A task force will review our state parks system and its challenges, after several parks were temporarily closed.

We’re glad that Gov. Jan Brewer is assembling the panel, particularly if it can quantify the backlog of parks maintenance and rehabilitation needs.

Some of the prettiest state parks anywhere are in Arizona. And though the current recession precludes plans for improvements anytime soon, all Arizonans would benefit from better caretaking of our prized state spots once the recession has passed and a more prosperous era returns.

Arizona parks, alas, have suffered a fate similar to that of national parks: too little money for maintenance, programs and staff. Unless the parks are well-funded, they can’t bring in funds – a Catch-22 that should be unsnarled when money permits.

Until then, we’re glad Brewer’s panel will assemble the data needed so that once funds become available, parks can be rehabilitated anew.

Bull rider Jerry Shepherd get hung up on Keepsake the bull in the bull riding event in the finals of the 84th Annual Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo.

Congratulations to organizers of the Tucson rodeo, which saw a huge attendance spike from last year.

More than 50,000 people attended the 84th annual La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, which ended Sunday. That’s up 31 percent from 2008′s attendance.

Good weather throughout the event was the major factor in bringing people to the Tucson Rodeo Grounds. And while Tucson has grown to be a sprawling metropolitan area, it still is a boots-and-jeans town at its core.

The rodeo brings in many out-of-towners and is a solid boost for the local economy – something that cannot be overlooked during the current recession.

Thanks to the rodeo organizers for another great run.

Tucson has grown to be a sprawling metropolitan area, but it still is a boots-and-jeans town at its core.

Today – Thursday – marks the 84th edition of the annual Tucson Rodeo Parade, part of La Fiesta de Vaqueros running through Sunday.

This venerable tradition reminds Old Pueblo denizens of our historic roots, bringing residents together for wholesome entertainment for all ages.

Alas, the parade has seen its share of mishaps and even one tragic death.

Five-year-old Brielle Boisvert of Elgin was killed in 2007 when a wagon team of horses spooked and bolted, running into her horse, dislodging and then trampling her.

We urge paradegoers today to heed new safety rules implemented after Brielle’s death.

Don’t spook the horses or other livestock, and don’t step off or sit on the curbs along South Park Avenue.

But do enjoy the parade respectfully, for it is an important and enduring part of Tucson’s heritage, the longest nonmotorized parade in the world.

Restoration work at the historic and beloved San Xavier del Bac Mission has reached a milestone.

After five years, repairs on the west tower were finished last week, just in time for Christmas Eve Mass. Restoration work on the east tower is expected to begin next year and take at least three years to complete.

The mission, which is more than 200 years old, has been undergoing a multimillion-dollar rejuvenation that began with interior preservation in 1989.

The work has been funded by Patronato San Xavier, a local nonprofit organization.

To see photos of the before and after work, and help with a contribution, go to the organization’s Web site.

This is a Tucson treasure we cannot lose.

• More online: www.patronatosanxavier.org

Financial challenges are looming, but community treasure has been saved

The Fox Theatre has averaged about three events a week.

The Fox Theatre is going through challenging financial times – hardly surprising when the same can be said for most nonprofits, and for General Motors, Citigroup, the state of Arizona, and federal government.

But there is no reason to give up on the Fox – a 1930 movie palace that has been restored into a sparking icon of downtown Tucson.

There will be difficult times ahead for the Fox. The cost to restore it ballooned from the $5 million to $7 million range to about $13 million before it reopened Dec. 31, 2005. The Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation had to borrow $5.6 million from the city, and the loan must be repaid starting in 2011.

But it also is important to look at the successful side of the Fox.

Since it has reopened, the Fox has averaged 152 events per year – about three per week. In 2007, the entertainment options at the Fox represented about 31 percent of all downtown events.

The figures are from Herb Stratford, who led the Fox revitalization before stepping down early this year.

When the Tucson Citizen published a story this week about Fox’s financial situation, online readers called for the theater to be closed, with many saying they don’t attend events there.

The Fox is a community resource. Not everyone will go there – just as not everyone will be interested in University of Arizona basketball or in watching the latest episode of “American Idol.” But that doesn’t mean there should be fewer options available.

Instead of slamming the Fox, those critical Tucsonans should check out the varied offerings and make an effort to be part of a Fox audience.

