HELP--advice needed

gonna give this some time and in an effort to take air out of it pulling that blog post down

False Equivalence ( MLK day)

False equivalence is a logical fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning.

There is no equivalence between BLM protests and the storming of the US Capitol.  The BLM protests were specifically inspired by the murder of George Floyd, and more generally 250 years of abuse and mistreatment of black people in the US, while the storming of the US Capitol was inspired by the BIG LIE that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

BLM is based on truth, the attempted coup at US Capitol was based on lies.  

My daughter is currently taking Civics which has refreshed my memory of much US history.  Lets take a very quick high level overview of race relations in America:

3/5th clause (Article one, section two of the Constitution) 1787

13th amendment (ending slavery) 1864

14th amendment (granting citizenship to former slaves) 1866

Reconstruction-Jim Crow laws 1870s

Separate but Equal

Eugenics

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Rodney King 1991

Breonna Taylor-George Floyd 2020

This list is obviously incomplete and just a quick list of 250 years of low lights of American's record of racism.

On a more personal note:

A high school friend whose first name started with a K--as well as his 4 siblings (KKKKK)--he was also kind enough to show me the KKK sign to flash if I was in the 'wrong' area of Missouri.  1985

Playing high school football in 1985 state semifinals in Marceline Missouri with locals flying white (KKK) flags, my face dripping with spit, the N word ringing in my ears and our school bus tires spiked by Marceline parents.  

Again in Missouri, being pulled over by Ladue police at gun point because my friend driving the car was Black.  And being accused by those police of steeling the Varsity Letterman jackets they saw in the car.  Our team football letterman jackets. 1984

Having to hail a cab often for a friend of mine in NYC who was black because cabbies didn't want to pick him up (he was always one of the best dressed guys I have known not that it should matter--it clearly wasn't about the look of the clothes but his skin) 1990s 

A quick history of 'voter fraud'

In America there is no evidence of voter fraud.  White people and the GOP in particular of late have raised the baseless fear of voter fraud to challenge the Voter Rights Act, suppress Black voters, and delegitimize results they don't like. Investigations from the DOJ as well as state and local officials have not found evidence of any significant voter fraud, however there is lots of evidence that black voters on average have to wait twice as long as white voters to cast their ballot.  But don't let a little thing like the truth get in the way of racist fear.

2008 Trump attempts to undermine legitimacy of Obama's citizenship

2015 Trump says  'won't accept election results if he loses'

2017 Trump creates the Presidential Advisory Commission On Election Integrity

2020 prior to election--Trump says 'the only way we lose is if the election is rigged'

2020 First presidential debate Trump refuses to denounce white supremacy

2020 post election Trump claims election was stolen

2021 post election Trump brings 60 court cases claiming voter fraud and loses every one

2021 post election Trump attempts to overturn election by pressuring Georgia election officials 

2021 post election Trump pressures VP Pence not to certify electoral results

2021 day of attempted coup at Capitol Trump says to insurrectionists ' we won, don't let them steal the election and destroy our civilization' 

2021 the majority of GOP House Reps vote to ignore the will of the people in AZ and PA and throw out the legal votes in those states

What would Martin Luther King have to say about that?

What would MLK have to say about the GOP's attempt to excuse a coup by equating the violence of white supremacists with that of BLM protesters voices clamoring for fair treatment by police officers.  I fear he would see that progress towards his dream is crumbling as the Republican party-the party of Lincoln -is coopted by white supremacists.  

Please lord let light of truth banish the evil that is corrupting the Republican party and our United States.

Now for some Rock and Roll agro protest style ---a song that was written 30 years ago and is sadly still way too current

forget orange ++ we are at RED

 Pitkin County moves to Red restrictions.  Why?  The worst incidence rate in the state which is over 3k (350 is the line for red restrictions).  We have been over 1.5k I believe for the last two months.

What does Red mean vs orange ++.

Indoor dining is shut, only take out or delivery.

Hotels are limited to 50% capacity.

Aspen Ski Co (which manages skiing on the mountains) is promising to be extra extra EXTRA covid safe.  What this means in actuality is unknown and proprietary so it can't be shared (or judged).

