The Open Forum

Dear letter writer, Forget the Braves and their racist tomahawk chop.

“Judge accused of using rifle to threaten person,” Oct. 21 news story

Imagine being a criminal defendant standing before Chief Judge Mark Thompson while he was being investigated for felony menacing with an Ar-15-style rifle. But, no, you can’t imagine that because the chief judge’s case was kept under wraps for months.

All judges in Colorado are required by the Rules Of Professional Conduct to recuse themselves from any case if they have even an appearance of bias, conflict of interest, or impropriety. How many criminal/domestic cases did Chief Judge Thompson preside over during this period of secrecy that no other Coloradan enjoys?

“Mixed-race family stopped at DIA,” Nov. 4 news story

I read, with great sadness, the article detailing the accusative interrogation of a bereaved woman and her child solely because they were perceived to be “suspicious” on the basis of their apparently different skin shades. Moreover, the Southwest Airlines “suspicious persons” profile includes those who board last. This is curious, since Southwest assigns boarding numbers when issuing boarding passes.

While all should agree that human trafficking is a problem, and those involved must be identified, it is equally obvious that the suspicion criteria employed by Southwest Airlines need to be revised to be more accurate and less racially biased.

Indeed, no person should be required to explain why they are traveling or why their family looks the way it does. The emotional damage suffered by this vulnerable woman and her fragile child is obvious; Southwest Airlines would be fortunate to escape the consequences of their policy with only the issuance of an apology. A class-action lawsuit, which would no doubt reveal the specifics of their racist policy, would seem more appropriate.

I think the time change is annoying. I wish the country would pick one schedule and stick with it. It would save me having to look up in my car’s 300-page manual how to change the clock twice a year. It is a great car but has a deeply buried and stupidly complicated clock menu.

I had to chuckle, though, when I read the words of William Willett, the man who, in 1907, was one of the first to introduce the idea of daylight saving time in the U.K. According to the Oct. 30 story in the Irish Examiner, Mr. Willett wrote: “Light is one of the greatest gifts of the Creator to man. While daylight surrounds us, cheerfulness reigns, anxieties press less heavily, and courage is bred for the struggle of life.”

What a spin doctor!

“Atlanta gets last laugh,” Nov. 9 letter to the editor