Durango CO is the process of bringing yet another smoking ban to bars and resturants in the city. The new ban would extend to smoking patios that many businesses in the area have. Many businsess spent money to build smoking areas when the first ban went into affect in 2006. This banned smoking inside workplaces, including bars and resturants, and you are no longer allowed to smoke within 15ft of the main enterance of a business. This new ban, that goes before City Council Oct. 16, has been lumped in with banning smoking in public parks and on the river trail. At the very least the issues need to be separated. Let the City do what they will with their property (parks, trails, etc.) but let the businesses determine what is best for them.

Consider: Congressman Paul Broun (R-Ga.), a high-ranking member of the House Science Committee believes and espouses that the earth is only about 9,000 years old, despite proof to the contrary. Congressman Todd Akin (R-Mo), a member of the same House Science Committee, believes and espouses that a woman cannot get pregnant as a result of a "legitimate rape." Is it any wonder that the U.S. educational system is lagging in the sciences when compared with the rest of the developed world? Our policy-makers do not have the right to drag down our schools via their willful ignorance grounded in religion and wishful thinking. Our nation's future lies in the balance.

Our politicians have been held hostage by the NRA for too many years. In the reflection of so many horrible gun massacres, it is unconscionable that we still legalize the ownership of assault weapons. Several years ago a study was made which proved that there are many more accidental deaths resulting from gun ownership than if they were limited. The NRA has successfully blackmailed most legislators, whether Democrat or Republican, from restricting the sale of assault weapons. What possible reason is there for ownership of these? To protect yourself or your property, if you feel you must, there is no reason to own anything more killing than a handgun.

Mitt Romney has been deafeningly silent on the voter suppression efforts being carried out to benefit him. He needs to be unequivocal in his condemnation of voter suppression for once and for all. Where is his honor?

The economic stability and future advancement (economic, scientific and technological) of the U.S. as a global leader is threatened by having a panel chair of the Science Committee who does not agree with basic scientific tenets accepted by most individuals, let alone scientist, on earth. It is an embarrassment to the United States that he serves in this position.

Christopher Columbus should not be celebrated as a national hero. We are doing the indigenous people of our nation an injustice by observing this holiday as is.

Richard Nixon's PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY STANDARD You can do something shady as long as you can give a believable but false denial of it. Mitt Romney's PLAUSIBLE RELIABILITY STANDARD You can say something just so incompletely that it is reliably believable, but false as understood.

SMUD says they are harmless yet, an the insert in the statements it clearly says may cause leukemia in infants. We are fighting electric service companies to opt-out (at no cost) of the meters & fees since thousands of customers elderly and poor people. They threaten to cut off service if we don't pay the opt-out fee or they will install the meter over our objections. After doing research I found out the Smart Meters are deadly, plus an invasion of privacy.

I have a New York City Housing Authority voucher for Section 8 housing. I am supposed to be an "emergency" transfer because 1) I live in a home that did not pass inspection and 2) I am the victim of domestic violence. I brought in my paperwork repeatedly because it constantly was lost by the workers at the Atlantic Avenue NYCHA building. My landlords flooded my apartment where I currently live and never completed repairs nor reimbursed me for all that I lost as promised. I am suing them in small claims court and they lied in their countersuit. They claim they are suing me for unpaid rent, I am on public assistance and my portion of the rent goes directly to them before I even receive a check. I brought this proof to NYCHA and they still refuse to give me a transfer voucher until my landlords give them a notorized letter stating that I do not owe rent. Doing so would show that my landlords have purgered themselves so they will not provide the letter. Assembly woman Debi Rose has been aware of this situation and has been working with me for about a year now. I am to be evicted by my landlords on October 11 and will once again be homeless.

After watching the debate I was so disgusted with the way Romney ran the debate. President Obama MUST show the American People that he can be just as assertive as Romney. President Obama needs to make a strong opening statement. He needs to let the American people know that in order for him to have an imformative debate with Romney, Romney has to give the American people some actual specifics about his plans and quit flip flopping on every issue. Otherwise , Romney just keeps lying, denying, omitting and flip flopping. Please President Obama fix the damages from the first debate. This has been Romney's and his advisors plan all along.

In the first presidential debate, Romney delivered a storm of lies. If Obama has respond to each one in two-minute segments, there would have been no time to present his position. In such cases, where lies have already been fact-checked by authoritative sources, the moderator should be sufficiently informed to call out the lying candidate.

Romney appears to have won the debate.