From my recent post about the controversy in Telluride, I received a comment from the man under fire. I decided to give it more light by posting it here: Thank you for the kind words and thoughts. Here is an e-mail that we just sent out this morning. "Dear Friends, We have been informed that Telluride Ski and Golf Communications Director Maryhelyn Kirwan has begun a smear campaign against Al Heirich in an effort to divert attention away from the Telluride Cyberguide Family Posting controversy. This smear campaign is an effort to drive a wedge between our conservative Christian supporters and the Telluride Cyberguide. Do not let them do this. This issue is about nothing but our ability to notify parents and the subsequent (and … [Read more...]
Vacancy Filled
In an earlier post I mentioned the vacancy committee's search for a Republican candidate to replace outgoing State Representative Don Lee of Littleton. Congratulations to Jim Kerr, the newest member of the Colorado House of Representatives - to be sworn in tomorrow with 64 of his colleagues. As for my friend Justin Everett, there may still be a future in elected office. … [Read more...]
A Call to Action
Rob at It'sComeDown2This has sent out a call to action in defense of one Al Heirich of Telluride, who runs a website to help people set up ski vacations. Mr. Heirich has apparently stepped on the toes of the politically correct police by posting the following information about the upcoming Gay Ski Week (read the WorldNetDaily article): Although this week should be fun for those not offended by alternative lifestyles, with scheduled events including: The Pleasure Hunt, The Blue Ball Dance, Drag Races and more, we are strongly suggesting that families concerned with exposing their children to the homosexual lifestyle and homosexual behavior schedule their vacations another time. Events are planned throughout the week in both towns … [Read more...]
Filling the Vacancy
As I posted at length before, Colorado Republicans are trying to fill a legislative vacancy, after conservative Rep. Don Lee (R - Littleton) resigned in December. Seven candidates have announced to fill Rep. Lee's seat. Trying to separate himself from the pack, Justin Everett, 33, held a $50-a-person fundraiser last night, on the eve of the vacancy committee's final ballot. (Disclosure: Justin Everett is a personal acquaintance and political ally.) As Rocky Mountain News columnist Peter Blake points out, it may seem a strange affair to host a fundraiser before a vacancy committee selection, but Everett is boldly making a statement about his ability to perform a crucial political task. One of the reasons the GOP suffered in the state … [Read more...]
Notice
Blogging will be light to non-existent in the next several days. Off to blustery Wisconsin for a family gathering. Keep reading the great work of the Rocky Mountain Alliance. … [Read more...]
Lessons from the Tsunami Aftermath
The massive natural disaster in South Asia 10 days ago was not only an immense loss of human life and an even greater multiplying of human misery. Those facts are profoundly obvious and stir at the heart-strings of any soul with an ounce of compassion. You can still give to World Vision (one of many organizations doing remarkable work in the ravaged countries) via the Rocky Mountain Alliance donation page. But the aftermath of the disaster and the earliest relief efforts have pointed clearly to some startling geopolitical changes in recent decades. Most remarkable seems to be the petulant whining of the United Nations relief agency. While the U.N.'s relevance and credibility gradually diminish, Euro-elitists like Jan Egeland and … [Read more...]
Birthday Wishes
The temperature drops. Several inches of snowfall loom on the Western horizon. The signs are clear, there's no mistaking: it's my birthday all right. Christmas, New Year's, Ben's birthday... all in succession. My earliest claim to fame was being "First Baby of the Year" in Clarkston, Michigan, for 19__. (Bonus points to the reader - not a family member or longtime close friend - who can guess the year: your trivia for the day.) The last time I paid a visit to the old hometown was 2002, and it has transformed from a cozy small town to a full-fledged upscale suburban bedroom community along the Interstate between Detroit and Flint. If you've got to live along that corridor, Clarkston is a nice place to be... trust me. Anyway, I've … [Read more...]
Lead on, Captain Ed!
Ed Morrissey of Captains Quarters - one of the premier blogs out there, for the uninitiated - is organizing a January 12 World Relief Day to help aid the victims of the South Asia tsunami. (Ed was on Hugh's show earlier to promote the effort.) How much of your take-home pay on January 12 can you donate to World Vision? - to make a real difference while also showing that this nation is not "stingy" like many European critics have falsely claimed. On a totally random different note... As we were walking into the office building this morning, Mrs. MountVirtus and I ran into Bob The Daily Blogster and his wife, who had come in to give blood. (The Bonfils Blood Center is on the 3rd floor of our building - The Independence Institute … [Read more...]
Where’s the Outrage?
A guest column in today's Fort Collins Coloradoan brings up an excellent point: why can't we blame the state's budget crisis on the ill-devised Amendment 23? Especially when we see where some of that taxpayer money is going... Writer Paul Marrick explains the problem with his local Poudre School District: Our school board, in its infinite wisdom, decided many years ago to pay the majority of the union president's salary. That's right, folks, we as taxpayers funded almost $60,000 of a $70,000 salary last year so the local union representative could, among other things, campaign for our newly elected state Sen. Bob Bacon. Mary Lynn Jones, Poudre Education Association president, spent a great deal of time working on a political … [Read more...]
Welcome to 2005 – Note to Readers
Welcome to 2005. Thanks to my dozens of faithful readers for hanging on throughout the transition. With the New Year comes a desire to tweak the focus of this blog. While political and current events will still be on the radar screen, there will be more musings on Scripture & faith, history, literature, et al. - as well as more accounts from my own life. The political / current events that this blog will stay tuned to will almost exclusively be those on the Colorado state level, since that's where the greatest connection and greatest potential impact will be. As always, stay tuned to the Rocky Mountain Alliance. A note to commenters on this blog: thank you so much for your feedback. It really helps to make this endeavor more … [Read more...]