SandBoxBlogs: Town Hall "A True American Independent"

Salena Zito:
"This longtime Democrat left his party after it demanded that he sign a pledge to support only its candidates.

Local and national Democrats branded him as an extremist, out of touch with constituents; the press judged him to be “dead meat” in the 1970 campaign to win back his U.S. Senate seat.

Undeterred, Harry Byrd Jr. – namesake son of the legendary boss of Virginia’s then-dominant Democrats – beat the odds and won re-election. Not once but twice.

“It was a contentious time,” Byrd now says. “Then again, everyone thinks they are living in the most contentious times ever. Well, they really aren’t, are they?”

The longest-living former senator at age 97, Byrd still resides in his hometown of Winchester, Va., within walking distance of one of his beloved newspapers, the Winchester Star.

He served eight terms in Virginia’s senate before being appointed to his ailing father’s U.S. Senate seat.

He won that seat outright a year later, but the undercurrents of change already were building among Democrats.

“Liberals began … winning local elections in the primaries over moderate and fiscally conservative Democrats,” Byrd said of that shift. “You could just see it coming in successive primary elections, and that was in the ’60s.

“Now, the party is barely recognizable.”

He scoffs at the notion that this is the country’s worst-ever time, but passionately agrees we’re heading in a dangerous direction.

He served in the Senate under four U.S. presidents; he was close friends with Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Reagan, liked Clinton, but “never much cared for Carter.”

After his switch to independent, he still caucused with Senate Democrats but “no one ever took my vote for granted.” A staunch fiscal conservative, he introduced balanced-budget legislation four years in a row requiring that “total outlays of the federal government shall not exceed its receipts,” he said.

“Congress approved it, then promptly ignored it.”...."  (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Town Hall "One-on-One with Jeb Bush"

Larry Kudlow:
"Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Wednesday hailed the outcome of the Wisconsin recall election, praising Governor Scott Walker for emboldening conservatives in their drive to slash spending on a national level.

“He’s a courageous leader, and he was rewarded for courage,” Bush said on CNBC’s “The Kudlow Report.”

“In a world of dysfunction, it’s really good that a guy like that, who had the courage of his convictions and acted on them, is rewarded with a victory. I don’t even know why we had the recall to begin with, but if there was to be one, better to win by a bigger margin than he won in 2010, with a higher turnout. I think it’s a leading indicator of one thing, which is the intensity of the conservative side of politics is now stronger than the liberal side.”...." (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Sleeping duty: A bedtime story"

Dave Danforth:
"It’s hard enough to ask a jury to serve faithfully under duty to the American system of justice. Why double up by tempting the odds on wakefulness?

It would help if we asked juries to decide issues that really matter. Sure, it’s a technical question if ex-Sen. John Edwards and star pitcher Roger Clemens lied about the wrong things to the wrong people. But they’re both publicly dead and gone no matter the verdict. They’ll do the perp walk anyway.

Under orders to serve on a jury, sleeplessness is not entirely voluntarily...."
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SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Agency probes sheriff’s office ahead of discrimination suit"

When a cop the extremely high caliber and respectable standard of Joe Bauer, who  also happens to be a quiet man of few words; not only walks  away from a job he loved but feels strongly enough to publicly speak up over  the reasons why, 'strange things are afoot at the Circle K'.

This  now makes at least three major strikes against Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo.  The outside agency assists to the DEA bust in May of 2011.  The ongoing and active FBI probe into public corruption and now still yet another agency probe into possible  misconduct.

The citizens of the Roaring Fork Valley have more than enough t o be concerned over when it comes to our law enforcement and judicial needs.  Maybe the time has come for DiSalvo to consider stepping down.

Chad Abraham:
"DiSalvo vehemently disagreed, contending “this department is the best of its size, without question, in Colorado and maybe the country.”

The turnover issue arose last week when Pitkin County Commissioner Jack Hatfield asked in a public meeting why 10 employees had left the sheriff’s office since DiSalvo took office.

DiSalvo said Hatfield was misinformed. He said the number of former employees who have left since he took over is five, comprised of the termination of Stephenson and four resignations — along with Rayton, Anderson and Bauer; longtime deputy Mario Strobyl also recently retired.

