UK lady in waiting
With regard to the lady-in-waiting in the UK who resigned after supposedly exhibiting racist behavior, things have gone to ridiculous extremes.
I happen to believe it’s generally inappropriate and rude to make personal comments or ask nosy questions of people you meet, and always better to say “pleased to meet you” and keep moving. But I don’t think this woman was being insulting or nasty. If a person chooses to dress in such a way that attracts attention in a particular situation, then she shouldn’t be surprised if someone wonders what her story might be. And asking someone where they’re from may be rude and pushy, but even nosy curiosity equals neither contempt nor hate nor racism. The older woman probably thought it was fine for someone in her 80s to question a younger person and expect a polite and informative response; however, she probably meant zero harm or disrespect.
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Judy Gafner
Northwest side
Help me understand
I would like to thank Arizona Daily Star for the detailed report on what I will have to do to as water shortage becomes more critical. Could they also explain, to this uninformed senior, the program implemented by our enlightened civic leaders using my tax dollars to offer incentives to bring in more industry, keep the construction companies busy by approving plans to construct bigger and better housing developments, and encourage more mining operations? What am I missing?
Fil Ficks
Green Valley
Trump’s taxes, a modest proposal
Why the argument over House Democrats’ vote to release Donald Trump’s taxes? Petty and mean-spirited? Of course! But why should Democrats always have to play catch-up to the GOP on that scale? And why the concern about setting a precedent that could ensnare the average taxpayer? What’s the big secret about taxes? In this digital age everyone’s tax returns should be public. As it is, public companies have to disclose the compensation of top executives; would it not be helpful for the average taxpayer to learn the fancy dancing that allows these masters of the universe to pay less in taxes than the guy who just picked up your trash? And surely, our polarized communities would benefit from seeing the deduction our neighbors took for that Chevy Vega they donated to Clunkers for Kids. Taxes, it has been said, are the price we pay for a civilized society, and, as a recent former president not named Trump wrote, “Transparency promotes accountability.” I say put the two together!
Steve Robinson
Oro Valley
Kari’s Lake of lies
A quick thank you to Kari Lake. Your election case proved once again to Arizonans and the world that our elections are fair and honest. What’s not fair is the quality of candidates we as voters have to choose from. It’s hard to find any that don’t lie, cheat, and try to deceive the electorate. When they announce they won’t accept the results of the election if they lose, even weeks before the election, tells us much about their character. Mainly that they have none. Kari is drowning in her own Lake of lies. Please go away. The latest rumor is about a remake of the Apprentice TV show. They are looking for a co-host. In the meantime, Kari Lake, “you’re fired!”
Jim Trace
East side
History repeating itself?
Congress will soon vote on support of Ukraine. Here we sit on “pins and needles” awaiting the arrival of the American Neville Chamberlain (Google the name if you don’t remember). I fear the Republican Party has lost its “rudder” and now is on course to a potentially disastrous future for itself.
Spencer Elliott
Oro Valley
Intent does not have to be proven
Why does intent have to be proven in the Arizona governor election mishandling? If an anesthesiologist makes an error causing a patient to die, malpractice does not require the physician to have had intended the patient die.
Clyde Cabot, D.O.
East side
Mega scoff
I just finished reading multiple reviews of the Jan. 6 committee’s report on the insurrection. I must render the biggest scoff of my life over Donald Trump’s repeated charge that it is a “partisan witch hunt.” The only thing partisan about it is that the evidence and testimony is entirely Republican. Hope Hicks, darling of the ex-president, stated it clearly: “We all look like domestic terrorists now.”
The evidence consists of 40 witness testimonies, all Republicans, law enforcement officers, and (former) Trump sympathizers, plus three dozen other witnesses who invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The only witch hunt is Trump’s futile attempt to dismiss this carefully documented and highly incriminating investigation. The simple truth is that he was done in by his own people.
I feel immensely proud of our democratic institutions and congressional representatives. And so should you.
Cheryl Lockhart
North side
Poor losers
The Grand Old Party — once the moniker of the Republican Party almost became the TOP — Trump’s Own Party. Now, with the number of “election deniers” from past elections, aka Poor Losers, the Party should be known as the POPL — Party of Poor Losers. Loser Kari Lake finds it impossible that “some” (thousands, actually) people didn’t like her. After all, she wanted to pipe water to dry Arizona from the drying up Mississippi. Wasn’t that a great idea? Loser Mark Finchem, whose supervisors where he was in law enforcement didn’t recommend him for rehire, is surprised thousands of Arizonans don’t like him either. Why not? Didn’t he say he wouldn’t certify an election? With ideas like that, how could they have possibly lost? They should be required to pay all of the legal fees that were spent on their spurious claims.
Jerry Lujan
SaddleBrooke
Are we tired of Prince Harry yet?
Prince Harry (and Meghan Markle), It seems that you abdicated from your country and moved to America to continue your lives here. So. If you want to play a “big boy’s“ game, then let me tell you at least one of the rules. You and your wife do not get to whine on and on and on and on about all things British. Your original country (and people) will hate you for it … and America is already weary of it. I think, in general, we Americans are not whiners. We find it unbecoming. After awhile (and it has already been “awhile”), it is just plain boring. You do not get along with your family. OK. We see that. Now please, please … for my sake and yours … get on with your life. Make an effort to be happy. You’re the only one who can do that. I worry that, should you continue with the whining, you will have lost the people of this country, too. You have already lost me.
