Fraser Rec. District | Small Towns Have Long Memories

Uh, oh... It looks like the Fraser Metro Rec. District is under IRS scrutiny.

I haven't looked into the details yet, but from what I understand, the Rec. District was turned down twice by voters, only to be approved during a vote held in Hot Sulphur Springs. 

From the sounds of the article, the District assumes a complaint was lodged with the IRS from a local source:

"According to the rec district's bond attorney, however, some of the specific requests in the letter — like the land donation agreement for Grand Park Community Recreation Center — indicate that this investigation was likely generated by a local inquiry, Parks and Recreation Director Scott Ledin said during a public meeting with the board Feb. 22."(SHDN) 

I would imagine so, if the District was voter-approved in such a surreptitious manner. Wether there's any merit to the investigation or not, the way the Rec. District came to be could definitely be considered immoral by many in this town. And small towns have long memories.

School Finance 101

One thing I can't stand being told is how complicated something is. Nothing obfuscates the truth more effectively than a veil of complexity. For weeks, I've been told school finance is complicated. At times, I was so confused, I questioned my own capacity for understanding. Today, I walked through the Colorado School Funding model and finally arrived at the answer.

No matter where you live in the state of Colorado, the only thing you need to know is that schools receive their money on a per-pupil basis. More students bring in more money--fewer students equate to less money. The complexity of the funding model is the model itself, but if you know approximately how many students you'll have in your district in the month of October, the model computes the amount the district should receive that school year.

Student losses are averaged over a five year period--There is not a 1-1 correlation of student loss vs. money loss. In a recent article in the SkyHi News, a district handout said that losing 70 students would equate to a $440,489 loss of revenue to the district. That's a lie. In a call with Mary Lynn Christel, a principle consultant of Public School Finance at the Colorado Department of Education, I was told that the actual loss this year would be $91,000 because of a smoothing formula that averages student population over a five year period.

Why the district would choose to lie about this is beyond me, but it makes me question the entire leadership team when these kinds of misrepresentations are not only handed out, but allowed to be made public in the newspaper without a retraction or correction. Okay, moving on.

In order to calculate how much money East Grand or any other district will be receiving in the coming year, just visit the Colorado Department of Education's website regarding the Public School Finance Act of 1994. There you'll find the Fiscal Year 2011-2012 District Funding Calculation Worksheet. It's an Xcel document, and very easy to play around with.

East Grand Schools are under the BV column on the worksheet. It looks like this:

Click For Larger

Notice the rows on the left. Line 8 shows the expected October Full Time Enrollment (FTE) count of 1192 students. That's already lower than the estimates the district was using as a "Worst Case Scenario" of 1278 students in a handout from a few weeks ago. Keep this in mind for later.

So, with 1192 students expected next year, what does the budget look like? Let's take a look. In the budget, just scroll down to line 290. Here's a screenshot for you:

Click For Larger

Line 290, GT7.1 TOTAL PROGRAM is the number you want. With 1192 students, the Colorado Department of Education says the district will be receiving $8,264,856.02. That's about $2.3 million less than last year, right? NO! There's more.

The voters of Grand County, out of their own generosity, approved a mill levy override so that the school district would be able to receive even more money than that allowed by the 1994 School Finance Act. Referring back to the worksheet, please go to line 79 and 81:

Click For Larger

Lines 79 and 81 are constant. They will not change from year-to-year, so these are essentially guaranteed funds. $784,125 + $1,330,000 gives East Grand an additional $2,114,125 every year. There is other free money that has been coming to the district for the last decade, such as Payment in Lieu and Federal Forest Reserve Funds, but we won't even add those in. So where do we stand for 2011-2012?

Let's add the $2,144,125 guaranteed funds to the $8,264,856.02 the State says we'll receive for a total of $10,378,981.02.

The district budget last year was a little over $10,500,000... that's only $121,000 dollars different--NOT $1.2 million! And that doesn't even include nearly $200,000 in Forest Reserve Funds the county has been handing out over the last few years.

What conclusions can be drawn here? If I were a town or the county, I would probably be wondering aloud why the school closure issue is even on the table right now. I would be wondering why the school district is obfuscating the truth. I would be wondering why the newspaper continues to print absolute rubbish. I would wonder why we're being lied to!

