All is not lost
Re: the Aug. 3 article “Festival of democracy gone these days.”
During the primary elections I worked a 12-hour shift as a Democratic Party poll observer at a voting center in northwestern Pima County. Given the noise about the integrity of the election process, I expected a difficult day. But my Republican poll observer counterparts were friendly and easy to work with on the few issues that came up. The poll workers from both parties, who put in hours before and after the polls closed, were efficient and helpful. For various reasons, a number of people had to use a provisional ballot. Those people were polite and patient while the poll workers made sure they got to vote. I highly recommend volunteering to work at the polls. It will restore your faith that, notwithstanding our differences, Americans can still share respect for each other and the voting process that is central to our system of government.
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Eileen Hollowell
Oro Valley
COVID origins
Re: the July 27 article “UA official: COVID originated in Wuhan market.”
It would seem to be appropriate to give credit where credit is due. On July 27, the Star ran an article about the likelihood of COVID-19 coming from a Wuhan, China, seafood market, rather than being leaked from the Wuhan virus laboratory. The same information appeared in the Star in an article by columnist Tim Steller on Dec. 1, 2021, almost eight months earlier. If that wasn’t good journalism, I don’t know what is, most particularly in this present day and age. I appreciated the article back when it originally appeared and people were hoping to find the Chinese Lab at fault. I appreciate it even more now. Kudos to Mr. Steller.
Henry Rosenbaum
Foothills
Climate and inflation
Re: the Aug. 12 article “Act won’t deliver on climate, inflation.”
Richard Carlson’s ridiculous, pessimistic column concluding, “Welcome to the Black Hole of climate policy: Throw in $400 billion and nothing happens,” is just one more roadblock in achieving a climate neutral world. According to the Wikipedia entry on 100% renewable energy, “Recent studies show that a global transition to 100% renewable energy across all sectors — power, heat, transport and desalination well before 2050 is feasible.” In addition to presenting incorrect facts and unsupported logic, Carlson ignores the technical strides that have been made in renewables. Many current problems will be solved as the technology advances. The Wikipedia entry states, “according to the 2013 Post Carbon Pathways report, which reviewed many international studies, the key roadblocks are: climate change denial, the fossil fuels lobby, political inaction, unsustainable energy consumption, outdated energy infrastructure, and financial constraints.” Add Carlson’s name to that.
Sean Bruner
West side
Sen. Sinema: What’s best for Arizona?
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema voted for the Inflation Reduction Act only after Democrats agreed to keep the carried interest tax loophole in the bill, which allows the private equity industry to pay significantly fewer taxes than ordinary Americans. Many of Sinema’s top campaign contributors have ties to the private equity industry.
Although her spokesman states Sinema makes decisions based on “what’s best for Arizona,” these firms buy businesses with borrowed money, gut them to achieve short-term profits, which destabilizes them and causes 20% to fail.
Recently, private equity has invested in small businesses and communities by buying fishing quotas, local newspapers, and a Hispanic grocery chain with stores in Arizona. Private equity money has saturated the Phoenix real estate market, turning first-time homebuyers into renters. More troubling, private equity firms investing in nursing homes have pressured these homes to generate high, short-term profits to the detriment of quality of care and containment of Medicare costs.
Sen. Sinema, is this really what’s best for Arizona?
Cindy Bordelon
Downtown
Santa Rita park homeless issue
Re: the Aug. 13 article “Park upgrades come with concerns for homeless.”
We need to pay some attention to the plight of other cities that tried to accommodate those experiencing homelessness in their park spaces. While the Star story quoted a very sympathetic homeless woman, it’s always a much more complex problem than lending a helping hand to those in need. I don’t know what to do and much brighter folks than me have tried and failed to solve it. All I can do here is point to Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles — cities with hearts that tried and mostly failed. Parks became anything but the spaces where the public would want to spend any time.
The adage “hard cases make bad law” applies here as a cautionary tale. I say be careful about dividing up public park spaces for homeless accommodation. As big as your heart may be, I doubt any solution like that would work out. It has been tried by cities with good intentions and much more money, and it has failed fairly miserably.
Rick Rappaport
Oro Valley
One more time
Republicans: tell me again why Donald Trump shouldn’t have to obey the law?
Eric Flohr
Midtown
Your vote is critical
For all those Democratic and Independent voters who don’t think midterm elections are important, you need to vote this year like your country depends on it, because it does. I fear if Kari Lake, state Rep. Mark Finchem, and Abraham Hamadeh prevail, 2022 will be the last free election Arizona will ever have. No Democrat or even moderate Republican, if there are any left in Arizona, will ever be elected. While Democrats are trying to deal with climate change (yes, there is such a thing), the economy, drug prices, and veterans’ health, the Republicans offer nothing but the myth of a stolen election. I can’t understand the magic that “Trump Endorsed” holds for a lot of Republicans. What is it about a self-serving, lying narcissist that is so appealing? There is a quote often attributed to Upton Sinclair that says, “when Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, and carrying a cross.” This sounds like a lot of Republican politicians to me.
