Letters to the Editor: Jan. 2

Do you have or did you have sick time in your job? Were you glad that you had this benefit and did you use it?

If you answer is “yes” to these questions, then you should be furious that Congress would not vote to let railroad workers have more than one day of sick time. Ask ourselves who do they work for, companies or “we the people,” and vote accordingly. Wake up.

Patricia Newman

Marana

Get a job, Kari

Kari’s Lake has dried up. She goes down in Arizona history as a sniveling election-denier whiner. I have three words for Kari: Get a job!

Jerry Wilkerson

SaddleBrooke

Poor planning

Abortion proponents argue that the practice should be allowed for exceptions like rape, incest and endangered health.

There should be exceptions. But research shows that only 1% of abortions are for rape victims, less than 0.05% for incest, and 12% for health concerns. In fact, the major reasons for abortions are 1. Interference with a woman’s education, work or ability to raise a child, 2. Inability to afford a baby, and 3. Relationship problems or no desire to be a single mother. Ergo, the vast bulk of more than 930,000 abortions in 2020 were due to poor personal planning.

We need to reduce those numbers of discarded future presidents, physicians and soldiers. The solution isn’t preservation of a misconceived “right.” Neither is believing that only zero abortions are acceptable. The answer lies somewhere between. Maybe compulsory education, like when state troopers visited teen assemblies to show photos of fatal vehicle accidents, and to discuss ramifications and prevention?

Jack Calaway

Northeast side

One more detail

Re: the Dec. 9 letter “Devil in the details on North Kolb.”

I generally agree with the letter writer’s objections to the final result of the North Kolb Road renovation, especially regarding the art. However, she omitted one more relevant detail: After years of construction at a cost of millions of dollars, the traffic capacity of North Kolb between Sabino Canyon Road and Sunrise Drive is exactly as it was, one lane in each direction. At least motorists will have “art” to look at if/when stuck in traffic.

Roger Ingersoll

Northeast side

A Presidential pardon 2024?

Now that the Independent Accountability and Resolution Process and the NCAA has again showed that the whiter, more powerful you are, the better your chances of avoiding punishment, I hope there can be some future resolution for Coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson.

Richardson confessed, took responsibility and served time for federal felony charges. Under presidential pardon guidelines for federal crimes, Richardson will not be eligible for a presidential pardon for five years after he is released from prison. Richardson was released Oct. 15, 2019, so he’ll be eligible for a pardon on Oct. 16, 2024. It would be wonderful if a federal lawyer did pro bono work for Richardson so he may get that pardon.

Meanwhile, maybe the same lawyer can sue the IARP and the NCAA for the 10-year show cause order handed down. After all, just like the SMU football team in the 1980s, the UA men’s basketball team is a repeat offender of NCAA rules. Only instead of the school getting the coaching “death” penalty, Coach Richardson is receiving it.

Matt Somers

Midtown