Tucson Speaks Out: Jan. 16 letters of the day

No crime?

Re: the Dec. 30 letter “Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.”

If someone drives a getaway car in a bank robbery wherein someone else dies, that driver is complicit and will be charged with murder.

Trump swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. He then implored the MAGAs to come to DC and stop the steal, making him complicit of the aftermath. Then he exhorted the armed crowd to “fight like hell” and stop the confirmation of the election results, a Constitutionally ordained procedure. After the violence commenced, he did nothing to intervene, even after the death of one of the protesters. Complicity and criminal negligence are crimes. Now do you understand?

Rick Cohn

West side

Liberal media whitewash

On Dec. 27, 2023, CNN carried a story, for the first time, with video showing the mass of undocumented immigrants crossing the border and being held in temporary detention before being released into the country. Interestingly, FOX has been displaying similar videos for the last three years. It makes you wonder if CNN and their cohorts deliberately stifled the news of the border disaster to make the current administration look good. What other issues has the liberal media whitewashed: green energy, education, crime? I would say NO! The liberal media avoids any topic that criticizes the current administration. They refuse to provide both sides of any issue, breaking all rules to acceptable journalism. We, the people, are able to evaluate both sides of an issue and are intelligent enough to make our own decisions regarding any issue. But we need the unvarnished truth. Do not assume that we are illiterate rubes that must be led by the nose to achieve a proper conclusion.

Loyal M. Johnson Jr.

Oro Valley

It’s a good life?

After watching the Twilight Zone re-run “It’s a good life” about 6-year-old Anthony Fremont and his mind-control powers, I couldn’t help notice parallels between the little monster and Donald Trump. Anthony controlled the entire town with his evil powers, and all the adults had to constantly praise, agree with, and placate him or they might meet a terrible fate — banishment to “the cornfield,” never to be seen again, turned into a swaying jack-in-the-box figure, or some other horrid fate. No one dared to disagree or criticize or question little Anthony, and all lived in constant fear. Anthony could read minds, so even their thoughts were not their own. Sound kinda familiar? Trump may not have Anthony’s supernatural powers, but he sure exhibits the same absolute control of his worshipers and sycophant politician supporters, using fear to keep the sheep in line. If elected, perhaps he will banish the Bidens, Zelenskyy, Mark Milley, all Democrats and anyone else not swearing allegiance to the cornfield!

Deb Klumpp

Oro Valley

Immigration issue blown out of proportion

The immigration issue is really just a pimple on an elephant’s derrière that threatens to take all the air out of the room and cut off oxygen to issues much more critical to the wellbeing of our nation. That keeping the issue front and center appears to be a successful political maneuver makes it even harder to discuss rationally.

Right-wing media has found the perfect strategy to get a domestic terrorist into the presidency, our own version of the Manchurian Candidate. Their talk shows and “news” incite viewers and readers with fears of murderers and terrorists lining up to storm into America, fears of lawless crowds of undeserving, job stealing, welfare cheating subhumans ready to die for handouts of free food and lodging, and it’s working.

Who cares about global warming, who cares about education, who cares about the economy when the criminal gangs are lining up to breach the borders and take over America. Lies, lies and damn lies.

Rick Rappaport

Oro Valley

Leadership or destruction?

President Biden and former President Trump represent the extreme ends of the leadership spectrum, each embodying starkly contrasting principles and styles.

Biden tirelessly drives the nation’s progress forward for ‘We the People,’ while championing the essence of the American dream. Meanwhile, Trump prefers to:

Lambast officials publicly and argue dubious technicalities while entangled in endless civil and criminal cases

Host rallies where he offers disjointed speeches that lack a sense of public duty and are filled with scorn for democratic ideals

Spread his brand of hate and personal grievances, a chaotic blend of denials, distrust and blatant disinformation, often in explosive all-caps posts

This transcends mere politics; it’s about the core of our nation’s identity and how power can either nurture or shatter the very fabric of our humanity. Ask yourself: What kind of country do I truly want to live in?

Kim Miklofsky Bayne

Foothills

Getting litter under control

I too am amazed that people trash the highways expecting others to pick up after them. I believe a start to this would be to ban plastic bags and start bottle and can redemption. At least it would limit the unsightly plastic hanging from anything upright and perhaps with five-cent bottle returns would decrease the begging on the street corners. Other states have had success with this. Why not Arizona?

Susan Bennett

Southwest side

Poor job editing The Daily Star

When I talk with my neighbors and friends, I am amazed that hardly anyone subscribes to the Arizona Daily Star anymore. I may soon join that group. The Daily Star’s editing is so sloppy and unprofessional that it makes reading the daily paper painful. For example: the front page headline announcing the I-10 project, when the project has been ongoing for a year; and most recently, printing the same article about the borderlands rancher accused of murdering migrants on his property twice in the same paper. For a newspaper as expensive, and as necessary, as the Arizona Daily Star, without improving your quality of your editing, you will continue to hemorrhage readers. Unfortunately, it appears that the editing staff has already stopped reading the Arizona Daily Star as well.

Hilary Ring

Northwest side

Not playing a full season

Re: the Jan. 3 letter “College football players opting out of the game.”

