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This page contains an archive of the last 100 entries posted to ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest in the Opinion category. They are listed from newest to oldest. You can find older entries using the search box below.

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February 29, 2008

Durango Herald Online - Equipping the troops

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=opin&articl...
Reasonable people can differ as to the wisdom of the U.S. invasion of Iraq or the handling of events in the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Certainly what the United States should do about Iraq in the future will be a central issue in this year's presidential election. But there should be no disagreement with the idea that American troops deserve to be provided with adequate tools to defend themselves. And on that point, the United States has failed some of its best and most loyal citizens. The complaint involves an organization not known for whining. A study conducted by Franz Gayl, a retired Marine now serving as a civilian science adviser to the Marine Corps, said that more than 700 Marines have been killed by roadside bombs for lack of properly armored vehicles. Such improvised explosive devices - IEDs - account for something like 60 percent of U.S. casualties in Iraq. At issue is the number of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles - heavily armored trucks referred to as MRAPs - supplied to Marines in Iraq. According to USAToday, Marine commanders in the field urgently requested 1,169 MRAPs in February 2005. The Gayl report says Marine brass ignored the request and instead bought more of the lightly armored Humvees.
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CARROLL: Censor's playground : Columns & Blogs : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/29/carroll-censors-playground/...
Why can't universities debate the limits of acceptable speech without someone urging legal limits, too? It happened again this week during protests over publication of an offensive column on Asians in the University of Colorado's Campus Press. Student government leaders presented Boulder campus Chancellor Bud Peterson with five issues they'd like him to examine - one of which was as outrageous as the column itself. They want the commentary evaluated in light of federal anti-discrimination laws. "Yes, there's the editor, officer, crouching behind the desk! Cuff her!" With thinking like that in vogue, no wonder so many schools have attempted to skirt the Constitution in recent years by passing speech codes. Just last week, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the University of Utah's Department of Housing and Residential Education backtracked, under pressure, from a policy that had barred the posting of any material "deemed to be racist, sexist, indecent, scandalous, illegal, inciting, advertise alcohol or illegal substances, or in any way oppressive in nature." Don't you just love the phrases "deemed to be" and "in any way oppressive in nature"? Peterson's no fool. He'll bide his time and then politely inform the students that federal law does not, after all, prohibit ugly, offensive commentary. He may even cite that pesky old mandate known as the First Amendment. The protesters did offer at least one idea that makes sense: Consider recommendations expected from the journalism school dean to restructure oversight of the Campus Press.
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David Sirota - The new, permanent campaign - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8398971...
In 1976, a young political consultant named Patrick Caddell sent a memo to Jimmy Carter telling the president-elect to wage "a continuing political campaign" that fuses public policy and political goals. This doctrine became known as the permanent campaign, and it is now changing from a White House tactic into a national grassroots organizing strategy. Today's permanent campaign aims to ensure that the recent surge in Democratic voter turnout becomes the foundation of a lasting political infrastructure for progressives, rather than a momentary boomlet of presidential election euphoria. That means "creating mechanisms for people to remain engaged in politics between elections," as Thomas Bates says. He co-founded Democrats Work, a nonprofit group whose mission was on display when 12 volunteers of varying ages gathered last week to prepare dinner for residents at a Denver homeless shelter. The participants were not just giving back to their city — they were becoming Democratic Party activists. "Lots of folks want to do community service but are not political," says Erin Egan, who runs the 500-member Colorado branch of Democrats Work. "But when they volunteer with us, they see the Democratic Party's values and often become committed political volunteers." For many activists already involved in Democratic politics, the permanent campaign is an extension of their enthusiasm for Howard Dean's reformist presidential candidacy in 2004. But the emergence of another organization, Blue Tiger Democrats, shows that the new efforts actually hearken back to Tammany Hall.
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Energy future rides on Senate - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8398958...
Colorado has millions of dollars in investments and thousands of jobs riding on the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. If approved by the Senate and signed into law, the bill will extend tax credits for renewable energy production, such as wind- and solar-generated power. Otherwise, many of the existing incentives will expire by the end of this year. Those credits have helped spark a boom in renewable energy in Colorado, with 700 megawatts coming on line last year, primarily from wind power, said Tom Plant, director of Gov. Bill Ritter's energy office. "But when companies can't plan on those credits continuing, they have to hold off on new production," he said. "There are a number of renewable energy projects on hold in Colorado already."
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CHSAA's decision against Jewish players despicable - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8398961...
When Peter Groff, the soft-spoken president of the Colorado Senate, denounces the action of a government agency as "despicable," you can be sure of one thing: It's despicable. Groff has been praised on both sides of the aisle for the civil tone he maintains in the Senate. But he was moved to denounce the Colorado High School Activities Association this week after its board unanimously refused to make a scheduling change that would allow the Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy to compete in the regional high school basketball tournament. Both the boys and girls teams of the Herzl/RMHA Tigers need just one more win to secure a berth in the upcoming regional tournament that opens March 8 in Sterling. The problem is that date falls on a Saturday and the contest in question is scheduled during daylight hours. That places the game squarely within the Jewish sabbath, which runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. It is a violation of Jewish law to perform unnecessary work on the sabbath. Rather than violate the tenets of their faith, the student athletes have said they will forfeit the game. We applaud their integrity, which is reminiscent of Sandy Koufax's famous decision not to pitch in the first game of the 1965 World Series because the contest fell on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Corrections needed quickly at Community Corrections

