Letters to the Editor Oct 21 Letters HEAD TOPICS
Letters to the Editor Oct 21
10/21/2022 3:01:00 PM Letters to the Editor for Oct 21
Letters
Source Arizona Daily Star
Letters to the Editor for Oct 21 Letters to the Editor for Oct 21 MidtownIn this case the “relic” is the statute, not the judge.Allow me to sarcastically congratulate the Republican-controlled state Legislature for its commitment (really lack thereof) to fund public education in Arizona. Really, all they care about is providing public money to pay for private education, without any controls. Case in point: Funding for the Arizona Teachers Academy. The Academy provides scholarships to college students in Arizona who commit to teach in Arizona. The Academy requested $25 million from the state budget, but the Legislature reduced that request 40%. That would have meant fewer teachers committing to work in our public schools in the future, worsening our current critical teacher shortage. Thankfully, Gov. Ducey added $15 million to the Academy. That money came from federal funds, money authorized by the Democratic Congress. Come November, we need to elect state legislators who are truly committed to fully funding public education. Read more:
Arizona Daily Star » Letters to the Editor: Oct. 20 Your Turn, Oct. 21: If health care is important, why has Abbott let it slide Your Turn, Oct. 20: Will voters give Miller a pass on ethics concerns? Letters to the Editor — McKinney airport, Ukraine, schools, Dawson, inflation, highways Snap Stock Slumps Premarket as Sales Growth Slows Advertisers Cut Spending
Shares plummeted 25% in premarket trading after Snapchat’s parent company said it was operating on an assumption there would be no revenue growth in the current quarter. Read more >> Letters to the Editor: Oct. 20 Letters to the Editor for Oct. 20 Your Turn, Oct. 21: If health care is important, why has Abbott let it slideRead the letters to the editor for Oct. 21. Government should keep its nose out of medical matters. Your Turn, Oct. 20: Will voters give Miller a pass on ethics concerns?Read the letters to the editor for Oct. 20. A bucket of 'concerns' and four bucks will buy you a grande coffee at Starbucks The criminality of Trumpism! Letters to the Editor — McKinney airport, Ukraine, schools, Dawson, inflation, highwaysRe: “City seeks to spread its wings — Leaders plan on bond vote to make airport commercial alternative to DFW, Love,” Oct. 13 news story. The Morning News... Blackmagic's powerful DaVinci Resolve video editor is coming to iPad EngadgetBlackmagic Design is bringing it's popular DaVinci Resolve video editing app to the iPad, promising support for RAW, cloud collaboration and more,. uh oh LumaTouch It’s how there is still no Final Cut Pro for the iPad. Maybe this will compel Apple to release it. Considering the iPad pro literally has an M1 chip. It will work better than even some laptops The 3 Best Air Fryer Cookbooks, According to Air Fryer UsersWe asked three air-fryer power users and cooking experts which ones to get. Putin and nukesIt is interesting that Vladimir Putin uses the United States’ bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima as excuses for him to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.Inflation reductionRe: the Sept.Gov.A reader can’t believe voters might give Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller a pass on ethics concerns. The Soviet Union/Russia declared war on Japan on Aug. 9, 1945, the same day that the US dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki." The letter writer sees delicious contradiction in"President Biden signing the [Inflation Reduction Act] at the same time the stock market was plunging over 1,000 points. Then the Soviet Union/Russia military moved in to grab the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands from Japan. A reader asks why, in his years in office, Abbott has let health care slide in Texas. And the bombings saved millions of lives, including my father’s life. For two years the government gave free money to people who didn't need it. Putin talks of wanting to use battlefield nuclear weapons, but any use would not only condemn such a country, but would fortify those around Putin to “eliminate” him. City Council could not care less about our roads. It also reminds us of Stanislav Petrov, who, on Sept. Stock prices went up. I thought there might be some shred of decency left in our elected officials and their supporters. 26, 1983, did not forward a false report of a U.S. Over-inflated stock prices fall. nuclear attack to his superiors and literally saved the world. We should expect that since Facebook, Twitter, TikTok are “selling” their influence as well. We have seen the loss of confidence the Russian people have for Putin. George Timson Midtown The yahoo voteI noticed during the primaries that to win a Republican nomination you have to go for the yahoo vote.B. I believe there are plenty of those like Petrov who would sabotage such a launch. People are also reading… Matt Somers Midtown Blame the statute, not the judgeRe: the Sept. If you don't get them excited, you don't get elected. It’s a sad time for our democracy. 30 letter “Let the truth be told.” The letter writer who opined that “the judge who made the (abortion) ruling must feel unworthy to compete with other women” is clearly unfamiliar with Arizona’s judicial selection process. The main one is to swear fealty to Donald Trump. Judge Johnson had to initiate a rigorous application for an appointment to the Superior Court bench and, along with other applicants, male and female, had to undergo a competitive vetting process by a bipartisan commission. 