Donald Trump
Dying well
I believe that dying well is a journey, not a destination. At 87, I am well along on this journey. One needs to accept death as a natural part of life. One needs to make peace with one's life. This means reflecting on one's life and coming to terms with both the good and the bad. It also means forgiving oneself and others. Finding peace and comfort.
You should also talk to your loved ones about your wishes. This includes what kind of funeral or memorial service you would like. You should consider writing your own obituary.
You should make sure your legal affairs are in order, including having a will, a power of attorney, and a living will.
Spending time with your loved ones is one of the most important things you can do. Make sure you tell them how much you love them.
Dying well is about making the most of the time you have left
Tom McGorray
Northwest side
Trump and the law
Indictment after indictment, and the situation for Donald Trump looks worse and worse. But he still might get his head out of the noose because of an unrelenting army of lawyers who greedily work for huge salaries. Law ethics seem to be the biggest victim in this scenario. Anyone with less money in his pocket than Trump would have already received the judgment, and the case would be settled. Law was supposed to be for all, but there are too many gatekeepers who appropriate power and make the courts a mockery since all decisions can be appealed ad nauseam, and ultimately, the Supreme Court, stacked by Trump in anticipation of his legal trouble, will let this "mafioso" off the hook. It would be great if the judges could root out this toxicity, but the poison spread by the defendant has already affected many sectors of our society. Whatever the outcome of the suits might be, the trust in our laws, in the legal system, and the truth has been badly eroded.
Albrecht Classen
Midtown
Teacher pay
Washington state teachers will be paid at least $72,728 in the 2024-25 school year, and staff will earn a $24 minimum wage. Yes, it is costly. Arizona needs to do more in this direction if we're to get out of the bottom.
John Morgan
Midtown
Trumpster mystery
For years, I have been intrigued by the the masses of people unswervingly dedicated to Donald Trump. Most of the ones I see on TV seem like respectable folks one would like to have as neighbors and friends: honest, pleasant, definitely not rowdy, tidy, what used to be thought of as middle-class Americans. Yet these are Trump’s fanatic, unswerving supporters.
His behaviors are those of the schoolyard bully whom everyone hates. He’s the kid who lost and then wrecks the game because “they” cheated. He’s the name caller and liar, the cheater and bragger.
So why? What is his power?
Susan VonKersburg
Foothills
TEP over-collected
meter fee
Re: the Aug. 13 article "TEP refuses to refund solar customers over-collection of fees in rate case."
I called TEP Aug. 16 to request a four-year refund of those collected fees (2019-23). I was told by the TEP staff person that Arizona Corporate Commission has ruled that TEP is not required to refund its solar customers, and it does not intend to do so.
Eleanor Brown
Foothills
The former guy
As the indictments pile up on 45, along with his ongoing legally questionable rhetoric, and notwithstanding the contorted defenses of said rhetoric, past and present, I offer to many members of Congress the following reminders:
“I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” — Representative Liz Cheney, June 9, 2022
I would like to add to the defenders of this indefensible person:
"Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" — Senator Joseph Welch, June 9, 1954
Virginia Gethmann
Northeast side
Conference of chumps
While I’d never have thought of it this way, I’ve been living in Pac-12 territory since 1968, from LA to Eugene to Spokane to San Francisco then Sacramento, back to LA and finally here in Tucson since 1996. I adopted Wildcat softball and basketball teams as though I were an alum.
I’m disgusted by the breakup of the conference and convinced it will prove to be a colossal mistake. If I were more inclined to hope the move will be a blessing to all the schools, all the sports and all the kids I wouldn’t be encouraged after reading the interview story. Commissioner Yormark’s facile replies to too many of the questions bothers me, especially the final one with his whiteboarding and the three times he used ‘optionality’ as though he was learning a new word. Is it a word? Not one I'd likely use.
Frank Begen
North side
Universal healthcare
I have been watching several British medical shows, 24 Emergency, NHS documentaries, plus others. To see patients walk in a hospital or clinic for care, be taken in for care, released from care when fixed, or held for further care. No one is asked for papers, insurance cards, etc. They are cared for, and they walk out when done. No hours on phones, doing paperwork, no follow-up with bills to pay. No hassles. No worries ... such a load to bear. For everyone in the U.S.A.
I would like universal healthcare.
I'm 75 years old and never imagined I would have to spend hours doing paperwork, making phone calls, waiting on phone calls. Getting the run around so often. At any age, it's not right.
Ruth Jenkins
Northwest side
Feeling the heat
We are running out of time to effectively combat the ever-worsening effects of carbon emissions in our state.
Carbon emissions continue to pollute our air, jeopardizing our health. Air pollution continues to destroy our protective ozone layer, causing extreme heat and severe weather events that endanger our safety. The worst mega-droughts on record continue to dwindle our water supply, damaging our crops and imperiling lives. High heat and severe drought continue to cause massive wildfires, destroying our forested lands, threatening our homes, and further degrading our air quality.
Arizona is currently the fifth-fastest warming state, and Phoenix is the second hottest city in the nation. During the recent hottest and driest summer on record, Arizonans experienced far too many heat-related deaths.
Our air quality, our health, and our safety will continue to deteriorate unless we elect legislators and Corporation Commissioners who support clean renewable energy throughout our state.
Jacolyn Marshall
Oro Valley
Freedom rings
"For the Lord your God is God of gods and lord of Lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt." Deuteronomy 10:17-19.
Concerning those who reach our borders, no matter their reason, God asks for compassion. Our government, with our laws, is put into place by our Creator. Romans 13:1-2. As difficult as having such compassion may seem, we citizens of the United States of America are obligated to treat those struggling individuals with the same care and respect we demand for ourselves.
Bob Wineland
Northwest side
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