The Price of Immigration
Post blogger Frosty Wooldridge runs the numbers on immigration. “Every month,” writes Wooldridge, “your U.S. senators and House representatives along with President Bush allow 182,000 legal and illegal immigrants to move into America. By year’s end, they total 2.18 million. Who pays? You do! How much? Each year, you shell out $346 billion in taxes to pay for those immigrants. Citing Edward Rubinstein of the National Research Council, “In 2006, 38 million U.S. residents were foreign born. Most immigrants are poorly educated and lack basic skills required for middle class jobs, which include health benefits. Immigrants account for 59 percent of uninsured people.”
Venture Outside Your Comfort Zone
The mission of the 5Point Film Festival, going on this weekend in Carbondale, is to inspire adventure for all kinds.
Ruedi Reservoir Water Cut In Half
KNFO News director David Bach reports on why the Ruedi Reservoir above Basalt has been drained of half its water.
Amanda's Injection Of Hope
In Delhi, India, Post blogger Amanda Boxtel tells of the travails of embryonic stem cell therapy. "Shortly after 12 noon," she blogs in Snowmass Post, "I am rolled on a gurney from my hospital room into the operating theater. The operating theater assistants line the trolley side-by-side to a narrow operating table and I roll over on to the skinny surface face down on my tummy. The table is tilted six inches or so with my head pointing downhill. I feel instant pressure in my sinus cavities and my head thumps with fresh blood.... A steady bleep bleep bleep bleep beeps in the background while the Blue Angels (assistants festooned in blue scrubs) hold my body face-down in position."
Democrat Molehills
In comment #7, Post blogger Mitch Mulhall thinks the ungrammatical and inaccurate term "Democrat Party" is nothing more than a molehill. "I find Michael's unwavering defense of the adjective 'Democratic' when referring to the party of Carter, Mondale, and McGovern a source of mild amusement," write Mulhall. "It's like carrying a torch for kids being called names on the playground. The bigger he makes this molehill, the sillier he seems."
CON GAMES 24/7: The Real Party Of Values
The Con Man takes the position that it is a rank perversion for the Republican Party to try to convince a compliant world that it is a party of values.
At Snowmass Post, Johnny Boyd Has A Few Things To Say
Blogging on Snowmass Post, new Post blogger Johnny Boyd has a few things to say about economics, voodoo and otherwise. "Being deep in debt with poor credit has only one solution –– raise revenues and cut spending," he blogs. "Around my household some sacrifices would have to be made. Steak would be replaced with hamburger. The Range Rover in the driveway would be traded for a used Subaru. Most importantly, I would get a second job. I would never think of spending my way out of a fiscal crisis."
Aspen Club Gets P&Z Green Light
The Aspen Club and Spa passed a key hurdle for their ambitious plans with the approval of Planning and Zoning. "We are focusing on not worrying about the final goal," writes club president Michael Fox, "but rather to continue to enjoy what we do each day, continue to be successful as individuals and as a team to keep getting better as a business and most importantly to have a lot of fun along the way. If any group can do all of these things, it is the Aspen Club Team."
CON GAMES 24/7: Immigration Fireworks
In a heated discussion with Los Angeles talk show host Larry Anderson about Hispanic gang violence against blacks, Mike McGarry--the co-founder of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform--became so incensed with the Con Man that he walked out.
The Undemocratic Party
Post blogger reckless G, no friend to conservatives, puts the hammer down when it comes to the undemocratic superdelegates of the Democratic Party. "After learning of the Democrats’ primary electoral process," she blogs, "I’m inclined to agree with the assessment that the Democratic Party is decidedly undemocratic. How else can you describe the attitude that the good of the party trumps the will of the people? At their convention in Denver this year, the Democrats may ignore the popular vote in favor of selecting the candidate the party leaders believe will be most 'electable.'"
Victor Wooten Top To Bottom @ Belly Up
Sometimes it seems as if the great electric bassist is re-inventing his instrument. One of the key elements of the groundbreaking Bela Fleck group performed Wednesday night @ Belly Up Aspen, where you're sure to hear something new.
Fly Fishing Mission Accomplished
Post blogger MItch Mulhall weaves another one of his tall tales. "It had been a few years since I’d last guided a fly fishing trip," he blogs, "but my piscatorial reputation was fairly well known, if not as unwarranted as a Madonnna Grammy. Still, among people who were near enough my own kin, my angling abilities were honored.... To be fair, the broken fly rod had done nothing for his disposition. His disappointment obvious, and I felt a skunking coming on. I strung my rod and straightened my leader while he worked on tying that Griffith’s gnat on his tippet. When he finally cinched his knot and clipped off the tag end, he hooked the fly in rod’s cork handle and reeled in the slack."
Amanda Boxtel Back In India
Post blogger Amanda Boxtel resumes her account of her quest for the ability to walk using stem cells in India. "For two-and-a-half days," she blogs, "I have caved up in Room 208’s cocoon at Nu Tech Mediworld. I am by myself and while I am alone, I embrace this space and time to enter back into the hospital’s womb. Like a caterpillar encased in its silken armor, I am protected from the chaos that bellows outside the hospital’s walls, as I gestate in my newly pregnant embryonic stem cell body. So far, I have had six stem cell injections and one intravenous shot of a gazillion stem cells. I have also had blood drawn to check my prolactin levels, and an ultrasound check on my abdomen. On Wednesday, May 7th I will have my first caudal procedure in the operating theater at the older hospital located at Gataum Nagar."
CON GAMES 24/7: The Con Man Takes No Prisoners
Sick of the sickening "values" debate dominated and defined by Tighty Righties, the Con Man teaches the likes of John McCain and Rush Limbaugh a thing or three about true American values
Why Does Everyone Want To Kick W's Ass?
While Irish Kit still doesn't have a bead on the video linking problem, she's not letting that detract from the inspiration she draws from the traditions of the Grand Ole Opry, in this case a slide show of unfortunate Bush poses set to Big & Rich's Why Does Everybody Want To Kick My Ass. Most of us here at Aspen Post commend Kit's lampooning of the President, but we have to question her ability to invoke Country Music to make her point, given her recent move to the left coast. Don't they confiscate country music when you cross the Idaho boarder?
An Inspirational Nymph
Remember the fly tying vice your grandma got you in the Summer of '69? Post blogger Mitch Mulhall does in comment #1.
Troubling Brew
Leave it to Post blogger Star Eagle in comment #18 to drop in A River Runs Through It reference--a Folger's can full of worms--into tonights' angling theme. "Pretty much means opening up a can of fat worms," he blogs. "As long as its all street legal B. Jon you got no problems with me or the green meanies. As far as shit goes, like we'd say down on the border, "eets reealy goood schiit maan." And Mitch, digging up old New Orders True Faith.. ahh going back to those wonderful wacky 80's, were those the days or what. Madonna, Michael, wait, wait get a grip man. Sorry. Kinda lost it for a second or two there."
CON GAMES 24/7: Indy, NC Primaries Tell All
Who does it all mean for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? The Con Man makes his predictions and waits for the chips to fall.
Zele Cafe: Raising The Bar
Aspen Club and Spa personal coach Kim Moore comes to the Zele Community Table with Carmela Tafoya, a coach to call her own. " I was a counselor at CMC [Colorado Mountain College]," Moore says, "and the climbing professor—the outdoor education director—said: “You need to meet this woman who helps people live the life of their dreams.” I said take me there now. What a great job! It brings together academics, career, professional."
