Sand Creek Massacre: News Miner 72
Silas Soule, river access, heat pumps, the KKK, school segregation, and more.
Remembering Silas Soule
I had never heard of Silas Soule (or I’d forgotten his name if ever I heard it). That’s a shame. I read Soule’s letter about the Sand Creek Massacre, to which he was an eye-witness, while at History Colorado’s exhibit on the atrocity. Complete Colorado has published my article on the topic. I quote from Soule’s disturbing letter, briefly review Soule’s background, then discuss his role in exposing the horrific crimes.
I conclude, “Soule actively resisted Chivington’s plans, did not participate in them, and later worked to expose the atrocities, knowing this put him at great personal risk. In the end, Soule lost his life for doing what was right. Whatever Soule’s faults, his courage puts him among Colorado’s great heroes.”
Read the entire piece.
Walcher on River Access
Greg Walcher offers some helpful background on Colorado water law:
[A] Colorado State Supreme Court ruling . . . has finally addressed decades of argument about whether one has the right to wade and fish in streams that flow across private property. . . .
[F]ederal law granted states joining the union the title to riverbeds in waterways that were “navigable” at the time of statehood. Streambeds that were not navigable were later given to the adjacent landowners.
That is the crux of this dispute, since [various cases are] based on the assertion that the state owns the riverbeds under the Arkansas, Taylor, Gunnison, South Platte, Poudre, Fryingpan and other rivers where there have been similar legal challenges. The question, therefore, comes down to a simple factual decision on whether that stream was navigable at the time of statehood (1876 in Colorado’s case), and therefore belongs to the state and not the landowner.
Several have further defined legal access, but Colorado has not. Utah allows floating, not wading, through private property, but also lets some landowners limit access. New Mexico grants public access to nearly all rivers, and Montana allows access not only in the river, but up to its high-water mark, allowing fishing from the bank on most streams. Arizona and California allow public access on “navigable” waters. The Colorado legislature has never enacted such laws, preferring case-by-case negotiations with stakeholders. . . .
In fact, Colorado has never asserted that any river in the state was navigable at the time of statehood.
The upshot is that, legally, access is a legislative matter. How the legislature should address such matters, I’m not sure.
Quick Takes
Heat Pumps: A joint Xcel/NREL study found (as Xcel summarizes): “Heat pumps will perform well at temperatures above 40 degrees F, but their performance degrades at lower levels. Most homes using heat pumps for heat would require additional backup heating, either gas-fired or resistance electric heating. Colorado’s altitude reduces heat pump performance by nearly 10% compared to heat pumps at sea level.” See also a related article in the Gazette.
Government-Funded PreK: Jenny Brundin: “While thousands of families are happy to receive 15 hours a week of free education for their young child, behind the scenes a provider described it as a ‘debacle.’”
Sales Taxes: I’m all for exempting feminine products and diapers from sales taxes. But why stop there? Let’s exempt all “necessities,” for starters.
Colorado KKK: Craig Silverman discusses Alan Prendergast’s new book and interviews the author.
School Segregation: There’s a new report out on “segregation” of Denver schools. This is a tricky term, as it applies both to legally mandated segregation and to de facto segregation due to social factors. Obviously here we’re talking about the latter. The problem of “zip-code shopping” for government schools is well known. By my lights, the basic problem is not that schools are substantially segregated, but that government-run schools that serve minorities and the less-advantaged typically suck badly. The study says, “All students in schools segregated by marginalized students had average lower achievement.” No shit. That doesn’t mean “segregation” per se caused the lower achievement; that’s more of a consequence of more fundamental problems. To address the related problems, government should improve schools in poorer neighborhoods, improve safety there, handle homelessness there, free the housing market everywhere, and generally make the city more attractive to middle-class families. Focusing on segregation, without addressing the underlying problems, will accomplish little.