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Letters to the Editor - Dec. 12
Bumps | Traffic plan is just flawed
I find it hard to believe that in an enlightened city such as Boulder, where all users of the transportation system are supposedly afforded an equal amount of respect as its vehicle drivers - pedestrians, bicyclists, stroller-pushers, wheelchair operators and even skateboarders - the only remedy for slowing traffic that city traffic engineer, Bill Cowern offers is a choice between who pays for $2,000 speed humps?
Has no one in this town ever heard of Amory Lovins' cold-beer, hot-showers approach to problem-solving? There are probably hundreds of other more effective, less expensive, remedies for achieving slower vehicles zooming through our neighbors' streets that both drivers and neighborhoods would like better.
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KAREN NOZIK
Boulder
Energy | Burning less is economical
Here's a common-sense argument for fuel-efficient vehicles: They save you money! Now I know that not everyone is able to go buy a Prius this afternoon, but the responsibility for driving an efficient vehicle should not only fall squarely on those who can afford such a luxury.
Some people need larger and more powerful vehicles in order to get up steep hills and carry heavy stuff around, but even those vehicles could be made more efficient. A Clean Cars Program for Colorado, already being discussed by Gov. Bill Ritter, would promote cars and trucks that go farther on a gallon of gas. What does this mean for you? I return to my original argument: The less your have to fill up your tank, the less you will pay. I don't think it could be clearer. I urge you to call your state legislator and ask them to pass strict measures when adopting the Clean Cars Program.
JOHN E. SCHLEICHER
Boulder
Guns | Concealed-carry law is vindicated
On Dec. 9, a lone gunman armed with a rifle and two handguns shot four people before being shot in kind by what the media has dubbed a "security guard" who works at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs.
It turns out that this brave woman is not a uniformed security guard, nor is she a contractor hired specifically for protection. She, like many others throughout the state, is a civilian licensed to carry a concealed handgun.
She took the necessary courses required by law, passed a criminal background investigation, and thus is legally allowed to conceal a handgun thanks to Colorado's "shall issue" policy.
No one is willing to acknowledge that it was a law-abiding civilian who legally carried a concealed handgun to church and used it in defense of others. It's easier to say that a "professional" handled the situation, rather than Jane Q. Citizen. Being that forthright might encourage others to exercise their liberties as residents of Colorado and do the same. Such a movement is inconsistent with the, "Run away and let the police handle it" that is so typical of other mass shootings, where gunmen kill at leisure and often end their sprees by taking their own lives once they have run out of targets.
A Colorado resident with a permit to carry a concealed weapon may carry it anywhere in the state, with a few key exceptions. The University of Colorado is one of those exceptions.
The gunman certainly did not expect anyone in a church to be capable of shooting back and, by all accounts, was willing to cause hundreds of casualties. What would have happened if he chose any one of the crowded lecture halls on the CU campus? It would have been nothing short of another massacre, and the shooter would have been guaranteed ample time because the regents have made what is essentially an executive order that prohibits anyone, even those otherwise licensed to do so, from carrying a weapon to protect themselves and others. They deem it detrimental to the educational environment if people were able to defend themselves. So, instead, we are told to run away and let the police handle it. Just like in Omaha. Just like in Littleton. Just like at Virginia Tech.
Thanks to the brave actions of Jeanne Assam, we won't be adding Colorado Springs to that list.
AUSTIN RIAL
Boulder
Israel | Another side to the story
As per his previous writings, Irving Greenbaum (Nov. 30) misrepresents the facts in data he gives in support of what is purely his own speculation on the issues he brings up. He writes: "To avoid opprobrium ... the main players must be people other than what they both have been ... collaborators in the destruction of the Palestinian people." Correctly, for a change, he assigns some blame to Palestinians as part of the problem of reaching Palestinian/Israeli peace instead of blaming Israel 100 percent. All Palestinians enjoy living in modern Israel, yet some refuse to become citizens. and they utilize Israel's free press to wrongly clamor for relief from problems their own conduct created. Notice they don't move out into other Arab countries. Why?
