Tucson speaks up: Letters to the editor for the week of Jun. 13, 2025
- Updated
Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Arizona Daily Star.
- Helen Murphy, Sierra Vista
Re: 6-8-25 opinion "Normandy's crosses must guide us in fighting tyranny": It is an insult for this five-military-deferments coward to order a parade in his honor on the 250-year anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Army. He should acknowledge and thank those, living or not, who served in his place. Is he man enough to do so?
Helen Murphy
Sierra Vista
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mort Ganeles, Foothills
Some public protests are staged for TV. Look closely. No mob. Instead we spot a number of strategically placed noisy individuals with signs, flags and banners designed to look on TV as a fervid crowd.
The LA TV fracas is being recycled to fill airtime. Don’t overreact to this media event taking place on a single city block. It is a relatively small protest at the ICE detention facility.
TV continuously plays a background video loop of the same two cars set afire three days ago as reporters update news about whether Trump or Newsom are ahead - as in a sports match.
Turn off the TV. Don’t fall for this Trump-concocted media circus diversion he cooked up by calling up the National Guard and the Marines to take the heat of media and public eyes off his horrible budget bill being bared in all its ugliness during Senate debate.
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Norman Epstein, Midtown
The President made it clear the protests against him should have “great force” used in opposition to them. What was initially directed at the LA events (where there was some violence), he generalized later to “protests” — which will take place peacefully by design this coming Saturday the 14th. He professed to not knowing anything about the No King rallies that will occur in hundreds of towns & cities nationwide. I believe him, since his staff would be terrified to tell him this is coming — even though news of it is open and available for weeks on-line and in social media. His pathologic insecurity, ignorance, and complete insensitivity to the feelings of others will be a real and active danger to many Americans who will turn out in ] large numbers on that date. I know he’d like all the non-MAGA people to disappear. But we won’t.
Norman Epstein
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Richard Bechtold, West side
I have to write these letters to the editor. I have no other way to warn a large audience except through the free press. Trump and Hegseth want to spend $50 million on a military parade. They also are spending $134 million to put military troops on our streets in LA without being requested. The latest news is that Trump wants to access 20,000 troops for domestic control at a cost of $3.6 billion for one year. This military reality show is costing $3.8 billion dollars so far. Public Broadcasting is going to be cut by $1 billion because he doesn't approve of its content. Public Broadcasting is too left wing and liberal. Who made Trump the standard for what is right and wrong? Trump is spending about 4x the cost of Public Broadcasting to militarize our streets to control us. Is anyone out there getting this?
Richard Bechtold
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeff aronson, Northeast side
It has occurred to me, as I'm sure it has to others, that Trump's Saturday military parade is a perfect setting for a military coup. As commander-in-chief he will be overseeing thousands of armed troops, hundreds of tanks and armor, artillery, helicopters and attack aircraft as well as the U.S Army elite parachute team, the Golden Knights. How simple it would be and what would stop him from commanding the parading forces to continue up Constitution Avenue to easily and quickly overwhelm the undermanned Capitol Police, seize the Capitol, dissolve Congress and the courts (what he failed to do on January 6th), establish martial law, imprison critics and opponents and establish himself as supreme dictator for life in the company of his idols, Putin, Kim and Orban among others. And as for me, I'll be car caravanning Saturday at Tucson's No Kings rally, hoping we still have a democracy at the end of the day.
Former Marine captain, Vietnam vet
Jeff aronson
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeanne Herstad, SaddleBrooke
President Donald Trump has threated anyone who protests his February 14th Washington DC Military parade with arrest. While I cannot be in DC to protest, I would if I was there, but I will protest loudly from Oro Valley, Arizona. I will be proudly participating in one of several "No Kings" peaceful demonstrations in Arizona. Your parade is disgusting and a total misuse of the military. Just so you know, I protest, I protest, I protest.
Jeanne Herstad
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jake Pickering, West side
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
The so-called “legacy media”, otherwise known as the traditional mainstream corporate media, has lost almost all of its credibility with the public over the past generation due to its cowardice, self-serving dishonesty, and the myopic profit motives of selfish billionaire capitalist owners which almost always takes precedence over protecting Free Speech or telling the truth.
However, contrary to what you may have been told, most Americans aren’t necessarily relying on non-traditional online sources of news, etc. as their first choice for accurate information. It’s just that the places of old where we used to collectively congregate in order to be spoon-fed our shared news by relatively few outlets (televised network news mostly) is no longer relevant in the high tech revelry of the 21st Century, with the artificial intelligence revolution still on the way.
Jake Pickering
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Toni Kane, Oro Valley
Migrants are not an existential threat to the United States. Too soon we all forget our roots. All of us descend from migrants (with the exception of native Americans who were here first). This "fear of others" has started us down a slippery slope and needs to stop.
Toni Kane
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Teresa Jenkins, SaddleBrooke
Donald Trump threatened that if he got back into power, he would turn the U.S. military on the American people. Such a time has come in L.A. where protesters gave Trump the pretext to turn the military on U.S. citizens. He wanted things to spiral out of control, so he laid the kindling for the fire he’s been itching to start. “There will be troops everywhere,” he warned.
Trump has assembled people who have no interest in making life better for a struggling family. They are indifferent, they want power, and they will take what they want from whomever they want.
Trump disdains democracy and he’s asserting his maximum powers and more on us. We are a peaceful people who want freedom and opportunity and what's being done by this corrupt president weakens our society. The damage he’s doing is hard to put into words, yet we must take him seriously because he means every word of his fascist poison.
Teresa Jenkins
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Hope Gastelum, East side
I was a 21-year-old student on campus and in the crowd on that terrible day at Kent State. The deaths were completely unjustified; however, the protesters were not truly peaceful, as Mr. Plummer suggests (June 10 LTE). I believe a small faction of them (probably not even students) were whipping people into a frenzy that had resulted in three days of violence and property destruction prior to Monday, May 4th. This is the reason the National Guard was there at all, a bunch of young, tired guys probably not much older than those in the crowd. No one knows who gave the order or what actually caused the Guardsmen to start shooting. The four deaths were an unspeakable tragedy that left the university shell-shocked for years, a reminder to us all that violence in legitimate protests only plays into the hands of brutal authoritarians like Donald Trump.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Alan Doan, SaddleBrooke
Here's an idea. Why don't we start deporting all the international athletes currently playing on our college and professional sports teams. Sure, they're talented -- some could even be called superstars -- but they can't possibly be better than our own "true American" athletes. Think of all the high-paying jobs that could be filled by our very own born-and-bred American citizens. After all, these foreigners were probably drafted only because of all this DEI stuff that's been going on for so long. Let's make it a true meritocracy. Well, at least a meritocracy that doesn't reach outside our borders. Come on people, let's do it. Let's make America great again!
Alan Doan
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Veronica Romero, Southeast side
As a member of Mountain Mamas, and Reinas Who Hike, I’m calling for the continued protection of Arizona’s national monuments, especially Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni and Ironwood Forest.
These lands are sacred, culturally significant, and vital for wildlife and clean water. Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni honors Tribal heritage and protects key natural resources, while Ironwood Forest shelters ancient trees and endangered species.
As a mother, hiker, and lifelong explorer of Arizona’s public lands, I feel a deep responsibility to protect the places that have shaped me. My connection to nature began in childhood and has grown into a source of healing, purpose, and reflection. I’ve shared these lands with loved ones and seen their power to teach and transform. That’s why I’m committed to protecting public lands so future generations can experience their beauty, peace, and wisdom too.
Veronica Romero
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- James Robinett, Southwest side
This is the real life story of two brave men who choose to become US citizens and engage in a lifetime of service. David Huerta, president of the California Service Employees International Union and Alberto M Carvalho, Superintendent of LA County School System. Mr. Huerta makes me proud to have been a lifelong Union member, and proud to be a retired AFSCME union member. He goes down to monitor the ICE raids and check on his members. He never confronts an officer or disobeys orders. He is thrown to the ground, beaten, hospitalized and then jailed. Mr. Carvalho makes me proud to be a supporter of Public Schools. He and his staff are willing to put their bodies on the line so ICE can't come to graduation ceremonies and begin harassing and arresting children.
I wonder if MAGA finds these stories inspirational or do they believe in squashing all peaceful protest and dissent?
James Robinett
Southwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Definitions
The common definition of a peaceful protest is one where a group of interested people gather to protest some action. The demonstrators may well use signs, sing, use bullhorns, and even shout, even obscenities. However, these demonstrators adhere to instructions from law enforcement and do not damage property. The Democratic Party’s definition of a mostly peaceful demonstration allows masked demonstrators to hurl rocks and other missiles at law enforcement, damage and burn government and personal property, halt public traffic, and block access to buildings. It is interesting to watch Democratic politicians state that the demonstrations are mostly peaceful even though television footage clearly illuminates burning cars, blocked freeways, and attacks on police. It does demonstrate that the Democrats will do and say anything as long as it supports their perverted view of what our country should be. The long-accepted rule of law is foreign to Democrats. And it makes one wonder why this does not occur in Texas, Florida, and other states. Possibly adherence to the law.
Loyal M. Johnson Jr.
Oro Valley
Feel-good, inspirational story
This is the real-life story of two brave men who choose to become US citizens and engage in a lifetime of service. David Huerta, president of the California Service Employees International Union and Alberto M Carvalho, Superintendent of LA County School System. Mr. Huerta makes me proud to have been a lifelong Union member, and proud to be a retired AFSCME union member. He goes down to monitor the ICE raids and check on his members. He never confronts an officer or disobeys orders. He is thrown to the ground, beaten, hospitalized and then jailed. Mr. Carvalho makes me proud to be a supporter of Public Schools. He and his staff are willing to put their bodies on the line so ICE can’t come to graduation ceremonies and begin harassing and arresting children.
I wonder if MAGA finds these stories inspirational or do they believe in squashing all peaceful protest and dissent?
James Robinett
Southwest side
Fireworks do harm
There is chaos happening today. It’s escalating and frightening.
Hoping for some local sanity, I look to our current area governments for some calm and sane choices for the people.
Alas, not to be.
With all the knowledge, instruction and information shared, explained with firm examples provided of harm, choices were made to go forward with fireworks for Independence Day “celebrations.”
It is known that: 1. Fireworks cause fires and have caused fires in Tucson and surrounding areas. 2. Fireworks harm PTSD survivors. It is a proven fact. 3. Fireworks markedly harm our domestic pets and wildlife. This is a known fact. Mommy animals often abandon their babies in fear. Domestic & wild animals can run in fear due to the noise and flashing, get lost, run into traffic. 4. Fireworks scare many people including babies.
Laser light shows, if done safely and properly directed, can be very beautiful and entertaining and will do no harm.
Tucson, do stop harming innocents and setting up fire damage. No More Fireworks.
Judy Mercer
Oro Valley
Saving public lands
As a member of Mountain Mamas, and Reinas Who Hike, I’m calling for the continued protection of Arizona’s national monuments, especially Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni and Ironwood Forest.
These lands are sacred, culturally significant, and vital for wildlife and clean water. Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni honors Tribal heritage and protects key natural resources, while Ironwood Forest shelters ancient trees and endangered species.
As a mother, hiker, and lifelong explorer of Arizona’s public lands, I feel a deep responsibility to protect the places that have shaped me. My connection to nature began in childhood and has grown into a source of healing, purpose, and reflection. I’ve shared these lands with loved ones and seen their power to teach and transform. That’s why I’m committed to protecting public lands so future generations can experience their beauty, peace, and wisdom too.
Veronica Romero
Southeast side
America first
Here’s an idea. Why don’t we start deporting all the international athletes currently playing on our college and professional sports teams. Sure, they’re talented — some could even be called superstars — but they can’t possibly be better than our own “true American” athletes. Think of all the high-paying jobs that could be filled by our very own born-and-bred American citizens. After all, these foreigners were probably drafted only because of all this DEI stuff that’s been going on for so long. Let’s make it a true meritocracy. Well, at least a meritocracy that doesn’t reach outside our borders. Come on people, let’s do it. Let’s make America great again!
Alan Doan
SaddleBrooke
DEI for the GOP?
I’m enjoying the back-and-forth about whether the small numbers of political conservatives who write LTEs enjoy special publication privileges.
Most readers seem happy with the unending stream of letters devoid of policy insight that proclaim Trump is a Nazi, felon, Fascist, rapist, etc. and choose to shelter in their ideological bubble. Other readers welcome diversity of thought.
This minority frequent contributor tries to provide original, reasoned, hopefully provocative content that may change minds and I often request feedback.
Changing minds is what the editorial pages are all about so wish me luck.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
House settlement
Given the House settlement that allows schools to pay athletes, the U of A is now offering a class in financial management for those students. Duuuuh. Where has this been all along and why not make it a graduation requirement for all students? Personal financial literacy has long been neglected by the educational system but is more important as a life skill than just about any class one could take. And to those athletes fortunate enough to capitalize on this settlement: “Welcome, fellow taxpayers.”
Thomas Rothe
Foothills
Kent State, May 4th
I was a 21-year-old student on campus and in the crowd on that terrible day at Kent State. The deaths were completely unjustified; however, the protesters were not truly peaceful, as Mr. Plummer suggests (June 10 LTE). I believe a small faction of them (probably not even students) were whipping people into a frenzy that had resulted in three days of violence and property destruction prior to Monday, May 4th. This is the reason the National Guard was there at all, a bunch of young, tired guys probably not much older than those in the crowd. No one knows who gave the order or what actually caused the guardsmen to start shooting. The four deaths were an unspeakable tragedy that left the university shell-shocked for years, a reminder to us all that violence in legitimate protests only plays into the hands of brutal authoritarians like Donald Trump.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Importance of sports
“ ... the Wildcats ... qualified for the upcoming College World Series. Momentarily my faith in humanity is restored.”
Are you serious? Something as inconsequential as a sporting event restored your faith in humanity? Am I missing something?
Reminds of conversations I have had at the gym. If sports are important, then why are not all students eligible to play sports? Why do students have to “make the team”? If a student can take any class when prerequisites are met, then should not a student be able to take any sport the same as any other class?
Sports are not important. Sports are primarily entertainment for the observer and of questionable value for the participants. Group dynamics, competitiveness and co-operation can be taught in virtually any class.
James Abels
Midtown
Fake crisis politics
Donald Trump threatened that if he got back into power, he would turn the U.S. military on the American people. Such a time has come in L.A. where protesters gave Trump the pretext to turn the military on U.S. citizens. He wanted things to spiral out of control, so he laid the kindling for the fire he’s been itching to start. “There will be troops everywhere,” he warned.
Trump has assembled people who have no interest in making life better for a struggling family. They are indifferent, they want power, and they will take what they want from whomever they want.
Trump disdains democracy and he’s asserting his maximum powers and more on us. We are a peaceful people who want freedom and opportunity and what’s being done by this corrupt president weakens our society. The damage he’s doing is hard to put into words, yet we must take him seriously because he means every word of his fascist poison.
Teresa Jenkins
SaddleBrooke
Wildcats at the World Series
Great article by Michael Lev about Wildcat Baseball with a little extra information about Chip Hale, Tony Pluta, and Mason White. I loved this article. As an alumnus and native Arizonan, I followed the University of Arizona most of my life. I knew or suspected a lot of the information in the article. I watched Chip Hale and the rest of the team under Jerry Kindall’s guidance win the national championship. It warms my heart that we extended the job to him; he is very successful leading the team.
Tony Pluta is essentially a walk on. I watched him play and develop. He is one of the best closers for AZ I have seen in a long time. I didn’t realize that he chose to come here from Chicago, so thankful he is here.
Mason White, a kid after my own heart — a successful hometown hero. Thank you so very much! Go Cats! Bear Down! Let’s win the national championship. We are behind you 100%.
Roxanne Peterson
Vail
Us and ICE
Migrants are not an existential threat to the United States. Too soon we all forget our roots. All of us descend from migrants (with the exception of native Americans who were here first). This “fear of others” has started us down a slippery slope and needs to stop.
Toni Kane
Oro Valley
‘Great force’
The President made it clear the protests against him should have “great force” used in opposition to them. What was initially directed at the LA events (where there was some violence), he generalized later to “protests” — which will take place peacefully by design this coming Saturday the 14th. He professed to not knowing anything about the No King rallies that will occur in hundreds of towns & cities nationwide. I believe him, since his staff would be terrified to tell him this is coming — even though news of it is open and available for weeks on-line and in social media. His pathologic insecurity, ignorance, and complete insensitivity to the feelings of others will be a real and active danger to many Americans who will turn out in large numbers on that date. I know he’d like all the non-MAGA people to disappear. But we won’t.
Norman Epstein
Midtown
Don’t overreact to one-block LA protest
Some public protests are staged for TV. Look closely. No mob. Instead we spot a number of strategically placed noisy individuals with signs, flags and banners designed to look on TV as a fervid crowd.
The LA TV fracas is being recycled to fill airtime. Don’t overreact to this media event taking place on a single city block. It is a relatively small protest at the ICE detention facility.
TV continuously plays a background video loop of the same two cars set afire three days ago as reporters update news about whether Trump or Newsom are ahead — as in a sports match.
Turn off the TV. Don’t fall for this Trump-concocted media circus diversion he cooked up by calling up the National Guard and the Marines to take the heat of media and public eyes off his horrible budget bill being bared in all its ugliness during Senate debate.
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
Perfect setting for a coup
It has occurred to me, as I’m sure it has to others, that Trump’s Saturday military parade is a perfect setting for a military coup. As commander-in-chief he will be overseeing thousands of armed troops, hundreds of tanks and armor, artillery, helicopters and attack aircraft as well as the U.S Army elite parachute team, the Golden Knights. How simple it would be and what would stop him from commanding the parading forces to continue up Constitution Avenue to easily and quickly overwhelm the undermanned Capitol Police, seize the Capitol, dissolve Congress and the courts (what he failed to do on January 6th), establish martial law, imprison critics and opponents and establish himself as supreme dictator for life in the company of his idols, Putin, Kim and Orban among others. And as for me, I’ll be car caravanning Saturday at Tucson’s No Kings rally, hoping we still have a democracy at the end of the day.
Former Marine captain, Vietnam vet
Jeff Aronson
Northeast side
Data center issues
A proposed data center down by the fairgrounds is a serious conservation challenge for Tucson.
Tucson Water’s plan regards all water as the same except for degree of treatment. Using only reclaimed water for cooling won’t help our water supply.
What of massive power consumption? Any increase in thermoelectric generation would use lots of water and fuel. Modular nukes would also create hazardous radioactive waste, even if they’d have a tiny carbon footprint. Only photovoltaic and wind generation are suitable sources here. Pima County should require renewables with battery storage. (The large site would accommodate a solar farm.)
Also important is reduction of power and cooling needs. This could be accomplished by requiring the data centers to update their servers regularly, because newer chips use less power, and create less heat. This strategy would save local resources, while also supporting the new TSMC chip fabs in Phoenix that will be supplying the fastest and most efficient chips.
W. Mark Day
East side
Military on our streets
I have to write these letters to the editor. I have no other way to warn a large audience except through the free press. Trump and Hegseth want to spend $50 million on a military parade. They also are spending $134 million to put military troops on our streets in LA without being requested. The latest news is that Trump wants to access 20,000 troops for domestic control at a cost of $3.6 billion for one year. This military reality show is costing $3.8 billion dollars so far. Public Broadcasting is going to be cut by $1 billion because he doesn’t approve of its content. Public Broadcasting is too left wing and liberal. Who made Trump the standard for what is right and wrong? Trump is spending about 4x the cost of Public Broadcasting to militarize our streets to control us. Is anyone out there getting this?
Richard Bechtold
West side
I protest, I protest
President Donald Trump has threatened anyone who protests his February 14th Washington DC Military parade with arrest. While I cannot be in DC to protest, I would if I was there, but I will protest loudly from Oro Valley, Arizona. I will be proudly participating in one of several “No Kings” peaceful demonstrations in Arizona. Your parade is disgusting and a total misuse of the military. Just so you know, I protest, I protest, I protest.
Jeanne Herstad
SaddleBrooke
The language of the unheard
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
The so-called “legacy media”, otherwise known as the traditional mainstream corporate media, has lost almost all of its credibility with the public over the past generation due to its cowardice, self-serving dishonesty, and the myopic profit motives of selfish billionaire capitalist owners which almost always takes precedence over protecting Free Speech or telling the truth.
However, contrary to what you may have been told, most Americans aren’t necessarily relying on non-traditional online sources of news, etc. as their first choice for accurate information. It’s just that the places of old where we used to collectively congregate in order to be spoon-fed our shared news by relatively few outlets (televised network news mostly) is no longer relevant in the high tech revelry of the 21st Century, with the artificial intelligence revolution still on the way.
Jake Pickering
West side
Correction to previous letter
Re: 6-8-25 opinion “Normandy’s crosses must guide us in fighting tyranny”: It is an insult for this five-military-deferments coward to order a parade in his honor on the 250-year anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Army. He should acknowledge and thank those, living or not, who served in his place. Is he man enough to do so?
Helen Murphy
Sierra Vista
Something good for Wendy Smith
Reading her first paragraph, I wanted to jump up and down and scream “yes.” I identified with every word. Here’s my contribution to her challenge. I took a visitor from France to the Tucson Museum of Art last week to view (among the wonderful permanent collections) the newest exhibit titled, “Divergence of Legacy: Art of the American West in the 21st Century.” The curators have outdone themselves. It is a view of the West not to be missed. Art pieces representing a range of social and ethnic backgrounds. You will not find the Lone Ranger or Roy Rogers here. The exhibit ends 6/22. I also applaud Western Patrons, Contemporary Art Society and financial donors. Our second stop was a block away on Court St. to the Presidio Museum (recreation of the Spanish Fort built in 1775). We topped off the day with a meal at Cafe a la C’Art on their shaded patio listening to the sounds of the fountain and the birds while we discussed the day’s events.
Sharon Winderl
Midtown
- Cynthia Reynolds, Foothills
In case you missed it amid this week’s headlines, Congressman Juan Ciscomani joined 12 other Republicans in urging the Senate to revise the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Strangely, he had just voted for that very bill.
Why would a representative urge changes to legislation he just approved? Because parts of it are so harmful that even Ciscomani wants them fixed — after helping pass them.
Some say he didn’t read the full bill and now regrets it. But I think he knew exactly what he was voting for. He simply didn’t have the courage to oppose a Trump-branded bill, even one that hurts Arizona.
Rather than take a principled stand, he voted yes — then sent a letter asking the Senate to clean up his mess.
Now he’s counting on Arizona’s two Democratic senators to fix what he wouldn’t. That’s not leadership — it’s cowardice.
Arizona deserves a representative who puts constituents over party loyalty.
Cynthia Reynolds
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Abraham R. Byrd III, North side
Kash Patel regarding the LA demonstrations: "If you hit a cop, you're going to jail. Doesn't matter where you come from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you. If the local police force won't back our men and women on the thin blue line, we @FBI will." Funny - I never imagined FBI Director Patel had such a sense of humor, but clearly he must have: how else to explain the enormous hypocrisy of this whopper. I wonder how Mr. Patel would have responded to the January 6 riot which injured 170 police officers, one of whom later died. Oh, wait - that wasn't a riot or an attempted overthrow of the government - it was a "love-fest" according to its instigator, Mr. Patel's boss. I can hardly wait to see what other pearls of humor Mr. Patel will deliver.
Abraham R. Byrd III
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mort Ganeles, Foothills
Autocrat Benito Mussolini pompously strode across history in the mid-twentieth century with puffed-up showmanship that served as a prop for the empty vessel this blowhard turned out to be. Donald Trump resembles Mussolini in many ways. But Trump’s displays exceed those of Il Duce in the extents of cruelty, dishonesty, avarice, and vindictiveness.
Trump’s audacious grandstanding reactions to LA public protests of federal anti-immigrant actions evidences his autocratic excesses. Trump didn’t even try to disguise his retribution against Governor Newsom. Trump upstaged Newsom while flaunting formidable dictatorial power.
Trump engineered and abused his power by turning the U.S. military against U.S. residents exercising their legitimate Constitutional First Amendment rights.
This travesty may be unprecedented, but Trump's actions are inexcusable and atrocious. Trump must recall his military wolves and permit Newsom and the LA authorities to manage the LA public outbursts with their own resources and capable hands.
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- David Peterson, Midtown
Today is Monday, June 9, 2025. The high today was forecast to be 105. Yesterday my eleven-year-old air-conditioner died. I was able to schedule a technician's service visit today. He tried to fix it but ultimately told my wife and me that we would need to replace it. He was very apologetic about the cost but told us that due to the Trump tariffs that went into effect recently, we would have paid about 25% less at the beginning of May than we have to pay now.
Twenty. Five. Percent.
Trump said the exporting countries would pay the tariffs. He lied. Congressman Ciscomani knows Trump lied and yet he voted for the Big Murder Bill (a.k.a. Budget Reconciliation Bill) anyway.
