Tucson Speaks Out: June 4 letters of the day

“We just did a bill in Florida. We’re not allowing the pronouns.” Ron DeSantis, governor and future presidential candidate.

I’m a former English teacher, and all too often my students muttered “Grammar Nazi” when I returned their essays, which looked like they were hemorrhaging because of the red ink from my corrections. But if pronouns are banned, then suddenly the common error of pronoun disagreement disappears!

But why stop there? I’m calling for the outright ban of dangling participles, comma splices, and confusion of there/their/they’re. And don’t get me started on sentence fragments! Or the abomination of passive voice used by writers! Ban them all!

As DeSantis has shown in Florida, the simplest solutions are the best solutions: Don’t like how some people use pronouns? Ban them! Don’t like books? Ban them! Don’t like Disney? Ban it!

Don’t like freedom? Ban it!

Jim McWilliams

Midtown

Elderly observations

In my 95 years I have been privileged to observe numerous seminal events in our history. This includes World War II, when we emerged as a world power, and the 1960s Civil Rights movement and the resulting legislation, an effort was made to bring equality to our institutions. The arc of history has led us to the Trump era, which has allowed legitimacy to the very worst elements in our nation.

It is almost beyond belief that this racist, narcissistic, incompetent autocrat, a convicted sexual predator, once again would strive for the highest office in our land and be supported by millions of Americans. The damage he has done throughout society is incalculable and will be felt long after he is gone. The only solution is an intelligent and sophisticated electorate, one that is capable of being persuaded by truth and facts rather than lies and deceit. For the sake of your children and mine and the future of this republic, may the God of your choice bless this nation.

Joseph Stanley

East side

Who is “grooming” your child?

On April 5, the Attorney General of Maryland reported that “More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused more than 600 children over the past 80 years.” This is not Maryland — this is just Baltimore City. Now, the Illinois state Attorney General reported that there were 1,997 cases of priestly sexual abuse of children in that state from 1950 to 2019. And, yet, you are worried about books and librarians? Can you name a single gay guy, dressed in drag, that has been reported to be “grooming” little boys? No?

You can’t name one? Yet, you ignore the “saintly” priests? You need to get a clue. Those are your groomers.

Sue Thompson

SaddleBrooke

The root of political evil

Republicans and a now independent Senators do not legislate or represent their constituents. They are there to to protect the interests of the big corporations and the rich.

The only way to fix this is to have campaigns financed by the government. This will not happen because how else would politicians get rich?

A tax on corporations could pay for it with the money they now spend on campaign donations and bribes. If it was done like in Australia the campaign could be done in month or two instead of years. Politicians could work on problems instead of constantly begging for money.

Wouldn’t it be great if our leaders were selected by merit instead of how much money they can raise? Politicians and legislation shouldn’t be for sale.

Robert McNeil

Midtown

You ain’t seen noth’n yet

There sure has been a lot of coverage on AI (Artificial Intelligence) lately. Safeguards need to be put in place. The industry is actually asking to be regulated. Folks are concerned, and rightly so, that all sorts of disinformation and criminal activity can occur without supervision and regulation.

AI is expanding at an incredible rate. AI machines can already think for themselves and learn. Soon these machines will be able to replicate themselves and with constant upgrades they can become quite powerful. I wonder what is going to happen when they figure out the two-legged meat bags running the show are pretty much useless.

James Galvin

Sahuarita

Voting does matter

Too often I hear people, young and old, say voting doesn’t matter because “politicians are all the same.” It is puzzling that in today’s America of extreme political viewpoints, anyone could really believe it doesn’t matter who is elected. If you care about reproductive rights, gun violence, access to quality education, air pollution, healthcare, or Arizona’s diminishing water supply, then who is in charge at local, state, and federal level makes all the difference.

If you are disenchanted because a politician promised more than s/he delivered, look at all the uncompromising opponents that s/he had to face. Think how much worse it would be if all the elected officials didn’t care about any of these issues, and no progress was made on anything of real importance. You’d be living in Florida. Please vote to protect what you care about and to promote the improvements we need.

