It looks like I’m staying out of state militia

My congregation is stuck with me as pastor.

State Rep. Carl Seel is leaving intact the language that specifically bars idiots, lunatics and “preachers of the Gospel” from serving in the militia.

Actually, there is a long, proud tradition of lumping “preachers of the Gospel” with idiots and lunatics. Jesus’ own family accused him of being crazy. (Mark 3:21).

Paul invites us to be “Fools for Christ” (I Corinthians 4:10). Prophets played the fool to challenge accepted norms.

The Holy Fool is alive and well. On Palm Sunday evening, March 31— the day when we remember the story of the Messiah entering Jerusalem “humble and riding on a donkey” — my church will be offering a storytelling concert called “Holy Fools.”

We’ll tell stories about the fools of Chelm (Jewish), Nasrudin (Sufi Muslim), St. Francis (Christian) and other “idiots, lunatics and preachers of the Gospel.”

St. Anthony once said: “There will come a time when people will behave like madmen, and if they see anybody who does not behave like that, they will rebel against him and say: ‘You are mad’ — because he is not like them.” I wonder if Anthony had the Arizona Legislature in mind.

— Doug Bland,

Seducing the electorate

There is a philosophical discussion that should take place before our federal budget problems can be solved: Isn’t it time we acknowledge that we have tried to do more than our collective labor will support? Good for us. We tried, but our human nature got in the way.

Contrary to conservative belief, “big government” is only a symptom of the problem. We must fear the expectation of individuals that they will receive more than they contribute. We must also fear the seducers who are willing to use that expectation to drive political power.

Surely, in these difficult economic times, each of us must do our best to see that we are making our contribution to community and to expect only that which keeps the economic component of our social structure healthy. That is the essence of secular morality, enabling us to live in peace with each other.

It is wrong to describe our tug-of-war as an argument between the “makers” and the “takers.” Takers are too often simply victims of this seduction.

The real battle must be between the producers and the seducers. Barack Obama’s current fear campaign is seduction To comment on letters, columns and editorials, go to opinions.azcentral.com. at its worst.

— Richard Boland,

Your editorial supporting Senate Bill 1327 to find alternatives to the gas tax for transportation financing highlights our legislators’ folly and cowardice in their refusal to raise the 23year-old, 18-cent state gas tax (“Time to hit the road issue,” Feb. 23).

The state has already financed billions in road construction via the sales tax, a ludicrous subsidy to commuting motorists’ energy waste, many of whom drive 60 miles or more daily to and from work.

The gasoline tax is, by far, the fairest way to finance bridge and highway construc-

End capital punishment

All things being equal, I would rather live where the government doesn’t kill its own citizens. Wouldn’t you?

But Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery tells us that those whom Arizona killed in 2012 “earned” their deaths. It seems that the county attorney just invented a new judicial standard. And how did Arizona earn the moral purity needed to carry out the premeditated killing of those men?

Our constitutional system is great. Our criminal courts are good. But they are not perfect. We are all killers when Mr. Montgomery decides that we have the right to kill someone who “earned” his sentence.

Finally, nothing can bring back the dead. More death does not do any service to the dead or their survivors. We all deserve a justice system that is more than sanitized revenge.

— Bob Schwartz,

Our lying government

How sad it is to learn once again how easily our government can lie to us about matters of great importance.

Associated Press nationalsecurity writer Robert Burns reported last week that a supposed reduction of 7 percent in violent attacks by the Taliban took place in 2012. Now we find out that it did not happen.

Does our government think that we the people are not strong enough to stand the truth? This policy of lying to the people could one day bring down this government.

— George Nichols,

Higher gas tax is needed

tion and maintenance. It’s a user-pays fee. Why should little old ladies who don’t drive subsidize motorists with their sales taxes?

Highway construction costs, which have escalated at a 5.2 percent annual rate for the past half-century, justify at least a 50-cent state gas tax. Even a modest 10-cent increase would alleviate the huge motorists’ subsidy. This tax is not regressive, as opponents claim.

Gasoline consumption rises with income. The poor are responsible for less than 5 percent of total gas consumption.

— C.W. Griffin,

Regarding the editorial “There is cause for hope” (Opinions Friday):

It is common knowledge that the Arizona Legislature is known for the ludicrous dreck that it produces, which is why I was stunned to see a progressive and intelligent bill of theirs that was brought to light in your editorial — a requirement to check the citizenship of public school students. This would mean the end of taxpayer-funded K-12 education for people unlawfully present in this country.

Eureka! The legislators got one right!

What I did find ludicrous about this issue was your position that it was “silly.”

— Rich Warren,

Legislators get one right

Control towers can close

Closing small control towers because of budget cuts through sequester may not be a bad idea.

I’ve been a commercial pilot for over 40 years and have seen the spread of control towers growing like cornfields, outliving their need in many areas.

Every pilot who has ever received a basic “right to fly certificate” has learned how to safely enter and land at “small” airports without so much as a whimper. Larger airports, however, are a totally different situation, and the need for safety and convenience there is understood and supported by most pilots.

What I’ve seen over and over again are communities that have a mayor or board of directors who don’t know aviation and continue to support the need for a control tower, costing millions of taxpayer dollars to maintain, when safe and standard aviation-operating procedures are imbedded in a pilot’s training.

Those local businesses that surround small airports won’t go away. They will still utilize those facilities and manpower that provide services needed.

— Robert Christensen,