Trump is still a potent threat
As a retired mental health professional, I’ve known about Donald Trump’s pathological narcissism since the 1980s. It’s been on public display widely and persistently for decades and exceeds the minimum criteria laid out in the DSM-5 for such a diagnosis. I would really rather not discuss him or his family, except for the fact that he continues to present a threat to our country. His lies poison civil discourse and further corrode the moral fiber that we used to depend upon in order to maintain a civil society.
For those who look to him for guidance or leadership, I would remind them that narcissists, as a defense mechanism, must lie to themselves and others to maintain the delusion of their egocentrism. I offer this haiku as a helpful reminder of that fact.
Lying’s what Trump does
He’s always been a liar
He’s a liar still.
Rick Scifres
Green Valley
Infrastructure bill delivers
Remember when every other week was infrastructure week? This week is truly infrastructure week now that Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill has passed and will soon be signed into law. The Infrastructure Investment and Job Act will deliver for Arizona. In the next five years, Arizona will receive:
$5 billion for highway programs;
$225 million for bridge repairs;
$884 million for public transportation;
$76 million to expand the EV charging network;
$100 million for broadband access;
$38 million to protect against wildfires;
$17 million to protect against cyberattacks;
$619 million for water infrastructure;
$348 million for airport infrastructure.
How are Republicans celebrating this windfall for Arizona? They are planning to strip House Republicans who voted for the bill of their committee assignments. They don’t remember that Donald Trump walked out on a $2 trillion infrastructure bill because his feelings were hurt. While Democrats continue to work in a bipartisan manner to deliver results, Republicans put party loyalty first and Arizonans last.
Jean Meconi
Oro Valley
Ask me again in five years
Medical talking heads at news conferences and on television repeatedly answer the difficult COVID pandemic-related questions of “when,” “why,” “how effective,” “can we” and “should we?” They usually provide reasonable answers based on the latest information from the scientific deluge about COVID’s prevention, variants, and protection. Some will end up being incomplete or erroneous.
As an academic physician who practices both locally and internationally, I have gotten identical questions from family, friends, acquaintances and colleagues. While I try to provide them with the most current verifiable information, I always conclude with the most truthful answer: Ask again in five years; we’ll probably know then.
Only when sufficient time has passed to perform and assess multiple scientific and epidemiological studies, will we have a clearer picture of our current pandemic. We’ll certainly have erred in some areas and likewise been unbelievably prescient in others. At this point, let’s follow advice from the best scientific minds and understand that we’ll know much more in five years.
Kenneth Iserson
Foothills
Independents hold the key
One-third of voters will vote Republican, one-third will vote Democratic. It is the final third that will shape this country’s destiny and future. One party has set goals to improve the lives of all of our people, the other party has set a goal to stop the other one from succeeding. They refuse to follow medical science’s effort to curb the pandemic by opposing mask and vaccination mandates.
Congress voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar because of his video portraying him killing a Democratic congresswoman and attacking our legally elected president. All but two Republican members of Congress voted against censure (one step below expulsion). The next day their leader Donald Trump endorsed Gosar’s reelection.
They call the Jan. 6 insurrection a harmless U.S. Capitol tour and fight its investigation by a legitimate congressional Oversight Committee.
Your choice, independents. Where do you stand?
Dave Glicksman
Northwest side
Medal suggestion is pure lunacy
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced a bill to award teen shooter vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest recognition and honor given by the legislative branch. This is comparable to the absurdity of having awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh. Former Gold Medal recipients George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas Edison and Jonas Salk must be laughing out loud in their graves at the thought. Incredibly, Republicans seem to have no embarrassment or shame when it comes to their displays of utter lunacy.
Deb Klumpp
Oro Valley
Totalitarianism alive in America
The Republican Party has adopted values common in totalitarian states. It has embraced violent speech, passed legislation in 19 states designed to suppress voting, rejected teaching honestly the history of American slavery and racism and punished its own members if they disagreed with party doctrine.
The Republican leadership does not seek to negotiate with the Democratic Party and compromise. They view the Democratic Party as an enemy to be destroyed not as a competitor and partner in guiding America.
Our nation is not immune to losing democracy and morphing into a totalitarian state.
Stuart Sellinger
Northwest side
Please support humane farming
I am writing to you today to ask for your support for the Farm Systems Reform Act that will soon be presented in Washington. Our farm animals in America are badly abused, something that most Americans are unaware of, and with the passing of this bill, their treatment will be greatly improved. Please encourage your Arizona representatives and senators to pass this very important bill for the treatment of so many dependent and innocent farm animals.
Judy Kesslering
West side
Independent in name only
It is appalling, disheartening and polarizing what has become of the legislative redistricting process. Why must districts be “safe” for any one party? They should all be competitive. Since when has the job of an “Independent Redistricting Commission” become making the districts safe for any one entity?
There was a perfectly good, fair version of the map, but then some business “leaders” proposed a different map that favored Republicans, and now it’s the final version.
Was no disagreement expressed by either of the two Democrats? If not, why not? If yes, why did the “independent” chair not conduct discussions of the matter? Why were the authors of the map not questioned as to their motives?
So many questions, which will probably never be answered, and we will be stuck for 10 years with an unwanted, partisan, sinister gerrymander.
What a travesty!
Klara Cserny
Southwest side