Cimarron Reverie
Post blogger Mitch Mulhall casts his memories of a fishing trip on the Cimarron to the Con Man's comments on the anniversary of Bush's landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln: "[W]hat I remember most is cinching my fly tying vice to a government picnic table and teaching little Don how to tie that Griffith’s Gnat: a size 18 Tiemco, wrapped with black thread, a strand of gold wire, a hook-matched pluck from a grizzly neck, and a couple tufts of peacock hurl. Big Don looked on with a large, silent grin as little Don proved a quick study. By the time we turned down the lanterns, he’d finished over a dozen flies and shared them with us. The next day, we all caught trout on his ties."
Arborial Madness
What's got Glenwood Springs residents exercised? The removal of riverside trees for "flood mitigation purposes" have some down valley residents miffed.
Misfit Muse
In comment #7 Irish Kit declares:"No slight taken. Being Irish and falling under the blanket coverage of Murphy's Law, I was damned if I did and damned if I didn't. Hey! Maybe some people are better off as long distance friends. There's a possibility I hadn't thought of before. The Con Man wants me to keep blogging from Oregon, even though it wonders me why anyone in Aspen would care. I could be the misfit muse who takes your mind off the weekly wants and demands of the city council."
Attack of the Gag Inducing Tomatoes
Post blogger Keith Hemstreet has an issue with tomatoes. He describes his love-hate relationship by way of a recent dining experience in the Denver International Airport. In typical style, this story is not without its digressions, which, this week, include a public declaration of his manliness, thoughts on the beautiful and not so beautiful people of the world, and a classic pickle prank played on a college buddy. “Have you ever heard Ned Beaty squeal like a pig in the movie Deliverance?” asks Hemstreet. “If so, you have a good idea of the disturbing sound that woke me from my slumber later that night. I thought someone in the house was being murdered with an ice pick. But, it wasn’t an ice pick murder at all. It was our pickled friend, realizing that he had, in fact, been pickled.”
One Billion Americans?
Post blogger Frosty Wooldridge continues to educate readers with immigration facts. “Every 30 days, our U.S. Congress imports 182,000 immigrants. About 100,000 arrive legally and 82,000 arrive illegally.”
No More TPS Reports
In the market for a new jobby-job? Meet representatives from valley businesses today at the free job fair in Carbondale.
Keeping It Legal In The Valley
Would you hire an illegal immigrant in the Roaring Fork Valley. In comment #17, Post blogger B. Jon Traylor says that's not something he would do. "Jose wouldn't be working for me if he wasn't completely legal," he blogs. "Yes, I have verified his papers. He is real, and he is legal, and he is someone that my clients actually request to to the job. HE IS AN ASSET TO Me AND MY COMPANY. Perhaps you should take that energy and do something constructive with it, instead of attempting to knock an honest man off his horse."
Make Us Laugh
It's love on a Rooftop for the new comedy fest coming to the Wheeler Opera House over Memorial Day weekend. Is HBO next?
Aspen Post, Frankly
"I come to Aspen Post for thoughtful, intelligent, and frank discussion of issues," writes new Post blogger rfblogger in comment #12.
Price Is Right For Aspen Music Fest Locals Pass
The Aspen Music Festival and School announced their discounted pass for locals in the Roaring Fork Valley: "Roaring Fork Valley residents can receive a significant discount on their Aspen Music Festival tickets this summer. The AMFS Local’s Pass offers admission to ten events for only $12.50 each ($125). The pass is fully transferable, allowing access to six concerts and four rehearsals/master classes, and is good for all events except operas, benefits, special events, house musics, films and Sunday 4 p.m. concerts."
Who Can You Trust In The Roaring Fork Valley?
People who live in Aspen and/or the Roaring Fork Valley really are different from you and me, according to ex-pat Post blogger Kit O'Carra. "The point is, alpha6," she writes in comment #3,"that the people I trusted enough to become friends with weren't what anyone would want as a friend, and I began to feel like a magnet for the ones who had their own self-indulgences in mind. I never had problems making friends before or after my ten years in the valley. After a few months in a new latitude and attitude, I could write a 2,000 word blog of my successes in my new and welcoming word."
CON GAMES 24/7: Conservative Media Bias
The Con Man makes a convincing case for conservative media bias--the notion that conservative talk enters the echo chamber to set the table for all discussions, no matter how absurd.
Storm Warning For Aspen City Council
Post blogger Alpha 6 gets in the socialistic spirit of things in comment #1 about the Aspen City Council needing another $23.5 million to eke out 2008. "But Comrade," he blogs, "it is for the good of the people. The leaders must have their caviar and vodka in order to make good decisions for the peasants.... Of course it doesn't include the cool 28 million increase.... What is really amazing if that the voters actually are approving new taxes each year to pay for these idiotic programs like $12 million for storm run-off improvement. WHAT??"
CON GAMES 24/7: John McCain And Reverend John Hagee
The Con Man has heard enough about Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama. In response he takes on John McCain and the pastor whose endorsement he solicited, the televangelist John Hagee of the Cornerstone Church of San Antonio. The good Reverend calls the Catholic Church the "Whore Church" and believes God called upon Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans because a gay rights parade was planned for that Monday.
The Immigration Invasion
Post blogger Frosty Woolridge asks: "Why must tens of millions of U.S. family breadwinners be displaced by illegal aliens?"
CON GAMES 24/7: Rush Is A Real Riot, Scalia Cruel And Unusual
The Con Man takes Rush Limbaugh to task for his "hateful, anti-democratic" call for Republican voters to disrupt the Demcratic Presidential primaries. Also: Supreme Court Justice Antonin can't figure out who is punished by torture.
Aspen Council Has No Shame
Post blogger Michael Conniff can't believe what he just saw when it comes to the money-is-no-object Aspen City Council. "You can't make this up," he blogs. "The spendthrift Aspen City Council...has raised the hilarity to a new level by trying to come up with another $23.5 million... 'The additional expenses will take the 2008 budget from $104.7 million to $128.2 million in expenditure appropriations.' When the Aspen budget exceeded $100 million for the first time a few years ago it was big news, but now a more than 20 percent increase in mid-year is considered 'routine?'"
Why Everybody Leaves Aspen
Why does everybody always seem to leave Aspen behind. "I compare this to other places I’ve lived and know for a fact that it’s substantially different," writes Post blogger Michael Conniff. "One example: we lived for fifteen years in a small Vermont city and when we go back everybody is still there. I mean everybody. When somebody pulls up stakes in that town it is big news. The community almost literally feels the loss and tries to figure out why it happened. Look at it this way: most people with any skills can make twice as much with half the cost of living somewhere else."
Dem Republicans Look Like Dems
"The Republican party has not lived up to its conservative ideals,..." writes new Post blogger Pewjumper in #4. "In fact, the Republican party of late has begun to resemble the Democratic party of old in many ways. Worse than this is the fact the Democrats have become hardcore socialists. Politicians come & go, but the beauracracy remains like an immovable, impenetrable, enigmatic, monolithic idol. The politicians are mearly priests in the temple dumping money down the maw of the great god beauracracy."
CON GAMES 24/7: The Story Of Autism
For Autism Awareness Month, the Con Man interviews Ariane Zurcher and Richard Long about the "horrifying" experience of being the parents of an autistic child. Zurcher is the grandaughter of Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke, the founders of modern Aspen, and the daughter of Victor and Paula Zurcher.