And the Fox foundation should listen to its critics, too, and offer a wider range of programming that may attract some naysayers.

In 2009, renovation of Centennial Hall on the UA campus will cause some shows to be moved to the Fox. Such partnerships between the Fox and UA should continue, giving the university a role in helping downtown revitalization.

No one got rich or exploited the system by rebuilding the Fox. It has been a labor of love for thousands of people.

As Stratford noted, the plan was never for Fox Theatre to be the anchor or one of only a few visible downtown entities, carrying the weight of expectations and frustrations for a slow-moving redevelopment of the city center.

An investment in the cultural history of a community is never a mistake. Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation has said, “Every successful downtown revitalization in the U.S. has had, as a central component, a historic theater.”

For Tucson, the Fox is that component. It will find its niche.

Holiday for honoring vets, not cashing in
Seeing all the newspaper and TV ads this past week from every type of business possible touting blowout Memorial Day sales, I couldn’t help but wonder how the employees of these businesses must feel – especially those whose loved ones have paid the ultimate price – at not being able to attend Memorial Day services because corporate greed forces them to work on a legal holiday.

What a slap in the face to all veterans when the blood spilled is used to make money.

MIKE FASCETTA

Race for truth, curing historical amnesia
Re: the John A. Ward guest opinion May 21 (“Raza studies gives rise to racial hostility”):

It is very difficult to reply to a disgruntled employee.

I have had contact with the staff of La Raza Studies in Tucson and consider them good professionals.

I would be surprised if Ward’s description was accurate and not extremely biased.

While I know people who have done research on Aztlan as a place, few give it the narrow interpretation that Ward describes.

Christians, Jews and Muslims all claim that a spot in the Middle East is the place their religion originated.

Does this make them racist?

Some fanatics have accused my book, “Occupied America,” of espousing Aztlan.

Not in one passage do I promote this exclusivity or ascribe an ideological context.

I do say the indigenous people of North America are bound by a corn culture.

It is a fact that 90 percent of Mexico has a majority or some Indian blood, whereas less than 1 percent of U.S. citizens have Indian blood.

Thus I am perplexed by the narrow and racist meaning that nativists such as Ward assign to borders.

My family is originally from Arizona-Sonora; we crossed borders at will.

Some in my family claimed Yaqui and Pima ancestry but never an Aztec past.

I am surprised that Ward, a certified Arizona teacher, does not recognize these nuances.

This is underscored by his criticism of La Raza teachings that the United States invaded Mexico and took the Southwest.

This is a historical fact, and it would be wrong to teach otherwise.

Scholarship should be based on a search for the truth, not historical amnesia.

RODOLFO F. ACUNA

Northridge, Calif.

Some Juans drawing heat on border issue
Bravo to John A. Ward (May 21 guest opinion, “Raza studies gives rise to racial hostility”) and to the Tucson Citizen for exposing the truth, a rarity in today’s world of politically correct politics.

I can’t wait for a response from Juan McCain and Juan Kyl, who benefit from and choose to represent the powerful illegal immigrant industry instead of American taxpayers.

When billarybama win the U.S. presidency in November, McCain can pursue his ambitions and be in his political comfort zone by running for el presidente de la raza.

Welcome, Señor McCain.

HARRY THOMPSON

Ward of mouth: Alert to propaganda lauded
Thank you for printing Mr. Ward’s column. The public needs to know about the racist propaganda being taught in the Raza classes.

Teaching about the history and contributions of the different cultures in our country is one thing.

But preaching hatred and intolerance to impressionable young people is criminal.

Mr. Ward is to be commended for stepping up and exposing this flagrant misuse of public funds.

DAVID FITE

Close border: No one respects a doormat
The “Silent Majority” is real. Congress heard from it during the immigration bill argument.

Enforcement is possible if our police and governments wanted to do their jobs.

That problem is compounded by complacency of the public and elected officials and further hindered by religions that interfere.

We can’t afford water, homes, jobs, schools, etc., for everyone who thinks they’d be better off in the U.S. Why they came isn’t the issue. We don’t ask burglars why they break in.

Impeach, recall, fire or remove all obstacles to enforcement.

This is our country. Time to close the doors. No one respects a doormat.

