Down syndrome testing
Re: “Down testing urged for all,” Jan. 2 news story.
As the mother of a child with Down syndrome, I was dismayed by the article on testing.
I am not opposed to prenatal testing for conditions such as Down syndrome. In some cases, it can help prospective parents to prepare for the arrival of their baby if they know beforehand that the child will have Down syndrome. However, you fail to mention that many couples who find out prenatally that their child will have Down syndrome choose to abort that child.
It’s not easy to have a child with a disability – I know that firsthand. Most of us would never willingly choose a disabled child. But Down syndrome is a fairly mild disability, and children with Down syndrome bring much happiness and love into a home. The lack of proper counseling and the negative attitudes of many genetic counselors and doctors lead some parents to think that they have no choice but to have an abortion.
Whenever I see my son’s smile and reflect on the joy he has brought into our family, I feel sorry for those who, precipitously and without much guidance, have chosen not to have a child with Down syndrome.
Veronica Fratta, Castle Rock
Surge in state revenues
Re: “Celebrate surge in state revenues,” Dec. 31 guest commentary.
While Colorado can celebrate a surge in state revenues, I believe it is time the opponents of Referendum C stop bemoaning the loss of their issue and celebrate the success of bipartisanship in our state. Several years ago, Colorado was faced with difficult economic issues – a.k.a. a crisis – and our elected officials chose to take the higher road and find a win-win solution without laying blame. I applaud Gov. Bill Owens, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and the proponents of Referendum C for their innovative solution to benefit all of Colorado. These officials set a standard of leadership from which politicians at every level should take note. Opponents of Referendum C should be seeing the silver lining in their loss: the unequivocal beauty of bipartisan leadership, often a rarity in politics today.
Jill Eden, Aurora
Gay marriage in Mass.
Re: “Mass. proposal to ban gay marriage survives,” Jan. 3 news story.
Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute is quoted as saying, “This is democracy in action. It’s not a vengeance campaign. It’s not a hate campaign. It’s just an opportunity for the people to vote.”
Was interracial marriage decided by vote? Was “separate but equal” finally decided by vote? Was slavery ended by a vote? Of course not. If these things had to wait for a vote, we would most likely have the same level of racial discrimination today that existed 50 to 150 years ago.
No mater what Mineau wants to call it or not call it, this is a civil rights issue, and those can only be decided in the courts.
Doug Graen, Denver
Colo. foreclosure crisis
Re: “Policing, new laws needed to halt crisis,” Dec. 31 editorial.
I was surprised that one very simple item was not mentioned in your article on preventing foreclosures. Homebuyers should be allowed to review their loan documents and real estate documents at least two days before closing. Most lenders barely get their documents on time for the closing and no one has had a chance to review them.
Secondly, you had an article concerning Realtors not getting their CBI fingerprint review finished in time to renew their licenses. Is the public well-served by Realtors so incompetent that they can’t even keep their license up to date? Let them sit out for awhile. That might give them something to think about.
Dan Braun, Denver
Taking the oath of office
Re: “Taking an oath on Koran should be OK,” Dec. 31 editorial.
I sort of endorse The Post’s editorial regarding Congressman Keith Ellison and his taking the “oath of office” on a copy of the Koran. The reason I say “sort of” is that I strongly support the First Amendment’s “establishment of religion” clause, but in a theological vein I don’t think any “oath” is mandatory or even advisable.
In the U.S., voters and politicians run the gamut, not only from atheists to priests but even, under the rubric of “Christianity,” from a new-world version of British Israelism to the belief that all earthly government is anti-Christ.
I find it interesting that while many of my fellow Christians would quickly agree with the advice in Ecclesiastes 5:5 that it is better not to vow at all than to make a vow and not fulfill it, many are apparently unaware that Jesus goes even further in Matthew 5: 33-37, telling His followers not to “swear” at all (in the sense of vows or oaths), and James reiterates this in the strongest terms, stating “above all things, my brethren, swear not … ” (James 5:12).
I sometimes wonder about the many people throughout both the Old and New Testaments who took oaths (usually to see somebody dead) that they did not fulfil.
Happily, “mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13).
