OPINION

THE MESA TRIBUNE | DECEMBER 5, 2021 OPINION 13 ••

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ASU protest against Kyle Rittenhouse a fools parade

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ

Tribune Columnist

No matter which side of the debate you’re on about Kyle Rittenhouse, recently acquitted of homicide by a Wisconsin jury, there’s one thing we all can agree on when it comes to the 18-year-old former Arizona State University student: That young man could really use an education.

Given that point, I could only shake my head at the woke left screamfest staged at ASU on Dec. 1st. If media reports are accurate, a few score progressives showed up bearing signs like “No Killers On My Campus!” to protest Rittenhouse attending ASU, a school he had only attended digitally for starters, and from which he had dropped out earlier in the week.

Hey, never mind the facts. We can shout into bullhorns! Use Magic Markers! And get on the news!

Naturally, the presence of the idiots on the left gave the idiots on the right a chance to come out as well, bearing bullhorns and their own signs, like “9MM Beats 911,” “Freedom In All Calibers!” and the most frightening sign of all – “Kari Lake For Governor!”

The young conservatives clearly see Rittenhouse as a hero for his actions on the night of August 25, 2020. Rittenhouse, then 17, showed up in Kenosha armed with an AR-style semiautomatic ri�le amid the protests and looting that followed the shooting of Jacob Blake by a white police of�icer.

Rittenhouse, who appeared to be looking for trouble, found it. When the shooting stopped, two men with long criminal histories lay dead and a third had been shot in the arm. Rittenhouse, who claimed he went to Kenosha to safeguard businesses from looters, pleaded self-defense. The jury agreed and thus Rittenhouse went free, to thunderous acclaim from conservatives, who never seem to be happier than when liberals are weeping and gnashing their teeth. When Rittenhouse testi�ied that he was taking online classes at ASU, you knew it was only a matter of time before the “ASU’s Legacy Is White Supremacy” signs made a reappearance. I �irst wrote about that ridiculous accusation in this space six weeks ago, after an incident in which two white male conservative students were confronted by woke left female students in what the university may or may not have designated a “multicultural space.”

Let me be exceedingly clear here. ASU, by all accounts an excellent university that has long since shed its “party school” days, is a lot of things, but bastion of white supremacy is not one of them. With students from 136 countries, 230 tribal nations, and 13,000 international students – and a student body that is currently 46 percent white – it’s tough to argue that ASU looks or acts like a modern day meeting of the Ku Klux Klan. As it should, the univer-

sity openly welcomes anyone and everyone, regardless of color, creed, religion, gender, sexuality or political beliefs. And it also welcomed Kyle Rittenhouse to take online classes – again, as it should have. I don’t know what the rest of Rittenhouse’s life looks like now that he’s been cleared. Surely more interviews like his lovefest with Tucker Carlson two weeks ago. Maybe a book deal. Maybe he follows his self-proclaimed interest in nursing, or disappoints us all and ends up a Congressman. Regardless – and especially if you believe Rittenhouse to be a narrow-minded bigot and a sterling example of gun nuttery – let’s hope he ends up learning more about the world and the different kinds of people who inhabit it. Rittenhouse could use having his mind opened at a place like ASU. There he would meet very smart people completely unlike him – and completely unlike the idiots who showed up last week to scream at each other through bullhorns. ■

ASU leftists unfairy savage Kyle Rittenhouse

BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

“Perry Mason,” it ain’t. Nor “Absence of Malice.” And certainly not “Twelve Angry Men.”

No, what radical leftists at Arizona State University would have you believe is that there are thousands of students, faculty and employees on the main campus in Tempe who stand united in “righteous anger” against an 18-year-old.

That teen is Kyle Rittenhouse, recently acquitted on two counts of murder and other charges by a jury in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Defense attorneys assembled a strong case for self-defense, and the jury agreed after deliberating for more than 25 hours over the course of four days.

In the aftermath of the verdict, Rittenhouse sat down for an in-depth interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News. Among the revelations was the news that Rittenhouse had enrolled at ASU as an online student and was looking forward to continuing his studies on campus.

