:: walterindenver ::

:: Monday, March 31, 2003 ::

Strong Arm Tactics in Chicago

Mayor Daley wants to use Meigs Field airport as parkland. Naturally, some folks don't like the idea, and threatened a lawsuit. Hizzoner circumvented the possible suit by preemptively bulldozing the place.

“There’s no logic,” said Steve Whitney of Friends of Meigs Field. “They dug Xs into the runway all the way down.”
What’s more, a number of small planes remained parked at the airfield, with no runway now to leave, he said, adding a taxiway might have to be used. “From our perspective, this is a pure and simple land grab,’’ he said.
Friends president Rachel Goodstein called Daley’s methods “creepy,’’ and officials said their group is considering a lawsuit at the state and federal level.

Creepy is putting it mildly. As they say over at Samizdata, the state is not your friend.

(link via Amish Tech Support)

:: Walter 7:56 PM [+] ::
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Tancredo and Immigration

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R - Colorado) made national news last fall when he personally asked the INS to look into the status of an undocumented immigrant student who complained that in spite of being a Colorado resident he was not eligible for in-state tuition. Suffice it to say that Tancredo wasn't trying to get the student a discount.
Tancredo's point is well taken, that people here illegally should not be looking for breaks when it comes to government services. However, his mean spirited action made a much bigger impression than any debating point he attempted to make.
The Rep. was on talk shows all over the country at the time, and he was usually quick to point out that he's not anti-immigrant, but only anti-illegal immigration.
Well, now the veneer is off. Recently an ad has been airing on Denver radio stations, lauding Rep. Tancredo for sponsoring a bill that would decrease legal immigration from one million to three hundred thousand persons annually. The stated purpose is to make it harder for terrorists to get here, and reduce overcrowding.
I think it serves another purpose. It shows that Rep. Tancredo is against legal immigration as well as illegal. I think it's safe to say he's anti-immigration, period. That's about as un-American as it gets.

The organization sponsoring the ad is called United to Secure America. You can find out more about them, and hear the Tancredo ad, on their website.

:: Walter 4:24 PM [+] ::
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Privatization Saves Lives

Hit and Run reports on a study showing Argentine communities that privatized their water systems showed a decrease in infant mortality.

:: Walter 6:35 PM [+] ::
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Unanswerable Question

Will one find more vitriol in the comments on Little Green Footballs, or Eschaton?

Serious attempts to answer will be entertained here, send them via the comments button above.

:: Walter 10:25 AM [+] ::
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Free For All

Gary Hart has started a blog. Yes, that Gary Hart. And the blog allows comments, to boot. This is the first time, that I am aware, such a public figure has allowed himself to be subjected to free-for-all of the blogosphere.

I wonder how long that comments feature will last.

:: Walter 10:08 AM [+] ::
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Top Anti-War Slogans

According to The Onion:

1. I Support My Activist Girlfriend
2. I Oppose This War And I Vote. Wait, No, I Don't.
3. The International Socialist Organization Needs A Ride Home.
4. What Would Guevara Do?
5. Fooled By Liberal Media Bias.
6. The People, United, Will Usually Be Defeated.

:: Walter 7:08 PM [+] ::
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Golf War

Tiger Woods supports the war. I'm suprised to see him make such a statement. He's got nothing to gain by publicly taking sides like that.

:: Walter 10:53 AM [+] ::
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In Fairness
As long as I'm picking on anti-war protesters, let's hear from the other side.

Perfect.

(via Jared the Evil Queen)

:: Walter 10:19 AM [+] ::
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Four Bullets to the Head

And still smiling.

Via The Command Post.

:: Walter 8:34 PM [+] ::
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Warblog

War coverage and opinions haven't been seen on this blog, conspicuous by their absence, I suppose. I am frequently asked what I think of the war, but I haven't really made up my mind. I have strong opinions on the war, and I note some good reasons to oppose the war, but the central question in determining my opinion is whether it is of long term benefit to the US to prosecute this war. Will we be safer? Will world trade be more secure in the long term, enough to offset the cost of the war? I can't answer those questions, and those are the most important questions to my mind.

I can say I would be more likely to favor the war if this administration wasn't the one in charge of it. The Bush administration has demonstrated a tin ear toward civil rights, to put it charitably. I can say with conviction the war will not be worth a long term loss of personal freedom in this country.

I can also say the war is justified, that is, the Iraqi regime is one of the most brutal on the planet, and they deserve nothing better than to be crushed quickly and completely. Now that the war is underway, I watch the news like most everyone else, cheering our troops. I'm convinced the cost of the war to innocent Iraqi citizens will not be as great as the cost of another decade or more of rule under the Husseins.

I have to say, as one whose opinions are ambivalent toward the war, that the anti-war movement is its own worse enemy. I cringe every time I see another 'No Blood for Oil' sign, or worse, that widely circulated banner asking for 'Peace in Our Time.' Or, in two words, Michael Moore.

These protesters, however, take the cake. A banner that says, 'We are ready to fight, world peace is our right!' ??? And, yes, they do mean fight with violence. You can't make this stuff up. For a little sanity from the anti-war side I visit Jim Henley, or a handful of other libertarian bloggers. Sadly, those people are few and far between.

(link via James Morrow.)

