Are Americans just a bunch of turkeys?
Donald Rumsfeld will be remembered as the architect of the most poorly conceived and executed war plan in American history. His efforts to “transform the military” have left our country more vulnerable to terrorist attack and diminished our standing in the international community. (Clearly, neither North Korea nor Iran takes any threat of action by the United States seriously.)
Rumsfeld’s principal legacies are “just enough troops to lose the war” and Abu Ghraib.
Good riddance.
James Harrison, Denver
Rep. Tom Tancredo’s take on the election
Re: “GOP still at the ready,” Nov. 12 guest commentary.
Tom Tancredo’s whistling-past-the-graveyard column about the sunny prospects for his wing of the Republican Party was a hoot. He’s still talking about reinvigorating the base, by which he means the social-conservative far right. Of course that base never wins elections without taking the larger part of the middle with it, and that’s what they’ve lost.
The real story here is that the Tancredos of the GOP are headed toward imminent extinction. The socially moderate, pro-business Republicans who joined Democrats and unaffiliated voters here to help pass Referendum C and, in two short years, helped to elect a Democratic majority to both houses of our General Assembly, a Democratic governor and a Democratic majority congressional delegation will be the ones taking power shortly in the GOP. They will be the ones who can work constructively with the new Democratic majority.
The extremists who specialize in the politics of divisiveness and fear will be relegated to the sidelines. In Tancredo’s case, he has long been so unpopular with his own party in Washington that he’s always been on the sidelines, accomplishing nothing much for his constituents. Now he will be even less relevant.
Felice Sage, Littleton
…
Congressman Tom Tancredo’s one-issue platform is as hard to admire as the single-issue voter, who unfortunately affects so many elections. That said, Tancredo furthers division in our government by lashing out at Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats. The Democrats and many hopeful Americans have suffered long enough on the failed Republican rubber-stamp Congress and the even more disappointing Bush administration.
Tancredo tags Pelosi as a “San Francisco Democrat.” Is this his attempt to further divide the U.S. and play that egregious Republican fear-bating card? Last I checked, San Francisco is still in the U.S., just like Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.
Suffice it to say that the recent election results document that the majority of Americans would rather see an intelligent, open-minded liberal San Franciscan Democrat as the speaker of the House than, oh, let’s say a one-issue Republican from a scary, ultra-conservative region in Colorado.
Jim Brophy, Golden
Are Americans just a bunch of turkeys?
The election and Veterans Day are over, so now it is time to get ready to celebrate the day that we usually eat our national bird and other heavy foods to excess, watch parades and football, and start our Christmas shopping, if you haven’t already finished.
It is important for us to remember why Franklin wanted to have the turkey as our national bird. The turkey of Franklin’s era was an independent, mind-his-own-business bird that did not need to be force-fed, unlike the turkey of today that is stupid, lives only to eat, and could not exist on its own. If it looks up in the rain, it will probably drown. We used to mind our own business and take care of ourselves. How many of us drowned in the torrent of political rain that we were exposed to on TV, radio, mail and our phones?
How many of us, like the turkey of old, had the good sense to find out for ourselves the truth before we voted?
Bill Jordan, Brighton
NRA wilderness battle
Re: “NRA off target on Browns Canyon project,” Nov. 7 Charlie Meyers column.
Like Charlie Meyers and huge numbers of others, I too am an NRA ex-patriot. I too resent the fact that this pack of extremist paranoids claims to be America’s leading supporter of hunting, and yet openly joins with the off-road motorized industry flak group Blue Ribbon Coalition to fight for the destruction and elimination of our last roadless public lands. The NRA isn’t worried about access for old or disabled hunters, as it claims in its shotgunning of Chaffee County’s Browns Canyon Wilderness. That’s a convenient, if wholly transparent, lie.
A century ago, President Teddy Roosevelt warned Americans of the constant threat in politics and culture of the “lunatic fringe.” Today’s NRA embodies that threat, having morphed into the worst type of anti-hunting organization: a parasite devouring its host from within. The NRA and its co-conspirator Blue Ribbon Coalition are working hard, and too often successfully, to destroy our last best places to hunt while falsely projecting themselves as star defenders of hunting.
David Petersen, Durango
…
Charlie Myers takes uninformed potshots at the National Rifle Association in his column on the Browns Canyon project.
The NRA opposes wilderness designation legislation because it will permanently close the road (called FS184) that bisects the land now being considered for designation. The road is vital for access to thousands of acres of public hunting land, because roads on the periphery are often inaccessible during hunting season due to accumulated snow and ice.
The NRA is not advocating building any new roads. FS184 is currently an open road and it is in hunters’ best interests that it remains open.
To keep our hunting legacy alive, we need: a place to hunt; well-managed wildlife resources; the tools with which to hunt; and people to participate. Many of these elements are diminishing every day in America. As the world’s largest hunting organization, the NRA works tirelessly to preserve and enhance these vital elements.
Limiting access will not help hunters or our efforts to keep hunting alive in this country. Likewise, hunters with disabilities should be given equal opportunity to hunt on America’s public lands.
Chris W. Cox, Executive Director, National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, Va.
Crime Stoppers award in Gomez-Garcia case
Re: “Tipsters to share $50,000 in arrest of officer’s killer; Raul Gomez-Garcia’s grandmother, who lured him to officers, won’t share in the Crime Stoppers reward,” Nov. 9 news story.
Shame on Metro Denver Crime Stoppers for their refusal to pay the grandmother of Raul Gomez- Garcia for turning in her grandson for the murder of Detective Donnie Young.
According to the organization’s website:
“1. When you call 720-913-7867 to report information on an unsolved crime or individuals wanted by the Police, a Code number is issued to you the caller.
“2. For information that leads to an arrest, callers are entitled to monetary awards.
“3. Crime Stoppers authorizes our bank to release the award money to you.
“4. You, the Caller, can then pick up the award money from our bank using the code numbers given to you for identification.”
It doesn’t say you have to be living in the United States to get the money. Nor does it say you have to be a U.S. citizen to receive the award money. I guess giving a Mexican woman the award just wouldn’t look politically correct in light of all of this “Mexicans are invading America” hysteria.
Let’s hope Gomez-Garcia’s grandma doesn’t have info on where to find Osama bin Laden.
Bernadette Langbein, Broomfield
To send a letter
E-mail: openforum@denverpost.com (only straight text, not attachments)
Mail: The Open Forum, The Denver Post, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 600, Denver, 80202
Fax: 303-954-1502
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.
To reach us by phone: 303-954-1331
