Ernest E. Valdez of Thornton writes:

Yes he does, whether it’s on obesity, Guantanamo, Bush or Iraq he is right on the money. Conservatives will turn and twist and raise their blood pressure to uncontrolable heights but he tells it as it is. A tragedy is a tragedy is a tragedy whether in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq or Virginia Tech. We ought to be thankful that the mighty Atlantic and Pacific oceans are in between us and the Middle East or the Uss Cole, 9/11s and Virgina Techs would be a weekly event if not a daily one.
Since we do have the Atlantic and the Pacific to protect us from those who would harm us, what do we do? We play right into their hands. It took a great big lie to do it but we did. We send our troops to them so they can get shot and blown up. The enemy has us where they want us.
Four, seven, eight, of our soldiers a day will do for them for the time being. We have a knack for doing that, we never learn. The blind ones in this country say, “well, it is better to fight in their back yards instead of ours.” Horse manure. That kind of thinking has cost us and is costing us thousands upon thousands of our soldiers and hundreds of billions of our tax money and we have zero, zilch, to show for it. Enough of that crap, bring our soldiers home to help guard our borders. We let 9/11 happen because of our loose borders. Let them that would harm us try to come over to this country to do war against us. They can’t swim across the Atlantic and the Pacific and we have a powerful Navy.
Professor Campos is telling us to wake up to the truth. To wake up, to face up to our mistakes. To live and let live. What is happening in and to our country is of unbelievable tragic proportions. Our morals, what morals? We can’t continue as we are. If the enemy doesn’t put us under as they are doing in Iraq, we will do it to ourselves as in Virginia Tech and if that doesn’t happen God is always waiting as in Katrina and South East Asia a year or two ago.

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Denis Gessing of Denver writes:

I understand that President Bush was quoted as saying he never reads news papers. I understand; reading the new Rocky is a visual challenge. I also understand that his approval rating is somewhere in the lower 30%. Hard to understand it’s that high.
Two stories in yesterday’s Rocky prompted this notion.
To the president’s supporters: turn to page 22/23 and just read just the head lines. “FROM DECORATED WAR VETERAN TO JAIL” (PP.22) “IRAQ CLERIC URGES UNITY AGAINST U.S."(pp.23) Now, connect the dots and write the president with your conclusion. Don’t hold your breath waiting for a sane reply. Instead ask the vet on any nearby street corner, the one with the cardboard sign and vacant look, still wondering: “War, what is it good for?”

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Mark Hernandez of Highlands Ranch writes:

What a crying SHAME!!! On page 24 of today’s’ Rocky a picture show Superintendent Bennet driving in his car, the speedometer shows at least 55mph, reading, biting his nails, and NOT a hand on the steering wheel!!
What an embarrassment! An educator showing total disregard for traffic safety. With the rash of teenage deaths in automobile accidents, with all the talk about showing complete concentration to driving and here is this man showing just the opposite!! He should be totally embarrassed. Talk about careless driving!!! This man should be arrested or at least ticketed, I hope he doesn’t kill someone on the road. We would be wise to save this photo in case he is ever in an accident to show his disregard for traffic laws.

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Leroy M. Martinez of Denver writes:

Now that the Colorado Supreme Court has refused Mr. Mobley crybaby excuse for what he did, he should spend time in jail just like any other person without tons of money. He claimed racial profiling because he is black and has football injuries. I think maybe it is because he was driving drunk? But of who he is, he will get away with what ever he does because of is status as a sports person.

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Bud Kimble of Las Vegas writes:

Ponder this happening in a school today. Would You Allow Your Student to Attend Class Nude?
It has always been a crime to be nude in public since laws were instituted, but not in this Public School. Well you can believe it.
In 1951,52,53, I went to a Denver Public School (Skinner Junior High) located on 41st. & King street Denver Colorado where the male students were required to attend their entire daily swimming class in their birthday suit.
We the students were made to line up on two sides of the (male only) indoor pool each day with all of our greatness and shortcomings in full view of each other, while getting our daily instructions. The only exception was the teacher (Mr. Helms) who wore swim trunks. Hmm, I wonder why?
Today, some 56 years later, My mind is still flashing this crazy scenario repeatedly, wondering what in the world was the administration thinking. What were my parents thinking? Why would anyone think that this was proper classroom conduct?
I asked my sisters if they had to swim nude in the girls only swim class, and they said no.
So why was it mandatory that the boys had to swim nude? I can not for the life of me, figure it out. I can tell you that it gave me a plex, I could not wait to get in the water, I felt embarrassed not only for me, but for the entire class, I do not remember anyone enjoying the situation. O, yes Diving, If you did not have the correct diving form, you would have to be the star attraction on the diving board striving to get it correct. A real incentive to achieve correctness.
You would think that something like this would never be allowed to happen in schools but I can tell you that it did.
The more I think about the whole class scenario, the more perplexed I become.
I Just needed to Vent.

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Conny Jensen of Greeley writes:

Rocky Mountain News editors fear that CSAP tests will lose “integrity” if schools do no longer get penalized for students who do not participate (April 15). Where is their sense of integrity for students who, because of low performance on CSAP, get penalized with rigid measures in hopes their achievement on next year’s tests will improve?
In Greeley, children in K-5 experienced the elimination of recess. The rationale was that this would “maximize instructional” time, but research touted by central administrators does not show substantial gains; certainly not if it comes at the expense of children’s other and equally important developmental needs. Research about the merits of recess and play is much more convincing. Both stimulate brain growth and cognition, prerequisites for any worthy academic accomplishments.
Because of being on academic watch, due to low CSAP scores, our Board of Education /also/ has condoned the elimination of toys, puzzles and playtime (inside or out) from kindergarten classes. The focus is now on the heavily scripted daily literacy lessons of 90 minutes, but that without any opportunity for free play, is a recipe for disaster!
According to a Temple University study, children entering first grade with a \[kindergarten\] background in reading performed better than those with a more traditional background of play, but that advantage was gone by the end of the year. Professor emeritus of psychology, Brian Sutton-Smith, from the University of Pennsylvania says of the first group “They were much more depressed. The opposite of play is not work. It’s depression.”

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Cindy Staudt of Westminster writes:

Regarding the article that ran in Tuesday’s News about Ritter signing several energy-related bills (headlined “Colorado paints itself green"), the picture accompanying the article was an interesting contradiction. Should it really take 10 pens to sign 5 pieces of legislation?

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Jim Schwartz of Centennial writes:

The bodies aren’t cold, and the anti gun groups are exploiting the situation for their agenda. But in looking at the picture of Cho, with a gun in each hand and holster underneath both arms, has the left considered how eerily similar Cho’s photo is to DeNiro in Taxi. (Anyone check his Blockbuster rentals in the past year? How come the politically correct left isn’t screaming at Follywood for creating these potentially copycat images? Has the left considered the effect of it’s psycho babble self esteem permissiveness letting this loon run loose?
Enough exploitation for political agendas - let there be a peaceful interlude for mourning - there will be plenty of time thereafter to get to the ‘rot’ causes.

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Leon Rodriguez of Denver writes:

The supplemental bill is now required because George W. Bush failed to seek adequate funds for his war in Iraq in the regular budget. Bush knew when he submitted his budget that he had planned a “stay the course” war in Iraq. This is another example of incompetence of the Bush administration.
Now Bush wants a “clean bill” without realistic expectations of changing his failed “stay the course” tragedy and chaos in Iraq.
The supplemental bill our legislatures are submitting to Bush has funds for our troops fighting capability, plus funding for our troops medial care and compensation for their injuries incurred in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most importantly, the supplemental bill includes language for a timetable for changing the failed strategy in Iraq.
Over 92% of the Sunnis and 87% of the Shiites in Iraq want the United States to end its occupation of their country. Plus, over 70% of American citizens want our troops deployed from their current status in Iraq.
The United States has lost the respect of most nations of the world and our own country has lost 3,300 of its finest troops and wasted much of our nations treasure.
How much more of Bush/Cheney can our country endure. Enough is enough. Iraq had nothing to do with the terror of 9-11. Osama is still free.

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Larry McGill of Denver writes:

I found the use of the Virginia Tech Logo as a smoking gun offensive and inappropriate. (editorial page 39, 4/17/07) If any one of my Alma Mater’s logos, UNC, METRO STATE, CU, were used in such a fashion I would certainly call my Alumni Associations attention to the plagiarism.
I know that to ask a political cartoonist to be sensitive is an oxymoron but perhaps the people who choose to print articles, cartoons, etc. could have left this one out.

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Leroy M. Martinez of Denver writes:

Another CEO of a large company (Home Depot) get’s money $134.5 million dollars. When will we learn.

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Greg Douras, no hometown provided, writes:

In the aftermath of the most current school shooting, it is interesting to note that the same cries are going out to America’s schools, telling them to prevent another tragedy like this from happening again. This is a bit paradoxical, akin to telling a mugging or rape victim to be more careful next time.
Such anti-social behavior is unpredictable! That is why it is “aberrant.”
Why do people assume that America’s institutions must be constantly prepared to address the unpredictable threat of extremely violent crime? Why not make it more difficult to perpetrate such violent crimes?
In other words, Virginia Tech is not at fault. The man who bought a Glock 19 pistol and several ammunition magazines is. It is quite possible to bring a concealed handgun and fifty rounds of prepared ammunition into nearly any college in this country.
Unless citizens will allow searches of their belongings every time they enter a building on campus, it will always be possible to bring this kind of firepower into a school.
Because Americans have yet to approve a strict search regimen in our schools and an aggressive police presence, we can effectively curtail such violent shootings by legally restricting access to concealed weapons. The federal ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines and assault weapons expired in 2004. Why did Americans allow this? Many states are “shall issue” states, which must sell a gun to a buyer with no criminal background.
Legislating these issues will begin to reduce such violent tragedies.

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Gwendole Dare 6591 of Commerce City writes:

While we have enjoyed the Rocky Mountain News for over fifty years....I now am feeling a bit of disappointment!! My opinion has been that The Rocky leaned to the conservative ....which has been our reason for patronizing it.
I believe in the war in Iraq.....I believe in peace for the middle east.
Lately.....the Rocky has publicized too many negatives....pictures and all....against this war...!!! Too much about the soldiers that have given their lives. Too many pictures that make...... for getting sympathy. Playing into the hands of those that already disapprove and to those you wish to sway against this war.
I do sympathize with the families of lost loved ones...I cry for them. I pray for them. But I know that their loved ones were fighting for something that they believed in.....bottom line....FREEDOM FOR THEIR FAMILIES...also.
Pictures speak a thousand words......I am tired of seeing negativity.
Show us something we can feel proud and good about. There are good things that are going on as a result of the Iraq war. Are you afraid to publicize them?? It WOULD make you “out of step with the liberal media". As you said...Rocky is not a tabloid....but almost!!
Oh....lest I forget. Enough said about the “Dims” convention. We will have to hear “a belly full".....about that later.

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Dan Danbom of Denver writes:

Just as they do in Iraq, expect the media to focus on the killing spree in Virginia instead of all the positive things happening in that state.

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Grant D. Cyrus of Boulder writes:

The truth is that this horrific tragedy (Blackwater) is a time, THE time for us as grown-ups and as Americans to pull together as best we can as dumbstruck and shocked as we may well be. This is not a time to take advantage of such a bizarre aberration to criticize the people and the country. I was guilty of this myself in my initial impulsive reaction. My mind is still blown about this mind you and I remain concerned about our excessive amount of guns and other weapons and the culture of death that we’ve shown in Iraq but if only for one brief, yet incredibly intense and sad moment I feel we all have came together completely bewildered and absolutely shocked as a people. To feel like this is probably the most human thing of all in the middle of such madness. Heaven help us all.

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The Rev. Bill Carmody, director of the the Diocese of Colorado Springs’ Respect Life program, writes:

I watched with amazement at Sen. Barbara Boxer and her condemnation of the Supreme Court decision that outlawed a particular abortion procedure commonly called “partial birth abortion. Let’s be clear about this. This doesn’t outlaw abortion, women can still abort their babies up to the point of birth.
Dr. Warren Hern will not stop his practice because of this. This is simply recognizing that this particular abortion procedure is not necessary for the health and safety of women. You would think that people like Sen. Boxer would applaud a decision that will protect women from a barbaric procedure. Yet, by her response and the response of pro-abortion advocates you would swear that Roe vs. Wade was overturned.
What is also amazing is that during the week of the most horrific shooting in American history. She is more concerned about protecting abortionist and the abortion industry than showing concern and mourning for the innocent victims of Virginia Tech. Most of Government and most of America are pausing to reflect on the Sacredness and precious value of life in light of this tragedy. Yet, Sen. Boxer and the abortion supporters forgot about Virginia Tech once the Supreme Court decision was announced. Is abortion that precious that we stop mourning innocent victims of violence? And how much has abortion on demand created the culture of Death we live in that made Virginia Tech possible.?

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Robert Brewster of Golden writes:

Convenient Transit vs. Development Re: March 24 “Financial pinch...FasTracks” and April 9 “Commuters take back seat...”
You know something is amiss if the state’s leading rail and transit advocacy group (ColoRail) takes serious issue with the unfolding plan for Denver Union Station (DUS). That plan calls for the eviction from the site and/or very costly burial of the 3 connecting transit modes comprising the DUS transit hub, advertised as “convenient” in RTD’s successful FasTrack’s campaign.
This plan is anthing but convenient, nor is it a wise expenditure of funds, no matter what the source.
The driving forces at play are the city’s desire to saturate the site with tax-generating development, which will hide much of the historic station from view, and the city’s irrational obsession with extending 18th Street through the property. Is there a shortage of single-occupant, space- consuming, polluting, pedestrian-stalking vehicles downtown? We need the development to pay for burying the tracks, which we must do to accommodate the development. Get it?
While it is understandable, and desirable, to capitalize on the DUS transit hub, we must not lose sight of its (voter-approved tax increase) purpose: to offer a convenient and affordable alternative to our increasingly expensive and problematic “travel-by-auto” conumdrum. Ironically, we have far better transit connectivity at DUS right now than we will EVER have under the current proposal. Our city and region will not be served well with this plan, especially as we view into the future.
And with RTD’s well-publicized uncertainty about FasTracks finances, why is the most expensive transit infrastructure (burial) still on the table?
There are better ways for all parties to achieve their goals at DUS. All visionaries and critical thinkers who care about our transportation future should attend the Union Station Advisory Committee (USAC) meeting at RTD’s Administration Building, 1600 Blake Street, on Thursday, April 19, at 5:30pm.
We only have one shot at getting this right. Let’s not squander it!

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M. Andersen of Brighton writes:

Now would be the perfect time for our lawmakers to apply their power to legalize marijuana, which at times has been under discussion. What a pickle that would be. It would be legal to smoke marijuana but not legal to smoke I hope that our servicemen and women fighting the war overseas, facing horror and danger every moment,a will appreciate the fact that Colorado government is applying their energies and money to insure that if and when they come home from freedom fighting they will not have to endure the danger and trauma of second hand smoke.
Most smokers are law abiding citizens who you can now find huddled in groups outside public places and businesses to enjoy the camaraderie of their fellow outcasts.
All this hyperbole, infighting, lobbying, time, expense, and attempts at bill passing can be ended with just some well placed NO SMOKING signs. The magic word is “Compromise".
Do we not have any legislators courageous enough to buck the current wave and introduce a “Bill of Compromise”? Or would that suggest a flaw in the law that now stands. Our beautiful State is surely large enough to accommodate the rights of smokers as well as non smokers with a little planning and compromising. A place for everything and everything in its place as the saying goes. And damn the politics that created this dissention.

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Richard Becker of Broomfield writes:

In response to the Rocky Mountain News article of 4-18-07 “Shooting rekindles gun issues", the renewed clamor for gun control to “prevent such tragedies", is inevitable. However, it is an emotional issue rather than a practical approach.
For every person with a warped mind who uses a firearm for illegal purposes, there are thousands more who possess firearms in greater abundance and firepower who will never use them for any illegal purposes. So why penalize the many with a blanket gun control measure to deal with the few? Any gun control measure that will require everyone owning a firearm to turn them in will not elicit a response from anyone with criminal intent in mind.
This could result in a “police state” condition, contrary to the Constitution of the United States, enabling law enforcement to conduct no knock raids to search each and every home for firearms. Also, law enforcement has better things to do than confiscate firearms from honest and law abiding citizens.
In Palm City Florida and other places that permit citizens to carry concealed weapons have found that the crime rate has gone down because criminal types are not willing to face the business end of a firearm used by citizens to protect themselves. If gun control measures are enacted to deprive citizens of firearms, the crime rate will increase. And, criminals are not about to give citizens time to call police and wait for them to arrive.
As a result of Colorado’s “Make my day” law, people have successfully defended their homes and themselves against intruders.

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I’m Jason Reynolds’ mother, and after experiencing the “criminal justice” system in Arapahoe County, I’m more than appalled. Appalled at the way the district attorney's office tried this case and appalled by the media and its journalistic vultures.
From the beginning, my son did not stand a chance in a court of law. Within 48 hours of Jason’s arrest he was labeled “The Road Rager” and convicted by the end of the week.
This trial should have been granted a change of venue. Instead, Jason’s case was dragged through the media and tainted with bias and hate from the start. The amount of evidence offered by the defense was remarkable and filled with scientific facts — facts demonstrated by not one, but two experts. One of those experts has 35 years’ experience and a master’s degree in engineering. The other is a known law enforcement specialist, in his field for more than 20 years.
The jury served no purpose. They deliberated only six hours. This was not a jury of anyone’s peers.
I have empathy for all victims involved and their loved ones, but what the district attorney’s office achieved was for its own self-gratification. District Attorney Carol Chambers has been in a lot of trouble lately and I find it interesting that she was present in the courtroom after the verdict. This trial was nothing but her political showcase.
For those who have endured the “injustice system,” my condolences. For those others who will unfortunately enter the system, I hope — for your sake — that it won’t be in Arapahoe County.

Virginia Reynolds, Parker

In the April 16 Rocky Mountain News, columnist Paul Krugman claims the Christian right is a danger (“Christian university teaches extremism”). Well, let’s see.
He says Rachel Paulose, a Christian U.S. attorney in Minnesota, quotes Bible verses. Wow, that sure sounds dangerous. Next Krugman notes Alberto Gonzales aide Monica Goodling, a Christian, has taken the Fifth Amendment to avoid the ever present congressional witch hunt. Now, whether you’re Buddhist, Hindu or a tree — that’s not being dangerous, that’s being smart.
There is, however, a clear and present danger and it’s not people of Christian faith. The anti-Christian bigotry trumpeted by Krugman and his ilk is the real threat.

Charles Newton, Highlands Ranch

I am writing to voice my outrage over the final sentence in Michelle Malkin’s syndicated column of April 11, “Imus’ shot just a drop in the bucket.”
Malkin wrote an interesting piece about the vile language used in many of today’s rap songs. Sadly, she ended her piece with a slam at people with Tourette syndrome. Her column ended with a reference to industry enablers who have helped turn America into “Tourette Nation.”
I am assuming that Malkin was trying to draw some reference between coprolalia (a rare form of Tourette syndrome that causes people to speak obscenities) and the vile language written in many rap songs. This is an appalling comparison and it is highly insulting to all those who live their lives with Tourette syndrome.
I suggest Malkin contact the National Tourette Syndrome Association and spend some time learning what Tourette syndrome really is. I believe once she has been educated she will realize that the next column she writes should include an apology to the thousands of people who have Tourette syndrome.
How ironic that Malkin’s column was supposedly speaking out against the rude and degrading statements made by Don Imus, and yet she herself ended her column in a similarly insensitive way.

Lorraine Alcott, Lakewood

As an African-American woman, the incident surrounding Don Imus and the derogatory/racist comments that he made has become a very powerful and valuable lesson to me.
I have listened to the comments and opinions of many people of various races.
The only conclusion that I can come to is that as African-Americans it is time to stop using words, names and phrases amongst us that are considered derogatory and racist when used by people of a different race or nationality. For this reason alone: It allows true racists and bigots an escape clause and/or reason to use the same words if confronted after committing this horrible act.
Did rappers/hip-hoppers really influence Imus’ comments or was it something he really believes? Personally, I believe what is said from the heart is felt in the heart.

Nyasha Levy, Greenwood Village

Who will benefit from the Veterans Affairs land purchase at Fitzsimons? I am confused. I am not opposed to relocating the VA medical facility to Fitzsimons. But, as a disabled veteran, I would like to see our government’s limited resources being expended in the best manner possible for veterans.
I was dismayed when the previous VA secretary, Anthony Principi, nixed the free 13 acres being offered the VA at Fitzsimons. According to the Rocky Mountain News, he said he wanted more than 30 acres for a VA facility at Fitzsimons. Now, our government is paying the Aurora Redevelopment Authority to buy the first 18 acres of the planned 31-acre site for $11.15 million. It is also reported that the total land cost could be more than $90 million. Just where will the Redevelopment Authority use this money and to whom will it go?
Fitzsimons used to be an Army hospital, on federal land. Now, the VA is paying to buy land for federal use that was once federal land anyway. Why do they need 30 acres? I am sure a parking structure on the original free 13 acres would have cost less than $90 million. That $90 million could sure be used to help many disabled veterans.

Dave Lauten, Thornton

If Rep. Michael Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, believes I’ll burn in hell for support of vouchers, charter schools and privatization, so be it (“Ed chairman quits over e-mail/Merrifield wrote charter backers have ‘place in hell,’” March 31).
If he and Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, would wake up to the fact that our public school system is a massive failure and stop feeding at the teat of the teachers union, we might be able to give our kids a decent education.
As far as I’m concerned, any of my tax dollars that go toward public education would be of greater value if I flushed them down a toilet.

Jim Carr, Broomfield

Mary Voelz Chandler is one of my favorite Denver art columnists, but she was more than a little off base in her April 7 Rocky Mountain News commentary, “The wait for arts funds just got a little longer.”
I’m proud to live in a city that has a new opera house, new Daniel Libeskind-designed museum, and the internationally acclaimed and highly valuable Clyfford Still collection. The international art biennial will be the Olympics of the arts, and I’m excited that it will be in Denver. Many of these accomplishments are to the credit of Mayor John Hickenlooper.
A mayor’s job is to help a city create a vision and to provide the leadership to move toward that vision, and this community needs to step forward and help with these tasks that will make Denver a better place.
The mayor and the city have done a great deal for the arts. Now it is time for the community to step up and help build a world-class level of arts activity in this city.

Kathy Coors, Denver

In the April 7 Rocky Mountain News article, “Memorial set in stone,” opponents are quoted as saying “kids shouldn’t be walking by something that depicts violence.”
Well, they won’t be. They will be walking past a statue that depicts heroism, patriotism, valor, courage, freedom and a great love for the United States of America and the principles on which this country was founded.
Come on, folks, get real!

Marty Gossenauer, Aurora

There is nothing anyone can do about global warming. We are still walking away from the Ice Age. Also, does anyone know how big the sun is? It is almost a million miles in diameter. Could there be some variance in the amount of heat it throws out? Global warming is just an excuse for politicians to raise taxes and control your life.

Derrill Tarbutton, Thornton

As the lawyers for Jason Reynolds, we must take issue with the April 19 editorial comparing our client with the fellow who killed 32 persons at Virginia Tech.
Jason Reynolds has been convicted, and that conviction will be appealed in due course. It is, however, inappropriate to comment on the character of the evidence against him when the Rocky Mountain News (and the other media outlets) chose not to learn what that evidence was. Reporters attended the opening statements and the verdict, but didn’t listen to the actual testimony. Had that been done, they would have learned the following, much of which was ignored when Reynolds was attacked for his comments at the sentencing hearing.
His supposedly lengthy criminal record is, in fact, a series of minor traffic infractions of similar severity as those by the other driver in the accident, Kelvin Norman. Two well-respected defense experts testified that Reynolds did not cause the accident. The jury heard that testimony and chose to disregard it, which is their right, but the media in the interest of fairness should have taken the time to hear the testimony and inform the public.
The media outlets obtained an angry mug shot of Reynolds and used it in print, on the internet and on TV. We provided these outlets with a picture of Reynolds which was more reasonable. It was ignored. This inappropriate portrayal of Reynolds was made (even) worse when you consider that the Rocky and other outlets repeatedly published pictures of the two victims that were endearing and, on occasion, would juxtapose those with Reynolds.
The State Patrol’s “road rage” letter was sent to Reynolds but never received. The letter, by the way, praised Reynolds for his cooperation. In short, it is grossly unfair to compare Reynolds to this admittedly psychotic individual in Virginia.

Philip Cherner and H. Michael Steinberg are attorneys in Denver and Englewood, respectively.

On the day afterward, just as the nation was reeling from the tragic events at Virginia Tech, I found Henry Payne’s “cartoon” on Page 39 of Tuesday’s Rocky Mountain News.
I was shocked, appalled and amazed that Payne would be so insensitive as to draw such a panel, but more so that a newspaper that I have respected for a long time would publish it.
To me, depicting the “T” in the Virginia Tech “VT” logo as a smoking gun is an attempt to deflect the blame for the events that occurred toward the university. It also seems to be an attempt to label Virginia Tech as an institution where this kind of thing occurs repeatedly and may be condoned by the university’s governors.
Very few of the facts were known at the time the cartoon appeared. I feel that the rush to publish such an insensitive and damning piece is irresponsible on the part of the Rocky and reprehensible on the part of Payne.

