State job promises
Re: “Another parting perk; Top Owens officials got job promise,” Feb. 21 news story.
I thought The Denver Post might find it interesting to note that of the 13 top management positions targeted in Wednesday’s article, only one was hired during the Owens administration. In fact, those whose salaries were printed have worked for the Colorado Department of Transportation from 10 to 33 years – well before Owens was elected. These are non-political individuals who have chosen to spend their career at CDOT, moving up through the ranks because of their experience and expertise. Two of these individuals began their careers as snow plow drivers. Another took a bullet years ago while serving this department. Patronage? I think not.
Stacey Stegman, Public Information Officer, Colorado Department of Transportation
Overrun by phone books
How many phone books do I need? How many phone books do you need? I received two last week and three this week. I get Dex, Dex Plus and Yellow Book. I don’t need all of these phone books. Someone call me a cab so I can get them out of here. Perhaps you guys could alternate years, or let us elect to receive them in odd or even years.
Craig Marshall Smith, Highlands Ranch
Ritter’s veto of union bill
Re: “Rookie hits to the middle,” Feb. 18 Fred Brown column.
I usually respect how Fred Brown methodically develops an argument in his column, but when defending Gov. Bill Ritter’s veto on the pro-union bill, Brown must have had trouble – since any defense of Ritter’s logic surrounding this veto comes off as a little weak. Brown’s cover for Ritter is as follows: “If there was any lesson to be learned from the 2006 election … it was that voters are tired of conniving and self- serving politicians.” Brown then goes on to explain how the Democrats must “govern from the middle” if they “want to stay in control.” Translation: Ritter must connive, self-serve and fundamentally remain in the back pocket of rich corporate interests to secure his political career goals.
Ritter claims he didn’t like the tactics used while House Bill 1072 made its way through the legislature, complaining that the Democrats rammed the bill through while Republicans “were neither respectful nor civil.” He had no quarrel with the bill itself. His unprecedented veto suggests the legislators must play nice if they expect to get any legislation signed, but this type of disingenuous reasoning denies history and the essential dualistic functionality of our constitutional republic. Defending Ritter’s veto as “statesmanlike” would imply political naiveté or dishonesty. Which is it?
Doug Curtis, Aurora
Drug war and prisons
Re: “Aiming for course corrections on prison priorities,” Feb. 15 Diane Carman column.
Diane Carman hits the target in this column. Cutting to the matter’s core, her summation of the “bogus war on drugs,” defining “Colorado’s very own Iraq war,” is eloquent. And her reference to the drug war as “insanely self-perpetuating” is a bull’s-eye.
The facts and figures on the costs of this ill-conceived policy in Colorado are just the tip of the iceberg. Nationwide, it is a 37-year, trillion-dollar abject failure.
Carman ends her column with a simple statement, saying, “Now all we need is a leader.”
I challenge Department of Corrections Director Ari Zavaras, who is a former Denver police chief, and Gov. Bill Ritter, who was Denver DA, to take the lead. Join me and more than 6,500 other current and former criminal justice professionals at LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) in working to end the “war on drugs.”
When substance abusers are no longer criminals who commit more crime to pay for their addictions (less crime/incarceration) and drug dealers are out of business for lack of profit (less crime/incarceration), then Colorado, like New York, can close prisons. That’s a real “win-win.”
Tony Ryan, Aurora
The writer is a retired Denver police officer and a member and speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
Iditarod veterinarians
Re: “Iditarod’s canines win vet’s devotion,” Feb. 22 news story.
Iditarod veterinarians are part of the Iditarod’s culture of cruelty. Throughout this eight- to 16-day competition, Iditarod personnel encourage mushers to race diseased dogs. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race, veterinarians frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them running. Veterinarians also work to help the mushers before the Iditarod begins. Although the dogs are often sick, veterinarians allow them to start the race anyway. One chief Iditarod veterinarian even published a musher/veterinary handbook advising mushers on how to avoid having prohibited substances detected in pre-race veterinary checks.
The short list of what happens to the dogs includes death, paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, torn muscles and tendons, hypothermia, viral diseases and sprains. For the dogs, the Iditarod is a bottomless pit of suffering. Veterinarians should be trying to get the race banned.
Margery Glickman, Director, Sled Dog Action Coalition, Miami
Tour of Calif. bike race
I am disappointed that The Denver Post is not covering America’s biggest cycling event, the Tour of California. In its second year, this race is spectacular, with many of the biggest names and teams in cycling participating. So far, it has been a very exciting race through some of the most scenic areas in the county. With the popularity of cycling in Colorado, the state’s largest paper omitting any coverage of this eight-day event is ridiculous. The Post does a good job covering the Tour de France, but that isn’t cycling’s only race.
Elizabeth Russell, Boulder
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