The Road to Hell is Paved

Looks like another exciting Saturday night of getting woken up at 1:34 am by my drunk upstairs neighbor yelling at his girlfriend. In the disoriented, sleepy, and chilly atmosphere of me not having turned the heater back on the dialectics of facebook have once again inspired me to develop a political perspective for your viewing pleasure...

If I wasn't about to move to Utah to spend my summer being a river guide I'd probably be pissed off about all of this to do something about it.

Okay so that's kinda hyperbolic and sarcastic. But seriously... the problems are so vast... I think for a lot of people the flight or fight complex kicks in and if AT ALL POSSIBLE you can try to avoid dealing with *that trainwreck of an economy/ political insanity* well, generally you do. Hell. I tell you what though... I work for a managerial class of overweight republicans who eat too much fast food and coca cola and who drive shiny expensive cars and listen to talk radio and print out "humorous" cartoons on color printers at work to show each other that denounce the president, Arabs, non-English speakers, and "Hippies" as the reason the world is fucked up. It seems to me the people at the controls are firmly convinced it's fine for them to be ignorant, reckless, selfish and destructive as possible. Even worse they support FOX "News" and Beck and Limbaugh to spread their hate-mongering. These people are like from another planet. You feel like you're talking to a pod-person talking to some of them... or maybe the aliens from "V" who *looked* like humans but were really scaly gross monsters here to harvest our flesh.

You've got the economic structure of omnipotent greed, corruption, pollution, exploitation, etc... out there. It accumulates money at the expense of the majority of humans and the environment. It has proven itself time and again that it is willing to kill large amounts of people and large sections of the environment to continue accumulating money... ultimately for the purchase of such necessities as diamonds, yachts, shiny cars, golf courses in the desert, fancy wine flavors, cocaine, "Private Property: No Tresspasing!" signs, hookers, man-servants, and eventually their own progeny's delinquency. This "They" uses its money to build up a lot of fluffy, well dressed crap like politicians, media pundits, distraction machines, and other control / deception mechanisms in order to keep everyone so fearful and stupid and angry at each other that there'll always be enough idiots willing to sign up for the next war while the low wage slaves at home stagger home safely muttering curses about one another rather than the people who get rich off making them low wage slaves... etc... etc... ad nauseum etc... But at any rate... I think you can make the case that "enlightened" and "liberal" capitalism is in great decline around the world right now... If the first two years of the Obama presidency have proven anything it is that the Democratic Party is thoroughly incapable of (disinterested in?) actually reining in the excesses of the system to the point where the it can be prevented from killing us all. Think Haiti and the failure of the Copenhagen summit. Think people who are paid more than you will ever be paid and who have better (government-provided) healthcare that you will ever have controlling the presidency and the congress and using that power to turn a mandate to fix our wasteful and prohibitively expensive healthcare system into TWO YEARS OF HYPE whose ultimate result is the proposal of a massive tax-payer subsidized giveaway to the very same vampiric insurance industry sons of bitches said president and said congress were originally elected on the basis of opposing?

The day the Democratic Party starts listening to David Sirorta before it listens to the Coal Lobby or the Bank Lobby or the Insurance Lobby or the Israel Lobby is not a day I think any of us are going to live long enough to see. Till then Barak Obama talking about "Green Jobs" is going to be about as meaningful as Democrats in 1970 deciding to back "Earth Day" at the same time they were voting to drop Agent Orange on the jungles of Vietnam.

There is no reason to suspect things will ever get any better as long as people with GOOD ideas, GOOD intentions, and POSITIVE contributions are content to sit back and let the "establishment" media/political/entertainment complex go on telling people what to think. Sure you might know global warming is bad and that Sarah Palin is an idiot but as long as you're not really doing anything about opposing them / building up an alternate political opposition that has teeth and is capable of FIGHTING and WINING a progressive agenda... IT DON'T FUCKING MATTER because intelligence and good intentions aren't perquisites for getting registered to vote. When the Tea party finally gets its head around the joy of pogroms and the demagogues are able to convince enough upstanding graduates of our educational system that segregation is a lot more of a good idea than measuring ice cores in Antarctica for correlations between carbon levels and global temperature... it'll be TOO FUCKING LATE.