Roger Steinberg, Denver

Oh, yes, the Don Imus scandal was a real big story. Here is somebody who only a very, very small number of Americans listened to and those who did were mostly on the East Coast. I’ll bet the rest of us didn’t even know what he was talking about when he called somebody “nappy-headed hos.”
I didn’t know what it meant and none of the initial Imus coverage ever explained what it meant, except to tell me it is a term invented by black rappers to describe black women. So I guess it is all right for black rappers to use the phrase but not all right for a shock jock to use the term.
None of the shock jocks I know about belong on the public airwaves anyway because they are nothing but filthy-mouthed demigods. Just goes to show you how low a money-hungry outfit like CBS will stoop to make money. People who listen to them get what they want — ugliness!

Colin C. Case, Highlands Ranch

Rosie O’Donnell is advancing the notion that the U.S. government had a hand in the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
She believes that secret government operatives planted explosives in the buildings beforehand, actually saying it was “the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel.” And actor Charlie Sheen believes that it wasn’t commercial airliners that were crashed into the World Trade Center, but rather military missiles made to look like airplanes.
After hearing that the ratings on ABC’s The View have improved since O’Donnell has joined the show, I’m now far more worried about this country than ever before. It’s frightening that such a large number of loons have grown up in America!

Pat Searcy, Golden

I was pleased to see the extensive media coverage of the exoneration of the Duke lacrosse players. After an agenda- fueled lynch mob stirred up a media frenzy with no facts, it is nice to see these young men regain some of their dignity through the legal system.
It saddens me that the same type of coverage has been entirely absent following the University of Colorado “recruiting scandal” that produced zero criminal charges, yet generated national headlines for many of the same reasons found in the Duke case.
People were fired, young men’s lives were ruined, yet there wasn’t enough evidence for a single charge to be filed. Where is the national media coverage exonerating those wrongfully accused in Boulder? The silence is deafening.

Chris Roland, Greenwood Village

I’d like to thank the Rocky Mountain News for its April 9 article, “Calif. crash ties up RTD rail plans.” It was most informative and comprehensive in what transpired and resulted in RTD being required to pursue the railroad indemnification legislation.
Since the “ballgame” changed with the railroads after the horrific crash on Jan. 25, 2005, it is critical for the public to understand why RTD is seeking this legislation. Without the indemnification, the opportunity to use railroad right of way for the FasTracks corridors would be bleak.

Bill Christopher, Westminster
First vice chair,
RTD Board of Directors

Don Shipman of Littleton writes:

What a wonderful example Michael Bennet is showing in his photo from the Monday, April 16th Rocky. He is travelling around 55 miles per hour, one hand in his mouth, the other flipping pages in his notebook, talking on his phone, steering with his knee??? (a hand on the wheel is not visible), and likely not wearing a seatbelt because there is none visible in the photo and there should be. How many traffic violations is he committing in this photo. Not an example I would choose for the students in the Denver Public Schools. Yep, he’s an example I’d follow, for sure.

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Mark Hamouz of Centennial writes:

Our family wishes to express our sincerest appreciation to the firefighters, the Centennial and Arapahoe county Sheriffs and cadets along with the Red Cross for their quick response and their attention to our safety after the house explosion last Saturday morning on South Jasmine Court. We live just a few houses away from the demolished home and in the few minutes it took us after the blast to get out of our house, the fire and police personnel were already in our street and were working to get us and our neighbors our of our houses and to a safe location. We were impressed with the speed and efficiency of the firefighters to contain the large fire and to prevent it from consuming the adjacent homes. They worked to maintain the safety of our neighbors and themselves. We and our neighbors were visited by the sheriffs at regular intervals to inquire of our well-being and to inform us as much as they could about their colleagues’ progress. A Red Cross coordinator was in our neighborhood within an hour after the blast and her help and support was appreciated.
By 4 am it was determined that the situation was safe and that most of us could return to our homes for the night. Their training and execution were evident in how well they performed their duties, but, their caring and compassion expressed to us and our neighbors in the midst of this horrible situation was very noticeable and welcome. It will take some time for our neighborhood to recuperate from this tragedy, but in the meantime, we want to express a heartfelt “Well Done” and “Thank You” to those emergency responders that morning.

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John O’Shea of Aurora writes:

Sensitivity begins at home. We need to rename the streets and the county we call Arapahoe.

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Jim Cochran of Berthoud writes:

What can I say other than I am getting fed up with the homosexual agenda. I have been following the News coverage of the Episcopal Church. Now it appears homosexuals are splitting the Episcopal Church and maybe taking their resources, building and grounds. They attacked and had some success with the boy scouts getting their resources cut. Can’t they just go start their own churches and organizations Vs bullying someone else out of theirs. Now in the Colorado legislature (SB25) we are being driven to give them special consideration in the work place over something that should not be an issue in the work place -sexuality. Does that mean employers and employees have to put up with some guy in gaudy drag - I’ll bet that and lots of lawsuits if you aren’t ‘PC’. What happened to - other’s rights end - where yours begin.

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Betty Serotta, no hometown provided, writes:

The picture of Michael Bennett multitasking as he is driving is disgusting!
I understand his devotion to making the Denver schools better places for educating our children but what kind of message does this send to Denver citizens about their driving habits. All he needed was a bottle of beer to show drivers all of the dangerous things they should not do!

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Robert Madison of Denver writes:

As you look into the question of school choice and the exodus from DPS, I wonder if you will consider these points from the perspective of a current high school teacher and former DPS graduate.
1. Middle Schools could solve the enrollment problem by insisting on graduating only those with requisite skills for high school, and making students repeat who are not ready. The repeaters would be much more likely to pass the second go-round, since they would be more familair with the material, they would be more mature, and they would have a greater incentive to get it right. This would improve high schools, too, for the quality of students would be better, makng it easier on teachers to concentrate on academic content, rather than basic skills.
2. Extra-curricular activities are essential for school pride, spirit and engagement. Look across Denver to the best performing schools, and you’ll find many of them are known for sports, too. East, Regis, Mullen, Cherry Creek. We might like to repeat the mantra that academics come first, but sports teach character, and success begets success. On the other hand, Denver’s best academic school, DSA, is attractive not because of its three R’s but because of its high caliber music, drama, dance and fine arts. Therefore Denver should consider investing a lot more into its athletic, music and art programs.
3. Vocational Schooling should never have been abandoned in favor of a misplaced emphasis on college preparation. If students wish to go to college so badly, why don’t they take an interest in the very same academics offerred in high school? It’s a kind of prejudice to see blue collar preparation as inferior to white collar. Let’ stop pretending that every kid is really interested in college, and let some take courses they do find interesting, such as automechanics, shop, culinary arts and cosmetics.
4. Finally, are you going to analyze the pay structure of DPS teachers, compared to other districts, and also note how top-heavy the DPS Administration is?

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Bobbie Chiles of Centennial writes:

Mike Rosen’s column in the Rocky on Friday, April 13th, was right on target.
I am disgusted and appalled by the comments, the actions, and the beliefs of Linda Cuesta and Emily Cassidy Fuchs. Cuesta and the rest of the Columbine tragedy folks need to stop comparing it to everything that happens in this nation. Other people have suffered as much heartache, fear, and loss as they have and, yet, have managed to go on to live productive lives without eternal whining, blame placing, and wallowing in self pity. Like most of the rest of the citizens of this nation, I am very tired of hearing from these people and reading or hearing their ludicrous analogies. In short, GET A LIFE!
Fuchs should use the statue as an opportunity to educate her child(ren) about the history of this great nation and to honor and show appreciation for those brave, selfless individuals who have died for our freedoms.
Personally, I am deeply grateful to the men and women who have given their lives so that my family and I can enjoy our freedoms. The Dietz family is justifiably proud of their son and husband. It is sad that the news media allowed two malcontents, Cuesta and Fuchs, to have a venue to further hurt these courageous, loving, and patriotic people who are mourning Danny’s death but taking positive actions to honor Danny.

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Cydny Norris of Lakewood writes:

Regarding the series of articles this week in the RMN on the concern for DPS: I believe the demise of public education has its roots in the theory that mainstreaming students into regular classrooms benefits all students. There are three components that can help achieve success for all of our Denver students.
1. A return to remedial classes for students needing remedial work would have a positive impact on the learning of all. We need to abandon the premise that all students are going to college. Vocational education should be available for those students who either do not want or are not able to complete college-prep courses.
2. Smaller class size. A class of 33 students, with one third needing special attention holds back learning for all. It is simply physically impossible to teach that many kids in one place at one time.
3. Learning must be valued in the home environment and community at large.
Thant means parental/family involvement in the learning process and paying attention to homework and reading assignments. That means knowing what is expected of your child in the classroom and helping them to achieve learning goals. Schools cannot teach in the vacuum created by parental apathy.
Students must understand that while it is the teacher’s job to teach, it is also the student’s job to learn.

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Sam Taylor of Wheat Ridge writes:

So here we go again. Vice-president Dick Cheney is again trying to mislead the American people by saying that Iraq was closely allied with Al Qaida and by implication was responsible for the attack on the World Trade Center. Now even the pentagon yesterday reports that there was no connection with between Iraq and Al Qaida. This comes on the heels of the 9/11 Report issued by the National Commission on Terrorists Attacks Upon the United States in 2004, a bipartisan group of distinguished Americans.
What is amazing is that over 40 per cent of the American public still seems to think that the attack on the United States was somehow perpretated by Iraq. This misconception is further advanced by Rush Limbaugh who is notorious for many distortions of fact he spouts daily on his radio program. One has to wonder what possesses these two. Will they not stop at anything to keep the administration from being held accountable for Iraq? Apparently not.

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George Lilly of Denver writes:

Fowler is the most generous city in Colorado, and Nederland is the most miserly. Let’s take a wild guess - Fowler is conservative (individual initiative and private action), Nederland is liberal (state coerced charity and collectivist action). This is typical of the so called liberals who are only liberal with other people’s money.

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Mary Scheulin of Colorado Springs writes:

Pelosi is NOT the Last Nancy Pelosi is NOT lamenting that it took 200 years to put a woman in as Leader of the House of Representatives as the views of Jim Thrailkill of Aurora express in the April 13th issue. Nancy Pelosi is REJOICING with the rest of us women.
Hoorah for the “House” cleaning that our Nancy is engaged in! At this time in history there exists a great need for more balance of the genders in American government. This balance does require all American women to courageously participate in any way they can in order to create this better balance. And Nancy Pelosi got herself elected as Leader of the House of Representatives.
It’s been said that behind every successful man is a woman. Well, men, American women are courageously and successfully stepping out of your shadow! For too long American men just like the Bush’s, the Cheney’s, and the Rumsfeld’s have created and perpetuated colossal messes in our American houses as well as in our American government that they have refused, or just plain neglected, to clean up themselves.
It is apparent that we women have historically been so much better at cleaning up messes than men have ever been, as well as being so much better at keeping the “House” cleaner after the messes are gone.
Therefore, with Nancy Pelosi as Leader of the House now, sure feels like it’s time for an American woman to become U.S. President, also. May there be full blessings be on the successes of Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

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R. Kiefer of Arvada writes:

Is President Bush leveling with us about trying to win the war in Iraq, or is he just biding his time so that he can blame the Democrats ( or the Buddhists, or Hottentotts, or any but his own administration ) for the loss of an ill-reasoned, ill-considered, misdirected, and now, possibly unwinnable, war?
Many Americans, I believe, would support a full-out push with 500,000 troops to win the war, but the president, has deemed such a large number to be excessive. Now, if it’s at all possible to salvage the respect and cooperation of the Iraqi people, it may take that many. If there can be stability at all in Iraq, more troops would establish it more quickly and with less bloodshed than would fewer.
Such an increase will never happen however, unless Mr. Bush can screw up the political courage to make it happen. The money should be no problem - if Mr. Bush could get his priorities straight, he could easily find it in places where it doesn’t have to be - and where he put it.

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Jamie Schofield of Westminster writes:

Channel 9 recently reported on the top ten causes of death in America, with heart disease at the top. Unfortunately, they left one out. The leading cause of death in America isn’t heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease claimed roughly 871,500 lives in 2004.
Abortion, however, kills roughly a million innocent lives each year.
(By some sources, upwards of 1.3 million.) Infanticide is the #1 killer in America.
Preventable? Absolutely.
April 25th is the 40th anniversary of the first legalization of abortion in America, right here in Colorado, signed into law by Republican governer John Love, six years before a Republican-dominated Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade based on fraudulent arguments, with a decision written by a Republican-nominated justice, Blackmun. And now, today, we have an openly pro-choice president who opposed the abortion ban in South Dakota last year, who believes abortion should remain legal, but simply limited and regulated.
Colorado Right to Life will be at the Capitol on that day, to recognize that dark anniversary, the birth of a holocaust greater than that of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia combined. Alan Keyes will be the keynote speaker, and other speakers include Judie Brown of the American Life League, and Columbine parent Brian Rohrbough. Join us as we remember one of the blackest days in American history.
This Sunday is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today, infanticide is our holocaust. What are you doing to prevent that?

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Joe Brandstetter of Parker writes:

I have a small concern based on the photo of Denver Superintendent Michael Bennet. Is he really cruising along at 55 mph with a binder resting on the steering wheel and using a cell phone? I must protest most ardently. I have just come from an experience of driving into a ditch because a distracted driver was enjoying my lane, but in the wrong direction. I understand he is dealing with big issues, but it seems to me that his potential serious injury or death, and that of others, far outweighs any saved time.
Multi-tasking is not all right while driving. You can alter so many lives in just an instant. Perhaps a traffic citation is in order.

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Jim Allen of Denver writes:

In response to “6 U.S. soldiers killed” (March 19) insert “Dead and injured.” It is sad that the Rocky is so obsessed with the number of our troops that have been killed and wounded during our war against terrorism. The paper’s printing of these numbers, almost daily, amounts to yourthe Rocky publishing a terrorist’s scorecard and something around which they can rally. War is not without sacrifice. It is sad that anybody has lost his or her life and even worse that you trivialize it.
We as a nation, I hope, understand that lives are lost during war and yourthe Rocky’s continuedal reminders does nothing but fuel the anti-war sentiment during our nation’s fight for our way of life. The terrorists want nothing more than to destroy us and to see us grieve; yourthe Rocky’s support of their efforts is purely disgusting. Might youthe Rocky consider publishing the number of lives affected in a positive way — new schools opened, electricity where there wasn’t any before, women and entire nations being able to vote and the booming Iraqi economy?
Better yet, publish the number of terrorists whose lives are lost, or who are wounded, and their names and hometowns.
Having just lost my father, I know that a life lost is a very sad thing. However, losses while protecting the United States should not be in vain and should not be tallied like the score of a game. If youthe Rocky wants to continue to minimizereduce this war to a tally and score, maybe youit should consider placing the numbers in the Sports section.

John Ruckman of Lakewood writes:

The events of the past several years have led me—and millions of others—to the conclusion that this administration is one of the sleaziest, most spend thrift, lackadaisicaland uncaring for our people of any in my life time. The latest example being the news that Paul Wolfowitz, leading architect of the current disaster in Iraq, has used his influence and power to get his girl friend a huge, and by most accounts, undeserved salary increase, having done so “in the dark of night". With the huge amounts of money under his care, one wonders how many other such schemes—or worse—have been carried out under his leadership. As is par for the course, Bush has come out defending this guy, as he does all who are shown to be crooked or incompetent.But, why wouldn’t he? The standard for job performance and ethics which he setare so low in this administration that even Wolfowitz looks good. The list of poor management, lying, ignoring our Constitution and the laws of our land, and wasting tax moneyare legend and have seldom beenduplicated inthis county’shistory. Much was made of the so-called crooked financial dealingsby the Clinton’s. However, after thousands of hours of prosecutor time—at tax payer expense—the only law ever found to be broken was one of having legal, but adulterous sex and lying about it to Congress. It has to be said that history has already shown us that that administration was run with efficiency and ethics far above that of the Bush years. Had it not been for Clinton’s sexual excesses, that administration would have been an example of how good government should operate and how countries should be run. And our country has been the better for it. How we need such a group today.

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Lori Hampton of Denver writes:

Dear Ms. Mitchell and Mr. Hubbard,
I am a parent of three children in DPS and have read your 'DPS Brain Drain' with much interest. I am looking forward to your remaining articles.
I hope you will give as much attention to the parents that have chosen to stay in DPS. Your article suggests that there is nothing good to be found in DPS. That has not been my experience. Many schools are filled with highly motivated and bright students taking part in quality learning, not only in the classroom but also in such programs as Destination Imagination, the annual Shakespeare Festival, local spelling bees, and the Science Fair. Our schools boast some of the best and brightest teachers working hard everyday to educate children from all economic and racial backgrounds. There are many highly educated and dedicated parents working at this very moment to maintain and improve the current level of education in our public school system. I am personally involved with a group of parents working to improve Merrill Middle School. I think you would find many encouraging and positive stories of teachers, parents, and children within our DPS system. I truly believe DPS will become a 'first choice' for many and it will be because of the dedication of those very folks. A little press for us could go a long way!
Like I said, I look forward to reading the remainder of your series and hope to find it well balanced.

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Chuck Case of Littleton writes:

Of all the cartoons you had to publish the day after the massacre at Virginia Tech, why did you have to print the one by H. Payne with the T in the Virginia Tech (VT) logo in the shape of a gun? That cartoon was in extrememly poor taste. I’d expect it from Mike Keefe in the Post, but I thought the News might handle this with more editorial class.

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Joe Wolf of Denver writes:

"Those who can, do. Those who can’t do, teach. Those who can’t teach, teach others.” And now, those who can’t teach others drive down the highway (I hope it’s a highway!) at 55 m.p.h. while talking on the hands-free phone with at most one hand on the wheel. (See pg 24, today’s News.)

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Barbara Shufford of Centennial writes:

The reckless and illegal political crony DPS hires of Superintendent Michael Bennet and Allegra “Happy” Haynes (recycled Webb disciple), is partly to blame for the failures within DPS. Mayor JLoop commandeered the DPS board, with its elected members, and decided by himself, to install his political crony as DPS superintendent with an entry-level salary of $400K and the political cronyism rear was brought up by Haynes, with an entry-level salary of $90K. Haynes’ cash-cow tactic was used to silence the Northeast Denver lambs, because a highly qualified black woman was snubbed for the sup’s job. These citizens further rewarded failure when DPS board member Kevin Patterson, who by day, is a lackey of JLoop’s, and was re-elected “unopposed".
Civics 101 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 lessons are sorely needed.

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Larry McLaughlin of Aurora writes:

Who was responsible for the graphics in the map in today’s story about CDOT construction for the summer?
I happen to live near Smoky Hill Road, but on that map it is called Smokey Hills Road.
There are, or at least were, some signs in the last year placed (by Aurora?) at intersections call it Smokey Hill Road, but I’ve never seen the hills part before.
Proof readers?

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Louise Benson of Broomfield writes:

Dear Senator Windels, Here are my top 6 reasons that students have left public schools for Hope Online. These are direct quotes from actual students or their parents:
1. I was discriminated against, and bullied, in a public school.
2. My son got lost in the big public high school.
3. There were too many drugs at my old high school.
4. I escaped gang activity at my old high school.
5. My daughter is gifted and needed more rapid advancement in her studies.
6. My son was expelled from public school, and was not offerred appropriate educational alternatives.
None of these involve laziness!

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There are thousands of irrigation wells being shut down or production cut back from Henderson to Julesburg in the Platte River Basin. This was not caused by lack of underground water but by actions taken by the state of Colorado and lawyers hired by some Front Range cities to persuade the Colorado Water Court to reinterpret the Colorado water statutes to their liking.
These actions are idling hundreds of thousands of highly productive grain and vegetable acres.
Gov. Bill Ritter and the state legislature need to act now to save this great agricultural and economic boon. Time is of the essence. Another year of no crops because of the well shutdown will put a lot of the farmers out of business and have a devastating effect on the economy of the whole Platte Valley.

Bob Good, Fort Morgan

It is clear to me that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has committed a felony by violating the terms of the Logan Act in that her actions in negotiating with the government of Syria clearly come within the terms of “Any citizen of the United States who ... without the authority of the United States ... carries on an intercourse with any foreign government ... to defeat the measures of the United States.”
That Congress intended such actions to be covered by the act is clear from the original resolution calling for a committee to create the act where it speaks of a “ ... usurpation of the Executive authority of this government.” I call upon all members of our Colorado congressional delegation to demand a full and complete investigation of this flagrant violation of the law.

Marvin Taxar, Parker

The photo of Denver’s top educator, Michael Bennet, in the April 16 Rocky Mountain News shows Bennet driving a car at 50-60 mph, talking on the telephone (albeit a hands-free one), chewing on his fingernails and reading what appears to be a set of directions.
Most of the steering wheel is visible and no hands can be seen on it! I hope that when he drives near one of his schools he is more attentive — hitting one of his 83,000 students would be devastating. Please send this man back for remedial driver’s ed.

The Rev. Steven Cunningham , Lafayette

I have been an active member of Grace & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (Colorado Springs) for 14 years, and an active Episcopalian since my baptism in 1963. It is with great sadness that my family and I have watched our Grace family implode over the last several years. More and more, the focus there has been on conservative vs. liberal and less and less on our service to Christ and our fellow creatures.
The Episcopal and Anglican churches have a long history of tolerance and inclusion. We have managed to find a way forward together through conflicts as passionate as the Revolutionary and Civil wars. Yet today, due to evolving conservatism in the Anglican Communion, we are told we must reject our brothers and sisters in Christ in order to appease an archbishop in Africa or South America.
And yet, God in his mercy shows us a way forward. At Grace Episcopal today, whether we meet in Shove Chapel or other borrowed space, we are forming a congregation that spans the ideological spectrum, yet shows the love of Christ in our dealings with each other and in our relationship to the community. As Vestry member Robert McJimsey said in an e-mail to our parish, “This is not a battle of liberal vs. conservative. We are working to build a parish in which all are welcome, and in which we demonstrate that we can work and worship together across a full spectrum of theological understanding.”
The secessionists can occupy our property but they cannot shake our faith. That is the lesson that I will teach my children.

Chuck Theobald, Colorado Springs

As an American history teacher, I was disturbed by the perspective given to students at Stevens Elementary School regarding the role of Spanish conquistadors Vasco Nuñez de Balboa and Hernan Cortez (“Modern-day knights defend Spain’s role in history of Americas,” April 12).
Jack Martinez claiming “The Spanish did not come to murder, rape and kill Indians. The Spanish built missions and churches and baptized the indigenous into the Christian religion. They helped preserve the native American culture” is grossly inaccurate and extremely insensitive to Native American students in a classroom.
Historical fact cannot be altered because it makes one uncomfortable; Holocaust denial is universally condemned and I wondered how Jewish students would feel if a visitor dressed up as a Nazi visited a classroom to talk about the “good things” the Nazis did.
There is nothing to champion about what the Spanish did in their conquest of the Americas and, in fact, if Martinez is so concerned about the representation of the Spanish in American history, he would be wise to invest time to research and verify worthy examples that exemplify the best of Spanish culture, not the worst.

Stephanie Rossi, Arvada

Last week was a hopeful one for all Colorado victims of sexual abuse by persons in authority. And, because it will help keep kids safe, members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org) are grateful for the guilty verdict in the Jefferson County Timothy Evans trial (“Jeffco jury convicts priest of sexual assault on teenager,” April 10).
We are also grateful to the brave survivor had the courage and integrity to come forward, and the wisdom to report to police, instead of church officials.
We hope this finding will begin to bring some healing and hope to all of Evans’ victims. Knowing they and their families will still face a long, hard road of recovery from the trauma, we wish them the very best. Our advice to them is to stay in therapy, recovery programs and support groups, and to realize that no one event, even a criminal conviction, can magically reverse or end years of deep pain.
We also know that if children are to be even safer, it is crucial that others with information or suspicions about crimes by Evans or other priests come forward and call law enforcement. This is no time to sit back, thinking it is all over.

Jeb Barrett, Aurora
Denver SNAP leader

Citizens of Denver will only be allowed to bask in the presence of Democratic dignitaries if we accede to the demands of union goons from Chicago and Detroit (“Labor girds for ’08 convention/Unions prepare to get tough with Democrats,” Wall Street West, April 7). James Hoffa Jr. collared our governor at a recent meeting and threatened trouble unless Denver and Colorado knuckle under to union demands.
Picture Gov. Bill Ritter as a small-business owner from the South Side of Chicago and Jimmy Hoffa Jr. as a union boss paying a visit: “Are youse guys gonna play ball or are we gonna have to make trouble for ya? If ya wanna have a ‘D’ on the front of your shop, ya gotta see things our way. Got it?”
Stay tuned, Denver. The governor is considering his answer.

