January 31, 2007

Oil prices

I just read that there is good reason to believe record high oil prices may be due to our own strategic oil reserve, which the Bush administration may have been manipulating to drive up prices for the benefit of its clients. This is something Congress must investigate since there is plenty of preliminary evidence far too lengthy to go into in this letter. This manipulation goes far beyond corruption and is close to economic treason, because when oil prices increase America must pay more for its imported oil. That, in turn, increases the trade deficit and our foreign debt. Alternatively, one can think of price manipulation as the equivalent of a tax increase on American families that is paid to foreign governments, including Iran. While some small energy scandals are under investigation by Congress, the biggest is the strategic oil reserve, which may have been “strategically” manipulated to drive up oil prices. The key to understanding this manipulation is demand and supply and oil storage capacity. The market has been manipulated, involving Wall Street commodity speculation and the strategic reserve’s oil storage. The reason oil prices have been falling lately is that the market has finally run out of storage capacity, meaning oil produced must now be immediately sold. This indicates there has never been a supply shortage and if the administration hadn’t manipulated it like they did, oil prices might not have risen as they did. Now the administration is saying it’s going to double the size of strategic oil reserve from 700 million barrels to 1.5 billion barrels and will purchase 100,000 barrels of oil per day. Of course, the price of oil will jump again. Not only will there be an increase in oil, but they will also provide new storage capacity to re-corner the market. Congress must investigate this strategic oil reserve, how it has been managed and what its purpose is. The recently announced expansion serves no real national security function and will only drive up oil prices and add to the budget deficit and national debt. A recent IMF study reported that oil prices in the U.S. seem to be politically manipulated, falling prior to 2002, 2004 and 2006 elections.

Sharlene White
Colorado Springs

This letter has not been edited.

Posted by denver-admin at 01:36 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

The middle class
I often enjoy reading Vincent Carroll’s ON POINT columns because they give me something to refute. His latest, “The politics of envy,” (1/26) is no exception. Carroll claims that most middle class families are significantly better off now than they were in the 1970’s. He says that more families own homes, more kids go to college, and that median household incomes are much higher than they were in the 1970’s. Those statements seem to be true, however, they leave out a lot of pertinent data that indicate that middle class families of today aren’t really doing all that well. In his latest book,” The New Golden Age,” author Ravi Batra points out that data compiled by George Bush’s own economic advisers shows that nonmanagerial workers’ weekly real wage, which is the purchasing power of one’s salary, was $310 in 1978, but fell to $277 by 2005. I would also mention that many middle families now carry a monthly credit card debt of $6-8,000, if not higher. The concentration of wealth is also at an all time high, as Batra notes, with just one per cent of families owning more than 40% of the collective net worth.
Besides the fact that college tuitions have shot up greatly, many middle class students no longer go to their first or second choice colleges, they go to public institutions instead, because they cannot afford to do otherwise. Some public institutions are pretty good, but many lack updated facilities. Many families that used to have well paying manufacturing jobs lost them in the last twenty years. If they were able to get new jobs, these jobs often paid 30% less than what they were making. Add on higher gasoline prices, and rising health care costs, and I would say that the middle class is “taking it in the shorts.”

Robert H. Moulton III
Commerce City

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 01:35 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

ID program
Re: “Senators: Worker ID program needs fixing” published on January 23, 2007.
I am adamantly opposed to theBasic Pilot Employment Verification System, a systerm that would essentially create a governmentpermission slip to work for everyone, regardlessof their citizenship status. The basic pilot programhas the ability to dramatically infringe on the privacy of ordinary people. Ithas proven to be ineffective andinaccurate, containing errors on a full two percent of U.S. citizens and about 50% of the non-citizens who should be eligible to work. As a U.S. worker, I am appalled that I could be denied the right to work based on a faulty government database.
The thought of being required by the government to carry a high-tech ID card with both my Social Security card and Visa cards with biometric features reeks of Big Brother. I feel no safer and no more secure knowing the government has created a one stop shopping source for identity thieves. I would like to see some real comprehensive immigration reform, not quick fixes.

Crystal Middlestadt
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 01:31 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Iraq
You quoted an editorial (26Jan) gloating that ‘Wider insurgency is being..defeated. All that’s left is AlQuaeda.” This writer was happy that Baathists are fleeing the country.
Another way to put this fact “SECULAR Saddamit insurgents (who, we hoped, would sign a separate peace with US, have fled, leaving in control of Anbar, only the implacable AQ fanatics.” Reason to celebrate?
Such implacable optimism reminds me of MarkTwain’s cheerfully reconstructed memory of a fight he was in: “I thrust my nose firmly between his teeth and threw him to the ground on top of me !”

Dan Lyons
Fort Collins

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 01:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Prosecutors
Prosecutors gone wild Is it a disease? If so let us quarantine it now. A North Carolina D A hides evidence of innocence. A federal prosecutor gives immunity to a drug smuggler to testify against two border patrol agents. A federal special prosecutor indicts a guy for lying to federal agents about a crime that never existed and to which the prosecutor already knew the answer. These guys, Nifong, Sutton and Fitzgerald , do not deserve to be in positions of power. if I have ever seen prosecutorial abuse and hypocrisy as it is personifed by these three.