Hatfield did not return a message seeking comment Monday...."
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SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "State high court reverses ruling in cocaine case"

Chad Abraham:
"In a 4-to-3 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday said an Aspen police detective did not illegally remain in the residence of the defendant in a cocaine-distribution case, reversing an Aspen judge’s ruling...."  (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Local prosecutors appeal sanctions in bomb-threat case"

Chad Abraham:
"Nichols also sanctioned Mordkin in August over pretrial evidence, ruling that certain evidence could not be used in an aggravated motor-vehicle theft case. For that ruling, Nichols cited discovery infractions in five felony cases dating back to 2009.

District Attorney Martin Beeson appealed those sanctions to the Colorado Court of Appeals, which has yet to rule. The prosecutors are asking the appellate court to consolidate the appeals they made in the motor-vehicle theft case and in Robinson’s case.

In the former, Beeson wrote that Nichols’ examples of pretrial missteps involved only a tiny fraction of the caseload that the Aspen district attorney’s office handled correctly. The appeal of the Robinson sanctions are “substantially similar,” the filing says, and the appellate court’s ruling “in either case will in all likelihood dispose of the issues in the other.”...." (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "The abuse of power"

Another special thank you goes out to Maurice Emmer of Aspen.   Prior to Emmer writing op-eds and LTE's in local papers, the bullying of others  in this valley was at an all time high.  Especially the bullying of women.

Emmer is not the only one who stepped up and began engaging in the same forums.  Other men in the valley have as well and all are appreciated.

There has been a long needed, long sought after shift in the social structures  within the Roaring Fork Valley over  the past three years.  A  very positive change that has finally, since mid-term elections seeped over into politics,  business, policies that affect us all and law  enforcement.  

Here's to the little guys.

Let freedom ring.

Maurice Emmer:
"Competition is a nasty thing for a city. The ski industry is in decline, and there are many attractive resorts competing for visitors and investment. If it is too inconvenient to visit Aspen or invest in Aspen, bye-bye. The visitors and the investment will go elsewhere, and presumably some are right now. We are special but not that special.

Consider Aspen and Detroit. The similarity should scare us. Detroit was the queen of the auto industry, just as Aspen has been the Silver Queen of skiing. Detroit thought it was so special because it was the Motor City. The world could not survive without Detroit cranking out wheels for a growing America. But, little by little, Detroit and its state adopted policies that were unfriendly to investment and even to daily life. So the people and the investment went elsewhere. Many other examples can be identified of the phenomenon of know-it-all public officials killing the investment climate and leaving the wreckage for later generations. Fifty years from now, will residents of Vail, Telluride, Park City and other resorts tell jokes about the brilliant policies that killed Aspen? Never think it impossible...."
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SandBoxBlogs: Steamboat Today "Turnover at top of Routt County Road and Bridge Department"

Tom Ross:
"The top two employees in the Road and Bridge Department have left Routt County government just as the busy summer season of road projects gets under way. County officials say they are taking steps to ensure construction of a $1.2 million traffic roundabout near the state’s largest coal mine, installation of a pair of new bridges in California Park and routine chip-and-seal and magnesium chloride chores continue to move forward.

Assistant Road and Bridge Director Paul Draper was “released from his duties,” County Commission Chairman Doug Monger confirmed Monday. The county commissioners declined to discuss the reason for Draper’s termination...."  (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Vail Daily News "Tough 'til the end"

Kim Fuller:
"BEAVER CREEK — It's hard to catch your breath when you're climbing a mountain, jumping into icy water, lugging logs, crawling under electric wires and swinging from dangling rings. Tough Mudder promises a challenge, but what the event delivers is an experience that can only be felt in the grips of its course.

Mark Lepczyk and his friend Chris Vail came out from New Mexico for this year's event at Beaver Creek. Lepczyk said it was harder than he anticipated.

“It was my first Tough Mudder and it was definitely a humbling experience, especially that first mile,” Lepczyk said. “You just go straight up the mountain, and you get winded really, really quickly. It doesn't go away, either, because you're going up the mountain for the next six miles or so.”