MARY RECKLEIN

Find solutions serving both countries’ interests
The immigration issue presents us a terrific opportunity to find solutions that serve the economic interests of both countries while making us better neighbors with Mexico.

If we take citizenship out of the equation, and leave behind an unnecessarily complicated “comprehensive program” nobody likes, we’re left with the opportunity to quickly develop an easy-to-use guest worker program that allows an efficient flow of labor to U.S. jobs as needed.

Providing a way for workers to cross and recross easily and legally will result in fewer illegal crossings and will eliminate the need to spend billions on walls, electronic surveillance and additional Border Patrol.

We need to enlist Mexico’s support to protect its second-largest source of income.

Mexico should prescreen and qualify its citizens who want to cross the border.

Mexico should be willing to reimburse our government for health care and social service costs for those workers.

It’s also in Mexico’s interest to step up enforcement and prevent illegal crossings if Mexico doesn’t want us to build walls.

In return, we need to help Mexico develop a healthier economy.

It’s in the best interests of both countries to make our mutually dependent economies and democracies as strong and vibrant as possible.

JAY QUICK

Many died, lured here by implied amnesty
The responsibility for each illegal immigrant’s death in the desert can be laid directly at the feet of the president and the members of Congress who continually implied amnesty for all.

When Congress kept saying 87 percent of Americans favored amnesty, we citizens wondered where that information came from, as no citizen could find even one other citizen who supports amnesty.

Those lies may have made the opposition even stronger.

Congress now must oblige the will of the people and have the Border Patrol deport all those who came here illegally.

Those who say it is “impossible” would have said the same about getting every airplane grounded for three days – before 9/11. The impossible just takes a little longer.

Illegal immigration will stop when it is publicly declared that the law will be enforced.

Some say deportation costs are prohibitive.

That logic might apply if Congress were budget- conscious, but no one can accuse it of wise spending.

It can figure out how to pay to ship these people back; all Congress needs to do is make it a high priority.

RAY FISCHER

They’re not all column builds them up to be
Rosa Brooks (July 2 article, “Immigrants raise the bar in the U.S.”) has to be living in another world.

She is on leave as a professor at Georgetown University Law Center to work with Open Society Institute and Soros Foundation Network (www.soros.org).

What do you think the Open Society Institute is about, being funded by George Soros? Check it out on the Web.

We really need the Mexican culture here in the U.S., right!

To see Mexican culture up close and at its finest, take a tour of L.A., home of the rag she writes for.

Mucho gangbangers killing each other and whoever else gets in their way; unwed mothers, welfare heaven milking the system; jails packed with culture spreaders; overcrowded school and medical facilities; drugs smuggled in from you know where, etc.

Her article could more appropriately be titled “Immigrants behind bars in the U.S.”

It is a put-down of fat, lazy gringos taking unfair advantage of criminals who have crossed our border illegally.

I can’t believe the Tucson Citizen would publish this trash by an admitted far left-leaning columnist. “Open society” says it all.

BILL MALETICH

Majority preferred law in existence over bill

I long ago stopped expecting even-handedness from Tucson’s newspapers, but I’m still disappointed every time it fails to materialize.

For Mark Kimble to denigrate Rep. Russell Pearce as “never known for being level-headed” while complaining about his appellation of Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl as traitors is a sad commentary (July 5 column, “Kyl’s ‘not in this for the glory’ “).

The vast majority of voters thought this bill was worse than nothing, that enforcement of existing law is preferable.

Even Sen. Kyl acknowledged he liked only half of the bill, a sorry admission for someone who voted to limit debate.

The senator is correct in concluding that most of us don’t trust the politicians; their performance has earned the distrust.

His error commenced with the conclusion that a closet-hatched deal would regain our trust. Skepticism will be resolved only by performance, and that means enforcing existing law.

And, yes, I regret contributing to his last campaign. I also am against amnesty for people who have broken our laws and do not consider myself shrill, though you probably do.

JOHN PURDY

Citizenry reciprocally disappointed with Bush
After the Senate defeated the immigration bill, President Bush said, “Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people, and the failure of Congress to act on it is a disappointment.”

The disappointment to most citizens is the failure by Bush and Congress to act on illegal immigration in any meaningful way over the past two decades.

When you enter a country illegally, you have broken the law. You have circumvented the precepts and guidelines that allow legitimate entry.

