Moderate government
Re: “Political center rears its head,” Oct. 22 Marianne Means column.
There is a lot of talk about electing a more moderate government in the upcoming elections. While it certainly helps to educate yourself on the candidates’ voting records and positions on the issues to try to elect moderate candidates, the best way to ensure a centrist government is to elect different parties to the executive and the legislative branches.
If the same party controls both the executive and legislative branches, you are much more likely to have another King George W. setting the legislative agenda, with both the good ideas and the bad ideas becoming law.
Think of our political system as a teeter-totter. By electing someone to the executive branch from the party opposing the party controlling the legislative branch, you are more likely to see legislation signed into law that is balanced and legislation vetoed that is not balanced. Electing the same party to the executive and legislative branches does not produce a centrist government. It leads to the teeter-totter being over-weighted on one side. Keep this in mind when voting for our next governor.
Hans Yeager, Evergreen
Colorado Mills mall
Re: “Colorado Mills still searching for its soul,” Oct. 22 business news story.
I had to chortle upon reading your headline about the Colorado Mills mall trying to find its soul. It is particularly ironic because the mall is a perfect example of a soulless anti-place.
As an occasional (reluctant) visitor to Colorado Mills, I can safely say it is one of the most tawdry, chintzy and generally depressing malls I’ve ever seen. It has the distinct odor of a place whose only purpose was as a lucrative real estate deal for a few developers who hope to turn it over for a handsome profit.
“Planned obsolescence” is the term that springs to mind.
The article features some spirited finger-pointing on the part of the holding company and the local executives as to how the Mills mall fails as a “shopper-tainment” concept.
Gentlemen, here’s a hint: You’re all wrong. The inevitable failure of Colorado Mills has nothing to do with marketing or concept or whether the tenants are “value-priced,” or even the adjoining vacant car lot. Quite simply, it is a cheap, ugly and obviously temporary operation, and a place in which most observant people would want to spend as little time as possible.
A good place to start would be getting rid of the aggressive kiosk salespeople who foist themselves into your personal space, not unlike panhandlers.
Yale Kaul, Wheat Ridge
…
As a businessman and former tenant, I was interviewed about my company’s experience at Colorado Mills. The mall is adrift and has been a disappointment to many. The startup was excellent, but we moved after two years because the return was not justified by the expense, which included various special improvement district assessments and taxes. I never expected to comment further, much less defend the mall, but the remarks made by Mike Rock, city manager of Lakewood, leave me deeply concerned by the implications when city government meddles with private enterprise.
His comments about the shortcomings of the management of the mall and the hope it would be sold are totally inappropriate statements by a government official. He has crossed the line of neutrality in government and embroiled himself in a private business.
So much for concepts of limited government. Will he be doing case studies of every business in his city?
Apparently, Mr. Rock feels an ownership position in private enterprise. If this is what public subsidy does to the mentality of political leaders, then we should take a step back and remind ourselves of the rightful role of government in free enterprise.
Steve Weil, Vice President, Rockmount Ranch Wear Mfg. Co., Denver
Voting concerns
Re: “It’s a must: hackerproof democracy,” Oct. 22 Diane Carman column.
The Princeton study on which Diane Carman based her column is a disgrace. The study, available at http://itpolicy. princeton.edu/voting, claims that a criminal can “install a voting machine virus that spreads to other machines … even if he only has physical access to one machine or memory card.”
In fact, this is impossible, since the machines are not networked. A criminal would have to install malicious code and reboot each individual machine under the eyes of election workers (what Princeton claims is a “virus” is not by definition a virus at all, since it does not self-propagate).
Furthermore, the study’s hacking scenarios all begin with the criminal breaking into the machine. He could just as easily break into a ballot box. Physical security measures obviate this problem to the same extent as with traditional voting devices.
There is no essential difference in security between paper and electronic voting. The public should not rely on the flawed Princeton study to form their opinions of electronic voting machines in general. The professors at Princeton have apparently allowed their political bent to affect their objectivity, as evident in this published piece of techno-rubbish.
Kevin P. Redmond, Littleton
Catholics and the election
Re: “Chaput: Examine abortion stances,” Oct. 24 news story.
For those who are undecided about the gubernatorial candidates, The Post’s story is a must-read for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. According to Archbishop Charles Chaput, candidates should be “Catholic on all issues.” If one is undecided about who is Catholic and who is not, The Post outlines the key issues and where the candidates stand on each of them. For those of us who cherish Catholic values, the question of whom to vote for on Nov. 7 is made very clear.
