CUPITMUSIC

Blame for layoffs lands on Johnston

Re: “Denver’s layoffs hurt 171 families, not just the Gilmore’s,” Aug. 31 editorial

The editorial attacked the wrong elected official. We ought to praise Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore for serving as the canary in the coal mine for the mayor’s bizarre behavior. She has long asked for facts and figures, while many of us incorrectly presumed the mayor would do the right thing for our city.

Gilmore has defended her constituents and the city with passion. And her husband is her constituent. Do we want someone representing us who would not stand up for their own constituents for wrongly being targeted by a public employer? I certainly do not.

Mayor Mike Johnston’s financing and budgeting has looked like the recent accident on I-25 where a piece of construction equipment fell off the back of a truck. He just does stuff without any transparency and then tells everyone how great and transparent his work product is, without evidence.

For example, a hotel purchased with taxpayer dollars under the Hancock administration in 2021 for homelessness resolution sits vacant, while homelessness and evictions have gone up drastically. The mayor called Gilmore’s claims “factually inaccurate” but then proceeded to illuminate precisely zero facts about how that was so.

Meanwhile, the mayor continues a series of backroom meetings without telling constituents or councilmembers what he plans to do.

I have personally witnessed Gilmore helping laid-off workers and their families. I hope taxpayers ask the mayor more pointed questions about his budget actions. Thank you to Councilwoman Gilmore and her colleagues who have stood up for their constituents.

Josh Rosenblum, Denver

After spending millions of dollars on benefits for “undocumented” immigrants, it’s telling that Gov. Jared Polis and Mayor Mike Johnston both find themselves in major budget shortfalls. The mayor has announced mass layoffs for city workers and the governor has begun implementing huge cuts to state services. It seems the only sacrosanct budgets are those that support non-citizens, proving once again that Polis and Johnston are for “they/them” (illegals) instead of “we/us” (legal US citizens).

Mark Boger, Fruita

Johnston was right to de-emphasize tenure

Re: “Denver lays off 171, cuts positions,” Aug. 19 news story

Regarding city layoffs. In business, I’ve experienced this on both sides in Fortune 500 companies and the way Mayor Mike Johnston de-emphasized tenure and focused on performance is absolutely the right thing to do to increase the efficiency of our local government.

The city staffing has also ballooned disproportionately over the last few years. I can’t believe all the belly-aching going on. Clearly, these people haven’t had experience in any competitive business setting. Kudos to Mayor Johnston for taking these courageous steps.

Don Ku, Denver

U.S. strike on vessel shows Trump’s corruption

Re: “Trump says strike on vessel targeted Tren de Aragua gang,” Sept. 3 news story

Trump’s order to execute the suspected drug smugglers in international waters shows exactly how dangerous this maniac is to our country and world.

He perceives himself to be above the law. He is supported in that fantasy by a corrupt Supreme Court, puppets and lackeys in the administration, and a Republican Congress full of cowards.

And now even the military does not refuse illegal orders! The dictator is here, now!

Jim Blugerman, Georgetown

Never have I ever seen immediate, predictable accusations, like “Republicans aren’t racist, that’s prejudice.” And, “liberals like you are the problem.” People seeking love don’t act like that. Bots do. Like the “vegan couple” I matched with a month ago, who abruptly asked: “Why is exploiting animals an immoral position you are so willing to accept?” This was after an otherwise normal dialogue.

Why write a letter about either of these interactions? Because it’s possible people were on the other side of the app, it’s equally plausible that it was a bot.

AI is making it easier for political operatives to push and pull us based on the psychographic data we’ve fed to Meta et al for decades. It’s important for us to be aware that we may or may not be interacting with real people. There are well-funded political machines at play in our political landscape. So, as we put ourselves out there looking for love, beware of bots.

Nate Craig, Boulder

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College amateur hour is dead. Long live the revenue-sharing arms race.  

Starting this fiscal year, colleges and universities are now able to directly pay their student athletes thanks to the so-called House settlement. The multibillion-dollar settlement ended three antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA that claimed the organization was limiting the earning power of college athletes. 

Along with the 2021 name, image and likeness changes that allowed players to be compensated by third parties for their personal brand, the House settlement is helping to address the historic exploitation of the talents of college athletes. CU Boulder made nearly $35 million in football ticket sales during the 2024 season — that’s not possible without these student-athletes. 