Sue Thompson
SaddleBrooke
Outstanding VA service
While my 103-year-old father was in an assisted living facility, I signed him up for the VA health system home-based primary care program as it was getting hard to take him to doctors’ appointments. The eastside team worked together and gave him fantastic care. His nurses, Cora Lee and Reyna Gonzalez were skilled, competent, and compassionate. The whole team went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure my dad got the care he needed. I am convinced that he could not have gotten better care anywhere. I will never forget their kindness and the way they treated my father with respect and dignity. I will always be grateful to them. God bless them all and Dr. Dumbolton, who took care of dad at the eastside facility before he went into assisted living.
Jeff Britt
East side
We need Passenger Bill of Rights
We need the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights now, actually yesterday. Bill S.3222, which has been held up in Congress by airlines’ lobbyists, would give us immense relief. Southwest Airlines has canceled 60% of their flights over the holidays, and most were not cancelled due to weather but due to poor planning and lack of employees. According to CNBC and other news outlets, the Southwest CEO has blamed fuel vendor services in Denver. Right.
Yes, I was stranded and deserted by Southwest Airlines along with tens of thousands of passengers. Yes, airline crews have also been stranded along with the rest of us, making the problem much worse. I’m old, so I remember when airlines paid for your hotel room when they messed up. Nobody young remembers that, because the airlines no longer care what happens to passengers.
Write your congressperson. Get this bill passed now!
John Vornholt
Northeast side
Governor Hobbs’ stats are wrong
Re: the Jan. 10 article “New Gov. Hobbs stresses schools.”
Gov. Hobbs’s assertion that 90% of Arizonans favor legalized abortions — I’m not sure where she gets that number. My household was certainly not contacted; and knowing that the election for governor was very close, and one of the issues was the candidates’ stand on abortion, I would say that the number of Arizonans that support abortion is far less than what she stated. Perhaps she should look more carefully at what the people in her state really want rather than accepting numbers from some obviously bogus statistics.
Don Adams
Southeast side
Rep. Jones made poor decision
State Rep. Rachel Jones, also a member of the Freedom Caucus, said on Twitter that she left during the governor’s address because, “There are too many questions left unanswered, litigation still moving through the courts, and many concerns about the border, not pronouns.”
“This is why I immediately left the House Floor after the start of the State of the State,” Jones added. “I promised to be the voice of the people, and I will never break that promise.”
Of course, Rep. Jones has the right to think and say anything she wants personally. But she took the oath to represent us people in District 17. That means she has to show up and deal with people with whom she disagrees. If she honestly cannot do that, then she can resign, and a person will be selected by law to show up and represent us in the House. She did not represent me when she walked out.
John Higgins
Southeast side
Energy for desalination
Kudos to council members Dahl and Kozachik for calling out the absurd proposal for the state to guarantee a foreign company’s profit to build a massive desalination project in Mexico and pump the water uphill to Arizona.
Tony Davis’s fine stories about this proposal have said nothing about its energy demands beyond one photo of a California power plant adjacent to the site for a proposed desalination plant. The technology is energy intensive! How much energy would be required? Where and how would it be generated? Previous proposals over the last decade for desalinating Gulf of California water have been coupled to the equally absurd pipedream of yet-unproven “small modular nuclear reactors” to power the project. Are we witnessing the zombie nuclear industry trying to pull another fast one for public bucks with nothing to show, just bankruptcy and dead tech littering the seaside near Rocky Point?
Jack Cohen-Joppa
Midtown
TCU vastly overrated
A finale of 65-7? We all knew Georgia would be too much for TCU, but now we wonder how Michigan managed to lose to such a pathetic opponent.
Well, at least we won’t have to listen to Greg Hansen any more crowing about how we should have hired brilliant TCU football coach Sonny Dykes. Both TCU and paunchy, smirking Dykes were highly overrated.
John Schmidt
Southwest side
Freedom Caucus
The Freedom Caucus-”our” defenders of freedom-have demonstrated a new low, even for them. President Zelenskyy made a historic appearance before Congress. Here is a man fighting for the life of his country and for the freedom of its citizens against the Putin invasion. This band of “defenders” of our freedom chose to show their appreciation and respect for this struggle by either refusing to stand or applaud or, even more disappointing, not even show up. Maybe they need to rethink their self-chosen name and perhaps go with “The not for freedom caucus.”
Steven Gorenstein
Northeast side
Vulgar and rude
For eight years Doug Ducey was our governor. He was not popular amongst some, but he was our governor and as such he was treated with due respect. Nowhere at any time as governor did he have to put up with any display such as that which a rude, vulgar, churlish group put on today at Katie Hobbs’s State of the State address.
It is a fact, unfortunately but as true as the day is long, that Arizona puts forth so many of those type of people. Think of the dreck paraded out for the voters recently.
To put down word for word, how many Democrats acted like vile little brats and walked out of Ducey’s addresses?
Timothy Canny
Oracle
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Rachel Jones
