I promise to inveigle in with both feet on the ongoing bitch-slap about what went down when Pitkin County Deputy Sheriff Joe DiSalvo blew his top (again). But I want to wait another day or so to see what the local newspapers come up with before I comment.
In the meantime, in-between time, ain’t we got fun? In the midst of all the pissiness between the Sheriff’s peeps and the Aspen Police Department perpetrators of the law, everybody and their sister missed the best part: Sheriff Bob Braudis was (once again) nowhere to be seen.
Was he in France? Or California? Or, understandably and regrettably, at the funeral of his friend Ed Bradley of CBS and Woody Creek?
Whatever the reason–whatever the higher cause–the Sheriff of Pitkin County was demonstrably not in Pitkin County. Now before the blogosphere bursts with outrage–you go, girls!–let me say that every man-jack out there deserves a good vacation, particularly a good law enforcement officer burdened with the weight of not enforcing the law in Pitkin County. And everyone has a divine right to be at the funeral of a good friend. No argument there. But said “peace officer,” as Sheriff Bob fancies himself, should at least occasionally have both feet in his own jurisdiction.
By my rough count, in the last ten months the Sheriff has been in Pitkin County a maximum of ten months. That means he’s been missing in action 20 percent of the time. Some people who work in Pitkin County say he was actually MIA far more often than that in 2006. One said to me: “We really need a Sheriff who’s here.” But suffice to say, at best, the Bobster has enjoyed one of the great benefits packages in the state of Colorado with impunity. (Not to mention the 3 PM and out convocations he used to hold at Zele’s Cafe.) Factor in the time he spent on the public dole campaigining successfully for re-election, and a rough estimate would say that he has not been doing the job taxpayers pay him for about a third of the time in 2006.
I know, I know: the big guy’s been hurting for certain, or else why did he famously disappear without explanation for six weeks or so without explanation? Perhaps his rehabilitation counselors at the Desert Canyon Treatment Center in Sedona, Arizona, have an answer, or perhaps the Sedona Police might be contacted to inquire about the smackdown Sheriff Braudis had while down and out.
Am I being unfair? Maybe–but maybe just a little. The plain fact is Sheriff Bob Braudis, elected by 85 percent of the popular vote, gets a pass on all his misdeeds for reasons that have little to do with his job and everything to do with the noxious elixir of nostalgia his supporters serve up like hash brownies. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
For every one who cast a vote for Magnuson, nine others cast a vote for Braudis. Winning an election 5445 to 941 is not merely a butt-kicking, it’s a freaking mandate.
I thought you’d back-off after such a one-sided trouncing, maybe even try to make nice with Braudis after doing an empirically decent job of spoiling his chances during the election… Tragically, this post demonstrates you can’t let go of this issue.
[Am I being unfair? Maybe--but maybe just a little.]
And by the way, in case you didn’t notice, the fire you’re pissing on is your own.
Cheers,
For every one who cast a vote for Magnuson, nine others cast a vote for Braudis. Winning an election 5445 to 941 is not merely a butt-kicking, it’s a freaking mandate.
I thought you’d back-off after such a one-sided trouncing, maybe even try to make nice with Braudis after doing an empirically decent job of spoiling his chances during the election… Tragically, this post demonstrates you can’t let go of this issue.
[Am I being unfair? Maybe--but maybe just a little.]
And by the way, in case you didn’t notice, the fire you’re pissing on is your own.
Cheers,
I thought this was an open forum for statements Mr. Con.
If your going to write ridiculous comments, please don’t erase others thoughts. If there is a no swearing policy…good enough.
However, I think everyone should know that the almighty Con has the ability to erase thoughts with the simple click of a button. Sounds like a form of censorship that this project was not supporting. I can say what I need to without inserting F*#$ or S*&#…but sometimes when someone is so wrong, those seem to fit their purpose perfectly!!!!!!!
Edit that Con.
CAN ANYONE ACTUALLY SUPPORT THE ABOVE RANTING OF MR. CON?!?