But for all the positives that NIL and the House settlement are bringing to college athletics, they have also opened a financial can of worms. Running an athletics department was already an expensive endeavor; now, if schools are keen to compete, they must rustle up tens of millions of dollars to pay their players. 

In other words, the cost of glory just got a lot more expensive. 

So, as we hurtle into this new frontier, CU Boulder must refrain from throwing caution to the wind. There may be money to be made and bowl games to win, but our state’s flagship university must remember that, first and foremost, its mission is one of education. 

Schools that opted into the House settlement’s revenue sharing can now spend up to $20.5 million paying athletes this year. That figure will increase annually by 4% until it hits $33 million in 2035. 

That $20.5 million cap is designed to prevent wild overspending by the richest schools in order to maintain the semblance of fair play. But there is no obligation for a school to spend that much paying its players. For its part, Colorado State University says it is going to ramp up to the cap. CU, though, is planning on going all in.  

For an athletic department that has run a deficit for five of the last seven years, that is a big ask. 

It is worth pausing here for a moment to make clear that CU’s revenue sharing will include all of its sports. The school’s revenue-sharing equation will align with how much revenue a given sport generates. As such, football is likely to get 77% of all revenue sharing money, with basketball claiming another 11%. 

So, while CU will be paying athletes from all sports, it is worth focusing specifically on the lucrative — but costly — football program. 

CU made its ambitions clear when it hired Deion “Prime” Sanders. His name brought record donations ($35 million in FY 2025) and a national spotlight. ESPN came to Boulder and the Buffs started playing in primetime games. That money and attention made it possible to make statement recruitments and bring some of the best players to Colorado, including Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. 

But for a school striving to level up, this is a precarious balancing act. 

Right now, CU needs Prime to keep the money flowing and the recruits coming. And it needs star recruits who can help win games to keep Prime and the money. If CU can’t compete financially, the players could stop signing. If the best players stop signing or stop winning, Prime — and the spotlight he brings — could leave. (He will, of course, inevitably leave at some point, no matter how successful CU becomes.) 

Keeping all these plates spinning comes at a cost. Despite record donations and ticket sales, the CU athletic department required direct institutional support of $54.9 million over the last two years. Between 2017 and 2022, the department required just $49.3 million. The Prime Effect, for all the good it has done for CU, has been extremely expensive. 

The hope, of course, is that CU’s drastic increase in investment in the department will help the school level up so that it can compete with the best schools in the country — and make money. 

But for now, the House settlement has only added to the cost of staying competitive. 

For its part, the school says it is going to get creative to cover its new $20.5 million expenditure to pay athletes. 

“(That $20.5 million) will come from the different things that we do,” CU athletic director Rick George told the Denver Post, “like concert revenue, our multimedia rights partner, our conference distributions, our donors that support our program.”

Astroturf was installed at Folsom Field to make it easier to have concerts and events there. The school’s student athletic fee for undergraduates was tripled to $90. And, of course, there will be a push for more donations. 

What CU won’t do, according to George, is cut any sports. Nor will ticket prices see any “big increases.”

Whether or not the department will be able to cover this new expenditure without direct institutional support will likely tell us a lot about how CU’s journey into this new financial frontier will go. 

Naturally, we hope to see the school be able to fairly compensate its athletes, compete on the big stage, and become financially self-sustaining. Watching Buffs football compete these past two years has been a welcome reprieve from years spent in the wilderness of mediocrity. A winning team that can keep the limelight on CU and raise the school’s profile is ideal for everyone. Not only can success on the football field provide financial incentives, it can also drive school pride and give prospective students a little extra incentive to enroll. 

But the price of winning can be steep. And CU must approach this new frontier with reasonable expectations and responsible decision-making. Direct institutional support of athletics must have a limit — and CU must approach all decisions with its mission as an educational institution at the fore. 

We want to see the Buffs succeed as much as any fan. But more important than that, we want to see CU students succeed. That goal must remain top of mind, no matter how fierce the competition gets on the field. 

— Gary Garrison for the Editorial Board

More people on the planet is not the solution we should be seeking

Re: “Why dads, not ‘duds,’ are important for the baby bust,” Sept. 3 commentary

The commentary about the worldwide declining birth rate misses a fundamental point: Population cannot continue to expand indefinitely.

