Occupy Denver - Day 8

Lori and Cait helped out with brief discussion of Occupy Denver and the march/rally tomorrow. Come on down!

Occupy Denver - March/rally Sat (10/1/11) at Noon

Have you had enough yet? Fired, laid-off, evicted, foreclosed? Scared, worried, paranoid? Rally with Occupy Denver this Saturday, noon, at Colfax and Broadway...

Buffalo Springfield

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear

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Talking Trash (Tax)

FOR PUBLICATION

September 30, 2011

Denver Post Open Forum

Editor:

The vigorous defense of the (Denver) trash collection “fee” by Ann Williams of Public Works shows that City Hall has already decided in favor of this preposterous notion. All that remains is for Mayor Michael B. Hancock and the City Council rubber-stampers to use the budgetary hardship and fairness arguments to sell this odious tax increase to a gullible public. (It isn’t torture if you call it “extraordinary rendition.”)

Dave Felice

US DOJ Memo: State Authorized Medi-Pot Patients May Not Legally Possess Firearms

Washington, DC: Federal law prohibits a person from legally possessing a firearm if they use marijuana, even if he or she uses cannabis for medicinal purposes in accordance with state law, according to a memo issued last week by the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

The ATF's September 21 memo, titled 'OPEN LETTER TO ALL FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEES,' states: "Federal law ... prohibits any person who is an 'unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance ... from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing firearms or ammunition. Marijuana is listed in the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I controlled substance, and there are no exceptions in federal law for marijuana purportedly used for medicinal purposes, even if such use is sanctioned by state law."

The memo affirms: "Therefore, any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her state has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. ... Further, if you are aware that the potential transferee (of a firearm) is in possession of a card authorizing the possession of marijuana under state law, then you have 'reasonable cause to believe' that the person is an unlawful user of a controlled substance. As such, you may not transfer firearms or ammunition to the person."

Noteworthy, to date no state or federal court has yet ruled whether medical marijuana patients are disqualified to own a firearm.

While campaigning for the Presidency, Barack Obama had pledged that he would "not ... be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this (the medical marijuana) issue."

Occupy Denver - Day 7

A small group of dedicated citizens seems to have taken up residence near the central steps on Broadway between Colfax and 14th. Justin, who goes by the nickname of Crunchy, says they have a great relationship with the cops, who come by for coffee and to voice their support. Last night a group of anarchists, so-called, blocked the sidewalk and yelled "Fuck the cops", but were eventually convinced not to by the majority gathered there. General assembly is held daily at 7:00 pm and the big rally/march is this Saturday at noon.

Occupy Denver

"Occupy" groups based on the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in NYC are now springing up around the country, including Denver. Although I'm tempted to go down to the Capitol grounds right now, it is a bit late. They have a FB page #occupydenver (over 1000 likes so far) and you can follow them in real time here without signing up for anything.

According to Brandi Williams of indigojourney who is on the scene in Denver, about 75 people are marching right now (9:51 pm). Add info in the comments here if you have any.

Update:
OccupyChicago has gone live:
Watch live video from Occupy Chicago on www.justin.tv

The Slippery Slope of Reality - Part 4

Dr. Dave at Shrink Rap Radio was kind enough to let me relate the story of my recent misadventures of the mind after hip surgery. Tune in to his show for the last in this 4-part series on lucid dreaming.

He's got 280 of these interviews online - mostly with famous psychologists, spiritualists, and mind-seekers. I am a total fan and very appreciative that he invites me on the show occasionally. If you have any interest in the inner world, you'll love his podcasts, which are also available on iTunes.

