Make sure to vote intelligently

It’s election time again, and we face problems and dilemmas inherent in the process since our forefathers designed the system. Should we vote our conscience or our party. Unfortunately many people choose the party line and, in effect, give up their right to have a real say in what happens.

When considering the really critical issues facing this country we need to take the time to look at all the angles before we vote. The NFL phrase “upon further review” should be invoked and maybe we, like the referees, can correct mistakes in judgement before it is too late. Then maybe we can avoid poor decisions, which might take years to correct.

The party system allows people of similar leanings to fraternize and formulate ideas and ideals but it should not be a dictatorial system used to lead sheep to their pen. It should be the goal of us to make sure that people are educated to the point where they are capable of making their own well thought-out decisions.

To do this, we all need to do some work. We need to avail ourselves of all the information possible and not just go by Rush Limbaugh’s rumblings or Nancy Pelosi’s wailings. We need to make changes, but they should be the products of collective thinking rather than ones dictated by a few self-serving power brokers. Let’s make sure we vote but let’s make sure we do so intelligently.

There’s a lot at stake.

Tom Shipp

Colorado Springs

Participate in ConnectCOS

Recently I received an email from ConnectCOS, which apparently is an offshoot of the earlier PlanCOS that resulted in a comprehensive plan for the city. ConnectCOS is billed as a “citywide visionary transportation study” being launched by the city.

One of my objections to PlanCOS is that it did not seem to fully reflect the desires of the citizens and voters of the city, at least not of many of those that I know. I’m suspicious that this is because the participants in PlanCOS tended to be activists who overly emphasize their particular interests and biases, while the rest of us stayed home assuming that we’d either like or not be too badly offended by the result. The result turned out to be a nasty public argument over bike lanes versus motor vehicles that continues today.

Based on PlanCOS, ConnectCOS is unlikely to be innocuous. The city takes it seriously; its recommendations will be implemented; and those of us who don’t participated will not necessarily be happy with the result.

To make sure that this doesn’t repeat, I heartily encourage everyone throughout the city to participate in ConnectCOS; get your two cents in while you can.

There is a simple survey posted by the city concerning transportation needs and wants. Please go to coloradosprings.gov/connectcos by Sept. 11, and have your voice, whatever that may mean, heard!

Charles Rollman

Colorado Springs

Accessing medicine during a crisis

As a new resident of the Arkansas Valley — and someone who relies on access to quality pharmaceuticals to treat a preexisting condition — I was a bit nervous about moving so far away from the urban source of the drugs I rely upon.

After living here for a month, I am increasingly grateful there has been no disruption when it comes to the medicines and prescriptions I needed.

And that is because the distributors who supply and deliver medications and medical products from manufacturers to pharmacies and doctors — all over the state — have been working around the clock to make sure the supply chain won’t break during the crisis. Thanks to these distributors, I am able to access the medicine I need to stay healthy.

This recent experience showed me that there are more essential health care workers than just the ones you see in a doctor’s office or hospital.

Wholesale distributors are responsible for some of the most critical steps in our health care supply chain, and they’ve kept hospitals and pharmacies supplied during the pandemic. I saw firsthand what it looks like when they do their jobs well–stocked shelves in the pharmacy and doctors equipped with the supplies they need despite unprecedented demands.

I hope they’ll continue to make getting medicine seamless for us all, from our nation’s biggest cities to Colorado’s more remote, rural communities.

Charlie Richardson

Olney Springs

Possible ISIS foothold

Mali is the first country to experience a coup in the COVID-19 era, and the ramifications of this event might have a serious impact on U.S. foreign policy, particularly in combating terrorism. After the fall of its conquered territory in Iraq and Syria, ISIS grew in the Sahel region of Africa, which incorporates the northern regions of Mali. Other terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram and al-Qaida, also inhabit this vast desert and have staged coordinated attacks with deadly efficiency before disappearing back into the sands.

The United States and France have special forces tasked with combating this major threat in Mali and other West African countries, including Nigeria, where several Green Berets were killed in 2018 during an ISIS-led ambush.

To make matters worse, Mali was thrown into civil war eight years ago after Libyan fighters fled there following the collapse of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime during the Arab Spring. While the civil war did end in 2015, much of the north remains unpatrolled and unsupported by the national government, making it the perfect territory for ISIS to return to, and potentially even surpass, the height of its power in 2014.

If a new government is unsupportive of or the process to build one becomes detrimental to the continued American-Franco operations in the Sahel region, it could enhance the ISIS foothold in Western Africa, which would put millions of lives in danger throughout the continent and beyond.

Jackson Belva

Colorado Springs