Larry Detrich, Denver

I applaud the dismissal of the charges against the Duke lacrosse players by the authorities in North Carolina. The state admitted the district attorney lost perspective and was acting on a personal agenda.
If only Colorado could show the same integrity and follow suit by admitting the same mistakes were made by Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy in the University of Colorado football team witch hunt.

Kyle Giem, Highlands Ranch

Why are there so many street lights out? A friend, a lineman for Xcel, told me that night crews had been cut back several years ago.
Is that savings going to pay for the $14 million golden parachute given to the former Xcel CEO by the board?

Antonio Trujillo, Commerce City

In its editorial of April 10, "“No real winner in hostage crisis,” the Rocky Mountain News lambastes the Iranian government for its “disdain for international law and low-grade sadism” because the 15 British sailors were “blindfolded, bound, held in isolation, subjected to long interrogations, threatened with lengthy prison terms ... paraded before cameras ... and led to believe they would be executed.”
I don’t get it. How is this any different from the conduct of our own country? We’ve done every single thing listed here in the context of our “war on terrorism.” Is the Rocky saying America can do these things but Iran cannot?
Is it not possible that these sailors were in fact in Iranian waters? No?
Does the Rocky say this based on the word of our president? Wasn’t he the one who said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction? It turns out Saddam Hussein was speaking truth, but our illustrious media will never admit it. Demagoguery and fearmongering bigotry — this is what the Rocky editorial promotes.
While we criticize Iran for wanting nuclear weapons, remember that our country is the only country that has ever used nukes against a civilian population. I ask the Rocky to please consider our own hypocrisy for just a moment before proclaiming the evil of another society.
Todd Gochenour is a resident of Lakewood.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, I’ve noticed a few questions are being asked — do there need to be more gun regulations and what security measures are in place? I think a better question is why is it so difficult to get mentally ill persons help?
My mother has bipolar and schizo-affective disorder and it is downright impossible to get care for her until things go terribly wrong.
No one can tell what another is going to do. But in this case there were signs. Of course, everyone says his or her hands were tied in getting the gunman counseling. My question is why? Why is it so hard to help another person? Why are the mentally ill ignored until something devastating happens to them or those around them?
Better security and better gun regulations are good ideas that need to be talked about (I realize these are the big money/voting issues), but the biggest, most overlooked question is what about the mentally ill person and his or her impact on their community?
I would like to see a lot more coverage on mental illness issues. Ideally, I would like to see changes on getting help to the mentally ill. Recognition and resources are needed desperately.

Denise McMahen, Centennial

How many more school and college kids and teachers must still die before the brainwashed fanatics among us admit that making sitting ducks out of the kids is precisely the invitation the killers need to feel free to do what just happened at Virginia Tech?
Assure the would-be killer that he need not fear being apprehended, much less shot, and you have just become his co-conspirator and accomplice. That is repeatedly proven Common Sense 101.
The Virginia legislators who blocked the bill that would have allowed concealed weapon permit holders access to that and other schools should be removed from office for sharing the guilt for killing 32 innocent people. And let’s not forget: those who still advocate that discredited, obvious insanity need psychiatric help.

K.A. Skala, Denver

These school shootings have to be hampered in some way. I’m a firm believer in the Second Amendment, but my suggestion is to pick a year and ban all semi-automatic handguns, except perhaps for the police and military.
I’m more than willing to turn mine in and replace it with a revolver. The National Rifle Association should be willing to go along with this.
It is too easy to slaughter innocents with semi-automatics and no private citizen needs to own one. I would hope one of our representatives in Congress would propose this. These shootings have to stop.

Steve Harmening, Denver

Regarding some Rocky Mountain News readers’ complaints (“Trust Campos to exploit a tragedy” and “Columnist shameless,” both April 18) that columnist Paul Campos “knows no shame,” is “nutty” (now there’s an erudite criticism), and pushing his “own agenda” with “senseless ranting against a totally unrelated topic” — everyone I have communicated with about the tragedy at Virginia Tech has seen a connection and comparison between the horror of that campus bloodshed and the much-larger-scale daily horror in Iraq.
Frankly, it is difficult for me to see how any thinking and feeling person could not, regardless of their politics. Are people in Iraq too far away or too different from us to care much about?

Pam Faro, Broomfield

I am greatly saddened for the loss of life in the tragedy of Virginia Tech.
However, I am left to wonder why weren’t those students able to fight back?
It’s because guns aren’t allowed on campus and “lawbreakers,” by definition, don’t follow the law. If just one student could have been legally armed that day maybe the outcome would have been different ...

Justin Beard, Thornton

Currently there is a lot of controversy over House Bill 1330, which will allow for the adoption of children by same-sex couples. I know this is a sensitive topic, but I want to ask the readers to set aside any preconceived notions on this bill and think about the children.
Our society needs to see past our biased views on sexuality and think of the issue at hand. Currently in the United States there are many children waiting to be adopted. Older children and those with special needs are particularly hard to place. Children who fit into this category are in foster homes at this very moment, with homosexual parents who are eager to adopt them. It is completely unfair to deny these children permanent and secure homes based on the adopting couples’ sexual orientation. Parenting is about nurturing, and these couples — although not considered the “gold standard” — will provide these children with everything they need: love and support.
Children with parents who are homosexual have the same advantages and the same expectations for growth and development. We as a society need to set aside our conventional views of families and open our minds to see that sexual orientation doesn’t constitute an inability to be a good parent.

Whitney Burns, Centennial

My son, Dan Healy, was Danny Dietz’s senior chief and was on the helicopter sent to rescue Danny and his comrades that day in June 2005. The helicopter was shot down and all on board, including my son, perished. Our families share the grief of that mission, the pride in the courage of our sons and now the outrage.
We just heard about this latest assault on our military (“SEAL statue upsets some in Littleton,” April 6 and “Memorial set in stone/Parents of slain SEAL surprised by all the flak,” April 7) and like so many are enraged and, because we lost our Danny that day, too, it’s personal and we want to send along our support.
It’s understandable that there is a certain sensibility surrounding Columbine, but common sense says the statue of Danny Dietz represents far more than his gun. It represents commitment to service, courage in the face of overwhelming odds, love of his country, family and fellow sailors.
It’s these qualities that parents can point out to their children so that future generations will know that there are brave men who are willing to lay down their lives for the good of others.
While I agree with Danny’s father that our sons died for the right of citizens to dissent, I find it incredibly sad that military families are facing battles on two fronts — one overseas and another with citizens of our own country, the country our sons died to preserve.

Natalie Healy, Exeter, N.H.

The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff seems to have spent too much time listening to the insurance lobbyists (“Too quick off the mark,” April 10). Allowing insurers to adjust insurance premiums for an employer based on employees’ health status helps no one.
Rather, it creates incentives to get rid of employees with health conditions or not to hire them in the first place. What good is health insurance if you can’t afford to keep it once you get sick?
There is no need to wait on a state commission to consider this important policy change. Eliminating discriminatory rate banding is a key component of any comprehensive reform plan for the state. The legislature had done us all a great service by passing this legislation.
We urge Gov. Bill Ritter to sign this into law, ensuring Coloradans can afford to keep their health coverage when they need it most.
Dr. Mark Earnest is vice president of the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved. He writes from Denver.

Ed Dean of Windsor writes:

Littwin: Temple does things that confound me. First, he sends you, a Democratic radical leftist, on a trip to Arizona in order to give us an unbiased report on Tom Tancredo, the renegade Republican congressman. Then, months later, he busses you off to Iowa, ostensibly for the same purpose. Then, to top it off, he sends Johnson, your political ally to tag along and torture us with some more of the same drivel. He could have paid Campos’s fare and made that little caper a three-bagger. You guys should be reporting on some candidates from the flip-flop party, don’t you think?
Is the Rocky, with the Democrats in total control, at least in Colorado, pulling a Denver Post on us? A little more hypocrisy and a little less fair & balanced both in the news as well as the opinion sections. Carroll might be in on some of these little capers, too.

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Gil Gardner of Sandy, Utah, writes:

Thanks for your editorial opposing senate bill 238 (ethanol/biodiesel mandates). I think another key point is that when a state in this country creates fuel standards that are significantly different from other states in the region it makes it very different for suppliers to move fuel from state to state. This means that when e.g.there is a shortage in Colorado but a surplus in Kansas the fuel cannot just be brought in from Kansas because it doesn’t meet Colorado standards. This naturally leads to higher prices.
Also, Your Easter weekend edition made me proud to be an American. I’m glad there are still newspapers that celebrate Christianity and support the celebration of the warriors defending our nation. I’ll never buy another Denver Post. If you could just move Mike Littwin back to the sports page.....

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Ken Pitt of Arvada writes:

In their article Bush no Visionary on Stem Cells, Cokie and Steven Roberts say that President Bush is caving in to the religious right by refusing to federally fund foetal stem cell research. Let’s get things straight. Foetal stem cell research is neither illegal nor unfunded in this country and around the world; it would just seem to be pointless. More than 70 cures have been developed using adult stem cells, but none whatsoever have been developed using foetal stem cells. They’re just too adaptive, and the results of using them in medical treatments can never be predicted. In a nutshell, they just don’t work. This leads us to the point: The whole foetal-stem-cell debate is not about any usefulness of foetal stem cells in medical cures; it’s about validating and institutionalizing abortion in this country based on the premise that research conducted using foetal stem cells harvested from aborted fetuses is going to save us all. The whole Liberal Left snit is about abortion, not medical research. The facts, however, are there for them to see as well as anyone else; but the Democratic Party and the liberal left, as usual, are uninterested.

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Leroy M. Martinez of Denver writes:

Now I know why the Denver Police Dept. want to take the cameras out of the jail cells in Denver City Jail. Why does it take three officers to teaser a handcuff man in a jail cell. This video was taken on 9NEWS.COM. Now I know why.

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Richard McNutt of Aurora writes:

The article Imus in the Ringer does highlight more serious issues than his comments, such as your attack on Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton not targeting hip hop artist for using the same language in their lyrics. How do you know they haven’t?
Have you asked. It seems to me that they have taken up that task but how often do we hear reports of what is actually going on in the Black community. It is your job to inform the people yet the only time people in the Black community hears what is going on is thru avenues such as BET, or Black news network. Then you ask why we must have a Black television station or Black newspapers or Black Student unions; why indeed? Aren’t we all supposed to be Americans. Yet when you teach history in school rarely do you included the accomplishments of Black people but when there is crime you are quick to publishe the deeds in Black individuals. We are tired of having to have to scream about these insensitive comments yet majority of the country support these shock jocks who make their living making fun of others. Sure we are all different that is what makes the world so great but we are all humans and should treat each other as such. How many white people stood up and said it was wrong what he said publicly and denounced him for it? Why should it just be the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton?

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Roy M. Cantrell of Aurora writes:

Hope Scott Moen’s letter ("Challenge to find facts, not opinions", RMN 4/12/07) meets with success Is it not fact that most of all present major issues of concern to America very closely resemble what they have been in our history and there seems to be a shortage of permanent solutions? What is fact for the victory in Iraq - all insurgents dead and a pro-West government? How about a pro-West dictator who allows freedoms, but controls the whackos with an iron fist? After the Vietnam conflct, our troops were promised that in another war, there would be no holding back and it would be done with quickly. By fact, where did that promise go?
Mr. Moen goes on in his letter to give his opinion, but does not want any interpretations, judgments or opinons from anyone else. His opinion concerning our troops states “——-as they fight to the death——". After 26 years of military service, I can assure you that the fact is our troops do not wish to be hurt or to die. They would prefer that happens to the enemy whoever they are. Yes, many would willingly lay down their lives for our country if necessary, you just don’t hear them brag about it.
Is the Iraq war illegal, Scott asks. Research and study would tell him that the President of the U. S., as Commander-In-Chief, can order combat troops wherever he wants to. Is the war unjust is a matter of opinion, not fact. Freedom for the Iraqi people seems like a just cause, but at what cost and for who? Do the events that led to the Iraqi war and all of the plans thereafter make any common sense or, in law terms, are they what would lead any reasonable person to believe the actions taken justify the result?
Personally, opinion, I am extremely weary of die-hard Bush/Republican and Democrat supporters who apparently lack common sense (the real core to facts). Too bad we don’t have any eloquent, experienced, and likeable candidates for 2008.

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Brad Hatch of Nederland writes:

Once again, the RMN has chosen to find excuses for the Bush administration instead of facing reality. With one of the worst economic expansions in the post world war two era, the editorial staff at the News have chosen to recycle republican talking points on the economy. Excuses such as Hurricane Katrina and the war, in reality, should be factors adding to economic growth. If the administration and the republican congress had invested public money into the rebuilding of Katrina ravaged areas, more jobs would be created and overall GDP would rise. Instead, the money was given back to wealthy Americans in the form of lower taxes, which according to the CBO, had no effect in increasing the government revenue predicted by the administration. Also, Analysis of government data by the Economic policy institute, indicates that the tax cuts did nothing to stimulate economic growth. These funds could have put people to work rebuilding New Orleans.
Evidence of this can be seen in the week performance of the economy during Bush years. On average, GDP growth for past economic cycles this many months into an expansion, have been 3.7%. During this cycle, GDP growth has only been 2.7%. The growth in employment has been 0.5%, compared to the average of 2.0% seen in past cycles. Residential investment, which is really a symptom, rather than a cause of economic stagnation (as suggested by the News), grew by 3.5% compared to 4.9% of past cycles. We should also include a rise in poverty rates and lower median income for American workers when analyzing the economy.
The 4.4% unemployment rate that the News brags about, is because of the low unemployment rate handed to Bush by the Clinton administration. The employment gains predicted by the administrations own council of economic advisors, based on the tax cuts, never materialized. In fact, employment gains were below what the council predicted if there were no interventions in the economy. So the ball is still on the side of the court of those trying to make excuses for our lackluster economy.

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Franki Rader of Thornton writes:

Scott Moen challenged liberals to find facts not opinion, I will take this by paragraph.
#1. Where are your facts? If the Rocky is going further to the Left it is because of the mean spirited lies of destruction by Conservatives, even against their own.(i.e. McCain) 2.Not all Republican’s call themselves Conservatives.
They call the Democrats Tax and Spend Liberals. The Republican’s are Borrow and spend Conservatives.
Clinton left $236 billion surplus, and what did Bush do, turned around and gave $200 credit to each individual taxpayer, instead of keeping it for emergencies.
Since this was a tax credit, you couldn’t go out and spend it.
Then we had 911, and no money, so we started borrowing. The National Debt after 5 years of Bush is 0ver 8 Trillion.
He listed 3 things that the Liberals lied about: #1. The Iraq war is illegal (I don’t know) #2.The Iraq War is unjust.:(It is the wrong War) (The Saudi’s were the ones who flew the plane and we didn’t attack Saudi Arabia.) #3 The Iraq intelligence was “cooked".
It came out one television news on Friday the 6th the results of the investigation on the intelligence and the conclusion was that it was cooked. This Government puts out bad news on Friday hoping no one will see it or forget it by Monday.
When Bush took office Clinton was accused of destroying the Military when it was Dick Cheney as Secretary of Defense under the 1st Bush, that closed bases all over the Country. I remember that well because I was living in Wyoming at the time and he didn’t close any in Wyoming.
It would take a whole page to list all of Bush’s impeachable offensives, and they are more serious than lying to a Grand Jury about Sex.

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Bryant D. Dillard of Lakewood writes:

I have to take issue with Bruce W. Most of Denver when he opined ("Carroll perpetuates flat-tax myths", April 12) that a flat-tax system isn’t fair, or any better that our current system. Well of course it is. First, no matter what your race, gender, color, marital status or income level is, you’d pay the same rate on your taxable income. Isn’t that the very concept of fair? Second, to contradict Most, a flat-tax system would very much save money. How many lawyers, and tax agents, could we get rid of by making the tax code so simple an 8 year old could understand it? If we didn’t need an army of government employees to read, interpret, answer questions, check, double check, send to error resolutions and finally say the return is OK...I’m guessing we could save billions.
Sounds fair to me, that is, unless of course, you’re a liberal who fashions themselves as a modern day Robin Hood when they’re more likely a modern day Karl Marx.

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Grant D. Cyrus of Boulder writes:

As of this hour one can only admire the strong two pronged strategy of the Democrats in their bold challenge to Bush and the Republicans. To take him on in terms of this Attorney General Gonzales’ shenanigans is smart because they’ve apparently got him dead to right. And then to double up with an assertion of their role as the purse strings of Congress when it comes to funding and accountability is an absolutely superb backup move. Things have so seriously deteriorated because of this war that it is worth the potential constitutional crisis to regain (intellectual) control of the country.

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Brian Stuckey of Denver writes:

It can be argued that current FISA laws inhibit our ability to conduct foreign espionage. National Intelligence Director, Mike McConnell, has correctly proposed that our foreign surveillance program be expanded. While this may fly in the face of liberal Democrats, who would do away with foreign eavesdropping altogether, it is certainly in the interests of our national security to employ every available means to track terrorists at home and abroad. Those who argue that such actions “violate their civil liberties” will not have any such freedoms if the terrorists have their way. We hope that Congressional debate on this issue will heed Vice Admiral McConnell’s advice and do whatever is necessary to protect the freedoms that we cherish so dearly. In essence, there is no alternative.

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Allen Campbell of Colorado Springs, senior vice president of the Coalition for Equal Rights, writes:

How much more proof is it going to take for people to see that the smoking ban is patently unconstitutional, not just because of exemptions and the unfounded claims that secondhand smoke is a health risk, but because of the fact that no enforcement standers, no judicial policy and no authority to bar owners to enforce provisions have been addressed by the law therefor creating a chaotic confusion for all concerned. This law is not enforced equally in all areas, courts do not agree on how the law applies or doesn’t apply, district attorneys don’t have a clue what their authority includes or doesn’t include, tickets for smoking are written on the same tickets that are used for traffic violations thereby confusing offenders as to how they pay the fine and where it is that they must go to do it and police who write tickets to the wrong persons and fill in the wrong place to send in fine payments.
Bar owners are told not to enforce the law but to call the police, which in many cases results in the crime being as much as an hour and a half old and the violator no longer in the bar when they arrive. What if a none smoker is in the bar at the same time as someone else is smoking. The bartender can not force the smoker to put the cigarette out without violating his civil rights or assaulting him and he will get his butt sued off for either but at the same time the nonsmoker can sue him for not making the smoker stop smoking and exposing him to the alleged fatal secondhand smoke. Both leave in a huff and two weeks latter the bar owner and bartender are served notice they are being sued by both for diametrically opposed reasons.
Any law which puts a person in jeopardy no matter what he does or does not do and which provides no protection in either case is ipso facto unconstitutional because the law it’s self creates a violation of his civil rights.

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Charlie Vogel of Gypsum writes:

I am so glad we have people like Mason Tvert going out on a limb to defend a remarkably harmless personal liberty, I’m speaking, of course, of personal marijuana use. I applaud the News for taking the right side on this contentious debate. From the article about Tvert being angry with local law enforcement, to Paul Campos’ column on the witchhunt for extremely ill people who use marijuana as a medicine, the News has it right!
If you stack up alcohol related crimes and deaths with the crimes and deaths that might be related to marijuana, we’re talking about the marijuana stack being about one story high and the alcohol stack being as high as the Sears Tower. Alcohol is far more destructive than marijuana.
And I’d hate to even talk about the burden on our justice system and the government. Most marijuana prosecutions (86% of all for just simple possession) are futile flat on thier faces. As it stands now, Colorado has a slap-on-the-wrist $100 fine. Marijuana being illegal probably is causing more crime and hardship than if it were legal.
It’s pretty easy, folks. Just legalize it, tax it like you would cigarettes, make laws against the use of the drug by our youth and for driving and operating heavy machinery under the influence of the drug. I guarantee crime will go down, and the state coffers will go up. The police and prosecutors will have time to go after real crime. And we’d be able to pay for new roads and schools. It’s a win-win situation!

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Steve Harmening of Denver writes:

I just finished my state taxes and incredibly on the same line as my name , they ask me if I’m deceased! How could you possibly answer that? Makes you wonder at the competence, or lack thereof, of the people running the show here in Colorado, doesn’t it?

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Dan Dane of Thornton writes:

This is in regard to Don Imus’ comment regarding the Rutgers University Women’s basketball team. I personally feel that Don Imus has every right to say anything he wants, no matter how stupid it is. His words should have consequences, but those consequences should come directly from his ratings. The founding fathers of our nation felt so strongly about freedom of speech, that they made it the very first guarantee of rights in the Constitution. As a society we have become so “offended” by what someone says, that we forget the saying we were all taught in kindergarten. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” What happened to that? The best thing that could happen in this silly situation, is for the women of Rutgers (as it DIRECTLY affected them), would be to say, let Imus stay on the radio. He is an idiot and his listeners and advertisers will be the ones to decide if they want to listen to someone, as entitled as he may be, speak so ignorantly. I don’t listen to Imus. I’m sure not one person on Rutgers basketball team heard him say that live. Stop the insanity of “being offended.” There is no victim if no one pays a loud mouth idiot any mind anyway.

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Naomi Rachel of Boulder writes:

Remember Senator Nighthorse Campbell? He started out as a Democrat and ended up as a Republican. It appears that the same thing is happening with Senator Ken Salazar. Can we blame it, again, on Colorado’s thin air? President Bush is treating the Democrats like naughty kids. They don’t want to go to bed on time, but eventually they will bend to parental pressure and fund the war without any conditions attached. Senator Salazar has , in advance of the veto, given in. He is already under the covers! He’ll vote for war funding even though the majority of his supporters disagree. What do we need to do in this State to elect Democrats who remember their constituents are against this war? First they have to remember which party supported them and look up the definition of “representation.”

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Michael Franzen of Aurora writes:

I have a great idea on how to conduct wars from now on. I think we should draft the sons and daughters of our Senators and Representatives first, starting with the President’s daughters, before sending our working class and poor people over seas, to do the dirty work.
Think about it. Other than Senator John McCain, how many of our fearless leaders have a son or daughter in Iraq? All you young people that have, or are serving now, how many polititions kids, or rich kids have shared dangerous patrols, long lonely nights, etc. with you? (Don’t throw Pat Tillman in my face, he’s only one). I think we should pass a law called “the fairness law", that whenever we have a war, everyone should go, from the President’s kids on down, when I mean go, I mean go to the infantry.
Think about it, when everyone and I mean “Everyone” has the same to lose, how quickly things would be solved. How often do you think we would invade a Soveriegn Nation without Provocation if Donald Trump or President Bush had a child putting their life on the line?

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Ron Vander Kooi of Arvada writes:

We must praise those who support the Bush administration, e.g., in letters to the Rocky Mountain News, for its unflinching efforts to win the war in Iraq, regardless of the mixed motives and results. The great planning and intelligent pursuit of this war (and that in Afghanistan) is clearly being achieved with little present cost to the American public.
Also, don’t forget the clear successes with regard to the revival from Katrina and other domestic situations. And please recognize that Bush has united our citizenry and made our nation beloved around the world.

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John Ruckman of Lakewood writes:

More and more we see that there is something seriously wrong with Dick Cheney. His recent statements regarding Saddam and Alqaeda are a case in point. Recent releases from his own administration acknowledge that Saddam had no plans or actions with Alqaeda. Cheney seems to be in some sort of time warp or mind loss where he never gets past 2002 and his guesses at that time—which have since all been shown to be wrong. It’s time for Bush to have this man checked out by a competent psychiatrist.

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Leroy M. Martinez of Denver writes:

Denver City and County of Denver now want to tell you that you cannot take down your front yard trees unless they are a traffic or diseased tree. This is just another step in Big Brother telling what you can and cannot do on your own property. What is next?

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Paul Greene of Denver writes:

Mr. Mark Latimer, in his letter of 04/10/07, complains about the Democrats efforts to “dismantle” the Colorado Labor Peace Act and the probable passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800).
Mr. Latimer decries H.R. 800 for requiring only a card check majority for a group of employees to acquire collective bargaining rights. This has become necessary due to organizations like his effectively denying a fair election for employees through shenanigans by a National Labor Relations Board, appointed by a union hating President, that is clearly biased on the side of management determined to not allow Union organizing.
If Mr. Latimer would check his facts before going off on a tirade, he would find that employees are fired in almost every Union organizing campaign prior to an often delayed election, again manipulated by management and their political connected cronies on the NLRB. If employees are fortunate enough to get to an endlessly delayed election, they have been so indoctrinated by a one sided campaign of misconceptions, myths, half truths and outright lies that there is no way for the election to not be tainted.
As far as the so called “dismantling” of the Colorado Labor Peace Act, Mr Latimer’s organization is well aware of the need for a 75% majority to win a Colorado Labor Peace Act election. This must be his idea of fairness. If there was a real Democrat in the Governor’s office, who truly supported workers and just didn’t talk the talk, this unfair law would of been repealed.
I find it ironic that Mr. Latimer, and his organization, that has fought against the very right of workers to organize, is now trying to disguise themselves as the protector of these same workers rights by maintaining all of the unfair laws that have kept them down. I looked up hypocrisy in the dictionary and found the logo of the Associated Builders and Contractors.

