‘Tamale Bill’ was just a ploy
The “Tamale Bill,” House Bill 2509, would supposedly help families sell homemade food. But it was actually a ploy by the right-wing Americans for prosperity, the Institute for Justice, and the Libre Initiative, which all oppose any regulation of businesses.
The Arizona Department of Health Services opposed the bill, as did the Arizona Restaurant Association. Governor Katie Hobbs rightly vetoed the bill, saying it would “significantly increase the risk of foodborne illness” because it didn’t include ways to oversee and inspect these home chefs.
Rep. Nancy Gutierrez said, “This is a Koch Brothers bill, so as much as they say it was for the Tamale ladies, it was not. It was for deregulation. So that’s the truth of that.”
The right-wing fronts shamelessly used tamale cartoons and Latinas selling tamales to perpetrate their subterfuge. But the stink of the radical right always exposes them.
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Larry Bodine
Foothills
George Santos vs. Hunter Biden
N.Y. Rep. George Santos was arrested after being indicted on several federal charges, including money laundering and wire fraud involving campaign money. Santos is a Republican and flipped a historically Democrat Congressional seat in N.Y. He has only been a Congressman since January. This FBI investigation and indictment was done at breakneck speed. Compare it to the FBI/USDOJ’s four-year investigation of Hunter Biden. The supervisory FBI agent overseeing the case was removed from it due to alleged partisan politics. A whistleblower IRS agent has claimed that there is political interference in the investigation. Congressman James Comer of Kentucky just detailed 170 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed by banks involving $10 million in wire transfers from foreign persons to numerous shell LLCs operated by Biden family members. A former federal prosecutor reported to the USDOJ in 2018 about then VP Joe Biden allegedly having received bribery money for a foreign policy decision made on Ukraine. Why is equal justice not being applied to the Biden family’s foreign influence peddling?
Gary Blanchard
Green Valley
Stand-your-ground gun laws
I’ve had two occasions wherein a person with a gun reached for their hip. Once, I walked over from my gas pump towards a man to ask him directions. Another time I rounded a corner at the same time a man was coming around the corner towards me. Both men made a reach for their guns! Now we have stand-your-ground laws. The man who shot a young boy who accidentally came to his door said he shot because he was afraid. Being afraid is not enough. You have to see a weapon or be attacked. All these men had guns, and yet they were afraid. The more we allow guns out on the streets, the more cowards with guns will kill innocent people.
Burl Dunn
Downtown
The US is a secular nation
Despite the claims of Christian Nationalists, the United States was established as a secular nation, not a Christian one. The basis of the US government is based on the US Constitution, NOT the Bible. Many of the framers of the Constitution were Deists, not Christians; they believed in God but not in Jesus. The framers deliberately left any mention of God out of the Constitution. Religious diversity is one of the strengths of the United States.
Much of the Constitution is based on the structure of the Iroquois League; Benjamin Franklin was very familiar with the Iroquois League.
The idea of individual personal freedom is indigenous to North America, where Native Americans have practiced it for many centuries, and probably for millennia.
Flora Frederick
Midtown
Double up
Kevin McCarthy has declared war on the national debt. His only proposed weapon is to reduce spending, including rightfully deserved benefits earned by veterans and Medicare participants.
Why is he ignoring increasing the government’s income? Specifically, he should offer to eradicate the largesse granted to billionaires and corporations by Trump’s tax cuts.
Demanding that President Joe Biden accedes to all his demands without offering anything in return is imperious. If he wants his agenda to be taken seriously, he should start by offering something upfront to commence the negotiations.
Rick Cohn
West side
Disability employment
While browsing through a large organization’s “supplier diversity” portal, I saw that they value diversity and inclusion in the supply chain, which not only helps them meet their business objectives, but also the desire to grow jobs and stimulate the local community.
This organization along with the majority of private sector companies focus on other marginalized communities and typically leave out enterprise nonprofit organizations employing people with disabilities. The enterprise nonprofits provide quality products and value-added services that meet today’s complex business environment while employing those who are typically left on the sidelines… people who are blind or have significant disabilities. According to the BLS, the workforce participation rate in the U.S. for Americans with disabilities is about 21%, compared to 62.6% for non-disabled.
If your organization wants to grow jobs and boost your local economy, put Disability in your DEI&A equation.
David Steinmetz
Northwest side
Sensible way to fix the debt
We’re looking at the national debt wrong. When spending is high (wars, pandemic), you raise taxes! If you want pride in your country and to not hurt people, tax the wealthy corporations! After WWII? Earn $5,000, pay nearly one-quarter of it in taxes, top earners 90%. Under Reagan, the rich paid 70% tax rate, and corporations 46%. When he lowered rates, debt increased.
Bush and Trump tax cuts cost $10 trillion in debt, and there was a 57% increase. Biden’s plan cuts nearly 3 trillion, and ethically, a word Republicans with program cuts, including Rep. Ciscomani. Biden would increase corporate taxes from 21 to 28%. Foreign earning of multinationals from 15-21%. Top earners from 37-39.6%, plus other details, including plugging tax loopholes. Also, he’d lower certain tax programs for us plebeians. Remember, facts show ad nauseam that trickle-down econ fails. It increases gaps between the rich and the poor. We, the majority, deserve a fair shake, not cuts in programs. Research yourself. Speak out!
