Tired cry of āsocialismā
Re: āGardner accuses Dems of socialism,ā Aug. 26 news story
The Denver Post revealed its pro-Cory Gardner prejudice in a front-page article on Monday. The article should have been headlined, āGardner rails against Medicare, public schools and universities, libraries, Social Security, police, firefighters and the military.ā
When Gardner claims to be against socialism, he is deprecating all of these essential services. These governmental safety-net programs provide Americans with the assurance of a safe and stable society. Gardner and his colleagues should be required to state their long-term plans for American āsocialistā safety-net programs.
Health care is a right, not a privilege, available in most developed societies. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides Americans with a choice to use private health insurance programs with federal subsidies. Gardner and his Republican colleagues want to eliminate the ACA, and replace it with private insurance only, and give back to private insurance businesses the power to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, or to charge women 150% of the insurance costs of men. As a cancer survivor, I am appalled at this prospect.
Joan Gosink, Golden
I have been calling Cory Gardnerās offices for five months asking if the bailouts to farmers because of Trumpās failed tariff policies are socialist policies. While he is quick to accuse Democrats of āsocialism,ā He has never answered my question. I would appreciate it if The Denver Post could get us an answer.
Jim Blugerman, Georgetown
Overly optimistic for our planet
Re: āWhy doom and gloom wonāt help fight climate change,ā Aug. 25 commentary
The optimism expressed by the citation of American bald eagle population decline and recovery does not apply to the issue of climate change. Climate change is a massive global issue which might be reversed by coordinated international action. Each day of business as usual means greenhouse gas concentrations rise, to remain for centuries.
America has only two political parties capable of setting a national agenda. One promotes an economy that increases these gases. The other is afraid to feature this existential issue. The voting populace is filled with climate deniers and climate delayers, who either willfully or passively keep us on a course for an uninhabitable planet. The 2020 election, whether one recognizes it or not, is a climate election, as will be every subsequent election.
Vote as if your life depends on it.
David Schroeder, Aurora
Re: āRecyclers are reeling from a crushing blow,ā Aug. 25 news story, and āScientists: It¶¶Ņõap āraining plasticā …ā Aug. 16 news story
Society has long ignored ā externalized ā its trash. Witness midden piles in prehistoric cultures. Now we try to internalize it in the market place by recycling. The reality is that our over-consumption and the resultant plastic avalanche has forced recyclers into an unsustainable situation. It is delusional to imagine that other nations want our waste when in reality it is killing sea life and birds in the faraway Pacific Ocean Midway Islands. And now we learn recently that a purple rain of plastic bits is falling on ourselves.
As a concerned 75-year-old liberal-minded fellow, I feel society must admit to itself it needs to internalize its plastic fantastic love affair by absorbing all the costs (i.e., tax ourselves) and put all of the plastic into underground municipal pits here in Denver. I only recycle cardboard, paper and glass. Donātā believe the myth of plastic recycling. Yep, it does last āforever.ā
Larry Kline, Lakewood
