Quit giving Donald Trump orange stamps

As I grew up in the 1950s and ‘60s, my mother collected S&H green stamps, earned as a “reward” through various retailers — gas stations, supermarkets, department stores and others — based on the amount of her purchase. She pasted the stamps in a book and, when books were full, she would redeem the stamps for household items.

Years later, I heard green stamps and orange stamps used as metaphors for how to raise children. The belief is that children generally seek attention any way they can, regardless of whether the attention given is negative or positive. Therefore, if a parent mostly interacts with their child only when the child misbehaves (giving orange stamps), this is the behavior the child will continue to display. Instead, it is recommended that their child’s good behavior be a parent’s focus: recognize and reinforce it consistently with appreciation, praise, etc. (giving green stamps) because this is the behavior you want from and for your child.

So, with this in mind, would the media please stop giving Donald J. Trump orange stamps? Trump is a man-child engaged in a relentless temper tantrum. He is dangerous, deceitful and a disgrace to this nation. Isn’t there enough real news we should be concerned about? Have we forgotten about those killed in Tennessee and Colorado recently, and about our continuing gun safety crisis? The assaults on education? (Michelangelo’s David, really?) America’s housing crisis and homelessness? Immigration? Our fraught relationships with China and Russia? Sadly, the list goes on and on.

Please do not repeat the nonsense that Trump posts to his social media site. Stop giving lies and treasonous rhetoric a platform. Give us honest reporting (no alternative facts) about what really matters to the well-being of American citizens.

— Denise Fazio, Longmont

Consider making a vegan roast this Easter

Easter celebrates the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel but some still observe this occasion by eating ham; which comes from an innocent, intelligent and gentle creature. Animals should not be the centerpiece of this Holy day.

More than 130,000 pigs have already been killed in the U.S. and it’s only April. The cycle at a typical factory farm starts with breeding sows who are artificially impregnated and then immobilized for years in tiny metal “gestation stalls.” Their offspring are taken from them two weeks after birth and kept for six months, in filthy, crowded pens.

At the slaughterhouse, they are frequently dismembered and skinned while still conscious. A dozen traditionally agricultural states have already banned or restricted these practices since they are so inhumane.

This Easter, set a new tradition by serving a life-affirming, nonviolent, wholesome spread of vegetables, beans, grains, fruits and maybe even a plant-based roast. Recipes are abundant online for “vegan Easter options.”

First mandated in the Garden of Eden, it’s the diet recommended by today’s leading plant-based practitioners.

— Freddy Weiland, Fort Collins