The blame game is alive

So the D-11 board is critical of Goose Gossage, are they? I can’t think why. The man has contributed an enormous amount to the city through the years. What did they expect him to do? Give a couple million dollars to save their bacon all by himself? It’s a shame that the D-11 board couldn’t figure out how to save a beautiful campus from closure without criticizing one of our more generous citizens in the process. The blame game is alive and well.

Diane Passno

Colorado Springs

Taxpayer is the big loser

This letter is in response to all the emotional articles about D-11 closing under-utilized schools (Wasson, Bates and Lincoln). I dusted off a letter I wrote back in 2005 to encourage people to vote against the D-11 bond. The bond passed that year, but failed in two previous attempts. The D-11 taxpayer is the big loser in all this. The 2005 bond issue included $7–10 million to build new schools in the north even though D-11 was experiencing a net loss of students (600 students that year alone). Part of the D-11 bond money was used to give all schools upgrades — one of the carrots to give every D-11 school something (like upgraded facilities) — not just the wealthy neighborhoods in the north. D-11 enrollment continued to decline as the new schools were built. Predictably, two rounds of D-11 school closings followed (2009 and 2013). The school closings came with much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Where are the folks who voted for the bond? Who is now admitting that building new schools in wealthy neighborhoods up north was a good idea? Why wasn’t anyone brave enough to suggest redrawing boundary lines to fill the half empty schools in less wealthy southern neighborhoods back in 2005?

Hopefully the D-11 voters have learned something, and will be smarter if they are asked to finance a bond that includes building new schools.

Sandra Graham

Colorado Springs

Compromise in record time

With all the media attention being focused on changing gun laws, pro and con, I would like to offer this for consideration. What if it was a son, daughter, sister, brother, mother or father of either John Boehner, Harry Reid, or Wayne LaPierre that was a victim of someone using an AR-15 or AK-47 semi-automatic rifle?

Do you not think that some reasonable compromise gun law on only these types of weapons would be reached in record time? I certainly do. Food for thought!

Tom Drexler

Monument

Determined to do something

What’s more dangerous than an “assault” weapon? Clearly, it’s a politician with an idea he wants to cement into law. The president of the state Senate, John P. Morse, Democrat from Colorado Springs, has let the public know that his thinking skills have shriveled up and died. Morse wants a bill to hold “assault” gun manufacturers and sellers liable for murders using these weapons in mass or just plain ‘ole one-on-one murders. What happened to the concept of holding the murderer, regardless of his weapon — be it bomb, grenade. baseball bat, knife, machete, handgun, “assault” weapon — liable for his actions? One of the problems of liability is how does one hold a “assault” weapon murderer who commits suicide responsible, and thereby liable and subject to compensating the victims and/or the state. With a murderer dead, or alive and indigent, it’s appealing to pass the liability onto others. Morse’s idea has the trial lawyers licking their chops in anticipation of this windfall.

Even though the gun control extremists know, or should know, that creating new laws is futile in preventing mass murders, yet they are determined to do something. This makes them more dangerous than “assault” weapons. Fortunately, I have an idea, just as shiny and vastly more sensible as the idea Morse is putting forward. A review of school mass murders show that the shooters, such as James Holmes, were dosed up on prescription drugs prescribed for psychiatric disorders, including anti-depressants. (http://www.cchrint.org/school-shooters/) So, let’s make a law placing the liability on the doctor who prescribed the drug, the pharmacy who sold the drug, and the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the drug. This idea will really get the trial lawyers salivating. And it may even have the side effect of decreasing the number of murders.

Colorado state senators serve four-year terms. Morse was elected for his second term in 2010, and due to term limits, he will be out of office in Jan. 2015. Too bad we won’t have the opportunity to vote him out.

J. Lee Tangen

Colorado Springs

Won’t help violence at all

This is in response to the front page article Feb 6, “Democrats unveil gun control plan:”

Senator John Morse is reported to have contributed a bill that would ensure that manufacturers and sellers of assault weapons will be held responsible for the events in civil court. Did you ever hear of the term ‘The whipping boy?” In the days of princes that couldn’t be physically reprimanded for bad behavior a slave of the same gender, age and race was punished for the bad behavior of the prince. How could it? By making the manufacturers and sellers of assault weapons responsible for events like Aurora and Sandy Hook, that bill is doing the same thing. Democrats have to quit thinking they have power over criminals by punishing law abiding citizens. Morse is quoted, “There’s enough profit there that they can figure out how to get this accomplished.” They will have to pass the cost along so it will only raise the prices. It won’t help violence at all.

On the other hand where could we find people who teach violence by demonstrating it and glorifying it to children from grade school ages up, and who have very deep pockets? Why the television and Hollywood movie makers and the makers of video games. These teach kids the illusion that they can come back to life. My son used to say, “I have five lives per level in this game mom.” Movies and television also teach the illusion that repeated shootings and beatings don’t really hurt or kill. The ‘star’ of the show always survives. These Hollywood stars come on TV and say “Do something to stop the violence and protect our children.” It is as if they are volunteering to be held responsible for their ‘entertainment of violence’. Let them be the ‘whipping boy’. That idea has much more potential to curb gun violence.

Cheryl Steen

Woodland Park