Tucson Speaks Out: September 24

Good people — isn’t that enough?

I notice that so many of our politicians reference the Christian faith as the be-all and end-all. JD Vance did at Charlie Kirk’s funeral service. He basically said everyone must be a Christian. I was raised Christian, and I imagine I consider myself Christian. However, that does not define whether I am a good person.

At the risk of sounding redundant, I know many people, of many different beliefs, who are not Christian but are good people.

Why don’t we tweak this a bit and refer to people as just people? I still believe most are good, and I have 68 years on this planet. I’m no expert, but it seems to me that in this time we don’t’ need to create any divides. We are doing this all by ourselves.

Jenni Morrison

North side

Cat nuisance

In early January, my greyhound, Geordie, was bitten by a cat. This cat entered our backyard uninvited, as many neighborhood cats do. Geordie is not cat safe, and a scuffle ensued. His recovery took four painful, exhausting and expensive months. He could have died, and he was in jeopardy of having his leg amputated.

American Bird Conservancy says outdoor domestic cats are a recognized threat to global diversity as they have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals and reptiles in the wild.

According to All About Birds, cats kill 1.3 billion to 4 billion birds each year in the U.S. alone.

Cats do not need to live outdoors. They are a nuisance. They taunt my high prey drive dog in his own yard. And they use my yard as a toilet.

We are doing our best to keep our yard cat-free humanely. But I still see the occasional cat sauntering through our yard.

Humans created this problem. And humans need to fix it.

Ann Chihak Poff

East side

Project Blue is a glutton

In 2022, we were in the second decade of our worst drought. Gov. Ducey signed $1B for AZ crucial continuing growth. It was spent on budget shortages. We said no to Project Blue, not just water and power consumption, but mystery NDAs, lies, undisclosed third site. TEP, SRP & APS request DOE grant for site selection process and early site permit application for new nuclear generation site (nuclear power plant?).

Cooling issue becomes a power problem. AI states have experienced well water depletion or other water supply issues from nearby data centers. DC leaders have targeted oil, national forests and minerals for depletion. Data centers accelerate needs for land, water & power as they grow internationally. The centers are greedy, offering few jobs other than AI once construction is finished. Land acquisitions grow by thousands of acres. More AI means more utility costs. Can our fragile desert survive it?

Bea Manderscheid

Northeast side

Free speech

Re “Democrats complaining about the suppression of free speech”: The Biden administration’s goal was to “de-platform” content that advocated or incited violent action, not to “silence those they disagreed with”. Attempts to keep Trump off the ballot were based on his incitement of a violent insurrection, a result of his incessant lies about the 2020 election. If pro-life activists were arrested, it was for blocking access to abortion clinics, not for “singing and praying”. Conservative speakers face challenges on many college campuses, but few are “denied access” without a valid reason. Charlie Kirk was killed by an unstable white male with a gun who seemed to feel Kirk was a purveyor of hate speech. Kirk had every right to speak his mind, but Mr. Rusciolelli’s belief that Kirk was focused on “God, family and country” whitewashes the misogyny, racism and xenophobia that was consistently spewed by Kirk. God, family and country should encompass more than white, Christian males.

Hope Gastelum

East side

Tucson is not handicapped-accessible

To the Mayor and governor and city council, want to see how hard it is for someone (about 15% of the population in Tucson and over 13% in the state) who is disabled to get around Tucson? Roads are torn up for years (I live Grant/Alvernon and the construction isn’t completed after more than the 3 yrs I’ve lived here), few sidewalks (many that are there need replacing as tree roots force them up or they’re cracked or missing). Recently, the city hired a tree trimming service that blocked the sidewalk for almost a whole block (there was nearby parking available for most of the trucks), which forced me (and other disabled people) to go in the street. Since the city hired them, if I had been hit — and almost was — I would have sued the city. Powers that be: Contact me to go on a “walkabout” and see Tucson is not “handicapped friendly.”

Jessica Edwards

Midtown

Classless thug

The past few nights I have had the opportunity to see interviews with Emmanual Macron of France and Lius Lula da Silva of Brazil. As I listened, I was so impressed with both of these leaders’ clarity of thought and articulation of concepts. Then I hear Trump. A classless thug espousing hatred and retribution at a funeral. Is this who we have become? Are we being led and represented by a cheap reality show rube? We have to look pretty stupid on the world stage. What Trump does and says is who the world thinks we all are. Wake up.

