Time for reality check
Apparently the majority of Republican senators and members of Congress drank the Kool-Aid served by Donald Trump. They claim Trump’s two biggest lies are gospel: first, that Trump won the 2020 election; second, that the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol and police defending that symbol of our democracy was a “love fest,” not an insurrection.
Not only did they drink the Kool-Aid, they want the rest of the world to swallow these lies.
What will it take for the followers of a man whose very words and actions are more akin to a mob boss than a former U.S. president to recognize reality?
Dave Glicksman
North side
Do you feel lucky?
To all of you who won’t get the COVID vaccinations: It’s your choice. I get that. For most of you, it’s all about you, right? For you, it’s me-first. OK. So here is something you need to know while you thin the herd.
More than 600,000 people have died since the beginning. Over 100,000 Americans have died from COVID since the vaccinations were available; fewer than 1,000 of those people were vaccinated. Everybody else was unvaccinated, mostly because they chose not to, like you.
Remember when you were in school and they chose up sides to play dodge ball? This is a little like that, except you get to choose what team you’re on.
Right now, you’re on the team that has lost 600,000 times. You can choose to play on the team that has lost only a couple of hundred times. You’re playing Russian Roulette with your life. To paraphrase Clint Eastwood, COVID has lots of bullets. Do you feel lucky, punk?
Robert Kruse
Northeast side
Good people in Tucson
On July 25, I took my parents to IHOP on Cortaro Farms Road, just east of I-10. My father’s 89th birthday was on July 26, so we went for Sunday morning breakfast to celebrate.
To our surprise, we were told by our server that some person in the restaurant had paid for our meal. To that person, thank you for your generosity.
The next day, it is all my dad talked about. It meant a lot to my parents to know there are still good people in this world.
Tom Wolf
Oro Valley
An open letter to Simone Biles
Dear Simone,
Thank you for representing the United States in the Olympics. I watched as you waited to perform each of your routines with the weight of 330 million and one on your shoulders. That one was you.
You are the best that you can be.
You performed each of your routines with the aim to “beat the world” when all you had to do was be Simone.
There will always be the pressure to be better because records were meant to be broken, and you stand on a few broken records of your own. No one can comprehend the work you put into your sport except for someone who has trained for it. So let them talk for they know not.
It was my pleasure to watch you these past few days, and I hope there will be more.
Your medal may be silver, but you are GOLD.
Daniel Poryanda
Southeast side
Safe schools for AZ Children
Arizona’s children have suffered academically, physically and emotionally during this pandemic. They need to return to in-person learning to recover. However, we must also protect them from the increased prevalence of COVID-19 in our communities.
To protect our children, Arizona’s pediatricians recommend that students who are at least 3 years old and all school staff wear face masks indoors (unless medical or developmental conditions prohibit them from doing so).
Masks are designed to protect not just the person wearing them, but those around them as well. When your children are wearing masks, they are protecting their classmates, teachers and other school staff. It shows we care about the well-being of our school community and their families.
In addition, no one should come to school when they are sick, and schools should follow the health department’s guidelines to minimize COVID outbreaks. Reopening schools and keeping them open is a community effort. Every one of us can help by getting vaccinated. Do it for the kids!
Mary Rimsza, MD, FAAP, Chair, Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Advocacy Committee
West side
I-11 will impact Tucson negatively
Re: the July 29 letter “I-11 makes sense.”
A question for the writer from the northwest side: Would I-11 go through your home, or even your neighborhood? It would go through my home and neighborhood.
This unneeded bypass is a complete misuse of money that could be better spent on the existing I-10. It would displace hundreds of residents who enjoy the “thousands of acres of desert land” where they live, not to mention the negative effect it would have on the wildlife.
And what about Saguaro National Park West and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum? And, don’t forget, I-11 will take traffic away from Tucson. I wonder what that would do to the economy? Think about travelers who might stop for gas or food, or even for a motel. They would not be stopping in Tucson.
Please, say no to I-11.
Leslie Harris
Southwest side
Think of our children
What would you do if you saw a small child walking in the middle of a busy street, or falling into a pool? Think about your answer. I am hopeful that everyone would do everything in their power to get that child to a safe place. No question about it.
I think it’s in our nature to protect children, regardless of your race, sex or political affiliation. If you don’t believe in getting the COVID-19 vaccine for yourself, please take a moment to think about all the children you could be keeping safe — maybe even saving their future.
Gail Greer
Northwest side
