Local hero Chris Klug is back in Aspen after a medallic Olympic career snowboarding around the world. What's our guy up to now: live in the valley and a career in real estate.
"It sure does look ironic that Marilyn Marks killed an investigative journalism project she might have been a part of," writes Post blogger Harvie Branscome in comment #29. You are right, I don't get it."
I decided over five years ago I was going to leave Andrew Kole alone, mainly because I thought he was harmless, small-minded, and insignificant. Unfortunately, though small-minded and insignificant, he is not harmless: the time has come to say that virtually everyone in Aspen agrees that Andrew Kole is an annoyance, a pest, and (much worse) a back-stabber. The number of people who can’t stand him could him an Aspen election twice over.
Totally by coincidence, twice in the past week two people came up to me in Parallel 15 and started to rant about him, with both whistling the same old tune: he acts nice to your face and then he stabs you in the back and then he acts like he can’t understand why you don’t like him.
Of course elections are sacred and should be sancrosanct. Perhaps it was inevitable that Marks and Milias, in their insatiable narcissism, should finally leach the election process of any and all impartiality and fairness. We should not be surprised They are indeed the pine beetles of Aspen, ready to chew and chaw their way through our beautiful trees with only a burp and a belch to show for the forest empty of all color and life.
Today, Labor Day, 2009, while 16-million to 17-million American workers are out of work or underemployed because of the Great Recession, the disgraceful, perfidious U.S. government is kicking those fallen workers by continuing to import 1.5 million foreign workers a year, that's 125,000 unwanted aliens every month. One hundred and fifty thousand new (net) jobs a month need to be added to the economy just to keep up with this mass-immigration driven foreign-workers deluge.
If I were one of the 16-million to 17-million victims of the U.S. government's cynical, aggressive frontal assault on America's working people, there would be a kind of hell to pay from which the politicians and bureaucrats would never, ever fully recover!
"There comes a time in the life of us all," wrote Edward Abby (Monkey Wrench Gang)," when we must lay aside our books or put down our tools and leave our place of work and walk forth on the road to meet the enemy face-to-face, once and for all and at last."
This email was sent to Sue Gray on August 26, 2009.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Dear MoveOn member,
The Lion is at rest.
Senator Teddy Kennedy passed away last night and our movement lost a hero. His leadership, his vision, and his passion will never be forgotten.
As we grieve, we must honor his memory and re-dedicate ourselves to his fight. Right now, let's listen to his words. Below is a powerful video that lots of MoveOn members are passing around this morning:
I just read a poll indicating that 67% of the GOP considers Palin to be in a position to pick the next candidate for the Mantle of the GOP in 2012 and that 72% of the GOP would support her.
She is folksy and comfortable like Reagan, in front of the camera. The ignoranti love this. But comparing her to Reagan is a true exercise in holding your nose, if you are interested in political information, instead of emotional politics. Reagan was restively politically active, for more than forty years, before he became president. During this time, he changed due to factors I won't go into, but was always studying and working on his vision for America, an America he always loved, even if I disagreed with much of HOW he wanted America to be -- I'll never doubt his sincerity.
The woman from Wasilla, on the other hand has very limited experience, little study if any, and was found to be consistently unable to answer the most basic 4th grade level questions by the press -- that is a badge of honor to the ignoranti. She has been very ambitious and accepting society's generosity in giving her opportunity at every turn in life almost commensurate with her ambition. She, like the ignoranti, feels as though society has a special obligation to her via those opportunities whether she worked to be competent or simply diligent in preparation or not. Reagan worked his ass off in comparison.
So maybe Bush the younger is a better comparison -- he inherited everything he got, added value to nothing he touched at best, and certainly will not be accused of being cerebrally inquisitive. But Bush was not very ambitious to say the least, money was raised that convinced him he could do it.
The woman from Wassilla is dripping with calculated ambition far exceeding Bush with less financial backing, folksy like Reagan but having the lazy intellect of Bush, and none of Reagan's drive for a coherent vision for America -- so far. So she has ambition without a work/study ethic and basically has enjoyed a social lottery ticket in life. She is very representative of the ignoranti.
