Let’s all stop, breathe and pray
My dad fought in World War II under George S. Patton. As a child, I knew that if I asked my dad a question about the war, my mom would quickly raise a finger to her lips, frown and shake her head, indicating to me to change the subject. I quickly learned those who experience combat do not discuss it with bravado.
One day, after learning about the Battle of the Bulge at school, I asked my dad about it when I got home. I told him I wanted to know how he got any sleep with all that noise going on around him. He gave out a loud laugh and then answered, “Well, I would climb into a foxhole, say a prayer and take several slow deep breaths and fall asleep.”
That was a great “life lesson” from dad. I think it would help all of us right now to pray and take several slow, deep breaths during these turbulent times.
People are also reading…
Michele Kocour
North side
Click helps hold
this city together
Re: the Aug. 22 op-ed “With Robbins leading, UA is well-equipped to overcome pandemic.”
I was fascinated by a recent article about the Jim Click Automotive Team and how they changed the way they do business during this pandemic. I was intrigued by their determination to not lay off any employee. I could not help but remember how they also supported this newspaper by advertising even more than before.
Jim quietly lets his executive team take credit for doing this, but we all know it is his leadership, passion and commitment to the community that inspires and enables those around him. Jim Click and his family have been extremely generous with direct donations to Primavera, Reid Park Zoo, etc., as well as UA sports endeavors. He also has donated vehicles for the Millions For Tucson Raffle that has generated over $10 million dollars to date.
The participating charities keep 100% of the proceeds from the sale of raffle tickets. Jim Click is a gem and a blessing. His style and type of leadership is what our community and our nation desperately lacks.
Rene Redondo
West side
UA students perfect for vaccine trial
I’d like to suggest that the University of Arizona offer its incoming students voluntary participation in a coronavirus vaccine trial. The spread of COVID-19 on college campuses makes them an ideal location for testing since they offer several desirable characteristics: An ethnically diverse population, an age group that is generally healthy and does not suffer severe consequences if they get infected, and a social environment that has demonstrated rapid spread elsewhere in the country.
The UA could quickly sign up large numbers of participants with the potential to have meaningful results in a matter of weeks instead of months. It might be possible to incorporate the vaccine trial into the curriculum, and having students enrolled may offer some protection against coronavirus within the Tucson community.
The University of Arizona has long been a leader when it comes to science. Imagine the prestige and sense of making a difference if the vaccine turns out to be effective. Let’s go Wildcats. Time to Bear Down and roll up your sleeves.
Tony Kuyepr
Foothills
Vaccine won’t sway this voter
Why the hysteria about a coronavirus vaccine being developed by Election Day? If it happens, do the politicians think it will wipe out all memories of maybe 300,000 deaths, millions participating in demonstrations, tens of thousands of Trump’s lies, his insults of John McCain and other military heroes, his embracement of Putin and our chaotic self-defeating foreign policy?
Will anyone even trust the CDC and FDA if they approve the vaccine? Who among us seniors will dare take the vaccine, since we are extremely vulnerable? For those of us in our 90s, will any substantial group of us have been in the test? My vote, and I believe many others, will be determined by a lot more than the vaccine and its date of approval.
John Kuisti
West side
Trump supporters
look the other way
Two articles I never miss in the Arizona Daily Star are the Letters to the Editor, and the Sunday fact check on politics. Which leads me to wonder how any person can defend, much less support, Donald Trump.
His uninformed, unprincipled response to the pandemic has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. His disgraceful insults to veterans are immoral, especially from a draft dodger. His treatment of women is repulsive and predatory, resulting in 27 claims of sexual misconduct.
He’s an illiterate who can’t even recall the name of our most treasured National Park. His flagrant, uninformed disregard of constitutional rules and norms is frightening. His mean, cruel separation of children from their parents is heartless and evil.
He’s a charlatan who no longer pretends to be worthy of leading this country. A demented egomaniac, he destroys everything that does not feed his image.
So, yes, I am left wondering how anyone can support this knave.
Cheryl Lockahrt
Northwest side
‘Suckers’ comment
should lead to defeat
As a Vietnam combat infantry veteran who lost friends there, I am outraged and disgusted with this abhorrent current occupant of the White House. He disgracefully denigrates as “losers” and “suckers” those who have served and sacrificed their lives for our country. He has no concept of what it means to serve anything or anyone other than himself.
