LETTERS: This is not the story; elections and results matter | Opinion

This is not the story

I read your article about the mayor’s conversations with immigrants in the Broadmoor. I would like to know how many of these immigrants are illegal immigrants, have cartels, and have criminal records in their home country. We would like to know where these workers live, how many per housing unit, whether they are learning to read and write in English, and whether they are becoming citizens.

That the mayor got “help” because he had money is not part of the story. Every kid who leaves home to go to college has the same fears he does.

Why is this so important? The story should be about the immigrants and their lives, not about a small, select group of perfect people. Personally, I’m tired of the mayor and his opportunity to stand in front of people and tell an interesting story about himself. It’s not about him. He wasn’t in need.

Sharon de Halas

Colorado Springs

Columnist did a good job

I read Bob Loevy’s column on ranked choice voting in the Sunday Gazette and would like to comment on it.

I was undecided about whether to vote on the upcoming House Bill 131. I am disillusioned with the way the two-party system works and several years ago, in an admittedly symbolic gesture, I gave up my party affiliation and became non-partisan.

Regardless of whether he opposes 131, I think he did a good job of explaining how it would work, to the extent that I feel I can make the decision I think is right. Whether I always agree with his columns or not, he always explains his position thoroughly so that I can understand his position, and this is no exception.

Dana M. Neidhardt

Colorado Springs

Elections and results are important

There are less than 60 days until the election. As always, this time it should be more about politics than personalities. We should care about the issues and not about what we individuals like or dislike. Our country is not a dictatorship; we are not voting for individuals. On the contrary, we are voting for a party that will form a government based on its political priorities.

To repeat a mantra often heard this election season, “Ask yourself, are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Over the past four years, the Democratic Party has formed an administration focused on wild spending that led to high inflation, open borders that allowed millions of illegal immigrants (including criminals) to flood into the country, and a lack of police presence that led to high crime rates. Now, when asked about policy issues, their presidential candidate speaks in vague platitudes and broad positions. The Republican Party, on the other hand, has strong policy positions that will lead the country back to economic prosperity, controlled immigration, energy independence, and strong national security.

Elections matter and results matter. It’s time to get our national politics back on track. The way to do that is to replace the Democratic administration with a Republican one. That requires Republicans and independents to vote and elect Republican candidates.

David Geuting

Colorado Springs

Insatiable appetite for cash

Before you vote, remember: “Nothing is free!” The government has no money of its own. All the money it spends comes from you and me. This can be done directly, as with income tax, or indirectly, as with the increase in corporate tax, which causes the prices of the goods and services we buy to rise. Politicians may tell you they won’t raise taxes, but they have a thousand other ways to take money out of your pocket: fees for various services, licensing fees you pay to practice your profession, tolls you pay to drive on the highway, entrance fees to national parks, etc., etc.

Socialism simply increases the tax burden on those who work; someone has to pay for all the “free” money and services provided to those who don’t work. The cost of tax breaks for one business or one type of worker is inevitably passed on to the rest of us. Government, whether local, state, or national, has no incentive to shrink. It is a fast-growing business with an insatiable appetite for money. Unfortunately, it is not a productive or efficient business. A vote for socialism is a vote for more regulation and taxation.

Bill Healy, Jr.

monument

Dueling political ideas

In his September 19 letter, Phillip Riffe writes that if Donald Trump is elected, “we can expect a national abortion ban—possibly followed by a contraceptive ban.” This is a popular claim on the left, despite Trump having stated explicitly on multiple occasions that he would not sign a national abortion bill (and not to mention that the chances of such a bill passing both houses of Congress are virtually nil). As for the contraceptive ban, I’m frankly amazed that anyone thinks such an idea is anything more than pure fearmongering by the same people who claim Trump is not just a threat but an “existential” threat to democracy, ignoring the inconvenient fact that the country did, thank you, pretty well during his first term.

I agree with Riffe’s closing remarks, urging us to vote for the party that respects women. But that is not the party that allows men to invade women’s locker rooms and compete against women in sports, destroying their hopes of success after years of hard work and training (e.g. Riley Gaines). Nor is it the party that allows teenagers to undergo permanent, life-changing surgical mutilation when what they really need is compassionate counseling (e.g. Chloe Cole).

Robert Herzfeld

Colorado Springs

Hateful letter

I just read the letter from Thomas J. Horton: “Trump’s actions speak volumes.”

This letter is extremely hateful towards former President Donald Trump and his many supporters. I am a supporter of the former President, but I am not a bully. I am a peaceful Christian (as are my friends) and do not believe I should be referred to with the hateful terms Horton uses in his letter.

Linda Percy

Colorado Springs