Theater closure triggers sadness and anger

Subject: “End of an era: Second Landmark cinema closes”, news report from August 8

Someone at Landmark Cinemas had the stupid idea of ​​announcing the closing of Chez Artiste with a week’s notice. Did anyone think that was a bold move? A bold decision that felt like a plaster cast? I disagree.

This was a heartless, insensitive and disrespectful decision. They could have given much earlier notice to the wonderful staff and guests of Chez Artiste. Why was there several months’ notice for the recent closing of the Esquire Theater at the Landmark, but almost no notice for Chez Artiste?

I’m sure Chez Artiste has lost money. I know Landmark needs to run its business efficiently. And I know the “old ways” of seeing movies on a big screen are fast disappearing. I also know that the staff at Chez Artiste has always made us feel welcome. They know and love movies, and they see me, know me, and greet me (and many other guests) by name. They have created a wonderful community for film lovers like us and others throughout the Denver area.

I think I’ll go to the Landmark Greenwood Village cinemas (though they rarely play arthouse films) and the beautiful Mayan Theater. But I won’t cram myself into the barely functional, tiny theaters upstairs at the Mayan, which feel like punishment for spending my hard-earned money.

Making decisions based solely on financial considerations is not always the kindest or smartest way to run a business. Thanks to Landmark Cinemas for disparaging our city’s cultural reputation. Just call me a pissed off arthouse film fan.

Art Glover, Denver

One less reason to grit your teeth and fight fear on Interstate 25: the closing of the Chez Artiste cinema, a Denver icon, after 52 years. The Landmark managers assume that we can switch our cinema visit to the Landmark Greenwood Village. Really? “Despicable Me” is considered an alternative film location? Chez Artiste, Denver’s film lovers will miss you!

C. Greenman, Lakewood

Focusing our attention on the American hostages

Subject: “Forgotten in Gaza?” Comment from August 11

As for the forgotten and dead US citizens, I am ashamed of our current government and our media for doing nothing for our fellow Americans. At least someone has the courage to write about it and ask the questions: Why is no one talking about it and why does no one care? If it was one of the children of the elite over there, this would be over and they would be home. No one in journalism has any influence anymore. It is sad that we have lost one of the most important counterweights of our democracy. Shame on you!!

Jule Taylor, Thornton

I seriously doubt that Hamas thought its October 7 attack in Israel would “bring Israel and the United States to their knees.”

More likely, the aim was to remind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel that the Palestinian people have the will to fight back against the oppression of decades-old Palestinian apartheid.

David Russell, Vancouver, BC

Doug Friednash is understandably concerned about the five American hostages in Gaza. I would point out, however, that negotiations in such situations are usually conducted in private. Before the recent hostage exchange with Russia was announced, many people believed that nothing would be done to free these individuals. To accuse the government of having unpleasant motives without evidence seems unproductive at best.

Rose Gibbons, Denver

Preparing for persistent, relentless heat

Subject: “Spend the rest of the summer preparing your landscape for next year’s heat,” commentary, August 11, and “100-degree heat will stick around even as summers get hotter,” news report, August 11

Now that global warming deniers have been debunked, I’m curious to see how conservatives will respond. I don’t know Krista Kafer’s personal views on the science of climate change, but when she worked at the Heritage Foundation (according to her biography in the Denver Post), she must have been closely associated with people who invented and promoted policies that ignored the problem and rejected any attempt at mitigation.

Kafer, do you and your peers feel obligated to own up and admit that conservatives, often without scientific expertise, have taken a stand against acknowledging that humans are changing our climate? Will you admit that the conservatives were wrong and the scientists were right? Do you believe that continuing to deny the existence of human-caused climate change, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, is the right course of action?

Maybe it’s enough to write a helpful newspaper column about how to replant your garden with grasses adapted to 90-degree summer days, now that they’re the norm in Colorado? As someone who has believed and supported the scientists and consistently advocated for climate solutions at the local, state and national levels, I’m angry at those who have blocked us at every turn. What level of responsibility, apology or remorse do they think they deserve?

