Supreme Court ruling on “partial birth” ban
Re: “For Ritter, resolution needed on key issues,” April 16 news story.
The Post’s article regarding the current legislative agenda of Gov. Bill Ritter confirmed that Colorado now has a governor who believes in action rather than just talk. What a breath of fresh air, in comparison to those politicians at all levels who have neither the courage, vision or political ability to take on and resolve the tough issues facing Colorado and the nation.
Gov. Ritter campaigned by openly putting forth real solutions to issues facing Colorado concerning education, energy, transportation, health care and the environment. All of these issues, and more, existed for years, and had grown significantly worse before he took office. I wonder if his critics, both in and outside the legislature, would welcome a report card from the voters showing how well they handled such issues in the past. Perhaps the results of the last election were just such a report card.
Ritter deserves to be commended for his style. The governor is a consensus builder, but he is not one to wait until “tomorrow” to get the job done. It is about time.
Eddie Kochman, Northglenn
Re: “Killer’s manifesto a venomous tirade,” April 19 news story.
I just put the entire front section of your Thursday newspaper in the trash without reading any of it. And I hope many others did the same. However, I am sure any number of deranged misfits read every word, admired all the attention given to this gunman, and now imagine doing a copycat crime to get the attention they crave as well. It should be law that when a crime like this happens, the killer gets no mention, not even his name. It should be as if he never existed. Oblivion, not multiple front-page photos. Shame on NBC for cashing in on it – and the rest of the media, too. And shame on the rest of us for being willing to read and watch this guy. By doing so, our complicity makes the whole circus possible.
Rob Davenport, Englewood
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Shame, shame, shame. Did you really have to display all those pictures Thursday morning? While the victims get little box pictures Wednesday, the killer gets front-page attention and full detail. I see enough kids on the margin already who will not be triggered to feel more empathy, but triggered to obsess on the weapons and the excitement of it all. By glorifying violence, you are fueling the desires of the next record-setter. Irresponsible does not even come close to describing what you have done. The media sharks in Clement Park eight years ago look like society editors in comparison. As a child therapist and educator, I say: Enough!
Craig A. Knippenberg, Denver
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I have often wondered if many of these killings are mostly to get your name and picture in the newspapers for all the country to see. Maybe if the media left out his name and his picture, there would be no reason to kill 32 people. He will go down in history as the largest group killer in the United States, and we have seen his pictures, DVDs and writings the last several days, just like he wanted.
Malcolm Hutton, Littleton
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What’s the deal with the tasteless and sensationalistic headlines (“CAMPUS CARNAGE” and “I’M GOING TO KILL”) in The Denver Post? Has The Post been bought by Fox? Have you hired headline writers away from The National Enquirer? Please, try to present this painful story with a little more tact and sensitivity.
Rev. Jeff Borg, Fort Collins
Re: “‘Partial birth’ ban upheld,” April 19 news story.
Less than two years after their public devotionals to the principle of “stare decisis” before the Senate and the world, U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and John Roberts this week not only overrode the unanimous rulings of numerous federal courts, but also reversed a Supreme Court ruling less than seven years old. Where are the right-wing denunciations of judicial activism today? Imagine how difficult it will be to prosecute any crime if this brand of politicized jurisprudence takes root. Federal prosecutors will become little more than party hit men enforcing laws that flip-flop with each change of power.
John Kelly, Lafayette
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My father, who was named for a Southern Methodist bishop and was in his 92nd year when he died, told his three sons when we were growing up never to take our pregnant wives to a Catholic hospital. If there came to be an excruciating moral choice between the life of the mother and the life of the child, he warned, the latter would prevail. Having marriages of 30 and 37 years to my late mother and my stepmother, Marvin Gravely was hardly a sexual libertine, since he dated only two women in his life and married them both. His advice, which seemed a bit of folk-anti-Catholicism to me as I grew older, in fact has now rung true with the decision of the five Catholic men who form the U.S. Supreme Court majority. Their decision this week to affirm the constitutionality of a law that violates the privacy between a couple and their physicians in making appropriate health decisions for any pregnant woman is not an event to celebrate in my family.
Will Gravely, Littleton
U.S. military deserters
Re: “Fight or flight,” April 15 news story.
On Sunday, The Denver Post went too far when it included this article. This was nothing more than a bleeding-heart look at cowards. I think it was a slap in the face to every loyal American servicemember to run an article exploring the quitters’ side of the story. They do not deserve a platform.
America’s security is based on hard-working, dedicated and loyal members of the armed services. Those people who signed up for the armed services and then decided afterwards that they didn’t want to do it are simply cowards and quitters.
I am a disabled veteran who served our great nation for six years, and there were plenty of occasions where I would have rather just left. I did my time because I had raised my right hand and swore that I would. Fulfilling an obligation through the good and the bad – now that’s worth a line or two in the Denver Post. Abandoning your fellow soldiers, backing out of an obligation, and not standing true to your word – that deserves nothing.
Keith McAbee, Aurora
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Many thanks to Denver Post reporter Jenny Deam for her research on military personnel who go AWOL. This is the first article I’ve read in the mainstream press covering this corollary tragedy of war. While it is known and acknowledged that recruiters will lie to meet their quota, somehow soldiers are required to honor their contracts, for an immoral war, based on more lies from a government we never elected. I am pleased to see the number of deserters the military admits is at least double the number of military deaths in Iraq.
Cristy Holden, Pagosa Springs
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Justin Colby, who was featured in The Post’s article, isn’t really a coward or a traitor, nor is he a hero or symbol of conviction. He is immature, self-absorbed and impulsive. Just looking at the brief history of Justin pretty much explains it: He was born and weaned in the “me” decades of the ’80s and ’90s, dropped out of high school, got his GED but no job, met a young woman who he married in just a few weeks and left as quickly. He joined the Army and “flourished in his first posting in South Korea” but left when things were tough in Iraq. Now he’s found another little bit of heaven in Canada, complete with new girlfriend, job and notoriety. What more can a young boy want? Let Canada have him!
Jane E. Lupp, Lamar
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