Grand County's Real Estate Depression Will Worsen

A must read post from Boom Bust Blog:

"Yesterday I notified, In Case You Didn’t Get The Memo, The US Is In a Real Estate Depression That Is About To Get Much Worse. Today I will show specifically how things will get much worse. The numbers came out for new home sales today, and they were atrocious – and that’s after a downward adjustment for the previous month’s numbers. Follow the chart with the pretty colors below, keeping in mind that many economists believe that new housing construction is a pre-cursor to economic recovery."

Higher Prices Coming To Safeway And Citi Market

From Karl Denninger of The Market-Ticker

"Amusing, really....


71.2 .vs. 68.8 last month, yet another increase.
But what's inside?  Well, trouble.  Employment, while expanding, is expanding slower.  And prices paid are standing at 81.2, statistically flat against 81.7 last month.  Since this is a diffusion index it's REALLY high.


The commentary is basically all focused on one place - input costs.


Yeah, people will cheer.  But they shouldn't be : Here it comes folks, and you're going to see and feel "it" right in the grocery aisle and the rest of the stores through the spring and summer.


At this point these increases in cost are baked into the cake and can't be gotten rid of.
Six to seven months since I started warning of it... about right, as the usual leadtime is about eight.
Right into spring earnings."

Notice the prices of milk, bread and butter lately? They're going to continue to climb as we head into spring and summer. And if the rioting in the Middle East continues? Well, you can easily expect 4-5 dollar per gallon gasoline. Worst-case scenarios would give us $7 gasoline. 

Public Unions, Grand County and You

In my search for information on public vs. private unions, I came across some very interesting and compelling research. I'll begin with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt:


"Roosevelt's reign certainly was the bright dawn of modern unionism. The legal and administrative paths that led to 35% of the nation's workforce eventually unionizing by a mid-1950s peak were laid by Roosevelt.


But only for the private sector. Roosevelt openly opposed bargaining rights for government unions.

"The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service," Roosevelt wrote in 1937 to the National Federation of Federal Employees. Yes, public workers may demand fair treatment, wrote Roosevelt. But, he wrote, "I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place" in the public sector. "A strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government."(Real Clear Politics)

That's a pretty powerful statement coming from a man considered to be a champion of worker's rights. This next statement makes a powerful point against the potential danger or public unions:

The Federalist Papers | Federalist No. 1

I've highlighted portions of text I feel merit close scrutiny for their relevance to today, but everything else is as-is.


Federalist No. 1 From The Library of Congress

The Entire Archive of The Federalist May Be Found Here.

General Introduction
For the Independent Journal.

Author: Alexander Hamilton

To the People of the State of New York:

AFTER an unequivocal experience of the inefficiency of the subsisting federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind.

The U.S. Constitution | Simple, Elegant Genius

For 234 years the United States Constitution, along with the Declaration of Independence, has been a guiding light through the tumultuous storms of history; enduring attacks from its very inception. 


Today, more than ever, people need to get familiar with the Constitution. It is so simple, just about anyone who can read can understand and incorporate its message. Its simplicity is strength. Without further ado, here it is from the U.S. Archives:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

From Our Forefathers | Thomas Jefferson

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation then by deflation, the banks and the corporations will grow up around them, will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”

“I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our constitution – taking from the federal government their power of borrowing.”

-Thomas Jefferson

 Was Mr. Jefferson a genius, or had he seen this experiment play out before the Republic came to be? 

Grand County Being Duped By Special Interests

UPDATE: School Finance 101 If you can find a reason why this analysis is wrong, please let me know. Otherwise, I see a real can of worms opening up here...

This one's a doozy folks... Check out this recent headline in the Denver Post:

Grand County Parents Raising $500,000 to save schools

This story puts a laser focus on how the media is being used by local interests to manipulate opinion with little more than poor reporting and a bit of word smithing.

I've put in a request with reporter Mitchell Byars to see if he did indeed use only the three sources quoted in his story. If so, this is just another example of the drive-by type of reporting we get from lazy journalists every day.

