China is no excuse
for Trump’s inaction
I’m tired of listening to Donald Trump and Martha McSally gripe about China’s botched response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as if that excuses Trump’s own gross mismanagement of the crisis.
Mother always said: “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Trump could never control China’s response, but he is responsible for his own. He certainly could have acted sooner on the advice of U.S. scientists. Many lives could have been saved.
Helen Greer
Northwest side
Watching the paint dry — in agony
Our esteemed government has not done enough damage to the Southwest by building the wall. Now it wants to spend more billions by painting it! Really? With all the horrible things that are occurring now, this is too much to take.
The expense, the damage it has done to our environment, the loss of creatures great and small, not to mention our lack of water, it just is abominable. Will this craziness ever stop? I hope the wall rusts away into oblivion!
Cindy Quigley
Marana
Flyovers, like Christ, are reassuring
Re: the May 15 letter “Flyover costs more than it’s worth.”
In the Bible, Martha and Mary each observed Jesus’ visit to their home in different manners. Martha scurried about, cleaning and preparing food, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to him.
It is said Mary chose the better way and it should not be taken away from her. In the same way, the flyover brought joy and reassurance to the area and it should not be taken away. In this uncertain time, hope is needed as much as money.
Valerie Golembiewski
Southeast side
What happened to the children on the border?
What has happened to the children? Remember those kids separated from parents, families and guardians at the border? All those children put on buses and planes, then shipped off to dozens of “places” throughout our country? Has our nation forgotten the wrenching scenes of child separation? Funny how that’s become old news or not newsworthy since way before the pandemic.
Have they been returned to their families or allowed contact with them? Are they still in custodial safe houses? Who’s responsible for their mental and physical care?
I have a million questions as to their well-being and there’s been no word from the media on their fate. As a human being and retired nurse, I haven’t forgotten them.
Who is working on this story? Forgotten children? Not for me!!
Monica Maloney
Foothills
Is there a quantifiable risk to opening up?
I am sure we can all agree that with more tests, from both increased availability and a requirement for those returning to work, comes an increase in positive results for COVID-19.
Logic dictates some risk in a return to normal societal interaction. How, though, do we determine whether “spikes” in areas with relaxed restrictions are due entirely to increased exposure to each other and not partially, or even substantially, to an increase in testing?
Anyone who understands statistical bias can see how this will play out: our “opening up” will be condemned by the media and vaccine salvationists alike as a huge mistake that will necessitate a return to stay-at-home mandates. Moreover, they’ll have the “numbers” to prove it.
At this point, positive tests have become less and less meaningful. Testing for antibodies would provide far more relevant results: a more reliable (and much, much lower) mortality rate, and far less panic, even for those of us who are terrible at math.
Richard Peddy
East side
Ask Gov. Ducey
to protect solar rights
I’m a residential solar owner. I recently learned of a petition submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which, if approved, would take all control of regulating solar energy from the states and give it to the federal government. If approved, this petition will increase the costs to residential and small-business solar owners, limit the ability to get solar in the future, and severely curtail the solar installation business.
For almost 40 years, states have had jurisdiction over solar rights. The federal government has no business taking this right away from the states. It is particularly disturbing to see attempts to fast-track this anti-solar and anti-states’ rights petition during a global pandemic.
Protect your solar rights. Write Gov. Doug Ducey to tell FERC to turn down this petition (Ref: Docket No. EL20-42-000). Public comments will be accepted until June 14, 2020.
We need more solar energy production in Arizona.
Karl Schaeffer
Northwest side
Trump detractors show their lack of principles
Some things never change. When I do read the Opinion pages, I often find letters insulting President Trump and those who support his policies. A letter with the headline “America’s covenant unfulfilled” is the latest. I read the opinion carefully, and, as usual, there was no substantive arguments presented over policy.
Just more insults, such as describing President Trump as “a fragile man-child” and adding, “Shame on his followers for following.” Same ol’, same ol’. No arguments, no substance, just more arrogance.
Let’s be clear, I don’t follow President Trump. I only follow Jesus of Nazareth. I support Trump’s policies.
The letter writer mentioned, “the covenant, fundamental principles of decency.”
If values are really that important to you, show some.
J. Randall Deeming
Oro Valley
Finally getting a handle on translating Trump
When listening to the president recently, it occurred to me that when he speaks, he is stating the opposite of what he means.
“President Obama was the most incompetent president of all the presidents elected,” means “President Obama was the most competent president of all the presidents elected.”
“Everyone who wants a test can have a test,” is really “not everyone can have a test.”
When he fires people, like the Health and Human Services inspector general, it’s not because of any failure, but because he was doing a great job.
By using the words “fantastic vaccine,” it likely means it will be less than effective and probably dangerous to use.
We should look into “injecting bleach” and applying ultraviolet light inside the body really means “we should not inject bleach into the body” and “not use ultraviolet light inside the body.”
Lastly, in any of President Trump’s briefings and remarks, you can find the descriptions of “great,” “tremendous” and “fantastic” which might be given to mean “insignificant,” “inferior” and “whimsical.”