Plutonium at Rocky Flats

From: LeRoy Moore
RE: Plea for Support

Last week two specialists that we hired collected 40+ samples at Rocky Flats, primarily along the eastern edge of the site on land proposed for the privately financed Jefferson Parkway. Earlier studies showed this area to be heavily contaminated with plutonium. Our request to U.S. Fish & Wildlife for permission to have our sampling done on the Rocky Flats site was denied, so the samples were collected outside the fence. In five or six weeks we will know whether or not the sampling shows that highway construction in the area would stir up clouds of plutonium-laden dust that would endanger workers, nearby residents and others. We took this step because it appeared that government agencies weren't going to do the sampling that we believe should be done before construction of a toll road. We very much need financial support to help pay the cost of this work and follow-up activities, including publicity and grassroots efforts. Cost for the sampling and analysis alone will run several thousand dollars. While it's on your mind, please make as audacious a donation as you can. Either send a check earmarked for Nuclear Guardianship to Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center, Box 1156, Boulder, CO 80306, or make a donation on line at http://rmpjc.org, using the "Project Support" button under PayPal. Thank you for your generosity.
LeRoy Moore, Ph.D., Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center P. O. Box 1156, Boulder, Colorado 80306-1156 USA E-mail address: leroymoore@earthlink.net

More road closures

Police Chief Search Town Hall Meeting

Join Mayor Hancock and Manager of Safety Justice Alex Martinez for a town hall meeting.  You will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the attributes you, the residents of Denver, are looking for in the next Denver Police Chief.

 

WHEN: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

 

WHERE: Manual High School, Auditorium - 1700 E. 28th Ave., Denver, CO

 

Input can also be provided before and after the meeting. Send your suggestions today by email to chiefsearch@denvergov.org.  To get the latest information about the Police Chief Search, go to www.denvergov.org\mayor and click the “police search” tab to get the latest information about Mayor Hancock’s search for a new chief.

 

Big Dog

I've posted the exploits of Big Dog (our military's pack carrier robot) in the past, but this is the first music video of Big Dog that I've seen.

Marijuana Prosecutions For 2010 Near Record High

Pot Arrests Now More Than Half Of Total Drug Arrests Nationwide

Washington, DC: Police made 853,838 arrests in 2010 for marijuana-related offenses, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. The annual arrest total is among the highest ever reported by the agency and isnearly identical to the total number of cannabis-related arrests reported in 2009.

According to the report, marijuana arrests now comprise more than one-half (52 percent) of all drug arrests in the United States. An estimated 46 percent of all drug arrests are for offenses related to marijuana possession.

"Today, as in past years, the so-called 'drug war' remains fueled by the arrests of minor marijuana possession offenders, a disproportionate percentage of whom are ethnic minorities," NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. "It makes no sense to continue to waste law enforcements' time and taxpayers' dollars to arrest and prosecute responsible Americans for their use of a substance that poses far fewer health risks than alcohol or tobacco."

Of those charged with marijuana law violations, 750,591 (88 percent) were arrested for marijuana offenses involving possession only. The remaining 103,247 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes virtually all cultivation offenses.

By region, the percentage of marijuana arrests was highest in the Midwest (63.5 percent of all drug arrests) and southern regions (57 percent of all drug arrests) of the United States and lowest in the west, where pot prosecutions comprised only 39 percent of total drug arrests.

By contrast, the percentage of arrests for heroin and cocaine was lowest in the Midwest (14 percent of all arrests) and highest in the northeast (29 percent of all arrests).

Overall, law enforcement agents nationwide arrested 1,638,846 people last year for drug abuse violations,surpassing arrests for all other crimes.

Since 2000, law enforcement have reported making an estimated 7.9 million arrests for marijuana violations.

For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at             (202) 483-5500      , or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org.

Early Adrienne

Adrienne Anderson fought corporate polluters all of her life. Here is some vintage footage of her early work.

