Tucson Speaks Out: Oct. 11 letters of the day

Biden, nobody’s puppet

There were three letters in today’s (Oct. 7) paper regarding Biden’s age, and mental capacity. One letter said to “Trust What You See”. I see a kind and compassionate man whose wisdom and experience have saved our country thus far from a depression or a recession. His foreign affairs policies have been unbeatable, he has been successful at getting an impressive amount of bills passed that will help the working class. Although frail, Biden is nobody’s puppet. He is not perfect, but I think coming out of the pandemic and the continual war in Ukraine no one could have done better. Although what we see is all in the eye of the beholder, it would benefit each of us if we could always try to see the bigger picture. The MAGA GOP is appearing to me to be more interested in finger pointing, revenge and denial than they are about governing. We need quality candidates not political grandstanders.

Elain Geary

East side

UA-SC football game

1. U of A played well, they should have won the game. 2. Fifita should be the new U of A QB. 3. Coach Fisch “lost” the game for U of A by not knowing the (new) OT rules. Instead of going for 1 point after U of A’s first OT touchdown to tie SC, U of A should have gone for 2 points to try to win the game. Unfortunately, Coach Fisch did not know that the mandatory 2 point conversion occurs in the 2nd OT, not the 3rd, as was seen by his trying to go for another 1 point conversion. Inexcusable! 4. U of A committed too many penalties including personal fouls late in the game. Too bad U of A doesn’t have the depth to bench the offenders. 5. The play calling in the 4th quarter (and OT) was poor. The running game was working late in regulation, so why switch to passing, which was stopped. 6. U of A needs a non-PAC-12 officiating crew for its games. This crew was clearly biased toward SC in its calls.

Raymond Silverstein

Midtown

Liz Cheney for US House Speaker

Former member of Congress Liz Cheney should become the next Speaker of the US House of Representatives. She’s a smart conservative Republican who maintains a level of trust and respect from Democrats, especially after her contributions to the January 6th Committee. Republican members of Congress who claim to want an end to MAGA influence could support her. Democratic members who fear for democracy and its institutions and need a healthy mainstream opposition party would do well to support her. She has earned it. That would be a big step toward governance that is more civil, respectful, and eventually, mutual. If there were enough Republicans and Democrats who could agree on the rules and then vote for her, that would neutralize the extreme factions, assure that the business of government carries on, and provide some continuity during what is likely to be a chaotic 2024 election season.

David Messick

Green Valley

Humanity

What has happened to our world?

In the 1960s we had peace, love, flower children, hippies. Sure we had Vietnam and protests but we faced it along with race riots and women’s movements. There were conflicts but we looked them in the eye and worked out things.

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Today we have hate, war, revenge, mass murder. We have Putin invading Ukraine for no reason. Hamas starting war again with Israel. If there is conflict people immediately pull out guns. When hate overrides humanity and civil behavior, the world gains nothing. There is no forgiveness, no empathy, no compassion, only chaos and more hate. We had a president who was mean and uncaring towards people, and now that political party spreads even more hate and fear, not humanity. We fought bullies in the schools, it’s now time to eliminate them from the world, so humans can become civilized humans once more with love and peace in their hearts.

Carl Olson

West side

Unjustly, unfairly jumping ahead of the line

Currently, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people around the world who have been waiting patiently for years to immigrate to America legally. They, or a relative, filled out the USCIS application(s) and paid the fees. The prospective immigrant abroad will undergo background checks in their home country, take a medical examination and have a personal interview conducted by staff at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate ... all before having their application considered for approved. Contrast this to what is going on here now under President Joe Biden, millions of unauthorized foreign nationals entering illegally between the ports of entry and many being allowed to stay. No medical examinations, no background checks in their home country, and no interviews conducted by professionals to gauge their veracity and character. They unfairly and unjustly are jumping ahead of those people trying to do the right thing and immigrate the legal way to become a real immigrant.

Mary Ann Starman

North side

Go solar, save water

Electric power plants use tons of water to their cool turbines, on average nearly 12,000 gallons per megawatt-hour. In 2020, their water usage exceeded 47.5 trillion gallons, making power plants the largest source of water withdrawal in the US. Installing solar saves Arizona’s diminishing water reserves.

A popular option is a no upfront cost solar leasing program with a fixed monthly fee. For those who buy their solar panels, Arizona Solar Tax Credit reimburses homeowners 25% of their cost.

Solar saves on utility bills. A 10-kw solar system can save a homeowner over $2,000 on energy bills per year, and more than $50,000 during its 25-year lifespan.

Solar mitigates the effects of climate change, reducing carbon emissions more than trees. One acre of solar panels producing zero emissions saves up to 138 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year or 150 times more than an acre of trees.

Go solar: save water, save money, save the planet.

Jacolyn Marshall

Oro Valley