Greenbaum's writings always blamed Israel 100 percent for supposed Palestinian problems voiced by them - all lies; Arab propaganda has filtered out the use of his intelligence. He forgets to tell you that modern medicine (brought by the Jews) has enabled Arabs to remain alive since 1948; back then the death rate for Arab mothers giving birth was very high, and the number of Arab children dying after birth or in early childhood also was very high. It is possible that by today, 60 years later, most Arabs living in 1948 would be dead, since there were very few medical facilities in those days. In reality, Greenbaum's and the Arabs' complaints are insignificant. I think Greenbaum ought to visit Israel to give some help to mitigate Arab suffering. Talk is cheap.
BILL CORN
Boulder
Xcel | Two activists deserve kudos
It has become evident that the light at the end of the energy tunnel for Xcel is not coal burning, but is the sun on the mirrors of Concentrating Solar Power. Economics has finally made CSP the future from the past.
The next great news will be when Xcel figures out how to stop spending more of our money on a new coal-fired power plant in Pueblo and replaces it with CSP. Our state government could encourage that and would be firmly in line with the state's energy policy. Thank you for the well-deserved spotlight on those who have worked so hard toward making Xcel and CSP come together. Mark Methos and Leslie Glustrom did not give up and should be listened to.
STEVEN JAKOBS
Boulder
Posted by trappist99 on December 12, 2007 at 3:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Israel | Another side to the story
I agree with a lot of what you say Bill, but you are wrong on one critical point.
"All Palestinians enjoy living in modern Israel".
Many Palestinians are living in refugee camps around the Mid East and are constant source of friction to their host countries. Refugee camps are temporary, these people expect to move on, probably back to their family lands in Israel, which are now owned by the returning members of the Diaspora.
By ignoring and treating the Palestinians refugees as "untermensch", Israel and the west have eliminated the possibility of peace in the area.
I'm not Jewish or Palestinian, I just hate seeing hard earned tax dollars wasted on a project that must fail because the players refuse to see the whole playing field.
Posted by RalphShnelvar on December 12, 2007 at 5:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
AUSTIN RIAL: "Such a movement is inconsistent with the, 'Run away and let the police handle it' that is so typical of other mass shootings, where gunmen kill at leisure and often end their sprees by taking their own lives once they have run out of targets."
I'm a cynic.
I attribute some really horrible motives to some in the "I hate guns but I love government" political movement: they want people to die by the hundreds in order for there to be even more government and more calls for "reasonable gun control" (which, of course, means no guns in private hands.)
A citizen carried a gun into Church (even with the permission of the Church)? How horrible! Church is a place of peace where God shall protect his lambs from the slaughtering wolves.
And if God won't do it then let an-even-better-thing -- government -- wreak vengeance on ... who?
AUSTIN RIAL: "A Colorado resident with a permit to carry a concealed weapon may carry it anywhere in the state, with a few key exceptions. The University of Colorado is one of those exceptions."
At the University of Colorado at Boulder, it is far more important to teach the lesson that:
Government will protect you (by putting up a sign and declaring an area a "gun free zone") from marauders
than the lesson that
In the end, life is a crap shoot and it is far better for citizens to protect themselves than depend on the limited resources of government.
- - -
The University of Colorado in Boulder is a gun free zone. Colorado State University in Fort Collins (where my daughter goes to school) allows concealed carry.
In the rare event that some nutcase opens fire on campus, where would you want your daughter to be? I know my preference.
Posted by BDRSth on December 12, 2007 at 5:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great, Karen (speed bumps), now give us that "cold beer, hot showers" solution. We'd all love more efficient, and cleaner solutions that "drivers and neighbors would like better", but your letter does little more than complain.
Posted by blacksho89 on December 12, 2007 at 6:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
John: Those that can not afford a new Toyota Prius ARE still responsible!
If the $25.00 we spend on Envirotest yearly instead went to buying a new car for everyone driving an older, less efficient, higher polluting car, the earth would be in better shape
Do you drive a (taxpayer supported) Prius? Is the Level 5 Smug Alert still on?
Posted by ken0519 on December 12, 2007 at 6:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
JOHN E. SCHLEICHER...
