Well, today’s post is a bit off topic (and a bit old), but since it’s my blog I guess that’s OK.

I’m sure many of you know about all of the Network Neturality talk that’s been going around for the last several months. If you don’t, you should research it, it’s important.

In response to the Net Neutrality legislation that appeared before Congress in May of this year Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, sponsored a bill requesting more study be done by the FCC on the potential abuses of Net Neutrality. In a Senate Commerce Committee on June 28, 2006, Senator Stevens discussed his views on the Internet and it’s potential uses. If you haven’t heard Senator Stevens oration you should listen to the mp3, it’s enlightening to say the least. No wonder he want’s more study done - he obviously doesn’t understand how the Internet workw.

Here are some excerpts from his speech:

“I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the internet commercially.

So you want to talk about the consumer? Let’s talk about you and me. We use this internet to communicate and we aren’t using it for commercial purposes.”

“They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a truck.

It’s a series of tubes.

And if you don’t understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.”

He also tirades about services that are going to allow movies to be downloaded and how that commercial use is going to clog up the Internet and hurt the consumer. Never mind the fact that communication across the Internet is often a commercial use. Never mind that many of us buy products from Amazon and Ebay as a commercial use. This 37 year veteran Senator and Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee obviously can’t even identify commerce when he sees it.

Now there are many posts in blogs and podcasts around the Internet makeing fun of Senator Stevens’ buffonary. That is not my intent here. Instead, I want to criticize the voters of the state of Alaska for sending this man to the Senate term after term and for his fellow congressmen for allowing him to chair a committe which he obviously has no business even being on.

When we go to the polls this August and November please think about Senator Stevens. Experience does not automatically make a good elected official. Any representative of the people should have the capability and willingness to change with the world we live in and understand current concepts and events. If this is not possible a new person should be elected.

As part of the upcoming election process I would like to come up with some questionnaire for our elected officials. I would encourage anyone visiting the site to leave comments about the major issues we face in Northern Colorado and what we expect out of our federal, state, county and local elected officials and specific questions you, our readers, would like to have answered by candidates for office.

Once we have a good list of questions I will post them here and email them to the appropriate candidates to see if we can get some dialog going.

Ault citizens have started circulating a petition to recall Mayor James Fladung. Fladung was arrested April 30 on charges of assault, domestic violence and child abuse, which he subsequently plead guilty to. There have also been additional allegations of excessive alcohol consumption, some conflicting with civic activities. Fladung refused the Ault City Council’s request that he resign.

As part of the report yesterday on City Council expenditures, the Greeley Tribune article noted that

Councilman Ed Phillipsen does not use e-mail and has no charges for the Internet.

It’s interesting that the City’s website lists an email address for him. I wonder who reads the email sent to that address? I also wonder how someone that doesn’t use email ended up on our city council.

The tribune wrote an opinion this week grading Weld County Legislators.

Jim Riesberg - Democrat - gets an A+ for creating the most new laws. Woo Hoo, at least he’s doing something (I guess) - but quantity doesn’t equal quality.

Dale Hall and Dave Owen both get Bs. Apparently they weren’t as busy as Riesberg

Finally Kevin Lundberg gets s a B- for supporting Home Schoolers, Military Personell and Medicaid reform.

The best part of the article is the comments on upcoming bills.

The writer gives the Colorado Domestic Partnership Benefits and Responsibilities Act a B because

While some advocates for gay rights hoped for a more wide-ranging bill or marriage legislation, this bill is still an important step in giving gay and lesbian couples the domestic rights.

The Tribune must be an advocate for gay rights.

The Smoking Ban got an A+.

Legislatuire got an F for not passing two bills to increase the ability for victims of childhood sexual assault to take their assailants to court. Victims currently have until they are 28 to report the crime and an additional six years to sue in civil court. Why do we need to extend this?

Finally, the Trib gave our elected officials an F for not passing a primary seat belt law. Interesting that a few years ago the Greeley voters reversed the same law locally. Seems that the Tribune’s opinion writers might want to get a little more in touch with their readership.

For those interested, the Tribune has a nice list of upcoming town board/city council meetings and agendas for many local communities.

Not long after hearing the news about the Ault mayor and his arrest, I happend to tune in to a Denver news program and catch this story about the Fort Lupton Mayor. It appears that a probate court incorrectly sent $7500 to Jim Bostick, mayor of Ft. Lupton and local funeral home director. The money was from the savings account of a young Marine killed in a car accident. Bostick conceded while on camera with a reporter that the funds should be returned to the decedent’s mother, but appearantly has not complied.

This type of behavior is inexcusable from an elected official. Not only has Bostick been accused of this action, the soldier’s family took the matter to civil court where a judge decided in their favor. The city of Fort Lupton needs to unite and remove this individual from his Mayor and City Council positions.

Ault Mayor, James Fladung was arrested on Saturday, and this isn’t the first time the police have been out to see him. Looks like there will be a local government shake up.

Marilyn Musgrave has raised over a million dollars in campaign funds. My thoughts on this were summarized perfectly by a commenter on the Tribune’s site.

I feel that our government is for sale when I see how much money is wasted in campaigning. We need lobbying and campaign reform. No honest person could succeed in the current system with the amount of money they need. This system bodes horribly for individuals without deep pocketbooks (you know, most of us). As Dillon said, “everything is broken”.

Why is it that a local representative needs a million dollars to plaster signs all over the place and run TV ads? Why can’t we just have some public debates and speeches where each candidate voices their views? The campaigns both for and against Musgrave in the last two elections have amounted to little more than flag waving (by Musgrave) and mudslinging (by her opponents). There was little discussion about any issues.

I watched Musgrave debate Stan Matsunaka on the UNC campus prior to her first successful election. She did little more than pander to everyone’s fear about terrorism and spout her dedication to the troops in the Middle East (which, if I remember correctly, included her son). To me she didn’t even come across as intelligent. Fortunately, Northern Colorado residents were concerned their homes woudl be blown up by terrorists, and Stan Matsunaka was ridiculously liberal, so she was elected.

Hopefully this year’s election will actually focus on actual issues. At least immigration has an impact in Greeley…

Republican Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave and challenger Angie Paccione have some competition from an independent candidate. Fort Collins businessman Eric Eidsness is challenging Musgrave as a Reform Party Candidate.

Labeling himself as a traditional conservative, Eidsness supports reduced spending, withdrawl of troops from Iraq and strict immigration policy. While I believe his chances are slim against a republican darling like Musgrave, it is good to see someone that may run that isn’t just about flag waving. In the previous two elections, Musgrave has run on a fear based anti-terrorism platform. She probably wouldn’t have won if the local democrats could have fielded a better candidate than ultra-conservative Stan Matsunaka. With two viable candidates like Paccione and Eidsness, Musgrave’s re-election campaign should be interesting.