Be safe. Stay Strong.
May 7, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 5
To honor our true ally On Thursday May 1, a red and white navy military training aircraft landed at Centennial Airport and taxied to the ramp at the Wings Over the Rockies facility on the east side of the field. The T-28 Trojan trainer signaled the beginning of a project that has been over 10 years in development. Thanks to the generous support of Board Member and Chairmen John Horan, this aircraft was purchased by the Colorado Lao-Hmong Memorial Foundation to be the centerpiece of a national memorial honoring the heroic sacrifices of the Hmong in supporting the United States during the Vietnam War. In northern Laos, the so-
called Ho Chi Minh trail wound its way through Laos heading south to supply Viet Cong and North Vietnam soldiers with tons of military and food supplies to continue their attacks on the U.S. and their allies in South Vietnam. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency recruited Hmong villagers to support clandestine military operations to interrupt North Vietnam supplies coming down the trail. The Lao-Hmong, with the CIA’s help, were trained to organize the guerrilla units to ambush and use aircraft to bomb the trucks and personnel moving the supplies to the south. The aircraft used by the
John Horan,Yang Chee, Siage Yang, Bill Holen, Robert Olislagers, and Ed Dwight Photo by Bob Sweeney
Royal Laotian Air Force, many flown by Hmong pilots, was highly effective in reducing, and at times, stopping the flow of supplies to South Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, the Hmong lost over 35,000 of its fighters and pilots. In addition, the Hmong fighters were credited with rescuing
hundreds of downed American airmen in Laos. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, thousands of Hmong fled Laos because of the threat of the Lao communist government. Ultimately, over 100,000 Hmong refugees settled in the United States. There are over
6,000 Hmong living in Colorado. The spirit and love for America by these brave people are exemplified in their strong sense of importance of family, a dedication to education and personal achievement. The planned Hmong memorial will be located on the grounds of the Westminster municipal building. The T-28 Aircraft will be elevated at the center of the memorial site surrounded by placards telling the history and accomplishments of the Lao-Hmong and their heroic legacy in supporting this nation. For more information on how you can help with this historic project, please contact: The Hmong Memorial Foundation, 1150 E. Dartmouth Ave., Aurora, CO 80014
A tale of two state reopenings and two governors
word among the progressive woke crowd, referring to all the “isms”, multiple forms of discrimination intersecting within the victim classes. Kemp is heterosexual, Polis is gay, with a first gentleman husband, and two children. Unlike the media, most Coloradans or Georgians don’t care, judging their governors based on policies and governance. Aside from unclear messages coming out of various government agencies, Polis has handled state response to the virus adequately, taking a mainstream approach, not turning into a dictator as some other governors have. Would the media dare criticize the first openly gay governor in America, and a Democrat? Not on your life. This would explain how two state governors with similar reopening plans, are treated so differently by an unobjective media.
Transportation and infrastructure - How do we pay for it?
Jackie Millet summarized recent history well: “We’ve gone to the ballot. We’ve asked the voters to fix our roads without increasing
This is a tale of two states, two governors, with similar approaches to reopening their states as the worst of the Chinese Coronavirus appears to be behind us, yet with far different reactions to these two governors from the media. One state is Georgia, on the east coast, with a population of 10.6 million, the other Colorado, in the mountain west, with about half the number of people. Last week Georgia slowly opened, allowing gyms, barber shops, hair salons, tattoo parlors and bowling alleys to resume business. But not reopening willy-nilly as usual. Recommendations include temperature checks, symptom questions, clients waiting in their cars, social distancing, personal protective gear, disinfection, and so on.
BY RICHARD CHAMPION COLORADO STATE REPRESENTATIVE
I am Colorado House District 38 Representative Richard Champion. If you live in Littleton, the west side of Centennial, Bow Mar or Columbine Valley, I am your State Representative. Our former Representative, Susan Beckman resigned in January and I was honored to have been selected by the Republican Party vacancy committee to replace her. As I sit “safer at home”, thinking about the other issues besides the COVID-19 virus, my thoughts drifted to our crumbling infrastructure. The condition of Colorado’s infrastructure (which includes roads, highways, bridges and transit systems) is bad and getting worse. We pretty well know what needs to be done, but the big question is: “How do we pay for it?” This past January, the Colorado Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released its 2020 Report Card for Colorado’s Infrastructure. Covering 14 categories, roads, bridges and transit all received a grade of C-, which also happened to be the average for the entire group.
It’s just a small step forward out of their closed down economy. Restaurants BY BRIAN C. JOONDEPH opened as well with, “Limited seating, spread out tables, and lots of hand sanitizer.” Colorado opened a few days later, transitioning from “stay at home” to “safer at home.” Curbside retail and real estate showings began on April 27, with May 1 allowing retail and personal services to reopen, implementing the above guidelines, and on May 4 reopening non-critical offices with lower population density. Georgia is doing better against the virus than Colorado with 109 deaths per million population compared to 135 for Colorado. But both are reopening their economies. Overall, the two approaches are similar, yet the media
hysteria is anything but. The Guardian makes the decision racist with this headline, “Georgia’s Covid-19 reopening pits white governor against black mayors.” The Daily Beast cried, “Georgia’s Governor risks lives to reopen his state.” The Washington Post called it an, “Aggressive course to reopen.” For Colorado, the headlines are more benign. From The Hill, “Colorado governor defends lifting restrictions: We have to make the best decision based on information we have.” Sounds like exactly what Governor Kemp of Georgia is doing. The Denver Post had no problem either saying, “Businesses creak to life as Colorado’s stay-athome order lifts.” Plans are similar for both states, based on their unique situations, COVID data, hospital capacity, and reasoned
Colorado should not be happy with a C-! Mayors of many of Colorado’s largest cities met for a week A
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in late January to discuss the state’s infrastructure shortfalls, especially in the area of transportation. Most of them felt partisan
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judgement. Both states are taking baby steps forward to avoid getting out in front of their skis and having a nasty fall with a disease surge. Yet the media attacked only one of the two governors. Even President Trump publicly disagreed with the Georgia governor. Why the difference? Politics and intersectionality are the two answers. Governor Kemp of Georgia is a Republican, Governor Polis of Colorado is a Democrat. Everything is political today. Look at how Justice Kavanaugh was treated based on nonsensical accusations of gang rape when he was in high school. Compare this to presumed Democrat nominee Joe Biden credibly accused of rape while a US Senator. One accusation caused media outrage, the other is all but ignored. Intersectionality is a new
politics have brought near total paralysis in terms of constructive suggestions, let alone lasting solutions. Lone Tree Mayor
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