100 Little Curses

Woah... I gave boots a ride in my car once. He is pretty cool. Check out his new project:

Support HB 1188!

Commercial river running contributed $142 million to Colorado’s economy last year and more than 500,000 people enjoyed our scenic rivers. Yet, the ability to provide commercial river running is under threat because out-of-state developers want to prohibit licensed river outfitters from providing trips on historically rafted rivers. The 2010 River Outfitters Viability Act protects Colorado’s tourism industry by clarifying the rights of commercial guides to operate on Colorado’s historically run rivers. The name of this act is "HB 1188" and it is currently at a critical point in its journey through the Colorado State Legislature.

The crux of this case is that some landowners think if they own both sides of a historically floated / rafted / canoed / kayaked, etc... river bank, that anyone passing through on the river is "trespassing". The dispute that started this bill is that a developer on the Taylor River is trying to create a luxury fly fishing- oriented housing complex along the river and he doesn't want people to paddle it anymore, even though people have been paddling said river since long before said developer came to town.

Two "red herrings" have been put out their by the opposition. Language in the bill states that boaters will have the right to make incidental contact with the river bank to portage around obstacles, rapids, etc... Though this right has been enjoyed for centuries by river travelers, the opposition is trying to use it to scare landowners into thinking that under this language commercial rafters will be able to hang out, eat lunch and sunbathe on private property. This is not the case. The law does not support such behavior. River guides are paid to know where they are going and as such make sure via maps that where they stop for lunch is on public land. Commercial outfitters are licensed to operate by the Bureau of Land Management and would have their permits yanked if they did not do this. In addition, portaging with loaded boats is a pain in the neck. People sign up for river trips to float down rivers, not to carry heavy rafts and gear across land. It is in the interest of everyone to make portages as seldom as possible. The only reason this language is even in the bill (and should stay there) would be to protect boaters from unpredictable hazards and obstacles as may appear from time to time due to high water, erosion, fallen trees, and the like accumulation of debris.

The other distracting bit of propaganda being put out there to cut away support for this bill is that this bill only applies to commercial boating outfits, and thus private boaters would not be effected. An article arguing this point was printed in today's Denver Post. Well... if commercial outfitting is banned from floating through private property, do you think a welcome mat will be put out for "Joe Public?" Hell no! This is an shallow attempt to drive a wedge between private and commercial river runners. Commercial outfits teach skills that private boaters later use. Many people can't afford or don't have the interest in assembling their own boats and gear and find commercial trips more attractive, but might at some later point in time go on a private trip. And at countless points in time on the river commercial and private boaters have helped each other out of various sticky situations... for example many a private boater in trouble over the years has benefited from commercial guides' experience and medical training. This is no time to draw imaginary lines between different groups of boaters' interests. We need to come together to protect the right to float from those who want to sell it off to the highest bidder. An injury to one is an injury to all.



This Denver Post article gives you a little more background information. Go and read it: http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_14303397.

Here is a list of people you need to call with your support to help get it passed:



------------------------------------------------------------

FUTURE OF RIVER RUNNING HEADS TO SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE! 3/3/10

YES ON HB 1188 the 2010 River Outfitters Viability Act. Let’s keep Colorado rivers open for business and fun.

Please take a moment and contact Colorado State Senator/s and ask them to support House Bill 1188. Let's pack those voicemail machines and email accounts ... for the future of floating Colorado rivers.


---------------------TAKE ACTION ---------

Colorado State Senators to contact (updated 3/3/10):

( They need to hear from everyone who loves, plays and works on Colorado’s rivers!)

