Tucson Speaks Out: Oct. 27 letters of the day

Water shortage

Re: the Oct. 22 article "City Council endorses treating wastewater for drinking."

I read the article on recycling water and have often wondered why this has not been the policy all along. Recycled water is not recycled, it is purified water. We seem to forget that all water is recycled. We take river water and dump it in a field so it filters through the soil, filling the water table and them pumped back up for distribution. It seems a lot of time is wasted with the process. We we seem to forget that every house with a septic tank processes the water and dumps it into the soil to become part of the water table. Step one is ignoring the image of "recycled", purified water is water. We waste a lot of water on construction dust control and golf course watering, no, not everyone plays golf. What is the difference between recycled water and groundwater, besides the minerals in groundwater?

Loran Hancock

Northwest side

Performance enforcement

Civics classes taught me many years ago there are three branches of government, and the job of Congress is to prepare a budget, make laws and represent the their constituents.

In recent years, it appears our elected representatives have altered their objectives to first, get reelected, followed by directing government spending to their district. Deadlines are ignored and the actual will of the people is lost in the chaos that prevails under the guise of the Nation’s business.

Like every rule, there should be enforcement including penalties for neglect. I propose every congressman and senator have their term reduced by one month for every day Congress cannot complete legislation by the deadlines set in the statues. We might get a budget passed on time and governance improved.

Donald Flood

Green Valley

Tucson Humane Society

Re: the Oct. 20 article "Statistics show an inhumane Humane Society."

To the Editor:

I also have worked with the HSSA as a volunteer and have taken note of some questionable policies and practices that could be indicators of the conditions that Mr. Ribeiro outlines. It's a travesty that does need to be laid at the feet of executive leadership. In my opinion, executives of any humanitarian charity should act in humane ways, outside of personal interests. If they can't do that, they should be replaced quickly by the governing board.

That said, I know of many employees and friends of the HSSA who do not condone such activities in the least; in fact they are appalled at the mere thought of animal mistreatment. Let's not cut off our generous donations for the actions of a few bad players. Let's dispose of the bad players and be kind and caring for the dogs and cats entrusted to the care of the HSSA.

Bruce Maxwell

Northeast side

Ciscomani any day over a leftist Democrat

Re: the Oct. 20 letter "Dead Man Walking."

The Arizona Daily Star has published several letters attacking Representative Juan Ciscomani (R). One letter referred to him as a "dead man walking". Shame on the Star for publishing that. I will take Juan any day over a far leftwing Democrat that currently populate the House of Representatives. They seem to be programmed in their thinking and voting. Their agenda is extreme. They want more government CO2 emissions dictates that raise the cost of vehicles, appliances, and everything we use. They want continued open borders and citizenship for millions who came here illegally. They want extreme gun legislation that would turn law abiding gun owners into criminals if not complying. They want statehood for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia ensuring forever four Democrat Senators and Congress members. They want to stack the Supreme Court with leftists to achieve their agenda that they otherwise cannot get through legislation. They support children deciding about having an abortion or becoming transgender, excluding parental rights. I will take Juan Ciscomani over any Democrat!

Orlando Vega

Amado

Middle East

The barbaric intrusions into Israel by Hamas must be universally condemned by the world community. However, considering that actions usually trigger reactions, we should not be surprised by what happened.

Decades of oppression of the Palestinians, their treatment as second class citizens without any hope for freedom, coupled with the West's spineless utterances of "it's not helpful" whenever Israel violates international law such as the land grabs by its settlers in the Occupied Territories, had to eventually result in catastrophe.

Carpet bombing and liquidation of mostly innocent people in Gaza is not the answer, although Netanyahu believes it will doom the Hamas movement.

Only the U.S. can stop this ordeal and mutual lust for vengeance by firmly insisting on a political solution, linking it to a review of our massive and unparalleled economic and military aid. The ultimate goal must be a two-state solution, as nothing else will bring peace and quality of life to the peoples of this unfortunate region of the world.

Frederick Leinfest

Oro Valley

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Bidenomics doubles deficit

President Biden loves to tout his 'Bidenomics' as having been so great for Americans. He obviously does not understand the financial hardship he has inflicted on us. Higher food and commodity prices, higher gasoline prices, higher interest rates on car loans, credit cards and home loans. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected that the Federal deficit will double this year (2023) from $1 trillion to $2 trillion. Biden's failed Student Loan Relief program would have added $300+ billion more to the deficit. Much of the deficit is attributed to higher interest rates paid by the Treasury on our current debt. Biden wanted to pass his Build Back Better legislation that the CBO projected would have added trillions to the Federal deficit, if the new programs had not expired. He will return to that if re-elected. And how many billions of taxpayer money have been spent by Biden on accommodating millions of foreign people who have come in illegally over the last 2.5 years? Bidenomics at work.

Marsella Mavis

North side

Mayor and councilor pay!

I agree that council pay is below minimum wage and so we should raise that pay to at least minimum wage. And the Mayor’s wage though comes out to a little above twenty bucks an hour, based on a forty hour work week. I also wonder what job they had before these, that made their run for political office seem so important? And didn’t the old statement that I used to hear a lot made by people running for office; “I’m not doing it for the money" not important anymore? It’s all about money, period!

Benito Whatley

South side

Continuity of care

As a physician, I'm aware of the acute local shortage of primary care providers. However, a tenet of medicine has always been: "First do no harm." That mantra has been lost on at least one of our large local health systems. Leaving an existing patient to fend for themselves when a physician leaves medical practice qualifies as harm. I have been a patient at TMCOne for the past 8 years. In that time, on two occasions, my primary care provider departed. On both occasions, no effort was made to assure continuity of care with a new provider. Today, when I called to schedule an appointment with the new physician hired to replace my previous provider, I was told: "All physician panels are full. Sir, we have 20,000 patients, and it's first come, first served. Existing and new patients are treated equally when a provider leaves." In other words, you're on your own. As physicians, we can do better. TMCOne just lost a patient, although I'm not sure they care.

H. Eugene Hoyme, MD

Foothills

Climate change

Re: the Oct. 25 article "A carbon fee and dividend must be adopted by the U.S.."

Mike is spot on. We need to adopt a carbon fee and dividend. Anyone who feels frustrated because they don't know what to do personally to help reduce Earth's fever, there is one very important action everyone can take. Call your members of congress and let them know you are a voter and support a carbon fee and dividend. Don't call once, but once a month!

Corliss Jenkins-Sherry

Oro Valley

The Republican Congress is NOT Republican

Speaker Johnson is much worse than a RINO — he’s un-American. Mr. Johnson’s embrace of anti-democratic values, violence and racism is nascent fascism. Trump extremists are using fascist propaganda to divide us — Mike Johnson is their marionette. As a former Republican official, I despise the rise of communism on the left, but I despise the rise of fascism on the right even more.

To combat Fascism, we must identify it. FDR said, “the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic staelf. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.”

Preaching religious superiority is fascism. Republicans intimidating voters is fascism. Conservatives threatening lives and livelihoods despite protected free speech is fascism. Violently denying election results is fascism. Book banning is fascism. Voters must wake-up and throw-out Republican hardliners — they’re un-American.

Joshua Reilly

North side

New congress

I don't understand why some of the more progressive Republicans don't change parties. The Republican party has lost it's soul to Trump and the extremists. After years of rewarding the most extreme members with committee posts and power, the party has become totally dysfunctional. Taylor Greene, Boebert, and Gaetz care more about being on Fox and raising money than actually doing their job. The Republicans in the House have become a joke and dangerous for our country.

Craig Miller

Northwest side