Richard Bechtold

West side

They know not what they do

There have been several recent letters stating that Charlie Kirk was a misogynist, a bigot, a racist and an idiot; one such writer made these claims after having “read a number of his quotes.”

If one were to watch an hour of his debates on college campuses (readily available), one would know that none of these adjectives could be accurately used to describe him. Kirk has many thousands of women and people of color among his followers; he was a devout, unabashed Christian and spoke Biblical truth; and his beliefs were the antithesis of those abhorrent attributes those writers ignorantly attempt to ascribe to him.

Quotes can be taken out of context, and often are in this age of blatant bias and cold-heartedness. In the future, maybe do some research before you label another in such a mean-spirited and ignorant manner.

Richard Peddy

East side

Homan bribery inquiry

I have two items to discuss:

1) The political cartoons in the Sept. 23 Star were the best EVER!

2) In the old phrase “nothing to see here” perfectly describes the Trump sudden need to abort the investigation of “border czar” Homan accepting a $50,000 bribe from an undercover FBI agent. Their reason — it was an attempt by the Biden administration to” entrap one of the president’s top allies” which if true one must believe that Biden was/is clairvoyant. I feel compelled to ask your readers if they were approached by a businessman offering them $50,000 to rig a bid, would they gladly accept? If they answer “yes,” then they are in good company with the Trump ethics board. If, on the other hand, they answer “no,” then they must make their outrage heard and let the powers in Washington understand that it is unacceptable to place criminals in charge of law enforcement.

Robert Cozad

Oro Valley

Vindictive Trump

I briefly listened to Mrs. Kirk’s statement at her husband’s memorial, where she forgives the man who assassinated her husband. Following her comments, Trump proudly announced, “I’m not like that. I wish them bad. I hate. I don’t forgive”.

His MAGA — Make America Go Away — is working. He has lied from the get-go. Information coming from him and his administration is much worse than any talk show personality can jab at. And he has plenty to jab at.

Nancy Reid

South Tucson

Crime in D.C.

Rep. Andy Biggs of Gilbert is accusing D.C. attorney general Brian Schwalb of abuse of power for trying to control gun sales in D.C. Now, let me see, does anyone happen to know someone in D.C. who is also abusing his power?

Donald Bernier

Midtown

Epstein and Maxwell were accomplices

Both received favorable treatment from the Trump administrations.

Why are we not demanding the truth? This is a huge concern for many Americans.

And the rising costs on most everything due to tariffs. They are hurting all of us.

Time to find the truth.

Too many distractions. Sleight of hand games. Follow all laws and resist.

Dan Bannon

Midtown

The box score

Great New Yorker baseball writer Roger Angell penned a book titled “The Summer Season,” all about our national pastime during the 1960s. In it, he devoted an entire chapter to a seemingly insignificant sports section item, the box score.

Many baseball fans agree with Angell when he declared: “A box score is more than a capsule archive; it is a precisely etched miniature of the game itself, for baseball is the most satisfyingly mathematical of all our outdoor sports.” Consider that, please.

In 1941, my father, reading the box scores in the Chicago Tribune, exclaimed, “DiMaggio did it again!”

Joltin’ Joe had extended his hitting streak to 50 games. Eight years old, I was now hooked on the box score as a source of info on all teams and players in the big leagues.

Not long ago, the Star used to print a full page of box scores of every game played the previous day.

We fans miss those pages.

Jerry Helm

Northwest side

Vaccines

Ms. Schneider was correct in all she said about now preventable diseases as she focused on potential residuals. There are other aspects worth mention. When the child has a really high fever, say 105, someone has to stay home and use ice to try to control the fever. When the child is writhing in pain from mumps, again someone needs to be there.. Polio is another, much worse, issue.

Prevention is so easy. The child’s suffering and parental remorse are all avoidable.

If today’s parents do not have grandparents or great-grandparents to provide first-hand input, visit a retirement home or other gathering place for people who have experienced these diseases and ask.

Clarence Johnson

Oro Valley