:: Walter 7:27 AM [+] ::
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Fun in the Snow

Well, it was fun. The official snowfall measurement for Denver was 29.5", making it the second highest all time snowfall total. 47" in 1913, I think, is the record. I knew you wanted to know. This time some places in the foothills west of town received more than 80" and as of this writing some residents are still trapped in their houses.
Anyway, when the power went out on Tuesday morning I figured it might not come back on for a while. I made my way to the grocery store just before it closed up to allow the employees to get home. The plan was to buy some slow cooking items and let the gas stove warm the house.
The blizzard of '03 menu: Ham hocks stewed with lentils, (good, leftovers even better) slow roasted asparagus in olive oil, (very good) and BBQ pork ribs steamed in bourbon. (worth the inconvenience of the blizzard)
Wednesday morning the stuff was really piling up and the streets were more than axle deep in very thick, wet snow. The repair crew came to put a new power pole up and they couldn't get the truck into the alley to get the work done. They spent an hour and a half just digging a thirty yard path through the snow. We helped when we could and gave the the guys coffee and sandwiches as they'd been working non-stop since Tuesday afternoon.
Since most street traffic had stopped altogether the call went out over the radio for volunteers with four wheel drive vehicles to bring healthcare and other essential worker in to their jobs. I jumped at the chance. I have a Jeep Wrangler with good, wide snow tires and I figured I could move around better than most. Don't think that I was being altruistic - the governor had ordered all 'non-essential' vehicles off the roads and I wanted to get out and tool around by myself on deserted and snow drifted streets. I wound up carrying an ambulance driver and shuttling people to and from a Red Cross shelter. Several buildings had collapsed from the weight of the snow and the Red Cross set up the shelter to house the folks displaced from their residences.
I only had to dig the Jeep out twice. It was a great time.

UPDATE: Roverpundit has more pictures.

:: Walter 8:44 PM [+] ::
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Blizzard

Diana Hsieh's got the pics.

:: Walter 8:11 AM [+] ::
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Hip Deep

Snow, and how. Denver's had one of its all-time biggest snowfalls over the last two days. About two and a half feet at the house. It's been an adventure. The power pole in the alley burned and toppled on Tuesday morning, and we didn't get power again until last night, almost thirty-six hours later. The pleasures of indoor camping! Got the power back just in time to see the war start.
I'll have to write more about the last few days. One of things I missed was the first blogiversary of The World Wide Rant. Congrats to Andy and Tom.

:: Walter 7:58 AM [+] ::
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Jury Questions

It's nice to see that lawyer Paul Grant has an article in the paper again, this one part of a point - counterpoint debate on allowing juries to ask questions during criminal trials. His argument makes sense to me, and the counterpoint against it is laughably flawed. Of course you can read it yourself and come to your own conclusions.

:: Walter 7:39 PM [+] ::
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Ides of March

Today is also Eat an Animal for PETA Day. Mrs. In Denver and I enjoyed a couple of lovely aged ribeyes from a local family owned butcher shop, paired with an Australian shiraz. The malamutes contributed by giving the proceedings their undivided attention, and they were rewarded handsomely.
Typical of Denver, the weather is in the mid seventies, and we grilled the steaks on the Weber. Also typical of Denver, next week's forecast calls for snow. We'll probably have the Weber fired up then, too.

:: Walter 6:35 PM [+] ::
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Apologies

I'm embarrassed for the lack of new postings on this site. I've been extraordinarily busy at work, and that's a good thing. Also, I'm amazed at the number of people who visit this site regularly in spite of the gap in activity here. Thank you, all. I get no where near the number of visitors the well known blogs enjoy, but it's a wonder to me that some people make it a point to visit here. Summer's on its way, and that's my time to make money at work, but I'll try to keep this blog updated.

:: Walter 6:06 PM [+] ::
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Blogiversary

Arthur Silber celebrates six months as the most thoughtful debater online. Drop by, and if you can, hit the tip jar and help him out.

:: Walter 8:08 PM [+] ::
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Colorado House Bill 1142

...will force minor political parties to participate in the primary process. To their credit, the Rocky Mountain News editorial board thinks it's a bad idea. Scroll down to 'The Party of Principle' to read what I think about it.

:: Walter 9:07 PM [+] ::
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Mail Bag

My spouse has suggested that those who don't like meat could make a
contribution in PETA's name to some organization that helps improve human
health by experimenting on animals.

Arthur D. Hlavaty

Well, that's a marvelous idea!

:: Walter 8:00 PM [+] ::
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Eat an Animal for PETA Day!

March 15th! Count me in. In case you wonder, I'm thinking steak, grilled outdoors, no matter the weather.

(via Arthur Silber)

:: Walter 8:42 AM [+] ::
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Radley Balko,

...otherwise known as The Agitator, has a series of six posts detailing AG Ashcroft's anti-freedom actions. He summarizes:

Seems to me, one could have made one of two conclusions vis-a-vis Ashcroft at the time: either he's a racist, or he's a principled "states' rights conservative," willing to weather the racist label in order to uphold the principles of federalism.
Seems clear to me now that Ashcroft doesn't give two shits about states' rights or federalism (see the five posts below). Seems to me he's hellbent on imposing his morality on the rest of us, the Tenth Amendment be damned.
Draw your own conclusions.

As I've said before, there's no way anyone calling himself a libertarian can be happy with this administration. Balko's Ashcroft series is enlightening for those who think otherwise.

:: Walter 11:41 PM [+] ::
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