Let's start with the lead-in for his story:

"Parents in Grand County are engaged in what amounts to a high-stakes bake sale — a race to raise $500,000 to save two elementary schools from closure."(DP)



Anyone who's been reading the Sky Hi News knows that statement is patently false. What we have is a business group, whose mouthpiece appears to be Ron Nelson, essentially strong-arming the towns into financial pledges aimed at keeping the two schools open.


I'm assuming Mr. Nelson is probably the person who put the call in to the Denver Post in the first place. Not only is he the spokesperson for the 'community group,' but he gets to pick and choose the statements put out by the paper.


As a parent of two children at Fraser Valley, I don't recall electing Mr. Nelson to speak on my behalf on school matters. Check out the following wording from the article:


"In just a month, the group already is nearing its goal with help from not-for-profits and fundraising, and gaining confidence each day."(DP)


Nowhere does the article mention that Mr. Nelson is chairman of the board of the non-profit the article refers to. All it says is that he is a member of the group and a former teacher. Did Mr, Byars ever bother to ask what other titles Mr. Nelson held? Who are the other members of the group?


The end of the article gives us the true goal of the 'community group.'


"One proposed plan would be a countywide sales tax that would go toward funding schools in Grand County (which also includes West Grand School District). A similar half-cent sales tax was approved in Steamboat Springs in 1993, and Nelson said the community group would help with getting the tax passed in Grand County."(DP)


And there it is... The ONLY solution these guys are focused on is a tax increase. They have no fiscal plan. The beauty of this little nugget is that I was at the meeting in Granby with all of the mayors and commissioners, and I got to hear the words out of Ron's own mouth.


He pointed out to the group that a tax increase would not be an easy sell, and they'd have to hire a professional outside firm to massage the voters into a vote. They're first going to poll you to figure out where your weaknesses are, then they're going to manipulate you into thinking a tax increase is a good thing. Don't fall for it. You're being played by a very few people who do NOT have your best interests,  or those of our students, at heart. 


Next time you see Ron, tell him Reggie says hello.

JFK | Secret Society Speech

This is a must-listen. A U.S. President warning us against a vast conspiracy. Was he a nut, or was he informed?

No More Collective Bargaining

Boo Freaking Hoo...

Oil And You... Crude Price At The Pump

This is self explanatory:

Click For Story

Need More Disposable Income?

Then make less money.


An eye-opening Zero-Hedge article disclosed how a head of household making minimum wage ended up with more disposable income than a family earning $60,000 per year.


"...the stunning (and verifiable) conclusion that "a one-parent family of three making $14,500 a year (minimum wage) has more disposable income than a family making $60,000 a year." And that excludes benefits from Supplemental Security Income disability checks."(Zero Hedge)


You really have to take a look at the math, but the conclusions are ominous and disturbing. For instance, China:

"The welfare system in communist China is far stringier. Those people have to work to eat."

That's it, I quit! The math makes sense, and I can't even imagine the weight off my shoulders once I drop this whole working thing!

Eminem Beats Lady Gaga

"Eminem might have lost out on his bid for the Grammys' Album of the Year, but that hasn't weakened his following one bit. The rapper continued his recent siege on social networks and digital media by officially overtaking Lady Gaga as the most "liked" artist on Facebook."(Yahoo) 


Who says I don't keep up with the most important news in the United States? I now know for a fact that we have at least 28,883,000 people in this country who probably couldn't tell you what the Fourth Amendment prevents. Sigh...

It Takes Guts...

... to voice your opinion in a small town.

In a recent letter to the editor of Sky Hi News, the writer directed some criticism my way. For the ruckus I'm stirring up out there, I wouldn't expect anything less.

My response was a tongue-in-cheek assessment of the criticism I received, and an invitation to 'rip' on me in the comment section below.

Tonight, Ms. Loberg, who made the comments about me, posted the following:

Ms. Loberg, we may not see eye-to-eye on the issues, but you are a woman with guts and integrity. My hat's off to you.