Richard Rebl
East side
Some businesses aren’t doing enough on safety
In a recent edition of the Arizona Daily Star, there was a story on how businesses are trying to figure out what will make people feel safe so they will return to shopping or spend money. I was at Walmart getting groceries a few days ago and people in line were not respecting the 6 feet of distancing in the checkout line. That makes me feel unsafe, especially when they are not wearing masks.
The checkout employees should be reminding people to move back 6 feet. There were people in the store without masks, or worse, wearing them incorrectly and not covering their noses. What good is that? That makes me feel unsafe.
You want people to feel safe? The business must remind people about the 6 feet of social distancing and tell them to wear their masks covering their noses and mouths. Otherwise it doesn’t protect anyone and I am going to stay in and spend my money on Amazon or stores that deliver or bring them out to my car, wearing gloves and masks!
Barbara Allen
SaddleBrooke
I guess Obama
never made a mistake
Former President Barack Obama recently gave a virtual commencement speech during which he took swipes at the Trump administration, saying, “More than anything this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing, a lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
Obama, of course, was referencing Donald Trump and his administration’s handling of COVID-19. I guess Obama has forgotten the criticisms of his administration for their handling of the ebola and swine flu outbreaks. Obama was accused of incompetence in his handling of ebola. During the swine flu, there was a lack of vaccine supply with some local health officials around the country giving up on getting enough.
I guess Obama does not know of the many unprecedented actions Trump and his administration have taken, like travel bans, private/government partnerships in mass producing masks, gloves, ventilators, gowns, the expedited FDA approvals of therapeutics, the “warp speed” vaccine initiative and historic small business and personal relief legislation.
Juan Santiago
Southwest side
Dems are hypocrites on Biden’s lies
A friend recently forwarded to me a 1987 video clip of Joe Biden. It’s from when he was running for president in the 1988 election. It was full of lies about his academic history.
For instance, he claimed having three undergraduate degrees when he had one, claimed he went to law school on a full scholarship when it was only half, claimed he graduated in the top half of his law school class when he was actually towards the bottom of it and claimed he was named the “outstanding political science student” in his class. All false!
And these were not gaffes or caused by any dementia set on by old age. Biden has a history of blatant lying. The Democratic, biased news media has always excused it saying “that’s just Joe being Joe.” No such standard applied to Trump. Democrats always cite Trump’s lies, but completely ignore their own presumptive nominee’s long history of doing the same. Just more hypocrisy and double standards.
Michael Wayne
Midtown
Vote-by-mail has my vote
Re: the May 18 article “Get on the early-voting list and help keep Tucson healthy.”
Thank you, Councilman Richard Fimbres, for your support for voting by mail. Even if the COVID-19 crisis is over by early August, when we vote in the primary, something similar is likely to appear in the future.
Of great concern, however, is the attack on the Post Office itself by the president and his followers. Trump has said publicly that too much voting by mail will lead to Republican losses and he is willing to destroy our postal service to counter that. Estimates are that it will run out of money by mid-summer and there is no back up for mail delivery after that.
Trump has threatened to veto legislation to provide funding or to solve the postal service’s Congress-created artificial money crisis. Will FedEx, Amazon, or USPS take up the task?
Barbara Tellman
Downtown
A little COVID cocktail
President Trump is now taking a drug not generally available to just anyone. But you can make your own. Just add Drano and Clorox to your gin and tonic!
Drano is sodium hydroxide, Clorox is chlorine and tonic is quinine. The result? Hydroxychloroquine! The gin is alcohol, tastier than hand sanitizer.
No, don’t do it! I am being sarcastic. It is toxic! The depressing thing is that I have to tell people not to do it. The other depressing thing is that no one can tell our president about reality.
Richard Norman
Northwest side
Beautiful images, great photographers
Thank you to Arizona Daily Star photographers Kelly Presnell, Mamta Popat, Josh Galemore and Rebecca Sasnett for their beautifully crafted images that accompany the profiles of Southern Arizona high school athletes.
I generally don’t turn to the Sports section first, but these revealing athlete portraits are drawing me in.
Kenna Smith
North side
McSally campaign ads
are misleading
Martha McSally is paying for ads that include snippets of local media coverage. These ads run during the newscasts, misleading viewers to believe the local media is supporting her. This is to try to give credence to her ridiculous charges about China intentionally spreading the virus and to glorify her for supporting health-care workers while she denies her constituents health coverage.
I reached out to a local newscast to ask how we could trust a newscast that is not impartial. The informative reply explained that “Federal candidates ads have to meet certain criteria set forth by the FCC. If they meet these criteria and if the federal candidate pays the price for the ad, then the station must air the ad. I do not have the option to deny the ad. If this were a state or local political ad, I would have that option. Unfortunately in this case I must air the ad. You will see this ad on every station in town.”
Unfair and manipulative, McSally.
Cathy Wayand
Oro Valley
