Salazar’s opposition to Bush judicial nominees
Re: “Sen. Salazar takes radical judicial turn,” April 21 David Harsanyi column.
David Harsanyi attacks Sen. Ken Salazar for refusing to rubber-stamp judicial appointments by President Bush of nominees whom some consider to be right-wing bigots.
Bush seems arrogant to ignore the constitutional requirement of “advice and consent” of the U.S. Senate as a condition of judicial appointments. When did he consult with the senators? Generally, presidents have exercised some healthy restraint in their nominations, sounding out the Senate and nominating lawyers and judges whose views the president liked but who were generally acceptable to the senators.
While the president can coerce all, or nearly all, senators of his own party to swallow any reservations and rubber-stamp his nominations, other senators are free to – indeed, obligated to – express their reservations or opposition, if any, this not being a compete dictatorship.
Leland R. Branting, Parker
…
Sen. Ken Salazar, in having the courage to stand up to ideological bullies like Focus on the Family, has earned my enduring respect. Since its founding, Focus on the Family has progressively slid toward becoming the Christian equivalent of the Taliban. It has warped Christianity in such a way that it justifies forcing beliefs on people who don’t want them, and claims that this is necessary in order to protect its right to practice its belief.
News flash: Permitting abortion to happen (under carefully controlled, safe conditions) does not mean that everyone will be forced to have one. Allowing the use and distribution of contraceptives and admitting their effectiveness does not mean that everyone will be forced to use them. Permitting homosexuals to marry does not mean that Christians will be forced to marry homosexuals. Religious beliefs are practiced and held by the individual; practices contrary to their beliefs do not impact their belief system unless they are forced upon that individual – and this is not the case.
Adrian Robles, Lakewood
….
Putting conservation ahead of oil exploration
Re: “Energy policy should boost conservation,” April 19 editorial.
I am concerned about the overall blindness we seem to have acquired regarding energy and conservation. We need to focus on the future – not of the oil giants, but of the people and the land that makes the United States a gem upon the Earth.
What do we gain by destroying one of the few truly great and wild places in our land? Short- term construction jobs? A temporary reprieve from oil shortages? How do we explain to the families of those who die in a future war begun to restore the flow of oil that their sons and daughters died because we lacked the vision to reduce dependence on foreign oil, that we bargained away their futures, their lives for a short-term solution to a long- term problem?
Put conservation ahead of exploration, please, while there is a future and a world still worth saving.
Floyd Goodwin, Lafayette
…
Gay-rights debate
Re: “Anti-gay hiring practices targeted,” April 21 news story.
For all those legislators referring to the Bible when voting against legal rights for gays and lesbians: Why do some people take it upon themselves to instill God’s judgment here on Earth? If, in their interpretation of the Bible, homosexuality is “an abomination” unto the Lord, why don’t they leave it to the Lord to punish homosexuals in the afterlife?
Perhaps the zealous attempts on the part of God-fearing believers to mold secular society into a mechanism of earthly religious punishment masks a deeper insecurity: If those who lead pious, pure lives see heathen sinners coast through life without any visible punishment for their sins, how do they know those sinners will be punished after they die? Best to create a hell on Earth, observe their anguish, and take satisfaction in their pain rather than leave it to an unknown, unseen supernatural entity to punish the wicked.
It seems to me that an omniscient, all-powerful god would be quite capable of handling disobedience among his creation without the assistance of self-righteous legislators down below.
John Wilkens, Boulder
