Letters | Valmont’s ghosts

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Valmont’s ghosts

(Re: “The ghosts of Valmont Butte,” cover story, Jan. 26.) In 1962 we had three babies and looked into buying property in Valmont just north of Valmont Road. We did not buy.

Your article proves we made a wise decision 50 years ago.

Thank you. Shirley Hirschfeld/Boulder

Thanks, Pamela

(Re: “Larceny of the heart,” Uncensored, Jan. 26.) Thanks for that article this week. It’s high time people stop lumping us indie creators in with the Hollywood elites.

It’s frustrating to see so many youngens claim stealing as a birthright. In my opinion, SOPA is BS, but as someone who’s made their bones online, this conversation is long overdue. SOPA and PIPA are the manifestation of not having it until now.

Patrick Mallek,Mighty Fudge Studios/ Boulder

I want to thank you for publishing Pamela White’s piece regarding SOPA/ PIPA. It’s obvious most people don’t comprehend that stealing images, books and music affects the artists’ ability to earn a living. I once Googled my own name to find several sites from overseas publishers selling “cheap Kate Zari Roberts posters” — a company in Spain and one in Portugal.

I spoke to an attorney here in Boulder, only to be told that going after someone overseas is much too difficult and costly. It used to be that copyright infringement was punishable by a $10,000 fine for each infringement.

Who knows how many of my photographs these companies sold without paying me? And now, I’m faced with the dilemma of — do I put my work out there on the Internet so that people can see what I do, or do I not because I know someone will steal it?

I always post my copyright to my photos, but still, I know the work is probably stolen. Meanwhile, I struggle to earn a living and am saddened that so many people feel it’s their right to take my work.

Kate Zari Roberts/via Internet

You missed it

(Re: “Deen’s diabetes,” ICUMI, Jan. 19.) Yes, in case you missed it.

Butter and cream do not cause diabetes. To save words and space I will refer you to this website. http:// westonapricefoundation.com. Snidely ridiculing Paula Deen does little to either educate or inform the public. The fact that a mainstream TV host is get ting paid to endorse a pharmaceutical product is old news.

Medical schools are built on this.

Whole fats are what helped build our country. Just ask our ancestors, who lived long, healthy lives before trans fats and the low-fat diet made its entry into our mainstream.

There are many great food stories; food freedom regarding raw dairy, eat fat to lose fat, and I believe you’ve been up on the GMO issue.

No one gets it right all the time, but I couldn’t let this one slide.

Robin Claire, producer and host, Tributaries, KGNU/Boulder

Look in the mirror, Paul

In his article “Ten years after 9/11” (Danish Plan, Sept. 8) Mr. Danish asserts:

“You’ll know we’ve won the war on terror when the Islamic world is 1) reasonably democratic, 2) reasonably secular, 3) only modestly corrupt, 4) more or less committed to the rule of law, and 5) fights jihadists more fiercely than we do. Alternatively, you’ll know that we’ve won the war on terror when the Islamic world stops treating its women like shit.”

Why, I ask, shouldn’t we hold our own government and country to the same standard? If one takes a moment to honestly assess things, all of these conditions are also quite applicable to our own country and government. It’s quite easy to point a high-powered intellectual opinion at others, it’s quite another thing to do the same to one’s self.

Perhaps if Mr. Danish began by examining his own faults and hurdles he wouldn’t be so quick to dish out gross equivocations and reactionary pronunciamentos to the outside world.

Indeed, perhaps it’s time that we all look at how we contribute to the quality of the world we share by evaluating the morality we espouse and asking if perhaps it, too, isn’t just well-reasoned (well-to-do) immorality.

Richard Saunders/via Internet

Shelter is dedicated

(Re: “Surviving shelters,” cover story, Nov. 9.) I was extremely disappointed to read Elizabeth Miller’s perspective on the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. The article made it sound as though the Humane Society would rather euthanize Sawyer than place him in a lifelong home. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The shelter workers simply contacted the rescue organization because Sawyer is a dog with special needs that might be better served through an organization that works with this uncommon breed.

The shelter and veterinary staff do an incredible job making sure that pets adopted out are healthy. Most people looking for a pet are not prepared to take on a pet with a disease that might require lifelong medical treatment and significant expense. Recently a client of mine adopted a puppy from the shelter. Prior to adoption, the puppy, Maya, had exhibited some lameness, but rather than writing her off as unadoptable or adopting her out “as-is”, the veterinary staff kept her in the hospital over a weekend for monitoring and care, and performed x-rays to ensure that she was not adopted out with a debilitating bone disease called panosteitis. The shelter incurred significant expense and spent a lot of time with my client to make sure their dog was healthy prior to adoption, or if not, to ensure that at least the adopter knew what to expect. This is an example of the amazing care animals get at our local shelter.

I invite Elizabeth or any one questioning the motives of the Humane Society of Boulder Valley to spend a day working at the shelter to see what a tough job it is. Working at a shelter is often thankless and does not pay much.

The people who devote their lives to helping these animals are there because they want to save lives. As a supporter and former employee of the Humane Society, I have seen what a long way our shelter has come from where it was 20 years ago when I worked there. It is a national model for outstanding care and does the very best it can with limited resources. Please give them the credit they deserve and volunteer your time to help the cause if you love animals.

Lisa Cass, Mountain Veterinary Service/Jamestown

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