gdp's Comments

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder police investigating report of sexual assault on University Hill - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 15 Oct 2013 00:25:28 +0000

The frequency of these and similar incidents on and around the campus appear to be increasing at what I would call an alarming rate. Perhaps my awareness has heightened by the recent enrollment of my daughter, but the pattern is disturbing.

Daily Camera.com: : Obama signs disaster declaration, frees federal funds for individuals in Boulder County - Boulder Da

Sun, 15 Sep 2013 20:47:31 +0000

FEMA arrived in Weld, Larimer, and Morgan counties. Those counties are already receiving assistance, and local officials once so willing to secede are unsurprisingly thankful for that same federal aid. Vexatious truth facing those whose fierce individualism hindered their view of reality. Life lessons shouldn't require a tragedy and sadly, even after receiving federal aid, too many will continue to deride the federal government and its leadership. It's now time to put those quixotic ideologies aside and work together to get everyone safe and rebuild.

Daily Camera.com: : Xcel admits links to group backing Boulder charter amendment - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:38:33 +0000

There is a certain twisted disingenuity to Mr. Greenlee's assertion. There isn't anything in the fair practice of reasonable men to suggest that a company, feeling wronged by legislation enacted by the citizens, should then be encouraged to spend public money in an effort to craft new legislation, which returns that company to its former status, in the face of community sentiment already expressed.

Daily Camera.com: : Legendary Colorado concert promoter Barry Fey dies - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:17:22 +0000

No more than they can eliminate your senseless inductive fallacies and hackneyed non sequiturs.

Daily Camera.com: : Legendary Colorado concert promoter Barry Fey dies - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:26:27 +0000

I was introduced to Barry while listening to Big Brother and the Holding Company at Barry's venue called the Family Dog. Going forward, I attended perhaps 30 larger concerts in which Barry had a hand in bringing to Denver and the West. My first was the Denver Pop Festival; Hendrix, Iron Butterfly, Frank Zappa, Three Dog Night, Big Mama Thornton, Candy Bolen's Zephyr w/Tommy Bolen, CCR, Joe Cocker, the Flock (from Chicago), Johnny Winter, etc. Few people could have put that event together considering the eclectic mix of bands and the unraveling of the Jimi Hendrix experience right before our eyes. RIP brother, you made my life richer.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder County, rest of state still thirsty for moisture dump - Boulder Daily Camera

Sun, 7 Apr 2013 18:15:39 +0000

Something very similar to that model already exists in Louisville, where the practice reveals a certain invidious result. Average water consumption was calculated, based on a large population of very small, older homes often occupied by retired citizens with no children. Consumption outside of that model, comprised mostly of families with children and living on larger lots, is levied a penalty rate. We have been in a "draught" state since I can remember - some 50 years. That challenge has done little to abate the growth cities along the front range pursue in the interest of plying additional tax income. The sad result is the levy of additional expense upon citizens whose city authorities couldn't look past the next paycheck. Sadly, the trend in services is to expect us to pay more, while accepting lower quality.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder County, rest of state still thirsty for moisture dump - Boulder Daily Camera

Sat, 6 Apr 2013 17:03:11 +0000

Maybe some of the water used for fracking could be "redirected." Just saying...

Daily Camera.com: : Brittany Moore, whose dog was killed by Erie police, rallies for \'Dog Protection Act\' - Boulder Da

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 23:02:44 +0000

Yours is quite possibly the most intellectually bankrupt response I've every read. Please, for the benefit of everyone here, return to your television and North Korea worry beads, and try to avoid conjuring up more prejudicial false dilemmas laced with character attacks and inductive fallacy.

Daily Camera.com: : Colorado ammo magazine maker Magpul threatens to leave state over gun bill - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:27:01 +0000

@fbarton, your non sequitur attempt to affirm the consequent is non sensical. If laws are difficult to enforce, they must not be good laws, and therefore we shouldn't pursue making laws. The glaring weakness of that argument and underlying logic is at once impulsive, careless, and inimical, so let's move on. I love Patagonia, I like Whole Foods, and companies prepared to embrace a model of behavior that reflects the value of the brand. Patagonia says "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." Dare I say there is nothing in that statement to suggest they will only sell or manufacture their product in like minded communities to like-minded clients. Patagonia manufactures product in factories in Jordan, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Israel, the Philippines and the U.S. So, it's unclear what you may have been trying to say by referencing Patagonia. As for Whole Foods, there is a lot to like about their stores where terrific marketing and a strong code of ethics – extended to every employee, makes for a very enjoyable shopping experience. Yet, I don’t see anything about Whole Foods to suggest that their business model includes anything more than finding attractive communities where demand for healthy food and a gentrified buyer profile exists. I can’t find any record of Whole Foods pulling out of a community because they didn’t like the local law. Magpul is majority owned by private equity firms (from New York City and Raleigh), which invested in the company in the belief that recent gun sale trends would continue and when combined with an expanded product line, they could capitalize on that opportunity and see an acceptable return to their limited partners. They also have investments in Remington, a number of restaurant chains, food products, healthcare, etc. Now if you really believe for one second that Magpul is committed to this state and will leave the state only because it can’t manufacture here in the face of potential legislation, perhaps you can explain this quote from Drake Clark, senior director of sales and business development for Magpul, "We put Boulder, Colorado, on everything that we make, and really that's just a slap in the face to the hippies."

