Category: Democracy

Democracy, Diversity, Equal rights, Ethics, Human rights, Intolerance, politics, Religion, Separation of Church and State, Weird Grand Junction Stuff

The Problems with Mixing Religion and Government in Mesa County & Grand Junction

by Anne Landman • November 30, 2015 • 4 Comments

“Sad, that their choice was taken away…. No one had to take a Bible if they didn’t want one. All through life you have to make life decisions. This would have been a good life training to stand up as an individual and say ‘no thank you.’ ”

The above was a comment left on a previous blog about the Gideon Bible giveaway that was to take place at the Colorado Mesa University’s nursing program pinning ceremony December 11. This commenter, and others who wrote in a similar vein, show there is a fundamental misunderstanding about U.S. government locally, and about the nature of the U.S. government and the benefits of keeping church and state separate.

Many people mistakenly claim the U.S.was “founded as a Christian nation,” and point to our country’s founding documents as proof.

They need to look more closely.

The U.S. Constitution contains no mention of “God,” “Lord,” “Jesus,” “Christ” or any other deity. The founders intentionally designed it as a completely secular document. The Declaration of Independence does mention a generic “Creator,” but the Declaration is not U.S. law. It was a letter addressed to the King of England. Many people confuse the two documents. The difference between them is huge. The only document that has the force of law behind it is the Constitution. It’s the only one that really matters.

The Bill of Rights is similarly secular, with no mention of a god or gods, lords or deities. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, contained in the Bill of Rights, provides for a separation between religion and government. This provision truly sets the United States apart from other countries.

Mesa County Missing Out On State’s Pot Bonanza

by Anne Landman • November 24, 2015 • 0 Comments

Mesa County's economy languishes while the rest of the state thrives (Photo credit: KKCO 11 News)

Mesa County’s economy languishes while the rest of the state booms (Photo credit: KKCO 11 News)

Recent news reports tell of the Mesa County Commissioners’ current struggle to deal with a $3 million budget deficit due to decreasing tax revenue. At the same time, Grand Junction City Councilors, citing a lack of tax revenue, turn down a chance to host the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, a potentially huge economic boon and an event that could draw favorable domestic and international media coverage for the city.

The economy remains bad and getting worse on other fronts in Mesa County, too. Last June, Mesa County saw its biggest jump in unemployment in 12 months, rising 6.6 percent in June alone. The lost jobs are attributed to low gas prices and continuing cutbacks in the oil and gas field, which has a long history locally of being an unreliable, employer locally.

At the same time that Mesa County’s economy is circling the drain, unemployment rates in the rest of the state are tumbling and, according to the Denver Post, have reached new lows not seen since the dot-com boom in the 1990s. Front range rents are high, vacancies are low and by all accounts other parts of the state are buzzing with new and growing economic activity.

So why is Mesa County languishing amid the state’s overall economic bonanza?

Things are bad here in large part because the Mesa County Commissioners and Grand Junction City Council are barring citizens in our area the ability to participate in the booming new marijuana economy.

Foster: Bible Giveaways Over at CMU

by Anne Landman • November 18, 2015 • 15 Comments

A victory for separation of church and state locally

In a clean win for common sense and the separation of church and state locally, Colorado Mesa University President Tim Foster announced this morning that he is ending all on-campus bible giveaways at CMU.

In a note to people who had contacted him about the issue, Foster thanked those who had provided him feedback and potential solutions about what to do with the longstanding but now highly controversial tradition.

Foster wrote,

“I have had additional discussions with Health Sciences faculty and nursing students. I have sought legal counsel and researched legal precedent. I have listened to the divergent viewpoints of others. Taking all that into consideration, the Bible give-away at the pinning ceremony will be discontinued.Though the presentation of Bibles to graduating nurses by the Gideons at the pinning ceremony is a long-standing, international tradition and the pinning ceremony itself does, in fact, have religious roots, it is important to remain focused upon and to celebrate the accomplishment achieved by all of our graduating students at the December 2015 Commencement.”

