Letters: 9/8/16

Colorado Secretary of State fails to protect Colorado citizens
On Sept. 4, 2016, it was reported that natural gas emissions surpassed coal according to the U.S. Department of Energy. On Sept. 3, 2016, a magnitude -5.6 earthquake shook Oklahoma; tying the record for the strongest quake to ever hit Oklahoma and, in response, Oklahoma regulators shut down 37 wastewater wells connected to fracking.

For the past few months, Coloradans gathered signatures in order to place ballot Initiatives 75 and 78, in an effort to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people by restricting fracking in Colorado. However, on Aug. 29, 2016, the Colorado Secretary of State, after a “random sampling,” arbitrarily decided that the anti-fracking initiatives will not make it onto the ballot.

This unjust and corrupt miscarriage of justice must be challenged in court. Much like the Colorado Supreme Court, the Colorado Secretary of State decided that profits from fracking trumped the heath, safety and welfare of the people of Colorado.

It is clear, that the oil and gas industry has declared war on Colorado and that the Colorado Secretary of State and Colorado Supreme Court will not protect the people from this significant risk to our health and environment.

Now, the people of Colorado must help themselves and confront this existential threat and act in self-defense. Weibo Ludwig of Calgary, Canada fought back by pouring cement down wellhead shafts and blew up other wells. Malcolm X said: “I don’t even call it violence when it’s in self defense; I call it intelligence.”
Andrew J. O’Connor/Lafayette

Lies and damn lies
No tax proposal is perfect. Especially when the uber wealthy are the ones who can afford tax planners to sift through the millions of tax code regulations. And we all know there is crony capitalism and corruption and theft that should be punished.

But Jim Hightower, in his recent column,  fails to acknowledge that most wealthy people DO work (hard), that money they’ve earned and invested has already been taxed several times along the way, that capital gains are taxed but during that same year often capital losses are not deductible, that only lower and middle income earners get any benefit from the tax codes and other federal government programs such as needs-based Pell grants, etc.

Taxing inheritance creates a disincentive to save money, punishing people who have chosen to give their children money they could have blown on things they perhaps don’t need. It punishes the very risks (investments) that drive our economy and innovation.

Hightower fails to mention that itemization is a choice for anyone who would prefer or benefit from doing so, and the plan to allow childcare deductions would bump many into that category.

I sense envy and class warfare in Jim Hightower’s editorial. Whether your sandwich is large or small, you don’t deserve to have it stolen by a wasteful and corrupt bully (federal government)… besides, it is these very uber wealthy who share their sandwiches willingly, heavily supporting the charitable organizations that help those who need it. Ugly envy.
Karen Lin/Longmont

Yes on 69
The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center very enthusiastically supports ColoradoCare, Amendment 69, Colorado’s chance for single-payer health care. The authors, organizers and volunteers who have worked so diligently to get Amendment 69 on the ballot have provided voters an opportunity to ensure COMPREHENSIVE, QUALITY, ACCESSIBLE, LIFETIME HEALTH CARE FOR EVERY COLORADO RESIDENT regardless of financial circumstance. And because Amendment 69 was written so as to eliminate layers of bureaucracy and reduce administrative and other non-medical costs, ColoradoCare will cost less than the current system.

It is undeniably a dream coming true to have the prospect for all people in Colorado to have affordable access to the health care for themselves and their families. At the same time, it is extremely disturbing to us that the ban on public funding for abortions remains in place. Because of that, full reproductive rights are denied to those without the funds to pay for an abortion.

Just as we are committed to working to ensure the passage of Amendment 69, we pledge to continue to work to remove the ban on public funding for abortions, so that the right to an abortion is as available to women in Colorado as all other health care services.

The full facts about Amendment 69 are at: www.ColoradoCareYes.com

Please join us in supporting Amendment 69. It is imperative that we do so, now.
Betty Ball, for the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center

A recall to duty for Veterans
As a veteran of the United States Air Force, I am thoroughly disappointed with and betrayed by what I see going on in America. The levels of corruption and abuse of power at the highest levels of our national government trouble me. I asked myself what I can possibly do as a veteran to continue to honor the oath I took many years ago to support and defend the Constitution.

Recently, I learned about a nationwide effort to rein in the power and jurisdiction of the federal government and return much of this power back to the state governments and to the people — in other words, to rebalance power between the state and federal governments originally intended in the Constitution by America’s Founding Fathers. This nationwide effort, called Convention of States (COS) Project (www.conventionofstates.com), also seeks to require the federal government to operate under a true balanced budget requirement as well as the merits of term limits (total years of service limitation) on members of Congress and federal judges.

THIS is an effort I needed to learn more about, which I eventually did. I am now an active supporter of the COS Project, and I urge all my fellow veterans to take that first step to become educated about this nonpartisan effort. Support for the COS Project by veterans could prove crucial to its success, because we represent the 7 percent of Americans who were prepared to give the last measure of devotion in support of our Constitution. In addition to the above website, inquiries or requests for group presentations about the COS Project can be made to [email protected], or call 719-482-5997.

The COS Project offers veterans another call of duty to support and defend the Constitution. May God continue to bless these United States of America!
Ron Scott/Monument, CO