Mary Zimmerman
SaddleBrooke
$150 million Tucson surplus
Re: the Aug. 14 article “City has $150M surplus to spend.”
Being the father of a former high school math teacher and being a former math tutor myself here in the Tucson area, I know the value of hiring teachers with credentials and experience. Why not allocate a portion of Tucson’s $150 million to hiring teachers to fulfill the dire shortage that is occurring in our area?
We must do something dramatic though, to compete with other areas. How about a $50,000-$100,000 bonus payable after five years of continuous exemplary service teaching children in the Tucson public school system? What better investment can we make than that for an education of our children and grandchildren?
Len Laskowski
Northwest side
Unfair criticism of the NRA
The NRA argues that guns don’t kill people. People kill people. I agree.
Gangs, drug dealers, carjackers, religious fanatics, parade-watcher hunters, school kid hunters, grocery shopper/employee hunters, ex-spouse/ex-girlfriend hunters, music fest hunters, and people mentally unfit to own firearms — sadly, they kill people with guns on their own. The NRA doesn’t deserve blame, or a tarnished reputation.
One could only imagine the horror if these criminals had hammers, instead of guns. Glad I could clear that up.
Rick Singer
Oro Valley
Biden’s 2nd term would be destructive
Re: the Aug. 14 article “2nd terms would be study in contrast.”
I found this article amazingly out of touch with reality. In this article, President Biden is portrayed as one of the greatest presidents. To compare him with Roosevelt, Johnson or Reagan is ludicrous. Our national image due to the debacles of all of Biden’s attempts at foreign policy is a disgrace. The Afghan withdrawal ranks at the top of one of America’s greatest military failures. Even his own party wants him out. His war on climate change is ill-conceived and is causing pain to the poorest in America because of economic stress from which we will never recover.
A second term for Biden would be utter destruction of our country and even his own party will certainly block such a move.
The Inflation Reduction Act as projected by the CBO will contribute $367 billion to the deficit over 10 years. Other analysts predict much worse results. In a letter to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the CBO predicts that the effects of this bill on inflation is negligible.
Darrel Hochstettler
Vail
Consequences for behavior
So when will justice finally deal real consequences for bad behavior? I keep hearing legal eagles saying you must prove intent. So smashing windows in the Capitol building, hitting police with flag poles and then illegally entering that building doesn’t show intent to do illegal things?
A former employee taking boxes of valuable information after losing the job, and hiding them in a new residence, isn’t enough to charge said crook with theft? The government has charged lesser people with taking information and putting it on the internet with treasonous acts. Yet now we must put up with idiots shooting at government employees. Great.
When, after seven long years of enduring this corrupt behavior, will we see consequences? Must the country continue putting up with slime? Oh right, take the Fifth to hide illegalities.
Carl Olson
West side
Mar-a-Lago raid
A line was crossed Aug. 8 that has never happened in the history of the Republic. Raiding a former president’s residence.
We are in for hard times in our country. Politicization of Justice and FBI. These things happen in Banana Republics. The FBI, DOJ and CIA need to be sacked.
Where are we headed? Jan. 6 defendants held, in my view, without due process, murders and thugs being put back on the streets without bail and little old ladies sent to prison for less serious charges.
Worried about authoritarian government? Wait til they come for you!
Rich Barnes
East side
Hold your nose if necessary
The lesson to draw from the Supreme Court decision on abortion is this: Single-issue voting works. Many thought Christian voters would reject Donald Trump, who has no moral compass. His vow to appoint judges who would oppose abortion secured their vote, along with that of other abortion opponents.
Now the issue that counts is climate change. The political litmus test for candidates is acknowledging climate reality and vowing to face the hard choices that confront us. Failure to elect them will eventually force millions of American families to flee from climate disasters, heat, drought, social unrest, loss of property value and bankrupt economies. The migration of climate refugees is already happening.
Bickering over social issues amounts to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. None will matter if we lose the habitability of our cities, our southern states, our coastlines, and ultimately, our planet. It is happening. Vote climate.
Christine Flanagan
Northwest side
Disappointed in prescription drug date
I am very disappointed in the prescription drug payment limitation of $2,000 going into affect in 2025. This law will save me around $5,000 per year and I wish it would be effective for 2023.
When most federal laws that are passed, the due date is usually the next calendar or fiscal year. By making it effective 2025, this will cost many seniors serious amounts of money paid to the drug companies.
James McLin
East side
Who was responsible for documents?
If the documents collected by the FBI at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence were so sensitive and top secret, how is it they were left to be included in his personal possessions that left the White House?
Andrew MacLeod
Foothills
Desert being misused
The Desert Southwest is called the Desert Southwest for a reason — it is a desert. Deserts exists in areas of very little rainfall. Why are we using up so much water trying to grow crops in the middle of a desert? A desert is much more suited for solar panels and wind generators.
Conversely, why is our government paying incentives for putting up solar panels and wind generations in the Midwest? This is prime cropland. It is much more suited for growing the food we need.
If our government is giving billions of dollars in climate change incentives, use them where they will do the most good.
Thomas Wenzel
East side
