Fortunate son
Despite having been born Caucasian in the greatest country in the world, a significant segment of our populace is consumed with fear and hatred. While living comfortably and safely, their amoral paranoia has them tilting at falsely perceived demonic windmills such as immigrants and democracy.
Any attempt to dethrone or prosecute their malevolent demagogue doesn’t result in a measured, logical debate; their response is always threats of violence.
Or, as happened on Jan. 6, actual violence. A multitude of those individuals are now serving time in jail. However, being unable to rationalize consequences with actions, the clique’s behavior still remains unchanged.
That’s confounding. Despite having been graced with the advantages that most of Earth’s inhabitants would embrace, these individuals are cowering in a corner and lashing out. I thank the powers that be that, unlike them, I recognize how fortunate my birthright is!
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Rick Cohn
West side
Antisemitism vs. anti-war
Re: the Jan. 6 letter “Antisemitism.”
Being antisemitic and being anti-war are not the same thing. A person may be either or both. Also not the same are anti-Israel and antisemitic.
In contrast to a letter in the Saturday, Jan. 6 opinion section, being opposed the war Israel wages with Palestine, including the appalling deaths of civilians, is not necessarily an antisemitic position.
Being opposed to Israel’s out-of-proportion response to Hamas’ lawless incursion into the West Bank may be anti-Israeli, based on that country’s behavior, not its people. It may be antisemitic for some; it is assuredly anti-war!
Jim Rapp
Southeast side
Gaza war
The logic in many of the letters to the editor base their war justification regarding the Gaza War on an us-vs-them proposition. Simplistically, the ongoing Gaza massacre war is responding to the killings Oct. 7, 2023, to 50 years of apartheid, to the 1967 Six-Day War, to the 1948-49 Mandatory Palestine War, to the United Nations creation of Israel, to WWII’s Holocaust and, so on back to the feuding sons of Abraham, Esau, and Jacob. If the killing, maiming, and horror continues, a non-violent political solution cannot be had. Quoting a popular song, “You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can’t bomb the world to peace.”
Richard Fridena
West side
Bicycle safety
Re: the Dec. 31, 2023 article “Measures to protect Tucson bike riders needed.”
I appreciate Brody Cragg’s opinion piece about cycling in Tucson. There is no excuse for drivers threatening cyclists. I agree that when a car deliberately swerves toward a cyclist, this is attempted manslaughter. Some drivers engage in all kinds of unacceptable, dangerous behaviors towards cyclists. My question is: where are the police? My husband and I always get the plate number and are often able to use our cell phones to snap a picture of an offending driver and vehicle, but our experience with contacting law enforcement hasn’t been satisfying. This needs to change. Law enforcement is a critical piece in ensuring the safety of all of us.
Susan Alexander
Northwest side
Moral clarity
On Friday, Jan. 5 at a campaign event in Iowa, Donald Trump mocked Joe Biden for his stutter. Every time Trump becomes a mega bully, you have the hope this will be the last time — the one that convinces people this type of behavior will not be tolerated by the American people.
People with this level of meanness, insecurity, bullying and mentally unhealthy behavior are soon cast out. Adults dealing with other adults and children dealing with other children would never tolerate this sort of behavior. People of faith and those with spiritual leanings of all types know this behavior is wrong.
This behavior is what gets children placed in time out, teenagers sent to the principal’s office, military personnel discharged and employed adults fired.
Why would we tolerate this behavior in a presidential candidate and nowhere else?
Fran McNeely
Northeast side
War is not genocide
Re: the Jan. 7 letter “Palestine and Hamas.”
The Israeli government is not guilty of “nothing short of genocide”. The present government is guilty of many things perhaps, but far short of genocide. Israel’s population is about 20% Arab, with Arab members of its Parliament, and 40% of students at Haifa University are Arab. Since inception and before, Israel has always tried to be at peace with its neighbors.
On several occasions, the Palestinian people were offered a state, most recently by Clinton/Israel, which Arafat rejected at the last moment, fearing assassination. The PLO was driven out of Gaza by Hamas. To compare a small Jewish State as wanting to eradicate the entire Arab people, the definition of a Genocide is ludicrous. The Holocaust, which eradicated an entire population of European Jews, numbering 6 millions, is not ludicrous.
A majority of Israelis and American Jews are in favor of a two state solution, minus a poisonous Hamas.
Harvey Wolfe
Foothills
Don’t ignore the elephant
Re: the Jan. 5 article “Constitution-flouting ‘authoritarian’ is in the White House.”
George Will’s editorial purports to compare the authoritarian natures of Biden and Trump. Balderdash! He never once mentions the elephant in the room, Trump’s attempt to overthrow the government. A minor but not insignificant factual error: Trump did build some wall and used Defense Department allocations despite specific language barring it. Several presidents have pushed the boundaries of executive authority. Equating any of their actions to Trump’s overthrow attempt is like saying murder is equivalent to traffic tickets.
David Bachman-Williams
Downtown
Palestine and Hamas
Re: the Jan. 7 letter “Palestine and Hamas.”
I have to disagree with this letter writer. He compares Israel’s war with Hamas to Hitler’s Holocaust. There are major differences between the Holocaust and Israel waging war with Hamas. Germany was never attacked and no foreign government called for the complete annihilation of Germany. The goal of Hamas is to destroy Israel. Criticism of the way Israel has disregarded the humanitarian impact of their invasion may be warranted, but comparing Israel’s defense to the Holocaust is absurd.