Ian Baker, Fort Collins

RFK Jr. brings more conspiracy, not optimism

Subject: “Cheering on the ‘third’ presidential candidate”, Letters to the Editor, August 11

Recently, two letters expressed the writer’s support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for president. One said Kennedy gave them “a new sense of optimism” and suggested that people should vote for someone “who inspires them and makes them excited about what is to come.” If they truly want a hopeful future, the wise decision would be to vote for the Harris/Walz ticket. We all know Kennedy can’t win and that “what we face” with a Trump/Vance/Project 2025 victory is a dark and terrifying future for our nation. Vote for Kennedy to ease your conscience if you want to, but votes that don’t support Democrats put America in danger of a second disastrous Trump administration. To quote the writer of the second letter, “Let’s hope America votes on the basis of hope, not fear!”

JM Jesse, Glenwood Springs

In response to citizens who support Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I encourage them to research his stance on important issues. He confidently addresses many of the issues that concern us—mass shootings, for example. Kennedy claims that psychiatric drugs cause mass shootings, while countries like Switzerland have just as many guns as we do and don’t experience the mass shootings we experience. Really? Prozac came out in 1988, and yet there were mass shootings before that. Guns? Our country has by far the most firearms in the world, four times as many as Switzerland. Experts have determined there is no link between psychiatric drugs and mass shootings. There is not enough space here to address the multitude of false data RFK Jr. clings to. I urge readers to check Kennedy’s facts using peer-reviewed sources, not just podcasts or social media. Finally, remember that in 2000, RFK Jr. rebuked Ralph Nader for running a third-party campaign against Al Gore. The votes Nader took from Gore helped George Bush win the election and landed us in an endless quagmire in the Middle East. Think about that.

Robert Nyboer, Longmont

RFK Jr. can’t even get his own family to support his campaign. His anti-vaxxer stance would put our entire country at risk. COVID has killed far too many people because of false claims made by him and many Republicans. Vaccination rates among young children are falling, and diseases we thought were eradicated, like measles, are making a comeback.
Donald Trump and JD Vance are being labeled as weird, and Project 2025 should scare every American. We don’t need another conspiracy theorist on the ballot in Colorado. The Republicans have that under control, and RFK Jr. would only make it worse.

Be thankful that Joe Biden put our country first and stepped away. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party since Barack Obama, and they offer the best chance to push back the Republicans’ dystopian view of our country’s future. Conversely, Democrats offer a future of hope and prosperity that the next generation in this country desperately needs.

David Shaw, Highlands Ranch

Conservative support for Harris/Walz

“Freedom is a fragile thing, and it is always only one generation away from extinction. It is not our inheritance; each generation must fight for it and defend it, for it comes to a people only once. And those in the history of the world who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.” – Ronald Reagan.

I was a member of the Grand Old Party and voted Republican from 1984 to 2016. My party has been hijacked by a party of narcissists who succeeded Lincoln, Reagan, and the great Senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith. I have joined former U.S. Representatives Adam Kinzinger, Liz Cheney, and Joe Walsh, and at least 60,000 other Republicans with whom I participated in an online organizational meeting Tuesday night, to prevent the rise of a dictatorial regime that could render all parties irrelevant, and will vote for Harris-Walz. Country before party! If you are a disillusioned Republican, know that you are not alone and have many colleagues who will take the bold step of voting for a Democrat.

It’s hard to cross the line, and I’m only doing this to save the integrity of the GOP and a robust two-party system that existed in the 20th century.

While I disagree deeply with Harris and Walz on many issues, all that matters to me today is the preservation of our great republic, the rule of law, and the Constitution. Former President Donald Trump has disregarded all of these pillars of the American social contract.

Dear elephant friends, join me in the interest of the future of the Republican Party! This is how we will survive and fight another day.

Matthew S. Finberg, Broomfield

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