Freedom From Religion Foundation Weighs in on CMU’s Graduation Bible Giveaway

by Anne Landman • November 17, 2015 • 4 Comments

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a letter to Colorado Mesa University President Tim Foster urging him to end the practice of allowing Gideons International to hand out bibles to students at on-campus graduation ceremonies.

A group of students who are about to graduate from CMU’s nursing program have protested an administration plan to have Gideon Bibles offered to students at their December 11 pinning ceremony at Moss Auditorium. Program instructors indicated to the nursing students that the bible giveaway was a non-negotiable part of the ceremony. Later, under pressure, program staff held a mandatory vote on it by email only, a method that would allow them to identify the dissenting students.

Grand Junction’s Former “Ten Commandments” Mayor Busted for Shoplifting at Cabela’s

by Anne Landman • November 2, 2015 • 5 Comments

Reford Theobold, the Grand Junction City Council member who led the $64,000 end-run around the U.S. Constitution.

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL? – Reford Theobold, the Grand Junction City Council member and former mayor who led the $64,000 end-run around the U.S. Constitution.

The Daily Sentinel reported today that revered former two-time Grand Junction mayor and Ten Commandments moralist Reford Theobold was arrested for shoplifting maps and Big Hunk candy bars from Cabela’s at Mesa Mall.

Theobold runs a Grand Junction telemarketing and advertising company called TNT Productions, and was the Grand Junction Lion’s Club 2014 Lion of the Year. He was previously held in such high esteem locally that the skybox at Stocker Stadium is named after him.

Father of the $64K “Graveyard” in Front of City Hall

Until now, the thing Reford Theobold was probably best known for was for leading the City’s desperate effort to circumvent the U.S. Constitution by spending $64,000 of taxpayer money on the “Cornerstones of Law and Liberty Plaza,” known to tourists as the “Graveyard in Front of City Hall” and by locals as the “Trample on the Bill of Rights Plaza.” Theobold came up with the idea to built the pricey plaza to evade a 2001 lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the City for having a Ten Commandments tablet, a Christian religious monument, displayed on City property in front of City Hall.

The $64,000 Gravyard in Front of City Hall, Reford Theobold's costly legacy

The $64,000 Graveyard in Front of City Hall, Reford Theobold’s costly legacy

The lawsuit could have been settled quickly, easily and at no cost to taxpayers after a downtown church offered to take the 10-Commandments tablet and display it on its own land very close to City Hall, but well off public property. Accepting this generous offer would have spared City taxpayers a fortune.

But Reford Theobold, by all accounts a devoutly religious man, would have none of it. Instead, he chose to lead the City through one of the most ridiculous and costly episodes it’s ever been through. The idea was that by planting the Ten Commandments tablet among a bunch of other secular monuments like the Mayflower Compact and Magna Carta, it would look more historical than religious.

AnneLandmanBlog Voter Guide, November, 2015

by Anne Landman • October 22, 2015 • 0 Comments

This guide offers AnneLandmanBlog’s opinion on upcoming ballot measures and candidates for District 51 School Board, in case you’re wondering who and what to vote for.

Recommendations

Mesa County Valley School District 51 Director for District A (four year term) – Recommended vote: Doug Levinson.

Mesa Valley School District 51 Director for District B (four year term) – Recommended vote: Paul Pitton

Proposition BB (State-wide measure)- Lets the state keep $52 million of excess marijuana taxes over and above what is allowed by TABOR, and would put it towards public school construction, law enforcement, substance abuse treatment and prevention, youth programs and marijuana education, instead of refunding it to taxpayers (at the rate of approximately $8 per taxpayer). Recommended vote: YES/FOR

You can see a sample ballot here.

Discussion:

The biggest factor determining AnneLandmanBlog’s choice of school board candidates is that both are endorsed by the Mesa Valley Education Association (MVEA) and the League of Women Voters. The MVEA’s input is particularly important because the organization is made up of teachers, principals, administrators and other employees of District 51. These are the people who are in the schools every day, interacting with students, working with schedules, policies, budgets, building integrity (or lack thereof), testing, curricula and other school-related issues day in and day out. If you want to know what works and what doesn’t in the school district, what schools need and what they don’t, the members of MVEA are the folks to ask.

