Cheney represents all of us
Re: the Aug. 19 letter “Represent the people.”
We moved to Tucson five years ago after 30 years in Wyoming. I read the Aug. 19 letter and I believe Liz Cheney represented all citizens in the U.S., not only her Wyoming constituents. As she clearly stated in her concession speech:
“A few years ago, I won this primary with 73% of the vote. I could easily have done the same again. The path was clear, but it would have required that I go along with President (Donald) Trump’s lie about the 2020 election. It would have required that I enable his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic. That was a path I could not and would not take.”
To the letter writer, Liz Cheney is representing all Americans faithful to our Constitution and democracy, including you!
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Patricia Casey
Marana
Vouchers explained
Arizona now has the most progressive taxpayer-funded school voucher program in the country, providing over $6,500 a year to all 1.1 million Arizona students. Certainly this is good news for poor families who now have choices and are no longer economically locked into underperforming government schools.
Star letter writers and opinion columnists overwhelming disagree with me, echoing the pathetically weak arguments of public school unions:
It takes money away from underfunded public schools. They ignore the fact that their schools have one less student to “educate,” reducing their costs.
This law benefits only the wealthy. They are saying that no child could possibly receive a quality education for 90% of the state funding that would otherwise go toward their child’s public education.
Let’s find out which side is right.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Defending democracy
The key to being a good citizen is to stay informed. Norman Eisen of the Brookings Institution wrote a report called “Trump on Trial”. You don’t have to be a law school graduate to understand it (although, in my case, it helped).
The key takeaway from Eisen’s report is this: Donald Trump knew well and good that he had lost the election to Biden. His attorney general, William Barr, told him that the fraud claims were incorrect.
Trump fired up the rally people on Jan. 6 to attack the Capitol, and has consistently maintained that the election was stolen from him. This mimics the tactics of German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, who maintained that a lie told long enough and loud enough would be believed by many.
The election “denialists’ fall into two categories: 1) the fools, like the Capitol invaders; and 2) the cynics, like politicians who keep repeating the lie.
Richard Sipan
Green Valley
A Response: Roe v Wade Aftermath
Re: the Aug. 12 letter “Roe v. Wade aftermath.”
No, the right to choose access to a safe, medically supported abortion is not a states’ rights issue or part of the local democratic process, as the letter writer claimed. Safe, accessible health care, especially reproductive health care is for all of us, not some of us depending on where we are living.
State legislators (aka politicians) shall not have the right to pass laws that prohibit every woman from having the right to make reproductive choices regarding her own physical/mental health and well-being, the right to choose when, where and how to begin a family. Choice is basic to democracy. It is not a state’s right where subjective variations on “opinions” can become absolute personally damaging law.
We are never going back to anatomy being our whole life destiny. We lawfully changed that historic “gender assignment” 50 years ago.
The Supreme Court made a tragic error in its constitutional (mis)interpretation!
Marilyn Kern
Green Valley
Migrants and the wall
Re: the Aug. 21 article “Crates can’t stop migrants.”
And yet another article saying that border walls are ineffective. Several articles have made this point. But let’s look at how they make that point, starting with an investigative article by the Star last December. It includes the unfortunate fact that migrants go around the walls to more dangerous areas. Humanitarian groups point out that walls force migrants to make entry in more hazardous areas. A current problem is the gaps in the wall near the Morelos Dam, “forcing” migrants to enter through them. President Joe Biden, after immediately stopping wall construction and vowing that no more would be built, now plans to fill those gaps to prevent unsafe entries through those gaps. The common theme here is that migrants go around the walls to enter. Those arguing that walls are ineffective are actually pointing out the fact that incomplete walls are ineffective. Complete walls would force most migrants to enter at established legal entry points, where they would be safe. Hundreds of deaths would be avoided.
Matthew Scully
Sahuarita
Social Security doesn’t need fixing
Arizona has a lot of seniors who move here for the weather and the low cost of living. I’m one of them. I like my sunshine, and I like my Social Security. It’s the backbone of a secure retirement in this country and I’d be in dire straits without it.
So why, in the year 2022, are we still talking about privatizing it? Every few years a politician trots out their proposal to “fix” Social Security — privatize it, give seniors more “choice,” change the retirement age, you name it. I say if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.
Social Security works just fine. After two financial crises in two decades, you want to make seniors try their luck in the market? If we are worried about Social Security’s future, we can ask the most well-off Americans to contribute a little more. Social Security is the most successful and popular government program we’ve ever had.
Janice Counts
Marana
More IRS agents
Re: the Aug. 22 letter “Inflation Reduction Act.”
A part of the recent legislation passed was a provision to replace and/or rehire the thousands of IRS agents laid off, fired or just not funded by the Trump budgets. Just another way to escape responsibility for iffy financial dealings. But it seems a reader is upset with the IRS running as an efficient department to process our tax returns. Many taxpayers are due some sort of refund and appreciate receiving their money back in a timely manner. But in spite of machines and computers, you need people to answer phone calls for help, to do follow-up to errors or even question claims, etc. As for me, I’m sure I pay more tax than the Amazon guy … yup, living on Social Security and a decreasing savings account, I pay between $300 and $400 in federal income tax. I would simply like an equitable tax code.
Gail Ruther
Northwest side