Granted, you may have gained employment and even purchased property.

But others who were ahead of you still are waiting in line to gain lawful entry. It’s as though you have stolen someone else’s chance.

It is not unlike stealing money to use for a good purpose. No matter how well intentioned the illegal immigrant, he has forfeited his right to any gain by willfully breaking federal law.

The sense of entitlement claimed by activist groups is misplaced and without foundation.

Paying a fine hardly justifies the fringe benefits of the crime. And it is certainly little consolation for those still waiting in line!

MIKE MINGUS

No progress until Mexico fixes its problems

The U.S. government is working so hard on the massive immigration problem that it forgot to look for the cause.

We have an enormous population of starving, desperate people just south of our border.

These people will do anything and risk anything to get out of poverty – cross any border at a risk of death.

So long as this population is uncared for, we’ll continue to have border problems. The U.S. cannot support and find jobs for all of them.

Mexico is a rich country and should not put its people in a situation where they must break our laws.

The U.S. government needs to pressure the Mexican government to clean up Mexico.

Until then, we can build walls and spend money all we want, but little will be accomplished.

J.A. MINCH

student

Pima Community College

No sympathy for people in our country illegally

I saw a news story last night that really bothered me. It should bother every taxpaying, wage-earning American citizen.

The story, on the 10 p.m. news on KOLD-TV Channel 13, was supposed to generate sympathy for those who are in our country illegally.

It didn’t make me feel sympathy. I was incensed.

The woman in the story has been here 25 years and working tax-free all this time.

I know what housekeepers and baby-sitters make.

She has had ample time to learn English and apply for citizenship or legal work papers. She has obviously chosen not to be in our system.

Why feel sorry for someone like that? A lot of people out there are like her, too. They don’t want to be part of their country. They don’t want to be part of ours, either.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve grown up and lived near the border all my life. This whole debate has been going on for years. There are solutions, such as hiring only those who are here with legal work papers.

I have nothing against people looking for a better life.

I have something against people who use the system our hard-earned tax dollars pay for.

MICHELLE MILLINGTON

Citizens shouldn’t pay for migrant ‘suicide’

How much are we spending to collect, examine and bury illegal immigrants who die in the desert?

I’ve seen pictures of corpses being stored in refrigerated trucks due to lack of space in medical examiners’ offices. Why are we performing autopsies?

I may regret they died, but I didn’t lure them here. Illegal employers and a corrupt Mexican government did, and they should be paying the tab.

Again, why the angst over what amounts to suicide?

JACQUELINE O’CONNOR

Sierra Vista

Detainee should contact immigration attorney

Re: the Oct. 16 article “Last man of 9/11 detainees sits uncharged in Az, nixes trip home”:

Why doesn’t the detained get in contact with an immigration attorney? Several practice at the Florence facilities and fewer (but some) at the facilities outside Eloy.

JOHN CROW

Bush fortifies Iraq, abandons our border

Picture the scene, if you have the stomach:

A breaking news bulletin interrupts regular broadcasting as President Bush prepares to approve historic legislation.

Bush smiles broadly at the Democrats and RINOs who made amnesty for illegal immigrants possible.

That would include Democratic Sens. Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy, and Republican Sens. Bill Frist and John McCain. The House would be represented by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other advocates for illegal immigrants.

With a stroke of his pen, Bush grants legal status to the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants who have invaded America since 1986, when wholesale amnesty was last granted.

Former illegal immigrants will make up 3 percent to 8 percent of the U.S. population once Bush is finished.

Nearly all of the “hardworking, goodhearted” people Bush will legalize will vote Democratic for the remainder of their lives, thereby effectively ending our two-party system.

Forty percent of Mexicans still living in Mexico, but disenchanted with life there, will see the latest amnesty as a sure sign America can be invaded with impunity. It will be abundantly clear that America’s “conservative” president is adamant in his refusal to enforce U.S. borders and immigration laws.

Thus, scores of millions of uneducated, non-English-speaking peasants will head north.

Bush will go down in history as the president who campaigned for the invasion of America by foreigners from a Third World nation.

He will be remembered as the president who discarded American sovereignty, rule of law, language and culture in exchange for cheap lettuce and fruit.

He also will be remembered as the president who sent American men and women 8,000 miles from home to fight for Iraq and Afghanistan, but who abandoned the American people at our southern border.

