Reader: "Big money draws thieves as much as a cow patty draws flies"

"Drilled, Baby, Drilled," alan prendergast, january 19

I just finished reading Alan Prendergast's latest story on — to use the politest of euphemisms — mismanagement at the Department of the Interior. As is often the case with Alan, it's great stuff, suggesting that Colorado's beloved Ken Salazar may be asleep at the wheel, to phrase it politely.

It's not the first time I've seen a story in Westword that isn't even visible — though it should be — to the mainstream media, and it's one more reason why, years after moving away, Westword is a publication I still make a point of reading online every week.

Ray Schoch

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Big money draws thieves as much as a cow patty draws flies. When people work in a position of trust and violate that trust, they should be punished. The corporate criminals should be blackballed from doing business as a punishment, along with paying a cash penalty. This will always happen, and we have to be vigilant and hire enough police and investigators. When corporations support candidates, that say they want less regulation — but they just don't want to get caught. If a business can't survive without stealing, then it just didn't make it. Shut it down!

Bob Schmetzer

Posted at westword.com

The federal government is stealing from us daily — all under the hype of public good and public safety. Salazar is a puppet for the big boy, and that's just why he was appointed: Birds of a feather flock together. They are trying to harness any creative energy this nation has and funnel all the funds to a few. Wake up, America.

Sally Moore

Posted at westword.com

Call it what it is: an arm of the IRS that makes the price higher at the pump. As far as the sex, was Bill Clinton in charge?

Mark Roberts

Posted at westword.com

Enough, already.

No corporation has ever paid fees or taxes; their customers do! The continuous hue and cry to effectively raise everyone's cost of living in the name of class inequality is the siren song aimed at the truly ignorant.

Your audience knows and deserves better.

Paul Cuthbertson

Federal Heights

"A World Away," Melanie Asmar, January 12

Thank you for Melanie Asmar's cover article on Drucie Bathin and her efforts to help the refugee community in Colorado. Drucie is a smart and dedicated lady and a real asset to the Karen community, the refugee community and Denver as a whole. Your readers should be aware that, along with the work of Drucie and her organization, there are hundreds of volunteers in other church- and community-based organizations who are helping refugees resettle in Denver. This is important work in so many ways, and there are always opportunities for more people to lend a hand.

We should keep in mind that, since American foreign policy is often directly or indirectly responsible for the conditions that cause many people to become refugees, we as Americans citizens bear some responsibility for helping these people resettle here and start new lives. And for those who are concerned that refugees are coming to America so they can take advantage of our public assistance, please consider that when you go to a restaurant or stay in a hotel, it is most likely an immigrant and/or a refugee who is cooking the food, cleaning the dishes and changing the towels in the bathroom. Above all else, consider the significant ways in which ethnic communities from all over the world help enrich the diversity of the Denver area and make this a better place to live for all of us.

Steve Laudeman

I went to Vietnam three times; I have watched as the Vietnamese people came here much in the same way. If they stayed, they would be in prison or dead. It is not going to be easy, but they can make it better. They have a chance, and these are the people who end up making the best Americans. They will do whatever it takes, and they are not like the lazy Americans born in this country who think it should be free. These are proud people, and although things are bad now, it will not stay that way.

Welcome, but just be careful of those who say they want to help.

Mark Roberts

Posted at westword.com

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Jef Otte, January 12

To amplify Jef Otte's comments about Cee Lo Green's "And no religion too" to "All religion's true" mash-up of John Lennon's "Imagine":

Damn right, Jef! Nothing should be sacred, especially Lennon lyrics! Art ain't art till it's been ridiculed or defaced. In 1975, the WTC Twin Towers were inaugurated as a "Monument to World Peace." Reflections on "world peace" never had a finer moment than the day after they came down. End result: Over ten years later, we've got some professional soldiers peeing on dead Afghan boys labeled-in-translation "students," and American hero Taliban Tim a-scramblin' and a-throwin' and "grateful for the platform."

"All religion's true" is a wonderful uptake on Lennon for our times. "All hail the placebo effect!" Oops — I mean, "God bless us, one and all!"