A Telling Flap over Pitton’s Eligibility

Outgoing board member Ann Tisue (pronounced “Ty-shoo”) recently accused Mr. Pitton of being ineligible to run for the District B seat based on his residency. Her accusation and its aftermath have been quite informative.

It is important to note that Ms. Tisue supports Mr. Pitton’s challenger for the District B seat, Mr. George Rau, incumbent Mr. Jeff Leany, for the District A seat.

Paul Pitton

On October 20, Ms. Tisue made a statement to the media about her discovery that Mr. Pitton lives outside District B, as the area is currently drawn on D-51’s area map.

D-51 changed it’s maps not too long ago, and had an outdated map posted on its website during the time candidates were being recruited to run.

As an existing board member, Ms. Tisue should have known that the District is responsible for certifying and approving candidates to run for open board seats, so any judgement about whether a candidate’s residency renders them eligible or ineligible to run would be theirs. But instead of approaching D-51 about the error first, Ms. Tisue ran to the media and used the information to try to malign Mr. Pitton. In a statement to KKCO-TV News, she sniffed,

“I just have a really hard time understanding how he [Mr. Pitton] couldn’t be more careful. If he’s going to be in control of a $100 million budget with 44 schools, I would expect someone that would be a lot more careful.”

The facts were that Mr. Pitton had fulfilled all of the requirements to become a candidate, and the District had qualified him for the ballot. D-51 employee Terri Wells, who serves as secretary to the Board and is the person who certifies candidates’ eligibility to run for open School Board seats, was responsible for the error, not Mr. Pitton. Mr. Pitton had played by all the rules.

To his credit, Mr. Pitton has said if he wins, he will sell his house and move his family into District B, as it is currently drawn on the map.

That’s dedication.

Ms. Tisue’s hurry to use District 51’s error to try to tarnish Mr. Pitton and malign his ability to serve as a school board member is instructive more about her character than anything else. By association, it is also likely instructive about the character of the people she backs for school board, namely Mr. Rau and Mr. Leany.

P.S. – If you want to avoid the drama of the residency flap completely, Cindy Enos-Martinez is also a good choice for the District B Seat. She has served on the D-51 School Board before and has been on City Council and served as mayor of Grand Junction.

Democracy, Diversity, Education, Equal rights, Ethics, Ethnic/Minority, Grassroots advocacy, Gun violence, Hate

Planned Islamaphobic Rally Fizzles in Face of Opposition by Peaceful Mesa County Citizens

by Anne Landman • October 10, 2015 • 7 Comments

Anti-Islamaphobia rally particpants in Grand Junction today had plenty of signs indicating how they felt about an armed rally by Islam-haters that was planned for the same spot, but never materialized

Participants in Grand Junction’s Anti-Islamaphobia rally had plenty of signs indicating how they felt about an planned protest by armed Islam-haters that was supposed to be held in the same spot, but never materialized

Mesa County residents blocked an armed Islamaphobic uprising from materializing today by gathering at a Grand Junction Islamic Center with enthusiasm, lots of free cookies and plenty of big, handmade signs promoting peace, love and diversity.

Anti-Islamaphobia rally participants hold signs in Grand Junction

The anti-Islamaphobia rally was held to counter the so-called “Global Rally for Humanity,” an armed protest against local Muslin residents that right-wing gun nuts had planned. Similar protests aimed at intimidating U.S. Muslims were planned in 20 cities nationally; Grand Junction’s was to be one of them.

But thanks to strong, organized opposition, the Islam-hating rally pulled it’s Facebook event announcement page and never materialized.

Waves of residents who abhorred the idea of Mesa County being known as a hotbed of Islamaphobia attended the peace rally, which went on all morning and into the early afternoon. They held up signs on I-70B stating a need for a more diverse, loving western Colorado. Many cars honked as they went by and gave a thumbs-up to the event.

In one brief incident, four right-wing Islam-haters did show up, but all they did was make some rude gestures, call the group “delusional,” take a selfie with rally participants and then leave. Otherwise the group was completely successful in blocking the planned armed demonstration of hatred against Muslims that was to take place.

Congratulations, citizens of 21st century Grand Junction. You’ve showed that the culture is at long last really changing here, and it has already changed enough that political sanity can occasionally prevail.

