Another school shooting
What does it say about us that we cannot keep our children safe? We have failed as a society.
Bill Hileman
Northwest side
Children’s lives at stake
This is a call to everyone. Since our Congress refuses to do anything about the senseless mass shootings, especially in our schools, it is time the people act. We must all sign a petition to demand that Congress at least pass an assault weapons ban, and any other measure that will help prevent these insane mass shootings. If we cannot at least get that done we will have to vote them all out of office.
Hal Brown
East side
Thunder and lightning
People are also reading…
At the air show this weekend, I saw much diversity. I admit to living in my bubble of those who share political values. In the crowd, I heard different languages, and stood next to folks I don’t see in my part of Tucson. No matter where we get our news, we marveled at the skill of the pilots/crews who showed off the might and power of the aircraft. Pilots were diverse as well; many women were in the cockpits. Along with the others staring into the sky, I felt the connection. I’m sure that’s the point of an air show, (also I like to know where my taxes are going), i.e., to bring us together, show off very cool planes and to remind us that despite our divisions we are all Americans with a shared history and an uncertain future. I’d like to try and carry this feeling with me next time I’m outraged at something in the news that the “other” is promoting.
Marcy Tigerman
Midtown
Get the facts straight
Re: the Feb. 20 letter “Debt grows under Biden.”
The writer indicates “… no one has pointed out that during his presidency (two years) he (Biden) increased the total national debt by almost 50% from $21 trillion to $31 trillion.” Perhaps no one has pointed this out because it is factually untrue.
The national debt increased from $19.6 trillion in 2016 to $27.7 trillion in 2020. An increase of 41% with Trump as president.
The debt was $30.8 trillion for 2022. This represents an increase of 11% since Biden took office in 2021.
James Witkowski
Northwest side
Parental rights?
Tennessee’s legislature has decided to deny medical treatment for gender disorders for children under 18. This overrules parents’ rights to make decisions about their children’s health.
Why is it that the people that support this law are the same ones at school board meetings demanding parental rights regarding curricula in schools and banning books?
Bruce Hilpert
North side
Immigrant education
A while back there was a letter to the editor suggesting that immigrant children be taught in their own language so they do not fall behind other children in learning. This is a bad idea for a number of reasons.
First, are all new teachers certified expected to be bilingual? There is now a teacher shortage, are we going to increase teachers’ qualifications by only hiring bilingual teachers?
Second, there are over 140 languages in the world. Are school systems supposed to hire teachers who are fluent in all languages?
Third, this could potentially be illegal. Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 ruled that separate but equal education was unconstitutional. Separating students by language would violate the “separate but equal” Supreme Court decision.
Thomas Wenzel
East side
We’re past just getting along
Re: the March 11 article “We can find things in common if we try just a little.”
This piece wistfully advances the naively optimistic view that the answer to the abhorrence in America today lies simply in getting along. But after the warm fuzzy wears off, what then? Fluffy encounters between disparate parties present few reasons to risk hostilities by broaching volatile topics such as MAGA hats, ivermectin or bumper stickers proclaiming, “guns don’t kill people...” Surely, no one expects consequential change to come of it. We’re still left confronting the same tenacious genie-out-of-the-bottle America that weighs upon us like the bulk of an iceberg, only hinted at by its tip, now fully in view thanks to the likes of Trump and company. I, too, would prefer a feeling of pride when viewing Old Glory billowing in the slipstream of a pickup truck, but instead feel convinced that the pilot of this rolling display is the sort of firebrand I would actively avoid once pleasantries end, fully expectant that the mutual contempt we hold for one another’s worldview is irreconcilable.
Robert Gavlak
Midtown
Priorities for education
Re: the March 9 article “High marks for public education.”
Julie Doll extols the virtues of a public education, but the facts disprove her thesis. Though the U.S. spends a very high average of $14,400 per pupil as of 2018, we rank internationally only 38th in math scores and 24th in science, and there’s been no improvement in these test scores in decades.
Both private and charter schools overall provide a better education than public schools. 65% of the public favors charter schools, and it’s even higher for Blacks, who support them at a rate of 74%, according to the American Federation for Children. There’s a waiting list of over 1 million students for charter schools, as more and more parents realize their children are not getting an education in public schools, but rather an indoctrination to woke, progressive politics.
As to accountability, the teachers’ unions seem to spend more time agitating for higher pay than they do teaching students, as witnessed by shameful public school performance.
David Pearse
Foothills
School shootings
When will Republicans stop worrying about sex in schools and start worrying about death in schools?
Lynn Carey
Tubac
Reading is life-long learning
SB 1700 and other bills banning books seem to be listed without the legislators even looking at the books.
As early as 1920, courts affirmed rights of parents to direct their children’s education. In the 1950s, books were monitored to find signs of communism.
Every parent has the right to decide what their child can and can’t read. What they cannot do is make the decision for everyone else.
A basic premise of democracy gives the individual the right to use their critical analysis and determine the good and reject the bad. Education includes being able to make a critical analysis and use it into the future. As Author Alan Gratz detailed, students should have books that teach them, entertain them, or show them new things or make them sad, or happy or shock them, or even open their minds. Reading is life-long learning.
Shane Logie Rood
Northwest side
Kari Lake might run for another office
According to Newsweek, Kari Lake says she’s seriously considering a major run after looking at polls. Presumably she is considering running for the U.S. Senate. I would like to ask her a few questions: Since you have not yet conceded your loss running for governor and you are still taking no evidence of a “rigged” election results to courts, would running for Senate constitute running for two offices simultaneously? Another question: Since you appear to put forward frivolous court cases that any reasonable person would be embarrassed to have their name associated with, do you think citizens of Arizona would say you possess good judgement? Lastly, do you think that the lack of good judgement is a winning attribute of someone running for the U.S. Senate?
Bruce Corner
Oro Valley
UA basketball
Dear Tommy Lloyd,
Did you happen to catch the Gonzaga-UCLA game last night (March 23)? If you did, I hope you all saw what a team with grit and heart plays like. UCLA was injured, tired, and outsized and with 12 seconds left in the game were leading by one point! The courage, grit and composure they showed is surely something your team can try to emulate!
Richard Robertson
Catalina
21 days
When I am out and about running errands, I sometimes tune to conservative talk radio. Hey, a guy needs a laugh every now and then. As luck would have it, it was the Sean Hannity Show. This guy calls in and says he is a truck driver. His pronouncement was that the U.S. had but enough diesel fuel for 21 days. Then the well would be dry. Hannity and the truck driver talked a bit. And when they hung up Hannity started to talk about only three weeks of diesel fuel being available. Then he began to warn his listeners that all truck and train commerce would end 21 days out. He started to rail against the Democrats, especially President Biden for the shortage. Not once did Hannity ask the truck driver where he got his information. No facts, he just wanted to put down the Dems. Of course, it was a Fox “News” channel.
David ben Avram
Marana