Right on cue, the usual suspects responded in outrage, issuing a list of demands that included the exclusion of “racist murderer” Kyle Rittenhouse from attending classes in Tempe. To underscore their intent, the activists scheduled a rally and protest for Dec. 1 at the leisurely hour of 3:30 p.m. so as not to interrupt sleep schedules nor breakfast and lunch.

If you believe the above assessment is uncharitable, as it omits the possibility that those students might be in class earlier, it is evident that few, if any, of these young leftists excel in reading comprehension. Certainly, they are in urgent need of a remedial refresher in basic civics.

Consider this excerpt from their “List of Demands”:

“Even with a not-guilty verdict from a �lawed “justice” system, Kyle Rittenhouse is still guilty to his victims and the families of those victims. Join us to demand from ASU that these demands be met to protect students from a violent, blood-thirsty murderer.”

Not only are these “leaders of tomorrow” unschooled in the precepts of our system of justice, they have no reservations about impugning the character of someone found not guilty by a jury of his peers.

Then again, they could cite a “highly placed source” for their unfair and untrue description of Kyle Rittenhouse. After all, it was none other than Joe Biden—before he took up occupancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.—who included images and video of Rittenhouse in a tweet excoriating Donald Trump for failing to “disavow white supremacists.”

Attaching the label of white supremacy to a then-17 year old gave “journalists” the signal to join in. Despite the fact that the attackers Rittenhouse shot in self-defense were all Caucasian, the “white supremacist” description remained throughout the campaign and subsequent trial.

Further court action is possible. However, the anticipated cases will be initiated by Rittenhouse and his attorneys against Biden and ol’ Joe’s media lackeys for libel, slander and defamation.

Could similar legal action be taken against ASU and some of its students?

Perhaps.

Maybe that’s why university President Michael Crow has remained silent thus far.

Instead, a university spokesperson recently intoned that Rittenhouse is “not currently enrolled in any classes at ASU” and that Kyle “has not gone through the ASU admissions process.”

Crow has co-authored a book this year entitled “Public Values Leadership: Striving to Achieve Democratic Ideals.”

If Rittenhouse’s withdrawal from ASU is indicative of what Crow envisions as the “New American University,” maybe the his most recent literary offering should be amended to more accurately re�lect reality. “Striving to Achieve Democrat Ideals” seems more accurate in the case of Arizona State. ■

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN WARNING!

Our clinic is taking every precaution and we follow strict CDC guidelines to ensure that our patients, clinic and staff are SAFE!

Mesa, AZ — The most common method your doctor will recommend to treat your chronic pain and/or neuropathy is with prescription drugs that may temporarily reduce your symptoms. These drugs have names such as Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin, and are primarily antidepressant or anti-seizure drugs. These drugs may cause you to feel uncomfortable and have a variety of harmful side effects. Chronic pain and/or peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves often causing weakness, pain, numbness, tingling, and the most debilitating balance problems. This damage is commonly caused by a lack of blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet which causes the nerves to begin to degenerate due to lack of nutrient flow.

As you can see in Figure 2, as the blood vessels that surround the nerves become diseased they shrivel up which causes the nerves to not get the nutrients to continue to survive. When these nerves begin to “die” they cause you to have balance problems, pain, numbness, tingling, burning, and many additional symptoms. The main problem is that your doctor has told you to just live with the problem or try the drugs which you don’t like taking because they make you feel uncomfortable. There is now a facility right here in Mesa that offers you hope without taking those endless drugs with serious side effects. (See the special neuropathy severity examination at the end of this article) In order to effectively treat your neuropathy three factors must be determined. 1) What is the underlying cause? 2) How much nerve damage has been sustained. NOTE: Once you have sustained 95% nerve loss, there is likely nothing that we can do for you. 3) How much treatment will your condition require? The treatment that is provided at Aspen Medical has three main goals. 1) Increase blood flow 2) Stimulate and increase small fiber nerves 3) Decrease brain-based pain The treatment to increase blood flow, stimulate small nerve fibers and get you back to health is our new $50,000.00 SANEXAS UNIT! In addition, we use a state-of-the-art diagnostics like the TM Flow diagnostic unit to accurately determine the increase in blood flow and a small skin biopsy to accurately determine the increase in small nerve fibers! The Sanexas electric cell signaling system delivers energy to the affected area of your body at varying wavelengths, including both low-frequency and middle-frequency signals. It also uses amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency modulated (FM) signaling. During a treatment session, the Sanexas system automatically changes to simultaneously deliver AM and FM electric cell signal energy. THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT SANEXAS IS COVERED BY MEDICARE AND MOST INSURANCE! Depending on your coverage, your treatment could be little to no cost to you! The amount of treatment needed to allow the nerves to fully recover varies from person to person and can only be determined after a detailed neurological and vascular evaluation. As long as you have not sustained at least 95% nerve damage there is hope! Aspen Medical will do a chronic pain and neuropathy severity examination to determine the extent of the nerve damage as a public service to you and/or your family and friends. This neuropathy/ pain severity examination will consist of a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and a detailed analysis of the findings of your neuropathy.

