News
Ron Paul the rational choice
The top 10 reasons why Dr. Ron Paul is the only rational presidential choice for Americans, Democratic, Republican and Independent:
Quoting Sam Gwynne, from the Texas Monthly!
10. Dr. Paul works a real job, has run a small a business and served in the military. He has been a physician for 40 years, co-owned a coin store for 12 years and was a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. National Guard for five years. That was how our country was set up -- for public servants to work a real job that they returned to after their public service was done. He has real skills and is not a professional politician.
9. Dr. Paul has decades of experience running a business and in depth knowledge of health care.
8. Dr. Paul understands money and is chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology.
7. Dr. Paul does the right thing referencing the U.S. Constitution and works for the country versus campaigning for his ego. He has been serving the public in politics for over 40 years.
6. Dr. Paul refuses to accept a federal pension for his public service, something other members get after a short period because they do not have real jobs. According to Dr. Paul, to receive a pension for public service would be “hypocritical and immoral.”
5. Unlike most other candidates out there, Dr. Paul is not a good-looking, smooth-talking, snake charmer or charismatic zealot. He is a regular, plain-spoken person who says it the way it is.
4. Dr. Paul doesn't care if big groups like him (like unions and businesses). His donations come primarily from individuals, not from groups. He is willing to serve his country honorably without personal gain. Dr. Paul will do what is right for the U.S. based on the Constitution whether or not big money or big government likes it.
3. Dr. Paul has written a bill called the Sun Light Rule that requires our politicians have at least 10 days to read bills before signing them.
2. Dr. Paul will bring practical wisdom, cut spending, balance the budget, stabilize the economy and probably be able to do away with the IRS and income tax, a tax that is not constitutional and was started to fund the Civil War and supposed to stop after the civil war. He wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, giving the states and parents back control. He wants to do away with other large government agencies, restoring the rightful power to the states.
1. Dr. Paul's old-fashioned decency, integrity, honor and real-life experience are exactly what our country needs after hiring actors, puppets, oil and other group-connected slick sales men and marketers.
He's been married to the same woman, Carol, for 54 years (married 1957).
Electing dishonorable, irresponsible, good-looking, smooth-talkers over the past several decades has eroded our country's stability.
Steve Taylor Vail
Not the right way to act
Responding to Don Rogers' editorial regarding the sacking of Avon's town manager: Don, I completely agree with your viewpoint on this, and I am outraged as a resident of the town of Avon.
The fact that a majority of council members can get together (as if) in a “back room” and execute this type of maneuver in this day and age of political transperency astounds me!
I have let each of the four members of the council know I feel this way, and I urge other residents to act, also.
Steve Coyer
Avon
Sloppy, but needed to happen
I agree with Don Rogers' concerns in his op-ed piece, “Rash action by rogues,” about the Avon Town Council's recent ousting of Town Manager Larry Brooks. From an outsider's point of view, it seems to be the result of shady talks conducted outside of public sessions. This is no way to run a town, particularly when two of the four people involved (Buz Reynolds and Dave Dantas) are veteran council members.
That said, I adamantly disagree with Don's implied (if unstated) assertion that Brooks deserves to keep his job. Don claims the council made a rash and costly error, but what of the Traer Creek lawsuit? Since it began in 2008, the town has more than doubled its legal costs, spending nearly $1.2 million in taxpayer dollars.
I understand Brooks is not solely responsible for this quagmire. It was approved by the council. Yet as its most trusted adviser, Brooks strongly urged the town to combat Traer Creek -- a developer that could have rejuvenated the eastern portion of Avon and, unfortunately, had the resources to sustain a never-ending lawsuit.
Brooks gambled, lost, and now the town is picking up the tab.
It's also bold of Don to call Brooks “well-respected,” given his recent track record.
Perhaps Brooks is liked by a certain cross-section of the Avon population, but for many others -- including town employees and residents like myself -- he's an old dog who's unable (and unwilling) to learn new tricks.
Look at Vail: Despite approving rampant construction in the midst of a national depression, the town is now close to balancing its budget, while Avon slips further into debt.
True, Avon has tried to remedy its financial woes, but at the expense of nearly everyone but Brooks. Since 2008, the town has drastically cut public services such as transportation, along with roughly 29 jobs townwide. The majority of remaining employees are forced to take furloughs.
In the same period, funding for the town manager department -- including travel, insurance and things like furniture -- has grown from nearly $217,000 per year to $235,000. That's only $6,000 less than the combined salaries of all nine full-time transit employees in 2010. As for Brooks's salary, it clocked in at $174,000 in 2011 (not $150,000 as Don cited). It's an expense the town would front whether he's in office or not. I can't deny 28 years of accomplishments, particularly successes like building a relationship between Avon and Beaver Creek Resort. But in many ways, Brooks had become similar to a tenured professor: He remained untouchable and infallible, even as his performance drooped and those who trusted in him failed.
