Kristi Burton’s push to outlaw abortion in Colo.
Re: “‘Personhood’ amendment proposed for ’08 state ballot,” July 29 Open Forum.
It is the height of arrogance and insult for letter-writer E. Gardner to state that because Kristi Burton is a teenager, she doesn’t have the capacity to understand the abortion issue the way an older, and supposedly wiser person would. Nineteen-year-old Kristi Burton, with the help of attorney Mark Meuser, is seeking to change our state constitution to define life as starting at conception. There are millions of Americans, from very young to very old and every age in between, who agree with Kristi; it has nothing to do with age. I applaud this courageous young woman.
Kathy Cain, Yampa
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I applaud you, Kristine Burton! Your generation is proud of you, including the millions who died at the hands of abortionists. Thank you for standing against the injustice done to the most vulnerable of all persons. Thank you for your bravery and your fervor in your youth; you are hope to all of us who recognize the dignity of all life.
There is no choice or freedom in life because our existence was never our choice, nor the choice of anyone else. Sure, one can increase the probability of children by engaging in sexual intercourse, but that doesn’t guarantee pregnancy. There are plenty of people who try very hard but cannot conceive. And life does not end by choice. Certainly, one’s choices can drastically increase the chance of death, but still there is no guarantee. There are those who try to end their lives but fail, those who struggle to live but die. Our society doesn’t respect that, and that is a shame.
I’m glad someone is standing up for the respect of all persons, because you, too, started where those unborn children were at, and you exist because someone recognized that your life was worthwhile.
Laura Gustafson, Fort Collins
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A newborn infant is a person. An infant one hour before birth, on the other side of her mother’s skin, is a person. A month before that, no major changes have occurred that wouldn’t let us call her a person, and she would very likely survive a one-month premature birth. Three or four months before that, when she may or may not be viable outside of her mother’s womb, she is still a person. I can think of no other rational and scientific time to define personhood than the cataclysmic moment when two cells unite and a distinct person begins growing inside her mother’s body.
Maureen Klink, Aurora
The U.S. should put the ball in the Iraqis’ court
Whether, when and how to exit Iraq is the No. 1 issue for the United States. One approach I’ve not heard discussed but seems reasonable to me is: Why not put the ball in their court?
The U.S. should announce that as soon as there have been three weeks (or some other specified length of time) without any roadside bombings or other displays of mass violence against civilians, we will start to withdraw. However, if at any time such activities are resumed, or our departing troops are attacked, we will retaliate with major bombings not necessarily of just the guilty group but more widespread.
If the Iraqi people want us out, they will bring pressure to bear on the more aggressive groups to stop their activities. Such a policy should be given international publicity, so that all countries know our proposal and can decide which side is keeping the war going and keeping the United States forces in Iraq.
Such a plan is not guaranteed to work, but why not give it a try and see what happens? It wouldn’t be worse than the present!
Ruth Haines Purkaple, Denver
Pedestrian bridge nixed, again, at the last minute
The Denver Infrastructure Priorities Task Force’s final list of recommended projects included a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over Interstate 25 to provide connectivity to the RTD light rail station at Colorado Boulevard. Recently, the project was removed from the list of projects to be considered by the City Council Finance Committee today.
This isn’t the first time this much-needed project has seen the ax. Both the T-REX Project and FasTracks removed the bridge from final consideration at the 11th hour. Now, somewhere between the IPTF final recommendations and last month, the bridge was dropped again.
Greenprint Denver calls for “Vibrant, livable urban centers that support walking, biking and mass transit, and that reduce reliance on cars … .” However, when given this opportunity to fund a project that will reduce our reliance on cars, we pass it up.
The city talks a good game about reducing emissions until difficult decisions must be made. Then it pulls a project that would have direct impacts on reducing emissions. This comes at a time when the metro area has recorded its fourth ozone violation, a threat to people’s health that may result in regulatory actions by the EPA.
City Council Finance Committee, please reinstate this project. After all, what is our priority?
David Rapp, Denver
The writer is president of BikeDenver.
Silence of the Line
Re: “Start talking; NFL media policy won’t allow Broncos’ O-line to keep lips zipped,” July 29 sports story.
With interviews of athletes being generally a lot of clichéd blather, I found the silence of the offensive line one of the most inspired and refreshing things about the Broncos. I say: Labor on in anonymity!
Bob Porath, Boulder
It’s only going to get hotter
Re: “Warm waters deadly to Yellowstone trout,” July 29 news story.
First of all, unless there has been a drastic shift in the Earth’s axis, the lead sentence in your story is wrong. The sun could not possibly be “straight overhead” in Yellowstone National Park since that park is north of the Tropic of Cancer line.
But the article does offer an interesting “proof” that the Bible is true. The book of Revelations notes a number of calamities that will strike the Earth in “the end times” – some caused by a hotter sun, some caused extraterrestrial “natural” things (asteroids, comets), some that affect the rivers and streams, some that affect the oceans, some that affect the land. These things have been the subject of movies and TV in recent years.
I am not suggesting that we are currently living in those end times. I am suggesting that, since we are not, things will only get worse – and there is nothing Al Gore or mankind can do to thwart God’s plan.
Robert E. Forman, Lakewood
An “inconvenient” protest
Re: “Iraq war foe gets jail for Udall office sit-in,” July 29 news story.
Carolyn Bninski faces a month in jail for trespassing in Congressman Mark Udall’s office. She “trespassed” for 10 whole minutes, reading names of Iraqi dead. During the trial, Carter Ellison of Udall’s staff referred to the protestors as being “inconvenient.” Makes me wonder what Udall and his staff think about the “inconveniences” the Iraqi people face daily: no clean water, no power, lack of food, lack of health care, and constant fear of death.
It isn’t inconvenient for Udall to continue to fund the Iraq war. I will find it “inconvenient” to vote for Udall for Senate.
Claire Ryder, Denver
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