Do I really have to give you the facts (that is a key word to understand Con), on how much vacation time our top elected official in this country takes?
I thought this was an open forum for statements Mr. Con.
If your going to write ridiculous comments, please don’t erase others thoughts. If there is a no swearing policy…good enough.
However, I think everyone should know that the almighty Con has the ability to erase thoughts with the simple click of a button. Sounds like a form of censorship that this project was not supporting. I can say what I need to without inserting F*#$ or S*&#…but sometimes when someone is so wrong, those seem to fit their purpose perfectly!!!!!!!
Edit that Con.
CAN ANYONE ACTUALLY SUPPORT THE ABOVE RANTING OF MR. CON?!?
Do I really have to give you the facts (that is a key word to understand Con), on how much vacation time our top elected official in this country takes?
For the record, I would not have commented on this dead horse had I not seen keepaspenreal’s first comment deleted.
I realize those who run Aspen Post enjoy editorial control over what goes up or comes down on Aspen Post. That said, if deleting keepaspenreal’s first post is not censorship, I for one would like to know why.
Liberty and justice for all… unless, apparently, you say something that doesn’t comport with the conman’s point of view. Take last Friday, when Barry Shocket intimated a connection between Saddam and Osama. Michael went to break to avoid an aneurism. No harm done…
But deleting keepaspenreal’s comment was bush.
Cheers,
For the record, I would not have commented on this dead horse had I not seen keepaspenreal’s first comment deleted.
I realize those who run Aspen Post enjoy editorial control over what goes up or comes down on Aspen Post. That said, if deleting keepaspenreal’s first post is not censorship, I for one would like to know why.
Liberty and justice for all… unless, apparently, you say something that doesn’t comport with the conman’s point of view. Take last Friday, when Barry Shocket intimated a connection between Saddam and Osama. Michael went to break to avoid an aneurism. No harm done…
But deleting keepaspenreal’s comment was bush.
Cheers,
I can count on one hand the number of comments I’ve had to delete since the launch of Aspen Post, but Keepaspenreal’s emission was one of them.
In his case, in all honesty, it was the profanity. Profanity is permissible on Aspen Post for sure, but not just for no reason other than to diss the discourse. Also, as Keepaspenreal admitted, he was “screaming” in capital letters–screaming for an end to reasonable discourse about important issues where reasonable people can disagree.
So here’s my advice: if you want to scream THEN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
That is not what Aspen Post is about. It’s about a conversation, a dialogue, a civil discourse where we can disagree and still be friends.
But let me make this crystal-clear: free speech on Aspen Post is no more absolute than it is in real life. There are actual limits. In addition to mindless obscenity, I have taken down a handful of posts because they were of the “you suck” variety. “You suck” posts are okay by me, even if they’re about me, if they give an actual reason why someoone or something sucks. Also off limits are the “you suck” posts followed by a string of falsehoods about an individual. They won’t see the light of day if I can help it. It’s okay to say what someone or something says or thinks sucks to your heart’s content, but you can’t make your case on any Post Time Media property–Aspen Post, Snowmass Post, or Skiing Post–by saying the suckee is an axe murderer.
The real problem we have as a society is that when people disagree too often we want to make our foe out to be a bad person. That’s just ugly.
If you riffle carefully through this blog you will see rant after rant about yours truly, with some from the local powers that be that are outright libelous and slanderous. (They have been contacted and told to cease and desist or face legal consequences.) I even let one guy write under MY name until it became too confusing. So it’s not like I take things down just because they don’t agree with me or are critical of me or Aspen Post. The record speaks emphatically otherwise.
You will further notice (above) that I haven’t touched the two comments criticizing me and Aspen Post for taking down Keepaspenreal’s obscene comment because they form the beginnings of an important dialogue that affects everyone in the Aspen Post community.