Border Trouble For Post Blogger
"As I was leaving the border country," writes Post blogger Star Eagle, "I had a little run-in with what I had come to call the 'green meanies', or commonly called... Border Patrol. They decided they needed to see what was in my pockets at a little spot in the road called the 'peyote flats' checkpoint dropping out of the Chinati Mts just north of the Rio del Camino and Presidio. As you can imagine this is a long story but I will limit it to one short moment in the saga."
Me, Myself and I
In response to Post blogger Michael Conniff’s blog posted under the headline “Why Everybody Leaves Aspen,” Post blogger Kit O’Carra points to her earlier blog, “The Valley of Acquaintances.” O’Carra writes, “I have my own theory on this subject, since it has been a thorn in my side for over nine years now, and yet I have managed to somehow barely survive this potential epidemic. This is the Valley of Acquaintances. This is where you will see people on the street or in the restaurants, you know their faces or first names, you say hello to each other, exchange small pleasantries, and yet you can't say that you're friends.”
Jesus Coaster
Local Barry Smith blogs about his new one-man show, the bitch that gave him a B in writing class, and whether or not he is going to hell. "She gave me a B in Writing," writes Smith of his teacher. "Twice! What a total bitch. Well, Bryson, I guess I showed you who knows what when it comes to writing, eh? Because I’ve got a blog! And not everybody has one of those - you have to be a very, very good writer to have one! And I do. Have one."
Owl Farm Blog
While on an extended trip to Europe, Anita Thompson blogs about her anniversary with Hunter, her difficulty dating, and Hillary’s victory in Pennsylvania.
Long And Short Of Conservatism
"Conservatives are like the smarmy sniffling lawyer created by Martin Short on SNL," writes Post blogger Hugh McCormack in comment #1, "who just after he's said something says, 'I didn't say that....' Yes you did, I just heard you say it. 'No I didn't, maybe you said it!'"
Coyote Snugly
As only he can, Post blogger B. Jon Traylor looks out his window and comes away with a compelling view of immigration. "I have a young man who works for (with) me.... (I don't like the term 'working for me', instead I consider them working 'with' me).... his name is Jose,' he blogs. "He's a great kid. He's 23, young, good-looking, clean cut, decent, hard-working, smart, and very intelligent. In the last 1.5 years, he has taken and passed/completed two ESL courses at CMC.... He came here to the United States, four years ago, with help from a 'Coyote.' The coyote charged him $3,000 to get him here safely. The rest was up to him."
Pssst... Aspen Post Newshole Has It Together
Did you know our Newshole brings together all the very latest RSS feeds from valley newspapers? Check out the latest from the Aspen Times, the Aspen Daily News, the Post-Independent, the Vail Daily, and other fishwrap of interest.
CON GAMES 24/7: Hillary In Fantasyland, The Pope On The Border
The Con Man ain't buying the latest dose of conventional wisdom about Hillary Clinton--that she can't win the Democratic Presidential nomination. Also: should the Pope have zipped it when it came to comments about immigration in America.
Now Read This
In comment #1, Post blogger Hugh McCormack remembers when his father thought reading meant you had "The Right Stuff." "It is gratifying to know that books take the number one spot for entertainment dollars in America," he blogs. "We spend more on books than movies and DVD's combined. I believe the physical, holdable, beach-capable, bed capable, portable book will survive well into and through the digital age. I can't wait to finish an interminable renovation on my NY apartment, just to liberate my books from their boxes. I'll be building shelves of my own to show off my oeuvre. Notice "my oeuvre?" That's because I chose 'em and put in the time to read 'em, and I my family taught me that this was always valuable, provided the choices were worth it."
CON GAMES 24/7: The End Of Hope, The Cynicism Of 'Operation Chaos'
The Con Man wonders whatever happened to Barack Obama's "Audacity of Hope," even as he excoriates Rush Limbaugh for the anti-democratic, American-hating "Operation Chaos" to urge Republicans to vote Democratic--to vote for Hillary Clinton, the woman they hate.
Valley Kids Compose Themselves
Aspen Music Festival and School director of outreach Deb Barnekow is back in the schools with a raft of young and gifted valley composers. "Guest composer Andrew Norman and I will be checking in with all the student composers," she blogs, "looking at their music. There is much to do for the Music and M.O.R.E. concert on Friday, April 25 at Harris Concert Hall at 6:30 pm. For most of the composers, this is their first piece to be performed. There are also the seasoned composers, Evie Herrera, Taylor Crist, and Pearce Littler...."
CON GAMES: Don't Blame Me, I'm A Conservative
The Con Man is spoiling for a fight with conservatives, and what better subject than the personal responsibility the Tighty Righties so love. "The party of ideas has descended into potty-mouth Purgatory this primary season—but not to worry," he blogs. "No matter how wrong or wrong-headed conservatives can be, they never ever take the hit for just being wrong. Being a conservative, in fact, means never having to say you’re sorry whether you’re sorry or not. Mistakes or missteps? They’re for liberals, silly, the movement so ashamed of themselves they duck the word “liberal” like a miscreant priest at Confession. Conservatives really are different from you and me, Billy Bob. They live for hypocrisy, for the thrill of finding Al Gore recumbent in a gas-guzzling jet, or Eliot Spitzer enjoying a whore spritzer...."
Troy's From Missouri?
No muse smackdown here. When a Post blogger is on a roll, why in the name of Hunter Stockton Thompson would you stop him? Indeed, Post blogger Ed Troy keeps on rollin', "I continue to hear the argument that not supporting some idiotic war is unpatriotic" Troy writes, "that somehow such dissent is being against the country. 57,000 dead Americans in Viet Nam (forget the 5million dead Vietnamese) was beneficial. This is a statement that the modern fraudulent incarnations of patriotism expect me to believe and recapitulate. Sorry it will never happen; I am not Winston Smith. Just in case ANY CONSERVATIVE thinks they can, I challenge any of them or anyone else to show me on any map, since 1975 the benefits of that war. Show me."
The True Cost Of Immigration
Post blogger Frosty Woolridge says that immigration is not about jobs others won't do, but about a litany of crimes others won't commit: "Illegal alien migration into the United States costs American taxpayers $346 billion annually as reported by the National Research Council."
CON GAMES 24/7: The Last Refuge Of Scoundrels
Conservatives throw around patriotism like they own it, according to the Con Man on this Post Time Radio broadcast--but they're not even renting.
POST TIME TELEVISION: Shelby Lynne and David McMillin
Rock/Folk artist David McMillin opened for 2001 Best New Artist Grammy winner Shelby Lynne at Belly Up. Click here for two videos to give you a taste of what went down.
Troy On Obama
Post blogger Edward Troy chimes in on Senator Obama: "Truman is one of my favorite presidents. He knew some people why he even belonged to groups. Did ya know he was even a member of the KKK oooweee!!!" Troy blogs. "God would I love the PRIVILEGE of voting for him today. I don't give a darn who he knew 30 years before. He wasn't aiding and abetting criminality and he like Obama disavowed the previous association and the actions of those associated with him. But the surface of the issue is what is important here... One doen't need to dig for convoluted excuses to not vote for him. Just take a look. Looks black enough and with a middle name like Hussein a deal breaker. That's all some need to know."
Don't Mess With The Liberal Gladiator
After a long dry spell, the Post's liberal gladiator Ed Troy is back, unloading both barrels on conservatism in three carefully crafted posts written in the prose we've come to know and love:Troy puts the wood to Schwarzenegger's famous line, "I'll be back."
No Love For Jimmy
New Post subscriber Glen Moore turns a thumb's down on Jimmy Ibbotson's video clip saying, "Damn. That was very hard to watch. I have to agree with some of the comments there that this was a sad summary of what was a good thing many years ago."
