Praying away
gun violence
This is not the time for prayers! Predictably, every time there is a mass shooting, legislative leaders call for a time of prayer. Either prayer doesn’t work or God isn’t listening.
Or, more cynically, God likes thousands of people being killed by guns. Since I don’t believe any of these, maybe God is giving us the opportunity and wisdom to do something about the problem.
The corollary is legislative leaders (Like Lauren Boebert) saying now is not to the time to discuss solutions to curb gun violence. That would be politicizing it. Not talking about it is also politicizing it to stymie any action.
Prayer without action is magical thinking. Now is the time to discuss and do something about the epidemic of gun violence in our country. Assault rifles, background checks, regulating sales at gun shows, internet gun sales might be places to start the conversation.
Then a prayer of thanksgiving when the mass shootings diminish.
John Kautz
Midtown
It’s up to Ducey
to veto bad bills
“We do elections well here in Arizona. The system is strong, and that’s why I brag about it so much,” said Gov. Doug Ducey after the November 2020 election, boasting about Arizona’s investments ensuring election fairness and security. He added, “No voter should be disenfranchised.”
He’s absolutely right on both counts! Now, is he willing to put those words into action? Will he veto the flood of voter suppression and election-process-mangling bills that are about to arrive on his desk?
The Republicans in the Legislature outdid themselves this year. In a panic-driven attempt to save their ability to win elections, they are trying to strangle voters and tangle processes rather than offer good governance.
They have passed a collection of bad-faith legislation that will create havoc in Arizona’s well-designed and well-run election system, and will deprive thousands-upon-thousands of legal, eligible Arizonans of their freedom to vote.
Do the right thing, governor. Just say, “No!”
Bill Yohey
Foothills
Infallible governor solves COVID
So, “Doctor” Doug Ducey, world-renowned epidemiologist, has determined infallibly that the COVID-19 pandemic is totally under control and it’s safe for me to go maskless to my favorite watering hole and rub shoulders with some of the nearly 80% of Pima County residents over 18 years old who remain unvaccinated?
I can’t help thinking that Gov. Ducey’s actions and inactions alike are motivated by his aspirations for a new gig post-governorship. And since he states loud and clear that he is not running for the Senate, perhaps he dreams of life in Washington, D.C., not in Congress and not running a Cold Stone franchise.
If he were open to advice from an Arizonan who has never voted for him, he’d support the fullest, fastest completion of the state’s vaccination program, and he would show he believes elections in his state are fair and fraud-free by vetoing every voter suppression bill his rabid Republican legislators send to him.
But these would be rational responses to these challenges.
Any bets?
Frank Bergen
Northeast side
Democrats are letting immigration be abused
Democrats in Congress want to provide legalization and citizenship to millions who came here undocumented or overstayed their visas. People who came here illegally violated our federal immigration laws.
They may have paid smugglers in violation of federal felony human smuggling statutes. If employed, they violated federal felony false statement statutes when filling out the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form.
It requires a written signature attesting to being legally authorized to work and legitimate government issued IDs are required. Regarding “dreamers,” who came here as undocumented children, their parent(s) initiated that and believe one day their children will be legalized and provided with citizenship.
The child, when an adult, can then petition their parents to immigrate. A significant number of asylum seekers file unsubstantiated claims. They get schooled on what to say by smugglers, relatives and social media when claiming asylum at the border.
There are undocumented immigrants having children, seeing them as a ticket to staying in America and not being deported. Our immigration system is being abused!
Martin Wagman
Green Valley
Recycling program has become chopped liver
Since when did greed become more important than saving the planet and our environment? What a waste of time, money, and manpower to have someone monitor our recycling.
We went from recycling once a week, to every two weeks, and now have separate locations for glass recycling. We’ve been recycling since 1970, starting in New York. But we give up.
We’re having our recycling can removed and will put everything into the trash until the dumps fill up. Then what? Shoot our garbage into space until the universe stops expanding? Enough is enough!
Valerie Golembiewski
Southeast side
To improve health care, focus on cost and access
Too many Arizona families and patients are unable to receive the medical and health-care services they need due to exorbitant costs as well as lack of access, especially in underserved communities.
Even worse, new proposals threaten to make these barriers to care even worse. Medicare X, the most recent government-run, public option proposed in Washington, D.C., would almost certainly increase costs for hardworking Arizona families while diminishing access in neighborhoods and communities that need it most.
This one-size-fits-all approach to health care could hit hospitals nationwide and result in limited access to quality health care. Given the toll the pandemic has taken on our nation’s health-care providers over the past year, this seems particularly misguided.
Our leaders should focus on practical policy solutions that will actually improve health care by lowering costs and increasing access. Fix the Affordable Care Act first!
Cat Coronado
North side
Border crisis?
Not so fast
Instead of a calm reaction like “NASA we have a problem,” we have a whole gaggle of Chicken Littles running around (and to mix metaphors) like chickens with their heads cut off, yelling “border crisis, border crisis.”
The two words seem welded together by reporters, cartoonists, columnists and letter writers. Perhaps, it is indeed a catastrophe, a calamity — a disaster!
But do we really have a crisis at the border? And how can we know?
There were approximately 25,000 people waiting just over the border to claim asylum and the annual spring migration of people trying to get across the border is up for the 10th month in a row.
There was no real transition period, leaving the government without many confirmed secretaries and undersecretaries, and the DHS was leaderless until Feb. 2 when Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed. It is not surprising that the situation was and is a mess.
It takes time to get the ship unstuck. This problem requires time and cooperation from a variety of parties to solve in an equitable way.
Katharine Donahue
Foothills
Arizona elections don’t need ‘fixing’
Republican lawmakers in Arizona have drafted numerous bills to change how we vote in elections. I am concerned that these bills are not only unnecessary and undemocratic, but restrict Arizonans’ voting rights, especially minorities.
There is absolutely no evidence of election fraud or election tampering as was claimed in the last presidential election. More than 50 suits claiming such fraud, including some here in Arizona, were thrown out.
The system is not broken; it does not need fixing. Republicans should stop trying to rig future elections just because they lost the last one.
David Blough
Northwest side
So, you say you
won’t wear a mask ...
Over 550,000 citizens have died this past year from COVID-19, and you can’t wear a mask?
Some 10% or more of those infected by COVID-19, millions of citizens, have long-term effects including respiratory issues, cardiac issues, neurological issues, brain fog and you can’t wear a mask?
The new variants are causing children to have the largest increase in the rate of infection and you can’t wear a mask?
These are your family and friends and children and fellow citizens. How can you be so selfish?
Donald Ries
Southeast side
Infrastructure bill gives unions too much power
The massive infrastructure bill was announced, with Joe Biden promising many union jobs. If those unions act like the teachers’ unions, we are in huge trouble.
These unions have held their teachers out while some Catholic and charter school teachers have taught through the pandemic. For me, the teachers’ unions and those who support them are guilty of dereliction of duty.
For years, I supported teachers and their demands for more pay, but no more. Those teachers have abandoned the children they claim to care about for selfless personal greed.
And worse, our current batch of teachers and their administrators are doing a very poor job of educating their students as evidenced by overall test scores. We must start culling out administrators and teachers if they cannot effectively teach our children to read and write.
Anything less than a vast improvement in test scores is unacceptable. No excuses, stay focused on the goal.
Pudge Johnson
Oro Valley
