The latest transient-involved stabbing, and more

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

See the brief story in the Daily Camera: Boulder police: Man stabbed near Eben G. Fine campsite. My online comment is copied below:

Bear this in mind, the transient-involved violent crimes which get reported in the Daily Camera are only the tip of the iceberg.

I was talking with a couple of homeless victims yesterday of violence along Boulder Creek Path in recent months — the perps were transients, of course, and are still on the loose. One victim has fractures of both cervical and lumbar vertebrae, the other has about twenty (20) staples in his scalp.

Remember, a few years ago, it was Jim Budd who suggested that Eben G. Fine Park should be designated for homeless campers. I guess Mr. Budd never gave any thought to how to keep transients from attacking each other. 

Enter at your own risk.

Maybe I should be worried about hantavirus, because rodents (both mice and voles) are all around my campsite. It might even be the illness I suffered back at the beginning of October, 2014. Another source on the Internet states that hantavirus infection has a 38% mortality rate, but In my case it never progressed to affecting my lungs, if that’s what it was. The other symptoms are pretty general, and it was probably just a bout with intestinal flu, albeit a very serious one. I called it my near-death experience on this blog.

Another advantage of a Tiny House would be the ease of keeping rodents OUT, but it doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me. Still, camping outdoors is better than being in any homeless shelter, where diseases of all kinds are also being spread — by two-legged vermin.

Tonight at my campsite: A 1.75L jug of rotgut vodka and a case of cheap beer. Or maybe NOT.

[WhodunitCare] update, fake service dogs, and more

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

Want to know how the Affordable Care Act is working? Let me tell you about a transient I met in north Boulder not too long ago, who has terminal cancer; inoperable because it’s on both the side of his face and behind his nasal passages, too. Because he lacks a permanent address, he can’t receive visits from a hospice caregiver. Nor will [WhodunitCare] pay for inpatient hospice care for this man, who has a couple of months to live. He showed me the feeding tube inserted in his stomach, but I don’t think he can eat a McDonald’s double cheeseburger through it.

[WhodunitCare] has NEVER been about improving either the availability or the quality of health care. Instead, it’s an unholy alliance between government bureaucrats lusting for more power and private insurers lusting for more profits.

It’s a scam . . .

At this point, it ought to be clear to everybody that fixing our dysfunctional health care system on the one hand and supporting President Obama no matter what on the other are mutually exclusive goals.

Indeed, the majority of people polled continue to oppose [WhodunitCare]. See the RealClearPolitics polling results.

As I arrived at Norlin Library this morning, library staff and a CU police officer were having a heart-to-heart discussion with a transient, who was with a dog as he sat at one of the public access computer stations. I couldn’t overhear their conversation, but the situation brought to my mind the fact that the great majority of transients with dogs here in Boulder, CO — which they claim are service animals — are lying. They do this in order that their untrained and ill-mannered pets can accompany them wherever they go.

It’s another scam . . .

Read this article from The New Yorker: How to Take Your Pet Everywhere.

See this report in the Daily Camera: Boulder Community Health puts 8-acre Broadway campus up for sale. My online comment is copied below:

Look for Bridge House, led by Isabel McDevitt and George Epp, to try to acquire this facility in order to expand services offered to transients from Denver and elsewhere.

Great news, and another setback for the phony homeless advocates, from the Denver Post: Proposed Right to Rest Act for Colorado homeless dies in committee. My comment to the Daily Camera website follows:

No surprise that the bums and their apologists/enablers behaved like spoiled brats.

These people are their own worst enemies — and they can’t win for losing. I take great satisfaction in this; it means that the public and our elected leaders are seeing through the [Rob] Smoke screen . . .

Two (2) more nights left for pampering Denver bums at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, then the emergency overnight dorms are closed until October 15th. YIPPEE!

Another great comment from the Daily Camera website, and more

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

This comment by “InsideBBubble” is also copied from Worried about local control, Boulder to oppose homeless ‘right to rest’ act:

I think if we really thought about it, we’d all admit that the shelter was just a scam on Boulder by the county. They needed a shelter. They knew every community would object. They knew Boulder is too sanctimonious and could never say no. Now they’re all laughing at us. Schadenfreude. As in “You want these problems Boulder? You think you’re so much better than we are? Here you go.” And they ship a few more dozen.

