Tucson Speaks Out: Jan. 14

Wildfire preparedness

The California wildfires should prompt our local officials to revisit whether we are any better prepared to address this potential threat. Are we adequately funding our fire departments? Educating residents on fireproofing homes? Making the necessary improvements to our water storage and delivery infrastructure? There is considerable buildup of dry vegetation that could fuel wildfires in the basin, especially in the foothills. Large-scale wildfires could happen here.

John Shepard

Midtown

Say no to the RTA’s massive road widening

This November the RTA is going to ask Pima County voters to renew a half cent sales tax to pass a laundry list of road widening projects. Road widening projects are always called “improvements” but they don’t improve anything. I live near Valencia and Kolb, which was massively worsened by a long and expensive widening. Congestion isn’t any better and now you can’t even make a left turn!

Widening streets makes them more dangerous, noisier, more polluting and it harms the property values of the surrounding neighborhoods. Wider roads lead to more speeding, weaving, street racing and much more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.

The RTA is lying to us in their open houses, falsely claiming to improve safety and multi-modality. Voters were fooled in 2006. This year we need to make a better choice and vote no on this expensive waste of resources and human lives.

Daniel Brockert

Southeast side

American imperialism

What a blessing that Trump and his staunch ally, Charlie Kirk, want to “resurrect masculine American energy” into the American government and pursue Manifest Destiny — Panama Canal, Greenland, Canada, “Gulf of America.” Kirk, on his expedition to Greenland with Trump Jr., commented that “it makes America dream again, that we’re not just this sad, low-testosterone, beta male slouching in our chair, allowing the world to run over us.”

Don’t we have enough toxic masculinity in governments worldwide? Do we need more Xi Jinpings, more Vladimir Putins, more Kim Jong Uns, more Viktor Orbans, more Nicolas Maduros, more Netanyahus … more Trumps? Isn’t it time to end violence, mass shootings, and war, by removing psychopathic leaders and megalomaniacs whose solutions involve abuse of power to show strength rather than to solve problems? Instead, it’s time for peace, kindness, gentleness, diplomacy, politeness, and compassion. Haven’t we had enough of toxic masculinity that continues to keep the global fires burning?

Sandra Katz

Foothills

Steller’s correct concern for democracy

Steve Sollenberger criticizes Tim Steller’s concern regarding the media’s diminished influence. Sollenberger seems to applaud Trump’s “win” over ABC for its use of the term “rape” in a report regarding the E. Jean Carroll suit. The trial judge clarified that under New York law this sexual assault was rape. Trump didn’t win. ABC folded like a cheap suit.

Convicted felon Trump has been involved in over 3,500 lawsuits, has been accused of sexual assault by at least 26 women, bragged about being able to grab women by their crotch and cheated on his pregnant wife with a porn star.

This caving of ABC has emboldened Trump to further intimidate the media like every other autocratic dictator in the World. We should all share Steller’s concern. Every dictator in the past and present got there by first defanging the press. When the real news organizations disappear and just pandering propaganda entities remain, that’s the end of democracy.

Gerry Wolter

SaddleBrooke

Healthcare?

Recently the Star published my editorial regarding the anger in this country against our current healthcare “system.” I argued that such anger might logically find an outlet, which indeed it did in the murder of the CEO of United Healthcare. The anger is real. Here is a message from my friend in Missouri, with an up-close perspective: “You are preaching to the choir here where private equity bought two hospitals (ours and another 22 miles south), trashed them beyond reopening. We are all spectators on the nationwide debacle, but we have first-class front-row seats. Thankfully MU Hospital and Boone Hospital, both centered in Columbia, are filling as many gaps as they can, while our docs are quietly denying care for Medicare patients unless they can pay out of pocket. United Healthcare is the biggest provider here and the docs say the reimbursement levels are too low and haven’t been updated in 20 years.” How long are the American people going to put up with this “system”?

Kendra Gaines

Foothills

Yellow lights and red-light cameras

Yellow lights mean caution.

A steady yellow light is a warning that the light is about to turn red. If you have not entered the intersection you should come to a safe stop. If you are already in the intersection, you should continue moving and clear it safely. Speeding up to “beat the light” is illegal and could cause a crash.

Perhaps what we need is an additional warning that the traffic light is about to turn yellow. Could we have our green lights flash for let’s say 5 seconds prior to a traffic light turning yellow?

It would be nice to be able to do away with our roundabouts, Michigan left turns and flashing yellow turns and might also help us to reduce the costs associated with signaling traffic intersections.

You know, it might also save lives.

Bill Kendall

Downtown

The Social Security cap

The current cap on taxable income which is subject to the SS tax is $176,100.00. I meet many retired people who are concerned that SS is going to go broke soon, but they don’t know about the cap. The easiest fix is to eliminate the cap and tax all the taxable income.

