Bush vs. Dems on Iraq spending, timetable
During the recent debate about a timetable attached to funding for the Iraq war bill, it has been seen as an undisputed fact that Congress has blocked troop funding. Not so. The president has the blame for this.
Congress sent the president a bill that would have funded our troops and veterans while bringing a responsible end to this war – something desperately needed by the troops.
President Bush wants a blank check for the war in Iraq without any accountability. By vetoing this bill, he made this clear, eliminating benchmarks for success.
The president has also repeatedly ignored public opinion. The 2006 congressional elections showed where the electorate stands. Yet, the president continues to ask the American people for an open-ended troop commitment.
After four full years and thousands of lives lost, how many times must we say no?
Michael Neil, Denver
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The headline on Thursday’s front page, “Democrats drop their demand for pullout timetable,” might as well have said, “Democrats cave again.” This won’t be the last time.
John Cleveland, Centennial
Return of the rabbit ears on today’s TVs
Re: “Rabbit ears stylish again as HDTV craze grows,” April 29 news story.
I was disappointed that your article regarding the return of TV rabbit ears for high-definition reception did not mention that they are not much good in Denver. While some Denver TV stations broadcast in HD, three of the main ones – Channel 4 (CBS), Channel 7 (ABC) and Channel 9 (NBC) – do not, apparently because of a legal dispute over a new broadcasting antenna in Golden. It sounds as if the legal dispute may be about over, but the new antenna for HD will not be built for months or years.
In addition, the article did not discuss the pros and cons of rabbit ears versus cable or satellite reception. In some cases, rabbit ears are superior, if only because there is one less box between the signal and your picture. If there are problems, you can sometimes get pixilation, large blocks of solid color instead of small pixel dots, which is the HD version of snow or static.
The article also did not mention that you must have an HD tuner in your TV. TVs that are advertised as “HD capable” or with some other misleading description may not have an HD tuner and may not be able to process HD signals directly from rabbit ears.
Jim Chamberlin, Lakewood
Army’s process for Fort Carson expansion
Re: “Piñon Canyon plan,” May 3 Open Forum.
In response to letter-writer Elise Jones’ comments, a couple of facts in terms of process and environmental stewardship: Currently, the Army is evaluating and determining the area of interest for potential expansion of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site. To date, the actual area of potential expansion has not been identified; it is expected shortly. It is not yet known if the areas Ms. Jones references as environmentally sensitive will be included. The Army has identified a 418,000-acre requirement, but has not discussed any “future” expansion of Piñon Canyon to 2.5 million acres, as mentioned by Ms. Jones. Once the Army identifies the area of interest, publication of the “notice of intent” will initiate further community dialogue followed by preparation of an environmental impact statement. Allof this is in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, a long and detailed process.
There is a proven track record of environmental stewardship and effective management of existing training areas by Fort Carson. They are committed to effective management of not only the current installation training areas, but any future addition of needed training areas.
Brian A. Binn, President, Military Affairs, Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce
The problem with abstinence-only policies
Re: “Abstinence the star in sex-ed lesson,” April 25 Jim Spencer column.
The truth is that abstinence- only-until-marriage programs are morally irresponsible. Abstinence-only programs often provide inaccurate and distorted information, and a growing body of evidence shows that these programs are ineffective at reducing teen pregnancy and the spread of STDs. Young people may be less likely to use condoms and other contraception after exposure to repeated exaggerations of the failure rates and/or risks. Not only are abstinence-only programs based on ideology and not only do they use fear and shame-based tactics, but the obvious truth is that abstinence-only programs are simply not realistic. Comprehensive sexuality education still stresses that abstinence is the only guaranteed way to avoid unwanted pregnancy or the contraction of STDs. But comprehensive sex ed takes a sensible approach, and can therefore help teens delay intercourse.
We have a responsibility to the youth of our country to help educate them so they can grow up to be responsible young adults.
Jess Steinitz, Field Organizer, Boulder Population Connection, Boulder
Defining tax increases
Re: “Tax ‘freeze’ is weasel-speak,” May 3 David Harsanyi column.
David Harsanyi wrote, “In this column space, a ‘tax hike’ will always be defined as a change in tax policy that nets more dollars for government coffers.”
By this curious definition, a decrease in the tax rate (i.e. the percentage of each dollar taken in taxes) which improves overall economic output, resulting in increased government revenues, would be considered a “tax hike.” So would a simpler tax code that didn’t change the tax rate but resulted in lower government overhead.
I suppose Mr. Harsanyi can use some “weasel speak” to redefine the word “always” for future columns relating to taxation. Or better yet, he could take a less ideological stance that doesn’t require such convenient definitions.
E. Hess, Denver
Paying for immigrants
Re: “Compassion for immigrants,” April 29 Open Forum.
I was so happy to see that Nelson Bock of the Interfaith Alliance agreed with Denver Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput that everyone should show compassion to the illegal aliens in our country.
I hope the Catholic Church and the Interfaith Alliance will show that compassion by paying all the medical and social service expenses for those same illegal aliens.
Donald Weber, Georgetown
“Senseless violence”
Re: “Woodworker in Ft. Collins shooting ID’d,” May 2 news story.
As a society, we are all too used to the term “senseless violence,” and I found myself using it Wednesday to explain the murder of young Matthews Gulakowski. Throughout the day, I realized the absurdity of that correlation. All violence is senseless, and this young man had a life before him that was taken away. His children remain unborn; his young wife faces a future without the man with whom she planned her future; his parents see the end of plans they made years ago when Matt was born; his brother awaits each day without a sibling.
So I try to accept not having an answer to what happened to Matthew, and I hope and pray for those whose lives he touched and wish them peace and warm memories.
Sylvia Sarazen, Highlands Ranch
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