Right to what kind of life
To all of you who offer adoption as an alternative to abortion, I would ask you this: Have you adopted children? If not, why not? It may be for your limited financial, emotional or physical resources. If this is the case, why can’t those mothers of unwanted children offer these defenses? I have been a professional for four adoption agencies and have asked prospective adoptive parents the following questions: Would you be willing to adopt a child born to a drug-addicted mother, or one with fetal alcohol syndrome? How about a deaf, blind child or one with Down syndrome? How about one with a fatal disease or severe physical handicap? More often than not, the answer would be in the negative. What kind of life would these children have? Please think about these possible consequences before you advocate for “pro-life.”
Glenna Sheerin
SaddleBrooke
Education or propaganda?
It seems teachers cannot talk about racism. “We” don’t want children to feel badly about themselves on the basis of race. What “we” are actually saying is: this country has spent the past 200 years making people of color feel badly about themselves on the basis of race — they have been excluded from restaurants, hotels, made to sit at the back of the bus, lynched just because of the color of their skin —and now we are just going to whitewash this past. Now we are not going to talk about it because it might make white people feel badly. I am at a loss for words to describe this erasure of 200 years of the experience of people of color living in America. Perhaps the word is “racism.”
At the same time, we are railing against Putin for lying to his people about the reasons for his invasion of Ukraine. I ask our elected representatives in Phoenix, what does “education” mean? It sounds more like propaganda to me.
Beth Dingman
Green Valley
Get rid of this clown!
Arizona is literally running out of water. But what are the MAGA Republican legislators doing? Demonizing Arizona’s LGBTQ citizens and turning parents into criminals by making it illegal for families to attend family-friendly Pride Month events at the Heard Museum! According to Sen. Vince Leach, this is the “problem” he’s going to spend his time on, along with five co-sponsors, all clamoring into the legislative clown car. Really, Vince? What about our water shortage? Or the need for public school funding? Or protecting the rights of our citizens to vote? Nope. It’s drag shows he’s worrying about. LD17 residents should vote for Democrat Mike Nickerson and get rid of this clown.
Nancy Burton, volunteer for LD17 Senate candidate Mike Nickerson
Southeast side
Multiple murderers
Papers are filled with dismay about all the killings. But why do we relish sports such as football and boxing, whose objective is to beat the others brains out? Why do you spend big money on your children’s videos that are only about killing and suddenly are shocked when some of our kids graduate to the real thing? Why do we shun presidents such as Biden and Carter (of gentle persuasion) while cheering an ex with a history of thuggery? You say you hate to read the stories in the paper, I say you eagerly reach for the stories of carnage and hope for more explicit explanations. You say you want it to stop. I say this is who we are. Not the gentle, soft-spoken creatures we wish we were, but truly aggressive and violent peoples. We reap what we sow. We aren’t going to solve the matter anytime soon because we actually are eager for more and more.
Phil Reinecker
East side
Saving water tips
I try to conserve water as much as possible, including turning it off while brushing my teeth, but come on now, is the onus to save water only on private citizens? The mines freely dispense water constantly, from high-pressure hoses, even when not necessary. Farms waste water by the ton. Permits for new developments, apartments and buildings are constantly approved. Where will their water come from? Places like Winterhaven spray their lush lawns with impunity. Yes, they have their own water department, but they still draw their water from the same sources we all do. The government blithely allows water to be wasted, disregarding those who are acutely at fault. Asking the public to turn off their taps while brushing their teeth can make a infinitesimal difference, but there are bigger fish to fry to help curb what will be one our worst nightmares — lack of precious water.
Barbara Mongan
West side
Ex-President Trump, help us!
Dear Ex-President Trump:
In some of your debates and interviews pre-election 2016, you discussed the success of your hairspray in a closed environment, and thus having no ill-effects as to global warming.
Given the heat-dome effect transversing the country, I ask that you please, please, please bring your spray to bear upon this bald dome, to see if it may have the same success continentally as it has had personally — the swollen hot spots are after all of comparable size. Thank you, Mr. Ex-President!
Scotty Dean
Midtown
Abortion and shootings
People clamor for the right to kill unborn babies, but abhor the killing of school children.
Deedee Bruster
SaddleBrooke
Protecting the children
Now that our “activist,” “pro-life” Supremes have reversed Roe v. Wade to protect the unborn, hopefully they can turn their activism to provide similar protection for our live school children from military-style assault weapons.
Craig Wunderlich
West side
There will be abortions
Having worked in medicine before Roe v. Wade, I saw abortions induced by nonmedical hacks, apparently using coat hangers and soap solutions. This caused incomplete abortions, inducing severe bleeding, infections and perforated organs. These cases then went to hospitals for further care on an emergency basis.
I expect this will happen again, without knowing persons who induced the abortions.
Allowing legal abortions will avoid these severe risks if abortions are done safely, saving lives.
SCOTUS has taken away women’s right to make their own decisions in a Talibanistic way.
I hope all states in the U.S. will not all outlaw women’s right to abortions.
Anant Pathak, M.D.