Besides them being shipped here from other states when they get out of jail or become too much of a nuisance in places like San Francisco (which is giving them bus tickets to Boulder) since the 1960’s Boulder has been known as “freak haven”. The STP gang left New York and came to Boulder to deal drugs and live on the creek. There are a lot of gangs that call themselves “hippie tribes” that make Boulder a stop because of our awesome homeless services. All of these gangs have their own message boards and word of mouth. They know where to go. Talk to them sometime. They’ve asked me for directions when I’m walking down Pearl. “Hey…where is 5th. I heard there is a park there we can sleep at”. They have been coming to Boulder every spring and summer for decades now. They aren’t homeless. They aren’t in need. Scamming the system, robbing is their thing. They don’t need mental assistance. They’re a gang plain and simple and we’ve been providing them with economic support for decades under the guise of helping the homeless. If the gang were Latino, we would have had a task force and put out the message their behavior would not be tolerated. But because they are white and dirty we think they are hippies and harmless and help them out.

Unfortunately, Rob Smoke and Joy Redstone and the people running Bridge House and the shelter don’t want to make distinctions between itinerant travelers bumming around the country and people from the community that need help. For Rob and Joy, people being assaulted, raped, stabbed and robbed is fine because they look at this community the same way the Rainbow Family does. We’re just suckers to be bilked. If a few of us suffer life altering physical abuse they don’t care because in their eyes somehow we deserve it. We didn’t do enough. We’ve got a home. We’re selfish. There is no balance with those people.

So they’ll keep coming, ruining our town and our quality of life every spring. For some of their victims it won’t stop at quality of life, but life itself. And Joy Redstone will keep screaming how selfish we are.

Remember what has actually gone on in the past with these “homeless advocates”:

Joy and convicted rapist Jim Budd in happier times.

Here’s an exceedingly ignorant letter-to-the-editor of the DC from a Boulder do-gooder. My online comment is copied below:

In over seven years of living here in Boulder, CO and its environs, I’ve only had one negative encounter with a police officer (Sam Carter), and that was promptly resolved to my satisfaction by Boulder PD’s Professional Standards Unit (because then-Officer Carter was outside the city’s jurisdiction when he confronted me, and he also misinterpreted a citizen’s call to “check welfare” as a complaint).

I’ve had many, many friendly interactions with law enforcement officers from Boulder PD, Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, and Colorado State Patrol.

By contrast, the worst-behaved transients are constantly a thorn in my side: Stealing food and camping gear, behaving in a drunk and disorderly manner and making other homeless people (including me) look like bums, fighting, doing drugs in public, littering (sometimes, the bums even steal the trash bag I leave for their use in the 4900 block of N. Broadway, after dumping out the trash), etc.

What in blazes is a “right” to rest? I sleep outdoors precisely because the bums make it IMPOSSIBLE to rest inside any emergency overnight shelter: Snoring, flatulence, foot and body odor, loud and stupid conversations at all hours of the night, pacing around the dorms and going back and forth to the day room, etc.

These so-called homeless advocates are clueless!

I should be able to dry out my camping gear today; it’s smelling a little funky because of the recent rainfall.

That’s all for now, folks.

Man who ‘identifies’ as woman allowed to use women’s shower at Boulder Shelter, and more

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

I might never have heard about this story, if not for my friend “Sally” (not her real name). Yesterday morning I found her cleaning out her locker at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, and she stated emphatically that she was NEVER coming back to this facility at 4869 N. Broadway. I was quiet, and let her explain what happened. Apparently, some transgender-type with intact male genitalia is now permitted to shower upstairs in the women’s shower area, after 8AM when other homeless clients have left for the day. Sally said: “I’m NOT sharing a shower that’s been used by a man; if [he] has parts hanging down, [he] doesn’t belong in the women’s shower.” I agree with my friend — especially in view of the fact that a private room with private shower is already being provided for the frequent transgender clients at BSH. Otherwise, all those with male genitalia should be using the men’s shower, after 8AM if they’re that uncomfortable with sharing a shower with others who were born male. When I worked at the reStart overnight emergency shelter in KC, this is what we did (as well as letting the transgender-types sleep in the day room, rather than being assigned to a bunk in a gender-specific dorm).

I can’t imagine why this individual who upset Sally (and other women) is an exception to what common sense dictates. There have been transgender clients before who have gone through sex reassignment surgery, male to female, and they’ve been accepted as female by other women at BSH. That makes sense — because they now are female.

But “parts hanging down” is altogether different, and it seems very disrespectful to the women at BSH to permit this. Really, it seems like a boneheaded move by some idiot staff member, one which is inexplicable . . .

Here’s a great comment from the Daily Camera website by “boulderbest” following this article:

Guys-everyone has times in their life when they need a hand. But there is a huge difference between the homeless and the homefree that are targeting this town. If you don’t live downtown, I don’t think you get what it’s like-especially when the Rainbow Family starts moving through here.