Food Prices Headed To 2008 Levels

"Food prices are forecast to rise a sharp 3.5 percent this year -- nearly double the overall inflation rate. The lion's share of the increase is expected in the second half of 2011 when the recent uptick for commodities, such as corn and soybeans, makes its way through the food system. Just last month, USDA forecast an increase of 2.5 percent in 2011."(Reuters)


Think about the implications of what this will do to the thousands of people in Grand County who are already stretched as thin as they can be. Add in skyrocketing gas prices, and we have a problem.

The Quickening

About 48 hours ago, I called out to Genocidal Ben Bernanke , and pointed out that crude oil had risen enough in a 24 hour period to suck about $696 billion from GDP. This morning, you can go ahead and subtract another $756 billion! Over the last 72 hours, the U.S. has lost over 10 percent of GDP due to rising oil prices. But remember, we're in recovery.

Government Finance Is So Complex!

Using just one example, our county probably needs to spend $30 or so million dollars to shore up the continuing landslide at the old landfill. 

So, if we subtract $30 million from the $9 million reserve fund the county currently maintains, that gives you... ( -$21) million dollars.

'Looks like we'll have to use government math to make up for that shortfall.

So, (-$21) million + a mill levy override + a tax increase + fee increases = $52 million dollars... Bingo! An instant $32 million windfall!

Whoops! We overstated by $1 million. No problem, we'll just tack on a bus rider fee to cover it.

Oh geez... It looks like, in our euphoria over the positive returns on our tax collection efforts, we messed up the math again. We now have $52 million dollars--not the $31 we originally came up with. That'll just go into the discretionary slush fund for any future eventualities like bailing out towns or school districts, or paying attorneys and engineers. 

Wait, I think there's an extra $1 million now from the bus fee!?

Government finance is soooo complex. I'm completely confused.

We Call It Pop

"A bill that would restore a sales tax exemption on soda cleared a House committee today over the objections of Democrats who said it would blow a $12 million hole in the state budget."(Denver Post)


$12 million? Try $1.5 billion!! Pop... Soda... Coke, no matter what you call it, $12 million is less than one percent of the budget deficit Colorado currently faces.

Our Forefathers Were Young

The Constitutional Convention, held in 1787, was attended by a diverse group of men. The names of a lot of the men who attended and framed the Constitution we know today are unfamiliar. Even less known is how old they were at the time.

Alexander Hamilton was 33 years old... James Madison was only 37. In fact, at 82, Ben Franklin was the oldest person in attendance. George Washington was 52 years old. (William Pierce)

The wisdom and integrity our forefathers shared was not unique to them or their time. It is alive and well today.

William Pierce made personality 'sketches' of the Delegates to the Federal Convention, and they are a must read: (Sketches)

From Our Forefathers | John Hancock

"It is the Happiness of his Church that, when the Powers of Earth and Hell combine against it...that the Throne of Grace is of the easiest access--and its Appeal thither is graciously invited by the Father of Mercies, who has assured it, that when his Children ask Bread he will not give them a Stone...." - John Hancock

Granby Adds Drop To Bucket, Pledges $20,000 For Tax Initiative

Granby's Contribution

Granby Trustees, not wanting to look too gleeful about all the extra revenue that will pour into Granby when the Fraser and Grand Lake elementary schools close next year, threw a token $20,000 at the school tax initiative.


“Of all the communities on the list, we are in the toughest spot,” said Trustee Greg Mordini.(SHDN)


Scuttlebutt around town is that Granby and its citizens are not all that upset about having the only schools in East Grand, and I don't blame them. This would be a huge boost to Granby, which is struggling since City Market opened on the outskirts of town, and major developers defaulted on their obligations.


In a recent post, I mentioned that Granby hadn't made a peep as to their thoughts on the school tax funding initiative:


"Three days ago, the town of Fraser--deficit spending for the past three years--pledged $50,000 dollars toward a fund to be used by East Grand School district, citing the town's long term viability as a concern should the school close. This is in addition to $75,000 Winter Park has decided to launder through the Grand Education Foundation, and the $20,000 Grand Lake found lying around. Of course, there's the county's own folly to consider, adding a possible $177,000 to the mix. There hasn't been a peep from Granby. I'm afraid the current leadership of our communities will come to regret these actions."


