Kimberly Garrido was born and raised in a Message church called Golden Dawn Tabernacle in Tucson, Ariz. She left the church because she wanted the freedom to make her own choices with her life. Here, Garrido is pictured in Tucson on Oct. 17, 2023.
Religious misogyny
The Star’s recent feature on the Message highlighted extreme religious based misogyny. But don’t most of the world’s religions exhibit a certain degree of misogyny? Some don’t allow women to reach clergy status, some strive to control reproductive rights, some don’t allow them to be educated or work outside the home, some require male sponsorship to enter paradise, some control marital options, some don’t allow a woman to have a voice at all; I could go on, but I think I made my point. Sexism is entrenched in the cultures of the world and if you don’t think it played a major role in the recent election, you are very naïve and didn’t pay attention to how one candidate utilized macho culture to his advantage. It is difficult to break traditions and values that influence one’s behavior, but the alternative is continued oppression of future generations.
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Edward Espinoza
Southwest side
Opinion pages in the Star
Having read and contributed opinion letters to the Star for some years now, I congratulate the Star for publishing a wide range of letters — conservative, liberal, nutty and hilarious. Yesterday’s paper offered up a real mixed bag, from “The Republic will survive” to “thanking Biden/Harris” for making us a laughingstock in the world. I sincerely hope we do all “survive” the next 4 years of reign by the “jack-booted thug” elected and that folks that think that “Biden/Harris” are the real horrors get help for their mindless disillusionments. Truly we have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous!
Jean Getek
Foothills
Enough already
We lost because of this or this or that ... enough already. The “talking heads” keep coming up with reasons. Has anyone considered that he won because the majority of people in this country want to be entertained? Yes. Those who voted for him want a show and they are going to get one. People love to look at a train wreck, as long as they are not in it.
Mike Dai
Midtown
Marana Tigers made Tucson proud
Greg Hansen is right about 5A Schools and the Open Division but he must not have watched the game. Coach Phillip Steward and the Tigers led for the 1st half the game and kept it close until well into the 4th Qtr. I sat on the Hamilton side as a spectator and watched the Tigers hang tough throughout.
Make no mistake, Chandler Hamilton is a factory team complete with an army of coaches and large TV monitors on the sideline so the players could be coached with film in real time. Ultimately the O-line and D-line of Hamilton wore the Marana players down and made enough adjustments on defense to snuff out the Tigers attempts to score one more touchdown. Despite being outnumbered and out-sized, Marana was in the game nearly to the end.
Hats off to Coach Steward for the amazing job he did this season. It’s the best coaching job I’ve seen since Vern Friedli.
Bill Oppenheimer
Oro Valley
Religion
Have you heard of the Nazi named Kaltenbrunner?
He was called Himmler’s Evil Giant. He believed that Hitler was sent by God to save Germany as some religious people in America believe Trump has a mandate from God.
Mike Kiehl
Downtown
Vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers
Healthcare workers play a vital role in promoting public health and combating misinformation. However, the persistence of vaccine hesitancy among some HCWs, as highlighted in recent research conducted in Pima County, Arizona, underscores a challenge in achieving widespread vaccine coverage. Vaccine-preventable illnesses are now twice as high as the previous 5-year average, and six children have died in Arizona from influenza this past season alone. Vaccination of healthcare workers has been associated with reduced illness and death among vulnerable patients and families. Most people share the experience of hospitalization, and we would expect our caregivers to prioritize our health and safety during this time. We expect restaurant workers to wash their hands before handling our food, why would we not expect healthcare workers to take precautions to keep us safe? Several states require healthcare workers to be vaccinated for common illnesses. We propose similar vaccination standards for healthcare workers.
Irving Jesus Carreno
Niveditha Dhandapani
Samantha McDonald
William Eckhoff
MPH Students, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona
Trump as president
January 20, 2025 is going to be the most unlikely day in 248 years of U.S. history. On this day a felon, who is awaiting sentencing, is going to become president and take control of the United States. A felon in the Oval Office, sitting at the Resolute Desk. Difficult to comprehend, but there it is.
Robert Bishop
East side
RE: Tucsonans prepare for mass deportations
The reason for the angst is that we have democratically elected a new federal majority that believes that in order for America to continue thriving, we must remain a sovereign country with secure borders, whether physical, administrative or policed; and Arizona has approved Proposition 314 which allows local police to arrest people for immigration violations.