Daily Camera.com: : Colorado ammo magazine maker Magpul threatens to leave state over gun bill - Boulder Daily Camera

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 01:27:41 +0000

It's a struggle to understand what fbarton is trying to say, but I am willing to wade in and dissect this mess. Firstly, people break the law every day. As a society, we long ago adopted the behavior of "no blood, no foul." We drift through stop signs; we drink and drive; we inflate our deductions on income tax returns, etc. It's only a problem when you get caught breaking the law, and ignorance as they say, is no excuse. In short, yes, you can break the law and purchase outside Colorado. As soon as you return to the state with illegal magazines, you are breaking the law, and if caught, the law will be prosecuted. 2010 was the first year business bankruptcies declined in this state since 2006 and during the first half of 2012, business bankruptcy fell by 12%; the biggest improvement ever witnessed. Perhaps more importantly, since the movement toward a more progressive legislative environment in Colorado, we have witnessed the following: -We moved up to become the 8th top state for job growth (ASU WP Carey School study) -That bastion of progressive thinking, the US Chamber of Commerce named Colorado the 2nd top spot for entrepreneurship and innovation in the country. -Forbes names us the 5th best state for business. -MoneyRates named the state the 5th best for making a living. -StartUpHire named Colorado 1st for growth in the startup job sector. -Beacon Hill Institute named Colorado the 3rd best for economic competitiveness. -Similar awards came to the state in 2012 from 24/7 Wall Street 2012, priceWaterhouse Coopers, TechAmerica, CNBC, etc. Whatever this “unbalanced” legislature is doing to piss off people like fbarton might be okay provided the same legislature continue to elevate the quality of the business climate in this state. In short, Magpul can certainly choose to leave one of the most attractive states in the country for business; it is their choice. Perhaps they will move to one of those bastions of 2nd amendment rights and toilet bowl level economies like Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, or even, dare I say it, Wyoming.

Daily Camera.com: : Colorado ammo magazine maker Magpul threatens to leave state over gun bill - Boulder Daily Camera

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 00:52:46 +0000

LsvBill, yours is an unfortunate fallacy; call it slothful induction. We have no evidence to suggest that reducing magazine size and availability won't also diminish gun violence, for two reasons: 1. we've never embraced legislation supporting such an effort and 2. The NRA, has through its lobbying efforts, negotiated the suppression of information from both the CDC and NIH that could help shed light the issue. (see Jay Dickey amendment and Denny Rehberg's Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012). We do however have evidence of mass killings where large magazines were in use and predominate in the ensuring slaughter of children and adults. Logic suggests we should try this and if it saves lives, every one of us (including gun proponents) should share our success. If the legislation fails to cause a change, gun proponents then have sufficient grounds to overturn the legislation. It's not a perfect science, but it's the foundation of this Republic; the same Republic that supports 2nd amendment rights.

Daily Camera.com: : Colorado ammo magazine maker Magpul threatens to leave state over gun bill - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 22:11:45 +0000

Seriously, no one wants jobs to disappear from Colorado. However, we do have the right to influence, through the choices we make, which businesses are attracted to, and stay and which businesses leave. The same dynamics apply to a ski resort, a Walmart, a nuclear waste storage facility, or any other business regardless of how benign it may or may not be. The majority of Colorado citizens want to see a reduction in gun violence, and that majority demands a comprehensive solution, which necessarily includes the elimination of high-capacity magazines along with other changes. If Magpul can't live with the democratic process, perhaps they are better off manufacturing elsewhere.

Longmont Times-Call : Boulder County prosecutors dismiss charge against Longmont teen accused in New Year\'s Eve fatal cra

Sat, 9 Feb 2013 18:25:28 +0000

Your response sets a new high-water mark for slothful induction. I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest: (a) You don't know whether or how Ms. Balentine may have addressed the earlier mishap, (b) You don't possess any particular insight into the motives behind the DA's conclusion regarding the insufficiency of evidence promoted by the LPD, (c) Your self-proclamation that “diligent police investigation” cleared Ms. Balentine in the death of Mr. Grimmer is at best, specious. Then you outdo yourself by introducing a straw argument, suggesting you know how I feel or think about whether Ms. Balentine should be compensated for being falsely charged for murder. In short, your arguments are the foundation for what is widely known as trolling. Without putting too fine a point on the fallacies behind your argument, you might take notice of the following: 1.Most police departments do not take accident reports where the incident occurred on private property, where no other witnesses are present, where damage was <$5000, where personal injury occurred, where the damage did not disable a vehicle. No record – no exoneration 2.Litigation regarding false arrest is clearly defined, nearly always requiring proof that the arresting department willingly and freely violated an individual’s rights. Now, I suppose you might jump the shark completely here and embrace a causal fallacy known as post hoc ergo propter hoc and conclude that Ms. Balentine’s individual rights were not violated; continuing your pattern of making assertions without the benefit of any real knowledge. I’m not prepared to make any conclusion whatsoever in that regard – despite what bait you use.

