Given my last post, and in general the coverage of the Sheriff election in the Daily News--I thought I'd post the SPJ's code of ethics. I can give a blow-by-blow of how the paper violated at least a dozen parts of this code in this election, but I think it's just too obvious, for those following the election (both Braudis and Magnuson supporters), once you read it.
Continue Reading 7 comments November 1st, 2006
By now, it's no secret of the Aspen Daily News' pro-Braudis Bias--a bias, in fact, so extreme that it is compromising the paper's integrity as a so-called news source. During this election, the paper has eliminated the firewall between news and editorial in relentlessly attacking Magnuson in purported "news stories" (e.g., the performance art); fighting Magnuson's statistics and calls for change with rhetoric (but no substantiation); and publishing push polls on its website seeking not insight but influence; while failing to challenge Braudis' claims (whether it be DUI arrests, violent crime statistics, etc.) or putting a fraction of the scrutiny of Braudis' past behavior or record.
Today's Daily News endorsement of Braudis thus is anti-climatic. Even its condescending, at times nasty tone is not surprising. But what the editorial points out--aside from reinforcing its bias--is just how much the paper lags in quality from its cross-town rival. We are rapidly shifting from a two-newspaper to a one-newspaper town. For instance, statements like "voters here don't fall for Magnuson's rhetoric and fuzzy math, which he's managed to paint with a sweeping brush that would have been best left in his studio" reinforce the paper's pro-Braudis themes of the campaign, including its own tired rhetoric of Magnuson running for performance art. Seriously, this performance art theme is so tired, even a Red Bull followed by a doppio espresso wouldn't wake it up.
On the contrary, The Aspen Times's recent endorsement for Braudis gives a fair and balanced take on the campaign. It credits Rick for running an "aggressive campaign" but says "we feel we already have a solid, upstanding sheriff with a deep understanding of Pitkin County". It moved well beyond the "art" theme by saying "At first many Aspenites thought Magnuson's bid a joke, given his part-time occupation as an artist. But Magnuson took the race seriously."
Let's compare the two endorsements.
Continue Reading 15 comments October 31st, 2006
I don't care if you are Red or Blue. I don't give a flying flip if you are Republican or Democrat. I could care less if you are a Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, etc, etc. Why can't we just all agree that we have a very real opportunity here to tap into the scientific options on the table. Via science, we have the opportunity to turn the tide on incurable diseases.
Continue Reading 3 comments October 27th, 2006
With all the hype surrounding the Pitkin County Sheriff’s race, I thought it would be entertaining to take a look back at the last time Aspen politics stole the national media spotlight, the 1970 race between Carrol D. Whitmire and Freak Party candidate Hunter S. Thompson.
Continue Reading Add comment October 27th, 2006
There is no better place to deal drugs than Pitkin County, if a report filed by Pitkin County Sheriff's Office's Director of Investigations Joe DiSalvo in September 2004 is any indication. This latest information, obtained by Aspen Post, also answers the charge of local columnist Jeremy Madden, a Braudis apologist.
"There have been shifty and spineless attacks on the Sheriff that have mede allusions he is is not enforcing the laws," Madden wrote in the Aspen Daily News. "If someone has actual proof of this then it should be brought forth.... Just because he's not gung-ho to have is people spying on their fellow citizens does not mean he's not enformcing the laws."
Here, then, is actual proof that the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office does not enforce the law against dealers of hard drugs, as gleaned from official Pitkin County records--the horse's mouth, if you will.
Continue Reading 48 comments October 27th, 2006
Wharf Rat has brought to fore, a single issue problem, as an example of negative change in our culture; substance abusers have no responsibility for their actions. The suppliers or the supplies are to blame. Imagine this logic: the dog made me step in the poop, well OK the poop made me step in the poop. Yet unlike the substance abuser, the example does not willfully step into the poop, a marked difference from the substance abuser who activel seeks the supplier. If that is P. C. it must now stand for Poppy Cock -- absolute rubbish.
Continue Reading Add comment October 23rd, 2006
Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis is a legend and an icon--but is he a liar to boot?
When asked point-blank if he did drugs during "Squirm Night" last week on GrassRoots TV, the Sheriff replied: "Not since I've been Sheriff."
Truth or dare? The Sheriff has been able to get away with saying just about anything in five terms in office, but this time around it's different, thanks in part to the challenge of Aspen Police Community Safety Officer Rick Magnuson. Has the Sheriff done drugs? That's still an open question after The Aspen Times printed online comments Sunday that indicate fiction may be stranger than the truth.
Continue Reading 12 comments October 23rd, 2006
Wonder of wonders, this is a subject I have done extensive reading on. The problem is very widespread, and it ain't the least bit amusing. On top of that, the recent influx of more and more illegals is adding a lot of fuel to an already very dangerous "fire." These are extremely violent groups, and their violence is spreading out of the ghetto and into many "nicer" neighorhoods all around the country. Hmm. Aspen qualifies as a "nicer" neighborhood, does it not?
In fact, while I am sitting here typing away, I must tell you right up front that while I still favor Braudis for Sheriff, I was not aware that there was "tagging" going on in town. This revelation changes my thinking in a big way. In fact, it is likely that unfortunately the old way of dealing with law enforcement in the county may well have to be overhauled, dramatically, and with no time wasted.
Continue Reading 6 comments October 22nd, 2006
Like a heavyeweight boxer who stayed far too long in the ring, Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis fended off the blows of younger and perhaps even lesser people Wednesday night at the "Squirm Night" debate at the Red Brick Center for the Arts shown on Grass Roots TV.
Asked whether he had ever taken drugs on the job, Braudis--a close friend of the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Jr.--said: "Not since I've been Sheriff."
Now it's on the record. The unmentionable issue in the race for Pitkin County Sheriff has finally been mentioned. Now let's see if that statement holds up.
Continue Reading 66 comments October 19th, 2006
When David Danforth founded the Aspen Daily News nearly three decades ago, he famously did so based on the notion that the real news was not getting out in a town dominated by the Aspen Times.
The rest is publishing history, but now Danforth's flagship newspaper has made journalistic history of another sort by admitting overt bias in its news coverage in favor of the candidacy of Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis in his race against challenger Rick Magnuson.
Continue Reading 32 comments October 18th, 2006
