U.S. torture policy
Re: “Sustain the ban on torture,” Nov. 9 editorial.
The U.S. Senate, led by former Vietnam prisoner of war and Republican Sen. John McCain, overwhelmingly voted to reject a move that would have exempted the CIA from a ban on torture. Yet somehow, while Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff was being indicted, Cheney found the time to continue his push to reverse this decision. Worse yet, President Bush has threatened a veto if the vote is reaffirmed. As a nation, we must support our government when it seeks to thwart those terrorists who seek to destroy us. These efforts do not, however, include the use of torture.
Steve Katich, Denver
Offended by TV ad
I am saddened by the television commercial featuring race car driver Danica Patrick for Honda. The commercial shows Patrick being pulled over by a police officer and then unbuttoning her blouse and putting on lipstick. But the officer turns out to be a woman.
This is not funny. I wonder how many young girls are now unbuttoning their blouses and putting on lip gloss when being pulled over. This is not how intelligent women respond when dealing with men or authority. How about being accountable for our behavior?
We need to stop participating in the message that the only way to effectively function in society as a women is to use sexuality.
Angie Smith, Westminster
Tracking ORV users
If some people wish to use our national parks and wilderness areas for off-road entertainment, then have them simply pay a fee to enter the forests at designated entrance points, and agree to have simple GPS units temporarily installed on their vehicles. Then their location can be tracked to see if the rider is abiding by the rules. Don’t obey the rules? Then expect to be fined just like you are when a radar gun catches you for speeding. The entrance fee helps to pay for the system and monitoring. And, if the riders get into any trouble while in some remote area, they can use the GPS to signal their exact location.
Kent Homchick, Wheat Ridge
Deadly tornadoes
Re: “Deadly tornado strikes at night,” Nov. 7 news story.
I would like to make an addition to the list of deadliest tornadoes in The Post. The twin tornadoes of Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965, took 271 lives in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, making it the second-deadliest ever. My wife and I watched them roar past our fourth-floor apartment in Elkhart, Ind. We were 2 miles distant from their path, and the vividness of them remains embedded in our memories.
Lou Daunora, Lakewood
Senate voucher bill
The U.S. Senate just approved a school voucher bill. We’ve all heard the usual arguments for and against vouchers. But has the religious right considered the fact that their precious voucher money will also go to schools of any religious affiliation or political viewpoint? This would only be fair. Alas, I can foresee the right agonizing over the movement of federal monies into schools operated by Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans, Satanists, and to any other faith-based or ultra-liberal private school. Does the self-anointed Christian right yearn to send taxpayers’ money for kids to learn Santeria at a school in Florida, reincarnation at a Hindu Ashram in Oregon or jihad against the American infidels at a Muslim school in Michigan? I think not. The myopia that results when religion enters politics is amazing!
David Neice, Thornton
