Irresponsible vax behavior
I believe people have the right to make choices about their health, as longer as it impacts only themselves. When your decisions hurt others, you forfeit that right.
As a retired ICU RN, I worry about patients with heart attacks, stroke, trauma, elective surgery, etc., not being able to receive care due to beds occupied by COVID patients that refused vaccination. If not the burden the unvaccinated places on others, I would be willing to accept this as Darwinism.
Craig Miller
Northwest side
LGBT people not
only ones at risk
Re: the Aug. 20 article "US has duty to rescue LGBT Afghans being hunted by the Taliban."
I am a lesbian but take issue with Granderson's laser-focus on the plight of Afghan LGBT people. He cites Sadat, a gay man from Afghanistan who said the Taliban "are going to try to exterminate us" like the estimated 65,000 the Nazis did in WWII.
Yes, this was, and is, horrific. But, so were the rest of the 11 million people, 6 million of them Jews, whom the Nazis systematically killed. The Taliban are brutal and obviously do not value human life. But LGBT people are far from the only ones at risk of serious persecution. Afghan women are once again fearful of their fate, and what of the Afghans who helped Americans but can't escape?
The situation in Afghanistan is terrible, and the U.S. should join with other like-minded nations to utilize our combined diplomatic and economic power to force Taliban compliance with basic human rights for all Afghan people.
Linda Lyon
SaddleBrooke
Shopping cart suggestion
Re: the Aug. 21 letter "Shopping cart dilemma."
I sympathize with the letter writer expressing frustration about the number of shopping carts left in neighborhoods, though I disagree with the author’s suggestion to have police arrest people who steal those carts.
The police are short-staffed and already quite busy, and most carts are left abandoned with no way to know who took them.
An alternative suggestion comes from my time living in Europe. The markets there had their carts chained together and one had to insert a coin to unlock the cart. When one returned the cart and locked it to the others, they would get their coin back, much like the luggage carts at airports.
Dawn Wise
Marana
Keeping children
safe during COVID
It seems so strange that I feel compelled to say that as a grandfather, I want my grandson to be safe. Because of his age, he can't have the vaccine, and because he lives in Arizona, his school can't mandate masks or ensure his teachers and school staff are vaccinated.
This is not a political issue; it is a public health issue. For the aggregate good, we need to have mandated solutions. If we don't, we place our children at risk, our teachers, our families and ourselves at risk.
Daniel McDonnell
Foothills
Contrasting water visions for Tucson
Re: the Aug. 22 article "County floats Sonoran seawater pipeline idea."
Today’s headline article about a proposed Sonoran seawater pipeline contrasted alternative visions for how Tucson might address future Colorado River water shortages. One vision is that of a desalination project that would offer a new water supply courtesy of the Sea of Cortez. Another, as quoted in the article by Watershed Management Group’s Catlow Shipek, is a greater commitment to water conservation and re-use.
The latter deserves immediate attention, as it is within our control, is much more cost-effective, and can be realized now. That doesn’t mean desal shouldn’t be considered. As supervisors Sharon Bronson and Matt Heinz note, it should be assessed as part of a regional strategy involving local, state and federal entities working together to address future water shortages, where a project’s estimated costs and environmental impacts can be weighed against its potential benefits.
John Shepard
East side
Freeze all new
development
Re: the Aug. 22 article "Ideas to end the drought in Arizona."
I thank Ethan Orr for his article. I would add to this, immediately freeze all new development. I don't know where (Tucson) Arizona thinks water will come from for more residents and businesses.
I have lived in Tucson 65 years and have heard desalination for decades, and now when water is at a drastically critical level it comes up again. Let's stop resting on our laurels!
Nancy Reid
North side
'Hansen's Hundred' is outstanding
Greg Hansen’s “Hansen’s Hundred” is one of the most outstanding projects I have ever read in the Star.
This series has showcased the encyclopedic knowledge Greg has of Southern Arizona’s sports history. It is easy to think of University of Arizona sports figures, but Greg has gone way beyond the obvious.
I learned a tremendous amount about people I didn’t know, and people I thought I knew.
As the series winds down, “Hansen’s Hundred” is the first thing I turn to when I read the Star every day. I have been trying to guess who would be in his top 10, but he has had some surprises.
Greg himself should be included in the next edition of The Hundred. He is an amazing Tucson treasure.
Mark Kimble
Midtown
COVID news never ends
In the Aug. 22 Sunday Arizona Daily Star, there were 12 articles either about or related to COVID-19, from an analysis of long-haul symptoms, to the discovery of COVID in deer. Twelve stories!
This pandemic has monopolized the news (and our lives) for far longer than it should have. The solution, in the form of a safe and free vaccine, was made available to people in early 2021, and yet because too many people don't trust science, or have allowed rumors on social media to trump common sense, we still see another variant, another surge, and more deaths.
Aren't you all heartily sick of hearing about COVID day and night? I know I am. Please get the vaccine, and then we can read about more enlightening and interesting things going on in our community.
Karen Micallef
Oro Valley
Biden a great President?
It is Day 207 of Biden being in office. The Taliban just took over the Presidential Palace in Kabul, they have overrun the country and are killing people. Our southern border is in crisis mode. Inflation is at a 13-year high. Gas prices are up a dollar a gallon.
Just like Donald Trump, Joe Biden keeps changing his mind on COVID solutions. Yep, Biden is a great president. I could add more, but you get the idea.
Ron Gagner
Northeast side
Political courage,
common sense
Re: the Aug. 20 article "Civics education more important than ever."
I would like to congratulate both David Eppihimer and Alison Jones, former Chairs of the Pima County Republican and Democratic Parties, respectively, for their political courage and common sense in recognizing and promoting common ground on a very important topic: a well-educated electorate.
You have set the example and revived the spirit of true democratic problem solving. I challenge the current Pima County Chairs, Republican Shelly Kais and Democrat Bonnie Heidler and the state Chairs, Republican Kelli Ward and Democrat Raquel Teran, to follow David and Alison's lead and to always seek that common ground. As they demonstrated, it starts with truth, honor and mutual respect.
Phil "Bulldog" Bentley
Foothills
Gov. Ducey worse than Gov. Mecham
Gov. Doug Ducey has just leapt ahead of former Gov. Evan Mecham as the worst governor in the history of Arizona. Even though “Ev” was a racist crackpot, his misdeeds were nothing compared to Ducey’s. By pandering to Trump’s base, Ducey is willing to sacrifice our children for his own political aspirations. More than 30 years ago the people of Arizona recalled Mecham. I truly hope history will repeat itself with Ducey.
Robert Davidson
West side
Support for Gov. Ducey
So, there are about 168 cases of COVID per 100,000 inhabitants of Pima County, as reported at Tucson.com on the day I wrote this letter.
I wish that I had faced such favorable odds during my ground combat tours as an officer of Marines!
Thus, I support Gov. Doug Ducey’s characterization of President Joe Biden’s administration as “weak and pathetic” in reacting to the delta variant, in loss of control of the U.S. southern border, in abandoning our Afghan allies, on proposing out-of-control federal spending and on focusing on equality of results, not equality of opportunity.
I wish that Ducey could run again.
James Stewart
Foothills
Civics should be taught in schools
Reading the guest opinion column on civics in the paper Aug. 19, I agree with what they said, but I think they should take it even further.
When I was in school, civics was required to graduate from high school, and I feel that it should be brought back to the high school level, because not every high school student goes on to college.
Not knowing how the country works really puts young students at a disadvantage. We need a little better education of the students than they learned from “Schoolhouse Rock!”
James McLin
East side