Dan Watson
Oracle
Mining in the Catalinas
One of the joys of living in Saddlebrooke is the nearness of the Catalina Mountains. We even think of them as ours. As we consider Hudbay’s plan for Copper World in the Santa Ritas to our south, knowing the devastation it would cause, we think about our own mountains. Would a mining company be able to purchase the cattle ranch right across the Canada del Oro from us? Is it surrounded by public land? I believe the answer is yes to both questions, as it would most likely be for all of the mountains that surround Tucson. What is preventing the same scenario from occurring here? Nothing.
Elaine Wolter
SaddleBrooke
Sports/support of women’s BB team
Sunday, Jan. 7, we were able watch a very competitive basketball game in which the women’s team defeated a very well-coached and well balanced Utah team. The women were a plucky bunch who played with great heart and unbelievable stamina. This is a great group who are playing like their coach played a number of years ago, which is a great tribute to the coach. Another highlight for me was to see the support of a large group of our men’s basketball team who were there to support the women. This says a lot for them because they have a full plate and time for social activities are limited. I will enjoy sitting in McKale yelling my support of the men even more knowing they are great guys. Hats off to both teams and continue to BEAR DOWN.
Dennis Primavera
Midtown
Trump as authoritarian
For Trump acolytes who don’t think he’ll rule as an authoritarian/dictator, you need not believe political analysts, journalists or experts on failed democracies. Simply do what you always do — believe everything your “dear leader” says, truth be damned.
He’s called to “terminate the Constitution” and invoke the Insurrection Act to have the military quash anti-Trump protests. He’ll appoint sycophants as Department Secretaries whose main qualification is absolute subservience to him. He’ll use the Justice Department to prosecute political and personal enemies. See Project 2025.
He’ll punish or silence any news organization that criticizes him. Knowingly echoing Hitler, he says he’ll eliminate the “vermin” and those who “poison the blood” of our country.
If Trump succeeds, these cultists will achieve the destruction of the democracy they so fervently profess to love. Unfortunately, everyone else will suffer.
This Supreme Court won’t stop him. No matter your opinion of Biden, he will preserve democracy. Trump will destroy it. Your choice.
Dan Gipple
Southeast side
Trump’s accomplishments
Many writers have noted many of Trump’s accomplishments while in office, but all have failed to note his biggest and most significant accomplishment: Stirring up hate, bigotry, and violence.
Duane Harpet
Northwest side
Importance of creative thinking
Re: the Jan. 17 article “The visual arts help children learn to think.”
This piece rightfully extols the importance of encouraging creative thinking in young minds through engagement in the arts. Of perhaps far greater consequence, though, is the indelible influence art has upon their humanity and, thereby, the world.
German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer regarded art as our deepest perception of the essence of existence itself in that it elicits in us the purest form of experience — the means by which we most closely approach the ineffable that we sense in our innermost selves.
Art delivers us into the very substance of our being. Even only as observers we engage art by becoming the creators of our experience, that is ours alone and stands apart from the artifact that elicits it. Few experiences can be more exalting than the wonder felt in finding profound meaning in what is otherwise meaningless, and yet leads us, through ways mysterious, to find truth in the sublime. It is essentially human.
Promoting deeper understanding of this shared essence can only nurture a more humane deference for all.
Robert Gavlak
Midtown
Corpse to compost
Re: the Jan. 22 article “AZ proposal would allow composting of humans.”
Let me understand. Last year the legislature had as its top priority the outlawing of drag queens. This year at the top of the legislative list is turning mom to mulch. The state is half a billion in the red and these Republicans, and they are Republicans, want to ignore that, and create fertilizer out of the dead. Ah, but when the flowers bloom will come the deceased’s spirit. When it is 115 degrees does the spirit wilt? Tell me y’all ain’t makin’ this stuff up.
Jon Langione
Marana
Trump vs. facts
Donald Trump has a strange connection with facts. On July 4, 2019, he told us that George Washington captured British airfields to help win the Revolutionary War. He didn’t tell us what aircraft the RedCoats flew off those airfields, but I bet it was a funny sight, with those big hats they always wore. How could anyone who passed first grade think that? You don’t suppose his father had to bribe the teacher to pass him on to second grade, do you?
He was given a tour of an aircraft carrier once, and he told them they should stop using their new electromagnetic catapults and go back to using the old steam catapults to launch their aircraft. I can imagine what those naval officers said after they got rid of him. Donald Trump, aircraft carrier catapult engineer.
Now he has a thing about magnets. If you dip a magnet in water it destroys the magnetism? Try it yourself. It doesn’t affect the magnetism. Just gets it wet.
George Yost
Vail
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Open mouth, insert foot
Re: the Jan. 5 article “President Gay is a symptom not the cause.”
Reading Cal Thomas’ guest editorial, I was not impressed with his argument, until I neared the end of his editorial. Then I recognized his gaffe. He said more educated people tend to be more liberal. Less educated people are more conservative. He failed to support the notion that colleges indoctrinate people to be more liberal.
That being said, more educated does not guarantee being smarter, more intelligent or having more “common sense.”
However, it is statistically probable, in an adult population, that those who are smarter, more intelligent or have more common sense, have acquired a higher level of education, college or trade school.
I do realize the ‘educated idiot’ is real. Like the cost accountant who was so happy to have paid $5,000 in deductible credit card interest (circa 1983). I asked him if it wouldn’t have been better to have $5,000 to be able to pay $1,000 in taxes? Netting $4,000?
James Abels
Midtown
