Tucson Speaks Out: Nov. 6 letters of the day

My experience as an election aide

This year, I decided to work as an election aide for the Pima County Recorders Office. I wanted to be a part of the political process at a level that would be informative and interesting as well as a way to be helpful to the city of Tucson, and Pima County.

It turned out to be a rewarding and fulfilling experience, especially meeting voters from all imaginable backgrounds.

Pima County residents wanting to be counted in the process of electing officials was invigorating and exciting ,far exceeding my expectations.

The enthusiasm and passion I saw displayed by young people, many proudly proclaiming that it was their first time voting, buoyed my confidence in their generation, as well as the future of our country.

I want to thank Pima County, The Recorders office, and my fellow Tucson residents for an experience that was vastly more interesting and rewarding than I ever expected, and I encourage everyone who is interested to give it a try.

Mark Insley

West side

Puzzles in the Arizona Daily Star

What a pleasant surprise the other day amid all of this political stress to see the Jumble return to the Arizona Star.

Thank you for my 10 minutes of happy puzzle solving.

Paulette Brooks

Northeast side

Can we afford jet noise?

The person who wrote about the noise generated by DM and the ANG base is misplaced angst. The ANG and DM were here long before the county/city allowed builders to develop homes near the bases' runways. Those who bought there knew the consequences of living near an airport.

DM and the 162nd ANG play a critical role in defense of our country. Everyone wants a strong defense, but then say "NIMBY." The F-35 is military progress, just like the F-100 took the place of the P-51 and F-86. They are needed to keep up with advancing technology. After all, we are not flying in propeller-driven aircraft out of TIA anymore. Progress can be painful, but necessary for a modern defense.

I hear the same noise as others, but it's a reassuring noise, one we can and must afford.

James Kelly

Israel-Gaza-Lebanon

Imagine this: A notorious murderer is pursued by police. With every road blocked, the criminal seeks refuge in a school but the police quickly surround the building. Negotiations ensue, but the criminal refuses to surrender, and after several hours, the police chief — frustrated — contacts the governor. The Air National Guard is called in and ordered to bomb the school. Missiles hit the school targeting the classroom where the police think the gunman is hiding. Dozens of people are killed....

In most civilized societies, the Governor's orders and the Guard's actions would be considered criminally insane. That, however, does not appear to be the case along the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

John Prugh

Context and public schools

Jim Sinex's analysis of our economic history is correct: you can't change the economy overnight. Trump's role in the economic downturn from Obama's growth economy, and Biden's in our post-Trump recovery is clear. Sinex's is an excellent example of critical thinking, the foundation of all curricula. The purpose of public schools is to promote the Great American Experiment to inform all voters. (Parental input into curricula is important but should not be based on religious belief or romanticized American history, but rather on objective analysis of hard facts aimed to improve our future.) I am often irked at Republican commentators' constant refrain (and the Dems' failure to respond) that "Trump is indeed an SOB but it's the economy and immigration, stupid." Sinex just addressed the economy. Regarding Harris as Border Czar, her only task was to explore with our South American neighbors the root causes of massive southern hemisphere migration, such as climate change (drought), political unrest/economic failure, and cartel violence.

Joe Aguanno

West side

Star endorsements

I was disappointed, but not surprised, that you chose to endorse only one Republican candidate in the national general election this week. You also have condemned each of the Legislature's propositions placed on the ballot.

I am not surprised because you have long shown by your editorial positions that you are fundamentally an organ of the Democrat Party.

I am particularly disappointed that you have taken a position on abortion, an issue that divides the state and which will continue to do so long after your one-sided endorsements are forgotten.

A better newspaper, with some respect for the many Tucsonans who do not share your progressive views, would have avoided making endorsements.

I continue my paid subscription only because you have a newspaper monopoly in Tucson.

Dr. James Stewart

Re: Lack of context

Re: The Tucson Opinion by Jim Sinex on Context, Nov. 4. Here are two other examples of the lack of context and they are very prevalent today. Say a big international corporation has a profit of $5 billion. This is a lot — some would call it an obscene profit. But if the sales and capital are $200 billion each, then the return on sales and capital is only 2.5% — not obscene at all. Say the deaths from a certain disease increased 50% in one year. This looks like the disease needs much more government funding. But what if this is a very rare disease and the increase in deaths was only from two to three in our population of 345 million. Mr. Sinex is right, a lack of context can cause faulty conclusions.

Douglas R. Holm

East side

Slowly starving

I am no expert in desert ecology, but I can observe.

Coyotes are among the most successful and stealthiest animals of our hemisphere. But they are no match against developments.

I saw two today while walking my little dog. They were attracted by his scent. They were big and beautiful. They showed no fear, and walked along side for a short while. Fortunately for me, they were not hungry enough.

But only a hungry coyote would let himself be seen that openly.

I live in a development in SE Tucson. Developments are all over. Coyote habitat is shrinking. To live, they must abandon stealth. Now they must come into the open. Most of them know guns. All of them know being seen is a risk.

I do not want to see coyotes starving. But we are the species who wants and gets everything, and damns any creature in our way.

How will this end?

Abigail Hagler

Southeast side

Lies by liberals

I am amazed at the ignorance expressed by the liberal Tucson voters, mainly because they don't seek the truth, they listen to a talking head that takes comments out of context. A letter from Cherie Freeman declared that "Trump has called for the murder of Liz Cheney." The problem is that Trump did not say that but Cherie was willing to believe the worst without making any effort to confirm or refute the lie. Along the same line, Mary Bradley claimed the same distortion "Fascist Trump was in Glendale, calling for the execution of Liz Cheney," another complete and utter failure to verify. Are liberals incapable of thinking and verifying before drawing conclusions or do they just lie? On top of that, did you catch the name calling? Does Mary actually know what a fascist is?

The actual quote was referred to Liz Cheney's radical pro war agenda but she has never had guns pointed at her like military: "You know, when the guns are trained on her face."

Loran Hancock

Northwest side

A brilliant plan

Donald Trump announced today that, if elected President, one of his first actions will be to contact the Mexican President. He would inform her that if she did not halt the flow of illegals from their southern border to our southern border, he would impose a graduated level of tariffs on all goods entering from Mexico. The simplest way to halt the majority of illegal immigration is to not allow the people to gather on our southern border. We obviously need immigration but it must be done legally according to our laws. The border situation for the last four years, allowed by the Biden Administration and the Border Czar, definitely displays that Administration's incompetence, lack of respect for the law, total disregard for the ongoing costs, and total disrespect the for the American citizens. Because the actions of the last four years were absolutely intentional, those actions should be considered treasonous. The Mexican Government will react to and act to the tariff threat, a 100 percent certainty.

Loyal M Johnson Jr

Oro Valley