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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Reality check

Editor:

“Freedom requires truth and a solid grasp of reality, beginning with the freedom to speak the truth.”

Ironic that this quote was repeated by Republican. Let’s look at reality, shall we? A Republican-led board of supervisors of Maricopa County, a Republican governor, Katie Hobbs, other experienced Republicans as well as independent audits all say the 2020 election was fair. However, the Arizona Republican Party is not grasping reality. They are not speaking the truth, and if you do, you get treated like Liz Cheney. So much for “freedom to speak the truth.” They hired a partisan, inexperienced, unqualified group to audit the votes. They continue to be in the grasp of an alternate reality based on denial. Now, the Republican Texas governor is asking for out-ofstate help because of the new surge. He is also a nonmasker and threatens payrolls if they go against it. The CDC, and most of the medical community, says everyone in schools should wear masks. So, excuse me while I laugh at using this quote against “liberals.” It’s the far-right Republicans who are not grasping any of this and are not speaking the truth. You talk about liberal media being one-sided? Funny how you conveniently leave out the conservative media who propagate proven, baseless allegations and lies to further the Republican Party. Don’t throw stones when you live in a glass house.

Mike Getz Goodyear The Guardians of Goodyear

Editor:

If the name change was supposed to make next year’s season and Spring Training more interesting, the Cleveland baseball team definitely registers a swing and a miss with the Guardians. Now, granted, if you are changing the name for politically correct reasons, an anti-policing dog whistle might seem logical. However, don’t expect it to resonate with fans or sell merchandise.

Average people associate “guardians” with some legalese parental stand-in for signing a child’s report card or medical release form, not excellence, toughness or any virtue that you would want to associate with the team you’re rooting for.

Now the PC-renaming carousel moves back to Washington, where the football team will announce a new name shortly. I’m expecting something daring, like “citizens” or “friends.” But don’t be surprised when they sound stupid next to the Giants, Eagles and Cowboys all season long. Before you say I’m too pessimistic, remember this is the same city that already scrapped a great basketball moniker, the Bullets, for a second-rate imitation of Orlando’s mascot, then with a pretty low bar to clear in renaming the Expos just defaulted to the name of the league.

What happened to the great mascots or yesteryear, like Lions, Tigers and Bears? Cool animals make cool T-shirts and hats that fans can wear with pride. Or at least pick something creative, local and unique. Guardians…? What are we supposed to do with that, rename their half of Goodyear Ballpark the Orphanage?

Charles Peabody Goodyear Proud of participation

Editor:

As I read the news reports and listen to the news trying to describe the chaos and point fingers of blame in Afghanistan, my thoughts turn to what we have done right, right here in Glendale. Luke Air Force Base is the world’s largest F-35 pilot training center. More than 1,400 pilots and 10,000 maintainers have trained to fly these supersonic, radar-defying

JUDGE’S OPINION — King Features

fighter jets. Many of our allies have bought them and sent their people here to train. Now in the fifth generation, we have produced more than 650 of them.

With any foresight, we will never engage in ground war again anywhere, but it is good to know that we and our allies are continuing to be well prepared to meet any foe with our air superiority. Arizona can be quite proud of our participation in our preparation to meet the challenges of the future with our superior F-35 fighter jets.

Jordan Clark Buckeye Safety for our children or political points?

Editor:

First, our governor offers money to districts that do not require masks and then the next day he doubles down and says money will be withheld from districts that ignore his orders and implement a mask mandate.

So much for providing a quality education to our Arizona children or providing a safe learning environment for our teachers, staff and students.

As a retired teacher and principal here in Arizona, I just don’t understand what he is thinking. I applaud the districts that are putting the safety of our students, teachers and staff first, but I feel bad that they are being put in a position to choose between getting extra money or losing money they have been promised and deserve.

He will need to be held accountable for every child, teacher or staff member who gets COVID-19, gets sick and, heaven forbid, dies — just so he can make political points, which he may have lost already.

Dan Dillon Buckeye

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WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | AUGUST 25, 2021

Remembering Arizona heroes in Afghanistan

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ

West Valley View Columnist

The scroll of the dead contains 49 names: 48 men and a woman killed between April 2004 and December 2014 in Afghanistan. To my way of thinking, each of these Arizonans is a hero — a neighbor of ours, a defender of freedom, killed nearly 8,000 miles away in a fetid foreign hell.

That sad war ended in a blitz of disgraceful images showing the Taliban taking hold and Afghan civilians opting to die now rather now than face the torture and mayhem sure to come. Pundits branded the war a stain on America not seen since Vietnam.

I am not here to debate history. Instead, let’s take a moment to remember the dead. It is the very least we owe them in return for their epic sacrifi ce.

Spec. Patrick D. Tillman and Staff Sgt. Brian S. Hobbs died in 2004.

Lance Corp. Kevin B. Joyce and Sgt. Kenneth G. Ross died in 2005.

Chief Warrant Offi cer Hershel D. McCants Jr., Sgt. Charles R. Browning, Pfc. Mykiel F. Miller and Spec. Hugo V. Mendoza died in 2007.

Pfc. Ara T. Deysie, Hospitalman Dustin K. Burnett, Lance Corp. Juan Castaneda-Lopez, Pvt. Joseph F. Gonzales and Corp. Charles P. Gaffney Jr. died in 2008.

In 2009, we lost Master Sgt. David L. Hurt, Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles, Spec. Adam J. Hardt, Staff Sgt. Eric J. Lindstrom, Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, Sgt. Thomas Rabjohn and Sgt. Justin Gallegos.

