gun. My three year old ran between us all thinking it was so cool to have a police car in the driveway with its blue lights flashing.

Luckily, after I had starting writing about Kimberlin, I advised the Sheriff’s Department to be aware this could happen.

It was a prank, but not just any prank. This is a prank left-wing activists are increasingly deploying against those who dissent from their political views. When Barack Obama told his supporters in 2008 to bring guns to knife fights, some of his supporters took him more literally than I assume he intended...." 
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SandBoxBlogs: The Atlantic "The New Welfare State: Faster, Cheaper ... and Out of Control?"

Joseph Lawler:
"In 1996, President Bill Clinton ignored the protests of his liberal base and signed a reform bill written by congressional Republicans that abolished the existing welfare entitlement and replaced it with a new program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. In doing so, he fulfilled a 1992 campaign promise to "end welfare as we know it," by instituting strict time limits and work requirements for recipients and block-granting funds to the states.

Within a few years, the number of families on welfare had shrunk by more than 50 percent. When caseloads remained low and single mothers' employment numbers and wages rose throughout the 2000-01 recession, even the law's critics began to take notice. Rebecca Blank, a member of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers and a skeptic of the reform, acknowledged in 2006 that "[e]ven the strongest supporters of welfare reform in 1996 would not have dared forecast the steep declines and continued low levels of welfare caseloads a decade later."

Despite being mostly won over by the law's robust performance, Blank issued a warning: "in the face of a major economic shock ... the current system of public assistance may not provide adequate support for many of our poorest families."

The shock Blank worried about came in late 2007. Four years later, her fears seem to have been realized. Because of the 1996 law, welfare grants can't increase to accommodate surges in needy families during a downturn. The government simply block-grants about $17 billion to the states each year, regardless of the circumstances. ..." (Read more?  Click title)

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SandBoxBlogs: Red State "Failed Earmark Culture Should Not Return "

'repsandyadams' Diary:
"The 2010 election spurred hundreds of Americans to call for a change in the direction our nation was taking.  They were sick of the reckless spending of the Democrat-controlled Congress and they wanted their representative to be above the culture of corruption in Washington, D.C.   As a result, November saw 87 new Republicans elected to the House of Representatives with a mandate to enact changes to the way Washington, D.C. works.

I was proud to be one of those historic freshmen.  Over the past year and a half, I have spent my time in Congress trying my best to serve my constituents and uphold the conservative principles on which I ran.

One of those changes our freshmen class was able to achieve was to end the practice of earmarking, where legislators target federal dollars to special interest projects.  Today it is against the rules of the House of Representatives to earmark, and that is a policy my constituents and I continue to support.

Unfortunately, some in Congress, including several in my own party, have decided that taking two years off is enough time to “fix” what was wrong with earmarks.  They are encouraging the Speaker and others to bring back earmarks and use them to “grease the skids” and “help get things done.”

Some have argued that the total amount of earmarks is negligible when looking at the overall budget.  However, the real danger from special interest favors is that they can be used to influence the votes of Members so they will vote for bloated policies our nation cannot afford.


Whether it is a transportation bill that spends more of your tax dollars than is taken in by federal gas and excise taxes or annual spending bills that have grown exponentially over time, earmarks can help push bad policy over the finish line and signed into law.

By getting rid of earmarks, Members are forced to evaluate each bill on its merits.  It encourages

Members to read the actual text of the legislation, determine the positives and negatives of the bill, and then make a decision based on whether the bill is in the best interests of their constituents and the country.  When earmarks are allowed, instead of reviewing the merits of a bill, Members put too much emphasis on whether a specific earmark getting passed is more important than the underlying bill.  That makes for bad public policy and expands our nation’s debt and deficits.

Many of my freshmen colleagues and I have made it clear to the Republican House leadership that a return to the failed policies of the past isn’t acceptable to us or our constituents.  We were sent to Washington to fix Congress and end earmarking, not to endorse the big spending culture of the past.  I will stand up to any effort to bring back earmarks, and I encourage Red State readers to contact their representative and ask them to do the same.

