Tucson Speaks Out: Sept. 16 letters of the day

Constitution letter to the editor 2023

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

This 52 word preamble of the Constitution begins one of the most important documents of the United States of America, outlining the fundamental framework of America’s federal system of government.

Recognizing the Constitution’s importance, the Daughters of the American Revolution urged Congress to establish Constitution Week, Sept. 17-23, in 1956. The goal, to promote study and education of the Constitution. The AZ Daily Star has a great educational series on the Constitution and should publish it again.

We, the people are defenders of our Constitution. Take this time to know and understand what the Constitution contains, and how this great document protects our liberties.

Debra Kielley, member of the Daughters of the American Revolution

West side

False accusations on public education

Re: the Sept. 12 article "We must not buy into public education myths."

Congratulations to Jim Christ for his well-written op-ed piece. Mr. Christ analyzes the many lying narratives put out by our right-wing friends over the past forty years.

He concludes by writing: “These lies, myths if you prefer, have generated chronic underfunding, inadequate professional preparation and the proliferation of unregulated profit schools.”

There you have it, Arizona! Are we proud of our last-place national standing for per-pupil expenditure?

If you, like me, are disgusted by the monetization of education, you should print out Jim Christ’s essay and have it memorized whenever the conversation turns to public education.

Jerry Helm

Northwest side

Not too old

I hear a lot about Joe Biden's age when talking about the 2024 presidential election. When I see everything he has accomplished it makes me want him to continue. If he is willing to tackle the hardest job world in the world for four more years we should count ourselves lucky. His honesty and experience makes all the difference.

Looking forward my Dream Team for 2028 election would be Jamie Raskin for president and Pete Buttigieg for vice president. They are the best and brightest in the Democratic Party.

Robert McNeil

Midtown

Being a pedestrian in Tucson is dangerous!

I like to go for runs in the morning when the weather is cooler. Unfortunately, the intersection closest to my home is First and Stone. I have been nearly ran over multiple times inside the crosswalk by people turning left and not looking where they are going.

As a fast adult I can jump and dodge the turning cars most of the time. Now imagine your grandma using this crosswalk. She doesn’t have the reaction time a younger person would have and getting hit would have severe implications.

Large avenues like First Avenue have excessively wide lanes or too many lanes, and allow for people to speed and drive recklessly with no repercussions. This is an intentional design that promotes the value of the car over that of the human being.

Tucson, make our roads safer for all modes of transit. Take out travel lanes, widen sidewalks, make left turn on green only, increase buffered cycling lane miles and install traffic calming facilities. Make being a pedestrian safe.

Brody Cragg

North side

Know your Arizona State Legislators

As we get closer to 2024 we will all get bombarded with political messages. The most common is to vote party “up and down the ballot.” But who exactly is behind anti teacher, anti drag, anti LGBTQ rights? Who is against vote by mail? Who is banning books? Who is eliminating reproductive rights? Why did Arizona’s inflation rate lead the nation in 2022? Who’s responsible for the colossal drain on Arizona’s education budget?

We tend to blame our leaders and representatives in Washington. But most of this comes from the Arizona State legislature. Your legislative representative could be Wadsack, Jones, McGarr, Gowan, Martinez, and/or others. They promote themselves by wielding military weapons. They restrict voting based on bogus claims. They regulate our personal lives based on archaic beliefs, conspiracy theories and a single religion. They are driving Arizona toward an ignorant, authoritarian future.

Is your legislator representing you? Search “find my legislator Arizona” and make your vote really count.

Cindy Doklan

Midtown

Hunter Biden

Indicted on gun purchase charges! Yay! say Republicans-good reason to impeach his old man! Oh wait … shouldn’t we be supporting his Constitutional right to purchase any kind of gun he wants? Oh yeah, Booo …. Set him free! (Yeah, that’s gonna happen).

Michael Perdue

Vail

Fake elector plot 2020 Presidential election

Attorney General Kris Mayes announced an investigation into the “fake elector” submissions in the 2020 Presidential Election. Arizona Statute 16-212 states certificates must accurately reflect the popular vote. Although Biden won by 10,457 votes, representatives of the Republican Party cloned the official state form, lied about the results, and gave Arizona’s electoral votes to Trump.

Trump attorney John Eastman devised the plot, Rudy Giuliani promoted it, and 11 Republicans signed the fake certificate. They are: Arizona Republican Party Head Kelli Ward and husband Michael Ward; Republican Senate candidate James Lamond; Executive Director Arizona Republican Party Greg Safsten; Vice Chair of Gila County Republican Party Samuel Moorhead; Chairman of Cochise County Republican Party Robert Montgomery; State Senator and Jan. 6 participant Anthony Kern; State Representative Jake Hoffman; Conservative Values advocate Tyler Bowyer; former President of Ahwatukee Republican Women Lorraine Pellegrino; and Vice President of Arizona Federation of Republican Women Nancy Cottle.

For counterfeiting documents, falsifying results, and trying to steal the election, they should be prosecuted!

Leadawn Anderton

Southwest side

Corralling tax cheats

A recent article in the Washington Post noted the IRS is using the new money provided by Biden to crack down on tax schemes used by wealthy individuals and businesses. AI will be used to recognize patterns and trends previously unseen among 75 of the largest hedge funds and real estate investors that have around $10 billion in assets as well as 1600 individuals with reported incomes above $1 million.

Our representative Ciscomani voted against providing this money in the first place and more recently supported Republican success in clawing back part of it to reduce government spending. How much sense does it make to reduce spending that will be used to generate far more tax revenues than it costs to generate it? These individuals and businesses are basically robbing from those of us who pay our taxes in full. It is about time they were held accountable and pony up.

Jack Evert

Oro Valley