13. Alarmingly, it only took 8 months and 4 days to add another $1 trillion. These are hardly the actions of “a relic” who feels “unworthy to compete. You have to promise to lie and back up his delusions.” In fact, Judge Johnson has a distinguished legal career. We were colleagues from 2015 to 2017, and I found her to be ethical, smart and thoughtful. I saw one campaign ad saying the first thing he would do when elected is fire Nancy Pelosi.S. I don’t like her decision in this case any more than the previous letter writer did, but I trust she came to the conclusion she did only after a careful reading of current and historical statutes, a thorough review of the rules of civil procedure, and non-partisan deliberation. In this case the “relic” is the statute, not the judge. Republicans have given the keys of the party to the fringe. That growth was due to the minority population, mostly Hispanic. Laura Penny Foothills State neglects public educationRe: the Oct. Governor, if mental health is really the solution to guns, why have you spent nearly eight years in office driving our state to the bottom in this area? My fellow Texans, think carefully about who is the better candidate for governor. 1 article “Teacher scholarship program to get extra $15M. Robert McNeil Midtown Proposition 128Voters, your vote on this proposition is one of the most critically important votes that Arizonans will make.” Allow me to sarcastically congratulate the Republican-controlled state Legislature for its commitment (really lack thereof) to fund public education in Arizona. Really, all they care about is providing public money to pay for private education, without any controls. The effect, if it passes, will be to open the door for the Legislature (Arizona's senators and representatives) to make changes to an initiative or referendum (an Arizona people's law, rather than a law passed by the Legislature) with only a majority vote (one vote more than 1/2 of the Legislature), instead of the current legal requirement of a vote by 3/4 of the Legislature. There is no way that raising the interest rates or slowing the economy can provide for long-term reduction of prices or control inflation. Case in point: Funding for the Arizona Teachers Academy. Richard Caldwell, Boerne Shameful Sid Miller Re: “Past scandals might not sink ag agency head,” Front Page, Saturday: This article about Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller notes that his scandals and ethics violations haven’t changed a majority of voters’ opinions about him. The Academy provides scholarships to college students in Arizona who commit to teach in Arizona. 128 passes, is that Arizona voters will ultimately be blocked from their No. The Academy requested $25 million from the state budget, but the Legislature reduced that request 40%. Raising the interest rate raises the prices. That would have meant fewer teachers committing to work in our public schools in the future, worsening our current critical teacher shortage. Don't be fooled by the seeming simplicity of the proposed changes. Thankfully, Gov. Ducey added $15 million to the Academy. 128!! Terris N. The only way we will see prices fall for the long term is to run the economy at full bore and fill those empty warehouses. That money came from federal funds, money authorized by the Democratic Congress. Come November, we need to elect state legislators who are truly committed to fully funding public education. Their docket contains far-reaching cases that may be decided in favor of conservative views. Donald Klein North side Are you a bystander?Over 50 years of research has documented the “bystander effect” in which people fail to intervene in a sexual assault that they witness. When we have too much, the price comes down. This especially happens in large groups — few take responsibility. My earliest memories are of the 1950's Warren Court, perhaps the most liberal Supreme Court, in U. Would you step up? How does modern politics reflect this failure of social responsibility? The young, people of color, ethnic minorities, women, those with disabilities, and gender minorities suffer from correctable injustices. All social progress has been achieved through the organized action of citizens — including democracy itself, and all rights we enjoy. history. When we “opt out,” we sidestep our role in creating the society we want. We say “No thanks” to having someone’s back who cannot win their fight alone. Then Trump got three seats and now court decisions are leaked with impunity, justices' homes are targeted and their spouses subpoenaed, assassination attempts are downplayed and court packing is in play. We say “I’m good” to the victims of discrimination, exploitation, abuse, harassment and outright attack. We say “I don’t get involved in politics” because we are privileged; we are lucky; we are in a protected class. Jeffrey McConnell West side Rogue Arizona RepublicansI’m dismayed that Kari Lake and Mark Finchem are continuing their lawsuit requiring hand-counting of Arizona ballots this fall. That’s messed up. People should help each other. Both ignore the chaos that would ensue if ballots must be hand-counted. Learn the issues and vote! Kirby MacLaurin South side Migrants gaming asylum systemCNN’s Fareed Zakaria is no right-wing journalist. Just the opposite. 