Congresswoman Sandy Adams represents Florida’s 24th district"
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SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Morgan Stanley: Anderson Ranch is after our ‘deep pocket’"

Chad Abraham:
"Morgan Stanley, which borrowed more than $107 billion from the Federal Reserve in 2008 — more than any other bank during the recessionary crisis that year — contends a longtime Snowmass Village art institution is after the international financial-services firm’s “deep pocket.”

The conglomerate denies any wrongdoing in an embezzlement case that sparked a lawsuit in Pitkin County District Court by Anderson Ranch Arts Center in which Morgan Stanley is a defendant. The bank in March filed a motion to dismiss the case.

The nonprofit arts center sued the firm in August 2011, along with the center’s former accountant, Marlana Howell, to try to recoup more than $736,000 that she embezzled from Anderson Ranch. She is on parole after serving about 17 months of a four-year prison sentence for felony theft.

The arts center’s claims against Morgan Stanley include negligence and breach of contract. The firm is accused of failing to inquire about Howell’s authority to withdraw Anderson Ranch funds; and relying on an authorized individuals form she provided “that was defective on its face,” and which had no force or effect in granting Howell authority to withdraw money, according to Anderson Ranch’s lawsuit.

Morgan Stanley’s attorney, David Goldberg of Denver, wrote in the motion to dismiss that the company held a securities investment account for Anderson Ranch and that the ranch’s controller was authorized to give orders on the account. When Howell was hired for that job, Anderson Ranch instructed Morgan Stanley “to deal with” her, the motion says....."  (Read more?  Click title)

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SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent "Deny Carbondale's request for energy impact funds"

Excellent idea from Sharon Brenner this morning.  Here on the Glenwood Springs Post Independent.

Sharon Brenner:
"I am wondering why Carbondale thinks it should get energy impact funds for its new library, especially since the town is doing all it can to fight natural gas drilling in the area. The town itself is responsible for adding significant additional costs to the construction of the library. It is retirees and trust funders who have moved to Carbondale that are driving the need for a larger library — not energy company employees. I urge the Garfield County commissioners to deny the town's request.

Just out of curiosity, if the library were oriented to take advantage of solar heating (windows) in the morning and winter, and shaded in the afternoon during the summer, how much would be saved by not installing solar panels and the accompanying controls? How long will it take to recover the costs of the solar panels?
...." (Read more?  Click title)

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SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent "Town eyes renewal of gas lease to Antero Resources"

John Colson:
"SILT, Colorado — The town's Board of Trustees meets tonight at Town Hall to debate whether to renew more than 75 “net mineral acres” in natural-gas leases to the Antero Resources drilling company.

Town administrator Pamela Woods said the three-year agreement will bring in “about $180,000 a year” to the town's coffers.

The lease, which expired on April 29, gave Antero the right to drill for natural gas deposits deep underground in several areas within the town.

A map of the lease areas is available from Town Hall.

The measurement “net mineral acre,” according to a memo from town attorney Lee Leavenworth, is used when rights are owned by more than one party.

Leavenworth wrote that, for example, if the lessor owns 100 percent of the minerals underlying one acre, that equals one net mineral acre.

But if only 50 percent of the minerals underlying one acre are owned by the lessor, that constitutes half of a net mineral acre.

Leavenworth's memo did not contain any breakdown of the town's mineral rights ownership.

According to Leavenworth, the town first signed a lease with Antero in 2005, for a period of three years...."
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SandBoxBlogs: KUNC "Tax Break for Beetle-Kill Wood Products Expands"

Erin O'Toole:
"As vacationers head to the Colorado mountains this summer, it will be hard to miss the large swaths of dead and dying trees caused by the mountain pine and spruce beetle epidemic. But a bill signed into law earlier this month by Governor Hickenlooper could help speed up the recovery process.

Rep. Laura Bradford (R, Collbran) sponsored the bill, which extends and expands a tax exemption on the sale of products made from wood harvested from beetle-kill trees. The tax break covers items such as furniture - as well as products like firewood, lumber, and sawdust.

Decorator Charise Buckley praised the wood's versatility last year in a Denver Post article:
The distinct look of beetle-kill pine — produced by the infestation — also strikes a chord with home design fans. Beetles invade the bark of mature lodgepole and ponderosa pines and lay eggs. The resulting larvae feed on and ultimately kill the tree.