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Taylor Critchell of Denver writes:

Page 8 of the Rocky Mountain News dated 4/10/07 gives a terrific example of the contradictory positions the City of Denver takes. On the left of the page is an article regarding marijuana possession in Denver. On this issue the government yields to state law and continues to prosecute people for possession of marijuana even though voters approved possession of under an ounce. On the right of the page is a story about pit bulls and how Denver has the right of home rule and may ignore a state law that does not allow breed specific bans. Denver’s arguments are inconsistent. Either they must stop arresting people for marijuana and respect home rule or they must eliminate the ban on pit bulls and follow state law. The City shouldn’t be allowed to have it both ways.

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Bryant D. Dillard of Lakewood writes:

This nonsense about Americans wanting to know the truth about the purge of US attorneys is getting ridiculous. Let me see if I can explain it for those of you reaching for a scandal.
First, all US attorneys serve at the discretion of the president. Second, US attorneys are part of the executive branch, not the judicial branch. This means that Congress has no business interfering with executive branch employee matters. Third, it is common practice for new administrations to replace US attorneys when they come into office, and during their terms.
Lest the left forgets, Janet Reno fired all the US attorneys and replaced them with those sympathetic to the Clintons. The only thing different about the current situation is that it wasn’t done during the first year of Bush’s term. The charge of politics is ridiculous. Of course politics is involved. Anyone who lives in America today (or has over the last 30 years) that doesn’t believe politics has anything to do with the judiciary at any level is out of touch with reality, but we can’t let that stand in the way of the left’s hatred for President Bush no can we?

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Terry Brumfiel of Aurora writes:

It is early on the 1st watch of his night and I am awakening, for a reason? I find my mind troubled by the present mentality of the day. I see a press that no longer speaks for the people but for its selfish ideology. I see my country torn asunder by the weight of its unbalanced scales. I see a leader unfairly characterized by this mighty but unfair media. What drives this unrighteous assignation? So imbalanced are we that truth is secondary to goals or positions that drive this carriage of injustice in the mind. History doth repeat itself? In a war not long ago I saw a country give in to this same mindset and lose that war while on the brink of victory but for politics and press. Presently the path is ever on the same rail for this country on the brink of victory but paralyzed by this unfair pen. I ask myself what happened to true grit? When this press and party banter nothing but cut and run. I see a country with no grit to with stand the troubles of the times. In a war called 2 I remember we lost three thousand of our comrades a day for this good fight \[freedom\] for many years. Today we loose two or three a day for this good fight and we do not have the stomach for it so clamors the press. This press now makes cowards of us all. The world will not forget this generation of cowards or the last. Our country will be tested all the more because our press and party doth make cowards of us all.

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Trust the nutty professor, Paul Campos, to turn the Virginia Tech tragedy into a senseless ranting against a totally unrelated topic — the Iraq situation.
In his latest nonsense, “Blacksburg times 35” (April 17), the University of Colorado professor likens the student killings to the everyday episodes in Iraq — the equivalent of 35 Blacksburg massacres, seven days per week, 365 days per year.
Like all liberal politicos, he ignores the consequences of their cut-and-run policy. Were we to capitulate to the pullout now, the Campos types could then substitute the number 135 or 235 or (use your imagination) for his 35.
As bad as it is or appears to be, it could — and would — get much, much worse.
Why doesn’t Campos tell us how many episodes like the USS Cole or the embassy bombings or the World Trade Center bombing or how many 9/11s have occurred in the past six years? It would be great to live in a make-believe liberal world where we didn’t have to confront evil but, in the real world, freedom is not free. It never has been and never will be.
The Rocky Mountain News should put Campos’ column where it belongs — six pages farther back from its current position.

Ray Carney, Lakewood

Rocky Mountain News columnist Paul Campos knows no shame. It is unbelievable that he would use a tragedy like the mass killings at Virginia Tech to make a political point — a left-wing liberal point in which he never offers any kind of alternative solution for helping fix the mess in Iraq.
He is ignorant of the history of the Middle East in which the adherents of the two versions of Islam have been at war with each other for centuries.
In fact, Saddam, a Sunni, was known for his mass slaughters of the opposing Shiite faction. So for Campos to blame the carnage all on our presence in Iraq displays a gross misunderstanding of history.
Shame on you, Mr. Campos, for your callous use of the Virginia Tech tragedy to push your own agenda.

Colin C. Case, Highlands Ranch

Like everyone else, I was shocked by the tragic events at Virginia Tech. How many more times do we need to get hit with these random acts of violence before we listen and act? Emily Keyes gave us one key: practice random acts of kindness.
Craig Scott, whose sister, Rachel Joy Scott, was a victim of the Columbine shootings, echoed this last October when he said that the antidote to violence is kindness.
How about setting aside April 20 or Sept. 27 as a National Practice Random Acts of Kindness Day and host events as is done on Earth Day to raise awareness?
Beyond that, we need to change the culture of violence that has arisen in this country. The time has come for Congress to pass legislation creating a Department of Peace and Nonviolence (H.R. 808), first introduced by Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, in 2001.
The department would address the root causes of violence and would foster the spread and use of the programs and practices that already exist that are needed to resolve conflict before it escalates into violence.
I urge all Rocky readers to contact their congressmen to support the legislation, and, while they are at it, readers might suggest a bill to create Kindness Day. Let us not await another tragedy before acting.

Bonnie S. Mandell-Rice, Broomfield

Before all the anti-gunners seize the opportunity to further their agenda, I would like to say this: Virginia Tech has a no-gun policy on campus. People who have carry permits are not permitted to carry on campus.
Obviously the rule did not deter the mass murderer.
Perhaps had someone had a gun this could have been prevented.

Ed Saltzman, Grand Lake

Please, next time you decide to print a full-page, front-page picture of an injured man, have the common decency to blur the image of his naked penis (April 17). Spare us! And give the poor guy some privacy.

Christi Martin, Westminster

Ed Ramsey of Thornton writes:

32 more killings by a freign national?
How many more U.S. citizen’s have to die by the hands of a foreign national alien before the U.S. Goverment will do something?

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Leroy M. Martinez of Denver writes:

Yet another school shooting has occurred and the news people interview recent shooting victims before they have time to heal. Some media outlets already claim why nothing was done faster before more people were shot. I say to these people that hind site is 20/20. I believe that the staff and security at Virginia Tech had no knowledge of what was about to happen as well as anyone except the shooter or possibility of several shooters.

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George Lilly of Denver writes:

There are at least two ways to look at this atrocious tragedy. One, let’s take all the guns away from everyone but the authorized government agencies. Two, let’s free up people to exercise their second amendment right which is an individual right according to the Supreme Court.
If we go with number one option, we are confronted with the possibility of tyranny by a government that has no restraint upon it, and we are also confronted with the criminal element which will always have guns - always! If we go with option number two, then if a situation like this should arise again, there will be armed citizens close at hand who will be able to ward off such horrendous carnage.
An armed society is a polite society. An unarmed society is a collection of victims. May the demagogues fail to whip Americans into some emotional, irrational frenzy that causes them to accept a poor solution never to be undone.

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Grant D. Cyrus of Boulder writes:

Can you even believe 33 dead at Virginia Tech?
I will seriously up and slap the next person who questions my wanting to be established somewhere outside of this country and its mass madness mon!

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Jill and Steve Butler of Birmingham, Ala., and Annapolis, Md. (formerly of Morrison), write:

It has been nearly 8 years since we lost friends and family at Columbine. Now another campus shooting at Virginia Tech.
Another school shooting. Each shooting, bombing or other mayhem doesn’t impact me as much as April 20, 1999, since we lived five miles from Columbine. It is good that there are cell phones so most parents can know about their child. Let us pray for those at Virginia Tech and Blacksburg - the students, staff as well as family and friends.
While we have moved away, April 20th is special to us and we continue to pray for a life changing event, not only at Virginia Tech, but Columbine, too. Let us remember We Are Columbine.

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Karen Sumner of Denver writes:

Please, dog owners.. ..if you own an aggressive dog, do not bring it to the off-leash dog parks. Please do not be in denial about your dog's behavior, either. I have witnessed aggressive behavior from dogs and all the owner has to say is "Oh, he's just playing". I can certainly tell the difference between two sweet dogs playing and an aggressive dog, who really just wants to get into a fight.
On February 24th of this year, I was at the Cherry Creek Dog Park with my two very sweet, very unthreatening dogs. This was our Saturday ritual. Not only was it good for my dogs to run free, but it was good for my soul, as well.
On this particular day, as I was standing looking at the stream toward the west end of the park, another woman's dog came and chased after my large, 95 pound. pointer/dalmation mix. who is a sweet, wonderful friend and would rather die, than harm me. However, the aggressive dog started to chase and nip at my dog, snarling and growling. The other owner called him off a couple of times. About the time I was getting ready to leave and escape this other dog, my dog decided to run from him. He ran, full steam ahead, to get away. Unfortunately, my dog was looking back at the other dog, and ran right into my left leg. I fell and heard a tremendous POP and down I went. The owner did stay and help; in fact, she had a cell phone and managed to get a hold of the park ranger for my rescue. After an excruciating ride back to the parking lot and on to the ER, I found out that my leg was severely broken.. ..all because of an aggressive dog. My leg is now healing, but is full of plates, nuts and bolts. The leg will eventually heal and because of a wonderful surgeon and physical therapist, Twill soon be rid of the crutches. I do not know if my leg will ever truly be the same.
So, please, dog lovers.., don't be in denial about the aggressiveness of your dog and if they show this behavior, keep them at home. Yes, it was a freak accident, but one that could have been avoided.

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Brian Stuckey of Denver writes:

The adoption bill is a sly effort to bypass the public and railroad the bill against the will of the voters. After all, Colorado voters have already overwhelmingly expressed their sentiments on Referendum I and Amendment 43. In essence, the voters have shown strong support for he traditional family. HB 1330, in contrast, bypasses the legal review process and offers what is essentially a counterfeit family. We hope that the Governor will veto this ruse for what it is, a repudiation of the will of the voters. Our children deserve better.

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Steve Schweitzberger of Littleton writes:

I just sent checks to governments ahead of our April 15th deadline.
April Fools Day has passed, but foolishness regarding illegal immigration motivates me to ask where my tax dollars are being spent.
Last night CBS news aired a program about costs of immigration. Over ten years (’96 to 2006) CBS reported 10.7 workers with phony social security numbers contributed $50 Billion in income taxes. Presumably these workers can’t apply for any refund due.
Good for the federal government?
Bad for some others. CBS also reported that Dallas County, Texas has sued Mexico for costs of some $50 million in healthcare to illegal immigrants occurred in a single year. Remember the Federal accrual of $50 Billion is over a period of ten years. Do the math, if you can, for Colorado.
Also in the CBS report was an estimate of $1.6 Billion for prisons, $1.9 Billion for food assistance programs and $1.5 Billion for educational programs at the federal level, annually, due to illegal immigration.
If it were April Fools Day I might suggest America establish a Congress to look out for the common good. A government by the people, for the people and of the people. Let’s presume “people” implies legal residents.
If Texas wins it’s lawsuit against Mexico, I would anticipate Mexico to retaliate by suing the Bush administration, for allowing Mexicans to sneak into out nation and incur their debt, which Texas has sued Mexico to recover. Deja view?
You can consider this letter my April 15th protest. At what point does a tea-dumping rebel become a patriot?

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Sue Marquardt of Denver writes:

Please don’t tell me that President Bush is the only person hated in this country. We have not heard anything bad about Hillary Clinton. We have not heard anything bad about Nancy Pelosi. As a matter of fact, I have not heard anything bad about any Democrat.
I myself like President Bush, and I’m getting tired of some of the articles written about him. Not only am I tired of the articles written about him, but also the “sick” cartoons that are drawn of him.
I know that the Post and Rocky Mountain News seats are usually filled with Democrats, but it would be nice if you would print something “every now and then” that’s good about him.
After all, he is our president.

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James Jones of Littleton writes:

Did you read about Prime Minister’s Pelosi’s “Let’s embarrass the President while the country is at war” cavalcade to Syria and think, “There ought to be a law?” Well, actually there is.
The “Logan Act” made it a felony in 1799 for any American, “without authority of the United States,” to communicate with a foreign government in an effort to influence that government’s behavior on any “disputes or controversies with the United States.” Not all congressional trips involving talks with foreign leaders are unlawful. Members of both parties routinely visit countries all over the world on fact-finding tours.
However, this junket was described by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos as an expression of an “alternative Democratic Foreign Policy.” This venture was nothing less than Democrats, as congressional leaders, conducting their own, independent diplomacy.
Ms. Pelosi’s, as Speaker of the House, conferred with the leader of one of the world’s leading sponsors of international terrorism. Syria facilitates the insurgency in Iraq and actively supports the terrorists Lebanon. The U.N. has implicated Syria in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Ms. Pelosi is certainly entitled to believe that what it takes to get the Syrians, Israel’s and everyone else in Middle East to get along is “constructive dialogue.” But she overlooks the detail that she hasn’t actually been elected President and does not have the president’s executive authority to conduct foreign policy.
So did Ms. Pelosi violate the Logan Act and break the law? It’s an interesting question. I understand special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is out of work now that he’s hunted Scooter Libby down. Maybe he’s like to look into the Pelosi scandal?

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Jeffrey S. Ryan of Breckenridge writes:

Letter writer Scott Moen, who apparently dwells in a cave with a television that only receives Fox News, challenges “any liberals” to produce “documentable” evidence that the Iraq War is illegal; that the Iraq War is unjust, and; the Iraq War intelligence was “cooked.”
Moen seems unaware that each of these challenges has been met not just by “liberals,” but by intelligence agents and conservatives. But to meet his challenges, let this “liberal” educate him as to the following: 1. “The Iraq War is illegal.” Under international law, there are only two circumstances justifying an attack like the one we levelled at Iraq: Either we were attacked by Iraq first, or we had certain knowledge of an imminent attack from Iraq. Neither of these situations existed when we initiated th war. Further, this international law is part of the rules of the United Nations, to whom we are bound by treaty. The U.S. Constitution defines treaties as “the law of the land.” By violating the treaty, we are engaging in a violation of the law of our own constitution.
2. “The Iraq War is unjust.” By militarily attacking a greatly weakened nation that had no navy, no real air force, and only 1/3 of the army it had in the first Gulf War, we slaughtered thousands upon thousands of innocent Iraqis who never asked for our help in the first place, deposed and killed a sovereign, though loathesome, leader, and unleashed religious and ethnic violence on an epic scale, leading to even more deaths. This is just, Mr.
Moen?
3. “The Iraq intelligence was cooked.” Bush claimed that Iraq was developing “drone” aircraft that could target the U.S. But Bush’s own intelligence agencies had informed him that these drones only had a range of a few hundred miles, and posed no risk to our nation. Bush claimed that aluminum tubes were being purchased by Saddam that could only be used for centrifuges necessary to build nuclear weapons, despite knowing that his own Departments of Energy and State had determined that the tubes were exactly the WRONG type for nuclear use, and were in fact just what Saddam claimed they were: Tubes to be used (legally) for artillery. Bush suggested that there had been contacts between Saddam and al-Qaeda to stage terrorist attacks against the U.S. Yet Bob Baer, a former CIA agent and al-Qaeda expert, stated flatly that, “I’m unaware of any evidence of Saddam pursuing terrorism against the United States.”
This was an illegal, unjust war, sold to us by knowing lies. It is folks like Mr. Moen who are uninterested the facts.

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Ken Pitt of Arvada writes:

In their article Bush no Visionary on Stem Cells, Cokie and Steven Roberts once again offer up the Democratic mantra that President Bush is a divider, not a uniter. I have heard this baloney one too many times. It translates as follows: “If you don’t do what we want, we’re going to further divide the country by shouting at the top of our lungs that you’re divisive.” And the Democrats seem to think President Bush should to want compromise with them, all the while they’re telling any lie they can think up and trying to destroy him and anyone connected with him. I think he’s soft in the head for trying to compromise with them at all because the Democrats perceive it as an admission that their ideas have validity, and it just fuels their lust for his destruction.

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Al Nieto of Denver writes:

In this mornings Rocky Mtn News 4-11-07,I read the following: “CHUG IT AT THE CURB” Muslim American Society has issued a religious decree against the Minneapolis Airport for requiring taxi drivers to pick up passengers carrying alcohol. To appease the drivers, most of whom are Muslim, airport officials suggested installing special lights on booze-friendly cabs. The public has organized hearings to revoke licenses.
It should be obvious that it is just a matter of time until the Muslims start pushing other of their religious beliefs on us Americans.
It is just a matter of time until they will force the vulgar naked American women, who flaunt their ankles and faces so that everyone may see to cover up. Their indecency demands that we require them to be clad in “Berka’s” at all times, as all decent women should.
Then soon after that, to keep them in their place, we can beat them if they sass or nag too much. (or have too many headaches"...;-) I guess we may be lucky if the illegal Mexicans outnumber the Muslims first, then they will, by sheer vote numbers, secede the SW USA from America and then the Muslims will take over places like Minneapolis. The United States of Mexico and the United States of Persiathen can duke it out for supremacy while we lesser Americans"Cower” in our submissive stupidity.
I am contemplating observing this from Thailand.
Think about it Americans, I don’t want to be driven out and neither do you.
Remember how the white man conquered America, by sheer numbers over the laid back savages.
Is it goodbye America and hello “Mexi-Persia” or “Persia-Xican.”

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Preston Martinez of Commerce City writes:

OPPOSE SB 25 UNLESS AMENDED TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS!!!!!!!!!!! Senate Bill 25 “Concerning the Expansion of Employment Nondiscrimination Protections” would add “sexual orientation” and “religion” to the list of characteristics for which a person may not be discriminated against under state laws which apply to Employers’ practices involving hiring, discharging, promoting, or demoting employees; the harassment of employees; and the compensation of employees. Senate Bill 25 does exclude religious organizations or associations from the definition of “employer” for purposes of complying with state employment nondiscrimination laws. The definition of “employer” in SB 25 says that: For purposes of this section, “employer” shall not include any religious organization or association, except for any religious organization or association that is supported in whole or in part by money raised by taxation or public borrowing.
The Colorado Catholic Conference OPPOSES this legislation in its current form.
This legislation could have adverse effects on Catholic organizations, such as Catholic Charities and other religious organizations and associations which have ties to public monies, by forcing these entities to violate their beliefs.
Senate Bill 25 is a broad intrusion by the Government on religious freedom.
Senate Bill 25 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate this week. Please contact your senator and ask him/her to OPPOSE SB 25 unless amended to protect religious organizations.

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Jeri A. Logan of Denver writes:

Excellent editorial on the Administration’s trouble filling a recently created war czar post. It is no wonder that George “MBA” Bush would try to bring in some new blood to clean up his mess, it is what all the CEOs do when they find themselves in the kind of hole Bush finds himself. Anyone who has ever been downsized, outsourced, or just plain laid off knows that companies love to bring in some over-priced executive who has ‘brilliant’ ideas for running the company out of the red and into the black. In this case, instead of the bottom line, we are talking about human lives in a completely unnecessary war started by the most incompetent person to ever run this Republic. This country isn’t a Fortune 500 company from which every last bit of profit is to be leached, it was the best democracy ever created in the history of human civilization. Right now it is only the best money can buy.

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Pete Klammer of Wheat Ridge writes:

Our imaginations have been stirred for decades by science fiction stories — books and movies — about adventures in strange environments.
It sounds like truth will soon become stranger than fiction, and we’ll get our chance to find out what it’s like to live on a alien planet, whether we like it or not.

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Rick Johnson of Denver writes:

My heart goes out to the parents of fallen soldier Danny Dietz, and my strongest support goes to their effort to create a memorial sculpture in Littleton in honor of his memory and his service to our country.
The opponents who oppose the memorial, in large part because it includes an automatic weapon, fear that the proposed location near schools and a playground may send a message of violence to children. Clearly, they are well-meaning, but what better a location is there… and what better a message to our children is there?
These are dangerous and violent times. It is critical that, as much as we may want to protect our young people from the realities of our time, it cannot be done… and should not be done by way of an assault on a representation of one young man’s commitment to and sacrifice for the better and safer future we all long for.
Whatever our thoughts about this war and its toll, those fighting this war are our children, no more and no less than the younger of our children who may pass the memorial and perhaps pay attention to it for a moment or two, perhaps wondering at its meaning, perhaps asking us of its meaning.
Apparently quite overlooked by the opponents of the memorial is that the barrel of that most dangerous weapon held by Danny Dietz is pointed downward to the ground and his finger is pointed away from the trigger.
If anyone wants to look for a message, there is the real message.

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Lynn Highland of Morrison writes:

I read with interest Mr. Foster’s article in the April 11 Rocky Mtn News about the pervasive head injuries to our military personnel in Iraq, because the helmets they were issued were not designed for IED shock effects.
I’m surprised Mr. Foster didn’t mention “Operation Helmet” which is a consortium of people desperately trying to get the military to upgrade soldiers’ helmets to protect them from concussive shocks. There are helmets available that will prevent these injuries, but the military won’t buy them.
Reasons are many but the excuse is, they “are looking into the benefits” of these helmets, and just can’t make a commitment to buy them.
Fortunately, good people have stepped up to the plate. There are helmet upgrades (a set of shock absorbing pads) that can be requested, by troops at: http://www.operation-helmet.org/ This organization also accepts donations.

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Vicky Green of Boulder writes:

I just read Michelle Malkin’s column published 4/11/07 under the title “Imus’ shot just a drop in the bucket". I concur entirely with her premise that vile, sexist invective is first and foremost the domain of black rappers who are seldom held to account by the likes of Sharpton and Jackson. My problem with the column is how she concluded with a reference to “young rappers . . . who have helped turn America into Tourette Nation.”
As the mother of a 17-year old son with Tourette’s Syndrome I find it troubling that she chose to use a metaphor which likens calculated obscenity to an incurable, largely untreatable neurological disorder. Her comparison is particularly inept in that only 5-15% of all Tourette’s sufferers display “coprolalia", a vocal tic defined as an uncontrollable and unintentional utterance of particular words — sometimes, but not always, “dirty” words or swearing. Instead, most people with Tourette’s display a wide variety of motor tics, ranging from minor twitching to major limb thrusting, even hopping or jumping. Vocal tics are most frequently confined to throat clearing, barking or chirping sounds, grunting, clicking noises, and the like.
People with Tourette’s, my son included, are continually bombarded with questions like “So what swear words do you shout?” This question is asked in ignorance and without malice, and judging from this column that ignorance is widespread even among otherwise intelligent, well-informed people. I wish Malkin had not used her considerable public podium to further this ignorance. People with Tourette’s Syndrome have a tough enough time as it is.

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Robert E. Forman of Lakewood writes:

Who is this Jesus Christ that homosexuals think condones their immorality? They speak his name, but they know him not. If they truly knew and understood who he is, perhaps they would heed his command to “go, and sin no more.”
In his letter (4/11/07), Anthony Palange states something “unusual” from a pro-homosexual viewpoint: He referred to a previous letter as quoting the “Holy Scriptures to justify (a) particular prejudice.”
Since Palange seems to know, understand, and admit that the text the previous letter quoted from is, in fact, from the “Holy Scriptures,” perhaps all Palange needs is a little bit of enlightenment as to whose words those are.
John 1:1-4 clearly indicates who Jesus Christ is: Jesus Christ is yet another name for the God of the Old Testament. The God in the Old Testament is known by many names; Jesus Christ or Yeshua Messiah is simply another New Testament name for, for all practical purposes, the same God of the Old Testament.
Reading further in verse 5, we find that everything that was made or created was made or created through Jesus Christ. Everything would include the Levitical Laws; everything would include the Laws that forbid sexual immorality; and everything would include the Laws that forbid homosexual sexual activity.
Everything including Creation and everything since Creation that was made or created by God was made and created through Jesus Christ. Everything.
Thus Palange absolutely correct when he claims that “Somewhere along the way Jesus Christ and his teachings have been lost.” There are very few people who call themselves “Christians” who truly know and understand the Old Testament teachings of Jesus Christ; teachings that he himself authenticated in Matthew 5:17-18 to every jot and tittle.

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Michael Elder of Littleton writes:

I accept and agree with the consequences that Don Imus is experiencing over his extremely ill-chosen words describing the Rutgers women’s basketball team. Imus may have been attempting to entertain and amuse using terms that have become commonplace in music and comedy on television channels adjacent to MSNBC. Imus certainly used these words in a context that is unacceptable and unfair to the accomplished student athletes of Rutgers. However, these same words (and worse) are being heard frequently and in even more explicitly degrading context from many of the comedians and musicians on MTV, VH1, BET, and Comedy Central.
If it is wrong (and it is) coming from an “old, white guy” on a talk show, it is just as wrong coming from anyone - including a person of color. When a person of color uses such words, they send a strong message that these words are okay to be spoken or broadcast. The logic that convicts Imus in the court of public opinion should apply universally. The attitude of “do as I say, not as I do” is a hypocritical double standard and should not be acceptable. I suggest that the news media and the outraged leaders of civil rights and women’s groups, who have led the Imus outcry, now turn their attention and effort to Viacom (the owner of MTV, VH1, BET, and Comedy Central) as well as all other media outlets that permit and promote similar bad behavior.
The unfortunate casualty of the controversy may be the significant charitable efforts for children that Imus supports effectively from his talk show forum. Everyone needs to remember that our valued concept of free speech does not mean our speech is free of consequences.
Fairness dictates that similar consequences should apply to all who chose and use their words as poorly as Imus did.