Global resources are finite, and population levels eventually must follow.  Already, first-world nations were experiencing a pause, and now decline, in the number of births. Japan, for one, has been coping with an aging population, the unmistakable sign, for decades.

The conversation should be about doing more with less and not pushing past an unsustainable consumption of Earth’s gifts. We need to worry less about fertility and more about ‘making do’ with fewer people. Our ingenuity will do the rest.

Harry Puncec, Lakewood

Mass shootings call for restrictions on social media

Re: “The latest shooting tragedy is easy to comprehend,” Aug. 29 letter to the editor

Writing about the church shooting in Minneapolis, a reader writes: “In a country where a majority of the Supreme Court and many citizens believe that a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to own flintlocks fully applies to today’s much more deadly weapons, such tragedies are totally comprehensible.”

I agree, but would add that the First Amendment’s freedom of speech was added at a time when media was print only. Could the Founders have visualized the power of the internet and social media to influence, in this case, a mass shooter?

The FCC was established in 1934 to regulate the then-new radio medium, and has continued with television and internet. We have precedent here for potential restriction on media. The recent commentary on Mississippi’s attempt to impose age restrictions on Bluesky shows how controversial this can be, but I believe it is possible.

Malfeasants misuse social media, posing a serious threat to our people — from those who perpetrate mass violence against innocent people to stalkers and groomers of innocent children — taking advantage of freedoms that were meant to protect, not harm.

For our public safety, we must find and set reasonable boundaries for our national freedoms. We already have the framework to do so.

Frances Rossi, Boulder

Mass shootings call for armed law-abiding citizens

Unfortunately, many mass killings have happened at schools, grocery stores, churches, military bases, city streets and theaters. We should always pray for understanding and comfort for those loved ones left behind.

There have been criminals on earth for thousands of years. Since they are criminals and have deranged minds, they will work very hard on obtaining weapons, such as guns, explosives, and moving vehicles, to kill people.

A great help for this unfortunate problem is for state and federal law officials to encourage law-abiding citizens to carry guns in person, whether they be out in the open or concealed. This would greatly help the criminals to go somewhere else where citizens cannot protect themselves.

This would greatly help more people to be alive and less injured if the criminal was shot by a law-abiding citizen immediately when they hear and see mass murders taking place. Keep in mind that law enforcement cannot be everywhere at all times.

The Second Amendment of the US Constitution says: “… the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

I believe that there are close to 10,000 laws written for people to not be able to use or carry firearms.  Do you really think that the criminal will know about these laws and obey them?

We need to get our heads out of the sand and encourage law-abiding citizens to carry firearms open or concealed at all times.

Jim Welker, Loveland

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Pueblo’s hidden bodies case is why we need to ditch elected coroners

Re: “24 bodies, ‘multiple containers’ of bones and tissue found at coroner’s mortuary,” Aug. 27 news story

The recent Pueblo case raises an old issue. Why is the technical job of determining cause of death relegated to individuals who can be elected with zero technical requirements? And isn’t it in a clear conflict of interest to permit a mortician to become a coroner? Colorado needs to get into the 21st century and establish a Medical Examiner System.

Patrick Ahlstrom, Arvada

Editor’s Note: Ahlstrom is a retired police chief from Broomfield and Arvada and was the executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety.

Trump goes after Fed board member with a similar conviction to his

Re: ” Federal Reserve: Trump fires governor over fraud allegations,” Aug. 26 news story

Trump is trying to fire a Federal Reserve board member for alleged mortgage fraud? He was convicted himself and his businesses for multiple felony counts of falsifying business records! Typical Trump, rules and laws only apply to others.

Jim Aldridge, Golden

The One Big Beautiful Bill will help Coloradans

The One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R. 1), signed into law on July 4, 2025, delivers meaningful relief for families, workers, and retirees across Colorado. While debate over national politics often dominates the headlines, it’s worth looking closely at what this bill actually does.

First, the law makes permanent the 2017 individual tax rate reductions, sparing Colorado households from a steep tax hike that was set to arrive in 2026. It also expands the federal State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 per household, indexed to inflation. For many Colorado homeowners, that means thousands of dollars in additional deductions at tax time.