JOHN W. LILLPOP

San Jose, Calif.

This letter to the editor appears online only and not in the Tucson Citizen’s print edition.

Self-investment, work in Mexico the solution

Now we have presidential permission to build a fence on the border with Mexico. Whoopee.

Will the immigration problem go away? Nope.

Voter laws, limitations on benefits, using the overextended National Guard and hundreds of other corker legal ideas have not stopped the flood of illegal immigrants.

What is next? The Arizona Legislature and Congress need to look at the milestones of work-force development in Mexico.

The largely uncoordinated and unorganized work force falls victim to low wages and horribly bad management.

The maquiladora policy of establishing factories in Mexico was a partial answer. Maquiladoras provided work sites.

The problem is that the concept did not spread to all phases of Mexican employment. Work-site development, trade and labor organization are basics for concentrating and holding on to good laborers.

Now that competing political interests are active in Mexico, the Legislature and Congress need to insert issues and support for issues.

It is time for stronger self-investment policies and labor organization in Mexico. Together, those two issues will do more to stem flows of illegal immigrants than the dull, trite thinking that brought us a fence.

MIKE DURHAM

Phoenix

This letter to the editor appears online only and not in the Tucson Citizen’s print edition.

Az health care system ailing, in need of a cure

It is essential to understand each issue in Arizona’s health care crisis in the appropriate context before enacting new policies.

Medical malpractice reform, like the urgently needed overhaul of medical care in general, must not be attempted in isolation or without careful study.

My position on this issue has been severely misrepresented. I favor a holistic approach rather than arbitrary caps.

We must acknowledge the medical malpractice problem that keeps doctors from locating in Arizona (and forces many to leave).

Defensive medical practices (unnecessary tests or procedures driven by fear of lawsuits) are becoming commonplace, needlessly costing our health-care system.

But in states that have passed laws limiting noneconomic medical malpractice awards, insurers continue to charge the same or higher premiums.

We should carefully examine professional accountability, doctor apology laws (such as the one recently passed in Arizona) and fostering enhanced patient- physician communication, which repeatedly has been shown to decrease litigation.

It didn’t take me long as I began my medical career to realize that the health care system has failed.

My first priorities are to guarantee that all Arizonans get medical care when they need it and that we have sufficient medical staff to provide the high-quality care they deserve.

I want to be an advocate for all Arizona patients, because regardless of party affiliation, these issues affect us all.

More on my positions can be found on the Arizona Illustrated program Web site (www.kuat.org) and www.heinz2006.com.

MATT HEINZ, M.D.

candidate, state House District 28

Common sense clarifies claims, counterclaims

If you doubt your ability to get to the bottom of the charges and countercharges between state Senate candidates Paula Aboud and Ted Downing, just use common sense.

Would Rep. Downing really vote against massive state funds benefiting his own district in Tucson? If he did, he would be out of office.

What is logical is that his “no” vote, which in the final tally did not stop funds from being allocated for Tucson, was for the reasons he has stated. He wanted greater accountability and larger citizen participation for Rio Nuevo funding, and he wanted his position to be duly noted, as long as it didn’t actually stop the funding.

Downing has not gone anti-Tucson, as Aboud suggests, but rather (as is usual for him) took risks on principle for the good of Tucson and democratic process.

JON J. READ

Immigrants aren’t only ones littering the desert

We were shocked and disappointed by trash left after the Pima County Sheriff’s Department picked up the body of Alfonso Salas Villegran, a Mexican national who died in the desert last week.

Mr. Villegran’s remains had been found by a Samaritan patrol.

When some 50 people, many of them members of the Green Valley and Tucson Samaritan and No More Deaths groups, came to hold a memorial service for Mr. Villegran, we were shocked to find at the site a large plastic bag that had contained a body bag and several pairs of heavy blue gloves, apparently used by those who worked with the body.

The scene was not only a desecration of the place where a human being died, but also an example of the worst kind of callous littering.

The irony – that migrants are roundly criticized for sometimes having to leave their belongings behind in the desert – was not lost on those present.

SHURA WALLIN

MAURINE AUDEL

Green Valley Samaritans

Job in Iraq will be done when it’s back to normal

We cannot leave Iraq until “the job is finished.” Once Iraq has rebuilt its army and has a stable government, then it will again be a “normal” Middle Eastern country.

