Congressman Tom Tancredo and the debate over illegal immigration
Re: “Firebrand Tancredo puts policy over party line,” Nov. 27 news story.
It would be wonderful if Rep. Tom Tancredo bucked the Republican Party line in an effort to seek pragmatic solutions to problems of real interest to our district. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Tancredo consistently stakes out the most extreme positions possible, setting himself far to the right of the president and the mainstream Republican Party (to say nothing of Democrats and independents).
This harms district residents in two ways. First, Tancredo’s rants imply to the rest of the country that we are radicals who actually support his bizarre positions (bombing Mecca, selling off our public lands and monuments). This creates an image of our district that is starkly counter to the centrist, practical beliefs most of my neighbors hold. Second, while Rep. Tancredo yells his way onto cable television and talk radio, he fails to actually advance important legislative interests for district residents. As The Post’s recent series on water rights made clear, there are critical issues impacting our pocketbooks and our future here in Colorado, but our congressman is spending his energy and political capital chasing his tail.
While Tancredo entertains his own ego by running around New Hampshire and Iowa spouting nonsense, our growing district goes unrepresented in Congress and misrepresented in the national media. It is time for Tancredo to stop the theatrics and do the job he was elected to do.
Kevin Huffman, Aurora
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It is unfortunate that Rep. Tom Tancredo, demagogue or not, finds it necessary to make inflammatory comments to get our politicians to address a problem that any unbiased person should see is deadly to the country: illegal immigration. This influx isn’t immigration. It is invasion. No nation, no matter how powerful or wealthy, can continue to exist without control over its borders. Illegal immigration is – surprise! – illegal. Even in peacetime, it would be stupid to permit it; in war, it’s stupid and suicidal.
Both parties have shirked their duty because they fear offending immigrants and losing elections. Republicans want cheap labor and Democrats apparently don’t feel “jobs other Americans don’t want” impacts them. It is only because this is becoming an issue now that politicians feel they must do something to placate the people. If it takes demagoguery, so be it. We owe Tancredo a “thank you” for pushing an issue that needs to be debated.
G.H. Thompson, Thornton
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Tom Tancredo is right on the money on the issue of illegal immigration. He, like most Americans, understands the difference between real immigration and the illegal kind.
America has, by far, the most generous quotas for legal immigrants in the world. Yet some people in this country would have us believe that if we insist on enforcement of our immigration laws, we are somehow anti-immigrant. Go figure!
I can’t understand why anyone would excuse endless illegal immigration. Do they think that such mindless “generosity” marks them as superior human beings? The only justification for the presence of fearful, illegal immigrants is so they can be exploited (to the detriment of America) by unprincipled employers.
While most politicians have their “finger to the wind” trying to figure out how this issue might affect their careers, Rep. Tancredo is an actual leader who is trying to do what’s best for America.
Alex Landi, Dunsmuir, Calif.
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Any student of the origins of the Republican Party will remember that one source, alongside the Free Soilers, was the American or Know Nothing Party of the 1850s, which made its political capital by the same sort of nativism to which my congressman, Tom Tancredo, appeals.
To take no responsibility for those who support him, like the reincarnation of the White Citizens Councils of the 1950s in today’s Council of Conservative Citizens, reveals an enormous absence of principle.
Too bad that Tancredo does not know enough of his own ethnic history to recall that the esteemed Mother Cabrini consistently refused to learn English during her ministry to Italian immigrants in Denver who were hardly welcomed by my WASP ancestors.
You are appealing to our worst instincts, Congressman. Shame on you.
Will Gravely, Littleton
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I support Rep. Tom Tancredo and his ideas concerning immigration policy, especially illegal immigration. He has supported President Bush’s tax cuts, Social Security reform, Iraq policies and a strong military, and energy independence proposals; he has a strong record of Bush support except on illegal immigration.
I find it amazing that President Bush was visiting the border areas last week after little interest in the past several years. I feel it is because of Tancredo and others in Congress, state, and local governments who are finally listening to the American people and their concerns about the illegal alien problem in this wonderful country of ours.
I do not live in your state, but I am hoping the spark will catch also here in the state I live in.
Randy Chartier, Summerfield, Fla.
Criticism of hunters
Re: “Montana buffalo hunt,” Nov. 27 Open Forum.
