Tucson Speaks Out: March 4 letters of the day

Frozen embryos are children?

According to the news from Alabama, frozen embryos are now considered children. If it wasn’t so serious I would laugh myself into oblivion. Seriously? So let’s take the slippery slope and think ahead to the next possible move. I suggest we should now consider that a sperm is half of a child and arrest every man in the U.S. when they masturbate for the murder of a child. And please let us start with the politicians and begin in Alabama. Just saying.

Sharon Winderl

Midtown

ADEQ irresponsibility

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has the responsibility of protecting our aquifers from pollution.

They are on the cusp of issuing an Aquifer Protection Permit for the proposed Copper World mine complex. ADEQ is currently out of compliance on Aquifer Water Quality Standards (AWQS) for eight contaminants that could be in our water, and there are NO standards for uranium or sulfates! They have failed to adopt the federal standards for arsenic, and currently allows five times that amount. When harshly criticized by the Arizona Auditor General for this in 2021, the agency cited “resistance from stakeholders and lack of funding.” These “stakeholders” are the mining companies and industries that pollute our water!

A state agency that is tasked with protecting our drinking water should not be bowing to the interests of foreign mining companies and use a “lack of funding” excuse for not adopting federal safety standards! Contact ADEQ. Tell them to protect our water supply and stop being a rubber stamp for mining permits!

Rick Johnson

Sahuarita

Snowbirds

Re: the Feb. 24 letter “Snowbirds.”

I never thought of snowbirds as the equivalent to a horde of locusts “tromping” over the desert environment.

Since I spent the winter here helping my daughter and husband work on their house and yard, it looks like I should have had a free ride at “groceries, shopping malls, restaurants, movies” like the other snowbirds (the moochers!) — instead, I spent more than $3,000 on the local economy not for things to take home, but invested right here in Tucson. As to water, the letter writer is apparently oblivious to the stories in the eastern press which say the Southwest is running out of water, making us acutely aware of water conservation. If enough people share the animus toward snowbirds maybe they can convince the Arizona legislature to enact an enhanced sales tax on snowbird purchases, rather than allowing us to freeload and pay the same sales tax as residents.

Sally Wasielewski

East side

Youth accolades

Re: the Feb. 24 article “Under-reported youth accolades.”

I wholeheartedly congratulate and thank the writer for his thoughtful remarks regarding the Arizona Daily Star reporting of the Sunnyside teacher and students prosthetics project benefiting those in need. I also wish to thank the Star for the long-standing and ongoing efforts to report the stories which remind us of the importance of working for the common good. In this era with dominance of reporting of political and other divisions in our society, it is refreshing to focus on stories which remind us of the joy of working together.

Charles Sanner

Foothills

Speak up for action from Congress

Re: the Feb. 24 letter “No accountability.”

Dear Editor,

The letter writer reminds the public and her representative that Congress works for us. Her letter also reminds us of another step we can take when we don’t feel heard: writing a letter to the editor of the Arizona Daily Star. We can also call 202-224-3121, and remind them we need a response. Or perhaps thanking them for the recent tax bill that passed the House, increasing the child tax credit, lifting half a million children out of poverty. This is the perfect time to ask our senators to pass this bill that also will help 16 million struggling Americans. Our voices matter, use yours and together we can make a difference.

Willie Dickerson

Northwest side

Brief humans

The latest wave of mounting judicial activism and repudiation of the First Amendment has now brought us the proclamation by a self-avowed, religiously-biased court that cryogenically preserved embryos enjoy the same rights as “all unborn children.”

With this further blurring of the lines between what counts as natural as opposed to meddling, it seems appropriate to draw a moral equivalence between attempting to manufacture humans and terminating unwanted pregnancies. One might reasonably deem the former the greater moral challenge since it involves the deliberate and artificial creation of “children” only to have the majority of them not survive. Apparently, their mere existence, if only momentary, justifies their reckless creation in the first place and absolves the entire enterprise of any guilt for knowing full well in advance of their certain demise.

Conveniently, no one’s conscience is perturbed by this hypocritical double standard since only “good” intentions are behind the production of these brief humans who otherwise would never have existed at all.

Robert Gavlak

Midtown

Deductible?

If frozen embryos are children, as Alabama has declared, does that mean that we can deduct them as dependents on our taxes? Just asking ...

Tom Regnier

Green Valley

Donald J. Trump

What makes Mr. Trump a popular candidate? Currently in the news — indictments, fines, grafting, etc — are not popular traits. Mannerisms that attract others are boldness, being outspoken, refusing to be ignored as well as refusing to submit to authority either in the courtroom or the world’s stage. If you exist in the shadows, barely noticed, adhering to a man with this personality can make it seem that you will be successful regardless of obstacles thrown at you. While Mr. Trump has lived with numerous financial and public failures, he seems immune to those failures. This must certainly be a huge draw for people who are unsuccessful at different times of their lives and wish to emulate this Teflon-like ability; especially being included in his many rallies — laughing at his jokes, cheering on the things he approves of, hating the people and events he loathes while sharing the comradeship of other people who think the same way — you no longer have to be ashamed of thinking like him.

