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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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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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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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