They must have taken me literally, because they went and did exactly what I would have expected politicians to do--the exact opposite of what's in their citizens' best interest. Of course, what do you expect from a group of trustees who, against all better judgement, gave the go-ahead to pay raises during the worst economic downturn of our generation?


During the debate on wether to fund the school tax initiative, the trustees gave up this little nugget:


"Mordini later suggested the town pay off its lease purchase for the firehouse and redirect the $15,000 per-year interest the town would save to the schools, in addition to the $20,000.

“Paying principle and interest to a bank doesn't stay in the county,” pointed out Granby Town Manager Wally Baird."(SHDN)


So if I'm getting this... The town has a lease with principle and interest totaling $15,000, and the only incentive to pay this off and stop the bleeding is the school question? 


I guess it's a good idea to have a balance on your credit card when you have the money to pay it off. That way, you can pay interest to the bank instead of keep the money in your pocket.


I hope you in Granby do decide to take Ms. Pierro up on her offer and run to replace the seats currently occupied by she and the trustees.

Excellent Quote

"All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth." (Mohandas Gandhi)

I'm A Rambling, Plane-Flying Letter Writer...

... and I'm misunderstood!

In a recent letter to the editor in the SkyHi Daily News, a concerned citizen (who is a middle school social studies teacher :) writes about their distaste for mis-statement of facts from some other letter writers, but my favorite part is this:

"As for Reggie Paulk's rambling nonsense, I don't even know what his point was. But I do know that he has a website, has time to fly a small airplane and write a lot of letters to public officials."(SHDN)

You may be right about the rambling part and the website, but I don't have the time or the money to fly a small airplane, although I use to be a flight instructor. I don't have the time--but a duty--to write our public officials. And to keep others in our community aware of the broader picture. 

Thank you for your letter.

If you'd like to rip on me right here, please do so in the 'comments' section below!

Indiana Deputy Attorney General: Shoot The People

"On Saturday night, when Mother Jones staffers tweeted a report that riot police might soon sweep demonstrators out of the Wisconsin capitol building—something that didn’t end up happening—one Twitter user sent out a chilling public response: “Use live ammunition.”


From my own Twitter account, I confronted the user, JCCentCom. He tweeted back that the demonstrators were “political enemies” and “thugs” who were “physically threatening legally elected officials.” In response to such behavior, he said, “You’re damned right I advocate deadly force.” He later called me a “typical leftist,” adding, “liberals hate police.”
Only later did we realize that JCCentCom was a deputy attorney general for the state of Indiana."(Dylan Ratigan) HT: Market-Ticker


Egyptians have no 2nd Amendment... We Americans do. This is why. When our public officials advocate the use of armed violence against our own people, who are gathered in peaceful protest, we are entering a new phase.

Pink Slips To All Teachers...

Coming to a school district near you...


"In an e-mail sent to all teachers and School Department staff, Brady said, “We are forced to take this precautionary action by the March 1 deadline given the dire budget outline for the 2011-2012 school year in which we are projecting a near $40 million deficit for the district,” Brady wrote. “Since the full extent of the potential cuts to the school budget have yet to be determined, issuing a dismissal letter to all teachers was necessary to give the mayor, the School Board and the district maximum flexibility to consider every cost savings option, including reductions in staff.” State law requires that teachers be notified about potential changes to their employment status by March 1."(Projo)


This is happening all over the country, and it's time to face the hard realities hitting all public budgets. The hijinks occurring in Wisconsin over the unions are going to hit every state, county and town in this country.

I Remember Gas When It Was Only $4 A Gallon

If current situations continue to play out in the Middle East, $4 gas will seem cheap in a few short months...


"On the assumption that prices will move up by the same amount, we could see US$220/per barrel should both Libya and Algeria halt their oil production. We could be underestimating this as speculative activities were largely not present in 1990-91."(Zero Hedge)


Let's see, oil is at half that price today, so we could see $6 per gallon gasoline by the end of the summer--if Saudi Arabia remains intact. What do you think the ski slopes at Winter Park will look like this Christmas with $6 gas? Me too...

Boulder Needs A Billion Dollars

"Boulder has amassed a $726 million backlog of maintenance projects that, if not acted on soon, could end up costing even more, she said.