Advertising, Consumer advocacy, Democracy, Equal rights, Human rights, politics, Women

Fort Collins to Consider Legalizing Female Breasts

by Anne Landman • October 9, 2015 • 0 Comments

Go Topless Fort Collins flier promoting equal treatment of the sexes under Ft. Collins’ Public Indecency ordinance

A campaign in Fort Collins to decriminalize the female breast says the city’s public indecency ordinance, which prohibits exposure of female breasts while allowing men to display theirs, is sexist.

Section 17-142 of Fort Collins’ city charter, “Offenses Against Decency,” states “No person shall knowingly appear in any public place in a nude state or state of undress such that the genitals or buttock of either sex or the breast or breasts of a female are exposed.”

But Brittany Hoagland of Go Topless Fort Collins points out that the ordinance conflicts with Article II Section 29 of Colorado’s Constitution, which states:

“Equality of the sexes. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the state of Colorado or any of its political subdivisions on account of sex.”

Islamophobic Mesa County Group Gets Pushback

by Anne Landman • October 3, 2015 • 13 Comments

A fringe right-wing Mesa County group that planned an open-carry protest October 10 in front of a Grand Junction mosque was forced to back down after a counter protest that was quickly organized via social media at the same place and time drew far more participants than the Muslim-hater event.

The larger (national) anti-Islamic group “Global Rally for Humanity,” which organized the protest at the mosque, was formed by a combination of the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters*, two radical, militaristic pro-gun, fringe right-wing groups that Mother Jones magazine calls “the Tea Party’s military wing.”

Why We Need to Reject Religious Accommodations at Work

by Anne Landman • September 8, 2015 • 0 Comments

By definition, religion consists of sets of beliefs based on myths, fantasy and superstition.

If we accept one person’s religious beliefs as valid, we must accept them all, no matter how crazy they may be.

But if we act on this principle and start honoring all these various beliefs (and even the more mainstream ones) in workaday life, mayhem will result.

To see how this bears out, just take the principle to its logical extensions:

A woman goes to medical school and becomes a heart surgeon, then decides to become a Jehovah’s Witness who believes blood transfusions violate her religion. Honoring her religious belief at work would sacrifice patients’ quality of care, and could cost lives.

A devoutly religion 911 operator believes everything happens according to God’s will. Your house catches fire and you call 911. The religious operator answers, is your neighbor and recognizes you and your address. She knows you occasionally use alcohol, and based on the comings and goings at your house, has conclude that you regularly have sex on occasion even though you aren’t married. These activities violate her religion, and she honestly believes the fire at your house is God’s punishment for your sins. She does not alert the fire department because she dare not interfere with God’s will.

Your house is toast.

You get the idea.

We’ve already seen how the Kentucky County, Clerk Kim Davis’, religious belief against equal marriage have caused her to deny citizens’ their civil rights.

Just because a crowd of people mass in support Kim Davis by gathering in front of the jail she is being held in, and prominent Republican politicians make a show out of of visiting her in jail doesn’t mean she is right.

She is wrong. People who believe she is right need a thorough lesson in the purpose and value of a secular government and separation of church and state.

In the U.S., Ms. Davis is welcome to follow her faith any way she likes in her personal life, but as an elected public official, she is required to law carry out all of the duties her job requires in full accordance with the law or step down.

Consumer advocacy, Corporations, Democracy, Elections, Environment, Grassroots advocacy, Health, Human rights, politics, Pollution, Public health, Safety

Community Rights Ballot Initiative Coming Back in 2016

by Anne Landman • August 19, 2015 • 0 Comments

Coloradans for Community Rights (CCR) is gearing up to once again put a Community Rights initiative on the 2016 state-wide ballot.

A Community Rights amendment doesn’t ban anything. Instead, the measure establishes that communities in Colorado have a definitive right to local self-government. That is, the new law would give people, not corporations, the dominant authority to decide how to best protect health, safety and welfare in their own communities and surrounding natural environments. Basically, the measure would allow communities to decide, free from corporate or state interference, whether to allow corporate projects that could negatively impact their safe and healthy environments.

