Tucson Speaks Out: May 16 letters of the day

A sick political ploy

From January to August 2023, over 200,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans have arrived on commercial flights to 50 cities across America as part of Biden’s CHNV Parole program. Thirty thousand are allowed each month to enter via the program. They are provided with work authorization. DHS delayed by months in responding to a House of Representatives’ subpoena requesting the information. Immigration Parole historically was done on an individual case by case basis, not abused used to allow hundreds of thousands into the country. These people would otherwise be inadmissible. The White House claims all these people are vetted, but we have no way of checking their backgrounds in these countries. Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members have entered the country through Parole. As of October 2023, 1.6 million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans were awaiting approval to enter under Biden’s CHNV Parole program. These flights are a slick political ploy by the Biden administration to reduce monthly numbers encountered at the border by the Border Patrol.

Boris Slovek

Green Valley

Thank you to Trump supporters

Thank you Trump supporters for your letters to the editor. I can understand why racists, bigots and religion cultists support Mr. Trump, but why would fairly intelligent, reasonably decent people support a swindler, philanderer, and pathological liar? From reading your letters, I gather it’s because you prefer a lie you wish were true to a truth you dislike. You don’t like climate change, so you blame environmentalists. You don’t want masks and inoculations, so you believe COVID is “fake news.” You want to believe guns protect people, so you won’t believe guns actually put you in danger. You don’t want to accept responsibility for the many problems that affect our country, so you blame them on “foreigners,” liberals, and others you don’t like. This kind of wishful thinking isn’t new or unusual, people have done it for as long as humans have existed, but you take willful ignorance to a new level. So, thank you for helping me understand your irrational behavior.

Floyd Newsom

Northwest side

High school sports no longer sporting

In 1973 a group of Tucson kids who grew up in the same neighborhood for a dozen years rocked the Arizona high school football status quo by going 13-0 and winning the state title. Which school? Palo Verde. That football team was the perfect example of how open enrollment has ruined high school sports. Those boys played little league baseball together. Rode bikes to school together. Played “kick the can” on Saturday nights together. It’s no wonder that in 1973 the perfect “sports” storm of talent, teamwork, and teaching resulted in perfection. Similar feats occurred at Sunnyside High years later. Today? This will NEVER happen. Why? Open enrollment was originally implemented to allow lower income children to attend upper income schools, which did not happen due to the same economic factors. It did, however, allow kids to be recruited to the best sports programs. I miss the good ol’ days ...

(Yes, I played quarterback against Palo Verde; we lost 21-7.)

L Hunter Nash, DDS, Rincon High School, 1975

Nogales

How to choose a VP

Hey, how do you like the way sycophants of Trump audition for VP? Stand outside the courtroom, complaining about the drab depressing room, itself, what? Poor Donald, he’s not winning here. As a matter of fact, he absolutely looks, like the lying looser he is. Let’s look at these outside the courtroom, supporters. One sycophant, holds up military advancement, over abortion, for months and months. I’m sure those military personnel just love this guy, Not! And how about JD Vance, a never Trumper, turned avid supporter, huh? You know what, say what you want, for this liberal, showing how unfit Trump is, to hold office takes the cake. What an old, sad fool, Trump is. And check out the sad fools who support him. History is watching and Trump and his supporters lose!

Mary Bradley

Northeast side

The Golden Rule

I keep noticing a common element of so many Republican policies and programs these days. No bill or statement from any Republican politician these days is complete if the Republican involved is not actively trying to harm people in some way.

I don’t see anything the Republicans are proposing that is about protecting people or the environment or even saving the world from climate change. Everything they propose is more about demonizing and hurting groups of people in some way than helping the people the bills are supposed to be helping. Immigrants, Blacks, LBGQT+, childbearing women, Muslims are all boogeymen to be demonized. Even bills that try to help somebody are about “helping” someone by hurting other people.

“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”. I really don’t think any attempt to hurt or kill multitudes of people is a Christian thing to do. Do you?

Graeme Williams

Southeast side

Precipitation vs. Aridity

Re: the May 12 article “Study: Higher future flows likely on Colorado.”

The article glossed over an important point. Even with a precipitation increase, our area may still become more arid, due to temperature increases. Aridity is measured as the ratio between precipitation and the potential for evaporation and transpiration. While the Colorado River watershed may gain more precipitation, as temperatures increase, we will have even greater evapo-transpiration rates, potentially leaving us with less water for our use, not more. The effect of temperature on snowpack, the main source of Colorado River water, is concerning. Less precipitation will fall as snow, and snow that does fall will melt sooner. This precipitation increase won’t necessarily even happen during winter, further decreasing our snowpack potential. Any snow that does melt, will be absorbed by increasingly dry soils, rather than making its way to rivers. Given that prediction models for temperature are more reliable than those for precipitation, we should not get too comfortable with the possibility of increased precipitation.

