Equity in Arizona and beyond
Across Arizona, the U.S., and especially foreign nations, girls are not given equitable opportunities to advance their education or workforce skills. The Girls LEAD Act is an important bill that is currently being considered in both the House and the Senate. The bill directs the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to report to Congress different strategies to strengthen the participation of adolescent girls through democracy, human rights and governance.
This bill is essential as it allows girls across the world to gain more civic and political knowledge. This will allow these girls to be able to participate more in society and the economy. This an essential ideal that must be reached in every nation to allow for true equity. Our country has promised these ideals to women, and all citizens for decades, and we have just recently begun to act on those ideals. It is time for the U.S. to step up and help other countries and their children as well.
Elisa Thomas
Downtown
Love your neighbor as yourself
Our world is splitting apart personally, socially, economically and politically like the continental drift, but much faster. The split is found within individuals, families, communities and nations. The divide affects how we conduct our own and shared lives. Scholars can cite causes and consequences; but if we take the sayings attributed to a Jewish carpenter of long ago (Matthew 25: 31-46) seriously, our problem is rooted in how each of us, hence also each group of humans at every scale, treat the other individuals and groups.
Our treatment of others differs in gradation between caring for those who are less fortunate and caring for no one but the self or selves. Please try “loving your neighbor as yourself” in everything you do from buying to voting before it is too late.
Ke Chiang Hsieh
Midtown
Politics can wait; get vaccinated
Self-preservation is a basic instinct in humans and animals to protect ourselves from harm and death. The constant onslaught of lies and misinformation about the virus being directed to Trump followers has eroded this basic instinct in almost half of our voting population.
The present spike in this virus is almost 100% of those who have not yet been vaccinated, and the deaths are following the same pattern. More pitiful is that this mindset is now affecting children who rely on adults to protect them.
Unbelievably, staying free of the mutated COVID virus by getting vaccinated is a political issue. Wake up people, the COVID virus and now its mutation does not care about your political affiliation. This virus will find those not vaccinated. Period. It is more contagious, more deadly, too. Listen to your basic instinct of self-preservation. Get vaccinated. Get your family members vaccinated. We can disagree on our politics later.
Cathey Langione
Marana
Pandemic effects
The action you take when faced with a problem can define the type of person you are. This pandemic has affected most of us and yes, it is a problem. Some are able to continue their day-to-day activities, but many are not because they don’t have the resources.
Some were laid off work, some were unable to continue to work due to long-term illness caused by the pandemic, and many died. They didn’t create the problem, but knowing that did not make their situation any easier. So what’s left? Help from Congress?
The Republicans don’t seem to care, and the Democrats who have the ability to take action without a single Republican vote are just sitting back watching people go through hardships not seen since the Great Depression. We no longer have a president like FDR, and who we do have may not be capable of doing the job.
Thomas Fletcher
Southwest side
Speak up for action from Congress
Re: the July 29 article “Infrastructure: Senate moves ahead.”
Great to see a bipartisan infrastructure deal moving forward. Congress can work together to pass legislation like this, especially if they hear from constituents. With 80% of Americans favoring improvements in infrastructure, it is time for Congressional action. Time to take the next step, speak up. Call your representative. Like the bipartisan support for global health and Americans favoring enough vaccines available for everyone on the planet to finally end this pandemic, it is time to pass infrastructure improvements. So call and make sure Congress moves forward on these important initiatives.
Willie Dickerson
Northwest side
Oust their own
Re: the July 30 article “GOP seeks to oust 2 of their own.”
The Associated Press news article notes that Republicans “made a push Thursday to boot Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger out of the House GOP” for joining the chamber’s special committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.
In support, Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs continues his trademark hyperbole, stating the committee members were “two spies sitting right there.” Biggs’ likely motivation to remove the special committee members stems from concern that he will be accused of fueling the January insurrection. Both he and Arizona Republican Representative Paul Gosar are touted as having “set the Jan. 6 event in motion,” as noted by Ali Alexander, self-proclaimed leader of Stop the Steal.
As the white froth continues to form on Andy Biggs’ mouth, hopefully American and Arizona voters will understand his rabid behavior as a desperate act of political self-preservation.
Roger Shanley
East side
Women’s rights decided by men
Why is it that “old” men continue to make decisions on Women’s Rights?
Gov. Doug Ducey is proclaiming his anti-abortion stance by demanding the U.S. Supreme Court throw out Roe v. Wade. He is basing this not on what the general population and in particular what women want, but rather his religious beliefs.
I always thought there was a separation of church and state. Seems to me he is mixing the two. Funny paradox going on with Ducey. He is against abortions as saving the lives of the unborn but for not wearing masks or requiring vaccines — in other words, jeopardizing the lives of the living. What does that tell you about women’s rights, and for that matter, our rights?
Kate Flasch
North side