Brian Stuckey, Denver
…
Thousands have died under hideous circumstances in Iraq. Women and children are being raped and mutilated in Darfur. Ethnic cleansing continues; domestic abuse is still rampant; orphans overseas die before they even have names; the destitute sit alone and hungry on streets not far from the comfortable offices of the Denver archdiocese; and Archbishop Charles Chaput directed Catholics this past Sunday to “vote Catholic.” Unpacking that, one finds a neurotic focus on the continued oppression of women, and “Catholic” as being defined by an elitist, controlling and patriarchal hierarchy that remains aloof and removed from the full humanity and priesthood each of us is called to by a God who invites all to continue the work of co-creating a world of healing justice and lasting peace.
With regard to Chaput’s statement that Catholic politicians should “act Catholic,” all of the New Testament stories tell me (a Catholic) about a Christ who was compassionate and inclusive. If there was ever a choice between compassion or “dogma,” this loving Jesus always “voted compassion.” I will do the same on Nov. 7.
Dale Mary Grenfell, Fort Collins
…
Archbishop Chaput, don’t you think the Catholic Church’s attempt to relay “moral principles for Catholic voters” lacks a bit of integrity? Maybe it’s time you and your fellow church leaders take a break from promoting “morality” in the political arena and promote some of it among yourselves. It seems there is some confusion among priests and other leaders regarding the meaning of “moral principles,” as we continue to hear about their disgusting and inexcusable sexual behavior with children.
Maybe it’s time to demand accountability among your own ranks, and then your mission to “protect the dignity of every individual and make decisions for the common good” would carry more respect in the political realm.
Carrie Hobbs, Littleton
…
Once again, Archbishop Chaput has misused the pulpit by trying to tell Catholics how to vote.
Last Sunday, priests read a letter to their congregations urging them to vote “no” on Referendum I. Fortunately, many people walked out of Mass during the reading of this letter. Unlike their archbishop, they believed that all human beings are made in the image and likeness of God and thus are deserving of the dignity of basic civil rights.
The archbishop could have chosen to inform his diocese of the need to educate preschool children or that people deserve a living wage. But he chose to discriminate against a group of people he fears will undermine the sanctity of marriage.
May the archbishop recall the number of clergy, in the 1950s, who preached against basic civil rights for African-Americans. Perhaps the archbishop could have better led his flock by preaching on basic justice for all.
Catherine J. Hanisits, Denver
Nuns’ fines for damage
Re: “Judge insists nuns pay restitution to Air Force,” Oct. 24 news story.
Judge Robert Blackburn sentenced the three nuns to harsh prison terms ranging from 30 to 41 months and now refuses to accept their years of community service in lieu of paying $3,082 for damage allegedly done by them to a chain-link fence surrounding a missile silo. I wonder if the judge received accurate information about who actually did the most damage to that fence.
According to the nuns, who showed me the site, the single strand of chain links they snipped near the roadway and the rather small amount of fencing they snipped at the missile site itself so they could squeeze their rather small bodies through it, the most damage occurred when the U.S. Air Force personnel themselves roared up and crashed their heavy vehicle(s) through two or more sections of the fence on the east side of the site.
If Judge Blackburn possessed half the kindness and mercy the nuns have shown others during their adult lives, he would accept their acts of charity and make the U.S. Air Force pay most of the $3,082 damage they did to their own government property.
Who will judge the cost of the damage if that missile is ever fired?
Rev. Steve Brown, Greeley
TO THE POINT
Last year we had many bad hurricanes – so abnormal, in fact, that it was proof that the Earth is warming. This year, nary a troublemaker, so that’s proof that the Earth is cooling down now. I luv being a scientist!
Ted Paster, Highlands Ranch
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if those running for office told us what they are going to try to get done instead of what their opponent failed to do?
Charlie Carter, Fort Morgan
Our choice for governor is a congressman who can’t remember what legislation he voted for or an attorney who cuts loose illegal immigrants who deal heroin. I may have to take a close look at the Libertarian candidate this year.
Jay Dahl, Aurora
What does it mean when the president says he takes responsibility for Iraq? Unless he plans to conduct some kind of penance, his words are drivel. I want to know what he means when he says he takes responsibility.
Lee Burkins, Montrose
Did Rush Limbaugh also scold the late Pope John Paul II for faking his tremors from Parkinson’s disease?
Mark Kness, Boulder
To have your comments printed in To the Point, please send letters of no more than 40 words to openforum@denverpost.com (no attachments, please) or 1560 Broadway, Denver, 80202. Writers are limited to one letter per month.
TO REACH OPINION EDITORS
Phone: 303-820-1331; Fax: 303-820-1502; E-mail: openforum@denverpost.com (only straight text, not attachments)
Mail: The Open Forum, The Denver Post, 1560 Broadway, Denver, 80202 or PO Box 1709, Denver, 80201
Letters guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 200 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.