http://www.gjsentinel.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2008/02/28/022908_4A...
Chief District Judge David Bottger blasted a warning shot at Mesa County criminal justice officials recently. They appear to have heard it loud and clear. Word is that leaders of county government and law enforcement met Thursday to begin to discuss how to make sure people sentenced to Community Corrections don’t end up in jail illegally. They need to resolve that quickly. At the same time, we hope Bottger and other judges don’t carry out threats to severely cut back on sentencing people to Community Corrections, which has been a largely successful program for both inmates and county taxpayers. Bottger’s anger was ignited when he discovered that at least 10 people who violated terms of their Community Corrections sentences had been rearrested and sent to the county jail without bond and without having a hearing before a judge within 48 hours. Certainly, law enforcement officials need to have immediate recourse for people who flagrantly violate terms of their Community Corrections sentences. Inmates cannot be allowed to walk away from the work-release facility, for instance, with no intention of returning and not face severe consequences. But state law says people rearrested in such circumstances must have a hearing before a judge within 48 hours. And they can’t be held without bond or a hearing for as long as five months, as Bottger says has happened in at least one case.
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Tribune opinion: Board of Education wasted thousands of dollars | Opinion Page | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080229/TRIBEDIT/558777009/-1/TRIBEDIT...
Times are tight for everyone, for the private and public sectors alike.  While those of us in the private sector are having to do some serious belt tightening, it's only reasonable to expect government to do the same. Government spends our tax dollars, after all. You'd think that in 2008 it wouldn't be necessary to give elected officials a gentle reminder about maintaining the public trust by spending tax dollars wisely, but a recent Associated Press examination of spending by the state board of education proves otherwise. The AP investigation found that members of the board claimed as much as $60,000 in individual expenses in the past fiscal year. The extravagant spending included a night out in Telluride where the eight-member board took 17 state employees out to a fancy restaurant with the bill totalling $2,028 plus a $305 tip. During meetings in Denver, the board routinely catered breakfasts and lunches costing up to $300 per meal. Of the expenses claimed by members, chairwoman Pamela Jo Suckla was the worst offender at $26,000. This, while schools are struggling to meet mandated test scores? "This is outrageous. This is taxpayer money, and there is no control," said Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins.
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SPEAKOUT: Anti-teacher charges untrue, don't help : Speakout : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/29/speakout-anti-teacher-charges-...
After reading Bill Moloney's Speakout commentary of Feb. 1, "American teachers unions: the fatal flaw," we are compelled to respond. We understand Moloney's frustration, but find that blaming the Denver Classroom Teachers Association specifically and teachers unions in general, as the major impediments to school reform, is counterproductive and simply not true. Teacher unions continue to be a necessary force in protecting teachers' rights and sounding the alarm against unwise administrative policies.
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A free-speech crucible : Editorials : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/29/a-free-speech-crucible/...
T here is a repulsive ignition, then a campus conflagration. This is an old story. Every so often, it rears its head, perturbing the populace and offending a critical mass of students, propelling the story to Page 1. The story causes outrage, confusion, introspection and debate. In the end, the university community learns about itself, about civic discourse about the proper response to offensive speech. Max Karson is not the story at the University of Colorado. The story has appeared and reappeared for decades. Its essential components remain unchanged. The only new element is the name, which this time is "Karson." Karson is a CU student who seems to delight in provoking his peers. After the Virginia Tech slaughter last year, Karson told classmates he could "relate to the killer." Police reports say the class discussion got "heated," and Karson said he could understand what would drive someone to kill, "especially on a college campus." Karson said he was trying to stimulate an intellectual discussion. Some people believe him. Previously, Karson had offended women and ethnic minorities with his vulgar, offensive and patently sexist newsletter. He said his work was intended to be satire. That's the way he frames his most recent rhetorical bombshell, a column in the student-run CU Campus Press. Its title was, "If it's war the Asians want ... It's war they'll get." If Karson's work were intended as satire, it failed. Again, his goal appears to be provocation. Let's be clear about this: Both high-minded satire and pointless provocation are protected by the First Amendment. This is no First Amendment issue; it's a dispute over the student editors' decision to publish Karson's constitutionally protected writing.
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LITTWIN: Battle for heart of Texas : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/29/littwin-clinton-needs-texas-an...
Everything is big in Texas, except apparently for this undersized room where they've crammed in 200 people to see Bill Clinton. This was not supposed to be a public event. Clinton was scheduled to stop by - he'd be late, of course - to thank his wife's campaign workers. But the news got out, and while 200 Clintonistas wait with varying degrees of patience inside - including a few who have to be carried out from the heat - many hundreds more are outside, some aggressively staking out positions to get just a glimpse of the Big Dog. The cops are out in force. And somebody keeps yelling for people to get back, away from the door, but it is the kind of crowd for which getting back just doesn't seem like an option. "My people are getting rowdy," says a Clinton volunteer manning the door. She smiles. "I can say 'my people,' because they are my people." Her people - who, in the end, don't get rowdy at all - are the Hispanics who dominate this city and this region, here in South Texas, hard by the Rio Grande Valley, where, as Corpus political activist and one-time talk-show host Vicente Carranza explained to me, the people are not Anglo enough for Americans and not Mexican enough for Mexicans.
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Vail Daily - Matt Zalaznick: What would a GOP county commission do?

