Orban’s speech
Viktor Orban’s speech to the CPAC in Texas was a sales pitch, but what was he selling and what were people buying? It’s an old concept that goes little recognized these days. It promotes a strict social hierarchy where the chosen group is dominant and the lesser groups must submit to them. It promotes an “us vs. them” mentality. It’s about weaponized patriotism that serves only the chosen group and its leader, while those that are not in this group are considered non-patriots and traitors. It replaces reasoned debate with fear and anger. It replaces truth and facts with wild conspiracies and propaganda. It is intolerant of other political ideas and yearns for single-party rule. It is far-right authoritarian and rejects most of what democracy offers. It demands a cult-like obsession to a charismatic leader. It does not encourage human virtues; it encourages the vilest parts of behavior. What Orban was selling was fascism. It’s the new heroin in a broken society.
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Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
A settlement is not a payout
Re: the Aug. 22 letter “City Attorney $30,000 payout.”
This letter about the $30,000 settlement paid in an incident involving an off-duty TPD officer and the public alleges the city attorney “walked away from fighting for law enforcement.”
To be clear, no one was found to be totally without fault; however, what happened that day was not law enforcement. Police are held to a higher standard. It is just a fact and a point of honor in their profession.
I’d argue the city attorney did the best thing it could have in the situation and recognized it’s a personnel matter within the police department. Chief Kasmar has been transparent about his internal actions, which seem reasonable and appropriate.
Had there been a trial, the city attorney would have had to defend the indefensible, the city would be paying out a lot more, an officer’s career would be over and the TPD needlessly dragged through the mud.
Sometimes the best fight is the one you avoid, the city attorney should be commended for this.
Kevin Henderson
Foothills
Representing the people
RE: the Aug. 19 letter “Represent the people.”
The letter writer has a strange view of “representing the people.” It seems “absurd” best describes his notion of Liz Cheney fostering her personal views, unless he’s saying he’s really disappointed that Cheney actually is principled enough to reject Donald Trump’s “Big Lie,” the lie that has threatened our democracy and torn this country apart for the last 18-plus months. Could the writer (or the people of Wyoming) be ignorant of the fact that Ms. Cheney supported Trump about 93% of the time during his horrendous years in office and that she voted for him in 2020? Clearly, she was not a “Trump-hater” until he blatantly revealed what an infantile, self-serving liar he truly is, someone who will always put his own interests above those of the country. Cheney has served Wyoming well, whereas I think Trump could not care less about Wyoming or anything else if it does not serve himself.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Being fair to Republicans
Re: the Aug. 18 letter “Stop hating; try being fair.”
Although a very depressing letter, yes, it’s true we have way too much hatred and division in our country. So, as a Democrat, I would like to make a list of the great qualities that I see within the Republican Party: honesty, integrity, empathy, patience, optimism, compassion, intelligence and respect for others. May not be a complete list, but most of all, they have the courage of their own convictions, even if they know that it will probably cost an election.
Yes, I’m speaking of Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Rusty Bowers.
Truly great Republicans!
David Hatch
Southeast side
Election deniers
I keep waiting for Kari Lake and Mark Finchem to question the results of the last election. Of course, they support Donald Trump, a chronic liar completely devoid of integrity; a coward who has never been man enough to hold himself accountable for his own actions, and who spent four years in the White House denigrating the memories of those who gave all believing they were fighting for our democracy, by doing everything he could to destroy it. I’m so old I can actually remember a quality Republican Party. I can remember when they had an actual platform and tried to come up with quality people to run for office. I have to wonder if today’s Republicans believe they will be better off if they destroy our democracy. Are they really that stupid?
Dave Rollins
Patagonia
Water harvesting
Monsoon season is upon us and there is a lot of water runoff from rooftops, parking lots, and streets that seemingly is completely, or nearly so, wasted. Will you assign a reporter to inform readers of what the city/county does, and does not do, to capture some of the water for usage to aid in overall water conservation? Individuals and businesses are urged to “harvest” water. Are there any such mandates? What does government do to capture and use these waters instead of watching it flow south in torrents, flood, or simply soak into the ground? Are there significant runoff water “catch basins” that double as sources of reusable (irrigation?) water, or temporary holding basins for dirty water treatment? What steps could be instituted to capture more runoff? Thank you for maybe reporting on these questions.
Fred Mansmith
Vail
Good news for AZ
The bill is the largest climate investment in U.S. history. It will help us make our homes and workplaces more comfortable and clean, and it will help us switch to home-grown renewable electricity to fuel our cars and trucks.
The law will also save us a lot of money. According to think-tank Rewiring America, a family of four living in Tucson could access more than $18,000 in incentives through this bill for clean-energy tools, including an electric vehicle, a community solar subscription, a heat-pump air conditioner and water heater, and a home-efficiency upgrade — saving about $1,500 per year on energy.
State leaders should maximize the benefits of this new law, and last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, by investing as much as possible in programs that will help residents and businesses save money and cut pollution. And we all should start planning now to take advantage of the incredible amounts of clean energy funding these new laws have unlocked.
Tyler Merriweather
Oro Valley
Campaign signs still up
When did it become optional to remove campaign signs after an election?
Campaign signs have always been removed days after an election. I believe three days is the required deadline after an election in the city.
For some reason, the vast majority of campaign signs are still standing, weeks after the election. City of Tucson and Pima County government, are you seeing this?
David Keating
Northeast side
