LETTERS: Tuesday

Appalled by Paige column

Mr. Paige: Your “miffed” editorial is arrogant, condescending, and insulting (re: “Why I became so miffed CONO President David Munger,” guest column, City Councilman Sean Paige, Feb. 10).

As a property owner in three different areas of the city of Colorado Springs, I am appalled by your column. Obviously, The Gazette should have identified your former association with the paper (Paige is former editorial page editor of The Gazette).

That is trivial, however. Your comments are one-sided, ill-informed, arrogant, condescending, and demonstrate the only “activist” to be concerned about is you. Comments like “in deference to,” applied to an organization representing homeowners associations, are out of place. You do not understand democratic processes or your responsibility to all the citizens of the city. My primary concern with your misguided rant is your obvious ignorance of the property rights clause in the United States Constitution.

You argue the “privacy” rights of an individual conducting a commercial operation in his or her basement, that now must be licensed, supersedes my property rights in my home that has covenants against any commercial operation in a residential property. Isn’t that why we have zoning ordinances? Then you claim these previously illegal “activities have been going on quietly in city neighborhoods for years with little complaint.” What an absurd, ridiculous argument! Somebody is growing pot, which is illegal, and I do not complain because I don’t know about it? Now I’m supposed to go along with your progressive mentality and the absurdity of allowing someone to grow something I feel should not be legal, and in fact the possession of is illegal by federal statute, in a private residence — the action which may cause “unnecessary anxiety” in my neighborhood and bring down my property values?

If marijuana is legal, licensed, taxed, etc., and is considered to serve a legitimate medical purpose, then it should be sold by pharmacies. It should be FDA approved and standardized to protect consumers. It should be grown and processed for sale in appropriately licensed and zoned facilities, not in private basements, not grown by entrepreneurs who sell their non standardized “medicinal products” through corner store operations. You need to re-read your oath and adhere to your responsibility to all the citizens and property owners of the city.

Your undisguised support for legalizing marijuana, your activist positions under the cover of a radical political philosophy, and especially your misguided “rants” in the form of ignorance and condescension all qualify you as a detriment to the solution of this issue. Taking sides and belittling representatives of legitimate issues is the typical progressive approach — that is what is going on in the Obama administration and in the small chambers of your narrow mind. What have you been smoking?

Charles A. Wood

Colorado Springs

Hunters better than wolves

The article in the Feb. 8 Gazette that addressed the ballooning elk and deer populations and how to control the problem by introducing packs of gray wolves is an extremely self-serving and narrow-minded solution proposed by some governmental agency. The proposal would have little effect on the increasing problem and cost the taxpayers money. The biologists claim that a pack of wolves can go through an elk every 3-4 days, however the elk and deer in the Rocky Mountain region are growing by tens of thousands per year. Basic math proves that the proposal won’t work. I can understand the biologists need to trap, collar and track the gray wolf, but fencing them in as the article stated is ridiculous. Can you imagine how much that project will cost the taxpayers, let alone restrict public access to thousands of National Forest acres.

The biologists and researchers need to contact the state’s Divisions of Wildlife and embrace the concept of how to turn this ongoing issue into a revenue-generating project and make money for state and local business people.

It seems to be a trend these days for government agencies to develop crazy ideas and solve problems by spending money they don’t have, and then they look to Big Brother to issue a grant or bail them out with money they also don’t have.

Resident and non-resident hunters harvest more deer and elk than any pack of wolves. The animal harvest can be increased by reducing non-resident big game fees and extending the season dates.

This simple solution would encourage both local and out of state hunters to spend more money locally on groceries, supplies, fuel, hotels, etc. and enjoy a more successful hunting experience. I’ve been hunting in Colorado for 35 years and sometimes it takes more than 5-6 days to track, locate and harvest a big game animal. Think of the positive impact on herd control if the seasons were a few days longer and the last season ran until the end of the year or even Jan. 31 of the coming year. Think of the positive impact on the local cities and state revenue if the non-resident license was $350 instead of $550 and if a hunter wanted a second tag it would only be half the fee of the his first license.

These few ideas are probably too simple for a biologist hired to find a solution for the ballooning herds of elk and deer, but the upside to local economies, saving taxpayer dollars and controlling herd populations, far outweighs the proposed plan.

I also read in the article that the Rocky Mountain National Park paid to have sharpshooters harvest 33 elk. What’s wrong with having a drawing for a special hunt (the hunter buys the license), similar to what is currently done at the Air Force Academy to control their exploding deer population? Once again, it’s a simple plan to for an ongoing problem that has a win/win result for all parties involved.

Charlie Shea

Colorado Springs

Global cooling, not warming

After reading and listening to the pros and cons of global warming by so called experts, scientists, film makers, elected officials, presidents, vice presidents, television people, professional students, college professors, computer models and those getting government grants I decided to do my own investigation.

I have 30 years of my utility bills and found December 2009 and January 2010 I used more natural gas than ever before (not price, cubic feet).

 I have lived in the same house and upgraded my furnace to 95% several years ago. My gas meter was changed in 2009 and unless it is inaccurate, is of no consequence. Therefore I am convinced we are in global cooling not global warming. How about Al Gore’s or your gas bills, are they more or less? You decide.

 Our planet cools and warms and has done so for millions of years, long before we were here. I don’t believe our short time here has anything to do with anything.

 I really need to discard some of my records.

Joe McMullan

Colorado Springs