Will The Rocky Rise Again?

Staffers from the now defunct Rocky Mountain News have found supporters to launch an Internet-based news source, to be called INDenverTimes. They are attempting to sell subscriptions for $4.99/month, and if successful in reaching their target subscriber base, they plan to launch the site in May.

In some ways, this seems like a good idea. The availability of Internet delivered news has helped lead to the demise of many newspapers. Others, such as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, are going to an Internet-only publication model.

Still, there are problems with this idea. How will this attempt to resurrect the Rocky compete with free news available from a variety of sites? Also part of the appeal of the RMN was its tabloid format. It was handy to read on a plane, a light rail train, or anywhere space is limited. There is also some appeal to a physical stack of newsprint, where one can do the crossword puzzles with a pencil, and yes, even read the paper in the bathroom.

Perhaps the new site will become available for the Amazon Kindle or the Apple iPhone. This would help with the portability factor, although it will not replace the impulse buy at a newspaper box or newsstand. Maybe the different economics of a virtual publication will allow this to work with smaller subscriber & advertiser bases than that needed to support a daily print publication.

I wish these fine journalists well in their endeavor to see a new continuation of the 150-year-old Rocky Mountain News rise from the ashes of its predecessor, but I remain skeptical about its chances of success. Still, maybe they should have named the endeavor The Rocky Mountain Phoenix.

Hard to Believe This Man was Vice President

Former U.S. Vice President, Dick Cheney, has built a reputation among his detractors as being somewhat akin to the evil emperor in the Star Wars movies. The more we learn about his views on liberty and the Constitution that he swore to uphold, the more the image fits.

Recently, we have learned the contents of memos from Justice Department attorneys that the former Vice President has a very strange understanding of the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the United States. In fact, Cheney's views are one of an autocratic dictator, rather than someone who is entrusted by the people to protect our liberty. As bad as George W. Bush was as President, I suppose we can be thankful that Cheney himself was not our President during the last eight years. His inluence as VP was bad enough.

According to an analysis by CNN commentator Paul Begala, the memos reveal a Dick Cheney who supported the following positions:

• First Amendment rights to free speech and a free press are secondary to waging war.
• The Fourth Amendment right to not be the subject to unreasonable searches and seizures is nonexistent.
  
• The federal government can send the military to your home, without a warrant.
• The federal government has the right to arrest an American citizen on American soil, and hold him or her without charges.
• The federal government can eavesdrop on your telephone conversations without obtaining a court order.
• The Geneva Conventions can be ignored by the United States.

So, in other words, the government...our government...can claim dictatorial powers at any time, the Constitution be damned.

Begala goes on to point out that in an interview with CNN's John King, Cheney is concerned about the current economic problems (which he helped to create) being used to justify an expansion of government powers. What kind of government expansion worries a man who believes the Bill of Rights is so much toilet paper to wipe his twisted behind with? Well, it turns out that the man who believes in torture, warrantless wiretaps, illegal search and seizure, and holding Americans without charges; is very concerned that the government may be used to provide better healthcare plans and education for its citizens. He is concerned that the federal power may be used to give companies incentives to wean America off of foreign sourcs of energy. Yes, our former Veep thinks it is fine to use the government as an instrument of oppression, but not as a channel to improve the lives of Americans.

Folks, in my opinion, Cheney doesn't deserve a lifetime pension at our expense; rather he should be tried, and if found guilty, imprisoned for life as a traitor to the nation and the Constitution he took an oath to defend from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. With such views of federal power, we are very lucky that the evil that was the last administration did not suspend elections to keep itself in power. Oppression such as advocated by Cheney is what this nation of free men and women have fought against, many making the ultimate sacrifice. We may never know how close we came to a totalitarian regime. If my exercising my First Amendment right to freedom of speech here offends Mr. Cheney, that's just tough!

David Letterman at Play

Late Show host David Letterman demonstrates why Optimus Prime is such a popular Transformer toy.

You Can't Make This At Home

A few evenings ago, the Lovely Spouse and I ordered some P'zones from Pizza Hut. These are their version of a calzone. They were not very good. The cheese was like plastic, and the pepperoni was not very tasty either. So we were still hankering for some good pizza.

