Opinion

Letter From the Editor
Opinion

Letter From the Editor

Alfred J. Luther of the 1st Kansas Infantry is buried at Vicksburg National Cemetery in Mississippi; Section K, Grave No. 5971. Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry is also among the 17,000 buried.  The National Cemetery there is often not as quiet as you may suspect. The stillness is punctuated by sounds of industry, which is fitting as the city of Vicksburg was laid siege to for control of the Mississippi River and the railroad during the Civil War. You can look up the names of the Confederates that surrendered after the siege. I keep meaning to find out of if several of the men with the last name “Giddens” are my ancestors. Though I wonder if those Giddens added to the number buried there.  This Veterans Day, I’ve been dwelling on the winter I spent in Vicksburg. Alfred and A...
Sports dynasties are destroying competition
Opinion

Sports dynasties are destroying competition

By Kyle McDaniel   Raise your hand if you’re tired of seeing the New England Patriots, Alabama College Football and now to some extent the Golden State Warriors, win year after year after year. It gets old fast especially if you’re a fan of a rival team, or just look for the league to be competitive.   For example, I am a Miami Dolphin fan. I have to see Brady, Belicheat (as I call him) and the Patriots twice a year, every year. Then add the Patriots winning their division, the AFC East 14 out of the last 15 years and you get quite discouraged, yet hopeful as a Dolphin fan.   Hopeful because you know both Belichick and Brady had to retire at some point, which will then make your division and even the whole AFC more competitive.   The Patriots have been to 8 out ...
Male Sexual Assault can be an issue, too
Opinion

Male Sexual Assault can be an issue, too

BY KYLE MCDANIEL   According to www.nsvrc.org/statistics, only 9 percent of rape and sexual assault victims are male, which is a telling fact. I read and hear all the time that women are afraid to speak up, but it is a hundred times worse for males, because males look at sex differently.   If I reported that I was raped, my friends would be laughing hysterically. They would say things like, “Dude, you got to have sex with a woman, why you complaining?” but if you didn’t want to and they forced you into it, that is sexual assault.   The definition of sexual assault according to criminal.findlaw.com, is any crime in which the offender subjects the victim to sexual touching that is unwanted and offensive.   It doesn’t help that a lot of the crime shows on networ...
The Beginning of the End by Kyle McDaniel
Opinion

The Beginning of the End by Kyle McDaniel

By Kyle McDaniel   As you can tell there will be a reason for the writing of this article as it stems from a personal experience of mine, an experience that had everything you would need to create an Oscar winning film.   One day I noticed an employee who I thought was absolutely gorgeous, crying her eyes out and the gentleman I am, I decided to hand her a note that read, smile you’re beautiful. Later that night I asked her to dinner, she said yes and gave me her number.   It’s the night of the dinner and I got all dressed up to go, I picked her up and we enjoyed a wonderful meal, just talking, getting to know each other. Then when it’s time to take her home, she states “Can you take me to Josh’s house?”, of course I said yes, it is the first night anything her heart d...
Letter From the Editor: Never know when you need a bit of information
Opinion

Letter From the Editor: Never know when you need a bit of information

 A few years back, I got into a black Escalade with a group of strangers.  At the time, I was working at Dinosaur National Monument straddling the Utah-Colorado state line, standing at the front desk looking out the window on the other side of the Visitor Center admiring pronghorns.  There’s an odd mix of experience watching wildlife in an alfa field while the Green River runs through your field of vision. The untamed life, with the untamed for that stretch of the Green River but signs of civilization be it the farm house and deer blinds across the river or the feeling of air conditioning against my scalp.      It was then that the black Escalade pulled in. A man got out and introduced himself as being part of the entourage that was with the president of Zambia, who just finished with o...
Letter from the editor- Felony disenfranchisement
Opinion

Letter from the editor- Felony disenfranchisement

By NORA THOMPSON Could you imagine having to pay $700 to register to vote?  No one would do it. Voting, a civil right available to most U.S. reidents, suddenly would become a luxury.  This is a devastating reality for 221,000 people in Arizona. Just as Manny Mejias said during the Restore Your Vote press conference on Oct. 3: It’s like bringing back the poll tax.  America has a long history of voter suppression. It’s unfortunately a racist system that we live under, especially when, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, 60.9 percent of inmates are non-white.  I got involved with Restore Your Vote Arizona, a project of the Campaign Legal Center. It’s a two-month campaign that’s focused on helping people with prior felony convictions get their rights returned. It’s current...
Toxic masculinity, it’s also for the ladies
Opinion

Toxic masculinity, it’s also for the ladies

By JOE GIDDENS Toxic masculinity is in a number of stories this year, recently with Kavanaugh and his deep affection for beer and debauchery. Locally, you first saw it on Jan. 12 when Martha McSally announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate. “I absolutely refuse to bow down to Sharia law after eight years of fighting. I won my battle for the religious freedom of American servicewoman”; “I’m tired of PC politicians and their BS excuses”; “I’m a fighter pilot and I talk like one like one. That’s why I told Washington Republicans to grow a pair of ovaries and get the job done.” If part of toxic masculinity is rooted in the image of the big burly protector and trying to live up to that at all cost, I’m surprised that McSally supporters haven’t sought to pass a public restroom law against...
Standing in the Hall of Fame
Opinion

Standing in the Hall of Fame

By RENE ESCOBAR The Hall of Fame, the pinnacle of the sports world is a testament to the legacies of athletes. Displayed in museums around the country, the stars of the past are immortalized and viewed by fans. None are bigger than the National Football League Hall of Fame. Every summer, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony draws a national audience with its annual game to kick off the preseason. It generates millions of dollars in revenue for the museum and more for the NFL. Lately some hall of famers have requested that some of that revenue be put into a hall of fame salary and an insurance for life fund. Although the members of the hall of fame are in the right for requesting something such as insurance for life, should be considered by the multi-billion-dollar company of the NFL. ...
Letter from the Editor: Star Trek and what we don’t talk about
Opinion

Letter from the Editor: Star Trek and what we don’t talk about

By JOE GIDDENS The most British man who’s playing a Frenchman is slated to return to “Star Trek.” The trend of the reboot continues onward with Patrick Stewart’s announcement on that he will reprise the role of Jean-Luc Picard made famous on the small screen’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and its later film adaptations. Thoughts looking forward and back at his tenure.   Perhaps the passage of time will curb the film’s portrayal of Picard as a tank top-wearing action hero and Picard now being portrayed by a 78-year-old man will return to being a subdued, thoughtful diplomat.   Secondly, one of the hallmarks of the science fiction genre is showing a glimpse into a possible future that is more about the audience’s present time. The original series had episodes that were mo...
Commending the condom
Opinion

Commending the condom

By PARKER BROCK   With STD rates in the United States rising to an all-time high, it’s more important than ever to stay safe in the sex. Pima Community College is not only a great learning environment but a social one as well. Students in more intimate classroom settings are more likely to develop relationships with fellow students, gaining friends and potentially dating partners. Though college-age students are mature enough to make the decision to have sex with consenting peers, the threat of potential exposure to STDs and unplanned pregnancies is often overlooked. Diseases such as gonorrhea and chlamydia have an active presence in the Tucson community. In 2017, BackroundChecks.org ranked Arizona 19th in the nation for STD rates. There were 151 cases of gonorrhea and 511 cas...