Tucson Speaks Out: June 5 letters of the day

A few years ago, a federal judge stopped the Rosemont Copper Mine due to an interpretation of the 1872 mining law that said the owners of Rosemont Mine must have mineral rights to adjacent federal land where the owners wanted to dump the tailings.

A few weeks ago, Nevada U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto drafted and introduced a bill that would allow the dumping of waste like mine tailings onto adjacent federal lands even if the mining company has no mineral rights on that land. Arizona U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill.

Limitations to the 1872 Mining Law need to be passed, not expansive language that pollutes federal land, the citizen’s land.

Once again, corporate interests are more important to Sinema than mere Arizona citizens’ interest in declining water tables and pollution.

Matt Somers

Midtown

Incompetence exchange

Proposing an effective, fair and efficient solution:

Why not exchange Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y.?

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., could welcome Feinstein into retirement at one of his California properties.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., could repatriate military hero Santos to House arrest on Long Island.

McCarthy and Schumer would each serve their parties by “eliminating” their enemies.

Everybody wins — especially the mythical “American people,” whom all four of these folks seek to serve.

Ronald Pust

Midtown

EV significant savings

Re: the May 19 letter “EV vehicles significant savings.”

When does the letter writer, a casual EV owner, plan to ”pay his Fair Share,” the new Biden progressive mantra, by contributing to six years of road tax? If he is using our roads and banking the fuel tax savings, I think an “EV User Fee” would certainly be his fair share of building and maintaining our roads.

Don Flood

Green Valley

Transgenders in sports

Re: the May 23 letter “Women’s sports.”

The writer suggests women are not outraged enough about transgender women competing in women’s sports.

The number of transgender people is very low, and the number of transgender women who want to compete in sports would be even smaller. I suggest these issues can be addressed case by case. Abortion rights and pay inequities affect far more women’s lives. And for far longer. Is the writer as concerned about those?

Mary Jordison

Northwest side

Arizona’s pork barrel government

Re: the Masy 16 article “Arizona budget built on billions in giveaways.”

According to the Daily Star, “Gov. Hobbs, Warren Petersen, and Ben Toma, together agreed to divvy up $2.5 billion in surplus funds as they saw fit.” Additional reporting states, “Giving each lawmaker a portion of the budget to allocate — $20 million each for GOP House members, $30 million for each GOP senator” — gave them control they did not have previously.

This sounds like earmarks run amok, pure pork barrel politics. When one person gets to decide how to spend everyone else’s tax money on pet projects, the potential for corruption is huge. We have legislative bodies that are supposed to prevent this, but not in Arizona. Both parties embraced it.

Remember, Arizona law provides tax credits that allow you to send most of the taxes you owe to charities, public schools, and tuition scholarship organizations of YOUR choice. If you don’t utilize these credits, “surplus funds” will continue to support patronage and payola at the state capital.

Tony Kuyper

Foothills

Income taxes

I’m a retired CPA so I think I know somewhat more about this topic than the average person. On April 10, 1973 (50 years ago), the Star published a letter of mine that stated people with higher incomes actually pay a higher percentage of income tax on their total incomes than people with lower incomes. This fact has not been disproved.

The latest IRS data for 2018 — following the Trump Tax Cuts — found the top 1% of taxpayers paid 40% of all income taxes paid. The top 10% paid 71%, and the top 50% paid 97%. Sure, you can find wealthy taxpayers who paid little or no income taxes in any given year: but they probably reduced their net worth by investing in a scheme that causes you to lose, say, $1,000,000 in order to save $400,000 in taxes.

Douglas R. Holm

East side

I am afraid for women

Found liable for defamation and sexual abuse, Trump’s defense was “she was not my type.” Sexual assault is not driven by attraction. It is an act of violence and should be called out for what it is. For Trump, women are objects to be abused at will. Unfortunately, he is not alone.

One in six American women are victims of attempted or completed rape; their self-concept and their sense of bodily autonomy forever diminished.

With Roe v. Wade overturned and red states banning abortion access, women being further assaulted by the institutions that should protect them.

According to a CNN report, some women are choosing sterilization as a sad but rational reaction to the possibility that their reproductive health options are a thing of the past. I don’t judge them for it. They recognize an existential crisis is heading their way.

I am afraid for women — for the attacks so many will endure and their inability to choose their own fate.

We must do better.

Beth Smith

Oro Valley

A woman and her role

Sen. Tom Davis, a Republican from South Carolina, stated, “At some point in time, the right of the state to see the unborn child does take precedent over the woman’s right to her body.” Davis’s words debase women to breeder cow or broodmare status.

Larry Gray

SaddleBrooke

Tell truth about Biden

An Associated Press poll in April indicated that only 26% of Democrats want President Joe Biden to run for a second term. A more recent CNN poll showed 66% of Americans believe another four years under Biden could “lead to disaster.” Plenty of other polls taken over the last year indicate a similar sentiment among Americans, yet to read the Arizona Daily Star, one would be led to believe Biden is an incredibly successful and popular President. I’m old enough to remember when the Star actually practiced journalism!

Darin Odem

Midtown

Places to house immigrants

I have a “solution” for where all of the undocumented immigrants to be bussed. How about all of the now closed, vacant, unused military bases throughout the country? I was stationed at a base in little Rantoul, Illinois, that was the home of Chanute AFB and housed thousands of airman in dorms. Now they are totally unused, as well as the airplane hangers, chow halls, gyms, hospital … everything.