What is going to happen to the batteries in these cars when they have to be replaced?
Could they create more pollution than the Prius saves?
I wonder.
Posted by bobcat77 on December 12, 2007 at 6:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Austin,
This woman was better trained than Jane Q. Citizen.
She was an officer on the Minneapolis police force from 1993 to 1997, after graduating from a criminal-justice program at Hamline University in nearby St. Paul.
Posted by rich on December 12, 2007 at 7:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bikes are always free and easy.
Ride Free!
Posted by malohovno on December 12, 2007 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
another reason to buy a prius.
dick mclean and his wife edie stevens, the ones who stole the land drive a prius.
Posted by lafayetteeast on December 12, 2007 at 7:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"This woman was better trained than Jane Q. Citizen. She was an officer on the Minneapolis police force from 1993 to 1997, after graduating from a criminal-justice program at Hamline University in nearby St. Paul."
and then she was fired for lying.
Posted by jmcmahan on December 12, 2007 at 8 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We're all eagerly awaiting these wonderful ideas of yours, Karen. Care to share, or is it a secret?
Posted by jeffm on December 12, 2007 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"...and then she was fired for lying."
Oh? So what was the lie that was worthy of termination? ("I did not have immoral pre-marital sex with that politician??";-)
And which newspaper considered that factoid of overriding interest and relevence to this story?
Fortunately it seems she was seeking forgiveness, understanding and redemption amongst people of a higher spiritual bent then could be obtained at the ACLU or DNC. ('Being Progressive means you NEVER forgive and NEVER forget-those are religious values and hence illegal-unless of course you're correctly credentialed and PC in which case there are no standards and no behaviors you're ever held to.')
Other then that-How you doin', LE? ('Seasons' blessings to ya, BTW.)
Didja get that snow cleared-before sending it south our way?
Sheesh-nothing incremental about THIS storm! (I actually almost did the speed limit on the sheet of glass betwixt there and here!
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 8:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
JOHN E. SCHLEICHER-"I urge you to call your state legislator and ask them to pass strict measures when adopting the Clean Cars Program."
Just as cooks pray for a good crop of young animals and fishermen for a good haul of fish, in the same way busybodies pray for a good crop of calamities or a good haul of difficulties that they, like cooks and fishermen, may always have something to fish out and butcher. (Plutarch, "On Being a Busybody")
Posted by goldhillmineman on December 12, 2007 at 9:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great letter Austin Rail.
The silence from the anti-gun, anti-CCW crowd on this one is deafening. The hero's actions that saved the lives of possibly hundreds of people fly in the face of this crowd. Hopefully, a few people will wise up and make the decision that personal protection in today's world (sad as it is) is a must, and more lives may be saved as a result.
Posted by Horace on December 12, 2007 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The best deterrent to speeding is visible police presence issuing tickets to violators. So make drivers think there is a police presence. Park retired cruisers on residential streets, moving them around like the photo radar vans. Then occasionally put a live officer in the car to issue tickets. When drivers pass the speed trap, they don't know whether there is an officer in the car or not, but the mere sight of a police car and the possibility of a ticket is enough to slow most drivers down.
Unlike the photo radar, there is no expensive automated system and therefore no need to post those green warning signs.
Posted by GoBuffs05 on December 12, 2007 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
John - Thank you for enlightening all of us to the fact that if a more fuel-efficient car is driven, less money is spent on fuel. What's next, informing us if we don't turn on the A/C in the summer, our electricity bill will be less?
Posted by cjmcaneny1 on December 12, 2007 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It turns out the shooter turned his gun on himself - the security guard didn't kill him.
Posted by sierra5701 on December 12, 2007 at 10:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
cjmcaneny1, the LOCAL newsladies - when they smirked about the autopsy report - did not know what they were talking about (happens all the time!). Why don't you ask what was meant by the report saying "Murray had multiple gunshot wounds which dropped him."
I'll tell you - he was mortally wounded, and his guts were shredded by numerous bullets fired by Jeanne Assam, and he felt like his insides were on fire and he suffered excruciating pain - so he gave up the ghost.
