Gosar is not the problem
Many are writing about how Rep. Paul Gosar is an embarrassment, he should be censured, and so on. Not to rain on the parade, but time for some real talk. Rep. Paul Gosar won a primary. He won a general. He has been re-elected, he survived a recall drive.
Clearly, Gosar is not the problem, Gosar is a symptom. He is a symptom of a voting population that has divorced itself from the idea that a society is a group of people working together towards a common goal. He, along with his compatriots, represent a societal view that owning the opposition and scoring personal fame is more important than progress.
We can censure Gosar. We can condemn his ideals. We can remove him from office. All that is meaningless as long as the people of Arizona’s 4th district will elect another representative just like him.
David Reynolds
East side
Survival 101
The United States has long been a leading contributor to global warming, which was further worsened by the previous administration’s removal of hundreds of environmental protections. We must now take vigorous action to right these wrongs.
As a nation, we are already experiencing the effects of our negligence. What used to be 500-year climate disasters are now occurring with regularity. We have witnessed raging wildfires in Arizona, deadly ice storms in Texas, increasingly violent hurricanes from Louisiana to New Jersey and the terrible destruction they leave behind. We must act now to ensure our own safety and survival.
As more places across the world become inhospitable to human life, thousands are fleeing the regions they call home. These climate migrations will only worsen unless we start healing what we have made uninhabitable for others. We must act now to ensure their safety and survival.
Call our senators and congressmen today and urge them to pass the climate change bill in Biden’s Build Back Better Act.
Lois Postil
Oro Valley
Noise ordinance
I have attempted to get TPD to enforce the noise ordinance in the West University Historic neighborhood.
After being directed to call 911 (indicating it is not an emergency) and being transferred to the TPD 911 line (again indicating it is not an emergency) I have been told that TPD does not respond to noise complaints.
I am currently trying to gather neighbors who are also affected by almost nightly loud music / singing coming from a 4th Ave. bar’s back patio. They are clearly in violation of the ordinance, yet there seems to be no enforcement aspect connected to the ordinance. This has been an ongoing problem (several years) for those of us who live nearby.
Why have these ordinances if there is no enforcement?
Stephen Carlat
Downtown
Number 45 versus the military
In the Vietnam era, Donald Trump was a no-show.
He had five deferments and claimed bone spurs as an excuse, while playing all sports.
Trump told his attorney, Michael Cohen, “You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam.”
On a trip to a WWI military cemetery in France, he reportedly referred to the service members buried there as “losers” and “suckers”
In a televised event in 2015 he said of John McCain, “He’s not a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured”
After his passing, General Colin Powell received thoughtful accolades from past presidents, dignitaries, etc. Only disparaging comments from the former president.
Follow this man?
If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.
Rex Witherspoon
SaddleBrooke
Centennial Hall needs an upgrade
Centennial Hall on UA’s campus needs a major upgrade. It houses Broadway shows, dance, theater, concerts, comedians etc. on a nearly daily/nightly basis. It’s an anachronism: old, tired, dated, dinosaur.
The dated design of audience seating is terrible. It is impossible to see over the head(s) of people in front of you; the sound system is passable, barely.
The two tiny bathrooms create long lines at intermission adding to the small, crowded lobby congestion.
Ditto the lobby merchandise stand gridlock.
A new second side entry helps entry immensely; but the tented makeshift bar there creates yet another gridlock.
Newly refurbished Tucson Music Hall and ASU’S Gammage Theater are modern designed venues. UA Stadium is well into it’s 21st Century rebuild.
Changes were promised by UA pre-pandemic. A serious effort to address the situation needs to be re-initiated or the Hamilton’s of this world will bypass Tucson.
Baird Thompson
Foothills
Nuclear energy
Re: the Oct. 28 article “Nuclear energy can help save climate.”
Jonah Goldberg’s opinion article is right on. The reasons for not considering nuclear energy for domestic use are based primarily on one thing — fear. The number of injuries and deaths caused by accidents in nuclear power plants is nil compared to those caused in plants that use conventional fossil fuels. And disposal of nuclear waste is indeed subject to ‘not in my backyard.’ I have seen underground salt mines in New Mexico that would make ideal disposal sites for nuclear waste, but these have been rejected because of the fears of the local population. And the potential for nuclear energy is boundless. The amount of fissionable material consumed in the explosion of the Hiroshima bomb was two-thirds the weight of a dime, and the energy released was enough to provide energy to about 1,500 average US homes for one year! Seems to me that this could be the answer to a real problem and should be given serious consideration especially since nuclear energy production produces no greenhouse gases.
Tom Henderson, retired metallurgical engineer
West side
Republicans and COVID
As undertakers shuttle between the hospitals and mortuaries, perhaps it is time to evaluate the anti-mask and anti-vaccine mandate policies that our Gov. Doug Ducey, and many Republicans, support. As of a few days ago, Arizona with a population of over 7 million had 21,736 deaths. The country of Israel has a population of over 8.8 million, but its deaths from COVID stands at 8,148. The comparisons clearly show the abject failure of Republican politicians to protect the state. The Republicans should consider changing its party emblem from the elephant to the hearse.
Mark Elliott
Green Valley
Free speech not so free
My what a poisonous people we are. Free speech is free speech until you act on it then it becomes a crime. People threaten people all the time and as long as no one acts on it the authorities cannot do anything. Everyone has opinions and what they would like to do to one another. Which doesn’t mean that it is a crime — it is free speech. This country is on the threshold of communism if we cannot express ourselves without someone whining — then we are all in trouble.
Gabriel Arenas
Downtown
Televise all women’s basketball games
Our women’s basketball team almost won the national championship last season. Coach Adia Barnes is a fabulous coach. All the women’s games need to be televised as are all the men’s basketball games. These young women deserve our support and respect. Let’s televise their games, so more fans can cheer them on.
Rita Irwin-Davidson
West side
Blake Masters
Re: the Nov. 14 article “Candidate reveals self with attack on friend.”
Tim Steller’s piece regarding U.S. Senate candidate, Blake Masters, led me to his website.
On his website, Blake Masters expresses concerns for police across the country and describes them as being under attack. Also, he, I think speaking about Black Lives Matter protests against police killings of Black people, states that protesters who commit a crime need to be arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to the fullest extent of the law.
Given his attraction to Donald J. Trump, I have a feeling that Mr. Masters does not feel the same way about the Jan. 6th protesters who violently invaded the U.S. Capitol Building; a violent invasion that resulted in the death and injury of police attempting to protect the Capitol Building.
I’d like to think that all candidates for office in the United States of America believe in democracy and equal justice under the law. Those who do not, do not deserve our vote.
Dave Gallagher
Foothills
