Tucson Speaks Out: October 5

How much more cruel and barbaric can the Trump government be when they send poor, desperate refugees, asylum seekers, or simply immigrants to a third country? By all categories of a democratic country subscribed to the principle of justice for all, how can US officials even think of committing this crime against humanity? Reflect on the reality for those miserable victims. Having barely escaped from violence and poverty ravaging their country, speaking only Spanish, e.g., they find themselves suddenly in Kosovo, Moldova (Europe), Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini (Africa), or Palau, Uzbekistan (Asia). How can they even survive there ? They have no social network, no linguistic abilities, no economic support system. This is the most shameful act of our government ever, so vote those truly un-American guys out of office!

Albrecht Classen

Midtown

Pima County and Tucson street maintenance

The question of why our local streets are in worse condition than most areas of the US has become a lively topic. As a veteran of the departments of transportation of both Pima County and Tucson, I can provide the clear, if unsatisfying, answer. Between 1980 and 2005, ours was the second fastest-growing population area in the U.S. Increased population and traffic congestion overwhelmed our street system. To avoid raising taxes, both Pima County and Tucson took out loans against the street maintenance funding they were due to receive from the state of Arizona in the future and used the money to add lanes to local streets to relieve the traffic congestion crisis. The loans took the form of two types of government bonds.

The consequence of this short-sighted approach was that both Pima County and Tucson were left with severely reduced street maintenance funds for the couple of decades it took to repay the bonds.

Brooks Keenan

Oro Valley

Progressives hate progress

The world is a-buzz with discussions on AI. Is it good? Is it bad? Should we continue with the progressive technology push to make AI more intelligent and useful in our everyday lives and “improve” military capabilities? AI requires massive amounts of computing power and memory; thus, there is a need for data centers.

The genie is out of the box. This progressive technology cannot be stopped. So why do Progressives hate the data centers required to support this progressive technology? We need to find a way to safely and economically build data centers in this country. If we don’t, China and other countries will, and we will be at their mercy.

Cal Rooker

Oro Valley

Ciscomani fights for his constituents

I personally know people who’ve reached out to Juan Ciscomani’s office for help with a federal agency, including veterans and seniors. His staff didn’t ask what party they belonged to or how they voted in the last election. No, they got to work, and they helped.

This kind of service is not bipartisan. It’s something even more important. It’s non-partisan.

Too bad Tim Steller didn’t dig into that.

Nicholas Franco

Northwest side

Spending too much on students

The editorial by Erika Sanzi regarding school funding is flawed. Yes, the spending per pupil is higher in states where the cost of living and, subsequently, salaries are higher than in other states. Interestingly, the more conservative states spend less and have a lower per capita income, according to the Federal Reserve Bank. The salaries in the higher-income states average $91,411 versus $65,323 in the other states. This was not considered in her thinking.

William Jones

East side

Ciscomani is not an honest broker

As Election Day approaches, the residents of Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District have a choice to make.

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, judging from his recent media blitz, would have us believe he is an independent voice serving his constituents’ best interests. His voting record tells a very different story: Rep. Ciscomani has repeatedly supported President Trump’s reckless and cruel agenda. He has voted for legislation that threatens access to healthcare, opposed efforts by Congress to rein in the war in Iran, supported tax policies that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, and backed measures targeting the LGBTQ community.

These are not the actions of an independent voice.

This Election Day, my choice is clear. I will proudly cast my ballot for JoAnna Mendoza, whom I believe will represent Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District with honor and dignity and will provide an independent check on an out-of-control president.

Rahul Sivaprasad

Northwest side

Politics should change

I am increasingly frustrated by candidates who spend more time and money attacking their opponents than explaining why they deserve our votes.

Campaign TV and radio ads, mailers and signs are often filled with accusations and insults of opponents instead of ideas, qualifications or solutions. If you have to tear someone else down to make yourself look good, perhaps you do not have enough good things to say about yourself.

Voters should be wary of candidates whose primary message is simply, “Don’t vote for the other person.” Tell us what you stand for, what you have accomplished and what you intend to do.

Political speech is protected, and laws restricting campaign advertising would raise serious constitutional questions. But candidates should earn our votes by promoting their own ideas — not by personally tearing down their opponents.

Jimmy Fein

East side