Response to Hurricane Katrina
I know we will all step up to do the best we can for the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort. But I keep asking myself how many lives could have been saved if we had not had massive numbers of National Guard troops with their equipment, including helicopters, medical equipment, satellite communications and generators in Iraq, fighting a pointless war. And surely, for this unimaginable tragedy, the worst natural disaster in our history, we would have brought to bear the forces of our other military branches if they were available.
Elizabeth Goebel, Arvada
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As the Dutch will tell you, developing land below sea level requires constant attention. Of course, much of New Orleans is below sea level. Yet, in 2004 the U.S Corps of Engineers “essentially stopped major work on the now-breached levee system that had protected New Orleans from flooding. It was the first such break in 37 years. … The money moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq,” according to a story in the Sept. 1 Denver Post. I might add that lack of essential investment in our country (read: unwise tax cuts) are another contributor. To the extent that terrorists have manipulated U.S. leaders into making unwise choices, we have let the terrorists contribute to yet another enormous trauma in an American city.
President Bush is weakening our nation. He is a weak president. What appeared to be strength is just bravado.
Mary Hill, Boulder
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Just as President Bush did following the tsunami natural disaster last year, he was again a day late and a dollar short in turning his attention toward the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Why did Bush wait even one day in marshalling military assets and coordinating “a cabinet-level task force”? But what bothers me and worries me the most about how slowly our president and our government agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency have moved to coordinate relief efforts in these hurricane-stricken states is this: If they are unable to effectively, efficiently respond to a natural disaster, how will they ever hope to adequately respond to another terrorist attack on our soil?
Desiree Renaud, Lafayette
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The U.S. government is sending 30,000 refugees living in the New Orleans Superdome on buses to live in another sports arena in Houston, Texas? That is the stupidest, most ill-fitted and most temporary so-called solution to this hurricane refugee problem imaginable. This is a national disaster; we should put these people into real temporary living arrangements – apartments or whatever it takes – not a sports arena.
Dennis Hammond, Lakewood
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Americans will surely step up to the plate and help our neighbors in the South devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Will the oil and gas industry also contribute its obscene profits to help out? If the oil and gas industry can fork over millions to political candidates in 2004 and spend hundreds of millions more on lobbying, surely it can donate a billion or so to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
So how about it, Big Oil? Our neighbors are desperate.
Pedro Ramirez, Fort Collins
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The victims of Hurricane Katrina will be without housing, employment and schools for months. I believe the purpose of government is to pool resources (taxes) to provide for the good of all and particularly those in need. The government can provide an organized effort, as opposed to the ad hoc contributions of private individuals and corporations to charities. The Red Cross does not build houses or highways. Government spending should provide goods and services for the benefit of our citizens rather than wasting billions on an ill-conceived conflict such as in Iraq.
Jill Lewis, Westminster
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Letter-writer Dean Schulze raised questions about my recent Perspective article in The Post (“Political interference with science real, troubling,” Aug. 21 Perspective). Schulze questions the so-called “hockey stick” graph, a reconstruction of climate history showing that the latter half of the 20th century was warmer than any other period in the past 1,000 years. He says work by two Canadians invalidates the reconstruction, which has become a global warming icon.
As I pointed out in my article, the Canadians’ study has itself been invalidated. Caspar Ammann of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Eugene Wahl of Alfred University used their own computer model to reproduce the original hockey stick and confirm its conclusions.
Schulze also questions my statement that the Canadians’ paper was published in a political journal without peer review. The fact is that it was published originally in Energy & Environment, whose editor has admitted that normal peer review was dispensed with as part of a “trade-off in favor of policy,” she said. This is politics, not science.
Lastly, Schulze says I failed to acknowledge “the politics of the pro-global warming side of this controversy.” To the contrary, I said people on both sides of the spectrum use – and misuse – science for their own political ends. But this administration has taken the practice to a new level.
Tom Yulsman, Niwot
Are we fighting the good fight in Iraq?
Re: “Bush backers converge on Crawford,” Aug. 28 news story.
Why are Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and other critics so determined to demean and trivialize Cindy Sheehan as a nutcase? Every mother in America should take offense to their abusive attitude. War protesting is not a crime. Losing a 24-year-old son is a high price to pay in a questionable conflict. The Bush administration is reluctant to meet with her and explain their Iraq policy. If only she would quietly go away. But that isn’t going to happen. I can only say to Cindy: You go, girl, keep their feet to the fire.
Gene Sabatka, Arvada
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Since I was born, in 1914, America has fought four wars “to make the world a safe democracy” – World War I, World War II, the Cold War and Vietnam. We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who served in these wars. Some were drafted and some volunteered, but all are heroes.
President Bush had an opportunity to join the fight to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. He chose to serve his country in the state of Texas. The chance he might get caught in the crossfire in the jungle was nil.
We are now engaged in a war to protect us from terror and to spread democracy to the Middle East.
In our present war, all of our soldiers are volunteers. I don’t know of any of their leaders whose children have volunteered to serve their country in this “noble cause.”
Mary Green, Highlands Ranch
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The people who are protesting the war in Iraq apparently have forgotten Nazi Germany. If Iraq and Saddam Hussein had gotten away with it, then why shouldn’t Iran, Syria and North Korea feel that America and its people were not willing to stand together, and join together and start hell on earth?
