Realign college conferences to make geographical sense

Realign college conferences to make geographical sense

Re:  “Buffs return to different Big 12 than they left behind in 2011,” July 28 sports analysis

Big 12, Big 10, Pac-12, SEC. Once upon a time, back when traveling by airplanes was new, college football conferences made geographic sense. But now, conference maps resemble a drunken game of cat’s cradle.

Competitors are spread across the country as universities jockey to optimize television receipts. Bleary-eyed athletes cross time zones to satisfy the marketplace. With a nod to competitive status, let’s organize the leagues to minimize inter-city distances, thereby reducing travel costs and, more importantly, reducing the amount of carbon emitted in a sports season. In the new age of global warming, is this too much to ask of a university athletic department?

DIA to Seattle, about 1,024 miles; DIA to Austin, 775 miles; DIA to Lincoln, 423 miles … you get the idea. A new algorithm is needed for a new era. I’ll bet “AI” could organize some sensible leagues.

Phil Nelson, Golden

Speak no evil …

Re: “Payton expresses remorse after criticizing Hackett, Broncos organization,” July 29 sports story

Regarding the Broncos’ new head coach, there is an old expression that he should display in his office, the locker room and a pillar to live by, “No matter what hat one wears in life, never miss the opportunity to keep your mouth shut.”

If one does not say anything, no one can make comments.

Jay Weinstein, Denver

Some reparation was made

Re: “How to address Colorado’s evil history,” July 29 letter to the editor

For the reader that asked about reparations for the Japanese-Americans held in camps during WWII, President Ronald Reagan signed The Civil Liberties Act of 1987, which compensated more than 80,000 survivors with $20,000 each.

Carol Sellman, Aurora

Focus on RTD’s mission

The future vision of Denver is predicated on fewer cars moving about in the city. While electric bicycle rebates and expanded bicycle lanes make headlines, they will only make a tiny impact on the number of cars in the city. The heavy lifting will, of necessity, fall on public transportation. And the only way that the general public will leave their cars at home is if public transportation is safe, clean and convenient. Currently RTD is meeting none of these requirements.

Public transportation must become the mode of choice if the plan for the “densification” of Denver is going to work. But if it is left to the homeless, RTD will never be able to fulfill this mission. This is one of those hard decisions that elected leaders get to make. Is RTD to be run for the indigent or for the working population of Denver?

Guy Wroble, Denver

State is overplaying its hand

Re: “Land use: Talks begin again,” July 14 news story

The notion that state government has the competence or even the will to over-rule local governments in land use decisions is pure fantasy. As a left-leaning unaffiliated voter, I have agreed with most of what the legislature has done in the last couple of years. Still, the idea of the state taking over land use planning is a bit more proof that when you give any political party a super-majority, it is inevitable that party will overplay its hand and crazy ideas will be advanced.

Of course, local governments make mistakes in land use planning. Does any thinking person believe state control would somehow have perfect pitch? Legislators supporting these ideas are simply serving in the wrong office and should be on city councils or county commissions.

Barry Noreen, Denver

Trump indictment: Important to witness justice in action

Re: “Trump indicted on 4 counts — Felony charges include conspiring to defraud the U.S. government,” Aug. 2 news story

The only way Donald Trump supporters and election deniers will ever learn the truth is to televise his trials. Seeing members of the Trump administration, White House counselors and advisors, including the former vice president, on the witness stand testifying against Trump is the only way to end the nightmare of the last seven years.

Trump supporters must see for themselves what transpired so we can finally move on with rebuilding the faith and trust in our democratic republic.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts would be wise to set aside Rule 53 (regarding photography and broadcasting in federal court) and let the world see the truth.

Nancy Rife, Wheat Ridge

Donald Trump has finally been indicted for his horrific attempt to destabilize our democracy on Jan. 6, 2021. It’s an important step towards accountability and I’m thankful our legal system is working as intended. Still, it’s hard to feel any relief when Republicans in Congress are even now actively trying to enshrine Trump’s crimes into law.