Elevated from the comments:

parkhilldad has made a comment on Duck Pond - Ferril Lake 8-16-10: "Are you a whack job? The ecology of this site will always be out of whack. It's a man-made lake in an urban setting. This video is completely out of context - why not show the lake this year after the renovations and increased water flows? This site continues to be an important bird area for Colorado." (Editor's reply) Glad you asked, parkhilldad - I was working on an article to go with this recent video, but your introduction probably says it best. I would just add ..."to which we are flushing Lowry Landfill Superfund Site pollutants". Also, may I suggest that you search on this site for Duck pond pollution and educate yourself before you start calling people names. What did our $1.6 million buy for this toxic cesspool?

Road Closure Reminder (Oct. 9)

This is a friendly reminder that the Sports Authority Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is coming up on Sunday, October 9.  Informational door hangers will be distributed to residents, businesses and organizations along the route this week.   Visit our website to view an interactive course map and download PDF versions of the course map and road closure times.  If you are affiliated with a community group or business along the route, please share this information with your members and/or employees.   You’re invited to get involved with this exciting event.  Spectators are encouraged to line the route to cheer thousands of athletes towards the finish line.  Volunteers are still needed at the Expo and on Race Day.   Please sign up online.  Thank you, Community Relations Department Sports Authority Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Sunday, October 9, 2011http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/denver/road-closures

Brilliant idea! Forgive all student loans!

Forgiving the student loan debt of all Americans will have an immediate stimulative effect on our economy. With the stroke of the President's pen, millions of Americans would suddenly have hundreds, or in some cases, thousands of extra dollars in their pockets each and every month to spend on ailing sectors of the economy.

As consumer spending increases, businesses will begin to hire, jobs will be created, and a new era of innovation, entrepreneurship, and prosperity will be ushered in for all. A rising tide does, in fact, lift all boats—forgiving student loan debt, rather than tax cuts for corporations, millionaires and billionaires, has a MUCH greater chance of helping to raise that tide in a MUCH shorter time-frame. 

The future economic success of this country is wholly dependent upon a well-educated, prosperous middle class. Instead of saddling entire generations with debt from which there is no escape, let's empower the American people to grow this economy on their own!

That's why I created a petition on SignOn.org, calling on President Obama and Congress to support legislation seeking student loan forgiveness as a means of economic stimulus.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263764&id=31019-5503830-PlqTNLx&t=2

Thanks!

–Robert Applebaum

Adrienne Anderson: American Environmental Leader

The following biography is reposted from the book American Environmental Leaders From Colonial Times to the Present Grey House Publishing, Grey House PO Box 860, 85 Millerton Road, Millerton. NY 12546, updated in 2008. Adrienne sent this to me in March, 2009, so I assume that she had approved the contents. (Edited for format, picture added.)

Anderson, Adrienne

(February 10, 1952 – )

Grassroots Public Health Organizer and Educator

Grassroots community organizer Adrienne Anderson has been a leader in toxic contamination struggles throughout the western United States since she became involved with the issue in 1983.

From 1992 till 2005 she worked as an instructor at the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU), sharing her knowledge and research methods with students as they investigated contaminated site histories and how regulatory agencies respond to the problems; her abrupt and controversial termination in 2005 was widely perceived as the University's capitulation to political and corporate interests threatened by her investigations and those of her students. Currently, Anderson coordinates the Nuclear Nexus and Safe Water projects of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center.

Adrienne Anderson was born February 10, 1952, in Dallas, Texas. From a young age she was concerned about justice; as a child she defended black children's rights to ride their bikes through her tree-lined neighborhood. Then, as a student at Southern Methodist University (SMU), she challenged her sorority's practices which favored white students. Anderson earned a B.A. from SMU in 1974 and worked for one year for the Texas Department of Public Welfare in Dallas. Although welfare casework was frustrating because Anderson realized that the system, for all its good intentions, tended to control and harass its clients, Anderson gained a respect for poor people's ability to organize and help one another.