Congressman, where are your scruples? How can you look away when your constituents are paying 25% more for necessary home repairs than they would have a month or two ago?
David Peterson
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- David Kahn, San Manuel
Donald Trump's first months have yielded mostly chaos and bad policy decisions. When he fails, (it seems weekly) he always falls back upon the cruelty vendetta whispered to him by the often-contemptible Stephen Miller. Miller apparently is calling the shots on immigration and created quotas that thuggish "Border Czar", Tom Homan, who never met a federal court order that he respected, can't meet. Trump has to look and sound tough and it's far easier to pick on non-white residents (legal or not) than white people. Draft dodger Trump isn't tough. He's cruel. He ambushes foreign leaders in the gold-plated Oval Office we paid for, with snide JD Vance attacking. You are not tough because you attend an MMA slugfest where you know fellow haters will be. Trump needs the acclaim of haters and bigots and Proud Boy types because his ego is so fragile. It must kill him that tough guys Putin and Xi Jinping won't return his phone calls. To them "tough guy " is a loser.
David Kahn
San Manuel
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ed LeGendre, East side
Wow!!!
Ukraine penetrated the Soviet defenses with $200.00 drones with explosives on the little drone’s back. Many defenses were penetrated with this “stealth” tactic.
I read where Raytheon received a $1.3 billion contract to produce missiles at $200,000.00 each. These are sophisticated missiles that can, I assume, dance on a pin head.
For $1.3 billion, you can have 6.5 million $200 drones to throw at the Soviets if we should need to. If we reallocate one trillion dollars from the defense budget and produce these drones, we will have 50 billion drones that would cover the Soviet Union in a dark haze that could cover every city in Russia for who knows how long?
We would have to enlist every person on this planet, minus the Russians and North Koreans, to work 24-7, to launch these drones. Maybe the fact that there are 65 billion drones ready to pounce on the Soviets, will cause them to behave.
Ed LeGendre
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Melinda Sims, Catalina
I’m disgusted, embarrassed & terrified by the destruction being wrought on our country in the hands of the MAGA administration. And I am deeply saddened that this is who we are; that a small majority of us believe that this is the correct path. America has historically truly been great when we have been there for others, whether in their poverty, disasters, or other challenges. There is nothing great about ignoring those in need. There is nothing great about closing doors to those escaping terror in their homes. There is nothing great about silencing critics or minimizing the needs of the marginalized. There is nothing great about deporting every person not born here. There is nothing great about implementing policies that will destroy the environment so rich corporations can make more money. We have always been a great nation when we’ve cared for our “neighbors” of all types. MAGA is just making us selfish, greedy, mean, and ugly. There is nothing great in that.
Melinda Sims
Catalina
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Chuck Barrett, Midtown
The Posse Comitatus law prohibits U.S. presidents (or anyone) from using federal troops to enforce laws against civilians. Trump used one of the two exceptions to this law to justify his use of California National Guard troops to “protect” ICE agents and property in the raids in Los Angeles.
The law, USC Title 10, sec. 12406, allows presidents to deploy units of state national guards whenever “he” decides there is an invasion or threat of same, a rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or if “he” is unable to execute the laws of the U.S. with regular forces.
The statute says that: “Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States…”
Since CA Governor Newsom has publically objected to deploying the CA National Guard, I ask:
Why is Trump not in violation of the requirements of USC 10 sec. 12406?
And why is he not criminally liable under Posse Comitatus?
Chuck Barrett
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- bill dowdall, Oro Valley
Biden intentionally opened the borders allowing millions into our country. As a result of that four-year fiasco Trump is being aggressive in rounding up the criminals. The sanctuary states, i.e. California are rebelling and protecting these individuals. Besides the crimes these individuals are committing it is sucking billions of hard-earned tax dollars. The left is defending the illegals stating they need due process. Inject some logic into the argument by assessing the time to do that, it would take years. The most expeditious way is the course Trump is on. Our democracy is not being threatened it is being protected. The Executive branch is fighting every day to exercise its authority and is being temporarily blocked by district judges passing judgement on federal matters. Judgements by the Supreme Court will strike them down but it is time-consuming. I find it difficult what the end game of the left is, total destruction of our country? The Democrats are in it only for power.
bill dowdall
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Effects of open borders
Biden intentionally opened the borders allowing millions into our country. As a result of that four-year fiasco Trump is being aggressive in rounding up the criminals. The sanctuary states, i.e. California are rebelling and protecting these individuals. Besides the crimes these individuals are committing it is sucking billions of hard-earned tax dollars. The left is defending the illegals stating they need due process. Inject some logic into the argument by assessing the time to do that, it would take years. The most expeditious way is the course Trump is on. Our democracy is not being threatened it is being protected. The Executive branch is fighting every day to exercise its authority and is being temporarily blocked by district judges passing judgement on federal matters. Judgements by the Supreme Court will strike them down but it is time-consuming. I find it difficult what the end game of the left is, total destruction of our country? The Democrats are in it only for power.
Bill Dowdall
Oro Valley
Posse Incommodious
The Posse Comitatus law prohibits U.S. presidents (or anyone) from using federal troops to enforce laws against civilians. Trump used one of the two exceptions to this law to justify his use of California National Guard troops to “protect” ICE agents and property in the raids in Los Angeles.
The law, USC Title 10, sec. 12406, allows presidents to deploy units of state national guards whenever “he” decides there is an invasion or threat of same, a rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or if “he” is unable to execute the laws of the U.S. with regular forces.
The statute says that: “Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States ... ”
Since CA Governor Newsom has publically objected to deploying the CA National Guard, I ask:
Why is Trump not in violation of the requirements of USC 10 sec. 12406?
And why is he not criminally liable under Posse Comitatus?
Chuck Barrett
Midtown
Re: ‘License, but not artistic’
Why do devotees of religion get so defensive when their faith is challenged? One might hope that such a committed investment in absolute certainty should reward one with a more stolid constitution. And why does religion require so much defending? Perhaps because its history is so rife with abuses — from the atrocities of the Crusades to the extreme fundamentalism of today — that so amply illustrate that blind faith has never been an infallible guide to moral behavior.
Demanding an apology for subjecting one’s pet devotion to ridicule rings especially hollow when one reflects on the thousands of historical events for which religion owes the world an apology.
What is the concept of blasphemy but a contrived convenience that grants religion dispensation from the normal criticisms of all other human endeavors? In a country that values free speech no institution is immune from rebuke or ridicule, especially when deemed to deserve it. Rather than edging toward making undemocratic demands, how about exercising that time-honored recourse for voicing displeasure: boycott.
Robert Gavlak
Midtown
What makes America great
I’m disgusted, embarrassed & terrified by the destruction being wrought on our country in the hands of the MAGA administration. And I am deeply saddened that this is who we are; that a small majority of us believe that this is the correct path. America has historically truly been great when we have been there for others, whether in their poverty, disasters, or other challenges. There is nothing great about ignoring those in need. There is nothing great about closing doors to those escaping terror in their homes. There is nothing great about silencing critics or minimizing the needs of the marginalized. There is nothing great about deporting every person not born here. There is nothing great about implementing policies that will destroy the environment so rich corporations can make more money. We have always been a great nation when we’ve cared for our “neighbors” of all types. MAGA is just making us selfish, greedy, mean, and ugly. There is nothing great in that.
Melinda Sims
Catalina
Done in, drone out
Wow! Ukraine penetrated the Soviet defenses with $200.00 drones with explosives on the little drone’s back. Many defenses were penetrated with this “stealth” tactic.
I read where Raytheon received a $1.3 billion contract to produce missiles at $200,000.00 each. These are sophisticated missiles that can, I assume, dance on a pin head.
For $1.3 billion, you can have 6.5 million $200 drones to throw at the Soviets if we should need to. If we reallocate one trillion dollars from the defense budget and produce these drones, we will have 50 billion drones that would cover the Soviet Union in a dark haze that could cover every city in Russia for who knows how long?
We would have to enlist every person on this planet, minus the Russians and North Koreans, to work 24-7, to launch these drones. Maybe the fact that there are 65 billion drones ready to pounce on the Soviets, will cause them to behave.
Ed LeGendre
East side
Trump tariffs hit home
Today is Monday, June 9, 2025. The high today was forecast to be 105. Yesterday my eleven-year-old air-conditioner died. I was able to schedule a technician’s service visit today. He tried to fix it but ultimately told my wife and me that we would need to replace it. He was very apologetic about the cost but told us that due to the Trump tariffs that went into effect recently, we would have paid about 25% less at the beginning of May than we have to pay now.
Twenty. Five. Percent.
Trump said the exporting countries would pay the tariffs. He lied. Congressman Ciscomani knows Trump lied and yet he voted for the Big Murder Bill (a.k.a. Budget Reconciliation Bill) anyway.
Congressman, where are your scruples? How can you look away when your constituents are paying 25% more for necessary home repairs than they would have a month or two ago?
David Peterson
Midtown
In gratitude to our city
This is a tribute to the Tucson Medical Center and Tucson at large. When Trump won in 2016, my first thought was “We’re better than this.” As the name calling and division escalated, cruelty towards the marginalized and most vulnerable among us seemed to be the very point. When he was re-elected in 2024, my belief in the country I love and my fellow citizens was severely challenged. Having spent the better part of the last two weeks at the bedside of a loved one in the ICU at TMC, my faith in humanity and love of Tucson are restored. From the doctors and nurses to the random stranger in the parking lot, compassion and kindness enveloped every step on this difficult path. As a community we are fortunate beyond measure to have Tucson Medical Center. TMC represents who we are as a people.
Susan Miller-Pinhey
Foothills
Trump must recall his military wolves
Autocrat Benito Mussolini pompously strode across history in the mid-twentieth century with puffed-up showmanship that served as a prop for the empty vessel this blowhard turned out to be. Donald Trump resembles Mussolini in many ways. But Trump’s displays exceed those of Il Duce in the extents of cruelty, dishonesty, avarice, and vindictiveness.
Trump’s audacious grandstanding reactions to LA public protests of federal anti-immigrant actions evidences his autocratic excesses. Trump didn’t even try to disguise his retribution against Governor Newsom. Trump upstaged Newsom while flaunting formidable dictatorial power.
Trump engineered and abused his power by turning the U.S. military against U.S. residents exercising their legitimate Constitutional First Amendment rights.
This travesty may be unprecedented, but Trump’s actions are inexcusable and atrocious. Trump must recall his military wolves and permit Newsom and the LA authorities to manage the LA public outbursts with their own resources and capable hands.
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
Broken bill, broken backbone
In case you missed it amid this week’s headlines, Congressman Juan Ciscomani joined 12 other Republicans in urging the Senate to revise the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Strangely, he had just voted for that very bill.
Why would a representative urge changes to legislation he just approved? Because parts of it are so harmful that even Ciscomani wants them fixed — after helping pass them.
Some say he didn’t read the full bill and now regrets it. But I think he knew exactly what he was voting for. He simply didn’t have the courage to oppose a Trump-branded bill, even one that hurts Arizona.
Rather than take a principled stand, he voted yes — then sent a letter asking the Senate to clean up his mess.
Now he’s counting on Arizona’s two Democratic senators to fix what he wouldn’t. That’s not leadership — it’s cowardice.
Arizona deserves a representative who puts constituents over party loyalty.
Cynthia Reynolds
Foothills
Kash Patel
Kash Patel regarding the LA demonstrations: “If you hit a cop, you’re going to jail. Doesn’t matter where you come from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you. If the local police force won’t back our men and women on the thin blue line, we @FBI will.” Funny — I never imagined FBI Director Patel had such a sense of humor, but clearly he must have: how else to explain the enormous hypocrisy of this whopper. I wonder how Mr. Patel would have responded to the January 6 riot which injured 170 police officers, one of whom later died. Oh, wait — that wasn’t a riot or an attempted overthrow of the government — it was a “love-fest” according to its instigator, Mr. Patel’s boss. I can hardly wait to see what other pearls of humor Mr. Patel will deliver.
Abraham R. Byrd III
North side
Trump distracts by playing the tough guy
Donald Trump’s first months have yielded mostly chaos and bad policy decisions. When he fails, (it seems weekly) he always falls back upon the cruelty vendetta whispered to him by the often-contemptible Stephen Miller. Miller apparently is calling the shots on immigration and created quotas that thuggish “Border Czar”, Tom Homan, who never met a federal court order that he respected, can’t meet. Trump has to look and sound tough and it’s far easier to pick on non-white residents (legal or not) than white people. Draft dodger Trump isn’t tough. He’s cruel. He ambushes foreign leaders in the gold-plated Oval Office we paid for, with snide JD Vance attacking. You are not tough because you attend an MMA slugfest where you know fellow haters will be. Trump needs the acclaim of haters and bigots and Proud Boy types because his ego is so fragile. It must kill him that tough guys Putin and Xi Jinping won’t return his phone calls. To them “tough guy “ is a loser.
David Kahn
San Manuel
- John Kautz, Midtown
President Trump labeled January 6 a peaceful protest. He watched TV for hours while police officers and Capitol security personnel were viciously attacked. He dawdled before he allowed additional military presence. And recently he pardoned attackers who were serving prison sentences. This weekend he labeled the protest in LA an insurrection. He authorized force to be used against these citizens exercising their right to protest. They did not beat any police officers. They did not storm and enter the federal building. One group was called patriots by Trump. The others are called insurrectionists by him. The definition seems to depend on whether they are protesting for him or against his policies.
John Kautz
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Craig Wunderlich, West side
As our 2nd voyage into Trumpism continues, I have reflected on other Republican Presidents who have left office under bad conditions.
1. Trump 45 left in the middle of a COVID pandemic which he denied and had the economy spiraling into recession. Biden rescued us.
2. G.W. Bush and Cheney had run the economy close to recession with tax cuts and an immoral war. Both were very unpopular. Obama rescued us.
3. George HW Bush promised no taxes to address the Reagan-induced deficit. He raised taxes anyway was defeated and Clinton rescued the economy.
4. Ford pardoned Nixon for his many crimes, could not slow down inflation and lost his only election to Carter.
I have to wonder what is in store for the tariff guy.
Craig Wunderlich
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Christi Driggs, Northwest side
Two Sunday letters gripe about First Amendment freedoms.
The first complains about the ASPCA and accuses it of misrepresentation in their footage of abused animals. “While these images may have been true once, but not any more (sic).”
This is ridiculous. Just ask PACC, the Humane Society, and the many great rescue groups in Tucson. He would learn this abuse is ongoing.
The second letter is outraged over the dark satire, “Your Friends and Neighbors,” which he says should not be tolerated! He wants Apple to apologize because people of faith deserve respect.
Well, everybody deserves respect, and so does the freedom represented by the First Amendment. Neither man has to donate money, nor watch a show he doesn’t like. No one is forcing them, and they don’t get to force others. The Constitution is under attack. Sly gripes like these try to sound logical and moralistic, but they are really an assault on freedom.
Christi Driggs
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Pete Kasper, Foothills
In his recent column Ashley Nunes wrote that Trump was right to roll back electric vehicle subsidies. He's right, but why stop there? Why not eliminate all the other subsidies to the automobile and fuel businesses as well? The corporate average fuel economy rule, the "chicken tax," the intangible drilling cost preference, the percentage depletion rule, and the tariffs that come and go according to the President's mood come to mind. Washington has been distorting this market for decades to the country's detriment. We would be better off letting technology and consumer preferences determine what kind of vehicles we drive.
Pete Kasper
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Rudy Roszak, Oro Valley
Although Putin is a dictator, his powers are not limitless. He needs the support of the oligarchs, the military leaders, and lastly, the general public.
Presently he has lost an estimated over one million soldiers in the War with Ukraine. It has been a major burden to his economy. The sanctions in place also hurt his country.
If in the future he experiences major hits to Russian cities, military installations, etc., not to mention civilian deaths from drones, the abovementioned forces may unite to cause his downfall.
Rudy Roszak
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Philip Reinecker, East side
Every day the newspaper and air waves are filled with war, strikes, a do-nothing congress, a President who bullies, blusters and crushes anyone who would dare disagree with his omnipotence. Next the Arizona Wildcats played the high-flying North Carolina Tar Heels in baseball's Super regional and promptly lost 18-2. My hopes were dashed and I admit that I, a lifelong Wildcat fan, expected more of the same. But no, the Wildcats got off the mat, beat the #5 North Carolina squad twice in two days and qualified for the upcoming College World Series. Momentarily my faith in humanity is restored. There is good after all. Thanks Wildcats, your proved what real mettle can do. Good luck in Omaha. Now if only our Congress would see and heed.
Philip Reinecker
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Donald Plummer, Northwest side
On May 4, 1970, at Kent State, the Ohio National Guard used their firepower to suppress a peaceful protest about war in SE Asia and the draft.
Four were killed, nine wounded one disabled for life.
Trump has mobilized the California National Guard to put down a protest about how immigration is being enforced.
In 2020 he asked if they could shoot protesters in the legs.
The Administration has talked about using US Army and Marine Corps to put down protesters.
It should be noted the US Army and Marine Corps are trained to kill people, not do crowd control.
Remember Kent State.
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mary Elizabeth Potts, East side
If President Trump thinks spitting on police and the National Guard by protesters in LA is illegal, then why did he pardon the January 6th protesters? Those people spit, bear-sprayed and beat the Capitol and Metro police in D.C. You can't have it both ways.
Mary Elizabeth Potts
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mary Zimmerman, SaddleBrooke
Dr. Oz, the man in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, defends the major cuts to these programs by saying the work requirements give people a chance "to prove they matter." Apparently, you only have value if you are working a meaningless job, if indeed, you can get one at all. It ignores the reality that most recipients who can work, do. There seem to be no strings attached to the billionaires looking forward to their tax cuts. After all, in Trump world, they mater.
Mary Zimmerman
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Steve Rasmussen, Foothills
Once a politician has successfully discredited the truth in society, then the only thing left to believe is unreality. This technique has been well documented by experts on totalitarianism like Hannah Arendt and Jason Stanley. Broken nations will easily accept grandiose promises from their new hero and savior. He becomes their last/best hope for the nation, so they want to believe him to be honest and not deceptive. This was the trap that befell Italy and Germany 100 years ago. Their new truth was not based on fact, but emotion. They got caught up in the frenzy created by their leader. Now, in our modern times, we see 47 using the same technique; creating his own truth for people to believe; banking on peoples’ desperation.
Since 47 is a known sociopath, he can easily create his own reality to support his grandiose self-image. This is why I believe that he thinks he won the 2020 election. He’s living an illusion. Don’t get sucked into it.
Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Martha Brooks, Green Valley
Loran Hancock, I agree with you 100%, they have these sad videos of animals with that angel music, in the meantime the CEO of ASPCA pockets over a million dollars a year, he should take half of his income and donate it to the ASPCA. In the meantime, I support the Animal League of Green Valley AZ, where we are all volunteers and love it.
Martha Brooks
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Loyal JOHNSON, Oro Valley
The common definition of a peaceful protest is one where a group of interested people gather to protest some action. The demonstrators may well use signs, sing, use bullhorns, and even shout, even obscenities. However, these demonstrators adhere to instructions from law enforcement and do not damage property. The Democratic Party’s definition of a mostly peaceful demonstration allows masked demonstrators to hurl rocks and other missiles at law enforcement, damage and burn government and personal property, halt public traffic, and block access to buildings. It is interesting to watch Democratic politicians state that the demonstrations are mostly peaceful even though television footage clearly illuminates burning cars, blocked freeways, and attacks on police. It does demonstrate that the Democrats will do and say anything as long as it supports their perverted view of what our country should be. The long-accepted rule of law is foreign to Democrats. And it makes one wonder why this does not occur in Texas, Florida, and other states. Possibly adherence to the law.
Loyal JOHNSON
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Robert Gavlak, Midtown
Why do devotees of religion get so defensive when their faith is challenged? One might hope that such a committed investment in absolute certainty should reward one with a more stolid constitution. And why does religion require so much defending? Perhaps because its history is so rife with abuses — from the atrocities of the Crusades to the extreme fundamentalism of today — that so amply illustrate that blind faith has never been an infallible guide to moral behavior.
Demanding an apology for subjecting one’s pet devotion to ridicule rings especially hollow when one reflects on the thousands of historical events for which religion owes the world an apology.
What is the concept of blasphemy but a contrived convenience that grants religion dispensation from the normal criticisms of all other human endeavors? In a country that values free speech no institution is immune from rebuke or ridicule, especially when deemed to deserve it. Rather than edging toward making undemocratic demands, how about exercising that time-honored recourse for voicing displeasure: boycott.
Robert Gavlak
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Oracle Road wildlife crossing
I am glad conservationists are so satisfied with the Oracle Road wildlife crossing that they would like a more expensive crossing of I-10 built. If I read your article correctly, we the taxpayers paid $9 million for 27,297 crossings and one nice picture of a lynx. That is $329.07 per crossing. That is something I am going to consider every time I hit a pothole. I have a perfectly adequate lynx picture from my backyard.
Davis Reinhart
North side
Data-center secrets
I was amazed (and sickened) when I read the Star reporting about the top-secret project under consideration by the Pima Board of Supervisors. The “prize” would be 8-10 data centers. Based on news reports I have read, these centers have two things in common: They use a huge amount of water and electricity and provide few permanent jobs. The Board of Supervisors have little to no information about the entity that will own the land. We have water issues that boggle the mind and challenges in electric supply. The Star article mentioned other possible uses. The board should be looking there.
Bruce Wysocki
Southwest side
Secretive plan for data center
It’s very troubling Tucson citizens and supervisors are denied information (plausible deniability?) regarding massive developments that will impact our water supply, energy and other consequences. Many such data centers require more water and energy than small cities.
War-hawk Senator Mark Kelly intends to make Tucson a water-hog defense and biomedical hub. There have been no read-out specifics on Mayor Romero’s trip to Qatar other than Tucson is “open for business.” What kind of business — like water-depleting Saudi companies that exploited lax groundwater rules? A friend inquired with a construction worker about a large eastside construction project and was told it’s under “non-disclosure agreement.”
Out-of-state or international investors and captured politicians don’t care about inevitable water shortages prompting “toilet to tap,” long-distance, exorbitantly expensive desalinization possibilities, necessitated power-grid upgrades all charged to taxpayers with degraded quality of life. Thanks to Tony Davis and Arizona Daily Star for coverage. Transparency is essential for a realistic discussion of consequences.
Candace Charvoz Frank
West side
First Amendment rights
Two Sunday letters gripe about First Amendment freedoms.
The first complains about the ASPCA and accuses it of misrepresentation in their footage of abused animals. “While these images may have been true once, but not any more (sic).”
This is ridiculous. Just ask PACC, the Humane Society, and the many great rescue groups in Tucson. He would learn this abuse is ongoing.
The second letter is outraged over the dark satire, “Your Friends and Neighbors,” which he says should not be tolerated! He wants Apple to apologize because people of faith deserve respect.
Well, everybody deserves respect, and so does the freedom represented by the First Amendment. Neither man has to donate money, nor watch a show he doesn’t like. No one is forcing them, and they don’t get to force others. The Constitution is under attack. Sly gripes like these try to sound logical and moralistic, but they are really an assault on freedom.
Christi Driggs
Northwest side
ASPCA
Loran Hancock, I agree with you 100%, they have these sad videos of animals with that angel music, in the meantime the CEO of ASPCA pockets over a million dollars a year, he should take half of his income and donate it to the ASPCA. In the meantime, I support the Animal League of Green Valley AZ, where we are all volunteers and love it.
Martha Brooks
Green Valley
Less outrage, more facts
As CFSD Board President, I am dedicated to addressing constituent concerns while also correcting misinformation that undermines our district’s integrity.
Bart Pemberton is a twice-rejected CFSD board candidate whose school-age children are not district students. While he justifiably exercised his right to publicly complain about a teacher’s deviation from prescribed curriculum in teaching a “sex-education” class, what was not fair game — and what we would never teach our students is acceptable to do — is omit important facts that bear on the credibility of one’s position. In this case, those facts include: (1) the teacher was promptly directed to adhere strictly to approved curriculum and exclude personal beliefs from instruction; and (2) the teacher will not be returning to CFSD next school year.
This appears to be yet another effort by Dr. Pemberton and his group of longtime CFSD critics to erode public confidence in CFSD and the current board, in the hopes that “the third time’s the charm” in next year’s election.
Amy Krauss
Foothills
Historical political unreality
Once a politician has successfully discredited the truth in society, then the only thing left to believe is unreality. This technique has been well documented by experts on totalitarianism like Hannah Arendt and Jason Stanley. Broken nations will easily accept grandiose promises from their new hero and savior. He becomes their last/best hope for the nation, so they want to believe him to be honest and not deceptive. This was the trap that befell Italy and Germany 100 years ago. Their new truth was not based on fact, but emotion. They got caught up in the frenzy created by their leader. Now, in our modern times, we see 47 using the same technique; creating his own truth for people to believe; banking on peoples’ desperation.