*** Senator Linda Newell 303-866-4846
E-mail: linda.newell.senate@gmail.com (South Jeffco, Western Araphoe county) Judiciary Comm. member

*** Senator Evie Hudak 303-866-4840
E-mail: senatorhudak@gmail.com (Jefferson county) Judiciary comm. member

*** Senator Morgan Carroll 303-866-4879
E-mail: morgan.carroll.senate@state.co.us ( Aurora) Chair of Judiciary Comm.

*** Senator Scott Renfroe 303-866-4451
E-mail: senatorrenfroe@gmail.com (Weld county)Judiciary comm. member

*** Senator Keith King, 303-866-4880
E-mail: keith@keithking.org (el paso) Judiciary comm. member

More senators whose votes are also important who also need to hear your voice:

Senator Bruce Whitehead 303-866-4884 E-mail: bruce.whitehead.senate@state.co.us (Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, San Juan, San Miguel counties)

Senator Rollie Heath 303-866-4872 E-mail: rollie.heath.senate@state.co.us Boulder County

Senator Abel Tapia 303-866-2581 E-mail: abel.tapia.senate@state.co.us Pueblo

Senator Gail Schwartz 303-866-4871 E-mail: gail.schwartz.senate@gmail.com (Alamosa, Chaffee, Conejos, Costilla, Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Mineral, Pitkin, Rio Grande, Saguache counties)

Senator Paula Sandoval, 303-866-4862
E-mail: nwden34@yahoo.com ( Denver)

Senator Mark Scheffel 303-866-4869 E-mail: mark.scheffel.senate@state.co.us (Douglas, El Paso, Lake, Park, Teller counties)

Senator Shawn Mitchell 303-866-4876 E-mail: shawnmitch@aol.com (Adams,Broomfield, Weld counties)

Senator Suzanne Williams 303-866-3432 E-mail: suzanne.williams.senate@state.co.us Arapahoe County

Senator Ken Kester 303-866-4877 E-mail: electkenkester@hotmail.com (Baca, Bent, Crowley, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Las Animas, Otero, Pueblo counties)



Sample Letter to Senator and phone script:



Dear Senator _______:



(identify yourself, Coloradan and river enthusiast, Out of state visitor who loves to raft in Colorado with your family and friends)



Please Vote Yes on HB 1188, the Colorado River Outfitters Viability Act, we need your help to keep Colorado’s Rivers open for business and fun! I hope I can count on your vote for the future of river recreation in Colorado. River running is an important sector of the tourism and outdoor recreation industry.



(Add a personal note: why do you and your family enjoy river rafting? and if river rafting is shut down in Colorado you’ll take your vacations and weekend trips and money elsewhere)



Sincerely, ____name

___________________________________________





For more information and background on the Colorado River Outfitters' Association please visit: http://www.croa.org



Additional action info at:

http://www.adventureoffice.com/Bill1188.aspx

No More Personal Blogs(?)

I'm thinking about not writing personal blogs anymore. Will maybe write some political stuff and post cool pictures... but life is too strange / chaotic / even humorously tragic. Too many people I know in real life are on FB now and I don't necessarily want them knowing everything I am thinking about or having to deal with to survive on this planet. I think taking another year or two and then writing a book about Hard Living in The West would be a lot more appropriate.

Utah, Feb 2010

I went to Utah last week to take a Wilderness First Responder course in Moab that was taught by Wilderness Medicine of Utah. Not too many people equate desert scenery with snowy, frozen winters, but the two are quite compatible across much of the Western United States.

This is the "off season" for most outdoor adventure sports in Southeast Utah, but for a traveler with warm clothes it offers a great chance to enjoy spectacular scenery, indian rock art, ghost towns, uranium mines, red rock canyons, and endless views without a lot of unwanted human crowds disturbing the serenity.

These pictures begin along the Colorado river in Moab, go to the surrounding area, then look out a bit broader across the snowed in green river desert before finishing up in and around Sego Canyon near Thompson Springs. Sego is home to several thousand years of petroglyphs and pictographs, as well as the dwindling remnants of a coal mining town (Sego) that was established to provide the Denver Rio Grande & Western rail road with fuel. The town petered out around 1950 after successive fires wiped out most of its buildings.

Click on the image to see the full size of the image.