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Bryant D. Dillard of Lakewood writes:

Recently, Naomi Rachel of Boulder told us all how she knew that Iraq would be a disaster long before the war ever started ("Iraqi Chaos is Bush’s fault, not Iraqis", April 9). Well, isn’t that just spectacular? Most of us would call that hindsight, but apparently Rachel has a skill no one else does.
Rachel goes on to tell us that politicians of all stripes are wrong in where they place the blame. Apparently, Rachel is upset that they aren’t blaming America. At least we now know where Rachel sits as a “blame America firster.” Also, Rachel tells us it was lies that led us to invade. Lies? Would those be the reasons cited by the administration for cause? Would those be the reasons that nearly every country (with the exception of Iraq) agreed with us on? Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the dictionary define a lie as an intentional misleading? So, where’s the proof that Bush intentionally lied? Maybe Rachel is using her ESP again. Oh, and an “humanitarian disaster” has occurred? As a US Marine, I can personally attest that the US armed forces has done more to provide humanitarian and infrastructure support than Rachel, or the whole city of Boulder has ever done.
Look, Rachel has every right to believe what she wants, but to spew lies and to place blame with no real personal knowledge of the situation is not only reckless, but morally wrong...but hey, it’s easy to sit in Boulder and second guess and pronounce edicts from their extensive foreign policy experience learned from their living rooms.

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R. Barry Crook of Aspen writes:

I became physically nauseated reading the tripe served up to us by Lewis Thompson about Danny Dietz and the statute to honor this fine young man proposed for Littleton. Lewis Thompson ends the Speakout column by declaring that no disrespect was intended to Danny Dietz or his family — that was a lie. Disrespect is what he dished out in a heaping display of hatred and ignorance.
Mr. Thompson is so addled-brained that he asks if it wasn’t confusing to school kids to suggest that emulating the devotion of Danny Dietz in defending his country and his fellow soldiers with a weapon was somehow different than the use of weapons by the two boys who shot up Columbine High School? If Mr. Thompson finds that confusing, he is a sad, pathetic excuse for a human being.
He declares that there is little moral difference between the use of violence by Danny Dietz and that of the murder of school children by the Columbine shooters. Perhaps Lewis Thompson is incapable of discerning the difference, but that speaks volumes about the lack of a moral compass Mr. Thompson uses, not those who would view Danny Dietz’s statute.
Finally Mr. Thompson demeans the sacrifice of Danny Dietz by implying that he was “bullying others” and failed to use force as a last resort. Shame on you Lewis Thompson, you are unworthy of being listened to, you are incapable of honorable discourse, and you should be ashamed of yourself. Why did the Rocky Mountain News even permit their editorial space to be so disgraced by this crap? I cannot even begin to describe the utter contempt I have for Lewis Thompson and those who think like he does. It is beyond human comprehension what things in this human dung heap’s life led him to compare the life of Danny Dietz — what this young man stood for, and what he did — to cold-blooded killers, to bullies, and to the undeserving. Slither back under the rock you must live under sir!

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Larry E. Burns of Denver writes:

You have to get up early in the morming to see “Imus In the Morning", on MSNBC.
I don’t think it’s worth my time.His show is surely “shock TV".They say just about anything and everything that will that can tick you off and “shock” you.
Their in the business of “Shock".I find it boring myself.I would not have been bored if I had seen it the other day when he uttered those infamous words.But this is America and in America we have the “First Amendent". So no matter how insulting,degrading or humiliating, he has the right to say what ever he likes.I’m sure the young female athletes on the Rutgers basketball team was hurt at first,then got very ticked off being called “Nappy Headed Hoe’s".
What Imus did was again show how much dis-respect Millions of white Americans have for Black Americans. Sometimes they get to feeling really relaxed and comfor- table and just let it all hang. In defense of Mr.Imus, what he said is no different than someone using n-----, s--- or g---. Respectful Americans don’t use these words.
People with class don’t use these words. Imus has neither. We are what we eat!
the problem that Black Americans have is what to do about situation like this.
Black Americans have put up with so much for so long that when something like this happens they are lost for what to do.In other cultures responding with violence would be the answer,but how do you respond to something like this when you don’t have the controls to respond properly.Remember white America controls the strings.
So Black America the answer to what to do has always been there,are you ready to take the big step?

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Barb Adams of Parker writes:

Contrary to the knee-jerk reactions that are now taking place, Imus was not insulting black females or black humanity by his tasteless joke. He was making fun of black rappers who routinely call black women “hos” and “b------.”
It was dumb, it was stupid, but are we going to conduct witch hunts now and physically remove anyone from the public discourse because they said something offensive? We might as well fire ALL the DJ’s and comediennes then, as all of them have at one time, said something stupid.
In addition, what I really want to know is who elected Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as moral compasses? Like Bill Maher says, “It’s fake outrage and is only distracting to the real issues.”

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While I am shocked and horrified by what happened at Virginia Tech, I am not at all surprised by what took place. So-called “gun free zones” only inhibit law-abiding citizens from taking the necessary steps to protect themselves and others, and act as advertisements for psychos searching for an easy target.
The Virginia legislature, in early 2006, proposed a bill that would allow licensed concealed weapon holders to carry weapons on college campuses, but the bill was shut down in committee. The reasoning was that it “is not safe for people to carry guns in an academic environment”. This statement is missing a single word: crazy. It is not safe for crazy people to carry guns in an academic environment, or any environment, for that matter.
Colorado is another state that does not allow the otherwise lawful carry of a concealed weapon on college campuses, because “it is not safe for people to carry guns in an academic environment.”
It is time for these same politicians and school administrators to realize that college campuses and other educational institutions are not immune to the tragedies perpetrated by a disturbed few and are, in fact, more vulnerable, and that law-abiding citizens must not be stripped of their ability to protect themselves and others.

Gannon Frain, Boulder

As I write this, the toll at Virginia Tech is 33 dead. Imagine if carnage of this scale happened every day and sometimes two and three times per day. Imagine further that the perpetrators were fueled by an ideology of hate, intolerance and fear. I cannot imagine the good people of this country not joining together to confront and eliminate such an evil.
While we will no doubt (justifiably) indulge ourselves in a collective hand-wringing and national mourning, this is precisely what happens in Iraq, day in and day out.
How can any compassionate person even think about turning our backs on the Iraqi people at this time? Especially since, whether for the right reasons or the wrong ones, we helped to create the environment that gave rise to this evil?

Rusty Staff, Longmont

With all due respect to University of Colorado researcher Del Elliot and the Columbine victims’ families, I doubt that the sealed depositions of the killers’ parents would prevent more school shootings (“Sealed depositions may be end of Columbine study,” April 4).
All school shooting events have been studied in detail by the Secret Service, and it is primarily what is going on at school, not the home, that needs continuing attention.
Most shooters report severe persistent bullying “that approaches torment” according to these studies. Just as with adults in workplace shootings, rare students will tip over the edge in psychotic rages.
The answer lies in effective anti-bullying strategies, inclusive schools and responsive staff. Zero-tolerance school discipline is counterproductive, because students who know that any incident, whether serious or not, will be treated harshly, are much less likely to “tell.”

Louise Benson, Broomfield

Poll after poll, and last November’s election, make it clear that a sizable majority of Americans want an end — soon — to the Iraq war.
Bush apparently wants the U.S. military there forever, and is now threatening to veto legislation that Congress passed in support of the will of the American people.
It is a selfish move. Not only is Bush going against the will of the American people with his veto, he will be cutting off funding to our troops. History will not be kind to George W. Bush, but Bush has not been kind to America.

Frank Slavick, Superior

Mary Voelz Chandler’s column of April 7 about the difficulty of raising money for new arts projects (“The wait for arts funds just got a little longer,” Spotlight), highlights a structural funding issue in the Denver area.
While the Denver Scientific and Cultural Facilities District is a wonderful asset, it has a serious downside — an inability to respond to changing community needs.
The district was established as a sort of large ATM, and it spools out most of its money on a formulaic basis that is stuck in a traditional view of what a community should have on its arts menu.
As a result, the funds are heavily weighted toward support of the status quo.
The ability of district funds to be used for major initiatives such as the Biennial of the Americas is very limited, so the mayor and others are forced to seek private funds for ambitious new arts efforts even as the SCFD generously supports dying art forms.
No wonder there is a problem here.

Anthony Radich, Denver

C.H. Clawson’s letter (“Spotlight spread glorified graffiti,” Talk Back to the Media, April 7) regarding the March 22 Rocky Mountain News article, “Girlz ’n the hoodie” (the headline alone is worth a vomit) was on point.
Further, there is no such thing as a graffiti artist. They may be vandals, defacers and poseurs, but not artists. Taggers impose their egos and their too-coolness on the rest of us. Their tags are the visual equivalent of car horns honking.
Dudes, how would it be if I skewed my cap and came over and spritzed something on your living room walls?

Craig Marshall Smith, Denver
Professor emeritus, Art Department, The Metropolitan State
College of Denver

Perhaps we should give the immigrant cabdriver, Nur Negawo, a pass for invoking the inflammatory “slavery” tag in describing the plight of being a cabbie in Denver (“Hard life on the streets/Taxi drivers push for right to form their own service,” March 26).
Not to denigrate his hardships, but perhaps Negawo lacks the proper historical perspective in invoking the term. I would, however, like to point out one crucial difference: Negawo has other job options; African-American slaves did not.

Dave Athens, Denver

I have furniture and appliances I want to donate to the people in Holly. I called their hotline and was told they have no way to pick anything up. I live in Aurora.
I called the Salvation Army and they said they can’t do it. Channel 7 asked for donations on its newscast but I think it’s a shame that these people need the donations and no one will see to it that they get help.

Martha Homiak, Aurora

My company has called downtown home since 2004. As a business owner, I strongly encourage the city and business community to work together to improve safety and address the long-abandoned buildings downtown.
While improving the 16th Street Mall is a top priority, downtown doesn’t stop there. My company, Corona Research, is located at 1630 Welton St., near three downtown eyesores: the Fontius Building, the vacant lot at East 17th and Welton streets, and the abandoned drive-through bank building at East 18th and Welton streets. Every day as I walk from my parking garage to my office I see these underused parcels and wonder why someone doesn’t do something to transform these into real assets for downtown. We have significant foot traffic on Welton anchored by the two Hyatt Hotels.
Let’s give downtown workers, residents, shoppers and visitors something to proudly call home.
Karla Raines, Denver

It is amazing that there is no whining in Holly after the devastating tornado. Yes, Holly is considerably smaller than New Orleans; however the loss is still relative. No clamoring for FEMA -- Where is my check? What are you going to do for me? Woe is me! O poor me!
The opposite is happening -- people banding together in a pioneer spirit and taking matters into their own hands, picking up the pieces and neighbor helping neighbor. Yes, Gov. Bill Ritter declared Holly a disaster area and there might be some FEMA money available for some rebuilding, but it is refreshing to see the no whining attitude. Thank you, Holly.
Steve Tomsic, Aurora

Thanks to Al Gore, I am learning about carbon credits. Due to his passing along the knowledge of the carbon credit and the carbon-neutral footprint, I propose that we can get rid of the Front Range brown cloud and eliminate the no-burn days for our fireplaces.
The cost in carbon credits per vehicle is approximately $20 per year. If we added this $20 to the registration cost of each vehicle along the Front Range, all of the vehicles would be carbon neutral. And if they are carbon neutral then the brown cloud has to disappear, right?
Since a gas-guzzling vehicle only costs a few cents per day for carbon credits, then the cost to make all fireplaces carbon neutral will be considerably less. I am certain people would pay 2 cents each time they used their fireplace on no-burn days to make them carbon neutral —- and hence being environmentally friendly.
Thanks to Mr. Gore, we now find out that we do not have to change our lifestyles and can spend just a few dollars per week to leave a carbon-neutral footprint on the atmosphere.
And we will not have to worry anymore about the brown cloud and global warming! Right? Right!
Darrel B. Richardson, Littleton

No matter how we may feel about the war — the rightness or wrongness of it —our young men and women fighting over there are not only defending our country, but each one of us and me personally; that brings it a little closer to home.
Even if we march against the injustices we might feel are happening, we need to pray for them, their safety and their families.
Beverly Stout, Broomfield

What is so infuriating about the conservatives, the supposed “advocates” of prosecuting a global war on “terror” is their complete unwillingness to even contemplate the only strategy that has any hope of succeeding in this more properly termed war against Islamic fundamentalism: victory.
Just as it required a devastating, humiliating defeat of the South in the Civil War to end the vile practice of slavery in this country, and an equally overwhelming crushing of Japanese and German fascists in the 1940s to end their threat to all mankind once and for all, it will require a similar thorough and violent repudiation of the Islamic fundamentalists and all they stand for in order to end their similar threat to all mankind.
It does not take significant thought to see that any leader willing to honestly work for such a victory will achieve it within a few short months.
Until such a leader comes along, all the left can promise us is endless appeasement and submission, while all the right can promise us is the endless waste of the lives of our best and brightest. What a choice!
Russell W. Shurts, Centennial

This is in response to the April 6 Rocky Mountain News article, “Health plans would benefit state’s uninsured.”
There is a way for people to “take responsibility for their own health.” But no plan to force others to take care of them can accomplish this.
It is government interference in medicine that created the crisis we face. The solution is to end such interference as quickly as possible. To do so, the Senate Bill 208 commission must consider proposals other than a single-payer system.
An individual has a moral responsibility, and a moral right, to care for his own health and that of his own children. But this becomes impossible when the government mandates a plan to which all must conform, by enslaving other individuals and organizations, such as doctors, nurses, taxpayers and insurance companies.
As it stands now, the SB 208 commission intends to increase the very government interference that created the problem. This cannot “get” anyone to take responsibility for his/her own health. It can only deprive individuals of this responsibility and this right, and drive up prices even further.
Richard Watts, Hayden

Why have we not been so little informed (inby any of the local media) of the headlong, illegal (not approved, or even known, by Congress) dismantling, and possible destruction by the Bush administration, of five (and counting) of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 27 libraries, which< are supposed to be available to scientists and the public alike?
Even as some legislators and (many) EPA scientists have objected, the pace of destruction of important environmental and climatological data, has accelerated. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson has been unresponsive to these objections, but questions and objections from outraged readers might be more effective.
It seems unfortunate, but it looks like American citizens will have to save their environment from the actions of their own government’s agency, which was designed to protect it — and save our country from its own leaders. The November elections helped, but don’t think this fight is over.
R. Kiefer, Arvada

The abhorrent behavior of the Democrats in Congress has been staggering.
Bribing their members with slabs of pork in order to entice them into voting to cut and run in Iraq is disgusting in and of itself. The fact that many of the congressional Democrats took the bribes is mind-boggling.
These actions demonstrate what a stranglehold the extreme left wing has on the party. The fact that the leadership and their members caved in to the likes of MoveOn.org, Daily Kos, etc., certainly signals the decay of the once-great Democratic Party.
Added to the sadness of this debacle is the realization that the people of Colorado have now learned they did not elect a statesman to the Senate, but just another political hack who blindly follows the dictates of the extremist left wing.
Jack Palmer, Denver

President Bush and Sen. John McCain both made public statements recently proclaiming that some of the streets in Baghdad are now safe, thus proving that the "surge” is working. Never mind the recent upsurge in violence in Tal Afar and other locations previously considered safe.
While there is plenty of evidence that the surge is not working in Baghdad, let’s assume that it is. If the previous four years is any indication of the duration of any such success, it will last as long as US troops occupy, Iraq boots on the ground, 24/7. You know the drill: We occupy, the enemy withdraws; we withdraw, the enemy reoccupies — it’s like squeezing a balloon.
Here’s the solution: Deploy another 500,000 U.S. troops and remain in occupation for as long as it takes Iraqis to resolve their religious differences, or until hell freezes over, whichever comes first.
Mike Pisano, Littleton

After reading Vincent Carroll’s rant (“No. 1: Don’t exhale,” On Point, April 5) against Time magazine’s thoughtful and motivating article on how to live a more environmentally friendly life, I feel that perhaps the Rocky Mountain News should be considered a major pollutant.
His ridicule was appalling and clearly a waste of paper and ink. When a major news magazine’s cover story promotes behaviors, large and small, tothat do something about global warming, its vision is to be applauded, not mocked.
Just call me another “snotty,” condescending earthling encouraged to live a more simple life for future generations.
Diane Hansen, Denver

Richard O. Delgado of Denver writes:

In his April 3 column, “Tancredo makes his pitch to play with the big boys,” the Rocky’s Mike Littwin provided a view into the world of conservative talk radio that many fail to acknowledge. It’s a slice of Americana that instills fear and hatred toward Latinos.

Even though we are conducting a so-called war on terror, the talk-radio world is conducting its own war on the Latino community. We are vilified for just about every social problem in this country. If you listen to talk radio, you would think Mexicans were the ones flying planes into skyscrapers.

Talk radio has become a sanctuary for bigots and their hate-filled agendas. The airwaves are now the proud sponsors of the new American sport of scapegoating Latinos for most of society’s problems. Sadly, the season never seems to end for this new and expanding sport. Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (34) | TrackBack

Littwin, Stein spur multiple viewpoints

D. Schnurbusch of Arvada writes:

Michael Hult, in his letter to the editor of March 31, “Keep Littwin in back” (Talk Back to the Media), reflects his concern about “extreme bias” and “objective opinion.” His concerns regarding bias and objectivity are made in reference to Mike Littwin’s column in the Rocky Mountain News and the column’s placement in the back of the newly formatted daily newspaper.

I’ve come to realize over the years that to recognize and name such behaviors as “biased and or unobjective” are more reflective of the one casting the judgment. As we learned in elementary school: “It takes one to know one.”

I am grateful for columns such as Littwin’s and cartoons such as Ed Stein’s that encourage multiple viewpoints, rather than the extreme, which Hult references when labeling the “left wing.” Or is it the “right” that he most identifies with? For me, wisdom exists not in the extreme. Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Glorifying graffiti

Chris and Janet Miller of Arvada write:

We were dismayed and outraged to see the featured article on the cover of the March 22 Spotlight section, “Girlz ’n da Hoodie.”

With all the trouble property owners and police have dealing with graffiti, why would the Rocky Mountain News glorify this crime? Let’s hope all the kids who were inspired by this feature don’t come practice their “art” on the Rocky’s building! Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Waiting for the stories

Joan Ammerman of Northglenn writes:

I am still waiting to read anything at all about the vandalism/graffiti on the Colorado Convention Center windows that occurred about mid-March. Why is the Rocky Mountain News not reporting on this very costly incident? Is it supposed to be a secret?

Also, ditto on the Mexican trucking that may be coming across our border. The Rocky falls all over itself concerning anything about the benefits of illegal immigration, why not this? Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Couric is all liberal

Norvin Bennett of Parker writes:

I completely agree with the first two paragraphs of Mitch Woolhiser’s letter regarding Katie Couric’s interview of John and Elizabeth Edwards (“Couric interview ‘sickening,’” Talk Back to the Media, April 7).

However, I vehemently disagree with Woolhiser’s assertion that Couric “carries the water” for the “right-wing media echo chamber.” She has never, ever “carried the water” for anyone even remotely “conservative” or “right wing.” In fact, Couric audaciously and energetically flies the flag of the liberal mainstream media and the Democratic Party. Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Poll results at odds

Sherod A. Harris of Westminster writes:

On the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war, I happened to listen to both Fox News and ABC. They both had polls surveying the opinions of Iraqi citizens on the situation there. You would not believe how diametrically opposed the results of those polls were. Both polls might have erred, but one was deliberately skewed or an outright lie.

My point is not to say which poll was bad, but to say the FCC should impose rules on using polls as talking points on TV. The network should be required to give the questions asked, say who did the poll, how many persons were interviewed, and where. (In Iraq, if you polled Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods exclusively, it is sure you would have three different results.) Posted by denver-admin at 12:01 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Cecelia Barrocas of Fountain writes:

Re: “A Mandate Too Far,” Rocky Mountain News Editorial appearing in Perspective Section E, The Denver Post, Sunday, April 8, 2007.
Clearly the writer of this editorial is not a minimum wage worker trying to keep his/her family fed, clothed, housed and healthy while working more than one job, sans health insurance or paid sick leave. I wonder what current compensation packages are like for editorial page editors around the country. I’ll bet such packages include benefits that are not cut if compensation (salary) goes up in one category. I’ll bet the writer gets free lunches all the time courtesy of a fat expense account and also from the employers and businesses to which this editorial caters.

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BreAnne Bromley and Teri Ebel of Longmont’s Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley write:

“Bonsall arrest no surprise, fellow child TV star says” (Rocky Mountain News, April 9, 2007) suggests we concern ourselves with a batterer’s problems rather than hold him accountable for his behavior. Wrong message! The fact that he may struggle with Hollywood’s rejection—as evidenced by “the tattoos, the laceration, the rings pierced through the bottom lip” which so concern Paul Peterson of A Minor Consideration—is no excuse for former child star Brian Bonsall to assault his girlfriend.
There is no excuse for abuse.
Yet again, we’re told that a person’s hard childhood, the stresses of life, the circumstances, etc. are responsible for someone choosing to be abusive. Yet many of us have painful, horrendous childhoods and do not grow up to abuse others. However difficult and stressful lives, the majority of people would never be violent, controlling, belittling or demeaning to others.
Perpetrators of domestic violence choose to be violent. Their behavior is a personal choice. Each and every one of them has “reasons” (read: excuses) they use to justify their behaviors. Communal acceptance of these sad excuses is often why batterers aren’t held responsible for their actions—ensuring that the Brian Bonsalls of the world will continues to abuse the women they purport to love.
Paul Peterson is right: Brian Bonsall does need help—perhaps from A Minor Consideration, but definitely from a domestic violence treatment provider.
If you’re not happy-with your partner or yourself-you NEVER have the right to abuse the other person. If you’re worried about your own abusive behaviors, please seek help by calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE. If you’re the one being abused, remember that it’s never your fault. No one deserves to be abused. Seek help from a domestic violence agency like Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley (303-772-4422, www.safeshelterofstvrain.org) or call the NDV hotline to be referred to a domestic violence agency in your area. Services are free, confidential, nonjudgmental and available in English and Spanish.

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Larry Harrison of Lakewood writes:

I was struck by the irony of Senator Salazar’s logic contained in Charlie Able’s article “’Sen. Salazar criticizes Bush for being ‘a divider’” in the News’ April 7 edition. I sense the Senator has taken a more reasoned view on many issues than some of his further/far Left Senate compatriots so Mr. Able’s article disappointed me. Most of us recall family stories that with the passing years get repeated and stretched beyond the actual events until “the fish was this long!". Can we agree that these stories are “innocent” untruths? Unfortunately, the stories/untruths uncorked by the Democrats for a number of years are hardly innocent and have been accepted by adherents of the Left and some folks of no party affiliation as truth! Ergo, “Bush is a divider.” The Senator would have to agree before his Maker that, funning aside, Democrats have conducted an unconscionable all-out assault to destroy the President, hardly a laudatory example of harmony. The Senator’s recent views on “the divider” may have some merit, but don’t hold a candle to the concerted program of divisiveness so ably conducted by his own Democratic Party. Ironic?

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Phil Kenny of Colorado Springs writes:

The word “ho” has many meanings, but the most used definition connotes to the word “whore". Sorry to say, it is most used by blacks in their music they call “rap” and in this so called music they disgustingly use the word against all women.
Don Imus, a nationally known Radio? TV personality, who lives on the edge of what’s permissible to say “on air” and doesnt hesitate to wallow in bad taste, kinda went off the cliff last week, when in a lame attempt at humor, called the Rutger’s Ladies basketball players (mostly black), “nappy haired ho’s".
These three words have caused a national buzz and Imus is being pilloried from coast to coast with calls for his broadcasting hide. Prominent blacks like Jesse Jackson the Reverend who fathered a baby with a lady not his wife and Al Sharpton, who was in- volved in a phony rape case of a young black lady years back, have both called for Imus to be fired. They say his apology and their forgiveness are not enough, Imus has to go!!
i watched Imus make his ill fated comment and it was not an attack on the black ladies of Rutger’s, it was a witless attempt at being funny. I am positive he had no idea what a stir it would cause around the nation. because as he has said, he is a good man who said a bad thing.
As of now, Don Imus is to be suspended for two weeks and I believe it is easily punish- ment enough. He runs a ranch for mostly terminally ill kids (blacks included). He has raised millions for vets. and he and his wife are heavily involved in finding a cure for altuism Like he says.he is a good man, a far better one than most of those sanctimoniously savaging him.

