What exactly is the meaning of “gay rights”?
Re: “An obsession over rights: Who’s right?,” Aug. 22 Al Knight column.
Al Knight proclaims, “‘Gay rights’ is an empty term. It means everything and it means nothing.”
Gay rights is certainly not an empty term for the thousands of people who fear losing their jobs simply because of who they love. It is still legal in 33 states to fire someone because of their sexual orientation. Nor is it an empty term for a gay couple wanting to provide a child with a loving, supportive home. Nebraska, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah all have laws restricting adoption by same-sex couples. Should we tell victims of violent attacks they are “obsessed over rights” for advocating to include protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in already-existing hate crime legislation?
Mr. Knight grossly oversimplifies the complexities of our social climate by claiming the LGBT community is fighting for a vague set of rights. Every state in the union is having meaningful and detailed public discussions about issues affecting gay Americans, from freedom to marry to anti-discrimination policies. These discussions differ state-to-state because the laws, political climates and social attitudes are varied. At the end of the day, however, these conversations are about one thing: providing equal rights to all Americans.
Ben Fractenberg, Media Field Coordinator, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), New York
Mallard Fillmore cartoon lampooning liberals
Re: Aug. 22 Mallard Fillmore cartoon.
Bruce Tinsley is entirely out of touch with his Mallard Fillmore cartoons. Wednesday’s cartoon was not instructive, funny or responsible. I do not see any political balance on Mallard Fillmore’s watch. I do see Tinsley disenfranchising himself from any mainstream dialogue with his inane, petty “liberal” bashing.
A preponderance of Americans are disgusted by the war in Iraq, by the false pretenses that took us into this quagmire, and the very real fact that our brave men in uniform are dying. This disgusted majority includes liberals, independents, Democrats and Republicans alike who are tired of paying $3,800 per second to fund this war, while American jobs go overseas and home foreclosures are skyrocketing.
Meanwhile, Dick Cheney is making a financial killing through Halliburton. Dick Cheney is making money through war profiteering. Isn’t there something funny about that? Isn’t that more informative than another one of Tinsley’s tired, unfunny cartoons?
Jordan Honig, Arvada
…
I noticed the Mallard Fillmore cartoon on Wednesday and wondered out loud how The Denver Post can continue to pay for these anti-intellectual jabs. The cartoon asserts that people who have degrees know nothing about life, and that these people’s opinions should automatically be discounted with a negative “liberal” label.
A liberal education, self-taught or learned in school, is something every free citizen needs in order to hunt and gather their rights and protect their share of prosperity in a democracy. Otherwise, someone will take it away from them, all the while making them feel good about the loss. Why are we losing the battle to improve K-12 education? It’s because of parental perspectives fostered by cartoons like this.
Erik Moore, Denver
President’s comparison of Iraq to Vietnam War
Re: “Historians slice Bush Vietnam analogy,” Aug. 23 news story
George W. Bush has said in the past, in response to criticism of his policies and of him personally, that history will vindicate him. This week, in a speech to a VFW audience, he drew parallels to the recent history of the Vietnam War in an attempt to justify his chosen course in Iraq.
If he was comparing the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the preposterous tales of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, he was right. Both were flagrant ruses to scare the American people into accepting wars that were later proven to be based on flimsy evidence.
If Mr. Bush really wanted to learn from Vietnam, he would pull our soldiers out of Iraq and not wait for the inevitable scenes of helicopters rescuing U.S. embassy staff. But I think the American people know from the history of the last six years that that will never happen.
Robert J. Kimber, Highlands Ranch
…
From the articles and opinion pieces in The Denver Post this week, it is clear that the Bush administration has geared up its propaganda machine to justify our continued military presence and the recent surge in Iraq.
Mr. Bush called upon the ghosts of the Vietnam War and our collective angst of failure. These spirits are best left undisturbed. We fought in Vietnam because of a fear of the rise in communism in the region, but we are fighting in Iraq because of our fear of higher oil prices.
U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat, reversed his position on Iraq this week, and said we now have a strategic interest in Iraq. Oil always trumps political ideology. With the Bush propaganda machine in full tilt and U.S. representatives like Baird supporting the effort, we and the Iraqi people are in for more suffering before we see relief from this travesty.
Gregory Sullivan, Littleton
“Public” smoking ban
Re: “Fundamental problem with Colorado smoking ban,” Aug. 22 letter to the editor.
Regarding the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, letter-writer Ross Kaminsky stated that “a restaurant, bar or casino is no more a public place than is my office or even my home.” Boy is that an apples and avocados comparison. When a business opens its doors to the public, as does a “restaurant, bar or casino,” it comes under a whole different set of rules.
Besides that, I don’t think Mr. Kaminsky’s office or home has health inspectors making regular visits as they do in a “restaurant, bar or casino” to hopefully ensure the cleanliness of what we are being served. And aren’t we all glad they do?
Stace Tackaberry, Breckenridge
Where are the U.S. experts explaining the weather?
I spent my July vacation in England, where they experienced terrific storms and serious flooding, causing huge property losses. I read the Telegraph newspaper every day to follow the story, much as I am doing with our current flooding in the Midwest. Here’s what I notice that is different. The news coverage in the U.K. included “expert” interviews explaining how, despite an overall drying trend in the country, climate change and rising ocean temperatures have caused and will continue to cause more severe storms.
Why is this not a discussion we are willing to have in our country? This is necessary information for people to have as they consider how and where to rebuild. Even if a person is unwilling to believe that the current warming is due, in part, to human activity, it is difficult to deny that climate change is altering our weather. Please connect the dots for the people who need to have this information.
Carol Farina, Lakewood
Online extras
For more letters to the editor, go to
To send a letter
E-mail: openforum@denverpost.com (only straight text, not attachments)
Mail: The Open Forum, The Denver Post, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 600, Denver, 80202
Fax: 303-954-1502
Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 200 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.
To reach us by phone: 303-954-1331
