What goes around comes around
A year after the Jan. 6 Capitol tour and/or insurrection (depending on your voter registration) there are many questions about elections that each of us must answer. Here are two:
Did the Republicans in the 2021 state legislatures and the governors who signed legislation to restrict voting in future elections do so because they knew that their new laws would do exactly that, suppress certain groups of voters and therefore could sometimes swing and maybe steal the election in favor of Republicans and could often diminish the Democrat vote? Circle One: Yes, absolutely; No, they had no idea.
In the future, if a Republican loses an election in those states, will the loser claim that “the election was stolen?” Circle One: Yes, every time; No, never.
Wayne Beal
Green Valley
Fans must spark McKale magic
Re: the Jan. 9 article “It’s on fans to bring back McKale magic.”
Mr. Hansen leaves out a solution.
Wilbur, Wilma and the cheerleaders are not spontaneously reacting to game situations. When we make an outstanding play, are down and need support, or rattle the other team’s players and officials, they are sitting courtside.
They come out during timeouts, but never get the crowd involved when the game is in progress.
It’s on us fans to bring back McKale magic. We need leadership from the mascots and cheerleaders to become sensitive to game situations and get the noise and enthusiasm back while the game is in progress, not just at timeouts.
Where is the Ooh Ahh Man of many years ago? Bring a replacement in for him.
John Shattuck
Oro Valley
Sinema no friend of democracy
I am furious that Kyrsten Sinema is standing in the way of carving out an exception to the filibuster for the voting rights legislation! That is not why we voted for her.
That legislation needs to be passed by the Senate immediately. How dare Sinema act like the filibuster is some sacred rule?! That is disingenuous at best, and a disgusting lie of the worst kind. The filibuster rule has been changed and carved out many times over many years.
Pretending to stand for voting rights while doing the exact opposite is, quite simply, vile. If Sinema continues the way she has been, she will carry the shame of destroying democracy for the rest of her life. That’s not hyperbolic — its a fact.
Dana Kidder
East side
Cheese and how it crumbles
Re: the Jan. 12 article “Judge pokes holes in Swiss cheesemakers’ case.”
A federal judge ruled against Swiss and French cheesemakers in the region of Gruyere who sought trademark protection for the labeling of Gruyere cheese. They are appealing the ruling. There is an increased effort in Europe to seek international trade protection for a variety of products, including Feta. When I read that, I went to my refrigerator to check exactly where my Feta Crumbles, purchased at a Tucson grocery store, came from. They came from Wisconsin! From non-Greek sheep and goats. I was crushed. Although I did think the crumbles were a bit milder than the Feta I used to get in NYC, I trusted that sheep and goats grazing on the indigenous vegetation of Greece and warmed by the Aegean sun produced my Feta Crumbles. I’ve been eating Greek Feta (from Greece) since I was weaned.
Therefore, I’ll side with the Greeks on future rulings. As for Swiss Gruyere, pricey though it is, it makes my French onion soup outstanding. This article made my pandemic morning.
Karen Papagapitos
Northwest side
Sinema, get on board with party
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is giving lip-service to supporting voting rights. While she continues to stand by an arcane Senate rule (not found in the Constitution), the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will likely perish in the Senate.
Her stance on the filibuster has alienated so many people that there is now at least one group working to primary her. Allowing voting rights to fail, while empowering an anti-democratic political party that is currently in the minority, for the sole purpose of protecting an invented legislative procedure that some believe was created by mistake, is a perfect example of not seeing the forest for the trees.
If Sinema truly believes voting is essential to democracy, she will vote with her party to amend the filibuster to pass both bills.
Linda Stanley
East side
Coach Lloyd is a class act
I just watched the Wednesday press conference with Tommy Lloyd. First, Coach Lloyd was a great hire. His answers are direct, insightful and informative. These student-athletes have a superb coach, role-model and mentor. They are in good hands.
Second, sports reporters covering this conference could have done a better job. They had 15 minutes, and they wasted most of it. Many questions were focused on rescheduling postponed games, and some attempted to lure Coach Lloyd into a controversy. He did not bite. Coach has implored reporters to ask about his players so fans can learn about these wonderful student-athletes.
Instead, one wanted to know why he goes by Tommy versus Tom. I’d rather know who Coach Lloyd views as the team’s informal leaders, team goals and recruiting priorities. So, thumbs up to Coach and one out of four stars for reporters. For the rest of us, let’s get out there and support a top-10 team! They have earned that support.
Collin Flynn
Foothills
Fox is not news
Re: the jan. 12 article “Fox News website pretends Capitol storming was a blip.”
I couldn’t agree more with Thea Chalow’s opinion piece bemoaning Fox News as a primary “news” source for millions of people. I have been chafing for months over the fact that the FCC actually allows Fox to use (and denigrate) the word “news” to refer to the tripe and outright lies that they deliver on a daily basis. I can think of several other words that would more appropriately describe the fakery and falsehoods they promote as journalism, but this is a family newspaper.
Marta Fahrenz
Southwest side