Robert Lipton
Lakewood

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 01:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tinted windows
I remember writing a letter to the editor a few months back (If only car windows, noise laws enforced! August 16 2006, page 32A), wondering why police don’t ticket the drivers of vehicles with tinted or blackened windows. I remember citing the “drive-by” shooting of a local sports figure as a good reason to begin enforcing this law.
Here we are, five short months later, and another “drive by” on another sports figure. By another car with tinted windows.
Tonight the police are looking for a vehicle invloved in another “drive by". It is described as having tinted windows.
I’m not saying that all people who choose to break the law by tinting their windows are breaking other laws, but since most of our violent crimes are committed by people driving vehicles with tinted windows, would it not seem prudent to begin our war on gangs by enforcing the law against tinted windows? In Colorado, folks might be surprised to learn that an “opaque or nontransparent or a metallic or mirrored appearance” to the front-seat windows is AGAINST THE LAW.* Please excuse me if I sound patronizing, but could we please enforce this law? I don’t know who decides which laws we enforce these days (it sure isn’t the citizens of Colorado), but maybe they could give folks a 30 or 60-day grace period, and then start ticketing people breaking this law. It would be inconvenient for some (you should have read the rules first, duh - http://www.municode.com/resources/gateway.asp?pid=10257&sid=6), but it would make us all feel safer. More importantly, it would be inconvenient for the parasites of society if they could no longer cower behind tinted windows.
Most importantly, it would be a start.

* - Sec. 54-76. Windshield and window obstructions.
(Code 1950, § 507.8; Ord. No. 697-82, § 1, 12-13-82) State law references: Windows unobstructed, C.R.S. 1973, 42-4-224.

Greg Fuller
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 01:16 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Cell phones
This letter is to the parents of the children featured in the “Readin’, Writin’ and Textin’” article in the Monday, January 22, 2007, Rocky Mountain News. Am I the only one who was struck by the fact that 6 out of 10 of these children openly admit that they ignore the school rule not to use a cell phone in class? Only two flatly said they did not; the other two waffled.
To the parents of the six children who admitted using their cell phone in class, congratulations! You have managed to raise children who have an utter disregard and disrespect for authority. I know, I know; your child’s safety is far more important than any silly school rule. After all, when someone else’s precious darling brings a gun to school, you want to be the first to know about it. But take heart, your child’s disrespect for you is probably exceeded by their disrespect for their teachers.

Linda Feher
Castle Rock

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 01:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Stress disorder
After reading the letter by Lee Vander Jagt ("Stress Disorder Used To Be Called Cowardice") concerning a young soldier suffering from his Iraq War experiences, I was struck by Mr. Vander Jagts’ equating combat stress with cowardice. As a former National Guard member who served in the safe 1980s, the closest exposure to ‘combat’ I ever had was listening to older Guardsmen, who were Vietnam veterans, reminisce about their war experiences, often in tears.
Mr. Vander Jagt made reference to General Sherman in his letter, which called to mind for me another famous general, General Patton, who had slapped a soldier who was suffering from PTSD-or “Battle Fatigue", as it was called-during WWII. Patton, too, was incensed at the soldier’s seeming “cowardice". Perhaps Mr. Vander Jagt is himself a combat veteran, who was able to endure the horrors of war. Unfortunately, not all soldiers who experience combat are able to withstand the trauma it entails. Does that make them “cowards"?
The soldier referred to in the letter was, in my opinion, courageous even to have joined the Army in a time of war, knowing that he would very likely experience Sherman’s “Hell” of battle-a choice he freely made, and a choice not given to the soldiers who were drafted to serve in WWII and Vietnam. I can’t say that I would have joined the military now, with a war going on, so perhaps I am guilty of cowardice as well.
We should pray for the young soldier, and for all his comrades who are now in harm’s way- and we should not be too quick to judge those who have gone through what many of us have not.

Frank W. Berger
Lakewood

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 01:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Dems ready to hit us in the pocketbook again
The free-spending Democrats are at it again. Not being satisfied to tax us to death, they are now attacking our pocketbooks through the private sector (“Dems plug line of bills on alternative energy,” Jan. 18).
They have “announced a raft of bills to diversify the state’s power portfolio and drive new economic development and educational opportunities.” It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
The key question in all this is how is it going to be paid for and who will pay it?
The proposal calls for mandating the utilities to generate 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources, planting wind generators at schools, and biofuel grants. Since all of these ideas have not reached a level of cost as low as the fuels we are now using, this is going to cost consumers more. Way to go, Dems! Are there any practical thinkers on the Democratic side of the aisle?

Roger Wilson, Golden
Posted by denver-admin at 12:02 AM | Comments (57) | TrackBack

Point out GOP excesses
Why don’t the tax-and-spend Democrats, who so quietly accept that title, point out the relationship between the borrow-and-spend Republicans’ highly touted current prosperity and the some $3 trillion increase in the national debt in the last six years. Total national debt is about $9 trillion now, I hear.
Give any high school lad an unlimited credit card and he can appear very prosperous, like the richest kid in town, in just a couple of weeks. But down the road — somewhere, sometime, somehow — someone is going to have one heck of a credit card bill to pay off! Speak up, D’s!
Guess who will pay for all this apparent prosperity — of which I get to see none!

Ray Lashley, Grand Junction
Posted by denver-admin at 12:02 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Abolish Electoral College
How can the Rocky, in all honesty, write in its Jan. 22 editorial (“Don’t neuter Electoral College”) that “SB 46 has the potential of disenfranchising Coloradans to serve a cause that purports to promote democracy.” Purports? That is exactly what SB 46 is all about! Our presidents should be elected by a direct vote of the people. Neuter the Electoral College? No. Abolish it! Then, we can talk of democracy.
Don’t render meaningless all the votes cast for a losing candidate in any state. To do so is true disenfranchisement.

Rick Kearney, Colorado Springs

Posted by denver-admin at 12:02 AM | Comments (42) | TrackBack

Delaying the inevitable
The Rocky Mountain News says that President Bush’s “conviction regarding the war on terror is genuine, so much so that he’s bucking public opinion and Congress itself in his determination to succeed” (“Mostly dead on arrival,” Jan. 24). The Rocky doesn’t give him enough credit for his ability to see reality.
Not even Bush can still believe he can succeed in Iraq. He must be well aware that the “surge” (escalation) is merely delaying the inevitable, kicking the can down the road until he’s out of office, so his administration doesn’t go down in the history books as the one that lost the war.

