Cache la Poudre
Re: “A river runs through it; Dam projects threaten Cache la Poudre,” April 9 Perspective article.
When I first came to Colorado it was to go up into Poudre Canyon. A friend in La Porte took me and a bunch of friends up. This was before there was a road going over the pass, and you needed four-wheel-drive to make it through. We camped along the river, and went on through to Walden to some hot springs off the beaten trail in a cow pasture.
That was 1977. I came back in 1983 to stay – that river made me want to live here – and even back then, I remember T-shirts on locals and petitions to sign to “Save the Poudre.” It’s a never-ending battle.
When will we stop building these cookie-cutter houses that that waste so much precious energy? When will the state require developers to start using materials in these houses that conserve resources?
When will the elected officials and the people who vote for them ever learn how precious and important to the state economy Colorado’s natural beauty is? Wake up already.
Ginger Bittner Reynolds, Lafayette
Colo. defense budget
Re: “Defense clout shaky,” April 9 business news stories.
The stories about Colorado’s “gap” in Pentagon spending bent toward surrealism.
Imagine the impact of $14 billion spent by the federal government in Colorado from 2001 to 2005 on an actual product or service. What if our state pork barrel was actually filled with something useful like water, food, health care, better education or housing?
Colorado is “only” 20th in military spending and 13th in military payroll. In population, according to the U.S. Census, we’re 24th, so it looks like we’re holding our own on a per capita basis.
Meanwhile it’s comforting to know that the water rights that grow crops in the south of the state have been sold to ensure green lawns in Aurora and accommodate the steady growth opportunity at Buckley Air Force Base.
No more Rocky Ford melons.
We can all eat bullets.
Shirley Whiteside, Denver
. . .
In regards to last Sunday’s articles about the state’s military economy, I found it extremely questionable that, in four articles, not a single voice was quoted that questioned the moral and ethical implications of defense contracting and spending. I am personally disturbed that thousands of Coloradans have to make their living off of the creation of weapons and technologies that have the capacity to destroy Earth and her humanity, and further disturbed that even our supposedly “liberal” congressional representatives like Mark Udall value the almighty dollar over peace and life worldwide.
I have been a loyal daily Post reader since I was 14, and I am disappointed and saddened by the apparent lack of journalistic courage on the part of The Post and these particular reporters: the courage to include opposing viewpoints and the courage to question our nation’s powerful war machine.
Annie Kelvie, Colorado Springs
The writer is a former member of The Post’s Colorado Voices panel.
Immigration debate
I was impressed by last Sunday’s broad coverage of immigration: the collapse of Senate collaboration on immigration reform, costs of deportation, distrust in the legislature, and Cindy Rodríguez’s insightful column on the centrality of undocumented workers to Colorado, the nation’s economy, and our daily lives. If our leaders are unable to forge consensus on matters of immigration, all has not been lost.
This debate has begun a national conversation on the complexities of immigration: personal and family stories, economics, racism, citizenship. Hopefully, average citizens have been educated about the multiple factors involved.
The rhetoric of “illegal” and “alien” has been exposed as the human stories of our immigrant families, neighbors and co-workers have received light. We must continue to strive for just, humane and comprehensive alternatives in dealing with immigration, for we will be dealing with these issues far into the future.
Rev. Julie Todd, Denver
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Re: “Try ‘A Day Without a Latino,”‘ April 9 Cindy Rodríguez column.
In last Sunday’s column, Cindy Rodriguez seemed proud of Mexican-born restaurant workers who never take a day off. So proud that she’d eat there herself? I wouldn’t. I had a bad cold last week, and I didn’t belong in anyone else’s kitchen.
Rodriguez quotes the head chef saying, “I don’t see the point in calling in sick.” Well, the point is to limit the spread of disease. A cook is in a position to infect hundreds of people a day. It’s not heroic or macho for a cook to work while sick, it’s irresponsible.
The Abolitionists weren’t being “anti-slave” when they fought slavery, and today’s opponents of illegal immigration aren’t all “anti-Hispanic.” Some of us are just trying to uphold essential standards of worker protection and public health.
John McMillin, Wheat Ridge
Body Worlds 2
Re: “Exhibit’s cadavers reveal more than bodies,” April 9 Arts & Entertainment story.
As I walked through the Body Worlds 2 exhibit, I could not help but pay reverence to the people whose bones, organs and bodies were on display, and to their families. These were not just plastic models, these were once living, breathing human beings who had children, wives, husbands, lovers. They played sports, they enjoyed good food, a spring day, a good joke. They labored in coal mines or suffered from disease. But most importantly, they were loved and are missed, and they loved their lives and life itself. I assume much of this, of course, premised off of the fact that they elected to allow themselves to be put on display. What possible motive could a man or woman have other than for the betterment of those they leave behind? And what is at the root of such desire? I suspect it is the love of life that we all share.
Phil Viens, Westminster