Since 47 is a known sociopath, he can easily create his own reality to support his grandiose self-image. This is why I believe that he thinks he won the 2020 election. He’s living an illusion. Don’t get sucked into it.
Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
Buyer’s remorse
MAGA GOP Representative Juan Ciscomani, from AZ CD6, recently signed a letter along with 12 other GOP representatives asking Senate Republicans to “fix” the big beautiful budget bill. The signees are hoping senators will bail them out for disastrous provisions in the bill that would eliminate clean energy initiatives. The letter contends that, “This approach jeopardizes ongoing development, discourages long-term investment, and could significantly delay or cancel energy infrastructure projects across the country.” Despite making promises including not cutting Medicaid and protecting clean energy tax credits, Ciscomani voted to cut both. The House budget bill passed by a single vote including Ciscomani’s.
Jean Meconi
Oro Valley
Who matters to Republicans
Dr. Oz, the man in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, defends the major cuts to these programs by saying the work requirements give people a chance “to prove they matter.” Apparently, you only have value if you are working a meaningless job, if indeed, you can get one at all. It ignores the reality that most recipients who can work, do. There seem to be no strings attached to the billionaires looking forward to their tax cuts. After all, in Trump world, they matter.
Mary Zimmerman
SaddleBrooke
Water-rate increase for foothills residents
The Superior Court of Arizona granted summary judgment to Pima County when it challenged the action that the city did not use “cost data” when setting the rates as provided by Arizona state law. The city lost and paid legal expenses but did not pay the money back to ratepayers.
The city seems to have unlimited funds to hire their experts and attorneys, plus having all the water distribution information. Foothills residents have no vote, no options for getting their water elsewhere, and no organization for challenging a proceeding.
The current system is a regional interconnected system without discrete assets that specifically belong to or support only one user group. “It is clear Tucson serves areas that cost more to serve than the foothills. This issue is not about saving water or cost of service. It is about equity for the foothills. The city has excluded government entities, the tribal government, and others, not because of service cost, but because of politics.
Dave Locey
Foothills
Spitting
If President Trump thinks spitting on police and the National Guard by protesters in LA is illegal, then why did he pardon the January 6th protesters? Those people spit, bear-sprayed and beat the Capitol and Metro police in D.C. You can’t have it both ways.
Mary Elizabeth Potts
East side
Lawless use of military
On May 4, 1970, at Kent State, the Ohio National Guard used their firepower to suppress a peaceful protest about war in SE Asia and the draft.
Four were killed, nine wounded, one disabled for life.
Trump has mobilized the California National Guard to put down a protest about how immigration is being enforced.
In 2020 he asked if they could shoot protesters in the legs.
The administration has talked about using US Army and Marine Corps to put down protesters.
It should be noted the US Army and Marine Corps are trained to kill people, not do crowd control.
Remember Kent State.
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
A light in the darkness
Every day the newspaper and air waves are filled with war, strikes, a do-nothing congress, a President who bullies, blusters and crushes anyone who would dare disagree with his omnipotence. Next the Arizona Wildcats played the high-flying North Carolina Tar Heels in baseball’s Super regional and promptly lost 18-2. My hopes were dashed, and I admit that I, a lifelong Wildcat fan, expected more of the same. But no, the Wildcats got off the mat, beat the #5 North Carolina squad twice in two days and qualified for the upcoming College World Series. Momentarily my faith in humanity is restored. There is good after all. Thanks Wildcats, your proved what real mettle can do. Good luck in Omaha. Now if only our Congress would see and heed.
Philip Reinecker
East side
Putin’s power is not unlimited
Although Putin is a dictator, his powers are not limitless. He needs the support of the oligarchs, the military leaders, and lastly, the general public.
Presently he has lost an estimated over one million soldiers in the War with Ukraine. It has been a major burden to his economy. The sanctions in place also hurt his country.
If in the future he experiences major hits to Russian cities, military installations, etc., not to mention civilian deaths from drones, the abovementioned forces may unite to cause his downfall.
Rudy Roszak
Oro Valley
EV subsidies
In his recent column Ashley Nunes wrote that Trump was right to roll back electric vehicle subsidies. He’s right, but why stop there? Why not eliminate all the other subsidies to the automobile and fuel businesses as well? The corporate average fuel economy rule, the “chicken tax,” the intangible drilling cost preference, the percentage depletion rule, and the tariffs that come and go according to the President’s mood come to mind. Washington has been distorting this market for decades to the country’s detriment. We would be better off letting technology and consumer preferences determine what kind of vehicles we drive.
Pete Kasper
Foothills
Republican history
As our 2nd voyage into Trumpism continues, I have reflected on other Republican Presidents who have left office under bad conditions.
1. Trump 45 left in the middle of a COVID pandemic which he denied and had the economy spiraling into recession. Biden rescued us.
2. G.W. Bush and Cheney had run the economy close to recession with tax cuts and an immoral war. Both were very unpopular. Obama rescued us.
3. George HW Bush promised no taxes to address the Reagan-induced deficit. He raised taxes anyway was defeated and Clinton rescued the economy.
4. Ford pardoned Nixon for his many crimes, could not slow down inflation and lost his only election to Carter.
I have to wonder what is in store for the tariff guy.
Craig Wunderlich
West side
Leaders should earn votes, not inherit them
I’m a 17-year-old student in Tucson and an intern with Daniel Hernandez’s campaign for Congress. Although I can’t vote in the July 15th special election for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, I’m paying attention because this race will shape the future I’m growing up in. I support Daniel because he has a real record of delivering results. He helped raise $20 million for Arizona public schools and fought to protect programs like Medicaid and Social Security, which many families in our district rely on. He also fights for reproductive rights, public safety, and working-class communities. In this race, name recognition matters more than it should. But elections should be about action, not just familiarity. We deserve leaders who earn our votes through service, not family ties. On July 15th, I hope CD-7 voters choose a candidate who has consistently delivered for us — not one who has inherited a platform.
Hannah Levin
Foothills
When is it a peaceful protest?
President Trump labeled January 6 a peaceful protest. He watched TV for hours while police officers and Capitol security personnel were viciously attacked. He dawdled before he allowed additional military presence. And recently he pardoned attackers who were serving prison sentences. This weekend he labeled the protest in LA an insurrection. He authorized force to be used against these citizens exercising their right to protest. They did not beat any police officers. They did not storm and enter the federal building. One group was called patriots by Trump. The others are called insurrectionists by him. The definition seems to depend on whether they are protesting for him or against his policies.
John Kautz
Midtown
- Terri Hicks, Northwest side
In response to the letter writer from Green Valley who said Trump/Musk are “at least trying to attack spending,” I say the attack is directed at the American people. Those who need Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and safety nets are being grossly affected by the changes made by the current administration. With the BBB (big budget blow-up) and all of the back-door deals being made the wealthy will get wealthier, the poor will get poorer, the uneducated will remain uneducated, and still, the deficit will explode to appease Trump and his sycophants. Government should be more efficient, and there are ways to address fraud, waste, and abuse, but our government is not a business, and consideration for “we the people” must be present when changes are considered. Our government is here to serve the people, not wannabe autocrats and zillionaires. By far, the biggest fraud, waste, and abuse America is currently experiencing is this administration, and not even DOGE can remedy that. So we must in 2026.
Terri Hicks
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Rick Cohn, West side
In the past, Trump lauded and then selected some fawning clown to do his bidding until the clown unwittingly became his scapegoat when Trump needed a fall guy.
This round, Musk beat Trump to the punch. Knowing that Trump was going to throw him to the wolves, Musk acted quickly. Have you seen the picture that Musk has posted on the internet of Trump partying with Epstein? This sorry saga has just gotten very interesting.
Given the murky history of Musk's journey to U.S. citizenship, he should not be surprised if ICE agents show up at his front door while posing as Amazon deliverymen at zero dark thirty tomorrow morning.
Rick Cohn
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Uwe Manthei, Midtown
Since October 2024, I have been trying to get this published in print: President Trump admires Victor Orban, Hungary's Prime Minister. Since 2010, Orban has ruled with a 2/3 parliamentary majority.
Since then, electoral reform reduced the number of parliamentary seats, reorganized precincts, and terminated a second ballot, the “Balancing Mandate.” The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed that elections in 2014 and 2018 were “free but not fair.”
Orban’s new constitution curtails judicial independence by declaring tax, financial laws, and constitutional changes untouchable by the courts. Minorities (Roma) are no longer members of the Hungarian nation. Courts can use precedents only when they were established after the constitutional reforms.
The European Commission has filed suits before the European Court accusing the Orban government of curtailing judicial independence, freedom of expression, academic freedom, protection of minorities, and fundamental rights of asylum-seekers and refugees.
Public media laws limit the protection of journalistic sources and place public media under a National Supervisory Authority.
Uwe Manthei
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Nancy Jacques, Northeast side
Despicable. Not just disgusting. Trump wants $3.7 trillion in tax cuts, exacerbating the move of $50 trillion from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1% in 40 years. Trump’s cuts estimated $2.4 trillion debt doesn’t factor in future items we already face. Upgrades at airports like Newark? About $174 billion for one. Climate change events now average $1 billion every three weeks. Who’ll pay? Not insurance, FEMA or states.
Trump and Republicans want to subsidize corporations and the rich and you pay via raising expenses. Why cut IRA, empowering Americans on climate change, affecting 130,000 employed? Cuts to education: $351 billion. IRS: down 18,200 staff causing loss of $168 billion annually. Smart, huh? Cut $900 billion in Medicaid and SNAP. So moral.
$3.7 trillion reduces science, education, healthcare, safety, employment, diplomacy. Americans get sicker, less safe and hungry. USAID cuts already have killed 300,000. This is your Republican Party! Are you proud? Call all Senators to vote no.
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jean Getek, Foothills
Mr. Hancock, in his most recent LTE, asks what "specific freedoms has one lost with Trump in office". I would be interested in knowing what freedoms we have gained? Women's right to an abortion is being taken away; unless you are a white (mostly male) person, your voting rights are in jeopardy; non-criminal immigrants are being deported including 18-years-olds who were born in this country or came to America as babies; foreign students are being denied the freedom to attend America's universities. Is this freedom? Please explain, Mr. Hancock.
Jean Getek
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Fred Thompson, Midtown
I am just so sick and tired of the man in office harping on Biden's use of an Autopen to sign things and he said himself that he could just think of classified information and it should be enough to declassify them. He is such a crass and vindictive individual who has no respect for anyone or anything. Now that's my opinion.
Fred Thompson
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Tell me something good
Each day, I turn to the LTE page of the paper. It’s like a verbal train wreck. As much as I don’t want to read the letters, I can’t turn away, which often leads to despondency and perhaps a glass or two of pinot noir. I challenge our community of readers and writers to flood the Star editors with feel-good anecdotes, enthusiastic shout-outs, and warm and fuzzy tales of our fair city.
Allow me to begin the process.
The Thursday sports section of the paper shouted the headline “Toy Story.” I usually just take a cursory glance at this section, but was intrigued. Michael Lev unfolds the genuine, heartwarming story of a new, pregame ritual which involves a player revealing a Hot Wheels vehicle, to be presented to the player of the game at its conclusion. This simple gesture ignited the team, leading to an eight-game winning streak.
Coincidence, or brilliant strategy? You decide, but I know the story brightened my day.
Wendy Smith
East side
Legislating ignorance
Re: AZ Legislature Oks bill to make teachers liable for ‘antisemitism’.
What this bill will do is destroy our schools by glorifying ignorance and making teachers liable for any statement they make that touches on Jewish people. I could think of hundreds of true statements that are not antisemitic about the war between Israelis and the Palestinian people, which could be misconstrued by ignorance as antisemitic. For example, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert condemns the war on Gaza as a humanitarian crisis and blames Netanyahu and his cabinet for comments that he labels as war-crimes statements. Any teacher saying the same thing could be subject to a lawsuit as making an antisemitic comment. Let the school systems solve their own problems. Our legislature has a track record for interfering with and inadequate funding for our schools. No wonder surveys rank Arizona as the worst state in the country for public education.
Michael Mount
Foothills
Point of view vs. personality
I support the Arizona Daily Star’s practice of publishing letters to the editor from diverse voices, including days when a balance of viewpoints appears skewed to one ideology. Readers should determine the value of the perspective based on facts and logic regardless of the author. Readers should pay attention to the point of view, not personality.
Roger Shanley
East side
Use of Autopen
I am just so sick and tired of the man in office harping on Biden’s use of an Autopen to sign things, and he said himself that he could just think of classified information, and it should be enough to declassify them. He is such a crass and vindictive individual who has no respect for anyone or anything. Now that’s my opinion.
Fred Thompson
Midtown
Freedoms
Mr. Hancock, in his most recent LTE, asks what “specific freedoms has one lost with Trump in office”. I would be interested in knowing what freedoms we have gained? Women’s right to an abortion is being taken away; unless you are a white (mostly male) person, your voting rights are in jeopardy; non-criminal immigrants are being deported including 18-years-olds who were born in this country or came to America as babies; foreign students are being denied the freedom to attend America’s universities. Is this freedom? Please explain, Mr. Hancock.
Jean Getek
Foothills
Following the Hungarian blueprint?
Since October 2024, I have been trying to get this published in print: President Trump admires Victor Orban, Hungary’s Prime Minister. Since 2010, Orban has ruled with a 2/3 parliamentary majority.
Since then, electoral reform reduced the number of parliamentary seats, reorganized precincts, and terminated a second ballot, the “Balancing Mandate.” The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed that elections in 2014 and 2018 were “free but not fair.”
Orban’s new constitution curtails judicial independence by declaring tax, financial laws, and constitutional changes untouchable by the courts. Minorities (Roma) are no longer members of the Hungarian nation. Courts can use precedents only when they were established after the constitutional reforms.
The European Commission has filed suits before the European Court accusing the Orban government of curtailing judicial independence, freedom of expression, academic freedom, protection of minorities, and fundamental rights of asylum-seekers and refugees.
Public media laws limit the protection of journalistic sources and place public media under a National Supervisory Authority.
Uwe Manthei
Midtown
No cancel culture, please
I’ve seen some LTEs lately complaining about a few writers with pro-Trump/conservative opinions who are published frequently. I can usually tell midway through the first sentence of an LTE it is one of these authors. Apparently, there are fewer of them, so they get more exposure. Personally, I look forward to different perspectives and am glad they actually read the paper and submit their views. I don’t want an echo chamber. If only “pro-liberal” LTEs are published, it negates the whole “Diversity of thought is critical for democracy” point of the opinion page. It’s up to the reader to sort opinion vs fact. I want to keep trying to understand where people are coming from ... or going to. Keep ’em coming.
Dianne Lethaby
East side
Very interesting
In the past, Trump lauded and then selected some fawning clown to do his bidding until the clown unwittingly became his scapegoat when Trump needed a fall guy.
This round, Musk beat Trump to the punch. Knowing that Trump was going to throw him to the wolves, Musk acted quickly. Have you seen the picture that Musk has posted on the internet of Trump partying with Epstein? This sorry saga has just gotten very interesting.
Given the murky history of Musk’s journey to U.S. citizenship, he should not be surprised if ICE agents show up at his front door while posing as Amazon deliverymen at zero dark thirty tomorrow morning.
Rick Cohn
West side
Cure for Trump Derangement Syndrome
I never really understood Trump Derangement Syndrome until someone explained it that DJT is perfect, and my “hate” toward Donald must be manifested in some sick psychotic delusions, therefore I have TDS.
Recovery from the insanity of TDS, it’s simple:
Agree that Trump has been persecuted more than any human ever, and has defeated every charge against him, and he speaks only the truth.
Believe that he gave up his successful business to serve as your savior. He has said himself he’s “The Chosen One.’’ While we wait for his “second coming,” we turn a blind eye to his cruelty to immigrants.
His vision to rebuild Gaza, as well as shady business deals to enrich himself, can’t be corruption, because he said so.
That’s a pill too big for me to swallow. Therefore, I have TDS.
Larry Robinson
Northwest side
Affordable housing
I’ve been mulling over a recent article announcing a new high-rise to be built at Campbell and Speedway and a follow-up by editorial by Louie Christensen welcoming the project. The computer-generated picture of the future building shows us an enormous building of uninspiring architecture. It will obstruct mountain views, and is unlike anything else in the area, but aside from that, all 395 units will be rented at market rate to students and young professionals. The development was approved by the City Council, the same folks who say they are so concerned about the lack of affordable housing in Tucson. Market rate is not affordable housing. Why can’t the city of Tucson require new developments to provide some percentage of their units to fill this pressing need?
Gayle Jandrey
Northwest side
Debt on the backs of regular people
In response to the letter writer from Green Valley who said Trump/Musk are “at least trying to attack spending,” I say the attack is directed at the American people. Those who need Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and safety nets are being grossly affected by the changes made by the current administration. With the BBB (big budget blow-up) and all of the back-door deals being made, the wealthy will get wealthier, the poor will get poorer, the uneducated will remain uneducated, and still, the deficit will explode to appease Trump and his sycophants. Government should be more efficient, and there are ways to address fraud, waste, and abuse, but our government is not a business, and consideration for “we the people” must be present when changes are considered. Our government is here to serve the people, not wannabe autocrats and zillionaires. By far, the biggest fraud, waste, and abuse America is currently experiencing is this administration, and not even DOGE can remedy that. So we must in 2026.
Terri Hicks
Northwest side
Despicable tax cuts of the BBB
Despicable. Not just disgusting. Trump wants $3.7 trillion in tax cuts, exacerbating the move of $50 trillion from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1% in 40 years. Trump’s cuts estimated $2.4 trillion debt doesn’t factor in future items we already face. Upgrades at airports like Newark? About $174 billion for one. Climate change events now average $1 billion every three weeks. Who’ll pay? Not insurance, FEMA or states.
Trump and Republicans want to subsidize corporations and the rich and you pay via raising expenses. Why cut IRA, empowering Americans on climate change, affecting 130,000 employed? Cuts to education: $351 billion. IRS: down 18,200 staff causing loss of $168 billion annually. Smart, huh? Cut $900 billion in Medicaid and SNAP. So moral.
$3.7 trillion reduces science, education, healthcare, safety, employment, diplomacy. Americans get sicker, less safe and hungry. USAID cuts already have killed 300,000. This is your Republican Party! Are you proud? Call all Senators to vote no.
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
- Barbara Benjamin, Foothills
Let's stop kidding ourselves pretending that Trump is taking us back to our "golden age."
In fact, he is taking us back to the 1830s and 1840s when the Locofocos and Knownothings ran rampant. It was a time when German and Irish immigrants were persecuted for being foreigners and Catholic. And what's happening is not all Trump's fault: We have had a do-nothing Congress for decades. There is no immigration system. Even the quota system was better than nothing. Whatever our political opinions, it is undeniable that we need a real immigration system and not one that admits only those who are acceptable to Trump. We need to pressure Congress and hold our representatives accountable. The indiscriminate deportation we witness daily is a shameful reflection on our country -- or is it a mirror of who we really are?
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Wade Thompson, Midtown
I am dismayed about a recent episode of the Apple TV+ series "Your Friends & Neighbors," in which characters break into a Catholic church and tabernacle, remove consecrated hosts and desecrate and treat them as a snack, mockingly mimicking Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This scene is deeply offensive to Catholics who revere the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
Such portrayals are not mere artistic expression but a direct attack on the beliefs of over a billion Catholics worldwide. The Eucharist is not a prop or a symbol to be trivialized; it is central to our faith. This sacrilegious depiction shows a lack of respect that would likely not be tolerated if directed at other faiths’ sacred practices.
I urge Apple to issue a public apology. Additionally, I call on media outlets to foster greater sensitivity toward all religious beliefs and avoid normalizing such disrespectful portrayals. Catholics and all people of faith deserve respect, not mockery, in popular media.
Wade Thompson
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Is this who we really are?
Let’s stop kidding ourselves pretending that Trump is taking us back to our “golden age.”
In fact, he is taking us back to the 1830s and 1840s when the Locofocos and Know-nothings ran rampant. It was a time when German and Irish immigrants were persecuted for being foreigners and Catholic. And what’s happening is not all Trump’s fault: We have had a do-nothing Congress for decades. There is no immigration system. Even the quota system was better than nothing. Whatever our political opinions, it is undeniable that we need a real immigration system and not one that admits only those who are acceptable to Trump. We need to pressure Congress and hold our representatives accountable. The indiscriminate deportation we witness daily is a shameful reflection on our country — or is it a mirror of who we really are?
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Bill’s threat to legal system
Trump’s ‘Big Barbarous Bill’ is a small addition to the cruelty this administration and its selfish, inhumane MAGATES propagate.
There is more innocuous writing deep in the bill that would completely emasculate the Supreme Court, where the criminals hoped it would be overlooked by us. Totally unconstitutional. It is a trillion-dollar barrier to challenging his policies in any court, including SCOTUS.
It prevents courts from charging Trump and other government officials with contempt of court when he disobeys court orders. This means they lose their ability to enforce orders blocking unlawful Trump policies, as they have done 190 times. “We don’t need your stinking laws.” The bill also prevents court-ordered and national injunctions from acting to oppose harm. If passed, judges will no longer be able to find government officials in contempt.
If they disobey, they will be fined, sanctioned or imprisoned.
Litigants would have to post a bond equal to lost grant income (sometimes in the trillions?) to pursue a legitimate issue.
Sheldon Metz
Northeast side
Human development confusion
Quotes from a CFSD high school health teacher in class in 2025:
“There’s a few ways you can transition when it comes to your sexuality. All right, so, first just letting people know [a minor announcing he or she is “transgender”]. What would be the next step? Taking more of a feminine name. Starting to dress female rather than male. OK, excellent!”
“What would be the next progression, then? Starting alterations physically ... starting out with hormones, and then, eventually, probably having surgery, right?”
“The government is saying that children cannot transition. Could your parents make the exception before 18? How do you think most parents are going to feel? Yeah, they’re probably going to resist it. So that becomes definitely a challenge.”
“You know, most parents aren’t understanding, aren’t accepting or whatever.”
Governing board questions:
1. Do the assertions quoted above align with CFSD’s “non-discrimination” policy?
2. Do those same assertions align with the CFSD health curriculum?
3. Which governing board members agree with those assertions?
Bart Pemberton
Northwest side
ASPCA manipulation
Saw a commercial this morning from ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and they showed images of mistreated dogs with comments about how hot it is outside and how dry the water bowls are and have been for a while. It then occurred to me that this commercial was an attempt by the ASPCA to manipulate my emotions, and I was disgusted that a supposedly honorable organization would stoop to misrepresentations to try and get me to donate money.
Here’s the problem: Treatment of animals like this is illegal, so if animals are found that have been mistreated, they can be confiscated. However, the commercial is showing images and pretending that these dogs are still in this captivity and ASPCA needs my money to set them free. The entire commercial is a lie, hoping I will send them money. While these images may have been true once, but not anymore. Should I send money to support a cause that misrepresents the facts for my money?
Loran Hancock
Northwest side
Threatened for opinions
I am receiving threats for publishing opinions in the Arizona Daily Star about King Trump’s America. Intimidation takes the form of anonymous phone calls, unsigned letters and emails. These communications are violent, malicious and involve the promise of physical force intended to harm me and my property. The warnings come from people protecting their “Supreme Ruler,” angry at interference with their takedown of America.
My journalistic career began in my early 20s, after serving in the Navy and while completing degrees in journalism and broadcasting. A drug lord in Gary, Indiana, threatened to shoot me and blow up the radio station where I broadcast. I was driven off the road and assaulted while serving as a police commissioner. On Capitol Hill, my congressman and I were consistently advised on where to go by hostile constituents.
Fear is emotional. It appears my opposition has prompted a survival response. My objective remains to advance democracy by initiating dialogue while listening to the opposition with respect and consideration. I will not bow.
Jerry Wilkerson
SaddleBrooke
Tucson leadership
Re: the recent complaint about Tucson leadership: I also fondly remember the small town I moved to some 50 years ago. Of the writer’s complaint about “Democratic leadership,” road repairs, police funding, and teacher’s salaries are a function of how much money our Republican Legislature allocates. Free buses reduce the traffic on our downtown streets. I have not seen any stats on how that translates to “crime being transported throughout the city.” Somehow, the image of a burglar waiting to catch a bus to escape a crime scene seems ludicrous. The homeless are in every town and city. That is a national problem, not only a “Tucson leadership” problem.
Morton Smith
Foothills
License, but not artistic
I am dismayed about a recent episode of the Apple TV+ series “Your Friends & Neighbors,” in which characters break into a Catholic church and tabernacle, remove consecrated hosts and desecrate and treat them as a snack, mockingly mimicking Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This scene is deeply offensive to Catholics who revere the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
Such portrayals are not mere artistic expression but a direct attack on the beliefs of over a billion Catholics worldwide. The Eucharist is not a prop or a symbol to be trivialized; it is central to our faith. This sacrilegious depiction shows a lack of respect that would likely not be tolerated if directed at other faiths’ sacred practices.