6 insurrection. He hosts a GPS show and recently interviewed former President Bill Clinton. During it, Zakaria said, “the asylum system is broken, it was meant to be a system for people in desperate circumstances and now what you have are essentially economic migrants gaming the system, as a way to get in.S.” I think Zakaria is absolutely right. He is the minority of voices in the liberal news media being honest about this. Lake and Finchem, furthermore, are woefully unprepared for the offices they seek. Sheriff Tom Schmerber of Maverick County in Eagle Pass, Texas, just said that migrants want to be apprehended by the Border Patrol so they can be processed and released. He said: “They’re taking advantage; they’re using us. Her Democratic rival, Katie Hobbs, is present secretary of state. So the solution to me would be … zero tolerance.” What does all this say about the moral character of the hundreds of thousands of migrants making false asylum claims when they are really coming for economic reasons? I think Biden, Harris, Mayorkas, Kelly, Hobbs, etc. Arizonans worried about election security should support Hobbs and Fontes., all know this. Daniella Constantini Sahuarita Don’t be fooledMark Kelly is using a page from Kyrsten Sinema’s advertising playbook. Thomas Chulski Green Valley School vouchers are unconstitutionalAs an educator for over 30 years, I was saddened by Arizona's expansive voucher system and found it to be unconstitutional. Project yourself as a “moderate” in your ads and maybe some “on the fence” conservatives will vote for you. Make no mistake, Mark Kelly is a liberal Democrat who votes, as instructed by Chuck Schumer on all the important policy changes implemented by Mr." All support must be voluntary. Biden. Kelly has $53 million in campaign funds. Average tuition for Arizona private elementary schools is $9,835 and for high school $15,076 ─ out of the reach for many lower- and middle-class families. Who spends $53 million for a job that pays $174K? Fitz implied that the Republican candidate would have “strings attached” by his handlers in a recent cartoon. How about $53 million strings attached to Mark Kelly? My caution to Republicans, conservatives and Independent voters is don’t buy what Mark Kelly is selling in his ads, unless you like the policy direction we are being taken in by the present administration. It is divisive, wastes talent, and creates an underclass in an underfunded system (47th out of 50 states). Don’t give your vote to someone who has 53 million reasons to continue to vote, as instructed, by Schumer and the progressive wing of the Democrat Party. Bob Guth Foothills Restaurant owner handled emergencyLast Tuesday evening as we enjoyed a pleasant evening meal at Grumpy’s, there were two medical emergencies within minutes of each other. Some are for-profit: what are they teaching? I don't want my tax dollars going there. Both were handled exceptionally well by Lori, Grumpy’s owner. Lori called 911 and took action to control the situations. What is the point? Vote them out. Lori’s experience in the hospitality industry and expert handling of both situations took place with a full restaurant, without causing panic among customers. Thank you, Lori! Al Price Oro Valley Use facts when voting in CFSDPublic education is a critical foundation for the future of all individuals and for the society we all share.) gain control. Members of school boards should honor that foundation and not misrepresent it for personal gain or personal agendas unrelated to education. I am writing as a long-term parent and active community member in the Catalina Foothills School District. This is the “Great” in Make America Great Again. Voting for Amy Bhola, Amy Krauss and Gina Mehmert will assure honesty and integrity on our Board. Their opposition is running on a platform that has misrepresented information at the expense of the feelings and accomplishments of Catalina Foothills students. I expect “cold winter nights” will get colder. We are Arizona’s No. 1 comprehensive, non-selective high school. (Compassionate folks of many faiths staff food banks). Student accomplishments abound at all grade levels along all meaningful parameters. Alumni excel. Instead, vote for your future and that for your children. The schools are diverse and inclusive. Curriculum and instruction are regularly examined and made responsive to needs. An Independent voter is a voter who does not align themselves with a political party. Students, teachers and the community should feel proud of the exemplary and thriving educational foundations we have built here. Please do not fall for misinformation that attempts to devalue and defile that accomplishment. They are often rooted in family and religion. Terry Fortunato Foothills Migration and the ‘American Dream’Re: the Oct. 15 article “Ciscomani often quiet on ‘American Dream’ success. They favor economic individualism and are generally pro-business and pro-capitalism. ” Thank you for Maurice Goldman’s article. I, too, have wondered about the circumstances regarding the Ciscomani family’s successful migration to the United States. The share of Americans who say they’re Independent has climbed considerably, according to Gallup’s quarterly party affiliation data. It is odd that Ciscomani takes pride in living the American Dream while advocating for denying that same dream to others. Maurice Goldman wrote of his family’s successful migration from Germany in 1948. Now, 40% or more identify as Independent. Millions of my ancestors left dire circumstances in Ireland to seek a better life in America. With so much talk today of unaccompanied children seeking to enter the United States, it is worth noting that an Irish teenager by the name of Annie Moore and her two younger brothers were the first to enter America through Ellis Island. Thomas McGorray Northwest side Kelly is biggest threat to Arizona familiesEggs are an excellent source of high-quality protein essential to feeding Arizona families. Migration has been a part of life since the dawn of time, and the world’s changing climate will necessitate even greater migration in order for dreams to be reached. Dave Gallagher Foothills Common senseThis Election Day, when we decide the political direction of our state and country, let us reflect on the words