Ben Anderson, Castle Rock

Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

January 30, 2007
Rail transit
The Jan. 5 editorial, “Ranger Xpress a very low priority,” marks a low point in the Rocky’s stature as a thoughtful and responsible long- range voice in Colorado. I am committed to the opposing conclusion that the Ranger Xpress initiative is vital if Colorado is to have any chance of breaking free of the dual affliction of blacktop and airport TSA lines.
The journalistic and factual quality of this editorial is minimal. The cost threat appears to be a fear tactic to irrationally scare off supporters. In reality, only those who truly enjoy riding solo in the rush-hour grind and standing in TSA security lines for hours on end should join the Rocky’s position.
Careful decision-makers will recognize the great long-term benefit of the Ranger Xpress. With reasonable and measured support at the federal, state, county, city and private levels, the fearful cost presented by the Rocky is entirely achievable.
Restoring the backlog of costly blacktop repairs should have no bearing on pursuing the benefits of the Ranger Xpress. The Rocky Mountain News is flat wrong to imply otherwise.

Ralph Trenary
Loveland

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 04:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The new Rocky
You continue to sail along on your newsprint cloud, in denial of the facts. The print news media is liberally biased. While you blissfully assume that this bias is only perceived, your attitude offends the people most willing, and able to read, anything. You must, therefore, save money when and where you can, trying to hang on until your paper shrinks to nothing. People are not required to buy what they do not like.

Harold Perkins
Littleton

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 04:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

The new Rocky
You asked for comments on your new size.
First of all, there is nothing new about constant change in order to mislead the readers, advertisers and employees. Lets face it, this is about a reduction in the consumption of newsprint. Why not tell us, the victims of your corporate greed, how much more money you are putting in the bank? Knowing a little bit about your operation, and that of your government sanctioned monopoly Denver Newspaper Agency, you certainly won’t be disseminating it to the few employees you have left.
Secondly, the new smaller size begins to mirror the minds of your editorial page and opinions. Although, I have my doubts that you can ever reduce the size enough to compete with the miniaturized intellect reflected in the writings of Mike Rosen, Vincent Carroll and John Temple.
Lastly, is it only coincidence that the progressive thinking of Mike Littwin, my favorite columnist, has been relegated as far back in the paper as possible without leaving altogether ?

Paul Greene
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:59 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Cost of water
Hello.
Just a quick note about the misinformation that the media doesn’t check and the public some how accepts as fact.
We all see the reports in this paper and others that water costs more per gallon than gas.(check Friday or Saturdays paper) That simply is not true. The only water that costs more is bottled water and that is a choice like Calvin Kline Jeans. It is not needed like gasoline. Non Bottled water is pennies per gallon! Period! Check your water bill...do the math...water per gallon is no where near the price per gallon of gas.
Buying bottled water is a choice like buying a coke or a candy bar....Am I supposed to be happy because a pound of snickers is like over $17 per gallon and gas is $3.00 per gallon! Come on! The oil companies are raping America and all we do is look to the side and whimper like a wounded deer that has had an arrow shot through its temple.
Thank You.

Steven J. Schell
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:58 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Know-it-alls
I have found, in the last several decades of my life, that the persons who really, really have the solutions to local problems do not work here, do not live here and have 20/20 hindsight.
Bob Nielsen
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:57 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

God & man
Letter writer Brian Walsh complains about the lack of critical thinking in church schools (“True critical thinking not in church schools,” Jan. 2). Walsh states, “Of course, any critical thinker would realize that evolving biological components have no correlation whatsoever to the inert matter making up a computer.” He forgets to mention, however, that if human beings didn’t exist there would be no computers, let alone critical thinking.
I am quite confident that Mr. Walsh, along with all of his critical thinking skills, cannot explain how life came to be. At the same time he appears unable to thank his creator for the gift of critical thinking. It is this God-given gift that enables human beings to create, study and enjoy all of our technological marvels.
Mr. Walsh claims that the world has endured well enough despite the fact that most people are not Christian. In our world we have much suffering from violence, poverty and lack of love. Right now our gods seem to be computers, cell phones, big-screen TVs, etc. I have nothing against technology and science, but I wonder how much better our world would be if all human beings truly made Christ the Lord of their lives.

Dina McNulty
Westminster

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:56 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Saddam Hussein
I was floored by the lack of perspective when I read Franki Rader’s letter in which she wrote that she “felt sad at Saddam’s death” (“Alone in sadness?” Jan. 5.) What? Witnessing the devastation Saddam left and hearing the firsthand accounts of his brutal rape and murder of thousands, I find her words to be incredibly offensive and an overt sign of her ignorance.
Does she weep for the thousands of Kurds who were maimed, tortured and gassed? How about the Arabs in Dujail who were raped and tortured in response to perceived opposition, or the Iranians, who were tortured in indescribable ways during the eight-year war, a war in which chemical weapons were used? How about the systematic rape and removal of even his very own people throughout his bloody reign of terror?
The hanging brought the end to one of the vilest creatures this world has known. Though his death doesn’t make up for the rapes, murder of babies, kids, men and women, the torture, the gassings, etc., it was the only justice possible.
The letter demonstrates the twisted thoughts of the hysterical anti-war movement which has poisoned the debate.