Though the interior wood of the tree remains unchanged and structurally sound, a blue fungus carried by the beetles stains the wood, leaving telltale blue, green and gray streaks.
Bradford says removing beetle-kill trees is critical to future forest health – and with more than 3 million acres of trees destroyed, Colorado needs to approach the problem from every angle.

“We need to incentivize the marketplace to get these trees off the forest lands before there’s a catastrophic fire,” she says...."  (Read more?  Click title)

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SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Snowmass Village tourism officials 
intertwine marketing with Aspen name"

Chad Abraham:
"Snowmass Village Councilman John Wilkinson often draws blank stares at other ski resorts, even in Colorado, when he tells fellow skiers where he resides.

But mention Aspen and it’s instant recognition, he said.

Snowmass tourism officials know the feeling. Last week, Susan Hamley, director of the town’s Snowmass Tourism office, unveiled a new advertising campaign that will tout the variety of activities not just in the village but also in Aspen and elsewhere in the valley.

One potential ad Hamley displayed to Town Council on May 21 features a photo of the Belly Up, the popular concert venue in Aspen.

The advert “plays up what we have here in Snowmass, what we have with our partners in Aspen and what you can get in the valley,” Hamley said. “We mention Aspen in the copy as well, saying that the combination of these two neighbors is powerful.”

But Hamley said in an email that the effort should not be construed as the town “abandoning our own identity.”

“While we’ve also always promoted Aspen arts and cultural organizations as well as bigger events there, our board would like to align even more with our highly recognized neighbor,” she said. “Aspen is a key differentiator for Snowmass ... not for all audiences but for many.”...."
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SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "The new face of Grand Junction tourism"

Caitlin Row:
"Already successfully branded as Colorado's Wine County, Grand Valley tourism seeks to expand its reach even further with a new push — to be known for its extraordinary recreation and culinary options.

Hiking, biking, rafting, golfing, dining — all the “-ings.”

“It's all about diversity and having lots of choices,” Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau (GJVCB) division manager Barbara Bowman said.

Now, Bowman's big tourism vision has fresh energy behind it. The new marketing and PR coordinator, Mistalynn Meyeraan, said she's all about promoting Grand Junction as a recreation destination. Her ideas for local tourism incorporate an active-lifestyle focus, and cycling will “absolutely” be part of it.

It will combine “everything that we, as locals, don't take for granted,” Meyeraan said. “It's not just about tourism. It's about how great the community lifestyle is. … It's a push for new recreation advertising and awareness, because it's here.”

Meyeraan, a native to the Western Slope, most recently worked in Colorado's ski industry as Winter Park Resort's communications manager. She joined Bowman's team this month...."
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SandBoxBlogs: Steamboat Today "Jimmy Westlake: Don’t miss rare transit of Venus"

Jimmy Westlake:
"“By far the noblest (sight) astronomy affords.”

That’s how Sir Edmund Halley of Halley’s Comet fame described one of nature’s rarest astronomical events — a transit of the planet Venus across the face of the sun. You won’t want to miss the only chance in your lifetime to see this noble sight on June 5.

In centuries past, transits of both Venus and Mercury were important events because astronomers could use the timings to estimate the sizes of these planets and their distances from Earth. Nowadays, these sizes and distances are well established. Modern astronomers search for the transits of undiscovered planets in front of other distant stars. Studying transits in our own solar system helps them know what to look for when observing distant suns.

In effect, a transit is a miniature version of an annular eclipse of the sun, with Venus rather than the moon crossing the sun’s face. Even more rare than the once-every-76-year passages of Mr. Halley’s comet, transits of Venus occur in pairs separated by more than a century. The two transits in each pair are eight years apart. There were no transits of Venus in the 20th century, with the previous pair happening in 1874 and 1882....."  (Read more?  Click title)

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SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: The break of dawn"

All credit Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — There’s a moment, perhaps a few moments, right around sunrise when the light is as good as it’s ever going to get. It’s pure magic, really, and if, as a photographer, you’re in the right place when it happens, then all that you need is the technical know-how, and maybe a few good lenses. Sometimes it doesn’t always come out the way you expected, and other times, when you get home and download the images, all you can say is, “Wow!”  (See more?  Click title)