Anderson began work in a doctoral program in sociology at the University of Oregon in 1975, where she concentrated on social policy, political economy, and field research methods. While studying there, she helped to organize one of the first university unions in the country for graduate teaching fellows, and also worked for Lane County, Oregon, to design and implement an outreach program to assist the county's rural poor. Anderson took a leave of absence from her studies in 1979 to pursue her career in social change, organizing full-time in Denver, Colorado. From 1977 to 1983 she served as executive director of the Mountain Plains Congress of Senior Organizations, which advocated for the rights of low income elderly people living in the Rocky Mountain region.

By 1983 Anderson had focused her attention on energy and the environment and how these issues affected poor people. She became regional director of the national Citizen Labor Energy Coalition and then organized and became director of the Colorado Citizen Action Network (CCAN). CCAN, which was affiliated with the national coalition Citizen Action (CA), was a statewide coalition of grassroots antitoxins groups and labor, family, and senior citizen groups devoted to energy, environment, and health care issues. When CA increased its commitment to hazardous waste and public health issues in 1984, Anderson sent her staff on a canvass to garner support for stronger federal legislation to clean up the nation's Superfund sites-the most contaminated areas of the country that the government had committed to clean up.

Canvassers returned with disturbing stories about birth defects and children's health problems in the Friendly Hills neighborhood southwest of Denver. Anderson assisted in forming a local citizens' group affiliated with CCAN, the Friendly Hills Health Action Group, to investigate the neighborhood's problems.

The investigation revealed that the Denver Water Board, the county and state health departments, and the Environmental Protection Agency all were aware that Titan missile manufacturer Martin Marietta was routinely violating the Clean Water Act. It was discharging scores of toxic chemicals, including the highly carcinogenic rocket fuel propellant hydrazine, into waterways that ran through the site and into a neighboring Denver water supply treatment plant. The plant treated the water for bacteria but not for the toxic chemicals it contained and then piped it to Friendly Hills and other neighboring areas.

Anderson's work with the Friendly Hills Health Action Group forced the water board to close the contaminated water treatment plant in 1985 and convinced the governor to order a criminal investigation of the cover-up conspiracy between Martin Marietta and the Denver Water Board. In the midst of this campaign, Anderson became Western Director for the National Toxics Campaign (NTC). In addition to her work on Denver's interlocking toxic sites, such as Martin Marietta, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Lowry Landfill, the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plants, and the Coors brewery, Anderson also organized and assisted community toxics campaigns in other western states, including Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Alaska. She participated in a three-year campaign in Ponca City, Oklahoma, that eventually forced an evacuation of the entire south half of the town, where benzene poisoning from a Conoco refinery's contaminated groundwater swamped 400 neighboring homes. As part of the successful campaign for evacuation, Anderson helped form a local citizens' group, the Ponca City Toxic Concerned Citizens, and accompanied the group to Oklahoma City, 100 miles away, where they camped out on the grounds of the state capitol for months to protest the governor's failure to respond to the problem. Finally taking Conoco to court while continuing their public protests, the residents in 1990 won the largest private buyout of a contaminated community in the nation.

Over the years, working for various organizations, Anderson has helped over 20 communities organize citizens' groups to respond to local environmental disasters. She currently concentrates her work in the Denver area, a city ringed by Superfund sites whose owners, she found, have trucked toxic wastes to and between various sites for several decades. A complicated, interlocking set of relationships among corporations, the corporate law firms that defend them, their public relations firms, and municipal and federal government agencies has made it difficult to address the problems. When Anderson, appointed in 1996 by the mayor of Denver to the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District Board to represent the sewage plant's workers, uncovered documents about a plan to treat plutonium-contaminated groundwater from the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site east of Denver, she alerted sewage workers and farmers who worked land close to where the sludge would be spread, who protested the plan. Anderson's and her students' investigations of federal files revealed that the Lowry Landfill was contaminated with plutonium and had been used as a dump for years by the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant This resulted in threatening letters from the sewage plant's management. Anderson fought back, invoking the whistle-blowing protection statutes of several national environmental laws.