M. Mascari
Iraq war veteran
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:56 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack

Health care
I have lupus, an autoimmune disease that requires many expensive drugs to keep healthy. In 2005, I paid $13,000 out of pocket for prescriptions that I have to take on a regular basis. I did not have drug insurance until Medicare Part D was put in place. Without this benefit I would have paid $18,000 in 2006 for my drugs. Instead I only paid $4,500 — a huge savings.
When I learned that Medicare Part D would become available in 2006, I researched the drug plans and chose one whose formulary included the drugs that I need. I signed up for this plan and have been extremely satisfied with how it has benefited me.
The problem with the Medicare prescription plan is not the plan itself, but the difficulty in determining how to access the best plan to meet the individual needs of the consumer. It is complicated and Webbased — two factors which that limit many seniors from knowing which plan to choose.
The law is working, which is why I am urging our congressional representatives to vote against the drastic and very risky legislation to put the government in charge of negotiating drug prices. Currently, Medicare beneficiaries can choose among competing private plans. In contrast, HR 4 would dismantle the prohibition on the government interfering in negotiations over drug prices, and, as a result, dismantle the robust market that has driven prices down.
I fear that with government interference, many of the drugs I need to take will no longer be available to me through my prescription drug plan as there are no generic equivalents for them.
At a time when seniors are on fixed incomes, putting roadblocks in their path to getting the drugs they need to stay healthy is a very bad idea.
I urge Rocky readers to contact their representatives and urge them to vote no on HR 4.
Thank you.

Anita A. Fricklas
Centennial

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Government
If you like how government removes snow from the streets, you’ll love how they manage your health care system. Vote for Hillary Clinton and big government in 2008!

Brian Core
Brighton

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:54 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Religion in schools
Loretta Abbott makes a number of erroneous statements in her letter of Jan. 2, “Ed commissioner has an excellent point.”
First is the fallacy, oft repeated by the theocratic right, that “secular humanism” is, itself, a religion. Humanism is a logic-based philosophy that celebrates and encourages human achievement. Humanism does not require faith, and is therefore not a religion.
Abbott writes, “By refusing to allow anything that refers to God or Christianity in the classrooms, we are declaring that there is no God.” Public schools certainly do allow the teaching of the history and traditions of many religions, including Christianity, but to teach any religion as fact is inappropriate and unconstitutional. Abbott evidently confuses this necessary absence of doctrine with the active promotion of atheism.
The article in question revealed the shortcomings of several online learning programs in which some parents had enrolled their children as an alternative to traditional classroom instruction. If any of these parents’ choices were for the reasons Abbott cites, this illustrates a failure of understanding on their part, not any failure by the public schools.
The place for teaching faith is in church and in private religious institutions, not, as Abbott would suggest, in any taxpayer-funded public school.

Bradley R. Cook
Lakewood

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

State of the Union
President Bush gave his State of the Union address Jan. 23rd. Much of it had to do with Iraq and to protect the American people. It seems to me fear was used to continue to gather support for Iraq and his War on Terror.
Fear, a tactic often used, well what about our country’s energy crisis- seems pretty scary to me. Our current energy situation is serious. Mr.
President said we “need to solve problems not leave them for future generations.” I couldn’t agree with him more!
We need to take action now. We must invest time and money into research and technology of renewable and alternative energies. Ideally it would be great if this was all we had to but our nation is addicted to oil and natural gas.
We can’t just expect to quit cold turkey. To reduce our dependence on foreign oil we need to, safely, open up our countries land and resources for domestic exploration.
Step by step, we will start to bring our nation closer toward energy independence. The president had one thing right, we do need to take action now, and not leave problems of today for future generations.

Greg Archuletta
Golden

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

No one’s owed an apology for a blizzard
So, Rocky columnist Bill Johnson seems to think the Regional Transportation District should apologize for the blizzard (“Sorry seems to be the hardest word at RTD,” Jan. 19). I wonder if Johnson expects an apology from the pizza places who were clearly derelict in their duties for not getting through with the pizzas. My kids’ school also should be ashamed that they could not operate just because of a few snowflakes and I feel an apology from them is in order, too. Also I did not receive my newspaper for a few days, so put the Rocky in line to say sorry, too.
An act of nature shut our city down for three or four days; for someone to be looking for an apology is very petty. If every business that could not operate properly due to the storm had to apologize, imagine how long the line would be. It would look like a voting station on Nov. 7. I can see the line now: RTD, Ronald McDonald, the Burger King guy, Yellow Cab, Metro Taxi, DIA, Dominos, Pizza Hut, and so on and so on — all saying sorry to Johnson for not running flawlessly during a blizzard.
In short, Mr. Johnson, neither you nor anyone else for that matter are owed an apology for an act of nature. I say get over it and move on.

Keith Maranville, Aurora
Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Will Denver ’08 see a repeat of Chicago ’68?
Amid the hullabaloo regarding the Democratic National Convention coming here is forgotten a large possible downside.
We are engaged in an unpopular war and the fever swamp (i.e., Michael Moore, Daily Kos, etc.) is already pressuring the new Democratic majority to immediately abandon Iraq to the savages.
The Dems have a huge quandary. They must hide their hard-core liberalism long enough to get a president elected in a “New Democrat” fashion, as with Bill Clinton. Folks won’t vote for someone with the views of a “San Fran Nan” Pelosi — she’s far too dangerous. Hiding their leftism will be difficult since this means at least giving lip service to the war against the Islamonazis and keeping us engaged in same.
If the summer of 2008 finds us still in Iraq and Afghanistan, we might find some protesters here in Denver for the convention. Remember Chicago in 1968? I do, and this could be worse. Much nastier bunch today, these angry hatemongers on the left. Be careful what you wish for — you might get it.