I urge Apple to issue a public apology. Additionally, I call on media outlets to foster greater sensitivity toward all religious beliefs and avoid normalizing such disrespectful portrayals. Catholics and all people of faith deserve respect, not mockery, in popular media.
Wade Thompson
Midtown
Fear-mongering isn’t journalism
As a retired Arizona teacher, I’ve noticed a steady decline in critical thinking skills, while trust in news outlets has eroded nationwide.
I want to confront the rising tide of fear-based clickbait masquerading as news. Sensationalism has replaced journalism — not to inform, but to provoke emotional, knee-jerk reactions. This corrodes democracy by dividing us with fear.
We can’t function as an informed electorate if every headline is designed to trigger anxiety without providing essential context. I urge readers to notice emotionally loaded terms like “outrage,” “devastating,” or “under siege” — words that create panic but rarely offer real solutions.
In 1933, FDR warned, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Today, fear is a marketing strategy.
To honor his wisdom, we must embed critical thinking and media literacy into education — just as fear has embedded itself into our news.
Mary Patton
Midtown
- Jeffrey McConnell, West side
Musk reported for work wearing a T-shirt saying "Tech Support," so when your internet isn’t working he’s the guy you call. On Day 1 there were no confirmed cabinet secretaries so DOGE answered directly to the president; it was ready, fire, and then aim. Oops.
Now DOGE is embedded within the cabinets and their secretaries are the ones accountable to the president for fixing what’s broken while the Office of Management and Budget now runs the show to connect the dots.
A special government employee can only serve for 130 days so this nerd who designs and builds cars, rockets, tunnels, satellites, Neuralink, and AI has been fired. His DOGE temporary advisory group will sunset on Independence Day 2026, their birthday gift to America on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Musk’s legacy is $1.2B per day of savings to taxpayers for each day of his service to our country.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Thad Appelman, Northwest side
For eight decades I have been a proud American. Ready to fight and die, if necessary to defend our democracy. Now, I read the paper, and see horrors like our beloved immigrants being ripped from their homes and sent to cruel foreign prisons. Programs canceled that helped foreign poor. Programs canceled that helped our poor. Things that doctors used to determine, like gender and need for procedures, being mandated by our own government. You know the list. So maybe I can hide as a Mexican? But I don’t speak Spanish; so maybe a Canadian? I do speak some Canadian, eh. Real Americans need somewhere to hide as our new leader fast-tracks his list of atrocities alongside Putin and Netanyahu. I never saw this coming, and am extremely saddened and enraged at having the title “American" snatched from me at my age. And for the MAGA who will gladly write LTEs in response … fire away.
Thad Appelman
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Dangerous move
On June 9, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy removed the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He evidently wishes to replace them with others more attuned to his anti-vaccine beliefs. This will of course render us blind to changes that occur as viruses “morph” into forms less sensitive to prior vaccines. In the last 200+ years of their existence, vaccines have saved billions of lives. Most recently the COVID vaccines stopped the worst pandemic in 100 years. They were developed in record time and have proven safe and effective. This is personal for me: I had 7 patients who died as a result of COVID-19. Four of them died before there was an effective vaccine. But 3 of them died because they refused the vaccine — putting their trust in social-media derived witchcraft and the disinformation promoted by Donald Trump. Mr. Kennedy is entitled to his own beliefs. But he is not entitled to put the whole nation at risk because of his beliefs.
Abraham R. Byrd III
North side
‘Coal just can’t compete’
What a bunch of ignorant disinformation, praising China for its solar panel production (and presumably helping with the climate). The reality is that China is not only not shutting down coal-fired plants but accelerating their installation. China has now 1147 coal-fired plants producing 26% of the global carbon. The US plants have reduced the carbon emission by 28%. So please continue using coal and stop making China rich by buying their solar panels.
Ihor Kunasz
Northwest side
Happy Father’s Day
Apache Junction police officer Gabe Facio’s family won’t be celebrating Father’s Day this Sunday, June 15th. Instead they will be mourning his death as he was shot and killed in the line of duty on June 3. Officer Facio’s wife and two children now face life without the most important person in their lives. A man who was kind to the homeless, respectful in service and brave in the face of danger. My condolences to his family and his agency. With my partner I faced a robbery suspect armed with a shotgun who simply wanted me to kill him. In those tense moments I was able to get him to drop the gun. We were fortunate. TPD officers face this challenge daily sometimes on their own. Chief Kasmar needs more police officers to better serve us and enhance community and police safety. To all the dads out there, happy Father’s Day, especially our police officers who risk all for us.
Richard Harper
Northeast side
Flag Day
Saturday, June 14th has always been listed as Flag Day. It was my mother’s birthday. I fly the flag to honor her and her service in WWII as a Navy Wave as well as my father who served in the Navy. I also fly an American Flag for what the flag has always represented. I encourage others, regardless of whose birthday it is or anniversary, if they can, to fly an American flag on Flag Day.
Al Wiruth
Southeast side
Manufactured crises?
In a recent LTE, Michael Mount speculates that Trump might declare a “national emergency” and cancel the November 2026 elections. Subsequently, following protests in Los Angeles against wholesale arrests by ICE of undocumented people, the president sent thousands of National Guard members, followed by hundreds of Marines, to counter what he referred to as “radical left protests” by “instigators and often paid troublemakers.” Governor Newsom did not request federal assistance and called Trump’s actions “a manufactured crisis.” Could it be there will be another pretext that will occur leading to the suspension of next year’s elections? As always, history is instructive. In January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany as part of a coalition of Nazis and conservative parties. On February 27, the Reichstag burned down, and while historians disagree on who started the fire, there is no disagreement that Hitler used it as an excuse to proceed with mass arrests of leftists and to strip all Germans of civil liberties. There would be no more free elections.
Dr. Michael Simon
Foothills
The Statue of Liberty
I recently heard it said that the way things are going in our country today we might as well give the Statue of Liberty back to France. I totally disagree. When in the NYC area and I see Lady Liberty in its harbor, I’m filled with a sense of pride and awe. Especially inspiring is the plaque at the base of the statue with a segment of the poem “The New Colossus” by poet Emma Lazarus. Lazarus wrote, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” Long may she stand as a symbol of hope and new beginnings for the downtrodden and oppressed of our world!
Tom Henderson
West side
Support for future wildlife crossings
Thank you for your recent article on the future of wildlife crossing structures in Southern Arizona. The current structures on Oracle Road have been a proven success and more are undoubtedly needed in order to connect the entire desert landscape. Tucson’s relationship with wildlife is special but must be stewarded properly for future generations to experience the same desert joy that we do.
Joshua Tashoff Downtown
Law is for ‘suckers and losers’
If Biden opened the borders, why did the Republicans say/do nothing? Because Biden was following the law. Republicans said nothing lest they expose themselves as ignorant and/or hypocritical. Republicans: law and order party?
The Cato Institute, a moderate right organization, reported 50+ immigrants of the 240 deported to El Salvador have a legal right to be in the USA. That’s why due process is important. The Republican fever dream of rampant immigrant crimes is not supported by facts. The 4th Amendment provides equal protection to all people in the USA. This protection is not afforded to citizens only. Trump’s administration is attempting to subjugate the 4th Amendment.
Trump is not attempting to deport the most violent. He is picking the low hanging fruit. In Trump’s dystopian nation, am I and other dissenters at risk of “disappearing?”
James Abels
Midtown
Ciscomani standing up for Medicaid
On behalf of the Southeast Arizona Economic Development Group, I want to extend sincere thanks to Congressman Juan Ciscomani for his visit with our membership during a recent luncheon and for touring Cochise County hospitals, including Benson Hospital.
In small rural communities like ours, healthcare access and economic stability are tightly intertwined. Congressman Ciscomani’s willingness to sit down with local leaders and listen to our concerns — especially regarding the devastating impact dismantling Medicaid would have on the San Pedro Valley — is deeply appreciated.
Particularly commendable was the Congressman’s explanation of how he worked to protect Medicaid resources in recent legislation. His thoughtful, transparent approach was both insightful and admirable. It is encouraging to see an elected official who is not only informed and engaged, but also accessible and responsive to those he serves.
We need leaders who understand that strong communities are built through presence and partnership — not from afar. Congressman Ciscomani’s engagement reminds us what representative leadership can and should look like.
George Scott Benson
I don’t understand
President Trump is being very heavy-handed regarding the ICE riots in LA, but he did nothing to protect our Congress during the January 6th riot. I welcome any and all to explain this to me.
Amy Barnard
East side
Hey Juan?
Hey Juan, what do you think about this No Kings thing? Are you for or against a Trump coronation? And on a related subject, are you for or against chucking democracy in favor of the authoritarian Trump governance? Tough choices for you, huh, Juan?
I can’t help wondering what your thoughts are on the First Amendment? Do you think it should be applicable to all Americans or just to the GOP? Trump certainly thinks that. Should we just dump it?
Juan, did you realize that to date you’ve voted the GOP line 94% of the time? And yet your constituency is basically 50/50. Why don’t you represent all of us, Juan?
Scott Lukomski
Northeast side
To love America
Donald Trump sitting behind the Resolute Desk, characterized people who oppose his military parade as “they hate America.”
I see it this way. To love America means to respect and defend the Constitution. To love America means to abide by the rule of law. To love America means to honor those who have served in our country’s military, especially those who have given their lives in the cause for freedom. To love America means to care enough to help fellow human beings who seek refuge from oppression, persecution, and poverty.
No, Mr. President, having a military parade marking the anniversary of the military, but also coincidentally on your birthday, is a page straight out of a narcissistic dictator’s handbook. There are various historical examples, and none of them are American.
So yes, Mr. President, I oppose your military parade. And ascribing to the above, I love America. You will find me and thousands more who also love America at local and national protests.
Frank P. Morello
Foothills
Military integrity
My father, BG Edwin Machen (USMA,1938; 1915-1999) was at the Pentagon in the sixties. He was offered a position to supervise fair housing for Black servicemen, and he refused it, based on his belief and oath that the mission of the military was to protect its citizens, not to further social justice. As a consequence he was passed over for future promotion.
At that time I worked for the Defense Communications Agency. One officer I served was Lieutenant Commander Samuel Gravely, the first Black man to achieve that rank. (He went on to Admiral.) One afternoon I gave him a ride to his home, in a lower middle class Black neighborhood. It was like the one our maid lived in years before, outside West Point. I was shocked, but Gravely, always a gentleman, brushed off my concern. My father’s behavior confused me.
Now I understand: my father had integrity. He wouldn’t do what he had not been commissioned to do. I hope our military has that integrity.
Sherry Machen
Green Valley
Re: Effects of open borders
Dowdall’s LTE is replete with misunderstandings and outright falsehoods. The Refugee Act of 1980 and other immigration laws permit an individual on US soil or at a port of entry to apply for asylum. Undocumented individuals are less likely to commit violent crimes than both US citizens and documented individuals. Undocumented individuals are not eligible for either TANF or SNAP. The allegation that “billions of dollars” of federal funds are being spent on undocumented individuals is simply false. The Fourteenth Amendment clearly affords all individuals, including undocumented individuals, due process and equal protection (Plyler v. Doe). The onslaught of unconstitutional and illegal actions by the president has forced the federal judiciary to fulfill its constitutional responsibility and repeatedly rule against the administration. I would note that the judges were appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents. Dowdall’s understanding of the Constitution leaves much to be desired. Letters like his only contribute to to the plethora of misinformation we are subjected to on a daily basis.
James Dolian
SaddleBrooke
Big Beautiful Parade
I watched the candidates in the debate to replace Raul Grijalva in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. One question asked was what they could do, if elected, as a member of the minority party. There is not much anyone could do, legislatively, with the MAGA loyalty/fear factor.
However, there is something every current member of Congress can do, and should do, or face a primary challenge. This Saturday, on Trump’s birthday, a military parade, “like never before” in the United States, will take place in Washington, D.C.
Trump has said that protesters at his parade will be met “with very big force.” Whatever he means, that means that every elected member of Congress with a (D) next to their name must be at his parade to peacefully protest the real threat to our democracy. That’s the least they can do.
Rick Singer
Oro Valley
Trump hypocrisy
During the 2020 presidential campaign Trump said as President he could not call in the National Guard without a request from the governor of the state. Yet in 2025 he does just that. His justification was the riots and danger to the police by the protesters of his immigration raids. On January 6, 2021, he waited 3 hours to call off the rioters threatening to hang the Vice President and the Speaker of the House, rioters who injured 140 D.C. police, and who did 40 to 50 million dollars’ worth of damage to our Capitol building and stopped the certification of the election by the Congress. This year he pardoned those same rioters. What was the difference in the two events? The January 6th rioters were supporting him; the protesters today are against his policy and are in a Democratic-controlled city and state.
Don Ries
Southeast side
I-10 wildlife crossing story
Thank you for reporting about the wildlife crossings, and how our county supports responsible development that considers wildlife.
The Oracle Road wildlife crossings are proving to be highly effective and hugely popular, and more crossings are needed to improve road safety, reduce wildlife and vehicle collisions, and support both wildlife — and human — transportation corridors.
I voted for the 2006 RTA Plan sales tax for the wildlife crossings, and for greater open space protection. The public’s vote and investment in more of both of these important things will lead to a healthier future for for the next generations. Wildlife crossings are great fixes to roads that are already built, but are not a substitute for regenerative development that includes open space protection.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment!
Barbara Rose
Northwest side
Data center threatens our water future
The Pima County Board of Supervisors shouldn’t approve the data center plan (“Project Blue”) without full transparency. It could consume up to 4 million gallons of water for cooling every day — roughly 1 in every 20 gallons Tucson Water delivers.
That’s as much as the entire town of Oro Valley uses.
These estimates, based on Google’s Mesa data center, highlight the project’s massive demands. Yet a nondisclosure agreement blocks supervisors and residents from knowing actual water requirements. How can elected officials make informed decisions about our desert community’s most precious resource while operating in the dark?
As co-founder of Sky Island AI, I recognize data centers’ importance to our digital economy. But as a member of the Tucson Citizens’ Water Advisory Committee, I’m deeply concerned that building them in the hot desert and allocating so much of our dwindling water supply for cooling is irresponsible.
We cannot afford to gamble our water security on secret deals. The Board should demand full disclosure or reject this proposal.
Ed Hendel
West side
What is the immigration plan?
How many more administrations is it going to take to pass comprehensive immigration legislation? What happens after we deport “all the bad people?” Do we have a plan or a number of immigrants we can take in seeking asylum? Both houses of Congress are so dysfunctional that the only thing they can agree on is when to adjourn for lunch. They have no plan. The president has no plan. He is more focused on getting free 747s and a military parade to showcase his dictatorial powers. There was a bipartisan bill last year that should have been passed, but then candidate Trump put the nix on it for political reasons. I am so fortunate that all my grandparents immigrated from Italy when America was a more welcoming nation. When the words on the Statue of Liberty still meant something. We used to be that nation.
Fred DiNoto
Northwest side
Protests
We have a right to protest but must obey laws while doing so. People who break laws while protesting are no longer protesting and can expect to be arrested. Elected officials are not fascists because they employ the police. If people do not like this they should obey laws while protesting.
Scott Thompson
East side
- Fred DiNoto, Northwest side
How many more administrations is it going to take to pass comprehensive immigration legislation? What happens after we deport "all the bad people"? Do we have a plan or a number of immigrants we can take in seeking asylum? Both houses of Congress are so dysfunctional that the only thing they can agree on is when to adjourn for lunch. They have no plan. The president has no plan. He is more focused on getting free 747s and a military parade to showcase his dictatorial powers. There was a bipartisan bill last year that should have been passed, but then candidate Trump put the nix on it for political reasons. I am so fortunate that all my grandparents immigrated from Italy when America was a more welcoming nation. When the words on the Statue of Liberty still meant something. We used to be that nation.
Fred DiNoto
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Scott Lukomski, Northeast side
Hey Juan, what do you think about this No Kings thing? Are you for or against a Trump coronation? And on a related subject, are you for or against chucking democracy in favor of the authoritarian Trump governance? Tough choices for you, huh, Juan?
I can't help wondering what your thoughts are on the First Amendment? Do you think it should be applicable to all Americans or just to the GOP? Trump certainly thinks that. Should we just dump it?
Juan, did you realize that to date you've voted the GOP line 94% of the time? And yet your constituency is basically 50/50. Why don't you represent all of us, Juan?
Scott Lukomski
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Don Ries, Southeast side
During the 2020 presidential campaign Trump said as President he could not call in the National Guard without a request from the governor of the state. Yet in 2025 he does just that. His justification was the riots and danger to the police by the protesters of his immigration raids. On January 6, 2021, he waited 3 hours to call off the rioters threatening to hang the Vice President and the Speaker of the House, rioters who injured 140 D.C. police, and who did 40 to 50 million dollars' worth of damage to our Capitol building and stopped the certification of the election by the Congress. This year he pardoned those same rioters. What was the difference in the two events? The January 6th rioters were supporting him; the protesters today are against his policy and are in a Democratic-controlled city and state.
Don Ries
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Scott Thompson, East side
We have a right to protest but must obey laws while doing so. People who break laws while protesting are no longer protesting and can expect to be arrested. Elected officials are not fascists because they employ the police. If people do not like this they should obey laws while protesting.
Scott Thompson
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Rick Singer, Oro Valley
I watched rhe candidates in the debate to replace Raul Grijalva in Arizona's 7th Congressional District. One question asked was what they could do, if elected, as a member of the minority party. There is not much anyone could do, legislatively, with the MAGA loyalty/fear factor.
However, there is something every current member of Congress can do, and should do, or face a primary challenge. This Saturday, on Trump's birthday, a military parade, "like never before" in the United States, will take place in Washington, D.C.
Trump has said that protesters at his parade will be met "with very big force." Whatever he means, that means that every elected member of Congress with a (D) next to their name must be at his parade to peacefully protest the real threat to our democracy. That's the least they can do.
Rick Singer
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- James Dolian, SaddleBrooke
Dowdall's LTE is replete with misunderstandings and outright falsehoods. The Refugee Act of 1980 and other immigration laws permit an individual on US soil or at a port of entry to apply for asylum. Undocumented individuals are less likely to commit violent crimes than both US citizens and documented individuals. Undocumented individuals are not eligible for either TANF or SNAP. The allegation that "billions of dollars" of federal funds are being spent on undocumented individuals is simply false. The Fourteenth Amendment clearly affords all individuals, including undocumented individuals, due process and equal protection (Plyler v. Doe). The onslaught of unconstitutional and illegal actions by the president has forced the federal judiciary to fulfill its constitutional responsibility and repeatedly rule against the administration. I would note that the judges were appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents. Dowdall's understanding of the Constitution leaves much to be desired. Letters like his only contribute to to the plethora of misinformation we are subjected to on a daily basis.
James Dolian
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Tom Henderson, West side
I recently heard it said that the way things are going in our country today we might as well give the Statue of Liberty back to France. I totally disagree. When in the NYC area and I see Lady Liberty in its harbor, I'm filled with a sense of pride and awe. Especially inspiring is the plaque at the base of the statue with a segment of the poem "The New Colossus" by poet Emma Lazarus. Lazarus wrote, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." Long may she stand as a symbol of hope and new beginnings for the downtrodden and oppressed of our world!
Tom Henderson
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Dr. Michael Simon, Foothills
In a recent LTE, Michael Mount speculates that Trump might declare a “national emergency” and cancel the November 2026 elections. Subsequently, following protests in Los Angeles against wholesale arrests by ICE of undocumented people, the president sent thousands of National Guard members, followed by hundreds of Marines, to counter what he referred to as “radical left protests” by “instigators and often paid troublemakers.” Governor Newsom did not request federal assistance and called Trump’s actions “a manufactured crisis.” Could it be there will be another pretext that will occur leading to the suspension of next year’s elections? As always, history is instructive. In January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany as part of a coalition of Nazis and conservative parties. On February 27 the Reichstag burned down, and while historians disagree on who started the fire, there is no disagreement that Hitler used it as an excuse to proceed with mass arrests of leftists and to strip all Germans of civil liberties. There would be no more free elections.
Dr. Michael Simon
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Sherry Machen, Green Valley
My father, BG Edwin Machen (USMA,1938; 1915-1999) was at the Pentagon in the sixties. He was offered a position to supervise fair housing for Black servicemen, and he refused it, based on his belief and oath that the mission of the military was to protect its citizens, not to further social justice. As a consequence he was passed over for future promotion.
At that time I worked for the Defense Communications Agency. One officer I served was Lieutenant Commander Samuel Gravely, the first Black man to achieve that rank. (He went on to Admiral.) One afternoon I gave him a ride to his home, in a lower middle class Black neighborhood. It was like the one our maid lived in years before, outside West Point. I was shocked, but Gravely, always a gentleman, brushed off my concern. My father's behavior confused me.
Now I understand: my father had integrity. He wouldn't do what he had not been commissioned to do. I hope our military has that integrity.
Sherry Machen
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Frank P. Morello, Foothills
Donald Trump sitting behind the Resolute Desk, characterized people who oppose his military parade as “they hate America.”
I see it this way. To love America means to respect and defend the Constitution. To love America means to abide by the rule of law. To love America means to honor those who have served in our country’s military, especially those who have given their lives in the cause for freedom. To love America means to care enough to help fellow human beings who seek refuge from oppression, persecution, and poverty.
No, Mr. President, having a military parade marking the anniversary of the military, but also coincidentally on your birthday, is a page straight out of a narcissistic dictator’s handbook. There are various historical examples, and none of them are American.
So yes, Mr. President, I oppose your military parade. And ascribing to the above, I love America. You will find me and thousands more who also love America at local and national protests.
Frank P. Morello
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Amy Barnard, East side
President Trump is being very heavy-handed regarding the ICE riots in LA, but he did nothing to protect our Congress during the January 6th riot. I welcome any and all to explain this to me.
Amy Barnard
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- George Scott, Benson
On behalf of the Southeast Arizona Economic Development Group, I want to extend sincere thanks to Congressman Juan Ciscomani for his visit with our membership during a recent luncheon and for touring Cochise County hospitals, including Benson Hospital.
In small rural communities like ours, healthcare access and economic stability are tightly intertwined. Congressman Ciscomani’s willingness to sit down with local leaders and listen to our concerns — especially regarding the devastating impact dismantling Medicaid would have on the San Pedro Valley — is deeply appreciated.
Particularly commendable was the Congressman’s explanation of how he worked to protect Medicaid resources in recent legislation. His thoughtful, transparent approach was both insightful and admirable. It is encouraging to see an elected official who is not only informed and engaged, but also accessible and responsive to those he serves.
We need leaders who understand that strong communities are built through presence and partnership — not from afar. Congressman Ciscomani’s engagement reminds us what representative leadership can and should look like.
George Scott
Benson
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- James Abels, Midtown
If Biden opened the borders, why did the Republicans say/do nothing? Because Biden was following the law. Republicans said nothing lest they expose themselves as ignorant and/or hypocritical. Republicans: law and order party?
The Cato Institute, a moderate right organization, reported 50+ immigrants of the 240 deported to El Salvador have a legal right to be in the USA. That’s why due process is important. The Republican fever dream of rampant immigrant crimes is not supported by facts. The 4th Amendment provides equal protection to all people in the USA. This protection is not afforded to citizens only. Trump’s administration is attempting to subjugate the 4th Amendment.
Trump is not attempting to deport the most violent. He is picking the low hanging fruit. In Trump’s dystopian nation, am I and other dissenters at risk of "disappearing"?
James Abels
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- ihor kunasz, Northwest side
What a bunch of ignorant disinformation, praising China for its solar panel production (and presumably helping with the climate). The reality is that China is not only not shutting down coal-fired plants but accelerating their installation. China has now 1147 coal-fired plants producing 26% of the global carbon. The US plants have reduced the carbon emission by 28%. So please continue using coal and stop making China rich by buying their solar panels.
ihor kunasz
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Al Wiruth, Southeast side
Saturday, June 14th has always been listed as Flag Day. It was my mother's birthday. I fly the flag to honor her and her service in WWII as a Navy Wave as well as my father who served in the Navy. I also fly an American Flag for what the flag has always represented. I encourage others, regardless of whose birthday it is or anniversary, if they can, to fly an American flag on Flag Day.
Al Wiruth
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Abraham R. Byrd III, North side
On June 9, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy removed the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He evidently wishes to replace them with others more attuned to his anti-vaccine beliefs. This will of course render us blind to changes that occur as viruses "morph" into forms less sensitive to prior vaccines. In the last 200+ years of their existence, vaccines have saved billions of lives. Most recently the COVID vaccines stopped the worst pandemic in 100 years. They were developed in record time and have proven safe and effective. This is personal for me: I had 7 patients who died as a result of COVID-19. Four of them died before there was an effective vaccine. But 3 of them died because they refused the vaccine -- putting their trust in social-media derived witchcraft and the disinformation promoted by Donald Trump. Mr. Kennedy is entitled to his own beliefs. But he is not entitled to put the whole nation at risk because of his beliefs.