Longmont Times-Call : Boulder County prosecutors dismiss charge against Longmont teen accused in New Year\'s Eve fatal cra

Sat, 9 Feb 2013 00:53:09 +0000

@homeless, you are dipping a bit deep here, and this isn't Missouri (thankfully). You and the LPD failed to divulge the scope of damage to Ms. Balentine's vehicle and equally important; you have no knowledge about the extent of damage to any other vehicle Ms. Balentine may have struck. Your prejudicial language and fallacy of composition (because the attributes of the parts of a whole have a certain property, it is argued that the whole has that property) deserves proper scrutiny here, as does the behavior of the LPD. It's unclear from your post just what reality you live in, but whatever that parallel universe is, we can all be thankful that we don't share space with you. The teen and her family deserve an apology for being arrested by overzealous investigators and Commander Jeff Satur needs to reign in his hubris.

Daily Camera.com: : CU alpine ski team involved in icy collision in Boulder Canyon - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:15:15 +0000

We saw this accident on the way to Eldora. The road was dry through most of the canyon. This corner was covered in a huge sheet of ice, created by a large pile of melting snow deposited on the northeast side of the road by a plow, suggesting that conditions might improve if plows removed the snow. The snow pile was still there when we returned from skiing at the end of the day.

Daily Camera.com: : Virtual Editorial Board: Controversy at Monarch High - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:31:22 +0000

@Tom Miers I sincerely appreciate your efforts to disclose your opinion and the philosophy behind your vote; thank you for taking this step. Sequentially, I genuinely believe you failed in epic fashion to understand or distinguish the differences between the messages you "felt" you sent and the message received by Monarch students by your actions. Moreover, while you may vote your personal interpretation and values, in so doing, you trampled on both the values of the students and the authority of the administration at a school whose academic achievements belie the current and historical challenges facing that school's administration. Frankly, it’s a rational challenge to accept your efforts bore much material intent beyond making an ill-conceived point and kowtowing to a local legal official who appears to have brandished their political clout and ought to know better.

Daily Camera.com: : Virtual Editorial Board: Controversy at Monarch High - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:11:44 +0000

@Shazamo; you put this question to each comment and I think the answer is actually quite clear. The person in question was a student before they became a member of student council and his/her primary obligation is to the Student Rights and Responsibility handbook which makes clear that any student violating the rules regarding alcohol, illegal substances, or paraphernalia will be removed from from activities/leadership roles. To do otherwise is to suggest that the abuse of drugs or alcohol is sanctioned by the school and the school board. Do not overlook the value in a message to students that makes clear that breaking the law will not be tolerated or the subtext of the message delivered by the actions of the board. Editorially, it's stunning that someone sworn to uphold the laws of this state seems prepared to sweep the issue of drug use by their own child under the table and adumbrate that asserting the student's "rights" under a set of rules governing a student council are somehow more important and take precedence.

Daily Camera.com: : Virtual Editorial Board: Controversy at Monarch High - Boulder Daily Camera

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:36:03 +0000

BVSD appears to have failed every one of its constituents; teachers, administrators, parents, and most importantly students. Over 16 years, many of our experiences with BVSD have been positive, yet, all too often decisions ringing of political undertone shake our confidence in the BVSD system and its people. I first learned of this fiasco from my Monarch student who came home to express outrage that a well-respected teacher was forced to abandon support of an entire student body because one over-protective lawyer/parent opted to threaten the school board and in doing so, suggest that his child (student) shouldn't be obligated to abide by the rules of the school. It wasn't long before we heard from our student in college and former graduate of Monarch who echoed the disappointment and expressed disbelief that BVSD continued to support a process that promotes exceptions for those whose parents are most outspoken. I accept the value of a due process, including the impeachment process provided by the rules governing the Student Council; and there are valuable lessons here about the importance of a due process. However, the BVSD has a broader and primary responsibility to the students to provide guidance and leadership that are absolutely clear and leveled consistently across the student body. The shameless lack of backbone demonstrated by the board sends a clear, but negative message to the students - you can hear their confusion, distrust, resentment, and eroding confidence if you will turn off the noise from one disgruntled and overreaching parent and listen.

Feld Thoughts : Patent Holders Against Software Patents

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:32:54 +0000

As a friend (lawyer) is fond of saying; "bizoptly."

Efforts to compete should be on the strength of continuous innovation and process improvement.