Money for homeless vs. sports venues
Re: “Survey gauges handouts in Denver; officials seek to curb practice,” Aug. 19 news story.
For some time now, I have read the pros and cons of providing new homes for the homeless people of Denver.
Over the past years, I have watched millions spent for the Pepsi Center, Coors Field and a new stadium for the Broncos.
This is not just a Colorado issue but a nationwide issue. For us to debate whether or not to provide a safe place for our homeless and yet always have money for sports venues is shameful.
Mary Freund, Denver
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Vietnam comparisons growing for Iraq war
Re: “GOP senator: Iraq bad for Mideast,” Aug. 22 news story.
Now that a Republican senator who served in Vietnam has openly disputed the Bush administration’s rationale and handling of the fiasco in Iraq, perhaps others will see that these concerns are not just those of the liberal left. How did we get into such a tragic mess? With the same tried-and-true recipe that got us into Vietnam: three parts hubris plus four parts ignorance plus a heaping dose of underestimating your foe – minus all wisdom.
William Edwards, Centennial
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In his weekly radio address last Saturday, President Bush said that “the safety and security of every American is at stake in this war.” Presumably he means the war on terror, the Iraq war.
Unfortunately, the war on terror is not in Iraq; it never was. The war on terror (the Sept. 11 connection) was in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden was there and we did not pursue him when we had the chance. He is likely still there, but the last I looked the majority of our troops were in an entirely different country. Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with Sept. 11; this has been confirmed by many. His weapons of mass destruction were supposedly going to be used against us, but we were told there was no proof of their existence prior to Bush’s invasion – and indeed none was found.
President Bush either fabricated his reasons for war or was easily duped by others. Regardless of which of these was his reason, he should either resign or be impeached for what he has done to our country.
Brendan McKiernan, Wheat Ridge
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Re: “General: Army planning for 4 more years in Iraq,” Aug. 21 news story.
A number of us are old enough to remember Vietnam and how we were told a series of shifting reasons for our presence there. It began with our need to help a struggling group of freedom fighters against a powerful and cruel communist tyranny. We were fighting communists there so we wouldn’t have to fight them here.
Four years into the struggle, when it began to look like we had lost support from the general population because their country was in ruins, we were told that to leave was a dishonor to those who had already sacrificed their lives there. Our Defense Department released a stream of rosy information to support the view of an eventual American victory that was never clearly defined. Protesters and the press were blamed as being unpatriotic for encouraging the enemy and prolonging the war.
Now a top Army general is predicting four more years of American military presence in Iraq. Can anyone else hear Country Joe and the Fish coming up in the background singing, “And it’s one, two, three / What are we fighting for? / Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn / Next stop is Iran”?
Fred Buschhoff, Denver
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Electric utilities’ need for appeals to PUC
Re: “Utilities jumping the gun on PUC appeals,” Aug. 22 editorial.
As one of two electric utilities mentioned in your editorial, Tri- State Generation and Transmission Association wishes to set the record straight with respect to the need for the transmission project cited in the editorial, as well as the applicable Colorado law.
First, Tri-State has proposed to replace an existing 50-year-old, under-capacity transmission line that serves several communities in southwest Colorado, including Telluride. Tri-State’s plan calls for a higher-capacity line to serve the growing electrical load in this part of the state.
Electric service to Telluride and surrounding communities has been impaired for extended periods twice in the last two years due to damage caused by avalanches. The upgraded line proposed by Tri-State would allow for redundant electric service to these communities during such outages. The upgraded line would also reduce the number of outages caused by lightning strikes, since the current line has no ground protection.
Contrary to the editorial, Tri- State filed an appeal with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission only after the county land-use process was concluded.
Finally, the statement that Tri- State “never supplied the numbers” relating to right-of-way costs for overhead construction is just wrong. Tri-State supplied a detailed report of a professional appraiser to the PUC on Sept. 15, 2004, which indicated that the costs of acquiring land rights for the overhead line would not be greater than the extreme costs of underground construction. In addition, Tri-State has provided detailed construction cost estimates from two national engineering companies with extensive experience in underground transmission line projects. Tri-State hopes to continue to work with the affected local governments and the landowners to construct this much- needed project.
Mac McLennan, Vice President, External Affairs, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc., Westminster
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Tilting at video games
Re: “Lawmakers, stop playing games,” Aug. 22 David Harsanyi column.
Finally, the government is focusing on what’s important: rebel teenagers (I’m kidding, of course). It is becoming more and more obvious that the government is not learning from the mistakes made by previous elected leaders. There is always going to be some new epidemic threatening the youth of America. Rock and roll, heavy metal, violence on television and now video games. Tipper Gore met singer Dee Snider in the mid-’80s. Hillary Clinton will meet the dweebs who created Grand Theft Auto. There really isn’t much of a difference. Let me just predict now that this is going to backfire on everyone involved, much like the absurd attacks on the music industry made by Gore and her patsies.
As an 18-year-old, I find it insulting that the government is focusing more on silly little games that have little bearing on the nation as a whole when Iraq is still in chaos. Does Clinton honestly believe that teenagers are going to turn into monsters because of a video game? Half the kids who play this game are too lazy to get off the couch for another bag of chips, let alone cause any sort of damage or mayhem.
Which do you think is having a greater impact on the youth of America: Iraq or some video game? Hillary Clinton has shown you what she thinks. I’m afraid that the rest of our elected officials are more interested in avoiding the real topics and would rather focus on this stupid game and advancing their careers.
Josh Franklin, Littleton
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Beauprez’s critique of state fiscal measure
Re: “Foe: C and D spell trouble,” Aug. 22 news story.
Once again, Rep. Bob Beauprez’s comments and actions amaze me. Speaking out against state Referendums C and D, Beauprez said, “Government doesn’t grow the economy, people do.” This being the case, I wonder why Beauprez voted for the federal energy and the transportation bills, both of which authorize huge federal expenditures and tax credits designed, among other things, to grow the economy. One would think that after two terms in Congress, Beauprez would understand that government expenditures play a major role in economic growth.
James Lowe, Wheat Ridge
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