Tuberculosis patient
Re: “Patient: Forgive me for scare,” June 1 news story.
I am absolutely furious with Andrew Speaker. Such a selfish and arrogant man deserves no pity and no special treatment. As more of the story unfolds, including his having a close relative involved with the treatment and study of TB, it is quite obvious he knew exactly what he was doing. He is, however, rewarded for being selfish with first-rate medical care, in Denver.
People travel with histories of heart disease, asthma, and even while being treated with chemotherapy. For them, a simple infection is an issue that can turn deadly. However, this man knowingly put even healthy people at serious risk. His verbal apology is meaningless. His life meant more than anyone else’s. Mr. Speaker is the lowest of people, and should be scorned.
I hope he has to pay for his treatment. I hope the bill is a large one. I hope Mr. Speaker exceeds his insurance benefits so money has to come out of his legal pockets. After that, I could care less what happens to him.
Joann N. McLaughlin, Aberdeen, Scotland
…
Re: “Lawyer deemed an all-around ‘great guy,”‘ June 1 news story.
If Andrew Speaker had boarded a plane with a loaded gun and taken a few random shots around the plane, managing somehow not to kill anyone but inflicting wounds nonetheless, I can’t imagine that The Denver Post front page would feature an article about what an “all-around great guy” he is. This man is selfish if not sociopathic, obviously has no regard for anyone other than himself, and deserves to be punished for his dangerous behavior. After he is treated, he should be charged for the most callous of reckless behavior in whatever way the law allows.
Cathlynn Groh, Denver
The war in Iraq
Since Gen. David Petraeus took command in Iraq, the number of Americans killed and maimed there has risen dramatically. The Pentagon says this increase is the necessary result of the general’s strategy.
In World War I, British commanders used enlisted men as cannon fodder, killing them by the thousands. It was later said that those doomed British soldiers were “lions led by donkeys.” When I was in the military, we were taught that U.S. generals would never use the “donkey” strategy. That was before Gen. Petraeus took command.
Sen. Wayne Allard and other Coloradans who support the “surge” need to tell us honestly: Do they accept this sharp increase in American deaths? Does Sen. Allard back the general’s troop-killer strategy?
Thomas Reid, Denver
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Rep. Diana DeGette recently held a town hall meeting at Windsor Gardens in Denver. At this meeting, she stated that she believed it was wrong to invade Iraq, and that is why she voted against giving the president authorization to do so. However, she says she continues to vote for funding for the troops because it is necessary to support the troops. She also stated that if we elect a Democratic president in 2008, he or she will bring the troops home.
It appears to me that she thinks the purpose of the troops in Iraq is to support the Democratic Party, not the other way around.
Thomas Kelly, Englewood
Day laborers in Aurora
Re: “Day-labor gathering a sore spot,” May 31 news story.
Why can some problems be solved by “market forces,” but others can’t? We seem complacent enough to think that chronic poverty will be resolved by free markets. But when it involves someone who might be here illegally (without any proof of that suspicion), the market and old-fashioned competition are no longer viable.
The situation in Aurora has come to a head over a private business owner offering her private property to individuals to wait for people who might hire them for a day or two. The business owner takes nothing from anyone in return. The workers are able to negotiate directly for a wage that is presumably greater than what they would be paid through an employment agency, and the people hiring them are able to pay a wage less than what they would likely pay an agency.
The municipal code being bandied about regulates the distance between fee-based employment businesses. There is only one fee-based employment agency on the block.
For those concerned about links to immigration, they might better consider the effects of the free market on economically motivated migration from countries caught in the tangled web of free-trade agreements.
Harriet Mullaney, Denver
Coyotes in the suburbs
Re: “Suburban pet peeve: coyotes,” May 31 news story.
If coyotes are running around neighborhoods and eating pets, it is not the coyotes’ fault. Developers continue to build condos and homes at a record pace, encroaching on and destroying the land that wild animals need for hunting. Anyone who lets a pet outside alone to run is always putting the animal at risk, whether it be the wheels of a car or a hungry wild animal. God made all creatures, and a coyote has as much right to survive as we do. It is obvious that just because humans “think,” it doesn’t mean we’re the intelligent species.
Janice Mendelson, Lone Tree
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