Abraham R. Byrd III
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
More like this...
- Helen Murphy, Sierra Vista
Re: 6-8-25 opinion "Normandy's crosses must guide us in fighting tyranny": It is an insult for this five-military-deferments coward to order a parade in his honor on the 250-year anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Army. He should acknowledge and thank those, living or not, who served in his place. Is he man enough to do so?
Helen Murphy
Sierra Vista
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mort Ganeles, Foothills
Some public protests are staged for TV. Look closely. No mob. Instead we spot a number of strategically placed noisy individuals with signs, flags and banners designed to look on TV as a fervid crowd.
The LA TV fracas is being recycled to fill airtime. Don’t overreact to this media event taking place on a single city block. It is a relatively small protest at the ICE detention facility.
TV continuously plays a background video loop of the same two cars set afire three days ago as reporters update news about whether Trump or Newsom are ahead - as in a sports match.
Turn off the TV. Don’t fall for this Trump-concocted media circus diversion he cooked up by calling up the National Guard and the Marines to take the heat of media and public eyes off his horrible budget bill being bared in all its ugliness during Senate debate.
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Norman Epstein, Midtown
The President made it clear the protests against him should have “great force” used in opposition to them. What was initially directed at the LA events (where there was some violence), he generalized later to “protests” — which will take place peacefully by design this coming Saturday the 14th. He professed to not knowing anything about the No King rallies that will occur in hundreds of towns & cities nationwide. I believe him, since his staff would be terrified to tell him this is coming — even though news of it is open and available for weeks on-line and in social media. His pathologic insecurity, ignorance, and complete insensitivity to the feelings of others will be a real and active danger to many Americans who will turn out in ] large numbers on that date. I know he’d like all the non-MAGA people to disappear. But we won’t.
Norman Epstein
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Richard Bechtold, West side
I have to write these letters to the editor. I have no other way to warn a large audience except through the free press. Trump and Hegseth want to spend $50 million on a military parade. They also are spending $134 million to put military troops on our streets in LA without being requested. The latest news is that Trump wants to access 20,000 troops for domestic control at a cost of $3.6 billion for one year. This military reality show is costing $3.8 billion dollars so far. Public Broadcasting is going to be cut by $1 billion because he doesn't approve of its content. Public Broadcasting is too left wing and liberal. Who made Trump the standard for what is right and wrong? Trump is spending about 4x the cost of Public Broadcasting to militarize our streets to control us. Is anyone out there getting this?
Richard Bechtold
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeff aronson, Northeast side
It has occurred to me, as I'm sure it has to others, that Trump's Saturday military parade is a perfect setting for a military coup. As commander-in-chief he will be overseeing thousands of armed troops, hundreds of tanks and armor, artillery, helicopters and attack aircraft as well as the U.S Army elite parachute team, the Golden Knights. How simple it would be and what would stop him from commanding the parading forces to continue up Constitution Avenue to easily and quickly overwhelm the undermanned Capitol Police, seize the Capitol, dissolve Congress and the courts (what he failed to do on January 6th), establish martial law, imprison critics and opponents and establish himself as supreme dictator for life in the company of his idols, Putin, Kim and Orban among others. And as for me, I'll be car caravanning Saturday at Tucson's No Kings rally, hoping we still have a democracy at the end of the day.
Former Marine captain, Vietnam vet
Jeff aronson
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeanne Herstad, SaddleBrooke
President Donald Trump has threated anyone who protests his February 14th Washington DC Military parade with arrest. While I cannot be in DC to protest, I would if I was there, but I will protest loudly from Oro Valley, Arizona. I will be proudly participating in one of several "No Kings" peaceful demonstrations in Arizona. Your parade is disgusting and a total misuse of the military. Just so you know, I protest, I protest, I protest.
Jeanne Herstad
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jake Pickering, West side
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
The so-called “legacy media”, otherwise known as the traditional mainstream corporate media, has lost almost all of its credibility with the public over the past generation due to its cowardice, self-serving dishonesty, and the myopic profit motives of selfish billionaire capitalist owners which almost always takes precedence over protecting Free Speech or telling the truth.
However, contrary to what you may have been told, most Americans aren’t necessarily relying on non-traditional online sources of news, etc. as their first choice for accurate information. It’s just that the places of old where we used to collectively congregate in order to be spoon-fed our shared news by relatively few outlets (televised network news mostly) is no longer relevant in the high tech revelry of the 21st Century, with the artificial intelligence revolution still on the way.
Jake Pickering
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Toni Kane, Oro Valley
Migrants are not an existential threat to the United States. Too soon we all forget our roots. All of us descend from migrants (with the exception of native Americans who were here first). This "fear of others" has started us down a slippery slope and needs to stop.
Toni Kane
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Teresa Jenkins, SaddleBrooke
Donald Trump threatened that if he got back into power, he would turn the U.S. military on the American people. Such a time has come in L.A. where protesters gave Trump the pretext to turn the military on U.S. citizens. He wanted things to spiral out of control, so he laid the kindling for the fire he’s been itching to start. “There will be troops everywhere,” he warned.
Trump has assembled people who have no interest in making life better for a struggling family. They are indifferent, they want power, and they will take what they want from whomever they want.
Trump disdains democracy and he’s asserting his maximum powers and more on us. We are a peaceful people who want freedom and opportunity and what's being done by this corrupt president weakens our society. The damage he’s doing is hard to put into words, yet we must take him seriously because he means every word of his fascist poison.
Teresa Jenkins
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Hope Gastelum, East side
I was a 21-year-old student on campus and in the crowd on that terrible day at Kent State. The deaths were completely unjustified; however, the protesters were not truly peaceful, as Mr. Plummer suggests (June 10 LTE). I believe a small faction of them (probably not even students) were whipping people into a frenzy that had resulted in three days of violence and property destruction prior to Monday, May 4th. This is the reason the National Guard was there at all, a bunch of young, tired guys probably not much older than those in the crowd. No one knows who gave the order or what actually caused the Guardsmen to start shooting. The four deaths were an unspeakable tragedy that left the university shell-shocked for years, a reminder to us all that violence in legitimate protests only plays into the hands of brutal authoritarians like Donald Trump.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Alan Doan, SaddleBrooke
Here's an idea. Why don't we start deporting all the international athletes currently playing on our college and professional sports teams. Sure, they're talented -- some could even be called superstars -- but they can't possibly be better than our own "true American" athletes. Think of all the high-paying jobs that could be filled by our very own born-and-bred American citizens. After all, these foreigners were probably drafted only because of all this DEI stuff that's been going on for so long. Let's make it a true meritocracy. Well, at least a meritocracy that doesn't reach outside our borders. Come on people, let's do it. Let's make America great again!
Alan Doan
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Veronica Romero, Southeast side
As a member of Mountain Mamas, and Reinas Who Hike, I’m calling for the continued protection of Arizona’s national monuments, especially Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni and Ironwood Forest.
These lands are sacred, culturally significant, and vital for wildlife and clean water. Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni honors Tribal heritage and protects key natural resources, while Ironwood Forest shelters ancient trees and endangered species.
As a mother, hiker, and lifelong explorer of Arizona’s public lands, I feel a deep responsibility to protect the places that have shaped me. My connection to nature began in childhood and has grown into a source of healing, purpose, and reflection. I’ve shared these lands with loved ones and seen their power to teach and transform. That’s why I’m committed to protecting public lands so future generations can experience their beauty, peace, and wisdom too.
Veronica Romero
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- James Robinett, Southwest side
This is the real life story of two brave men who choose to become US citizens and engage in a lifetime of service. David Huerta, president of the California Service Employees International Union and Alberto M Carvalho, Superintendent of LA County School System. Mr. Huerta makes me proud to have been a lifelong Union member, and proud to be a retired AFSCME union member. He goes down to monitor the ICE raids and check on his members. He never confronts an officer or disobeys orders. He is thrown to the ground, beaten, hospitalized and then jailed. Mr. Carvalho makes me proud to be a supporter of Public Schools. He and his staff are willing to put their bodies on the line so ICE can't come to graduation ceremonies and begin harassing and arresting children.
I wonder if MAGA finds these stories inspirational or do they believe in squashing all peaceful protest and dissent?
James Robinett
Southwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Definitions
The common definition of a peaceful protest is one where a group of interested people gather to protest some action. The demonstrators may well use signs, sing, use bullhorns, and even shout, even obscenities. However, these demonstrators adhere to instructions from law enforcement and do not damage property. The Democratic Party’s definition of a mostly peaceful demonstration allows masked demonstrators to hurl rocks and other missiles at law enforcement, damage and burn government and personal property, halt public traffic, and block access to buildings. It is interesting to watch Democratic politicians state that the demonstrations are mostly peaceful even though television footage clearly illuminates burning cars, blocked freeways, and attacks on police. It does demonstrate that the Democrats will do and say anything as long as it supports their perverted view of what our country should be. The long-accepted rule of law is foreign to Democrats. And it makes one wonder why this does not occur in Texas, Florida, and other states. Possibly adherence to the law.
Loyal M. Johnson Jr.
Oro Valley
Feel-good, inspirational story
This is the real-life story of two brave men who choose to become US citizens and engage in a lifetime of service. David Huerta, president of the California Service Employees International Union and Alberto M Carvalho, Superintendent of LA County School System. Mr. Huerta makes me proud to have been a lifelong Union member, and proud to be a retired AFSCME union member. He goes down to monitor the ICE raids and check on his members. He never confronts an officer or disobeys orders. He is thrown to the ground, beaten, hospitalized and then jailed. Mr. Carvalho makes me proud to be a supporter of Public Schools. He and his staff are willing to put their bodies on the line so ICE can’t come to graduation ceremonies and begin harassing and arresting children.
I wonder if MAGA finds these stories inspirational or do they believe in squashing all peaceful protest and dissent?
James Robinett
Southwest side
Fireworks do harm
There is chaos happening today. It’s escalating and frightening.
Hoping for some local sanity, I look to our current area governments for some calm and sane choices for the people.
Alas, not to be.
With all the knowledge, instruction and information shared, explained with firm examples provided of harm, choices were made to go forward with fireworks for Independence Day “celebrations.”
It is known that: 1. Fireworks cause fires and have caused fires in Tucson and surrounding areas. 2. Fireworks harm PTSD survivors. It is a proven fact. 3. Fireworks markedly harm our domestic pets and wildlife. This is a known fact. Mommy animals often abandon their babies in fear. Domestic & wild animals can run in fear due to the noise and flashing, get lost, run into traffic. 4. Fireworks scare many people including babies.
Laser light shows, if done safely and properly directed, can be very beautiful and entertaining and will do no harm.
Tucson, do stop harming innocents and setting up fire damage. No More Fireworks.
Judy Mercer
Oro Valley
Saving public lands
As a member of Mountain Mamas, and Reinas Who Hike, I’m calling for the continued protection of Arizona’s national monuments, especially Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni and Ironwood Forest.
These lands are sacred, culturally significant, and vital for wildlife and clean water. Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni honors Tribal heritage and protects key natural resources, while Ironwood Forest shelters ancient trees and endangered species.
As a mother, hiker, and lifelong explorer of Arizona’s public lands, I feel a deep responsibility to protect the places that have shaped me. My connection to nature began in childhood and has grown into a source of healing, purpose, and reflection. I’ve shared these lands with loved ones and seen their power to teach and transform. That’s why I’m committed to protecting public lands so future generations can experience their beauty, peace, and wisdom too.
Veronica Romero
Southeast side
America first
Here’s an idea. Why don’t we start deporting all the international athletes currently playing on our college and professional sports teams. Sure, they’re talented — some could even be called superstars — but they can’t possibly be better than our own “true American” athletes. Think of all the high-paying jobs that could be filled by our very own born-and-bred American citizens. After all, these foreigners were probably drafted only because of all this DEI stuff that’s been going on for so long. Let’s make it a true meritocracy. Well, at least a meritocracy that doesn’t reach outside our borders. Come on people, let’s do it. Let’s make America great again!
Alan Doan
SaddleBrooke
DEI for the GOP?
I’m enjoying the back-and-forth about whether the small numbers of political conservatives who write LTEs enjoy special publication privileges.
Most readers seem happy with the unending stream of letters devoid of policy insight that proclaim Trump is a Nazi, felon, Fascist, rapist, etc. and choose to shelter in their ideological bubble. Other readers welcome diversity of thought.
This minority frequent contributor tries to provide original, reasoned, hopefully provocative content that may change minds and I often request feedback.
Changing minds is what the editorial pages are all about so wish me luck.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
House settlement
Given the House settlement that allows schools to pay athletes, the U of A is now offering a class in financial management for those students. Duuuuh. Where has this been all along and why not make it a graduation requirement for all students? Personal financial literacy has long been neglected by the educational system but is more important as a life skill than just about any class one could take. And to those athletes fortunate enough to capitalize on this settlement: “Welcome, fellow taxpayers.”
Thomas Rothe
Foothills
Kent State, May 4th
I was a 21-year-old student on campus and in the crowd on that terrible day at Kent State. The deaths were completely unjustified; however, the protesters were not truly peaceful, as Mr. Plummer suggests (June 10 LTE). I believe a small faction of them (probably not even students) were whipping people into a frenzy that had resulted in three days of violence and property destruction prior to Monday, May 4th. This is the reason the National Guard was there at all, a bunch of young, tired guys probably not much older than those in the crowd. No one knows who gave the order or what actually caused the guardsmen to start shooting. The four deaths were an unspeakable tragedy that left the university shell-shocked for years, a reminder to us all that violence in legitimate protests only plays into the hands of brutal authoritarians like Donald Trump.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Importance of sports
“ ... the Wildcats ... qualified for the upcoming College World Series. Momentarily my faith in humanity is restored.”
Are you serious? Something as inconsequential as a sporting event restored your faith in humanity? Am I missing something?
Reminds of conversations I have had at the gym. If sports are important, then why are not all students eligible to play sports? Why do students have to “make the team”? If a student can take any class when prerequisites are met, then should not a student be able to take any sport the same as any other class?
Sports are not important. Sports are primarily entertainment for the observer and of questionable value for the participants. Group dynamics, competitiveness and co-operation can be taught in virtually any class.
James Abels
Midtown
Fake crisis politics
Donald Trump threatened that if he got back into power, he would turn the U.S. military on the American people. Such a time has come in L.A. where protesters gave Trump the pretext to turn the military on U.S. citizens. He wanted things to spiral out of control, so he laid the kindling for the fire he’s been itching to start. “There will be troops everywhere,” he warned.
Trump has assembled people who have no interest in making life better for a struggling family. They are indifferent, they want power, and they will take what they want from whomever they want.
Trump disdains democracy and he’s asserting his maximum powers and more on us. We are a peaceful people who want freedom and opportunity and what’s being done by this corrupt president weakens our society. The damage he’s doing is hard to put into words, yet we must take him seriously because he means every word of his fascist poison.
Teresa Jenkins
SaddleBrooke
Wildcats at the World Series
Great article by Michael Lev about Wildcat Baseball with a little extra information about Chip Hale, Tony Pluta, and Mason White. I loved this article. As an alumnus and native Arizonan, I followed the University of Arizona most of my life. I knew or suspected a lot of the information in the article. I watched Chip Hale and the rest of the team under Jerry Kindall’s guidance win the national championship. It warms my heart that we extended the job to him; he is very successful leading the team.
Tony Pluta is essentially a walk on. I watched him play and develop. He is one of the best closers for AZ I have seen in a long time. I didn’t realize that he chose to come here from Chicago, so thankful he is here.
Mason White, a kid after my own heart — a successful hometown hero. Thank you so very much! Go Cats! Bear Down! Let’s win the national championship. We are behind you 100%.
Roxanne Peterson
Vail
Us and ICE
Migrants are not an existential threat to the United States. Too soon we all forget our roots. All of us descend from migrants (with the exception of native Americans who were here first). This “fear of others” has started us down a slippery slope and needs to stop.
Toni Kane
Oro Valley
‘Great force’
The President made it clear the protests against him should have “great force” used in opposition to them. What was initially directed at the LA events (where there was some violence), he generalized later to “protests” — which will take place peacefully by design this coming Saturday the 14th. He professed to not knowing anything about the No King rallies that will occur in hundreds of towns & cities nationwide. I believe him, since his staff would be terrified to tell him this is coming — even though news of it is open and available for weeks on-line and in social media. His pathologic insecurity, ignorance, and complete insensitivity to the feelings of others will be a real and active danger to many Americans who will turn out in large numbers on that date. I know he’d like all the non-MAGA people to disappear. But we won’t.
Norman Epstein
Midtown
Don’t overreact to one-block LA protest
Some public protests are staged for TV. Look closely. No mob. Instead we spot a number of strategically placed noisy individuals with signs, flags and banners designed to look on TV as a fervid crowd.
The LA TV fracas is being recycled to fill airtime. Don’t overreact to this media event taking place on a single city block. It is a relatively small protest at the ICE detention facility.
TV continuously plays a background video loop of the same two cars set afire three days ago as reporters update news about whether Trump or Newsom are ahead — as in a sports match.
Turn off the TV. Don’t fall for this Trump-concocted media circus diversion he cooked up by calling up the National Guard and the Marines to take the heat of media and public eyes off his horrible budget bill being bared in all its ugliness during Senate debate.
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
Perfect setting for a coup
It has occurred to me, as I’m sure it has to others, that Trump’s Saturday military parade is a perfect setting for a military coup. As commander-in-chief he will be overseeing thousands of armed troops, hundreds of tanks and armor, artillery, helicopters and attack aircraft as well as the U.S Army elite parachute team, the Golden Knights. How simple it would be and what would stop him from commanding the parading forces to continue up Constitution Avenue to easily and quickly overwhelm the undermanned Capitol Police, seize the Capitol, dissolve Congress and the courts (what he failed to do on January 6th), establish martial law, imprison critics and opponents and establish himself as supreme dictator for life in the company of his idols, Putin, Kim and Orban among others. And as for me, I’ll be car caravanning Saturday at Tucson’s No Kings rally, hoping we still have a democracy at the end of the day.
Former Marine captain, Vietnam vet
Jeff Aronson
Northeast side
Data center issues
A proposed data center down by the fairgrounds is a serious conservation challenge for Tucson.
Tucson Water’s plan regards all water as the same except for degree of treatment. Using only reclaimed water for cooling won’t help our water supply.
What of massive power consumption? Any increase in thermoelectric generation would use lots of water and fuel. Modular nukes would also create hazardous radioactive waste, even if they’d have a tiny carbon footprint. Only photovoltaic and wind generation are suitable sources here. Pima County should require renewables with battery storage. (The large site would accommodate a solar farm.)
Also important is reduction of power and cooling needs. This could be accomplished by requiring the data centers to update their servers regularly, because newer chips use less power, and create less heat. This strategy would save local resources, while also supporting the new TSMC chip fabs in Phoenix that will be supplying the fastest and most efficient chips.
W. Mark Day
East side
Military on our streets
I have to write these letters to the editor. I have no other way to warn a large audience except through the free press. Trump and Hegseth want to spend $50 million on a military parade. They also are spending $134 million to put military troops on our streets in LA without being requested. The latest news is that Trump wants to access 20,000 troops for domestic control at a cost of $3.6 billion for one year. This military reality show is costing $3.8 billion dollars so far. Public Broadcasting is going to be cut by $1 billion because he doesn’t approve of its content. Public Broadcasting is too left wing and liberal. Who made Trump the standard for what is right and wrong? Trump is spending about 4x the cost of Public Broadcasting to militarize our streets to control us. Is anyone out there getting this?
Richard Bechtold
West side
I protest, I protest
President Donald Trump has threatened anyone who protests his February 14th Washington DC Military parade with arrest. While I cannot be in DC to protest, I would if I was there, but I will protest loudly from Oro Valley, Arizona. I will be proudly participating in one of several “No Kings” peaceful demonstrations in Arizona. Your parade is disgusting and a total misuse of the military. Just so you know, I protest, I protest, I protest.
Jeanne Herstad
SaddleBrooke
The language of the unheard
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
The so-called “legacy media”, otherwise known as the traditional mainstream corporate media, has lost almost all of its credibility with the public over the past generation due to its cowardice, self-serving dishonesty, and the myopic profit motives of selfish billionaire capitalist owners which almost always takes precedence over protecting Free Speech or telling the truth.
However, contrary to what you may have been told, most Americans aren’t necessarily relying on non-traditional online sources of news, etc. as their first choice for accurate information. It’s just that the places of old where we used to collectively congregate in order to be spoon-fed our shared news by relatively few outlets (televised network news mostly) is no longer relevant in the high tech revelry of the 21st Century, with the artificial intelligence revolution still on the way.
Jake Pickering
West side
Correction to previous letter
Re: 6-8-25 opinion “Normandy’s crosses must guide us in fighting tyranny”: It is an insult for this five-military-deferments coward to order a parade in his honor on the 250-year anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Army. He should acknowledge and thank those, living or not, who served in his place. Is he man enough to do so?
Helen Murphy
Sierra Vista
Something good for Wendy Smith
Reading her first paragraph, I wanted to jump up and down and scream “yes.” I identified with every word. Here’s my contribution to her challenge. I took a visitor from France to the Tucson Museum of Art last week to view (among the wonderful permanent collections) the newest exhibit titled, “Divergence of Legacy: Art of the American West in the 21st Century.” The curators have outdone themselves. It is a view of the West not to be missed. Art pieces representing a range of social and ethnic backgrounds. You will not find the Lone Ranger or Roy Rogers here. The exhibit ends 6/22. I also applaud Western Patrons, Contemporary Art Society and financial donors. Our second stop was a block away on Court St. to the Presidio Museum (recreation of the Spanish Fort built in 1775). We topped off the day with a meal at Cafe a la C’Art on their shaded patio listening to the sounds of the fountain and the birds while we discussed the day’s events.
Sharon Winderl
Midtown
- Cynthia Reynolds, Foothills
In case you missed it amid this week’s headlines, Congressman Juan Ciscomani joined 12 other Republicans in urging the Senate to revise the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Strangely, he had just voted for that very bill.
Why would a representative urge changes to legislation he just approved? Because parts of it are so harmful that even Ciscomani wants them fixed — after helping pass them.
Some say he didn’t read the full bill and now regrets it. But I think he knew exactly what he was voting for. He simply didn’t have the courage to oppose a Trump-branded bill, even one that hurts Arizona.
Rather than take a principled stand, he voted yes — then sent a letter asking the Senate to clean up his mess.
Now he’s counting on Arizona’s two Democratic senators to fix what he wouldn’t. That’s not leadership — it’s cowardice.
Arizona deserves a representative who puts constituents over party loyalty.
Cynthia Reynolds
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Abraham R. Byrd III, North side
Kash Patel regarding the LA demonstrations: "If you hit a cop, you're going to jail. Doesn't matter where you come from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you. If the local police force won't back our men and women on the thin blue line, we @FBI will." Funny - I never imagined FBI Director Patel had such a sense of humor, but clearly he must have: how else to explain the enormous hypocrisy of this whopper. I wonder how Mr. Patel would have responded to the January 6 riot which injured 170 police officers, one of whom later died. Oh, wait - that wasn't a riot or an attempted overthrow of the government - it was a "love-fest" according to its instigator, Mr. Patel's boss. I can hardly wait to see what other pearls of humor Mr. Patel will deliver.
Abraham R. Byrd III
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mort Ganeles, Foothills
Autocrat Benito Mussolini pompously strode across history in the mid-twentieth century with puffed-up showmanship that served as a prop for the empty vessel this blowhard turned out to be. Donald Trump resembles Mussolini in many ways. But Trump’s displays exceed those of Il Duce in the extents of cruelty, dishonesty, avarice, and vindictiveness.
Trump’s audacious grandstanding reactions to LA public protests of federal anti-immigrant actions evidences his autocratic excesses. Trump didn’t even try to disguise his retribution against Governor Newsom. Trump upstaged Newsom while flaunting formidable dictatorial power.
Trump engineered and abused his power by turning the U.S. military against U.S. residents exercising their legitimate Constitutional First Amendment rights.
This travesty may be unprecedented, but Trump's actions are inexcusable and atrocious. Trump must recall his military wolves and permit Newsom and the LA authorities to manage the LA public outbursts with their own resources and capable hands.
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- David Peterson, Midtown
Today is Monday, June 9, 2025. The high today was forecast to be 105. Yesterday my eleven-year-old air-conditioner died. I was able to schedule a technician's service visit today. He tried to fix it but ultimately told my wife and me that we would need to replace it. He was very apologetic about the cost but told us that due to the Trump tariffs that went into effect recently, we would have paid about 25% less at the beginning of May than we have to pay now.
Twenty. Five. Percent.
Trump said the exporting countries would pay the tariffs. He lied. Congressman Ciscomani knows Trump lied and yet he voted for the Big Murder Bill (a.k.a. Budget Reconciliation Bill) anyway.
Congressman, where are your scruples? How can you look away when your constituents are paying 25% more for necessary home repairs than they would have a month or two ago?
