Tucson Speaks Out: May 18 letters of the day

Trump’s unfitness

The former President has shown himself unfit for the office in two simple ways. He seems to have lied about being too cold in the courtroom, as none of the other people in the court have made a similar complaint. If he lies about such a mundane matter, how can we trust him about anything else? If he is telling the truth, then it is even worse. We have a 77-year-old candidate for the most powerful position in the world who doesn’t know what to do about being cold except complain. My five-year-old children knew what to do in such a situation, and it wasn’t to whine about it.

Don Ries

Southeast side

Societal chaos seen on the roads?

In driving a total of 18 miles today, I witnessed three violations of varying severity. One involved a car running a red light. He was probably five seconds too late, going through the intersection. The guy in front of me was nearly hit at La Canada and Ina. Next, a woman decided to cross an intersection on foot, against the red light. We had to brake to miss her. Then, at Pontatoc and Sunrise, a driver decides to make a U turn on a red light. Two weeks before this, I witnessed a driver at Swan and Grant trying to make a left turn with no green arrow. He pulled right in front of oncoming traffic that had the right of way. He blocked them, then made his turn! All of these incidents were in the middle of the day, so i’m doubting that alcohol was the cause. Stoned driving? Possible. My guess is that with all the societal chaos via politics, that it is spilling over onto our roads.

Steve Rasmussen

Foothills

Precious, handle with care!

As a foreign student in Chicago in the turbulent 1960s, I did not participate in the student demonstrations. Gratefully I received the best lessons on democracy and non-violence on site: Democracy needs free speech for growth; free speech must be done non-violently; non-violence is not appeasement, but demanding changes based on facts; non-violence excludes destructive actions, but includes non-resistance to arrest; during a demonstration, undisciplined elements and provocateurs with ulterior intents can incite chaos and violence; some authorities, say, university administrators, instead of conducting respectful negotiations with the demonstrators, they call on armed law-enforcement, often resulting in the overuse of force and even death (4 students of Kent State University, 1970); and violence resolves nothing. The student movement in China ended by the massacre on 4 June 1989 and the subsequent erasing of people’s memories by an authoritarian state make me treasure democracy even more. Vote for democracy in November!

Ke Chiang Hsieh

Midtown

Love Trump Club

Re: the May 5 letter “Hate Trump club.”

I was a moderate conservative. Without a dynamic business environment, employment would difficult to find. That would not bode well for the economy. Having healthy workers in a healthy environment is good for business. Regulation based on objective cost/benefit analysis is reasonable.

Trump inherited a strong economy, with low unemployment, that he didn’t crash during his first three years. His reaction to the pandemic damaged the economy. Bipartisan stimulus during both administrations prevented recession and set the stage for inflation. Controlling immigration is appropriate. Republicans had the opportunity for meaningful border regulation, but Trump nixed it.

Have an adversarial relationship with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea that Trump did nothing to solve. We were not/are not now in a shooting war.

Hyperinflation destabilizes any government but the US has never had hyperinflation. In 1778, annual inflation was 30%. The nonpartisan Federal Reserve has done well moderating inflation.

Overall we are better off now than 3½ years ago — and we didn’t die from COVID or bleach.

James Abels

Midtown

Protesters not always right

I believe that protesters are not always right.

True, the civil rights and the Vietnam war protesters were on the right side of history.

However, today’s protesters may not be on the right side of history.

It is like a two-sided coin. On the one side, we have the freedom of speech, advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian aid. On the other side we have violence, hate rhetoric, taking over of buildings, antisemitic chants, assaulting police officers, interfering with classes and graduations, threatening Jewish students and keeping them from classes, calling for the elimination of 67 million Jews, interfering with normal University life, defacing and destroying property, the bombing of buildings.

Our colleges are flipping the coin and it appears to be falling on the side of violence. Columbia and UCLA are good examples.

No, protesters are not always right.

Tom McGorray

Northwest side

Who is the criminal?

As a patriotic American, I am appalled at the response of many universities and President Biden to the college campus demonstrations. At the University of Arizona, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to attack a group of students who were peacefully assembling in violation of a curfew regulation. Talk about overreaction!

Yes, a curfew violation is illegal but the response was totally out of proportion. Meanwhile, our government is complicit in the war crimes that Israel commits regularly against the citizens of Gaza. The Geneva Convention forbids genocide (see its definition) and collective punishment of innocent civilians.

Remember, the civil rights movement began with illegal acts of integration in public spaces. Sadly, our government now stands with Gov. Wallace and “Bull” Conner.

Bruce Hilpert

North side

Autocracy, not funny

Re: the May 6 article “How about a little autocracy?”

My response to Gerald Farrington is that there is no such thing as as a “little” autocracy. His facetious comment about finding the “right autocrat” historically has demonstrated this to be an oxymoron. Overall jesting about such a thing as he is doing is not even funny.

Roger Ulrich

Northwest side

Conservative opinion

I appreciate the Star printing letters that address whether conservative views are given their fair share of print space, a valid question given that most subscribers are leftists. Should the paper continue to publish an overwhelming majority of letters by leftist writers that confirm their ideology so they can feel good about themselves and learn nothing or institute an affirmative action program to help the underserved right minority?

Surprisingly this Republican tireless writer wants the Star to continue their polarizing left-wing content, i.e. “Trump has orange hair” and “I’m smart, you’re dumb”. Sun Tzu in the Art of War said, know your enemy. We read you while you rely on a steady diet of opinions by leftists telling you what conservatives are thinking. That’s our strength.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep writing letters to change minds, a little bit at a time, and the powers that be can print them or not.