One final word for Keepaspenreal. At first I hoped everyone on Aspen Post would use their real identity, but I’ve come to understand that anonymity works for some people. But I would say this to Keepaspenreal and everyone else on Aspen Post who blogs anonymously: as your comments grow more scalding, your identity becomes more of an issue. I would urge Keepaspenreal and anyone else who really wants to play with the grownups to also sign on under their real name, as Mitch seems to have done (above).
I have taken the hits and it has not always been fun, but the results so far show we’ve been a monster hit. The great thing about what Keepaspenreal and Mitch are saying here is that they like us, they really like us–they see the great value of an open and civil discourse.
Let’s keep talking, and keep the faith!
Best, Michael!
PS The issue here is free speech, yes, but more to the point is the no-show Sheriff’s continuing ability to be missing in action in Pitkin County. I know he’s had a bad year, but doesn’t that bother you guys?
I can count on one hand the number of comments I’ve had to delete since the launch of Aspen Post, but Keepaspenreal’s emission was one of them.
In his case, in all honesty, it was the profanity. Profanity is permissible on Aspen Post for sure, but not just for no reason other than to diss the discourse. Also, as Keepaspenreal admitted, he was “screaming” in capital letters–screaming for an end to reasonable discourse about important issues where reasonable people can disagree.
So here’s my advice: if you want to scream THEN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
That is not what Aspen Post is about. It’s about a conversation, a dialogue, a civil discourse where we can disagree and still be friends.
But let me make this crystal-clear: free speech on Aspen Post is no more absolute than it is in real life. There are actual limits. In addition to mindless obscenity, I have taken down a handful of posts because they were of the “you suck” variety. “You suck” posts are okay by me, even if they’re about me, if they give an actual reason why someoone or something sucks. Also off limits are the “you suck” posts followed by a string of falsehoods about an individual. They won’t see the light of day if I can help it. It’s okay to say what someone or something says or thinks sucks to your heart’s content, but you can’t make your case on any Post Time Media property–Aspen Post, Snowmass Post, or Skiing Post–by saying the suckee is an axe murderer.
The real problem we have as a society is that when people disagree too often we want to make our foe out to be a bad person. That’s just ugly.
If you riffle carefully through this blog you will see rant after rant about yours truly, with some from the local powers that be that are outright libelous and slanderous. (They have been contacted and told to cease and desist or face legal consequences.) I even let one guy write under MY name until it became too confusing. So it’s not like I take things down just because they don’t agree with me or are critical of me or Aspen Post. The record speaks emphatically otherwise.
You will further notice (above) that I haven’t touched the two comments criticizing me and Aspen Post for taking down Keepaspenreal’s obscene comment because they form the beginnings of an important dialogue that affects everyone in the Aspen Post community.
One final word for Keepaspenreal. At first I hoped everyone on Aspen Post would use their real identity, but I’ve come to understand that anonymity works for some people. But I would say this to Keepaspenreal and everyone else on Aspen Post who blogs anonymously: as your comments grow more scalding, your identity becomes more of an issue. I would urge Keepaspenreal and anyone else who really wants to play with the grownups to also sign on under their real name, as Mitch seems to have done (above).
I have taken the hits and it has not always been fun, but the results so far show we’ve been a monster hit. The great thing about what Keepaspenreal and Mitch are saying here is that they like us, they really like us–they see the great value of an open and civil discourse.
Let’s keep talking, and keep the faith!
Best, Michael!
PS The issue here is free speech, yes, but more to the point is the no-show Sheriff’s continuing ability to be missing in action in Pitkin County. I know he’s had a bad year, but doesn’t that bother you guys?
That was more circumspect than I expected, Michael. Most bloggers I’ve read have a kind of “benevolent dictator” approach to commentary. When you’re footing the bill for hosting a blog, such an approach seems only fair.
As the writer of a widely-read blog points out, “the First Amendment restricts government, not private citizens, from infringing on your right to free speech.” On a blog, what the blogger posts is free speech, a right extended by the First Amendment. What people write in comments is a privilege. It’s a distinction worth thinking about before you click Submit.