Two years back there was a brand new Volvo station wagon with Maine plates on it parked in my neighborhood for a couple of weeks. The people weren’t camping in it, but they’d store gear in it and then come back at night to pick up there gear and go sleep in the yard of an office I live nearby. The woman that was with them would drink all day long on pearl street. The guys she was with were more mellow. But she was so loud. One night she was out here at 3 am screaming and yelling for over an hour arguing about which of the guys would be her sex partner that night. Me and several of my neighbors called the cops. While on the phone with the police I was trying to get the plate number on the car and the woman spit on me and yelled I was a fat bit** and why didn’t I get my husband out there so she could suck his c*** and show him what a real woman was. She yelled and screamed at my neighbor. Kept him from sleeping so he could get up and go to work in the morning.

When the cops showed up they knew her. They’d already given several warnings that day on the mall. They didn’t ticket her. The woman and her partners got their camping gear and went to go sleep in a nearby park. They stayed here several more weeks, bumming money and drinking downtown all day. They weren’t homeless. It’s just a lifestyle they pick up in the summer, bumming around.

It’s very very difficult to devote a few hours of time at 3 am on a weeknight to “homefree” problems. That kind of thing can throw off your sleeping pattern for weeks. And in the summer you can have several nights a week where you’re dealing with these issues. People like Joy Redstone and the people running Bridge House don’t care what impact their activities have on the community. There is no balance with them. It’s all or nothing. If every resident downtown doesn’t want to be a full time social worker devoting every sleeping and waking moment to the people being brought here, we’re selfish. We’ve had people with really deep mental problems dumped here for years terrorizing our neighborhood. Spitting on us, chasing us down the street. It’s terrifying. Our neighborhoods aren’t mental institutions. We don’t have the skills and resources to deal one of these people, much less the 40 or 50 that are here on any given night.

^^ Amen to that.

Every single one of these clowns who is running for re-election this Fall should be defeated:

Three Stooges X 3 (a.k.a. Boulder City Council)

Looks like the weather will be improving, beginning tomorrow: National Weather Service forecast. Tonight, I’ll just muddle through by reading a novel and snacking on unhealthy foods.

Tiny houses, NOT bedbug-infested human warehouses!

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

Only seven (7) more nights of pampering transients from Denver and elsewhere at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless — then we can enjoy public venues once again until the middle of October.

I don’t eat there, I don’t sleep there, and if BSH closed down its morning services from 6AM-8AM (available year-round) I’d arrange to shower and store my clean clothes elsewhere. Maybe it’s to the greater good that it does close its doors permanently; certainly, NOBODY who gets caught up in staying overnight and/or getting into a “transition” program at BSH is any the better for it.

What’s the alternative, you ask? Here’s a concept springing up in progressive cities all across America:

Tiny houses helping with homeless problem in U.S. — CBS News

Compare the estimated $5,000 cost of the tiny house pictured above with the $200,000+ price tag of a Housing First apartment at 1175 Lee Hill in Boulder, CO . . . We could already have housed ALL of the hundreds of homeless men and women on the streets here in tiny houses, instead of overpriced ghetto-style projects and emergency shelters.

Hand-in-hand with the tiny house concept should be prioritizing shelter/services for Boulder County’s own homeless people. Example of how this can be done: Haven for Hope in San Antonio, TX.

Hell, I’d build my own tiny survival shelter for about $100 — if I had somewhere to put it! See:

Tiny Coroplast House

Let’s face the ugly truth: Most do-gooders are really NOT interested in either “ending” or “addressing” homelessness, and they remain committed to the failed models we see in Boulder, CO (and elsewhere). This is especially true in the cases of the executive directors of BSH and Bridge House who make annual salaries of $90,000+ and $70,000+ respectively. I don’t know what the Head Cheese at Boulder Housing Partners makes, but it’s in the same ballpark.

That’s food for thought over the weekend. Have a good one!

1175 Lee Hill case manager ‘helps’ aggressive panhandling client at N. Broadway & U.S. 36

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

This is a TRUE tale — and further evidence that the Housing First program here in Boulder, CO is FUBAR.

Who knows what goes through the minds of Housing First program residents in their brand new apartments at 1175 Lee Hill (built at a cost of over $200,000 each)? Since this facility opened last Fall, however, I can report seeing two HF clients panhandling at the nearby corner of N. Broadway & U.S. 36. With all of the cash benefits and other social services they receive in addition to housing, you have to wonder why it’s still necessary for them to “fly a sign” as they’ve done for years previously.