http://vaildaily.com/article/20080228/EDITS/679677173...
It seemed like smooth sailing for the Eagle County Board of Commissioners. OK, so the “nanny tax” and home rule failed, but those were just small bumps in the road amidst soaring approval ratings, a jackpot of tax funds with which to pay for the children’s programs voters had rejected, a failed recall campaign, affordable housing deals, endorsements from the local paper and open space purchases. And then kablammo! Citizens groups all over the place. Constituents having well-attended meetings to talk about how upset they are with Arn, Peter and Sara. This trio is all of the sudden facing residential revolts over having raised property taxes and having kicked the tires on several million dollars’ worth of land in Edwards for affordable housing. (OK, to be accurate, the county commissioners didn’t raise property taxes. Assessed valuations of homes in our hot market went up, and the commissioners left the mill levy rate the same, which effectively raised property taxes. They coulda-shoulda lowered the mill levy, the angry mob says.)
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Eamon Aloyo - We need free and fair elections in Kenya - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8397165...
Kenya has spiraled down an all too familiar path in Africa, similar to its 1992-93 marred election of former strongman Daniel arap Moi. Now, Kenya is expected to loose about $3 billion in the first half of 2008, and about 400,000 jobs, out of an annual GDP of $26 billion, more than 7 percent of GDP. At least 1,000 people have been killed. Likely many more have and will die indirectly, as a result of exposure, food and medical shortages, and the spread of disease in the camps. Sexual violence against women has jumped, and at least 600,000 have been displaced. This is the result its citizens' anger over widely reported fraudulent presidential elections. But it did not have to be. International election monitors were in Kenya to report on fraud soon after it occurred. Many rightly see international election observers as important for the success of one vital component of democracy: free and fair elections. Yet the international community, specifically unbiased U.N. election organizers, could and should do more to ensure fair elections. Let me explain why.
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Vail Daily - The I-70 Web site cure

http://vaildaily.com/article/20080228/EDITS/774828939...
State Sen. Chris Romer of Denver has gone on-line to seek ideas to relieve weekend congestion on Interstate 70. It’s nice that he’s asking the public, in a forum removed from transportation jargon. But whatever Romer gleans from the on-line community, he, and they, need to understand some very basic issues.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Hal Sundin - Election system needs to change

