Letters: 1/23/20

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Danish wrong on Iran

I found the article in the Jan. 15, 2020 by Paul Danish (Re: “Trump puts a horse head in the Ayatollah’s bed,” Danish Plan) to be a new low in what has been a continuing erosion of what used to be a very intelligent man. He should no longer have a column.

The assassination of another country’s main leaders is irresponsible and dangerous and only enhances the position of the hard liners in Iran. But I don’t need to tell either one of you that.

Another old white man gets to macho up in his best Clint Eastwood copy with phrases like “greasing Iranian General Qasem Soleimani” or “Trump offed him.” It exposes Danish’s underlying racism towards people from the Middle East. That is the same kind of language white supremacists used after the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Somehow you want the world to change, yet you keep doing the same old thing.

Michael Smith/Boulder

Danish and Iran, cont’d

So now Danish is telling us that the POTUS thinks and behaves like an unhinged, out of control and amoral sociopath gangster; not, in fact, a great deal unlike General Soleimani himself. OK sure, I can see the similarities. But tell me again, Paul, why it is that, as an American, this is something for which I should feel pride?

Mike DeLang/Coal Creek Canyon

Fair trial

The Constitution states that the Senate must judge the conduct of the president once he has been impeached by the House. President Trump has been impeached by the House; and now the Senate must decide whether he should be removed from office. 

Colorado’s senators must do all they can to ensure that the trial is a fair one. They must examine all the evidence (and that includes hearing from witnesses); and they must be impartial. I know that will be difficult. 

Having been born and raised in Colorado, and having resided in Boulder since 2008, I know about the deep partisan divisions in our state. The best of our leaders have risen above self and party and have done what is best for the country.

Senators Bennet and Gardner must follow their example. Voters such as myself are paying attention; and after the senate’s decision, we will vote only for those who judged wisely and fairly.

James Maguire/Boulder

Great perspective

Fascinating insight into how our country robbed former slaves in the South of their rights as U.S. citizens for 100 years (Re: “History is in the telling,” Anderson Files, Dec. 26, 2019). Who won the war? Those who wrote the history.        

Bruce J. Kreutzer/via internet

Americans don’t want
another war

Trump’s actions have led us to the brink of war with Iran. From withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal to extrajudicially assassinating Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and keeping up a campaign of maximum pressure, Trump and his cabinet are beating the drums of war. 

The Trump Administration did NOT inform Congress of this strike. House Representatives and Senators are all putting forth bills to limit the president’s ability to start a war, and it’s critical we support these bills. Bills like Rep. Slotkin and Sen. Kaine’s, which has passed in the House, and reasserts Congress’s oversight responsibilities by mandating the administration’s hostility against Iran cease within 30 days. Sen. Sanders and Rep. Khanna have also introduced the No War Against Iran Act, which prohibits funding for the Pentagon to launch any use of force against Iran. 

Trump keeps saying Iran will never have a nuclear weapon… but he withdrew from the Iran deal. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was a multilateral agreement that limited Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon and allowed multiple countries to verify they were playing by the rules. Trump backed out of this agreement, and Iran is starting to increase their capabilities now. However, most experts agree Iran is many months to years away from a nuclear weapon. 

The American people do not want to be dragged into another decades-long, costly war. The cost of war with Iran could easily cover Medicare for all, universal pre-K, or free college educations. We don’t want another bloody and expensive war, we want people and peace to be put first. 

Elise Kimball/Louisville

Trouble in the air

The Indian Peaks and James Peak Wilderness Areas are two of the most popular wilderness areas in Colorado because of the spectacular scenery and proximity to the Denver area.  They are visited by tens of thousands of people every year. The serenity of the wilderness has been severely impacted by a radical decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to reroute thousands of flights over these areas. They decided to dramatically change flight paths from Denver International Airport; they say to save fuel and reduce the carbon footprint. They did this with inadequate analysis and public input. Their own data in the Environmental Impact Statement shows no significant savings of fuel, carbon or time. The previous flight paths were fine.

The new low flight paths have caused severe noise pollution in the Indian Peaks and James Peak Wilderness Areas that are now subject to dozens of low flying jet aircraft all day everyday. The altitude of these areas, 12,000 to 13,000 feet, the noise pollution is severe. The low planes have also impact Boulder and Gilpin County towns. This decision is not the best alternative; by definition wilderness is supposed to stay untrammeled by man. It took decades for citizens and Congress to designate this wilderness for everyone. The previous dispersed flight paths were fair and were working.

The number of planes makes the jet noise constant throughout the day in both the wilderness. It is critical that the FAA re-evaluate this radical impact and dramatically increase the elevation of the planes to least 20,000 feet or reroute them to their original flight paths. United and Southwest Airlines were part of this backroom decision and should be contacted about their part in violating the spirit of the Wilderness Act. Contact your Congress person and ask for additional protection of Wilderness.

Alan Apt/Nederland

Bernie is a sure loser

Bernie Sanders has no realistic chance of being elected president. If you actually want to see Medicare for All implemented, vote for Elizabeth Warren. Sen. Warren can win, whereas Sanders is a sure loser.

Until these myopic, naive Bernie Bros can satisfactorily explain how Sanders would be able to successfully defend his anti-American political activities during the first half of his life (which would certainly be highlighted and scrutinized by the GOP in a general election), non-Democrat Sanders should end his doomed presidential candidacy now. 

For instance, Sanders is on the record repeatedly having unreservedly and uncritically lauded lavish public praise on anti-American communist dictators like Daniel Ortega and Fidel Castro. (Have you ever watched Bernie’s infamous videotaped interviews on these subjects from Aug. 8, 1985 and from June 13, 1988?  You should.)

Then of course there was Bernie Sanders’ still inadequately explained 1988 marital honeymoon in the Soviet Union, where upon returning to Vermont the Marxist socialist Sanders predictably and pathetically voiced his unabashed praise for the Soviet system.

Less well known is the fact that in 1963 Sanders lived and worked for several months on a Stalinist commune near Haifa in Northern Israel that explicitly saw the Soviet Union as its political role model. 

And then there’s that bizarre, incredibly disturbing “rape fantasy” article that Sanders wrote which was published in 1972 when Sanders was a 30-year-old far-Left Marxist gubernatorial candidate in Vermont.  

Get a clue, Bernie Bros, Sen. Sanders is a sure loser in a general election, which is why (in addition to the 78-year-old’s recent heart attack) Sanders should drop out of the presidential race immediately.

Losing in 2020 is not an option. Democrats must nominate a candidate who can actually win.

Jake Pickering/internet