Pat Desrosiers, Denver
Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Dems eager for ’08
Republicans I know say they find the Democrats’ love-in at the state Capitol, in Washington, and in capitals across the country disgusting. I just tell them, “It’s a sight better than the Republican hate-in we’ve been forced to witness of late!”
Also, it does my heart good to see John McCain throw his support 100 percent behind the lame and wounded duck, W. By all accounts, McCain had been the sole Republican with any chance of winning the presidency in 2008. He just single-handedly sank the Republican ship (or what was left of it).
There is one thing that Republicans do well, and that’s not listen to the people. We common folk are just champing at the bit. We wish the election were today. Then there’d be real celebrating!
Joe Felice, Aurora
Bible among most precise of ancient texts
Letter writer Travis Schriner (“Jesus spoke about tolerance, not hatred,” Jan. 12) is mistaken about the accuracy of the Bible.
First of all, the canon was not created or changed by the church. The church recognized that the Bible was inspired by God when it was written.
Second, the Bible is recognized as the most accurate book of its time.
When archaeologists found the Dead Sea scrolls, they compared the scroll of Isaiah with Isaiah 53 of the Bible. The only change they found was the addition of one three-letter word out of about 400 words in all, and that word does not change the meaning of the whole passage. After 1,000 years of being copied, the Bible has little difference (if any) from the original written documents.

Melissa D. Barnett, Broomfield
Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (23) | TrackBack

Schultheis goes too far
As a Republican, I believe that Democrats must give thanks every night for state Sen. David Schultheis. He is “Exhibit A” for those who associate conservatism with bigotry and meanness of spirit.
It was bad enough that he sent an open letter to a family that had just lost children, questioning whether they were in this country illegally. But now he’s outdone himself.
His criticism of Gov. Bill Ritter’s goal of reducing the dropout rate for minority children — because of a supposed impact on illegal immigration — defies rationality.
Colorado needs to address illegal immigration, but also needs to find ways to give minority children a better chance in life.
If Schultheis is typical of Colorado Republicans, then the Republican Party will deservedly remain the minority party.

Tom Giordano, Denver
Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

SOS! Scrape our streets
I am very disappointed by the lack of response by the Littleton and Englewood city governments regarding snow removal on residential streets.
Although snow-removal crews have done an excellent job of clearing the main streets of snow and ice, most residential streets have been left untouched for more than three weeks now.
Not only does this irresponsible inaction affect the taxpaying residents of both cities, but it also creates hazardous driving conditions for everyone and results in unnecessary costs in suspension, alignment and other vehicle repairs for the individuals who must drive on these streets.
Please come scrape the ice and snow off of our residential streets.

Kevin Rohrman, Littleton
Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Rain, not glacier melt
The Associated Press article carried by the Rocky Mountain News on Jan. 23, “Alps glaciers will slip away by year 2050, scientists say,” was interesting. In it, the AP flatly stated, “Runoff from melting glaciers caused severe flooding that devastated parts of Switzerland in the summer of 2005.”
In fact, much of southeastern Europe — particularly Romania, but also including Switzerland — was hit hard by flooding in the summer of 2005.
Romania has no glaciers. The cause of the flooding was unrelenting rains in August, not melting glaciers.

William Knudson, Boulder
Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Secondhand fumes
Recently I was playing slot machines in a Black Hawk casino. I came home reeking of other people’s secondhand scents from perfumes, colognes and various other artificially scented products, which are far more ubiquitous than any secondhand smoke I noticed.
People can avoid smoke if they choose to, but what about those of us who experience adverse health effects from secondhand man-made fragrances that also contain numerous harmful chemicals? Is the air really cleaner? Perfumes are also indoor air pollutants, and cause many people migraines and asthma.

Connie Pitts, Aurora
Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (26) | TrackBack

A link to 9/11 at last
In his letter of Jan. 23, “A plan for Iraq,” Leonard Muniz suggests that Congress put a deadline of Sept. 11, 2007, on any troop surge.
President Bush should welcome this suggestion. At last, the Iraq war will have something to do with 9/11.

Jim McCauley, Fort Collins
Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 29, 2007
Flag flap
Larimer County’s resident radical Republican Kevin Lundberg (R-Berthoud) stepped into the national spotlight Friday. Through coverage by the Associated Press, fringe-issue Lundberg can now claim the title of Colorado’s first (only?) anti-military anti-veteran Republican.
By standing against HB-1050, Display of Flags, Rep. Lundberg perpetuates a ban on flying the POW/MIA Flag and continues the fear and confusion of the flawed current state statute. Lundberg appears in the AP story to imply that HB-1050 would allow any flag to be permanently displayed. This is false picture of the bill on three points: first - that only the US, Colorado and POW/MIA flags are allowed on the flag-poles of state facilities, second - that the educational needs basis of other displays are correctly returned to the discretion of local school boards, and third - that foreign flags are only displayed for “...special, occasional, ceremonial purposed...” according to Federal Law.
Perhaps this is just another of Lundberg’s acts to oppose and criticize anything initiated by a Democrat. Reading the entire bill before speaking on the House Floor would be a good technique. Regardless, he’s wrong and Colorado’s veterans and members of the Armed Services deserve an apology.
HB-1050 is a necessary reform measure that removes awkward and harmful language in the current state law, allows appropriate honors and recognition to veterans and the armed services, and restores control of methods of instruction to local school boards.
With those truths revealed, how can Representative Lundberg explain his opposition?
His Capitol telephone number is 303-866-2907, and his email is Kevin@KevinLundberg.com. Please join me in explaining to Representative Lundberg that he’s out of line on this issue.

Ralph Trenary
Loveland

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Israel
Six months have passed since the unprovoked abduction of the three Israeli soldiers. Yet, their families have heard nothing from them. The mainstream media is calling for the defense of the Islamic terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay. Yet, we hear no demands for the release of the Israeli prisoners in Lebanon and Gaza. It would seem that it ought to be the other way around. Where is the outcry? We hope that the Congress will do whatever is necessary to hold their captors accountable for this reprehensible violation of human rights.

