Incubating a global threat
To the editor,
Jesus warned, with prophetic wisdom over 2,000 years ago, not to commercialize his teachings. The warning unfortunately didn’t sink in, and profitable religious institutions sprang up around the globe – many were at war with each other shortly after Jesus was nailed to the cross.
The world is naturally on edge over the Sunni vs. Shiite crisis. The two Muslim groups read scriptures from the same book, The Koran, yet have fought each other with an embedded savage DNA for centuries.
Pope Francis recently expressed fear of ISIS/ISIL, a Sunni-sponsored terrorist sect, of entering Rome.
Not much has been said in the news as to how ISIS/ISIL truly came about because the birth of it is embarrassing to our country that invaded Iraq on the bogus premise that the leader in Iraq, Saddam Hussein, was going to use weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). What is ironic, the fact the U.S. provided Iraq with WMD’s that were illegal to use, according to The Geneva Convention, when we were on friendlier terms with Saddam before 1991, from an investigative report by distinguished news correspondent Ted Koppel.
Shortly after 9/11, during the Iraq War, thousands of troops under Saddam were incarcerated, and one of the prisons, Abu Ghraib, became news around the world for the humiliating treatment done to the ex-soldiers.
If a dog is caged and beaten, there is no hope for rehabilitation, and the same is true for former Sunni soldiers released from prison, POW’s in their own country for a decade, enraged to become Islamic terrorists of the worst kind. ISIS/ISIL was born when we left Iraq in 2011.
What does one do if an uncaged mad dog bites someone? Kill it. What can one do if an uncaged mad man seeks revenge? The whole world wants to eliminate ISIS/ISIL except Sunni countries, such as Saudi Arabia, which recently stomped to death 769 pilgrims, mostly Shiites, in Mecca, a holy site.
Pope Francis asked us to pray for him. We all need to pray for a miracle to resolve the God awful mess in the Middle East before ... .
– Sally Florence, Durango
Vote Sheldon for school board
To the editor,
I am voting for Matt Sheldon for the 9-R school board. With Matt on the board, 9-R voters will add a young man who exemplifies public service to this community and its youth. He has a wealth of experience working for our kids. Matt is a 2008 graduate of Colorado College and attended public schools for 12 years. He worked for Durango’s Boys and Girls Club for two years and is known to many of their families. He has also worked in state politics and with local environmental groups. He has lived in Durango six years.
Matt is currently working at Fort Lewis College in the Admissions Office. Every day, he sees the impact of K-12 education on our children’s future. Matt is running for this election because he wants every child in 9-R to get the best education, which prepares them for a real future in the global economy. His mother was a teacher and professor, and he respects those who work in education. He also loves the kids who 9-R serves. Matt will make a strong advocate for every child in the district. Please join me in voting for Matt Sheldon for school board.
– Mike McLachlan, Durango
Drilling the BLM on Moab leases
(Editor’s note: The following is a copy of a letter sent to the BLM regarding the Moab Master Leasing Plan.)
Dear BLM folks:
I know you are used to getting over-the-top notes from citizens regarding policy. And I know, too, that most of you are devoted to the best management of resources given your (extremely) limited budget and man (and woman) power. For most of my life in the West (I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Southern Oregon), the BLM and Forest Service have tried to control (or balance) what is called “development” and conservation. Well, if there’s anything we on the planet Earth can all agree on, it’s that each day there is less and less to conserve and that our species has pretty much made a mess of what natural systems we’ve encountered.
Couldn’t we just, for once, make news by standing up and saying “No more! Public land is neither for sale nor for development! It doesn’t matter what so-called ‘resources’ exist in or under our public land, there will be from this day forth, no extraction. That means none. Take your rigs and surveys and ask private property owners if you can ‘develop’ them. If you offer a fair price maybe both you and they will be happy with your messes. But we don’t want what little is left of public land to be passed on to our children and their children as uglified monuments to our greed.”
Thanks, whomever you are, for reading this. Hope you have healthy kids and happy days in the wild.
– Jim Watt, Bayfield
Blood – and writing – on the wall
To the editor,
The fans of Duck Dynasty, Ted Nugent and Honey Boo Boo finally have a candidate in the race for the White House. “The Donald” momentarily leads a pack of Republican contenders for the most powerful job in America. But I predict Trump’s lead will not last if for no other reason than he doesn’t have a clue, much less a plan for our future.
Trump’s mouth betrays him during every replay of his rambling speeches: he has no respect for workers, women, people of color – no matter where they are originally from. When you sift out the handful of white people who will support him all the way to hell, it is easier to understand that he has mesmerized the “low-informational” voter who believes Fox (fear and unbalanced) is a factual news source. Surely the Republican party can do better than the entire line-up of blood-on-the-wall candidates – most of whom have very questionable backgrounds. If these people are the best representatives their party offers to voters, then I believe the party is defunct and they just don’t know it – yet.
– Susan Troen, Durango