The weekly newsletter of The Denver Post’s opinion pages.
Coffee, cake, collusion and a royal couple. The past week’s opinion pages included a discussion of gentrification after a local coffee shop inadvertently touched off a debate; a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple; Michael Flynn’s plea deal in the Russia investigation; and Prince Harry’s engagement to Meghan Markle. Here are highlights:
Perspective
First, a summary of what was in our Sunday Perspective section this week:
A mindless roasting: Vincent Carroll, the former Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News editorial page editor, wrote that the cascade of abuse targeting a local ink! Coffee shop in Five Points is an embarrassment to Denver.
Masterpiece Cakeshop: With the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear the case of a gay Colorado couple and a Lakewood baker on Tuesday, we published two commentaries that discuss the issues involved:
The Washington Post’s George F. Will argued that Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips ought to lose his case, but Charlie Craig and David Mullins, who sought his punishment, have behaved abominably.
Former Colorado legislators Joel Judd and Jennifer Veiga, who sponsored legislation that added protections for LGBTQ people to Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act in 2008, urged the Supreme Court to uphold the state’s law.
We’re also printing this commentary from an attorney representing Phillips in Tuesday’s Denver Post.
Denial on the deficit: Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, who co-chaired the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform seven years ago, wrote that the debate on tax reform in the House and Senate suggests that Congress’ deficit denial is stronger than ever.
Can John Elway save the Broncos? In its Sunday editorial, the Denver Post editorial board wrote: The Denver Broncos have fallen; a miraculous revival of what is ostensibly the worst team to take the field in decades will take real leadership from John Elway.
Letters to the editor: On the letters page, Denver Post readers tackled a number of issues. Here are several of their letters:
Protecting cats and dogs: Mario Nicolais, a biweekly Denver Post columnist, wrote that new animal-cruelty prevention laws in Colorado, California and in cities across the country meant to shield cats and dogs are as much about consumer protection as animal protection.
The meaning of place names: Tim Lydon, who lives in Alaska, the home of former Mount McKinley-turned-Denali, wrote: The debate over place names is here to stay. Regardless of the outcome, we will find ourselves increasingly considering the relationships that have long existed between people, cultures and the places we call home.
Parks, parks, parks: Susan E. Baird, a retired parks planner for the city of Denver, argued that converting such sites as Park Hill Golf Course and the Loretto Heights College campus to park land makes more economic sense than developing housing there.
What businesses want: Denise Burgess, current chair of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, wrote that the state’s businesses need certainty from Colorado’s next state Supreme Court justice.
Driverless cars threaten jobs: Dennis Dougherty, executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO, wrote that the touted benefits about driverless cars often obscure the very real human cost of the technology: more than 67,600 working Coloradans could lose their jobs.
The welcoming of Meghan Markle: Autumn Brewington, who used to blog about the British royal family for The Washington Post, wrote: The happy union of a playboy-prince-turned-soldier-and-humanitarian and a biracial, divorced American actress-and-humanitarian marks a striking evolution for the British monarchy.
Drawn to the News: Here are the editorial cartoons we featured on the back page of Sunday’s Perspective section, on the topic of the FCC’s proposed new rules on net neutrality:
The past week
Here are highlights from last week’s opinion coverage:
Denver Post editorials:
Inconsistency on sexual harassment: As the #MeToo movement continues to gather momentum, we’ve been dismayed by the difference in which the private sector and elected officials are handling claims of sexual harassment.
Ending parent-teacher conferences: Adams County School District 14, in Commerce City, is right to stop setting aside days of the school year for parent-teacher conferences and instead have classroom instruction on those days.
Judy Reyher calls the kettle black: Newly appointed Colorado state Rep. Judy Reyher, R-Swink, showed her hypocrisy when she doubled down on Facebook comments saying Muslims and African-Americans are full of hate.
Op-ed columns:
Ink! stink was deserved: Denver Post editorial writer and columnist Megan Schrader wrote that a local ink! Coffee shop deserves the derision it has received for boasting about “gentrifying” the Five Points neighborhood, adding that Mayor Michael Hancock is among a handful of people in a position to demand more affordable housing in Denver.
Go ahead, enjoy Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Washington Post columnist Alyssa Rosenberg wrote: There are a lot of things the American Revolution won us and among the least consequential but most purely pleasurable is the right to enjoy the soap opera that is a royal wedding without having to pay a dime for it or to give a fig about the implications.
Michael Flynn has flipped: The Washington Post’s Amber Phillips wrote that we can say with near-certainty that Michael Flynn has flipped in the Russia investigation, and he is now cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller.
No proof of collusion: Ed Rogers of The Washington Post wrote: The fact that a former White House official, Michael Flynn, has been charged and pleaded guilty is consequential, but it doesn’t suggest any collusion occurred between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Al Franken’s strategy of non-denial: Ramesh Ponnuru, a Bloomberg View columnist, wrote: There are two obvious responses to accusations of groping women: Either admit them, apologize and ask for forgiveness; or deny them. Sen. Al Franken is refusing to do either.
Horrified by anti-Muslim bigotry: Yair Rosenberg, a senior writer at Tablet Magazine, wrote that by sharing three anti-Muslim videos with his 43 million Twitter followers, Donald Trump yet again mainstreamed a bigot and their ideas into the public discourse
Matt Lauer and the “Today” show patriarchy: Los Angeles Times columnist Mary McNama wrote: The on-air staff of “Today” was an extended family, anchored by its boyish patriarch and a succession of smart and lovely female co-hosts. Of course the problem with having a patriarch is that it establishes a patriarchy.
Scenes of beauty and despair in Lahore: Denver Post columnist Krista Kafer reported from Lahore, Pakistan, where she said she was troubled by more than a few of the images she saw.
Letters to the editor:
With men being fired for sexual misconduct, a double standard for politicians? (2 letters)
Difficult questions in light of men being fired for inappropriate behavior
Gentrification and the reaction to ink! Coffee sign in Five Points (2 letters)
Responses to President Trump sharing anti-Muslim videos on Twitter (2 letters)
Why does Sen. Cory Gardner support GOP tax bill?
Why medical aid in dying shouldn’t be called “assisted suicide” (2 letters)
Charles Manson was simply pure evil, and nothing more
How to become an organ donor in Colorado
Why voters booed Sen. Cory Gardner at Pueblo town hall
Notable and quotable
“The conversation about a cake lasted less than a minute but will long reverberate in constitutional law.”
George F. Will, Washington Post columnist, regarding the Masterpiece Cakeshop case
The Sound Off, which is emailed to subscribers every Monday, is a roundup of what we’ve been publishing on the opinion pages over the past week. That includes Denver Post editorials, op-ed columns by Post columnists like Chuck Plunkett and Megan Schrader as well as nationally syndicated columnists like George F. Will and Catherine Rampell, plus guest commentaries, letters to the editor and editorial cartoons.
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