"Lifer," Adam Cayton-Holland, and "Bursting Their Bubble," Sean Cronin, September 25
Thank you for giving attention to the hot issue of "personhood," as the lifers would like to define it in "Lifer." Amendment 48 has grave implications for all people in Colorado and carries the potential for a frightening scenario in which a woman's body and life would be deemed less important than a single bundle of molecules inside of her. Kristi Burton says she speaks for the voices of the unborn; Prop 48 would strip the voices of our living daughters. Thank you for exposing the anti-choice camp in all its extreme ridiculosity.
Julie Slater
Denver
Planned Parenthood provides a valuable, varied and necessary medical service to all women — regardless of age or ethnic, cultural, religious and financial background.
Kristi Burton displays a shocking lack of empathy, wisdom and common sense. I understand that she is young and naive, but she's so brainwashed that she reminds me of Sarah Palin. Could someone please take the blinders off these sheep and remind them of the separation of church and state?
I also read, with a great deal of sadness, "Bursting Their Bubble," Sean Cronin's article on Jo Scott and her husband, who approached vulnerable women outside of the Vine Street facility. This is the sort of outrage and rhetoric that prompted Nazism to sweep Europe in the '30s and burn people (and books) to the detriment of all (not just the educated). It also spread hate and fear here in the U.S. Planned Parenthood makes sure we do not return to a lack of knowledge and back-street abortions. Do you really want to regress to despicable street surgeons? Did Prohibition ever work?
One more question. Would this be an issue if men were checking into vasectomy clinics? How convenient that the most vehement pro-lifers are the men who really want control.
Colette Christina Marchesani
Highlands Ranch
It irritates me that Jo Scott remains flippant about violating the eight-foot floating bubble law – "I occasionally might take a step too close" — despite her conviction. Perhaps now that I'm back in Denver, I should go to Planned Parenthood for my birth-control pills. If she (or anyone else, for that matter) comes closer than eight feet to harass me, she will learn that I am not afraid to press charges.
Robbie Hobein
Denver
Westword, September 25
Superb photo and design on the cover illuminating naive Kristi Burton. It would be ironic if her angelic life bubble bursts and she later faces some of the travails of Becca in the Life Goes On television series.
And Kenny Be is at his best with Wingnuts, last week's Worst-Case Scenario.
Robert Jeffries
Arvada
"Weird Science," Joel Warner, September 18
Joel Warner's description of scientist participation in the virtual world Second Life is interesting. It is natural for him to compare this world with video games, as there are many similarities. However, there are also fundamental differences. Many video games are brilliant creations, but they are designed on single systems with a predetermined set of variables, often working with famous graphic artists. Massively multi-player online games (MMOGs), such as World of Warcraft, take this concept further by allowing players access from a variety of home systems connected to the Internet. The user-generated content of Second Life, which can be approached by participants from any viable direction at any speed, is unpredictable and re-creates the chaotic nature of the real world. It is also accessed online by a wide range of home computers. This variability requires a level of code development well beyond that of any current video game.
While Second Life does have many frustrating limitations, it is the most advanced virtual world, which I believe is much of why public institutions and companies around the globe are participating in it, including Google.
Jordan Dietrich
Denver
