Last week's cover story, "There Oughta be a Law," shows how intolerant the members of the Boulder city council are. Yes, that's right, intolerant. While they might proudly declare their tolerance for people's spiritual beliefs and sexual orientation, they surely are intolerant when it comes to the issues discussed in the article. For example, helmetless bicycle riders, store owners who cater to smokers who buy single cigarettes, or bar owners who want to cater to smokers.

Some city council members can not tolerate such actions, and want to use the coercive power of the government to enforce their view of "the best way" on everyone else. That is not tolerance. It's an authoritarian abuse of power.

I thought the job of government officials was to protect their consituents from thugs who want to force people to do what they want. But now who are the thugs?

--Brian Schwartz