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080228/COLUMNISTS/993983297...
It seems that almost every other word we hear from the mouths of presidential hopefuls — primarily the Democratic candidates — is “change.” They all tell us they are for change from the failed policies of the Bush Administration, but the unanswered question is, “Change to what?” The change that is needed the most (and is least likely to happen), is a change in the election process. The first thing that is wrong with the present election process is that it is way too long. The major professional sports seasons go on for five to seven months, and many complain that is too long. But the current presidential race has been going on for well over a year, and the election is more than eight months away. This year, they almost pushed the earliest primary elections and caucuses into the year preceding the election. There is no reason for not limiting the process to seven months — four for the primaries, and three for the general election campaign. What would be a more fitting date to start the race than April 1 — April Fool’s Day?
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The Medvedev riddle: a pawn or his own man? : Editorials : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/29/the-medvedev-riddle-a-pawn-or-...
On Sunday, the Russian people will go to the polls to elect as their president a young lawyer who has never held elected office and, until outgoing President Vladimir Putin named him his successor, most Russians had never heard of. Dmitry Medvedev will win in a landslide. The Kremlin ensured that by barring from the election any credible opposition candidates, leaving three fringe candidates who seem to be on the ballot only so the election won't look totally rigged. One analyst called it less an election than a certification.
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Max Karson: Real issue is racism : Guest Opinions : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/29/real-issue-is-racism/...
This is a personal statement and does not represent the views of the CU Campus Press. I don't mind offending people. Sometimes it's necessary to offend in order to provoke thought about difficult subjects. For example, in my "Asians" piece, I poked fun at Asian stereotypes for the purpose of mocking racist white people who never bother to understand or even consider Asian cultures and race relations at the University of Colorado. And I can deal with the fact that most people don't read my writing before condemning it. I can deal with people thinking I'm racist. I can deal with the fact that nearly all of my fellow editors at Campus Press have publicly denounced the decision to publish my piece. I can even deal with the death threats. Up until Wednesday, I felt good about the conversations taking place. I had set out with the goal of sparking dialogue about racism at CU, and that's what I did. When I found out there was an anti-racism rally organized by the Facebook group, "Plan for Action in Response to Max Karson's Hate Speech," I was thrilled. I've been at CU for almost two years now, and rarely do I see people of different colors band together in such large numbers.
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February 28, 2008

Grand Junction Sentinel - Approve these nominees

http://www.gjsentinel.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2008/02/27/022808_4A...
Now that the Senate Agriculture Committee has given its nod to six new members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the full state Senate should confirm them. However, judging by comments made during the Ag Committee hearing Tuesday, Republicans will use the Senate debate to attack the nominees and Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration, claiming they are too hard on the oil and gas industry. That’s fine. Republicans have every right to mount their soapboxes on this issue. But it’s not as if the governor has nominated members of Earth First! — radical environmentalists whose only goal is to block energy development in the state. As we said last summer when the nominations were made, they represent a reasonable cross-section of interests, including people eager to ensure oil and gas development takes place in ways that protect the resources that make Colorado special.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Constitutional reform