The American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act should be called the Big Lie Act since it will finish what Trump started: It would make it easier for dishonest politicians to challenge election results, increase the corporate and dark money influence in our elections, disenfranchise millions of voters and block states from running voter registration programs, and empower the spread of disinformation. It is custom-designed to help Donald Trump regain power, despite his indictment.

The fact that Trump has been charged with a whole list of new, serious crimes, including Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, shows us once again that Trump and his MAGA enablers in the House are a grave threat to our democracy and our country. We deserve and demand fair, free, and open elections, not shameless power grabs and endless Republican corruption.

Robert Renfro, Denver

Of primary concern

Re: “Colorado GOP files suit against secretary of state,” Aug. 2 news story

It was inevitable that one of the two major parties would challenge the voters’ 2016 decision to open primaries to unaffiliated voters. The law could only last as long as both parties thought it was to their advantage.

The current Republican leadership does not appear to be too keen on the desires of the majority of Republicans, much less independently minded constituents. Their apparent mantra of protecting the United States from the ravages of majority rule has no place for independent thinkers.

The 2016 law has been a haven for citizens sharing the philosophy of country before party, particularly important in these politically divisive times. I’m hopeful that after the law is struck down, the Democratic party will voluntarily keep its doors open to the unaffiliated, whose votes ultimately determine the general elections. It speaks to the democratically fundamental importance of compromise to get things done.

Karl Reinig, Denver

The Republican leaders in Colorado do not want me to vote in their primary election because I might vote for someone other than their handpicked candidate, but then they expect me to vote for that candidate in the general election. I do not understand that reasoning. If I didn’t like your handpicked candidate in the primary, why would I vote for them in the general election? Unless either party runs a candidate that appeals to most of the 45% of the unaffiliated voters, they cannot win a general election.

Wayne Patton, Salida

Indictment is meant to destroy Trump

Trump Trump Trump. The saga continues. The media loves it and swallows all the claims of the left. This latest indictment is not a criminal charge, it is a political indictment, as are the others. I’m not saying I even want Donald Trump to run; I’m saying the political fangs have come out on the left and they are using third-world tactics to destroy a political opponent.

This is not right and does not stand for the Constitution and the right to free speech.

Kay Robbins – Denver

A day of reflection, action

Sunday is the anniversary of a lethal human act, when the U.S. government dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 6, 1945.

What better day for every one of us to take a small step to reduce our global temperature?

Ride a bike to work. Walk to the store. Eat a plant-based alternative to meat. Share air conditioning over a card game with the neighbors (while they turn their AC off). Plant a tree. The list is endless.

Randall Weiner, Boulder

George “Bob” Caron, Enola Gay tail gunner, the first person to see an atomic bomb explode in war, told me in an interview: “I hope no one else ever has to see that.” Three days later, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Have we learned?

David L Stevenson, Denver

The things people will believe

Re: “Lawmakers, former officials press for answers on UFOs,” July 27 news story

Recent Post articles confirm the alarming level of gullibility in this country. Congress holds serious hearings about a UFO coverup. Seventy percent of the population believes in angels. Con men like our ex-president and his minions dupe supporters into paying for non-existent wall-building projects and other schemes. Republicans still think election fraud occurred even after numerous investigations have found no evidence. People believe various claims from complete strangers on the Internet over opinions of scientists. I used to think that as years passed, the general public would become smarter. Silly me.

Tony Miller, Castle Rock

Don’t be quick to write off our pilots’ UAP testimony

Re: “UFO cover-up? Not a believer,” July 28 letter to the editor

The letter writer believes UFOs are nonsense and a pile of rubbish, so maybe he never watched the House hearings on July 26. I did and was impressed with the bipartisanship on display and also the military veterans who experienced first-hand encounters with the unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and gave their stories.

Their concern, meticulously expressed, was that these UAPs are having their way in our airspace, and there is little to nothing we can do about it.

As former Navy Cmdr. David Fravor noted, if the UAP his team encountered off San Diego had become hostile, there is nothing his Nimitz crew or jet aircraft could have done to stop the actions. To me, that is something every American ought to be concerned about, not to mention hiding the extent of UAP interference in our air space.

Writing off this topic as “ridiculous” to me is not rational.

Philip A. Stahl, Colorado Springs

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