Monthly Archives: May 2009

President Obama has an unenviable problem now. If nobody had ever known that there are additional pictures of prisoner abuse in other prisons, perhaps the damage already done would be enough to justify closing Guantanamo and forbidding further torture. It was enough for me. But suppressing the pictures once they were known to exist sends an even more inflammatory message to those who, it is said, would be inflamed by seeing them. The message is: they are worse than anything you are already imagining. Continue reading →

Opposition to a crematorium at 6655 Odell Place in Gunbarrel is about the Gunbarrel Community Center Plan, a very well constructed land-use blueprint for development of the greater Gunbarrel area. Continue reading →

On June 4, 2009, or thereabouts, the Boulder Planning Board will be reviewing Crestview Estates annexation…and the transportation associated with this addition to the city. Continue reading →

As an Orchard Grove resident who has been deeply involved with the issue for the past year, I would like to correct a couple of the inaccuracies in the May 28 Camera article. Continue reading →

I feel compelled to respond to Carol Seideman’s letter from May 28th advocating for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act because her statements in support of the EFCA were incorrect and disingenuous. She argues for unions because New Deal era legislation that legalized and led to the proliferation of unions allegedly raised standards of living. While standards of living have unequivocally gone up, Ms. Seideman makes the common mistake of confusing correlation with causation. Continue reading →

Daily Camera reporter Amy Bounds reports, “None could be reached for comment Wednesday.”. I was home, my phones and pager were and still are in operating order. Too bad Ms. Bounds neglected to call me or bother to accurately report my reasons for supporting a recall of the Mayor and Town of Superior trustees. I met with Ms. Bounds at the Daily Camera earlier this year,(and gave her my phone numbers, home address and e mail). We spoke extensively regarding the substantially poor land use planning of the the 27 acres north of the Sagamore neighborhood, the substantial opposition from the residents of Sagamore to the Guardian Storage project, and the egregious harm it will do to the Turnbull family, whose property is next to the Guardian development site. Nadine and Robert Turnbull are a couple of elderly, longtime Superior residents with health issues, which make opposing this very difficult for themselves. Continue reading →

There is a large uproar to hold the previous presidential admin. accountable for all actions. This is admirable, but why not do all previous administrations. Starting with president A. Lincoln who suspended “habeas corpus”……… President Roosevelt who incarcerated thousands of … Continue reading →

President Obama’s proposal of a new legal system in which terrorism suspects can be held in “prolonged detention” inside the United States without trial—a radical departure from our venerable system of constitutional justice—is based entirely on the rationale that the United States is “at war,” and therefore these extraordinarily radical practices are justified. It is time for Americans to ask a few fundamental questions, and to answer them. Continue reading →

“You give me a waterboard, one hour and Dick Cheney, and I’ll have him confessing to the Sharon Tate murders!” Jesse Ventura
Why can’t Democrats be more like Jesse Ventura and less like Ace Ventura? Continue reading →

Don’t be fooled by the hucksters from the Chamber of Commerce, the Realtors Association, developers and speculators who argue that we should continue to build higher and denser downtown.
They argue that this continued development will allow workers to live within the city and thus unclog our highways, put less cars on our streets and encourage bike, bus and pedestrian traffic. But, what they don’t tell you is that none of this density, “our new open space,” they call it, is affordable to the average worker. This “targeted in-fill” by speculators is not going to provide any reasonable housing options for people in Boulder, but, increase the amount of traffic downtown, tax an infrastructure already overburdened, take away the rest of our skyline and view of the mountains and concentrate even more pollution downtown.
If our city leaders were really serious they wouldn’t already have allowed developers to opt out of providing affordable housing by paying a fee rather than providing it. They would not continue to provide additional options such as more underground parking but block off streets and force public transportation.
Higher density and more mixed use development downtown will only provide more housing for the rich, perhaps their home away from “home,” add more “bizynezzez” for the tourists and profits to the landowners, and, less open space and tranquility for the rest of us. The percentage of actual residents downtown on a given day has actually gone down as the quality of life has decreased because of the greedy schemes of these hucksters.
They’ll tell you that this “infill development” will cut down vehicle use but have you noticed a decrease in congestion downtown? They’ll tell you this density won’t require additional city services or infrastructure. Do you think we’re that stupid?
Finally, they’ll tell you these projects will be built with the newest environmental and energy standards in mind, lowering our carbon footprint, all “affordable,” of course. They’ll say anything to get a green light to sustain the continuing development downtown, like growth in building density and population downtown is sustainable and good for the environment.
They’ll tell you “density is the new open space,” as if they’ll be providing a public service by filling in actual open space. The sky is a commodity to them.
These hucksters will turn logic on it’s head for their own short term profits at the expense of our quality of life and standard of living, forever.