What is a good pizza? Well, the crust should be not too thick, not too thin, and have just the right crispiness. The pie should not be swimming in sauce, and it should have fresh ingredients.

So, what to do? Well, we went on the Internet and found Marco's Coal Fired Pizza in downtown Denver a couple of blocks from Coors Field. Now would we be crazy enough to make a 50-mile round trip for pizza? You bet! Marcos has ovens that were imported from Italy, brick by brick. They are indeed "coal fired", and are kept at 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. That kind of heat bakes your pie in about one minute, and bakes it to perfection. It is also one reason why you can't replicate this at home. The flour comes from Italy, and the vegetables are fresh and local.

We ordered a Toscana pizza (top picture) and a Brooklyn pizza (lower photo). The Toscana has Fresh Mozzarella, San Marzano Tomato Sauce, Arugula, Grape Tomatoes, Prosciutto di Parma, Gran Cru, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The Brooklyn consists of Sweet Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Red Onions, Fresh Mozzarella, and the San Marzano Tomato Sauce. As you can tell, we had to taste these before I even took a picture of them. They were very delicious and Marco himself came to check on us.

The tab for two pizzas, and two glasses of wine was $48 before the tip. So although these are not the cheapest pizzas you can buy, they are by far the best I have had in Colorado. With great ingredients and that 1000 degrees coal heat, these are a real treat. I should also add that the service quality and ambiance of this little neighborhood pizza parlor and bar is as good as the food. Highly recommended!

President Obama Put Humanity Before Dogma

Rejecting the politicization of science, President Obama today fulfilled a campaign promise to overturn the Bush era's ban of federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. The previous president had forbidden such funding on new stem cell lines based upon the ridiculous religious belief that places the rights of a clump of cells in a petrie dish ahead of the lives of people suffering from a variety of diseases. Embryonic stem cells are capable of forming any type of cell in the body, and such research holds great promise to find cures for a wide spectrum of ailments from spinal cord damage to Parkinson's Disease to Alzheimers. Religion and politics have been the enemy of scientific progress since before the church's misguided persecution of Galileo and Copernicus, and it remains to to this day. We have lost eight precious years. Thankfully, the new President has cast aside the Bush-era restrictions.

CLICK HERE for more.

I Want To Hold Your Diploma

In a first of its kind, Liverpool Hope University in the Beatles' home town in England is offering a post-graduate degree in, what else, The Beatles. The band that broke up 40 years ago is now the subject of the Masters degree, and the University says there have been many inquiries from around the world, including the United States.

I wonder what type of job you could get with such an advanced degree. Maybe you are also taught to say, "Would you like fries with that?".

No More Scenic 3-D Reels

Mattel subsidiary Fisher Price, the current owner of View-Master, has announced it will no longer make the reels of scenic locations. Such is the passing of yet another piece of Americana. View-Master seemed almost magic when I was a kid, and I had one of the bakelite-constructed models. Later they switched to plastic, and various owners, including Sawyers, GAF, and Tyco, have made variations, such as View-Master projectors and Talking View-Master. Yet the original viewer is still what one thinks of when the name View-Master is mentioned. I also remember the Henry Fonda commercials for the "GAF View-Master".

So, for now, Fisher Price will continue to market reels with Dora the Explorer and other childrens' characters, but no more eye-popping views of the Giant Sequoyas or the Grand Canyon that brought these distant places to life for several generations of kids. I imagine it won't be long before the franchise closes up shop for good, or is sold off yet again. It is hard to compete for mindshare of today's kids, with their X-Boxes, iPods, and cell phones.

Will He Really Go on March 23?

The Denver Post reports today that former Qwest CEO and convicted felon, Joseph P. Nacchio, has been ordered to surrender himself to authorities at the Schuylkill Federal Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania to begin serving his 6-year sentence. This criminal cost many people their life savings and their jobs, while causing a major disruption to the Colorado economy. Yet, Joe never saw fit to move to Colorado, even while running Qwest and US West into the ground. Hopefully he doesn't have a fatal heart attack like Enron criminal Ken Lay, and actually serves his time and forfeits his millions.

