TWO MOUNTAIN STATES

El Cabrero apologizes once again for irregular postings. I’ve been hit by several weeks of phone/internet problems at home followed by connection issues on the road in Vermont. Goat Rope will run when possible over the next few days and will resume its regular 6 day schedule (Verizon willing) on Monday.

Thanks also for all the messages and emails about the triathlon. Let me know if you hear of any good deals on new hamstring muscles. I'm in the market for one...

COMPARE AND CONTRAST. Every time I travel to Vermont, I’m struck by the similarities and differences between that state and West Virginia. Both states are rural and mountainous, but Vermont had the good fortune not to have been dominated for over 100 years by a colonial economy based on mineral extraction.

As a result (aside from summer and winter people), Vermont is pretty much owned and controlled by Vermonters. And Vermont really is "open for business," especially for locally owned small businesses and farms. It's pretty much sprawl-free too.

To borrow from Tolkien, whenever I come here, I feel like I'm visiting the Shire, home of happy hobbits. West Virginia feels more like an embattled outpost threatened by one Dark Lord or another. But we have managed to win a few.

UTAH. My thoughts this week have been focused on the trapped miners and their families in Utah. That's an all-too-familiar story. The AP reports that safety reforms enacted in the wake of the Sago disaster were too late in coming to have helped in that situation.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED