An ode to Citicorp

When our taxpayer money bought you AT&T

I knew you started discriminating against me

You added “occasional charges,” to which I did not agree,

So I challenged you with evidence disputing the fee,

With copies for others to see.

You reversed those charges, but then charged more,

And I realized that you would make me poor,

With interest and charges that made me sore,

And that eventually became a tug-of-war,

To pay off the balance with what I could not afford.

You have lost my business because of your greed,

Due to the signs you did not heed,

Honesty in business you will have to concede,

Is what it will take, in order to exceed,

Or else you will never ever succeed.

The pieces of your card I’m sending to you,

To close my account and never renew,

With hope that our government will eventually sue.

The return of taxpayer money is certainly due.

And with that, I bid you adieu!

– Evelyn Stacer, Mancos

Gotham or Mayberry?

To the Editors,

May I ask you to clarify your “facts” about downtown Durango for your readers? Your July 9, 2009 “Thumbin’It” section presented some “facts” that, in your opinion, have given a “Gotham City tarnish” to downtown Durango. Your “facts” supporting that thumbs down rating included “recent armed robberies” – plural? How many? Or “high-speed chases” – plural? really? Wow, when were those? Was there really more than one? Was it really in downtown Durango? Or “late night stabbings” – plural? really? Was there recently more than one? All of this in downtown Durango? Did these multiple events really happen or were the “plurals” sensationalized exaggerations? I’m certain that you want your readers to be properly informed. Thanks for “lookin’ into it.”

– Bob Allen, via email

(Editors’ reply: The Telegraph last “looked into it” on Jan. 15 of this year (visit www.durangotelegraph.com, click on Archives). According to our findings, Durango had a banner year for crime in 2008. Our little Mayberry experienced 74 crimes of violence, nine robberies (four at gunpoint), seven assaults on police officers, two kidnappings, 402 criminal trespass incidents and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, the trend appears to be continuing in 2009.)

Enabling our adversaries?

To the Editors:

President Obama damaged the CIA when he released memos describing the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used on high-level terrorists. He weakened the CIA when he said he would release photographs showing abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, but then under pressure he decided not to release the photos.

This is typical flip-flop behavior by the administration – Hold a press conference, berate and expose people for political purposes, profess it is about change and transparency, and then back off and shift positions when called to task for inept decisions that hurt the country.

The weakening of the CIA will have serious adverse consequences for the gathering, analysis and dissemination of intelligence. CIA officers will be looking over their shoulders at blabbermouth Administration officials, and Congress will not trust them and will be more concerned with covering themselves than doing their jobs. Plus rogue countries and terrorist organizations have gained valuable information from the release of the memos.

President Obama’s lack of national security experience, poor judgment and appeasement philosophy are hurting us. He is undermining our intelligence apparatus and enabling our adversaries, and our country is less safe under his watch.

– Donald A. Moskowitz, via e-mail

Cartoon heaven

Dear Editors,

On Jan. 15, 2009, Shan Wells had a full page of Bush in Review cartoons. He stated that he would miss Bush as Bush gave him so much material to work with.

He must be in cartoon heaven now. If Shan was honest he’d be printing another page or 2 of Obama and Biden cartoons with all their missteps and blunders or is that not PC in the Telegraph??

– Ken Baker, Vallecito

Saving Durango with prayer

Dear Editors,

“We must pray for our people.”

Prayer plus faith can save Durango and all of its citizens and make those that don’t believe have a smaller stake in the city, and “Durango will have a great new beginning.” We will win family after family back to the ways of those elders who put this city together. We know that all of us play a role in these prayers and the New Durango.

We will send a message out to the unbelievers that we will pray for you and even our family members that are hard to reach. We need our families to learn about the hardships of all of the men and women to bring Durango to its present and the hard work of the many helping to rebuild and maintain this historic city.

We must learn that this new beginning of a great Durango will be key to the future of this great city, and we will pray for its newest members to learn of the hardships of those who worked, sweated and died for the city of today.

In God We Trust.

– Vincent T. Vinciquerra, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Gauguin: At Low Tide

“He’s over there in the tidal pool

Soaking his eczema.

Please do not disturb him.  

He’s in terrible pain and so unnerved

By the ill treatment of the islanders

By the gendarme.”

The visitor looked down the beach

And there he was,

A singular seated silhouette in the horizon.

His hands were splashing his thighs,

Smoke streaming slowly from his pipe.

The works are now darker and foreboding,

The women seem haunted and officious,

Yet there is the portrait, “Girl with Fan” with

Those hopeful, muted buffs and bronzes

Renewing a sense of youth and sensuality.

And there in the ultra,

Monsieur Gauguin turned to the left picking up a walking stick

And waded into the pool,

Bending backward, his face to the sky

He let out a groan

And awkwardly caught himself before he would sink.

The uninvited turned away toward the off shores

And slowly walked to the slip.

The day he died

The bishop came to the hut blessed the remains

And summarily

Had a number of his works destroyed

That he considered to be indecent.  

– Burt Baldwin, Ignacio