Brian Stuckey
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Unborn children
It is reported on Breakpoint that livestock is given more protection from pain than the unborn child. According to the report, the child becomes fully aware of pain by 20 weeks, which is even more intense than the pain felt by a newborn child. If this report is true, then it is imperative for the Congress to approve the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act for the sake of our unborn children. By doing so, women will be informed of the consequences of their actions and many lives will be saved.

Brian Stuckey
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:25 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Bill Ritter
I found the symbolism behind Bill Ritter’s inaugural cannonade interesting. A lot of smoke, a lot of noise, but nothing actually happened. Is this what we can expect from our new governor?

Mark Stahlke
Centennial

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Rocky’s coverage
I am writing this letter as proxy for Morris Smith, Coordinator for the All Veterans Honor Guard:

It is with great pride I offer my thanks to your paper and to Jim Sheeler for the superb story on the All Veterans Honor Guard and the internment of one of it’s founders, Waymon Griffin. Though “Griff” was not known by all members of the AVHG, he will certainly be remebered as one of it’s finest members for his dedication and perserverance in the establishment of our volunteer organization.
We would also like to thank most graciously, those who have sent contributions to the All Veterans Honor Guard that we may continue our service to our fallen comrades. We are proud to offer military honors and consider it an honor to do so. Again, your contributions are greatly appreciated.

Joseph P. Pettrow
Centennial
for Morris W. Smith
Aurora

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Mike Rosen
What planet does Mike Rosen live on, and how do I get there? It sounds like such a wonderful place, where even the poor have “cars, TVs, appliances, computers, $200 basketball shoes and own their own homes”
(Populists equalize poverty, Jan. 19, 2007). Close down all the food banks and homeless shelters - we don’t need them!
When trying to justify the unjust, Mr. Rosen tries to marginalize those who do not think like he does. He likes to label people to equate them with something bad ("progressives” equals “socialists"). He presents weak excuses, such as income inequality being a “result of the concentration of abilities in a minority of men". Last time I checked, there were a lot more people with abilities than just the top 1-2% of the population.
Mr. Rosen also likes to present the “straw man” argument to justify his position. In this case, the “only” alternative to policies of progressive taxation is “absolute income and wealth equality". Really?
There are NO other alternatives? Why do we send politicians to Washington? We could have Mr. Rosen solve all our problems!
Then, Mr. Rosen tells us to be wary of misleading economic statistics “glibly tossed around by populist politicians", and then he “glibly”
throws out a misleading statistic of his own - one that he really loves, since he uses it ALL the time. “[T]he top 2 percent of Americans pay two-thirds of all income taxes". That is using a small number versus a large number to mislead the reader. How about this statistic: the richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth. Or, in the years 1983 through 1998, the average household wealth of the top 1% in the U.S. increased by 42.2%, while the bottom 40% DECREASED by 76.3%.
My hard work just results in the guys at the top getting insanely wealthy, while I get a token raise, or lose my job to outsourcing. With those odds, where is the incentive to work harder?

Mark A. Seberger
Larkspur

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:22 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Gangs etc.
I am evolving strategies to reduce violence, related to gang or drug activities, in memory of Darrent Williams of the Denver Broncos. As part of the discussion I forwarded a letter, written to News editorial cartoonist Ed Stein, to the Evergreen Newspapers chain.
The response from Evergreen Editorial proves to me that prevention of violence must include information related to “risky behaviors of victims". Status-quo has been to let victims rest in peace. Investigations, for public records, don’t often list circumstances in the lives of the victims which led them into harm’s way.
The context of my letter to Ed Stein included reference to drugs and presumed gang retaliation as the primary motive in the unsolved Littleton Subway murders of Nick and Steph’, Columbine High student sweethearts, on Valentine’s Day 2000.
Evergreen Newspaper said allegations of drug distribution by a victim had not been alleged or reported by anyone in law enforcement. Maybe not for the record. I do have a photo of Sheriff Stone holding a cardboard billboard, with names of juveniles and faces of adults, listed due to (mostly) drug-related investigations in the aftermath of the Subway murders.
If one reason gangs thrive in the Denver metropolitan area is because victims families are intentionally spared the additional grief of truths about the risky behaviors of their loved ones, then perhaps we had better learn to better handle these truths before American cities end up like Baghdad Iraq.
By the way, excellent update by Marilyn Robinson on the Cold Case of the Littleton Bowling Alley murders from 2002. If you report similarly on the Columbine Subway Cold Case, remember it is in Jefferson County. Ever since the massacre at Columbine High School, most of the media labels our part of Unincorporated Jefferson County as Littleton by mistake.
The United States Postal Service identifies some of Jefferson County as “Littleton” for ZIP-code purposes only. Mislabeling the jurisdiction of unsolved crimes doesn’t make us any safer, and perhaps sends tips to the wrong investigators.

Steve Schweitzberger
Littleton

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Lafayette vote
In February the citizens of Lafayette, who voted in last November’s election, will receive a ballot in the mail. This ballot will ask them to vote to annex land, approve zoning and allow the construction of a Lowe’s Home Improvement store. This Boulder County land currently serves as part of a community buffer between Lafayette and Broomfield.
This issue is more than just a question of revenue for the city of Lafayette. This issue asks the citizens of Lafayette to question the ‘bigger is better’ and ‘more is not enough’ philosophy so pervasive in our culture and one we are helping to spread around the globe. This philosophy threatens the well-being of many so that a select few can earn huge profits at the expense of our planet’s limited resources.
There are more than the individuals who own the land in question involved in this issue. At a minimum, also involved are those individuals who own and work in local hardware and lumber stores will be affected due to the lower prices Lowe’s is often able to offer as a large corporation - a corporation in which most employees will never meet the ultimate owner who is likely earning a salary that is at least 10 times more than most Lowe’s employees can even dream of making.
Enough is enough. Now is the time for the citizens of Lafayette to vote their consciences. Residents of Boulder County can also impact this issue by helping the citizens group, Preserve Lafayette (www.preservelafayette.org), raise enough money to purchase the land and preserve it as a rural buffer and wildlife habitat on Boulder’s County’s eastern edge.