For her work on this case, Anderson was given the Brown-Silkwood Health and Safety award for 1998 from the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Local 2-477. In 2001, a senior federal whistleblower judge ruled against the sewage agency for its threats and efforts to silence her. Anderson was awarded nearly half a million dollars in damages, including one of the largest punitive damage awards ever issued. However, just after this victory, the incoming Bush administration-which had put its own appointees into the Department of Labor- reversed the judge and overturned the ruling, instead of implementing the judgment.

From 1992 until her controversial termination in 2005, Anderson taught at the University of Colorado-Boulder, offering such courses as Environmental Ethics: Race, Class and Pollution Politics; Advanced Environmental Investigations; and The War Environment. She emphasized research techniques and assigned her students to investigate local polluters and how the appropriate regulatory agencies responded to their violations. Anderson invited regulatory officials to visit the class at the end of each semester; they were met by well-prepared students demanding explanations for the problems they uncovered. Although Anderson's courses received consistently high scores in student evaluations, and the University's large Environmental Studies program depended upon her to teach required courses for the program, her presence at CU was officially protested by one of the targets of her investigations, the ASARCO mining company. (An Anderson investigation revealed that ASARCO had contaminated a Denver neighborhood, and the company was fined $38 million.)

The public relations firm representing ASARCO, Coors, Shell, Martin Marietta, and others-all of which pollute the Lowry Landfill- also complained to the University about Anderson and her courses. Although students successfully rallied for many years to assure that Anderson teach, the Environmental Studies department did not renew her contract in 2005. Students, using tile skills Anderson had taught them, investigated University records and found a barrage of communications from polluters and political appointees of governor Bill Owens. The records showed that these corporate and government interests sought to undermine Anderson's faculty position over the pollution research she and her students had discovered, along with evidence of lax enforcement actions by the state. After Anderson filed a grievance, two investigating faculty committees found that her rights had been violated and recommended her reinstatement.

The American Association of University Professors-CU Chapter also investigated her case, concluded that her termination had serious implications for the University's academic integrity and its role in protecting public health, and called for her reinstatement The University, however, refused to reinstate her.

Anderson's current position with the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center allows her to continue researching and organizing around the various toxic and nuclear contamination threats plaguing the region. In one case, she assists Native Americans, in another, ranchers and farmers, and in yet another, residents whose homes abut a radioactive waste site the military has refused to clean up. Anderson's articles and reports are available on-line at the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center's website: www.rmpjc.org.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"AAUP University of Colorado," www.aaup-cu.org; Cowan, Jessica, Good Works: Jobs that Make a

Difference, 1991; Obmascik, Mark, "Listen! Money's Talking," Denver Post, 1996; "Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center," www.rmpjc.org; White, Nadia, "Environmental Studies Made Demands at Campus Rally," Boulder Daily Camera, 1998.

Adrienne Anderson (1952 - 2011)

Environmental activist Adrienne Anderson passed away yesterday at the Hospice of St. John in Lakewood, Colorado. Her life-long fight against environmental polluters will remain as a shining example of the phrase "never give up".

From DAVID W. DI NARDI District Chief Judge in re: Case No.: 1997-SDW-7 ADRIENNE ANDERSON, Complainant, v. METRO WASTEWATER RECLAMATION DISTRICT, Respondent. 18 Sept 2001

This entire case is about a dedicated, conscientious and public-spirited citizen who, in following in the tradition of Karen Silkwood, Erin Brockovitch, A. Ernest Fitzgerald, Casey Ruud and others, has spent her entire adult life in pursuing union and environmental activities and in attempting to correct perceived wrongs and problems in society. Complainant’s beliefs, in my judgment, are reasonable and well-founded, based upon her years of research into the problems and remedial action taken with reference to the socalled Superfund Sites by the federal and state governments.

