Leaky climate change logic
Re: the Aug. 14 letter "Climate change."
The letter writer contends that because China, India and Russia are continuing to build coal-fired power plants we should do nothing to mitigate climate change. What's the point?
Tell me, if you were in a leaky rowboat would you stop bailing just because others in your boat had?
Phil Yehle
Marana
Complete education failure
Gov. Doug Ducey brags that after eight years of effort he has succeeded in diverting more money from public schools into his voucher program for the wealthy and their private schools, quoting "Our kids will no longer be stuck in underperforming schools." After eight years under his leadership, aren't our "underperforming schools" a direct testament to his complete failure on education in Arizona?
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William Garrity
Foothills
Promoting lies, misinformation
Re: the Aug. 8 article "Alex Jones' $49.3M verdict and the future of misinformation."
Thanks for publishing this story. This verdict should serve as a warning to all media platforms that continue to allow the promotion of lies, disinformation, violence, conspiracies and hate speech. Too many people have been defamed, attacked and had their lives ruined. Election officials, school board members and their families have been mercilessly harassed and threatened — all because they were doing their jobs by following the law and their constitutional obligations. And the voting machine companies (Dominion and Smartmatic) have every right to sue those who pushed flat-out lies and conspiracies about the integrity of the machines used in the 2020 elections.
Yet, these media platforms continue to allow and promote falsehoods, conspiracies and the purposeful creation of division and conflict in our country because it is profitable. They continue to make billions — all at the expense of the truth, facts and our functioning democracy.
Kathy Krucker
Midtown
Love, respect for K-9s
Re: the Aug. 15 article "K-9 transferred after biting handler."
Kudos to Sheriff Chris Nanos for not euthanizing K-9 Messi who was not a good match for his handler. I was touched by our sheriff’s response in his recent interview with the Star referring to the dogs with such love and respect. As an owner of a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois named Savannah who has had schutzhund training, I can attest that working with this breed takes more than just patience and skill, it takes love and sensitivity. To all the handlers and their K-9s in Pima County, many thanks for everything you do for our community.
Deborah Kaye
Foothills
FBI not there for lunch
Trump keeps saying silly stuff like "and they broke into my safe." If I had been the FBI, the safe would have been the very first item I would want to see. What did he think? They weren't there for lunch.
Sue Thompson
SaddleBrooke
If not carbon, what?
The United States emitted about 14% of the world’s CO2 in 2021. Therefore, zero carbon emissions from the U.S. will have a small effect on the total world’s contribution. However, with the strong belief by some that the planet is in dire danger of extinction if carbon emissions are not eliminated, there is one obvious solution to this problem. Nuclear power is essentially carbon-free and will provide sufficient energy to consistently meet the maximum energy demands for the country.
Compare this to current wind and solar power which are both inconsistent and variable. With this in mind, our government should immediately form a Manhattan Project II, utilizing the best scientists and engineers the country has to offer, to design and build reliable nuclear power plants throughout the nation. Our nation has ample resources of uranium, disposal of waste can be accomplished safely, and our nation will have unlimited electrical energy to meet all of our need without the controversy of destroying our planet with carbon emissions.
Loyal M. Johnson Jr.
Oro Valley
Inflation Reduction Act
President Joe Biden recently signed the Inflation Reduction Act. Its stated purpose is to make health care more affordable and increase renewable energy. Every American deserves affordable health care and access to clean air and water; important issues for Democrats for Life of America.
The act also subsidizes insurance under Obamacare. Executive Order 13535 says the Hyde Amendment applies to these plans. Certain states have decided to violate Hyde protections and pay for abortions through these plans. In many states, particularly after the Dobbs decision, subsidies will essentially make it cheaper to obtain insurance to pay for abortion.
While health care should be affordable and accessible, taxpayer money must never be used for abortion. Women, parents and families, especially those in lower-income and underserved communities, deserve real health care, not government-funded abortion. Real health care is used to save lives, not end them.
Congress must enact legislation safeguarding the Hyde Amendment and support parents during and after pregnancy. Poverty shouldn’t be a barrier to parenting, and we must eliminate any overwhelming economic obstacles.
Wade Thompson, Board of Directors of Democrats for Life of America
Midtown
Yes, Mar-a-Lago unprecedented
Re: the Aug. 16 letter "Mar-a-Lago raid."
This letter writer said the raid on a former president's residence was unprecedented. True.
Trump taking classified documents, some which could be harmful to national security, without secure storage was unprecedented, too. And why did this excuse for a leader take them in the first place? Who had access to them? More importantly, who did Trump share them with? A president like no other who praised the world's dictators and falsely claimed the election was rigged because he lost. Judges who he appointed threw his lawsuits out for lack of evidence. A president who acted more like a Mafia Don than a head of state.
Richard Nixon, whose crimes were petty in comparison, must be rolling in his grave thinking he was born too soon, before the GOP morphed to a party-first mode.
When will the Trump supporters see through this shame? What more will it take?
Dave Glicksman
Northwest side
Petulant Garland
Am I alone in observing that the Merrick Garland who is so bent on punishing Republicans is the same Merrick Garland who was by Republicans denied consideration for a seat on the Supreme Court?
His animosity toward any handy Republican he can find (Trump is obvious) is understood more easily by looking back at his nomination by Barack Obama. He's eager for revenge!
Chuck Josephson
Midtown
What else should states decide?
Re: the Aug. 12 letter "Roe v. Wade aftermath."
In his monthly letter, the writer repeats his assertion that the voiding of Roe v. Wade was appropriate. He seems to think that the reaction to a loss of freedom is hysterical. He asserts that court-packing was demanded, although he fails to point out that the court essentially was packed by Mitch McConnell. He applauds the court “returning” the freedom to violate the Constitution to the states. I wonder what other freedoms he is in favor of returning to the states. I suspect that banning guns is not one of them.
Steven Brown
Midtown
IRS needed funding
Congress is finally adequately staffing the Internal Revenue Service after years of cuts so it can catch people cheating on their taxes, and raising the tax rate on rich corporations to require them to pay a minimum of 15%.
Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader, is upset, I think because the wealthy love to cheat on taxes, which is why the GOP defunds the IRS. People who get paychecks cannot cheat on taxes like the rich because their taxes are taken before they get paid! So McCarthy comments that Democrats are addicted to spending other people’s money. He’s talking about public education, addressing our climate crisis, improving our roads and bridges and health care. The GOP platform calls for raising taxes on those making under $100,000 to pay for those government programs that also include military spending.
Janet C. Pipes
Northwest side
Lock her up; let him go
I suppose ex-President Trump waved his hand over the FBI-recovered, illegally stored documents and boxes at Mar-el-Lago and said “I hereby deem these de-classified.” Maybe the supporting paperwork and documentation will follow (unless someone flushed them). When Hillary Clinton was accused of having classified material on her personal server, Trump’s minions screamed “Lock her up, lock her up.” I guess now they’ll be screaming “Let him go, let him go.” Is there no end to Republicans’ hypocrisy?
Michael Perdue
Vail
