On the border
Re: the Jan. 23 article “Border security is not border reform.”
Great work! She lays out the reality of undocumented border crossers, which is far different from the lurid inventions of the shameless xenophobes who dominate the airwaves.
What do the would-be immigrants want? A chance at a better life, just like my own immigrant ancestors did.
Is that really something we should be afraid of?
David Steinberg
Northwest side
Mossad vs Sinaloa Cartel
Re: the Jan. 25 letter “Water woes.”
Kudos to the writer who floated the notion of AZ paying to build a desal plant in California (rather than Sonora, Mexico) where there are already 12 online, one approved as recently as 2022. This in exchange for California’s CAP water allotments which are considerable. The water paying public should at least see the cost/benefit breakdown of the various plans to maintain our current profligate use of water. Maybe even conservation measures? Can I assume that the Israeli company price tag of $3 billion includes a lifetime (whose?) warranty that the Mossad would maintain the safety and integrity of the pipeline of new water from the Gulf of California against any harm or threat of harm that might be done by the Sinaloa Cartel that controls the Mexican part of this route. What, me worry?
Michael Judd
East side
Television
Television is not what it used to be, broadcasting repeat after repeat, plus reality programing. Cable is doing the same. The movement is to streaming, where big media controls what you watch at a lower cost to them through the use of wifi. It gives the viewer fewer choices at a greater cost. This decision leaves the local broadcast stations less revenue. Less people are viewing, means less ad revenue, harking the demise of local broadcast stations. The advent of streaming and using an IPTV service brings another problem to the local station. When you can watch stations around the world watching the BBC or sports from Europe or Australia, also limits the revenue to the local stations. The FCC must step in and regulate the problem before the demise of local television. We have to have our senators to look into a way to fix this problem as soon as possible.
Sheldon Feldman
Northwest side
What worries me
OK, we all know the Republican Party has gone off the rails under Trump. We all know it’s a viable threat to American democracy. History repeats. Now Trump has taken over the Republican Party (MAGA for short). History tells us what will come of this. But today we’re still a democracy. What concerns me is the huge number of votes the MAGA party still gets. Why are so many of us voting to end it all and plunge us into peril under a crazy egomaniac? Will it be Nero, Attila the Hun, Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler and Trump?
Thad Appelman
Northwest side
President Pinocchio’s speech
Re: the Feb. 21 letter “President Pinocchio’s speech.”
I just read this letter writer’s criticism of our president, calling his state of the union speech lies. Where was he when the actual President Pinocchio was in office? The guy that lied more than 30,000 times in four years. Why didn’t we hear about those lies? Just asking for a friend.
John Bingham
Northwest side
Gun safety
Mental illness has always been with us. But then came the guns with their epidemics of mass murder.
Alan Rubens
Northeast side
Deliver us from chaos candidates
Fox News, please offer Kari Lake the job she is really auditioning for. And D.C. lobbyists, give Sinema that high paying job she wants.
We need candidates that will work for the good of Arizona, not for their personal gain.
Sharon Robison
Saddlebrooke
Pledge of Allegiance
The Arizona House has recently submitted HB2523 to require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during school hours. In support of the bill, Rep. Barbara Parker stated “We stand and recite the (Pledge) every day...What’s good for us is good for the children.”
Sen. Wendy Rogers added “This is to make sure that students...understand the country in which they live and embrace the citizenship and the founding principles that we hold so dear.”
First, this bill is an egregious violation of free speech. While Rep. Parker’s remarks make absolutely no sense whatsoever, the bill flies directly in the face of Sen. Roger’s statement. The founding principles of this country include free speech. Reciting the Pledge at academic gunpoint is the antithesis of our founding principles. Second, and sadly, HB2523 is also yet another thinly veiled political attempt to control what students think and believe.
John Riley
Oro Valley
Brackish water may lessen water crisis
My family has been in the oil and gas business in Oklahoma for over 100 years. Brackish water is often pumped up with oil and is seen as an annoyance there.
The USGS found Arizona has 600 million acre feet of brackish water under the state at depths of less than 3,000 feet. That is close to what Arizona would use in 100 years! Brackish water is salt water that was left underground when the ocean that covered what is now Arizona millions of years ago receded. It costs much less to desalinate than sea water. San Antonio, Texas uses treated brackish water for drinking water. Perhaps adding this precious water to the mix may spur additional creative solutions to our water crisis and significant movement to make sure there is sufficient water for future generations of Arizonans.
Respectfully,
Kevin Blake
East side