of Founding Father, Thomas Paine, whose pamphlet “Common Sense” written in 1775-1776 was the prose that moved the populace to independence.50 a dozen at the Oro Valley Walmart, almost triple the cost when Biden took over. Paine states “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it the superficial appearance of being right.” In this election, voters are facing this very issue. Hyperinflation could have been avoided had Mark Kelly done his job and represented Arizona families, and voted against the devastating inflation driving boondoggle. We have been told for two years by Trump Republican candidates seeking public office that the 2020 election was rigged or stolen. This is a lie, it’s wrong and endangers our democracy. However, Kelly doesn’t care about Arizona families. Paine understood human behavior, writing, “Time makes more converts than reason.” This Election Day, let us choose reason over the time-worn lies of Trump Republicans, and elect candidates, who profess the truth about the 2020 election. Kelly is dangerous to Arizona families. Washington believed “Common Sense” was the catalyst that drove our independency from Great Britain. This Election Day, make your “common sense” vote the catalyst that rids us from Trump Republicans. Rick Cunnington Oro Valley Tucson Water ratesTucson needs to make commercial and residential water rates equal. Edward Heller Northwest side Help CFSD keep thrivingAs an educator who has been in the classroom for over a decade, I would like to speak to my experience with our district, school board and the community they serve. I grew up in CFSD and am proud to have attended Manzanita, OGMS and CFHS. Commercial customers use 25% by volume of the potable water but pay only 10% of the cost. I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to return to this outstanding district as a teacher. During my tenure, I have witnessed firsthand the dedication of the staff, administrators and teachers here in CFSD. By comparison in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and El Paso, commercial and residential customers pay at the same rate across all tiers. This commitment stems from a passion for helping children grow and succeed. I cannot stress how inaccurate the portrait is that’s being painted by the BTB candidates about what is actually happening in the classroom. The equitable and right thing to do is to first make commercial and residential user rates and tiers the same. Amy Bhola, Amy Krauss and Gina Mehmert have the experience and dedication to help our district continue to thrive. They understand that the CFSD board should keep the focus on the students.gov requesting they distribute it to the Mayor and Council, Tucson Water Director, and the City Manager. Julie Michel, 5th grade teacher in CFSD for 12 years and an alumnus of the district Foothills ImmigrationElection season brings out the politicians braying about their solution to the imagined migrant problem. I say imagined because this is a non-issue. Students graduate with diverse skills. If either party really wanted to resolve this debate they could. It is not rocket science. The students are offered AP and JTED classes, music, art, theatre, marching band, and a wide range of sports. Spend one day in jail for every day you employ a non-documented individual. Illegal crossings will shut down quickly if there are no jobs. This election we should vote for Amy Bhola, Amy Krauss, and Gina Mehmert. People come here for a better life; without work there is no reason to come. It will certainly make the drug runners easier to spot. I recently had the opportunity to speak with them. Political hacks do not give a damn about immigration. They just want to get you riled up enough to not notice the wads of cash they are stuffing up their drainpipe. Katherine Jacobson Foothills Engel for experience and prioritiesHaving no particular relevant experience to offer, unless you count"yes man" to Doug Ducey, Juan Ciscomani resorts to the standard, boilerplate Republican attack on Kirsten Engel. Richard Snyder Midtown The price of democracyI am fearful of our country’s swing toward authoritarianism and denial of the democratic process. The Republican Party has accepted the lies and pledges their allegiance to a megalomaniac, whose only agenda is ego. In the case of Kirsten Engel: not. If you look at Germany after WWI, inflation was insane, people needing wheelbarrows full of money to buy bread. Promises to make Germany great again certainly resonated with a defeated, starving population. We are indeed fortunate to have a person with Kirsten Engel's integrity, education, intelligence, experience and selflessness who is willing to put herself into the arena for all of us. By comparison, Republicans are denying democracy because a gallon of gas is a dollar more. Are we that spoiled as a nation that we can’t accept that we are still recovering from the pandemic, that war in Ukraine has affected the price of oil, and that looking to a “strong” man to solve our problems is not the answer? We have only to look at authoritarian governments around the world to know where this will lead: jail for dissidents; women back in “our place”; minorities scapegoated; loss of freedom for everyone. Douglas Williams Foothills Arizona Republicans on a roll!People claim Republicans don't legislate. Democracy should hinge on more than the price of gas. Beth Dingman Green Valley Respond: Write a letter to the editor Write a guest opinion Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. Universal vouchers, again benefits the wealthy but will also bankrupt public education-you know a win/win. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! . Based on the lie of a stolen election we can eliminate mail-in voting.