Seth Brigham
Continue reading →

I walked through the door of the Jamestown Café, and the place went quiet. Everyone was gathered around one table, and I heard someone say, “You’re sure in the wrong place.” Standing in the door in my Lycra and cycling cleats, I suddenly felt like I had entered an old Western movie. A Clint Eastwood movie. Continue reading →

The recent strife in the country over the issue of “gay marriage”, and the recent ruling in California upholding the Proposition 8 restriction allowing “marriage” for opposite-sex couples, shows the clear need to separate the typically religious concept of marriage from the legal rights currently associated with it. The opposition to marriage for same-sex couples largely is based on religious principles or individual discomfort with homosexuality. However, there is no logical reason why same-sex couples should not be allowed the same legal rights as opposite-sex couples; every attempt of a rational argument against same-sex couples founders in the fact that the same argument could be used to disallow some opposite sex couples to marry. Continue reading →

I was driving through Weld County a couple of days ago – my grandparents homesteaded there in the late 1870’s – and I remembered Memorial Day was approaching. Continue reading →

Regarding the Foothill Elementary “drop zone” fracas: I have reviewed the proposed plan, the huge associated cost and I realize this construction project is not necessary at all. Continue reading →

Re: May 22 Open Forum. Connie Herbst wants someone to teach Cheney how to retire gracefully. I guess she’s forgotten about Jimmy Carter, who set the bar for a shameful and embarrassing retirement. And complaints (not from Ms. Herbst) about Cheney’s “fear mongering”? The administration’s Joe Biden is the poster child for fear mongering. I’m surprised he’s allowed to leave his office without a remote-controlled teleprompter. Continue reading →

Why are the poor – who can’t usually afford health insurance – allowed to fight and die for their country, but not ( as citizens of that country ) allowed to have health care?
Why are taxpayers, who are called upon to finance the defense of this nation, and to bail out wealthy private institutions ( and individuals, )
not able to call on the government – or those private institutions -
when a catastrophic illness or injury robs them of all they have?
Why does our Congress, all of whom receive superb, all-inclusive single-payer ( compliments of the government, i.e. the taxpayers ) medical insurance, refuse to allow the public ( who pays for it ) to have those same benefits? Continue reading →

For those keeping score, mark up another win for the National Rifle Association. And mark up another typical cave-in for the Democrats. It will now be permissible for gun owners to bring their shotguns, assault rifles, and loaded concealed weapons into National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges. So what’s next? Guns in the halls of Congress? Guns in the White House? Hey, is this a great country or what? Continue reading →

Women’s Health Week, celebrated in May, aims to remind women to make a healthy lifestyle a priority. Yet recent studies confirm that the price women pay to access health care is unattainable for millions of women – making health care wishful thinking rather than reality. Continue reading →

Just a thought on the Nuggets’ problems with inbounding the ball near the end of a game.
William Shakespeare said it long ago, in As You Like It:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the (basketball players) merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances,
And (each player) in his time plays many parts.
Go Nuggets! Continue reading →

Leigh Campbell-Hale’s guest editorial arguing for BVSD teacher raises was not only flawed, but ironically it was elitist. Continue reading →