Biden and I both need to face the music after decades of service
I can totally relate to President Joe Biden’s desire to stay in the race! I am going to be reluctantly retiring after 63 years in the Colorado Symphony as a cellist. I don’t really want to retire, but it is time and I’m not playing as well as I used to. I need to move on and so does Biden.
The fate of the nation is not resting on my retiring, but the fate of the nation is resting on Biden’s decision. If he stays in the race he is basically guaranteeing Trump’s election. I need to face up to the situation and find other ways to contribute and so does Biden! There are other outstanding Democrats who could be the nominee and after 6 decades of public service Biden needs to face the music! That’s what I’m having to do!!
Margaret Hoeppner, Denver
Hello. I am 81, and I need both your earnest thoughts and your best help. I can still add 4 columns of figures in my head, and pull earnestly on our health center’s rowing machine for brisk 30-minute workouts. But I am NOT running for a senatorial nor representative position, nor will I. This would not be fair to any of us. I am 81 and know my limits, and only wish our president could acknowledge the same. Jill Biden, the president’s supportive wife, states: “We will decide our future.” But somehow shouldn’t it be acknowledged that we American citizens also have a right to protect our best future?
I, and many others, want a president who can both finish a sentence, be intelligently on call 24/7, and not brag he could shoot bullets at people on Fifth Avenue, claiming “presidential criminal immunity.”
It is urgently the time to hand over the reins. Now. We have a growing list of younger accomplished compatriots who are experienced, wise, with their own expressions of energy, verve, and creative thinking. They need our support, and we need theirs.
I have never missed, since 1960, voting in an election. Many of my friends here in our unique and active community in the mountains can date their voting back even further than the 60’s. Our mean age in this mountain town is 66.4 years old, and we live at very high altitude, and we are hardy. Please do not leave us with no other option except not voting in this election. Usually a negative cannot create a positive situation.
We all deserve better, and welcome your input — sooner than later.
Thank you in advance for your active help.
Avis Gray, Grand Lake
Dear Voter,
I understand you may be one of many who prefer a choice of two other presidential candidates in November. I also understand you may not agree with Joe Biden’s policies and have concerns about his age. But I think there’s one thing we can all agree upon, and that is that we value our democracy.
The vision of our Founders was that all must be treated equally before the law, and July 4th is a celebration of our freedom from monarchy. With the Supreme Court decision granting broad presidential immunity, democracy as we’ve known it was shattered. There is no longer a bar to a president assassinating his opponents, sharing classified secrets with our enemies, or using the military to hold onto power indefinitely.
Is this the country you want to live in? If not, regardless of where you stand on issues, you must vote blue in November up and down the ticket, or at least not vote for Trump. We can then debate those issues within a democracy as we have for almost 250 years, and not have them decided for us by a dictator.
Karen Mohr, Denver
Donald Trump is not a victim of “lawfare”
The Republican “lawfare” campaign talking point is hollow and disingenuous. Donald Trump filed blatantly false campaign reports and loan applications, seriously mishandled numerous classified documents, and led an insurrection to overturn a legitimate democratic election by both conspiring to create phony electors, leaning on the Georgia secretary of state, and inspiring a violent mob on January 6th to try and stop the vote certification by force.
If Merrick Garland hadn’t acted it would have been a dereliction of duty. Same for Alvin Bragg. Just deciding to run for office, even for the office of president, should not shield you from prosecution if you have broken the law. That is not “lawfare.” This is the kind of justice the judicial process is supposed to deliver no matter who you are or how many people worship the ground you walk on.
Marcus Pohlmann, Highlands Ranch
Flattering coverage of Lauren Boebert
What is the love affair The Denver Post has with Lauren Boebert? On June 26th, she rated front page treatment after her primary win in a different district … because she knew she couldn’t win in her previous district. And, she was portrayed as introspective and saintly in the photo.
In truth, she is one of the “characters” in Congress, unprofessional, uncouth, disruptive, and a rabid supporter of Donald Trump’s lies and corruption. In the 2022 election, The Post ran one of the longest articles on Boebert I’ve ever seen on any candidate. Hmmm!
Sandra J Lardinois, Denver
Policing Christian privilege takes hard work
Re: “The Dillon Amphitheater squabble is about incompetence,” June 30 editorial
Contrary to your opinion, The Freedom From Religion Foundation is NOT “itching for a lawsuit”. The organization as stated on our website is doing its work in protecting the constitutional principle of separation of state and church.
The foundation has started by first contacting the town council as noted in their press release: “The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking the Dillon Town Council to follow the advice of its former attorney and end a local church’s exclusive use of the town’s amphitheater for Sunday worship services.” You can read the whole news release on our website.
Lawsuits are not filed unless the town refuses to comply with the recommendations. Maybe if the editors checked out the organization’s website they would understand the full mission and purpose “to promote the constitutional principle of separation of state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.”
Religion certainly is the issue here when city services favor a religious entity over other organizations both with scheduling and rental fees. All entities should be shown equal treatment. It is time for Christian privilege to end.
Claudette StPierre, Franktown
Editor’s note: StPierre is chapter president of the FFRF Metro Denver Chapter
Don’t back extremists like Trump in the general election
Re: “Colorado’s base has spoken — extremists are out,” June 30 commentary
In her analysis of the Colorado primary, Krista Kafer writes, “Fringe candidates, for the most part, lost.” She further comments that moderates of both parties prevailed which is bad news for extremists. She concludes that the base has spoken to the Colorado Republican Party and that GOP voters want, “representatives who are ethical and who can promote conservative ideas without promoting conspiracy theories and hateful messages.”
Brava, Kafer. But in the interest of consistency, your readers will also expect you to apply the same criteria to the general election. Which will mean that you will be asking Republicans to avoid voting for the presidential candidate who lacks any sort of ethics, revels in conspiracy theories and specializes in spouting hateful messages. The one and only Donald J. Trump.
Guy Wroble, Denver
Traffic fatalities a symptom of our incompetence
As the survivor of an auto/pedestrian accident, I read Wesley Marshall’s column on road safety with more than passing interest. Traffic engineers still seem to have one goal: to move the largest numbers of vehicles at the fastest speeds possible, without regard to the surroundings or other road users like pedestrians and bicycles.
State Highway 66 near our home in Longmont changes from miles of rural landscapes to residential backyards and a commercial district in less than 5 minutes. Yet the speed limit remains 60 mph throughout, resulting in numerous high-speed wrecks every year, including the occasional car crashing through fences into those backyards.
To quote Jane Jacobs from her classic “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” written in 1961: “The destructive effects of automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence.” More than 60 years later we still haven’t learned that lesson.
Mark Venzke, Longmont
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