10-Opinion
10 The News-Press
August 8, 2013
OPINIONS / YOURS AND OURS
A lesson in back-to-school commuting The Denver metro area is on the brink of beginning another school year — and the annual change in traffic flow that comes with it. School buses will be out in droves, making frequent stops. Lights will be blinking in school zones, indicating a lower speed limit is required. Children will be walking on sidewalks and crossing streets on foot, sometimes when and where they’re supposed to, sometimes not. Other students will be doing the same on bicycles. And many high school students will be driving to their destination, meaning an influx of inexperienced motorists in a concentrated time frame. Those back-to-school factors will mix with Colorado’s still-going summer road-
OUR VIEW work season. In some areas, like northern Douglas County, roads under construction seem more the rule than the exception, so caution is already at a premium. Toss in the wild cards of bad weather and distracted driving — motorists texting, talking, eating, grooming and so on — and it’s enough to make you want to stay home. We wouldn’t advise that, but we would recommend having some patience and being alert.
More than 60 years ago, AAA launched a campaign called “School’s Open, Drive Carefully.” The organization has some commonsense and potentially life-saving advice for those behind the wheel as children make their way to and from school. Among their tips: • Take it slow. Observing the lower speed limits in school zones incrementally reduces the chance a motorist will kill a pedestrian, AAA says. • Pay attention. Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles your chances of crashing, AAA says. And we would like to issue a reminder that texting and driving is not only foolish and dangerous, but in Colorado, it’s against the law.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
What was your best summer trip? As the summer begins to wane, Colorado Community Media asked shoppers and visitors at The Streets at SouthGlenn
in Centennial to recall their most memorable summer vacation and what made it special.
“The best vacation was a trip to Tahiti I made with my wife and kids. As the plane was approaching the island runway, there was a Tahitian choir aboard and they began singing.” — Joe Thompson, Centennial
“Two vacations come to mind; one in Maui and the other in Grand Lake, Colo. I say Maui because it was the most luxurious and Grand Lake because it was the most fun.” — Linda Aumiller, Centennial
“I think the trip I made to Disneyland in California was the best. I was 19 and I drove all the way their with my family. What made it special was that I discovered it really wasn’t just for little kids.” — Carlos Cervantes, Aurora
“My most memorable vacation would be when I was younger and our family would take the traditional two-week vacation and drive from Oregon to Wyoming. We’d stop along the way to see relatives.” — Nancy Aeschlimann, Denver
Imagine there’s no Frankenstein A two-by-four is not two by four. The Cincinnati Airport is not in Ohio. Einstein never failed mathematics. Einstein said, “I never failed in mathematics.” Golf is not an acronym of “Gentlemen only, ladies forbidden.” George Washington Carver did not invent peanut butter. Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb. Frankenstein was not the name of the monster in “Frankenstein,” the novel or the films. It was Carl. Just kidding. The monster’s name was “Frankenstein’s monster.” History, science, music, literature, religion, and technology are full of misconceptions that are passed along, generation after generation. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was not caused by a cow. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day. Go ahead and eat a burrito in the pool. You do not have to wait 30 minutes after eating before swimming. Volkswagens will definitely float, but they will not float indefinitely. Henry Ford did not invent the automobile. Sherlock Holmes never said, “Elementary, my dear Watson.” Men do not think about sex every seven seconds. True or false? Anyone can draw. True. A drawing can be no more than a mark left on a surface. A stick figure is considerably more than a mark left on a surface. If you can draw a stick figure, you can draw. However, if that’s the best you can do, you would have failed my drawing class. Do we believe in misconceptions? Yes. Do we believe in things that don’t exist? Yes. Do we believe in things and people we want to believe in, maybe against rationality? You bet. Mudville believed in Casey. Metaphorically we can extend that out to almost anyone — to the lead singer in a band, to an evangelist, to a head coach. Say it ain’t so, Joe. Joe Paterno cried when he realized the extent of the damage that had been done to his program and to his legacy. I am always a little suspicious of just
Clear politics out of schools
