The lemonade from Biden sounds good
Re: the Dec. 11 letter “America got a lemon in Biden.”
Responding to the three items listed:
First, vaccinating 100 million people: In the bag? Since the Trump administration refused to share any information with the incoming Biden administration, President-elect Joe Biden will be starting at the beginning.
Second, on mandating masks: Americans will never respond to drastic laws regarding mask wearing; but empowering the owners of bars, restaurants and other popular places to bar the entry of people not following guidelines would give these owners a lawful means of barring or ejecting the potentially infected.
Third, schools are a priority but simply opening them now to close them later is inefficient. Rather, seeking new areas to teach in must be sought by administrators, like a large open area in a museum, unused office area or preferable an outdoor area, as opposed to the closed feeling of “Zoom” learning and a semi-open classroom.
People are also reading…
I’m sure President Biden will make excellent lemonade!
Richard Rebl
East side
Sports section keeps the spirit alive
This letter is long overdue in praising your paper for its very good sports section. It must be really hard to cover all sports normally played in winter, those playing live games with no cheering sections and those that should be playing but are not, due to illness or cancellations of any sort. All coverage is very good.
I would like to give a special shoutout to Bruce Pascoe for his continued good coverage of basketball. In particular, he scored recently on an article and picture of Nico Mannion and his family on the day he was chosen by the pros. All the UA players become family as we cheer from the stands or home television.
An article about others who have left and gone on to other teams, or back to classes, would be very interesting. Thank you, Bruce, and the entire section, for helping to keep the spirit going during this awful time.
Nan Standish
East side
Despicable behavior from Republican
Reality: Millions of Americans are out of work. Hundreds of thousands of Americans file for unemployment benefits every month. Millions of Americans are going hungry.
Millions of Americans are infected with COVID-19. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are dying from COVID-19. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are facing evictions.
But what are Republicans focused on? Allegations of stealing an election. Shameful. Utterly shameful and despicable behavior by Republicans.
Archer D. Grayling
East side
Was Finchem legitimately elected?
Displaying what appears to be a loss of touch with reality, on Dec. 4, LD11 State Rep. Mark Finchem claimed on Steve Bannon’s internet show that “between 62% and 67% of Arizonans voted for the president.”
Unfortunately for Finchem, our Republican governor certified that Donald Trump actually received 49.06% of the vote. Finchem appears to have deluded himself into believing the voting tallies are off by 13% to 18%.
Isn’t it odd then that Finchem has not questioned the much closer results of the voting for LD11 representatives? In that threeway race, a mere 4.6% of votes separated the top and bottom vote getters (Bret Roberts, 34.7%; Finchem, 34.4%; and Felipe Perez, 30.1%). If Finchem truly believed election results were 13% to 18% off, he’d have to consider that perhaps he or Roberts lost and Felipe Perez may have won.
Apparently, Finchem’s fantasy doesn’t extend to the idea that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Thea Chalow
Oro Valley
One more reason to get rid of Electoral College
In the last couple of weeks, we have witnessed another important reason why we need to get rid of the Electoral College. Bully-like GOP leaders are harassing state legislatures and governors to drop their current electors and replace them with Trump-friendly electors. If electors can be this easily manipulated, we can no longer ensure a fair, just and unbiased election.
This is not what our founding fathers intended. Threatening and badgering elected officials who honestly and with integrity conducted the election process, reveals the tyranny of the few.
Margie Petersen
Sahuarita
UA should have kept Sumlin
Granted that hiring Kevin Sumlin, a coach past his best years and with a multimillion dollar settlement from Texas A&M in his pocket, was yet another in a series of football coach hiring mistakes by the UA.
Nevertheless, paying $7.5 million or $5 million to make him go away is yet another mistake. The UA needs to “bite the bullet” and not take needed funding away from student education and faculty salaries.
The next few years with any coach will be pretty bad, in any case. This time, the UA needs to pay for its mistakes by keeping Sumlin for the duration of his contract.
Next time, hire a UA football alum as coach — one with “fire in his belly” and a fierce loyalty to the Wildcats.
Go the Adia Barnes and women’s basketball team route. A good example of hiring one of our own.
Dennis Winsten
Northeast side
Arizona’s Biggs, Lesko are cowards, hypocrites
To Reps. Andy Biggs and Debbie Lesko,
Your support of the failed appeal to the Supreme Court is a disgrace. Webster defines “sedition” as an attempt to overthrow a government. Your support to subvert our democratic right to vote is the same.