What would she do for a VP; Romney? Why hell no that wouldn't do it! He is way to technical and brainy for her. She couldn't understand him if she studied with him for ten years and she has yet to show that she can study for ten minutes. Concoleeza Rice? Although interesting as an all woman team, being black will not work for the ignoranti there will always be suspicion of some sort that Rice wouldn't "know her place." Kay Bailey Hutchinson or Elizabeth Hanford Dole? I don't know how either could stand down to her leadership without accidentally trumping her very limited expertise in geography, economics, ethics, legislation..... Is there a man who would do it? I think Huckabee would be very frustrated with her and once they got into religious standards, out of wedlock children that could be a problem. Oddly, a tattooed biker Pagan, Outlaw, itinerant drifter or oil derrick worker or some other non union worker, that was a middle school dropuot would work best, even an Elmer Gantry. Whoever it is, can't be seen as the smarter of the two.
While I believe it is VERY POSSIBLE, IF NOT PROBABLE that she will win the GOP nomination, the biggest problem she has is keeping the attention of the ignoranti for three more years. If she does she wins. If that happens, in the general election she loses 70-30. In any case America should be prepared for pitchforks, brickbats, nooses, bibles, flags, rabble and.....
In the past few days, two events have influenced my thinking about the Obama Administration. The first was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for President Obama to apologize for meddling in Iran's post-election upheaval. The second was Manuel Zelaya's curiosity about the U.S. role in the Hondoran military coup that left Zelaya in Costa Rica dressed in his pajamas.
From what I can ascertain it is true President Obama wrote a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader prior to the Iranian presidential election. I do not think President Obama did so in an effort to disrupt. Notwithstanding what happened back in the 50's, to ascribe post-election unrest to U.S. involvement is as effective as inciting "Death to America" chants at Friday prayers. Nevertheless, just days ago Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for President Obama's apology for inciting protests, and today Iran's ambassador to Mexico blamed the death of Neda on the CIA.
Similarly, as news of a military coup in Honduras unfolded this morning, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya quickly questioned the role of the U.S. in the coup, a notion soon supported by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who backed his good friend Zelaya with a threat to destroy any Honduran government that succeeded Zelaya's regime. I find Chavez a political dunce, and worse, an opportunist, so excuse me if I grinned widely when Honduran Congressional Leader Roberto Micheletti was sworn in as President almost to the hour Chavez uttered his threats.
I've already seen Obama shrug off any obligation to apologize to Iran, and Secretary Clinton was quick to deny any involvement in the Honduran military coup. Still, I can't help but entertain the notion that Obama's State Department is either crazy like a fox or wholly uninvolved in any of these matters... In the final analysis, I think it will be shown that if the Iranian people manage to have their voice heard and real change occurs in Iran, Obama's efficacy as U.S. President will be just being there, in a purely Chauncey Gardner kind of way. As for Honduras, anybody's guess is Obama's.
Not much attention was given to World Refugee Day -"Real People Real Needs" on June 20th or our part in keeping two groups refugees. Our invasion of Iraq resulted in approximately 4 million Iraqis becoming refugees with half leaving mostly to take refuge in Jordan and Syria. Many are still afraid to return to Iraq.
According to UN agencies, Palestinian refugees (4.6 million) are the largest and longest existing refugee population. Their dislocation started with 1948 Israeli violence, persecution, land confiscation. etc. to create a Jewish state in Palestine. The violence caused approximately 700,000 Palestinians to flee to neighboring Arab states. Others fled to the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
Monday June 1, 2009
It's been one week since solar panels were swiped from the roof of the new Carbondale Recreation center-------the building is located next door to the town's police department.
Despite assurances from police Chief Gene Schilling that the theft is under aggressive investigation---there are no leads.
My mother (Mom, Mary, Aunt Marna, Nana) died on September 16, 2003, from complications of advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
Mom was, by every measure and qualifier, my dearest, best friend. It was a friendship thoroughly tested, always passed. For example, when I was about 11 Years old, I advised Mom that she could greatly improve her image if she were to learn to drive a car and smoke cigarettes, just like my school chum Bobby Brown’s mom. Without protest or offense, Mom willingly met me halfway, but I was still always critical of her driving skills.
I normally don’t pay a good White House gaff too much attention, but when Air Force One did a ground-zero fly-by with an F-16 escort last week, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
Local hero Chris Klug is back in Aspen after a medallic Olympic career snowboarding around the world. What's our guy up to now: live in the valley and a career in real estate.
