Just in case there are any Democrats on campus who wonder why their ideals fail to resonate with the majority of the American people, just read Ben Bleckley's Dec. 5 column. In it, he admonishes his fellow Kool-Aid-drinking, left-wing loons to disregard the will of the vox populi.

It is time to stop listening to what voters want. It is time for a new deal with bold stances that send a clear message to voters, Bleckley says.

Eureka! Bleckley has the panacea Democrats have been looking for! Ignore the will of the people. That'll win their vote!

Tommy Herrera

Junior

technical journalism

I would like to respectfully remind Tyler Wittman and Jenna Lynn Ellis that God's word does not run this country, but the U.S. Constitution does.

Let's take a lesson in history: When people such as the Puritans and the Quakers came to this country, they were seeking religious freedom; the right not to be persecuted for their religious beliefs. When our founding fathers wrote the Constitution and the accompanying Bill of Rights, they kept religious freedom in mind, through the first amendment and the traditional separation of church and state as enforced by the Supreme Court.

In fact, Thomas Jefferson was not a Christian at all. Also, the words "Under God" were only added to the Pledge of Allegiance in the 1950s as a way to defy communism. I respect Mr. Wittman's and Ms. Ellis' opinions based on their interpretations of their versions of the Christian Bible. However, this country does not make laws based on the Bible or God. They should keep that in mind, as should the entire evangelical section of this country.

Our new citizens and our soldiers swear allegiance to the constitution – not a person, not a religious document, not any god. Diversity is this country's strength, not the state-endorsed religion you would have us follow. Sin or not, homosexuals should have the same rights under the law that you two take for granted.

Christopher Poirier, Jr.

Junior

Political Science

While walking my dog this morning, I saw a brand new Chevrolet Colorado pickup. In the midst of wishing I could afford one, I noticed the City of Fort Collins emblem on the door. Oh well, these people work to keep the city clean and functioning. They were leaving notes telling people to clean their sidewalks.

On my way back from class, I thought I would stop by and see when my street was going to get plowed, since there are three inches of packed snow on it. She informed me Fort Collins does nothing to clean the side streets, just mainly the "arterial" streets – College Ave., Loomis and Mulberry etc.

I then asked her why we we're required to clean the sidewalks if no one is going to plow our streets. The answer she gave me was that it's a "slippage hazard" if the sidewalks aren't cleaned. Ha! I wonder what would happen if a 4,000-pound car careened into the sidewalk, plowing over a child that goes to the elementary school by where I live, or if a child walked out into the street in front of an oncoming vehicle?

As I stood by their brand new vehicle, watching one person sit in the heated cab while the other wrote the next warning, I wondered, "Couldn't one person do both jobs?" She went on to tell me how all this snow will be melted by tomorrow. As I write this, it is 17 degrees outside.

I am an engineer, although I doubt you need to be one to know this isn't going to work out. I told her that last year my only mode of transportation was a motorcycle, and there was packed snow on the streets from the first snow until weeks after the last.

She told me they would plow the streets if they were impassible. To which I wonder, impassible to what? Her 4×4 Chevy or my girlfriend's Saturn?

I hope this will alert more people to call the city. Tell them it is important to clean the streets. Tell them we pay for these services and we expect them to be done.

If not, the city might have to start buying the new Dodge Mega-Cab to hold all of the people needed to write the sidewalk notices.

Shane Brisendine

Junior

mechanical engineering major

Estimates of the death toll in the Darfur region of Sudan range from 70,000 to 400,000. No one knows the real number because the Sudanese government is doing all it can to hide the carnage taking place. This is not surprising since there is significant evidence the government is in collaboration with the Janjaweed, the militia blamed for most of the violence in the region.

Two million people now reside in refugee camps where they live under plastic bags. The refugees face eminent death from starvation, disease and the relentless violence of the Janjaweed, who will ride into the camps to rape and murder.

The African Union has 6,000 troops in Darfur, but they are stretched thin and have been unable to stop the violence. According to the United Nations, if the African peacekeepers do not receive assistance from the international community, the death toll could rise to 100,000 a month. By April, the number of dead in Darfur could equal the death toll of Rwanda. April will mark the 11th anniversary of Rwanda.

It would only take a minute to call Congressman Bob Schaffer and tell him that we care about what is taking place in Darfur, and that we expect Congress to reinstate the $50 million for African peacekeepers that they are threatening to take away.

For those interested in learning more about the situation in Darfur, darfurgenocide.org has a lot of information, a petition to sign, a place to make donations and an email forum for President George W. Bush.

The international community, including the United States, acted far too slow to stop the genocide in Rwanda from claiming 800,000 lives. Let's not let that happen again.

Andrea Newman

senior

journalism and foreign language