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Re: the May 10 article "A whopper of a Mother's Day for 17 kids' mom (1 on the way)."

The recent front-page article concerning the Arkansas mother of 17 who is yet again pregnant was unworthy of such coverage. Although the article and picture are quite complimentary of this family, there is no concern expressed for the overutilization of the planet's resources by such unwarranted population increase nor any concern for the quality of parenting offered to the children.

I would suggest that nearly any other mother would be a more suitable model for the ideal mother for a Mother's Day article. The simple novelty of this family does not warrant the Star coverage that was generated.

Re: the May 13 letter "Rep. Giffords is a gracious lady."

The writer mentioned in his very nice letter what a gracious lady Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is. He also mentioned that he probably would not vote for her. I assume this is because he is a Republican.

I am a very conservative Republican who met Giffords at a fund-raiser given by friends of mine for her first election. I liked her and thought her gracious as well, but did not vote for her.

I have changed my mind this time around. Naturally, I don't agree with everything she does, but that's true even of many Republicans I vote for. She seems balanced and careful in her voter stewardship. It is hard to ask for more. She gets my vote.

The Arizona Daily Star stirs my conscience when it informs me of the people in our community exhibiting their humanness. Ernesto Portillo Jr. did just that ("Measuring life one milestone at time," May 11) when he wrote about former prison inmates Stephen Faircloth and Mike Lyons at the Arizona Poetry Center.

Ernesto stirs us to look at how we deal with or turn our backs to others and let the law or hate take care of it. He has done this consistently with his articles that share the richness of his Mexican heritage and the plight of our migrants and refugees.

It is a call to each of us to confront our own strengths and frailties.

Re: the May 4 reader advocate column, "A look back at land-deal coverage."

When Debbie Kornmiller defended the Star's decision not to run a story on John McCain's ties to Don Diamond, she sounded more like the Star apologist than the reader advocate. She claimed the paper already covered the story, and besides, the article got it wrong.

Since then, another story has surfaced about a 2005 land swap McCain pushed through Congress which involved a top campaign fund-raiser. Again, the Star chose to ignore it.

Maybe Kornmiller will once again say the story was covered in the Star or the article got it wrong. But it looks to me like the Star has decided to avert its eyes whenever a story might sully McCain's reputation.

If he is still peddling influence, the Star's readers need to know, and McCain, not the Star, has the obligation to defend himself.

On April 4, John McCain stated in a speech that he was wrong to have opposed the creation of a Martin Luther King holiday. Yet this month, McCain held up William Rehnquist as the type of justice he would nominate to the Supreme Court.

As a teenager in the 1960s, I saw King speak in Tempe. That night, King had to drive to Los Angeles to find a hotel room. At that time, Rehnquist was an articulate attorney who defended Arizona's hotel industry's right to discriminate against people of color.

If John McCain now wants to honor King, he should have held up Thurgood Marshall, who advocated and worked tirelessly his entire life to end discrimination and segregated public schools, as the type of person he would want on the Supreme Court.

Barack Obama hit the nail on the head when he suggested that the wheels appear to have come off McCain's Straight Talk Express.

Re: the May 13 article "It's official: Pastner going to Memphis."

I feel like I've been sucker-punched. I felt uneasy about the decision Lute Olson made in regards to Jim Rosborough. I wasn't thrilled with the decision to hire Kevin O'Neill. I was sick about the way Miles Simon was summarily dismissed with no apparent reason given. I was absolutely furious that Olson hired a former Devil to be his right-hand man.

And now Josh Pastner is gone. I wish him nothing but success in his new endeavor, I deeply appreciate the years he has given to the UA basketball program and the town of Tucson.

Now, Lute, you can go out and recruit new fans as well because after many decades of supporting you and the Arizona basketball program, I'm done. I won't be purchasing tickets this year, and it has nothing to do with the lack of success the program has demonstrated in the past few years. After all, I'm still a loyal Wildcat football fan and, thank God, football season is just around the corner.

Re: the May 10 Idea Forum "Dodge-Naylor idea merits real consideration."

TUSD's plan to unite Dodge Middle Magnet School with Naylor Middle School is a typical example of the arrogant, incompetent way the district works. For years, people have asked TUSD to open a new traditional school, but TUSD waited.

TUSD waited while the Catalina Foothills and Tanque Verde school districts made plans to get TUSD students in their underenrolled middle schools.

TUSD waited while a new charter school made plans to open on the military base and take those students from the district.Now that it has lost students throughout the district, TUSD makes a seriously flawed plan in May without the input or support of the Dodge parents and teachers, who overwhelmingly reject the satellite concept.

No wonder only eight students signed up for Naylor at a recent recruitment.

By totally disregarding the very community that makes Dodge an excelling program, the district has cooked up another recipe for disaster.

The Star's May 12 article, "San Miguel graduates 1st class," made my day.

So often we hear of only the worst about young people today — bringing guns to school, shooting people, gangs, et cetera. It is so great and inspiring to hear about these exceptional young people and their sponsors for their college education.

I was feeling a little down on Mother's Day and this article boosted my spirits considerably.