Jimbo
Post staffers dredge up some rare footage of the one and only Jimmy Ibbotson on YouTube. It's hard telling when or where this was recorded, but you'll get a kick out of it nonetheless. Enjoy!
Con Man Year 5
Post Editor Michael Conniff closes the chapter on year 4 of his Con Games radio show. Stay tuned for year 5. If the Con Man stays on pace, he'll single handedly take Air America all the way to the bank.
Our Dumb World
Humans pose the single biggest threat to mother earth, but we just don’t seem to get it. What will be the final outcome of the population bomb? Post blogger Frosty Wooldridge takes a look at the impact of a growing population on the state of Colorado. “The more people we add to Colorado the more we destroy the beauty and majesty of our mountain state,” writes Wooldridge. “Who benefits from destruction of our wild rivers? What final purpose to such growth? Who wants more lanes added to I-70 when it will not solve the congestion? Who wants to dam more rivers when it won’t solve our water shortages? Who wants more population when it will create more problems? Humans must be the most arrogant species on the planet and the dumbest!”
The Printed Word
Post blogger Hugh520 responds to Conniff’s ‘Books Can Go To Hell’ with a passionate declaration for the printed word. Mulhall follows with the classic William F. Buckley Jr. interview of Jack Kerouac.
Conspiracy Is As Conspiracy Does
Post blogger Edward Troy, the liberal gladiator, weighs in on the care and feeding of conspiracies. "The Bush Administration was already in very deep trouble before 9-11," he blogs, "the collapse of the capital markets and loss of respect amongst those identified as political pundits. If we can ignore the WTC bombing, how do we ignore Khobar Towers, the Embassy bombings, the USS Cole, the Millenial plot? Did the ministry of information evaporate this history? Now I admit there was a deliberate ignoring of Richard Clarke's information via email at least officially. Neverthe less, this does not allow ignorance of and from the public history."
One Man's Meat (And Potatoes) For Star Eagle
"To the real meat and potatoes of your post," Star Eagle blogs to reckless G in #5. "Of course you are right on the MONEY again. And this brings me to a analogy I find very relevant today. That the damn kids that fueled the revolution of the 60's and early 70's have morphed into the establishment they battled in the day. We are fortunate that todays kids are under less duress from most vectors, save economics. That, and the fact that the fossils both outnumber them and fearfully have mastered their control, of course, at the expense of the freedom they themselves enjoyed in their fading youth. But back to the real point. We are controlled (paralyzed) by our economics. Perhaps, I believe, even more so than the establishment of old was. This is the foundation laid in place (by who?), and on which we have built our economic fortune and future. Nothing to see here, just keep moving along please."
Books Go To Hell
Post blogger Michael Conniff not only ponders the plight of the lowly book--but posits a future as yet unseen when ink and paper is replaced by an entirely new and dynamic form. How does he know? He ain't telling. "When I saw the book 'Print Is Dead: Books In Our Digital Age,' my great fear was that Jeff Gomez had found out the great secret I have been carrying around for fifteen years in hopes that nobody would find me out," writes Conniff. "Fortunately for me, Gomez—an Internet marketing executive for a book company—made his way through his fascinating dissertation with many compelling observations of his own, though without coming close to my conclusion about the future."
CON GAMES 24/7: 9/11 Commission And Other Conspiracies
The Con Man cranks it up big-time for the last show of year four with a discussion and dissection of the conflicts of interests that plagued the 9/11 commission--Condi's co-author was executive director--and the Bush Administration's record of ignorning al-Qaeda. Plus: why conspiracy theorists are out of their gourd(s).
Don't Con Reckless G
Post blogger reckless G, AKA Sue Gray, is not a happy camper. "Several times in the past few weeks, Michael Conniff has publicly accused me of being a conspiracy theorist on his show Con Games," she blogs. "I cringe every time I hear that, mainly because I have spent the last several years trying to distance myself from the conspiracy theories of 9/11, in order to preserve what shred of credibility I have left in this community. The accusation stems from my call-in statement regarding the Iraq war. My assertion is that the Bush administration, or more accurately the Neocon cabal involved in among other things, the Project for a New American Century... I contend that their intention all along was to get their foot in the door, and make certain that things went so horribly wrong that we’d have an excuse to stay indefinitely. There is a trail of evidence five miles long on this one."
B. Jon Ain't Bitter
Post blogger B. Jon Traylor explains what Barack Obama meant to say. "Yes," he blogs, "people this is real.... and this is a real person here.... this is B. Jon Traylor, or Bobby Jon, or JimBob Jumpback or Butch BaldKnobber, or whatever."
CON GAMES 24/7: Immigration, ICE Agent Cory Voorhis
The Con Man is joined by Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform co-found Mike Garry in discussions with Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies; and the exonerated ICE agent Cory Voorhis.
Zele Cafe: The Aspen Art Of Lisa Shackelford
Local artist Lisa Shackelford visits the Zele Community Table to talk about how an artist can find herself later in life. "I’d always done photography on the side," she says, "I was living in Austin and we were supposed to have a freeze. South Texas shuts down.... I knew I was going to have to stay home and I had this urge to color with crayons. This urge for crayons. I had forgotten about this. There was a Michael’s by my apartment, and I bought a big box of crayons.... So I was looking around and thought I’ll buy some paints too.... I bought a book on how to paint with acrylics. I could actually mix it and thin it. Interestingly enough, after that, I was painting hearts but they were very abstract. I did one for everyone in my family. That’s what came out. I see it as a metaphor to follow my heart. I had to paint a lot of hearts to follow my heart."
B. Jon Traylor Inside Out
Post blogger B. Jon Traylor is back in the valley and examining everything about his life. "Recently," he blogs, "on a self exploring mission of finding myself again, perhaps a turning 40 middle-age rennassiance (sp?)... I ended up on his 'ranch' in Mexico. He is building a home that makes my 3/4 of a million dollar upper middle class home here in this valley appear as a dump. If I were in his shoes, I'd most likely be doing the same thing. He is participating in a 'free world' economy. (funny what NAFTA really resulted in...) Coming here, legally, working his ass off, being lawful, responsible, etc. He makes good money, cash money.... I actually admire him, because he is a human being, a person, a good person, a family man, a businessman."
CON GAMES: Bandar's Wife Linked To 9/11 Saudi Hijackers
A new book by New York Times investigative reporter Philip Shenon links Prince Bandar bin Sultan's wife to money that supported 9/11 Hijackers from Saudi Arabia. "The source of Bassan’s money was at additional shock to the Senate investigators,” Shenon writes in his new book. “Much of it had come in the form of cashier’s checks directed to his family by Princess Haifa al-Faisal, wife of the Saudi ambassador to Washington. The Princess had a charity fund that assisted Saudis in distress in the United States, and she had supposedly sent the money to help Bassan’s wife pay for thyroid surgery; Bassan’s wife had signed a number of the checks over to Bayoumi’s wife.”
CON GAMES 24/7: Follow The Money From Bandar's Wife To 9/11
The Con Man digs down deep into the new book called "The Commission" by New York Times investigative reporter Philip Shenon. The latest revelation: that Prince Bandar's wife wrote cashiers checks that ended up financing two of the 9/11 hijackers from Saudi Arabia.
Is ICE Agent Cory Voorhis Free At Last?