As humbling as this event truly is, it's even more uplifting. Spectators lined a large portion of the course on Saturday, offering encouraging shout-outs and generous hand-slaps.

Participants also helped each other tremendously on every obstacle, as well as on uphill battles and downhill trudges. It's the cooperative energy that seems to set Tough Mudder apart from most endurance and adventure events like it.

“You come out here and everybody's participating and everybody's helping you. Everybody just wants you to succeed,” said Bobby L'Heureux, a Vail resident who completed this year's endurance event. “You see people at obstacles waiting and helping other people up for 10 minutes. People aren't worried about time, they're worried about helping the other player in the game.”...."
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SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent "Carbondale pulls out the stops for Ride the Rockies"

John Stroud:
"Rose Quinn of Avon was relaxing in the shade at the Fourth Street Plaza enjoying a beer and “reliving her day.”

“It was such a gorgeous ride today,” Quinn said of the 68-mile second stage from Hotchkiss, over McClure Pass and into Carbondale.

Quinn came to the realization as she embarked on her second Ride the Rockies from Gunnison Sunday morning that she had forgotten her bicycle cleats.

So she duct-taped her sneakers to her pedals and made it through two days of riding before she finally found a bike shop in Carbondale to buy a new pair of bike shoes.

“I bumped into one of the town's employees and he even took me to the bike shop,” Quinn said. “This is easily the best host city so far in the two years I've been doing this. People here are just so friendly.”
Greg Norling and Paul Richards, both from Seattle, were quick to agree....." (Read more?  Click  title)

SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "New form of barter introduced in Summit County"

Kathryn Turner:
" A new network of currency measured in hours, not dollars, has landed in Summit County.

The idea behind Mountain Hours is that people are the money, said Wayne Walton, one of the four creators, or “revolutionaries” of Summit's new system.

“It's organic, usury-free money,” he said. “Hours are a universal unit of value.”

Here's how it works: one “mtnhour” is equal to $10 (There are four denominations: 1/10 hour, 1/2, 1 and 2). Local business owners agree to accept the currency, and are given 200 mtnhours right off the bat. The hours are then used at other businesses around Summit that accept the currency, thus encouraging local spending and keeping everything within the county. The money is debt and interest-free, Walton said.

“It's basically to show people that they are the money, and since they are the money, they don't have to rely on a private company called the Federal Reserve,” Walton said. “By virtue of controlling the monetary system, they finance the things that they value that keep us in servitude ... there's plenty of money circulating on Wall Street, but there's not enough money circulating locally.”

Once people realize they are the money, they can have abundance, Walton said.

In only five weeks of operation, Walton has 34 businesses signed up. Every one that signs on gets its initial allocation of hours — and another every three months — and a marketing video, which is displayed on the mtnhours directory online. There is no cost to join, Walton said, since the local businesses and people are the money.

“At a very fundamental level, it's completely changing the paradigm of what money really is,” he said.....
" (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Steamboat Today "The Summer Triangle"

Jimmy Westlake:
"There are few sights in nature more beautiful than the starry summer sky. When the sun goes down and the summer stars come out, three of the first ones you see, high in the northeastern sky, will be the trio of bright stars that forms the corners of an unmistakable asterism called the Summer Triangle. Although it’s called the Summer Triangle, it first becomes visible in the early evening during late spring and hangs on in our evening sky until early winter.

Asterisms are dot-to-dot drawings in the sky that are widely known but are not counted among the 88 official constellations. The Big Dipper is another well-known example of an asterism. In many cases, asterisms like the Summer Triangle are easier to recognize than the official star patterns.

The brightest star in the Summer Triangle and the first to rise is Vega, named for “the plunging vulture.”

At a distance of only 25 light years, Vega is among the closest stars to our solar system. Vega became a real “movie star” in 1997 when the late astronomer Carl Sagan chose it as the source of the first extraterrestrial radio signal detected by astronomers on Earth in his fictional book and movie “Contact.” In real life, Vega was one of the first stars discovered to have a ring of planetary material surrounding it, possibly a family of planets in the process of formation....
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SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Out and about …"

All credit Bob Berwyn (Click title):