There's little doubt the four council members skirted the public process and, in doing so, called into question their credibility as public servants.
But to end with a slight repurposing of Don's words, I'm glad the councilmen came to their senses before Brooks took his next reckless -- and expensive -- step.
Phil Lindeman
Avon
What a pack
Well, we're down to the final four and I'm not referring to the collegiate basketball tournament. No, these are the Republican candidates for the presidency. And quite a group it is!
First there is the funny little guy (Ron Paul) who has served in the House of Representatives for 22 years. During that time he sponsored or cosponsored some 600 bills. Exactly four of them managed to clear the appropriate committee and make it to the floor of the House. And exactly one of them actually became law. And all that one did was allow for the sale of a small piece of land with an old Customs House on it. Not too impressive.
Then there is the devout Christian (Rick Santorum) who is opposed to abortion even for a woman who has been raped. He sanctimoniously said, “You just have to make the best of a bad situation.”
The third is the ex-speaker of the House of Representatives (Newt Gingrich) who left the Congress in 1999 in complete disgrace. He was originally charged with 84 ethics violations. In a settlement, he pleaded guilty on one count, was censored by a vote of 395 to 28, and paid a fine of $300,000. Great credentials for the presidency!
And finally, we have the current front runner (Mitt Romney), who depending on the audience and the occasion, will say anything at all, as well as reversing any previous position. Since he is courting the Tea Party, he now advocates deportation as the only solution for illegal immigration, overturning Roe v. Wade, curtailing gay rights, and reducing medical help for the poor.
Furthermore, he would increase the taxes paid by the vast majority of us while reducing those paid by the very wealthy –- including of course, himself. He quite obviously doesn't understand the disastrous effect that would have on our economy. You have to at least understand it before you can fix it, Mitt!
Republicans, take your choice. Democrats need not vote.
David Le Vine
Avon
New gondola a disaster
Can you imagine that in the future we all have to take our skis and snowboards off simply to get to Mid-Vail? And there you will put your skis on again and wait in line at chair 4 to finally get to the top. All of this we will have to do for a simple run down on Riva or to reach the Back Bowls.
This is no fun. This is stupid. All the local Vail skiers should wake up and protest to Vail Resorts.
Vail Mountain is a ski mountain, not part of the way to reach a new restaurant up there.
It's like building an elevator in a six-story building that only goes up four stories.
Last year I skied in Vail with a Swiss tourism expert. He was more than amazed to see the old-fashioned layout of Vail Mountain. His opinion was that Vail would need three gondolas, according to the face of the mountain: Lionshead to Eagle's Nest, Vail Village to the top where Buffalo's is now, and Golden Peak to Two Elk. This would be the simplest and most logical way to reach the slopes in today's ski world.
He said that Vail has a lot of snow fields that are connected by lot of dangerous catwalks. All of this is still more or less the same design of the mountain as Pete Seibert and the other founders had planned. But the ski world has changed with man-made snow, grooming, modern skis, more people, snowboards and so on.
The only thing what didn't change is the opinion of VR that all of this is still good enough to make money.
OK, the friendliness of the Vail people and the outstanding weather in this area cover a lot and make every visit to Vail very pleasant, but does it fill the empty Hotels and Stores ?
Vail reminds me of a sailing ship that has been growing bigger and bigger by the years but still has the same masts and the same old sails. As a result, the world wide fleet of the leading ski resorts is far ahead and almost disappears at the horizon.
I am really afraid that VR is turning down our beautiful Vail piece by piece by constantly not looking for the best, but instead for the cheapest and simplest solutions for skiing. In Europe, you can ski for half the price of a the Vail lift pass, but the runs are longer and much better. Why should tourists from overseas ever come to Vail?
During the week, Vail is more and more a ghost town. The Epic Pass was a great idea, but it has also become a dangerous trap. VR will be never able to raise the price for this Epic Pass again. If they try to do it and the Front Range skiers don,t come to Vail any longer, then Vail and VR are dead and there is no replacement for the missing business.
Some days ago, I was reading that the famous Kodak Co. went into bankruptcy. Unbelievable but true. When I biked in 1991 with my touring bike 2,000 miles through the the big African desert Sahara, I was sitting there with some nomads around a fireplace. And when I showed them my camera, they pointed at it and said “Kodak, Kodak.” Kodak was worldwide the name for photography. Now this famous company is in bankruptcy and the whole reason for it was “missing innovations.”
Otto Wiest
Election year thought
As our country heads into this election year, we will all be bombarded with ads declaring why we should re-elect our current leaders in Congress, the White House, our state leaders, and even our very own county commissioner. Just keep in mind one thought when you pull that lever inside the voting booth: Politicians are exactly like diapers. They should be changed frequently, and for the very same reasons.