For workers, the bill creates new targeted relief. Tipped employees may deduct up to $25,000 in tip income through 2028, and hourly workers can claim a new deduction on overtime pay, up to $12,500 for individuals or $25,000 for couples. These changes put more money back in the pockets of service-sector employees and hardworking families.

Seniors also benefit. The bill provides a new temporary deduction of $6,000 for individuals and $12,000 for couples below certain income thresholds, helping many retirees shield Social Security and other income from taxation. Families will see the Child Tax Credit increased to $2,200 per child, with future adjustments tied to inflation.

In addition, the bill encourages savings through new “Trump Accounts” for children born between 2025–2028, seeding $1,000 at birth with the option for families and employers to contribute more.

Taken together, these provisions provide real, measurable benefits for Coloradans at every stage of life.

Kelly Hegarty, La Plata County, Durango

Bravo for standing up to RFK Jr.

Re: “RFK Jr. needs to know the cost of his lies and misinformation,” Aug. 24 commentary

The recent article on RFK Jr. by D. Scott Schmid was so intelligent and so well researched and written!  This article should be sent to every member of Congress and especially to those who voted to confirm RFK Jr.

The amount of damage this man has caused will take decades to recover from!

Carol F. Berry, Aurora

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Protests: Where are our leaders

Re: “Thousands march on Labor Day,” Sept. 2 news story

We just witnessed another Denver protest — vibrant in spirit, modest in size. Where are our state and national leaders?

In March, Bernie Sanders and AOC drew 34,000 people in Denver. A march on May 31 drew what I’d estimate at 4,000 to 8,000 — still a strong showing, yet a fraction of what a moment like this could become. That same weekend, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in town helping Sen. John Hickenlooper raise money. If either had announced a 15-minute stop at the protest, we could have shattered records. They did not show up. So, we’re left asking: where are our incumbent leaders, and the candidates for state offices?

This isn’t about social-media praise or dramatic Senate speeches. Who watches C-Span, anyway? Real leadership isn’t a talking head at a distant podium. Real leadership appears in person — where the people are, where fear is felt, where listening begins.

Our leaders must show up. Stand with us, not merely endorse our causes in general terms, but stand in the frontline of our shared struggles, willing to be counted among the people they serve. They should be one of us–accessible, accountable, present in our streets, schools, and communities.

How long must we wait for that message to our leaders to sink in? If a 15-minute appearance could move the needle, schedule it. If not, document the failure to show up.

Show up in person. The people are ready to see you — face to face, without filters, ready to be heard and held to account. We want to save our Democracy.

Timothy Brown, Denver

Where was Kirkmeyer when Community Development was cut?

Re: “First batch of special session bills head to Gov. Jared Polis,” Aug. 25 news story

Colorado State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Republican Senator in the Colorado legislature, made the statement that “all we’re doing is making it harder for small businesses to survive” regarding the budget bill passed in the special session last week.  I’d like to alert Kirkmeyer of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget threat to shut down the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, under the Treasury Department, which has been a lifeline for small businesses. So perhaps, you will direct some of your displeasure about the plight of small businesses to the White House.

Jeannie Dunham, Denver

China’s growing global economic influence

Re: “Xi says global governance has arrived at a ‘new crossroads’,” Sept. 2 news story

While most Americans are properly focused on the dismantling of the federal government under the leadership of President Trump, it is equally noteworthy that China is establishing new partnerships, currency relationships, trading pathways, political connections, and banking systems that are outside the influence of the United States — especially outside the reach of U.S. tariffs. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, led by China and the coalition of countries commonly known as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), portends a time when the U.S. dollar will no longer be the global currency but instead will be the Chinese yuan. I wonder if that will make America great again.

Dan Sage, Centennial

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President Donald Trump gave two reasons for why he is stripping Space Command from El Paso County in Colorado and moving the headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama – neither of which was true.

First, he said voters in Alabama supported his re-election in 2024 by 47 points.

Second, he said that Colorado’s mail-in ballots allow election fraud.

The president of the United States held a press conference on a major decision and told Americans that it was based on his political popularity in one state and a gross lie that he has perpetuated since he lost his first bid for re-election and tried to illegally remain in office.

So we will set the record straight.

Trump won Alabama by almost 31 points in 2024.

Funny thing is that he also won El Paso County in 2024 – by almost 10 points.

Guess that wasn’t enough to sway the president’s decision as he callously explained.

