The anti-ad app
I am being barraged with repetitious political ads at what seems like an unprecedented volume. The half-truths, total lies, outrageous exaggerations and unsubstantiated attacks are so obviously over the top, it is a wonder that they are even effective. They certainly are not persuasive to me. What I want is for some kid or genius to sell me an app so that once I vote early, that from then until election day, it blocks out all of these ads. Somebody could make a fortune on this.
Sam Behrend
Midtown
Danger of the far-right
Watching Ken Burns’ documentary on the U.S. and the Holocaust was frightening and our nation showed one of its darker times. But most terrifying were the parallels between how the Nazis took over Germany and the actions of the far-right in our country right now. There is violence against anyone who disagrees with the right, violence against people doing their job as required by the law, such as teachers, poll workers, election officials, school board members, librarians, the list goes on and on. These hypocrites clamor about freedom and their constitutional rights, but they only want those rights and freedom for those who agree with them. Disagreement about policies and laws is part of a vibrant democracy. Trying to silence anyone who disagrees is the mark of dictators.
People are also reading…
Donald Ries
Southeast side
Weather and climate
Re: the Sept. 21 letter “No answers to question.”
In a recent letter a writer asks why are there monsoons during global warming and climate change. To keep this very simple, moisture streaming northward from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico during the summer, together with intense daytime heat, create the monsoons. A research study published in the American Meteorological Society Journal states the increasing heat is resulting in more extreme weather. This extreme weather change is causing monsoons to last longer with heavier rainfall, this is happening even though total monsoon precipitation is declining. Since the writer also does not understand the difference between weather and climate, weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific place and time and climate is weather conditions prevailing in an area in general over a long period.
Greg Steed
Green Valley
Biden is only choice if we want democracy
Re: the Oct. 6 article “Is Biden strong enough to run winning campaign?”
Megan McArdle’s questions about Joe Biden make no sense if she really wants to save our country and preserve our democracy. Trump is clueless about everything beyond his self-centered egotistical foolish Trump world. Biden is our hope for the future of this country if we want democracy and not autocracy. Joe is fit, smart, more experienced than anyone and our last best hope. Personally, I prefer liberty and enlightenment and not the dark doom of autocracy and fascism.
Fran Gordon
Green Valley
What Trump was able to do
After three years and before COVID, Trump accomplished a lot. He unleashed the energy industry by reducing onerous regulations, approving drilling and fracking. For the first time since the fifties we were energy independent. Gasoline cost $2/gal., inflation was at 2%, unemployment 3.5% and the stock market reached record highs. Earnings rose for everyone, including minorities, He raised tariffs on China to counter their unfair advantage. The tax bill decreased the corporate rate from 35% to 21% to encourage production in America. By increasing natural gas, our environmental pollution decreased. He decimated ISIS. He brought illegal immigration to historic lows. He accepted Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved our embassy there. Three Arab nations made peace with Israel. He cancelled the deal with Iran and also the World Health Organization. He demanded that the NATO countries pay their fair share of the cost to defend Europe.
Jack Walters
Northeast side
One nation under nature
Re: the Oct. 7 letter “Our flag.”
The letter writer quotes the Pledge of Allegiance (written in 1892 by a socialist minister), provides his own definition of liberty (not from slavery but from “excessive governance”), and quotes John Adams on the Constitution being made for a religious people, ignoring Adam’s words in his 1787 “Defense of the Constitution”: “It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had any interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the inspiration of heaven... thirteen governments thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretense of miracle or mystery... are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind.” The U.S. is a secular nation, or, as Adams put it: “the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature: and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy, and superstition, they will consider this event as an era in their history.”
Ron Terpening
Northwest side
Litmus test for candidates
Since 2020, my litmus test has changed. Now I look at candidates running for office using the following criteria:
1. Are they an election-denier or do they believe the election was fair and correct?
2. What is their position on women’s health?
3. What is their position on voting rights?
4. What is their position on civil rights?
5. What is their position on education in public schools?
6. What is their party’s platform on other various matters?
7. What is their position on tax reform?
8. What is their position on immigration?
9. What is their position on gun control?
10. Are they qualified for the position they are running for in this election?
11. Will they work in a bipartisan manner?
For this upcoming election for Arizona, I can’t find a Republican candidate that even closely meets my updated litmus test.
Everyone should have their own litmus test to decide which candidates to vote for in 2022. This is an important election.
Vote, vote, vote!
James McLin
East side
Arizona secretary of state
Forty-five of the 50 states in our country have an elected position of lieutenant governor. Arizona does not. In Arizona, if the governor leaves office for any reason including impeachment, death, or resignation, the secretary of state then becomes governor.
The primary duty of the secretary of state is that of chief election officer. Their primary responsibility is to protect the voting system by training poll workers, managing statewide registration databases, verifying accuracy of voting machines, and most importantly, verifying election results.