Denver wants Comcast customers to be aware of digital transition

Denver, CO - The “Basic-Only” or B1 service is Comcast’s lowest tier of service and consists of approximately 20 channels (broadcast TV stations, Denver 8, Denver Open Media, and a few others). It is popular with Denver’s senior population and those on fixed income as it provides these channels for around $20/month. It also has been the only tier of service which hasn’t transitioned from analog to digital. This means it hasn’t needed any additional equipment connected to one’s TV to receive service….until now. Comcast has notified the City that service is now changing.

Other tiers of service – Economy Package, Standard, Expanded Basic – transitioned last year. Starting in September, that transition to digital will begin for Basic Only customers. Comcast will provide up to three DTA boxes per household at no cost. Starting with the fourth box per house there will be a $1.99 per box per month charge. After mid-October, a subscriber will HAVE to have a DTA box connected or they won’t be able to receive cable service. This change is allowed by federal law, and thus the City cannot prevent it.

The City is concerned that basic-only customers may get confused or frustrated with the DTA connection process. To that end, Comcast will set up a special section of their Customer Care Center to assist people and will even send out technicians to homes to help a subscriber connect the device to their TV. One caveat about the last; at this point it is unclear to the Cable TV Administration office whether Comcast would provide that technical service for free or whether they plan to charge for it as a service call. Please ask the Customer Care Representative to clarify.

Under federal law, the City cannot prevent Comcast from changing its technology or dropping all of its analog service. The City can work with Comcast to make the transition as easy as possible, and is exploring possible joint sessions at senior centers and other facilities to explain to residents, face-to-face, what is happening. If residents do have questions, they can contact the Cable TV Administration office at 720-913-8888 and we’ll be happy to explain the issue and attempt to get them in touch with the proper Comcast personnel to complete their transition to the DTA boxes.

One last word of caution from the City: last year we received a number of complaints from Denver residents that the Comcast Customer Care Representatives were aggressively “up-selling” a higher level of service. Further investigation found that on multiple occasions the national call center representatives were “informing” Denver subscribers that they had to sign up to a more expensive level of service. That is not the case at all. Denver staff has followed-up with Comcast Government Affairs about our deep concern of this inaccurate policy. To be perfectly clear – NO SERVICE UPGRADE IS NEEDED WITH THIS TRANSITION. You may keep your existing level of service and pricing. All that is needed is a DTA box for each television. If you are a Basic Only subscriber and experience inaccurate information that you have to upgrade to a higher level of service to continue to see your existing channels, please contact the Cable TV Administration office immediately

2011 CREATIVE BUSINESS WORKSHOP SERIES ANNOUNCED FOR FALL/WINTER

This Saturday morning workshop series is tailored specifically to members of Denver's creative business community. Whether you own a business, work out of your studio, or are a creative entrepreneur, this series will help demystify various business planning principles and challenges that will help you plan for the future. Upcoming sessions include: - Your Creative Brand - Saturday, September 17 - Marketing Basics for Artists – Saturday, September 24 - Online Marketing Tools for Businesses – Saturday, October 1 Multiple Saturday mornings from September – December 2011 Crossroads Theatre, 2590 Washington Street $10 (10% discount if you sign up for three or more workshops) To registerand see a full list of workshops, click here, and find us on Facebook too!

Phil Goodstein's Naysayer

(Click to enlarge and/or ctrl+)

INC Honors Adrienne Anderson

(INC is an umbrella organization of over 50 registered neighborhood organizations)

Local media list

(Thanks to Dave Felice)
Denver Print Media
August 2011


Denver Direct
(Online News and Commentary)
Gerald Trumbule
editor@denverdirect.tv

Washington Park Profile
617 E Jewell Ave
Denver CO 80210
303-778-8021
Paul Kashmann
wpprofile@qwestoffice.net

Greater Park Hill News
2823 Fairfax Street
Denver CO 80207
303-388-0918
Arthur Rosenblum
allwrite@comcast.net

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To pay or not to pay

Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle - Don’t Pay That Mailed Photo Radar Speeding Or Red Light Ticket!!!!