Email letters, August 2, 2012

By Staff
Thursday, August 2, 2012

Change needs to come before hoping that economy will improve

I want to believe the sorry state of the U.S. economy happened by “accident,” and that it’s the result of well-intentioned policies that didn’t work. But to believe that I must also believe a “smart” man was blindsided by what can happen when those policies fail.

In other words, a grand experiment went wrong, morphing into the “accident” we see all around us. But I can’t believe any rational thinking person would tolerate the same “accident” over and over. That could tag you as being stupid.

Since I believe the president is a smart man and don’t believe he’s stupid or irrational, I must conclude he intended to enact his policies regardless of outcome. In other words, an “on purpose.”

I wonder sometimes what other “on purposes” are planned?  If he gets four more years, I guess we’ll find out.

I hope the economy improves over time and I’m confident it will. But first, we need to CHANGE some things.

AL CARLEY
Grand Junction

Fruita police chief premature in decisions about Wright

Your recent editorial of Aug. 1 (Integrity, not tardiness, is the issue for Wright) and the related articles motivated me to do my own investigation. Subsequently, I obtained a copy of Chief Angelo’s memo (dated July 6) and compared it with the editorial and news articles.

What I found was disturbing. Yes, Officer Wright was less than candid on the incident, but so was the chief. In his memo the chief used the phrases “I believe,” “we believed” and “my belief” to justify the termination of Officer Wright. The use of those phrases brings up a reasonable doubt issue.

Additionally, during the July 9 meeting, if as reported, the chief told the officer he only had the options of resigning or being fired. The chief was remiss in failing to tell the officer there was an option to appeal the decision.

Also, the chief’s statement that he was legally bound to release the “Brady Advisement” to the DA’s office was only partially true. During the appeal process the officer could have been exonerated. Therefore, the “Brady issue” would not be an issue at all.

Unfortunately, the chief acted prematurely when he sent it out on July 6, before the officer had been officially notified of his impending termination. The officer was still within the time limits of an appeal, and the time limits of the appeal process (which could take weeks, if not months).

It seems, in regard to this issue, integrity is a two-way street.

GARY PARROTT
Grand Junction

Federal taxes tarnish Olympians’ gold medals

You would think that either of our senators or our congressman would try and pass a resolution that no true amateur winning medals in the Olympics would have to pay taxes on the value of those medals.

As I understand it, if Missy Franklin is successful enough to win a few more medals, she would owe the IRS more than $30,000 in income tax.

Not much thanks from a grateful nation.

L.W. HUNLEY
Grand Junction

Stories on Olympics belong on sports pages, not on front page

It seems very insensitive to splash on the front page the item about Jordan Weiber when she had a bad day. I am sure she felt bad enough without you splashing it on the front page in supersized letters as your lead story.

She was a strong contributor to our “fabulous five” when the team won the gold medal at the Olympics after a long, long drought. You chose to put this victory on the sports page (which is where all sports items belong), rather than the front page in supersized letters

I know this won’t change the way you exploit embarrassing items and hide exceptional ones, but I want you to know that this type of decision is the reason many people, including myself, regard newspaper reporters and editors just above trial lawyers but below politicians.

ROBERT CAMPBELL
Battlement Mesa

‘Doctor’ says renaming monument to increase tourism is a mistake

The idea of changing the Colorado National Monument to a national park is strangely reminiscent of the new title for Mesa State College.

Historically, when a college was designated a university, it was because it was fairly large and offered a diversity of programs. Likewise, national parks have tended to be larger, and they offer much more diversity of landscapes than the monument. Compare it to Yellowstone or Yosemite.

It seems that nowadays we can assign whatever title we want to something, for the sake of marketing. So, while I’ve never earned my doctorate, I’ve decided to go with the title of “Dr.”

There are reasons why CU and CMU don’t both deserve the status of university. Let’s not make the same mistake with the monument just to increase tourism/business.

DAVE POLING
Grand Junction

Large crowds at Chick-fil-A show taste for free speech right

As I sat in line this afternoon waiting to enter the Chick-fil-A parking lot, I was reminded of how history records various movements initiated by the single action of an individual.