I was on the Board of Health call yesterday and they took public comment.  Some highlights from that include:

1.  Resturant owners don't want to have indoor dining closed.

2.  Restaurant workers don't want to have indoor dining shut down.

3.  Resturant industry questions about how much COVID exists, believing it will magically go down, believing they are being unfairly targeted (what about DJs, and parties, and hotels etc).

4.  Short term renters upset that they need a COVID test prior to arrival.

5.  Guy in Redstone upset that he missed storming the Capitol and his property taxes are too high.

6.  Short term renters upset that they can't have multiple families stay in same unit.

7.  Owners of short term property rentals worried about the ability to rent.

8.  The organizer of the Aspen anesthesia seminar is upset that docs would have to get a COVID test prior to arrival because ' all the Docs who are coming are front line workers and they will have had both rounds of vaccine shots and therefore be immune'.  This guy really pissed me off, this is just a bald faced lie.  IF somehow all of these Docs got their shot the last week of dec and got there second shot the week of Jan 18 and it takes two weeks after the second shot to reach full effect they would be hitting immunity as they are leaving Feb 5-6.  This is assuming these docs all got their shots basically the first (day) week they were available.  That is a pretty fucking heroic assumption.  And if they are able to get the very first round of vax shots (because as we know anesthesia is the absolute front line, not EMTs, or ER docs and nurses) how hard can it be for them to get a COVID test?  This guy really shines a bright light on the problem with tourism during a pandemic.  People who decide to ignore CDC guidelines against non-essential travel are by definition a group who are going to take more COVID risks.  For god sakes doctors who decide to travel against CDC recommendations so they can ski during the day and take an online course at night to keep their qualifications current are not going to be COVID smart.  Maybe your qualifications should actually be called into question if you are the kind of doctor who decides to ignore the CDC so you can get some turns in during a pandemic.

Bottom line, we have become a bit less friendly to tourism, but as long as the lift keep spinning people will keep coming and most of those people will be COVID risk takers.  Why is Aspen the hottest COVID spot in all of CO?  Well, we are the number one ski tourism destination in the world and with that comes the VID.  

Will my kids ever go back to in person learning?  At current rates we should hit herd immunity sometime in September (along with maybe 50 ish deal locals and god knows how many long term disabilities).  And heck maybe we will hit herd immunity even sooner between the vaccine and the X games.

Aspen after dark high school--COVID safe fun

 Sorry no 10th grade orgies or Lipsey coke parties (you can click for full screen for fuller entertainment) 

fun sledding behind cars

the physics of sending it

and last but not least things that go boom in the night (yea he made these from stuff in our house and his forge) 

on voter fraud

 First a thought experiment:

Which is more democratic?  

A country has 100 people in it---in the first country voting is really hard (biometric scanning, multiple hard to get IDs, long waits to get scanned etc) resulting in only 10 people voting and zero voting fraud every recorded in any election EVER.

A second country has 100 people in it, voting is hard but possible.  Some places have long voting lines, (typically city populations with large black communities) some areas require various types of IDs others don't, some ares allow vote by mail others don't.  In this country 50 people vote, and there has been found to be 1 case of voter fraud every 100 elections.

In a third country voting is easy.  Everyone gets their ballot by mail, with an in person option available as well.  In this country 85 people vote and there is 1 fraudulent vote per election.

Which one do you find to be the most democratic?  There isn't a 'right' or 'wrong' answer.  FYI the first country doesn't really exist, the second is very close to the US and the third closer to Sweden, although the rate of voter fraud is much much lower than 1 out of 85 per election cycle.  

So which are you---a higher voter turnout =more democratic, or absolute zero fraud and very low turnout=more democratic.

Looking at the US there are about 1,300 cases of known voter fraud over the past 38 years in all elections.  Out of billions and billions of votes there are......1,300 cases of fraud.  Is that because no one is looking for voter fraud.  I think not.  President Trump appointed a commission to look into voter fraud and didn't get much data but also didn't find any evidence of voter fraud (ohhhk maybe .0001% of votes have been cast by green card holders who didn't realize they couldn't vote).  Show me an election decided by less than .0001%.

The DOJ and department of homeland security have permanent teams devoted to finding and prosecuting voter fraud.  They do very little--if you want a boring cushy job join the DOJ voter fraud team.

Oh yea, states who actually according to the constitution are responsible for overseeing voting, have teams dedicated to this as well.  