“We love Alabama. I only won it by about 47 points. I don’t think that influenced my decision, though, right? Right?” Trump quipped with Alabama Sen. Katie Britt standing to one side and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth standing on the other, sharing in a laugh because we all know the answer to that rhetorical question.

We’ve detailed all the ways that keeping the Space Command in El Paso County at Peterson Space Force Base makes sense. It would save time and money by not moving the temporary headquarters out of state. It allows for vast efficiencies because of its proximity to other key military bases in Colorado Springs – the National Space Defense Center, the U.S. Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The Air Force Academy is producing new cadets for the Space Force every year, and Space Force also has a significant presence at Aurora’s Buckley Space Force Base.

Trump isn’t the first president to make a politically motivated decision like this, but he is the first to gloat openly about using his power to punish a state for not supporting his re-election. The message the president is sending is clear — get on board with team Trump or he will try to hurt your state. Trump could have instead lauded Huntsville’s infrastructure or mentioned “Rocket City’s” low cost of living (the main reason Huntsville was selected as the new home for the command during his first term in office). Trump highlighted the political reasons to move the command to send a warning.

And this is par for the course. Since taking office, Trump has flouted long-held ethical standards meant to protect the American people from a president who is full of anger and wrath, and to prevent corruption of our great nation.

We hope this decision and his attack on Colorado will help sway voters in places like El Paso County when Trump tries to retain office in just a few short years.

“The problem I have with Colorado — one of the big problems — they do mail-in voting. They went to all mail-in voting so they have automatically crooked elections and we can’t have that. When a state is for mail-in voting that means they want dishonest elections,” Trump said. “That played a big factor also.”

Colorado’s mail-in ballots are secure, and despite Trump’s claims, repeated audits done by hand have shown that the 2020 election results in Colorado were not fraudulent. The list of voters who participated in the election is public, and despite hours of scouring the list, there is no evidence that any of those voters are fake.

Ballots are tied to individual voters and were audited in counties across the state.

There is simply no evidence that Colorado’s mail-in elections allow widespread fraud, and certainly no evidence that the ballot machines were rigged as Trump continues to claim, supporting his unconstitutional bid to remain in the White House after he lost in 2020.

But Coloradans should not despair at the unfortunate turn the executive branch has taken.

This bad decision has at least united our entire congressional delegation. Our Republican elected representatives, Jeff Hurd, Jeff Crank, Lauren Boebert and Gabe Evans, joined our Democratic representatives, Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, Jason Crow, and Brittany Pettersen, in denouncing the move.

U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet also joined the letter, making the sentiment unanimous.

“We are united in fighting to reverse this decision,” they wrote. “Bottom line – moving Space Command headquarters weakens our national security at the worst possible time. … Colorado Springs is the appropriate home for U.S. Space Command, and we will take the necessary action to keep it there.”

Well done.

Such a united front gives us hope that, as President Donald Trump continues to exceed his constitutionally granted authority, our elected representatives will stand strong. For now, it is about Space Command, but soon we will need both the House and the Senate to affirm that states are allowed to hold their elections as they see fit without dangerous federal meddling.

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We can bridge the rural-urban divide in our state

Re: “Why rural Coloradans feel ignored — a resentment as old as America itself,” Aug. 24 commentary

Years ago the Colorado Humanities Council (as it was then called), sponsored a marvelous program called the Five States of Colorado. The divide we have is a regional one, as different areas of the state look at issues differently. In order to celebrate that diversity, especially with Colorado’s upcoming 150th birthday, we ought to reestablish a sister cities and town program in which a variety of communities adopt each other during 2026.

Community leaders can exchange visits, gifts, and events to celebrate not only our unique differences but also common interests that bind us together as a marvelous state.

I think it would be a much better bridge to build, rather than one across Lincoln Street.

Sam Mamet, Denver

As a child of the suburbs and a denizen of cities for almost 70 years, I am compelled to write that I have never in my life felt any antipathy to people who live and work on farms. Nor do I romanticize agricultural life, or urban life for that matter.

Reading this article depicting this divide between urban and rural leaves me with sadness. Here we have yet another example of a divide that separates us. And yet, as the article infers, the divide has been with us since the first cities were created thousands of years ago.

Let us strive to find the connections between us. Let us celebrate our interdependence. My intuition tells me that we will want to rely upon one another more than ever as we address the issues that beset our planet — our shared planet.