The NEW 31-unit, $6 million plus Housing First project at 1175 Lee Hill in Boulder, CO

Please don’t misunderstand — this is no encroachment on me, because I gain all the support I need from passersby in an hour or two, on the days I choose to play the role of humble beggar. All that I ask from other panhandlers who wish to try their luck at this spot is to behave decently, and maintain the good will of everyone in the neighborhood as I strive to do, having lived there over seven years. Unfortunately, during that span of time there have been many Froot Loops on the corner at U.S. 36: Drunk Brian, Shouting Joe, Top Hat Hippie, at al.

Which brings us to the Native American woman who is the Housing First client I’m writing about today. (Or she was; I’m told by a source at 1175 Lee Hill that an eviction notice was recently posted on the door of her apartment). Yesterday around noon, I was eating my lunch and reading a book while sitting on the wall in front of the Mexican restaurant in the 4900 block of N. Broadway. She came along, said “Hi, Max” as she passed me, and headed out to the popular panhandling site. Within a short time, she began acting crazy . . . Trying to talk to EVERYONE who stopped for the red light, motorists and bicyclists alike, but even worse she stepped off of the concrete median into the roadway several times and held up cars after the traffic signal turned green; this is exactly what is meant by the term Aggressive Panhandling.

I yelled at her more than once, “GET OUT OF THE ROAD!”

Imagine my surprise when Housing First case manager Chris Byrne (I also obtained this name from my source mentioned above) parked his car in the bike lane next to the corner, and walked over to sit down on the median beside her. He spoke to her for about five minutes — during his first visit.

WTF?

He made a second visit to the corner a short time later, for another couple of minutes of conversation.

She continued to aggressively panhandle and behave like a nut after he left, so we can logically conclude that Mr. Chris Byrne had no problem with her disrespect for passersby and the neighborhood in general.

Again, WTF?

About 1:45PM, I’d had enough of her show and went out to take over the corner. I mentioned to her that I’d seen several aggressive panhandlers be confronted by Boulder County Sheriff’s Office deputies (the corner lies just outside Boulder city limits) after complaints from passersby, and advised her to be more careful about standing in the roadway and holding up traffic through a green light. This pisses people off, understandably so, and hurts “business” for all of us, humble beggars and Froot Loops alike.

I couldn’t smell any alcohol on her breath, but it seems to me that she is probably suffering from “Wet Brain” due to her years of drinking — which is, of course, how she qualified for the Housing First program to begin with.

BUT, WHO KNEW THAT “PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE CARE” IN THE CONTEXT OF THE HOUSING FIRST PROGRAM WOULD INCLUDE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY A CASE MANAGER, CHRIS BYRNE, IN HIS CLIENT’S MISBEHAVIOR IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD?

What led to the eviction notice mentioned above I don’t know, but it’s likely some transgression committed on the premises at 1175 Lee Hill.

Really, donors to all of Boulder’s homeless shelter/services providers need to reconsider what it is they’re actually supporting.

As to Mr. Chris Byrne? He should be fired immediately, notwithstanding that he is also a Deacon in the Catholic Church:

Another nonprofit failure, and more

 A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

Read the report from the Daily Camera: Boulder County sheriff: Elk put down following N. Foothills crash near Hygiene. My online comment to the DC website is copied below:

Here’s an instance where a freshly killed game animal might have been donated to a “soup kitchen” for the benefit of the poor among us.

However, despite the many nonprofits providing food to needy people here in Boulder County, I don’t think that any of them are capable of handling a whole elk — which is a lot more complicated than dealing with donated canned goods and bread/pastries.

Hard to understand, when you consider the millions of dollars these nonprofits take in every year . . . Hire a butcher to process the elk (or other large game animal) when the occasion arises!

Elk steaks

Read about what they do in Alaska. Once again, we can see that Colorado (and that includes Boulder County, of course) is not at all “progressive” despite the claims of its more arrogant residents.

BTW, I quit eating at any of the free food giveaway venues here in Boulder years ago, and instead buy my own food at King Soopers on Table Mesa. This is made possible by my generous supporters at the corner of N. Broadway & U.S. 36, to whom I’m very grateful. And, besides cash, I received another McDonald’s gift card yesterday — I do LOVE their double cheeseburgers!

Here’s something that Boulderites can point to with justifiable pride: With atomic clock at CU-Boulder, NIST sets new precision records, also in the DC. Reminds me of the second-most frequently asked question I hear from transients: “What time is it?”

As always, the bums’ most frequent query is, “Do you have a cigarette?”

