Michael Roberts's Westword articles on the downslide of the Denver dailies are on target and apply to all media. Nobody wants to say what is really happening. Since dumping the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the monopolies have risen in America. The public is not being served. A few companies and individuals are able to control the news just as Castro does in Cuba. Even Katie Couric is beginning to realize that she is a puppet. Where is the news? Where is the culture of corruption? Where is the war news and deaths? All we get is:
Tips for dummies (bundle up, wash your hands, etc.).
People who make a difference.
Murders, teacher sex, poetic tear-jerkers, prostitutes in Syria from Iraq.
Front-page preacher stories, war protests on the back pages. (Both dailies endorsed Bush.)
A business section from the Wall Street Journal, the most conservative paper in the country, was brought into the Denver Post at the same time consumer columns were thrown out.
I enjoyed reading the dailies for over fifty years, and I only read Westword now. There isn't any news on TV. The public is leaving because of content, not technology. At least Westword is not a lapdog for big business and the administration. Hopefully, there is still enough of the middle class left to read Westword.
Rand Brown
Centennial
"Dr. Feelgood," J. Hoberman, June 28
In defense of Michael Moore's documentary Sicko, I cannot define the difference between modern journalism and his journalistic style. J. Hoberman is right about one thing: Moore did not offer an alternative solution, but he did get us to discuss and think about this outrageous and disgraceful tragedy. Maybe Westword could do a story on the health-insurance industry. I would like to know how a sick, psychotic, sociopathic industry can base its commissions on who lives and who dies.
How are impressionable young people supposed to understand compassion and civility when we as a society condone such animalistic barbarism? Sicko has apparently sparked debate and an endless barrage of petitions, letter campaigns and websites, so clearly the American people have had it with this social Darwin capitalism gone mad.
Michael Claxton
Littleton
"The Beautiful Game," Adam Cayton-Holland, July 5
I wanted to commend you on the excellent article on the African immigrant situation. I have known Daniel Smith since he was a boy (he is my son's buddy), and Adam Cayton-Holland truly captured his spirit. He also did a great job of writing about the complicated issues that these families face.
Marcia Cornejo
Denver
"Smile High," Juliet Wittman, June 21
In her review of The Taffetas, Juliet Wittman wrote her opinion of life in the '50s. All I can say is that she never grew up in that era, or she wouldn't have painted it the way she did. The '50s were wonderful days for those who were fortunate to have been teenagers back then. I wouldn't trade those times for any times since. We had family values, marriages that lasted, activities based around family and friends enjoying clean fun, and no crap on TV! I could go on, but unless you lived it, you can't understand what it was like.
Juliet's depiction is a dismal display of ignorance of the time, and she must have read it in a book. Next time, have someone write about an era they experienced — or at least talk to someone who has!
Bobby Davis
Littleton
"Fears of a Clown," Juliet Wittman, June 28
In response to Juliet Wittman's question about who these performers are in Corteo, I can tell you that one former member is a kind, talented family man living the life of a hardworking immigrant, and a therapist for us at the Izba Spa. Having his friends in town for these few weeks has been a great pleasure — a chance to see the city, visit the mountains and relax at the spa with traditional food, drink and, of course, the banya.
Thank you for recognizing the heart, soul and substance of Cirque du Soleil: the performers.
Karen Chesser
Parker