Post blogger Mike McGarry celebrates the acquittal of ICE agent Cory Voorhis and illegal immigration attrition by enforcement. "Forgive them Father, for Barack, Hillery and John know not what they say," he blogs. "That’s because when they make the kinds of statements about the impossibility if deporting illegal aliens, they present a false choice: Can’t deport ‘em, so let’s just enact the mother of all amnesties, amnesty number eight. Remember, the 1986 amnesty was sold to the American people as a “one-time-only” amnesty that would include adequate and ongoing enforcement. Amnesties don’t work. There is a third way—a middle way, some say—to deal with illegal immigration: Attrition through Enforcement."
POST TIME TELEVISION: Letters From Hunter Thompson
Aspen's man of letters, the late Dr. Hunter S. Thomspon Jr., submitted to an interview on "Charlie Rose" about his 20,000 letters, of all things.
Magic Of Music In Local Valley Schools
"It amazes me," blogs Aspen Music Festival and School outreach director Debbie Barnekow, "that last week only had 5 days because it seems like a much longer time. Though it really did fly by, each day had so many special moments in them and both Brad and I were intent on savoring everything. Our last day, the day of the concert was spent finalizing details for the program, children's names and going over all the stage changes to make it flow smoothly. With four groups of students, 2 of which were 10 and under in age, I wanted to be certain that each one would be able to rehearse on stage and know exactly what to do and when. Dress rehearsal could not have gone better...."
Aspen's Tax Rebel
It's April 15--tax day--but do you know where your rights are. Post blogger Will Kesler has devoted his adult life to fighting the Internal Revenue Service and telling people they have no legal need to file. "In order to protect law biding citizens from unscrupulous, deceitful, vile federal agencies PRA Section 3507(g) mandates that an OMB control number must expire every three years," he blogs. "Oops, form 1040 has had the same control number for 24 years. Therefore it is invalid, thus you need not file. Outraged citizens have, for years, complained to the IRS concerning this obvious violation of the law...."
CON GAMES 24/7: Tiger & Barack; 'Bitter' Or Better?
The Con Man opines as to why the greatest player in the history of golf can't come from behind in a Major when trailing after 54 holes. Also: what's all the hubbub about Obama's "bitter" comments--and why we should care barely at all.
O'Carra Blogs Olympics From Oregon?
From somewhere on the Oregon coast, long-time local and favorite Post blogger Kit O'Carra writes, "President Bush boycotting the opening ceremonies would be the same as any of us attending a birthday party for someone, but refusing to eat the cake because you don’t agree with the person’s politics. Isn’t this where the phrase ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too’ came from? If not, perhaps it should have new meaning now... Can you see the futility in a 16-day action that revolves around the Olympics? Let the Games begin.... without the disruption of politics. Wouldn't that be a nice vision for a brief sixteen days?"
Live Blogging Con Games: Obama Quote
Post Editor Michael Conniff is discussing the Obama quote that has come under so much scrutiny over the weekend. Hear the audio of Obama speaking here.
Behold A Pale Horse
In comment #2, Post Editor Michael Conniff asks the age-old question, "Why [do you believe in a Christian God]?" In reponse, Mitch Mulhall links to athiests discussing religion.
The Trouble With Senators
In an examination of the fiscal impacts of illegal immigration on the American taxpayer, Post blogger Frosty Wooldridge quotes Ed Rubenstein, co-author of the 1997 study, The New Americans: Economic, Demographics and Fiscal Effects of Immigration. This study reports that "Immigrants are poorer, pay less tax, and are more likely to receive public benefits than American citizens." The upshot? According to Frosty, "John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have proven with their time in the U.S. Senate—they work more against Americans than for them."
A Church That Inspires
Post blogger Mitch Mulhall finds Garnish Restaurant's Chef Clark Curch's emails inspirational. "I read weekly emails from Chef Church's Garnish Restaurant, and the only thing that bothers me more than the fact that I don't eat anything like the healthy cuisine he serves, I sometimes serve Eggo waffles to my kids before school," he blogs. "Despite this embarrassing admission, I relish seeing Chef Church's weekly menus in my in-box, if only because rare occasions, Chef Church inspires me to cook."
Flight Status
Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc., Frontier Airline’s parent company, declared bankruptcy after its principal credit card processor, First Data Corp., said it would begin withholding a greater share of proceeds from ticket sales. Will Frontier's proposed service to Aspen go unaffected by bankruptcy, as Frontier claims? Recent oil prices suggest otherwise.
My iPod Universe
“I was recently given what may be my favorite gift of all-time,” writes Post blogger Keith Hemstreet, “an iPod. My iPod was a gift for being a groomsman in my buddy’s wedding. This little miracle of modern technology has changed my life. For example, I used to walk into work, greeted by the natural ambient sounds of an office – telephones ringing, computers humming, and orders being barked. With my iPod, I now burst through the door with fists clinched as Rage Against The Machine sings, ‘F*** you I won’t do what you tell me!’ Let me tell you, the difference this makes is astounding.”
Bill The Shill
Post blogger Hugh McCormack believes that corruption, the bane of America's existence, exists for all to see with the Clintons. And nowhere is that corruption more apparent than where check-writing guests laid their heads when they came to sleep at the White House. "The Lincoln bedroom was for me the symbol of greed, opportunism and unbridled ambition during the Clinton presidency," he blogs, "tawdry beyond belief, and unheard of previously. And I knew the Clinton income number was going to be an embarrassment, because the Clinton's self-portrayal has always involved identification with the woebegone of this world... How embarrassing to have it revealed that you were to some extent posing."
CON GAMES 24/7: Corruption In Colorado, Olympic Boycott
The Con Man takes on former Congressman Bob Shaffer for his junket paid for by Jack Abramoff, then turns his attention to why he wants the Olympic Games to go on despite China's human rights violations.
POST TIME TELEVISION: Steve Skinner Rocks On
Check out this local jam session as Steve Skinner and the Natives rock out Steve's Guitars in Carbondale on January 24,2007. That's Louie Girardot on keyboard, ladies and gentlemen.
Don't Be Fooled By Great Conservative Head Fakes
The Con Man says the great conservative conversion--of David Mamet, Dennis Miller, and Christopher Hitchens--is a load of hooey. "If you’re like me, blognoscenti, then you might have wondered more than once how a previously enlightened smarty-pants celeb can switch so effortlessly to a philosophy found abhorrent but five minutes before. I finally figured it out: these media converts from liberalism are all fake conservatives—not really conservative at all.... Here’s my takeaway: fuzzy-headed liberals make lousy conservatives who are not really conservative at all—according to the all-or-nothing conservatism that requires slavish devotion to the cause right down the line. Mamet loves free markets and Hitchens hates militant Islam, while Dennis Miller’s ideas about abortion would be right at home on HBO."
Back To School With Brad Richter
Classical guitarist Brad Richter is back in the Roaring Fork Valley's schools, thanks to the Aspen Music Festival and School, with Led Zeppelin on the program. "At Basalt High School," blogs the Music Fest's Debbie Barnekow, "there are 3 guitar classes, part of an every other day schedule like band, choir, math, biology, etc. Principal James Waddick believes this is a necessary avenue of expression for some of his students and indeed it is-a beginner, intermediate and advanced classes. Brad met with all 3 classes today to work on getting some of them ready for performance on Friday's Music and M.O.R.E concert. For nearly all of them of the students, this will be their first time to perform and there were many who are a little uncommitted. Brad's answer is to keep practicing the Led Zepplin song, Kashmir that they are to play."
CON GAMES 24/7: Catholic Charities, Waldorf School
Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform (CAIR) co-founder Mike McGarry is in fine form, followed by someone from the other side of the spectru, Tom Ziemann, Western Slope director of Catholic Charities. Also: the Con Man is joined by Dr. Pamela Zuker, who talks about the wonders of the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork. In the final half-hour, Michael Conniff returns to the implications of what he calls "The Permanent War" in Iraq.