Then they can kick our troops out and sell their oil to China. They can start voting against us in the United Nations in league with Russia, China and Iran.

Only then can we say, “The job is done.” Until then, we must stay and help them fight, even if it takes 20 years, empties our treasury and destroys our army.

JIM BURKE

Bisbee

Consumers, not bosses pay for wage increases

Re: your Tuesday front-page article “Crippling gas prices altering lifestyles“:

Those of you who think an hourly wage increase is a good thing might pay attention to this, as the same scenario takes place when Congress passes a wage increase law.

Those who own the business will not pay the increase to their workers from their profits; they only increase the cost of products so you – not Congress – end up paying for the increase.

The chain reaction from this increase affects packing, advertising, transportation, etc.

CHARLES FLOTO

Congress

Voting incentive doesn’t mean educated choices

Dr. Mark Osterloh is being optimistic (and naive) if he thinks non-voters will take the time to learn about the candidates and issues if they decide to vote.

With such a large monetary incentive, a $1 million lottery, many people will go unprepared to the polls and vote randomly (eeny, meeny, miney, mo) for any candidate or issue just to have a chance at the $1 million.

C.O. FERGUSON

Chasing American dream shouldn’t include plunder

Re: the Monday article “Man dies in foothills robbery try; 2 sought“:

The crime that illegal immigrants bring is no longer limited to Tucson’s South Side.

These criminals plunder everywhere once they cross the border.

I know law enforcement has more criminals to deal with than people. More people in law enforcement is the answer.

Our courts are ineffective because they turn some dangerous criminals loose to plunder more!

Phoenix has a lot of crime, but its sheriff doesn’t play games with illegal immigrants. The Pima County sheriff shouldn’t tolerate them, either.

When a contractor shows up at my home with people who can’t speak English, I ask them to leave.

My country is too important for me to look the other way and let illegal immigrants work on my property.

I have compassion for those who need a better life. Yet there are legal ways to come to America.

Let there be no exceptions!

FRANKLIN D. KESTNER SR.

Benefits to U.S.-born kids show troubling disparity

Re: the Los Angeles Times story in your paper July 29 (“Family of 8 adds 4 more – Struggling migrants add quadruplets, multiple woes”):

The husband has lived here 28 years, and the wife 22 years, both as illegal immigrants.

They don’t speak English.

They don’t have Social Security numbers, so they don’t pay into Social Security. Please tell me how their children get Social Security.

I have a 5-year-old grandson with cerebral palsy. My daughter has tried to get Social Security for him and has been turned down.

I would like to know what makes the illegal immigrants in California more special than my grandson, and whose Social Security they are getting.

J.L. FIELDS

Flagg would be effective forming Mexican union

Re: the July 27 guest opinion (“Activist for needy airs company’s dirty laundry“):

Having been one of the biggest critics of Brian Flagg, who many times has appeared more to enable itinerate homeless people, I was impressed to read of the work he is doing on behalf of Milum employees and to protect the public.

Brian could be very effective in forming unions to represent the Mexican slave labor.

It is shameful how employers have exploited illegal immigrants, holding the hammer of deportation over their heads.

These employers also have exploited local, state and U.S. treasuries, as we provide food stamps, medical care and welfare.

Brian has succeeded in testifying before politicians who furnish the tax dollars needed for his work, and I have faith he could do some good on behalf of us all, citizens and illegal immigrants.

Fewer illegal immigrants would come if they knew that illegal employment had dried up, and other immigrants could be assured of jobs that would pay a living wage.

Cracking down on employers is more important than just shipping people back and forth across the border, saving the taxpayers while creating a work force to contribute to their existence in this country.

Brian would give good leadership with purity of purpose, where other organizations have just created more social services and no cure to the problem.

JANE HORTON-LEASMAN

Green Valley

Good money after bad tied to illegal immigrants

Re: the July 24 editorial “Minutemen can’t control their own funds“:

Your writers declare the Minuteman Project ineffective.

That is true, but they can do only what the law allows.

If each were issued a rifle with five rounds and told “defend our borders at all costs,” they would be effective.

The thousands crossing the border each day would be reduced to single-digit numbers.