Evan Siegel, Westminster

I don’t buy the class comparison of urban people looking down on rural people. I have traveled all over rural America. I have great respect for farmers and ranchers who tend the earth in a sustainable way. The fact is, city-bound corporations are running industrial farming, including livestock raising, relying on chemicals, hormones, feedlots and scarce water for low-value crops like alfalfa for cattle feed. Eating beef the way Americans do is becoming unsustainable for Earth’s climate and water supplies. It is treated as a delicacy for much of the world.

Yes, our fossil fuel consumption is an even greater threat to the planet (and to agriculture). Climate change is creating havoc on agriculture worldwide. But we need to address greenhouse gases across all sectors.

I’m also tired of the wolf debate being framed as urban vs rural. Superficially, that appears to be the case, but lots of Western Slope voters voted in favor. The ranching lobby is still powerful and spread fear of death to our children and ruin of livestock. Many Western Slope ranchers run grazing allotments on public lands that belong to all of us, including urban voters who want to see healthy ecosystems. CPW has removed problem wolves and there is a generous compensation plan for the relatively few animals lost.

Don’t kid yourselves, Trump doesn’t care about agriculture unless he can cut subsidies to fund tax cuts for the rich or to detain migrant workers and send them to foreign prisons.

Karl Ford, Longmont

In her commentary, one of the examples Kayla Gabehart provides is a demonstration of the very real potential for misunderstanding. Regarding the “Meat Out Day” in 2021, she writes, “Typically, gubernatorial proclamations …go largely unnoticed. … And in Denver, Colorado’s metropolitan center, this one did too.”

Perhaps Gabehart should have made clear what “largely unnoticed” meant, since one interpretation could be that no one in Denver that day went without eating meat. And isn’t that, in actuality, what the rural Coloradans wanted?

In this instance, it’s too bad both sides got so caught up in the media spectacle of political sound bites.

Ken Valero, Littleton 

While I agreed with many points Kayla Gabehart made in her column, she lost me when she said, “Trump might be their last hope.”

My partner is originally from North Platte, Neb., and we attended her 55th high school reunion. I can say with total certainty that out of all the people that attended the event, we were the only two liberals in the room. This did not surprise me because Nebraska, with the exception of Omaha and Lincoln, is overwhelmingly Republican.

What did surprise me was that these people have voted against their own self-interests. They are facing a crisis where many rural hospitals will be forced to close because of Trump’s policies. He is hurting the agricultural economy with his thoughtless and random tariffs, forcing Nebraska and other rural states to lose valuable international markets for their crops.

I agree with many of Gabehart’s points, but saying that Trump might be their last choice is categorically wrong. Trump cares nothing about the farmers in this country. All he cares about is turning our now fragile Democracy into an authoritarian state.

I just hope rural America realizes this before it is too late.

David Shaw, Highlands Ranch

Good riddance, Dodgers and Padres

Re: “Rockies fans should root for MLB realignment,” Aug. 24 sports commentary

I’ve been reading everything about realignment, and Sean Keeler’s is the first column that makes sense. Most New York papers hate realignment because it would put the high-payroll Yankees, Mets, and Phillies in the same division. A San Francisco sportswriter was upset that realignment would break up the Giants-Dodgers rivalry. Let them have the Dodgers — and the Padres too, whose GM A.J. Preller has a way of orchestrating deals for the top stars.

The Rockies and Diamondbacks have nice stadiums that don’t look like those other ones. So will Las Vegas. So will the new one in Salt Lake City if it happens. I love those four together. The fresh faces of the MLB.

Listen to Mr. Keeler.

Adam Silbert, New York, NY

There are renewable energy options for DIA

Re: “No reason to hate on DIA’s nuclear reactor plans,” Aug. 24 commentary

I can help Krista Kafer, who thinks DIA should study using nuclear power for future energy uses. Wind, solar and batteries would work and be cheaper. A study by energy think tank Ember showed that Las Vegas could be powered 97% of the time by 6 GW of solar and 17 GWh of battery storage at 57% of the cost of nuclear. That’s at today’s prices. Costs are not in for new nuclear tech.

Las Vegas is sunnier than DIA but the study did not include any wind generation. It’s probably windy enough at DIA. Instead of spending $1.25 million on the study, DIA could pay $500,000 to fact-check the Ember study and start building tomorrow — saving $ 750,000 and being ready years ahead.

