The word Ed Quillen was looking for
Re: “Those runagates in Iraq,” Dec. 6 Ed Quillen column.
Ed Quillen is too good a historian to have trouble finding a proper term for the Iraq “insurgency,” even with the handicap of a 1937 Roget’s. Is he baiting the readership?
France, Norway and Denmark, among other countries, were invaded about the time of Quillen’s thesaurus by a formidable foreign country and subjected to an imposed puppet government supported by a militant home-grown fascist minority. Armed opposition to this invasion was primarily by citizens with some help given by foreign fighters, especially from Spain and the U.K.
“Resistance!” That’s what it was called then and that is what is going on in Iraq today.
Lindrith Cordell, Evergreen
Response to letter-writer from a “Bush-hater”
Re: “Impressions of meeting with the president,” Dec. 6 Open Forum.
I am glad for letter-writer Bob Strong that he had such a great experience meeting with President Bush. It sounds like he and I are on opposite sides of the argument concerning the Iraq war, and I will not attempt to change his mind. I doubt that he could change mine, either.
Strong seems to be in favor of a president with “rock-solid convictions,” a man who is tough. I would have to agree. However, what if your convictions turn out to be incorrect? Even if your intentions were honorable at the start, what happens when conditions change and a course correction is needed? In that situation, staying the course is reckless. I want a president who will have an open mind and listen to all sides of an argument before making a decision that will affect millions of people. I do not want a stubborn leader who will only insist on his own way. I had enough of that experience teaching junior high school.
Strong wished that all of us “Bush-haters” had the chance to meet him. We can’t do that, sir, because only Bush supporters are allowed to attend his speeches and meet him. He doesn’t want to hear from us.
Angela Morita, Erie
Pension plans’ effect on volunteerism
In all the ink that is spread on paper about pensions and health care for the elderly, there isn’t one word about an important effect on society as a whole. That effect is a lack of volunteers. Take a look at community centers, libraries, museums, hospitals, food banks and such. Many of the folks who keep these organizations working are retired people who volunteer their time and expertise.
While there are many reasons people volunteer, the foundation of volunteerism is enough time, energy and financial support to make it possible. Without adequate finances, the time and energy must go to providing additional income, as many older persons do now. In many cases, volunteering is out of the question for these people.
With all the talk of pension reductions and health care cuts, there is also talk of the taxpayer picking up some of the tab. The free services provided by retired folks reach all parts of society and people in all walks of life. If these folks must work to make ends meet, then the organizations must reduce services or hire someone to do the work.
Michael J. Bentley, Centennial
Enrolling (or not) in a Medicare drug plan
I’d like to comment on the enrollment process for the new Medicare drug plan – from the point of view of a teacher of health policy at the graduate level. In my teaching and research, it is important for me to understand Medicare, including the new drug benefit. In fact, I have explained the drug benefit to students as an example of health care-related legislation.
In recent days, I have had to determine whether my mother should enroll in a Medicare drug plan, and if so, to enroll her. She is ill and couldn’t face the prospect of having to understand the various plans and make decisions about them. Also, she doesn’t own a computer. I estimate that it took six to eight hours online for me to understand the various benefits and plans and to enroll. Medicare’s enrollment website may be a valiant effort to make things clear, but I found myself repeatedly confused. To meet my mother’s needs, I had to consult her frequently, and even when I explained everything in layman’s terms, she found it very difficult to understand. I should mention that she has no cognitive impairment, unlike the 40 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who do.
The Medicare drug benefit is unnecessarily complex, and the enrollment process is particularly difficult to navigate. It’s almost as if it were designed to fail. Large-scale failure to enroll beneficiaries would certainly save the government money.
Judy Glazner, Denver
How effective is the United Nations?
The United Nations is a sham. The five permanent members of the Security Council – the U.S., France, Russia, Britain and China – have the power to veto any resolution that does not fit their desires. They voted to evict the Iraqis from Kuwait but have ignored occupations elsewhere in the world, such as Russia occupying northern Japanese Islands, China occupying Tibet, Israel occupying Palestine and Turkey occupying northern Cyprus.
Though U.N. action in certain areas improved conditions in some countries, I still believe it failed in many situations.
I believe the U.N. can be strengthened by eliminating the excessive influence of the five big powers and giving more say to all members of the U.N., and by moving the U.N. to a neutral country like Switzerland.
H.A. Fadhli, Loveland
Two boys’ plans to earn a little cold cash
Re: “Two boys, two shovels, one quest for cold cash,” Dec. 7 news story.
Wednesday morning, after 20 minutes of procrastinating, knowing the temperatures had fallen below zero, my wife and I arose from our warm bed a little before 6:30 to commence yet another wonderful day of being retired. After starting a pot of coffee, I donned coat, hat and gloves, grabbed the snow shovel and broom and cleared half our driveway of the white stuff, bringing in The Denver Post in the process. Empowered by a steaming cup of java, I then went back out to finish the driveway.
Back inside for my second cup of Folgers, I was drawn to the Rocky Mountain Ranger article on the Denver Post front page about the two enterprising eighth-grade boys earning money for Christmas shopping by shoveling snow. What an uplifting story of youth taking the initiative (albeit with a nudge from a parent) to work for the desired funds rather than just be given them. With all the depressing headlines about crashes, crime and corruption, this article by Rich Tosches laced with humor and insight was a refreshing breath of fresh air.
As a brief postscript, I mentioned clearing our driveway after 6:30, and one might wonder if I included the sidewalk in such shoveling. As a matter of fact, there was no need, as our 85-year-old neighbor had already cleared (by hand) both ours and that of a widow next door. Eighth-graders or octogenarians, there are certainly some mighty fine folks in Colorado for us to emulate.
Ken Cooper, Lakewood
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