http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/category/guestopinion guestopinion news from TucsonSentinel.com - Tucson's independent nonprofit online news en Copyright 2012 2012-02-04T07:23:02+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020212_ua_campus_guns/ua-president-guns-will-do-nothing-make-our-campus-safer/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/020212_ua_campus_guns/ua-president-guns-will-do-nothing-make-our-campus-safer/ 17:35:00Z Eugene G. Sander I have been a gun owner for all my adult life, and am fully supportive of the right to own a gun. However, having faculty, staff or students bringing weapons into classrooms and other campus activities will do nothing to make our campus safer. 2012-02-02T17:35:38+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/013012_azwaterpolicy/garcia-water-water-everywhere-not-question/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/013012_azwaterpolicy/garcia-water-water-everywhere-not-question/ 23:34:00Z Joseph Garcia How can Arizona water policy sustain an arid state for the next 100 years? 2012-01-30T23:34:09+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/013012_insurance_reform/important-reforms-dont-always-require-grand-vision/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/013012_insurance_reform/important-reforms-dont-always-require-grand-vision/ 17:45:00Z Nick Dranias Sometimes important regulatory and tort reforms come in small packages. 2012-01-30T17:45:56+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/012312_stegeman_letter/stegeman-clarifying-tusds-mas-book-ban/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/012312_stegeman_letter/stegeman-clarifying-tusds-mas-book-ban/ 18:27:00Z Mark Stegeman When the TUSD board voted (4-1) to end the Mexican-American Studies (MAS) curriculum, ending use of the books had to be part of that package. Staff says that the seven titles removed from classrooms and placed into storage are still available in school libraries. 2012-01-23T18:27:05+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011212_solar_goldwater_op/ending-solar-subsidy-fiasco/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011212_solar_goldwater_op/ending-solar-subsidy-fiasco/ 19:27:00Z Clint Bolick It’s not every day that the New York Times makes a compelling case against government giveaways. But a recent page-one article underscored that the Solyndra scandal was only the tip of the solar-subsidy iceberg. 2012-01-12T19:27:25+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011012_dems_brewer_op/brewers-rhetoric-vs-reality/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011012_dems_brewer_op/brewers-rhetoric-vs-reality/ 20:05:00Z Arizona Democratic Party By now you’ve seen the news coverage and heard the takeaways from Gov. Brewer’s State of the State address Monday. But here’s the thing: Many of the basic claims she made are just not true. 2012-01-10T20:05:14+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011012_postmaster_responds/postmaster-clarifying-effects-closing-mail-sorting-center/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011012_postmaster_responds/postmaster-clarifying-effects-closing-mail-sorting-center/ 19:01:00Z Carl Grigel There are several portions of Tucson City Councilman Richard Fimbres’ guest column about the U.S. Postal Service’s proposal to consolidate Tucson’s processing and distribution operations with those in Phoenix that require clarification. 2012-01-10T19:01:38+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011012_az_debt_goldwater_op/its-time-square-up-states-debt/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011012_az_debt_goldwater_op/its-time-square-up-states-debt/ 18:10:00Z Nick Dranias Governor Jan Brewer has declared that one of her priorities in the coming session is to pay down the state’s debt. The idea, mirrored by leadership proposals in the state house and senate, is both timely and refreshingly frank. It is time to square Arizona’s fiscal policy with the state constitution. 2012-01-10T18:10:04+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011012_postal_closing_op/postal-closing-would-disrupt-by-mail-elections/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/011012_postal_closing_op/postal-closing-would-disrupt-by-mail-elections/ 17:45:00Z F. Ann Rodriguez Closing a mail-sorting center in Tucson would not just delay mail delivery here, but would disrupt local elections conducted by mail, and nearly disenfranchise voters on the Tohono O’odham Nation, writes Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez. 2012-01-10T17:45:05+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010412_taxes_goldwater_op/no-surprise-jobs-money-go-where-taxes-are-low/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010412_taxes_goldwater_op/no-surprise-jobs-money-go-where-taxes-are-low/ 19:19:00Z Stephen Slivinski Every year, people and their income move between states. They move for a number of reasons, but there’s ample evidence that cost of living and its relationship to tax burdens are a factor. 