Biden vs Trump
I love reading all the liberal op eds on the age issue of Biden vs. Trump. It’s basically look how fit Biden is. He could run a 5K, he could do a hundred push-ups. Look at Trump, probably could barely walk into a McDonald’s. That may all be true, but that’s not the issue with age. Democrats insisted Trump take a cognitive test. Which he did and passed (and again recently). Asked to do the same — Biden has refused. It’s not physical (if that were the case, how did FDR keep getting elected. No, you would see Trump mumble during a speech. You would see Trump turning around to shake hands with a”ghost”. And you would see Trump needing a 14 year old showing him the way of a platform. I could go on with the mental deficiencies that Biden shows, but I understand your real argument ... HE’S NOT TRUMP!
Scott Langpap
Sierra Vista
A vehicle is fueled Nov. 8 at a gas station in Palatine, Ill. Gas prices fell 5% from September to October and are down 5.3% from a year earlier, suggesting that cheaper energy could help keep down inflation.
Rise in gas prices
Re: the Nov. 22 letter “Biden’s fossil-fuel folly.”
We all feel the pain at the gas pump but was it Biden’s decisions that caused the inflationary rise in prices?
In 2020 we were hit hard by the pandemic and the global supply chain got badly bruised. Shortages were epic, travel restricted, demand for fuel plummeted.
Toward 2021/2022 as the pandemic eased, the demand for fuel at the pump skyrocketed and far exceeded supply which itself was artificially limited—and not by Biden. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration this oil shortage was precipitated by OPEC plus a different alliance of oil producing countries. Together all these countries produce over 70% of the world’s oil. They limited production in order to regain profits lost during 2020 and 2021. As the pandemic waned, production, travel and consumption skyrocketed beyond pre-Pandemic levels and gas prices followed in lockstep.
The writer holds Biden alone responsible for causing pump prices to soar, but if you fact check the pandemic years the writer might be embarrassed to discover the truth.
Marian Fish
Oro Valley
Gerrymandering the Supreme Court
Re: the Nov. 23 letter “Shredding Voting Rights Act.”
I agree with the letter writers glimpse into the abyss of the current court bought by Leonard Leo. What the Republicans cannot achieve with a majority, they will do with turning districts into silly putty (and the blessings of the SCOTUS).
And for what? To elect a wannabe Hitler? Am I hyperbolic? Trump and Hitler have much in common. Trump’s replacing the Constitution with personal bile, in which those not kissing his behind will be jailed or worse, grifting his million chumps for unlimited cash, flinging threats and lies to besmirch real Patriots is just a start. What else does he have in common?
Both were and are losers. Hitler shot himself, 4 million Nazis died in the thrall of delusion, beautiful cities were firebombed, and their mutual shame will live for eternity.
Jan Freed
Downtown
UA future administration
If U of A president Robbins joins the transfer portal to seek another position for his administrative skills (Caveat Emptor) I have a suggestion and a brief rationale. The faculty senate should set up a search committee of students, staff and faculty (including adjuncts who shoulder the burden of teaching, research, and extension) to find and promote an individual from within the university. Rationale: since I entered graduate school until I retired (anthropology, emeritus) several years ago, I worked under six presidential administrations. Only one, John Schaefer from the chemistry department, had a knowledge of, and vision for the U of A. The rest were high-level administrators from the University of Massachusetts, Houston-Downtown, Lehigh, North Carolina, Temple, and, in Robbins’ case, the Texas Medical Center in Houston. We need someone in the lineage of Professor Schaefer.
Thomas McGuire
Midtown
Constitution and technology
Re: the Nov. 21 letter “Alternative to banning AR-15s”
Merits of writer’s recommendation to license and tax AR-15s aside. He wants to note that Constitution framers could not have conceived of the advancements modern weaponry has made. Not too sure, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were genius inventors and forward visionaries. But that doesn’t matter. The Constitution protects unalienable rights. Rights that time, space, man or technology cannot erode. So unalienable are these rights that the framers made the Constitution extremely hard to amend. As for the purpose of the 2nd Amendment, I’m pretty sure our forefathers would have been tickled pink to arm their Militias with AR-15s to confront muzzleloader, toting British troops or oppressive government armies. If technological advancements were to be grounds for constitutional rewrite, then the 1st Amendment should be placed in the crosshairs. The internet has taken us an unimaginable distance from town criers and wooden hand press machines. But who woulda thunk?
Tom Hansen
North side
Justice Montgomery should recuse himself
Arizona Supreme Court Justice William Montgomery should recuse himself from the abortion rights case involving Planned Parenthood. Although he believes he can be fair and impartial, and that may even be true, Justice Montgomery’s previous comments have created the impression that he has a personal bias. Justice Montgomery stated before he took the bench that Planned Parenthood was responsible for the “greatest generational genocide known to man.” Rule 1.2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct states: “A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.” Public confidence in the judiciary, which is critical to our system of justice, is “eroded by … conduct that creates the appearance of impropriety.” It is for this reason that Rule 2.11 of the Code requires a judge to disqualify himself when, as is the case for Justice Montgomery in the Planned Parenthood case, his “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
Amelia Cramer
Downtown
Black Friday sales
It’s the holiday season and black Friday was yesterday (Nov. 24). Like everyone, I looked through the ads to see what I might need and how much of a savings black Friday might save me. I decided I really didn’t need a thing and I came to that conclusion when I reviewed the black Friday prices. Prices didn’t seem to reflect the savings one would expect on a black Friday sale. I believe for now the Black Friday deals are just about over. The economy will not allow spending money on the wants, only the needs. With the interest rates as high as they are, your monthly payment on a new truck can be more than your mortgage or rent payment. Many will no longer qualify for a mortgage because of high interest rates so they will still need to rent but then rent is also going up. Living one day at a time.
