Sumlin going down with the ship?
Kevin Sumlin firing coaches is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The ship is sinking and firing the staff isn’t going stop the hemorrhaging. The ship is in trouble and off course and the captain is responsible.
William Long
Foothills
President hasn’t
earned respect
Re: the Nov. 21 letter “Let voters make final judgment on president.”
The letter writer doesn’t seem to understand that our elected officials are not playing a game, but rather are doing their level best to follow the mandates of our Constitution, even though there’s an election next year. Let’s not forget that Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasn’t exactly eager to see our country get into formal impeachment hearings. She waited until the evidence was overwhelming that Congress needed to embark on the constitutionally mandated process, and only then reluctantly agreed to begin.
As for respecting the president, he has been totally disrespectful to everyone with whom he disagrees; therefore, he has not earned respect.
Aston Bloom
East side
Tell senators your impeachment thoughts
I think it is a foregone conclusion that the House will issue articles of impeachment. That may well happen in the very near future.
Also, I think the common thought is that the Senate will, due to Republican control, not convict.
I am not sure how Sen. Kyrsten Sinema will vote (I suspect for conviction), but am quite sure Sen. Martha McSally will vote in favor of the president.
The only thing we citizens can do is flood both senators’ offices with our opinions. Not at all sure if it will make a difference, but doing nothing will definitely not make a difference.
Randy Garmon
Midtown
Trump rooting out corruption
The search for a crime sufficient to support impeachment continues. The theory now is that President Trump committed a high crime when he asked the Ukraine for assistance in investigating suspected corruption. The suspected corruption involves Hunter Biden, the former vice president’s son obtaining a board seat on a Ukrainian energy company. The younger Biden was paid $50,000 plus per month for a position for which he had no apparent qualifications, other than his connection to the then-U.S. vice president.
The vice president, in turn, is in a video in which he brags of having coerced the Ukrainians, under threat of withholding aid money, to fire the prosecutor who happened to be investigating suspected fraud by the younger Biden’s company. Lot of smoke there suggesting the need to investigate. Yet the president is accused of a crime for pushing the investigation. Apparently, the reasoning goes thus: Political opponents are immune from scrutiny.
Gilmore Tostengard
Oro Valley
Trump exerts pressure on his Senate jurors
In a report issued on Thursday, Nov. 21, by David Jackson for USA Today, Jackson states that “Officials said Trump has probably spoken, either individually or in groups, with all 53 Republican senators — all jurors in a potential impeachment.”
Donald Trump may very likely be impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. In what system of justice does the person being charged have personal access to those who will serve as jurors in an attempt to influence their decisions? Prospective jurors are typically asked if they have prejudged the outcome of a trial. Sometimes jurors are sequestered to protect them from outside influence in order to insure a fair and unbiased judgement. How can a trial in the Senate be anything other than a mockery if the jurors have been pressured to bring their partisan-driven biases to the proceedings?
Mona Udstuen
Marana
Conservation program needs full funding
In an important vote for land and water protection, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved one of the West’s most vital initiatives: the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Permanent Funding Act.
If approved by the full Senate, it would provide permanent, full funding to protect critical wildlife habitat and water resources, including some of the most important public landscapes in Arizona. This money does not come from taxpayers, but from offshore oil and gas drilling revenue.
During the past 50 years, Arizona has received more than $240 million from LWCF to protect vital lands throughout the state. Right here in Southern Arizona, the Arizona Land and Water Trust secured $1.7 million from the program to incorporate an additional 960 acres into Ironwood Forest National Monument.
This funding bill is moving through the Senate and is headed in the right direction but still needs your support. Please ask your senators to approve this landmark legislation.
Liz Petterson, executive director, Arizona Land and Water Trust
Midtown
