Tucson Speaks Out: Oct. 23 letters of the day

Longtime TV reporter and anchor Bud Foster would open his late-evening program posing the question: it’s 10 o’clock; do you know where your kids are? The out-of-the-blue query would invariably prompt a response in the viewer’s mind. In today’s seemingly on-the-rise violent society, another opening gambit might appropriately be: Do you know where your gun(s) is (are)? A very worthy pairing of questions! Shear horror if the answer to both is NO! Every parent’s worst nightmare is to have a child find a gun — anywhere.

During the tenure of Foster’s program, public awareness of children’s safety was surely enhanced. Admix the location of gun(s) must necessarily raise the question of whether even owning a firearm, for whatever contrived reason, is worth the risk of a child’s life. Think a moment; owning a gun carries with it the awesome responsibility of knowing its location every minute of the day and night. Double or triple that for more than one.

Richard Johnson

East side

Speaker of the House

America needs a Speaker of the House. The Democrats in the US House of Representatives are being “holier than thou” instead of aligning their actions with their words. Hakeem Jeffries says his caucus stands ready to support a bipartisan approach. This is not difficult to do, Jeffries, but it does require courage. Jeffries caucus should nominate one of the leaders of the No Labels party. The No Labels party is, by definition, bipartisan. Simply nominate Republican Larry Hogan, one of the leaders of the No Labels party, former Governor of Maryland, a moderate Republican, a proven leader, and truly bipartisan in his vision for the country. A majority vote for Speaker would require all 212 Democrats and just ten or twelve Republicans in the House. My instincts are that 100-plus Republicans would vote for Hogan. The deal would be done on the first vote. American would have a bipartisan Speaker. That is what it looks like for Congress to do what is best for America, instead of talk about it.

Martha Gilliland

Foothills

Hamas against Israel

The Israeli government and military made colossal mistakes, being caught sleeping at the worst moment, perhaps having calculated that a minor external threat would divert the attention away from Netanyahu’s attempts to remove basic democratic rights from the people. Result: Almost Yom Kippur 2. Netanyahu and his radical fringe partners miscalculated and were shocked that Hamas could seize the opportunity, which has led to thousands of innocent victims. Now, an Israeli ground offensive will come, leading to urban warfare, with countless more victims on both sides. Hamas is well barricaded in their tunnels, built over the years, which the Israelis knew only too well. Again, someone dropped the ball there. The more revenge against Hamas, the more hatred among the Palestinians at large against Israel. The deadly cycle can only continue. At this point, Israel mostly enjoys the world’s sympathy; soon, the pendulum will swing again toward the other side. Violence breeds violence. Of course, Israel cannot work with terrorists, but it cannot pretend they do not exist.

Albrecht Classen

Midtown

Jim Jordan, the Trump clone

According to Donald Trump, Hezbollah is smart. According to former Speaker McCarthy (who is supporting Jordan), the Democrats are to blame for the disorder in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. According to Jordan, Trump is a great leader. That, despite the fact that Trump has garnered support from hate groups; that Trump has suggested that we should have a state-run newspaper; that abortion should or should not be allowed; etc. I am, therefore, worried about just where Jordan, as the new Speaker, will try to lead this country. It might be wise at this point to also remember just who was going to allow a shutdown of the government (despite a compromise reached back in July); who is still refusing benefits to our military; and who still claims that, despite PROOF to the contrary, Trump won the 2020 election.

Cynthia Schiesel

East side

Speaker of the House

Does anybody realize where this is going? They are playing games. Jim Jordan will not be elected. They will appoint Donald J. Trump. Guess what? That makes him third in line for the presidency! Now isn’t that surprising?

Sandra Fatovich

East side

AI and me

With the discussion surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the attendant paranoia of it “taking over the world,” removing a need for human support and being self-perpetuating, I have not heard the questions that to me are of most concern if it unfolds as presented. Will AI, as it evolves under its own auspices, develop a need or desire to maintain the human species? Will AI be more tolerant of us than we are of each other? At almost 80 years of age, I may see this development, or I may not. It to me is a central question for serious consideration by the younger folks as we older folks can’t even decide how to run our country.

