Lost Boys of Sudan
Re: “Sudan’s refugees may be its hope,” April 23 Page 1 story.
I believe they should be called the “Miracle Men of Sudan.” Their collective stories are inspirational. This article should be mandatory reading for every professional athlete who whines about aches and pains, lack of playing time and being underpaid. Walk a mile in these men’s shoes – oh, wait, they did not have shoes – and then try to muster up sympathy from anyone for your trivial complaints.
Maureen Rahrle, Littleton
Double-dipping cops
Re: “OT rules let cops double- dip,” April 23 Page 1 story.
I was outraged when I saw the Denver Post headline which implied, once again, that all cops are guilty of the actions of a few. In fact, Karen Crummy reports that 22 officers used sick time to work extra jobs or overtime assignments. That’s 22 out of more than 1,400 officers on the Denver force.
In over 30 years as a Denver police officer, I have never used a sick day to work another job – and that’s true for many Denver officers. Yet, The Post has branded me and all other hard- working officers as greedy, double-dipping criminals.
Denver police officers have long chosen legitimate work as a means of supplementing their incomes.If there wasn’t such a need for officers to work security jobs, private businesses most certainly would not be paying for this service.
And to use Detective Donnie Young’s death as some sort of example is nothing less than offensive and sickening.
Mark Woodward, Littleton
Population growth
Our nation badly needs a population policy, an idea made abundantly clear by two articles in a recent Sunday Post (“A river runs through it,” Perspective cover, and “In the dark,” Page 1, both on April 9).
Damming the Cache la Poudre River to provide water for an ever-growing eastern Colorado population shows what environmental damage our always-increasing population is imposing on our presently unspoiled resources.
Xcel’s rolling blackouts gave us just a small sample of what always-growing demands for gas and electricity will give us much more of in the future.
Fining Xcel won’t put more gas in the ground. Damming the Cache la Poudre won’t bring more rain to supply more people.
With immigration, both legal and illegal, adding up to 2 million people a year to our already too-large population, we are setting ourselves up for a disaster.
China’s economic miracle started with drastic population control. What are we doing by permitting our population to grow exponentially?
Nancy Camp, Denver
Restoring patriotism
Re: “A shadow over U.S. patriotism,” April 23 Voices column, Perspective.
A special thanks to Sandra Dorr for her piece on patriotism. What will it take (besides spiraling gas prices) for Americans to see how morally bankrupt the Bush administation is? Iraq is this generation’s Vietnam and America’s shame.
While billions are wasted on this neocon pipe dream, thousands die needlessly in Iraq. Dorr’s writing was passionate and pointed. America needs real leadership committed to solving international problems in cooperation with others. Maverick global politics has estranged our great nation and, as Dorr states, involved us in “an unnecessary, undeclared and devastating war.”
Liberals and moderates must unite to throw out the noecons from positions of power. We must take back our country and make it proud once again.
Bill J. Fyfe, Denver
Election reform and changes to the Constitution
Re: “Presidential election reform: Majority vote should rule,” April 23 pro-con in Perspective.
Referring to Senate Bill 223, Sen. Gordon states, in part: “The legislation would join Colorado in a compact of states that would agree to instruct their electors to vote for the national popular vote winner.”
If Colorado voters elect Candidate A but the nation as a whole elects Candidate B, then our electors vote for B, contrary to majority voter wishes in Colorado. Just think, under this scheme Candidate B might achieve an unsurpassed landslide victory. Why even bother to hold a presidential election in Colorado? Just keep tabs on who the winner in the Big Picture is, and our electors can vote for him. Think of the taxpayers’ money we can save by not holding the election.
Preserve the integrity of your vote and tell your legislators that Senate Bill 223 is a bad idea. A very bad idea.
Charles Travis, Boulder
Both Tara Ross (April 24 Open Forum) and Jim Riley (“Presidential election reform: The current system works,” April 23 Perspective pro-con) are wrong to suggest the national popular vote proposal recently passed by the Colorado senate to improve presidential elections is not in the spirit of the U.S. Constitution.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Our constitutional framers explicitly delegated to states the power to decide how best to allocate presidential electors. It took decades for most states to settle on allocating electoral votes to the statewide vote winner.
Rather then restrict states’ options, our framers gave states the power to decide what’s best for their people. Today it is in the interests of all Americans to have a national popular vote for president where every vote is equal. Ross and Riley might want to change the Constitution, but most prefer statutory changes first.
Rob Richie, Executive Director, FairVote, The Center for Voting and Democracy, Takoma Park, Md.
“The big meltdown”: How humans are creating global warming
Re: “The big meltdown,” April 23 Perspective.
Thank you for running Penelope
Purdy’s well-written piece. As the subtitle
so accurately proclaims, global
warming is a human-caused reality.
Thanks for being brave and speaking
truth to power. Is it not time to declare
humanity’s dependence on the
Earth? Go to www.declarationofdependence.
us.
Cliff Seigneur, Paonia
All around us there are indications
of global warming. Yet our current administration
continues to stand firm
on its opinion that the global warming
phenomenon is a product of wild
imaginations, hysterical left-wing
agenda or theoretical models yet to be
proven. What is painfully obvious is
that our president is hedging his bets,
hoping to reap as much power and financial
gain from his vast oil empire
as possible, before it finally begins to
crumble beneath him. This should
guarantee that the Bush dynasty continues
to dominate the political and
fiscal future of Texas and the rest of
the country for decades to come.
Unfortunately, he is also walking a
narrow line between responsibility to
his country, the rest of the world, and
the Bush family fortune. Ultimately,
this president’s legacy will be his motivation
to benefit himself, his family
and friends to the enduring detriment
of his country. We must guard ourselves
against future damage from the
Bush royals by limiting the number of
siblings or relatives who can run for
our highest office. This will preclude
this or any other family dynasty from
inflicting further damage to our ebbing
precious resources, clean air and
worldwide reputation as true leaders
to the free world.
As it stands now, the damage already
inflicted on the U.S. by George
W. Bush and his ilk will haunt us for
generations to come.
Robin Kazmeroff and Michael Doyle, Parker
Penelope Purdy is very confident
that human-caused global warming is
a reality. She should pay more attention
to Kenneth Chilton, director of
the Institute for the Study of Economics
and the Environment, who said,
“These guys are going to try to tell
you what the climate’s going to be like
in 2100, and the weatherman can’t tell
you what it’s going to be like in five
days.”
Dianne Moyers, Centennial
Contrary to Penelope Purdy’s assertion
that human activities are the primary
cause of global warming, a recent
survey shows 29 percent of climatologists
reject that premise to some
degree, and less than 10 percent
strongly support it. The 2003 study
Purdy cited was seriously flawed.
It might help to look at some facts.
The world produces about 150 billion
tons of carbon dioxide each year. The
human input is about 7 billion tons, or
just 4.6 percent. All the cars in the
U.S. produce less than three-tenths of
a billion tons, or just one-fifth of 1 percent
of the total. Parking them all
would still leave 99.8 percent of the
CO2 being emitted. The impact of human
CO2 emissions on global warming
is even further reduced by the fact
that all the CO2 in the atmosphere has
only 10 percent of the greenhouse effect
of the water vapor in the air. Thus
parking all cars in the United States
would contribute less than 1 part in
5,000 to global warming dynamics!
Restrictions suggested by Purdy,
such as trading in gas guzzlers, buying
efficient appliances, or replacing light
bulbs, will be costlyand can havenodiscernible
impact on global warming.
The Big Meltdown appears to be a reality
only in the general understanding
of science and the quality of journalism.
Robert Haywood, Evergreen
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