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Robert Lipton of Lakewood writes:

In addition to higher food prices the ill considered rush to ethanol will result in increasing pressure on water supplies and more rapid depletion of the Ogallala aquifer. I guess its feel good legislation.

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Jim Lutz of Arvada writes:

There is a plan to ensure peace in the Middle East and prevent global warming at the same time. Thanks to the Democrat’s ill-conceived time-table to immediately withdraw the buffer force that lies between Iran and the oilfields of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, radical Islamism will sweep the region, seize control of the supply and export of oil, and industrialized countries like the US and Britain will be denied petroleum. Pollution will be curtailed because there will be limited supplies of oil and gas to operate factories and automobiles. Global warming will be abated and the region “secure".
Sounds like just the plan only a shortsighted liberal could devise.

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Leroy M. Martinez of Denver writes:

Come on people. Some people do not want the Danny Dietz Memorial near a school because he has a rifle on his statue. These are the same people that let their child play with toy guns, water pistols, play army, ect. Maybe is it time to let our young know the suffering that was done in the name of freedom. Danny would be the first to say that freedom of speech is only one of the thing that he fought for. I am sure he would defend those people who do not want his statue around a school. I say keep the statue where it is.

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Dina McNulty of Westminster writes:

The following words are from a recent ad that appeared in the Thornton YourHub.com section of the Rocky Mountain News.
“We are concerned, committed Catholics forging a path toward the renewal and reform of the Church by BE-ing the change we seek.”
True committed Catholics are just what the name implies. They are OBEDIENT to the Church. We already have plenty of reformed members of the Church – They are called Protestants.
I am a committed Catholic who is also concerned. I am concerned about the harm people bring to the Catholic Church when they insist on behaving contrary to Catholic teaching and still call themselves Catholic.
It is hard to imagine just who plans on attending this gathering that is called “Catholic”, boasts of letting all participate in the gift of Communion, and welcomes women and married priests. I can’t imagine a Catholic priest defiling the Holy Sacrament of Communion by treating it so casually, and with such blatant disregard for Church teaching. There is only one thing that can be said with any certainty. There will be no committed Catholics in attendance.
I wonder if this ad isn’t really just exactly what it appears to be – a slap in the face of the Catholic Church. I urge all truly concerned, committed, and faithful Catholics to join me in speaking out against such offensive behavior.

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Clarice Ridenour of Aurora writes:

Pathetic . . . that’s the only printable adjective that comes to mind regarding the protest against the memorial to honor not only Danny but the thousands, upon thousands, upon thousands who have given the ultimate sacrifice. My suggestion to Linda Cuesta, and any others that are opposed, is to - - - -move... preferably out of the USA. I know that Danny and his parents wouldn’t agree with me but as stated so many times, these men and women have given their lives so that people like Cuesta can voice their petty little grievances. People like her have tried to eliminate, “In God We Trust", and “One Nation Under God” and are now trying, unsuccessfully again, thank goodness, to stop any depiction of ‘violence’ in a statue. I can only assume she and the rest don’t allow their precious little darlings to watch TV, read newspapers, go to movies or read the Bible. And I certainly don’t expect them to take the time to teach their children the difference between what happened at Columbine and what’s happening in Iraq, etc. They’re far too busy ‘protesting’. To say that Columbine wouldn’t have occurred if those two punks hadn’t had access to videos, etc., is absurd and ignorant. Columbine was horrendous, granted, but to compare every happening, statue or otherwise, to what happened at Columbine is very sad. I haven’t heard of any adverse comments from the parents whose children were taken from them on that day. ??

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Rhonda Roseto of Westminster writes:

The Rocky mentioned today that of the 14,000 gang members in Denver, four out of five are Hispanic. What prevents the gang task force from verifying the immigration status of known gang members and notifying ICE if they are here illegally? Could it be that Denver is a sanctuary city?

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J.M. Schell of Arvada writes:

So Denver Public Schoos is looking hard at “the brutal facts,” as Chief Academic Officer Jamie Aquino puts it in addressing the “deficient” rating virtually all of Denver’s middle schools have earned (PDS middle schools deficient…” 4/6). What are those facts? Naturally, they don’t have enough money. But otherwise, the primary culprit is apparently low enrollment. It seems that a lower student-to-teacher ratio leads to lower test scores. Who knew?
I’m no education professional or highly paid educational consultant, so I’m probably telling tales out of school here, but I had this thought: when you have schools filled primarily with students unable to understand English, there’s at least an outside chance these students will not score very well on standardized tests presented in English.
I guess that’s one “brutal fact” that consultants and DPS officials, working for a city the mayor of which offers sanctuary to anybody who can sneak across the US-Mexico border, feel safer ignoring.

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Russell W. Shurts of Centennial writes:

Forty years ago the original Star Trek TV series ran an episode entitled, “A Taste of Armageddon.” In this show the Enterprise was caught in the middle of a ‘war’ between two planets that appeared undisturbed to the outside observer. The reason the planets appeared undisturbed was because the war was conducted solely through the use of computers which required the inhabitants of these two worlds to blithely step into execution chambers whenever one of these computers ‘called’ their number in simulated combat.
It was difficult to imagine a people could become so compliant, so willing to accept the edicts of their leaders that they would willingly submit to, indeed participate in, their summary execution without so much as a ‘fare thee well.’ Well it’s not so difficult to imagine anymore; that’s because this past week the Supreme Court declared carbon dioxide a ‘pollutant,’ a pollutant the EPA is required to control and eliminate if possible. Now, since I am emitting carbon dioxide (its called breathing) as I sit here writing this, it is entirely possible, (indeed by logical implication it is required), that I now be considered a pollutant to be controlled and eliminated by the EPA.
And since the vast majority of my fellow citizens seem to be buying into the global warming hysteria that is the root cause of my now being considered a pollutant, and because there are about 6 billion of us ‘pollutants’ inhabiting this planet, it is not too huge a leap of imagination to see that some of us 6 billion ‘pollutants’ are going to have to go if good old mother Earth is to survive.
Think I am exaggerating or that the people behind this hysteria don’t really have this ‘solution’ in mind. You just wait.

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David Simons of Boulder writes:

So, just how do the major medical insurance carriers fund the salaries for their CEOs that are in the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?
In a recent conversation with a vice president of one of these “financial institutions” it was revealed to me that he had learned of an interesting and little-known tactic for insurer income generation.
When a major medical insurance carrier negotiates with pharmaceutical companies with regard to their non-generic/brand-name drugs being included in the insurance company’s formulary as “Tier 2” (preferred brand name agents), in order for their brand-name products to be considered, the pharmaceutical company HAS TO FIRST AGREE TO PAY THE INSURANCE CARRIER $.80 ON THE DOLLAR for every prescription filled for their brand-name products under the insurance plan. (Better-known as an 80% kickback).
Of course, nevermind what the effect of this is on people who must pay for their own prescription drugs. When the pharmaceutical company has to pay $.80 on the dollar to the medical insurance company for their sales through these entities, the pharmaceutical company has to TREMENDOUSLY INCREASE THE GENERAL RETAIL PRICING of its brand-name products. With this strategy, the medical insurers create the very situation which drives consumers/patients to fear even more being uninsured.
Is this a corrupt practice? Is it anticompetitive? You be the judge. It certainly makes being uninsured less of an option for some people. But then again, how are the insurers going to protect their CEOs meager incomes?

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Michael D. Smith of Lakewood writes:

It seems to me that rallies in opposition to illegal immigrants are often met with accusations of racism. I wholeheartedly disagree with these misdirected accusations. I believe many people of Hispanic heritage who oppose regulated immigration would feel differently if America were to experience a massive wave of illegal immigrants consisting of people not of Hispanic heritage. If this were to occur, I believe many people of Hispanic heritage would be opposed to illegal immigration. In contrast, I am convinced that I would continue to oppose illegal immigration regardless of race or nationality because my reasons for doing so are based on principle and America’s best interest. Am I to believe that other countries have a right and responsibility to regulate immigration and secure their borders but America does not?

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Brian Stuckey of Denver writes:

Once again, the Democrats have abdicated their responsibility by leaving without an emergency war-spending bill. Democrats claim they support the troops, yet their actions prove otherwise. The November election was not a mandate for defeat, as DNC Chairman, Howard Dean, would have it. Neither it is in our national interest for President Bush to determine military policy on the basis of public opinion polls. If the Democrats were truly desirous of supporting our troops, they would also be supporting their mission. As it is, they support neither.

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J.F.Thayer of Broomfield writes:

A while back Mr. Temple was on KHOW’s morning show and made a comment that led me to believe that he thought subscriptions to the newspaper implied some sort of validation of the content of the paper. I would have called the show directly to comment but I was already late for work. I would like to comment on this subject now.
My family has been on the verge of canceling our newspaper subscriptions for years due to the biased coverage, poor journalism and slant of the paper in general. We continue to get the paper because my husband likes the sports section (especially during football season) and I still like the comics and the coupons. I also use the garage sale section in the summer. The rest of the paper is an embarassment.
I get so infuriated at anything Diane C, Cindy R., and a few others write that I have long stopped reading their drivel. I do make note of which advertisers are in those sections and I go out of my way to let them know I won’t use their product/service since they are advertising in those sections.
The part I really wanted to comment on is that I know for certain I am not alone. In my neighborhood, on any given day papers lie undisturbed in driveways sometimes accumulating unread for days. I have observed that my neighbors often throw a week’s worth of papers (still in plastic) into the garbage cans on garbage day. Our family recycles and I see the same phenomenon in the recycle bins. Tons and tons of unread newspapers in the bins. I have asked a great number of my neighbors and coworkers about their paper usage and I get many similar comments about their disappointment with both of our local papers. Many keep their subscriptions for just one or two sections but certainly don’t get anything of any substance from them. I think that’s why talk radio, TV and the Internet are so much more popular. They all fit into our multi-tasking lifestyle. I can listen to my news while I drive. And they are very interactive without being smug.
Someday, you should pole your readers and see exactly what is their usage. I think you would be humbled by the response. I dare say that many of the surveys would be unopened and in the trash without notice.

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Jeff Wright of Calhan writes:

The Editorial staff of the Rocky Mountain News must live in economic lalaland to fail to understand the underlying weaknesses in the current economy ("Not bad for a much-maligned economy,” 4/9/07).
Similar to the government, I too could fool people into believing that my household economic picture was rosy if I could do the following:
1.Have a family meeting and vote to tell all our creditors that we decided to raise our household credit limit on all our credit cards by another $25,000 (it was already $75,000) in order to cover the added costs of the new car, table saw, firearms and household alarm system we wanted.
Take a second vote to decide that we have no intention of even starting to pay off our debts until after my 3 year-old daughter has her first child, if then.
2.Start making copies of dollar bills on my desktop color copier to send to all our creditors and service providers to pay our monthly household bills. When they ask for real money tell them, “tough noogies,” that copy of an IOU is all they get. Or, maybe they’d like to swap them for this new thing we now print up and copy called a “Family Treasury Note.”
3.Tell the family and neighbors that my wife was not unemployed because she had now been without a job for six months so that no longer qualified her as unemployed. Tell them that I was now fully employed because I had now been doing my part-time job for more than a year so I was no longer “under-employed.”
4.Decide we’re going to pay for Grandma and Grandpa’s retirement by taking away our kids allowance and yardwork money then borrowing the rest by again unilaterally raising our credit limit and printing more fake money on the color copier.
5.Say that our household income has gone up 4-5% this year, even though the wife is unemployed and I had to take a pay cut at my part-time job, because of our ability to print more fake money and vote to raise our own credit limit at will has actually increased our GHP (Gross Household Product).
Obviously, the Rocky staff meant the column as satire or a late April Fool’s joke.

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As a veteran with 20 years’ service in the armed forces of the United States, I am truly dismayed that anyone could object to the statue honoring Danny Dietz (“Memorial set in stone,” April 7).
These narrow-minded, myopic individuals have no concept of where from their freedoms come. They are like the urban child who, when asked “Where does milk comes from?” replies “The store.” They do not make the connection to the dairy, the farmer or the cow.
Our freedoms exist only because individuals like Danny Dietz are willing to risk everything, including their own lives, to preserve them. I can think of no more appropriate place for such a statue than in plain view of children. This gives parents a bold opportunity to explain what freedom is and what sacrifices are required to keep it.
The statue will show Dietz holding a gun — big deal. The weapon is a tool that protectors of freedom must use because those who would take our freedoms use them. Parents must take this opportunity to explain that to their children what this tool is and that it is necessary to use such tools to protect our freedoms by people brave enough to do so. They can also explain that this tool can be misused by bad people, making it all the more necessary that good people know how to use them.

Roy Johnson, Denver

Protesting the statue honoring one of our fine, brave soldiers is one of the most appalling things I have ever witnessed.
Danny Dietz won the Navy Cross and died to protect us. What will statue opponents Emily Cassidy Fuchs and Linda Cuesta ever do that is even remotely as significant?

David Hoff, Morrison

Letter writer Mark Trapino (“Democrats to troops: You don’t matter,” April 9) once again trots out Dick Cheney’s tired, discredited talking points.
The right wants to keep our brave men and women in uniform bogged down in a civil war between two factions that periodically have been at each other’s throats for 1,000 years — and Democrats want to extricate them and bring them home. But according to right-wing logic, Democrats tell our troops “You don’t matter.” Huh?
Bush and his neo-con cronies got us into this mess — nothing to do with the “war on terror” — and now they want to keep our troops there on the decidedly slim chance that they can declare “victory.”
In a nutshell, dozens of our men and women die every week so that the neo-cons can save face. So I ask you again, Mr. Trapino, who’s really telling our troops “You don’t matter”? And, incidentally, anyone who characterizes any of the internecine strife in the Middle East as “Islamic fascism” (the phrase du jour of the far right) is clueless about both Islam and fascism.

Andrew Laing, Denver

Kudos to Rep. Michael Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, for his passionate defense of public education and Colorado’s children. His frustration is understandable considering the number of neighborhood schools closing their doors from the cannibalization by charter schools. Rather than a two-tiered system, perhaps every district should operate each school as a charter.
I’m saddened that Merrifield didn’t follow the common practice of righteous indignation and retain his post as chairman of the House Education Committee. If we condemn every legislator on the basis of bias, who will be left to represent us?
I’d also like to know the process for requesting open records. Sen. Nancy Spence has made no attempt to hide her hatred of public school teachers. Considering what she is willing to say publicly, I can’t wait to see what she says in her private e-mails.

Angela Engel, Centennial

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi laments that in 200 years a woman was not seated as leader of the House of Representatives.
Pelosi is the first woman to occupy the leadership ... and will also be the last. She has substituted genderism, insubordination and belligerence for statecraft and that will be her legacy.

Jim Thrailkill, Aurora

I was discouraged by the stigma and misinformation conveyed in the Rocky Mountain News editorial of April 5, “Smitten by mandates.” As the director of the eating disorder treatment program at The Children’s Hospital, I see patients with anorexia nervosa, a mental illness that leads to life threatening bradycardia and malnutrition. The inference that money is wasted on the treatment of eating disorders, defined as “cajoling you into eating,” was particularly provocative and dismissive of people who suffer from these illnesses and those who care for them.
The proposed legislation will base coverage on medical necessity, as we currently do with standard medical coverage. All federal employees have had comprehensive parity for mental health and substance abuse treatment since 2001. A study comparing utilization of services and spending in the Federal Employee Health Benefit program found that “Spending increases did not occur, and that parity reduced out-of-pocket spending by employees for mental health and substance abuse services.”
Thirty-one states have enacted partial parity laws. In addition to federal employees, eight states have comprehensive parity laws.
Parity will make a significant and positive difference for individuals and families who otherwise will experience greater disability due to inadequate access to care due to discriminatory insurance coverage.
Dr. Jennifer Hagman, Denver,
The Children’s Hospital and associate professor of psychiatry, University of Colorado
Health Sciences Center

Leroy M. Martinez of Denver writes:

Powerful Shiite cleric Mautada al-Sadr wants US out of Iraq. I say listen to him. Iraq will be better off when we leave. I believe that that country of Iraq will fall for a time but will recover. History say’s this about Vietnam when we left.

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Tommy Holeman of Boulder writes:

SO, The current Resident of our White House is upset that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is visiting leaders in the middle east.
One can’t help but wonder, 1).Why hasn’t HE done it? and 2). What’s he afraid of?
One can only answer, 1). cowardice.
and 2). apparently everything.
We needed a Commander-in-Chief after 9/11, not a paranoid CEO wannabe w/ an Oedipus complex. What a mess he’s made of things, internationally as well as domestically.
Normally, I’d say impeachment was in order, but Vice-Resident Cheney is one scary dude all by himself.
God help us all, and God bless Madame Speaker Pelosi. She’s got spunk.

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S. Barbour of Denver writes:

Someone attempted to steal our truck on Monday morning. The driver’s window was broken and the driver’s door was ajar when we investigated after the alarm went off. We, of course, called the police. We were told that unless we had witnessed the crime, we needed to file a police report online.
Nothing could be done. No officer would respond.
After we filled out the report (and the sun had come up), our neighbor called to say that he had found a wallet where the truck had been parked.
We called the police again and told them about the wallet. They told us that it was unrelated to our break-in, but that we could call dispatch and they would send an officer by to pick up the wallet and return it.
So, as a last-ditch attempt to get some assistance we phoned and an officer came by for the wallet. When we told him that it was probably related to our break in he said there was nothing he could do. We asked if he at least wanted the case number of our police report. He said, “No.”
We don’t understand. The police will come out to pick up a wallet that is more than likely linked to our break-in but they won’t even attempt to investigate if that person was involved in a crime?
What else can a law-abiding citizen do? Why can’t we get at least some semblence of justice? It’s no wonder that criminals are so bold and unconcerned with being caught. Who will catch them? Who will even investigate?

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Laura Levitt of Parker writes:

Regarding “Smitten By Mandates” April 5, 2007 Editorial Dear Editor, I want to commend the Rocky Mountain News for shining the light of truth on this matter.
Oftentimes, when legislators are asked their stance on mental health parity, they claim they are undecided due to not being able to predict costs associated with such mandates.
It seems that any attempt to calculate costs would merely be guessing anyway, there is no way to predict the impact of such mandates on health insurance costs. Possibly a more enlightening statistic should be RESULTS.
This is what the private sector has to operate on, bottom line statistics.
What results does the mental health field claim? If their results are more insane people, more “disorders", more overdoses from prescription drugs, more crimes committed by those on psychiatric drugs? How about this, the highest amount of consumers, in history, using these drugs? It sounds like business as usual for the mental health field, more money without having to produce better results.
I say, let them sink or swim as the private sector has to. Why is it that they must have government funding to keep financially solvent? Because the paying public won’t pay for “no results.”

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Leonard Muniz of Broomfield writes:

Bruce Tinsley of “Mallard the Duck” and Glenn Beck the TV “News Guru” originally didn’t believe in global warming at all, recently with all the media and scientific evidence pointing to the truth, they have decided that they have found a couple of scientists that claim it is a natural occurrence caused by the sun and not by man: Ignoring the over 1,000 scientists around the world that claim global warming is caused by man.
Did Bruce and Glenn forget about the millions of buffalo that were decimated by humans in the West years ago? Have they forgotten the disappearance of hundreds of species of animals that are gone because of man? Do they not read or watch how man is overfishing the oceans, which take up 2/3rds of the earth’s surface? Have they not read of the ancient civilizations that chopped down every tree on their Island and had to leave? I wish I could grab each one by the ear and take him to Mexico City, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Bang kok and have them sniff the smog, smoke and dust. Then have them tell me global warming is not caused by humans.
Humans are expanding exponentially. Industrialization is growing exponentially. We are burning fossil fuels exponentially.
Mallard the duck needs to get his head out of his feathers and Giddy Glen needs to read more. They both need to stop being jealous of a prominent Democrat and pay attention to the world.

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David Orrino of Denver writes:

“The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage.” -- Pericles

Thank you Danny Dietz and thank you to your family and thank you to all those who have gone before you! I live blocks from where the memorial will stand. I will be there when the monument is dedicated. I’ll visit it often. If I could I would have it in my front yard. Danny personifies what Pericles reasoned almost 2,500 years ago. Courage, backed by action, not in-action, gives all of us a chance at the happiness and the freedom we desire.
Dietz has helped to ensure that in our great country; people who have ideas or agendas are not required to also have great courage; something Pericles could only dream of. He ensures that people are not required to be heroes simply because they have an idea. Indeed having an idea and getting it heard requires little more courage than to be a bit countercultural. Simple people with no outstanding courage, just ideas, can be heard and make a difference. Danny Dietz helped ensure that.
Don’t the people who would use a monument to Dannys efforts for their own agenda, see any irony in the fact that they perform their act on the shoulders of Danny Dietz? What they do is almost by virtue of the ‘permission’ granted to them by Danny and all the others that have gone before him. If this is about eliminating gun violence, which is a truly noble cause, don’t desecrate or attempt to whitewash from history the people who have given you the opportunity to speak out.
Thank you Danny; that for us to have an idea heard, we don’t have to fear the hail of bullets you endured. Thank you Danny that for us to have an idea heard, we don’t have to endure the bombs going off that you endured. Thank you Danny that to have an idea heard, we don’t have to endure crouching in the dirt in a far off wasteland. Thank you Danny that to have an idea heard, we don’t have to witness our friends bloodied and dying around us. Thank you Danny that in order to have an idea heard we don’t have to decide between our own lives and the lives of our friends and comrades. Thank you Danny that in order to have an idea heard we don’t have to have the courage that you had.
I guess, simply, what I’m trying to say to Danny Dietz and those that have gone before him; I offer you my simple, heartfelt, tear filled Thanks, well done and Gods speed.

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Robert E. Forman of Lakewood writes:

I want to thank you for printing the Biblically correct editorial cartoon that appeared on page 32 in Monday 4/9/07 edition of the Rocky Mountain News.
The cartoon depicted an asteroid just as it is about to crash into the earth with one dinosaur pointing and stating “Here come rapid climate change and dire consequences for us all!” while another says “Check out Mr Crackpot alarmist.”
How can such a cartoon possibly be Biblically correct? I quote: “The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” (Revelation 8:8-9) Anybody who has read the Bible and the works of various Biblical commentators knows that there is a common understanding that what the Bible is describing is the exact same thing various secular, atheistic and Bible scoffing scientists are very much open to and openly proclaim: The earth will be struck by an asteroid.
It’s just that when Bible believers make that claim in conjunction with God’s coming judgments on the earth, the secular, atheistic Bible scoffers say “Check out Mr Crackpot alarmist.”

Dyana Z. Furmansky of Denver, a volunteer for the Mental Health Association of Colorado, writes:

Your editorial “Smitten by Mandates” does a grave public disservice by playing fast and loose with cost assumptions that assert higher health insurance premiums are an inevitable result of putting coverage for mental illness on an equal footing with coverage for physical illness. This form of health coverage equality is called parity, and it merely tries to treat the entire human corpus as if the brain is connected to the rest of a body’s parts.
The real cost of treating the brain as another part of the body can be assessed from experience since the early 1990s, when parity laws first passed. In the 34 states that have some form of equivalent treatment mandated, the dollar cost of this equalization has increased overall health plan costs by less than 1%. Independent studies have repeatedly borne out this experience, but perhaps the most comprehensive study was conducted by PriceWaterhouseCooper in 2002. The PriceWaterhouseCooper report asserts that parity has resulted in a “consistent flow of uncontroverted low costs.” PriceWaterhouseCooper further states that health insurance providers found that premium price changes ranged from “remaining flat, to small and moderate increases, to decreases for managed care products; but none of the respondents attributed a change in premium to parity legislation.”
This experience of course, is not put in the context of what it costs not to treat mental illness fairly. Health insurance providers may not factor these other costs into their own bottom line, but it’s only the most shortsighted shareholders who think they aren’t paying for them one way or another. The plethora of displaced social costs lands on us all. They contribute to soaring health premiums far more than does treating mental illness directly and swiftly, as we would treat cancer. To get a truer picture of state parity mandates, compare the possible incremental cost increases to the cost of perpetuating our medieval thinking—the thinking that says the illness is the problem, not society’s opposition to treatment of the illness. This bias, which permeates your “Smitten” opinion, stands in the face of mounting medical evidence of treatment successes. “Such opinions arise from stigma and ignorance, not experience.
The real fact is that treatment works, and it costs demonstrably less to deliver than what businesses lose in productivity from absenteeism and shoddy work due to untreated depression. If you think parity is expensive, consider what it costs when we send thousands of mentally ill patients to ill-equipped emergency rooms with a police escort. Then, perhaps, off to that nice new jail we are building.

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Richard Taylor of Littleton writes:

This is for those left-handed hippies who hate this country so much.
In a recent edition of the Linn’s Stamp News there is an article about Ayn Rand, an author who came to the U.S. from Russia in 1925 and whose picture appeared on a U.S. postage stamp in April of 1999. The following sentiment of hers is quoted in the article: “I can say — not as a patriotic bromide, but with full knowledge of the necessary metaphysical, ethical, political and aesthetic roots — that the United States is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the only moral country in the world.”
This lady was a true patriot.