John R. Grimm, Denver
With all the media coverage about the war protesters and their lack of support for our troops, I felt I had to say something. We live in a country where people have the right to speak their mind and protest. As a fighter pilot in Vietnam (with 323 combat missions), I signed up to protect that right. What the protesters do not seem to understand is that once our country is involved in a war, they need to show support for our troops. Instead, by protesting, they help our enemy’s effort. It happened in Vietnam and it’s happening now. By protesting, they give the bad guys the idea that our country really doesn’t have the will to win. All this does is prolong a conflict and put our military men and women in harm’s way for a longer period of time.
Our freedoms and way of life have always been worth protecting and have always come with a price. The price has been paid with the loss of life on both sides of a conflict. No one will say they like a war. On the contrary, most people would like to avoid a war. However, we must keep this country safe for our children and grandchildren. We must stay the course and act swiftly and decisively to eliminate the threats to our country.
Bill May, Colorado Springs
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Re: “Foes of war gather from left and right,” Aug. 25 Cindy Rodríguez column.
As an 86-year-old veteran of World War II, I strongly endorse the opinions expressed in Cindy Rodríguez’s column. From the beginning of this conflict, I have been deeply troubled by: 1. the constantly changing rationale as given by the administration for invading Iraq; and 2. the appalling ignorance of the Iraqi culture that the neocons demonstrated in their arguments that we would be greeted with flowers, and that there would be no internal conflict once we “liberated” them. Now, instead of saying, “We made a mistake,” they continue to change the rationale and to insist that we just “stay the course.”
Burton C. Newbry, Aurora
Overpopulation of elk
Your editorial described elk overpopulation in Rocky Mountain National Park and the San Luis Valley. It is also a serious problem in the residential areas in the mountains immediately west of Denver, most of west Jefferson County, Clear Creek County and some other areas.
We live in the center of Evergreen, on 1 1/3 acres, and sometimes have as many as 30 elk in our yard, devouring flowers, shrubs and all our small trees. A herd of 200 or 300 elk roams Hiwan Country Club. Since this is a residential area, the elk cannot be hunted and, being quite intelligent, have learned to stay here year-round. One solution, probably the only feasible one for a residential area, is to equip animal control personnel with tranquilizer guns to capture the elk, transport them to a packing house, and distribute the meat to low-income people. If necessary, the meat could also be sold.
Wayne E. Simon, Evergreen
Failed pension plans
Re: “Pensions’ empty promise,” Aug. 28 special report.
Thank you for your excellent stories on companies backing out on employees’ pension plans. All too often we do not see the human faces of the people affected by these economic catastrophes; we see the victims of huge storms, of tidal waves, but rarely of economic collapse and broken decades of promises.
Post reporters Colleen O’Connor and Kelly Yamanouchi have forced us to see them, and we can only hope that this will lead to more responsible behavior from all of us. From the executives, we would have to hope, but also from the courts and even the legislative bodies. This kind of thing should not be allowed. Why is it OK to bail out S&Ls but not to save the pensions of thousands of honest, hard-working retirees of companies like Enron, Bethlehem Steel, United, Northwest, and now probably Delta? Who’s next? And why do so many of the officers of troubled corporations manage to avoid their employees’ suffering, instead dumping their stocks with impunity before the bad news breaks?
As the richest country in the world, we must be able to do better than this.
Heather Preston, Colorado Springs
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I always read with great interest the numerous stories regarding United employees who have lost their pensions. And try as I might, I cannot muster an ounce of sympathy for them.
They are in the very same position the rest of us are in and have been in for all of our working lives. The people who have pensions to fall back on when they retire are few and far between and should consider themselves privileged. But they should also realize that there are no guarantees in this life and a little bit of common sense, planning and foresight goes a long way.
I get the strong impression that some United employees thought themselves impervious to life’s realities and are now shell-shocked to find themselves in the position they are in. Those of us with no pensions work every day raising our families, as well as saving money for college educations and retirement, often working two jobs until the age of 65 or longer.
Ellen Haverl, Denver
TO THE POINT: Short takes from readers
Let’s see if I understand this. To encourage more tourists to visit Denver, we’ll gouge them when they arrive with a 15 percent hotel tax so we can recover the cost of the invitation. Sounds ethical to me! If higher taxes draw even larger crowds, perhaps there should instead be a hotel tax respite.
Paul R. Kenyon, Highlands Ranch
Thanks for the photo of the Bush administration supporter sitting on his horse with anti-Cindy Sheehan slogans painted on it (Aug. 28). Nothing could illustrate his position better than putting it on “the south end of a horse headed north.”
Michael J. Dobersen, Littleton
I was wondering if it now OK to refer to Pat Wrobertson as a spokesman for the Wreligious Wrong?
W.F. Meiklejohn, Olney Springs
We could make our country and borders more secure if our National Guard units were returned to patrol the borders. I was taught the National Guard was for the protection of each state. The federal government is not protecting Arizona, New Mexico and Texas from criminals, illegal immigrants or anything else. Homeland Security is a farce.
Corinne Pusard, Aurora
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