Fortress America
Re: “Fortress America,” March 4-7 series.
“Fortress America”? I love it. The U.S. should be the most well-defended nation on the planet. Good fences make good neighbors. I totally support a high-tech wall along our borders. Until that wall is built, I support sending about 20,000 U.S. Army regulars to shut down our borders virtually overnight. If we can justify sending 200,000 troops halfway around the world, then we can certainly justify sending a mere 20,000 to protect our own borders. The cost of closing the border is a tiny fraction of the cost of waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If Mexico would practice free- market capitalism and birth control, they would not be poor. But no, their rampant socialism and religious ban on birth control cause massive poverty, forcing millions to flee north. We don’t need their warped ideologies north of the border.
Paul Kehren, Colorado Springs
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I don’t get it. Why would we spend billions upgrading border security to keep illegal immigrants out? The best way to stop illegal immigration is to make sure they can’t get a job when they get here. An effective national system of identification would do that and would probably do more to secure the country than hundreds of miles of fences. Let’s welcome anyone who wants to come here as long as they agree to abide by our laws, work only if legally approved and eventually return home to their own country. We should also determine just which industries really can’t compete globally without low-wage foreign workers and allow those industries to legally import foreign workers on a rotating temporary basis.
Michael Weaver, Lakewood
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So many people mention a guest-worker program as the perfect solution without really understanding the limitations or ramifications. We still need to secure our borders and imprison frequent illegal crossers, provide meaningful workplace enforcement and eliminate programs that reward illegal aliens.
A guest-worker plan won’t prevent millions of employers from continuing to employ cheap illegal labor unless more stringent enforcement in the workplace is adopted. A guest-worker plan won’t help unless employers and CEOs of big corporations are imprisoned and/or heavily fined for circumventing the law. A guest-worker plan won’t work unless we put billions more into the computer systems and personnel at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department. The system is backlogged by several years already. Can you imagine the chaos and fraud if we were to add several million more cases?
Finally, a guest-worker program won’t prevent drug smugglers and other people seeking to harm us from slipping into the country. Currently, 30 percent of the population in the federal prison system are foreign nationals. How will a guest-worker program change that?
Rhonda Roseto, Westminster
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In Part 4 of The Post’s series (“Moving targets,” March 7), a man talks about crossing the desert into the U.S., saying, “We do it because we have no other choice. We’re prepared to die if we have to.” I ask myself: What would I be willing to die for? My answer: The survival of my family. That’s what he’s talking about too.
Since NAFTA passed in 1994, in Mexico more than 1.3 million agricultural jobs have been lost, well-paying domestic manufacturing jobs have disappeared, real wages are lower, and the percentage of people living in poverty is higher than in the late 1970s. Some say people should take the legal route to get to the U.S. to work. What legal route? The “waiting list” is often 20 years long – too long time to sit around looking at your hungry kid.
Passing comprehensive immigration reform that allows for increased flows and a pathway to citizenship instead of border militarization means more choices and that people won’t have to be prepared to die trying to live.
Gwyneth Sanchez, Denver
Amending the Constitution
Re: “Colo. Constitution too easy to amend,” March 4 editorial.
The amending of a constitution should not be looked upon lightly. Yet when the government keeps stalling and killing and gutting and refusing to even consider legislation the people want, what choice is there? So here’s what I propose: Require a 60 percent supermajority of voters to pass an amendment, but if it gets that many votes, it should take nearly an act of God to change it. So if an amendment passes, the only way the General Assembly can repeal it after five years is with a three-quarters majority, and they don’t even get to consider dotting an “i” or crossing a “t” within four. With that sort of majority, you at least give the will of the people a fair chance. We can even drop the requirement to 60 percent after eight years or two general
elections, and the people can always repeal it on their own with the same requirements as before.
John Meyer, Pueblo
Disappearing honeybees
Re: “Hives holding a secret; Colo. beekeepers stung by mysteriously vanishing colonies,” March 4 news story.
The Post’s article on honeybee colony collapse disorder (CCD) is very important. While the article made CCD sound mysterious, many scientists point to a group of agricultural pesticides called neonicotinoids, which are relatively new.
The one that is most widely used is called imidacloprid. It is used on soil, seeds, fields and orchards. This pesticide is absorbed into a plant’s entire system and can be found in the pollen and nectar, which the bees collect. It does not break down but remains in the environment for a long time. Although it kills many agricultural pests, it has been banned in Europe because it endangers pollinators.
Imidacloprid is known to be highly toxic to honeybees. It compromises their immune system, but the greater threat is that impairs their ability to find their way back to their hive. We have bees that are not returning to the hive, and thus beekeepers find no dead bees. Tens of thousands of colonies across half of the nation have already perished.
For more information, Google “imidacloprid and CCD.” An orchard in bloom or a field of alfalfa with no bees makes a silent spring.
Ann Christensen, Denver
Next president from West?
Re: “President tall order for Dems in West,” March 4 news story.
The Post had it almost right in its piece on the fate of the Democrats in the West, but it’s good to see the press acknowledge what the opposition already knows. In a race to the Democratic National Convention begun early by candidates with star-like name recognition but far less leadership experience, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s congressional, diplomatic and bipartisan executive leadership make him the truly exceptional candidate to be the next president. On growing the economy, energy and the environment, respectful policies on immigration, and the all-important issue of foreign policy, Richardson is a seasoned voice for the entire Rocky Mountain region and its issues, in the country and in the world at large.
The summer of 2008 may seem a long time away, but it’s past time for Democrats in this region, and across the country, to recognize the merits of Richardson’s bid for president.
Tim Kubik, Englewood
Proud to be American?
Re: “Anti-Americans among us,” March 4 John Andrews column.
John Andrews, who apparently is never embarrassed by our country, calls those of us who are “anti-American.” He goes on at length to describe us. But he really doesn’t know us.
My wife and I toured the United Nations building in New York last October. Of the 12 people on the English-language tour, Karen and I were the only U.S. citizens. The rest were from Canada, Mexico, Australia and western Europe.
At the exhibit on landmines – the ugly bombs on display next to photos of maimed children – the tour guide, a Japanese woman, asked if anyone knew which countries have refused to join the international treaty to ban landmines. I raised my hand and in front of my fellow world citizens, ashamedly admitted that my country has not agreed to stop using these barbaric weapons.
I believe most Americans would have been embarrassed in that situation. Americans are basically good, ethical people who want the best for our world. It grates on us when our leaders bluster and posture while the rest of the world pitches in to solve global warming, to stop nuclear proliferation, and to prevent children from being blown up by landmines. We don’t like to face our neighbors and admit that our government is acting the arrogant bully.
We’re not choosing to badmouth our country just for kicks. We’re embarrassed, Mr. Andrews, and waving the flag doesn’t make us feel better.
Steve Krizman, Centennial
TO THE POINT
The headline “Submachine gun stolen from cop’s truck” prompts this thought:
The most fitting punishment for such stupidity and derelection on the part of this “cop” would be to assign him to its recovery, indefinitely, even if it takes forever. Then fire him.
R.B. Leather, Denver
The United States of America is closing its borders and building prison camps. What happens next? Yellow stars?
Dena Williams, Denver
I saw that ex.-Sen. John Edwards has apologized for his vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq. Did I miss his apology for ripping off the medical insurance industry for tens of millions of dollars in unwarranted trial awards?
Rich Jarboe, Arvada
Thank you for the editorial asking for an apology to the “Denver 3.” It is a sad day when ordinary citizens are not allowed to attend a taxpayer-funded event because they might not agree with administration ideals.
Doris J. Frederick, Byers
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