Thousands of people including my children make multiples of $176 thousand but are only taxed up to the cap and that’s simply a matter of politics and power. If you make a million dollars and only pay SS on $176k that’s a great deal and you want Congress to resist change.

Call, write and only vote for someone who truly represents you, not the multimillionaires.

Tom Howes

Marana

Useless in a crisis

Donald Trump likes to think of himself as a powerful leader and a man of action. In regard to the horrible fires in Los Angles, all he has done is criticize and call elected leaders childish names. It is not in his nature or ability to say a simple, “How can I help?” At the very least, this man, who tells us how rich he is, could write a large check to help the victims of the fires. He has no clue how to respond with decisiveness and empathy to any kind of crisis. It certainly was apparent during his first term with Covid. We can only hope that nothing serious happens during the next four years.

Mary Zimmerman

SaddleBrooke

How far we’ve fallen

Jimmy Carter was undoubtedly the most decent and humane president we’ve had. And he deeply cared for all Americans. Between his death and state funeral, however, we’ve had head-snapping reminders of the vast chasm between his character and that of the previous (and — astonishingly — the next) president. We had news stories about 45’s jury-based liability for sexual abuse and his conviction by a jury for business fraud over hush-money payments to a porn star and, of course, we were reminded of the endless lies that resulted in the fake elector schemes and the violent insurrection designed to halt the peaceful transfer of presidential power. “American exceptionalism” ended with the Electoral College vote in 2016.

Vance Holliday

Foothills

Roadway political signs

I read a recent article about Jimmy Carter, and it underscored the stark difference between him and the incoming president. It also focused a bright light on Democracy and the America I grew up in. My dad was a journalist working at a large newspaper at a time when the single goal was to protect the people from tyranny. One of the things he used to preach is that someday the world would be controlled by a machine. He meant the computer. He also felt that journalism would protect us against the most dangerous machine, the political machine. I thought about that when I read this article about the former president and the quote Joe Biden shared: “the greatest sin of all: the abuse of power.” Another quote was one that President Carter and Walter Mondale espoused; “We told the truth, we obeyed the law, and we kept the peace.” I am proud of those presidents who have made protecting democracy a priority and demonstrate integrity.

Kyle Vance

Northeast side

RE: Politicians must stay out of trans medical decisions

Dr. Zwart, a local endocrinologist with 30 years of experience caring for adult transgender patients, states, “It is time to keep politicians out of my clinic.”

By politicians I assume he means us conservatives and who we vote for. I wholeheartedly support his life’s work because he treats only adults. My political views focus only on the physical and/or chemical castration of children; those under 18 who aren’t mature enough make life-changing decisions with parents trusting the misguided advice of physicians engaged in scientific experimentation.

He muddies the discussion by including intersex individuals; those born with mixed genitalia. If these misfortunate are sterile at birth, the age of consent drops to one day old. Strangely he states that this condition is not that uncommon. I find 0.5% of the population to be uncommon.

Let’s start communicating.

Jeffrey McConnell

West side

We could have had Kamala

Greenland and the Panama Canal would have been safe. Four million low-income Texans would still have Medicaid. An alcoholic sexual abuser would not have been in charge of the military. No states would have been denied disaster aid. Compassion, intelligence and common sense would not have been thrown out the window. The rich would not have been catered to. We would not have had a convicted felon in the White House. I wonder in a year or so if more people will also feel this way.

We should enjoy the last eight days of Joe Biden’s and Kamala Harris’ time in office.

James Robinett

Southwest side

The Jolly Lady

I remember when I was a child my mother read to me from a big book that the world would not be destroyed by God. Now I find out there was a caveat. My mom did not tell me that we could destroy it ourselves. So, we got right to it.

My mom didn’t tell me because she must have thought that it was some joke from on high. But the joke is on us. Somehow, while we are supposed to be made equal, a few slipped through with the full set of brains missing. Then they had babies.

Now those babies grew up without any respect for Mother Earth, the usually jolly lady, with her big belly and jaunty white cap. But even mothers can only take so much mistreatment. So, she rolled out the high winds, fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, and water.

That should teach them, she thinks. She forgot about those without brains.

Ron Lancaster

North side

Jack Smith’s report

Since President Joe Biden is immune from criminal prosecution for official acts why doesn’t he order the DOJ to release Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s involvement in the January 6, insurrection. Or better yet just post the whole thing on his Presidential website.

Gary Benna

Midtown

Presidential opposites

Our 39th president, Jimmy Carter, has passed away. He will be honored and remembered as a great humanitarian. Soon we’ll have our 47th president, Donald Trump, a person who seems to lack empathy, compassion and kindness, character traits of decent human beings like Jimmy Carter.

Helen Murphy

Sierra Vista