LETTERS: Thursday
Why on earth sell Memorial?
Editorial Page Editor Wayne Laugesen is wrong in suggesting that the City of Colorado Springs divest itself of Memorial Hospital (“City should take its panel’s advice,” Our View, Jan. 6), especially since his argument seems to be based on his highly-debatable notion of the proper role of city government. Having just spent eight days right before Christmas at Memorial with my seven-year old son who suffered acute appendicitis, I can personally vouch for the outstanding quality of health care that Memorial offers. Since, by Laugesen’s own admission, Memorial “...has done nothing to siphon taxpayer revenues,” why mess with one of the few (perhaps only) things that the city government does that works?
A privately-owned hospital is ultimately responsible not to its patients, but to its shareholder-owners. Memorial is a beautiful entity, equipped with cutting edge technology and staffed by as outstanding and qualified a gathering of professionals as I have ever seen. What guarantee can be made that the high level of quality care that is Memorial’s trademark will be maintained if it is sold?
The hospital serves a far wider area than Colorado Springs. Patients from much of southwestern and eastern Colorado come through its doors to be helped. Risking the loss of this vital part of the community, merely for the sake of a political philosophy, is silly and dangerously irresponsible. Memorial Hospital does as much to save lives and ensure the quality of life in Colorado Springs as do the police and fire departments. It should be left alone to continue its job. As my auto mechanic would say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Holmes Brannon
Woodland Park
Tell Sen. Bennet to listen
A recent Associated Press article titled “Democrats face increasingly difficult situation in 2010” failed to mention U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). The appointed Sen. Bennet did not stand up for the people he was appointed to represent and he seemed proud of his vote for an “imperfect Senate bill” when he spoke to a group in Grand Junction. Call Sen. Bennet and tell him we deserve better and he needs to listen to voters from Colorado, not Sens. Dodd and Schumer, or he will be in the position of never being in Colorado.
Joe Humphries
Colorado Springs
There’s no all-mail ballot
Regarding Tom Mowle’s assertion that the El Paso County Board of Commissioners support an all-mail ballot election in the Aug. 10 Primary, nothing could be farther from the truth (re: “No mail-in only voting,” Letters, Jan. 1).
There has been no vote scheduled on this proposal and, to my knowledge, not a single commissioner supports eliminating polling places, or early voting in either the upcoming Primary or General Elections.
Jim Bensberg
Chairman, El Paso County Board of Commissioners
More weird science
John Horner, in his piece “The reason why scientists don’t just make up discoveries” (Jan 6) wrote: “And so, I tend to trust my fellow scientists — at least in their science.”
That statement infers that he, a psychologist, is a scientist. Nothing is further from the truth and Horner knows that. Psychologists are not scientists because they do not meet the criteria of proof but can only offer statistical evidence to prove their points, much like the “2,500 scientists” who signed up for the global warming scam. Those scientists include movie stars and starlets; aging and overfed former politicians; UN bureaucrats and college professors of many stripes, including economists like Paul Krugman who, in some fashion, also consider themselves scientists.
I always have problems with liberals who never can stick to facts and exaggerate their own importance and credentials at every turn in order to distort true science.
Edward Foss
Colorado Springs
Cop copters are no loss
It is so great to see police helicopters finally grounded and we taxpayers begin to enjoy some savings from this needless waste. As a city with a robbery and murder rate one half the national average, we need to scale back the size of our police force sharply. Taxpayers should demand the police force be reduced by 50 percent from its current level so the police force size is in line with the crime rate in our city. The reality is that with Colorado’s concealed handgun law, bad guys are afraid to commit violent crimes in Colorado Springs because they know there is a good chance they will be killed by an armed citizen.
Armed citizens, and not police, make our city a safe place. We taxpayers should take advantage of this and reduce our police force now and we might see there are opportunities to also reduce tax rates that would lead to economic growth and more jobs for all.
Rick Supplee
Colorado Springs
$1 million giveaway
In her Jan. 4 letter (“This idea could work), Jane Brown claims that giving $1 million to each of the 40 million people in this country over 50 years of age would save our economy and that she can see no down side in doing that.
I suppose one small downside might be the $40 trillion it would require to give each of those people $1 million. Just a small detail!
Michael Clark
Colorado Springs
She must be kidding
It was with amusement that I read Jane Brown’s Jan. 4 letter “This could work.” She wondered what would be the down side of giving a $1 million severance to the 40 million people over 50 in the work force and forcing them to retire, buy an American car and buy a house/pay off their mortgages. She must be kidding.
1. That amounts to $40 trillion dollars. Where would that money come from? If the treasury printed that much money, the dollar would be effectively worthless. Our government would default on its obligations and our country would be bankrupt.
2. Forcing people to retire would be a huge disruption on our economy as highly skilled workers left in droves only to be replaced by less skilled workers; productivity would plunge.
3. Being forced to buy an American car would destroy car companies like Honda and Toyota that employ thousands here in America. Prices would skyrocket on American made cars.
4. Forcing people to buy houses or pay off their mortgages would cause home prices to go through the roof.
What we need is the government to quit trying to fix things and let the economy cycle through this recession.
Tom LaValley
Colorado Springs
