Dear Editor,Thumbs up to the police officer that was shot for doing his job. Thank God that you are still alive. Now we all know that there is a 95 percent chance that the would-be killers are probably back in Mexico by now. It is so easy for the illegals to come to our country, commit crimes and then just run back home.Maybe if we didn’t make it so easy for them to live here, they wouldn’t come here to invade us.I am a single woman who lives here with my boyfriend. No, we don’t share our condo with 10 other relatives. Hey, you illegals. Try paying $600 a month in taxes out of your paycheck, $100 a month for car insurance, $400 a month for health insurance, $1,400 a month for a mortgage that you don’t share with 10 or more family members. If you were legal and had to pay these expenses, plus register your cars and have valid drivers’ licenses and had to pay for the consequences of your actions, you would not be able to send $1,000 or more a month back to Mexico to the rest of your family. Then, maybe, you wouldn’t come here at all.No, this isn’t Mayberry anymore. The crime rate has gone up because the population has gone up.If we could send all the illegals back home, maybe we could all dream of a Mayberry once again; where we all pay the consequences or our actions and don’t worry about what language we have to say “hi” or “goodbye” in. Jackie Yadloski Carbondale

Dear Editor,Thanks to many concerned citizens in our community, the subject of impeaching the president and vice president has been broached in the local newspapers. All across the nation, impeachment is being discussed and considered. America seems to be taking this issue seriously. According to a recent public opinion poll from the American Research Group, 45 percent of Americans favor impeachment hearings for President Bush and 54 percent favor impeachment for Vice President Cheney.It is my belief that impeachment is not only possible, it is imperative. The disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq aside, from spying on Americans, to manipulating the Justice Department, suspending Habeus Corpus, and pushing the U.S.A. Patriot Act, Bush and Cheney have violated their oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. If we do not impeach, the precedents set by this administration and the harm they have done to our constitutional rights will stand. As a result, future administrations will have more executive power than was ever intended by our founding fathers, and the checks and balances of our democratic system could be forever lost. As responsible citizens, we must demand transparency and accountability from our government. People, our freedom is at stake.The Roaring Fork Peace Coalition will host a community discussion of this issue following a free video showing of the Bill Moyer’s Journal episode, “Making the case for impeachment.” The event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, at the U.S. Bank Community Room next to Safeway in Glenwood Springs.Sue GrayCarbondale