Jeffrey McConnell

West side

Justice delayed is justice denied

Trump has now weaponized our country’s judicial system.

Only the beginning ...

Richard Eaton

West side

Biden calls Hispanic migrants “voters”

Recently on the Spanish radio station Chiquibaby, President Biden remarked, “It’s even a bigger influx now in terms of Hispanic voters, or Hispanic — Hispanic citizens, who want to become citizens.” A Freudian slip of his real intentions. He further stated, “One of the reasons that we’re growing so much is we have a significant influx of immigrants coming into our country, only reason our economy’s so good.” Many have long believed that Biden’s perverse scheme from the beginning was to allow millions into the country illegally, then eventually provide them with citizenship and thus voting rights. Most likely would vote Democrat in gratitude to Biden. Biden slipped and revealed that migrants are coming here for economic reasons, not unfounded asylum claims based on being persecuted in some way. That amounts to asylum fraud that he intentionally ignores. I believe Biden has negotiated a quid pro quo deal with Mexico’s President Obrador involving securing their northern border in exchange for doing future citizenship for Mexican nationals here illegally.

Mary Ann Starman

Northwest side

What I hate

Re: the May 5 letter “Hate Trump club.”

I do not hate Trump, he is not worth the passion.

I do hate the many things he has brought to our country. I cannot list them all;

The way his supporters think about and treat anyone who does not worship Trump.

The fact that over 1 million died from COVID. Remember him ignoring the existing epidemic reaction plans? Also, delaying for months to expedite the development of vaccines.

The way too many of his supporters now lie as an acceptable way to gain whatever suits them.

The loss of confidence in many institutions, by politicizing them directly.

The lack of civility in many of his followers, specifically, assaults on school boards and local governments.

The promotion of white nationalism, and bigotry.

I hate the many malevolent things he has done. How bad does it have to get before his supporters see what he really is and what a future would be with him as a president?

Jeff Rayner

SaddleBrooke

Praise for getting us through summer

Re: May 10 article “TEP bills to decline about $10 per month.”

Too easy to write a sarcastic LTE responding to this headline and the article suggesting praise due TEP and the ACC for helping customers get through another Summer. What about next Summer? Here’s why this article is misleading:

True the “ ... Fuel Adjustment Charge” was reduced by $12/month — but it was levied in the first place because 86.2% of TEP’s delivered electricity comes from burning fossil fuels. And those prices are not set by TEP or Texas or other domestic gas producers. You are umbilically tied to world chaos. So how do you like your electricity rates being dependent on Eastern Europe? Or the Middle East? Well, they are. It’s why you have that surcharge in the first place. What could possibly go wrong?

Sunshine here 330 days/year but there’s not enough profit in solar for TEP’s shareholders and its Enabler In Chief, the Arizona Corporation Commission. ACC candidates Aguilar, Hill and Polachek will right this abomination. Vote them all in.

Rick Rappaport

Oro Valley

Elimination of yellow blinking turn arrows

Early in the afternoon on Saturday May 11th I was heading north on Oracle and stopped in the left turn lane at River Road. There was a steady stream of traffic heading in both directions, and I sat in the turn lane thru 4 light changes before finally reaching the intersection and making my turn on the green arrow. I had plenty of time to observe and do the arithmetic: the left turn arrow stayed green for exactly 8 seconds; because only 3 cars could (legally) turn on the green arrow, after each yellow arrow turned red, two more cars turned. Today I witnessed the same thing while driving south on Craycroft and waiting to turn left onto Grant. The only way to eliminate these dangerous left turns on red arrows will be to significantly lengthen the green arrow intervals where blinking yellow arrows have been eliminated.

Kenneth Cohn

Northwest side

Media bias

On October 7th innocent Israelis were killed without mercy by Hamas terrorist. They killed innocent citizens including children, babies, the elderly, and young people going about their daily lives. The media chose not to show the gruesome sight of slaughtered Israeli babies and children and the mangled bodies of the citizens; I assume out of compassion for the relatives and friends. Yet the media shows the dead and maimed Palestinian babies, children and citizens with impunity in an attempt, I assume, to gain sympathy and compassion for the Palestinians. The media has a duty to tell the truth regardless of how gruesome. The holocaust, Hiroshima, My-Lai Massacre, Kent State, etc., were all horrific events that needed to be covered in full, in all their gruesomeness. To portray Palestinians as the only victims in this conflict is irresponsible, one sided, and journalism as its worst.

Carl Foster

Green Valley

More harm than good

Re: the May 12 article “Study: Higher future flows likely on Colorado.”

Well well, so human caused climate change and warming is predicted to increase water flow in the Colorado River by 2026. A good thing. This despite decades of low flow attributed to the same reasons. This study goes completely contrary to the Democrats’ global warming alarmist narrative. We have had eleven years of record global warmth and many climate scientists are saying we have already passed the vaunted 1.5C benchmark, but the Colorado river flow is expected to rise. Lake Meade is 28 feet above its level from last year at this time. This winter and spring brought record amounts of rain to California and plentiful snow to its Sierra Nevada Mountains. Tucson has had above average rainfall with normal to below normal temperatures. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has plowed full speed ahead with restrictive CO2 future mandates on vehicles, appliances, manufacturing, etc. that will disproportionately financially harm underserved and underprivileged communities. I have yet to observe a black, Latino or Native American person driving a Tesla around town.

Daniella Constantini

Sahuarita