The deadliest year was 2010. The killed included Spec. Robert Donevski, Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie, Sfc. Glen J. Whetten, Spec. Christian Adams, Sgt. John M. Rogers, Sgt. Martin A. Lugo, Pfc. Barbara Vieyra, Sfc. Todd M. Harris, Lance Corp. Matthew J. Broehm, Lance Corp. Randy R. Braggs and Sgt. Aaron B. Cruttenden.

In 2011, Pfc. Dustin J. Feldhaus, Pfc. John C. Johnson, Staff Sgt. Martin R. Apolinar, Staff Sgt. Donald V. Stacy, Spec. Michael D. Elm and Sfc. Johnathan B. McCain died.

In 2012, Corp. Phillip D. McGeath, First Lt. Alejo R. Thompson, Sfc. Barrett W. McNabb, Staff Sgt. Carl E. Hammar, Staff Sgt. Richard L. Berry, Staff Sgt. Orion N. Sparks and Sfc. Ryan J. Savard died.

The bloodshed ebbed in 2013. The dead: Staff Sgt. Jonathan D. Davis, Second Lt. Justin L. Sisson; First Lt. Jonam Russell and CWO Joshua B. Silverman.

Operation Enduring Freedom ended on the last day of 2014, but not before the death of Spec. Wyatt J. Martin, a 22-year-old from Mesa killed two weeks before Christmas.

These 49 obituaries are full of details about these heroes: how Kevin Joyce, 19 when he died, was the guy his fellow Marines turned to when they’d been dealt a lousy MRE for dinner. Joyce kept extras in his locker and was always happy to trade.

Corp. Gaffney, 42 and a father of two, told a family friend he re-enlisted “for the women of Afghanistan.” Gaffney said, “The women of Afghanistan are so mistreated, they’re not really people like we are in this country.”

Sgt. 1st Class McNabb hailed from Chino Valley. He went by the nickname “Bear.”

Martin Apolinar attended Trevor Browne High School, where his fellow seniors voted him “Prettiest Eyes.”

He enlisted in the Army in 2004 and earned his Special Forces qualifi cation at Fort Bragg. In Iraq, he received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Apolinar’s fi nal deployment was to Wardak Province in Afghanistan, where his vehicle was decimated by an improvised explosive device. He died at 29, leaving behind a wife and a son.

In a perfect world, we would never have lost this war. In a better world, each of us would remember forever the 49 Arizonans who never came home from hell.

WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | AUGUST 25, 2021

Americans forgotten in Afghan chaos

BY J.D. HAYWORTH

West Valley View Columnist

Over 30 years have passed since “Clarissa Explains it All” premiered on the kids’ cable channel Nickelodeon.

But recently a real-life Clarissa — Clarissa Ward, CNN’s chief international correspondent and a graduate of Yale — offered an eyewitness account from Afghanistan so incredible that it prompted both chuckles and the temptation to “upchuck.”

Clad in a burqa to reflect the return of the Taliban to power, Ward described the collective disposition of the victorious jihadists for CNN’s dwindling audience: “They’re chanting ‘Death to America,’ but they seem friendly at the same time.”

Her on-the-ground assessment prompted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to tweet out an obvious question: “Is there an enemy of America for whom CNN won’t cheerlead?”

In Takhar province, a woman was shot and killed for not wearing a burqa when she went out in public.

Meantime, the public “face” of the Taliban, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, held a press conference to insist that women’s rights would be honored in the newly renamed Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, but he included a huge caveat. The Taliban, he said, is “committed to the rights of women under the system of Sharia law.”

Sharia law? Guess that means it’s still OK to kill women not wearing burqas in public.

In Washington, the burqaless and seemingly clueless White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, offered the Biden administration’s new definition of “American Exceptionalism,” which apparently now means that the U.S. government places a priority on helping people leave Afghanistan — except those who are American citizens.

When asked if the U.S. could offer “any guarantee” to Americans who might be stuck in Afghanistan past the administration’s withdrawal deadline of Aug. 31, Ms. Psaki responded “that is day by day, getting as many American citizens, as many SIV (special immigrant visa) applicants, as many members of vulnerable populations who are eligible to be evacuated, to the airport and out on planes.”

Jen may have listed Americans first in her response, but in reality, the emphasis was on non-Americans. On Aug. 15, a U.S. Air Force C-17 was packed with 640 Afghan refugees, who escaped to Qatar.

Three days later, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued this security alert: The U.S. government cannot ensure safe passage to the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The fact that the alert was composed in capital letters underscored the urgency of the message and the dilemma confronting the American citizens who are stuck in Afghanistan, numbering between 10,000 and 40,000.

In his televised address of Aug. 16, President Biden claimed that “we planned for every contingency,” but he also admitted “this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.”

Then, he dusted off a line that was a combination of Richard Nixon and Harry Truman: “I am president of the United States of America, and the buck stops with me.”

Apparently satisfied that his remarks would placate the population, Mr. Biden had returned to politicizing the pandemic by midweek.

But there is no vaccine for the collective vexation of American voters. Independents who watched the speech reacted by giving it an “F.”

An “F-word” is undoubtedly on the minds of the Americans stranded in Afghanistan: forgotten.

With Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin telling reporters they’ll only evacuate Americans “until the clock runs out,” our fellow Americans trapped there must dream of “turning the clock back.”

Some entire families are stranded; they undoubtedly are concerned that they could become captives.

To placate their kids, some worried parents are probably watching old Nickelodeon shows… including “Clarissa Explains it All.”

J.D. Hayworth represented Arizona in the U.S. House from 1995-2007. He authored and sponsored the Enforcement First Act, legislation that would have mandated enforcement of Federal Immigration Law in the 109th Congress.

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