David Peterson
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- David Kahn, San Manuel
Donald Trump's first months have yielded mostly chaos and bad policy decisions. When he fails, (it seems weekly) he always falls back upon the cruelty vendetta whispered to him by the often-contemptible Stephen Miller. Miller apparently is calling the shots on immigration and created quotas that thuggish "Border Czar", Tom Homan, who never met a federal court order that he respected, can't meet. Trump has to look and sound tough and it's far easier to pick on non-white residents (legal or not) than white people. Draft dodger Trump isn't tough. He's cruel. He ambushes foreign leaders in the gold-plated Oval Office we paid for, with snide JD Vance attacking. You are not tough because you attend an MMA slugfest where you know fellow haters will be. Trump needs the acclaim of haters and bigots and Proud Boy types because his ego is so fragile. It must kill him that tough guys Putin and Xi Jinping won't return his phone calls. To them "tough guy " is a loser.
David Kahn
San Manuel
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ed LeGendre, East side
Wow!!!
Ukraine penetrated the Soviet defenses with $200.00 drones with explosives on the little drone’s back. Many defenses were penetrated with this “stealth” tactic.
I read where Raytheon received a $1.3 billion contract to produce missiles at $200,000.00 each. These are sophisticated missiles that can, I assume, dance on a pin head.
For $1.3 billion, you can have 6.5 million $200 drones to throw at the Soviets if we should need to. If we reallocate one trillion dollars from the defense budget and produce these drones, we will have 50 billion drones that would cover the Soviet Union in a dark haze that could cover every city in Russia for who knows how long?
We would have to enlist every person on this planet, minus the Russians and North Koreans, to work 24-7, to launch these drones. Maybe the fact that there are 65 billion drones ready to pounce on the Soviets, will cause them to behave.
Ed LeGendre
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Melinda Sims, Catalina
I’m disgusted, embarrassed & terrified by the destruction being wrought on our country in the hands of the MAGA administration. And I am deeply saddened that this is who we are; that a small majority of us believe that this is the correct path. America has historically truly been great when we have been there for others, whether in their poverty, disasters, or other challenges. There is nothing great about ignoring those in need. There is nothing great about closing doors to those escaping terror in their homes. There is nothing great about silencing critics or minimizing the needs of the marginalized. There is nothing great about deporting every person not born here. There is nothing great about implementing policies that will destroy the environment so rich corporations can make more money. We have always been a great nation when we’ve cared for our “neighbors” of all types. MAGA is just making us selfish, greedy, mean, and ugly. There is nothing great in that.
Melinda Sims
Catalina
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Chuck Barrett, Midtown
The Posse Comitatus law prohibits U.S. presidents (or anyone) from using federal troops to enforce laws against civilians. Trump used one of the two exceptions to this law to justify his use of California National Guard troops to “protect” ICE agents and property in the raids in Los Angeles.
The law, USC Title 10, sec. 12406, allows presidents to deploy units of state national guards whenever “he” decides there is an invasion or threat of same, a rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or if “he” is unable to execute the laws of the U.S. with regular forces.
The statute says that: “Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States…”
Since CA Governor Newsom has publically objected to deploying the CA National Guard, I ask:
Why is Trump not in violation of the requirements of USC 10 sec. 12406?
And why is he not criminally liable under Posse Comitatus?
Chuck Barrett
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- bill dowdall, Oro Valley
Biden intentionally opened the borders allowing millions into our country. As a result of that four-year fiasco Trump is being aggressive in rounding up the criminals. The sanctuary states, i.e. California are rebelling and protecting these individuals. Besides the crimes these individuals are committing it is sucking billions of hard-earned tax dollars. The left is defending the illegals stating they need due process. Inject some logic into the argument by assessing the time to do that, it would take years. The most expeditious way is the course Trump is on. Our democracy is not being threatened it is being protected. The Executive branch is fighting every day to exercise its authority and is being temporarily blocked by district judges passing judgement on federal matters. Judgements by the Supreme Court will strike them down but it is time-consuming. I find it difficult what the end game of the left is, total destruction of our country? The Democrats are in it only for power.
bill dowdall
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Effects of open borders
Biden intentionally opened the borders allowing millions into our country. As a result of that four-year fiasco Trump is being aggressive in rounding up the criminals. The sanctuary states, i.e. California are rebelling and protecting these individuals. Besides the crimes these individuals are committing it is sucking billions of hard-earned tax dollars. The left is defending the illegals stating they need due process. Inject some logic into the argument by assessing the time to do that, it would take years. The most expeditious way is the course Trump is on. Our democracy is not being threatened it is being protected. The Executive branch is fighting every day to exercise its authority and is being temporarily blocked by district judges passing judgement on federal matters. Judgements by the Supreme Court will strike them down but it is time-consuming. I find it difficult what the end game of the left is, total destruction of our country? The Democrats are in it only for power.
Bill Dowdall
Oro Valley
Posse Incommodious
The Posse Comitatus law prohibits U.S. presidents (or anyone) from using federal troops to enforce laws against civilians. Trump used one of the two exceptions to this law to justify his use of California National Guard troops to “protect” ICE agents and property in the raids in Los Angeles.
The law, USC Title 10, sec. 12406, allows presidents to deploy units of state national guards whenever “he” decides there is an invasion or threat of same, a rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or if “he” is unable to execute the laws of the U.S. with regular forces.
The statute says that: “Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States ... ”
Since CA Governor Newsom has publically objected to deploying the CA National Guard, I ask:
Why is Trump not in violation of the requirements of USC 10 sec. 12406?
And why is he not criminally liable under Posse Comitatus?
Chuck Barrett
Midtown
Re: ‘License, but not artistic’
Why do devotees of religion get so defensive when their faith is challenged? One might hope that such a committed investment in absolute certainty should reward one with a more stolid constitution. And why does religion require so much defending? Perhaps because its history is so rife with abuses — from the atrocities of the Crusades to the extreme fundamentalism of today — that so amply illustrate that blind faith has never been an infallible guide to moral behavior.
Demanding an apology for subjecting one’s pet devotion to ridicule rings especially hollow when one reflects on the thousands of historical events for which religion owes the world an apology.
What is the concept of blasphemy but a contrived convenience that grants religion dispensation from the normal criticisms of all other human endeavors? In a country that values free speech no institution is immune from rebuke or ridicule, especially when deemed to deserve it. Rather than edging toward making undemocratic demands, how about exercising that time-honored recourse for voicing displeasure: boycott.
Robert Gavlak
Midtown
What makes America great
I’m disgusted, embarrassed & terrified by the destruction being wrought on our country in the hands of the MAGA administration. And I am deeply saddened that this is who we are; that a small majority of us believe that this is the correct path. America has historically truly been great when we have been there for others, whether in their poverty, disasters, or other challenges. There is nothing great about ignoring those in need. There is nothing great about closing doors to those escaping terror in their homes. There is nothing great about silencing critics or minimizing the needs of the marginalized. There is nothing great about deporting every person not born here. There is nothing great about implementing policies that will destroy the environment so rich corporations can make more money. We have always been a great nation when we’ve cared for our “neighbors” of all types. MAGA is just making us selfish, greedy, mean, and ugly. There is nothing great in that.
Melinda Sims
Catalina
Done in, drone out
Wow! Ukraine penetrated the Soviet defenses with $200.00 drones with explosives on the little drone’s back. Many defenses were penetrated with this “stealth” tactic.
I read where Raytheon received a $1.3 billion contract to produce missiles at $200,000.00 each. These are sophisticated missiles that can, I assume, dance on a pin head.
For $1.3 billion, you can have 6.5 million $200 drones to throw at the Soviets if we should need to. If we reallocate one trillion dollars from the defense budget and produce these drones, we will have 50 billion drones that would cover the Soviet Union in a dark haze that could cover every city in Russia for who knows how long?
We would have to enlist every person on this planet, minus the Russians and North Koreans, to work 24-7, to launch these drones. Maybe the fact that there are 65 billion drones ready to pounce on the Soviets, will cause them to behave.
Ed LeGendre
East side
Trump tariffs hit home
Today is Monday, June 9, 2025. The high today was forecast to be 105. Yesterday my eleven-year-old air-conditioner died. I was able to schedule a technician’s service visit today. He tried to fix it but ultimately told my wife and me that we would need to replace it. He was very apologetic about the cost but told us that due to the Trump tariffs that went into effect recently, we would have paid about 25% less at the beginning of May than we have to pay now.
Twenty. Five. Percent.
Trump said the exporting countries would pay the tariffs. He lied. Congressman Ciscomani knows Trump lied and yet he voted for the Big Murder Bill (a.k.a. Budget Reconciliation Bill) anyway.
Congressman, where are your scruples? How can you look away when your constituents are paying 25% more for necessary home repairs than they would have a month or two ago?
David Peterson
Midtown
In gratitude to our city
This is a tribute to the Tucson Medical Center and Tucson at large. When Trump won in 2016, my first thought was “We’re better than this.” As the name calling and division escalated, cruelty towards the marginalized and most vulnerable among us seemed to be the very point. When he was re-elected in 2024, my belief in the country I love and my fellow citizens was severely challenged. Having spent the better part of the last two weeks at the bedside of a loved one in the ICU at TMC, my faith in humanity and love of Tucson are restored. From the doctors and nurses to the random stranger in the parking lot, compassion and kindness enveloped every step on this difficult path. As a community we are fortunate beyond measure to have Tucson Medical Center. TMC represents who we are as a people.
Susan Miller-Pinhey
Foothills
Trump must recall his military wolves
Autocrat Benito Mussolini pompously strode across history in the mid-twentieth century with puffed-up showmanship that served as a prop for the empty vessel this blowhard turned out to be. Donald Trump resembles Mussolini in many ways. But Trump’s displays exceed those of Il Duce in the extents of cruelty, dishonesty, avarice, and vindictiveness.
Trump’s audacious grandstanding reactions to LA public protests of federal anti-immigrant actions evidences his autocratic excesses. Trump didn’t even try to disguise his retribution against Governor Newsom. Trump upstaged Newsom while flaunting formidable dictatorial power.
Trump engineered and abused his power by turning the U.S. military against U.S. residents exercising their legitimate Constitutional First Amendment rights.
This travesty may be unprecedented, but Trump’s actions are inexcusable and atrocious. Trump must recall his military wolves and permit Newsom and the LA authorities to manage the LA public outbursts with their own resources and capable hands.
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
Broken bill, broken backbone
In case you missed it amid this week’s headlines, Congressman Juan Ciscomani joined 12 other Republicans in urging the Senate to revise the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Strangely, he had just voted for that very bill.
Why would a representative urge changes to legislation he just approved? Because parts of it are so harmful that even Ciscomani wants them fixed — after helping pass them.
Some say he didn’t read the full bill and now regrets it. But I think he knew exactly what he was voting for. He simply didn’t have the courage to oppose a Trump-branded bill, even one that hurts Arizona.
Rather than take a principled stand, he voted yes — then sent a letter asking the Senate to clean up his mess.
Now he’s counting on Arizona’s two Democratic senators to fix what he wouldn’t. That’s not leadership — it’s cowardice.
Arizona deserves a representative who puts constituents over party loyalty.
Cynthia Reynolds
Foothills
Kash Patel
Kash Patel regarding the LA demonstrations: “If you hit a cop, you’re going to jail. Doesn’t matter where you come from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you. If the local police force won’t back our men and women on the thin blue line, we @FBI will.” Funny — I never imagined FBI Director Patel had such a sense of humor, but clearly he must have: how else to explain the enormous hypocrisy of this whopper. I wonder how Mr. Patel would have responded to the January 6 riot which injured 170 police officers, one of whom later died. Oh, wait — that wasn’t a riot or an attempted overthrow of the government — it was a “love-fest” according to its instigator, Mr. Patel’s boss. I can hardly wait to see what other pearls of humor Mr. Patel will deliver.
Abraham R. Byrd III
North side
Trump distracts by playing the tough guy
Donald Trump’s first months have yielded mostly chaos and bad policy decisions. When he fails, (it seems weekly) he always falls back upon the cruelty vendetta whispered to him by the often-contemptible Stephen Miller. Miller apparently is calling the shots on immigration and created quotas that thuggish “Border Czar”, Tom Homan, who never met a federal court order that he respected, can’t meet. Trump has to look and sound tough and it’s far easier to pick on non-white residents (legal or not) than white people. Draft dodger Trump isn’t tough. He’s cruel. He ambushes foreign leaders in the gold-plated Oval Office we paid for, with snide JD Vance attacking. You are not tough because you attend an MMA slugfest where you know fellow haters will be. Trump needs the acclaim of haters and bigots and Proud Boy types because his ego is so fragile. It must kill him that tough guys Putin and Xi Jinping won’t return his phone calls. To them “tough guy “ is a loser.
David Kahn
San Manuel
- John Kautz, Midtown
President Trump labeled January 6 a peaceful protest. He watched TV for hours while police officers and Capitol security personnel were viciously attacked. He dawdled before he allowed additional military presence. And recently he pardoned attackers who were serving prison sentences. This weekend he labeled the protest in LA an insurrection. He authorized force to be used against these citizens exercising their right to protest. They did not beat any police officers. They did not storm and enter the federal building. One group was called patriots by Trump. The others are called insurrectionists by him. The definition seems to depend on whether they are protesting for him or against his policies.
John Kautz
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Craig Wunderlich, West side
As our 2nd voyage into Trumpism continues, I have reflected on other Republican Presidents who have left office under bad conditions.
1. Trump 45 left in the middle of a COVID pandemic which he denied and had the economy spiraling into recession. Biden rescued us.
2. G.W. Bush and Cheney had run the economy close to recession with tax cuts and an immoral war. Both were very unpopular. Obama rescued us.
3. George HW Bush promised no taxes to address the Reagan-induced deficit. He raised taxes anyway was defeated and Clinton rescued the economy.
4. Ford pardoned Nixon for his many crimes, could not slow down inflation and lost his only election to Carter.
I have to wonder what is in store for the tariff guy.
Craig Wunderlich
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Christi Driggs, Northwest side
Two Sunday letters gripe about First Amendment freedoms.
The first complains about the ASPCA and accuses it of misrepresentation in their footage of abused animals. “While these images may have been true once, but not any more (sic).”
This is ridiculous. Just ask PACC, the Humane Society, and the many great rescue groups in Tucson. He would learn this abuse is ongoing.
The second letter is outraged over the dark satire, “Your Friends and Neighbors,” which he says should not be tolerated! He wants Apple to apologize because people of faith deserve respect.
Well, everybody deserves respect, and so does the freedom represented by the First Amendment. Neither man has to donate money, nor watch a show he doesn’t like. No one is forcing them, and they don’t get to force others. The Constitution is under attack. Sly gripes like these try to sound logical and moralistic, but they are really an assault on freedom.
Christi Driggs
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Pete Kasper, Foothills
In his recent column Ashley Nunes wrote that Trump was right to roll back electric vehicle subsidies. He's right, but why stop there? Why not eliminate all the other subsidies to the automobile and fuel businesses as well? The corporate average fuel economy rule, the "chicken tax," the intangible drilling cost preference, the percentage depletion rule, and the tariffs that come and go according to the President's mood come to mind. Washington has been distorting this market for decades to the country's detriment. We would be better off letting technology and consumer preferences determine what kind of vehicles we drive.
Pete Kasper
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Rudy Roszak, Oro Valley
Although Putin is a dictator, his powers are not limitless. He needs the support of the oligarchs, the military leaders, and lastly, the general public.
Presently he has lost an estimated over one million soldiers in the War with Ukraine. It has been a major burden to his economy. The sanctions in place also hurt his country.
If in the future he experiences major hits to Russian cities, military installations, etc., not to mention civilian deaths from drones, the abovementioned forces may unite to cause his downfall.
Rudy Roszak
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Philip Reinecker, East side
Every day the newspaper and air waves are filled with war, strikes, a do-nothing congress, a President who bullies, blusters and crushes anyone who would dare disagree with his omnipotence. Next the Arizona Wildcats played the high-flying North Carolina Tar Heels in baseball's Super regional and promptly lost 18-2. My hopes were dashed and I admit that I, a lifelong Wildcat fan, expected more of the same. But no, the Wildcats got off the mat, beat the #5 North Carolina squad twice in two days and qualified for the upcoming College World Series. Momentarily my faith in humanity is restored. There is good after all. Thanks Wildcats, your proved what real mettle can do. Good luck in Omaha. Now if only our Congress would see and heed.
Philip Reinecker
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Donald Plummer, Northwest side
On May 4, 1970, at Kent State, the Ohio National Guard used their firepower to suppress a peaceful protest about war in SE Asia and the draft.
Four were killed, nine wounded one disabled for life.
Trump has mobilized the California National Guard to put down a protest about how immigration is being enforced.
In 2020 he asked if they could shoot protesters in the legs.
The Administration has talked about using US Army and Marine Corps to put down protesters.
It should be noted the US Army and Marine Corps are trained to kill people, not do crowd control.
Remember Kent State.
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mary Elizabeth Potts, East side
If President Trump thinks spitting on police and the National Guard by protesters in LA is illegal, then why did he pardon the January 6th protesters? Those people spit, bear-sprayed and beat the Capitol and Metro police in D.C. You can't have it both ways.
Mary Elizabeth Potts
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mary Zimmerman, SaddleBrooke
Dr. Oz, the man in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, defends the major cuts to these programs by saying the work requirements give people a chance "to prove they matter." Apparently, you only have value if you are working a meaningless job, if indeed, you can get one at all. It ignores the reality that most recipients who can work, do. There seem to be no strings attached to the billionaires looking forward to their tax cuts. After all, in Trump world, they mater.
Mary Zimmerman
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Steve Rasmussen, Foothills
Once a politician has successfully discredited the truth in society, then the only thing left to believe is unreality. This technique has been well documented by experts on totalitarianism like Hannah Arendt and Jason Stanley. Broken nations will easily accept grandiose promises from their new hero and savior. He becomes their last/best hope for the nation, so they want to believe him to be honest and not deceptive. This was the trap that befell Italy and Germany 100 years ago. Their new truth was not based on fact, but emotion. They got caught up in the frenzy created by their leader. Now, in our modern times, we see 47 using the same technique; creating his own truth for people to believe; banking on peoples’ desperation.
Since 47 is a known sociopath, he can easily create his own reality to support his grandiose self-image. This is why I believe that he thinks he won the 2020 election. He’s living an illusion. Don’t get sucked into it.
Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Martha Brooks, Green Valley
Loran Hancock, I agree with you 100%, they have these sad videos of animals with that angel music, in the meantime the CEO of ASPCA pockets over a million dollars a year, he should take half of his income and donate it to the ASPCA. In the meantime, I support the Animal League of Green Valley AZ, where we are all volunteers and love it.
Martha Brooks
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Loyal JOHNSON, Oro Valley
The common definition of a peaceful protest is one where a group of interested people gather to protest some action. The demonstrators may well use signs, sing, use bullhorns, and even shout, even obscenities. However, these demonstrators adhere to instructions from law enforcement and do not damage property. The Democratic Party’s definition of a mostly peaceful demonstration allows masked demonstrators to hurl rocks and other missiles at law enforcement, damage and burn government and personal property, halt public traffic, and block access to buildings. It is interesting to watch Democratic politicians state that the demonstrations are mostly peaceful even though television footage clearly illuminates burning cars, blocked freeways, and attacks on police. It does demonstrate that the Democrats will do and say anything as long as it supports their perverted view of what our country should be. The long-accepted rule of law is foreign to Democrats. And it makes one wonder why this does not occur in Texas, Florida, and other states. Possibly adherence to the law.
Loyal JOHNSON
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Robert Gavlak, Midtown
Why do devotees of religion get so defensive when their faith is challenged? One might hope that such a committed investment in absolute certainty should reward one with a more stolid constitution. And why does religion require so much defending? Perhaps because its history is so rife with abuses — from the atrocities of the Crusades to the extreme fundamentalism of today — that so amply illustrate that blind faith has never been an infallible guide to moral behavior.
Demanding an apology for subjecting one’s pet devotion to ridicule rings especially hollow when one reflects on the thousands of historical events for which religion owes the world an apology.
What is the concept of blasphemy but a contrived convenience that grants religion dispensation from the normal criticisms of all other human endeavors? In a country that values free speech no institution is immune from rebuke or ridicule, especially when deemed to deserve it. Rather than edging toward making undemocratic demands, how about exercising that time-honored recourse for voicing displeasure: boycott.
Robert Gavlak
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Oracle Road wildlife crossing
I am glad conservationists are so satisfied with the Oracle Road wildlife crossing that they would like a more expensive crossing of I-10 built. If I read your article correctly, we the taxpayers paid $9 million for 27,297 crossings and one nice picture of a lynx. That is $329.07 per crossing. That is something I am going to consider every time I hit a pothole. I have a perfectly adequate lynx picture from my backyard.
Davis Reinhart
North side
Data-center secrets
I was amazed (and sickened) when I read the Star reporting about the top-secret project under consideration by the Pima Board of Supervisors. The “prize” would be 8-10 data centers. Based on news reports I have read, these centers have two things in common: They use a huge amount of water and electricity and provide few permanent jobs. The Board of Supervisors have little to no information about the entity that will own the land. We have water issues that boggle the mind and challenges in electric supply. The Star article mentioned other possible uses. The board should be looking there.
Bruce Wysocki
Southwest side
Secretive plan for data center
It’s very troubling Tucson citizens and supervisors are denied information (plausible deniability?) regarding massive developments that will impact our water supply, energy and other consequences. Many such data centers require more water and energy than small cities.
War-hawk Senator Mark Kelly intends to make Tucson a water-hog defense and biomedical hub. There have been no read-out specifics on Mayor Romero’s trip to Qatar other than Tucson is “open for business.” What kind of business — like water-depleting Saudi companies that exploited lax groundwater rules? A friend inquired with a construction worker about a large eastside construction project and was told it’s under “non-disclosure agreement.”
Out-of-state or international investors and captured politicians don’t care about inevitable water shortages prompting “toilet to tap,” long-distance, exorbitantly expensive desalinization possibilities, necessitated power-grid upgrades all charged to taxpayers with degraded quality of life. Thanks to Tony Davis and Arizona Daily Star for coverage. Transparency is essential for a realistic discussion of consequences.
Candace Charvoz Frank
West side
First Amendment rights
Two Sunday letters gripe about First Amendment freedoms.
The first complains about the ASPCA and accuses it of misrepresentation in their footage of abused animals. “While these images may have been true once, but not any more (sic).”
This is ridiculous. Just ask PACC, the Humane Society, and the many great rescue groups in Tucson. He would learn this abuse is ongoing.
The second letter is outraged over the dark satire, “Your Friends and Neighbors,” which he says should not be tolerated! He wants Apple to apologize because people of faith deserve respect.
Well, everybody deserves respect, and so does the freedom represented by the First Amendment. Neither man has to donate money, nor watch a show he doesn’t like. No one is forcing them, and they don’t get to force others. The Constitution is under attack. Sly gripes like these try to sound logical and moralistic, but they are really an assault on freedom.
Christi Driggs
Northwest side
ASPCA
Loran Hancock, I agree with you 100%, they have these sad videos of animals with that angel music, in the meantime the CEO of ASPCA pockets over a million dollars a year, he should take half of his income and donate it to the ASPCA. In the meantime, I support the Animal League of Green Valley AZ, where we are all volunteers and love it.
Martha Brooks
Green Valley
Less outrage, more facts
As CFSD Board President, I am dedicated to addressing constituent concerns while also correcting misinformation that undermines our district’s integrity.
Bart Pemberton is a twice-rejected CFSD board candidate whose school-age children are not district students. While he justifiably exercised his right to publicly complain about a teacher’s deviation from prescribed curriculum in teaching a “sex-education” class, what was not fair game — and what we would never teach our students is acceptable to do — is omit important facts that bear on the credibility of one’s position. In this case, those facts include: (1) the teacher was promptly directed to adhere strictly to approved curriculum and exclude personal beliefs from instruction; and (2) the teacher will not be returning to CFSD next school year.
This appears to be yet another effort by Dr. Pemberton and his group of longtime CFSD critics to erode public confidence in CFSD and the current board, in the hopes that “the third time’s the charm” in next year’s election.
Amy Krauss
Foothills
Historical political unreality
Once a politician has successfully discredited the truth in society, then the only thing left to believe is unreality. This technique has been well documented by experts on totalitarianism like Hannah Arendt and Jason Stanley. Broken nations will easily accept grandiose promises from their new hero and savior. He becomes their last/best hope for the nation, so they want to believe him to be honest and not deceptive. This was the trap that befell Italy and Germany 100 years ago. Their new truth was not based on fact, but emotion. They got caught up in the frenzy created by their leader. Now, in our modern times, we see 47 using the same technique; creating his own truth for people to believe; banking on peoples’ desperation.
Since 47 is a known sociopath, he can easily create his own reality to support his grandiose self-image. This is why I believe that he thinks he won the 2020 election. He’s living an illusion. Don’t get sucked into it.
Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
Buyer’s remorse
MAGA GOP Representative Juan Ciscomani, from AZ CD6, recently signed a letter along with 12 other GOP representatives asking Senate Republicans to “fix” the big beautiful budget bill. The signees are hoping senators will bail them out for disastrous provisions in the bill that would eliminate clean energy initiatives. The letter contends that, “This approach jeopardizes ongoing development, discourages long-term investment, and could significantly delay or cancel energy infrastructure projects across the country.” Despite making promises including not cutting Medicaid and protecting clean energy tax credits, Ciscomani voted to cut both. The House budget bill passed by a single vote including Ciscomani’s.
Jean Meconi
Oro Valley
Who matters to Republicans
Dr. Oz, the man in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, defends the major cuts to these programs by saying the work requirements give people a chance “to prove they matter.” Apparently, you only have value if you are working a meaningless job, if indeed, you can get one at all. It ignores the reality that most recipients who can work, do. There seem to be no strings attached to the billionaires looking forward to their tax cuts. After all, in Trump world, they matter.
Mary Zimmerman
SaddleBrooke
Water-rate increase for foothills residents
The Superior Court of Arizona granted summary judgment to Pima County when it challenged the action that the city did not use “cost data” when setting the rates as provided by Arizona state law. The city lost and paid legal expenses but did not pay the money back to ratepayers.
The city seems to have unlimited funds to hire their experts and attorneys, plus having all the water distribution information. Foothills residents have no vote, no options for getting their water elsewhere, and no organization for challenging a proceeding.
The current system is a regional interconnected system without discrete assets that specifically belong to or support only one user group. “It is clear Tucson serves areas that cost more to serve than the foothills. This issue is not about saving water or cost of service. It is about equity for the foothills. The city has excluded government entities, the tribal government, and others, not because of service cost, but because of politics.
Dave Locey
Foothills
Spitting
If President Trump thinks spitting on police and the National Guard by protesters in LA is illegal, then why did he pardon the January 6th protesters? Those people spit, bear-sprayed and beat the Capitol and Metro police in D.C. You can’t have it both ways.
Mary Elizabeth Potts
East side
Lawless use of military
On May 4, 1970, at Kent State, the Ohio National Guard used their firepower to suppress a peaceful protest about war in SE Asia and the draft.
Four were killed, nine wounded, one disabled for life.
Trump has mobilized the California National Guard to put down a protest about how immigration is being enforced.
In 2020 he asked if they could shoot protesters in the legs.
The administration has talked about using US Army and Marine Corps to put down protesters.
It should be noted the US Army and Marine Corps are trained to kill people, not do crowd control.
Remember Kent State.
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
A light in the darkness
Every day the newspaper and air waves are filled with war, strikes, a do-nothing congress, a President who bullies, blusters and crushes anyone who would dare disagree with his omnipotence. Next the Arizona Wildcats played the high-flying North Carolina Tar Heels in baseball’s Super regional and promptly lost 18-2. My hopes were dashed, and I admit that I, a lifelong Wildcat fan, expected more of the same. But no, the Wildcats got off the mat, beat the #5 North Carolina squad twice in two days and qualified for the upcoming College World Series. Momentarily my faith in humanity is restored. There is good after all. Thanks Wildcats, your proved what real mettle can do. Good luck in Omaha. Now if only our Congress would see and heed.
Philip Reinecker
East side
Putin’s power is not unlimited
Although Putin is a dictator, his powers are not limitless. He needs the support of the oligarchs, the military leaders, and lastly, the general public.
Presently he has lost an estimated over one million soldiers in the War with Ukraine. It has been a major burden to his economy. The sanctions in place also hurt his country.
If in the future he experiences major hits to Russian cities, military installations, etc., not to mention civilian deaths from drones, the abovementioned forces may unite to cause his downfall.
Rudy Roszak
Oro Valley
EV subsidies
In his recent column Ashley Nunes wrote that Trump was right to roll back electric vehicle subsidies. He’s right, but why stop there? Why not eliminate all the other subsidies to the automobile and fuel businesses as well? The corporate average fuel economy rule, the “chicken tax,” the intangible drilling cost preference, the percentage depletion rule, and the tariffs that come and go according to the President’s mood come to mind. Washington has been distorting this market for decades to the country’s detriment. We would be better off letting technology and consumer preferences determine what kind of vehicles we drive.
Pete Kasper
Foothills
Republican history
As our 2nd voyage into Trumpism continues, I have reflected on other Republican Presidents who have left office under bad conditions.
1. Trump 45 left in the middle of a COVID pandemic which he denied and had the economy spiraling into recession. Biden rescued us.
2. G.W. Bush and Cheney had run the economy close to recession with tax cuts and an immoral war. Both were very unpopular. Obama rescued us.
3. George HW Bush promised no taxes to address the Reagan-induced deficit. He raised taxes anyway was defeated and Clinton rescued the economy.
4. Ford pardoned Nixon for his many crimes, could not slow down inflation and lost his only election to Carter.
I have to wonder what is in store for the tariff guy.
Craig Wunderlich
West side
Leaders should earn votes, not inherit them
I’m a 17-year-old student in Tucson and an intern with Daniel Hernandez’s campaign for Congress. Although I can’t vote in the July 15th special election for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, I’m paying attention because this race will shape the future I’m growing up in. I support Daniel because he has a real record of delivering results. He helped raise $20 million for Arizona public schools and fought to protect programs like Medicaid and Social Security, which many families in our district rely on. He also fights for reproductive rights, public safety, and working-class communities. In this race, name recognition matters more than it should. But elections should be about action, not just familiarity. We deserve leaders who earn our votes through service, not family ties. On July 15th, I hope CD-7 voters choose a candidate who has consistently delivered for us — not one who has inherited a platform.
Hannah Levin
Foothills
When is it a peaceful protest?
President Trump labeled January 6 a peaceful protest. He watched TV for hours while police officers and Capitol security personnel were viciously attacked. He dawdled before he allowed additional military presence. And recently he pardoned attackers who were serving prison sentences. This weekend he labeled the protest in LA an insurrection. He authorized force to be used against these citizens exercising their right to protest. They did not beat any police officers. They did not storm and enter the federal building. One group was called patriots by Trump. The others are called insurrectionists by him. The definition seems to depend on whether they are protesting for him or against his policies.
John Kautz
Midtown
- Terri Hicks, Northwest side
In response to the letter writer from Green Valley who said Trump/Musk are “at least trying to attack spending,” I say the attack is directed at the American people. Those who need Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and safety nets are being grossly affected by the changes made by the current administration. With the BBB (big budget blow-up) and all of the back-door deals being made the wealthy will get wealthier, the poor will get poorer, the uneducated will remain uneducated, and still, the deficit will explode to appease Trump and his sycophants. Government should be more efficient, and there are ways to address fraud, waste, and abuse, but our government is not a business, and consideration for “we the people” must be present when changes are considered. Our government is here to serve the people, not wannabe autocrats and zillionaires. By far, the biggest fraud, waste, and abuse America is currently experiencing is this administration, and not even DOGE can remedy that. So we must in 2026.
Terri Hicks
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Rick Cohn, West side
In the past, Trump lauded and then selected some fawning clown to do his bidding until the clown unwittingly became his scapegoat when Trump needed a fall guy.
This round, Musk beat Trump to the punch. Knowing that Trump was going to throw him to the wolves, Musk acted quickly. Have you seen the picture that Musk has posted on the internet of Trump partying with Epstein? This sorry saga has just gotten very interesting.
Given the murky history of Musk's journey to U.S. citizenship, he should not be surprised if ICE agents show up at his front door while posing as Amazon deliverymen at zero dark thirty tomorrow morning.
Rick Cohn
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Uwe Manthei, Midtown
Since October 2024, I have been trying to get this published in print: President Trump admires Victor Orban, Hungary's Prime Minister. Since 2010, Orban has ruled with a 2/3 parliamentary majority.
Since then, electoral reform reduced the number of parliamentary seats, reorganized precincts, and terminated a second ballot, the “Balancing Mandate.” The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed that elections in 2014 and 2018 were “free but not fair.”
Orban’s new constitution curtails judicial independence by declaring tax, financial laws, and constitutional changes untouchable by the courts. Minorities (Roma) are no longer members of the Hungarian nation. Courts can use precedents only when they were established after the constitutional reforms.
The European Commission has filed suits before the European Court accusing the Orban government of curtailing judicial independence, freedom of expression, academic freedom, protection of minorities, and fundamental rights of asylum-seekers and refugees.
Public media laws limit the protection of journalistic sources and place public media under a National Supervisory Authority.
Uwe Manthei
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Nancy Jacques, Northeast side
Despicable. Not just disgusting. Trump wants $3.7 trillion in tax cuts, exacerbating the move of $50 trillion from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1% in 40 years. Trump’s cuts estimated $2.4 trillion debt doesn’t factor in future items we already face. Upgrades at airports like Newark? About $174 billion for one. Climate change events now average $1 billion every three weeks. Who’ll pay? Not insurance, FEMA or states.
Trump and Republicans want to subsidize corporations and the rich and you pay via raising expenses. Why cut IRA, empowering Americans on climate change, affecting 130,000 employed? Cuts to education: $351 billion. IRS: down 18,200 staff causing loss of $168 billion annually. Smart, huh? Cut $900 billion in Medicaid and SNAP. So moral.
$3.7 trillion reduces science, education, healthcare, safety, employment, diplomacy. Americans get sicker, less safe and hungry. USAID cuts already have killed 300,000. This is your Republican Party! Are you proud? Call all Senators to vote no.
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jean Getek, Foothills
Mr. Hancock, in his most recent LTE, asks what "specific freedoms has one lost with Trump in office". I would be interested in knowing what freedoms we have gained? Women's right to an abortion is being taken away; unless you are a white (mostly male) person, your voting rights are in jeopardy; non-criminal immigrants are being deported including 18-years-olds who were born in this country or came to America as babies; foreign students are being denied the freedom to attend America's universities. Is this freedom? Please explain, Mr. Hancock.
Jean Getek
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Fred Thompson, Midtown
I am just so sick and tired of the man in office harping on Biden's use of an Autopen to sign things and he said himself that he could just think of classified information and it should be enough to declassify them. He is such a crass and vindictive individual who has no respect for anyone or anything. Now that's my opinion.
Fred Thompson
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Tell me something good
Each day, I turn to the LTE page of the paper. It’s like a verbal train wreck. As much as I don’t want to read the letters, I can’t turn away, which often leads to despondency and perhaps a glass or two of pinot noir. I challenge our community of readers and writers to flood the Star editors with feel-good anecdotes, enthusiastic shout-outs, and warm and fuzzy tales of our fair city.
Allow me to begin the process.
The Thursday sports section of the paper shouted the headline “Toy Story.” I usually just take a cursory glance at this section, but was intrigued. Michael Lev unfolds the genuine, heartwarming story of a new, pregame ritual which involves a player revealing a Hot Wheels vehicle, to be presented to the player of the game at its conclusion. This simple gesture ignited the team, leading to an eight-game winning streak.
Coincidence, or brilliant strategy? You decide, but I know the story brightened my day.
Wendy Smith
East side
Legislating ignorance
Re: AZ Legislature Oks bill to make teachers liable for ‘antisemitism’.
What this bill will do is destroy our schools by glorifying ignorance and making teachers liable for any statement they make that touches on Jewish people. I could think of hundreds of true statements that are not antisemitic about the war between Israelis and the Palestinian people, which could be misconstrued by ignorance as antisemitic. For example, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert condemns the war on Gaza as a humanitarian crisis and blames Netanyahu and his cabinet for comments that he labels as war-crimes statements. Any teacher saying the same thing could be subject to a lawsuit as making an antisemitic comment. Let the school systems solve their own problems. Our legislature has a track record for interfering with and inadequate funding for our schools. No wonder surveys rank Arizona as the worst state in the country for public education.
Michael Mount
Foothills
Point of view vs. personality
I support the Arizona Daily Star’s practice of publishing letters to the editor from diverse voices, including days when a balance of viewpoints appears skewed to one ideology. Readers should determine the value of the perspective based on facts and logic regardless of the author. Readers should pay attention to the point of view, not personality.
Roger Shanley
East side
Use of Autopen
I am just so sick and tired of the man in office harping on Biden’s use of an Autopen to sign things, and he said himself that he could just think of classified information, and it should be enough to declassify them. He is such a crass and vindictive individual who has no respect for anyone or anything. Now that’s my opinion.
Fred Thompson
Midtown
Freedoms
Mr. Hancock, in his most recent LTE, asks what “specific freedoms has one lost with Trump in office”. I would be interested in knowing what freedoms we have gained? Women’s right to an abortion is being taken away; unless you are a white (mostly male) person, your voting rights are in jeopardy; non-criminal immigrants are being deported including 18-years-olds who were born in this country or came to America as babies; foreign students are being denied the freedom to attend America’s universities. Is this freedom? Please explain, Mr. Hancock.
Jean Getek
Foothills
Following the Hungarian blueprint?
Since October 2024, I have been trying to get this published in print: President Trump admires Victor Orban, Hungary’s Prime Minister. Since 2010, Orban has ruled with a 2/3 parliamentary majority.
Since then, electoral reform reduced the number of parliamentary seats, reorganized precincts, and terminated a second ballot, the “Balancing Mandate.” The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed that elections in 2014 and 2018 were “free but not fair.”
Orban’s new constitution curtails judicial independence by declaring tax, financial laws, and constitutional changes untouchable by the courts. Minorities (Roma) are no longer members of the Hungarian nation. Courts can use precedents only when they were established after the constitutional reforms.
The European Commission has filed suits before the European Court accusing the Orban government of curtailing judicial independence, freedom of expression, academic freedom, protection of minorities, and fundamental rights of asylum-seekers and refugees.
Public media laws limit the protection of journalistic sources and place public media under a National Supervisory Authority.
Uwe Manthei
Midtown
No cancel culture, please
I’ve seen some LTEs lately complaining about a few writers with pro-Trump/conservative opinions who are published frequently. I can usually tell midway through the first sentence of an LTE it is one of these authors. Apparently, there are fewer of them, so they get more exposure. Personally, I look forward to different perspectives and am glad they actually read the paper and submit their views. I don’t want an echo chamber. If only “pro-liberal” LTEs are published, it negates the whole “Diversity of thought is critical for democracy” point of the opinion page. It’s up to the reader to sort opinion vs fact. I want to keep trying to understand where people are coming from ... or going to. Keep ’em coming.
Dianne Lethaby
East side
Very interesting
In the past, Trump lauded and then selected some fawning clown to do his bidding until the clown unwittingly became his scapegoat when Trump needed a fall guy.
This round, Musk beat Trump to the punch. Knowing that Trump was going to throw him to the wolves, Musk acted quickly. Have you seen the picture that Musk has posted on the internet of Trump partying with Epstein? This sorry saga has just gotten very interesting.
Given the murky history of Musk’s journey to U.S. citizenship, he should not be surprised if ICE agents show up at his front door while posing as Amazon deliverymen at zero dark thirty tomorrow morning.
Rick Cohn
West side
Cure for Trump Derangement Syndrome
I never really understood Trump Derangement Syndrome until someone explained it that DJT is perfect, and my “hate” toward Donald must be manifested in some sick psychotic delusions, therefore I have TDS.
Recovery from the insanity of TDS, it’s simple:
Agree that Trump has been persecuted more than any human ever, and has defeated every charge against him, and he speaks only the truth.
Believe that he gave up his successful business to serve as your savior. He has said himself he’s “The Chosen One.’’ While we wait for his “second coming,” we turn a blind eye to his cruelty to immigrants.
His vision to rebuild Gaza, as well as shady business deals to enrich himself, can’t be corruption, because he said so.
That’s a pill too big for me to swallow. Therefore, I have TDS.
Larry Robinson
Northwest side
Affordable housing
I’ve been mulling over a recent article announcing a new high-rise to be built at Campbell and Speedway and a follow-up by editorial by Louie Christensen welcoming the project. The computer-generated picture of the future building shows us an enormous building of uninspiring architecture. It will obstruct mountain views, and is unlike anything else in the area, but aside from that, all 395 units will be rented at market rate to students and young professionals. The development was approved by the City Council, the same folks who say they are so concerned about the lack of affordable housing in Tucson. Market rate is not affordable housing. Why can’t the city of Tucson require new developments to provide some percentage of their units to fill this pressing need?
Gayle Jandrey
Northwest side
Debt on the backs of regular people
In response to the letter writer from Green Valley who said Trump/Musk are “at least trying to attack spending,” I say the attack is directed at the American people. Those who need Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and safety nets are being grossly affected by the changes made by the current administration. With the BBB (big budget blow-up) and all of the back-door deals being made, the wealthy will get wealthier, the poor will get poorer, the uneducated will remain uneducated, and still, the deficit will explode to appease Trump and his sycophants. Government should be more efficient, and there are ways to address fraud, waste, and abuse, but our government is not a business, and consideration for “we the people” must be present when changes are considered. Our government is here to serve the people, not wannabe autocrats and zillionaires. By far, the biggest fraud, waste, and abuse America is currently experiencing is this administration, and not even DOGE can remedy that. So we must in 2026.
Terri Hicks
Northwest side
Despicable tax cuts of the BBB
Despicable. Not just disgusting. Trump wants $3.7 trillion in tax cuts, exacerbating the move of $50 trillion from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1% in 40 years. Trump’s cuts estimated $2.4 trillion debt doesn’t factor in future items we already face. Upgrades at airports like Newark? About $174 billion for one. Climate change events now average $1 billion every three weeks. Who’ll pay? Not insurance, FEMA or states.
Trump and Republicans want to subsidize corporations and the rich and you pay via raising expenses. Why cut IRA, empowering Americans on climate change, affecting 130,000 employed? Cuts to education: $351 billion. IRS: down 18,200 staff causing loss of $168 billion annually. Smart, huh? Cut $900 billion in Medicaid and SNAP. So moral.
$3.7 trillion reduces science, education, healthcare, safety, employment, diplomacy. Americans get sicker, less safe and hungry. USAID cuts already have killed 300,000. This is your Republican Party! Are you proud? Call all Senators to vote no.
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
- Barbara Benjamin, Foothills
Let's stop kidding ourselves pretending that Trump is taking us back to our "golden age."
In fact, he is taking us back to the 1830s and 1840s when the Locofocos and Knownothings ran rampant. It was a time when German and Irish immigrants were persecuted for being foreigners and Catholic. And what's happening is not all Trump's fault: We have had a do-nothing Congress for decades. There is no immigration system. Even the quota system was better than nothing. Whatever our political opinions, it is undeniable that we need a real immigration system and not one that admits only those who are acceptable to Trump. We need to pressure Congress and hold our representatives accountable. The indiscriminate deportation we witness daily is a shameful reflection on our country -- or is it a mirror of who we really are?
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Wade Thompson, Midtown
I am dismayed about a recent episode of the Apple TV+ series "Your Friends & Neighbors," in which characters break into a Catholic church and tabernacle, remove consecrated hosts and desecrate and treat them as a snack, mockingly mimicking Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This scene is deeply offensive to Catholics who revere the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
Such portrayals are not mere artistic expression but a direct attack on the beliefs of over a billion Catholics worldwide. The Eucharist is not a prop or a symbol to be trivialized; it is central to our faith. This sacrilegious depiction shows a lack of respect that would likely not be tolerated if directed at other faiths’ sacred practices.
I urge Apple to issue a public apology. Additionally, I call on media outlets to foster greater sensitivity toward all religious beliefs and avoid normalizing such disrespectful portrayals. Catholics and all people of faith deserve respect, not mockery, in popular media.
Wade Thompson
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Is this who we really are?
Let’s stop kidding ourselves pretending that Trump is taking us back to our “golden age.”
In fact, he is taking us back to the 1830s and 1840s when the Locofocos and Know-nothings ran rampant. It was a time when German and Irish immigrants were persecuted for being foreigners and Catholic. And what’s happening is not all Trump’s fault: We have had a do-nothing Congress for decades. There is no immigration system. Even the quota system was better than nothing. Whatever our political opinions, it is undeniable that we need a real immigration system and not one that admits only those who are acceptable to Trump. We need to pressure Congress and hold our representatives accountable. The indiscriminate deportation we witness daily is a shameful reflection on our country — or is it a mirror of who we really are?
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Bill’s threat to legal system
Trump’s ‘Big Barbarous Bill’ is a small addition to the cruelty this administration and its selfish, inhumane MAGATES propagate.
There is more innocuous writing deep in the bill that would completely emasculate the Supreme Court, where the criminals hoped it would be overlooked by us. Totally unconstitutional. It is a trillion-dollar barrier to challenging his policies in any court, including SCOTUS.
It prevents courts from charging Trump and other government officials with contempt of court when he disobeys court orders. This means they lose their ability to enforce orders blocking unlawful Trump policies, as they have done 190 times. “We don’t need your stinking laws.” The bill also prevents court-ordered and national injunctions from acting to oppose harm. If passed, judges will no longer be able to find government officials in contempt.
If they disobey, they will be fined, sanctioned or imprisoned.
Litigants would have to post a bond equal to lost grant income (sometimes in the trillions?) to pursue a legitimate issue.
Sheldon Metz
Northeast side
Human development confusion
Quotes from a CFSD high school health teacher in class in 2025:
“There’s a few ways you can transition when it comes to your sexuality. All right, so, first just letting people know [a minor announcing he or she is “transgender”]. What would be the next step? Taking more of a feminine name. Starting to dress female rather than male. OK, excellent!”
“What would be the next progression, then? Starting alterations physically ... starting out with hormones, and then, eventually, probably having surgery, right?”
“The government is saying that children cannot transition. Could your parents make the exception before 18? How do you think most parents are going to feel? Yeah, they’re probably going to resist it. So that becomes definitely a challenge.”
“You know, most parents aren’t understanding, aren’t accepting or whatever.”
Governing board questions:
1. Do the assertions quoted above align with CFSD’s “non-discrimination” policy?
2. Do those same assertions align with the CFSD health curriculum?
3. Which governing board members agree with those assertions?
Bart Pemberton
Northwest side
ASPCA manipulation
Saw a commercial this morning from ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and they showed images of mistreated dogs with comments about how hot it is outside and how dry the water bowls are and have been for a while. It then occurred to me that this commercial was an attempt by the ASPCA to manipulate my emotions, and I was disgusted that a supposedly honorable organization would stoop to misrepresentations to try and get me to donate money.
Here’s the problem: Treatment of animals like this is illegal, so if animals are found that have been mistreated, they can be confiscated. However, the commercial is showing images and pretending that these dogs are still in this captivity and ASPCA needs my money to set them free. The entire commercial is a lie, hoping I will send them money. While these images may have been true once, but not anymore. Should I send money to support a cause that misrepresents the facts for my money?
Loran Hancock
Northwest side
Threatened for opinions
I am receiving threats for publishing opinions in the Arizona Daily Star about King Trump’s America. Intimidation takes the form of anonymous phone calls, unsigned letters and emails. These communications are violent, malicious and involve the promise of physical force intended to harm me and my property. The warnings come from people protecting their “Supreme Ruler,” angry at interference with their takedown of America.
My journalistic career began in my early 20s, after serving in the Navy and while completing degrees in journalism and broadcasting. A drug lord in Gary, Indiana, threatened to shoot me and blow up the radio station where I broadcast. I was driven off the road and assaulted while serving as a police commissioner. On Capitol Hill, my congressman and I were consistently advised on where to go by hostile constituents.
Fear is emotional. It appears my opposition has prompted a survival response. My objective remains to advance democracy by initiating dialogue while listening to the opposition with respect and consideration. I will not bow.
Jerry Wilkerson
SaddleBrooke
Tucson leadership
Re: the recent complaint about Tucson leadership: I also fondly remember the small town I moved to some 50 years ago. Of the writer’s complaint about “Democratic leadership,” road repairs, police funding, and teacher’s salaries are a function of how much money our Republican Legislature allocates. Free buses reduce the traffic on our downtown streets. I have not seen any stats on how that translates to “crime being transported throughout the city.” Somehow, the image of a burglar waiting to catch a bus to escape a crime scene seems ludicrous. The homeless are in every town and city. That is a national problem, not only a “Tucson leadership” problem.
Morton Smith
Foothills
License, but not artistic
I am dismayed about a recent episode of the Apple TV+ series “Your Friends & Neighbors,” in which characters break into a Catholic church and tabernacle, remove consecrated hosts and desecrate and treat them as a snack, mockingly mimicking Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This scene is deeply offensive to Catholics who revere the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
Such portrayals are not mere artistic expression but a direct attack on the beliefs of over a billion Catholics worldwide. The Eucharist is not a prop or a symbol to be trivialized; it is central to our faith. This sacrilegious depiction shows a lack of respect that would likely not be tolerated if directed at other faiths’ sacred practices.