Posted by tjfoster on December 12, 2007 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hurrah to Steven Jakobs for acknowledging the significant steps Xcel Energy has taken in shifting from burning coal to building a Concentrating Solar Power plant. In their recent resource plan, they found that CSP is cheaper to build than a "Clean Coal" plant.
Posted by goldhillmineman on December 12, 2007 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
True, Jeanne Assam didn't fire the fatal shot, the madman killed himself. She did, however, stop the threat, which is all a CCW carrying individual should do. He took his own life either to end the pain, or to ensure he was not captured and tried.
Posted by ogghead on December 12, 2007 at 10:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Fortunately it seems she was seeking forgiveness, understanding and redemption amongst people of a higher spiritual bent then could be obtained at the ACLU or DNC."
jeffm is funny.
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 10:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
lafayetteeast on December 12, 2007 at 7:47 a.m.
"and then she was fired for lying."
Jeanne Assam lied to an internal investigation about cussing at a bus driver.
Human redemption appears to be next to impossible in the age of the internet.
What we do wrong is always a lot more interesting than what we do right.
Posted by apm8945 on December 12, 2007 at 10:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ex-cop on a "mission from God"
More scary than concealed weapons on campus.
Posted by goldhillmineman on December 12, 2007 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
apm8945 - What the heck is wrong with people like you? She saved dozens, if not hundreds of lives. If someone was carrying at Va. Tech, the outcome there could have been very different.
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
bobcat77 on December 12, 2007 at 6:51 a.m. - "This woman was better trained than Jane Q. Citizen.
She was an officer on the Minneapolis police force from 1993 to 1997, after graduating from a criminal-justice program at Hamline University in nearby St. Paul."
I think I get the implication you are trying to make. Only those who graduate from a University criminal-justice program should be allowed to defend themselves against crime.
While we are in this statist mindset I would like to also suggest that only those who have won an Olympic Gold Medal should be allowed to vote.
Posted by Stephen on December 12, 2007 at 11:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So Churches should have gun training instead of prayer service?
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Stephen on December 12, 2007 at 11:10 a.m.- "So Churches should have gun training instead of prayer service?"
Gun training and prayer don't have to be mutually exclusive.
We are gun-toters from way back. There is a classic picture of a Pilgrim Father on his way to Thanksgiving church service carrying a huge blunderbuss.
Posted by ImInBoulder on December 12, 2007 at 12:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
KAREN NOZIK: "There are probably hundreds of other more effective, less expensive, remedies..."
Without offering any of the many "obvious" other solutions, this article is a waste of ink/pixels. Camera, what are you thinking, printing a little tantrum such as this?
Posted by ImInBoulder on December 12, 2007 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
blacksho89: "If the $25.00 we spend on Envirotest yearly instead went to buying a new car for everyone driving an older, less efficient, higher polluting car, the earth would be in better shape"
It takes a significant amount of energy to create new vehicles. I drive an '89 4Runner; true, it doesn't get 30-40mpg, but I wonder what the break-even point is for continuing to drive a 20mpg car vs. buying a new 40mpg car (of course, considering the miles driven per year).
Posted by sierra5701 on December 12, 2007 at 12:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
RE: Jeanne Assam stopping Matthew Murray's Massacre
Source - The Colorado Springs newspaper
"Four of five bullets fired from the gun of a security guard at New Life Church hit Matthew Murray during his deadly shooting spree at the megachurch on Sunday afternoon, according to autopsy results made public Tuesday.
But a bullet Murray fired into his own head is what killed him, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday."
As soon as Murray dropped he shot himself in the head, otherwise Ms. Assam would have kept shooting him until he surrendered his firearms.
Is there another way to stop a massacre?
Regardless, he died of lead poisoning.
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 1:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
blacksho89: "If the $25.00 we spend on Envirotest yearly instead went to buying a new car for everyone driving an older, less efficient, higher polluting car, the earth would be in better shape"
Environmentalists claim to eschew consumption .... yet advocate anyone driving "an older, less efficient, higher polluting car" should buy a new one.
The title "environmental wacko" seems very well deserved!
