Editorial
Mark Beckner: Outstanding
Mar 30th
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner retires today. He held the job longer than anyone. He worked for BPD for over a 1/4 century. He is educated, smart , thoughtful and epitomizes a modern day chief of Police. We were lucky to have him.
BEST POLICE CHIEF BOULDER HAS EVER HAD
As a TV talk show host and personality Mark Beckners’ police department always treated me fairly even when the majority of the Boulder city council and mayor wanted my head. Beckner would not budge and protected my right to free speech both on TV and in this column. On multiple occasions he backed a free press here in Boulder. Boulder has been a place where my brand of talk was able to flourish because of the Boulder Police department and in spite of prevailing “nanny nation politics” of the 2000 -2007 Boulder council. Boulder police also worked with me and us here at Boulder channel 1 to ensure the safety of our staff from crazed fans of a multitude of colors. Boulder should appreciate just what a great chief Mark Beckner was. I did not always agreed with him and voiced my disapproval at times and he was nothing but professional and courteous to me when I did not deserve it.
MARK BECKNER DID SOLVE THE RAMSEY CASE AND HE IS A HERO
The Ramsey case had blown up in 1999. Commander John Eller had been removed as the lead investigator .. The DA Alex Hunter and Eller were fighting. ” Can you imagine having someone like Eller leading this murder investigation” Hunter once told me. The DA’s office had blown up too. Hunter had just fired Trip Demuth for publicly going with the intruder theory. “Intruder my ass” Hunter said. ” What’s going to happen when Burke Ramsey comes of age and want to tell the story?”
Then Police Chief Tom Koby assigned Commander Mark Beckner to head up the investigation. And that he did. Quietly and diligently Beckner and his detectives went through the entire case and came up with one conclusion.
That Patsy Ramsey had murdered 6 year old JonBenet Ramsey Christmas night when Patsy was high and drunk. Patsy grabbed Jonbenet and smashed her head into the bathtub after Jonbenet had wet herself. The rest of the night was spent covering up the crime with her husband John by concocting an elaborate horrific crime scene. Then Police chief Tom Koby told me: “What appears to have happened is generally what has happened in cases like this and only the facts prove that out”.
Mark Beckner became a hero when he followed the facts, the case evidence and put a bullet proof murder case together for the Grand Jury. Alex Hunter refused to indite John and Patsy because he ” wanted Burke Ramseys’ testimony”.
Well, now Mark Beckner is retiring and Alex Hunter is dying from Cancer in Hawaii. I fully expect that current DA Stan Garnett will drop a bomb shell on the Ramsey case by arresting John Ramsey for the murder and indict Burke Ramsey for covering up little JonBenets murder. ( lets just hope he does not mysteriously die before then)
Garnett is clearing all of the murder cases his office has and JonBenet Ramsey is next.
We have not seen the last of Mark Beckner, either. He may say he wants to teach or umpire baseball. But he will be back to finish that case I assure you. Look for him to be a paid consultant during the trial. Look too for the trial of the century to take place here in Boulder and look for a conviction. I will also predict that after that Stan Garnett will become out next attorney general and Mark Beckner will be heralded as the detective who solved the Ramsey case.
from
idyllic Boulder Colorado
Jann Scott
Vote Obama – Government Oversight Critical By Scott Hatfield
Oct 31st
By Scott Hatfield
With serious differences on corporate and government accountability and the concentration of wealth and power at the very top, folks should be feeling compelled to vote for Obama. Here in Boulder, most people will vote and vote democratic. However, there are some compelling reasons to vote for Obama if you are a Green, moderate Republican, unmotivated, or middle of the road.
With Ruth Bader Ginsburg planning to retire in 2015, her replacement by a far right corporatist would have serious consequences for decades on a wide variety of issues. Whether it is a woman’s right to choose, global warming, campaign finance, toxic waste, voter intimidation and suppression, public lands extraction, public health, or civil liberties, cementing right wing control would be a blow to the rights of all Americans. With the appointments of Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayer, the President has shown appropriate and reasonable judgment.
Government oversight and regulation of large powerful corporations plays a critical role in protecting the safety of the American people. For a wide variety of issues, the Republicans keep repeating that regulations are the problem. We need to act to prevent a corporate free for all. The top issue on regulations has been health care reform. Privatizing Medicare through a voucher system while removing oversight would raise premiums while unleashing corporate profits at the expense of the sick and wounded. Health care needs to be about healing people rather than absolving accountability for the powerful. The argument against Obamacare is the same as the argument against oversight of toxic material. With cancer overtaking heart disease as the nation’s top killer, the purpose of collusion between these disparate but connected industries reflects a self perpetuating cycle of disease as a top priority, not safety in the homeland. A lack of regard for corporate accountability pervades the Romney agenda across the board on environmental issues so important to Boulder and the quality of life everywhere be it water (#1 in CO), CO2, endangered species, public lands extraction, exploding chemical plants, or wilderness.
Most of the stated opposition to corporate accountability boils down to the economic burden on the rich and powerful corporate elite. This is especially glaring in the financial and economic sectors. For Romney, it is not a matter of the economy; it is a matter of whose economy. Republicans are all too happy to see larger and larger proportions of Americans living in poverty and despair. Again a complete lack of accountability is the mantra for the financial sector abuses that got us into this economic quagmire in the first place. Meaningful reform will not occur without oversight. Too many people have lost their homes, retirement funds, and jobs. The Wall Street giants have made their intentions clear. A regulatory regime on these bloated bankers is critical for an economy that provides a level playing field. We need a financial system capable of promoting the interests of a majority of Americans, not just those at the top. “Drill, baby, drill!’ will not get us out of the mess that Wall Street created, just ask the Frankenstorm Sandy.
Across the board, replacing any meaningful policy analysis with sound bites about burdensome regulations on large corporations will not solve our nation’s problems. If you want to get out of a hole, stop digging. While fighting multiple wars abroad under the guise of keeping the American people safe, the serious erosion of corporate responsibility at home on issues such as health care, toxic exposure and the environment, and the financial sector will do more to damage homeland safety than enemies abroad could ever hope for.
Scott Hatfield has been a member of the Central Committee of the Colorado Democratic Party and the Executive Committee of the Boulder Democratic Party since 1996.