Tucson Speaks Out: June 28 letters of the day (2024)

Christianity and gays

The way I see it, there are two types of Christians: Those who have read the Bible and treat all God’s children with love and respect, and those who use the Bible to justify their own bigotry, the same bigotry found in other very non-religious groups.

Duane Harpet

Northwest side

Should Trump be president again?

I recently spoke at the dedication of two beautiful new tennis courts at the high school in my hometown of Tombstone. The courts were named in honor of Michael Montijo, my good friend and tennis mentor who gave his life in June of 1969 while serving as a US Marine in Vietnam. As you drive into Tombstone from the west, the first thing you see is a blue flag flying establishment entirely dedicated to the sale of merchandise in honor and fealty to a former president who infamously insulted the respected late Republican Arizona statesman, war hero and true public servant John McCain, who spent five years as a tortured POW in Vietnam, as “not a hero” (according to Trump, “heroes” don’t get captured). The next thing you see after the aforementioned store is the high school with its tennis courts dedicated to Tombstone’s beloved fallen hero. The ironic contrast between the two couldn’t be more palpable or disgusting. Does anybody really think this guy should be the president again?

Louie Levinson

Downtown

Compassion and LaWall

Re: the June 21 letter “County Attorney election.”

A recent opinion regarding the county attorney election commented that Barbara LaWall had no “understanding, compassion, or empathy” while she was county attorney. Ms. LaWall is not running for office but deserves to have this statement corrected.

Under her long and successful administration she expanded the victim witness program to include hundreds of volunteers, many of whom have left under the current administration.

LaWall initiated the children’s advocacy program where abused children could be seen and treated in a secure, comforting and private environment.

Under her administration she also initiated a conviction integrity unit, one of the first in the country, to review old convictions and sentencings and determine if justice was done.

LaWall established community justice boards in which juvenile offenders could be dealt with outside of the court system.

Finally, LaWall insured that there were enough attorneys on staff to deal with cases in a timely and effective manner.

All of these actions demonstrate understanding, compassion and empathy.

Margaret Norem

Midtown

Gov. Hobbs stops Robbins power grab

Gov. Katie Hobbs’ veto of legislation to boost state university presidents’ power should humble lame-duck University of Arizona President Robert Robbins.

Robbins favored the bill so he could eviscerate a Faculty Senate that has called him out for a series of executive blunders.

Hobbs’ veto came despite Robbins’ supporters heralding him in a June 16 Arizona Daily Star advertisem*nt. Implicit in their message: The university was a backwater until Robbins brought it to prominence.

That is nonsense, of course. Former UA presidents John Schaefer, Manuel Pacheco, Henry Koffler, Peter Likins, Robert Shelton and Ann Weaver Hart improved the university by adding to what their predecessors did.

Robbins had that opportunity. But what will most mark his tenure are negligence leading to an unprecedented financial crisis and his ham-handed efforts to blame others.

Michael A. Chihak

West side

Recycling but saving H2O

Re: the June 21 letter “Plastic recycling issues.”

This letter is prompted by the last paragraph of this letter. The letter writer brings up the practice of cleaning plastic items before recycling. This has always posed a dilemma for me. I recycle as much as possible. But when it comes to cleaning items, I have an issue in using our precious water to rinse these items. I believe water conservation to be at the top of my list for things needed to be done to help sustain our existence here in the desert in particular, and on planet Earth in general. I’ve been of the opinion that small amounts of residual debris will be rendered either null or innocuous by the chemical/thermolytic breakdown of plastics during downstream processing of the recycled plastics. I would love to hear experts input into this dilemma.

John Hurley, PhD

Midtown

Uplifting story

Re: the June 23 article “Bridging history with motherly love.”

Congratulations to Tony Velasquez for achieving his request to the Santa Cruz County Supervisors on naming a bridge after his devoted foster mother Lucila Gomez Bejarano. Thank you, reporter Henry Bean, for writing this wonderful story. It is uplifting among the very negative, daily stories written about wars, politics, shootings and killings.

Felicidades a la familias Bejarano y Velasquez y especialment a Lucilita.

Julieta Bustamante Portillo

Downtown

Ciscomani disappoints

Editor,

Congressman Ciscomani’s latest fear-based TV ad offers nothing new. The ad calls for building the border wall and condemns President Biden for open borders.

Today’s ugly, militarized border, where too many die, can hardly be described as open. I’m pretty sure the border was more open when Juan Ciscomani and his family migrated to the United States than it is today.

Migration is a defining characteristic of the United States. Migrants have made our nation richer and better.

We all would benefit in so many ways if we stopped scaring ourselves, spent less time building walls, and spent more time and resources on welcoming and accommodating migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

Instead of building walls, let’s consider un-building walls, as Silky Shah suggests in her new book, Unbuild Walls.

Dave Gallagher

Foothills

Soldiers deserve our respect

Re: the June 23 letter “Gallego’s commercials.”

I don’t share Ruben Gallego’s political views, but any soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan — whether or not there were any heroic instances — deserves my and every American’s respect for the rest of his or her life.