Richard Rebl

East side

Failure

President Biden initiated 294 executive actions concerning the border in his first year in office. Many of these were reversals of Trump policies of the preceding four years. While illegal immigration during the Trump Administration was at a 30-year low, the numbers have increased dramatically in the last three years. The biggest reason for this was the invitation to the world to come to the United States, no questions asked, and we will take care of you. What is puzzling is why any Administration would do this. What is the reasoning? The cost to support the undocumented is a staggering multi-billion annually. And further negative effects are the toll on healthcare, education, housing, and crime. One has to wonder why the current Administration put undocumented in the front of the line ahead of citizens. Consider how the money spent on immigrants could be used for seniors, healthcare, education, and infrastructure projects. No doubt, this is a massive invasion, with the beneficiaries being the undocumented, cartels, and NGOs.

Loyal M. Johnson Jr.

Oro Valley

Accepting fascism

After reading about the mechanism of fascism, it is quite clear that many Americans have accepted fascism as their choice for America’s political future. It’s the new model that will save the nation. It has become the paragon of new hope, yet this political system goes unrecognized in society by those that embrace it. However, its symptoms are unmistakable. Its proponents have accepted its deception, ultra-patriotism, anger, division, violence, vengeance and hate. Those who have accepted fascism see others who have not accepted it as traitors. The nation becomes a war zone, with two opposing camps. This is what happened in Germany in the 1920s, with the far right (fascists) clashing with the far left. Germany accepted fascism to solve their nation’s problems. Our deindustrialized cities have resulted in a broken middle class, looking for a solution to the nation’s problems. They have chosen a charismatic madman to lead them to the Promised Land. They have accepted his fascist politics to accomplish that end.

Steve Rasmussen

Foothills

Stolen shopping carts

The carts are a huge eyesore in Tucson. They are ubiquitous. New ones are approximately $200. and at least 2 million are stolen in the US each year. Why are store owners so complacent about having their carts stolen?

Other cities have addressed the problem in various ways eg: with electric devices that prevent the carts from leaving the area, paying for carts and getting refunded, and other solutions.

These shopping carts are a blight on our lovely Tucson environment.

Please address this, Mayor Romero.

Susan Syracuse

Northeast side

We all need a laugh!

Re: the Feb. 29 article “Illegal border-crossers bill rushed to governor.”

We all need a good belly laugh in this political climate. I enjoyed one this morning as I read this article. In the article, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma says he used an unusual procedure to rush through SB1231 to allow state and local police to arrest people who crossed the border illegally. “The sooner we pass SB 1231, the sooner the state can protect its citizens from the crisis caused by the Democrats’ willful refusal to secure the border.’’

What a joke! Speaker Toma apparently doesn’t know it was Donald Trump and GOP Senators — not Democrats — that blocked the bipartisan border bill, which would have provided the border security and immigration changes Republicans claim they want.

Sadly, Speaker Toma, the joke’s on you.

This November, voters just need to flip a single seat — just one! — from Republican to Democrat to end the Arizona House of Representatives being a laughingstock.

Thea Chalow

Oro Valley

Chihak’s clear voice

Re: the Feb. 23 article “Robbins’ athletics focus needs to end.”

Kudos to the Arizona Daily Star editorial page team for running several of Michael Chihak’s guest opinions. No one knows Tucson and the University of Arizona like Chihak and his cogent analysis and clear, succinct writing on UA’s “financial troubles” is a valuable service to the community.

Maggy Zanger

Midtown

John McCain

John McCain served our country bravely and honorably. Dissing him is shameful and disgusting. Kari Lake did it because constantly genuflecting at Donald Trump’s feet wasn’t working for her. She had to do something else to get his blessing. Since she lacks the courage to stand on her own, and actually stand for something, she chose this tactic. We have enough weaklings in Congress who think only of themselves and don’t care about our country. We shouldn’t add her. As for Trump, he still disses John McCain for one reason. Jealousy. After all, John McCain was something Donald Trump will never be. John McCain was a man.

Dave Rollins

Patagonia

Stop Cop City

Re: the Feb. 27 article “Vandalism spree politically motivated, Tucson police say.”

Recently, there was a protest against police here in Tucson by “Stop Cop City.” Why should we care? Well it turns out this is one many cities who have been targeted either for support of law enforcement or for Israel. Tucson businesses were both firebombed and suffered destruction of property. I don’t deny anyone the right to civilly protest but this organization is about intimidating local government leaders and terrorizing hard working members of our city through violence and destruction. Georgia’s Attorney General said, “We will not waiver when it comes to keeping people safe, enforcing the rule of law, and ensuring those who engage in criminal activity are vigorously pursued and aggressively prosecuted.” It is not about silencing the voice of protest; it is about setting the expectation that associated crimes will not be tolerated in Tucson. I hope Ms. Conover will not waive these crimes to misdemeanors but instead prosecute these felony offenders. So far, her silence has been deafening. It’s worrisome.

Richard Harper

Northeast side

Imagining the unimaginable

The phrase “I can’t even imagine …” is used whenever the subject is brought up of Hamas’ horrific rape and abuse of Israelis starting on Oct. 7. Try to imagine living peacefully, like you do here, your community is attacked, your home ravaged, your family is taken hostage. Try to imagine your family members being systematically raped and tortured, for over 140 days and counting. Try to imagine needing them home in time to have abortions.

Try to imagine.

Maureen Salz

Oro Valley