Posted by EnergyGuy on December 12, 2007 at 1:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
TJFoster,
Can you provide a link and describe where in the document Xcel states that CSP is cheaper than coal? I'd like to use that information.
Posted by jeffm on December 12, 2007 at 1:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Q: I'd add that the Apostle's were armed as well and that didn't lead to nearly the dire consequences being revisioned upon them.
On balance an unbalanced mass murderer was dropped in his tracks and the Christian soldier that brought him down doesn't even have to bear the onus of having killed him.
A mitzvah all the way around-even and to including the outrage and umbrage of the religious bigots whose bile is in their mouths because more Christians weren't killed and that perhaps 1 of their favorite secular mantras has been minimized. (Ooops, a legal fire arm was lawfully used to prevent a greater tragedy, and by a religious person no less. I guess that means not JUST wackos should have that right?)
But then as I alluded to elsewhen the 1st amendment permits these bigots to Associate with each other in blissful glee at their ignorance, closed mindedness and venomous aversion to those other 1st amendment protections for Others.
Which raises the Groucho Marx paradigm-would 'they' be happy in a club that admitted members such as themselves?
And would an intellectually honest and open minded a-religious person or Skeptic of pristine credentials regarding credulity feel 'right' in the company of the ignorant bigots bearing their banner here?
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That's the best argument for limited government I can think of. Limiting the harm of "righteous rage" that society can inflict on itself.
Posted by sierra5701 on December 12, 2007 at 2:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
<"Four of five bullets fired from the gun of a security guard (Jeanne Assam) at New Life Church hit Matthew Murray during his deadly shooting spree at the megachurch on Sunday afternoon, according to autopsy results made public Tuesday.
But a bullet Murray fired into his own head is what killed him, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday.">
Oops, I forgot the MOST IMPORTANT FACT that reporters and the police missed! Think about this.
There were 7 bullets fired by Matthew Murray after Ms. Assam engaged him and he missed his targets 100 percent of the time!
LESSON LEARNED: Murray had killed or wounded 10 innocent persons but panicked when someone shot back. Shooting back is an effective response.
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 2:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
EnergyGuy on December 12, 2007 at 1:36 p.m. - "Can you provide a link and describe where in the document Xcel states that CSP is cheaper than coal? I'd like to use that information."
I would suspect it is "garbage in, garbage out" kind of "information" .... but nothing should ever stop an inquiring mind.
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"I'm a cynic."
That hardly covers it. You are a champion builder of straw persons.
Posted by jeffm on December 12, 2007 at 2:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"You are a champion builder of straw persons."
LOL-it's a pity you have no self-awareness whatsoever or you'd get to share the cynical humor of that inadvertant confession.
I've yet to see you ever address an actual person or a real argument.
Take away your Projector, label-maker and mirror and you'd be speechless-as opposed to having little to say and less to support it.
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 2:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wouldn't you also have to admit that people who want more government also have a lot of cynicism and "greedy" bogeymen dancing in their little heads?
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 2:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gosh, Ralph. Not only are the people who disagree with you probably hoping for mass murders, they're probably also commies and child molesters, too.
Once in a blue moon someone uses a gun to prevent a crime, and the gundamentalists spin this into some kind of universal rule of life.
How have the many thousands of us managed to have eventful and adventurous lives without a hogleg?
Posted by btm1001 on December 12, 2007 at 2:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
the "dozens or possibly hundreds" just cracks me up. Why not say millions? I seriously doubt he had the ammo on him to kill hundreds.
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 2:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Wouldn't you also have to admit that people who want more government also have a lot of cynicism and "greedy" bogeymen dancing in their little heads?"
No, I wouldn't. But whom did you have in mind? G.W. Bush?
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 2:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
From the amount of LOLing some posters do, they must be on the ragged edge of hysteria at all times.
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 2:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 2:45 p.m."No, I wouldn't. But whom did you have in mind? G.W. Bush?"
You mean the straw effigy figure the Left likes to burn in front of the White House?
Where are those paper mache Green Sea Turtles that I used to see before G.W. became President?