These old bases are now defunct and unused and can be patrolled by the city’s police, fire, hospitals etc. Drop them off to these places throughout the country, and see how “inventive” they can be with the community’s help. And put the darn U.S. military veterans back into the hotels which they deserve!

Troy Curtis

East side

GOP: The positive side

Just because they occasionally go crazy about things like drag and Disney, Republicans are unfairly characterized as always being negative.

Here is a list of some of the things they are in favor of:

Fossil Fuels (“Energy independence”)

Censorship (“Parental rights”)

Birth Defects (“Fetal rights”)

Child marriage (see West Virginia)

The coronavirus (vaccines are a “personal choice”)

Red-light runners (cameras at street corners “invade privacy”)

Russia (“Putin never called me a racist”)

Segregation (“Inclusion is woke”)

And, of course, most lovable of all: Guns, guns and more guns!

George Timson

Midtown

SNAP benefits

Can anyone explain why the same people who object to conferring unconditional food benefits on the poorest Americans because it allegedly fosters a dependency on handouts also vigorously defend the wealthy collector of Nazi memorabilia who lavishes millions of dollars of untaxed gifts on a Supreme Court Justice?

Robert Rees

Northwest side

Oro Valley zoning fight

Re: the May 28 article “OV zoning fight continues.”

The article was balanced and clearly written, but some relevant information was not included. The Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene (OVCN) was present as a small neighborhood church when we built our home on Calle Buena Vista in 1990. Some neighbors have been here longer. The neighborhood in which OVCN is located, Linda Vista Citrus Tracts 2 and the adjacent neighborhoods were established for residential use in the 1930s. The R144 zoning limits housing to no more than one house per 3.3 acres and includes farms and ranches with horses and other animals. More than 50 horses live within a half mile of OVCN.

We were attracted by the peaceful, rural setting for our family and our horses. The proposed OVCN zoning would totally disrupt the unique character of our neighborhood and traumatize animals due to increased traffic, noise and light pollution.

Tim Fagan and Mary Topmiller

Oro Valley

Number bands on guns?

Re: the May 31 letter “Numbered bands on guns.”

A letter writer now wants to put number bands on guns for tracking. Dear Letter Writer; Guns already have numbers on them. They are called serial numbers, and police use them every day to track guns.

The other thing you suggested is years of extensive training to take possession of your gun is just ridiculous. There is already a training class in place for people to get a CCW. These classes are taught by NRA-certified instructors. I strongly recommend them. Now as far as someone coming into my home to inspect where I keep my guns, that is out of the question! That is a clear invasion of privacy. I do, however, recommend a good gun safe.

If you think that any criminal will obey this or any other new gun laws, you are extremely naive. After all, they are called criminals for a reason.

Steven Barker

East side

High-speed rail

Re: the May 31 article “High-speed rail can curb America’s summer travel woes.”

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood heralded the benefits of high-speed rail as a solution to long-distance travel and a wise alternative to flying and driving to US destinations. While I don’t disagree that the U.S. is behind the curve on the implementation of high-speed rail, he lost me when he opined that two California projects are moving steadily toward the finish line.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In 1996 planning began for high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco and Sacramento; in 2008, voters barely passed a $9 billion bond measure to pay for the 500 miles of track. To date, construction is underway for 119 miles from Bakersfield to Madera, with no estimate of when the project will be complete. The project is a decade behind schedule and billions over budget with insufficient funding to complete the project.

Dan Watson

Oracle

President Biden’s negotiating style

President Joe Biden maintained that he would not negotiate with the Republican Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, on raising the debt limit. After weeks of trying to get the President to the negotiating table, McCarthy claimed a victory when he proudly announced that he got Biden to negotiate, in exchange McCarthy agreed to suspend the debt limit until after the 2024 Presidential election removing a major obstacle from the president’s path to accomplishing his administration’s objectives.

The president’s negotiation style not to negotiate is brilliant. The American electorate does not appreciate Biden and what he has accomplished working to make life better for everyone. Granted, problems still exist, but this administration has plans on how to correct them.

Dave Glicksman

Northwest side

One down, who’s next?

Ol’ Joe falling at his Air Force Academy address. Is he the best the Dems can offer in 2024?

I can imagine that political party of whiners scrambling to find someone to beat Donald Trump! May I suggest they back the Democrat Congressional Representative from New York — I think her name is Alexandria Occasionally-Crazy, or something like that. She’d truly represent today’s “has been” political party.

Welcome back, President Trump!

Jack Calaway

Northeast side

The welfare Cadillac

I remember President Nixon invited Johnny Cash to entertain at the White House and requested that he play “The Welfare Cadillac.” Cash, to his credit, refused because it painted all people receiving assistance as cheats, especially Blacks.

Well, Arizona has its own version of the Welfare Cadillac. Vouchers that go mainly to people, three-fourths of whom have already proven they can do without it. One can only assume that free money is too tempting to resist. The projected cost of this boondoggle is one-eighth of our education budget (which is one-tenth of what Katie Hobbs say would decimate the budget. Or is that “word salad?”

Compare this giveaway to people of means to the Republican manufactured Debt Crisis in Washington. In D.C., they want to cut benefits to the poor in order to retain Trump’s tax cuts to the wealthy. Grifters self-identify.

Ted Morrison

Midtown

Ukraine’s grit

With a blink of an eye, Ukraine lives changed from thinking about what’s right or wrong to more deeper thoughts of whether they’re going to live or die. Hopefully, their resolve and our F-16s will convince the Putinvaders to vacate.

Joe Joe Sanchez

Marana