Heated up about immigration

Dear Editors,

Illegal immigration. Is there a hotter topic in Colorado right now? When former Colorado governor and high profile Democrat Dick Lamm starts namecalling a Supreme Court decision as “outrageous judicial activism,” I think we can safely say, there’s probably not a hotter topic in our state. Unfortunately, more heat and less light were generated this week by the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to not allow the immigration related ballot initiative to be in front of voters this November. The reason given for the court’s decision was so technical in nature that it’s hard to justify, especially when a very similarly worded ballot measure was approved by the court two years ago.

People in this state want, and need, a vote on this issue. The ballot initiative asks people whether they want the state to pay for services, other than those required by the federal government, for illegal immigrants. This isn’t about being mean or xenophobic, it’s about recognizing that this state has a finite amount of resources to spend on its citizens and its legal immigrants. We have not yet recovered from our recession and our infrastructure, from education to health care to roads, needs much attention and what dollars we do have. This initiative is also about sending a message to Congress that while immigration reform requires adequate discussion, most importantly, it requires backbone, action and results. Political hot potato or not, it’s time for Congress to deal with immigration reform and cool the flaring tempers on all sides.

The Colorado Supreme Court should reconsider its ruling and let the people voice their opinion on this matter. Once voted on, the Colorado Legislature must then follow the will of the people. Let’s do that before emotions run even higher, common sense completely disappears and real solutions get further out of reach.

– Ellen Roberts, Durango, candidate for House District 59

History repeating itself?

Dear Editors,

“What Hitler saw was the formidable attraction of populist nationalism (defined as including a belief in

making another choose the ideology of the nationalist or be subjected to force, known in this case as jihad) … more powerful than class, than internationalism, than socialism … there are many people in this world who take more pleasure in brutality than honesty … more often in ideologies of nationalism. Hatred and truth are seldom reconcilable … when they are, more often than not the result is selective indignation … .”

– Preeminent historian John Lukas

“… in 1936 Hitler could have been stopped, if only the French had acted … .”

– John Ramsden’s Churchill’s lectures.

“… Churchill struggled with Halifax who wished to explore a potential negotiation with Hitler during May 1940 … the world is basically unaware of how close it came to Hitler winning the war then … without the unorthodox American-British-Alliance Hitler would have been unbeatable … had the U.S. had an isolationist president then, Hitler would have won the war.”

– Preeminent historian John Lukas

What great mind said “History tends to repeat itself, but only in general?”

And who said “Those who fail to learn the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them?”

– Kim Rogalin, via e-mail