We Luv U, B. Jon Traylor
"You don’t need to be a senator, or even president to make a difference," Post blogger reckless G writes to B. Jon Traylor in comment #1. "In fact I’d prefer if you just remain the great man that you are, shortcomings and all. You’ve touched many lives in a very positive way, mine included. Let me take this opportunity to tell you the variety of reasons you are special to me. Your soulbearing posts and enthusiastic comments. Your heartfelt phonecalls offering encouragement, along with a good ole Texas scolding. Your open willingness to take a bunch of ragtag strangers into your inner circle at the Jumpack Blogger BBQ. Through your generosity of spirit, the magic of human connection was made with Star Eagle, Wharf Rat, Mitch Mulhall, Ed Troy, you and me. I’ll be forever grateful for that."
POST TIME TELEVISION: Soft Landing @ Sardy Field
Ever wonder what it's like to come in for a landing at Pitkin County Airport? Thanks to Post Time Television, you are there--and how. Once you pull up the nose, so as not to crash, you will be amazed at the wonders of Woody Creek, Snowmass Canyon, the Snowmass Intercept Lot, Highway 82, and finally Sardy Field/Pitkin County Airport. This is your chance to see the Roaring Fork Valley as you've never seen it before, unfolding from the cockpit of a plane coming in for a landing in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The weather? Picture perfect, of course. The sun always shines on Aspen, doesn't it?
Frosty Says Denver Schools Are Toast
"Denver Public Schools and Colorado schools suffer over 20,000 to 30,000 illegal alien children along with an estimated 10,000 legal immigrant children at a cost of $654.1 million annually according to 'Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration Sends Schools into the Red.' DPS suffers 43 different languages that make it impossible to educate our children. (and theirs). One in five teachers quits or transfers out of DPS each nine month cycle because the chaos in the classroom exceeds their futility threshold."
CON GAMES 24/7: Greenspot In Carbondale, 'The Permanent War'
Chris Jacobson of Greenspot on Highway 133 in Carbondale--a store for homeowners and builders who want to be environmentally sound--visits "Con Games," then the Con Man turns his attention to what he has now dubbed "The Permanent War" in Iraq.
Zele Cafe: The World Of Stuart Brafman
Stuart Brafman is a renaissance man, everthing from a pioneer in mortgage insurance to a photographer par excellence. But nothing matters more to Brafman than his family--and Uncle Abe. "My Uncle Abe came to the United States at age 15 in 1922 from a small town in the Ukraine with his father and two sisters," he said at the Zele Community Table interview on Aspen Post. "His mother was killed by bandits shooting up the town. The guy was incredible. Within two years of coming here his father died. He learned the language, got a job in shoe factories, and worked his way through high school.... He graduated, got a commission, and was sent to Fort Sheridan, where he soon became the post engineer—he built Fort Sheridan into a major induction center and became a full colonel."
B. Jon Turning 40, Y'All Hear?
Post blogger B. Jon Traylor, a Texan and proud of it, has had one hell of a life: "Folks back home always said I'd be a Congressman or a Senator or a CEO of some big time company.... perhaps they just thought this all-American boy might make something of himself and bring some pride back home to a drying, suppressed little West Texas oil field town. I was quite the athlete and drama and choir boy back in those days, a kid who was on the front page of our hometown newspaper often. Honestly, though, there isn't really much to return to there, unless I want to work for the prison."
POST TIME TELEVISION: Gore's New Speech On Climate Change
Former Vice President Al Gore has given his old speech on climate change over 2,000 times. Now he ramps up a new speech at the famed TED technology conference
CON GAMES 24/7: Clinton Money, Mark Penn's Clients
Nobody can dis the Clintons quite like a liberal talk show host: the Con Man takes his licks upon news of the $109 million the Clintons made since 2000... and the clients of their key advisor, Mark Penn, like Countrywide and Blackwater.
Monarch Of The Shortsfest
Perennial Post blogger Dr. Bill has completed his round-up of short films for 2008. Will we see blog again before next April? "This was a more social ShortsFest for me somehow and I think that was a reflection of the nature of the films, i.e. encouraging conversation with friends and strangers and also of AspenFilm's evolving presence and awesome staff," he blogs. "I made some new friends this week, both local and visitors who I hope will return. I managed to work in six of the eight programs in my busy pre-off-season-travel-preparation week. I'll attempt a brief overview here. Program One started out with three of eight films in that bunch still resonating with me. 'It's My Turn' from Turkey/Germany still makes me smile. 'John & Karen,' nails feminine and masculine essence in an animated reconciliation between a Penguin and Polar Bear. 'Just One Hour' explores opportunistic tendencies. If approached by a stranger in a cafe with a provocative proposition . . . would you?"
Oratorical Dung Beetle
Post blogger Mitch Mulhall links to a seminal debate on the Iraq war, c. May, 2006, between Christopher Hitchens and then British MP George Galloway (scroll down). There are many high-test moments, but here's a favorite from Mr. Galloway: "You [Christopher Hitchens] start off being the liberal mouthpiece of one of the most reactionary governments this country has ever seen on the subject of war. You say you have got your own liberal reasons for doing so, and you end up on apologist and a mouthpiece for those miserable, malevolent incompetents who could even not pick up the bodies of their own citizens in New Orleans in the aftermath of a hurricane. That’s where it ends, Hitchens. That’s where it ends."
Death Strikes Close To Home
Snowboarder Wallace Westfeldt perished tragically last Friday. Sometimes the best way to help those who mourn is to reflect: Consider these verses of the poet W.H. Auden.
The Essential Gravel
In comment #22, Post blogger Star Eagle has nothing but praise for Presidential also-ran, Mike Gravel: "I checked out the Mike Gravel website since I spent some time with him on Monday and like his spunk... I had worn my John Lennon 'Power to the People' t-shirt in honor of his earlier video playing off of that song. He said the kid (15 I think) who does his videos had done another and it was coming out any day. Damn!! This one blows me away. Check it out for yourselves. The kid is creative. Don't miss the very last little video in the line of videos below. It is easy to miss because it is placed two spaces after the last easily visible one of Jerry Ford. This one also rings of true to the post above and shows Dr. King was a complex man and not just anybodies poster-child. Hence, a bullet."
POST TIME TELEVISION: Aspen Music Festival 2008
Ever wondered how you can explain the depth and breadth of the Aspen Music Festival and School to those who have never been to Aspen. Herewith the 2008 video from the Music Fest, complete (and replete) with interviews with president and chief executive officer Alan Fletcher, and the Maestro his ownself, the distinguished David Zinman. Check out the footage of life inside and outside the tent, on the Castle Creek campus--and, above all, listen to the music.
Looking For Mr. Goodchair
Post blogger Mitch Mulhall asks and answers the age-old question, "what's in an easy chair"? "I have no particular fondness for this chair. It’s comfortable. It’s warm. It’s proven durable. But it’s a freaking chair... It’s leather, with low back, and an ottoman. It used to be brown, but now it’s more of a beige. It’s got two holes in it, one in the seat and one in the left arm—skier’s left, that is. My wife has wanted to replace this chair for months now. In itself, that is fine with me. What’s troubling is that my wife shared her desire to replace this piece of furniture with my mother..."
