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Today’s blacklisted American: Democrat politicians threaten local Aspen newspaper for its news coverage

The goal of Democrats everywhere
The goal of Democrats everywhere

Blacklists are back and the Democrats have got ’em: Because a bunch of local Aspen, Colorado, politicians dislike how the Aspen Times has been covering one story, they wrote a letter to that newspaper demanding it change its coverage and hire their preferred journalists or they would use their power to silence it.

From their letter, written to Robert Nutting, CEO of Ogden Newspapers which owns the Aspen Times:

Our faith in Ogden Newspapers is shattered and we are individually considering separate reactions as a result, including: directing our individual organizations to pull advertisements and notices from the paper; encouraging local businesses to do the same; refusing interviews with reporters at the Aspen Times; or calling for a community boycott of the paper.

To reinstate our trust in the Aspen Times, we would like to see clear action from Ogden Newspapers such as the following: reinstatement of Andrew Travers as the Editor in Chief; re-publication of Marolt’s June 10 column; a joint statement from Travers, Allison Pattillo, the publisher of the Times, and yourself, detailing the editorial freedom and standards of transparency that will be carried forward; and, public clarity about the settlement that was reached by Doronin’s lawsuit.


The subject of the dispute is somewhat complicated. The Aspen Times was only recently purchased by Odgen, a family-owned operation which appears to be mostly Republican in make-up. At the same time it is being sued by local businessman Vladislav Doronin for defamation because one of its articles suggested that he was working in league with Vladimir Putin. Travers was fired because the June 10th column discussed this lawsuit, after the new owners told the staff to refrain from any coverage of the story until the litigation was over.

This quote I think best summarizes the faction attacking the Aspen Times:

The letter-signers include all five county commissioners, the mayor and a former mayor, numerous city councilmen from Aspen, Snowmass and nearby Basalt, and the challenger to the Republican representative for the Congressional District that includes Aspen. Every single one is a Democrat, as are over 70% of Aspen residents.

For politicians to criticize a newspaper’s coverage is one thing. For them to use their positions of power in government to threaten that newspaper is quite another. It is not only a violation of the First Amendment, it is an totalitarian abuse of power that is fundamentally immoral.

That these politicians are all Democrats and the new owners of the newspaper are Republicans also suggests these goons want to destroy the newspaper not because of this particular story but because the newspaper might not be in their pocket. It might actually cover their actions honestly rather than covering up their bad behavior, as most leftists media outlets nationwide routinely do. Such reporting must be silenced!

This attempt at repression is also par for the course for today’s Democratic Party. If you do not kow-tow to its political will it will organize to silence and destroy you. Sadly, it is quite likely that the voters in Aspen will enthusiastically agree with this intolerant attempt at censorship. Ordinary Democrats no longer believe in free speech and open debate. Instead, they endorse blacklisting and oppression. And increasingly they do it with eagerness and glee.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

13 comments

  • Cotour

    Related it all is:

    ITS FUNNY, BUT NOT FUNNY (Copy and share with anyone with a pulse)

    What’s funny? The Leftist corporate media tech giant censors (D) can detect and tell when ANYONE might ask verboten questions say about the still experimental mRNA “Vaccine”. Or anything related to Hunter Biden who is indicated as being a bag man for his father, the president. But they are not apparently able to detect when some nut, when they be on the Left that clearly transmits that they are dangerous.

    And IMO that appears to be a long-term political agenda focused on attacking the existence of the Second Amendment in the furtherance of the now tyrannical Leftists (D) attempt at disarming America. Is it just me? (I will answer my own question: NO)

    And that being what it is you must also ask if those in control of the Leftist corporate tech media giants (D) are allowing these people to communicate on their platforms their violent intent and helping them in essence commit these murderous offences? Because that is exactly what this now continues to look like. They have the technical ability to at least detect these insane nuts and ban them from their platform just like they do with their political adversaries.

    They clearly choose to ban the one and allow the other. They (D) appear to be complicit to some degree or are not being as responsible as they claim to be like when they censor their political adversaries (R).

    “Police arrested Robert ‘Bobby’ Crimo III’, age 22, yesterday following the shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. Crimo killed six and injured over 20 more individuals at the 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. On Tuesday The Gateway Pundit uncovered information indicating Crimo is a radical progressive with ties to Antifa, progressive groups, and the occult.”

    https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FC45A8A6E-EB65-460A-80A1-4DA9F912C7A8-345×181.jpeg&t=1657052948&ymreqid=dc7face7-d905-7706-2f2c-5a0a99013c00&sig=dlofmr1KGst3myKKxD07MA–~D

  • pzatchok

    Fight the power!!!!

    Not much more than editorial writing can be done until the politicians actually try to wield their power.

    At that point a court case should be in the works against them.