Then you’d have to be sympathetic to the Minutemen, because they would be standing in a line that stretched to Minnesota. Just waiting their turn.

Your writers are concerned that more than $1 million was donated to the unit, and no one has accounted for every dime.

Officials only now are trying to find out what happened to the billions for survivors of 9/11 and whether the millions for Hurricane Katrina were misspent.

The writers complain about the border wall. That is what it will take to stop the invasion.

If Congress would accept its responsibility and stop playing politics, it could all end immediately.

Congress interfered with enforcing the law by not deporting those who immigrate illegally.

As long as they hold out a carrot (amnesty), thousands will cross to be here when it happens.

I presume your writer has no problem with thousands sneaking across for free social services, especially medical care.

For the rest of us, health care has at least tripled in cost because of all the unpaid treatment for illegal immigrants.

RAY FISCHER

Ubiquitous news agency seemingly knows all

Let’s scrap our intelligence agencies. Who needs them? The Associated Press knows all! Or at least thinks it does.

No WMDs in Iraq? The AP must have had a mole in Saddam’s Cabinet! It’s a big desert, and Saddam had plenty of time to hide the WMDs or send them to Syria.

Of course, those photos of slain Kurdish villages must have been faked and the many drums of “pesticides” stored beside ammo dumps must be a coincidence.

If you believe that, I can get you a very good price on that bridge across the Hudson River.

JOHN F. SUKEY

Israel our protection in the Middle East

Should Israel fall, our friends such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan will be next on the list of fanatics such as those from Iran, Syria and terrorist Hezbollah and Hamas.

And what would happen to our troops in the Middle East?

European countries with anti-Israel fervor cannot exempt themselves, either, in case of nuclear development by our enemies.

Like it or not, prejudice and hatred or not, Israel is our front line of defense in the Middle East and perhaps the world.

MICHAEL FARR

Fence provides alibi, not border security

Your Thursday editorial (“The porous border“) is quite right. This is the same thing many of us have been saying right along, but no one has really listened.

Problems on our borders are plenty, but too few are addressed.

I fear they will build the fence, state they have solved the problems, then do nothing more.

Those of us who follow this issue diligently know that the politicians seeking re-election merely stuck their fingers in the air to see which way the voter wind was blowing, then rushed to vote for the fence so they can say they have backed border security.

We are not fooled. We know the ultimate goal is blanket amnesty.

RICHARD MURRAY

Huachuca City

3 years later, still feeling sting of West Nile virus

Re: your July 29 article “Something we haven’t had to worry about: West Nile“:

I worry about West Nile. I survived the 2003 outbreak in Colorado. My whole life changed from being active and employed to one of pain, rare illnesses, headaches and loss of balance, just to name a few.

I did an interview with Channel 4 last summer after I moved here. I still struggle with what WNV has done to me.

It should be a worry; I got West Nile virus with encephalitis.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know: Even though I got ill in Colorado, I’m still ill and now in Arizona.

GLENNIA JOHNSON

These letters to the editor appear online only and not in the Tucson Citizen’s print edition.

Immigrant compromise

Let’s face it: Immigration is a touchy subject. I don’t think that we can deport 11 million people.

I am also against uncontrolled immigration. So a compromise should be worked out.

Place some guidelines for the people who are already here that they have to meet if they are to become residents and then citizens. We also need an I.D. for U.S. citizens so that in the future, illegal immigrants know that if they don’t have the I.D., they can’t have access to services.

Dr. JOACHIM DE POSADA

Miami, Fla.

Resolve crisis in Gaza

Soldiers killed and captured. Invasions in both directions across borders. Airports bombed and closed. Children, women and babies killed. Power plants destroyed. Whole civilian populations endangered. Whole coasts blockaded and harbors closed.

The Israeli attacks constitute collective punishment of the entire Gaza and Lebanon population and have created a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions in Gaza.

All troops and irregular forces must be brought safely home into their own territories and must halt all attacks upon their neighbors. Captives should be returned safely home to their families.

I just flew more than 15,000 miles from Arizona to see my ill Dad in Gaza only to be turned back because Gaza was under siege and all boarders were closed. My kids missed the chance to give their Grandpa and Grandma a hug after going through so many exhausting flight hours and they were less than 10 miles away from them.