Posted by Canyonrunner on December 12, 2007 at 2:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Speeding in neighborhoods is seldom a real problem. Speed, as perceived by those control freaks and busy bodies is, usually, not even close to actual speed. Speed bumps are nothing more than an attempt to control others by people who are frustrated by their inability to make society conform to their way of thinking. Increased enforcement by police is the real answer. Punishing all for the transgressions of a few is never the answer.
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 3:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
btm1001 on December 12, 2007 at 2:45 p.m. - "the "dozens or possibly hundreds" just cracks me up. Why not say millions? I seriously doubt he had the ammo on him to kill hundreds."
He had over a thousand rounds on him. He would have had enough ammo if everyone stood still.
Thank God they didn't decide to stage a peaceful protest sit-in.
Posted by rimrockd on December 12, 2007 at 3:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
btm1001- "the "dozens or possibly hundreds" just cracks me up. Why not say millions? I seriously doubt he had the ammo on him to kill hundreds."
This guy had over 1,000 rounds on him. He was ready to go on a rampage. He just wasn't expecting a firefight. As much as you and Mondo would like to trivialize this event, it remains a fact that an armed citizen acted heroically and saved many lives by using a firearm.
Posted by mallardx on December 12, 2007 at 3:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm all for renewable energy, including solar, but I doubt this person has solid economic data showing CSP to be a cheaper source of electricity than coal-fired power. I seriously doubt this. But please, surprise me, show me the facts.
Conservatives take offense when confronted with lies, leftists take offense when confronted with the truth.
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 3:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"ou mean the straw effigy figure the Left likes to burn in front of the White House?"
No, the man who has done so much to enlarge government. You are either being coy, or are very unobservant.
Posted by umtanum on December 12, 2007 at 3:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am glad an armed citizen acted in this case. I used to have a CC permit myself, but let it expire because the likelyhood of ever needing it was miniscule.
I'm just wondering about the theological basis of having armed protection in a church. How would the Church have aquired all those martyred Saints if early Christians had all been packing heat?
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 3:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Conservatives take offense when confronted with lies, leftists take offense when confronted with the truth."
Good one! I almost LOLed.
Posted by jeffm on December 12, 2007 at 3:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm still waiting and wondering about the apoplexy and screams of Apocalypse 'if' it were a NAMBLA or ACLU meeting that was shot up.
Would we hear the 'isolated incident' Apologia of the moral midgets or would there be screams of Hate Crimes requiring new laws, confiscations and other intrusions meant to protect the innocents from the nasty, wacko neo-cons?
Though I'm sure our resident hypocrite, once she recovers from her hysteria (aptly named for her.) will "explain" the differences and degrees of infamy that equate an abortionist with a heroe and a heroe with a psychotic. (It's already been done-sigh.)
Well, "explain" as much as a single sentence loaded with insults would suffice.
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 3:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A regular straw army today!
Posted by jeffm on December 12, 2007 at 4:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Could that be because straw armies can be "defeated" with lame single sentence non declarations of nothing?
Flame on, Johnny Storm, as you rail against mythologies not of your making and ignore actualities outside your ken.
Whereas actual human beings responding in kind...well, they have to be dismissed with some priggish prattle or else rebutted with logic or some other expression of actual substance.
No wonder you see nothing but straw armies.
Posted by btm1001 on December 12, 2007 at 4:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
my bad, I had not seen the "thousands of rounds" in any of the articles I skimmed. And just re-read. So much for detailed reporting in the Denver Post and the Daily Camera. Still, like I said, my bad.
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 5:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
umtanum on December 12, 2007 at 3:48 p.m. "I'm just wondering about the theological basis of having armed protection in a church. How would the Church have acquired all those martyred Saints if early Christians had all been packing heat?"
Good question!
When Jesus was arrested one of his followers drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut of his ear. Clear evidence that His followers were "packing heat."
martyrdom : death that is imposed because of the person's adherence of a religious faith or cause.
By this definition you don't have to passively roll under a tank or chain yourself to a tree to be designated a martyr.