2012-01-04T19:19:25+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010412_cherrybell_fimbres_op/still-time-stop-closure-cherrybell-postal-center/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010412_cherrybell_fimbres_op/still-time-stop-closure-cherrybell-postal-center/ 18:48:00Z Richard Fimbres I want to thank the 600 people who attended the Dec. 28 public meeting about the potential closure of the Cherrybell Post Office processing center. Tucson and Southern Arizona showed that we are strongly opposed to closing the facility. 2012-01-04T18:48:41+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010312_predictions/brushing-dust-off-predictions-2012/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010312_predictions/brushing-dust-off-predictions-2012/ 18:20:00Z Tom Prezelski Much like a monsoon haboob or a lengthy speech by an East Valley Republican, 2012 promises more dust-ups and hot air in the local political arena. Here’s one take on what the year holds: on wry, hold the pickle. 2012-01-03T18:20:25+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010312_parents_goldwater_op/education-what-real-parent-empowerment-looks-like/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/010312_parents_goldwater_op/education-what-real-parent-empowerment-looks-like/ 18:06:00Z Jonathan Butcher Imagine if your child’s assigned elementary school had puddles of urine in the bathroom, mouse droppings in the cafeteria, and clogged water fountains. Now imagine if your complaints were rejected by the principal. 2012-01-03T18:06:19+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122611_sopa_op/avast-sopa-threat-free-speech/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122611_sopa_op/avast-sopa-threat-free-speech/ 16:44:00Z Bill Macfadyen When I first heard talk of SOPA, of course I thought of Mexican food. But the more I’ve learned about the Stop Online Piracy Act working its way through Congress, the more of a bad taste it leaves. The law would open a porthole to censorship, online disruption and more expensive Internet connections. 2011-12-27T16:44:42+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122611_occupy_letter/occupy-tucson-open-letter-kozachik-villasenor/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/122611_occupy_letter/occupy-tucson-open-letter-kozachik-villasenor/ 20:28:00Z Shannon Cain An open letter to Councilman Kozachik and TPD Chief Villaseñor, from organizer Shannon Cain: “We are Occupy Tucson, and this village isn’t going anywhere.” 2011-12-26T20:28:01+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121911_mccain_kim_jong_il/mccain-kim-jong-il-warm-corner-hell/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121911_mccain_kim_jong_il/mccain-kim-jong-il-warm-corner-hell/ 18:11:00Z John McCain The world is a better place now that Kim Jong Il is no longer in it. For more than six decades, people in North Korea have been consigned to lives of dire poverty and cruel oppression under one of the most totalitarian regimes the world has ever known. 2011-12-19T18:11:30+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121511_bill_of_rights/the-holiday-that-got-away-why-we-need-honor-bill-rights/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/121511_bill_of_rights/the-holiday-that-got-away-why-we-need-honor-bill-rights/ 16:48:00Z Ken Paulson Imagine if they canceled Independence Day. There would be outrage. Americans would be angered by the suggestion that we shouldn’t celebrate freedom. And yet we do the same thing every Dec. 15 on the birthday of our Bill of Rights, a document that guarantees core personal liberties. 2011-12-15T16:48:26+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/120611_opinion/legislators-hope-you-arent-paying-attention-state-budget/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/120611_opinion/legislators-hope-you-arent-paying-attention-state-budget/ 21:11:00Z Ted Prezelski House Appropriations chairman John Kavanagh made an appearance on a local radio station last week touting the news that our state’s budget situation won’t be nearly as dire next year as everyone thought it would be — and that this was done without raising revenues. Not quite. 2011-12-06T21:11:09+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/113011_republic_rogue_op/arizona-republic-gone-rogue/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/113011_republic_rogue_op/arizona-republic-gone-rogue/ 21:52:00Z J. Charles Coughlin It is time for a leadership change at the Republic; Publisher John Zidich of Fiesta Bowl board fame and his executive editor Randy Lovely need to go. We don’t need a daily rag of negativism and half-assed reporting; I can get that from any blog out there. The Republic has gone rogue and it needs correcting. 2011-11-30T21:52:59+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/113011_ed_standards_goldwater/common-core-standards-drive-schools-off-cliff/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/113011_ed_standards_goldwater/common-core-standards-drive-schools-off-cliff/ 17:33:00Z Jonathan Butcher Lawmakers across the country should give serious thought to the price they want to pay to implement curriculum standards that aren’t internationally competitive and don’t prepare our children for college. 