[I know [Braudis has] had a bad year, but doesn’t that bother you guys?]
Even though I don’t vote in PitCo anymore, I pay attention to PitCo politics. Why? It’s simple, really. From the headwaters of the Roaring Fork to its confluence with the Colorado, the river that defines this valley flows through three counties. I contend that much of what goes on in the Roaring Fork Valley isn’t affected by county lines, particularly where crime and law enforcement are concerned.
During the run-up to the election, you made some compelling arguments that cast Sherriff Braudis’ service to the community in an unfavorable light.
The election is over.
At best, re-heating these arguments sounds like belly-aching about election results. If you’re right about Braudis—and I’m not suggesting you are—wouldn’t an “I told you so” garner more attention if you had let it lie?
Cheers,
That was more circumspect than I expected, Michael. Most bloggers I’ve read have a kind of “benevolent dictator” approach to commentary. When you’re footing the bill for hosting a blog, such an approach seems only fair.
As the writer of a widely-read blog points out, “the First Amendment restricts government, not private citizens, from infringing on your right to free speech.” On a blog, what the blogger posts is free speech, a right extended by the First Amendment. What people write in comments is a privilege. It’s a distinction worth thinking about before you click Submit.
[I know [Braudis has] had a bad year, but doesn’t that bother you guys?]
Even though I don’t vote in PitCo anymore, I pay attention to PitCo politics. Why? It’s simple, really. From the headwaters of the Roaring Fork to its confluence with the Colorado, the river that defines this valley flows through three counties. I contend that much of what goes on in the Roaring Fork Valley isn’t affected by county lines, particularly where crime and law enforcement are concerned.
During the run-up to the election, you made some compelling arguments that cast Sherriff Braudis’ service to the community in an unfavorable light.
The election is over.
At best, re-heating these arguments sounds like belly-aching about election results. If you’re right about Braudis—and I’m not suggesting you are—wouldn’t an “I told you so” garner more attention if you had let it lie?
Cheers,
Believe me, Mitch, I was done with the Sheriff deal. Over and out. Put a fork in it.
Then came DiSalvo losing his temper.
Then came the word that the Sheriff is on vacation. Again.
The latest is confirmation that Lorrie White, the #2 in the department, has been pushed out in favor of DiSalvo.
No man is above the law, not even the Sheriff. There are signs of absentee management at best and maybe real chaos at worse in the Sheriff’s Office.
Why should we look the other way? Because he won an election against a weak (though committed) competitor? I don’t think so. I think we’ve got to hold him to a higher standard.
Something else worth mentioning: there’s not another town or city in the United States that would be willing to give an elected official a pass for what the Bobster has done.
Best, Michael!
Believe me, Mitch, I was done with the Sheriff deal. Over and out. Put a fork in it.
Then came DiSalvo losing his temper.
Then came the word that the Sheriff is on vacation. Again.
The latest is confirmation that Lorrie White, the #2 in the department, has been pushed out in favor of DiSalvo.
No man is above the law, not even the Sheriff. There are signs of absentee management at best and maybe real chaos at worse in the Sheriff’s Office.
Why should we look the other way? Because he won an election against a weak (though committed) competitor? I don’t think so. I think we’ve got to hold him to a higher standard.
Something else worth mentioning: there’s not another town or city in the United States that would be willing to give an elected official a pass for what the Bobster has done.
Best, Michael!
“…….gets a pass on all his misdeeds for reasons that have little to do with his job and everything to do with the noxious elixir of nostalgia his supporters serve up like hash brownies…….”
Great writing….and a good point as well….
“…….gets a pass on all his misdeeds for reasons that have little to do with his job and everything to do with the noxious elixir of nostalgia his supporters serve up like hash brownies…….”
Great writing….and a good point as well….
ya don’t suppoze he went to nyc to ed bradley’s funeral?
ya don’t suppoze he went to nyc to ed bradley’s funeral?