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
Turner memory
The local angle of the Tina Turner article in today’s paper missed the time that Tina was in Tucson on July 14, 1984, at TCC Music Hall, as the opening act for Lionel Richie. I was at the concert with a group of friends, and the concert roadies invited us to the after-concert party at the Arizona Inn. It was a very laid-back evening around the pool, with Lionel and Tina very friendly and relaxed after putting on a really great show. This was just after Tina’s “Private Dancer” comeback album was released on May 29, 1984. She will always be a superstar for the ages and an inspiration for dreams coming true.
Deb Childers
Northwest side
Idealism requires realism
Re: the May 25 article “Mineral mining reform is critical.”
Carran hits it on the nose. Climate change is urgent and requires we all show up with solutions. Permitting new mines should not mean environmental destruction, but it won’t come for free. We can’t stabilize the climate without the materials and grid infrastructure needed to deliver and store energy from carbon-free sources of electricity.
The recent SunZia transmission line approval is an example of necessary progress toward this end.
Environmentalist Bill McKibben reminds us that “We don’t live only in our backyard; we also share one” — our planet. He says that idealism requires realism, and emergencies demand urgency.
Climate change represents a huge economic opportunity and a chance to rid ourselves of the incredibly toxic, costly, and unjust legacy of fossil fuels.
Solving the problem will involve compromising and our willingness to act quickly to avoid the worst.
Congress — hear Carran’s words. Act.
Edward Beshore
North side
Permitting reform for mining
Re: the May 25 article “Mineral mining reform is critical.”
While I understand the author’s argument for permitting reform, the greater urgency is for reform (repeal?) of the 1872 mining law that allows for the exploitation of public resources by foreign companies. Let me suggest that any reform of the permitting process be done in conjunction with a complete overhaul of the 1872 mining law.
John McLean
Northeast side
‘Not my fault’
Back in January, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) might have appeared to be the obvious choice to become Speaker of the House of Representatives. He had coveted this position for years, and now he would finally grab the gavel. But not all members of his slim majority were convinced he should be their leader. So began a game of give and take, resulting in promises to individuals and groups within the fractured caucus in exchange for votes for Kevin for Speaker. After 15 ballots, he gained his prize … and then came the critical issue of raising the debt ceiling. With conflicting demands coming from his troops, McCarthy asked select members to lead negotiations which, as I write, continue to be bogged down. And now Kevin, Speaker of the House and supposedly commander of his caucus, stands tall and tells all the world: “Not my fault.” I’d venture to predict Kevin will be just plain Representative McCarthy before July 4.
Frank Bergen
North side
Jan. 6 payback
I just read that the Oath Keepers leader got 18 big, long years of jail time! I can never figure out what “oath” these folk think they are keeping. I also can’t figure out what the Proud Boys are so “proud” about?
Sue Thompson
SaddleBrooke
Why is 14th Amendment being discussed?
Why is the President “considering the 14th Amendment” in context with the current debt ceiling?
Section 4 of the 14th Amendment states: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.”
In Perry v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the public debt clause in Section 4 applied:
“By virtue of the power to borrow money ‘on the credit of the United States,’ Congress is authorized to pledge that credit as assurance of payment as stipulated — as the highest assurance the Government can give, its plighted faith. To say that Congress may withdraw or ignore that pledge, is to assume that the Constitution contemplates a vain promise, a pledge having no other sanction than the pleasure and convenience of the pledgor.”
Therefore, there is reason to say that constitutional section means we must pay the debt, regardless of the GOP’s refusal to do so.
John Roldan
Southwest side
Will got it wrong
Re: the May 25 article “The American middle is finding its voice on abortion.”
An opinion piece by George Will contained the following statement. “A life that is human begins at conception. This is a tenet not of abstruse theology but of elementary biology. “
This is not true. In fact, I will go so far as to say it’s a lie. Biology says nothing at all about when things begin. It is true that many Biologists will say that human life begins at conception, but they are guided in their thinking by their own beliefs. Picking a starting point for human life is a political and religious choice. Incorporating that choice into law is a violation of the First Amendment.
Steven Brown
Midtown
The fiscally irresponsible GOP
Republicans are not “fiscal conservatives.” Holding the Debt Ceiling hostage while demanding cuts in spending is purely political theater and hypocrisy. In December 2017, Republicans passed tax cuts (reducing revenue) yet increased spending from $3.92 trillion (Obama’s FY2017 budget) to $4.11 trillion. Even before COVID set in, Republicans had increased discretionary spending from $1.2 trillion to $1.6 trillion and the budget deficit by more than $300 billion. Such fiscal malfeasance has become a characteristic of Republicans: in 2001 and 2003, they cut taxes and increased spending and turned Clinton’s budget surplus into a deficit. Championing a war in Iraq, Republicans managed to double the national debt from $5.8 trillion to $11.9 trillion in eight short years. Do we really want Republicans threatening the full faith and credit of the United States Treasury when they have proven themselves so fiscally irresponsible?
John Prugh
Foothills
The new barbarians
The core of the Republican Party has become the party of change and chains. Like the barbarians of old, they have emerged from someplace unhealthy to cause this national sickness. They say “Freedom” but mean “Destruction.”
It is the crafty who lead the charge, using the unthinking as their soldiers of misfortune. We shall long remember that it was the mobs who, with the help of the Christian right and smarmy politicians made us into a feeble, fear-filled nation.
Ron Lancaster
North side
