The Arizona Daily Star needs a new op-ed page editor

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I gave up on our sad small-town newspaper a long time ago. The op-ed page has declined precipitously in recent years. The editors rarely publish op-ed opinions by the editorial board, choosing instead to publish op-ed opinions from other newspapers, mostly from the Neocon Washington Post because it subscribes to its news service and syndicated columnists.

Whoever heard of a newspaper that does not have its own editorial voice?

Instead, Star editors Sarah Garrecht Gassen and David Fitzsimmons, both of whom are excellent writers, get a weekly opinion column. Their counterparts at The Arizona Republic, however, turn out at least four or more opinion columns a week, and there is almost a daily op-ed opinion from the editorial board of the Republic, like a real newspaper does.

And then there are the letters to the editor. Oy! Regular readers of the Star in print are familiar with the "How to Comment" box with the rules and regulations supposedly imposed by the Arizona Daily Star for publishing guest opinions and letters to the editor. Here's my favorite: "Facts must be annotated. Letters containing information that cannot be easily verified, libelous statements or name calling will be rejected."

The op-ed page editor ignores this rule daily, probably because there is no one at the Star to verify statements in letters that are clearly not annoted.

Like this Letter to the editor today from this blithering idiot:

Reforms needed on entitlement funding

We need to revamp entitlement funding, since Socialist Insecurity isn't authorized by the Constitution as a function of the central government.

Even though they took an oath to support the Constitution, Congress and NObama aren't about to cut entitlements, since they need the powerful voting blocs to keep their jobs.

"Means testing" for Socialist Insecurity should be implemented. Those with the means to provide their own retirement shouldn't be forced to fund the government's official Ponzi scheme.

And FICA payers should be alerted to the potential fraud in their future, as they'll lose their FICA "contributions" to the government, if they don't live to collect any Socialist Insecurity, or have no eligible survivors.

In the mid-80s, former budget director David Stockman offered a great solution: If the Securities and Exchange Commission had jurisdiction over the executive and legislative branches, many of us would be in jail.

Amen.

Harry Thompson

Retired, Tucson

A quick Google search by the op-ed page editor would have "easily verified" that the constitutionality of the Social Security Act was settled in a set of Supreme Court decisions issued in May 1937. And the "Nobama" namecalling is a red flag that this writer suffers from "Obama derangement syndrome." The "retired" part indicates that this blithering idiot is enjoying the very benefits of "Socialist insecurity" and Medicare of which he complains, you can bet he is not turning down those benefits -- "it's my money!" If the op-ed editor is not going to follow the Star's own rules for publication, why even have them?

It seems to me that everyone at the Star is just going through the motions on a slow death march to going out of existence. They are not even making a serious effort any longer.

Thanks for destroying a once great local newspaper.

Comments

[Bess1919]

A cheap fix for the Star would be to send someone to Phoenix to cover the legislature. There is almost no legislative news in the Star and what they get is the skewed views of The Capitol Times and Howard Fischer. If I want state legislative news I come here. Thanks.

[AZ BlueMeanie]

"A cheap fix for the Star would be to send someone to Phoenix to cover the legislature." I could not agree more. The last capitol reporter they had was the GOP embed working for the GOP leadership, Daniel Scarpinato. What a tool.

[Bess1919]

They should send Sarah.