Learning the basics
Re: “Senate: High schoolers need English skills,” March 21 news story.
Some in the education establishment complain that requiring English proficiency is an unfunded mandate on the schools. If English proficiency isn’t a basic part of Colorado’s high school curriculum, what in the world is? Passing out high school diplomas without the students meeting basic educational goals is unfair to those students and to the employers who expect the credential to mean something when hiring a graduate.
Dave Miller, Sedalia
What defines “Hispanic”?
Re: “Hard to stand up for Hispanic attorney general,” March 21 Open Forum.
Rudy V. Garcia’s letter to the editor raises three interesting questions. What, or who, exactly is a Hispanic? Is someone with a Spanish surname always a Hispanic? Finally, is there some “Hispanic” agenda which has different aspirations than non-Hispanics?
Bill Richardson, the current governor of New Mexico, had a Mexican mother. Almost without fail, the media always identify him as a Hispanic and assume he will get the Hispanic vote (whatever that is). Jeb Bush, the recent governor of Florida, married a Mexican woman. Does this mean his children are also Hispanics? If so, should I be identified as Russian, since my mother was a native Russian?
Sen. Ken Salazar is a fifth-generation Coloradan. But he is always identified as a Hispanic. For goodness sake, why and for how long? Mr. Garcia quotes the senator as calling the appointment of a Hispanic attorney general as “groundbreaking.” Was the senator’s election also “groundbreaking”? Surely at some point we will get beyond this, but when?
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could vote for, or appoint, someone without regard to their last name or even their ancestry?
H. Michael Hayes, Westminster
Wise up to the truth
On Tuesday’s opinion page, The Post had three articles regarding the White House and its relationship with truth (“Bush should let Gonzales go,” Debra Saunders column; “Fed up with being misled,” Ed Quillen column; and “When will the lies ever end?” Susan Casey guest commentary).
I find it incredible that smart people like Debra Saunders are still waiting for this White House to do the right thing, or to tell us the truth about whatever scandal happens to be on the front page that week. She says that President Bush “has to let [Alberto] Gonzales go. America wants to see a White House that puts performance before loyalty.” Yes we do, but most of us realize we will have to wait for another White House administration for that to happen. It is just not in George Bush’s nature to tell the truth or to reward performance instead of supplication. And smart people should wise up to that fact. Or truth.
Robert Laughlin, Littleton
Deciding what is news
Re: “A world of charm & contradiction,” March 18 news story.
I have long thought that newspapers had a responsibility to inform the community of matters of importance. Obviously, the front page has long been reserved to highlight the most important events to assure that attention is drawn to them. Why, then, do you place a picture of teenagers from Oklahoma on the front page? While there is a place for human-interest stories, it certainly doesn’t rise to the importance of our front page. Maybe if the beauty contest had been in Denver, some coverage would be justified, but not Oklahoma and not in the middle of the front page.
Please look around and see if you can find any matters of interest that could help sell papers as well as provide a legitimate community service. You simply must help keep us all informed about issues that affect our lives.
Steve Pettit, Boulder
Flap over U.S. attorneys
Re: “Drop effort to limit Rove, Miers hearing,” March 22 editorial.
I concur completely with The Denver Post’s position in response to President Bush’s actions, and his attempt to circumvent a legitimate congressional inquiry. The president’s assertion of executive privilege is not only unfounded, but is tantamount to reliance on a legal fiction. Moreover, it strikes me as a Nixonian means to eschew accountability. What precisely does the current administration seek to conceal from the public? My hope is that the “loyal opposition” will get off their collective backsides and initiate a zealous investigation of these evident improprieties.
Stefan Bethlenfalvay, Centennial
Diplomacy in the Mideast
It is very encouraging that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is – finally, after almost six years of this administration ignoring the problem – beginning to put some pressure on bringing a peace settlement to the Israeli/Palestinian war to see who can outlast the other. Had the Bush administration done this in 2003, instead of invading Iraq, the outlook for some settling down in the Middle East conflagration would likely be much closer to fruition, as would the status of terrorism in the world. Just one more item in a long string of failures and missed opportunities from the current White House.
Let us hope that Ms. Rice is at last given a green light to seriously pursue this new agenda to its proper and equitable conclusion, and also let us hope they begin to bring the rest of the free world into this operation so it has a broad support group instead of what was done in Iraq and other places. And finally, let us hope that Messrs. Cheney and Rove are kept as far away as possible from all talks, negotiations and policy making.
John Ruckman, Lakewood
Online extras
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