I urge Apple to issue a public apology. Additionally, I call on media outlets to foster greater sensitivity toward all religious beliefs and avoid normalizing such disrespectful portrayals. Catholics and all people of faith deserve respect, not mockery, in popular media.
Wade Thompson
Midtown
Fear-mongering isn’t journalism
As a retired Arizona teacher, I’ve noticed a steady decline in critical thinking skills, while trust in news outlets has eroded nationwide.
I want to confront the rising tide of fear-based clickbait masquerading as news. Sensationalism has replaced journalism — not to inform, but to provoke emotional, knee-jerk reactions. This corrodes democracy by dividing us with fear.
We can’t function as an informed electorate if every headline is designed to trigger anxiety without providing essential context. I urge readers to notice emotionally loaded terms like “outrage,” “devastating,” or “under siege” — words that create panic but rarely offer real solutions.
In 1933, FDR warned, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Today, fear is a marketing strategy.
To honor his wisdom, we must embed critical thinking and media literacy into education — just as fear has embedded itself into our news.
Mary Patton
Midtown
- Jeffrey McConnell, West side
Musk reported for work wearing a T-shirt saying "Tech Support," so when your internet isn’t working he’s the guy you call. On Day 1 there were no confirmed cabinet secretaries so DOGE answered directly to the president; it was ready, fire, and then aim. Oops.
Now DOGE is embedded within the cabinets and their secretaries are the ones accountable to the president for fixing what’s broken while the Office of Management and Budget now runs the show to connect the dots.
A special government employee can only serve for 130 days so this nerd who designs and builds cars, rockets, tunnels, satellites, Neuralink, and AI has been fired. His DOGE temporary advisory group will sunset on Independence Day 2026, their birthday gift to America on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Musk’s legacy is $1.2B per day of savings to taxpayers for each day of his service to our country.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Thad Appelman, Northwest side
For eight decades I have been a proud American. Ready to fight and die, if necessary to defend our democracy. Now, I read the paper, and see horrors like our beloved immigrants being ripped from their homes and sent to cruel foreign prisons. Programs canceled that helped foreign poor. Programs canceled that helped our poor. Things that doctors used to determine, like gender and need for procedures, being mandated by our own government. You know the list. So maybe I can hide as a Mexican? But I don’t speak Spanish; so maybe a Canadian? I do speak some Canadian, eh. Real Americans need somewhere to hide as our new leader fast-tracks his list of atrocities alongside Putin and Netanyahu. I never saw this coming, and am extremely saddened and enraged at having the title “American" snatched from me at my age. And for the MAGA who will gladly write LTEs in response … fire away.
Thad Appelman
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Dangerous move
On June 9, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy removed the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He evidently wishes to replace them with others more attuned to his anti-vaccine beliefs. This will of course render us blind to changes that occur as viruses “morph” into forms less sensitive to prior vaccines. In the last 200+ years of their existence, vaccines have saved billions of lives. Most recently the COVID vaccines stopped the worst pandemic in 100 years. They were developed in record time and have proven safe and effective. This is personal for me: I had 7 patients who died as a result of COVID-19. Four of them died before there was an effective vaccine. But 3 of them died because they refused the vaccine — putting their trust in social-media derived witchcraft and the disinformation promoted by Donald Trump. Mr. Kennedy is entitled to his own beliefs. But he is not entitled to put the whole nation at risk because of his beliefs.
Abraham R. Byrd III
North side
‘Coal just can’t compete’
What a bunch of ignorant disinformation, praising China for its solar panel production (and presumably helping with the climate). The reality is that China is not only not shutting down coal-fired plants but accelerating their installation. China has now 1147 coal-fired plants producing 26% of the global carbon. The US plants have reduced the carbon emission by 28%. So please continue using coal and stop making China rich by buying their solar panels.
Ihor Kunasz
Northwest side
Happy Father’s Day
Apache Junction police officer Gabe Facio’s family won’t be celebrating Father’s Day this Sunday, June 15th. Instead they will be mourning his death as he was shot and killed in the line of duty on June 3. Officer Facio’s wife and two children now face life without the most important person in their lives. A man who was kind to the homeless, respectful in service and brave in the face of danger. My condolences to his family and his agency. With my partner I faced a robbery suspect armed with a shotgun who simply wanted me to kill him. In those tense moments I was able to get him to drop the gun. We were fortunate. TPD officers face this challenge daily sometimes on their own. Chief Kasmar needs more police officers to better serve us and enhance community and police safety. To all the dads out there, happy Father’s Day, especially our police officers who risk all for us.
Richard Harper
Northeast side
Flag Day
Saturday, June 14th has always been listed as Flag Day. It was my mother’s birthday. I fly the flag to honor her and her service in WWII as a Navy Wave as well as my father who served in the Navy. I also fly an American Flag for what the flag has always represented. I encourage others, regardless of whose birthday it is or anniversary, if they can, to fly an American flag on Flag Day.
Al Wiruth
Southeast side
Manufactured crises?
In a recent LTE, Michael Mount speculates that Trump might declare a “national emergency” and cancel the November 2026 elections. Subsequently, following protests in Los Angeles against wholesale arrests by ICE of undocumented people, the president sent thousands of National Guard members, followed by hundreds of Marines, to counter what he referred to as “radical left protests” by “instigators and often paid troublemakers.” Governor Newsom did not request federal assistance and called Trump’s actions “a manufactured crisis.” Could it be there will be another pretext that will occur leading to the suspension of next year’s elections? As always, history is instructive. In January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany as part of a coalition of Nazis and conservative parties. On February 27, the Reichstag burned down, and while historians disagree on who started the fire, there is no disagreement that Hitler used it as an excuse to proceed with mass arrests of leftists and to strip all Germans of civil liberties. There would be no more free elections.
Dr. Michael Simon
Foothills
The Statue of Liberty
I recently heard it said that the way things are going in our country today we might as well give the Statue of Liberty back to France. I totally disagree. When in the NYC area and I see Lady Liberty in its harbor, I’m filled with a sense of pride and awe. Especially inspiring is the plaque at the base of the statue with a segment of the poem “The New Colossus” by poet Emma Lazarus. Lazarus wrote, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” Long may she stand as a symbol of hope and new beginnings for the downtrodden and oppressed of our world!
Tom Henderson
West side
Support for future wildlife crossings
Thank you for your recent article on the future of wildlife crossing structures in Southern Arizona. The current structures on Oracle Road have been a proven success and more are undoubtedly needed in order to connect the entire desert landscape. Tucson’s relationship with wildlife is special but must be stewarded properly for future generations to experience the same desert joy that we do.
Joshua Tashoff Downtown
Law is for ‘suckers and losers’
If Biden opened the borders, why did the Republicans say/do nothing? Because Biden was following the law. Republicans said nothing lest they expose themselves as ignorant and/or hypocritical. Republicans: law and order party?
The Cato Institute, a moderate right organization, reported 50+ immigrants of the 240 deported to El Salvador have a legal right to be in the USA. That’s why due process is important. The Republican fever dream of rampant immigrant crimes is not supported by facts. The 4th Amendment provides equal protection to all people in the USA. This protection is not afforded to citizens only. Trump’s administration is attempting to subjugate the 4th Amendment.
Trump is not attempting to deport the most violent. He is picking the low hanging fruit. In Trump’s dystopian nation, am I and other dissenters at risk of “disappearing?”
James Abels
Midtown
Ciscomani standing up for Medicaid
On behalf of the Southeast Arizona Economic Development Group, I want to extend sincere thanks to Congressman Juan Ciscomani for his visit with our membership during a recent luncheon and for touring Cochise County hospitals, including Benson Hospital.
In small rural communities like ours, healthcare access and economic stability are tightly intertwined. Congressman Ciscomani’s willingness to sit down with local leaders and listen to our concerns — especially regarding the devastating impact dismantling Medicaid would have on the San Pedro Valley — is deeply appreciated.
Particularly commendable was the Congressman’s explanation of how he worked to protect Medicaid resources in recent legislation. His thoughtful, transparent approach was both insightful and admirable. It is encouraging to see an elected official who is not only informed and engaged, but also accessible and responsive to those he serves.
We need leaders who understand that strong communities are built through presence and partnership — not from afar. Congressman Ciscomani’s engagement reminds us what representative leadership can and should look like.
George Scott Benson
I don’t understand
President Trump is being very heavy-handed regarding the ICE riots in LA, but he did nothing to protect our Congress during the January 6th riot. I welcome any and all to explain this to me.
Amy Barnard
East side
Hey Juan?
Hey Juan, what do you think about this No Kings thing? Are you for or against a Trump coronation? And on a related subject, are you for or against chucking democracy in favor of the authoritarian Trump governance? Tough choices for you, huh, Juan?
I can’t help wondering what your thoughts are on the First Amendment? Do you think it should be applicable to all Americans or just to the GOP? Trump certainly thinks that. Should we just dump it?
Juan, did you realize that to date you’ve voted the GOP line 94% of the time? And yet your constituency is basically 50/50. Why don’t you represent all of us, Juan?
Scott Lukomski
Northeast side
To love America
Donald Trump sitting behind the Resolute Desk, characterized people who oppose his military parade as “they hate America.”
I see it this way. To love America means to respect and defend the Constitution. To love America means to abide by the rule of law. To love America means to honor those who have served in our country’s military, especially those who have given their lives in the cause for freedom. To love America means to care enough to help fellow human beings who seek refuge from oppression, persecution, and poverty.
No, Mr. President, having a military parade marking the anniversary of the military, but also coincidentally on your birthday, is a page straight out of a narcissistic dictator’s handbook. There are various historical examples, and none of them are American.
So yes, Mr. President, I oppose your military parade. And ascribing to the above, I love America. You will find me and thousands more who also love America at local and national protests.
Frank P. Morello
Foothills
Military integrity
My father, BG Edwin Machen (USMA,1938; 1915-1999) was at the Pentagon in the sixties. He was offered a position to supervise fair housing for Black servicemen, and he refused it, based on his belief and oath that the mission of the military was to protect its citizens, not to further social justice. As a consequence he was passed over for future promotion.
At that time I worked for the Defense Communications Agency. One officer I served was Lieutenant Commander Samuel Gravely, the first Black man to achieve that rank. (He went on to Admiral.) One afternoon I gave him a ride to his home, in a lower middle class Black neighborhood. It was like the one our maid lived in years before, outside West Point. I was shocked, but Gravely, always a gentleman, brushed off my concern. My father’s behavior confused me.
Now I understand: my father had integrity. He wouldn’t do what he had not been commissioned to do. I hope our military has that integrity.
Sherry Machen
Green Valley
Re: Effects of open borders
Dowdall’s LTE is replete with misunderstandings and outright falsehoods. The Refugee Act of 1980 and other immigration laws permit an individual on US soil or at a port of entry to apply for asylum. Undocumented individuals are less likely to commit violent crimes than both US citizens and documented individuals. Undocumented individuals are not eligible for either TANF or SNAP. The allegation that “billions of dollars” of federal funds are being spent on undocumented individuals is simply false. The Fourteenth Amendment clearly affords all individuals, including undocumented individuals, due process and equal protection (Plyler v. Doe). The onslaught of unconstitutional and illegal actions by the president has forced the federal judiciary to fulfill its constitutional responsibility and repeatedly rule against the administration. I would note that the judges were appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents. Dowdall’s understanding of the Constitution leaves much to be desired. Letters like his only contribute to to the plethora of misinformation we are subjected to on a daily basis.
James Dolian
SaddleBrooke
Big Beautiful Parade
I watched the candidates in the debate to replace Raul Grijalva in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. One question asked was what they could do, if elected, as a member of the minority party. There is not much anyone could do, legislatively, with the MAGA loyalty/fear factor.
However, there is something every current member of Congress can do, and should do, or face a primary challenge. This Saturday, on Trump’s birthday, a military parade, “like never before” in the United States, will take place in Washington, D.C.
Trump has said that protesters at his parade will be met “with very big force.” Whatever he means, that means that every elected member of Congress with a (D) next to their name must be at his parade to peacefully protest the real threat to our democracy. That’s the least they can do.
Rick Singer
Oro Valley
Trump hypocrisy
During the 2020 presidential campaign Trump said as President he could not call in the National Guard without a request from the governor of the state. Yet in 2025 he does just that. His justification was the riots and danger to the police by the protesters of his immigration raids. On January 6, 2021, he waited 3 hours to call off the rioters threatening to hang the Vice President and the Speaker of the House, rioters who injured 140 D.C. police, and who did 40 to 50 million dollars’ worth of damage to our Capitol building and stopped the certification of the election by the Congress. This year he pardoned those same rioters. What was the difference in the two events? The January 6th rioters were supporting him; the protesters today are against his policy and are in a Democratic-controlled city and state.
Don Ries
Southeast side
I-10 wildlife crossing story
Thank you for reporting about the wildlife crossings, and how our county supports responsible development that considers wildlife.
The Oracle Road wildlife crossings are proving to be highly effective and hugely popular, and more crossings are needed to improve road safety, reduce wildlife and vehicle collisions, and support both wildlife — and human — transportation corridors.
I voted for the 2006 RTA Plan sales tax for the wildlife crossings, and for greater open space protection. The public’s vote and investment in more of both of these important things will lead to a healthier future for for the next generations. Wildlife crossings are great fixes to roads that are already built, but are not a substitute for regenerative development that includes open space protection.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment!
Barbara Rose
Northwest side
Data center threatens our water future
The Pima County Board of Supervisors shouldn’t approve the data center plan (“Project Blue”) without full transparency. It could consume up to 4 million gallons of water for cooling every day — roughly 1 in every 20 gallons Tucson Water delivers.
That’s as much as the entire town of Oro Valley uses.
These estimates, based on Google’s Mesa data center, highlight the project’s massive demands. Yet a nondisclosure agreement blocks supervisors and residents from knowing actual water requirements. How can elected officials make informed decisions about our desert community’s most precious resource while operating in the dark?
As co-founder of Sky Island AI, I recognize data centers’ importance to our digital economy. But as a member of the Tucson Citizens’ Water Advisory Committee, I’m deeply concerned that building them in the hot desert and allocating so much of our dwindling water supply for cooling is irresponsible.
We cannot afford to gamble our water security on secret deals. The Board should demand full disclosure or reject this proposal.
Ed Hendel
West side
What is the immigration plan?
How many more administrations is it going to take to pass comprehensive immigration legislation? What happens after we deport “all the bad people?” Do we have a plan or a number of immigrants we can take in seeking asylum? Both houses of Congress are so dysfunctional that the only thing they can agree on is when to adjourn for lunch. They have no plan. The president has no plan. He is more focused on getting free 747s and a military parade to showcase his dictatorial powers. There was a bipartisan bill last year that should have been passed, but then candidate Trump put the nix on it for political reasons. I am so fortunate that all my grandparents immigrated from Italy when America was a more welcoming nation. When the words on the Statue of Liberty still meant something. We used to be that nation.
Fred DiNoto
Northwest side
Protests
We have a right to protest but must obey laws while doing so. People who break laws while protesting are no longer protesting and can expect to be arrested. Elected officials are not fascists because they employ the police. If people do not like this they should obey laws while protesting.
Scott Thompson
East side
- Fred DiNoto, Northwest side
How many more administrations is it going to take to pass comprehensive immigration legislation? What happens after we deport "all the bad people"? Do we have a plan or a number of immigrants we can take in seeking asylum? Both houses of Congress are so dysfunctional that the only thing they can agree on is when to adjourn for lunch. They have no plan. The president has no plan. He is more focused on getting free 747s and a military parade to showcase his dictatorial powers. There was a bipartisan bill last year that should have been passed, but then candidate Trump put the nix on it for political reasons. I am so fortunate that all my grandparents immigrated from Italy when America was a more welcoming nation. When the words on the Statue of Liberty still meant something. We used to be that nation.
Fred DiNoto
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Scott Lukomski, Northeast side
Hey Juan, what do you think about this No Kings thing? Are you for or against a Trump coronation? And on a related subject, are you for or against chucking democracy in favor of the authoritarian Trump governance? Tough choices for you, huh, Juan?
I can't help wondering what your thoughts are on the First Amendment? Do you think it should be applicable to all Americans or just to the GOP? Trump certainly thinks that. Should we just dump it?
Juan, did you realize that to date you've voted the GOP line 94% of the time? And yet your constituency is basically 50/50. Why don't you represent all of us, Juan?
Scott Lukomski
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Don Ries, Southeast side
During the 2020 presidential campaign Trump said as President he could not call in the National Guard without a request from the governor of the state. Yet in 2025 he does just that. His justification was the riots and danger to the police by the protesters of his immigration raids. On January 6, 2021, he waited 3 hours to call off the rioters threatening to hang the Vice President and the Speaker of the House, rioters who injured 140 D.C. police, and who did 40 to 50 million dollars' worth of damage to our Capitol building and stopped the certification of the election by the Congress. This year he pardoned those same rioters. What was the difference in the two events? The January 6th rioters were supporting him; the protesters today are against his policy and are in a Democratic-controlled city and state.
Don Ries
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Scott Thompson, East side
We have a right to protest but must obey laws while doing so. People who break laws while protesting are no longer protesting and can expect to be arrested. Elected officials are not fascists because they employ the police. If people do not like this they should obey laws while protesting.
Scott Thompson
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Rick Singer, Oro Valley
I watched rhe candidates in the debate to replace Raul Grijalva in Arizona's 7th Congressional District. One question asked was what they could do, if elected, as a member of the minority party. There is not much anyone could do, legislatively, with the MAGA loyalty/fear factor.
However, there is something every current member of Congress can do, and should do, or face a primary challenge. This Saturday, on Trump's birthday, a military parade, "like never before" in the United States, will take place in Washington, D.C.
Trump has said that protesters at his parade will be met "with very big force." Whatever he means, that means that every elected member of Congress with a (D) next to their name must be at his parade to peacefully protest the real threat to our democracy. That's the least they can do.
Rick Singer
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- James Dolian, SaddleBrooke
Dowdall's LTE is replete with misunderstandings and outright falsehoods. The Refugee Act of 1980 and other immigration laws permit an individual on US soil or at a port of entry to apply for asylum. Undocumented individuals are less likely to commit violent crimes than both US citizens and documented individuals. Undocumented individuals are not eligible for either TANF or SNAP. The allegation that "billions of dollars" of federal funds are being spent on undocumented individuals is simply false. The Fourteenth Amendment clearly affords all individuals, including undocumented individuals, due process and equal protection (Plyler v. Doe). The onslaught of unconstitutional and illegal actions by the president has forced the federal judiciary to fulfill its constitutional responsibility and repeatedly rule against the administration. I would note that the judges were appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents. Dowdall's understanding of the Constitution leaves much to be desired. Letters like his only contribute to to the plethora of misinformation we are subjected to on a daily basis.
James Dolian
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Tom Henderson, West side
I recently heard it said that the way things are going in our country today we might as well give the Statue of Liberty back to France. I totally disagree. When in the NYC area and I see Lady Liberty in its harbor, I'm filled with a sense of pride and awe. Especially inspiring is the plaque at the base of the statue with a segment of the poem "The New Colossus" by poet Emma Lazarus. Lazarus wrote, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." Long may she stand as a symbol of hope and new beginnings for the downtrodden and oppressed of our world!
Tom Henderson
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Dr. Michael Simon, Foothills
In a recent LTE, Michael Mount speculates that Trump might declare a “national emergency” and cancel the November 2026 elections. Subsequently, following protests in Los Angeles against wholesale arrests by ICE of undocumented people, the president sent thousands of National Guard members, followed by hundreds of Marines, to counter what he referred to as “radical left protests” by “instigators and often paid troublemakers.” Governor Newsom did not request federal assistance and called Trump’s actions “a manufactured crisis.” Could it be there will be another pretext that will occur leading to the suspension of next year’s elections? As always, history is instructive. In January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany as part of a coalition of Nazis and conservative parties. On February 27 the Reichstag burned down, and while historians disagree on who started the fire, there is no disagreement that Hitler used it as an excuse to proceed with mass arrests of leftists and to strip all Germans of civil liberties. There would be no more free elections.
Dr. Michael Simon
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Sherry Machen, Green Valley
My father, BG Edwin Machen (USMA,1938; 1915-1999) was at the Pentagon in the sixties. He was offered a position to supervise fair housing for Black servicemen, and he refused it, based on his belief and oath that the mission of the military was to protect its citizens, not to further social justice. As a consequence he was passed over for future promotion.
At that time I worked for the Defense Communications Agency. One officer I served was Lieutenant Commander Samuel Gravely, the first Black man to achieve that rank. (He went on to Admiral.) One afternoon I gave him a ride to his home, in a lower middle class Black neighborhood. It was like the one our maid lived in years before, outside West Point. I was shocked, but Gravely, always a gentleman, brushed off my concern. My father's behavior confused me.
Now I understand: my father had integrity. He wouldn't do what he had not been commissioned to do. I hope our military has that integrity.
Sherry Machen
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Frank P. Morello, Foothills
Donald Trump sitting behind the Resolute Desk, characterized people who oppose his military parade as “they hate America.”
I see it this way. To love America means to respect and defend the Constitution. To love America means to abide by the rule of law. To love America means to honor those who have served in our country’s military, especially those who have given their lives in the cause for freedom. To love America means to care enough to help fellow human beings who seek refuge from oppression, persecution, and poverty.
No, Mr. President, having a military parade marking the anniversary of the military, but also coincidentally on your birthday, is a page straight out of a narcissistic dictator’s handbook. There are various historical examples, and none of them are American.
So yes, Mr. President, I oppose your military parade. And ascribing to the above, I love America. You will find me and thousands more who also love America at local and national protests.
Frank P. Morello
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Amy Barnard, East side
President Trump is being very heavy-handed regarding the ICE riots in LA, but he did nothing to protect our Congress during the January 6th riot. I welcome any and all to explain this to me.
Amy Barnard
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- George Scott, Benson
On behalf of the Southeast Arizona Economic Development Group, I want to extend sincere thanks to Congressman Juan Ciscomani for his visit with our membership during a recent luncheon and for touring Cochise County hospitals, including Benson Hospital.
In small rural communities like ours, healthcare access and economic stability are tightly intertwined. Congressman Ciscomani’s willingness to sit down with local leaders and listen to our concerns — especially regarding the devastating impact dismantling Medicaid would have on the San Pedro Valley — is deeply appreciated.
Particularly commendable was the Congressman’s explanation of how he worked to protect Medicaid resources in recent legislation. His thoughtful, transparent approach was both insightful and admirable. It is encouraging to see an elected official who is not only informed and engaged, but also accessible and responsive to those he serves.
We need leaders who understand that strong communities are built through presence and partnership — not from afar. Congressman Ciscomani’s engagement reminds us what representative leadership can and should look like.
George Scott
Benson
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- James Abels, Midtown
If Biden opened the borders, why did the Republicans say/do nothing? Because Biden was following the law. Republicans said nothing lest they expose themselves as ignorant and/or hypocritical. Republicans: law and order party?
The Cato Institute, a moderate right organization, reported 50+ immigrants of the 240 deported to El Salvador have a legal right to be in the USA. That’s why due process is important. The Republican fever dream of rampant immigrant crimes is not supported by facts. The 4th Amendment provides equal protection to all people in the USA. This protection is not afforded to citizens only. Trump’s administration is attempting to subjugate the 4th Amendment.
Trump is not attempting to deport the most violent. He is picking the low hanging fruit. In Trump’s dystopian nation, am I and other dissenters at risk of "disappearing"?
James Abels
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- ihor kunasz, Northwest side
What a bunch of ignorant disinformation, praising China for its solar panel production (and presumably helping with the climate). The reality is that China is not only not shutting down coal-fired plants but accelerating their installation. China has now 1147 coal-fired plants producing 26% of the global carbon. The US plants have reduced the carbon emission by 28%. So please continue using coal and stop making China rich by buying their solar panels.
ihor kunasz
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Al Wiruth, Southeast side
Saturday, June 14th has always been listed as Flag Day. It was my mother's birthday. I fly the flag to honor her and her service in WWII as a Navy Wave as well as my father who served in the Navy. I also fly an American Flag for what the flag has always represented. I encourage others, regardless of whose birthday it is or anniversary, if they can, to fly an American flag on Flag Day.
Al Wiruth
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Abraham R. Byrd III, North side
On June 9, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy removed the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He evidently wishes to replace them with others more attuned to his anti-vaccine beliefs. This will of course render us blind to changes that occur as viruses "morph" into forms less sensitive to prior vaccines. In the last 200+ years of their existence, vaccines have saved billions of lives. Most recently the COVID vaccines stopped the worst pandemic in 100 years. They were developed in record time and have proven safe and effective. This is personal for me: I had 7 patients who died as a result of COVID-19. Four of them died before there was an effective vaccine. But 3 of them died because they refused the vaccine -- putting their trust in social-media derived witchcraft and the disinformation promoted by Donald Trump. Mr. Kennedy is entitled to his own beliefs. But he is not entitled to put the whole nation at risk because of his beliefs.
Abraham R. Byrd III
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
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