Cherri Jacobs Pruitt
Lafayette

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Winter driving
I have noticed some articles on the increased sales of SUVs since the storms. Mentioned are various models without apparent differentiations between AWD (All Wheel Drive) and 4WD (4-Wheel drive). Maybe a primer on the differences would be apropos in a future article. I have a GMC Envoy SUV that has selectable 2WD, AWD, 4WD Hi and 4WD Lo with an automatic locking rear axle. After the first storm, I had parked in the street (so I wouldn’t have to get out of the alley) and my SUV was plowed in. I did a little shoveling, enough that I thought I should be able to drive out. I couldn’t move, just spun the tires. Then I realized I was in AWD, I switched it to 4WD and it walked right out of the snow bank. AWD seems to work best in general driving on icy and snow packed roads, but once one is stuck; there is nothing like 4WD to extricate oneself. I also helped a neighbor trying to move an Audi sedan with AWD that was stuck in the intersection where there was a dip for runoff, same thing; she couldn’t move, just spun. My neighbor asked if he could try driving it, she said yes and after spinning it he noticed that the Audi had some kind of a “traction control” system that was on, he turned it off and the Audi moved out like it was on clear pavement. Not sure why, but maybe an article on these nuances would help the public decide on what type of drive train they should be looking for in an SUV, since they are definitely not all created equal. Also, maybe a primer on how to best utilize what we already own would be helpful. Happy trails!!!

Carl Paschke
Highlands Ranch

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Electoral vote
Regarding the legislature’s action to short-circuit the proper way to amend the U.S. Constitution and have Colorado’s presidential electoral vote be given to whoever wins the national popular vote.
Recall the 2004 vote in which the cliff-hanging question was to whom Ohio’s electoral vote would go. By a slim margin, Ohio’s 20 electoral votes and the election went to Bush. What if Ohio had voted for Kerry instead of Bush and also had decided to give their electoral vote to the winner of the national popular vote? Then their 20 electoral votes — and the election — would still have gone to Bush since he won the popular vote by about 3 million votes. Check it out. Just Google “electoral college” on the Internet.
The same math works for the combined 19 electoral votes of Colorado and Arizona. If the voters of both states had gone for Kerry instead of Bush (tipping the election to Kerry) but they gave their votes away to the winner of the national popular vote, Bush would still have won.
Our electoral vote is important. It is Colorado’s bargaining chip that forces national decision-makers to pay attention to us. Changing a system that has served this country well is a two-edged sword.
The people of Colorado rejected this idea two-to-one in a referendum in 2004. Why are Colorado’s legislators so eager to thumb their noses at this decision of the voters? Giving our electoral votes away no matter how We The People vote is a sure way to trivialize Colorado. Changing a system that has served this country well is a two-edged sword.

Thomas E. Mullins
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Union members
The legislation proposed by Democrats which would require non union members to pay dues in unionized work places, would be payback for financial support in the last election. To be fair to members and non union workers dues should be apportioned between administrative and political activities with each member designating to which political party his contribution should go. This will never happen with Democrats in control of the legislature, and therefore the legislation is a means to increase Democratic party funding.
I speak from experience, having paid dues in the United Auto Workers and permit fees in the Steel Workers.
Tom Melrose, Highland Ranch

This letter has not been edited
Posted by denver-admin at 03:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Corporate crime
Even in death, Ken Lay from Enron and his friends get away with crime. In today’s RMN, Federal Judge lets investors and shareholders to drop charges against sever people. Influence does have a bed partner.

Leroy M. Martinez
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Immigration
I felt that the January 23rd article entitled, “Senators: Worker ID program needs fixing,” should be titled, “Senators: Worker ID Program needs nixing!” The article recognizes many of the flaws of the Worker ID program, but ignores the fact that to remedy such a system would include the issuance of redesigned high-tech ID cards — likely including both Social Security cards and visa cards with biometric features — at a cost of at least $4 billion.
And, to what avail? This system would still be fraught with problems.
For instance, this system would require the creation of massive government data bases of our most private information posing a substantial risk to U.S. residents’ personal privacy and civil liberties, which are already dwindling under our current administration.
This system would also put the responsibility of “proving citizenship” on the shoulders of the worker. It isn’t hard to imagine that under this system many eligible workers could be victims of “defensive hiring,” which are employment practices that weed out people perceived as immigrants, or whose ethnicity suggests that they might be in the category of workers for whom verification is time-consuming and costly.
There is already rampant discrimination against “Arab-looking” individuals in our airports. I’d rather not add a system that will promote even more discrimination against people who “look like immigrants.” I suggest we get rid of the current Worker ID program, and start looking for a solution that actually solves the problem and doesn’t forfeit our civil rights and promote even more societal discrimination.

Naomi W. Marshall
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Outsourcing
Vincent Carroll’s latest ‘nya-nya!’ column (25 Jan) says that even if our middle-class IS being seriously harmed by outsourcing, there’s nothing we can do about it.
However, there are several measures we could adopt:
—first, stop laying a FICA tax on every dollar that firms pay to US workers,without taxing their money for foreign workers.
—second, wipe out pointless tax-breaks for the wealthy;
—third, use the extra money to GIVE tax-breaks to firms INSOFAR AS they hire Americans!
What Carroll is gloating about is the undoubted fact that our one-party Republicrat system WON’T do anything to mitigate outsourcing harm to our middle-class workers.