What does this measure mean to citizens on the western slope?

The Community Rights Amendment would, for example, give Mesa County residents living around Alanco’s stinky Deer Creek frackwater ponds the right to disallow this land use in their area. It would also give Paonia residents the right to keep drilling and fracking activities away from their schools, residential areas and organic farming districts. Corporations and their trade groups could no longer sue communities over decisions to keep dangerous or noxious industrial activities out of their area. The amendment would also prevent corporations from suing communities that vote to enact living wages, or ban GMOs (genetically modified organisms), for example.

On August 17, CCR submitted the official ballot language for the 2016 Colorado Community Rights Amendment to the Colorado Legislative Council. The ballot measure is very short, only about 200 words. After the ballot language is approved, CCR will organize a state-wide campaign to gather the number of signatures necessary to qualify the measure for the November 2016 statewide ballot.

CCR tried to get a Community Rights measure on the 2014 statewide ballot, but legal challenges by corporations opposed to the measure succeeded in delaying the signature-gathering phase of the effort until it was too late. This time, CCR has started work early enough that they will have a better shot at getting the measure on the ballot and passing it.

Efforts to pass Community Rights Initiatives are also ongoing in New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.

Corruption, Democracy, Ethics

Petitions Ask Legislators to Revert “McInnis Canyons” Back to “Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area”

by Anne Landman • July 3, 2015 • 2 Comments

Mesa County Commissioner and former House Rep. Scott McInnis got a national conservation area named after himself in violation of a federal House Rule that specifically prohibits Congressmen from naming public works and lands after themselves. The name-change legislation was introduced and passed without input from Coloradans.

Citizens for a Better Grand Junction on July 2 submitted petitions containing hundreds of names to House Representative Scott Tipton and Senator Michael Bennet asking them to introduce legislation to revert “McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area” back to its original name, “Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area.”

The petitions cite many reasons for reverting the name: The 2004 change to “McInnis Canyons” was not sought by anyone in Colorado. Rather, legislation to change the name was introduced by Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, and the only other sponsor was Rep. Richard Pombo of California. The bill was introduced and passed without input or discussion from Coloradans, and, even more egregiously, without any input from members of the committee who worked long and hard to make the area into a National Conservation Area. The name change also violated House Rule XXI, Clause 6 (pdf, at page 35), which specifically prohibits members of Congress from naming public works or lands after themselves. This rule was put in place to eliminate corruption and back-room deals involving stoking Congress members’ egos by naming public works after themselves.

Former Congressman Scott McInnis won a race for Mesa County Commissioner in November, 2014, even though his campaign broke several rules, including illegally posting campaign signs on power poles without permission and standing on city medians in violation of City Ordinance 9.04.250, “Prohibition against standing on or occupying medians.”

The petition also cites how former Rep. McInnis’ reputation was tarnished in 2010 by charges that he plagiarized essays he was hired to write about water law for a nonprofit foundation. The scandal forced him to quit the race for Colorado governor, apologize to the public and refund the $300,000 the Hasan Foundation had paid him to write the essays. McInnis was further charged with plagiarizing a 1994 column he wrote for the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News. McInnis admitted in both cases that he had relied upon others for materials rather than creating them himself. A congressman thus tainted is undeserving of having anything named after him, the signers say.

Moreover, renaming a national conservation area after a human being breaks with longstanding U.S. tradition. National conservations areas have never been named after people, but only after the geographic features they contain that make them significant.

“For all of these reasons,” the petition states, “we urge our current federal officials to revert McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area back to its original name, ‘Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area.’ Doing so will right a wrong done to our state’s citizens without our knowledge, restore our state’s integrity and assure the conservation area’s name confers honors not just on one individual, but on the entire beautiful state of Colorado.”

Democracy, Ethnic/Minority, Fake patriotism, Hate, politics, Pop culture, Propaganda, Stupid Republicans

Welcome to Mesa County, Colorado

by Anne Landman • May 28, 2015 • 0 Comments

This truck provides an example of the angry, fearful and likely racist sociopolitical world view possessed by many conservative residents of western Colorado.