  • sippin_bourbon

    Cotour

    A number of people are pouring over snippets of the shooter’s social media, and drawing their own conclusions. However, a person who knew him personally has come forward and said he was neither left nor right, just a “lost stoner”, and neither “maga” or “antifa” He gives some back ground.

    I believe I saw it linked on rantingly.

    It sounds like he maybe much like the idiot that shot Gabby Giffords. Not political, just mentally sick, lost and confused about how to live life.

  • Cotour

    Well, my conclusion is that none of this is by mistake, there is an agenda and there is a goal.

    There is clearly a difference between how the now clearly Leftist leaning media tech companies deal with the two. Its a choice and their choice has implications and maybe they need to suffer some degree of Lawyers, Courts and Money type of consequences.

  • David Telford

    Something to know. The Aspen Times several years back I believe canned a journalist for wrong thinking. He shortly thereafter won their journalist of the year award. He stayed in the area and stayed fired. Won the same award the following year. (I really should be more specific.) I hear him on the radio infrequently, and this is part of the get-to-know-you on who he is. Kinda shows priorities, a favored journalist and readership versus proper thinking (according to…)

  • David Telford

    Some years ago the Aspen Times fired their columnist Glenn Beaton. He subsequently won their journalist of the year award. He is still in the area and still not working for the Aspen Times. Funny thing, he won their journalist of the year award again. Shows you the contest at hand: satisfying readership versus The Party Line.

  • David Telford

    I seem unable to post to this article. I can to others.

  • Cotour

    That NYS / NYC “progressive” (D) no bail no jail let the violent criminals and gang members out of jail because of the color of their skin in an attempt to create “Equity” is really paying off really well.

    https://nypost.com/2022/07/05/shootings-soared-over-2022-holiday-weekend-compared-to-2021-nypd/

    The dividends are pouring in.

    And there are those who thought poorly of the experiment, how silly were they?

    (As the Left attempts to raze what is and was and insert their political ideological solutions, we all see just how dangerous they in fact are. Keep watching))

  • Cotour

    Oh, and I forgot to tell everyone the solution:

    1. End no bail no jail and give back to judges their discretion in all violent criminal cases.

    2. Reinstate Stop, Question and Frisk. And do it in a rational and fair manner (The police know who they need to interact with, and yes, many of them are primarily young men with a darker complexion. Is what it is the Liberals have 50 plus years invested in the destruction of the black family)

    3. Give police back their immunity in regard to them conducting their job.

    4. Arrest and jail for an appropriate time those who are violent and or mentally ill criminals.

    5. Continued training and equipping police in how they deal with the public and the violent criminals in society.

    These 5 steps go a tremendous way in stopping out all of the insanity that has been fostered by the extreme Left (D) “Progressives” who have through several avenues been able to take over our law and justice and political system.

    And that’s the facts. We all know it, it’s called common sense.

    ITS COMING. What remains to be seen is just how far the extreme ‘progressive” Democrats will go in order to retain and acquire their political power that they have abused? IMO everything up to and including murder, which I have stated many, many times and they continue to further buttress my conclusion.

  • David Telford: That journalist is the one who wrote the article I link to.

  • Cotour

    A friend responded to: ITS FUNNY, BUT NOT FUNNY

    Teresa: “Did you see this on Jordan Peterson” https://youtu.be/UYfKWQqvFac

    My response:

    “I was not aware of this controversy, thanks for the heads up.

    Twitter can tell if you use any word that THEY say is not acceptable within their “Progressive” parameter’s.

    But they are entirely unable to detect when some nut tweets and tweets his or her insanity and intentions, but they freely allow it.

    They want the insanity in order to further lock down freedom and to further the destruction of the Second Amendment.

    And who threw the monkey wrench into this Leftist agenda and machine of control? D.J. Trump.

    Hillary was to install and codify most of this beginning in 2016, and that is the primary reason why Trump is once again the greatest threat to this Socialist, no, Fascistic agenda of world population control and speech and behavior mandates.

    And that is why Trump sets their hair on fire. AND HE IS COMING BACK to finish what he began.

    Its coming.”

  • Jonathan

    “The subject of the dispute is somewhat complicated. The Aspen Times was only recently purchased by Odgen, a family-owned operation which appears to be mostly Republican in make-up. At the same time it is being sued by local businessman Vladislav Doronin for defamation because one of its articles suggested that he was working in league with Vladimir Putin. Travers was fired because the June 10th column discussed this lawsuit, after the new owners told the staff to refrain from any coverage of the story until the litigation was over.”

    It doesn’t sound complicated, and it doesn’t sound like the newspaper editors are on the right side of this. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, no? Sunlight has no political party, and both parties have bad actors. Are the published allegations against Vladislav Doronin factually false? What is their basis?

  • Star Bird

    Golee i though the Media was on the Democrats side

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