Get rid of that right to vote and you in turn delegitimize our government, which is seditious. You are cowards and hypocrites for supporting a tyrant. What Donald Trump is trying to do is exactly what dictators have done for centuries.
For those Americans who support this disgraceful episode, wake up, you are being duped and used. Have some courage and patriotism instead of blind loyalty.
Mike Dai
Midtown
October election surprise was a dud
In every election year, we voters anticipate the enviable October surprise, when a well-timed political discovery swings votes just before the November election.
Alas, this election season we experienced October dud. All the juicy, slimy stuff occurred as November revelation. The hugely successful COVID vaccine results to be reported late October were announced two weeks later.
Attorney General Barr suppressed announcement of the ongoing investigation into Biden family criminality until just recently.
While we salute the FDA not rushing to judgment and Barr’s determination to depoliticize the Department of Justice, it’s hard to believe that many of our votes would not have been influenced if we had this information on Nov. 3.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Stole? More like claimed
Nobody “stole the election.” Trump trashed the office and set it out by the curb for anyone to take and salvage.
John Foltz
Northeast side
Stop the con
It’s embarrassing to watch grown GOP Republican legislators prattle after Donald Trump, like kittens and puppies after milk. And all the while, Trump rakes in the money, personally, to the tune of $200 million so far.
There is no “steal” and never has been — it’s the “con.” Trump is the biggest con artist this nation has ever seen and maybe even the world. Thank God (and we have a lot to be thankful for) that Trump will be leaving office Jan. 20, 2021.
Archie Oftedahl
Midtown
Ducey is unfit to be governor
It boggles the mind that our governor is sitting on his hands doing nothing while people are dying from COVID-19. More people are dying from COVID-19 per day than died on 9/11. It appears that many Arizonans are apathetic and don’t care, including the Arizona Daily Star.
The Star, unlike the Arizona Republic, who has consistently questioned Doug Ducey’s response to COVID-19, has remained editorially silent on this issue. Perhaps Ducey doesn’t realize that his psychopathic, pathological lying pal Donald Trump did lose the election so he can step up to the plate and take charge. Unfortunately however, Ducey has shown he is not qualified to lead and should be impeached ASAP.
Zachary Shnek
Northwest side
Kudos to the Post Office for mask policy
While I was mailing a package at the Post Office, the clerk told the woman behind me to put on a mask. She replied, “I have an allergy.”
He replied, “I can’t serve you without a mask.”
She left and returned shortly with a mask and was apparently breathing OK. The rules are in effect to protect all of us. Let’s try and follow them.
Bill Holcombe
East side
A vaccine success story — from 1803
Re: the Dec. 17 article “A hopeful time, given the success of past vaccination efforts.”
A particularly notable success of past vaccinations was bringing the smallpox vaccine from Europe to the Americas back in 1803. Named the Balmis Expedition after the doctor who led it, it was especially tricky back then keeping the vaccine viable while crossing the Atlantic given the slow transport and no refrigeration. That difficulty was overcome ingeniously, successively vaccinating children brought along on the trip. Don’t worry: Totally safe for the children, no one on the expedition got smallpox.
Upon reaching America, thousands of Americans, mostly of Central and South America, were vaccinated and thereby made safe from smallpox, a truly ghastly disease that was laying waste to people of the New World.
Considered the first international health-care expedition in history and described as “noble,” the Balmis Expedition is recounted in the book, “Saving the World,” by Julia Alvarez. Highly recommendable.
Paul Sheppard
Midtown
Wildcats should hire Trump – he always wins
The next UA football coach could be Donald Trump. He never loses.
Patrick Hynes
Midtown
Critics of teachers should be better informed
I’m addressing two letter writers from last week. One stated that teachers are lazy and “need to get back to work.”
Actually, teachers work hard to support their students and community. In 15 years of teaching, I’ve known one teacher who stuck to contract hours; the vast preponderance of educators also work during the evening, at night, on weekends and yes, during holidays and the summer. TUSD educators took so much additional training this year and put in more time learning how to teach online. Nobody thinks this situation is ideal, but we are working together to help our students learn.
The second writer claimed that citizenship and social instruction are dead. Incorrect. Character Strong is the curriculum program in place, and each month lessons focus on different aspects of citizenship, working hard, honesty, kindness, respect, selflessness and social responsibility.
I suggest before writers slam educators, they better inform themselves. Better yet, talk to one of us; you will understand your community better.
Christopher Rodarte
Midtown
