Trial making clear that McSally lacks fortitude
Arizona’s appointed junior senator is showing why voters were wise to reject her in the 2018 election. Thus far, she lacks the spine to call for impeachment trial witnesses despite her oath to be a fair and impartial juror. In the past week, a video has revealed that President Trump spent 90 minutes with Lev Parnas, a key player in Trump’s Ukrainian pressure campaign, whom Trump has repeatedly denied knowing.
Former national security adviser John Bolton supports the impeachment charges of Trump’s abuse of office, as revealed in his forthcoming book. Both are key witnesses. Yet McSally does nothing to secure their testimony, apparently in fear of having Trump issue a negative tweet about her. We need a senator with a commitment to the U.S. Constitution, not the cult of Trump.
Jeff Anderson
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Foothills
GOP weaponizes bloated US debt
One may be forgiven for expressing confusion concerning the paradox presented by a “soaring” economy and an ever rising national debt and deficit.
Of course, there is plenty of room to question all the rosy pronouncements, which are supplied by Donald Trump’s Labor and Treasury departments, but the deeper truth is more sinister.
For many years now, the right wing of the Republican Party has pursued the Grover Norquist ideal of “starve the beast.” That is, if you bloat the debt of the U.S. government to the point where you can’t pay all the bills, you can eliminate all those pesky (and expensive) Democrat-created social programs, like Social Security and Medicare.
Trump has already stated that cutting Social Security would be “easy.” No other explanation would seem legitimate.
Eric Maurer
Northwest side
To not call witnesses
is dereliction of duty
Sixty years ago, if someone like Sen. Martha McSally and I passed each other in uniform we would have exchanged salutes: I to acknowledge her superior rank and she to recognize that acknowledgement. There was then, and I hope there is now the concept of dereliction of duty. This occurs when someone of any rank who has pledged loyalty to his or her country deliberately and with forethought fails to perform according to orders issued by a superior.
McSally now must be true to the obligation she accepted upon swearing an oath in the Senate impeachment trial to be fair and impartial in considering the facts laid before her and to reach an objective conclusion guiding her eventual vote to find President Trump guilty or innocent of the charges brought against him. It is never the right time to be guilty of dereliction of duty. Call and listen to witnesses, Sen. McSally.
John Petersen
Sahuarita
Conspiracy
to obstruct, anyone?
Doesn’t Sen. Mitch McConnell and company’s attempt to restrict testimony at the Senate trial for impeached President Trump amount to conspiracy to obstruct justice? Isn’t that a felony?
Ken Newman
Northeast side
Beating our swords into wind turbines
On Jan. 28, the Arizona Corporation Commission held a public hearing regarding a proposed rate hike by Tucson Electric Power. An impressively sober event, all 23 speakers were respectful yet opposed TEP’s plan. TEP wants some new revenue to burn more fossil fuels.
A Sierra Club leader remarked that proposed reciprocating internal combustion engines that run on natural gas are “19th-century technology.” Citizens Climate Lobby addressed complicated technological issues like intermittency and storage.
Also present were Sunrise, Youth Climate Strike, and Extinction Rebellion.
Common themes: We are in the midst of a climate crisis that we can peacefully resolve only through a just transition. We must collaborate in every way possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 0%, as soon as possible. 2030 and 2050 are flashpoints.
Attend a climate action, join an organization, plant shade trees or cacti. Check out CCL’s Fun Action Team on 2nd Saturdays.
All hands on deck!
Gaye Adams
Midtown
Australia fires a warning for Southern Arizona
Recent news stories about the horrendous fires in Australia and deaths of humans and animals, is a wake-up call for Arizona, given the dramatic intrusion of non-native weeds that now infest the Sonoran Desert and our community, especially non-native buffelgrass.
The fires in Australia were predicted in March 2019, with the biofuel, buffelgrass, the spark that has destroyed millions of acres and thousands of homes. The fires started occurring at the 30th latitude, the same latitude we are at. A concerted effort is needed here along with political leadership before we experience the same disaster.
Contact Saguaro National Park or the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to learn how to identify these invasive weeds and properly remove them. Get involved with the Weed Free Trails program at Saguaro National Park or other organizations combating this threat to our safety and biodiversity. We can protect our community now before it is too late.
Alexander Schauss, Ph.D. trustee, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Oro Valley
Miller should look
to Coach Barnes
Re: the Jan. 27 Hansen column “Hazzard’s benching backfires on Miller.”
In Greg Hansen’s recent article, he raised concerns about head coach Sean Miller’s interaction with his student athletes following their loss to ASU. Miller responded that there are certain protocols that must be followed just like in the classroom.
As a teacher of 30 years I would like to suggest there are other ways to help students learn and succeed besides berating them in public and humiliating them in front of friends, fans and family. I suggest Miller take some lessons from Adia Barnes. She seems able to get her student athletes to perform at a high level while treating them with dignity and love.
It’s 2020, and it’s about time for the athletic director and the president to say that the University of Arizona will not tolerate coaches who bully and verbally abuse its student athletes.
The U of A should be proud of their coaches and not cringe in discomfort at the way student athletes are treated.
David Rubin
Midtown
Trial is rigged;
why not an election?
A fair question for GOP senators, including Sen. Martha McSally: If you aren’t willing to commit to a fair trial in the Senate by calling on witnesses President Trump prohibited from testifying before the House during the investigation phase of the impeachment process (e.g. John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney), why should American voters believe you are genuinely committed to a free and fair election this November?
Linda Stanley
East side