To begin to make progress on the city's to-do list, Brautigam presented the council with three options: use $5 million in newly identified annual savings to pay for improvements; use that money to issue up to a 20-year bond that would provide up to $62 million for improvements; or raise property and/or sales taxes to bond for even more up-front cash."(Daily Camera)

$726 million? Here's what Boulder voters should tell the town council, "F*** You!"

How did Boulder amass nearly a billion dollars in backlogs during one of the largest tax booms in U.S. history? Whose pockets got lined? All of the bastards have to go people. ALL of them!

Commissioners? What Happened Here?

"Location: The Grand County Transfer Station will be located on six acres approximately one mile east of Hot Sulphur Springs off Hwy 40 across from the Thompson Ranch.  HSS is only six miles from the Granby landfill.  The property is zoned “business."


The questions I have are:


Who owned this property? 


When was it zoned, "business?"


When was it purchased?


How much was paid?


What happened when Granby was chosen as the final resting place for the transfer station?


Did the taxpayer lose any money in this deal?


I'm going to fill in those questions as I answer them. I hope the answers aren't what rumor says they are.

It's Been 32 Years...

... Since Iranian warships sailed through the Suez Canal. Do you think they feel emboldened by recent events in the Middle East and the impotent U.S. response?

In other news, hideously ugly Gaddafi has ordered sabotage of Libyan oil facilities. I'd say he knows he's finished.

Gaddafi The Ugly

Aaannnd The Market Follows...

How is it that Chairsatan Bernanke is still the Fed Chairman?

Today saw some serious dislocations beginning to develop in the markets. From oil--up over eight percent--to commodities which are taking a huge hit, the markets are in turmoil.

Libya is the world's #9 supplier of oil, and pretty much all of the 1.5 million barrels per day production have been shut down. If the riots spill over into Saudi Arabia, $4 per gallon gas will seem cheap.

This is all happening as a direct result of the Federal Reserve's zero interest rate policy (ZIRP). No, poor peasant, not you. The criminal banks get to borrow free money from the Fed and invest it in whatever speculative bet they think will give them the best return (bonuses) on their free money. The rocket ride we've experienced in the stock market and commodities is a direct result of this policy.

The U.S. doesn't export anything anymore--except inflation. You see, because the U.S. Dollar is the world's reserve currency, many nations peg their own currencies to the dollar because of the relative stability of our currency. Bernanke's money printing scheme through quantitative easing has caused those nation's inflation to skyrocket, leading directly to starvation and rioting in Middle Eastern nations. This will soon be followed up with Asia as rice prices have gone through the roof.

The markets seem to have begun to wake up to suicidal Ben's ways, and are starting to call their bets. One way or another, things are going to begin to get ugly not only in far away Middle Eastern nations, but right here in the good 'ol USA. Are you ready?

Uhhhh... Ben? We Have A Little Problem

Dear Chairsatan Bernanke... Since Congress isn't going to do it, I'd like to know how you are going to rectify QEII given that the U.S. has just lost $696 billion dollars of GDP in the last 24 hours? For every dollar crude oil increases, we can just subtract $95 billion from U.S. GDP.

Own A Home?

We fell off of a cliff beginning in 2007. All of the schemes and scams by the federal government got us a nice little pop off the bottom. We're again in a home price free fall--a double-dip. Home prices have to fall dramatically to get to a level that's sustainable in our current economy. 

Qls | Keeping Commissioners Awake At Night

Connect these dots . . .

From .Gov

1977

Grand County Landfill

Cronyism In Grand County?

If the rumors I keep hearing are true, and I believe they are, then a lot of sunshine is going to light some pretty dark corners of this county.


What is cronyism? I'll go to Wikipedia for the definition. Although I don't think Wikipedia is the end all be all of information fact-checking, I believe the definition given is appropriate in this context.


"Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy.


Cronyism exists when the appointer and the beneficiary are in social contact; often, the appointer is inadequate to hold his or her own job or position of authority, and for this reason the appointer appoints individuals who will not try to weaken him or her, or express views contrary to those of the appointer. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used."(Wikipedia)


Cockroaches scurry when the lights turn on. 

A Ph.D. Is All That's Required...

...To be considered an 'expert.'