Nuclear power will face problems with technology and cost because the SMRs are still being developed. Then they must win public opinion in a world where facts and science are not important. Then they need to produce a reactor that meets the current lofty predictions. I would not volunteer to be the first taxpayer for that project.

David Stewart, Aurora

One thing Krista Kafer failed to discuss is that there has been no solution on what to do with the radioactive waste that is produced by nuclear reactors. Because this waste can last for tens of thousands of years before it becomes safe, there needs to be a solution to this problem. Understandably, no one has wanted it to be dumped in their area.

Terry Scott, Greeley

Democrats are facing the consequences

Re: “Democratic Party is facing crisis over voter registration,” Aug. 24 news story

The Democratic Party had two opportunities to show us that they put individual rights and economic reforms favoring ordinary Americans at the forefront of their agenda when they briefly controlled the legislative and executive branches under President Obama and again under President Biden. They failed in both instances.

The successes they touted, the Affordable Care Act and the Economic Recovery Act, though well intentioned and nominally successful, were band-aid solutions that failed to address root problems facing Americans: out of control price increases in health care, housing and post-secondary education; a growing disparity of wealth between the rich and everybody else; and, a rogue Supreme Court, hell bent on paving the way for a new American style feudal system. Biden and the Dems could have blunted SCOTUS excesses by increasing the number of justices when they had the power. They didn’t, thus showing me they weren’t serious reformists.

I fully understand why many have left the Democratic Party. But they will get nowhere with the Republicans either, which puts many voters like me, who are fed up with both parties, in a dilemma. To not vote is to make our republic meaningless, but to continue to vote for the same two parties is to continue to perpetuate an increasingly failing system, answering the age-old question of what insanity is: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Gerry Camilli, Englewood

Thanks be to God! The Democrats are nuts and want men in women’s locker rooms and vice versa, they want men in women’s sports, they want children to be allowed to be mutilated sexually, and they want children to decide whether or not to take hormones to change their gender. Anyone who believes these things is nuts. God help us if the Democrats continue on this insane path.

Dee Walworth, Brighton

‘Raw hatred unleashed’

Re: “Trump ran on promise of revenge, is making good on it retribution,” Aug. 24 news story

The inner essence of President Donald Trump’s character has never been more vividly revealed than in his accelerating revenge campaign unleashed against anyone who dares question him. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this revenge is the acquiescence of his support base and the GOP representatives to the raw hatred unleashed by our Emir of Evil. I find myself apologizing to foreign visitors on our Colorado hiking trails for this national collapse of moral character, and shamed by the silence of those in his party during a national time of trial.

Ronald L. Puening, Centennial

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Scott Gilmore was among 169 city of Denver employees laid off this week. We know this is a difficult time for those individuals and their families as they face the loss of income and unsettling uncertainty in a job market that is tightening amid federal layoffs and reductions in funding.

We are sympathetic to Gilmore’s valid concerns: Was he targeted for a layoff because of his wife’s role on City Council? Why lay off someone who is 4 years from retirement rather than offer a buyout? And will the city’s stellar work with the indigenous community grind to a halt without his advocacy?

However, we are concerned about the behavior of City Council Member Stacie Gilmore – Scott’s wife who was elected to council several years after Scott first started working for Denver Parks and Recreation.

Stacie Gilmore expressed her dismay that her husband lost his job during a recent City Council meeting and inferred that perhaps Gilmore was targeted by Mayor Mike Johnston because of her vocal opposition to some of the mayor’s decisions. We are not privy to the private disputes that may have existed between the mayor and Stacie and Scott Gilmore, so we’ll merely say that if she has that concern, she should absolutely bring forward evidence. We are certain other employees in the Parks Department would support her claim if it is true.

But we think Gilmore crossed a line when she began sending out mass emails from her City Council email address advocating for her husband’s job and encouraging others in the community to do the same.

This is a use of her official position that she didn’t exert on behalf of a single other person who was part of the layoffs this week. We know for certain that other valuable members of city government were let go during this layoff cycle, and yet a member of City Council used her position to only assist one of those individuals — her husband.