It gets messy at the local level because Democrats electively govern Pima County and Tucson with the full-throated support of the Daily Star, which promotes such tragic stories on the front page.
At the citizen level, America is a nation of immigrants and we need many more. Enter through the front door and you will see a welcome mat at your feet. If you understand and adopt our Constitution and its Judeo-Christian value system, learn English, get a green card and a job, and pay your taxes, in perhaps ten years we will welcome you into American citizenship. Congratulations!
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Rio Vista Natural Resource Park
With modifications underway at Rio Vista Natural Resource Park, we appreciate the trees and supplemental irrigation that have recently been added but are concerned with the ongoing modifications that diminish the original sense of refuge.
Previously, this Natural Resource Park provided an escape within city limits ... to stroll along narrow, winding paths unaware of what was around each bend, to be immersed in the sounds, aromas, and mystery of the natural environment.
But it has changed and is beginning to resemble every other city park. Paths are doubled or tripled in width and unnaturally lined with large rocks which were not part of the original landscape.
Lost is the joy of discovery, of wonder, or something greater than we.
Why replicate the standardized, manicured format when there is such intrinsic value in escaping from a “world that is too much with us?”
(William Wordsworth “The World is too Much with Us.”)
Janice Catt
Foothills
Re: Government Diet Letter (11/24)
In nearly all cases, fascism has come about because of national ruin or the illusion of it. In our case, it’s the illusion of national ruin. Trump had so thoroughly convinced his followers that the nation was destroyed by the “left” that radical solutions were needed. He used the term, “drain the swamp.” It was used to make the public believe that the nation was under siege by some nebulous phantom enemy. But most fascist leaders have been sociopaths who live in a sadistic, paranoid, distorted reality. When followers get their truth from people like this, they become unmoored from reality as much as their sociopathic leader. They take on the hate, anger, political bigotry and division displayed by their savior. The hatred of the left becomes fanatical, just like we saw in Germany. Mr. Dowdall was right in his letter; the next four years will be revolutionary, because fascism is always revolutionary. Fascism is all about vengeance, and that seemed to be the purpose of his letter.
Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
Liberalism is dead
Tucson and Pima County are rock-solid Democrat, from the Tucson City Council to the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Nearly 100% of elected officials are Democrats. All of this is due to the local voters and their megaphone support structures such as the Arizona Daily Star and public education activists from K-12 to the U of A. Same holds true in nearly all blue cities coast to coast. You even flipped your media monologue from “mainstream media” to “legacy media.”
Then the unthinkable happened. You lost. Everything. The White House. Congress. Supreme Court (years ago). All irrational liberal policies are dying. DEI. CRT. ESG. Boys are girls. Open borders. Inflationary spending. Restorative/social justice. Bye-bye to all that liberal nonsense. You’re no longer competitive in the national political arena. Local yes, but you better adjust. Your liberalism is dead.
Steve Sollenberger
Foothills
Re: “You are complicit” (Nov. 23)
The letter, “You are complicit” could benefit from an eye-opening follow-up. The letter addresses the unknown whereabouts of undocumented illegal minor children. The letter writer posits this question: “How many of those children are in forced labor situations or the sex trade?”
America might be the worldwide primary facilitator of the sex-slave industry of minor children. The cartels and other parasitic people are coordinating with those who receive minor illegal children for the purpose of child molestation.
Tim Ballard is the real-life character in the movie, “Sound of Freedom.” See it for free on YouTube. In 2015, he testified before Congress about child sex-trafficking rings from Colombia. He took part in the undercover rescue. Even though he has since been accused of sexual misconduct with employees of his Operation Underground Railroad, his altruistic undercover work cannot be overlooked. Tim Ballard has put a bright light on this infernal darkness.
Daniel Pryor
West side
Please be accurate
While I agreed with much of what Jeff Hartman said in his recent column, he was so far off base when he said, “According to Google’s AI summary, Fox News consistently attracts nearly twice as many viewers as the audience of the three major broadcast networks combined.”
No way.
The actual numbers from the Nielsen Co. the week of Oct.28 prior to the election showed the 3 major network news programs reached 17,138,000 viewers per night. In the same week, Fox prime time programs had a viewership of 2,746,000 nightly. That is quite a difference.
If you are trying to make a point, please, be accurate. Of course, with numbers like that, maybe it takes away the point altogether.
Ray Lindstrom
Oro Valley
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