Foothills
SCOTUS foreshadowing
Recently, the extreme court overruled a 50-year-old law allowing a woman to have control over her own body. Alito spearheaded this action. His flawed reasoning was that Roe v. Wade is not anchored in the text of the Constitution.
The conservative 6-3 majority went against the tide on this one with two-thirds of Americans wanting the law to remain.
The robed scholars struck down a 108-year-old New York law limiting who can obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon. New York’s governor Hochul said “This isn’t just reckless, it’s reprehensible. It’s not what New Yorkers want.”
In a separate statement, Clarence Thomas suggested that the court will be revisiting access to contraceptives, LGBTQ rights and same sex marriage. Curiously, he stopped short of revisiting mixed marriages?
These two judgements demonstrate an ominous warning of the way the future judicial needle is pointing.
Rex Witherspoon
SaddleBrooke
Are biracial marriages next?
Since it’s clear to me that Clarence Thomas has no empathy for nor understanding of any position than his own, I wonder how he would react if some other backward-thinking person suggested that biracial marriages and relationships should be illegal. Wasn’t so long ago in many “conservative” states that they were against the law.
America, home of the free? Not so much these days in what I think is rapidly becoming a theocracy.
Merle McPheeters
Midtown
Can more laws be overturned?
One reason given for overturning Roe v. Wade is that it is not mentioned in the Constitution.
Our environmental laws are not in the Constitution either, along with hundreds of laws that protect us.
Does this mean they can be overturned?
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
Theatrical tradition of drag
Re: the June 21 article “Right-wing politics can be such a drag.”
Years back, my now-adult daughters and I laughed together watching these beloved comedies: “Some Like It Hot,” “The Bird Cage,” “Tootsie,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Hairspray.” And did you know, oh right-wing Guardians of Public Morality, that the plays of William Shakespeare, as well as ancient Greek tragedies, featured men costumed as women in female roles? The Greek tragedies were presented along with “Satyr plays,” which had actors using giant phalluses, for comic relief. The children historians suggest were probably in attendance survived. Let’s all celebrate drag performance for the illustrious theatrical tradition that it is and protect children from the real threats to their well-being: worship of weapons and glorification of violence, not-gasp!-men in dresses.
Kim Mathews
East side
Keep integrity of Santa Ritas
Just recently, on vacation, I was interrupted several times by people wanting my attention for things that seemed trivial. It’s not even possible to “get away” on a vacation like it used to be. It’s harder to focus on what’s really important.
One way I know to regroup and restore is to go to a natural environment which is away from people. There, in the presence of something greater than me, I can see myself in perspective again and regain my footing.
The Santa Rita Mountains are such a place that we are fortunate to have near us. Not only do they create oxygen and a home for plants and animals but they also provide psychological and spiritual support when we visit.
We need to maintain the integrity of this land to maintain the integrity of ourselves. If we want to survive, we have to protect that which nurtures us.
Susan Calhoun
Southwest side
Guns and babies
“Our babies will stop killing when we stop killing our babies.” This is a non sequitur; a statement that does not logically follow from the previous statement. This is similar to Supreme Court Justice Alito referencing a judge who believed in witches in the 1600s in overturning Roe v. Wade.
Toni Kane
Oro Valley
Biden encouraging protests
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden called the decision, “a culmination of a deliberate effort over decades to upset the balance of our law. It’s a realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic error by the Supreme Court, in my view.” Biden called for peaceful protests, same as Trump did on Jan. 6. AOC called the Supreme Court “illegitimate” and urged protesters to take to the streets. Speaker of the House Pelosi said the Court was “eviscerating American’s rights.” Rep. Maxine Waters stated, “To hell with the Supreme Court.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the Court “set a torch to its legitimacy.” What followed were national protests in the streets. Numerous pregnancy centers across the country, i.e. in Virginia, Vermont, Colorado, Oregon, were vandalized and defaced with, “If abortion ain’t safe, you ain’t safe.” A Democrat-lead Jan. 6 committee has been investigating Trump for inciting violence at the U.S, Capitol and overturning the election. How are these Democrat politicians and rioters any different?
Dorothy Monroe
Sierra Vista
High noon
Last week reminded me of the 1880s Tombstone and the wild west with the U.S. Supreme Court promoting open carry of handguns. Shootout at the road rage cafe anyone? Further, Miranda rights became optional and private religious schools have unlimited access to the public tax-trough. All this in addition to diminishing women’s rights to own their bodies. What’s next for this group of activist judges? Elimination of same-sex marriage and contraceptives between married couples? Perhaps Clarence and Ginni Thomas should be worried that interracial marriage will soon be on the chopping block.
Richard Fridena
West side
Gets you thinking
Re: the June 26 article “A cartoonist returns to find an American Press now in peril.”
As usual, Fitz makes the point — which is the point.
The Arizona Daily Star Opinion Page encourages a person to think. Isn’t that worth a few pennies, when most of the day our brains are being bombarded by emotional manipulation or Kardashian crap?
Good on you, Fitz, for bringing it to our attention.
Good on you, Lee organization, for letting him.
Shame on you, Gannett, for choosing profit that will continue the slide of democracy into “dumb and dumber.”
Mary Glenn
Midtown
