Judge’s order on proof of ID for driver’s licenses
Re: “New licenses on hold,” Dec. 15 news story.
The judgment that strikes down the Division of Motor Vehicles rules on what types of ID are required to obtain a license or Colorado ID is a blessing to citizens. It exposes and proves the ridiculousness of the state’s policy.
The DMV is “criminalizing” citizens, my mother among them, by denying identification. She moved here from another state and holds a valid driver’s license from that state. She was unable to obtain either a license or ID from the DMV because she couldn’t meet the requirements for a second form of ID from the DMV’s list. The DMV won’t accept a name affidavit, nor a birth certificate issued by a town or city (must be county or state). She couldn’t even get past the reception clerk to discuss this with anyone in authority. Without ID, unless she has a passport, my mother is denied her rights, including flying, obtaining credit, health care and so on. The state of Colorado has turned her into a non-existent person.
In your article, revenue director M. Michael Cooke said, “I’m very disappointed with the judge’s decision.” That is a typical reaction of a bureaucrat. Instead, Cooke should understand that U.S. citizens are “abused” by the DMV and people are disgusted by its policies.
John DeFrancesco, Monument
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Re: “Colorado ID proof is too hard to come by,” Dec. 19 editorial.
The Post’s editorial states that “the DMV’s new requirements are too restrictive. For example, the DMV will not accept a U.S. passport as proof of identity and lawful presence.”
A U.S. passport proves citizenship but not the current address of the holder. It tells the holder to keep the holder’s address current by writing it down in pencil (so it can be easily changed when the holder moves).
Thus it does not provide proof of “lawful presence.”
You should have done your homework!
Junius W. Peake, Greeley
Circumcision and the prevention of AIDS
Re: “Circumcise adult men, HIV study advocates,” Dec. 14 news story.
Circumcised men can and do become infected with HIV. In fact, the United States, which has probably the world’s highest percentage of non-religiously circumcised men in the sexually active age range, also has the highest rate of HIV in the developed world.
Behavior, not anatomy, is the key factor in reducing the rate of acquisition of HIV. All men, circumcised or not, still must be taught and must practice safe-sex behaviors: abstinence, delaying onset of sexual of activity, reducing numbers of partners, use of condoms, testing, and monogamy. (This also goes for their partners.) An uncircumcised man who consistently uses condoms or practices monogamy in a tested relationship will be at infinitely less risk for acquiring HIV than a circumcised man having unprotected sex, especially with multiple partners.
It is of significance that the African circumcision studies were conducted on consenting adults. Unfortunately, most of the circumcised males in the world did not consent to this alteration of their sexual organs, having had it forced upon them for cultural reasons when they were babies or children.
It is clear from an ethical point of view that any circumcision program should be strictly voluntary. When a male is old enough to weigh whether he considers circumcision as a preventive for HIV to be a rational or desirable choice, compared to his own estimation of the value of having an intact sex organ, he can make a fully informed decision for himself. Circumcision should only be done when absolutely medically necessary or when an adult gives fully informed consent.
Gillian Longley, RN, Boulder
Controversial land-swap vote in Lakewood
Re: “Lakewood voting on land swap,” Dec. 13 news story.
Many thanks to The Post for this article. This ballot issue has become most controversial among Lakewood residents within the last few weeks, and I appreciate Ann Schrader’s fair and concise yet thorough coverage.
I would like to make one small but significant correction to the article’s sub-head, “Mail-in ballots to decide if developer can trade private land for parkland.” I fear that those unfamiliar with the issue, who quickly glanced at the headline and sub-head, would have the impression that the current Rooney Valley developer initiated the land exchange. This is incorrect. Impelled by the thoughtful and thorough, citizen-produced Rooney Valley Master Plan, the City of Lakewood approached the developer with the land-exchange idea, not the other way around.
The importance of this correction lies in the fact that those leading the opposition to the land exchange have promulgated a rumor that the developer somehow manipulated or paid off Lakewood officials in order to procure a valuable piece of public property.
This is simply false. The impetus of the trade is to preserve forever a wildlife and recreational corridor that contains a highly used trail – a critical link in the only system of trails connecting together four Lakewood parks, including our two largest parks, Green Mountain and Bear Creek Lake.
If the majority of Lakewood voters vote against Referendum 1, this corridor will be covered with houses.
Ralph Beck, Lakewood
Justice in Denver?
There has been a continuum of Post articles relative to various aspects of the planning for the new Denver Justice Center. The topic I have not seen addressed is a name for the building.
It appears “Denver Justice Center” is an assumed given. For any political jurisdiction to name a court house a “justice center” is an atrocity. Here in the United States, we have a legal system and a very complex one. What we do not have is a system of justice.
For a building’s name to imply that the courts therein routinely dispense justice is an insult to every citizen. Courts are the playground of attorneys where the only objective is to win, not to seek truth or justice. Money buys the best attorneys; enough said.
R. Williams, Broomfield
Scientific clarification
Re: “2 teens charged in high school prank,” Dec. 13 news story.
In your article, you used the word “incendiary” to describe the device made by two students at Green Mountain High School. In just about every definition of incendiary, there is an implication of heat or fire. The reaction of baking soda and vinegar, however, is actually an endothermic reaction – one which absorbs energy from the environment. In other words, if you mix baking soda and vinegar in a baggie, the result is cold, not fire. The carbon dioxide released in this reaction led to an increase in pressure of the closed container, causing it to explode, but the net exchange of heat was a negative one. As a science teacher, I felt it necessary to correct this error.
Christopher Becke, Aurora
Tancredo vs. Miami
Re: “Miami eatery backs out of speech; Tancredo cancels,” Dec. 14 news story.
Not only did Rep. Tom Tancredo liken Miami to “a Third World country,” but now he has likened it to Havana, Cuba, when he said, “Apparently, there isn’t much of a difference between the two anymore.” Ironically, the Center for Digital Government recently named Miami the eighth-most technologically advanced city in America with more than 250,000 residents. Yep, sounds like a Third World city to me.
Becky Roberts, Aurora
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