We could have prevented the vengeance that harms our states
Re: “Trump vetoes bill to fund pipeline,” Jan. 1 news story
In his epic recounting of the AIDS crisis in “And the Band Played On,” Randy Schilts wrote, “Politics knows only two principles: loyalty and revenge.”
Congress did its job, writing a bipartisan bill to ensure clean water to southeast Colorado. However, Trump is angry at Lauren Boebert for demanding the release of the Epstein files and he is mad because Tina Peters is getting the justice she deserves.
Even worse, southeast Colorado is strong Republican territory. Trump hurt his own constituents.
If the Republicans in the Senate had done the right thing at both of Trump’s impeachment hearings, he never would have run for a second term. It’s brutally apparent — and this began with Watergate — that Republicans are the “win elections at any and all costs” party.
The only way for this to stop is a massive blue wave at the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election.
Mike Filion, Lakewood
Re: “Veto is Trump’s latest targeted hit on Colorado water,” Jan. 2 news story
The article described Donald Trump’s latest targeted hits on Colorado. It was suggested that some Colorado Republicans blame our state’s Democratic leaders for provoking Trump’s wrath. Examples provided were Attorney General Phil Weiser’s 49 lawsuits against the administration and Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s rejection of requests from the Justice Department to share sensitive voter information.
Totally irrelevant! No president of our United States should exact any wrath against any state at any time for any reason. Full stop!
Terri Tilliss, Parker
As a registered Republican and longtime Coloradan, it pains me to hear you, President Trump, ridicule our state. Our very intelligent voters, jurors, and even our immigrants understand things like the Constitution and even the way birds die ( a billion deaths a year from Buildings!) at a much higher level than our country’s leader. Please pick up a book, a newspaper (like our Denver Post), or watch a PBS show like “Nova.”
Tina Peters broke the law, and jurors, likely many Republicans given the district, found her guilty. She is where she belongs. Pay attention to the important things of running a country.
Steve Lorenz, Littleton
We do not need the DNC in Denver to boost the mayor
Re: “Denver seeks to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention,” Jan. 4 news story
We are living in an attention economy where attention drives capital at least as much as capital drives attention, but national attention will not make Denver vibrant.
Denver’s Vail-to-Yale mayor wants you to believe hosting the DNC would be “for Denver.” Denverites are smarter than that. We know the play, and it isn’t that attention will put money in our pockets. Itap that our public dollars will buy attention — political capital — for Johnston. No one who actually reads The Denver Post is gullible enough to believe the federal government under Donald Trump will backstop a DNC, let alone a DNC in Denver, the way it did for Chicago under Joe Biden, right?
After all, since Mayor Mike Johnston has pitched Denver’s bid, the Trump administration has announced plans to freeze $10 billion in funding for childcare subsidies, social services and cash support for low-income families in five states controlled by Democrats, including Colorado, claiming widespread fraud throughout those states.
Letap be honest with ourselves and clear-eyed about what Denver’s mayor is proposing. Hosting the DNC won’t fix downtown. It won’t deliver “vibrancy.” Hell, it won’t even generate meaningfully more direct consumer spending than Taylor Swiftap two Denver Eras Tour shows did in 2023 — estimated at $201.7 million, per the Common Sense Institute.
Chicago’s 2024 DNC generated only $200 million in direct spending, as The Denver Post re-reported. Denver already hosts big events that drive hundreds of millions in spending. We don’t need to subsidize a political spectacle to appease Johnston’s ego.
Hosting the DNC is a distraction that neither Denver nor an administration with a poor fiscal-management track record, scrambling to close a massive budget gap with layoffs and furloughs, can afford.
Greg Whitman, Creede
Xcel’s power move was the right call
Re: “Xcel’s power shutdown in Boulder County was unacceptable,” Jan. 4 commentary, “,” Jan. 4 commentary and “Implementing power outages doesn’t solve Xcel’s underlying safety issues,” letter to the editor
There is much vitriol aimed at Xcel for the recent power outages. The guest commentary in Sunday’s paper wrote, “The shutdown appears to have been a precautionary measure to limit Xcel Energy’s liability should aging or insufficiently maintained power lines fail and spark a fire.” I saw photos of power poles toppled by the wind. The poles did not look aged.
Many people seem to think the outages were performed only to limit liability. Of course this is a component, but the actions were to prevent another fire, perhaps not of Marshall proportions, but any fire.
Directly adjacent to this commentary was an article detailing how recovery from the Marshall fire is far from complete, with issues not limited to rebuilding but including the state of survivors’ physical, mental, and economic health.
For the first author attacking Xcel to state that there have been stronger wind events in Boulder, you can proclaim that there has never been an incident until there is. Thatap what happened Dec. 30, 2021.
For people who say there was no wind in their area, do you know about meteorological data collection, how the grid is set up, and what is involved in shutting off areas?
For the letter writer who states that “Xcel needs to be held responsible for improving and upgrading their infrastructure (at their expense)” — read our expense. Could the process have been managed better? Yes. Were the outages damaging to many? Yes. But this does not compare to what we witnessed four years ago.
C. Greenman, Lakewood
Anything bad can happen in gubernatorial race
Re: “Oltmann for Colo. governor? Spare us,” Jan. 4 commentary
As much as I admit to Krista Kafer’s integrity, I think she is in need of a reality check. Joe Oltmann for Colorado governor, or someone who shares his beliefs, is not so far-fetched.
Your once proud Republican brand is now morally bankrupt. It has now become the party of insurrection and sedition, election interference and delusional election peddlers, Trump loyalists and toadies.
If mainstream Republicans and right-leaning unaffiliated voters had any scruples, Trump would not have been elected for a second term.
Unserious candidates, I think not. Those who peddle conspiracy theories, defame innocent Americans and wish death upon their political rivals are parroting their maximum leader. Think again, Krista.
Leonard Juliano, Arvada
Follow the Firewise guidelines in home construction
As an insurance agent in Colorado for well over 20 years, I am very well-versed in Colorado’s guidelines, which are recognized by most, if not all, municipalities and insurance companies as the most effective guide for preventing fires and mitigating fire damage.
I have heard many comments over the past three years regarding what started the fire and whose fault it is. But, I have never heard one comment about the building codes and how close we allow homes to be built.
In new areas, builders erect homes that are, in many cases, less than 15 feet apart. Firewise guidelines for homeowners state a minimum of 30′ of defensible space around your home. Insurance companies use these same numbers when considering whether to issue or renew an insurance policy.
Plus, there are many other recommendations about what can surround your property as far out as 100 feet.
So, until our city planners really want to get serious about fire control and mitigation, and start by requiring a greater distance between new construction, we will see this same disaster occur again. And the likelihood that a change in building codes and zoning requirements will happen is zero, as too much money is involved for everyone concerned,
except for the end user, which is the homeowner.
It’s time we stop speaking out of both sides of our mouths and get real about making a change that will matter.
Bob Lowry, Highlands Ranch
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