Douglas R. Holm

East side

Snopes debunks Charlottesville lie

Left leaning Snopes just came out debunking the Biden and Democrat narrative that Trump had praised Neo-Nazis and the KKK members who marched in a 2017 Charlottesville, VA rally that turned into chaos. Snopes wrote, “While Trump did say that there were ‘very fine people on both sides,’ he also specifically noted that he was not talking about neo-Nazis and white supremacists and said they should be ‘condemned totally.’ Therefore, we have rated this claim ‘False.’ “ My question is why has it taken Snopes seven years to report this? Again, they are a left leaning group. In 2020, candidate Biden announced a main reason for his running for President was because of Trump’s pro-Nazi remarks about Charlottesville. He continues to run campaign ads falsely claiming this. Biden should issue a strong apology to Trump during this Thursday night’s debate moderated by Trump hating Jake Tapper and Dana Bash at Democrat biased CNN.

Rory Smith

Marana

Re: Definition of a Democrat

Re: the June 12 letter “Definition of a Republican.”

I wish people who respond to my letters would quit getting their talking points from the Fox toilet entertainment channel, the same “news” outfit that was sued for $787 million for lying and still do, and the same channel that is owned by the same people who own The National Enquirer. You know the one that published smear stories about Hillary so little Don the con could win the election with “fake news”. You all know the paper “Aliens ate my baby as I made love to Elvis”. Trump left all our equipment in Afghanistan, Robert Byrd was not a grand wizard but a recanted KKK member. You say Biden never ran a business. What happened to Trump airlines, university, vodka, steaks, ice, 4 casinos, all bankrupt with a string of people left penniless from his toxic businesses. who bankrupts a casino? And Biden didn’t wander away, his attention was drawn to a paratrooper that just landed. You Republicans exhaust me.

Terry Louck

East side

Our own worst enemy

For me it all began with the Rodney King Affair and culminated with the death of Floyd.

Police brutality became an obsession. We overreacted.

We defunded the police, removed all respect, took them off their pedestals.

We forget the years of good police work and placed them somewhere below our drug dealers.

We forgot the many police officers killed in the line of duty trying to make our life safe and secure.

We encourage our officers to abandon their profession, to retire, or to change jobs, leaving us terribly short in numbers.

We made the police officer the least desired position in the country.

We placed criminals above the law, with judges and prosecutors who were soft on crime.

We encourage violent crime in every way.

We truly are “our own worst enemy.”

Tom McGorray

Northwest side

In retrospect

As a young couple in the 1970s the only affordable home was 40 miles from work. The home loan rate then was 15% for an ARM that soon went to 17%. Then came the gas crisis. To get gas I left the house at 4 a.m. and spent two hours in line before commuting for one hour to my job. Then came the Vietnam humiliation. And then the Iran hostage crisis. Then within a year came stagflation (high prices, slow growth, high unemployment) that lasted several years. During that period, we were lucky to have jobs but upward mobility was nonexistent. The 1980s and early 1990s were fraught with recessions and economic downturns. The 2008 financial crisis is within recent memory so we won’t expand there. My point is, stop whining about your 7% interest rate and high gas prices — in retrospect, maybe things aren’t so bad.

Carl Foster

Green Valley

Religion in schools

To those who would post the Ten Commandments in schools, I would add: Post the 7 deadly sins alongside.

Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Anger, Envy, Pride, and Greed.

Sharon Powers

East side

Alito OK with yelling fire in a crowded theater?

So Justice Alito thinks that it is free speech to present lies about a deadly disease that killed over a million American’s. Based on his logic then it is OK to yell “fire.” It’s so obvious that his and Thomas’ ideology is the basis for their opinion. They can opine on and on about how you have the right to say anything as long as it supports the far right’s idea of free speech. But the plain truth is that the administration didn’t make those social media companies pull ads for bogus products or misinformation. They pulled them because they saw a moral obligation to protect the innocent (even the gullible ones). If these justices continue to use illogical approaches to common sense problems, then we are in trouble.

Mike Dai

Midtown

Opposition to construction of I-11

I have deep concerns for the environmental implications of this project, and the fiscal irresponsibility of this project. The current plan involves routing this new freeway through Avra Valley and west of the Tucson mountains by Ironwood Forest National Monument. If developed, it will destroy thousands of acres of pristine Sonoran Desert habitat and will sever the wildlife corridor between Saguaro National Park and Ironwood Forest National monument, violating the purpose for which these lands were designated. In addition, many of the communities which will be impacted are low-income, minority communities whose quality of life will be forever damaged. The West Option is fiscally irresponsible and is projected already to cost more to build than the East Option which would co-locate the I-11 with the I-10 and I-19 through Tucson. The City of Tucson, Pima County and the Town of Sahuarita have all voiced opposition to its construction and yet all these cries appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

Chantelle Khambholja

Midtown

Prognosticators

Over the past several years, your numerous liberal readers have foretold that Donald Trump, if elected, will become a dictator, suspend all laws protecting women and LGBTQ, incarcerate all liberal opponents in concentration camps, eviscerate the legal system so that there is no rule of law, buddy up with Putin, and force migrants to enter the country legally. These strident claims have been made even though four years of actual history indicate this will not be the case. In contrast, the last four years of the Biden Administration provide stark examples of the Biden Administration’s path to anarchy, dissolution of individual rights, and the destruction of democracy. If these same prognosticators who so accurately predict the doom and gloom of a Trump election, what will they predict about a second Biden term when the actual results indicate total disaster? Is the prediction of the future based on actual results or just foretold based on bias, selfishness, and hatred.

Loyal M. Johnson Jr.

Oro Valley