The ongoing crisis is political, not just humanitarian. It reflects the failure of Israeli unilateralism, the failure of the “Roadmap,” the failure of the exclusion of the U.N. and failure of the international community and the U.N. to intervene.

I think the parties now consumed by violence are too caught in their own fear and anger to take these steps on their own. So I urge the U.S. government, as the leader of the free world, to act vigorously to support these steps to peacefully resolving the present crisis and moving swiftly toward diplomatic process based on international law and human rights.

End the occupation and establish equal rights for all – the only basis for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the region among a secure Israel, an independent and viable state of Palestine and all the other states of the region.

MOHAMED EL-SHARKAWY

Phoenix

Accurate votes count

Kudos to Rep. Ted Downing and Sen. Karen Johnson for their successful bipartisan efforts to draft and pass SB1557, which will significantly enhance election integrity in Arizona.

And thanks to Gov. Janet Napolitano for signing the bill into law.

This new law requires routine audits of every election using random sample hand counts to verify electronic vote tabulation results.

It will allow hand recounts whenever there is a significant discrepancy between electronic and hand audit results.

As with most legislation, the bill isn’t perfect, but it goes a long way toward ensuring Arizona voters that their votes will be counted accurately.

TOM RYAN

Arizona Citizens for Fair Elections

Stemming the flow

A letter in your June 28 edition said in part, “The illegal immigration problem will never be solved until our borders are sealed. Not one more illegal immigrant can enter our country.”

The letter also approved U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth’s statement that, “When your roof is leaking, you do not attempt to repair the inner damage until you repair the roof.”

The letter and Mr. Hayworth are wrong on both counts.

First, sealing the borders is physically, logistically impossible. People will always find ways to enter illegally. To believe otherwise is to deny human nature.

Second, the correct repair analogy is that you cannot repair a broken water main until after you turn off the water.

A guest worker program would do more to reduce illegal entries than all of the fence fantasies combined.

Without such a program, the flow of illegal immigrants into this country will continue unabated no matter how many millions or billions of dollars we waste on fences.

SIDNEY N. LACHTER

Dean’s good … for GOP

Local Democrats brought in Howard Dean on Thursday to “inspire” them for the fall elections.

I couldn’t be more thrilled to have screamin’ Dean in Tucson!

His ideas are so far left on the fringe and out of the realm of reality that they will not resonate with most voters.

Moreover, his fringe ideas have contributed to the disunity in the Democratic Party.

This was why he lost the Democratic primary in 2004. He flopped then, and now Democrats are trumpeting him as the savior of their party.

If you are truly inspired by Dean, you are in a small minority, and your efforts in the fall election will be as unsuccessful as Dean’s primary bid.

Frankly, he is the best thing to happen to the Republican Party!

SEAN SMALL

Lost in translation

I see the Tucson Citizen is planning a name change.

From your Wednesday editorial (“Official-dumb wants English to be ‘official’ “) and Ruben Navarrette’s column (“Three-ring Congress turns road show on immigration reform into sideshow“), I draw the conclusion your masthead will soon read: The Tucson Illegal Alien.

ROBERT B. MOUNTS

Green Valley

Sean gone, not forgotten

Re: your Tuesday secondary editorial (“Elliott’s generosity“):

I really did not appreciate your handling of this matter.

While it is sad to see the moving on of the prime mover, you merely identify him in Paragraph 2, give the reason why he is moving on in Paragraph 3, explain his history in Paragraph 4 and give future plans for Sean Elliott and the organization.

Nowhere is there a thanks for getting the ball rolling or a pat on the back for 15 years of dedication to this cause.

STEVE SHAPIRO

A round of alcohol taxes

Another initiative to increase taxes on cigarettes will be on November’s ballot. I have to wonder why alcohol is not taxed to death also?

DUI task forces, roadblocks to check for drunken drivers, horrible accidents attributed to drunken drivers … the list goes on and on.

I know more people who drink than smoke. When you think about the amount of alcohol consumed in bars and restaurants every day and night, one has to wonder why alcohol is exempt from these taxes.

This tax money is to be distributed as grants by regional boards. So where does it go? Who decides who gets what?

I say “no” on a tax if you don’t know where it will go. Smokers already pay too much in taxes in Arizona. Pick on the drinkers for a change.

JANET SMITH