Tucson Speaks Out: Feb. 12 letters of the day

‘Calculated, systematic’ hatred of Israel

Re: the Jan. 26 letter “Plight of Palestinians.”

This hate-filled letter reeks of anti-Jewish bias. The letter writer says Israel, alone among nations, does not deserve to exist. Gaza went to war against Israel with the third-deadliest terror attack in history, but this is an ‘alternative fact’ for the letter writer. For Americans to understand the Gazan attack, imagine the entire population of Sierra Vista being murdered, 45,000 people! His letter is propaganda for Hamas, the elected government of the Palestinians. Hamas broke the cease-fire, and if it surrendered, the war would end.

He objects to the “overwhelmingly Jewish” nature of Israel and ignores the overwhelming support Israeli ARAB citizens have made to Israel during this war. He claims genocide. The German foreign ministry says, “The claim Israel is committing genocide is FALSE.” As Black Ethiopian, Bedouin, Druze Kurdish and Christian soldiers of the IDF fight and die together defending Israel, they make this letter an abomination.

Judith Mirell

Green Valley

Robbins solving the U of A crisis

Solving at the expense of students, faculty and sports fans. Layoffs, hiring freezes, increased sports ticket prices. Governor Hobbs, how about changing the ABOR to competent individuals and finding a university president who doesn’t “pass the buck” and obfuscate issues. $240 million is suddenly now $140 million — bring in the math department to help (if they are still there). Cardiothoracic solutions for financial management don’t seem to be working, for example, Dave Heeke, who was not fired ‘for cause,’ will retain his salary of over $1 million through the end of his contract in 2025 just because Robbins ‘simply thought it was the right time to have new leadership,’ Rulney, kept on at $500K salary to avoid lawsuit and to “help with the transition.” This was the CFO in charge when the $240 million (or $140 million) was “misplaced.” What’s wrong with that picture?

Dennis Winsten

Northeast side

Conflating opinions with facts

Re: the Jan. 29 letter “Dictator for life.”

The letter stated that young voters won’t vote for Biden because of his age, believing he would not serve the entire term and they didn’t have confidence in VP Harris. Maybe their concern is over current physical and cognitive declines. Bianca Seward, with NBC News, wrote that young voters said they won’t be voting for Biden again due to unkept promises such as student loan forgiveness, codifying Roe v. Wade, insufficient moves on climate change, and most recently, his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

It was opined that young voters don’t realize that if Trump is elected, they will live under a dictatorship and that Trump intends to stay in office until he dies. Well, I give more credit to the voters of our future. They know the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, prevents Mr. Trump from serving more than two terms.

Suzan Herzig

Oro Valley

Election priorities

I received a questionnaire recently asking me to select which items in the election selection are important to me. The list was LONG, way longer than necessary. There is only one necessary answer:

DEMOCRACY.

If we lose our magnificent, though flawed system, we are doomed (and so will be many others.)

Susan VonKersburg

Northeast side

Republican primaries

Why are so many people concerned with whether former president Trump’s name can appear on the Colorado (and potentially other states’) Republican primary ballots? There is no constitutional question there. Article XIV, Section 3 (what might be called the “insurrection clause”) of the Constitution deals only with who can actually hold a federal office, not who can run for one. So Mr. Trump can be on a primary or even a general election ballot in any number of jurisdictions and might even be victorious in one or more of them. It’s whether he’s legally qualified to hold whatever office he might be elected to that’s relevant.

Gerard Ervin

Northeast side

Criminalize stupidity

Forrest Gump often said, “Stupid is as stupid does” and it’s obvious to me that for most human problems, barring natural disasters, the underlying cause is just plain stupidity. And while someone else’s stupidity can affect all of us, it goes largely unpunished. Harm caused to another person by someone attempting a TikTok challenge possibly resulting in a lawsuit, the red-light runner who gets a ticket and traffic school (if even caught), the hiker out in 110-degree heat without adequate water who needs rescuing and endangers rescuers’ lives. Just a few examples of stupidity without stiff enough consequences. We already have a stupid motorist law for getting stuck in a flooded wash. It’s way past time to make stupidity a major crime with harsh penalties in addition to the offense itself. Frank Zappa said, “There is more stupidity than hydrogen atoms in the universe and it has a longer shelf life.”

Jeff Aronson

Northeast side

Why is Robbins still UA’s President?

Re: the Feb. 1 article “Robbins: ‘I fully intend’ to solve UA crisis.”

Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, a Black woman, was attacked by wealthy donors for what they perceived as not be harsh enough on anti-Israel protesters. She was then fired for overblown charges of plagiarism, initiated and propagated by a right-wing activist supportive of “scientific” racism.

Robert Robbins, president of the University of Arizona, presided over a hefty $240 million loss, for which his role makes him responsible, and followed that up with duplicity and cover-up, most notably saying he had accepted the resignation of the CFO, when in fact she had a change in title and no change in her half-million dollar salary, as he later admitted only after investigative journalists revealed it.

But he still has his job and the support of the Arizona Board of Regents. What’s the difference?

Could it be that he is a white guy and a good ol’ boy?

Joshua Freeman

North side

New Casino at Grant and I-10

In addition to the slot machines and table games, another feature of the new casino will likely be traffic jams 10 times more massive than the current massive traffic jams on Grant and I-10.