Posted by talven on December 12, 2007 at 5:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
btm1001 you just boosted your credibility in my opinion (for what that's worth)
Posted by qmmckenna on December 12, 2007 at 5:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Even so btm has a good point. "Hundreds" of victims would be an unrealistic number, no matter how much ammunition he carried. I would put it at ten or twelve tops. Notwithstanding what Liberals might claim, it is not in our human nature to surrender to violence without resisting or attempting to avoid it.
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 6:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Notwithstanding what Liberals might claim ..."
What a lame comment. I love the way conservatives must seize every opportunity to praise their own courage and intelligence. If they could only master modesty, they'd be perfect human beings.
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 6:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Let me amend that: The conservatives that post on this forum. I can't say that George Will, David Brooks and most of the people who write for Reason stoop to this kind of ego boosting.
Posted by talven on December 12, 2007 at 6:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
q - in a church, with a semi-auto like an ak47, the number could easily be in the mid tens (I would think). 7.62mm would easily go thru pews, etc
Posted by sierra5701 on December 12, 2007 at 7:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
MONDO'S QUESTION: "Once in a blue moon someone uses a gun to prevent a crime, and the gundamentalists spin this into some kind of universal rule of life.
How have the many thousands of us managed to have eventful and adventurous lives without a hogleg?"
ANSWER: Because only once in a blue moon someone uses a gun to massacre people attending school classes and church services. But Blue Moons have occurred in the past and will occur in the future.
So, please enlighten us bloggers with two solutions: (1) How you would have instantly stopped Timothy McVeigh at the Oklahoma City FBI Office when you realized (being a mind reader like you are) he was parking a car-bomb? And (2) Pretend you were a teacher at Columbine on that day, so what would have been your solution for stopping the cowards Klebold and Harris (guns, propane tanks, gasoline, homemade bombs) after the armed police officer ran away and left everyone unprotected and the SWAT Team cops were afraid to approach the building as long as they heard gunfire?
Be glad that most of these insurgents are only using firearms because if they can't get a gun they will go low-tech ... and we all know some favorite choices that have been used for decades in other unstable countries. Mondo, they are insurgents.
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 7:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"ANSWER: Because only once in a blue moon someone uses a gun to massacre people attending school classes and church services."
Glad you answered your own question. The rest of your post doesn't make much sense, but why am I not surprised?
Posted by sierra5701 on December 12, 2007 at 10:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by mondoboulder 7:45 p.m.
<<"ANSWER: Because only once in a blue moon someone uses a gun to massacre people attending school classes and church services." ... AND Blue Moons have occurred in the past and will occur in the future.
Glad you answered your own question. The rest of your post doesn't make much sense, but why am I not surprised?>>
Mondo, you are not mundo (Spanish for worldly), and again we are very disappointed (but not surprised) that you couldn't give us your solutions because you have none. Other bloggers keep saying this about you, Earline. We know you are old, fat, bald, half-blind, have no friends or pets, and the neighbor's cat poops on your pooch twice a day, etc. ... but re-read the questions asked unless you are one of those that would be the first to run when a coward attacks kids and women.
Also, dust off your 1960s version of the collegiate dictionary and read the definition of "insurgent". You probably thought the word was "inscrutable" but they are not the same. :)
We actually had some side-bets going and hoped to get a respond like you listed after the mini-horse was killed by the mountain lion in Nederland. You were very drunk and misspelled half the words. Very sad life!
Posted by mondoboulder on December 12, 2007 at 11:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That's pretty good. You're gradually working out an original style, I'll say that for you.
I just hope I've bought the winning Lotto ticket and left ten minutes before you decide to shoot up the 7-Eleven.
Posted by tjfoster on December 13, 2007 at 6:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
TJFoster,
Can you provide a link and describe where in the document Xcel states that CSP is cheaper than coal? I'd like to use that information.
EnergyGuy - Here's your answer:
On page 1-55 of Volume 1 of the Colorado Resource Plan, here is what Xcel presents:
CSP with 6 hours of storage $2572/kW to build No fuel or CO2 costs
IGCC with (only) 50% Carbon capture \
$3912/kW to build Plus fuel + CO2 costs
Link: http://www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,30...
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