Tucson Speaks Out: December 3

Goldwater conservatism

vs. Trump 'conservatism'

Barry Goldwater would hardly recognize the “conservatism” now marketed by Trump and Fox News. Goldwater’s conservatism was a philosophy of limited government, personal liberty, fiscal restraint, and a deep distrust of demagogues. Trumpism, by contrast, is an emotional support system for grievances and cruelty wrapped in theatrics and sold as patriotism.

Goldwater wanted government out of your wallet and your private life. Trump’s conservatism wants government small enough to defund schools but big enough to dictate reproductive choices, ban books, and turn public health into a culture war. Goldwater believed in science and evidence; Trumpism treats vaccines like a communist plot designed to separate true patriots from their God-given right to catch preventable diseases.

The truth is simple: Goldwater’s conservatism tried to protect the Republic. Trump’s “conservatism” tries to protect one man’s ego and his bank account. If Goldwater saw what became of his movement, he might offer one final update: “Extremism in defense of narcissism is a vice.”

Lawrence E. Mazin

SaddleBrooke

National Guard in DC

They need to do one of two things to protect themselves.

Proceed as if they were an occupying army in a foreign land and with 500 more, be better armed, wear helmets and have checkpoints.

They are from WV and being in DC could feel like a foreign country to them.

Or they could just go home and proceed to live a normal life.

Donald Plummer

Northwest side

The root cause

There is a basic issue that everyone ignores when it comes to what is wrong with our country and the world in general. The problem is money and greed. All faiths teach taking care of each other, kindness and following basic rules around stealing, lying and aggression. Here is the problem. The acquisition of money is not included in any faith-based teaching. If what you do produces a monetary profit, it is accepted as the right thing to do. Making money and being greedy is accepted as "good business," even if it hurts someone. We admire people for how much money they have, not how much they help others. Money is power in our society. It is sad that every time I read a news story, I have to think, "what money deal is motivating this?" To understand American events, we must "follow the money." It is so sad.

Richard Bechtold

West side

Tragic Death of 3 U of A Students

As an Uber driver of 9 years and 19,000 trips, I turned the corner from University Ave. to Euclid trying to head north on the Thursday night before Halloween when I noticed some kind of incident that had just taken place at the crosswalk and people responding to what happened (3 students tragically hit by a car). Please be aware that on that particular night, thousands of students were out celebrating and that it was bumper to bumper traffic in that entire U of A area and nobody driving in that area had any right to be speeding.

My viewpoint is that for years, both the University Police and the Tucson Police seem to allow a culture of underage drinking to regularly take place at the University, which not only endangers the students themselves but the surrounding community. Certain bars/restaurants continuously cater to underage drinking. On a big football weekend, there are parents drinking with their underage kids at many fraternities and functions. Time to enforce liquor laws!

John Rehm

Midtown

Liz Cheney and Mark Kelly's bond

Although Senator Mark Kelly and former Congresswoman Liz Cheney are polar opposites when it comes to their political and policy positions, they nonetheless share a deep and ironclad commitment to our nation, its rule of law, and the Constitution. As Cheney has so presciently written, “In our country, we don’t swear an oath to an individual, or a political party. We take our oath to defend the United States Constitution. And that oath must mean something. I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”

Senator Kelly’s unyielding resistance, rejection, and dismissal of President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth’s sophomoric attacks on his character, service, and loyalty in placing country over party should serve as model for all our elected officials — Democratic, Independent and Republican – to defend and embrace.

Scott Feierabend

Northeast side

Arizona's water future

In a series of brief and exceptionally eloquent op-ed pieces, nature photographer Rusty Childress has distilled more vital truth about Arizona's water future than generations of state officials have ever expressed.

Climate change, persistent drought and interstate politics shrink Arizona's supply from the Colorado River. Foreign and out-of-state companies buy up Arizona farmland for the water rights. Water importation is touted as a magic pill while its staggering costs and environmental, international and interstate legal, and practical implementation complications remain hidden.

But land speculation and real estate development are mighty businesses in Arizona, have powerful influence over the Legislature and can't imagine stopping building subdivisions. As the old saying goes, "When an unstoppable force (Arizona real estate development) collides with an immovable object (Arizona's declining water resources), a cataclysm is inevitable."

Brooks Keenan

Oro Valley

Truth be known

I’m angry about the horrific shooting of National Guard members in DC, killing Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounding Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe. I am angry at the shooter, and I’m angry that these Guard troops were deployed by President Trump without DC requesting them. I’m especially angry at the post-shooting lies & blame pushed by Trump and the MAGA crowd.

Facts matter: The shooter worked with the US military during the War in Afghanistan, had no criminal history, came here legally in 2021, during the Biden administration, applied for asylum in 2024, and was vetted and granted asylum in 2025 by the Trump administration. Yet Trump is blaming former President Biden and using this tragedy to justify sending more troops to DC, all while vilifying all Afghans, many of whom helped our country during that conflict.

Playing the blame game as Trump is doing so often does gets us nowhere. We must turn down the political heat … not add fuel to the fire.

Ronald Eustice

Northwest side

Time cures all

The idea of democracy in America, once a great notion, has become twisted and ugly, run by brutes and thugs.

A great unease has settled over the land because everything is out of balance, out of whack. The class and color lines are drawn darker. Cages without beds, and violence without end are the choices of masked men housing innocent people.

The polls show that 30% of voters are deaf to this collapse of decency, where the unkind feel righteous with their slurs and vulgarity. Anything goes in gangland.

Meanwhile, frightened people of all colors and orientations are losing hope in our plodding politicians.

Is there not an antidote to this poison? Can we not take the same toxin and make a medicine, a remedy for what ails the country? I think so. It is time. Time cures all ills. First, it weakens, then dissolves.

Ron Lancaster

North side

Thank you Mark Kelly & Dem leaders

I read with astonishment the Star’s 11/30 headline “Experts: Punishment doubtful for Kelly.” The President, the Pentagon, and all military and intelligence leaders should be thanking Senator Kelly and the five other Democratic members of Congress for their video reminding service members of the sacred UCMJ. Any leader of men and women who has high moral and ethical character with unquestioned competence and credibility should have responded “Damn straight! Our administration would never direct our military men and women to follow illegal orders. Thank you for your important message.”

The video takes on major importance in light of the actions and words from the unqualified, ill-equipped, petty, and unprofessional Secretary Hegseth. He has fired all the top military lawyers who used to counsel military leaders and commanders regarding the legality/illegality of orders given to them. The video now provides this missing counsel.

Thank you, Sens. Kelly and Slotkin and Reps. Crow, Deluzio, Goodlander, and Houlahan — patriots all with exemplary military records and work in our intelligence agencies.

Kathy Krucker

Midtown

The dignity of the office

It seems that no one speaks of the dignity of the office of the Presidency anymore. Why? Dignified speech should be a minimum requirement. Regretfully, we are getting a heavy dose of schoolyard taunts. Name calling is routine and shrugged off as Trump being Trump. That may fly as a candidate, but once in office, it is time to put on the mantle of President and use elevated language. You are speaking for a nation now and no longer as a private citizen. Your words reflect on us all.

I’ve heard many a Trump supporter dismiss the way he speaks about people who disagree with him. They tell me they don’t approve, but they like his policies. Very well, then, let him and others in your party know that you disapprove and that you want it to stop. The notion that a person can’t change is an insufficient reason not to try. It is not derangement to posit this as a minimum requirement of the job.

Robert Rietschel

Green Valley