Article was propaganda in Obama power grab
Re: the June 27 article “Presidential power to fill posts during recess clipped.”
Sam Hananel’s piece, and the headline that topped it, are factually wrong. The unanimous Supreme Court decision did not “clip” President Obama’s power to make recess appointments, but eliminated the president’s ability to decide when the Senate is in recess.
The president can still make recess appointments according to the Constitution, but it is the Senate that decides when the Senate is in recess. The Star should not have pretended that Hananel’s piece was anything but propaganda serving the president’s unlawful power grab.
Retired electronics technician, Tucson
Paying for meals sends poor moral message
Re: the June 23 article “Children need meals when school is out too.”
The author writes that there was an increase of more than 8,000 Arizona children enrolled in a summer meals program, when compared to the prior year’s enrollment. She then states, “That’s the good news.”
Wouldn’t better news be a decline in enrollment in such a program, with a concomitant increase in parents accepting the responsibility to provide food for their own children?
We as a society create a moral hazard when we send a message to parents (both current and prospective) that society at large will pick up the tab for feeding their children.
If that statement seems harsh, then how did previous generations manage to meet their obligations to provide for their families without the benefit of the current laundry list of social welfare programs?
Retired, Green Valley
Former mayor is right: Hold Bush accountable
Re: the June 27 guest opinion “Hold Bush accountable for oil-motivated Iraq war.”
Well done, Mayor George Miller. The Bush administration recklessly traded blood for oil and tragically caused the deaths of 4,400 of America’s finest as well as 100,000 Iraq citizens.
For the cost of $750 million the U.S. built the largest and most expensive embassy in the world in Baghdad, all under the very same administration.
When will the American people wake up and see the absolute crime committed against us that helped destroy our standing in the world? A war based on lies and deception, blood and money.
Open shuttered schools to America’s homeless
Using shut-down schools to house migrant kids is a good idea. Why is it that we can’t do the same for the homeless? Shouldn’t we take care of our own at home, before extending it to others?
We are a great nation. Let’s show our unfortunate Americans that we care and are there for them. Open unused schools for shelter.
Program manager, Tucson
Criticisms should offer alternative solutions
Opinions that criticize the actions of others without offering alternatives ring hollow to me.
Tell us what you don’t like, but follow that with specifics as to what you would do differently if you were in a position to affect change.
That way, we can better understand and appreciate your point of view.
Retired, Oro Valley
Krauthammer’s views lack empathy
In reference to Charles Krauthammer’s column on June 27, he forgets the scientific maxim that “facts are friendly.” His accusation that Obama overreaches during congressional recesses by imperialistically making appointments represents a selective forgetting of similar and more frequent appointments by George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Krauthammer needs to be reminded that America ranks 11th out of the top 11 industrial nations in health care. And what about climate change, harmful pollutants, and excessive carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases? Do we need more green energy?
It is difficult to believe that this empathy-deficient editorialist was once a trained psychiatrist. His misguided statements appear to have veiled racial overtones, insult the scientific community, and denigrate the dignity of thinking fellow human beings.
Thomas L. Fisher
Retired psychologist, Tucson
Don’t fund unneeded Arizona Public Media
I’ve read at least a dozen letters, some unnecessarily longer than others, all wanting to keep Arizona Public Media funded. I disagree.
If any of my money is used to support AZPM, shut it down. Re-establish it as a “for profit” corporation. If it’s good enough, it will survive.
Some people wrongly assume that when it has “public” in its corporate name, it is “fair and balanced.” Instead it means they drone on in monotone that we know puts cats and others to sleep (the science is in on that one). Each word is carefully strung together in a politically correct sequence that’s intended to lead people in one direction.
My money need not be used to fund propaganda; instead use it to fix a pothole.