Paula Redinger

Downtown

Kumbaya in a time of politics

At long last, we have reached a cultural symbiosis in this country. House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose political horse is still losing the 2020 presidential race, has declared that the American judicial system is corrupt, a sham and illegitimate, all because his boy is being prosecuted. Finally, the long-awaited moment in our history where a top Republican agrees with all those people on the American far left and far right who have, for centuries, claimed the same things about their treatment at the hands of the same justice system. Come on kids. Time to put down the hammers and sickles, red hats and white sheets, and head to the campfire for some kumbaya.

Bruce Kaplan

Northwest side

Ranked-choice primaries

Ranked choice primaries give a lot more meaning to third party candidates. Voters who would like to support a 3rd party candidate but realize they’re unlikely to win can cast a first-place vote to show support but make their second choice among the more likely candidates, still affecting the outcome. Currently third-party votes are essentially lost.

Barbara Woolford

East side

Trump is the primary culprit

Re: the May 14 letter “Ukrainian military package.”

Yes, the Republicans dithered, Speaker Johnson blocked the Ukrainian aid bill to come to the floor for months, but under whose direction? Donald Trump.

Do you recall Trump broke federal law by withholding Congress-approved military aid to Ukraine in his effort to have Volodymyr Zelenskyy undertake an investigation of Hunter Biden, which to his dismay did not happen. This abuse of power led to Trump’s first impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019.

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Trump is the primary culprit as to why the Russians are currently gaining ground.

Trump’s action is a clear example of who he really is, a man who holds grudges and is vengeful, who puts his damaged ego before aiding a fledgling democracy fighting for it freedom.

Phineas Anderson

Catalina

Voting choice

Commensurate with my obligation to my God, my country, and my family, I cannot foster or support any candidate holding allegiance to the current Republican Party in the United States. This party lost its moral compass, wraps itself in money, selfishness, and now follows false prophets speaking a vision of their own imagination like lemmings. I will do what I may to improve the yet unfulfilled American experience of freedom for all and pray braver voices rise amongst them like the phoenix from the ashes. Vote for the soul of our country.

Spencer Elliott

Oro Valley

Meaningful legislation

I would love to see a politician that would listen to his constituents, put his concern for his political career aside, speak as the “Great Orator”, rally his fellow Congressmen and women around him, and get some legislation passed that would finally put an end to the control that the NRA has over this country. I think a “good man with a pen” could be far more powerful than a “good man with a gun”!

Betsy Werhane

Northeast side

Side with humans in Israel and Gaza

The divisions in the U.S. about the war is Gaza appear especially difficult to resolve. Both sides are mostly correct, but significantly wrong, and neither side is willing to concede the other side’s valid points.

Any group that intentionally or recklessly kills, maims, kidnaps or starves non-combatant civilian men, women, children or elderly commits atrocities against humanity. Atrocities against humanity were committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, when roughly 1,200 were killed and another 250 kidnapped. Atrocities against humanity are being committed by the Israeli defense forces against Palestinian civilians, over 34,000 of whom have been killed and many more are being starved by Israel’s indiscriminate bombing and attacks.

I stand firmly on the side of Israeli civilians and Palestinian civilians. I stand firmly against Hamas, Netanyahu and Israel’s Ministry of Defense. It is time to break free of tribal mentalities and side with our fellow human beings.

Brooks Keenan

Oro Valley

Justice wanted

Re: the May 24 article “Laura Conover has failed this community.”

My nephew unarmed was murdered in August of 2017 by a security guard who was on duty as a unarmed security guard who had a loaded gun, knife and brass knuckles on him. After providing Pima County with enough circumstantial evidence coming from the mouth of the shooter, that this was not a case of self defense. We also requested to have a meeting with Laura Conover to highlight the numerous inconsistencies in the shooters story the day of the shooting compared to his testimony at deposition during civil case. For Pima County Attorney to just ignore that reinforces Pima County office is too timid to step up and do what is right. The security guard actually could have left the area numerous times. We were told by Laura Conover via email she would get back to us. It has been almost two years. We still have not heard back from her. Our family finds this hard to believe. We want justice!

Daphne Dickinson

Midtown

A few special grad congratulations

Graduation time highlights the superior students, the winners of scholarships, and the valedictorians. It is all well-deserved. There are, however, some students who may not be at the top of their class but who deserve special recognition. My list:

For those students who worked to support their families while they attended class, Congratulations!

For those students who had to help disabled or sick family members while attending class, may you be rewarded for your care and kindness.

For those graduates who moved frequently, and never felt permanency. You have learned persistence and that will serve you well in life.

For graduates who were foster children. You not only survived difficult times, you overcame and succeeded.

For those graduates who have signed up for military service. Thank you.

For those students going into the trades. You will be part of the backbone of America.

You may not have won awards and scholarships, but you developed a character that will serve you well in the years ahead.

Daniel McDonnell

Foothills

Postage increase

Re: the May 13 letter “Postal pennies spent again.”

In reply to the letter writer on postage stamp increase, there are ways of saving money on stamps. I never worried about it before as I have a couple of friends who are retired small-town postmasters and I didn’t want their pensions compromised. But going up to 73 cents is a bit much, even though I know other countries cost much more. Anyway, check out US Stamps Mail Center. I just purchased 200 stamps, perfect and the same as at the PO, for $50.57.

Janice Bottorff

North side