SW Gas has lousy customer service
I had to contact Southwest Gas on Wednesday simply to change an expiration date and security code on a debit card for my automatic debit. First, I had to wait 65 minutes on hold and was then told by the one customer service rep (I am sure they must only have one working) that that couldn’t be done by her. Unbelievable. I refuse to do this online because I had fraud on an account. I told a friend, who is blind, about this and he said he had the same problem. No wonder Southwest Gas has such low reviews.
Is this incompetence and lousy customer service our new normal? How pathetic.
M.A. Akers
Southeast side
Biden too slow in aiding Ukraine
On March 3, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy said it was a “pity” that Joe Biden and the West’s support came after the war started and that the world came late with their policies. Russian troops and tanks on Ukraine’s borders began last April. It was not until Jan. 22 that Biden sent the first arms shipment to Ukraine. It takes time to train people how to use them. On Feb. 24, Putin invaded Ukraine. It was only afterward that Biden and NATO enacted economic sanctions on Russia. I think that was too late. Even Biden said it would take a month for sanctions to fully be felt. Ukraine may not last that long. Biden and NATO blundered months ago by not having implemented graduated economic sanctions and given Vladimir Putin a deadline to pull back from Ukraine’s border. But they feared it might provoke him and escalate the situation. Duh! Biden has enriched Putin’s coffers to fund this war by importing oil from Russia, while implementing a de facto war on U.S. oil/gas production.
Alan Ruiz
West side
It’s déjà vu all over again
In a recent letter, a writer makes a claim that “no real American can … .” This is the same fascist talk we heard about the civil rights and anti-war protesters in the 1960s. Vigilantes were spurred on by politicians claiming their America was threatened by these non-American people. Similar ideas permeated the Nazi propaganda in Germany to separate the “real Germans” from whatever groups that could be blamed for the poor conditions in Germany.
Never were the demonstrations as violent or as direct against our government as we saw on Jan 6, 2021. Now the GOP wants their people to be seen as participating in “legitimate political discourse.” The party has lowered their standards so low no breach of morals, ethics or law is considered wrong. Sen. Barry Goldwater said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. …moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
I never saw Goldwater support illegal activities, so I wonder if he would even claim to be in the GOP today.
Jeff Rayner
SaddleBrooke
Putin, oil, war — sounds familiar
Re: the March 2 letter “To hurt Putin, drive electric.”
Regarding this letter that driving electric cars was a great way to show our distaste for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine by reducing our demand for oil, I agree, but we also need to take a broader view, as this was largely the opinion after the Sept. 11 attacks as well. A quick look at the Top 10 oil-producing countries does not find many democracies (the U.S. and Canada, primarily). Many of these countries actively fund terrorism, suppress minorities, including Russia and Putin. The only way we can choke off the flow of money to these economies is to reduce our dependence on oil across the globe on a permanent basis. This may mean electric vehicles, but also a renewable power grid and rethinking our communities so our reliance on the car isn’t absolute. Otherwise, every time an oil-rich dictator wages war, we will be having these same discussions — while fretting about the price of gas.
Steve Caster
Northeast side
We have A-10s at the ready
What are we waiting for? All these Tucson A-10s should be in Ukraine. Remember “Highway of Death” in Iraq — last time useless, this time essential for the future of freedom.
Gary Maskarinec
North side
Thanks, donors, for helping PACC
Dear Editor,
I am a volunteer at the Pima animal shelter (PACC). On Friday I was working my shift at the greeter desk when a young man came in saying he had some donations and wondered where to take them. Thinking it was the usual bag of dog food or a few toys I said just bring them in and put them in the bin that we have to receive donations. It turned out he had a pickup truck filled in every available space with everything from food to blankets, toys, crates and treats. All collected by the students at Dove Mountain STEM school in one week! Soon the bin was overflowing. The young man and the accompanying adult, drove away before we could properly thank them, PACC truly appreciates the donation and the effort to gather and deliver everything. It was a pleasure to meet such a polite student who would take his time to help the dogs at the shelter.
Thank you, Dove Mountain School!
Janice Orum
SaddleBrooke
Clean energy has many benefits
Though life has taken me elsewhere, the austere beauty of the Sonoran Desert will always resonate in my heart like no other. Since leaving, I’ve come to understand how climate change threatens this rich but fragile ecosystem. But this visit there’s also a risk I’d long thought gone: an impulsive madman, or a genuine misunderstanding, could unleash widespread ecological damage from even a “limited” nuclear exchange.
Those calling for our energy independence correctly identify the need to undercut the leverage of oil-producing despots. But if the time it takes to develop more oil were instead used to transition to clean energy, we could accomplish this and avert the worst impacts of global warming (plus get cleaner air and more jobs besides).
The budget reconciliation bill now in the Senate is our best chance for legislation. Please urge your senators to include strong climate action in this bill.
Irmgard Flaschka
Midtown
No point hurting Russian citizens
It is laudable that many corporations and businesses want to do their part to support Ukrainians against the Russian invasion. However, corporate boycotts may cause more harm than good as the people most affected by boycotts are not Russian oligarchs, politicians, or leaders, but everyday Russian citizens going to work, providing for their families, and living paycheck to paycheck. These are the people who will be most inconvenienced by this choice and may lose their livelihood.
Someone may idealistically think, “So, if they have a problem they should appeal to the Russian government to stop the atrocities against Ukraine!” However, I think what’s more likely is that these villainized men and women will become more enraged and the Russian government and media will turn that hatred outwards. And the military service may provide the pay and livelihood that our boycotts denied them.
If these companies want to truly help the Ukrainian people, it would be more effective to keep Russian businesses active and donate their profits to support Ukrainian refugees.
Aamir Quraishy
Southeast side
What does the US stand for?
Over 30 years ago, Kuwait was invaded by a fascist dictator. The U.S. led the world, and put together a coalition that stood up to the dictator and ended the invasion, no treaty, no pact; we just did what was right. Now it has happened again, but this time we seem to be leading from behind. We are unwilling or unable to form a coalition to stand up to this aggression. We delay arms shipments because we seem to be afraid of how the other side will react, rather than doing what is right. We have no spine. In 1994, I believe, there was a treaty/pact/memorandum that guaranteed the sovereignty of Ukraine if they gave up their nuclear weapons. The U.S. signed that agreement. Guess they were just words on paper. The same can probably be said for any guarantees for NATO/Taiwan. What do we stand for?
Thomas Sitzmann
Oro Valley
Misplaced blame for Afghan exit
Re: the March 7 article “Putin has forced the West to change”
Jonah Goldberg’s op-ed was interesting and a worthwhile read, but I must take issue with his slamming of President Joe Biden for the Afghanistan fiasco. Goldberg and most every other pundit and armchair expert have piled on to Biden over his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. I contend that it is grossly unfair and inaccurate to pin all the blame on Biden. Over 20 years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, billions of taxpayer dollars poured into arming and training the Afghan military. Many precious American lives were lost defending Afghanistan. And yet the Afghan armed forces melted like snow in spring when the going got tough. If Afghans refuse to fight for their own country and countrymen — why should another American tax dollar be spent or another precious American life be lost fighting for them? Also, I contend that countless mistakes were made over the 20 years that contributed to the debacle. Shouldering Biden with all the blame is both unfair and inaccurate.
Nancy Silberschlag
Foothills