2011-11-30T17:33:40+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112911_immig_illegal_op/immigration-call-them-illegal/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112911_immig_illegal_op/immigration-call-them-illegal/ 18:50:00Z Jose Aliseda I have been asked how to refer to people who are in this country illegally — as illegal aliens or by a softer term, like undocumented immigrants. I suppose as a legal immigrant to this country at the age of 4, I might have a different perspective from those who have not had at least part of those terms applied to them. 2011-11-29T18:50:19+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112911_immig_unauthorized_op/immigration-call-them-unauthorized/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112911_immig_unauthorized_op/immigration-call-them-unauthorized/ 18:43:00Z Dan Kowalski It may not be all that important, in the scheme of things, but words do matter, and people do take sides on this issue, so here’s my take. The adjective “illegal” generates pejorative, negative reactions in the listener or reader. 2011-11-29T18:43:39+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112311_1-15_toll_goldwater_op/i-15-tolls-good-idea-from-adot/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/112311_1-15_toll_goldwater_op/i-15-tolls-good-idea-from-adot/ 15:48:00Z Byron Schlomach, Ph.D. There’s a 29-mile section of Interstate 15 that cuts across Arizona’s northwest corner that’s noteworthy for its limited access. Now, this expensive highway needs to be rebuilt and Arizonans, few of whom directly benefit from it, will have to pick up something in the neighborhood of 40 percent of the tab. 2011-11-23T15:48:08+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/111911_asu_goldwater/the-miscalculation-would-be-think-tank/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/111911_asu_goldwater/the-miscalculation-would-be-think-tank/ 05:04:00Z ASU News The Goldwater Institute, in its Nov. 16 electronic newsletter, once again comes out against Arizona State University claiming on a false premise that it is inefficient. That statement could not be further from the truth. 2011-11-20T05:04:57+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/111711_solar_goldwater_op/government-subsidized-energy-just-same-old-song/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/111711_solar_goldwater_op/government-subsidized-energy-just-same-old-song/ 21:33:00Z Stephen Slivinski Solar may one day provide a robust alternative to fossil fuels. But it’s probably going to require a set of market conditions that may not exist for quite some time. In the meantime, if enough venture capital investors think it’s a worthwhile gamble, let’s make sure government doesn’t get in their way. 2011-11-17T21:33:10+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/111611_uni_admin_asu/the-miseducation-university-president/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/111611_uni_admin_asu/the-miseducation-university-president/ 17:48:00Z Jonathan Butcher ASU President Michael Crow chastises universities for not being more innovative during the current financial crisis. But ASU hasn’t exactly been a model of efficiency. Across the country, colleges are hiring massive numbers of administrators and ASU is no exception — in fact, the Sun Devils are an example of this “administrative bloat.” 2011-11-16T17:48:10+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/110911_minimum_wage_goldwater/minimum-employment-with-minimum-wage/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/110911_minimum_wage_goldwater/minimum-employment-with-minimum-wage/ 19:57:00Z Byron Schlomach, Ph.D. With unemployment above 9 percent for more than 21/2 years, the last thing Arizona needs is a mandated increase in the price of labor. Yet, that is what we’ll soon have when the state’s minimum wage rises by 30 cents an hour, a result of a 2006 ballot initiative. 2011-11-09T19:57:26+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/110311_cubs_goldwater_op/mesa-throws-cubs-spring-training-softball-8211-will-taxpayers-cry-foul/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/110311_cubs_goldwater_op/mesa-throws-cubs-spring-training-softball-8211-will-taxpayers-cry-foul/ 16:45:00Z Carrie Ann Sitren Mesa pitched a softball to the Chicago Cubs baseball team, and the Cubs hit it out of the park—but taxpayers should cry foul. Under a new contract, the city will shell out $84 million to build a sparkling new stadium for Cubs spring training. 2011-11-03T16:45:47+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/110311_redistricting/redistricting-ouster-mathis-not-what-it-appears/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/110311_redistricting/redistricting-ouster-mathis-not-what-it-appears/ 15:22:00Z Ted Prezelski Many of us weren’t following the run-up to the firing of IRC chair Colleen Mathis. The current legislative leadership can’t stand that something, somewhere goes on without their control. Charges and counter-charges aside, that’s what this really comes down to. 2011-11-03T15:22:04+00:00 http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/101911_schools_goldwater_op/failing-schools-have-nowhere-hide/ http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/101911_schools_goldwater_op/failing-schools-have-nowhere-hide/ 19:24:00Z Jonathan Butcher Two new tools will force Arizonans to take a hard look at how our schools are performing – and make it difficult for low-performers to hide behind “fuzzy” labels. 2011-10-19T19:24:31+00:00