Regarding the article “Republicans interview school candidates”: When did we, the people of Douglas County, tell our political representatives that our public schools should be governed by politics? When did we say that it’s important to know a school board candidate’s party affiliation? And why is it important to know which of the candidates are “most likely to support the principles of the Republican Party”? What if we knew which candidates are most likely to support the principles of a world class public education? What if our school board consisted of diverse and challenging opinions that sponsored our children? In this vitriolic political environment, I believe a politically neutral school board would best serve their purpose, which is the education of our children and enabling them to survive and serve in a world that is diverse. This is not a political platform, this is simply reality. It takes more effort to investigate each candidate’s personal qualifications, and make every choice based on personal investigation, rather than to click a candidate who aligns with a political party, but wouldn’t that in fact place candidates on the school board whom we then trust to do the job we have elected them to do? Can we as individuals move away from the dysfunctionality of Washington for the sake of educating our children? Kerry Workman Parker
Time for campaign finance regulation
Since the founding of the U.S., elections have continually gotten more expen-
about anything and everyone. A friend sent me a postcard when I was in college. It was a very old postcard, maybe from the 1930s, and under a strange image were the words, “All things are not what they seem.” I have kept that in mind ever since. We want to believe in something or someone other than ourselves, but it should be cautionary, at least when it comes to earthly someones, like Lance Armstrong and priests. The Broncos. If you have a Bronco Basement, you may want to re-evaluate it. Politicians have fallen all over the place. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to matter. One was re-elected mayor of Washington, D.C. I am still shaking my head. We have short memories, and we are forgiving, although I don’t believe Lance will ever make it all the way back. Faith is one thing, and blind faith is another, at least it is to me. I question everything except who is buried in Grant’s Tomb. You may not be skeptical, but I am. I can’t even trust myself, and that’s been one of my biggest disappointments. Me. I have drifted here and there. I guess we are supposed to, and learn from it. The music for this column could be John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which was very perplexing to me when I heard it for the first 50 times. I think I get it now. “Imagine there’s no heaven.” Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast. net
• Give them a brake. Thousands of motorists pass stopped school buses on a typical day, AAA says. Again, dangerous as well as illegal. • Just stop it. Don’t roll through stop signs, but make a complete stop, checking for children on sidewalks and crosswalks. • Watch for bicycles. Kids on bikes can be unpredictable, so slow down and allow a safe passing distance. • Plan ahead. Leave for your destination a few minutes earlier than normal. We really like this tip as it builds in the time motorists need to comfortably take all of the above precautions. This time of year is full of excitement and promise. We’re hoping everyone gets back to — and home from — school safely.
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sive and have therefore attracted a lot of money. Estimates are, the 2012 elections cost $5 billion. With the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, most campaign finance limitations put in place by Congress in the last century have been rendered meaningless. This means that organizations like Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS political action committee, which has fewer than 100 extremely wealthy donors, can donate unlimited amounts of money to any campaign. In 2010, Crossroads GPS donated over $75 million to candidates of their choosing. Since voters can’t see the sources of these funds, large donations like this can influence candidates without the electorate’s knowledge. With the Citizens United ruling, the Supreme Court has effectively broken democracy in the United States because voters cannot see who is influencing politicians. The best way to fix this is to re-regulate the campaign finance system and install a “Clean Election” system. Several states have pioneered Clean Elections, a system in which candidates who do not receive private money (e.g. from citizens or special interests) are given a stipend from the government to run their campaign. In 2006, after Clean Elections were enacted in Maine, 86 percent of legislators were elected without taking money from special interests. In Arizona, 87 percent of first-time candidates said Clean Elections was an important factor in their decision to run. Fix democracy in the U.S. — give us Clean Elections. Dominic Meier Castle Rock
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