Don’t buy into Bud’s drivel

To the editor,
Very shocked to read the Telegraph’s inclusion of the Budweiser “spin” hogwash from Crested Butte regarding the “Whatever USA” fiasco the beer company (if indeed drinkers of taste consider it to be beer … none I know do) slathered over many regional newspapers to attempt heading off the disaster which will continue to remain as a deeply divisive and categorically unrecommendable mistake in Tier Two Ski Resort Community Development.

Unlike “the vague rumble from chronic discontents” vs. “the overwhelming success and fun of the masses” picture the trumped-up piece paints, Crested Butte has been torn in two over the underhanded, deceptive, clandestine and money-losing facts of the event.

Blocks of the downtown section were fenced off for days, the street painted a hideous blue (to match their equally disgusting taste in bottling), a sand pit hauled in (for the cats, I guess), LA stages and lighting erected, locals banned from their own downtown, planeloads of imports and media unloaded without warning. It was a mess beyond description, straight out Hollywood, replete with the “tinsel stars.”

Don’t believe for a moment the beer company’s bending the berg over the proverbial barrel for marketing image has left the town intact or for the better. There have been recall petitions, accusations of payoff, overt coverup on the part of officials elected to preserve the flavor of “The Butte” and actions to legally plug the hole in the town charter dike to insure this never happens again. Hardly the whining of the “mid-term” NIMBYs the corporate-generated spin propaganda press release4 wanted the readers to think.

The event stunk … and left a stench even worse, one not soon to leave the nostrils of those who have spent a lifetime building “The Butte” from an abandoned coal mining town boarded up in the ’60s (when we skied it with a rope tow and a T-bar) to the nation’s “Number One Ski Town.”

Wisdom prevails there now as the actions are taken to get rid of this corporate marketing shenanigan menace once and for all. Admit to a burned public, residency and tourist base the mistake, make sure it never happens again, and move on.

I was shocked to see the Durango Telegraph put the Bud Light Dark Spin Slather into print. Twenty-six of us who have returned there every year for three decades to enjoy the fall colors there, recontact old friends and treat ourselves to what once was a discriminating, mature, healthy and intelligent community walked unsuspectingly into whatever “Whatever”  was supposed to be and immediately left … along with a long string of others. Resort communities which thwart mature, money-spending return/historic clientele end up like Cisco, Utah.

Bud Light’s “Whatever” marketing fiasco in Crested Butte was one of the most disgusting mistakes a reputable and established resort community could ever make. The only thing that made it  happen was complete and total secrecy, dismantling of all local democratic process and one hell of a lot of buy off, not unlike the national and state political scene, wouldn’t you say?

Bet your “Bud” it won’t be happening there again.

Besides, the stuff smells like rancid goat piss.
– Gary Duncan, via email

Editor’s note: Gary, don’t shoot the messenger. The brief of which you speak was from Allen Best’s weekly round-up of stories culled from newspapers throughout the Intermountain West. In this case, he was quoting an editorial (read: opinion) written by Mark Reaman, editor of the Crested Butte News. As for the comparison between Bud and rancid goat piss, we cannot comment, never having come in contact with rancid goat piss. Or any goat piss for that matter.

Vote now to help Hillary in 2016

To the editor,
If you look forward to and expect Hillary Clinton to win and be effective in 2016, you need to act now. She will need a Congress that’s interested in solving the challenges we face as a country. Please make a commitment to vote this November, also urge your friends and neighbors to VOTE.
– Richard Podlesnik, Durango

Beware the two faces of Gardner

To the editor,
An imposter is making television ads that will surely do damage to Cory Gardner’s record.

For instance, this perfect look-alike stands in front of wind turbines, claiming that he started the renewable energy revolution in Colorado. The real one would want it known that his legislation was crafted so that it had no funding mechanism and that he opposed the Renewable Energy Standard passed by the voters of Colorado.  If the imposter wins out, the Koch brothers would be very disappointed in the real Cory Gardner, in whom they have counted on so heavily to promote the Keystone Pipeline. And the real Cory, a devout climate science denier, would want it known that he had earned a 5 percent approval rating by the League of Conservation Voters.

In another instance, the imposter is promoting contraceptives for all. The real Cory would again want it known that he has been a rock solid supporter of both the state and national personhood amendments that would outlaw all forms of abortion and most methods of contraception, regardless of the circumstances. The real Cory would also want it known that he supported budgetary cut backs on nutritional assistance that severely impacted poor working mothers, either expecting or with small children. And the real Cory would point out that he voted against the Pay Check Fairness Act. He would also add that he had voted four times against DACA, one of President Obama’s efforts to slow immigrant deportations.

The real Cory would want it known that he voted for the government shutdown while Colorado sought government assistance with massive forest fires and a historic flood. And certainly not least, the real Cory would point to his repeated votes for the Ryan Budget, that is in all its  versions, the joy of the 1 percent and the dread of those who pay taxes on wages. 

 This is only a partial list of achievements that has allowed the real Cory to claim the position of 10th most extreme Right Wing member of the House of Representatives. Who would want to tarnish such a record? The imposter must be stopped!
– Chris and Patty Isensee, Durango

Morrissey makes financial sense

Dear Editor,
Our outgoing County Treasurer served us for 28 years. We must choose a successor wisely. As a financial professional, I looked for relevant experience and expertise and found them in only one of the candidates. Allison Morrissey’s experience includes positions of accountability and authority in Fortune 50 companies such as LyondellBasell and Microsoft. She has done bank auditing and advised clients on process improvement and revenue generation. Her education, an MBA and a BA in accounting, are required to monitor and manage increasingly complex county finances. Morrissey can help our county run more like a business. Let’s hire her.
– Martha Elbert, Durango n