Letters to the editor - Tuesday December 19

We’re tired of stress and hopping mad

Let me get this straight: The very same people in the GOP who quietly stood by while a racist pedophile with no regard for the law ran for the Senate in Alabama, are questioning the ethics of Robert Mueller? If this doesn’t strike you as hypocritical, what does?

Mueller is a war hero with a Purple Heart who has served five presidents of both parties. He is a Republican. If Republicans can’t trust this man, how on Earth are they able to back the train wreck that is our president? If Mueller is fired by Trump with no outrage or action from this Congress, get ready for a huge backlash from the American public. We are paying attention like we never had to before. We are tired of the daily stress this administration causes. We are strong. We are loud and we are mad as hell. We are also the majority.

Marion Rogers

Downtown

Republicans fear democracy

Shredding the Senate and rushing bills through without public debate. Gerrymandering to weaken the voice of Democratic-leaning voters. Launching blatant attempts at voter suppression. This is the Republican Party of today, and it has staked out a unique niche in the history of American politics: a major party that is hostile to democracy itself.

Horrific as it is, the logic is impeccable. Tyrants around the world have feared democracy for the simple reason that if they permit it, they’ll lose power. Republicans assault the free flow of ideas and rig the electoral system in order to survive. If they didn’t, they’d have to seek popularity on the basis of their policies, which these days consist of destroying health care and giving money to billionaires. No wonder they’re scared.

Lane Van Ham

Midtown

Benedictine Monastery has a holy essence

As a newcomer to Tucson and regular visitor to the Benedictine Monastery, I was saddened to read of it’s sale and upcoming closure in March 2018. I have been blessed by my visits there — the beauty and sacredness of the space, the mindfulness and devotion of the Sisters and the unique quietude seldom found in a city outside these walls. I hope the developer is able to preserve not only the historical nature of the property but has an awareness of and reverence for the holy and mystical essence of the monastery. Such physical spaces are rare and endangered in our modern world.

Susan Spahn

East side

Motorists seem to be watching for pedestrians

I have been in Tucson for eight months. I have read and heard many times about the problem of pedestrians and bicyclist being hit by motorists. The focus seems to be on the motorist, but I have been in 42 states, and this is the only place I have seen motorists pay attention to pedestrians and bicyclists. And, oh my God, they actually stop. At the same time, I can say that this is where I see the pedestrians and bicyclist pay the least attention to the motorist. It takes everyone to be safe.

Gerald Hinshaw

Southwest side

Cycling and Tucson are a match made in heaven

Re: the Dec. 16 guest column “Study shows Velodrome would be an economic boon to Tucson.”

I am a new Tucsonan who was drawn here for the warm weather and for the cycling. My husband and I chose Tucson over every other southern, city in large part because of the cycling opportunities. We purchased a home and brought our financial resources to spend in the local community. We also bring many friends who also spend their vacation dollars here.A new park with more cycling facilities makes good economic sense for Tucson. It builds on the already strong base for the sport, which will continue to boost the local economy. And it is fun for Tucson locals, too! I support this effort and thank Damion Alexander for his hard work to make it happen.

Deb Rodgers

Foothills

Rivera column has specious logic

Re: the Dec. 17 column “You are the master of your time, labor, craft.”

Does columnist Diego Rivera remember the days when restaurants didn’t serve African-Americans? When country clubs didn’t accept Jews? When women had a hard time getting a decent job, much less a mortgage? “Individual preeminence over a craft” should not supersede the right to be treated with respect for attributes of our essential selves over which we have no control.

Could the baker refuse to sell to me because I have blue eyes? Because I’m old? Because I’m a woman? By Rivera’s standards, all those things could be true. So as long as the buyer isn’t using the service or product to promote harm to himself or others, there is no good argument for denying customers.

Rivera’s argument is specious and it creates an atmosphere that promotes a slippery slope of discrimination.

Theda Ellis

Oro Valley

Thanks for the holiday gift tags

Thanks so much to the Star and to Chiara Bautista and David Fitzsimmons for the beautiful (Bautista) and wonderfully goofy (Fitzsimmons) holiday gift tags. What a wonderful Sunday morning surprise. Actually, I get a gift from the Star every Sunday as I collect the comic pages to reuse as wrapping paper throughout the year and especially during the holiday season! A simple and fun way to refuse and reuse.

Sally Reed

Northeast side

What happened to fiscal conservatism?

Our GDP is at an all-time high, unemployment is at a 17-year low, the economy is booming and tax revenues are pouring in, yet the federal government ran a budget deficit of $666 billion in fiscal 2017. The GOP tax cut assumes that the economy will continue to grow for the next 10 years, and if it does we’ll still add about $1 trillion to the federal debt.Another 10 years of growth would be an economic miracle, but that’s baked into the tax cut. A booming economy makes it much easier for a senator or congressman to get re-elected, and when the Congress spends lots of borrowed money, the economy booms.

The GOP tax cut is a reckless and obvious attempt to buy the votes of those who want a welfare state, but refuse to pay for it.

Loring Green

Foothills