My Least Favorite Places In Aspen
“This week,” write Post blogger Keith Hemstreet, “the Daily News reported that the City of Aspen is requesting locals log on to aspenpitkin.com and complete a questionnaire. According to the article, the questionnaire asks people to list their three favorite places to congregate, as well as their three favorite places to be alone and reflect. My first thought was that I didn’t want the city to know my favorite places. If they knew, they might do something stupid and ruin them. So, instead I’ve opted to present the city with the three places that I don’t like to congregate, and the three places that I definitely don’t like to go when I want to be alone and reflect.”
Where's The Beef?
The Aspen Club & Spa is hosting a cooking class showcasing delicious, heart-healthy vegetarian meals for those looking for a steak and potatoes alternative.
The Changing Face of America
“Most Americans do not understand their ominous fate as to relentless, unending and massive legal and illegal immigration into their country,” write Post blogger Frosty Wooldridge. "In reality, most Americans could care less. They remain numb to the Iraq War, a $9 trillion federal debt, home foreclosures, energy crisis and the price of gasoline. Americans can ignore reality for quite some time, but reality will not ignore them. The recent PEW Report projected 138 million people added to the USA in 40 years. We’ll add 100 million by 2035, a lightning bolt 27 years from now! One in five “hyphenated-Americans” will be foreign born."
Crystal Palace Not A Moveable Feast In Aspen Swan Song
"Following in the footsteps of some of Aspen's other institutions," writes Post blogger EatAspen, "the Crystal Palace Dinner Theater is on its last performance. The creation of The Palace harkens back to 1957 and has been entertaining Aspen locals and visitors alike ever since. Despite the many conspiracy theories that the Crystal Palace is being forced to close it’s doors do to combined pressure from the Vatican, Billary, and W, its just not so. Mead Metcalf, Owner, Operator, and Performer has decided it is time to retire, and with that, so goes the Palace.... The Crystal Palace’s official 'Last Show Ever' is set for April 12th 2008.....""
Upon The Death Of Dr. King
Post blogger reckless G turns to the words of the late Senator Edward Brooke, the only African-American in United States Senate during that era of unrest. "America has had much to reflect upon during the approach of the interrelated 40th anniversaries of the final report of the Kerner Commission, the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the round of riots that followed in Washington, Baltimore, Chicago and well over 100 other cities across the nation. We have heard Sen. Barack Obama's insightful speech on race and the reactions it provoked. Today, unfortunately, Dr. King's dream remains deferred."
At Aspen Post, YouTube Is Our Tube
Post blogger Mitch Mulhall finds a way to embed your very own YouTube video right here on Aspen Post. "As a kind of public service," writes Mulhall, "I was going to write some instructions for embedding YouTube videos in your posts, but I found something even better: a YouTube Video that explains everything I was going to write. Enjoy..."
The 'Stube Strikes Back Against Aspen City Council
KNFO News is now available on Aspen Post. Today's newscast from News Director David Bach shows that developers in Aspen are mad as hell at the Aspen City Council and they're not going to take it any more.
Shortsfest Kicks In
Post blogger DrBill, an aficianado of all things Filmfest, returns to his blogging canvas to deliver a reel-by-reel analysis from a fan of Aspen Shortsfest. "Today began at noon with a special presentation of The Art of Watching Shorts at The Isis," he blogs. "I missed that having to make up for the day I missed yesterday having been 'stranded' in Denver due to the mega-car pile-ups on I-70 at Vail Pass and Georgetown. Prayers go out to all those involved in those accidents. I'd loved to have been at the Isis today, if only to find out if I've been watching shorts correctly and really having the full experience available to me! I'll have to check the Cliff-notes. I'm dating myself. Do they even still publish, 'Cliff-notes?'"
Green Duck And Run
Post blogger Mike McGarry documents what he considers the gravest sin of the environmental movement: the unwillingness to confront the population explosion. "During the Aspen Institute/National Geographic Magazine’s Aspen Environmental Forum, the legendary Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute listed stabilizing the world's population growth rate as one of the crucial requirements to saving planet earth and its inhabitants from self-destruction. And while casual lip service was paid by other forum attendees to this overriding issue, no “solutions” to overpopulation, in the U.S. or globally, seem to have been proffered. Instead, the usual reducing of consumption, developing alternative sources of energy, mitigating greenhouse gasses andthe like expectedly got all the attention. That figures, because American environmental movement has totally abdicated when it comes to U.S. population stabilization."
Defining W
Post blogger Frosty Woolridge takes off the gloves and tells the world what he really thinks about the "defining moment" of President George W. Bush's war in Iraq.
E. O. Wilson Live In Aspen
The famous biologist E. O. Wilson came to town for the Aspen Environment Forum and gave an interview to Plum TV.
Cold Cruel World
Post blogger Alpha 6 weighs in with contrarian wisdom showing the earth is actually getting colder, not warmer. "Excerpt: All four major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA's GISS, UAH, RSS) have released updated data," he blogs in comment #2. "All show that over the past year, global temperatures have dropped precipitously. A compiled list of all the sources can be seen here. The total amount of cooling ranges from 0.65C up to 0.75C--a value large enough to erase nearly all the global warming recorded over the past 100 years.... For all sources, it's the single fastest temperature change every recorded, either up or down..... Over the past year, anecdotal evidence for a cooling planet has exploded."
CON GAMES: The Graying Of The Green Thing
"In the midst of one of the panels here at the Aspen Environment Forum," blogs the Con Man, "a wizened professor from the University of Alaska took the microphone proffered for questions from the environmental cognoscenti and said that a bear had just been shot and killed at Fort Yukon, Alaska, 250 miles from the shore. He said to his knowledge no bear had ever before been killed that far inland in that part of Alaska. If I were making this up, I would say there was an audible murmur or perhaps even an angry hum.... Not so: there were no murmurs, no guttural evidence of existential angst anywhere to be seen or heard in the audience at the Aspen Environment Forum."
Hope For ACL Victims
Aspen life blogger and acupuncturist Amy Suplee says there is hope for those with torn anterior cruciate ligaments. "Although we are all destined to age and injuries are commonplace in our society (especially in a ski town such as Aspen)," she blogs, "it does NOT necessarily mean that we are taking “painful steps into an age-old reality of decrepitude” as the article states. As I listened to the writer describe a tumultuous journey of immobility, painful physical therapy, emotional agony, daily stress and a very long recovery period following an ACL injury, I realized that this society is missing a HUGE piece of information. There is a 5000 year old medicine called Acupuncture and Chinese medicine which has been scientifically proven to speed up the process of healing, increase circulation, help tissue regeneration, decrease inflammation, reduce pain and balance the emotions. This huge piece of information is crucial for anyone to know about who has undergone any sort of trauma, injury, imbalance or bodily disharmony of any kind."
New Truth Self-Evident
"We cannot look into Barack's heart," writes Post blogger Hugh McCormack in comment #1, "but he has given us every indication that it lies in a new truth.... I believe his heart is at the vanguard, as close to Harriet Tuckman's and Robert Kennedy's as can be divined. I'm willing take him at his word. I live in a city which in which people of every stripe aggregate together, not because their bigots, but because that's what we do. We aggregate. Blacks, Hispanics, Germans, Irish, Russians, Carribeans, Indians, artists, firemen and Police, Jews and gentiles, Italians and Greeks. No one told us we had to do this."
CON GAMES 24/7: Autism, 'Support Our Troops'
The Con Man devotes the first segment of the first day of Autism Awareness Month to the problem, then switches gears to question the integrity of those who said "support our troops" but are now nowhere to be seen when returning veterans need help.
