Mailbag

Margaret Regan Needs to Drop Everything and Head for Mexico

Regarding your article "On the Migrant Trail" (Currents, June 7): Instead of walking in their shoes, why don't you go to Mexico, and try to make changes there?

If these illegal immigrants would stay in Mexico and fight for better living conditions, things would change. Freedom and good living conditions happened here because people were willing to fight for them. It would be better than trying to cross the desert--and maybe less dangerous. But they take the easy way out. They come here and want to turn Arizona into Mexico. They take advantage of our emergency rooms to get free medical care (Tucson Weekly points out the long waits in our emergency rooms), dental care, day care and education. They come across the border and break into homes. They throw their garbage all over the desert so it looks like the mess in Mexico. Instead of learning English as our forefathers, we are expected to change everything into Spanish.

You bleeding hearts should walk in the shoes of a middle-class citizen working very hard and barely making ends meet. Americans are taxed to death to pay for all the free services. Our country and citizens cannot afford to support everyone. If we need to support everyone, then we should just take over Mexico and make it an American state.

Let them come in the legal way. Our government keeps turning a blind eye because of the cheap labor. Once before, they allowed illegal immigrants here to become citizens, and it did nothing to curb the influx.

Marilyn Olson


We, the Liberal Media, Are Just Too Damn Kind to Illegal Immigrants

While Dave Devine's story "State of Emergency" (June 7) was well written, it obviously skirted the real problem of the economic terrorism that is derived from illegals who think they have rights and entitlements to free medical care.

The economic impact is found in the closing of the trauma unit at Tucson Medical Center and the loss of $5 million annually at the Yuma Regional Medical Center. Americans with medical insurance pay more and more annually to offset the financial losses of the U.S. medical-treatment centers.

Devine takes a soft approach in "State of Emergency," as do all liberal media, by claiming that illegals filling Kino, St. Mary's and other medical centers have a "right" under a "law." Illegal alien criminals have no rights. They are responsible for economic terrorism.

Try to get medical care in Mexico for free. You'd better have some deep pockets.

Donald E. Long
Counter-Terrorism Security Consultant


For Israel, Peace and Nonviolent Protest Aren't Options

That was quite an interesting Guest Commentary you published by Marjorie Ford on June 14. Ostensibly about the need for nonviolent protest, the column's real aim was to demonize Israel, which is fighting a war of survival against genocidal political entities known as Hamas, Fatah and Hezbollah, not to mention Iran, Syria and a host of other murderous oligarchies and theocracies. Recent events in Gaza are yet another reminder of the dangerousness of these groups and their hyper-violent philosophies. In fact, Palestinians in Gaza are currently fleeing Palestinian violence, desperately trying to get into Israel, where safety awaits.

At the end of Ford's column, it is noted that she is a psychotherapist specializing in guided imagery. Maybe an imaginary peaceful protest against Hezbollah or Hamas would be instructive to the Weekly's readers. It would go something like this: Close your eyes; imagine you are in front of Hamas headquarters. (Note to guided-imagery tourists: You could also be protesting in front of the government offices in Khartoum, Riyadh or Tehran.) You are protesting its lack of democracy, suppression of free speech and antipathy toward women's rights. You are a free, strong and independent person who speaks truth to power. But men in masks waving machine guns are approaching, and it is obvious they are displeased. Then there is unpleasantness and discomfort. Very shortly, you are flying upward, gently flapping your newly sprouted wings. You are in heaven, and there is peace.

Perhaps Ms. Ford's intentions are benign, but her idea that "peace breeds peace" is not true when your neighbor is insanely dedicated to the idea of your annihilation, and feverishly engaged in making it a reality. It is through vigilance and a healthy sense of self-preservation that the only democracy in the Middle East will be able to remain alive.

Tom Gelsinon


Risner: County Needs to Read Ballot Laws, Users' Guides

I'd like to be of help to Chuck Huckelberry and Brad Nelson. Perhaps you can pass on this information ("Electoral Integrity," Currents, June 14).

According to your article, Nelson's office is "still investigating whether individual passwords can be employed." One of the places they might "investigate" is the GEMS User Guide for the software they have been using for the past 11 years. He should look at Section 2.3.3.1, which reads: "For security purposes ... each user may have a different user ID and password, with varying access privileges. The individual activities of each user are tracked in the audit log." All of this is known to Mr. Nelson. Only the public is unaware of his erroneous statements.

Mr. Huckelberry claims that "there's no requirement the ballots have to be destroyed." You might refer him to ARS 16-624 A. It reads: "After the canvass has been completed, the officer in charge of elections shall deposit the package or envelope containing the ballots in a secure facility managed by the county treasurer, who shall keep it unopened and unaltered for 24 months for elections for a federal office or for six months for all other elections, at which time he shall destroy it without opening or examining the contents." I need not define the meaning of the words "he shall destroy it." One can conclude that there is no such requirement only if one believes the law does not apply to oneself. And that is apparently the county's belief.

If they actually have refused to follow the law and have the original ballots in their possession, that might be good news. It is no simple matter to access them, but they definitely should not destroy them at the present time. I'm just surprised that they exist, since the lawyer who is defending the county told me that they had been destroyed. I've yet to learn whether they have come back from the dead, or the lawyer was just guessing.

Bill Risner


There's Help Available for Caregivers of Elderly Parents

I read your article ("Ties That Bind," June 14) and was happy to see this topic brought forward.

This really is a common story: Many people don't even realize that they are in such a situation. Many people don't see themselves as caregivers and therefore don't reach out for help.

Pima Health System runs a Caregiver Education and Support Program which deals directly with the same issues you brought up and that the women in your story went through. This program is in collaboration with the Pima Council on Aging, and we provide free eight-week support groups and free practical-skills classes to residents of Pima County.

We also provide limited family counseling and limited individual counseling for caregivers. I have mailed a packet of information to the Tucson Weekly that outlines our Caregiver Education and Support Program.

Again, thanks for a great article. I hope more people will realize they can access many of the free programs offered in Pima County for caregivers.

Ed Helmbrecht
Program Coordinator, Pima Health System Community Services System