Author Archives: RF_Alum

Election Commentary

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I expect everyone is overdosed on election analysis, so I hope to keep this short and to the point. I went into the election disgusted with the choices for President, and I’m not celebrating the outcome. I didn’t want either of them to be elected, but I guess one of them had to be. One thing I can celebrate is that many commentators are saying the mainstream media are in shock over the results. They were convinced Clinton would win. They began to believe everyone had to have been influenced by their onslaught of negative Trump reports. The results indicate many average Americans in flyover country dismissed the “superior intellect” of the so-called elite.

One statistic that gives me hope is that Clinton gathered several million fewer votes than Obama’s totals. That indicates many Democrats who were supposed to blindly accept the candidate put forward by the party made a statement by voting for someone else. Americans are still thinking even if the major parties aren’t.

Turn Turtle

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Charles Earle Funk describes this expression in his book A Hog on Ice and Other Curious Expressions. He says it originated from observation by early sailors that a turtle turned on its back is helpless and makes for an easy meal. It is natural that they would describe a ship that has been capsized as having “turned turtle.” The sailors on a ship that has been turned upside down are undoubtedly just as helpless as that turtle they intended to fix into a meal.  

Last Spanish War Volunteer Dies

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The Spanish Civil War at the end of the 1930s was called the dress rehearsal for World War II as the Germans and Italians supported Franco’s Fascists and the Soviet Union supported the Republicans or Loyalists. There were some 2800 Americans who travelled to Spain to fight with the communist Republican forces in what was called the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. About 800 of them were killed fighting on the losing side. Delmar Berg was a dishwasher in California when he saw Young Communist League billboard advertising for soldiers to serve in the conflict. He made it to Spain and was wounded in battle. He remained a communist throughout his life and died at the age of 100. He was the last remaining U.S. volunteer.

The members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade returned to the U.S. to be treated as heroes by liberals who celebrated their service against the Fascists. In actions that would later weigh against him J. Robert Oppenheimer and his wife hosted and attended fund raising events to support the veterans. The service became a liability for the veterans during the Cold War when the “Red Scare” became a nationwide concern and anyone with ties to communism began to be viewed with suspicion.

Fifth Column

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I seem to have a fascination with the Spanish Civil War this week, which was when this expression was first used by Nationalist General Emilio Mola. According to Wikipedia, he told a journalist that the four columns of his soldiers marching toward Madrid would be supported by a “fifth column of supporters” inside the city. The expression began to be used to describe instances where sedition and disloyalty are feared.

Third Party Presidential Candidates

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Ed Asner recently moderated a debate by three third party candidates at Colorado University on the Boulder Campus, and I commend the Free and Equal Election Foundation for arranging that debate. The participants were Rogue De La Fuente representing the Reform Party, Darrell Castle of the Constitution Party, and Gloria LaRiva of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

I’ve been reading some admonitions that a vote for a third party candidate is wasted, and I disagree. I’ve stopped watching the 24 hour news cycle, because they can’t get enough of Clinton and Trump. I became disgusted with the news shows when it was obvious they were being used by the master self-promoter Donald Trump to get free media coverage. The few times I’ve watched any news shows now makes it obvious the media is making its money talking about how disgusting Trump is and ignoring all of the information being released by Wikileaks et al confirming that Clinton has no regard for either laws or ethics.

I believe the two major political parties have proven they have abandoned any pretense that they are looking for decent people to nominate for national political positions. I eagerly tell people I’ve never been prouder to be an Independent. I won’t advise anyone who they should vote for, but I will say that I don’t think either of the two major parties deserve the loyalty many are still willing to give. Perhaps enough third party votes would be a message to them that they should begin to try to better.

Objectivity of Rocky Flats Reporting

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A recent Denver Post article by Bruce Finley has some interesting information about plans for opening twenty miles of hiking, cycling, and horseback riding and a visitor center on the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge in 2018. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is holding public meeting to solicit public input. They undoubtedly will have the usual activists show up to warn of the supposed dangers. Dave Lucas, The refuge manager mentions in the article, “Downwind of the plant there’s residual contamination. Plutonium is one of the contaminants, but it is at levels that were determined to be acceptable.” As I understand the plans, the trails being considered are on the dominantly upwind side of the plant where plutonium concentrations are about the same as fallout levels all throughout Colorado.

One paragraph in the article discusses “…the apparent end of litigation with surrounding suburbs over roadways has the cleared the way for work on relatively undisturbed wildlife habitat that extends into the mountain foothills.” I was unaware that the litigation had ended, but that is good news.

There are some inflammatory comments scattered through the article. For example, it says the “…feds…hope to tell the Rocky Flats story of evolution from American Indian hunting grounds through the Cold War military activities that ruined the environment and workers’ health to the current open oasis amid dust-churning monster house development.” Another short sentence proclaims, “Plutonium-tainted and other radioactive waste was buried at Rocky Flats causing an environmental disaster.” It’s no wonder why some people might avoid going to the refuge when it opens to take a beautiful and safe hike.