Like letter-writer Monica Ball, I experience distaste for hunting as a sport. The fact remains that, since life began, predation has been one of nature’s primary mechanisms for maintaining an ecological balance among the species. When modern homo sapiens entered the mix, that equilibrium was severely compromised; buffalo were never meant to be “approached and surrounded by people.” If, through our manipulation of their environment, we allow them to reproduce beyond the ability of their habitat to sustain their numbers, we eventually subject them to fates far more cruel than a hunter’s bullet. I object to Ball’s characterization of hunters as “those who take pleasure in inflicting pain, suffering and death.” Currently the increasing size of the Yellowstone buffalo population has jeopardized the health of the herd. Instead of a letter that comes across primarily as a vehicle for clever rhetoric couched in sarcasm, what would have been more helpful would have been suggestions for a better solution.
Priscilla Zink, Evergreen
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I read with great amusement Daniel R. Cudahy’s letter concerning the “tame and human-friendly” buffalo who wait for people to walk up to them and pet them. I’m curious as to what planet he grew up on and where he read that buffalo are tame. Maybe he should talk to the families of loved ones who were gored or killed before he makes such ignorant statements.
Jim Johnson, Littleton
Torture and terrorism
Re: “Case made for torture,” Nov. 27 Open Forum.
Letter-writer Anson Rohr uses the example of terrorists attacking a school in Beslan, Russia, as the kind of thing torture could prevent.
The reality is that Russia has routinely used torture (documented by Human Rights Watch) against Chechen separatists specifically to try to prevent such attacks. Obviously it didn’t work. Conversely, during World War II our best interrogator was Sherwood Moran, who explicitly rejected torture for his own use and in his training of other interrogators. Meanwhile, Japan tortured American prisoners. Guess who got the best information in that war.
Interestingly, even the sadistic Nazis recognized this. Their best interrogator was a man named Hans Joachim Scharff, who likewise did not use torture.
It’s been shown over and over that torture simply doesn’t work. Why would anyone advocate a method that 1) doesn’t work and 2) inspires the Arab world to view us as just another class of barbarians like the terrorists?
We are better than they are not because of what we say but because of what we do. And by doing better, we get better results.
Derek Scruggs, Boulder
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Anson Rohr seems to feel that if others torture or if others commit atrocities, that justifies our commission of atrocities. No, the ends do not justify the means. I am sure that the killers of the children in Beslan, Russia, believed strongly in their cause, but that did not justify the acts they committed. If we stoop to their level, we are in no better moral position.
Torture is and must always be wrong. It is used to instill fear and control. The main use of torture is to destroy a population’s will to resist tyranny. Why would a democracy ever tolerate the use of torture? How can we claim to be bringing democracy to the world when we condone torture on any level?
Besides the issue of the ends justifying the means, we have the moral issue. Supposedly, this is a Christian nation. Our leaders claim to be Christian. How can anyone who claims to be a Christian condone torture?
Larry Wieland, Lakewood
Platform for violence?
Re: “How I became a Redneck Liberal,” Nov. 27 Colorado Voices column.
Even advocates of indiscriminate violence now have a voice on The Post’s Perspective pages. Last Sunday, self-proclaimed “redneck liberal” Eric Schuck let us know of his desire to build a better society “through the liberal and periodic use of Tomahawk missiles” in a Colorado Voices opinion piece.
According to Schuck, missiles are not to be used wisely. They are not to be used as a last recourse for our national defense. Tomahawk missiles are to be used liberally and periodically. Add to this the writer’s willingness to turn a country “into a parking lot before breakfast” and it becomes clear that The Post is now in the business of printing the rants of war mongers.
What is the stated reasoning behind the writer’s predisposition towards violence? Oh, his family has worked in the weapons industry. Was there any other content in this piece that merited an editorial second glance? Well, the writer appears to be politically unhinged and he is a university professor. With a little luck (and some help from The Post) he could become CSU’s version of Ward Churchill.
Eric Sutherland, Fort Collins
Notorious? American?
In last Sunday’s “Hitting the shelves” feature (Nov. 27 Books section), an anonymous reviewer described D.H. Lawrence as “one of America’s most notorious authors.”
America’s? It is true that Lawrence lived and worked in Taos. He also lived in Australia, in a town called Bulli, just south of Sydney, where he wrote “Kangaroo” and “The Boy in the Bush.” Not American classics, nor Australian neither, but fine writing nevertheless.
Notorious? I asked many people in Taos where I could find Lawrence’s grave. None, including a bookstore clerk, could help me. I found Lawrence’s shrine at San Cristobel and was struck by the visitors’ book. The majority of the pilgrim addresses were non-American. The Lawrence house is filled with the hiking detritus of the University of New Mexico. Notoriety leaves ample room for despisers.
