Public radio provides services to communities
Re: “Congress approves Trump cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid,” July 19 news story
In the span of a single week, KDNK Community Radio in Carbondale has gone from experiencing one of our greatest highs, celebrating the 100th birthday of our Art Ackerman, the world’s oldest DJ, to the devastating low of losing all of the station’s federal funding. This amounts to a $174,000 shortfall, or 27% of KDNK’s annual budget. This is a funding challenge unlike any other in the station’s 42-year history.
KDNK has long been a model of the best of what community radio can be. With 98 regular DJs and program hosts free of station restrictions on their content and self-expression, award-winning local reporting, 22 volunteer public affairs shows, a powerhouse youth radio partnership with the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program, a remarkable culture of music discovery, a strong commitment to emergency preparedness and regional resilience, and an authentic local spirit that springs from a cross-section of our community, we know that KDNK holds a special place in the hearts of so many.
That is why, now, in our hour of need, we turn to you.
If you believe in a free and truthful press, a place for art and expression outside the confines of commercialism, a right to information and emergency alerts for residents of our remote areas, and a democratic institution truly by and for the people, now is your moment. Please visit KDNK.org and find out the different ways that you can stand with KDNK.
Megan Passmore and Chris Hassig, on behalf of the staff and board of directors, Carbondale
Editor’s note: Passmore is KDNK station director and Hassig is the membership coordinator.
Public-media biases are no surprise
On Denver’s classical music station KVOD, listeners are reminded that federal cuts to Colorado Public Radio may impact its ability to continue broadcasting. In days of old, this radio station broadcast classical music through the support of its advertisers. That is, until 2001, after KVOD was absorbed and broadcast by CPR.
But NPR, PBS and their local affiliates have brought the Trump administration’s cutbacks on themselves. As even the New York Times editorial acknowledged, “Republicans complain, not always wrongly, that public media reflects left-leaning assumptions and biases.” But why are we being told that now? Listeners have known that all along.
Brian Stuckey, Denver
Pay council members by the hour
Re: “Booming cities need full-time councils, but pay can’t increase until that happens,” July 20 editorial
It is odd that The Denver Post editorial board chose only two options for the payment of city council members. Either a pittance for part-time work or a reasonable salary for a full-time job. An alternative would be to pay city council workers by the hour for actual work done.
There are systems that can track remote work. Dedicated city council members would be paid more than the members who apply themselves with less purpose.
In 2024, the average (mean) Colorado wage is $36.33. Surely, city council workers are worth more than that. Let’s say $50 an hour. Ten hours a week spent on city council business would produce an income of roughly $25,000 per year. Twenty hours a week (realistically, the maximum for a person holding another full-time job) would produce an additional income of about $50,000 per year.
If $50 an hour is insufficient to attract well-qualified city council workers, then raise the hourly rate until it is.
Guy Wroble, Denver
Ushering out a supporter of the president and his bill
Re: “Hutson tried to keep Trump from a second term. Six months in, he’s ‘very impressed.’ “July 20 commentary
I would like to hear again from Roger Hutson once we see what President Donald Trump’s actions have done to our research universities, our new energy sector, our consumer prices, and our moral authority in both the world and at home. Shame on him for ignoring the ramifications of Trump’s selfish, vengeful tactics.
Brandt Wilkins, Denver
Dear Roger Hutson,
You are satisfied with Trump’s leadership. You’re OK with drastic immigration arrests, deep cuts to many benefits and government services, and executive reign over our Constitution. Due process? Who needs that?
I can understand why you support the Republican big beautiful bill. Among the many perks for businesses and corporations is the 100% bonus depreciation on 20-year assets taken in year one. Also, oil and gas royalty payments to the federal government from extraction on public land are reduced to 12.5%, both onshore and offshore, down from 16.7% and 18.75% respectively. That’s a big savings for your industry; not so good for the rest of us. This, and other provisions of the Republican budget bill, including non-competitive bidding, mandated lease sales of public land, and ending royalty payments on methane gas emissions, will result in a loss of billions in federal revenue through 2050. That is our money from our public lands.
Glad you are doing well. Maybe you don’t rely on Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security for your health insurance or retirement. Millions of Americans do rely on these lifeline social programs. Your political party, No Labels, is misnamed. It should be called the Know Nothings, a historical homage to anti-immigration and willful ignorance.
Victoria Swearingen, Denver
Apparently, The Denver Post has decided to join the “Balanced Commentary on Trump Club.” Exhibit A? Regaling us with the Roger Hutson normwashing piece in Sunday’s edition.
Hutson, like so many Republicans, wants to maintain his own veneer of decency while still managing to support what Trump is doing. So he talks about border control, trade deficits and increased defense spending by NATO without mentioning the downside of these supposed policy successes.
Border control and decreased illegal immigration have come with a frontal assault by the executive branch on the rule of law and the terrorizing of large segments of the American population.
Tariffs on friendly trading partners are solutions in search of a problem. The so-called trade deficits are a distraction. Trump’s tariff regimen, should he ever actually settle on one, will do very little to alter the trade imbalance, but it will play havoc with the world economy.
And how did Trump get NATO on board with increased defense spending? By threatening to throw Ukraine under the bus and gifting Russian leader Vladimir Putin with diplomatic cover for his heinous crimes.
Hutson asserts, incredibly, that world leaders respect the president. In truth, almost all regard him with a mixture of fear, amusement and distaste. They recognize that he must be dealt with, and feigning respect and admiration is the only way to do it. They know a malignant narcissist when they see one.
Hutson’s blinders regarding Trump have closed in on him and become a blindfold. He and the rest of the Republican Party need to recognize and acknowledge that Trump’s policy successes have come at a horrible cost, and that pathology is not the same as personality.
George Zepernick, Denver
Who needs Congress when you have President Trump?
Re: “Congress ceding power to Trump,” July 20 news story
Even before this appeared, I was thinking how much money could be saved by eliminating Congress — upwards of $15 billion with a “B.” Since they are a rubber stamp to Trump, they are not necessary. Goodbye, Congress, hello savings!
Bruce Johnson, Centennial
I have read many books on the American Revolution, including those about George Washington, and how he struggled to raise money for his soldiers — for food and clothing — from the American people. It seems that Americans have not changed. We have run the federal deficit up to $36 trillion and counting, with all our politicians adding to the bill. And it is still going on.
The House and Senate have just gone along with Trump running up the deficit again, passing the budget bill with no thought for tomorrow. This is our history from the very beginning. We need fiscally responsible politicians, not ones who are just thinking of getting reelected with tons of money from the rich next time.
Wake up, representatives and senators. Stop following free-spending leaders with no thought for the future. Have some concern for the long-term good of the country.
Dea Coschignano, Wheat Ridge
The headline amused me. It could have read, “Congress and just about everyone else …” with the possible exceptions of Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, but they don’t really count because they are way over there. The rest of us are stuck with this character whose whims will continue to impact Americans for years, possibly decades.
By now, we’re used to his lies, threats, idiotic lawsuits, and insults. His denunciation of Stephen Colbert was unforgivably petty. If he ever were to say a decent word about a decent human being, it would be a first.
I’m in my final glide pattern, so I will miss out on what a lot of you are going to experience (and suffer). My singular hope is that I live long enough to see Humpty Dumpty fall.
Craig Marshall Smith, Highlands Ranch
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