Thomas Fletcher
Southwest side
U of A
I just want to thank all the players and coaches for making this football season memorable. It’s always fun to see coaches actually teaching the players to their highest potential at their pace. A great season!
Mary Beth Schneider
East side
Rushing decommitment
I support any athlete’s ability to pick where to go to school. Whether Rushing felt he had better economic opportunities or just felt it was a better fit, the statement that Arizona wasn’t progressing enough hasn’t aged well. I wish him well but he could have been the football equivalent of Sean Elliott, a local prospect that helped elevate the program to elite level.
Craig Miller
Northwest side
Fighting for parents rights?
A parent in Arizona with a child that doesn’t respond well to phonics based reading can no longer request a different teaching method due to restrictions enacted by Tom Horne.
A parent of a bilingual student in Arizona may soon have their choices on how their child is educated due to restrictions Tom Horne wants.
For a small government Republican that ran on a platform of parents rights, Tom Horne sure seems to be working very hard creating a more invasive education department bent on taking choices away from parents.
David Reynolds
East side
Options for our future
Re: the Nov. article “Thanksgiving and Holodomor.”
I also condemn, alongside Mr. Fauth, the Holodomor famine of the 1930s in Ukraine, Nazi death camps, and all war-caused atrocities of that historic period. If we consider both the past and future, we see that wars no longer are sustainable. The next devastation may be far greater—a nuclear holocaust. Given that Raytheon is well-suited to producing aerospace equipment, we can keep our local workforce employed in more constructive and sustainable uses for such products. The exploration of space can be a path to a sustainable future using the same set of skills that current systems of aerospace production use. Factories can be repurposed. We are thankful that our human ingenuity is well presented here in Tucson and we look forward to the growth of knowledge about the makeup of our planet that will come from these constructive enterprises.
Gloria McMillan
Midtown
UA finances
By the time this letter gets published (if it does), the University football team will have been invited to participate in a post season bowl game. Participating in a major football bowl game will in all probability generate a significant income to the University athletic department. These funds could be used by the athletic department to pay back the funds it owes to the University as a whole and not be used to increase the significant salaries of the football coaches.
Eldon Braun
Foothills
Demand action lift children from poverty
As Congress gets back to work, they have a lot on their agenda — and taxes are a key item.
With shocking numbers from the recent Census data revealing a more than doubling of child poverty in 2022, it is crucial that any tax package Congress passes includes an expansion of the Child Tax Credit for low-income families. In fact, the expanded CTC in 2021 successfully lifted over 3 million children out of poverty.
In Arizona alone, 109,000 children under 18 could be lifted out of poverty, and a staggering 1,507,000 would benefit greatly from this expansion. Additionally, 385,200 working adults in Arizona would benefit from an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
There is now a chance at redemption. When it comes to tax priorities this year, let’s hold elected members of Congress accountable to ensuring that any tax package significantly reduces child poverty through an expansion of the Child Tax Credit — creating a tomorrow that empowers our children to thrive!
Chloe Harris
Downtown
Hate knows no boundaries
As the middle east conflict drags on and death continues it is risky to state an opinion. Labels like Anti- Semitic or hatred for Muslims are too quickly proclaimed. As threats against Jewish people and violence against Palestinians continue in this country, it becomes apparent that hatred knows no boundaries. Support for either side depends on alliances, prejudices and historical-cultural connections. But hate towards either group erases those distinctions. Can we justify the killing of thousands of Jewish people in Israel or the killings of many thousands of Palestinians in Gaza? Boundaries and borders seem to suggest we can! How long can we shake our head and say “it’s a complicated situation and there is no solution.” A place to begin might be by mourning the deaths of both Israelis and Palestinians. And calling out violence against both groups living in this country.
John Kautz
Midtown
Negotiating with terrorists?
I thought the U.S did not negotiate with terrorists. But we are pressuring Israel to negotiate with Hamas, a terrorist organization. How does this make any sense. Would our government give into any other country pressuring us to negotiate with terrorists?
Anthony Gebhardt
Foothills
If George Santos is wrong?
Re: the Nov. 15 article “Voters need to prove George Santos wrong.”
I appreciate Mike Cohen’s recent opinion regarding the need for the 3rd District of New York to prove George Santos wrong by denying him future office, employment etc. Mr. Cohen does an excellent job of pointing out all of Mr. Santos’s fabrications, lies, stealing and utter disrespect for the voters, so yes, he needs to be booted out and not reelected.
But this brings up a very important question for me: If all that is wrong and the voters should hold George accountable, how can the voters not hold Mr. Trump accountable when he does all those things in a bigger and bolder much more profound and disrespecting way. Mr. Trump even insists that the voters (especially the Christian voters) who should certainly see those things as very wrong, must overlook them and support him no matter what.
As a Christian, myself, I ask, how can we not prove Mr. Trump wrong and deny him office ever again?
Janie Chinnock
Midtown
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