Karl Berger
Wolcott
The top 10 reasons why Dr. Ron Paul is the only rational presidential choice for Americans, Democratic, Republican and Independent:
Quoting Sam Gwynne, from the Texas Monthly!
10. Dr. Paul works a real job, has run a small a business and served in the military. He has been a physician for 40 years, co-owned a coin store for 12 years and was a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. National Guard for five years. That was how our country was set up -- for public servants to work a real job that they returned to after their public service was done. He has real skills and is not a professional politician.
9. Dr. Paul has decades of experience running a business and in depth knowledge of health care.
8. Dr. Paul understands money and is chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology.
7. Dr. Paul does the right thing referencing the U.S. Constitution and works for the country versus campaigning for his ego. He has been serving the public in politics for over 40 years.
6. Dr. Paul refuses to accept a federal pension for his public service, something other members get after a short period because they do not have real jobs. According to Dr. Paul, to receive a pension for public service would be “hypocritical and immoral.”
5. Unlike most other candidates out there, Dr. Paul is not a good-looking, smooth-talking, snake charmer or charismatic zealot. He is a regular, plain-spoken person who says it the way it is.
4. Dr. Paul doesn't care if big groups like him (like unions and businesses). His donations come primarily from individuals, not from groups. He is willing to serve his country honorably without personal gain. Dr. Paul will do what is right for the U.S. based on the Constitution whether or not big money or big government likes it.
3. Dr. Paul has written a bill called the Sun Light Rule that requires our politicians have at least 10 days to read bills before signing them.
2. Dr. Paul will bring practical wisdom, cut spending, balance the budget, stabilize the economy and probably be able to do away with the IRS and income tax, a tax that is not constitutional and was started to fund the Civil War and supposed to stop after the civil war. He wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, giving the states and parents back control. He wants to do away with other large government agencies, restoring the rightful power to the states.
1. Dr. Paul's old-fashioned decency, integrity, honor and real-life experience are exactly what our country needs after hiring actors, puppets, oil and other group-connected slick sales men and marketers.
He's been married to the same woman, Carol, for 54 years (married 1957).
Electing dishonorable, irresponsible, good-looking, smooth-talkers over the past several decades has eroded our country's stability.
Steve Taylor Vail
Not the right way to act
Responding to Don Rogers' editorial regarding the sacking of Avon's town manager: Don, I completely agree with your viewpoint on this, and I am outraged as a resident of the town of Avon.
The fact that a majority of council members can get together (as if) in a “back room” and execute this type of maneuver in this day and age of political transperency astounds me!
I have let each of the four members of the council know I feel this way, and I urge other residents to act, also.
Steve Coyer
Avon
Sloppy, but needed to happen
I agree with Don Rogers' concerns in his op-ed piece, “Rash action by rogues,” about the Avon Town Council's recent ousting of Town Manager Larry Brooks. From an outsider's point of view, it seems to be the result of shady talks conducted outside of public sessions. This is no way to run a town, particularly when two of the four people involved (Buz Reynolds and Dave Dantas) are veteran council members.
That said, I adamantly disagree with Don's implied (if unstated) assertion that Brooks deserves to keep his job. Don claims the council made a rash and costly error, but what of the Traer Creek lawsuit? Since it began in 2008, the town has more than doubled its legal costs, spending nearly $1.2 million in taxpayer dollars.
I understand Brooks is not solely responsible for this quagmire. It was approved by the council. Yet as its most trusted adviser, Brooks strongly urged the town to combat Traer Creek -- a developer that could have rejuvenated the eastern portion of Avon and, unfortunately, had the resources to sustain a never-ending lawsuit.
Brooks gambled, lost, and now the town is picking up the tab.
It's also bold of Don to call Brooks “well-respected,” given his recent track record.
Perhaps Brooks is liked by a certain cross-section of the Avon population, but for many others -- including town employees and residents like myself -- he's an old dog who's unable (and unwilling) to learn new tricks.
Look at Vail: Despite approving rampant construction in the midst of a national depression, the town is now close to balancing its budget, while Avon slips further into debt.
True, Avon has tried to remedy its financial woes, but at the expense of nearly everyone but Brooks. Since 2008, the town has drastically cut public services such as transportation, along with roughly 29 jobs townwide. The majority of remaining employees are forced to take furloughs.
In the same period, funding for the town manager department -- including travel, insurance and things like furniture -- has grown from nearly $217,000 per year to $235,000. That's only $6,000 less than the combined salaries of all nine full-time transit employees in 2010. As for Brooks's salary, it clocked in at $174,000 in 2011 (not $150,000 as Don cited). It's an expense the town would front whether he's in office or not. I can't deny 28 years of accomplishments, particularly successes like building a relationship between Avon and Beaver Creek Resort. But in many ways, Brooks had become similar to a tenured professor: He remained untouchable and infallible, even as his performance drooped and those who trusted in him failed.
