Tucson Speaks Out: Sept. 15 letters of the day

Childhood cancer

Childhood cancer is the No. 1 cause of death by disease of children in the country. September is childhood cancer awareness month and as a parent who lost a child to a brain tumor when he was 11 years old after a seven-year battle, I understand the challenges this presents for a family. For the first time the Pima County Courthouse Dome will GO GOLD for childhood cancer Sept. 22-25. Gold is the ribbon color of childhood cancer as our children are precious like gold. The average age of a child diagnosed with cancer is 6 years old. Approximately 70 children in Southern Arizona are diagnosed each year with cancer. Parents who have a child in treatment need all the support we can give during the years of treatment and the lost hours at work with the associated financial burdens. These diagnoses affect the whole community and awareness is the beginning of effective action.

Beverley Tidwell

Midtown

GAO report on Border Wall

The U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) conducted an investigation that found the border wall built under Trump destroyed Saguaros, desert landscape and endangered wildlife. A storm here just destroyed over 400 Saguaros. Under Trump’s last year in office, the Border Patrol encountered 400,000 people trying to enter the country illegally. The previous year 2019, it was 850,000. How many people convicted of crimes and terrorist watch listees were prevented from entering because of Trump’s wall? How many Mexican backpackers carrying fentanyl were stopped or deterred? There is a border wall gap at Yuma, through which historic numbers of people have illegally entered. The Mayor previously called a State of Emergency. There is no border wall in Texas, and under Biden, historic numbers have entered the country illegally there. Smugglers and foreign nationals coming here illegally have dumped tons of garbage in the desert and along the Rio Grande River bank, trampled over endangered desert species and set forest fires. How about a GAO report on this?

Bradford Davis

North side

Demise of 100 Acre Wood bike park

Re: the Sept. 10 article “Tucson’s big homeless camp sort of works.”

I appreciated Tim Steller’s front page article on the homeless camp at what was formerly the 100 Acre Wood bike park. I would like to add a couple points about the current usability of the park for cyclists. In addition to any perceived threat to cyclists from the camp residents, one of whom was frequently seen brandishing a machete near the trails, the park has become unusable since many of the encampments were built on the trails themselves. In addition, despite the area being clearly marked as prohibited for motor vehicles, those assisting the homeless regularly drove their cars over the trails, destroying them. If, as alluded to in the article, the city has an unofficial policy of encouraging homeless to relocate to the park, that is a slap in the face to Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists, who invested many thousands of dollars and man-hours to develop the public bike park.

Charles Stafford

Foothills

Other candidates

Please not another election between Biden, who is too old and a psychopathic Trump. I’d like to see Haley against Newsome or Klobuchar. We can do better as a nation than a rematch between Biden and Trump.

Craig Miller

Northwest side

Our state of affairs

Who’s sorry now?

Not me. You see …

My country’s democracy, while fragile,

is intact

As to the Trump mob … justice is starting to act

The rising prices of gas and rates

Shifting economy affecting the globe and states

Inflation’s worldwide … blame it on Biden?

He has avoided the dire; akin to the Poseidon.

Apt warning not necessary; #45 caused hari-kari

No matter the charges, he will never be sorry

The border and drugs no Congress will address

They must work together to fix the mess

“Hunter’s pass” you say, is your head in the sand?

The 91 charges are against the right man.

The previous occupant; the most corrupt ever

I’ll take an octogenarian with integrity and weather

The few mis-speaks due to a stutter

Rather than the man who talk is smooth as butter

Using his own “words” he pets his flock

When informed people listen they are in shock

2024 is dawning … democracy at stake

Don’t be fooled by #45 again and those like Kari Lake

Terri Hicks

Northwest side

Why conserve water?

I am feeling hopelessly naive today as I step out of the shower. I moved to the desert 19 years ago and, being from a Great Lakes state, I was conscious of every drop of water I used. I even collected cold shower water in a five gallon bucket until the water was warm enough for me to step into, and used the water to nourish my cacti.

I realize now how totally silly and irrelevant my behaviors were in the context of Arizona water. I learned on Saturday from Rob Peters, CEO of Save the Scenic Santa Rita’s, that Hudbay Minerals plans to pump 4.3 BILLION gallons of water out of the Santa Cruz watershed every single year to wash rocks! That is 15% of Tucson’s entire water supply.

A few gallons down the drain of my shower will never be able to offset that!

Peggy Hendrickson

Green Valley

Sovereign citizens are not unaccountable

Re: the Sept. 12 article “Pima County hit by ‘sovereign citizen’ filings.”

The news media is increasing its coverage of the self-appointed sovereign citizens. The individuals who declare this status for themselves, however, are not relieved of the rule of domestic law while they are in our country. All citizens are subject to our laws, as are citizens of other countries are subject to our laws as visitors and participants in regulated activities. Presumably “sovereign citizens” can leave the U.S.A., but where will they go, and how? Perhaps they could be relegated to be permanent inhabitants of international waters, but to enter another country legally they would still need a passport and or meet other required conditions. Perhaps they could declare themselves as refugees, but from where? Are there countries that would accept new residents who are not required to comply with domestic laws? This is simply another example of how the far right is too far out. It is nonsense.

Roger McManus

Midtown

Blame Google

Brought to us by the same type people who gave us Cyber Ninjas, we now have Cyber Psychologist testifying before an AZ House committee. Apparently, what he says has been repeatedly debunked but our tax dollars are funding a hearing to have him say it again. However, Speaker Ben Toma and Rep. Alexander Kolodin see no need to hear Google’s response to the allegations. Saying the lone Democrat on the committee can invite them is childish and shows there is no desire to find out what, if anything, really happened to create a reasonable path to clean fair elections.

Is Google really responsible for Lake losing? Or might it be her lacks — knowledge, experience, ability, among others?

Is saying a company might feel compelled to remove a social media post requested by an AZ official due to fear of retaliation enough to spend our money when a simple law prohibiting such retaliation can be quickly, easily and economically done?

Clarence Johnson

Northwest side

Progressive education?

Re: the Sept. 13 letter “Progressive education.”

Sorry, I don’t believe in the boogey man. A populace with a well rounded education, that doesn’t stop upon graduation, is supportive of a relatively free democratic society. I appreciate the statement attributed to Matthew Spaulding did not say marriage had to be between people of opposite genders. I doubt marriage is the bedrock of civilization, anyway. Consider the divorce rate and infidelity. A populace capable of critical thinking and generally shared perspective is more likely to effectively maintain any government, democratic or autocratic. In a group of any size, interdependence is superior to independence. It’s more a question of shared interests and goals. It’s better if everybody is rowing in the same direction unless the boat’s leaking. Critical thinking will find the leak and fix it.

James Abels

Midtown

Who did what

For almost three long interminable years we have heard every sort of fiction from the loser of the last gubernatorial race as to the who, what, and when. Hopefully this can end that spiel. Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick.

Tim Canny

Oracle