http://pueblochieftain.com/editorial/1204213176/1...
THE COLORADO Legislature has formed the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Reform with the intention of keeping the state’s basic charter from continuing to be a Christmas tree of special interest legislation. Currently, the Colorado Constitution can be amended with 50 percent of the popular vote plus one. And considering that often there are relatively low election turnouts, that means the basic document of Colorado state government can be altered by a minority of registered voters.
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Opinion: Our View - Thursday | crack, party, powder : Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/opinion/crack_33629___article.html/party_powder.html...
After too many years of inattention, Congress may finally be getting ready to correct one of the most harmful mistakes it made in the 1980s during the period of legislative hysteria over the phenomenon of crack cocaine. The House Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee held hearings Tuesday on bills to reform the disparity in sentencing for possession of crack and powder cocaine. Back in the 1980s, when crack cocaine seemed to be decimating neighborhoods and wrecking lives at an alarming rate, many people believed it was more addictive and more dangerous than powder cocaine. That turned out not to be the case, but while it was the conventional wisdom, Congress enacted laws mandating longer sentences for crack possession than for powder cocaine. It takes 5 grams of crack cocaine (two sugar packets) to get a five-year sentence versus 500 grams of powder. Fifty grams of crack triggers a 10-year sentence, but it takes 5,000 grams of powder to trigger a 10-year sentence. That’s a ratio of 100 to 1. And while it was not part of the intention, the disparity has harmed blacks more than any other group. By and large (there are exceptions to every rule) blacks who use cocaine tend to use crack, while white Americans are more inclined to use powder. So blacks have received much longer prison sentences for offenses that, chemically speaking, are identical.
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Let them play : Editorials : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/let-them-play/...
Tournament time. It's supposed to be that special occasion when months and years of hard work culminate in the opportunity to compete for a state championship. It's supposed to be that moment when every high school basketball player has at least the chance to realize the dream of winning it all. That's why it's so regrettable that the boys and girls basketball teams from Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy may face the impossible choice between following a tenet of their faith - observance of the Sabbath - and participating in tournament games scheduled between dusk Fridays and dusk Saturdays the next three weekends. The Colorado High School Activities Association has some undeniable practical arguments why it is reluctant to enable Herzl/RMHA's boys and girls to take part in the Class 1A state basketball tournament. Its blueprint for conducting 10 simultaneous tournaments (for boys and girls in five classifications) in the short span of 16 days is a 57-page book that lays out all of the logistical issues - from arenas to schedules to motel availability to assignments for officials, scorers, timekeepers and all of the other people engaged to help operate more than 50 sites involving hundreds of games.
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Paper ballots still are safest - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8383424...
Uncertainty is never a good thing when it comes to holding elections. That's why we were glad to see state lawmakers introduce a bill this week to mandate a primarily paper ballot system this year. It may not be the perfect system, and ultimately it could delay vote counting, but at this moment it seems to be the best way to inject some voter confidence back into the electoral process. Yet, significant issues remain to be resolved before Coloradans can vote. In short, there are some large counties that don't have enough scanners — devices that tally paper ballots — to count votes in a timely fashion.
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Vail Daily - Editorial: An overreaction in Leadville?

http://vaildaily.com/article/20080227/EDITS/210326461...
Are the Lake County Commissioner and State Sen. Tom Wiens grandstanding over the danger poised by a clogged mine tunnel? Leadville Mayor Bud Elliott thinks so. The commissioners on Feb. 13 declared a state of emergency with the clogged tunnel, which may hold as much as 1 billion gallons of water, much of it poisoned because it’s been leaching through mineral-laden rock. The commissioners say the disaster declaration was needed to get the Bureau of Reclamation and the Environmental Protection Agency off their collective kiesters to more effectively treat the water now trickling out of the World War II-era tunnel. Wiens, meanwhile, has set up a Web site — The Rocky Mountain News reports the site went live a few days before the commissioners’ vote on Feb. 13 — to get information out about the potential danger.