Joe, you had better get used to using that toilet in the middle of your cell. Oh, it probably isn't as cozy as the potty in your bathroom in your New Jersey mansion, but who knows? Maybe you'll make a new friend or two. And remember, don't take the top bunk.

Steele vs. Limbaugh and Paul Harvey

Too bad. GOP Chair Michael Steele leveled criticism at the character that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann calls "Comedian Rush Limbaugh", criticism that is well deserved. Steele mentioning that Limbaugh does not run the Republican Party called his rhetoric "incendiary" and "ugly". Absolutely true. Then when the porcine one fires back at Steele over the radio, Steele caves and apologizes. Why?

Steele has shown he is the weak leader of a failed party. He has let a radio blowhard, bully him into a corner, making Rush the de-facto leader of the wacky faction of the GOP (Is there any other faction these days?). It is unfortunate, as I had hopes that Steele would be able to help return the GOP to the center. It appears he has sold his soul to the nutty fringe.

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On another note, it would be remiss not to mention the death last week of an iconic voice that has informed and entertained for decades. Paul Harvey's news and commentary, along with his vignettes on The Rest of the Story, have been a fixture on ABC radio for a long time. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native who started out at KVOO (now KFAQ), and went to Chicago to hit it big in broadcasting , had an unmistakable delivery that made you know immediately that he was on the air.

And what a contrast...Paul Harvey, the consummate conservative and his congenial demeanor, versus todays radio hatemongers. He was a gentleman and a perfect example of what radio should be.

Good day!

End of an Era

With newspapers having a hard time surviving the economy and competition from the new media, Colorado is losing the states oldest paper. Tomorrow is the final edition of The Rocky Mountain News. Started just a couple of months shy of 150 years ago, The Rocky has been a fixture in Denver and the Rocky Mountain region. So now Denver joins most cities in America as a one newspaper town. The Denver Post will stand alone.

I have seen other papers shutdown in towns where I have lived. Shortly after I moved away, The Houston Post was closed; and while I lived in Tulsa, The Tulsa Tribune ceased publication, leaving only The Tulsa World.

Scripps, the publisher of the Rocky, had unsuccessfully tried to find a new owner, but in this economy, it was not to be.

Charles Paul Martin 1925-2009

Today is a sad day. My father-in-law, Charles Paul Martin, died shortly before noon, Eastern Daylight Time in the ICU of United Hospital in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He fell and broke his hip eight days ago, triggering multiple health issues. He was 83, and will be missed immensely.

They Still Don't Get It!

The Republican Party still doesn't get it. A group of GOP governors are making a big deal about rejecting the stimulus money for their states; money with which they could fund extended unemployment benefits for their citizens who are out of work. One such blowhard is the 36-year-old governor of Louisiana, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal. He has been highly visible lately, as the GOP handlers get him groomed to run for the Presidency. Jindal appeared on NBC's Meet the Press last weekend, and is slated to give the GOP response to the President's address to a joint session of Congress tonight.

That's fine, however Jindal knows that his rejection of the federal funds will not stand with both houses of the Louisiana legislature in Democratic hands. It is pure and simple, grandstanding for political purposes. Despite Senator John McCain's campaign of "Country First", the GOP still values political power over the welfare of their people. I heard on the radio today that Louisiana loses 480 jobs a day; yet the governor of that state thinks it is fine to reject funds to provide unemployment benefits to those people in his state who have lost their jobs in this god-awful economy.

Eight years of the GOP running a government bent on giving tax breaks to the wealthy and deregulating the corporations, has driven us to the point of total economic collapse. Even after that, the party of Lincoln has become the instrument of corporate control of the government. This is totally sickening.

President Obama is not perfect, and will definitely not get everything right. However, he is the hardest working man I have ever seen take on the office of the Presdent. He didn't miss a beat from election day on. Meanwhile the GOP plays hard ball politics, despite the Presidents strident efforts at bipartisanship. I say "screw 'em". Obama has tried and has seen nothing but obstructionist partisanship. Someone needs to tell the Republicans we voted for change. We tried it your way and you have nearly destroyed the nation. It's time to get on board or shut up!