Tucson Speaks Out: July 4

Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind

The campus of Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind should be bought and used as a community center. Buildings used for education, music, arts, outreach programs and bringing Tucson together for gainful activities.

Not-for-profit agencies would have a central, one-stop location. Classrooms are used for learning for all ages. There is an auditorium for performing arts.

I feel this is a possible diamond for Tucson to be creative and innovative.

Penny Gassan

West side

July 4 & 14

This July, I am observing two historical events.

The first on the 4th being the 250th anniversary of the signing of the DOI.

The second on the 14th — Bastille Day. This was the Flashpoint of the French Revolution, when the oppressed and starved French people had finally reached a breaking point and stormed the dreadful Bastille prison and armory. It took only four hours for their hunger, anger and passion to completely overtake the Bastille that July day in 1789.

The parallels to our current state of affairs are evident across the world. And so I pray every day for our leaders to help us avoid our own Bastille Day.

Karen Papagapitos

Northwest side

Read!

The Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship dissenters raise a troubling question: how do Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch expect to interpret the Constitution when they can’t read? The 14th Amendment is unambiguous. It doesn’t require a law degree, a magnifying glass, or a séance with the Founders to comprehend, stating at an eighth-grade reading level, “All persons born ... in the United States ... are citizens.” Not exactly William Faulkner.

Yet the dissenters insist the amendment secretly means something different — that citizenship depends on parental allegiance, immigration status, or the dissenters’ political prejudices — things its authors explicitly rejected on the Senate floor. They call this “originalism,” but it’s hard to be an originalist when you ignore the original text.

If these good ole boys want to change the Constitution, they should petition Congress. But pretending the language of the 14th Amendment doesn’t exist is not jurisprudence. It’s illiteracy dressed up in robes. No wonder the Roberts Court has fabricated a record number of ill-reasoned decisions.

Jim Christ

East side

Campaign rhetoric

Wow — thanks for the tip that Joanna Mendoza, democratic opponent of Senator Juan Ciscomani, supports legalizing prostitution. Doh — upon further investigation, I’m seeing that she supports providing economic supports and services to people who are disenfranchised from the “labor market.” None of her platforms even remotely references legalizing prostitution. It looks like this is something that republican dark money is prostituting for its candidate. So disappointing. Maybe Joanna and Juan would consider supporting the decriminalization of prostitution?

Cynthia Duncan

Midtown

Fake president

Aboard the new Air Force One, a view of the interior showed a glass cabinet loaded with books; unfortunately, the books all look like they are merely window dressing and simply glued together — which would make them hard to read. Since they are all similar in size and color, it makes me think they are simply decorative without a readable page. This should surprise no one, as President Trump is all about "window dressing" without any substance. Fake library, fake President.

Richard Rebl

East side

The long shadow of Oct. 7

One thousand days have passed since the murders, sexual violence, and hostage taking of Oct. 7, 2023.

It’s also been 1,000 days since many driven by political agendas responded by justifying that attack, excusing the actions of Palestinians in Gaza who carried out these crimes, branding Jews “colonizers” in their ancestral homeland, and repeating slogans calling for Israel’s elimination, such as “From the river to the sea.”

We are witnessing attempts to pursue justice through the selective use and rewriting of history. Justice begins with understanding the Holy Land, including the lived experience of the Jewish people, whose history there spans thousands of years and whose faith is inseparable from it.

The past 1,000 days have reinforced what Jews have lived with for millennia: enduring hatred. This is the latest chapter in an old story. I wish more of our friends on the left and in Muslim communities understood how often they are unwitting participants in it.

Am Yisrael Chai. The People of Israel Live.

Steve Basile

Midtown

World Cup coverage

Would be nice to have some coverage of the Soccer World Cup. How about the bracket's status at a minimum? Some review of key game highlights would be a plus.

Paul Kruppenbacher

Northwest side