Most recently, last year we witnessed how the Arab Spring was given birth by a lone fruit merchant in Tunisia who set himself on fire in the town square. Mohamed Bouazizi took such action in outrage over confiscation of his wares by a municipal official and her aids. His solitary action of defiance encouraged other Arab countries to stand up for their rights, resulting in the overthrow of the governments in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and now possibly Syria.

I believe most thinking people, regardless of their political persuasion, would agree that the upcoming presidential election is perhaps the most important one in our lifetime, both as individuals and for our nation.

It would appear that Gov. Huckabee reawakened a sleeping giant in his call for America to support the right of Dan Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A, to voice his personal opposition to same sex marriage. The mayors of Chicago and Boston condemned him for doing so and stated that Chick-fil-A was not welcomed in their towns.

Furthermore, Rahm Emanual, mayor of Chicago, stated that Cathy’s values do not reflect Chicago’s values. So be it.

On Nov. 6, we may look back upon Aug. 1 as the day the balance scales tilted back toward the values most Americans support, the main one at issue being our right to free speech without being threatened or intimidated by government officials.

I am proud of Cathy and all those who demonstrated their support for our right to free speech. I hope and pray that historians will be able to acknowledge this as the day Americans began taking back our country.

GLENN T. KIMBROUGH
Grand Junction

Sentinel should ask Romney why women still considered second-class citizens

While “all politics is local,” the Sentinel’s list of questions for visiting President Obama and his presumptive Republican opponent (“Questions, gentlemen” on Aug. 2) seem overly parochial in light of the larger issues facing our nation –- such as, where is the money to come from?
Thus, although unreported by the Sentinel (not “news”?), with multiple provisions of the Affordable Care Act taking effect this month, the Sentinel’s editors should ask Romney why he accepts men’s “right” to Viagra while vowing to repeal women’s access to preventative medical care, including:
•      FDA-approved contraceptive methods and counseling
•      annual well visits;
•      mammograms and colonoscopies with no co-payments
•      screening for gestational diabetes
•      HPV testing
•      counseling for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV
•      support, supplies and counseling for breast-feeding
•      screening and counseling for domestic violence

There are reportedly 14 other preventive care services for women and pregnant women under the ACA, so the Sentinel should also ask Romney why he would deny women access to these now-mandated benefits.
Likewise, given the reported facts that Romney submitted 23 years of tax returns to the McCain campaign in 2008 (when he wanted to be McCain’s running mate) and – perhaps legally—paid no federal income taxes for some 10 years (prompting McCain to select the unqualified – per Dick Cheney—Sarah Palin ), the Sentinel should ask Romney why he won’t release those tax returns, even if only to provide a template for tax code reform.

While Romney accepts prescriptive treatment of male erectile dysfunction with Viagra, he would deny a woman’s right to an abortion – even in the cases of rape, incest, child polygamy and/or the health of the woman – when “boys will be boys.” Thus, the Sentinel should ask Romney whether his Mormonism – or just his Republicanism—requires him to treat women as second-class citizens.

BILL HUGENBERG
Grand Junction

Sen. King disappointed in front-page coverage of Kelly Sloan’s residency status

I could have not been more disappointed with the Sentinel’s journalistic scraping of the bottom of the barrel when what was thought to be a private Facebook venting by a frustrated and unhappy wife became a front-page, above-the-fold personal attack on a conservative volunteer and political writer in the Monday edition. 

Is Kelly Sloan really that big of a concern to the Sentinel and its subscribers that it warrants a front-page story filled with little more than speculation and questions surrounding his personal life? 

If the Sentinel had a true public policy interest in this area, it would voice its outrage at the time, bureaucratic-invoked frustration, lawyers fees and big-government complexity of trying to become a legal American citizen at a time when so many do it the easy and illegal way. 

What provoked this keen interest in private matters unrelated to any valid public policy topic? Could it be Sloan’s affiliation with Americans for Prosperity that triggered this National Inquirer tactic of using his wife’s personal Facebook page for unflattering information? 

Either way, I think most reasonable Coloradans would agree it was completely uncalled for. The Sentinel should strive for a higher and broader standard of public policy debate than what we see in the checkout line at the grocery store.

SEN. STEVE KING
Grand Junction