Irish Kit With Love, From Oregon
Post blogger and long-time local Kit O'Carra turns up in Oregon, with no regrets: "The few little valleys of the mountains had mist hanging in them. To the south the sky was very dark gray. To the west, the ocean seemed black. The sky wasn’t much lighter than the sea. Something was causing the waves breaking to appear pink instead of white. It was glorious! I wanted to stop the car, and stop time. I didn’t want this color palette to end. I found myself wishing I was on that black sea in my own boat taking it all in," Kit writes. "There are times I miss Colorado. Thankfully, there are days like my Sunrise Day that allow me to admit I made the right choice. I wish you could have been here to see it. I hope you all have one of your own one day."
Executive Decision
Obama supporter and Post blogger B. Jon Traylor sees the basis, in comment #5, for great things to come in an Obama presidency, "I, too, read and downloaded and listened to his [Obama's] speech. It was amazing, it was profound, it was true, and innocently real. His comment about the most segregated day of the year, repeatedly, being Sunday--moved me. How amazingly simple, yet true. That statement stood out to me. I think he's the real deal. I think he should be our next President. I know he still has my vote, as for now..."
Make My Day
In comment #11, Reckless G praises Star Eagle, "Kudos to you Star Eagle for your investigative research, and for turning us on to the information we all need to have if we're ever going to change our corrupt political system and rein in the military-industrial complex."
One Law For The Lion And The Ox
In "A Self-Evident Truth," Post blogger Mitch Mulhall explores separatism. "I have been studying separatism as a kind of background exercise in what I regard a troubling association between Senator Barack Obama and Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.," he blogs. "Separatism is based on an idea that ethnic minorities cannot advance in a society dominated by an ethnic majority. Separatism is an idea that is not without precedent in the writings of the U.S. founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson, who penned what I regard the central premise of the United States when he wrote “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” also wrote this...."
CON GAMES 24/7: Climate Change Will Do You Good
After a stop at the Aspen Environment Forum, co-sponsored by the Aspen Institute and National Geographic magazine, the Con Man is disturbed beyond belief that the horse is out of a burning barn. Does anybody care? Listen in....
Jacob's Ladder
In comment #5, Post blogger Hugh520 writes: "The church will in time always fail us in some way. My pastor told us as much in a sermon that was pointing towards our inclination to shop around for the "perfect" church. He said the church will fail you -- that he himself would minister to us one way, when what we needed was something else. That he would fail us to."
What Glass Ceiling?
In comment #2, Post blogger Hugh520 points out that Condi Rice has never been held to account-she's been promoted: "Condi Rice has never been held to account for failing to listen to what Richard Clarke and others were telling her. No, in keeping with this administration she was promoted."
You Tube All Stars
When Post blogger Keith Hemstreet gets bored at work, he doesn’t just stare blankly into space, he grabs a hold of his mouse and takes a mind-altering trip through the World Wide Web. “The internet, God bless it, sure does make work a whole lot more enjoyable,” writes Hemstreet. “Who amongst us hasn’t spent time randomly browsing the web while at work? Everyone does it. It really is a blessing to be able to spend time pursuing a topic of interest, purchasing a book, or planning a vacation on your computer, all while pretending to be working on something job related like a spreadsheet, a memo, or some such ridiculous thing. Prior to the advent of the computer, I can’t fathom how employees wasted time efficiently. They really had it tough.”
Aspen Cares
Aspen is stepping up to lend a helping hand to 39 year-old native, Leigh Power, who was diagnosed with stomach-cancer on February 29. Click here to see how you can help.
Keep Your Shorts On
Post blogger DrBill, Aspen's #1 movie fan, is back in the saddle blogging about Filmfest's Aspen Shortsfest. "That's right," he blogs, "AspenFilm is kicking off the 17th annual Aspen ShortsFest April 2nd - 6th! We've screened about 3500 short films from around the world representing nearly 30 countries and have chosen the best of the best for screening right here in Aspen. Filmmaker Magazine called Aspen's ShortsFest, which is an Oscar-Qualifying event, 'one of the most prestigious festivals devoted to short films in the world.' DrBill is here and back at you sharing about film in Aspen and since Aspen's ShortsFest is my favorite cultural event of any in Aspen . . . I'm aching with cinematic anticipation."
The Point Of Acupuncture
The ancient Chinese art becomes immediate and relevant in Aspen thanks to the Aspen Club & Spa. "Acupuncture is a medical modality, originating from China, with a 5000 year old history. It is a method of inserting sterile, disposable needles into specific acupuncture points to encourage the body to promote its own natural healing ability and to improve overall bodily function. Many people have only heard about Acupuncture for pain management however, Chinese medicine is a complete and comprehensive medical system with the ability to diagnose, treat, and most importantly prevent disease."
Wright In Black And White
Comment #4: "His ministry is primarily for the exploited and wretched poor of this world and against the power elites represented ably by the World Bank, the IMF et al. The fact that they're white is incidental to his anger -- anger that they treat the majority of humanity as indentured servants. The most jarring comment made in Senator Obama's speech on race is that the most segregated day in America is Sunday. And he's right."
CON GAMES: Six Degrees Of Condemnation
The Con Man has had it with the notion that Presidential candidates are responsible for everything anyone says out loud. "Democratic Presidential politics has been devolving for years into the unspeakable drip-drip-drip of he said/she said.... Flotsam and jetsam of all kinds are bound to come to the surface unless the candidate is gagged and then flogged and then bagged by bloggers. Whether it’s a plagiarized speech or a phrase ineptly gleaned, Presidential candidates of all persuasions know from the get-go that everything they say can and will be held against them. We get that and so do they. But what is becoming as absurd as the blow on your face is the notion that the candidate is on the hook his own self for everything anyone they know says about race or the race."
Don't Believe Bill Gates
Post blogger Michael McGarry, co-founder of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, takes aim at the plea by Microsoft's Bill Gates for more high-tech visas. "When Microsoft's Bill Gates appeared this month before a congressional committee demanding a doubling of the current (65,000) caps on high-tech H-1B visas," he blogs, "you might have thought the committee members were celebrating the Return of the Messiah the way they fell all over themselves singing praise, adoration and love for the mega-billionaire. Of course, those of us who know those very members are beneficiaries of the hundreds-of-millions of dollars spread around the congress by IT industry lobbyists, it make sense the "law makers" would be Gates' slobbering adorers."
Float Your Rote
Post blogger Frosty Woolridge sees the problem everywhere he looks--and especially on the high seas thanks to the low lifes. "If you should see this amazing floating pile of plastic in the Pacific Ocean," he blogs, "it’s called 'The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.' It features three million tons of plastic debris floating in an area larger than Texas. An eye-popping 46,000 pieces of plastic float on every square mile of ocean! Humans toss another 2.5 million pieces into our oceans hourly."
No Bullion
"David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States, recently reported on 60 Minutes that we are headed for an economic train wreck of disastrous proportions," writes Post blogger Will Kesler. "He warned of 'catastrophic consequences' and that 'the survival of our republic is at stake.' As our economy, our dollar and your way of life crumbles before your very eyes, perhaps you may wonder what is happening. While Bush and company have knowingly advanced the process, it has taken almost a century to bankrupt America. The train wreck has not happened by chance, it is a skillful strategy. "
CON GAMES 24/7: High-Tech Visas, Mahdi Army Surge
Mike McGarry, co-founder of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform (CAIR) returns to "Con Games" to debunk Bill Gates and his high-tech visas. Then the Con Man turns his attention to the surge of the Mahdi Army in Basra, Iraq.