Steven Chostler, Denver
Hussein’s hanging and the war in Iraq
The more I learn about the execution of Saddam Hussein, the less it sounds like the product of the rule of law and the more it sounds like a tribal revenge killing. Taunts of “To hell” and “Moqtada” and the evasion of rules related to the execution’s timing do not reflect well on the current Iraqi leadership or the U.S. government behind it. The desires of many Iraqis – and many Americans – to see Saddam get a taste of his own medicine seem to have held more sway than the interest of both countries in establishing democracy and peace in Iraq.
When people don’t trust their government to enforce the law impartially, they feel they must take matters into their own hands. Sadly, then, Saddam’s hasty execution has made civil war and anarchy more likely, not less.
Suzanne Ghais, Arvada
…
The U.S. justice system could learn a valuable lesson from the execution of Saddam Hussein – a little over three years from capture to execution, with one appeal. Just think how much we’d save if our death-row cases were so swiftly resolved.
Jerry Witt, Wheat Ridge
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I was dismayed when I opened my morning paper last Sunday to see graphic photos of the hanging of Saddam Hussein. I was glad there were no children in my home that morning.
If we encourage children to practice good citizenship, we want to encourage them to be interested in local and world affairs. Is this what we want them to see: graphic photos of someone else’s impending death? Do children not see enough violence already? Seeing gratuitous images of violence waters the seeds of violence in all of us.
It is a sad day when we seem to celebrate the death of any human being, even someone whose actions we may abhor.
Maureen P. Lancaster, Denver
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On the front page of last Sunday’s Post, there is a graphic picture of that monster Saddam Hussein being hung, while at the bottom of the page is a picture of our beloved former president Gerald Ford’s casket as his body lies in state, his grieving widow kneeling at his casket. To give precedence to a vicious animal rather than a former president is an insult to the Ford family as well as to the American people who were endeared to him.
Susan Holen, Aurora
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With the exception of a quote by Jesse Jackson, there was no mention in the Sunday Post’s coverage of Saddam Hussein about U.S. complicity in his crimes. The Reagan administration supported and helped finance Hussein’s war against Iran and provided battlefield intelligence with full knowledge that he was using chemical weapons. Does this mean former Reagan administration officials (some of whom returned to work in George W. Bush’s administration) will now be tried and hanged for crimes against humanity?
David Rhodes, Westminster
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It is a new year, and 3,000 soldiers have now died in Iraq. Our president is considering “surging” the troops by holding two Marine brigades in Iraq several months longer than originally scheduled. The holding of these exhausted troops beyond their originally scheduled return date will inevitably result in a certain number of them dying. My question is: What will have been accomplished by these deaths? If, as is inevitable, our troops ultimately withdraw and Iraq slides into full-blown civil war, any extra soldiers committed to this war will have died while accomplishing nothing. Mr. President, no “surge” prior to withdrawing. Bring our troops home now.
Steven Natali, Denver
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More than 3,000 American troops and more than 50,000 (according to some estimates as many as 600,000) Iraqis have died in the illegal, ill-advised and disastrous Iraq war. It is past time for decisive action to admit our mistake and end the bloodshed. Our president still fiddles while Baghdad and beyond burns amid the chaos and killing that he has caused.
Congress must end this fiasco. Even though the president is the commander in chief, Congress controls the purse strings. Congress should and must immediately and irrevocably cut off funds for Iraq.
We are urging our representatives to immediately vote to cut off funds for Iraq. Please join us in this effort.
Bruce and Carmen Johnson, Estes Park
TO THE POINT
Fred Brown’s proposed New Year’s resolution to “make it more difficult to amend the state constitution” makes great sense. How about an amendment requiring a constitutional convention within three years?
Gary D. Laura, Denver
In our world, there are cancer, Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis, autism, cerebral palsy, sudden infant death syndrome, war with casualties, death, etc. Then there are snowstorms. We need to keep life in perspective and not sweat the small stuff.
Carol Warner, Centennial
The Jan. 2 editorial hailing the pledge of the new Democratic leaders of the House to reinstate the “pay as you go” federal financing is a great idea. They should raise the gasoline tax to pay for Middle East oil wars.
Philip S. Miller, Telluride
Saddam is dead. Daddy has been avenged. Can the troops come home now?
Thomas E. Bunge, Littleton
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