Tucson Speaks Out: Aug. 8 letters of the day

Morals and common sense

Re: the July 26 letter “Moral compass drives common sense.”

The letter writer has definitely got it right! The only thing strange about the two lists is, in the face of such fact and behavior, why would ANYONE want anything to do with either Trump or today’s Republican Party!

One thing is clear about the items on these lists … they are in no way useful to the daily freedom we all enjoy and take for granted under our democracy. They represent instead totally self-serving, terribly outdated, and just plain wrong prerogatives some people want to claim over others.

Democracy depends upon enlightenment that comes from knowledge built on exposure to ALL the facts, not just those conveniently selected by any one individual or group. Lying eliminates our trust in the facts required for the day-to-day learning, working, and living we have come to believe in and rely upon. Why would anyone want to trade this ability-to-trust for a person or group dealing from the list the letter writer provided us!

So much TRUTH! Thank you.

Frank Parsons

Northeast side

Who gets Secret Service protection?

Note to the letter writer who complained about Hunter Biden receiving Secret Service protection: Under law, all children (including those who are adult), their spouses and their children are entitled to 24/7 Secret Service protection while a president is in office. So all of Trump’s children and their spouses got Secret Service protection, too. Of course, Trump being Trump, he extended that protection six months after he left office, costing us taxpayers a bundle.

In any case, I think Hunter Biden probably needs protection more than most president’s children do, because so many Republicans attack him so much.

Karen Schickedanz

SaddleBrooke

Electricity

Global consumption of coal passed 8 billion tons in 2022. China used a little over 4 billion tons, more than all other countries combined. Over 80% of the world is powered by fossil fuels. The largest impacts in cleaner air in the U.S. has been changing from coal to natural gas. China manufactures more solar panels than anywhere in the world.

We need a variety of energy sources to generate power in addition to wind and solar. We have solar panels on our home, and are happy we do. Supporting TEP that has energy rates less than the national average in Tucson, that provides dependable electricity is good. Coming from the midwest where we experienced numerous outages would not be acceptable here in the summertime. And California electricity rates that are twice Tucsons, would also be hard to accept!

Dave Locey

Foothills

We have met the enemy and he is us

Re: the Aug. 1 Editorial cartoon about Copper world.

I must remind everyone the high standard of living we all enjoy would not be possible without products derived from mining. If there was no demand for these products, there would be no need to develop new mining projects.

David Briggs, retired

geologist

Northwest side

Pass the Drug Act

Living a normal life with a severe form of alopecia can be quite difficult. In addition to the looks I get when I’m out and about, I also have to worry about keeping up with rising out-of-pocket costs for the prescription medications I take to keep my immune system at bay.

Passing the DRUG Act would help reform some of the practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers or PBMs use to maximize their profits while threatening access and affordability for patients. PBMs are the healthcare intermediaries that control 80% of the prescriptions on the market, and they have an inordinate amount of control over where and when patients can access the important medications they need.

As a nurse, in my professional life, it is even more incredibly frustrating to watch one segment of the healthcare industry profit off the backs of vulnerable patients. To improve patient access and reduce out-of-pocket costs, Arizona’s congressional delegation should help support and pass the DRUG Act without delay.

Rachel Lembo

Foothills

Facts prevail

Re: the Aug. 3 letter “Biden business.”

I was glad to see letter writer joining Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in calling for the release of Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer’s testimony transcripts. Unfortunately for the letter writer, the Daily Star can not print the transcript until the Republican committee majority agrees to release it.

Who is spinning the testimony? Rep. Goldman, the only member of the committee to listen to all five hours of the testimony, asserts it exonerates Biden. The letter writer maintains that the testimony condemns President Biden along with Republican Chairman, Rep. James Comer, who did not attend the Archer hearing. Let the facts prevail!

Bruce Hilpert

North side

Voucher insanity

Any family can get a $7K school voucher handout, per child, at the expense of our public schools and you, the taxpayer. Private schools are not accountable for any reporting — financial or educational — the way public schools are. Parents receiving these funds can use them any way they please, supposedly to be used for alternative educational needs. Republicans keep hammering on importance of school “choice.” (How ironic that concept of choice doesn’t apply to women’s reproductive rights.)

Financial need is not a requirement to receive the voucher funds. No wonder the projection is for 943 million to be spent on this ill-conceived Republican giveaway. The latest report shows 53% of K-12 spending will go to just 8% of Arizona students. And people are OK with this? The public schools must beg our communities to donate school supplies; this plea is repeated over and over on the local news every morning. Fully funding our public schools should come first. Something is very wrong here!

Deb Klumpp

Oro Valley

Pac-12 and Apple

Re: the Aug. 3 article “Value, risks, missing pieces of Pac-12 Apple option.”

This article asked: “Should the Pac-12 prioritize a close relationship with Apple above all else, even revenue?” The answer to this question is: Yes. As a lawyer working with clients on managing digital rights, I know that the challenge of crafting an effective, long-term digital rights strategy is often complex. For the Pac-12, today, the best approach is to develop as close a relationship with Apple as it can arrange.

In exchange for being accommodating on revenue, the Pac-12 should insist that it retain favored status with Apple, relative to other collegiate conferences, for the term of the agreement. If Apple, for example, develops a future arrangement with ESPN, the Pac-12 should benefit from that collaboration.

Close ties with Apple should create notable benefits for the Pac-12. NIL commercialization should blossom, and there is great potential to establish a Pac-12 presence in Apple’s virtual reality initiatives. Apple is the Pac-12’s ticket to leadership in the digital future.

Jeffrey Matsuura

Downtown

Unanswered questions

With age supposedly comes wisdom and understanding, however, at age 95 many aspects of our political landscape appear to me difficult to rationalize. Examples: How can a veteran support a Vietnam era draft dodger who described those who served as losers? How can any woman support a serial sexual predator who has always regarded women as prey? How can any person of color support a known racist? How can a person of faith support a morally bankrupt charlatan for whom religious tenets are an alien concept? How can any law enforcement officer support someone who believes himself above the law? How can a lover of freedom and democracy support a would-be dictator who in office would weaponize government against detractors, pardon all Jan. 6 insurrectionists, gut NATO and abandon Ukraine to Putin’s barbarity? No mind was ever changed by a letter to the editor, but hopefully such questions may prove food for thought for some.

Joseph Stanley

East side