Tucson Speaks Out: August 14

Gun safety and Todd Blanche

More mass shootings this summer. Tucson, of course, July 19. Seattle, July 26. Twin Falls, Idaho, Aug. 1. And the school year is just beginning. Our schools have become fenced-in fortresses protecting our children against deranged young males who can easily access firearms meant to kill people.

Before his confirmation as Attorney General, Todd Blanche boasted at the NRA's annual meeting that he was a proud member of the gun industry. His wife’s family owns Check-Mate Industries, a maker of firearm magazines. He has announced he will lead the Trump administration’s attempt to roll back over 30 gun-safety regulations.

While we flounder in an unprovoked war overseas, inside the U.S. our people are dying, in part, because the gun lobby, the Trump Administration (with Todd Blanche as AG) and the Republican Congress are making us all less safe.

Support, financially and/or in the voting booth, those candidates who are willing to put safety over unbridled, unchecked access to any type of firearm.

Peter Bourque

Midtown

Hans Christian Andersen's Tale

In the 19th century, Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen wrote "The Emperor's New Clothes," a tale of an emperor who believed he was wearing an invisible suit as he paraded through the town, his minions in close proximity. All the townspeople gaped at their naked emperor but dared say nothing--until a young boy called out, "The emperor has no clothes!" With that, the spell was broken, and the townspeople cried in amazement, "It's true! The emperor is naked!" But the emperor continued to march along determinedly, faithful minions in his wake, until he reached his destination. Isn't it amazing that a 19th-century writer could so accurately look ahead to 2026 and our political situation in this country? Perhaps that emperor was an ancestor of the emperor we have now.

Kendra Gaines

Foothills

Water use

It is wonderful that Tucson is proactive about saving and stockpiling water for future use and vital that we continue to do so. I feel that grass lawns should be banned and urge Tucson to do so. Having lawns in the desert depletes future water.

Annie Schlesinger

East side

What constitutes 'educated'

Some comments/questions for Messrs. Sellers and Kunasz (Aug. 11) ... Mr. Sellers, some detailed clarification would be appreciated as to your assertion that the University of Arizona is somehow responsible for Arizona's water crisis. Also, it is my ongoing experience that people who use the term "woke" have no idea how to define it. They parrot Trumpish idiocy because they lack the mental acuity to see through it. "Liberal bilge" essentially is whatever transcends their limited intellectual capacity. As to Mr. Kunasz and his thoughts on "college education," I wonder what he imagines "relevant majors" to be. I will state absolutely that we as a society are in very serious trouble if universities ever rely on narrow-minded Trumper types to determine "relevant majors." Among the many goals of a university education is to teach people how to think past the superficial - something that seems lost on the Sellers/Dowdall/Kunasz crowd.

S. Ross Emmanuel

Southeast side

Corporate greed

We just picked up a can of Glade Aerosol from a local store and were surprised to find it went from an 8 oz can to a 7.3 oz can. Did it cost less? Of course not. I looked up the CEO salary for 2025, and it totaled $32 million. Really, can they just stop with this constant squeezing us to death at the grocery store? Did you not make enough last year? Please do tell me the reason this was done. I do plan on writing them, although I fear they just do not care about the average American.

Patricia Newman

Northwest side

Water use for what now?

So, the farms that produce somewhat important things like food are being forced to cut water use while the state is allowing an orgy of data centers, which also use a large amount of water, so that tech bros can digitally undress children and steal the work of artists.

That makes sense.

David Reynolds

East side

Hospice fraud

I volunteered at a non-profit hospice in California from 2023 until this year. I recently moved to Marana. I am going through the application process to volunteer at a non-profit hospice in Tucson. It’s rigorous and detailed, identical to what I went through in California. The three-week vetting process includes a TB test, background check, and ten hours of training.

All hospices adhere to the same philosophy of caring for the dying. Each is attuned to its locality with its own culture. As a hospice volunteer, I am part of a team that includes a doctor, nurse, social worker and homecare provider who washes, bathes and changes the patient. The hospice workers I have met here are cut from the same cloth as the professional providers I encountered in California. They are dedicated, compassionate, selfless servants to those who need hospice rather than hospital care as their lives end. They are not doing it for the money.

John Finch

Marana

Disappointing

I’m writing in support of Deb Klumpp’s letter about the skipping of LTEs and the pet adoption page in the Sunday Home Section. The Santa Cruz County Humane Society in Nogales is closing because of financial difficulties. There are many animals that need to be rescued immediately. How about printing their pictures? They also have a thrift store people can donate to. Moving the Asking Eric and Horoscopes to the Sunday Business Section makes no sense. It should be back in the Home Section. While I’m at it, why do we have a gardening column written by someone from Georgia and syndicated in the Southeast U.S? Go local, print a column written by UA Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners in Tucson or Phoenix.

Marilynn Johnson

Rio Rico

Trump and Hegseth's incompetence

Going to war is an extremely complicated decision. Two axioms, while simple-sounding, are also true. The first is, ”know your enemy.” Trump and Hegseth violated this as they thought attacking Iran would be easy and quick. Instead, Iran closed the Straight of Hormuz and attacked our bases and allies in the area. The second axiom is, “the only thing worse than going to war with your allies is going to war without your allies”. Allies in the Middle East and NATO were not consulted, asked for advice or aid until after our attacks on Iran. Then Trump wonders why we did not receive support from many allies. Now we learn we are running out of essential munitions, even without supporting Ukraine since Trump took office. Nobody thought about resupplying munitions? That is a basic action when one goes to war. How much more incompetent can this administration be?

Don Ries

Southeast side

Postmark on mail-in ballots

Re: "Trump doesn't dismiss declaring national emergency to restrict voting" and related stories. Currently, Pima County uses the practice, also used in Maricopa County, of a single return envelope for mail-in ballots. On the outside, we voters sign the envelope. This envelope contains individual voter information. In the past, Pima County used a more cumbersome two-envelope system, the outer ballot containing no voter information; the affidavit being on an inner envelope. This required elections officials to open the outer envelope and remove the inner envelope before validating affidavit signatures. We may need to go back to this system. An executive order requiring the Postal Service to sift out desirable from undesirable voters goes before the Supreme Court. That is for outgoing mail ballots; it would be the next step to require the Postal Service to use voter records to sift through ballots as they are returned and set aside any from voters with undesirable party affiliations. Not good. I cannot imagine our county officials going along with it.

John Leech

Foothills