Dr. Louise Benson of Broomfield writes:

Dr. Block is right on target about computer gaming being an escape to a virtual world of respect and competence, and a release of aggression. However, he fails to mention that excessive gaming is a symptom, not a cause of social and emotional problems, according to an extensive review in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 291, No.15, 2002). In addition, the most comprehensive study to date out of the Universities of Illinois and Michigan, showed that gameplayers did not become more belligerent (Wall Street Journal, June2, 2006). Those who blame gaming and/or the home environment are barking up the wrong tree, and should be looking at school environment and bullying. Anti-bullying theory has changed dramatically since Columbine, but many schools continue to use outdated and ineffective programs.

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Edward Rothschild, president of Wet Ink Inc. (AlphaGraphics), writes:

As the owner of a small business, I would love to provide my employees with valuable benefits — including health care. My wife and I own three printing business centers — AlphaGraphics Arvada, Denver and Golden. We have a staff of about 30. About half participate in our health care insurance. The others are either not interested/can’t afford it or are covered by their spouses insurance.
The problem — outrageous increases year after year in our insurance cost. Here are the last three year’s increases (assuming I made no change to our $2000 deductible program): 2005 = $206 for a single, $640 for a family; 2006 = $229 for a single, $710 for a family; then a jump to $278 and $862 (this is with a high-deductible HSA with a $2850 deductible).
To help keep our cost and the cost to my employees under control we went from a $2000 deductible, to a $2850 deductible with an HSA and will be putting in place a program with a $5000 deductible this year.
The business is covering the 12% increase this year and will continue to contribute $50 per month to the employees’ HSA accounts. The employees continue to pay about $150 per month for health and dental. I also put some dollars in for family - but not as much.
The bottom line is that our same health coverage would have gone up 34% this year! I can’t afford it and neither can my staff. The increase is due to “normal” increase approved by the State, an increase because my staff is aging and an increase due to “experience” (that means we used the insurance).
How much can an individual who makes $18,000 to $40,000 afford? What percentage of revenue can a small business afford?
Small business is the backbone of our economy — our elected officials can ignore this issue no longer. We need comprhensive, market based solutions without socialized medicine.

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Jordan Von Bokern of Louisville writes:

In the frenzy whipped up by the Columbine shootings, we are apt to forget that not every man who carries a gun is a murderer. Parents should be thrilled that a monument to a hero is going up in their neighborhood. There could be no better role model for the children, rifle and all.

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Lee Combs of Westminster, president of the Adams Twelve Five Star Schools Board of Education, writes:

I hope you will print this response to Mr. Rosen’s column, and reconsider some of your editorial stands on the same issue.
Unlike state Rep. Mike Merrifield, I support charters and other forms of choice within the public school system. I exercise choice for my own children, and I have voted repeatedly to approve charters that serve my community.
However, on behalf of my constituents who are not served by charters, I feel compelled to point out that Mike Rosen’s recent opinion misrepresents the financial consequences for neighborhood schools when the state funding formula’s Per Pupil Operating Revenue amount (PPOR) is reallocated to a charter. In essence, Mr. Rosen claims that the money should follow the student because it is intended for the student, and that the transfer does not drain money from public schools. Neither of these statements is accurate.
First, it is important to remember that the state funding formula is designed and intended to fund school districts, not individual students. Editorials and opinion pieces that treat PPOR as if it is an individual entitlement are false and misleading. The PPOR amount is not based on the actual or estimated cost to educate any given child, whether in a public, charter, or private school. Nor is it based on any other assessment of adequacy: it is simply an arbitrary number assigned by legislators and state budget officers.
Second, we must keep in mind that the fixed cost of operating a neighborhood school does not decline significantly because some students leave. So long as the school is open, it must be staffed with principals, teachers, paraprofessionals, nurses, and maintenance and office staff. The cost of maintaining and repairing the building, and the cost of transporting kids, remains the same regardless of the number of kids served. Even if a significant percentage of the neighborhood students were to go to a charter school, so that one or two fewer teachers were needed, the cost of operating the neighborhood school would not decline in the same proportion, or anything close to it.
Charter schools are now well established options in Colorado. If there was ever a reason for newspapers and pundits to make myths about them to assure their survival, that time is past. If this experiment in choice is to be worthwhile, we must dispassionately and objectively measure the results against all the aspirations that led to the adoption of the statute. If charters are the future of education as some proclaim, it’s time to give them the rigorous scrutiny and criticism that we give to public school districts.

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Amy Smith of Denver, director of WE CAN!, writes:

I am a consumer of mental health services, and the Director of WE CAN! of Colorado, the state’s mental health consumer network. I can tell you, if you are concerned about “letting consumers choose", that the consumers of Colorado support Senate Bill 36. Senate Bill 36 is paving the road to access of care, and makes economic sense to the state.
I was very sorry to see the stigma surrounding mental disorders that was prevalent in your article. Mental illnesses are not well-understood by the general public, and it is easy to become sarcastic and flippant when referring to these disorders. The comments concerning eating disorders were especially disturbing. If your daughter was experiencing a deadly eating disorder, I’m quite sure you would do whatever it takes to get her the care she would need to achieve recovery. Nine hundred dollars a day is a bargain when it saves a life.
It’s not at all difficult to predict how much premiums will rise if this bill is successful. In systems that are already using managed care, implementing parity results in a less than one percent increase in health care costs. What is not so easy to predict is the cost to the state if untreated consumers enter the judicial system and become incarcerated, over-utilize emergency rooms or become homeless. One guarantee; it costs a lot more than it does to treat consumers in the community mental health system. Not to mention it is the right thing to do. We are not just talking about dollars here; we are talking about people whose very lives hang in the balance. Do the right thing. Urge your legislators to vote for Senate Bill 36.

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John Haried of Boulder writes:

The Rocky’s editorial opposing Senate Bill 36 is based upon the type of ignorance and superstition that most of the Western World abandoned after medieval times. SB 36 would require group insurance companies to come into the modern age by requiring coverage for life-threatening, but medically treatable, eating disorders. I have a family member with anorexia, a biologically caused illness that can be successfully treated with medication and medical therapy. All health insurance is just shared risk. Is this really the Rocky’s position: your son gets stricken with leukemia and my premiums should cover his treatment, but my daughter gets struck with anorexia and your premiums shouldn’t cover her treatment? To justify paying for leukemia but not anorexia, the Rocky relies on the ignorant superstition that anorexia is “a choice that weird people make,” when, in fact, science shows it’s a medical illness. The Rocky chooses to bury its head in the sand and ignore modern science. C ontrolling medical costs by condeming sick people to suffering is wrong and, in the long run, more costly.

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Ed Ramsey of Thornton writes:

Call Gov. Ritter’s office about illegal aliens and your told its a Federal issue and the gov.can’t do a thing about it yet in the same day the our Colorado politicans will spend their time passing bills against the war? Isn’t that a Federal Issue?
When 3000 American troops die in the war these same Politicans want to do something to stop it yet thousands of US citizens have died at the hands of Foreign Nationals ( illegal aliens ) in the USA and the Politicans Don’t give a damn? All they say is lets make them Citizens and then its OK? We elect these people and as soon as they are sworn in the go to work for Mexico and its the will of Mexico that counts not the US citizen? Amazing!

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Julie McNitt of Littleton writes:

I was disappointed with the article “Wife says husband’s shooting death doesn’t make sense” printed in the Rocky Mountain News (March 15). The article represented the opinion of a partial party, not present at the scene of the shooting, as fact. I found the article to be sensational and to inaccurately represent the situation. Opinion is not news and I feel that the Rocky failed its readership in this instance.

Charles L. King of Boulder writes:

Hats off to columnist Dave Kopel for pointing out (in his News column of April 7) absurdities in Diane Carmen’s recent column (Post) on Congresman Tom Tancredo’s announcement in Iowa for the Presidency. Calling “talk radio listeners,” to whom Tancredo thus far owes his major support, “a rather narrow slice of Americana,” Carman adds that such listeners are “65 percent non-Hispanic white.” Kopel counters that “ 69 percent of America” is white, according to the Census.
Carman then sneers that “only 33 percent of them (65 percent “non-Hipanic whites") are college graduates.” Hmm. To this, Kopel replies that “only 27 percent of Americans over the age of 25 have a college degree.”
Kopel then informs her that talk-radio audiences are “much more likely to be registered independents” than members of the general population, and that independents are precisely “the group that decides who wins many elections.”
Kudos to Kopel.

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R. Watkins of Denver writes:

This morning I received a link to your wine article, On Wine: Kosher Rules Yield a Fine-Tuned Product, by Jennifer Rosen. Never have I seen such a blatantly bigoted comment passed off as a wine column, or even opinion column! While I am emphatically NOT an Orthodox Jew, the hatred and bigotry displayed in this article appalled me.
Your columnist began by libeling an application of the Orthodox system of religious law - nothing to do with wine - and implying that rabbis falsify facts in order to break the religious laws to which they have dedicated their lives. If she had made the same allegation about our own American judges, she would be facing civil and criminal suits for libel. If she had said it about any ethnic church law, she would be charged with hate speech.
When I researched the laws quoted in this article, I found no more than a quarter of her assertions were accurate. Don’t you require your columnists to do any fact-checking?
She finally addresses the one topic on which this article might, legitimately, speak (the practice of boiling wine) well after the halfway point, and dismisses it as an attempt to make the wine unpalatable.
Ridiculous! Why would bad-tasting wine be used as a celebration and at feasts? According to my research, it’s an attempt to purify the wine. (I will admit, though, that it destroys the wine’s bouquet and depth.) In short, Jennifer Rosen has seen fit to launch a bigoted, religionist attack on a way of life under cover of a wine column - which never mentions a single label or variety of wine. I fail to understand why your paper is not being sued.

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Mark Young of Loveland writes:

Today, there is widespread rebellion and resentment against our loving God. This includes the whole natural order He established at the beginning and even Spiritual beliefs we cannot see, but deeply affect how we live. When a child is conceived, it is male or female. This is God’s choice. But some men deny this and have an external operation to look like a woman, although this has no effect on the brain or internal nature.
Women become pregnant and have an Abortion or take pills to deny their Motherhood.
And scientists are playing with animal and human DNA to produce something…ugly.
We are playing God, and we have no right to do this nor do we know their long-term consequences. Our calling in this Universe is to be Human, which is beautiful and glorious. Yes, we need to help others out of their difficulties and we must be compassionate, but God has given us the power of choice in many things, and we must act in righteousness in everything we do, including our individual lives and in the laws we pass. In a confusing world of choices, the Church and the Bible must be our guide.

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I must take exception to the Rocky Mountain News editorial of April 8 on the right of Denverites to cut big trees (“They’re your trees”).
There is already a dearth of trees in Denver. A visit to a New England city or the Pacific Northwest reminds us of how few trees we have. Trees provide an abundance of benefits, including oxygen production and shade, not to mention the aesthetics.
The people who lived in my house before me cut down two large mature elm trees “because they dripped on their cars.” They had a two-car garage. That demonstrated to me the superficiality of attitudes of some people toward trees.
The public has a right to enjoy trees wherever they are planted, and this right can be protected by requiring a permit with stringent restrictions to prevent such destruction.
So, let us encourage the city to pass that legislation to prevent the destruction of these valuable assets.
Alan Culpin is a resident of Denver.

Senate Bill 36 is a serious issue of equity in insurance coverage for mental health conditions, and deserves a thoughtful opinion informed by available facts, not the glib opinions and allegations upon which the Rocky Mountain News bases its position (“Smitten by mandates,” April 5).
The Rocky maintains that “it’s difficult to predict how much premiums would rise,” but made no use of a study from Price Waterhouse in the numerous states where mental health parity has occurred (that study is readily available from the Mental Health Association of Colorado). Consistently, the impact of mental health parity on total claims cost is less than 2 percent and often is negligible.
Another reason for the insurance industry’s opposition: although the premium dollars underwriting mental health care are quite small (as a part of the overall insurance premium) they are extremely profitable. That might explain why Wellpoint/Anthem, Aetna, CIGNA, and United have all ended their mental health carve-outs and brought this business in-house. Perhaps they are less concerned about the cost of health insurance than the impact of this double standard of coverage on their bottom lines.

Dan Fishbein, Arvada

Vincent Carroll’s column on the wonders of the flat income tax (“A flat tax, anyone?” On Point, March 28) perpetuate three common flat-tax myths.
Myth 1. The flat tax is “easy to calculate” vs. the current multiple-rate tax system. All the time and complexity preparing individual income taxes lies in determining how much of your income is subject to tax, not whether the taxable amount is subject to a single rate or one of several rates. The only way to make the system “easy” is to eliminate all or most of the tax deductions, income adjustments, etc. That can be done with the current system.
Myth 2. It’s fairer. When rates flatten to a single bracket some people gain, some lose. When Colorado flattened its state income tax to 5 percent, lower-income taxpayers paying 3 percent ended up paying 2 percentage points more in taxes, while wealthier taxpayers paying 8 percent paid 3 percentage points less. Under a federal flat tax of 19 percent, the wealthiest will see their tax rate cut nearly in half.
Myth 3: Taxpayers will pay less in taxes than under the current system. First, see Myth 2. Second, if taxpayers overall pay less, that’s less revenue for government. That means either a significant cut in government services (the main goal of the flat tax), or, more likely, mounting deficits our children and grandchildren will eventually have to pay for.

Bruce W. Most, Denver

As I read the letters and opinions of the liberals that seem to drive this paper further and further to the left, I take solace in the fact that mainstream America is composed of more conservatives than liberals.
Other than pre-schoolers and kindergartners, I can’t imagine any other cross-section of society that actually makes up facts to fit their view of the world. I challenge any liberals to actually come forward with observable, documented evidence of an event that is devoid of any interpretations, judgments or opinions, that support any of their fantasies such as:
1. The Iraq war is illegal.
2. The Iraq war is unjust.
3. The Iraq intelligence was “cooked.”
The list goes on and on and on. Remember, no cheating, just the facts and the evidence with no opinions or interpretations.
The real idiocy that defines the liberal is the “support the troops, but not the war” slogan. I’m sure our troops are incredibly proud of our unwavering support for them as they fight to the death so liberals can condemn their mission.

Scott Moen, Larkspur

Has everyone lost their minds or is everyone reading and watching only what they agree with? Yes, Ann Coulter’s comments on John Edwards were not nice, nor were Bill Maher’s on how it would be best if Vice President Dick Cheney died, or Rosie O’Donnell’s many, many rants and raves. In fact, they all were downright horrible.
I find it appalling that I still see letters attacking the far right or far left as if there were no counterpart.
The Alberto Gonzales uproar right now is another example. Ask yourself how many people did Janet Reno fire and how many of those were for political reasons? Personally, I think people should just grow up and stop stereotyping all conservatives into Coulter’s category, or all liberals into Maher’s category. There is a middle ground most people fail to notice, a middle ground that is disgusted with all these “holier than thou” types on both sides.

Lynnette Otero, Franktown

In reading the April 6 Rocky Mountain News article, “SEAL statue upsets some in Littleton,” I believe the article should have been headlined, “SEAL statue upsets two liberal anti-gunners in Littleton.” Namely, Emily Cassidy Fuchs and Linda Cuesta. Maybe Fuchs and Cuesta would rather have a statue of Rosie O’Donnell installed in or near the park.
Our children need to be educated about what this country would be like if it were not for the sacrifices of our brave soldiers. We fought the Nazis over there during World War II and won, and we had better continue to fight the fundamentalist Muslims — who embrace death to us “infidels” — on their soil instead of here in the United States.

Keith Wanklyn, Highlands Ranch

In Concord, Mass., there’s a statue of a farmer leaving his plow behind and picking up a rifle. Every day, parents and school buses bring hundreds, and oftentimes thousands, of children to the sacred site. But doesn’t this armed Minuteman encourage violence in kids? (“SEAL statue upsets some in Littleton,” April 6.) Of course not. The only thing it glorifies is the defense of liberty.
There is even a monument there that salutes the British soldiers who died in the confrontation. Isn’t a town whose name means peace and harmony a strange place for a statue glorifying an armed man? Not according to the people of Concord.

Joe McGloin, Sheridan

I am heartily dismayed by President Bush’s recent comments surrounding the Congress and its bills regarding Iraq war funding.
The president is misleading the country by blaming Congress for adding “pork” and making political hay with the bills. On several other occasions the Republican-controlled Congress not only added billions in pork-barrel spending to so-called “emergency war spending,” they took much longer to get the bills to the president for signature.

James Hart, Castle Rock

As I understand the April 7 “Labor girds for ’08 convention” story, a group representing a very small fraction of Colorado residents wants to practice hold-up tactics on the nation.
Who said the spirit of the Old West was dead?

Larry McLaughlin, Aurora

Jess Steinitz of Boulder writes:

Each year we add more than 70 million people to the 6.6 billion human fossil fuel burners now on the planet. Yet most calls to action on global warming fail to address the underlying cause of global warming—human population growth.
It matters enormously whether the world’s population in 2050 is 10.8 billion people or 7.8 billion people—the high and low projections made in last year by the United Nations. Consider how much less carbon pollution there could be in a world with three billion fewer people.
We already have the tools we need to achieve population stabilization. They include family planning, education for women, and the right to make personal reproductive choices. Population stabilization isn’t about forcing anyone, anywhere to do anything. In fact, it could free us from the tyranny that climate change will impose on millions of people and thousands of species.
Each of us can consider the global impact of our personal choices about family size, just as we’re now looking at the impact on our planet of so many other decisions. It’s the least expensive, most effective, most overlooked way to address global warming.
This Saturday, April 14th, I will be attending the Climate Action Day rally at the Boulder Bandshell at 1pm to urge Congress to take these issues seriously. If you, too, are concerned about global climate change, please join me in speaking out for our future. It’s time for us to revive the global population movement.

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Steve Tanberg of Denver writes:

So now I see the Supreme Court has waded into the Global Warming debate, declaring that carbon dioxide is a pollutant. As if it weren’t dangerous enough to have politicians interpreting scientific data, now we have lawyers. Let’s try and put some perspective on this:
1.CO2 is a naturally occurring gas given off by you, me, and your puppy dog.
2.CO2 is a minor player among several green house gasses. Water vapor is the largest, about 95% of the total.
3.Volcanoes produce more CO2 than all of mankind.
4.Animals and bacteria produce about 150 gigatons of CO2 annually.
Mankind produces about 6.5 gigatons.
5.An even larger amount is produced by decaying plant life.
6.But the largest amount is released by the great CO2 reservoir, our oceans.
And please remember that our oceans, like all liquids, release more gasses as they warm. It’s the increased earth temperature that increases the amount of CO2 , not the other way around. Al Gore got it backward when he showed us all a graph showing a historic correlation between the earth’s CO2 levels and the earth’s temperature. What he failed to tell us is the temperature rise precedes the rise in CO2 .
If you want to know what’s causing our earth to get warmer, look no further than the sun. It’s heat is not constant. And scientists have shown a better correlation between increased solar activity and global warming than the effects CO2.

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Robert W. Steller of Larkspur writes:

The State Senate is pondering the question should Gays be allowed to adopt children. All one has to do is to look at the history of some churches over the last thirty years that have allowed gays to permeate their church. Because Cardinal Law in Massachusetts harbored gays and pedophil priests many law suits have been brought against his Diocese for damaging young lives and Cardinal Law has been demoted. The Arch Diocese of San Francisco has filed for bankruptcy because it cannot pay off all the victims abused by homosexual and pedophil priests. Too many homosexuals transform into predaceous pedophils seriously damaging the lives of the young. Three cases have been filed and more are expected against the Diocese of Denver for harboring homosexual priests like Reverend Harold R. White and Leonard Abercrombie, now deceased, who are named in three dozen law suits. The thought of gays adopting children is abhorrent.

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Jessica Sandler of Boulder writes:

If Al Gore is serious about wanting a greener planet, he should start by greening his diet, as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals pointed out to him in a recent letter (PETA to Al Gore: You Can’t Be a Meat Eating Environmentalist, at GoVeg.comhttp://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=9579).
Researchers at the University of Chicago calculated the amount of fossil fuel needed to produce various foods and confirmed that animal agriculture is a major contributor to global warming. A meat eater is responsible for almost 1.5 tons more carbon dioxide per person per year than someone who doesn’t consume animal products.
Just by making different food choices, people can tread lighter on the Earth. Consider these facts from E: The Environmental Magazine: A pound of wheat can be grown with 60 pounds of water, whereas a pound of meat requires 2,500 to 6,000 pounds. Because of deforestation to create grazing land, each vegetarian saves an acre of trees per year. It is estimated that 20 vegetarians can be fed on the amount of land needed to feed just one carnivore.
While Gore and many environmental groups push compact fluorescent light bulbs, they ignore the most inconvenient truth of all — that the most effective way to fight climate change is through diet change.

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Jeri A. Logan of Denver writes:

The President has been expressing his dour concern over the Democrats and the damage he feels they could do to his foreign policy by visiting Syria. I have to tell you, I don’t see how a brunette from California could mess up Bush’s foreign policy any more than his own preemptive and unprovoked war on Iraq. I’m also confused by this concern because his own political party sent a recent envoy, headed up by Chester County, Pennsylvania U.S. Rep Joe Pitts, to Syria.
Bush’s objection to Speaker of the House Pelosi’s visit is just a desperate jingoistic jab because the only thing propping this president up is a small 30-32% of the population and his own stubbornness.

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Ron Smith of Littleton writes:

We, the American people, spoke out in November, “Get our troops out of Iraq.” We elected a Congress with that mandate. Our very arrogant President decided that our mandate is not important, so he sends more troops to Iraq. After five years of ineptitude, and lack of success, he asks for “overs” and says if you just give me more troops and time, I’ll get it right. (This sounds a bit like Vietnam). The President then sends a supplemental spending bill to Congress to provide support for the troops. Congress is sending back to him a bill that says we will support our troops, but you must satisfy the American public and show good faith in reducing our involvement in Iraq by agreeing to a timetable for reduction of troops in Iraq. Now the President is whining about not getting his way and blaming Congress for not supporting our troops. Read our lips Mr. President, get our troops out of Iraq! Congress is being very reasonable and providing what we, the people, are asking for.

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Pat Searcy of Golden writes:

Bernard Nathanson, M.D. who spearheaded the abortion movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s admits he and his colleagues purposely inflated statistics to the public via the media. “We aroused enough sympathy to sell our program of permissive abortion by fabricating the number of illegal abortions done annually in the U.S. The figure was approaching 100,000, but the figure we gave the media repeatedly was 1 million. Repeating the big lie often enough convinces the public. The number of women dying from illegal abortions was around 200-250 annually. The figure we constantly fed to the media was 10,000. The false figures took root in the consciousness of Americans, convincing many that we needed to crack the abortion law.”
The myths were pounded into the heads of the activist judges on the Supreme Court enough for them to change the laws on abortion. Now environmentalist have convinced the media and the Supreme Court enough to the point that false figures are taking root in the consciousness of Americans that global warming is man-made. They have actually convinced the gullible into believing that carbon dioxide is a pollutant. Calling a butterfly a cock roach doesn’t make it a cock roach. Yet, despite the fact that calling carbon dioxide a pollutant borders on moonbattery, a divided decision has come from the U.S.
Supreme Court stating that the EPA has authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Hmm, I thought the Supreme Court was formed to interpret laws, not create them as they did in Roe v. Wade. And I didn’t realize that the current justices were also scientists.
For years, some people told us that Earth was a living, breathing organism which is in constant change. We don’t hear them saying that anymore. Now, any change in weather patterns are seen as a sign of major catastrophic events.
Dr. Nathanson is now speaking strongly against the current abortion laws.
Maybe some day Al Gore will be a stand-up guy and admit he too inflated statistics in order advance a false agenda. In the mean time, hold your breath so you won’t emit any carbon dioxide.

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Charles Kerr of Grand Junction writes:

House Bill 1341 which seeks to reform the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is essential good government. The current composition of COGCC requires that five of the seven seats be filled with members who have “substantial” oil and gas industry experience. The result of this commission’s pro-development bias is a frenzy of drilling without sufficient safeguards or standards to protect air, land and water from excessive pollution and disruption. Surface owners’ property rights and residents’ health in the Piceance Basin have been unnecessarily compromised. With 30,000 active wells and 30,000 more expected in the next few years, Colorado needs a commission with member-experts in public health, local government, wildlife/environment, agriculture, and soil conservation/reclamation. HB1341 will add this expertise to COGCC while retaining three experts from the oil and gas industry. Changing from a 7 to a 9 member commission will not create an unmanageable bureaucracy or a regulatory behemoth.
In 2000 Russell George, as Speaker of the House, lost by one vote an attempt to reform COGCC. The consequences of the failure of that bill can be seen in Garfield, Weld, and La Plata counties. Let’s hope that Josh Penry and our other state senators can recognize the fallacy of arguments by oil and gas developers who believe that reforming COGCC will so hinder oil and gas development that industry will invest elsewhere. COGCC reform will not cause industry to abandon trillions of cubic feet of known gas reserves in Colorado and billions of dollars in profit. What reform might accomplish is better planned energy development that safeguards the public health, safety and welfare of our communities while providing reasonable access to oil and gas through mandatory best management practices.