Admirers consider Lawrence to be the greatest English novelist of the 20th century. Perhaps if he were truly American he would have written “Lady Chatterley’s Cowhand,” “The Plumed Rattlesnake,” “Broads in Love” and “Heirs and Affairs.”
Charles Hambling, Colorado Springs
Christmas and the “holidays”
Re: “Arguing over Christmas,” Nov. 29 Open Forum.
While letter-writer Theresa Hochmiller bemoans the “attacks” on Christmas, she immediately launches into an attack of her own.
Regarding her assertion that non-Christians have no right to celebrate Christmas, she should learn that ancient cultures all celebrated with a solstice holiday (somewhere around Dec. 21). These solstice celebrations honored their gods or celebrated the slaughter of livestock that would provide food for the remainder of winter. It wasn’t until approximately 354 A.D. that the Christian church established Dec. 25 as Christmas Day to honor the birth of Jesus. I won’t bore you with details; you can look it up. My point is that winter celebrations are universal and ancient, without exclusion to anyone. I also cannot find a quote of Jesus in scripture that says, “Unless you believe in me, leave my birthday alone.”
Christianity would be better served if we allowed anyone, without self-righteous judgment over who is worthy or unworthy, to celebrate this feast in whichever manner suits them personally. While one can criticize the blatant commercialism, to tell those who aren’t Christian to go to work and not partake is mean-spirited. As Christians (and I count myself among those), we should be celebrating with joy that for one day, we can be united with our fellow human beings in a festival of giving, and of light and love.
Teresa Latimer, Colorado Springs
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I am more than willing to answer Theresa Hochmiller’s question to non-Christians, regarding why I celebrate Christmas. I celebrate Christmas as a family holiday of love and giving, as do millions of others. It holds great meaning for me, regardless of its origins.
This added meaning takes nothing away from those who celebrate its original, religious meaning. Christianity has also borrowed practices from other religions and made them its own. Perhaps Hochmiller will not be putting up a tree, which was borrowed from pagan Germanic tradition.
Meaning and tradition are where you find them, not things to be fought over like spoiled children with a candy bar. I do not see why there needs to be any clash between those who see Christmas from secular and religious viewpoints. The tawdry commercialization of this special day is equally deplored by Christians and non-Christians alike.
Carrie Parker, Thornton
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Re: “Not happy about ‘holidays,”‘ Nov. 27 Open Forum.
I have been meaning to weigh in on the “Happy Holidays” non-issue for a few weeks, but Ingrid Boettcher’s letter in last Sunday’s paper convinced me to delay no longer.
First, I have Christmas greetings going back 20-plus years with “Happy Holidays” on them. I do not believe there is a giant conspiracy to suddenly replace “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays,” or to take the Christ out of Christmas – rather, I see this as the retailers/economists/media attempt to signify the spendfest that now begins well before Halloween, encompassing Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s – hence the plural “Holidays.”
Second, I am appalled that the issue is about terminology rather than that other “C” in Christmas – commercialism. Look at what this day has become: Wal-Mart and Toys R Us at each other’s throats about selling toys, of all things; economists and the media looking at our spending as indicators of an economy; cities and churches dragging each other into courts over nativity sets and parades; and Americans generally spending more than they can afford and more than they need to – usually with plastic that will never be paid off. Christmas has become about stress, debt, competition, bottom lines and spending money.
Vicki Felmlee, Grand Junction
TO THE POINT: Short takes from readers
I was recently reading about the bird flu virus and the fear that it might mutate. Why isn’t anyone talking about the “intelligent design” of this virus? Isn’t it curious how we pick and choose the science we believe?
Doug Hoff, Denver
Why the argument about evolution vs. intelligent design when evolution is intelligent design? The process of evolution was “designed” by The Creator way before humans were around to design the many religions – which have also evolved.
R. Kiefer, Arvada
Q: What is the difference between a plain-looking “cool mom” in Denver and a knockout blonde schoolteacher from Florida?
A: About 30 years.
David Gouge, Lyons
How long will extremism last in America? Until Election Day!
Richard M. Bruce, Centennial
Michael Brown, former head of FEMA, announced the start-up of a new company, based in Boulder, to consult and advise communities on how best to deal with extreme catastrophic events. Are we talking oxymoron here?
Gene Sabatka, Arvada
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