Adrian Fontes, the Democratic candidate, has served Arizona at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and as Maricopa County Recorder, where he ensured that every eligible voter had access to the ballot box.
The Republican candidate, Mark Finchem, was endorsed by Donald Trump and was at the Jan. 6th insurrection. He said that he won’t concede if he loses and is a full-throated MAGA warrior.
Lawrence Gravitz
Green Valley
EVs and global warming
Re: the Oct. 8 letter “EVs during power outages.”
The author is concerned about electrified emergency vehicles immobilized in a climate emergency. This is about our cars and trucks, not, for example, fire engines.
Politicians can be taken to task for playing politics with the threat of global warming. Granting tax credits to EV automakers who don’t include ‘bidirectional charging’ (BC), the ability to supply electricity to your home in a power outage (think Ford’s Lightning and, hopefully, others to come), may be good politics. But it undermines efforts to shift to renewable energy ASAP.
EV batteries can be used to store huge amounts of renewable energy now going unused for lack of storage capabilities. Now and for some time to come, the ability to produce those batteries is severely resource-constrained. Making the fullest possible use of them to expedite the transition to renewable energy, power our vehicles, and provide electricity in climate emergencies is a no-brainer. Just ask residents of California or Texas.
Steven Lesh
East side
Protecting democracy
School children are expected to cite evidence, tell the truth, and to accept defeat when they lose.
Yet in Arizona’s November election, we have candidates from the top of the ticket on down who claim, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen through fraud. What is this teaching our children?
In a democratic republic, voters hold politicians accountable through elections. Rejecting election results, without evidence, disempowers voters, thus undermining democracy. Using lies to justify suppressing votes is a further assault on our democracy.
We already have elections with integrity; what we need is more integrity in our politicians.
Arizona’s children must recite daily that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. We, those who have inherited our democracy, must ensure that our democracy continues. We must vote out all election-deniers, so that the words our children recite daily are not said in vain.
Ron Nason
Foothills
A more honest question
Re: the Oct. 9 letter “Abortion debate.”
The letter writer asks, “how many of you (right-to-lifers) are registered as a foster parent, or on an adoption waiting list?” A more honest question is, “who is going to take responsibility for my irresponsibility?” This does not apply to victims, but to men and women who think nothing about the consequences of their act or birth control. The quick and easy answer is an abortion. When impulse and irresponsibility control us, others are left with your problem so you can ask, “who is going to take responsibility for my irresponsibility?” His letter goes on to say that if you are not willing to take responsibility for his irresponsibility, “you have no voice in this debate.” We all have a voice when you expect society to condone and bankroll the consequences of your irresponsibility by killing the unwanted results of your irresponsibility.
J. David Kral
Northwest side
ACC should stop dragging their feet
Re: the Oct. 10 article “ACC’s Peterson wrong about energy.”
Kudos to Mike Carran and his op-ed in Monday’s Star.
He correctly points out that fossil fuels are changing our climate and poisoning our air and water, and we should accelerate our move away from them.
Utilities get it. In 2021, the U.S. installed a record amount of solar — 12.5GW of new capacity, bringing the U.S. total to 50GW. Solar was 45% of the generating capacity added to the grid last year.
The costs of solar, wind, and batteries are dropping at a rate near 10% per year. We don’t even need the specter of climate change to push us towards renewables — they can save our economy trillions by 2050, essentially paying for the transition in savings alone.
We should elect ACC members like Lauren Kuby and Sandra Kennedy. They understand the future of energy in the U.S. and will help drive Arizona to a more prosperous, clean energy future.
Edward Beshore
North side
Compare governor candidates
Let’s compare: Katie Hobbs, experienced Arizona secretary of state, vs. Kari Lake, whose experience is reading lines written by others on TV. Katie Hobbs is knowledgeable about how this state works. Kari Lake was first a Republican, then switched to a Democrat aligned with President Obama, now Republican again. Her political affiliation seems to flow with who can benefit her ambition. Her endorsement by Trump seems to be all she needs to get the votes of Trump Republicans. Her lack of experience doesn’t matter. Vote for Katie Hobbs for governor, the experienced and accomplished candidate.
Jean Barkley
East side
In defense of Katie Hobbs
I applaud Katie Hobbs for having the courage to take an unpopular stand on abortion by not specifying a cut-off number of weeks for legal abortion in Arizona. Late-term abortions are invariably due to medical conditions. I was in the sixth month of pregnancy when my belly stopped growing. My doctor confirmed I was carrying a dead fetus. My choice: carry this pregnancy to term and deliver a dead baby or undergo an abortion. I chose abortion. Doubtless were I living in Arizona now, with the same issue, my doctor would be afraid to perform the abortion. I would be forced to leave the state or endure the consequences. Politicians should not be allowed to make life-impacting decisions for women. Their self-righteous concern for the “unborn” masks their blatant indifference to living women.
Ellen D’Acquisto
Midtown