There's little doubt the four council members skirted the public process and, in doing so, called into question their credibility as public servants.
But to end with a slight repurposing of Don's words, I'm glad the councilmen came to their senses before Brooks took his next reckless -- and expensive -- step.
Phil Lindeman
Avon
What a pack
Well, we're down to the final four and I'm not referring to the collegiate basketball tournament. No, these are the Republican candidates for the presidency. And quite a group it is!
First there is the funny little guy (Ron Paul) who has served in the House of Representatives for 22 years. During that time he sponsored or cosponsored some 600 bills. Exactly four of them managed to clear the appropriate committee and make it to the floor of the House. And exactly one of them actually became law. And all that one did was allow for the sale of a small piece of land with an old Customs House on it. Not too impressive.
Then there is the devout Christian (Rick Santorum) who is opposed to abortion even for a woman who has been raped. He sanctimoniously said, “You just have to make the best of a bad situation.”
The third is the ex-speaker of the House of Representatives (Newt Gingrich) who left the Congress in 1999 in complete disgrace. He was originally charged with 84 ethics violations. In a settlement, he pleaded guilty on one count, was censored by a vote of 395 to 28, and paid a fine of $300,000. Great credentials for the presidency!
And finally, we have the current front runner (Mitt Romney), who depending on the audience and the occasion, will say anything at all, as well as reversing any previous position. Since he is courting the Tea Party, he now advocates deportation as the only solution for illegal immigration, overturning Roe v. Wade, curtailing gay rights, and reducing medical help for the poor.
Furthermore, he would increase the taxes paid by the vast majority of us while reducing those paid by the very wealthy –- including of course, himself. He quite obviously doesn't understand the disastrous effect that would have on our economy. You have to at least understand it before you can fix it, Mitt!
Republicans, take your choice. Democrats need not vote.
David Le Vine
Avon
New gondola a disaster
Can you imagine that in the future we all have to take our skis and snowboards off simply to get to Mid-Vail? And there you will put your skis on again and wait in line at chair 4 to finally get to the top. All of this we will have to do for a simple run down on Riva or to reach the Back Bowls.
This is no fun. This is stupid. All the local Vail skiers should wake up and protest to Vail Resorts.
Vail Mountain is a ski mountain, not part of the way to reach a new restaurant up there.
It's like building an elevator in a six-story building that only goes up four stories.
Last year I skied in Vail with a Swiss tourism expert. He was more than amazed to see the old-fashioned layout of Vail Mountain. His opinion was that Vail would need three gondolas, according to the face of the mountain: Lionshead to Eagle's Nest, Vail Village to the top where Buffalo's is now, and Golden Peak to Two Elk. This would be the simplest and most logical way to reach the slopes in today's ski world.
He said that Vail has a lot of snow fields that are connected by lot of dangerous catwalks. All of this is still more or less the same design of the mountain as Pete Seibert and the other founders had planned. But the ski world has changed with man-made snow, grooming, modern skis, more people, snowboards and so on.
The only thing what didn't change is the opinion of VR that all of this is still good enough to make money.
OK, the friendliness of the Vail people and the outstanding weather in this area cover a lot and make every visit to Vail very pleasant, but does it fill the empty Hotels and Stores ?
Vail reminds me of a sailing ship that has been growing bigger and bigger by the years but still has the same masts and the same old sails. As a result, the world wide fleet of the leading ski resorts is far ahead and almost disappears at the horizon.
I am really afraid that VR is turning down our beautiful Vail piece by piece by constantly not looking for the best, but instead for the cheapest and simplest solutions for skiing. In Europe, you can ski for half the price of a the Vail lift pass, but the runs are longer and much better. Why should tourists from overseas ever come to Vail?
During the week, Vail is more and more a ghost town. The Epic Pass was a great idea, but it has also become a dangerous trap. VR will be never able to raise the price for this Epic Pass again. If they try to do it and the Front Range skiers don,t come to Vail any longer, then Vail and VR are dead and there is no replacement for the missing business.
Some days ago, I was reading that the famous Kodak Co. went into bankruptcy. Unbelievable but true. When I biked in 1991 with my touring bike 2,000 miles through the the big African desert Sahara, I was sitting there with some nomads around a fireplace. And when I showed them my camera, they pointed at it and said “Kodak, Kodak.” Kodak was worldwide the name for photography. Now this famous company is in bankruptcy and the whole reason for it was “missing innovations.”
Otto Wiest
Election year thought
As our country heads into this election year, we will all be bombarded with ads declaring why we should re-elect our current leaders in Congress, the White House, our state leaders, and even our very own county commissioner. Just keep in mind one thought when you pull that lever inside the voting booth: Politicians are exactly like diapers. They should be changed frequently, and for the very same reasons.
Karl Berger
Wolcott