What is happening more and more is US citizens being purged from voter rolls.  We as a country are fighting a problem that doesn't exist and the bystander that is getting killed is voter participation.

What is clearly dangerous to democracy is lack of faith in elections.  Who is undermining trust in elections--Trump and the GOP.  Let's be really honest, having the President say before an election that any result that doesn't confirm him winning is fraudulent is dishonest and dangerous to democracy.  Claiming fraud in the absence of evidence is damming to democracy.  Continuing to do so after 60 court losses and then using the argument that because many citizens believe there was fraud there must have been fraud is crazy in the extreme (looking at you Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley).

But back to basics---if democracy is based on the will of the people, which country is the most democratic?  The one where most everybody votes or almost no one does?

What is the matter with the Aspen Times?

 Today (Monday) Aspen Times had a fluff lead article on Snowmass lifties---yea lifties

This hard hitting news blog has a different story to tell

This picture:

If a picture is worth 1000 words--this picture should say 'OH FUCK".   If you are having trouble figuring out what you are looking, that is an early AM shot  Sunday (notice almost no one on lifts and fresh corduroy) and ohh yea a chair that broke loose from the Alpine Springs lift on .......Snowmass mountain.  

While the Aspen Times was writing a fluff article about Snowmass lifties chairs are detaching and falling to the ground.  

Let me say that again-----while our local newspaper has a sweet article about Andy Elliott lift operations manager of -----Snowmass mountain-----chairs are plummeting to the ground from lifts at ------Snowmass Mountain.

Ohhh yea BTW rumor has it that a chair fell off the Exhibition lift at Aspen Highlands earlier this winter.

Also in today's Aspen Times----Record real estate sales for 2020---about $3.1 billion beating the previous record of $2.6 billion in 2006 and crushing the last 3 years average of about $2 billion per year.  Does the article look into the bifurcation of the local economy with local businesses getting crushed by COVID while real estate explodes?  NO.  Does the article look at lines and food banks or unemployment in the richest county in Colorado.  NO.  Does it address middle class locals selling their homes for mucho dinero and being replaced by second and third home owners and contemplate what that might mean Aspen?  NOPE.

Let me take a little look at this----remember Derek Johnson the senior Aspen ski Co employee (supposedly one of the higher paid ski Co employees making $116k in 2017) who was found guilty of stealing skis to re-sell online.  Check out this piece of shit house asking $5m for 3k square feet ($1,600 a square foot). 

 crap cemetery lane house  (its obviously a scrapper)

If you were a hard hitting investigative journalist maybe you would ask "Can people afford to live here without stealing?"  I don't mean to excuse Derek's actions---not in the least BUT how do you employee people when the cost of real estate is totally unrelated to local incomes.  Do you expect doctors, teachers, restaurant and hotel managers to commute 25-40 miles to work every day and live in a eh school district?  

Why not move to Steamboat----$400 a square foot buys you a pretty nice place  steamboat  or telluride telluride.  Why aren't our local papers asking questions about what this means for the future of Aspen?

How about the article two days ago about a local food truck?  Yea we kinda sorta have one now.  We learned the owner had burned his hand in a fryer and serves burgers and french fries.  Where are the questions about why the city won't allow food trucks (answer restaurants don't want the competition).  How about really drilling into that thinking----the Cordts-Pearce's don't seem to have a problem owning The Steakhouse, the Monarch and CP burger.  Maybe there is room in this town for high end restaurants and affordable options too?  If not, how does a town survive when the only people who can afford to live here don't work here?  What does that town look like?  Why aren't either of the local papers digging into that?

And no post would be complete without COVID.  Today's number of new cases was .......85 (Cause I am a math guy I will let you know that is 0.5% of Pitkin County got a positive test in ONE DAY).  I will admit that numbers over the holidays have been lumpy (two days ago our number of new cases was -2 (yes MINUS 2) but overall how Pitkin has handled COVID has been a fail.  We have been 4-8 times the incident rate to put us into red for weeks now but instead we just invent new colors (orange plus plus currently and no I am not kidding).  Where are the hard hitting questions from our local journalists about enforcement (or lack there of) or really about our approach to COVID and the economy?

I guess it really is true--"you get what you pay for".  Both local papers are free.

Anyone want to meet me for a quick run?  Riding the lifts could be 'entertaining'.  

PS nothing new in the papers on the gas pipeline damage.