Greed toxic to democracy
Re: the Oct. 16 letter “What your country can do for you.”
I fail to understand how it is that people like this writer feel free to slam the working poor for finally getting a little help from their government — that is, the entity elected to protect them, their civil rights, and their well-being — while remaining silent about at best and defending at worst— the richest 1%.
These rich, whose excess wealth, wasted on toys like space shots for celebrities, was “earned” by sapping the blood, tears, toil and sweat of those underpaid workers, by violating our sacred Earth to make billions more off the resources, by ignoring or denying any responsibility to respect, defend or preserve their country for future generations, not to mention seeking and getting unconscionable tax breaks, are the ones who need to “do for their country” instead of sponging favors from it.
We must call greed by its name and name its justification ignorant, malicious, and destructive of our beloved democracy!
Mary Kierzek
Midtown
Be more careful, Chief Magnus
Many think racism is not systemic in U.S. society. Yet examples abound that it is. Here is one:
In a news conference on Oct. 4, the day of the tragic shooting aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Police Chief Chris Magnus called the shooter a “Hispanic male by appearance.”
Why that description? Is it what police do routinely — that is, systemically — in identifying criminal suspects? And how unnecessary, because the person to whom Magnus was referring was dead, so not a threat and not being sought.
Turns out the shooter was not Hispanic “by appearance,” whatever that means, or otherwise. Yet the chief’s description tainted a race.
One must doubt that Magnus, likely himself the target of discrimination many times as a gay man, meant to make a racist comment. Which goes to show that racism and discrimination are ingrained, that is to say, systemic.
Shraddha Hilda Oropeza
West side
Police dying but won’t get vaccine
The police in this country take justifiable pride in their “protect and serve” role in American life. I can’t see the police unions’ efforts around the country to fight vaccine mandates as serving or protecting anybody, especially the police.
COVID-19 has killed about five times more police since the beginning of the pandemic than gun violence has. The best way to stop these senseless deaths is with the various vaccines. The police can’t claim they are protecting or serving anyone if they are exposing the public to avoidable sickness and death.
Graeme Williams
Southeast side
Political scene a horror show
Halloween is almost upon us and it promises to be very scary with the Democrats’ spooky pie-in-the-sky agenda promising (as usual) too much and delivering almost nothing while the ghoulish Republicans promising nothing but lies and misinformation (of which they’re so good at). Be afraid, be very afraid. Happy Halloween to all!
Herb Stark
Downtown
Trump sees a ghost here
Why are we entertaining lunacy and giving Trump free press with his wacky claims? Traditionally, we have called this type of misbehavior, “being a sore loser.” The election is over. Biden won fair and square; let’s move on.
Following Trump’s trajectory in trying to rewrite elections we could challenge every election just because the other candidate won. Following this rabbit hole we could argue about past elections.
Please, for the sake of our democracy let’s not give credence to these lies and deceptions. Biden won, acknowledge the facts and move forward.
Saúl Ostroff
Midtown
Rotary helping to change lives
On behalf of the Pima County Joint Technical Education District staff and governing board, as well as our thousands of students, we would like to thank the Rotary Club of Tucson for selecting Pima JTED as their 2021 Centennial Grant recipient and the thousands of community members who attended last Saturday’s wildly successful car show. It was wonderful to witness the community support and enthusiasm. We are profoundly grateful to the Rotary Club of Tucson members and sponsors who continue to make a difference in our community. Funds granted to Pima JTED will be used to enhance our numerous life-changing programs that offer industry certifications and/or professional licenses. The Pima JTED is a public school district that offers premier, tuition-free career and technical programs to high school students from public, private, home and charter schools.
Kathy Prather, Pima JTED superintendent/CEO and Bob Schlanger, Pima JTED governing board dhair
Northeast side
Price on carbon is a necessity
A price on carbon — yes, taxing emissions — is the sine qua non of an economywide response to the climate crisis. The sooner we do it the more effective it will be. The prices of things that contribute to global warming have to reflect their real costs to society. The carbon fee and dividend plan endorsed by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby would disincentivize (and quickly decrease!) carbon-emitting production. By returning the funds to the people, it would allow us to pay for the energy we need and make our own spending choices about carbon-intensive versus greener products and services.
A price on carbon must be included in the reconciliation bill or the U.S. will lose all credibility as a world leader on climate, not to mention the hope of turning the climate crisis around. A price on carbon doesn’t solve everything, but without it we solve nothing.
Suzanne Schafer
Downtown
