Tucson Speaks Out: Aug. 24 letters of the day

Are we ever ready for some hope regarding the climate crisis!

Considering the withering heat exacerbated by drought, many want to do what they can to stop burning fossils. A letter writer reminds us of Federal and State tax credits for electrification and some point-of-sale credits (e.g., on electric cars). ‘POS’ meaning credit comes off the price of the vehicle at the time of the sale, no waiting until tax time.

Did you know you can put your face on an electric induction cooktop right after boiling water? Food is heated magnetically, your home isn’t heated. A one-burner cooktop goes for under $100!

The time to electrify is NOW. Regardless of the outcome, the current administration has been the absolute best (the only) to address climate. Take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act and have fun: lower your bills, have electrifying conversations and a cleaner home.

Gaye Adams

Midtown

Next president

Re: the Aug. 20 letter “New media darling.”

Now embodied on Earth in America, my president exemplifies ethical behavior.

May my next president be the ethical one who shares her gift of empathy and concern for our Earth.

Barbara Nagler

Green Valley

‘Doom and gloom’ campaign wears thin

Ignore anti-Harris ads on TV relating to how she “released hardened criminals and murderers” from jail in San Francisco and California, to kill again. A District Attorney or Attorney General does not have that power or authority. If there’s substantial new evidence proving that individual’s innocence, and even then, it’s a tedious task and not always successful. It’s still a judge’s decision.

Trump and his campaign aides are not that informed on the law. Neither are his attorneys apparently. They follow the same doom and gloom, dungeons and crypts scenarios Trump has used since 2015. Whatever sells. Fear sells. Sex sells, so he’s done that till it was done with him. Cons, shams, deceptions and swindles sell news. Even bad news is positive. Just spell his name correctly.

But his deceit may have caught up with him. He’s losing supporters. It’s more difficult to lie about “size” when it’s no longer there.

This bombardment of misleading ads is old and false.

Sheldon Metz

Northeast side

A Nonet’s Plea for Freedom

I am eighty-three and can it be

That I may be able to see

A woman’s right to be free

Restored. A right that was

There for me taken

From those now young.

Please help me

Help them.

Vote.

Marilyn Halonen

Northeast side

My hero

I am sick and tired of hearing about high-income earners complaining about paying a higher income tax percentage. Many of them seem to feel they shouldn’t pay any income tax. Way back in the ‘60s, my dad was having up-and-down business years, so his income fluctuated from year to year. One year he turned to me and said he hated to be pushed into a higher tax bracket because of an usually successful business year, but he was “proud as hell” he had earned so much money that he could afford it! These were the sentiments of my dad, who volunteered to serve in the Army prior to the US entering World War II. I consider him a true American.

David Kalish

Foothills

Sowing fear

Re: the Aug. 22 letter “Biden farewell.”

This letter said: “Will the (Harris) campaign be something more than abortion and sowing fear of Trump.” Yes, but I bristled at the author’s trivialization of these very valid issues. He may have difficulty understanding the resentment many women feel as the GOP attempts to choose what we should or shouldn’t do with our bodies. The issue is not what we choose, sir, it is our basic right to have that choice. Further, there are good reasons to fear Trump: Project 2025 encapsulates many of them. While Trump has said that he “knows nothing” about it and has “no idea” who is in charge of it, one tends to doubt his veracity in this, as in all matters. According to pbs.org, at least 140 former advisers from the Trump administration have been involved. These include former HUD Director Ben Carson, White House Advisor Peter Navarro, and OMB Director Russell Vought (recently recorded saying, “Trump is very supportive of what we do.”). Be afraid, be very afraid.

Leslie Platt

Oro Valley

Volunteer shares another view

Re: the Aug. 16 article “Casa Alitas vendor ousted for conflict of interest.”

As a long-time volunteer with the Casa Alitas migrant shelter, I can attest to the dedication and integrity of program directors Diego Piña Lopez and Teresa Cavendish. Tucson and southern Arizona owe them a debt of gratitude for how they managed complex and unpredictable situations to shelter nearly 500,000 asylum seekers released by ICE and Border Patrol. For nearly a decade, Diego organized and inspired thousands of volunteers and a small staff to make sure this process functioned smoothly in Tucson, helping people move on as quickly as possible to their government-recognized sponsors elsewhere in the country. Teresa coordinated with ICE and Border Patrol to avoid street releases in Tucson.

While they were in charge, Tucson did not have asylum seekers stranded on street corners, at the bus station, or at the airport. Whatever small error occurred doesn’t negate their enormous contribution to our community.

Liz Oglesby

East side

Who are “the American People?”

Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Seems to legitimize whoever says it, doesn’t it? That next person you hear say it somehow seems to claim the unique right to solicit “The American People.”

Who are these people, anyway?

To those who appreciate and respect our democracy, it’s an almost reverent term for the “we the people” cited in our Constitution...synonymous with “all of us!”

For an incredibly faulted man and his cult, it is a plea for legitimacy hopefully useful for getting votes one more time, after which, as he has stated, he won’t need them anymore.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent a new generation of “we the people” and they are now making it exciting to again look to the future ... with honesty, integrity, dignity. hope, education, opportunity ... with freedom very much back on the plate for our country!

“Congratulations” to Kamala’s and Tim’s “The American People” ... and “goodbye” to Donald’s hatred, division, personal greed, and terrible disgrace to all our country stands for!

Frank Parsons

Northeast side

Only in America

My wife and I had the luxury of watching a good portion of the four-day Democratic National Convention on PBS. On the stage and the big screens, personal stories of hardships, failures, and struggles accompanied by resilience, courage and successes coming from the abused, the wounded, and the victorious were told with humility but not hatred. The speakers, even Republicans and independents, conveyed their true beliefs and basic values with conviction. The past and present leaders and their mixed families showed affection with hugs and kisses, while cheered on by a crowd of all ages, classes, cultures and races, judging by their faces, headdresses and attires. Their spontaneous and enthusiastic responses to the speakers included shouts of support and tears of joy. What we saw sums up the openness and the sense of community of diversity we love about America, but missing in her Japan and my China. Please join us to vote for Kamala and Tim for an even better America.

Ke Chiang Hsieh

Midtown