Mailbag

This Letter Writer Has Apparently Never Heard of Safety Harnesses

Linda Hatfield, in her April 24 Guest Commentary, seemed to lack a basic understanding of the most common causes of workplace accidents and what it would take to reduce them. Her own list of accidents demonstrates this: Most were the result of gravity. (That damn Bush gives gravity breaks to the rich, and we poor workers continue to have to pay for it.) Some accidents are due to stupidity, and others are simply accidents. Hatfield seems to think the government can prevent such occurrences but provides no specifics other than to say, "Big Brother must take care of you."

In fact, from the 1930s to 1971, workplace injuries fell by 50 percent. After the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, fatalities continued to drop at the same rate. To insinuate that OSHA has had anything to do with this decrease is like standing in front of the parade and claiming to be leading it. To blame the Bush administration because someone fell off scaffolding is equally as ridiculous. God knows there is enough to criticize the Bush administration about. (Can I say God here?)

It is nice to know that the Pima Area Labo[u]r Federation, the Communications Workers of America and the Democratic Party will be fighting on our behalf in the name of fairness to redistribute gravity (and IQ points) so that the rich pay their fair share. Donations gladly accepted at your local Democratic Party office.

Jim Metras


Judges Rule!

I am a public member of the Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review, and I wish to thank you for the thoughtful discussion about the Arizona judiciary (Tuttle, May 22).

Most citizens of Arizona do not realize that the state judiciary is usually ranked among the top five or 10 state systems. As you point out, an independent judiciary is essential to constitutional government at every level. My experience with the judges and attorneys who also serve on the commission has demonstrated, contrary to the popular stereotype, that these individuals share a concern with the public members to maintain the highest standards of judicial performance.

Richard Cosgrove


Forget About Trapping Cats; Trap Cat Owners Instead

Feral cats are a major nuisance in urban areas, thanks to irresponsible people ("Trap Trip," Currents, May 8). I know, having had a neighbor whose cats reproduced like cockroaches and were constantly fighting, running across my roof at night, and pissing and crapping everywhere. I was on the verge of doing what Scott Denton did, until I realized it would only mean my neighbor would restock the neighborhood with more cats, which she did whenever coyotes performed their community service.

So how do we deal with it? Unfortunately, Denton's approach only gets at the symptom. The answer is to live-trap those people who refuse to have their cats spayed or neutered and dump them off far from the city.

Doug Koppinger


We Had an Amusing Headline Here, But Deleted It for Fear of Being Called 'Mr. Smuggie' Again

I read Scott Denton's response to the "Trap Trip" article (Guest Commentary, May 15). I liked where you smugly stated that you stood behind the writer of the story instead of maybe saying that there was a problem, and that you never had to stay indoors because of the reek of cat feces and urine, and if you sat on the porch of your own home, you got to watch a literal parade of cats walking through your yard.

Well, come on over. If it gets boring, rest assured that there will be a fight--as good as anything on pay-per-view. Then comes the main event: good, hot, rough, in-the-dirt sex. No holding back for these guys. Free love now. Wherever, whenever. Then just do the math: one plus one equals eight. That's cat math.

Then come the vet bills: When cats poop, dogs eat it--dogs that have been spayed and neutered, licensed and confined. Just remember that none of the aforementioned is free. They get sick. Vets cost money. Gas is $3.50 today. Food ... wait until next week if you think this is high. Get it, Mr. Smuggie?

So, I have an idea: Give me your address, and I will trap cats and bring them to your house. Then when there is an outbreak of some kind of fatal-to-humans virus (Dogs don't count, and nobody loves dogs anyway, right, Mr. Smuggie?), and the city takes notice, they can go to your house.

Now, I'm going to let you in on a secret: Nobody, no matter what glorified position they hold, real or imagined, is always right. Get it? If you don't, you can come over to my house, and we can breathe a little cat poop and gag down a cold drink (bring your own), and I'll explain it to you.

Where are you from before here, anyway?

Todd Evans


The Fact That Animals Are Disposable Hurts Tucson as a City

One thing you left out when describing Tucson's lack of qualifications to be one of the best places to live ("Tough Love," Editor's Note, May 8): disposable Tucson. The health and welfare of Tucson consists of killing healthy dogs and cats.

Tucson prides itself on its forward-thinking. It thinks that spending thousands of dollars on a new building for the Pima Animal Care Center will help. What good is a new building when no one will clean it, or it will be kept empty in order to reduce workloads? Or in a more horrific scenario, it will be used as a bigger and better facility to kill?

The county does not have a single employee whose job is adoptions. (This fictitious person would find foster homes, do public relations/marketing, fund a trap-neuter-release feral-cat program, work with pet businesses, etc.) Instead, a recent classified advertisement sought four new field officers, each making $30,000. This is a crime. The health and welfare of Tucson consists of killing healthy (and treatable and nonaggressive) dogs and cats.

Fluffy and Fido be damned, let's keep going with the antiquated system, cruel and, yes, inhumane, as long as we all have a job. I don't know how (PACC manager) Kim Janes can sleep at night, knowing his pound houses rows and rows of empty cat cages and unclean conditions. Let's take all the elementary school children to the pound and have them get a real education. Death is not a sad fact to be explained during business hours; it's a health-and-welfare policy in disposable Tucson.

Ellen Rauch


Correction

Dave Devine's story, "Remember the Dead," (Currents, May 22) incorrectly states that the downtown soldiers' remains will be buried at the Fort Huachuca cemetery.

The remains will be reburied in the Southern Arizona Veterans' Cemetery, which is run by the state of Arizona. The cemetery is located next to Fort Huachuca, not on it.

Tanja M. Linton, Media relations officer, Fort Huachuca