The weekly newsletter of The Denver Post’s opinion pages.
The past week’s news was dominated by the possibility of a federal government shutdown (which came early Saturday morning), as well as the fate of immigrant children, the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s presidency, and a false missile alert in Hawaii. Here are highlights:
Perspective
First, a summary of what was in our Sunday Perspective section this week:
“Winning,” but at what cost? Denver Post editorial writer and columnist Megan Schrader wrote: There’s no denying Donald Trump has been successful in his top mission — cracking down on illegal immigration — but it has come at the expense of families in Colorado and elsewhere.
Donald Trump’s true believers: Editorial page editor Chuck Plunkett interviewed Jeff Hunt of the Centennial Institute, who is a leading evangelical supporter of President Trump, and asked: One year into the Trump presidency, why do so many white evangelical Christians still support him? Hunt’s answers might leave you cold.
Putting #MeToo in historical context: Pardis Mahdavi, the acting dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, compared the #MeToo movement with Iran’s “Millimeter Movement” of the early 2000s and asked: Is this the beginning of a political revolution?
Apple must make iPhone safer for kids: Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, wrote: The average teen spends at least six hours a day looking at a screen. Research suggests that much screen time is unsafe, and companies like Apple have a duty to address it.
Uranium mines in Bears Ears? In its Sunday editorial, The Denver Post’s editorial board wrote: Until The New York Times’ reporting, we were all supposed to believe no one wanted Bears Ears National Monument land for private gain; now we all know the sad truth.
Letters to the editor: On the letters page, Denver Post readers tackled a number of issues. Here are several of their letters:
Let journalists do their jobs: Sen. John McCain pleaded with President Trump to stop attacking the press. In an op-ed, McCain wrote: Journalists play a major role in the promotion and protection of democracy and our unalienable rights, and they must be able to do their jobs freely.
Democrats wrong to out Trump: Marc A. Thiessen of The Washington Post wrote: If it’s true that Donald Trump said vulgar things about Haiti and various African nations, that’s terrible; but what’s worse is Democrats outing Trump for saying it.
How to hire the chief of police: Jon Caldara, a Denver Post columnist and president of the Independence Institute, wrote: Cities deserve the same connection with law enforcement that counties have; we should elect our police chiefs instead of trusting the mayor or a city manager to hire them.
A course correction: Patty Limerick, Colorado’s state historian who also teaches at CU, told her students about mistakes made by town founders in the West — and how slow they were to learn — and asked: “What are people doing today that will mystify the people of the future, making them wonder why we didn’t pay attention to the consequences of our actions?” Read their answers.
Why Americans lost trust in government: George F. Will, the longtime Washington Post columnist, wrote about historian David Goldfield’s new book, “The Gifted Generation: When Government Was Good,” which he described as “a large-hearted book explaining that America’s problems would yield to government’s deft ameliorating touch if Americans would just rekindle their enthusiasm for it.”
Finish what Greg Smith started: Earl Wright, co-founder and chairman of AMG National Trust Bank and a board member of the Common Sense Policy Roundtable, urged state leaders who are tackling PERA reform to finish the work that the late Greg Smith started.
Drawn to the News: Here are the editorial cartoons we featured on the back page of Sunday’s Perspective section, on the topic of President Trump’s “s—hole countries” comment:
The past week
Here are highlights from last week’s opinion coverage:
Denver Post editorials:
Stop the lying and protect the Dreamers: After months of watching how successfully our bellicose president has lied to his base, it’s little wonder that Republicans such as Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue have adopted the strategy. We hope the remaining adults in Congress can pass a bill to protect the Dreamers, the young people brought to the country illegally as children.
Adding insult to injury at VA hospital: When the new Veterans Affairs hospital in Aurora finally opens sometime this summer, it should forever be remembered as one heck of a classic showcase to government waste.
Denver Day Works is working: A year ago, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock offered homeless people chances for day work. At the time, we were skeptical of the Denver Day Works program, but we’re pleased to see it is working so well.
Op-ed columns:
No more government shutdowns: With the federal government mired in its second shutdown in five years, Bloomberg View columnist Ramesh Ponnuru suggested that maybe it’s time to debate doing away with the possibility of shutdowns for good.
Trump kept one promise: Timothy L. O’Brien of Bloomberg View wrote: Donald Trump made a pledge to voters — that he would run the White House like he’s run his business. Considering his bankruptcies and the recent shutdown of the U.S. government, it’s a promise he’s kept.
No place is a s—hole: Krista Kafer, who writes a weekly column for The Denver Post, had this to say about President Donald Trump’s “s—hole countries” comment: No place or people should be reduced to an execrable stereotype; such assessments are but reflections of the insecurities and prejudices of the seer, not the qualities of the seen.
Donald Trump’s greatest gift: Syndicated columnist David Harsanyi wrote: President Trump’s greatest gift is his adversaries — people who get completely worked up about whatever sort of obnoxious, fact-challenged, puerile, norm-breaking thing he has offered that day. Sure, his comments and behavior are sometimes ugly and often self-destructive, but they’re exacerbated by his adversaries, who are ridiculous in their own special ways.
Silver lining in Hawaii missile alert: Daniel W. Drezner, a Tufts University professor, wrote: As failures go, the false missile alert in Hawaii was a success. The most important piece of good news is that this mistake will lead to improvements in the system.
What it was like to be in Hawaii: Allison Wallis, a graduate student at the University of Hawaii, explained what it was like to be a mother in Hawaii during 38 minutes of nuclear fear.
Skeptical about North Korea’s Olympic ploy: Bloomberg View columnist Eli Lake wrote — in response to news that North and South Korea have agreed to march together in the Olympic ceremonies next month under a common flag — that now is not the time to give peace a chance.
Sinister subtext of “Fake News Awards”: Albert R. Hunt wrote: President Trump has been making a case for changing U.S. libel laws to make it easier to punish publishers of news he considers “fake,” but what he doesn’t seem to realize is that actual fake news is already outside the protection of current laws.
California mudslides and Colorado: Paul Santi, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines, explained that California’s deadly mudslides — which followed the state’s deadly wildfires last summer — are a reminder of Colorado’s vulnerability to similar disasters.
The Aziz Ansari debacle: Elizabeth Wellington, the fashion columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote that actor/comedian Aziz Ansari and his accuser are both delusional messes. Wellington’s conclusion: In rethinking how men and women live and grow together, both sexes have to be honest about our expectations and change the way we look at dating by acknowledging its power dynamics.
Letters to the editor:
U.S. immigration laws and the future of DACA recipients (3 letters)
Reactions to Hickenlooper’s final State of the State address (2 letters)
Reactions to (and coverage of) pro-life rally in Denver (2 letters)
A simple solution for Congress members who want pot to be legal
I’m 75, and the U.S. is more divided than at any time in my life
Questions and fears after the false missile alert in Hawaii
Downtown Westminster project misses the mark on transportation
Conditions in Puerto Rico are terrible, and not getting better
Gentrification is a normal process, and is generally positive
Why it makes sense to continue expanding Colorado’s bike networks
Notable and quotable
“BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”
A text message to Hawaii residents on Jan. 13 that was rescinded 38 minutes later, after it was determined to be in error
The Sound Off, which is emailed to subscribers every Monday, is a roundup of what we’ve been publishing on the opinion pages over the past week. That includes Denver Post editorials, op-ed columns by Post columnists like Chuck Plunkett and Megan Schrader as well as nationally syndicated columnists like George F. Will and Catherine Rampell, plus guest commentaries, letters to the editor and editorial cartoons.
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