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Into the hermit tyranny, with music : Editorials : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/into-the-hermit-tyranny-with-m...
Visiting musicians aside, North Korea is still a thoroughgoing Stalinist dictatorship. But nothing official happens by accident in this hermit land, and it does appear that its leadership is tentatively testing the possibility of a little more openness to the outside world.
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The (blank) of Job: Losing patience with wrong answers : Editorials : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/28/the-blank-of-job/...
On the subjects of history and literature, American students are dumb and dumber, yet another survey indicates. A survey of 17-year-olds, the results of which were released Tuesday, show alarming rates of ignorance about our cultural benchmarks. Almost 20 percent didn't know whom we fought in World War II. More than 25 percent think Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue sometime after 1752. Half can't identify, on a multiple-choice test, whom Sen. Joseph McCarthy assailed or what the Renaissance was. The telephone survey of 1,200 adolescents was commissioned by a nonprofit, nonpartisan group called Common Core (www.commoncore.org). The group's leaders are diverse, and they include a former vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and a former assistant education secretary to the first President Bush.
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Gail Schoettler - Ski industry in trouble, too - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8383284...
Last week, I spent a couple of days skiing with my parents in Aspen. They are 87 and 91 years old. I always recognize my father on the slopes. He's worn the same ski outfit for 40 years. But, this year, my parents were decked out in new ski outfits, skis and boots. "Guess I'm an optimist," my father mused. My parents first skied at Aspen in 1949 and have skied a week there every year since then, missing only last season when my father had heart surgery. Their first year at Aspen, there were only two pokey chair lifts and a T-bar. Lift tickets were $5, compared to $87 today. When my kids were young, and lift tickets still relatively inexpensive, I taught them to ski during spring vacations in Aspen with my parents, until they preferred learning to jump and ski the trees with a far more adventurous ski school instructor. By then, the famous Colorado snow had already attracted tourists from around the world.
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GRIEGO: Hearts broken by market : Columns & Blogs : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/griego-hearts-broken-by-market...
Iran into an acquaintance last week at the Capitol Hill Whole Foods. Tina, he called, and I turned and there was Tony, smiling, saying I was the first person he had seen since, well . . . He didn't have to finish. I was one of his old customers, and he hadn't seen many since he and his business partner closed their own little grocery store in December. Tony Thompson and Shelley Garrelts owned Simple Foods on the Tennyson strip in North Denver. They took out a $270,000 bank loan, put their homes up as collateral, kicked in another $35,000 each and opened in August 2003. "To rave reviews," Tony reminds me later. He's right.
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Elaine Gantz Berman and Randy DeHoff - Keeping pace with our kids - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8383346...
Over and over, parents complain that our schools are not doing an adequate job preparing students. Generations of students learned by sitting in rows at desks, memorizing multiplication tables, and listening intently to a teacher. Why can't students today learn the same way? As Bob Dylan said, "The times, they are a-changing." And we have done a very poor job keeping up with these changing times. For a good majority of today's youths, hours are spent at the computer, sending text messages or talking on cellphones, playing video games or listening to an iPod. Everything is electronic, fast, instantly gratifying, and independently controlled. These activities are in sharp contrast to the way most schools approach education. Our system requires all students to take the same courses, and take the same tests at the same time, regardless of the differing abilities of the students. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense if each student could progress according to his or her individual ability and then be tested accordingly?
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February 27, 2008