Fig. 2

Aspen Medical will be offering this chronic pain and neuropathy severity examination from now until December 31, 2021. Call 480-

274-3157 to make an appointment to determine if your chronic pain and peripheral neuropathy can be successfully treated. Due to our very busy office schedule, we are limiting this FREE consultation offer to the first 15 callers. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER MINUTE, CALL Call 480-274-3157 … NOW!

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4540 E Baseline Rd., Suite 119 Mesa Az 85206

THE MESA TRIBUNE | DECEMBER 5, 2021

Converting old hotels can help reduce homelessness

BY TOM SIMPLOT AFN Guest Writer

Recent increases in homelessness, coupled with the challenges brought on by the global pandemic, have made it progressively more dif�icult to provide enough shelter to house people living on the streets.

The majority of Arizona facilities that focus on offering food and shelter to those in need are at maximum capacity, often making it dif�icult to properly social distance.

Many times, people experiencing homelessness are faced with the choice of staying in a shelter (and facing a higher risk of acquiring COVID-19), or choosing a dangerous situation like sleeping in their cars or on the streets.

This is a decision no one should have to make.

Also as a direct result of the pandemic, many hotels and motels across the country have lost business, especially the older properties.

With these two factors in play, homeless and housing providers throughout the country, including here in Arizona, developed a new service model for transitional and permanent supportive housing. It’s called “hotels to housing.”

With the need to rapidly adapt service models during the pandemic to accommodate safety protocols while still continuing to serve the homeless, housing providers started to look at vacant hotels as an opportunity – an opportunity to turn unused rooms into housing for those who so desperately need it.

The “hotels to housing” concept allows homeless persons to be distanced for safety and stabilized in comfortable housing, before they move to permanent housing with the help of wraparound services.

We have already learned that this new model for housing makes following COVID-distancing requirements easier and provides more humane housing than large, congregate shelters. We have also learned that this model results in shorter stays in transitional housing, and may even offer permanent supportive housing.

Statewide, many homelessness agencies are moving to this new model and ADOH (AZ Dept. of Housing) is making major commitments to “hotels to housing.” ADOH has funded “Project Haven” in Phoenix, a former motel that will be transformed into a 130-unit transitional housing community for seniors so they can achieve the dignity they deserve, and JoJo’s Place in Flagstaff, a former hotel on Route 66 that will be converted into a transitional shelter for all ages.

ADOH is funding at least two more hotel acquisitions with federal CARES Act funding and we are developing a funding pipeline with additional federal funding.

Most hotel conversions plan to offer closed facilities, where only residents cleared to stay will be allowed, and include full-time security and on-site supportive services. Residents will be provided all the necessities, within the converted hotel properties, to stabilize and move toward self-suf�iciency and permanent housing.

While the pandemic created even more problems for an already tenuous housing situation, it is also forcing Arizona to �ind new, innovative solutions.

Turning hotels into housing helps save lives and provides a potential long-term solution for reducing homelessness, but it also does something more. It offers a successful model for future regional, specialized housing that didn’t exist before.

Through “hotels to housing” projects, homeless Arizonans can be safe and secure under a roof, receive needed healthcare services, and eventually get back on their feet.

Tom Simplot is the director of the

Arizona Department of Housing. ■