Monied 'Burbs ( Learn more about this community type ) RSS 
Los Alamos, NM blog ( Learn about this community )
How are we doing?
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 08.28.2009 / 10:20 PM PDT
I haven’t written for awhile. I think about it occasionally, but what can I say? It feels like we have just been along for the ride over the past many months.
Last week I visited Richland, WA for a visit with people from “energy” communities from around the country to talk about technology transfer in our […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( no comments )
The tipping point
Posted by James Rickman | 03.15.2009 / 4:47 PM PDT
Three unrelated events this week might be the catalyst for American taxpayers to start seriously calling out the federal government’s “economic stimulus” hoax and demanding their pound of flesh from symbols of institutionalized greed like AIG, Big Banking and the morally bereft minions of Wall Street.
The first event was the ho-hum ending to the Bernard […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 1 comment )
Mixed messages
Posted by James Rickman | 02.10.2009 / 12:04 AM PST
I really want to believe President Barack Obama. I really want to believe in him, too. But like a child maturing past that innocent age of wonder, I’m starting to have my doubts.
It was fantastic to see President Obama’s press conference tonight. For the first time in years, I actually felt like our Commander in […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( no comments )
Bye, bye American pie
Posted by James Rickman | 02.04.2009 / 3:30 PM PST
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, represented the 50-year anniversary of “the day the music died,” when the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson, aka “The Big Bopper”, went down near Clear Lake, IA. The day also marked what seemed to be a plane wreck for President Barack Obama, as two more prospective cabinet […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 1 comment )
Hope floats
Posted by James Rickman | 01.19.2009 / 2:48 PM PST
It seems like everyone I know is hopped up on the euphoria of optimism these days as our nation draws nearer to a new era of hope with the inauguration of America’s first black president—a man who is as competent as he is charismatic and a refreshing contrast to the miasma of ineptitude that has […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( no comments )
Summing Up
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 11.09.2008 / 11:03 AM PST
The presidential election results in Los Alamos County mirrored those of the country in general with Obama getting 53% of the votes here. Turnout was very high — 10,695 of the roughly 13,000 registered voters. Early voting was also very popular. I took my 18 year-old son to the clerk’s office on Saturday (the last […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( no comments )
Good news, bad news for Obama?
Posted by James Rickman | 11.04.2008 / 9:13 AM PST
News that Sen. Barack Obama may be doing very well in Los Alamos came from an unlikely source this weekend. But such news could be a portent for nationwide defeat for Obama if local folklore holds true.
A friend working as a volunteer for the local Obama campaign happened to call our home this weekend for […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 3 comments )
Trick or Treat
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 11.01.2008 / 7:58 AM PDT
Our downtown was choked with people last night for our annual tradition of Trick or Treat on Mainstreet. There will be a crowd again tonight for the pumpkin glow and costume dance that closes out our Halloweekend festivities. Very little of presidential politics was on display. There were no Joe the Plumber scarecrows in the […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 1 comment )
Signs
Posted by James Rickman | 10.28.2008 / 8:23 AM PDT
The informal “yard-sign” poll here in Los Alamos seems to be favoring Obama with a slight lead.
These days I find myself riding my bike a lot. Sometimes for variety I cruise through new neighborhoods. I’m surprised this year to see what seems like a lot more yard signs for the presidential election than usual. Normally […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( no comments )
Spreading the Wealth
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 10.26.2008 / 10:04 AM PDT
Who can “spread the wealth” better? Is it Barrack Obama who would seem to want to “spread it” more evenly throughout the various strata of society or John McCain, who would seem to want to keep on “spreading” it pretty much in the same way as we have been doing for the last many years […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 1 comment )
Great, more distraction
Posted by James Rickman | 10.10.2008 / 11:10 PM PDT
Just as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has defined herself as Chief Mudslinger for the John McCain Presidential Campaign, a new report commissioned and accepted by a bipartisan Alaska legislative committee has found that Palin violated state ethics law by attempting to have her former brother-in-law fired from the Alaska State Police.
It’s an ironic twist for […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 4 comments )
Pure Political Instinct
Posted by James Rickman | 10.02.2008 / 8:20 AM PDT
Both presidential candidates showed this week that they differ very little when it comes to acting in accordance with basic political instinct.
For weeks we’ve been hearing doomful prophecies about the Woe and Armageddon that certainly will ensue if we taxpayers don’t cough up $700 billion to ensure a continuing opulent and irresponsible lifestyle for the […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 3 comments )
Play it Safe
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 09.28.2008 / 6:34 PM PDT
A large crowd turned out recently in nearby Espanola, NM for a rally to listen to Barack Obama. Huge lines snaked around many city blocks hours before the rally to form a crowd estimated to be nearly ten thousand people. I went to witness the event and to see for myself whether Obama measures up […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 2 comments )
Sister City Perspective
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 09.28.2008 / 5:20 PM PDT
I was fortunate to spend ten days in early September on a business exchange visit to Los Alamos’ sister city in Russia. Our sister city is a place called Sarov, a city of about 80,000 people located an overnight train ride east of Moscow. The histories of Los Alamos and Sarov share alot in common. Los Alamos was […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( no comments )
Drivers
Posted by Kevin Holsapple | 09.20.2008 / 12:05 PM PDT
My conversations about town this week have focused on what the key drivers may be here in Los Alamos for how people will decide to vote in the presidential election. Here is what I heard:
blind party loyalty - This is certainly a factor for large segments of both D’s and R’s. Nothing much that either candidate […]
Read entire blog entry | Comments ( 3 comments )