The surging tide of health-care costs : Editorials : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/the-surging-tide-of-health-car...
Almost everybody who has looked at these numbers, including the current Health and Human Services secretary, Mike Leavitt, says they are unsustainable. Yet the public shows little enthusiasm for tackling health-care costs and this is reflected in congressional inaction. This year, President Bush proposed reducing the rate of growth in Medicare spending by $178 billion and the proposal fell flat with Congress. This latest report comes not from alarmists who oppose in principle any government-run health care but from the sober-sides at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We can't say we haven't been warned.
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Ethics fray, chapter 2 : Editorials : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/27/ethics-fray-chapter-2/...
Colorado's Supreme Court will not deal in hypothetical horrors, it announced Monday. If opponents say the state's ban on gifts to public officials is a free-speech offense, they'll have to produce an actual case involving a real victim. Amendment 41, which voters approved in 2006, bans cash gifts to legislators and gifts worth more than $50 to any public official. Before the election, critics argued that the gift ban was too broad, potentially outlawing any gift to any public official, regardless of underlying intent. Critics argued that scholarships to children of public workers, for instance, would be illegal. Not true, said 41's backers, who included Common Cause and local entrepreneur Jared Polis (now a candidate for Congressman Mark Udall's seat). Proponents argued that 41's intent was clearly stated in its preamble -- that the gift ban applied only to those gifts evidencing "an effort to realize personal financial gain through public office." But the intent is not stated in the relevant text, a fact that many observers, including the Camera's editorial board, downplayed. Last year, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 210, which implemented Amendment 41 and specified that any ethics complaint that fails a critical test -- failing to allege the use of public office for private gain -- shall be dismissed. Before that law took effect, a court slapped an injunction on it.
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Meat inspection system strained - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8370228...
Last week's huge beef recall, prompted by secretly filmed slaughter practices at a California meatpacking plant, is a nauseating reminder of the rickety nature of our nation's food inspection network. Congress has set at least two hearings this week to explore various aspects of the issue, and we hope the situation spurs lawmakers to finally rework and shore up the nation's ailing food safety system. The efficacy of food regulation returned to the spotlight when Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co., one of the largest suppliers of the nation's school lunch program, recalled more than 143 million pounds of meat produced by the plant. A video made by an employee, who was also affiliated with the Humane Society of the U.S., showed workers using electrical shocks, forklifts and high-pressure water hoses to make sick or injured cattle walk to their slaughter. Such "downer" cattle generally are banned from the food supply because they can be sources of mad-cow disease as well as other contamination.
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Dan Omasta - Debate over Benson should have focused on his vision for CU : Speakout : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/debate-over-benson-should-have...
With Raul Castro becoming the new leader of Cuba; with Senator Obama catching up to Senator Clinton in the polls in Ohio and Texas; and with the expected “powder days” for the ski resorts this weekend, the CU Regents’ decision to elect Bruce Benson as President of the University has become lost in the noise. However, his decisions as a leader will impact the education system for years to come. The choice to elect Benson as the president was no doubt a controversial one – a vote that ended in a split down party lines. In the heated debate, opponents challenged his education credentials, his polarizing politics, and his absence of support for the science behind global warming. Proponents of his candidacy responded tactfully, citing his successful fundraising skills as a reason for electability. However, where was the idealistic argument? The University of Colorado has a plentiful number of opportunities, both scholastic and other, to lead the nation and become one of the top schools in the country. We have the resources to create a sustainability program to be implemented at a national and even global level; we have the faculty and staff to provide students the best education in the country; and we have most of the leaders necessary to do so. I would first like to commend Chancellor Bud Peterson and other Administration officials for their forward-thinking and guidance in the fields of sustainability, diversity, and education – their efforts are necessary to the success of our University. At the same time, I would like to ask the Regents and Presidential Search Committee: why Bruce Benson?
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Steve Taraborelli - Our energy and the house rake in Highlands Ranch - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8369550...
In the movie "Rounders" directed by John Dahl, the main character Mike McDermott (played by Matt Damon) is a reformed gambler who returns to playing big stakes poker. In one scene, McDermott says, "You can't lose what you don't put in the middle. But you can't win much either." That is where the opportunity lies for Highlands Ranch regarding its energy independence. If we don't put something in the middle of the energy table, we'll never get ahead. Fifteen months ago, when we all started paying $3.00 at the gas pump, I wondered, "What will gas prices be in the year 2010 or 2015?" Or a year ago when we all paid our December utility bills that nearly equaled a monthly new car payment, I wondered; "What next? Will my utility bill equal half of my monthly mortgage payment five years from now?"
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The time is coming for beer, wine as groceries - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8370231...
Liquor store owners, you've been warned. The fight to stock beer and wine on grocery store shelves will return — and you must rethink how you operate. A Senate panel recently killed a bill that would have allowed grocery stores and big-box retailers to sell full-strength beer and wine. Hundreds of liquor store owners cheered the news, believing they had beaten back an unfair competitor for the booze buck. But the grocery stores will be back. They have an army of lobbyists, and too much money is at stake. Owners of the state's 1,600 liquor stores must retool to prepare for the inevitable competition.
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LITTWIN: Fiery Clinton doesn't faze Obama's cool : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/littwin-fiery-clinton-doesnt-f...
The debate wasn't quite over when Barack Obama stepped forward to declare a winner. He did it, well, in a nice way. But that was the point. He said that Hillary Clinton had "campaigned magnificently," which is the kind of thing you say at the end of a long campaign when you think you've got it clinched and you want to show you're the kind of guy who doesn't hold a grudge. It's what you say when you're leading by double-digits in newly released national polls and you're leading in all the delegate counts. It's what happens when the race reaches the point that some pundits - apparently those desperate for something to write - are starting to call for Clinton to quit the race, even before the March 4 primaries here in Texas and in Ohio.
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Susan Greene - A sorry attempt at apology - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8371927...
Shannon Francis never sought an apology from a country that yanked her mom and grandma off their reservations, forced them into white foster families and barred them from speaking their native Hopi and Navajo languages. So the Denver resident was unaware Tuesday that her government had decided to say, "Sorry." "I had no clue it was coming," the 38-year-old mother of six said with a shrug. "So much for making history." Like Francis, you probably missed it when the U.S. Senate quietly apologized for centuries of "violence, maltreatment and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples." The unprecedented resolution acknowledges that the government forced indigenous people off their land, stole their assets and was responsible for "official depredations, ill-conceived policies and the breaking of covenants" with tribes. When Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized two weeks ago for policies that degraded that country's Aborigines, he blared his pronouncement live on giant screens throughout Australia. U.S. senators instead buried their "Oops, our bad" in an amendment to a bill for American Indian health care. Well, that certainly makes up for the Sand Creek Massacre and Wounded Knee.
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Summit Daily News - Disability 101: Why you should care