Robert Finn

West side

Creative environmental actions

Let me urge my fellow ocean lovers and concerned environmentalists to visit the WASHED ASHORE exhibit at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. (Jan. 26-June 30) It is both inspiring artwork and creative action to rid the Pacific Ocean of plastic and other refuse that injures ocean creatures and detracts from ocean beauty. It is simply awesome to see what they have created.

Joe Swaffar

North side

So very proud

My heart swelled as I saw President Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin saluting the coffins of three American soldiers who were killed in Jordan. Dignity, pride, patriotism and respect currently reside in the White House. Thank you, President Biden.

Maureen Salz

Oro Valley

Calling on independents

I am a Maricopa County poll worker and would like to encourage independent voters to vote in the PPE election! The PPE allows registered Democratic and Republicans to vote for their preferred party candidates. But that doesn’t mean independents do not have a vote! It only means they have to prepare by temporarily changing party registration before Feb. 20!

Every PPE election, we have confused voters walk in, only to be told that their vote will not be counted to be included in the election results. It’s sad to have a citizen who took the time to come in to express him or herself be turned away.

Independents, prepare now to be able to vote. You can choose to vote for the candidate in one of the parties that best reflects your values and positions on issues that are important to you, or you can choose to vote for the ‘best of the worst” in the party that aligns least with your opinions. Whatever your choice, claim your voice!

Crystal Bazarnic

North side

Tim Steller’s illegal immigration article

Re: the Feb. 4 article “Pro-Trump right wants border problems.”

Your premise is that the pro-Trump right is trying to prevent Biden from getting a bill passed that would solve the border crisis. During his term, over 9 million have been allowed entry. All of a sudden, he wants to stop the flow. All he really wants is $60 billion for Ukraine.

I have to congratulate you on finding out the content. All I have heard is that it is being kept in secret. You must have a leaker. The one most important section to me is; “If the level of immigration between ports reaches 5,000 per day agents would be allowed to turn back anyone who shows up between ports of entry even if they want to request asylum.”

My question is, if the border can be closed after 5,000, why can’t it be closed totally right now?

Your hatred of Trump has clouded your vision.

Jack Walters

Northeast side

Presidential Preference Primary

A reminder to Arizona voters who are registered Independents or No Party, if you want to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary, you must change your registration to that of the ballot you wish to vote (i.e., Democrat, Republican) by Feb. 20. After the election, you may change your registration back.

Laura Walton

Downtown

Santa Catalina Volunteer Patrol

Dear Editor,

I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to the Santa Catalina Volunteer Patrol for their exceptional assistance during a recent mishap. After I took an unfortunate fall and injured my knee, the patrol was quick to respond. A patroller dispatched from the Visitor Center offered unwavering support, providing an extra set of poles for stability and kindly offered calling 911, which I declined. Thanks to their thoughtful aid, I was able to safely return to the parking lot. This experience not only highlights the invaluable service the Volunteer Parol provides but also their dedication to ensuring the safety and well-being of all visitors. Their actions are a testament to the positive impact they have on the community.

Nancy Nathanson

East side

The hit job!

Our next-door neighbors, Dave, Liz, Izzabel (canine) and Lilith (feline) Heeke, pulled out today at 2:45 in a rented suburban bound for Michigan from whence they came. Shame on Robbins and the ABOR for such a mismanaged (apparently for years) episode. I suggest no one (donors, fans etc.) support this university until real change is made.

Richard Aufmuth

Foothills

The nation needs some legal fixing

We need new laws to deal with presidential abuse of sacred judicial procedures.

Firstly, there is too much opportunity to make endless appeals of matters in the dangerous category of high crimes and misdemeanors. Abuse of trust on the national level does not threaten the stability merely of a town or a county, but of the states and nation. Time is of the essence.

We also need a law that prohibits the use of campaign money to finance legal appeals of decisions related to crimes committed while in office. This is like encouraging people to donate matches and gasoline to an arsonist. It allows citizens who benefit mightily from democratic freedoms to participate in destroying them.

In addition, we need laws denying felons, business fraudsters, and sexual predators from running for office. That is only common sense. Furthermore, we need a more exacting definition and limitation of the Presidential pardon power and, in particular, a law prohibiting the President from pardoning himself.

Kimball Shinkoskey

Downtown

Suggestion for new casino

I’m glad to see that The Yaqui Tribe will benefit from a new casino on Grant Road near I-10. As this will be The Tribe’s second casino in the Tucson area, why not make it totally non-smoking, at least inside? Hopefully, this is already the plan. Alternatively, if there is a smoking bar, close it off from gaming areas and make it a negative airflow room. This would be excellent for the health of casino workers, including Tribal members, as well as patrons. It would provide a safe option for those with pre-existing lung conditions who currently cannot safely visit many other casinos, and it would likely save or prolong some lives in the long run. Such smoke-free casinos have been quite successful in many other locations, including Desert Diamond, which allows smoking only in specified outside areas (according to their web site).

Charles Giffin

Foothills

Other reasons to sue government

Re: the Feb. 8 article “‘Marxist’ ideology suable, AZ Senate panel says.”

As a patriotic Christian attorney who believes in the values of democracy and the rule of law, if such a stupid bill as SB1195 is going to be considered, the Legislature should also include a cause of action to sue the government for furthering fascism, white supremacy, authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, misogyny, antisemitism, xenophobia, antiscience, conspiracy theories — I could go on. Maybe throw in something to deter literacy and critical thinking.

Ann Haralambie

Midtown