Democracy, Equal rights, Human rights, LGBT issues, Pop culture, Women

G.J.’s 3rd Annual Gay Pride Parade Bigger and Better Than Ever

by Anne Landman • May 17, 2015 • 0 Comments

ONE BIG PARTY — Grand Junction’s 3rd Annual Gay Pride Parade, Sunday, May 17, 2015

Grand Junction’s Third Annual Colorado West Pride Parade was more impressive than ever this year, with more sponsors and floats than in previous years, and a bigger crowd of spectators on Main Street. The weather was perfect for the event, with a temperature in the 70s, intermittent cloud cover, just a faint breeze and no rain.

Historic First: Montrose, CO Atheists Protest “National Day of Prayer”

by Anne Landman • May 8, 2015 • 0 Comments

Smiling atheists protest National Day of Prayer in Centennial Plaza, adjacent to Montrose City Hall, while religious people hold hands and bow their heads in prayer in the background.

For the first time in history, secular citizens in Montrose, Colorado turned out to protest the town’s “National Day of Prayer” event.

Each year, Montrose holds a public prayer event to commemorate the “National Day of Prayer.” This year’s event was at 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Centennial Plaza at South First Street and Uncompahgre Ave. The plaza is adjacent to the Montrose City Hall.

As people gathered in circles to hold hands, bow their heads and pray to a god or gods, secular citizens sat peacefully nearby, holding signs that said,

Do you believe:

A snake talked?

A bit of fruit conferred knowledge?

Disease is caused by demons?

Witches exist among us?

God watches you, even in your bedroom?

Then you don’t have a case for calling Atheists “strange!”

and

If prayer actually worked, then

NO ONE would die of cancer

POLITICIANS would get wisdom

WORLD PEACE would come

Reason works, magic doesn’t!

and

There is no GOD in the Constitution. Thank you Washington, Madison, Jefferson and Franklin

Refreshing Sign in Grand Junction

by Anne Landman • May 8, 2015 • 0 Comments

The above sign is posted on the Loncheria Rubi, a food truck selling home-made Mexican fare located next to Sprouts Farmers Market on I-70 Business Loop in Grand Junction. It is a refreshing change from the harsher, nastier signs displayed by some other local businesses, like Alida’s on Main Street and NiteLife Billiards on North Ave. (“I Built This Business Kiss My Ass Obama”), in which business owners state their belief that they built their businesses without any assistance from government-funded infrastructure, like roads, ports or bridges, power and drainage systems, or institutions like public schools or universities.

Paul Liebe’s family-unfriendly banner outside his business, NiteLife Billiards, on North Ave.

Democracy, politics, Stupid Republicans

Colorado State Senator Ray Scott: Class Clown

by Anne Landman • May 5, 2015 • 0 Comments

In 2011, Republican State Senator Ray Scott, at the time a freshman in the Colorado House, wrote a funny newsletter for his colleagues he called “Lessons I’ve Learned,” in which he explained what he had learned during his time in the legislature. Among the items Scott wrote,

“Never be in the chamber until after the Pledge.”

and…

“Committees are for spending time in the hall, texting or catching up with family.”

The newsletter earned him the title “Class Clown.”

Democracy, Ethics, Human rights

Judge Finds Blagg Juror in Contempt

by Anne Landman • April 29, 2015 • 5 Comments

Judge Jane Tidball

Retired District Court Judge Jane Tidball today ruled that the juror accused of misconduct in the Michael Blagg murder case was in fact in contempt of court. Judge Tidball cited legal documents she believed indicated the juror was knowingly exposed to domestic abuse decades ago. The judge further stated that, beyond reasonable doubt, the juror had opportunities “to revise or elaborate” about her experience with domestic abuse, but that she “willfully failed to answer fully the questions on the questionnaire” in the Blagg case. She concluded the juror had “offended the dignity of the Court” and ruled her in contempt.

Judge Tidball set a sentencing hearing for June 26. The juror can potentially be ordered to spend up to six months in jail, and the Mesa County District Attorney is attempting to extract tens of thousands of dollars in fines from the juror, seeking to have her pay the costs of Blagg’s trial, including expert witness fees, hotel and meal expenses.

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