That’s all for today, folks . . .

Bravo to CU students and administration, and more

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

See what happened on CU’s Norlin Quad at 4:20PM yesterday, 4/20/2015:

(Photo by Sarah Kuta, Daily Camera reporter)

I wonder what happened to Boulder, CO’s creepy old guys — Rob Smoke comes to mind — who liked to hang out and get stoned with youngsters at 4/20 celebrations in the past?

Rob Smoke, self-styled activist

Would I lie?* On May 1st at 8AM, with the closing of emergency overnight dorms until October 15th, special charter buses will arrive at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless to transport transients back to Denver for the summer. Please note that these buses are FREE:

A sack lunch consisting of two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a bottle of water will be provided to each bum making the journey.

Meme of the day:

Probably passed out somewhere in Denver, would be my guess . . .

I’m hoping for a peaceful summer in my north Boulder neighborhood, in the absence of knuckleheads who have no respect for themselves, no respect for others, and no respect for the community in which they live . . .

Tonight at my campsite: Corn chips and salsa.

*Well, yes, and not only on April Fools’ Day.

Cannabis-free 4/20, and more

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

See the story in the Daily Camera: After 3 years of 4/20 closures, CU’s Boulder campus open to public today.

Marijuana smoke rises from Norlin Quad during the 4/20 celebration at the University of Colorado on April 20, 2010. (Mark Leffingwell / Staff Photographer )

What a ridiculous photo to run on 4/20/2015! I walked across Norlin Quad to the library this morning shortly before 8AM — there were no geriatric hippies, unwashed transients from Denver and elsewhere looking to score FREE WEED, or troublemakers of any other kind. Only the portion of Norlin Quad nearest the library was roped off, but nobody was there to chase people away. GET IT THROUGH THE CANNABIS FOG IN YOUR HEAD: 4/20 PARTYING IS HISTORY AT THIS VENUE.

At my age, this is what I dream about: Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf. Of course, I’d be happy to share with someone like this:

Helle Thorning-Schmidt

I was able to spread all of my camping gear out to dry yesterday morning, and enjoyed a restful sleep last night. It was snowing when I got up at 5AM, but only a trace amount fell.

I enjoyed this novel over the weekend: Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs. As is my habit with all of the paperbacks I buy at King Soopers, I donated it to Boulder Shelter for the Homeless after I was done. There’s a scarcity of books at BSH these days, so if you want to donate a few please do so by following these directions.

Can you identify both actors and the movie from the photo below? It’s one of my favorite westerns:

Can you identify the make of revolver? Clue: It’s NOT a Colt. (Okay, you have to be a gun nut like me . . .)

Tonight at my campsite: deli-sliced turkey sandwiches, on white bread with Dijon mustard.

100,000 views from over 100 countries, and more

A LITTLE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, A LITTLE LESS ENABLING

By Max R. Weller

Since May, 2012 this blog is averaging almost 100 views per day. Not bad for a homeless guy who lives underneath a tarp in a field in north Boulder, CO for the past seven years.

Because the Daily Camera’s own website is screwing up Internet Explorer on the computer I’m using (the DC on Facebook is okay), I’ll post shelter info here for all of the pansies who aren’t prepared to endure a bit of rain and snow: Resources for the homeless in Boulder, CO.

More of why we can appreciate bums who flock to our fair city:

This is Boulder Colorado Facebook photo

Comment following photo by This is Boulder Colorado: This is at the west end of the Pearl Street mall, on the sidewalk between the Boulder Book Store and parking garage. Apparently the transients are living on the roof of the parking garage. When they’re done with their business they throw their condoms over on to the sidewalk. Boulder is weird for sure. Should we be happy they’re practicing safe sex?

Comment by me: I’ve found used condoms on the floor of the men’s shower area at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless; I suppose it’s a good thing that gay transients from Denver and elsewhere are practicing safe sex. 

Now we know what disaffected Fairview students are doing instead of taking mandatory tests. I wonder, will these spoiled brats be listing “bombmaking” on their résumés? See: Boulder police: Students tried to torch Fairview High School with Molotov cocktails to extend spring break from the Daily Camera.

Fairview High protesters: Future clients of Boulder’s homeless shelter/services industry. 

Although the ground is saturated after more than 24 hours of steady precipitation, I’m hoping my burrow will be comfortable enough to sleep in tonight. Regardless of that, it’s still much better the bedbug-infested shelter with its snoring, farting, hacking up phlegm, loud and stupid conversations at all hours during the night, etc.

Tonight at my campsite: Cap’n Crunch, perhaps?