Spencer Elliott

Oro Valley

Thomas lack compassion

Re: the Oct. 16 article “What to do about the crime wave.”

I see that Cal Thomas has softened his rhetoric. A prior opinion of his (that the Star unfortunately published last month) called for corporal punishment and even shooting of shoplifters and protestors in unruly gatherings. Now, he’s being more cautious in his words; instead, he refers, in a clumsy attempt at dark humor, to a Francisco Franco-style approach to law and order, in which offenders would simply disappear from the streets. What’s the “funny” punchline about this historical oppressive fascist state? “No repeat offenders.”

Mr. Thomas barely acknowledges the vast economic gulf which is leading to world migration and desperate measures. But then … there he goes again; it’s schools and the George Floyd rioters to blame!

In his anger, Mr. Thomas neglects to communicate even an ounce of compassion in his columns. Why does the AZ Star continue to include him in its otherwise balanced list of contributors?

Paula Cortes

Midtown

Proposition 413

In the interest of making an informed decision, voters need to know the following. Our city charter is Tucson’s Constitution and this proposition is asking voters to change that Constitution.

1. If the charter language regarding salaries is changed, it will likely mean that voters will relinquish their right to continue to consider salary increases for Mayor and Council. Instead, those increases will be tied to the salary increases of the Board of Supervisors, which means that the state legislature will be deciding what our Mayor and Council will be paid.

2. In 2025, the state legislature will consider another increase in the salaries of the Board of Supervisors, so if this proposition passes, our Mayor and Council would likely see another salary increase at that time.

Colette Altaffer

Midtown

Water conservation

I am a scientist studying the Central Arizona Project (CAP) water system. According to CAP’s data, annual evaporative losses from the CAP open channel system total about 25,000 acre-feet of water, or 8 Billion US gallons per year. This is a remarkable loss of water that should be addressed.

Our open CAP conveyance channels can be seen throughout Pima County. Some in academia have proposed covering the canals with photovoltaic cells, but these will not reduce evaporation substantially. Instead, open canals could be inexpensively covered with spent wind turbine blades, which are accumulating at landfills. According to published engineering reports, “Since the blades are largely hollow, the root end can be sealed to use in floating applications such as buoys or floats to prevent evaporation.”

Arizona might obtain the blades for next to free and obtain government funding grants from the Infrastructure Reduction Act. Jobs would be generated, and water savings would reduce our need for extreme measures such as seawater reverse osmosis.

Charles Stack

Oro Valley

Past the point of no return

As global climate disasters abound and worsen, our world is already past the point of no return in two areas where key components of Earth’s climate have irreversibly broken down. Both the Greenland ice sheet and West Antarctic ice sheet are now beyond saving.

In 2022, scientists identified 16 major tipping points linked to increases in global warming, including the Arctic permafrost, tropical coral reefs, and one key ocean current in the Labrador Sea.

Irreversible breakdowns are not isolated events. Melting permafrost releases more carbon into the atmosphere which in turn increases land and ocean temperatures, further accelerating the melting of ice sheets, stressing coral reefs, and damaging other key climate components.

We cannot afford more irreversible breakdowns and the cascade of disasters that follow each one. As one of the greatest polluters in the world, we must individually and collectively drastically reduce US carbon emissions before other irreversible chain reactions begin. Every one-tenth of a degree counts in maintaining a livable Earth.

Our survival depends on it.

Dr. Jacolyn Marshall

Oro Valley

Ciscomani’s shameful vote

While the GOP circus to elect a new Speaker of the House continues, one lawmaker in particular showed us what he really believes. Congressman Ciscomani’s vote for Jim Jordan as Speaker betrays the values of Southern Arizona. Jim Jordan is an anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-Democracy MAGA extremist. Jordan was a key player in the effort to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election, and continues to downplay the horrific events of Jan. 6. Is this who Southern Arizonans want to lead the People’s House? Of course not. And yet, Ciscomani believes that Jordan is worthy of the mantle of Speaker. This is not about drawing party lines, either. More than 20 Republicans voted against Jordan for Speaker — recognizing the danger he poses in such a position. It’s shameful that Congressman Ciscomani thinks this is the kind of leader we want, but come next November, we’ll let him know he’s not the leader we want either.

Matthew Rein

Foothills