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Shayna Jones of Lakewood writes:

Home builders’ warn that “it [Homeowner Protection Act] would invite a flood of lawsuits, substantially increase their insurance costs and drive up costs for new home buyers.” Maybe I am just being crazy but I think if homebuilders would build quality products they are willing to stand behind, the Homeowner Projection Act would NOT be necessary. Just a thought or an impossible dream?

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Berit Westby of Louisville writes:

Columbus “discovered” America, but there were already people living here at the time of that so-called discovery. Without written permission of the original inhabitants, Europeans then proceeded to move in to Indian territory. White men proceeded to invent laws without the permission or even consultation of Indians, black slaves, or white women. Incredibly, they then expected all to follow their undemocratically fabricated laws and artificial borders. It is time to expose the farce. Logic fails to legitimize the term “illegal alien” of those whose ancestors were here before white people’s.

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Rob Pait of Fort Collins writes:

As a parent of three children at Ridgeview Classical Schools in Fort Collins, I read with unsurprised dismay the ham-handed attempts of Representative Mike Merrifield to gut the charter school system in Colorado.
Let’s disregard the expressed desire for parents such as I to burn in a “special place in Hell” as a moment of unsupervised clarity from the honorable representative from El Paso. Taxpayers often relish these bit of honest gristle in the hamburger of modern political thought.
More disconcerting is his underhanded political attempt to change Senate Bill 61 in committee, and his procedural dealings to cut off citizen disagreement and debate over his changes.
The raison d’etre for charter schools nationwide is to give parents a stronger voice in the education system, one that is necessarily unique from (but not independent of) local school districts. Simply put, the atmosphere fostered at many public schools is one that runs counter to how many parents understand a proper educational experience. The charter school philosophy removes some oversight by local and state governments, who are responsible for the abhorrent conditions from which charter school parents flee.
The charter system has produced the state’s top high school two years running as measured by CSAP scores, as well as schools that specialize in reaching out with specialized programs to students and populations that are underserved by a cookie-cutter approach to public education.
Nonetheless, misguided regulators such as Mike Merrifield, not to mention my own Larimer County School Board, remain discontent with schools that produce results sans overbearing governance— the same governance that has Colorado mired in 30th place nationally for state high school graduation rates (National Center for Education Statistics).
The easy work is done. Representative Merrifield has resigned his post as head of the House Education Committee, and good riddance to his pejorative backroom dealings. The harder job remains in his wake: will state and local governments continue to insist on impeding the grassroots success of charter schools in Colorado? Can bureaucrats step out of the way and allow parent-driven, community-based success to happen right under their collective nose? Or will school choice become a victim of an already-underperforming bureaucracy?

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Tommy Holeman of Boulder writes:

SO, The current Resident of our White House is upset that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is visiting leaders in the middle east.
One can’t help but wonder, 1).Why hasn’t HE done it? and 2). What’s he afraid of?
One can only answer,1). cowardice, and 2). apparently everything.
We needed a Commander-in-Chief after 9/11, not a paranoid CEO wannabe w/ an Oedipus complex. What a mess they’ve made of things, internationally as well as domestically.
I’d say impeachment was in order, but Vice-Resident Cheney is one scary dude all by himself.
God help us all.

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Victor True of Parker writes:

I see that we have several U.S. Senators, from both parties, who have entered the race for the White House in 2008.
They are very busy running for an office that wouldn’t be voted upon for another 17 months, and they are at least a year from the national primaries; a little early one would think.
One would also wonder if, when the Senate is in session, and they are not present due to campaigning, would they receive their full salaries? Or is the taxpayer expected to pay their full wages and benefits for a job they are not doing? If so, it just isn’t seem right.

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James Runavich of Denver writes:

Every time you breathe you emit CO2. You as a human being are now recognized by the Federal Government as a “Poluter". Your breathing will soon be regulated, by the hysterical Junk Science Liberal agenda. The Supreme Court and Liberals are now indisputable climatology scientists. Now your future will not only be regulated by inept elected officials it will be regulated by inept non-elected governmental agnencies (EPA). Just what they want, more government intrusion and control. Be ready for higher taxes, less efficiency in production, insane regulation. Now the Godless Libs can assure that their pitifully empty lives actually have meaning, they can save (and control) the world!

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Roy snd Gloria Suttie of Westminster write:

We definitely do not like the new little-bitty format. The quip has gotten so small there’s no room to write the solution. One needs a real sharp pencil to do the cross-word. Why oh why did you have to mess it up so?

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Larry Mitchell of Lakewood writes:

I am concerned with the coverage of the two people who fell or so they say feel from the cruise ship last week off the Texas coast. I agree with Sandy Darley. These people were so intoxicated and so vulgar that the ships personnel had to ask them to leave the night club. I was on that ship and I read and hear nothing about the local financial loss to the towns because our ship and various other ships including another cruise ship and various other people spent 6 hours looking for them and nearly all shore excursions were canceled because we were late into port costing the towns economy to suffer financially.
Nothing is said about the finical cost to the US Coast Guard being called out and I know that is an expense. It seems to me that these two kids as I will call them are taking this very lightly. I would like to know if there is any financial penalty to these people. Please don’t get me wrong I am very glad they were found but it seems everywhere I read it is still just a party to these people.

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Joe Stern of Fort Collins writes:

Rep..Marilyn Musgrave wrote me a letter supporting the war in Iraq, dated 3/29/07, wherein she stated: “I believe we must support the sacrifice of the individuals that have served in Iraq by allowing our troops the opportunity to succeed.”
Consider the possibility that a mother in Colorado had two sons, who served in Iraq. One was killed in the first month of his second term of service. The second son is now in his 11th month of his first term. Would this mother want her second son to have the opportunity of returning to Iraq for a second term, so our troops could succeed?”
All those who support the war in Iraq should be urged to volunteer for frontline military duty. Since most legislators may have some mental or physical defects, their offspring should be urged to volunteer instead – led by President Bush’s twin daughters.

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Michael Franzen of Aurora writes:

Ever wonder why adult’s can’t figure out why their children laugh at them? Ever wonder why people don’t show up at the polls?
It’s the ridiculous name calling that goes on between Democrats and Republicans. Mr. Barthlome, I am a combat veteran, former Marine, who on a National level, happens to be a Democrat. I am not an unwashed liberal as you choose to call us.
On the local level, I vote on the issues, not the party. Perhaps, if people thought a little more bi-partisan, things would get done in this Country. Case in point, Arnold Schwarzenegger. If I lived in California I would vote for him in a second., even though he’s a Republican. Why? He cares about the planet he passes on to the children. I know, that makes me a lousy tree hugger(a Republican term), but that is your problem. Instead we worship people like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Jesse Jackson, etc., who’s ridiculous attacks even include children.
Ann Coulter, who are you to call someone a “faggot"? Rush Limbaugh, who are you to call Chelsea Clinton the “white house dog” who at the time, was only a child? Jesse Jackson, you only seem to show your face when there is a minority crisis? I want our leaders to represent everyone.
Do you think I would vote, or respect any of you now? It seems that once elections are over, all promises are off. Instead of taking care of the people that voted the sorry lot of you in, the bickering and undermining begin. The Health care situation is just as bad, the job situation is just as bad, etc. We are in a war most of the people don’t want (check the polls), but do you think the President listens to the people? Not a chance.
Mr. Barthlome, perhaps if you wrote a letter with some objectivity, instead of whining about comics, others might respect you too.

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Joe Edlin of Denver writes:

You are correct about the Denver Election Commission, they are correct to move people to the inactive list. Then after this election scrub non-voters, then within just a few more elections, with their attempt to stifle voting they won’t even have to maintain a list. Problem solved!!

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Randy and Judy Brown, Columbine parents, of Littleton write:

Judge Babcock has decided to place the remaining Columbine records into the National Archives. In doing so he takes any possible lessons that could be learned from these documents and hides them for 20 years. He does this under the guise, yes, guise, of saying that he is worried about copycats.
He is preventing those future school shooters from learning how to enact another Columbine on the unknowing public. Fascinating. His logic is that these potential killers are waiting for the documents that have been hidden for almost eight years to be released so that they can study what made Eric and Dylan killers. They are waiting, with their weapons at ready, to find out how Eric’s parents treated him, and how Dylan was treated at school.
They are just waiting for the interview by Diversion Counselor Robert Krieghauser so that they can go on that shooting rampage. Perhaps it is that last secret file that former District Attorney Dave Thomas kept from the press and the victim’s families that will make that next potential school shooter go on that last violent rampage.
Yes, it is absurd. The angry school shooter doesn’t care about these files.
The angry school shooter isn’t following this case. Only a few interested parties really care about what is still being withheld. Only those who have followed every release and every lie have any idea what these files might hold. The school shooter that Judge Babcock is worried about could care less. That school shooter doesn’t care about Eric and Dylan or about the past. That future school shooter only cares about his own misery, abuse and humiliation. He cares that he is abused at home, humiliated, abused at school, and that no one helps him.
Judge Babcock’s ridiculous excuse can easily be seen for what it is: An attempt to hide the failures of the police, the legal system, the County appointed Psychologist, the Diversion Program and the District Attorney from the public.
There will be copycats of the Columbine Murders, but the sad truth is that releasing this information would actually help stop them, because we would know more about them. By sealing this information for 20 years Judge Babcock has actually enabled these future killers. He has kept them invisible and he has hidden some of the motivating causes from us. We can’t stop them if we don’t know the real reasons why they kill. That information is now hidden in the National Archives. The lessons that could be learned are hidden there too.
Shame on you Judge Babcock. There is no wisdom in this decision.

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Mark Benner of Anton writes:

While few actually know what went on behind the scenes, Iran’s release of British sailors presents a stark contrast to the course taken by the Bush administration. Indeed it may have been calculated to embarrass Bush and the United States, and alter the lunatic view Americans have of Iranian President Ahmenijhad. Nonetheless this moment presents the possibility of a unique and overdue opportunity for diplomacy as a tool that could solve the problems in the region from Iraq to Palestine.
Will the United States seize the momentum?
We know the Bush administration turned down Iran’s 2003 offer to help in creating a stabile Iraq.
The problem is that Di –plo –ma-cy, is a word the Bush administration has little familiarity with. In almost all of its actions the Bush administration has shown little aptitude or willingness to involve itself in honest dialogue, discussion or an effort to work with others for mutual benefit. The results have been disaster in almost every case. Even now as polls show an overwhelming desire by Americans to end the occupation of Iraq, the president chooses the path of politics, and confrontation, as he not only stays the course but also ups the ante.
Recent events offer an excellent moment to explore an international and regional approach to solving the violence and resistance to the Bush occupation of Iraq.

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Phil Weinstein of Boulder writes:

How is this supposed to work? Once we kill ALL the militants we’ve inspired in Iraq, then, finally, we’ll be able to leave?
All cultures - certainly proud developing Muslim cultures - foster a powerful sense of loyalty, nationalism, and patriotism. The extreme indignities suffered by the Iraqi people - both actual and perceived - at the hand of our incompetence and self-concern will not be easily forgotten. The opportunity for us to restore stability in Iraq has passed.
Sure, Baghdad neighborhoods might get quieter while we’re patrolling.
That is not evidence of progress towards a national political solution.
If the last four years are any indication, the state of Iraq will be no better in another eighteen months.
We’ve created a terrible situation for Iraq for perhaps a whole generation. This is a huge setback in the trend of these societies towards liberalization. Clearly though, our unwelcome occupation of Iraq and threatening posturing towards Iran is only empowering oppression and radicalizing militant conflict. We have to leave.
Support our troops by NOT continuing to fund an endless military occupation.

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Lorraine Moulton of Longmont writes:

In World War 1 they have estimated ten million people died. In World War 2, they have estimated that 54 million people died. Although we have lost 3500 brave soldiers and many more wounded, we must realize what could happen without this battle.
There are 100,000 terrorist being trained within the borders of Iran, being paid with millions of dollars from various sources and then sent out to do their evil work. These terrorists are hired from all parts of the world, but are mostly from Iran. A volcano of terror is on the brink of erupting in the Middle East and America is not immune. Radical Islamic terrorists will only step back when they fear us, not when we back down from them. The leader of Iran is driven by an extremist ideology and thinks he is on a divine mission. This is a threat to the whole world and must be dealt with before its too late. They do not hide their intentions. The free world does not have the privilege to back down. Wake up America! We must not back down and allow these evil, radical terrorists to create another holocaust.

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Jon Fox of Denver writes:

Every day more evidence surfaces showing that the Bush administration has been lying about everything from what actually happened on 9/11 to the latest “hot news” of political U.S. attorney firings. Hundreds if not thousands of criminal acts deserving of impeachment at the very least. Our representatives in Washington strut around with little flags on their chests making patriotic statements but doing nothing patriotic. Where are the real patriots? Stop illegal war, impeach now!

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Jim Kenfield of Elizabeth writes:

“Be careful what you wish for” sure applies to politics. Apparently a majority of voters wished that Bill Ritter would be elected Governor. Well, they got that and now we see what they (Not me) wished for.
The problem with the violent criminal who escaped from the facility in Pueblo is a serious matter.
This criminal, according to news reports had earned privileges that allowed him to walk away from the facility. How did he earn these privileges? By “Good behavior.” Let’s examine the examples of “Good behavior” as listed in the news reports. He earned them by: 1. Telling some cockeyed story about a “Genie” commanding him to kill. He bragged about faking this story in order to fool some authority into sending him to the nuthouse instead of prison.
2. He escaped in 2005.
3. He was written up twenty (20) times for assaulting or sexually attacking inmates or guards, including a pregnant guard.
Now, what does that have to do with Bill Ritter? He has been running around with his head up his posterior instead of doing something about this situation.
What should he be doing? He should have taken charge of this situation IMMEDIATELY by going to the facility involved, firing the person in charge, and then firing the head of the corrections system for allowing this situation to occur.
And, with his previous reputation as Prosecutor, he will probably allow this criminal (If he is ever caught) to plead guilty to “Trespassing on agricultural land". And of course, the officials responsible for this situation wil probably go on being your regular old incompetent types while criminals like this person go on being a danger to law abiding, innocent citizens.
Those who elected Ritter got what they wished for, but the other citizens got the shaft.

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Through no fault of their own, my children were born in America, to American-citizen parents. Yet I don’t see people like letter writer Mackenzie Forsythe (“DREAM Act gives immigrant kids a shot,” April 2) working to ensure my kids will be able to afford college. She’s too busy getting the kids of illegal aliens a free ride.
Oh, wait, I see that Forsythe forgot to use that apparently inconsequential word, “illegal.” Now, it’s probably true that a few of the young people she’s talking about are the kids of legal immigrants. But who’s zooming whom? Most of the “immigrants” Mackenzie cares about are of the variety who are either themselves here illegally or whose parents are.
But I guess I forgot something, too! Since both sides of the political aisle are pandering to illegals — hoping to get their votes when they go ahead and make these lawbreakers citizens, against the wishes of most citizens — my kids, who chose their parents so poorly, have become second-class citizens.
And what political capital is there in helping them get a college education when politicians can buy the votes of upward of 20 million new citizens by sending their kids to college?
J.M. Schell, Arvada

The controversy surrounding the excessively large elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park needs to be settled on a peaceful basis. We too often propose killing wildlife with guns. This delivers a message to the children of this country that a violent resolution to our problems is one of the acceptable alternatives in our society.
There are several other alternatives to this particular problem that are more peaceful than just “shooting the elk.” Also, several of our members of Congress are introducing legislation to reintroduce hunting in national parks. That would be a setback to decades or progressive and humanitarian thinking. There is a place for hunting but not in our protected national parks.
Steve Hancock, Centennial

It is fundamentalist fanatics like letter writer Cleon Griffiths who quote Holy Scriptures to justify their own particular prejudices that I find revolting (“Homosexuality and the Scriptures,” April 3). This is the kind of stuff that causes violence against gays.
As to the Episcopal Church being torn apart by “renegade” priests (the original subject of the letter), it is people like Griffiths who will ultimately destroy Christianity. Somewhere along the way Jesus Christ and his teachings have been lost.
Anthony Palange Jr., Denver

I am writing in response to comments made by Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder, cited in the Rocky Mountain News story of March 27, “Gun bill ignites rights battle.”
According to the Rocky, she said she was concerned by “disturbing” committee testimony where a Colorado man could not get a Colorado concealed handgun permit and got it from Florida instead.
She calls this a public safety issue and, in comments paraphrased by the Rocky, “a dangerous loophole that allows mentally ill or violent offenders — who are barred from obtaining Colorado concealed-handgun permits — to simply get an out-of-state permit to legally carry a gun.”
I find it sad that an elected official is not aware that in both Colorado and Florida each applicant must pass the same background check, fingerprinting and other requirements (including good mental health) in order to obtain a concealed-handgun permit. The people who have these permits are law-abiding citizens and are not the ones that are a “public safety issue.”
Clay Smith, Erie

The conflict between game maker Rockstar and the Regional Transportation District over advertising on buses and light-rail cars ("The freedom to say ‘no’/RTD may choose its advertisers,” April 1) could best be solved by the simplest solution: less government intervention.
If RTD were a private corporation, the public wouldn’t have to worry about whether the government played favorites with advertisers.
Jordan Von Bokern is a resident of Louisville.

William Geist of Arvada writes:

In response to Richard L. Wilde’s letter on 29 Mar 2007, “Candidates should resign to run". In the fine print of the deal the politicians sign with the devil, there is a clause the states the politicians must relinquish any and all common sense they have. Also, the politicians are notorious for exempting themselves from the rules that the rest of us must live by.

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Mary Anne Little of Denver writes:

Even though the upcoming election for Mayor of Denver is basically ceremonial, a few things should be stated. First, during the current mayor’s time in office, the City has been beseiged with his likeness — everywhere — and now we must contend with his saccarine voice every time we make those disturbing “311” calls to reach most departments in the City government. That is point number two: by this system, despite the fact that we know the department’s number, we get routed through an extra layer of telephone operators PLUS Mayor Hickenlooper’s cheery message, sometimes for a delay of two or three minutes.
In a more serious vein, the Mayor has done nothing but contribute to the City’s problems stemming from illegal immigration; although commercial construction appears to be flourishing as seen from driving through downtown and Cherry Creek, our libraries operate on a very limited schedule, we have diverted general library funds to books in Spanish, and even little Englewood has better computers with more options available in its libraries.
Studies are ordered for every imaginable crisis, from snow removal to voter congestion, when the plain truth is that the City needs more snow removal equipment (which would have been far less expensive than the overtime paid during the most recent blizzard) and the old voting system had worked just fine for many decades.
It is a shame that no one with a chance of election had the gumption to come forward to oppose Mayor Hickenlooper. Past candidates have been defeated by only one of the issues set out above. No politician, especially one with roots far outside of Colorado, should be given a free pass!

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D.B. Coffman of Arvada writes:

You will never publish a letter such as this, but it is necessary just to let you people know that the Democrats are not fooling all the people all the time.
The Democrat agenda of manufactured scandals, slash and burn, is so apparent even a former Democrat, such as myself, can see through it.
The main Democrat agenda, now following their vicious hate campaign against President Bush, has morphed into the main theme. And that is power and control ... over who? Over you!
Sooner or later, the general unwashed, “I don’t care” voters will wake up and see these Democrats for what they actually are.

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Dan Moore of Erie writes:

Environmentalists missing the Bus? Er, trucks?
The Environmental movement has been surprisingly silent on the impending implementation of the Bush Mexican Truck Pilot program. The trucks due to cross the border in May 2007 are not only much older, more polluting trucks, but the fuel they use is 333 times more sulfurous than the fuel used in the US.
According to the EPA website all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Canada are using S15. S15 is the designation for the ultra-low sulfur diesel now mandatory nationwide containing 15ppm (parts per million) of sulfur. The diesel produced by Pemex is 500 ppm. Pemex is the state owned petroleum producer in Mexico. S15 also reduces the amount of Nitrous Oxide and particulates in the atmosphere.
The age of the Mexican truck fleet is a significant factor in pollution production. In a Diesel Fuel News article by Jack Peckham he states “ 77% of all the diesel vehicles in Mexico’s federal district are pre-1988 vehicles, accounting for 72% of all the diesel emissions, as Victor Hugo Paramo, federal district environmental secretariat official, explained at the Hart World Fuels Conference/Rio 2002 here.
Some 40% of the 180,000 diesel vehicles in the D.F. are older than 20 years. These old vehicles aren’t prime candidates for the best low-emissions technologies such as particulate matter (PM) filters, as they often suffer high engine-out emissions and lack of electronic controls.”
Most Over the Road(OTR) trucks have a minimum of 500 gallon fuel tanks, with some of the larger truck having 750-1000 gallon capacity. These trucks will have the capability to cross the US without refueling and burning this atrociously polluting fuel.
Pemex has no plans to have S15 available on a large scale within even the next 10 years.
When US trucks are able to travel to Mexico, there are no current plans to allow US trucks into Mexico, they will not be able to purchase S15. The inherent unfairness of not allowing US trucks into Mexico at the sametime Mexico can send in an unlimited number of polluting trucks to the US is yet another reason to kill quash this program.
I encourage all environmentally conscious people to contact their Senators and Representatives to stop this program before it starts next month.

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Brad Littlepage of Leadville writes:

Re: James Stone Rocky Flats Ruling by the US Supreme Court.
James Stone’s Rocky Flats whistle blowing case has set a dangerous precedent regarding making government and its contractors accountable. I grew up in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and have known Mr. Stone and his family for many years. He had a passion for wanting to protect the environment through his no nonsense approach to engineering. He was a kind and humble man of strong ethical convictions and moral principal.
Government employee’s work under the Executive Branch, Code of Ethics that state: Employees shall disclose waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption to appropriate authorities. Stone, a Rocky Flats’ contractor worked under this code of ethics and blew the whistle. 2.7 million Government employees lost protection from a First Amendment ruling due to a recent U.S Supreme Court decision and now this latest decision concerning Stone’s case will closet any ethical incentive to whistle blow in the future.
Practicing free speech and whistle blowing has become a very dangerous thing to do in our society today.
I was aware of the 1989 raid on Rocky Flats, but unbeknownst to me that it was all started by the courageous Mr. Stone, I applaud you. Thank you for protecting the citizens of this country and now it is time for the citizens to stand up and protect you.
Contact your State and US Senators and Representatives.

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Allen Campbell of Colorado Springs writes:

It just keeps getting better and better, like a continually rehearsed Neil Simon sitcom. The Perils of Email it could be called or maybe the Curse of the Corespondents would be more appropriate but, that sounds more like a Perry Mason segment. For some, as yet to be explained, reason the unwashed public masses seem to think that when someone attains public office they are divinely endowed with common sense and the inability to be stupid. Wait, have we been transported in time back to the days of feudalism or is it nothing more than the human curse of people not learning the mistakes of history and being doomed to repeat them.
I think the legislature should pass a law banning legislative private email with in 15 miles of the Capital unless, of course, they are not in session in which case the distance from the Capital would be increased to, well, how about anywhere in the country, with the exemption of any bathroom that allows smoking and anyplace else that might prove that they are, after all, not immune to stupidity or the inability to not let it be known to most of the civilized world.
I am not, as a rule, acerbic when writing about current affairs but I become really, really down right caustic when politicians destroy the trust they think we have in them so absolutely or when they have affairs, currently. But, I must admit I enjoy observing the pomp and circumstance that accompanies a politician’s fall from the grace of their equally not so smart fellow dabblers in constitutional rights and freedoms that we the not quite adoring or really even affectionate and, come to think of it, most certainly not inclined to vote for them, in fact let me change this whole thing and come clean about it all, the only emotions they bring out in us that seem to endure, are fear and loathing, constituents.

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Kylan King of Denver writes:

Re: Oil, Gas Industry to Oppose Overhaul. Rocky Mountain News, 3/15/07.
Why doesn’t the Colorado oil and gas industry doesn’t want to reform the commission that regulates them? One reason might be that a majority of current commissioners have extensive experience in the energy industry, which has allowed for very favorable circumstances for oil and gas companies. Public health and environmental concerns are not being adequately represented, as the industry is allowed to basically regulate itself. The lack of balance in the interests considered has hindered responsible energy development.
The rate at which we are developing our energy resources is exploding. We already have 30,000 wells and can double that in six years. This bill would help with responsible development, which can prevent long lasting health and environmental damage.
Development that will allow us to develop our energy resources, while avoiding outright destruction of the lands that so many of us enjoy using for recreational activities. Perhaps we should ask why these companies are so opposed to this kind of development.
Passing House Bill 1341 will ensure that the oil and gas companies have to follow the same rules the rest of the businesses in Colorado currently do. After all, how comfortable would you feel if restaurants got to give themselves health inspections?

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Jim Sickafoose of Wheat Ridge writes:

President Bush’s eagerness to attack Iran is destructive to the interests of this nation and makes him an enemy of the American people. He has proven himself to be a true war-monger who has done more damage to this nation than any terrorist could ever hope to be.

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