Eloise Gore

Northeast side

Transgender

Transgender women/men who consider themselves women are not completely female. They may consider themselves so ethically, morally, by personality, etc. but they are not female biologically or physically. Accordingly, we should welcome them in what are considered female activities like teas, knitting bees, bridal showers, hen parties, etc. as well as sex-independent careers like doctors, lawyers and professors. But we should not let them enter biologically sensitive areas like bathrooms, locker rooms and sororities or physically sensitive areas like sports. We should respect equally their rights and the rights of cisgender women.

Wiliam Wolfe

Northeast side

Free bus rides

Yesterday I needed a ride home after having my car towed to get a tire replaced. My husband is recovering from surgery and can’t drive yet, my son was working and couldn’t get away. Pulling up SunTran on my phone, I discovered a bus route that went right by the dealer and connected to a route with a bus stop next to my house and bus fare is still free so I won’t need cash! The peace of mind I get from knowing I could ride the bus any time I needed to is worth a small amount in taxes to keep it free. Thank you, SunTran and Tucson City Council. Keep it free! You never know when you might need it.

Barbara Allen

Midtown

Hostage-taking

Never negotiate with hostage-takers, it only encourages future hostage-taking. The Republicans are holding the economy hostage to their demands of decreased spending for the needs of the poor and middle class and decreased funding for the IRS. Who are they kidding? They and those they represent are at great financial risk in a government debt default.

Apparently, Biden and the Democrats have fallen for their gambit and legitimized it. This will be sad for those losing needed federal benefits. Unfortunately, a majority of Americans probably support defunding the IRS, thinking this will make an audit less likely, when it will mainly limit audits at the top of the wealth gap where most of the unpaid taxes are. Our only government means of reducing that gap is through the IRS. Further expansion of it puts our democracy at risk and will lead to a less equitable society.

Eric Gormally

Northwest side

Sad and scary

Re: the May 29 letter “Harris as President?”

To call Kamala Harris “word salad’ and unqualified is like the pot calling the kettle black. Or is that the actual reason? If you took the time to see what she accomplished during her time as DA, DJ, and Senator they dwarf the qualifications of Donald Trump. She actually knows how not to liable herself.

As for comedy Harris/Biden do not hold the candle to Frick and Frack (Trump/DeSantis). They are the poster boys for and Fascist loving Republicans and there seems to be a lot of them. I just don’t get it.

As for the AZ Daily Star being unbalanced in coverage I would pose the problem as how do you balance the totally unbalanced Republican Party. The party is getting more radicalized with each passing day. Pretty sad and scary at the same time.

Nick Nicholas

SaddleBrooke

Work for peace

Re: the May 29 article “Raytheon wins drone deal.”

Raytheon has scored yet another multi-million dollar contract for work on a line of weapons of war. It’s no surprise that Raytheon declined to comment on the contract. Their reasons weren’t given, but if I were engaged in the dirty business of making deadly weapons for big bucks, I wouldn’t crow about it either. Say its name: War Profiteering. Don’t buy the lie that weapons make anyone safe. No sane person believes that the next bomb or missile will be the one that brings victory for “the good guys.”

Outside the fantasy world of movies, war is just a bottomless rabbit hole. Wars ravage our planet not because we human beings are incapable of nonviolent conflict resolution, but because we have given too much power to those few who fuel wars everywhere to keep their cash flow going. It’s way past time to pull the plug. Work for peace.

Kim Mathews

East side

Universal school voucher costs

Reading that Arizona’s universal school voucher plan has grown to $900 million, “63% more than budgeted just a month ago,” I was not surprised to read Superintendent of Education Tom Horne’s misleading statements and omissions about this burgeoning cost. Horne’s own staff reported a notably higher percentage of current private or parochial school students applying for vouchers than his estimate. The result shifts the voucher program expense to Arizona taxpayers and continues to drain sustainable funding for public education.

Horne avoided answering questions about sources to fund this increase and the cost for advertising vouchers. Hopefully, continued reporting will debunk Horne’s advertising and uncover the number of students not accepted to private or parochial schools due to learning disabilities or language issues, a practice not allowed in public education. Such reporting should also emphasize the lack of accountability through test scores since private and parochial schools are exempt from this accountability placed on public education. As voucher costs grow, so too does Superintendent Horne’s nose.

Roger Shanley

East side