Dan Lyons
Fort Collins

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:13 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Snow
Thanks to all of the snow this season, I have contracted two diseases - shovelitis and shovelosis! My doctor has prescribed a shovelectomy, and my insurance doesn’t cover it! I hope it’s not fatal.

George Lilly
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Iraq
When a person of limited knowledge or experience - but unlimited arrogance - takes his own advice, that’s stupidity - as defined by George W. Bush’s conduct of the war in Iraq. Were the president to have applied his “new” Surge strategy four years ago, with a couple of hundred thousand additional troops - when it had a chance of succeeding - we might be long out of Iraq.
At this stage, in order to be victorious over the insurgents - if that’s even possible - it might be necessary to bomb Iraq back to the Stone Age.
Our Commander-in-Chief missed his window of opportunity of providing security to the Iraqis when it might have been relatively easy, so there is no use killing more innocent civilians and sacrificing more of our own troops. Time to fold up the tents, Mr. President. Your party’s over ( we hope! )

R. Kiefer
Arvada

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Environment
I am a high school student concerned about the environment. The President’s State of the Union addressed important issues, but I was disappointed in his obvious attempt the use the issues to support the War in Iraq. I had been expecting a plan on how to help global warming, not a way to stop using foriegn (Middle Eastern) oil.

C. Kee
Arvada

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:10 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Climate change
I am not a scientist, and do not pretend to know what is causing ‘global warming’, but I do read enough to recognize that the subject is highly debatable. The mainstream media would like you to think there is no debate, however, and uses the topic to further demonize ‘evil’ corporations and Republicans. A mere 20 years ago, Time Magazine warned us all that an ice-age was coming; yet somehow, coinciding with a Republican in the White House, humans have destroyed our climate in just eight years (I never saw a national newscast discuss global warming when Clinton was in office). One has to be at least be somewhat skeptical. I have seen stories on global warming on all three network news programs, yet have NEVER seen one that shows the mountains of evidence suggesting it is a natural occurrence. There is a clear and obvious political agenda in the global warming debate, supported by the national media. It is a shame, because I don’t think Americans are getting both sides of the story. I predict that the second a Democrat sits in the White House, the issue will be reported more fairly and people will be allowed to draw their own conclusions. Until then, I suggest you take the topic for what it is: a polarizing, politically charged tool to further a specific agenda.

Chris R. Hotz
Greenwood Village

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:08 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Pro-union bill
I have been following, with interest, the paranoia and hysteria of the business community and neo cons regarding the improvements in the Colorado Labor Peace Act as put forth in the Legislature. As was done with the “new and improved” Rocky Mountain News format, this is an attempt by the legislature to streamline our archaic labor laws and bring them into the 21st century.
Although there have been many reasons for, and explanations of, the win ratios required under the current Act, I feel that none of them have told the real truth about the unconscionable requirements put on the employees and their representative (union) to prevail. For example, a bargaining unit of 10 employees seeks to negotiate a contract with a union membership clause. The employees vote 6 to 4 in favor and they lose. Or, even worse, when the election is held lets say only 4 people choose to vote in it and all vote yes. The employee representative (union) still loses because, even though the vote is unanimous, less than 50% of the bargaining voted in the majority. Nowhere in our country. except Colorado, is any election held that requires one side to “win” with a 75% majority. I think it is safe to say that very few, if any, candidates carried 75% of the vote on November 7, 2006.
It is ironic in all this discussion that no one informs the public that regardless of the outcome of this special election, the union, by law, must spend its money representing dues payers and freeloaders alike, without discrimination. That is like requiring the Rocky Mountain News to distribute its product to all residents of the State and allowing only those who want to, to pay for it. This is fairness?

Paul F. Greene
Denver

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Greeley & gangs
Recently this newspaper carried a story about gangs. Greeley and its gang issues were featured prominently in that story. Inasmuch as every city in Colorado beyond the tiniest has at least some gang presence, I wanted to provide some additional facts about Greeley’s experience.
Some years back Greeley residents decided they did not like the rising number of crimes committed by gangsters occurring in their city. In response, the police department bolstered the size of its gang unit. (The team is considered to be one of the most knowledgeable and effective in the state.) The city’s recreation leaders developed additional alternatives for kids headed towards a gang life. The local newspaper highlighted the gang issue. City Council added police officers to the streets.
Beginning in 2006, the police department focused on gang intervention as the cops’ primary goal for the year. That goal has continued into 2007. All officers, not just the gang unit, were tasked with locking up violent gang offenders. The Weld County District Attorney’s Office obtained lengthy sentences for a number of dangerous gangsters, and continues to do so.
As a consequence, gang violence in Greeley has steadily declined for the last three years. In 2004, 44 incidents of gang violence were counted in Greeley. The figure dropped to 33 in 2005 and 17 in 2006. We still have some gangsters, but what we are doing is working, and we are going to keep up the effort.
Greeley is a great city with a lot of really nice people. It is also a city that, like every other, has crooks who, given the chance, are willing to victimize others. Some of these criminals happen to call themselves gang members. But to portray the city as gang-infested or unsafe would be erroneous. Greeley is a great place to be, and we intend to keep it that way. We are working to make the city even safer in the future.
We are doing very well, thank you. But work remains to be done, and we are pledged to accomplish it.

Jerry Garner
Chief of police
Greeley Police Department

This letter has not been edited.
Posted by denver-admin at 03:07 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Child support
After reading that the State of Colorado makes men still pay child support for children that are not biologically theirs my first thought was, “ What an extreme injustice! .
I hope Colorado rights this wrong.No man should have to pay for his wife’s infindelity.That’s insane!
I would like to see the bill go farther.I would like to see the bill address refunds to the men who have been “duped” as the article put it.
This man should be paid back every penny he