Expect more regulation

The start of the legislature is a scary time for all of us.

Whenever our legislators meet, expect everything to become more expensive when they finish.

Whether it is natural gas mandates or delivery fees, expect more regulation that will cost people and business owners more money.

Neal Cully

Colorado Springs

Dropping the puck

Today I was personally affected by our government’s recent trade policy. I am in the process of repairing our whole house vacuum and needed a part.

I found the part online through Superior Vacuum in Calgary, Canada at a reasonable price. I placed the order and then was informed of an additional estimated charge for de-minimus requirements for parts imported into the United States.

The folks I then talked with at Superior were very courteous when I cancelled the order as the change in price changed my plan. Why are we doing this to our Northern neighbors? A most courteous people until you drop a puck on the ice.

Tim Stoecker

Colorado Springs

Stopping in accelertation lanes

They are called acceleration lanes; not stop and wait lanes. We are supposed to accelerate along the solid white line until we get up enough speed to merge over the broken lines and into traffic.

Please do not stop when entering.

Don Currier

Colorado Springs

Self-defense carrying

Border Patrol agents recently shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis after discovering he was (legally) carrying, presumably for self-defense. 

My question is ‘Would Pretti have been justified, before being disarmed, in using his weapon in self-defense?’  It probably wouldn’t have saved him, but could he, or someone in a similar situation, have attempted to do such?

Terence J. Fraser

Colorado Springs

Public safety and liberty

The killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 should concern Coloradans — especially those of us in Colorado Springs who value constitutional limits and accountable government.

Pretti, a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse, was shot during a federal enforcement action in a residential neighborhood far from the border. In the aftermath, conflicting statements and reports that federal authorities restricted access for local investigators raised serious red flags. When the same agency, involved in a shooting, controls the narrative and evidence, public trust breaks down.

This isn’t about being “pro” or “anti” immigration enforcement. It’s about civil liberties. If federal agencies can operate in American cities, use lethal force against citizens, and then shield themselves from independent review, every community should pay attention — including ours.

Colorado Springs has a strong military, veteran, and law-enforcement tradition. With that comes an understanding that authority must be paired with accountability. Conservatives have long warned against unchecked federal power, and civil-rights advocates have warned about militarized policing. Both concerns apply here.

Our state and federal representatives should demand a full, independent investigation and reconsider funding agencies that resist transparency after deadly force is used. Public safety and liberty are not opposing values. We can—and must—insist on both.

Ian Hancock

Colorado Springs

This could be ‘America Alone’

Some more facts to consider. Since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Denmark has suffered the highest death per capita of any country. The math is simple: 5.5 million total population with a loss of 43 lives equals 7.82 deaths per million. Only the US exceeds this with 7.96 per million. 31 other nations lost 1,160 souls in response to the 9-11 attack on this country. Most NATO countries suffered losses.

When speaking in Davos, our president claimed that NATO has done nothing for us. I find it interesting he says “we” when referring to the great things America has contributed on the world stage when he himself dodged serving. How mortifyingly embarrassing when he berated our [former] allies by telling them “They would not be there for us”.

How do the parents, siblings, spouses, children, fellow soldiers, and friends of all those dead and wounded servicemen and women feel to hear that? Angry, shocked, betrayed? Imagine if, after the thousands of American lives lost in WWII, Europe would have asked us why it took us three years to lace up our boots while Hitler marched across the continent and murdered millions. We would be rightly outraged. I am baffled that the Maga-aligned veterans I know are silent on these fronts.

I fear we will come to find that when you support this America First agenda, it will turn out to be America Alone. And no, we do not “need a dictator sometimes”. We need a president all the time, who has the presence of mind not to ruin our reputation and the economy.

Ann Smith

Colorado Springs

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