Tucson Speaks Out: Aug. 19 letters of the day

When President Biden was still in the race, all we saw in the media were cries about his cognitive decline. Now that he has bowed out, we are seeing an unprecedented decline in Mr. Trump, who was never that stable to begin with. His “press conference” ramblings, slurred speech in his X interview, ravings about crowd size, confusing Vice President Harris with his wife. Where are the cries about his ability to lead? Where are the calls for him to step aside? Do better, journalists.

Kelly Frieders

Downtown

Shrinkflation awareness works!

Remember when local papers and TV had comparative grocery shopping guides for consumers? I still try to do this work on my own. Why is it that flour, sugar, rice, etc. are purchased by the pound but items such as coffee that were commonly marketed by the pound, are now marketed in much smaller quantities? Try to find a pound bag of beans now! My old standard pound coffee changed to 12 ounces and now 10.3 ounces at the same price! Snack foods are worse! A “pound” of corn chips are now 6, 8 or 12 ounces at the previous price. That “new” flavored bag of chips is $5.99 per 8 ounces or $12/pound! NY strip steak is cheaper! Consumers are deferring these purchases, and prices are starting to decline.

Alan Barreuther

Foothills

Not good for the economy

Trump has been promising mass deportations and increased tariffs. Both would be disastrous for the economy.

Undocumented immigrants grow, harvest and prepare our food, care for our children and elderly, and build our homes. With unemployment as low as it is, these are not jobs that non-immigrants would fill. Furthermore, undocumented immigrants pay enormous amounts in social security taxes (nearly $26 billion) even though they’re not eligible for benefits. In 2022, they paid nearly 100 billion in taxes.

Trump has proposed tariffs of at least 10% on all imported goods, including 60% on Chinese goods. This would essentially be a new tax on Americans, and would result in an average of an extra $1,700 per household per year, according to some estimates.

Trump has a slew of failed businesses and bankruptcies to his name and rarely paid taxes because he lost so much money. The Trump Organization has been found guilty of criminal tax fraud. JD Vance sat on one company board, but it also went bankrupt.

Melanie Bell

Midtown

Moderate or extremist?

Re: the Aug. 15 letter “Harris is no moderate.”

Whatever you call it — as a regular voter, I’m voting for a candidate who:

Believes in Medicare for all

Wants funding to help police with social, not just criminal, issues

Wants to save our precious planet by moving toward renewable fuels

Believes in free speech

Supports a woman’s right to choose

Wants to ban ‘assault weapons’ (which no individual needs!)

Supports the idea of an unbiased Supreme Court — willing to sign an ethics agreement

Emily Morrison

Midtown

I am not AI

I had the privilege of attending the Harris/Walz Rally last Friday in Glendale. I was there with 15,000 other people while many more had to be turned away.

For nine years, I have felt personally attacked and heard lies, grievances, anger, hate and vile name-calling from Trump and the MAGAs. I am so tired of Trump telling us how bad our country is.

Harris and Walz made me feel valued, and I heard nothing but praise for how wonderful our great country is. I left feeling energized and positive about our future.

Just so you know, I, along with 15,000 others are not AI’s. We are real people and we are excited about voting this November.

I feel hope that my daughter and granddaughter will have the reproductive freedom I had for 52 years and misogyny, racism and hate will be stomped out once and for all.

I feel joy, happiness and hope that our country “Will Not Go Back” under a Harris Presidency.

Rachel Rulmyr Ed.D.

Oro Valley

Arizona makes world news via BBC Radio

Congratulations, Arizona — your stupidity in public education has made world news, thanks to a 29-minute documentary podcast over BBC radio (part of the Assignment series) that’s carried across the globe. It explores how Arizona’s legislature has robbed public schools with its private vouchers subsidizing private education and religious schools, supporting with taxpayer dollars fundamentalist Christian schools that insist upon creationism as the alternative to evolution. What started as a means of providing for children with special needs is now a legislative campaign that threatens to bankrupt the public schools. Although the BBC’s coverage is remarkably dispassionate and evenhanded, it would not be surprising if the rest of the world concludes that Arizona says to public school children, their underpaid teachers, and their starved public schools, “Drop dead.”

Judith Koffler

Northeast side

Make reading with a child part of your week

A key to good health and happiness is having a purpose. What better way to contribute than to help children enjoy reading. Having been a Reading Seed Coach with Literacy Connects for the past four years has been the highlight of my week. After my coaching session, my heart is full, my spirits are high, and I look forward to the next session.

Having been a public school teacher in Arizona, I know how hard it is to spend adequate time with each child. There is simply not enough time in the school day to address all students’ needs. Here is a chance to help overworked teachers who greatly appreciate reading coaches’ time and efforts.

If you are passionate about sharing the joy of reading and investing in the future, go to literacyconnects.org to sign up for an information session. Who knows where your students’ reading interests will take them, what good citizens they will become, and what things they will accomplish? You can be a part of that!

Lorraine Crawford

Northeast side