Letters to the Editor: March 2

Re: the Jan. 30 article “Small homes on the way for youths.”

It was so refreshing to read the article about Desiree Cook’s ambitious project of building small homes for youths who are leaving foster care. She sounds like an amazing person who has overcome many difficult situations and has turned herself into someone we all can admire. Kudos also to Blass and Crest Contracting for supporting this wonderful endeavor. We need more caring people like them in today’s world.

Judith Mynatt

Green Valley

A modest proposal

Since Republicans on the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee are so concerned about protecting children from pedophiles and grooming they have voted for SB 1028 to ban drag shows, I would like to make a modest proposal: banning another organization from holding events anywhere a minor could possibly view them, an organization where there have been many known cases of pedophilia and grooming of children. The Catholic Church.

I know this seems drastic, but if we ban drag shows (even though I found no credible accusations of drag performers sexually abusing children in Arizona), we must also ban the organization where there have been at least 100 credible accusations of child sexual abuse by priests in Arizona. To do less would just make it seem like the Republican politicians who voted for SB 1028 aren’t really interested in protecting children, but are only interested in demonizing drag performers and transgender people to score political points with their anti-LGBTQA+ base.

Kelly Frieders

Downtown

Botanical vision

Re: the Feb. 9 letter “A million trees?”

Mayor Romero’s push to plant native trees really shows excellent botanical vision. Our native trees, once established, require little or no watering. Their shade keeps landscapes cooler and slows evaporation, increasing our comfort and allowing other plants to grow under their canopies. Their fallen leaves provide mulch to hold moisture and promote soil health. Roots find their pathways deep into the soil, aerating and allowing rain to infiltrate. So sometimes using water actually saves water! One golf course, on the other hand, does use 1 million gallons of water per day without any benefit to the land and climate. The same is true of lawns.

Desert mistletoe is a semi-parasitic native plant. Its berries are a critical food source for the Phainopepla (silky flycatcher). A heavy infestation can damage or kill the host tree, but it’s uncommon.

Tucson’s focus is right where it should be.

Sally Sherman

West side

The Pledge and free speech

It is appalling that an American citizen writer could make the ridiculous claim that The Pledge of Allegiance at “academic gunpoint” is in violation of our Founding Fathers’ First Amendment principle. In truth, the Pledge simply reminds all of us that as American citizens, we value our country’s constitutional principles, freedom and democratic ideals. What if a criminal or witnesses in a jury trial claimed that they didn’t have to swear on a Bible to tell the truth because it infringed on their First Amendment rights? Compare that to HB2523 being egregious. Let me add that I have been a substitute teacher in Tucson for 27 years and not one student has ever come up to me and said that they believed reciting the Pledge each day has been a violation of their free speech.

Chuck Cabrera, retired federal employee

Northwest side

GOP no Party of Lincoln

The Republicans have proudly assumed the mantle of The Party of Lincoln for ages. But since the rise of Professor Harold Hill’s (remember him— “Ya got trouble.”) evil twin they have doubled down on that claim; righteously though, as it was Lincoln who explained to us that you can fool some of the people, all of the time.

So, the Grand Old Party has now become the party of People Fooled All the Time (PFAT).

Do we really want these folks running our country? Or our state, county or city?

Robert Turner

East side

Pedestrians and cars

Re: the Feb. 26 letter “Be safe when walking at night.”

To the reader urging pedestrians to wear white when walking at night, I’m sorry for the trauma your friend experienced and for the victim of the collision. I hope the author appreciates similarities between blaming a pedestrian for what they wear (or don’t) with changes in how we talk about who’s at fault when a person is raped. For years it was acceptable to say a victim “asked for it” because of what they wore. I hope readers look back at how far we’ve come in understanding that even if cultural and societal norms justify a horrific practice (patriarchy, rape), responsibility lies with the aggressor and their actions alone. In this case, the writer says the friend wasn’t “at fault” because they drove “at speed limit.” This ignores the structural systems that uphold car-dominance, letting all of us who drive forget that those of us in two-ton metal vehicles are the aggressor, no matter how streets are designed or speed limits are set.

Kylie Walzak

West side

Censorship

Re: the Feb. 27 article “It’s wrong to rewrite Roald Dahl.”

The right is making much of a proposed revision of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This proposed revision was for the sake of making the book more kid-friendly. There have also been revisions of Huck Finn to take out racist language. All of these revisions were being proposed by private companies without any government suggestion or coercion.

While the right screams about violation of the First Amendment right of free speech, they ignore violations of free speech carried out by Republican state governments. They ignore Gov. Desantis prohibiting teaching of an AP course on African American studies. They again ignore his takeover of Orlando’s self-government rule because Disney criticized Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

They support legislation to tell teachers what to say in the classroom. They support Brnovich suppressing a report on our election.

I get nervous when governments censor speech, not so much when private companies do. Government censorship is a violation of the First Amendment, private censorship is not.

Howard Strause

Foothills

Bernie Sanders no POW

The Tucson Festival of Books is heavily promoting Bernie Sanders and his new book criticizing capitalism. At the Festival of the Books will also be Tucsonan Walter F. Ram, a 98-year-old WWII POW, whose B-17 was shot down on his sixth mission. He spent nearly two years as a prisoner in the infamous Nazi prison camp, Stalag 17, where he suffered cold, hunger, and the constant threat of being shot by guards. His book, “Helno-Gal,” tells his story. What an incredible opportunity to stop by his booth, talk to him and buy an autographed book. I hope the Tucson Festival of Books honors our own hometown hero.

Don Dickinson

Oro Valley

Pledge of Allegiance

Years ago, I stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance. At the time, I had realized that there was some issue regarding our government in Washington, D.C. that I had disagreed with. My reasoning was a personal one. I realized that if my government was at odds with what I believed due to my religious beliefs, I was being forced to make a choice. And I realized that my religious beliefs were more important to me. I could no longer pledge allegiance to both. As you can probably surmise, I’m not in favor of requiring that the children in our schools be forced to repeat a pledge that many of them don’t even understand.

Sue Thompson

SaddleBrooke