I totally agree with the letter writer! These kids received scholarships to play for their school. Most were fully funded. It’s a contract to play every game, unless injured, of course. To not play in a bowl game because you are either entering the NFL Draft or changing schools next season is totally unacceptable. Florida State, for example, had several players not playing in a very prestigious game that they lost, very possibly because they didn’t have all their first-team players on the field. The remainder of the team should not have to suffer this!

What should happen is if their team wins then they get NONE of the recognition of even being on the sideline and if they don’t complete their four-year scholarship at that school, then they owe the school every dollar that was spent on them for education and whatever other monies paid back to the University and Alumnus that funded them. I’m pretty sure that this would cease immediately.

Terry Field

Southwest side

Two-dollar gas

Finally, a Trump supporter who gets it right. In a recent letter he asks us to remember that when Biden was elected in 2020, gas was $2 per gallon. I do remember 2020. I remember the lockdowns, shutdowns, manufacturing closures, supply chain disruptions, falling retail sales, restaurant closures, economic collapse, dramatic reductions in oil and gas use and the resulting decline in gas prices. Then President Trump faced this situation with his usual very stable genius approach. Some day, it will magically disappear. Drink bleach. Shine a light on it. It took over 1 million American deaths and an economic collapse, but we did have $2 gas.

Jack Garner

Southeast side

All hail Trump

My letter is an opinion about Mr. Trump wanting to be a dictator of an authoritarian country to rule over.

This country was founded as a democracy. It’s what it is now, and hopefully will be for a long time. If people, or candidates for political office do not like this democracy as it is now, then maybe they could leave. I am sure there are many countries out there that would love a dictator like Mr. Trump to rule over them. Maybe a country that is similar to the train locker people in Men In Black II who chant “All hail Jay” when Jay opens a train locker and they are just waiting to see him again.

Mr. Trump and your supporters, PLEASE leave my country alone, the way it is, and how it is supposed to be. After all, the only way he won was with the electoral vote. The vast majority of the voting population did not vote for him and support our democracy as it is.

Teresa Mackey

East side

Democracy at risk

Re: the Jan. 14 article “A second coming that would endanger democracy.”

I agree with Terry Bracy’s opinion piece. Donald Trump is a threat to Democracy, and the idea of him representing Christianity or community of any kind is a joke. Donald Trump’s religion is Donald Trump, and Trump’s idea of community is restricted to supporters of Trump. Which leaves me puzzled as to why Juan Ciscomani, a professed lover of community, would support someone whose clear agenda is hate, discord and authoritarianism rather than love of neighbor, service and democracy? We need a representative who believes in the latter values, not the former. Juan Ciscomani talks about the positive values in his newsletters, but has consistently voted for MAGA values: more money for the rich, cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other services to the poor and elderly, and locking up immigrants. Ciscomani does not represent our values in AZ-06. Kirsten Engel does.

Nancy Atherton

Foothills

What a difference!

Congratulations, Mike Ortega on 10 successful years as the City Manager of Tucson! During your tenure, Tucson’s deficit was eliminated. You did this in a city of approximately 1 million people for a top salary of $300,000. This stands in sharp contrast to what happened at the University of Arizona, where its ex-CFO declared a deficit of $240 million. Her salary at the time was over half a million dollars; student population was around 50,000; and the number of people employed by the university was less than that number. The CFO subsequently resigned only to be hired by the UA as a financial consultant at her previous salary of $506,000.

To all of this, I can only say: “Enjoy your well-deserved and honorable retirement, Mike. Ethical behavior does matter!”

Ginny Williams

Oro Valley

Coaches and university presidents

I hope I am not the only person who is fed up with some university coaches and presidents.

First coaches. The Washington football coach was hired away by Alabama because it could offer more money. Now we learn the Arizona football coach was hired away by Washington, once again for more money. Several million dollars a year is not enough for these coaches. The only way for a university to keep coaches is to pay them more or have the team lose games.

Then there are university presidents, starting with President Robbins. He shoots a hole in the University budget of more than $240 million, misleads the public about a fake resignation of the CFO, and still has his job thanks to a feckless Board of Regents. And three presidents of Ivy League schools can’t say that calling for the genocide of a people violates policies against bullying. Something is wrong.

Howard Strause

Foothills

Disgusted by U of A finances

My parents met as new UA faculty members ninety-eight years ago. My sister, my wife and I are all UA graduates. We all have been devoted to the university.

But I have been disgusted by recent articles about the financial turmoil on campus. Taxpayers had no knowledge that the CFO was being paid over $1,900 per day (and she doesn’t have to pay for offices or staff). There is speculation that coaches will receive salary increases despite athletics having a large deficit.

The primary function of universities is to educate students and conduct research. I urge President Robbins to explain — with data — how $14 million for golf or $1 million for the President’s stadium box improves these functions.

For first time ever, I’ll not be sending to the campus my usual donation of several hundred dollars, lest it be used to fund basketball, rather than the libraries.

Roger Carpenter

West side

Congratulations, Coach Fisch

As a lifelong fan, I would like to congratulate Coach Fisch on his incredible rebuilding of a struggling Arizona football program. Congratulations on your incredible 10-3 season with a bowl birth and subsequent victory over a storied Oklahoma football program. Most significantly, congratulations on fooling everybody that you cared one bit about Tucson, the Wildcat Nation and most importantly the young men who played their hearts out for you and this program. Congratulations, Coach Fisch. May you find all the glory and riches you are looking for. Bear Down and Go CATS!

David Rimron

Sierra Vista