http://summitdaily.com/article/20080226/COLUMNS/979244617...
OK, now you’ve read a few of my columns. You know a little bit about where I’m coming from and a little bit about what I’m shooting for. But why should you care? Why should you keep reading Disability 101 and put in the effort to really understand what I’m talking about? I mean, after all, there really aren’t that many people with disabilities out there, right? Actually, there’s getting to be more and more of us due to the increasing numbers of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with permanent injuries. Due to improvements in protective gear and medical treatment, more soldiers are surviving wounds that in previous wars would have been fatal. The New England Journal of Medicine reported on Dec. 9, 2004, that while 76 percent of American troops survived combat wounds received in the Vietnam War, that number is now at 90 percent with our current conflict. However, our veterans are surviving with disabilities such as traumatic brain injury, amputations, spinal cord injuries including paralysis, and vision and hearing loss.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Fiscal Rx needed for local med school

http://www.gjsentinel.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2008/02/26/022708_4A...
Come August, if the Legislature provides the money, 10 to 12 medical students will be traipsing after doctors at St. Mary’s Hospital and other facilities in western Colorado as part of their third year of med school. It’s an important new program the University of Colorado School of Medicine hopes to implement in cooperation with St. Mary’s and Western Slope doctors. But funding remains the big question mark.
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JOHNSON: 'Just move on' won't work for offended CU students : Columns & Blogs : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/johnson-just-move-on-wont-work...
To understand any of this fully - and I mean fully - the opinion piece entitled "If It's War the Asians Want" by Max Karson is absolutely required reading. My jaw is still in my lap. It isn't because Karson, an assistant opinion editor at the Campus Press, the University of Colorado's online newspaper, believes such stuff, but because there clearly was no adult in the room last week to tell him he couldn't publish it. It makes David McSwane's "(Really Bad Word) Bush" editorial in the Rocky Mountain Collegian last September seem downright sober, well-reasoned and Pulitzer-eligible. "They hate us all," Max Karson wrote in his essay eight days ago of Asian students on the CU campus, after reporting that he'd had an "epiphany." "I say it's time we start hating them back," he wrote. "That's right, no more 'tolerance.' No more 'cultural sensitivity.' No more 'Mr.-Pretend-I'm-Not-Racist.' "It's time for war. But we won't attack their bodies or minds," he continued. "We will attack their souls."
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Ellen Schroeder Mackey - Learning to live small - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_8370242...
It's time to pay attention to the "Reduce" part of the mantra "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." Reducing is a hard thing to do in a consumer-driven culture. Refraining from buying stuff when it is all so cheap seems un-American. Yet, it is time for us to start showing our children how to consider the entire ecological costs of our purchases. If our country keeps consuming at our current rate, it will serve them well to know how to consume less.
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CAMPOS: The weight of a cruel culture : Columns & Blogs : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/campos-the-weight-of-a-cruel-c...
A friend of mine committed suicide earlier this month. That's one way of describing what happened. Another way of describing the event would be to say she died from anorexia nervosa. Yet another description would be to say she was killed by a culture that, from the time she was a little girl, tormented her constantly about her body. Here's an e-mail a 14-year-old girl sent recently to Monique van den Berg, an English professor whose blog is dedicated to, among other things, encouraging people to stop hating their bodies: "It's really hard not to judge yourself when the image of beauty is a size 0. I know I'm talented, but that doesn't make the girl in the mirror look any better. And every time my mom tells me I look pretty I just can't believe her! Is this just a '14-year old phase?' What'll it take for me to love my reflection? Because every time I say to myself 'You're beautiful' it feels like a lie." This girl has already learned two ignoble truths about appearance in our culture: That, as a woman, nothing she accomplishes will ever be considered as important as how she looks, and that the conventional definition of feminine beauty in our culture is both extraordinarily narrow and radically different from what most women look like.
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February 26, 2008

Vail Daily - Editorial: Colorado's lobbyist limbo

http://vaildaily.com/article/20080225/EDITS/603059358...
Colorado voters in the post-Jack Abramoff era were on the right track approving Amendment 41, but the Supreme Court let us down by not clarifying the rules behind it.
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