Of course he’s lying when he denies this and the other despicable remarks. He habitually lies about many things. Three additional news organizations, including his favorite platform at Fox News, have independently reported many of the same details that are in the Atlantic article. Does anyone beyond his base really believe that these reports are “fake news?”
As we have seen for five years, this is completely in character for someone who has proven himself to be incapable of empathy. He has been a terrible commander in chief and he absolutely deserves to be relieved of that command. Vote.
Dan Gipple
Southeast side
Understanding
the logic of a loser
In trying to understand why Donald Trump thinks of fallen veterans as losers, the answer came to me. Trump thinks everything is a contest. Everything.
And with contests there are winners and losers. Trump won in 2016; he is a winner. Everyone who supports him are on his team and therefore winners.
Anyone who doesn’t support him is by definition, a loser — because Trump won. And since everything is a contest, in every battle there are winners and losers. And like the gladiators, losers die.
So those who died, in his mind, are losers. In the bigger picture, the military is for losers. Success, in his mind, is the accumulation of wealth.
Therefore, he is a winner. Those in the military can’t accumulate wealth and therefore are losers. In Trump’s mind, he is a winner because he avoided the draft.
He “beat” the system. Those that were drafted were losers. It is a sad commentary on life, a sad commentary on character, a sad commentary for a president.
Dennis Widman
Northeast side
On climate, enough is finally enough
When is enough, enough? When is it time to say uncle? How many more days over 110 degrees or heat records need to be broken before people take climate change seriously? So far, Phoenix has experienced 52 days over 110. That is up 60% from the record of 33 days set in 2011.
According to the National Weather Service, on average, heat-related deaths have killed more people in the U.S. over the last 30 years than any other natural disaster. Yet, we as a country continue to deny the hard truth about global warming.
Temperatures are rising. It’s only going to get hotter. We must take action now.
Fortunately, there is a bipartisan climate solution bill, The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, HR 763, currently in Congress. Let’s get it passed.
This November let your voices be heard. Vote for a healthy climate. Vote for a safe future. Vote for solutions. Enough is enough.
Maggie Kraft
North side
Have a plan for dealing with extreme heat
A post on the Nextdoor app tells us, “Disasters Don’t Wait — Make Your Plan Today. National Preparedness Month is recognized each September.” Also, a climate emergency declaration was presented to the City Council this week. I think they’re trying to tell us something!
Building Resilient Neighborhoods presents workshops in Tucson neighborhoods to help people prepare for a heat emergency. Research shows that neighbors working together in emergency situations leads to better outcomes. The free workshop is available in-person or, right now, on Zoom.
There are things you and your neighbors can do to be prepared. Plan on getting together a group of 12 or more neighbors to learn how you can help yourself and others be prepared if our aging electric grid goes down over a large area and we find ourselves without air conditioning, water, a cool place to keep lifesaving medications, etc. If you are interested, contact us at: extremeweatherchallenge@gmail.com
Margo Newhouse, Building Resilient Neighborhoods committee
Midtown
UA should never have reopened for classes
The reopening of the University of Arizona for anything other than online classes was a blunder, endangering the health and safety of the university community, the Tucson community and it must be reversed!
There are adequate online resources available so that students can work on their own with online faculty assistance if necessary. It is relatively unimportant if there is a delay in student academic programs — health and safety come first.
Students, faculty and staff bear some responsibility for this blunder for not strongly opposing the reopening of the UA for in-person classes.
It was beyond naive to assume that the university could control a student population that, generally, has a tendency to party. The COVID-19 infection rate has increased and will continue to increase until the university is closed, pending an abatement of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Francis Saitta
Downtown
QAnon harks back to Nazi Germany
Social Security, health care, public education, rebuilding the infrastructure, solar and wind energy, Black Lives Matter, social justice and women’s rights — all things that I believe some have tried to take away or disregard. The best way to take away popular programs that affect the daily lives of people is to start rumors that the political party that supports them is evil.
I believe this is what QAnon is doing. As a typical Democrat, it is upsetting when there are thousands of people being told that people like us eat our children and we’re evil — because some of these people are crazy, violent and armed. These are the same lies German Nazis used to kill 13 million innocent people.
Turmoil is the game. If we all joined together to save Social Security, health care, public education, the infrastructure, solar and wind energy, Black Lives Matter, social justice and women’s rights — they wouldn’t have a chance. The game of divide and conquer keeps us from having these shared goals.
Janet Pipes
Northwest side