We in the United States have come to believe that all wisdom is derived from a few privileged people who've obtained advanced degrees from a select group of 'prestigious' universities.


A recent article on Yahoo! illustrates this point very well:

"In 2020, the UN has projected that we will have 50 million environmental refugees," Cristina Tirado, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)."(Link)


This is the kind of blather we're exposed to on a daily basis in the 'main stream' media. It is the 'expert' opinion of a professor, citing research from the United Nations. Notice how the article makes you think Cristina works for the U.N., but she's just citing a projection given by the body. 


I went to the UCLA campus directory to see if I could find Cristina Tirado listed as a professor. As I suspected, she was not listed. I finally did find a listing for her, and it is a jackpot of information. In addition to not actually being a professor, the part that really sticks out is this:


"She has been contributing author of the Health Chapter of the 4th assessment report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)..."(Link)


The IPCC... Bingo! What do we know about the IPCC? Well, how about the fact that the whole climate change debate has been a fraud perpetrated by the IPCC itself. The organization's computers were hacked into, and the stolen e-mails revealed the entire edifice to be a giant fraud. Here's a New York Times article regarding the mess.


And for some more fun reading, just click here...


Every time you are exposed to an article citing 'expert' opinion, make sure to vet the sources because the journalists writing this garbage sure won't. 


Oh, I don't watch Fox, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NPR, NBC or any other news outlet... I prefer to get my information independently. 


UPDATE: This was too good to pass up!

For Every $1 Increase In A Barrel Of Oil...

Remove $95 billion dollars from the U.S. Gross Domestic Product... (Link)

Chairsatan Bernanke...

...You Stupid Bastard.


"You're going to fail Bernanke.  You're failing right now.  You've destroyed one nation's government and this evening, as I write this, a second is falling apart.  The madman behind the second, Qaddafi, has apparently ordered his military to strafe civilians, murdering hundreds.


But behind it all, your policies and those of your cronies, believing in an indefinite Ponzi Scheme of exponential debt without bound, are responsible for every bit of what's happening today worldwide - and what is to come tomorrow.


The only way you can stop it is to admit you were wrong, pull liquidity and allow the insolvent institutions to collapse.  And collapse they will - all of them.  I'm convinced you know that too.  And I'm also convinced that there's three words you will never utter so long as you infest Washington DC: I ****ed up.
So here we sit as Americans, with no solution.  There is nobody in Congress or The Administration that has the balls to stop you, and you're too much of a douche to admit you blew it and do what should have been done three years ago. 


As a result, all we have left is to be prepared for what's to come.
It's not going to be pretty, and I hope Americans are ready for it.


Congratulations Ben Bernnake.  Your place in history is secure, and I'm sure Beelzebub thanks you daily for your cooperation. Some day I'm quite sure you'll meet him face-to-face."(Market Ticker)

Rumor Is...

... the Grand County landfill will cost $30 million dollars to mitigate.

I've learned a few things after I posted to Commissioner Newberry about the fact that it is currently sliding, and he'd probably need those funds. I think it's going to become a major problem for the county, and a major problem for taxpayers when the facts come to light.

So, if we subtract $30 million from the $9 million reserve fund the county currently maintains, that gives you... ( -$21) million dollars.

'Looks like we'll have to use government math to make up for that shortfall.

So, (-$21) million + a mill levy override + a tax increase + fee increases = $52 million dollars... Bingo! An instant $32 million windfall!

Whoops! We overstated by $1 million. No problem, we'll just tack on a bus rider fee to cover it.

Oh geez... It looks like, in our euphoria over the positive returns on our tax collection efforts, we messed up the math again. We now have $52 million dollars--not the $31 we originally came up with. That'll just go in the discretionary fund for any future eventualities like bailing out towns or school districts.

Wait, I think there's an extra $1 million now from the bus fee!?

Government finance is soooo complex. I'm completely confused.

Two Weeks: The Government Will Shut Down

"Barring some sort of deus ex machina, it seems certain that a government shutdown is coming in just two weeks (March 4, when the existing temporary funding bill runs out)." (Business Insider)


Finally, some reality coming to the 435 idiots in Washington who only know one master: Wall Street Banks.