Steller blind to border crisis
Re; the July 11 article “Let Mexicans visit again.”
The Star’s Tim Steller wrote a column and he cited the border being closed due to COVID restrictions to Mexican travelers, but not Americans heading into Mexico. He cited merchants in Nogales, Arizona, saying customers have dwindled and there are fewer Mexicans visiting Tucson malls. Has Steller been across the border lately? I have many times over the last year for ongoing dental work in Nogales, Sonora. There is always a long line of Mexican pedestrians waiting to pass through the port of entry into Arizona. Most are allowed entry! Mexico’s economy is dependent on tourism and COVID testing and vaccinations are not widespread as in America. Mexican nationals illegally entering America are not coming for shopping. Steller, a liberal, obviously does not seem to think we have an otherwise “real border crisis,” even with Border Patrol encounters at a 20-year high. And Steller omitted that the same COVID travel restrictions for Mexico apply to Canada as well.
Rebecca Lawson
Northeast side
America’s ideals are not realized
Re: the July 12 letter “Focus instead on our strengths.”
I want to present a counter to this letter.
My overarching question for the letter writer is this: When has America truly practiced the ideas you presented in your letter for all people in America? The accurate answer to this question is never.
The ideas presented are noble and worthy; however, they are simply ideas rather than the norm in America. They are theoretical rather than the practice. Unfortunately we cannot shift the focus to ideas that have yet to exist.
The conditions that have continually existed in this country such as social, racial, political and economic discrimination and the lack of equal justice for all always have prevented America from living up to and/or practicing the ideas the writer espouses.
We have a lot of hard work ahead of us. The sad fact is that the hard work always continues to be ahead of us.
Craig Whaley
Northwest side
There’s no chip in your arm
As a professor of physiology, I am concerned that some people are hesitant to receive immunization against the COVID-19 virus because they fear the injection contains a microchip intended to control them. But a simple comparison of the needles used for administering the vaccine vs. the needles used for microchips can allay this fear. Needles of 22-25 gauge are used for vaccine injection and needles of 12-15 gauge are used for microchips. With respect to needle size, the higher number means a smaller needle and the lower number designates a larger needle.
A 12-gauge needle has an inner diameter (ID) of 2.16. These are commonly used to insert a microchip. In comparison, a 25-gauge needle has an ID of 0.26. These much smaller needles are used to administer the vaccine.
Microchips for humans are the same size as animal microchips. Given these data, it is obviously impossible to insert microchips into humans using the same tiny needles used for the COVID vaccine.
Eldon Braun
Foothills
Unvaccinated are rolling the dice
Over 4 million COVID-19 deaths have occurred by July 2021. Have you ever wondered why you are not one of them? Maybe you have been vaccinated or had COVID-19 (obviously survived) and have partial immunity. Maybe you are surrounded by vaccinated people and have little chance of getting a large enough load of the virus to overcome your immune system. Maybe you are in excellent health and take precautions by wearing a mask and restricting your social activities. Maybe your have exercised your “right” not to get vaccinated and believe a virus cannot infect a person with “rights.” Maybe you believe COVID-19 is a hoax and fake news brought on by the medical profession, governments and news media. But the virus does not care what you believe because a virus does not think. It just does its thing and moves on from host to host and replicates until there are no more hosts. Maybe you are just lucky. The confirmed cases are over 188 million and still climbing. So, stay lucky.
Antone Hagen
Sierra Vista
Thank you, Star, for digging deep
Kudos to the Arizona Daily Star for its investigative reporting — from articles by Tim Steller to the most recent Star demand that state agencies release data that show how people with developmental disabilities are determined to be eligible for services and the process for approval or denial. Also requested from the Department of Economic Security is information about closed investigations of allegations of abuse and neglect of individuals with developmental disabilities. These actions followed the Star’s excellent series “State of Denial,” which revealed the unmet needs of those with disabilities. The public needs to know this information, and the Star’s actions are a first step.
Diane Wilson
Foothills
