A good day to remember our Declaration of Independence
July 4th is much more than BBQs and beer, parades and horns. It celebrates the birth of our nation, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, a statement of why our first patriots felt compelled to rebel against their king. Every American would do well to read it aloud at home and in their public spaces on this day — and to honor its contents. Some of the complaints sound familiar to our ears:
• [the King] “has obstructed the Administration of Justice;”
• he has “affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power;”
• he is “cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world” and “imposing Taxes without our Consent;”
• he is “depriving us in many cases of the benefits of Trial by Jury” and is “transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences;”
• he is “altering fundamentally the Forms of our governments;”
• “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.”
They declare,” A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
By this Declaration, Americans asserted their unwillingness to be serfs or vassals to an unaccountable ruler, but rather as free people who demand their leaders be answerable to them and to the laws they enact. Let us honor the true meaning of this national holiday.
Wendy Orley, Highlands Ranch
A history of unwanted immigrants
The current immigration policies are clouded in a blanket of hypocrisy. Many of our ancestors were once unwanted immigrants. And many were probably undocumented.
In the second half of the 19th century, the U.S. government broke numerous treaties with various indigenous people, all under the guise of manifest destiny. Two huge American figures at that time, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, opposed the Mexican-American War on moral grounds. Grant called it one of the worst examples of a strong country taking advantage of a weaker one. It was a shameful display of American greed and power.
Maybe we need more understanding and compassion when it comes to immigration and fewer ICE raids.
Chris Sandoval, Arvada
Public radio deserves federal support
It is shameful to see the administration’s fraudulent approach to dealing with public broadcasting. Public radio stations receive on average 14% of their operating expenses from federal funds. That’s it. The rest is given through individual support. I have regularly supported public radio as the vital, independent source for news and music that it is.
Contrary to the false statements by President Donald Trump and his followers, public media is neither radical nor does it have an agenda other than to inform through independent journalism and provide a wide range of community-specific news and features, especially in rural areas. I suspect that at the core of his attacks, Trump does not like public media because it is fact-based reporting, and he is unable to control the narrative, and it is well known he despises any news entity that reports on him truthfully.
This administration froze funding to Radio Free Europe after a 70-year history of truthful reporting, reaching people suffering under authoritarian governments. Repressing all outside news is a pathetic attempt at budget cutting, and a boon to monsters like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Viktor Orban, and so on.
Thomas M. Holzfaster, Lakewood
Rail is not set up for reliability
Re: “Board tentatively OKs pursuing Front Range passenger rail between Denver, Fort Collins,” June 25 news story
When will people learn? They make jokes about the unreliability of Amtrak, and then folks expect to borrow freight track from Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, Canadian National or any other non-governmental host railroad for a cost and schedule that perfectly fits their plans. After almost 30 years in the industry, both railroad manufacturing and transit agencies, my answer is: Good luck with that!
The host railroad that profits primarily from freight operations will never prioritize passenger runs. Longer consist, fewer engineers, looser regulations, tighter schedules, and emphasis, I repeat emphasis, on cost containment all mean one thing: plan on Amtrak-like reliability for passenger trains. Accidents, repairs, and maintenance will all result in the same thing: “We gotta use the bus today.”
Ride quality is another issue. Cargo containers can sway pretty wildly before triggering any shock watch. Unless RTD wants to trigger plenty of passengers, they’d better plan on paying billions to upgrade freight track – concrete sleepers, continuous rail, at grade crossings becoming bridges, PTC upgrades, etc, etc, and all at taxpayer expense, as none of these upgrades would be necessary to continue those freight operations.
Either pay to double-track that right-of-way, buy it outright, or forget about ever meeting cost or schedule… or the expectations of the commuting public.
Dave Knutson, Arvada
Related Articles
Rancher compensation: Don’t cry wolf without the facts (Letters) Megan Schrader’s call for Trump protests is dangerous (Letters) Keep our public lands public (Letters) Beware federal agents hiding behind masks (Letters) Ozone days and stifling heat are not the days to cut EV tax credits (Letters)As we consider transport along the Front Range, let’s ensure we explore the benefits of Maglev high-speed trains (look up China’s CRRC 600 or Central Japan Railway Company – JR Central – L0 Series). Maglev also has the promise of being able to handle 10-degree inclines, making it a natural extension to our mountain resort communities, relieving traffic on I-70.
Other alternatives worth considering: Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) and Automated Transit Network (ATN) where small transport pods, propelled by maglev, would move four to six people with no (or very limited) intermediate stops — the total station to station transport time may be even better than maglev trains and the cost to construct/maintain is a fraction of a tradition rail system with large stations.
Depending upon projected volumes (passengers/cargo), electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft may have even better cost and benefits (lower land purchases, infrastructure, maintenance).
Rather than building more than a century-old rail technology and implementing obsolete technology, let’s consider Maglev, ATN/PRT and eVTOL.
Michael MacLauchlan, Denver
Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( A good day to remember the words in our Declaration of Independence (Letters) )
Also on site :
- Beloved brand ends controversial 50 cent fee on popular breakfast staple as it gets ahead of Waffle House
- Russia’s international reserves hit all-time high – central bank
- Rihanna and ASAP Rocky's Son RZA, 3, Studies French on Family Road Trip