Are you kidding me?
Re: the Jan. 26 article “AZ lawmakers exempt selves from records law, will destroy emails.”
Since when do Arizona legislators have the right to exempt themselves from state public records laws by merely adopting a procedural rule change? As reported in the Arizona Daily Star, this is precisely what Senate and House Republicans have just done despite vigorous opposition from Democratic colleagues. Circumventing the records law, emails sent or received by all lawmakers and staff will be destroyed after 90 days, and texts on Senate phones dealing with legislative business are prohibited from release. Had these rules been in effect for the 2020 General Election, would we have even been aware of Ginni Thomas’ efforts to replace President Biden’s electors with a false set of GOP electors, thus stealing Biden’s Arizona’s Electoral College votes?
People are also reading…
Up until now, we thought deals cut in smoke-filled cloak rooms were the preferred method of denying voters of their right to know the truth. How long will the public continue to ignore the erosion of democratic values by autocratic GOP lawmakers?
Bryan Lane
Green Valley
Give Ukraine what they need now
WWII was largely won because the USA was the “Arsenal of Democracy.” We had a huge manufacturing base and we were able to send large amounts of military equipment to Europe. That, along with Allied troops, overwhelmed the Germans. Now is the time to supply Ukraine with more equipment than Russians can supply. The Ukrainians have the will to win as the Allied forces had in WWII.
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
What are Republicans in Arizona afraid of?
Re: the Jan. 26 article “AZ lawmakers exempt selves from records law, will destroy emails.”
The illustrious Arizona Republican-led Legislature just enacted a rule allowing them to destroy public records while on the job, in an effort to “protect their privacy.” What kind of underhanded things are they doing on government time? As a voter, as a citizen of this state, I find it deplorable that any public official would consider what they do on our dime to be “private.” Public employees (which they are), do not have “private” time when being paid to be on the job. This is the same bunch of politicians who used taxpayer money for the fraudulent Cyber Ninjas audit of the 2020 election. We need to get rid of these self-serving power-hungry idiots as soon as possible. And the Republicans moan about the state turning blue. Just look in the mirror and you will see why.
Bonnie Poulos
Midtown
AZ Republican lawmakers’ hypocrisy
Re: the Jan. 26 article “AZ lawmakers exempt selves from records law, will destroy emails.”
There is hardly anything more refreshing in current politics than when one party shoots itself blatantly in the foot as the Republicans just have done exempting themselves from records law.
Only a few years ago, Republicans nationally were howling in bitter protest against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server for her emails. Transparency was the big word then, although she never hid or destroyed her messages. The new Arizona law allowing lawmakers to do not only the same, but a much worse thing, legally destroying public records and resorting to back-door policymaking, is a delightful admission for all to see that their laws serve their own agenda only, and do not apply to anyone else. These shenanigans hate democracy and operate by its rules only as long as those serve their extremist selfish purposes. Republicans once claimed to be conservative, which used to entail honesty and dignity, but today they don’t even seem to know those words.
Albrecht Classen
Midtown
Do you hear what I hear?
Despite her courtroom losses, Kari Lake continues to maintain that the only way she could have lost the governor’s race was by means of a massive fraudulent conspiracy perpetrated by Arizona election workers. After her loss to Katie Hobbs was announced, Lake trumpeted, “Arizonans know BS when they see it.” How perverted must Ms. Lake’s sense of logic be that, when she accurately and honestly proclaims the real reason for her election loss, she doesn’t listen to herself?
Rick Cohn
West side
National sales tax
In a recent cartoon, a national sales tax was ridiculed as a terrible idea. It is not and should be considered by our legislators. It is much simpler than an income tax and can be just as fair or fairer. There are no forms to fill out, no salary reductions, no records to keep (for years), no audits and no loopholes.
There will no longer be an IRS and April 15 will be just another day. It can be made fair by graduated sales taxes.
For instance, none on groceries but lots on yachts. Abolishment of the IRS will save about $30 billion and many CPA’s will be free for more productive tasks. We pay gradually and the government gets its money on time and gradually.
William Wolfe
East side
TUSD hiring consultant
Re: the Jan. 27 article “TUSD to pay to assess support for bond election” I am saddened but not surprised at the TUSD Governing Board deciding to spend tax money to hire a consultant to gauge voter opinion on approving yet more money for TUSD. Isn’t gauging voter opinion what the Governing Board members are for? They’re elected by voters, so supposedly they’re the ones who should know best what the voters think. I must add though that I am particularly saddened by brand new member Val Romero, who ran as a supposed fiscal conservative, but in one of his first actions, voted to waste taxpayer money in this fashion. As he was just elected, he should know best what the voters think. His vote in favor of wasting tax dollars does not bode well for his constituents.
Robert Hansen
East side
History, not personality
Re: the Jan. 22 article “Now we’ll see the aftermath of Congress’ three-day fiasco.”
If you can’t attack a party’s political philosophy and agenda results, attack personality. Liberalism philosophy changed America from a melting pot to a bitter stew of warring tribes, opened the door to ISIS, undocumented crossing the border, defunding police, Afghanistan surrender, which opened the door for Putin to attack Ukraine. History reveals that great society programs destroyed the Black family, Liberalism is akin to Socialism. Socialism is less freedom. Shouldn’t the media evaluate political philosophy and agendas through the eyes of history, and not personality?
Ed Mesko
Vail