“History repeats itself unless the oppressed raise their voices,” Gilmore wrote, noting the good work her husband has done in the Parks Department to advocate for projects with many indigenous communities. “As the elected representative for District 11 it is my duty to be transparent and accountable to the people I serve, and I serve the American Indian Community of Denver, my residents in District 11 and anyone else who implores my assistance to navigate the bureaucracy of government.

“I ask that every individual on this email, share their thoughts with the media because this story deserves to be told and we have worked so hard to heal ourselves and come together for the community that we will not give up getting what is right and just.”

Many members of the community did share their thoughts with The Denver Post and others who were included on the e-mail.

Their concerns were valid. Without Scott Gilmore would the city continue core projects that are important to their communities?

There is a big difference between raising concerns that your husband was politically targeted for a layoff and making the public argument that your husband is so indispensable to the city he should be immediately rehired. Worse she used her position to pressure members of the community to also advocate for her husband’s job.

The good news is that the City of Denver is committed to the projects that Stacie Gilmore feared could get cut.

Denver Parks and Recreation Executive Director Jolon Clark, who is also a former Denver City Council member, said that the parks department is 100% committed to projects like the Buffalo Return Home Program that uses Denver’s mountain herds to provide bison for free to tribes looking to establish or grow their own herds.

“They are priorities for us as a department. They are priorities for us as a city, and they are not tied to any one person,” Clark said, noting that while Scott Gilmore was a deputy in charge of special projects, the projects on the list were not directly under his chain of command.

We are glad to hear that commitment to these projects will continue.

Hopefully, the decision to layoff Gilmore will not strain relations between the city and the indiginous community. Fortunately, Stacie Gilmore is still in a prominent position to help assure the community that commitment remains strong to rebuilding trust.

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The other message on the president’s hat

Re: “FBI searches home, office of former Trump adviser,” Aug. 23 news story

When President Donald Trump was interviewed about the FBI raid on John Bolton’s house on Friday, he was wearing a new cap with the printing “Trump was right about everything!” That is fitting because in Rick Atkinson’s “Liberation Trilogy” book series about the U.S. army in Europe in World War II, he relates how they encountered many posters in Italy saying, “Mussolini is always right.” And in Germany they encountered posters saying, “Hitler is always right.” Seems to be a pattern.

Gary Waldman, Aurora

How would blue-state governors feel about deployment?

Re: “Trump adds cities for possible deployment,” Aug. 25 news story

Among cities with a reported violent crime rate as high or higher than Chicago and New York are Memphis, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Cleveland. Why isn’t the president making the Republican governors of those states the same threat of National Guard deployment he is making to the governors of Maryland, Illinois, and New York?

If he did, would the Republican governors in those states have any different reaction than those of the Democratic governors?

Shouldn’t Vice President JD Vance (Ohio) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Louisiana) openly welcome the president’s help to reduce crime in the above cities in their state?

Curt Anderson, Broomfield

The spike in health care premiums

Re: “Colorado faces 28% spike in costs,” July 22 news story

The shock of large increases in Colorado health care premiums for the upcoming enrollment period is sad on so many levels. The Big Beautiful Bill that Congress passed and the president signed largely eliminated federal premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) that have kept premiums halfway reasonable in order to help finance tax cuts that disproportionally benefit the wealthy and large corporations.

Republicans have been clear for years that they wanted to eliminate or neuter the ACA and make these tax cuts permanent, and now they have.

For those who don’t get involved or at least pay attention to politics, my message is: If you don’t make sure you have a seat at the table, you are on the menu — chomp chomp.

John W Thomas, Fort Collins

What’s bad for the goose …

Re: “Trump’s performances with leaders reminded me why I’m a proud neocon,” Aug. 20 commentary

In his article explaining neoconservative values, referring to the war in Ukraine, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens states that “if disorder goes unchecked, or if aggression is rewarded, in one part of the world, it will encourage disorder and aggression in other parts.”

I have to wonder if the same applies to Israel. Stephens is a vocal supporter of Israel. Israel’s unchecked aggression against the Palestinians is causing death, displacement and starvation. He is right that such behavior in one place will encourage it in other places. Since America supports Israel with money and weapons, it will be hard for us to condemn the next genocide in Africa, or India’s persecution of Muslims, or China’s aggression against Taiwan.

If neocon values are worth applying to the world, they should be applied consistently.

Steve Laudeman, Denver

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