Tucson Speaks Out: July 28 letters of the day

Government decisions about our bodies

Re: the July 21 letter “You call this ‘progressive?’”

Do you really not see a difference between women being forced to bind their feet and having their genitalia mutilated and folks who find themselves trapped in a body they do not identify with and choosing to transition into one which allows them to be themselves. Where do you get your assumption that children are being forced to have the surgeries you reference? I suggest you expand your horizons and learn more about the tragedies that result when parents and children are precluded from making decisions in their best interest and those decisions are made for them by the same governmental and religious mindset that allowed the binding of feet and mutilation you abhor.

Kenneth Graham

West side

Witches

Re: the July 21 letter “Witches and warlocks.”

Kudos to the letter writer for standing up for Witches. Those pesky DOJ prosecutors should be respectfully referred to as Warlocks. “This is a Warlock hunt!” doesn’t carry quite the same gravitas, does it?

If this was a real Witch Hunt, we’d have been celebrating and moving on long since.

Virginia Gethmann

Northeast side

Kudos to Tom Chester

Re: the July 22 article “An open letter to all elected officials.”

I enjoyed reading Tom Chester’s opinion piece. All of us as citizens, especially our elected officials, owe it to each other to act with sincerity, integrity and respect for differing opinions.

When one side stops listening to the other we will become a lost society.

Renee Jorgensen

Marana

Thank you

Re: the July 17 article “Tucson’s Coté: U.S. Open champ.”

Just a quick thank you for the article you printed regarding Bryanna Coté and her great accomplishment in the women’s’ bowling tournament.

Diana Carolan

Northwest side

Slavery was evil

Gov. Ron DeSantis says some slaves learned skills that later benefitted them. They learned new skills, but who benefitted? The African people had skills to live well in Africa. Slave masters needed them to have different skills. Could they live the “American Dream” by using those skills and hard work to better themselves and their families? No, because they were slaves and would remain so until the civil war ended slavery. The slave master benefitted from their skills by the work done by the slave, and by the added value the slave had when he or she was sold. On almost every plantation the real profit was in the sale of slaves, including children, not commodities they produced. Those commodities would not have been profitable without free labor. DeSantis and his Board of Education do not know their history, or they are trying to justify slavery. Either is despicable.

Don Ries

Southeast side

Ciscomani far from Bipartisan

Re: the July 25 article “Ciscomani embraces bipartisan approach.”

I feel it necessary to respond to the Star’s recent publication of an Arizona Republic article by Tara Kavaler about Juan Ciscomani’s so-called bipartisan approach to governance. His approach has at least one glaring omission; protection of the environment. If you take a look at the list of members in his Citizen Advisory Council you will see that the Council does not have one member that represents environmental interests. As far as I can tell, his Council represents only business interests. Don’t be fooled. Ciscomani is not nearly the bipartisan good guy that the article depicted him to be.

Kathryn Pensinger

Foothills

More power plants in China

Re: the July 23 article “Hope inspires action to deal with climate change.”

In calling for carbon reductions in U.S. power plants, the Most Reverend Edward J. Weisenburger fails to realize that any such reductions in carbon emissions here will be overwhelmed by more power plants being built in China. China has not agreed to any carbon restrictions before 2030, they emit 27% of the world’s greenhouse gasses compared to 11% here, and they are building six times as many power plants as the rest of the world combined.

Consequently, a reduction of the 30% of carbon emissions generated by our power plants here would result in an insignificant reduction in world temperature of .001 degrees Celsius per year. Unless the good Reverend can convince China to stop building power plants, his pleas for lower carbon emissions here are meaningless and unwarranted. I hope the good Reverend knows more about saving souls than he does about global warming.

David Pearse

Foothills

Take action to restore respect

Thank you to the reasonable and reputable candidates who are currently collecting signatures to run in the 2024 Primary. Voters in gerrymandered LD17 who are concerned about the integrity and agenda of our current “representatives” should visit Arizona’s E-Qual Online Petitions app and sign on to support Amy Fitch and Morgan Abraham.

Are you also a voter in Congressional District 6? Sign on to support Kirsten Engel who was responsive to voters during her service in former LD10. (Rep. Juan Ciscomani votes in lock step with his party and in the process, women’s rights and support for veterans are in jeopardy.) While you’re at it, support Ruben Gallego’s run to replace the current “independent” who holds one of Arizona’s senate seats hostage.

Now is the time to show your commitment to electoral politics. Support serious candidates to restore respect, rights, and democracy in Phoenix and Washington, D.C.

Judi Moreillon

Northeast side

Sentenced with a long period

Re: the July 24 letter “Victimized fantasy.”

The letter writer hopes that the judge will consider the former White House occupant’s lack of contrition in determining how many years the criminal will spend in federal custody. Surely his best hope is to plead not guilty by reason of insanity so that he can spend his sentence like John Hinckley Jr. in a mental hospital for the privileged.

It is sad that he has been let out without posting bond. He is a flight risk. His friends in Russia and North Korea would treat him lavishly for life.

Dirk Neyhart

Bisbee

Mass shootings

Celebration Lamentation

Independence Day weekend 2023

A time to honor, a day to recall

The sacrifices made to secure our rights

Over the last 247 years since Britain’s fall.

This year a record was broken

But there’s no cause to celebrate

I’m not talking about holiday travel numbers

Or how many hotdogs somebody ate.

In cities all across this land

Fireworks spewed from a gun’s muzzle!

Yet in congressional sessions and legal proceedings

No one can figure out this deadly puzzle.

How many times will we just look away?

How many is too many lives lost?

How many funerals will families have to plan

Before we realize we cannot afford the cost?

Why should we be proud of the levels surpassed

Of gunfire violence, bloodshed and hate?

Isn’t it time to take off our blinders

And address this problem before it’s too late?

Sid Bradley

Green Valley

River Road

Re: the July 20 letter “Questioning neglected section of River Road.”

I couldn’t agree more with the earlier letter about road repair on River Road. The stretch between Pontatoc and Swan is a bone jarring, car damaging torture. Considering the traffic on River, repair or resurfacing of that stretch would seem to deserve high priority.

Carol Eagle

Foothills