Horse racing a cruel sport
Re: the March 5 article “4 horses die on Rillito track’s opening weekend.”
I thank the Daily Star for its coverage of the horse deaths at Rillito Racetrack last weekend. For so long, the many horses who have died on Arizona’s racetracks were never mentioned or garnered any attention. Their deaths being actively hidden from public scrutiny as much as possible, their lives considered expendable and just the price of doing business as usual. Let’s hope the deaths of Prime Cartel, Brastika, Dyna Cat and the fourth yet-to-be-identified horse weren’t in vain, and that this can be a turning point that finally ends horse racing cruelty in Tucson for good. I think there’s no redeeming or reforming this inherently greed-driven, cruel and corrupt industry, and no more horses should have to die just so people can get their kicks placing bets on them.
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Further, let’s stop calling them “racehorses,” as if racing is their purpose for being. These are horses who are forced to race. And the industry euphemism “breakdown” should go, too. Killed is the more accurate description.
Kim Flaherty
Downtown
America must produce more oil
Take your pick with respect to labeling the Biden administration’s oil and gas policy: insanity, idiocy or incompetence. Regardless of the description, we are forfeiting our best weapon against the deadly Putin threat in the interest of appeasing a small group of domestic environmental activists. Our former energy dominance is being literally destroyed by the administration’s reluctance to confront this misguided cabal of radicals. We certainly cannot totally ruin the Russian economy by discontinuing our purchase of Russian oil, but we do know that that is a vulnerability. Increasing our production can help reduce worldwide oil prices and limit Vladimir Putin’s profit from his only reliable national product. I think headlong quixotic pursuit of environmental purity can serve only to hamstring our economy and make us subject to the whims of despots everywhere. Washington needs to wake up and smell the petroleum.
Glenn Perry
Foothills
Continual risk of annihilation
Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine is a reminder that attacks by any country equipped with nuclear armaments — the U.S., Israel, India, Iran, France, Pakistan, North Korea, China and of course Russia — are real and present threats to peace and stability worldwide. To assure continuity of the human race, nuclear arsenals must be disassembled. And we should be wary of hostile aggressions by any nuclear powers: Israel against its own Palestinian population, China against its Uyghur citizens, India against its minority Christian and Muslim populations, the U.S./NATO and its shared responsibility for prolongation of the present war. These regional disturbances, as we see, can suddenly erupt into the unthinkable.
Laurie Melrood
West side
Hard lessons from Ukra
ine
Like many of us, I have been shocked, outraged and heartbroken by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So much pain, anguish and horror. It is hard to get my head around the fact that one man can cause so much suffering.
I am hopeful, however, at the way so many people around the world are reacting with their own outrage. Perhaps this time enough people worldwide are really comprehending the senseless horror and brutality of war in a way that will alter this for the future. Perhaps enough people will also understand the effects of unchecked power and ego in one man, and its potential for destruction.
I pray this is the darkness before the dawn. Humanity can be so much better than this. Sending love and light.
Michael Sigler
Midtown
Kelly addresses billing surprises
Unexpected medical billing can be a major problem for Arizonans, especially those on fixed incomes. In 2019, state legislation passed to create an “out-of-network claims dispute resolution process” for certain medical bills. But the law created more hoops to jump through and more headaches for Arizona families and senior citizens. This is not the solution that Arizona families deserve.
Fortunately, Sen. Mark Kelly is a lawmaker who comes up with good solutions. One of his first votes in the Senate was to pass the No Surprises Act, a law that provides extra protections for Arizonans facing surprise medical bills. The law effectively eliminates unexpected medical costs and protects Arizona families from crippling debt.
Sen. Kelly understands that Arizona families deserve certainty in their health care needs. He not only identifies our problems but acts to solve them. If that’s not the definition of a public servant, then I don’t know what is.
Jan Counts
Marana
