Tucson Speaks Out: January 27

Protection from tyranny

For years, those amongst us who champion the Second Amendment have explained that the need to have unlimited access to guns of all types is to prevent government tyranny. So, in light of the killing of an apparently lawfully carrying VA ICU nurse by an agent working for ICE, a "domestic terrorist" according to our government, I ask: So how's that theory working out for us?

Mark Cochran

Green Valley

Over my dead body

For decades, conservatives and the National Rifle Association have demanded the right to own as many guns as possible based on the Second Amendment right to self-defense and against tyranny. They railed that Liberals would take away their guns over their dead bodies. On January 6, Trump urged Secret Service to turn off the magnetometers to allow gun-toting MAGAs on their way to the Capitol to hear his speech in the White House Ellipse. In March 2020, there were 301,268 legal carry gun permits in Minnesota. VA Hospital ICU nurse Alex Pretti with a cell phone in his hand turned to help a woman slipping on the ice. Both were pepper-sprayed and knocked to the ground. While kicking him, an agent took Pretti's legal carry pistol from his waist, yelled ‘gun’, and another agent shot him 10 times. MAGA beware, Trump’s (not the DEMs) new policy is literally to take your gun from your dead body. So much for our Second Amendment rights.

Tom Van Devender

North side

America at war

As a retired senior military officer, I know war. America is at war — with itself. The first casualty of conflict is truth. And now, a body count of American citizens. Our true foreign enemies recline, and without effort, let the self-inflicted damage mount.

Founding Fathers recognized that the only true threat to our democracy experiment would come from within. That threat now emanates from a chaotic, cancer-spewing despot who abandons truth, transparency and accountability.

Whatever the mask of “Make America Great Again” offered, its cost is too great to bear. Judgment Day is coming, and until then — resist. Resist. Resist.

Mike Cravens

Marana

Vote no on RTA Next propositions

In 2006, the residents of Pima County voted in favor of the Regional Transportation Authority. At the time, the county had no experience with this type of regional transportation funding, and many promises sounded appealing, so we gave it a chance.

Almost 20 years later, the RTA is asking for 20 more years. Hopefully, now we know better. In those 20 years, we’ve seen a dysfunctional board, an executive director gone wild, a lack of accountability, funding shortfalls, massive cost overruns, timeline overruns, and incomplete projects. The RTA’s track record is pretty dismal.

Twenty more years of taxes for incompetence is not appealing, we can do better. Vote no on Prop 418 and 419.

Sky Jacobs

Downtown

Memo to the President

To: The President

From: The Real World

Subject: Foreign Policy

1. Bellowing, bullying and boasting are not a foreign policy.

2. Your immediate attention to this matter is requested.

Robert A. Benzinger

Northeast side

Trump World

On July 4, Washington, D.C., will be renamed as Trump World. Excitement abounds as you experience all that Trump World has to offer.

Men’s World will allow you to exert your highest masculine fitness to abuse women and anyone else verbally and physically. Bring your wife so that she can be part of the fun.

Women’s World provides the opportunity for women and non-masculine individuals to experience life as a piece of furniture to be kicked around. Doesn’t get any better than this!

ICE World allows wannabe sadists the opportunity to wade into the locals with batons, guns and TASERs with the chance to rough up your choice of protester. With luck, you might even get to shoot someone.

King’s World is your opportunity to kiss the butt of King Orange for the small donation of $1M.

Make your vacation plans today.

George Ball

Midtown

George Orwell was right

George Orwell was right? Tod Blanche appeared on Meet The Press (Jan. 25), telling the moderator that the public cannot believe what we're witnessing on the filmed ICE violations. Instead, we should believe the administration's assessment. He insisted that local law enforcement in Minneapolis is not supporting ICE in its efforts to police the city. But federal intervention was never requested by the mayor nor by the governor. Why would any law enforcement department aid ICE when the federal purview is not local policing? Blanche blamed the mayor and governor for the killings in Minneapolis. He said protestors had no right to yell at ICE, that they were impeding ICE's function. Interestingly, the U.S. Constitution guarantees the rights of peaceable assembly and protest, it does not prohibit "yelling." Not only do Trump and his authoritarian acolytes want to control what we see and hear, but they want to post and control their own narratives. "1984" is a little late, but George Orwell was right.

Barbara Benjamin

Foothills

End the horror now

How many more people have to be executed in the streets at the hands of the lawless, out-of-control goons of ICE, supervised by a wannabe Nazi in his military greatcoat, or out of sight in the concentration camps run by DHS, before our spineless “lawmakers” finally stop this outrage and hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable?

Trump’s personal police force is trampling the Constitution before our eyes, dragging people out of cars, breaking into their houses, and separating children from parents while he and his complicit sycophants parrot his lies that ICE is going only after criminals in the country illegally and that anyone who protests is a “domestic terrorist.”

The masked goons need only look in the mirror to see the real domestic terrorists.

As Professor Timothy Snyder states, "The lies begin as clichés, memes that are pounded into our heads by the government and by those in the media who repeat them."

Call your representatives in Congress and demand immediate action.

Barbara Liguori

Northeast side

Murder in Minnesota

Another senseless killing of an American citizen took place in Minneapolis on Saturday. This one even more violent and indefensible as the last one.

Right on cue, government officials released their own distorted version of events, claiming that the victim, Alex Pretti, approached officers with a loaded gun. The only accurate part of their statement was that he had a loaded gun, which was strapped to his hip, but never left his holster until agents removed it from him.

Pretti was filming ICE operations and went to the aid of a woman bowled over by a BP agent. He was tackled, beaten, sprayed, and on the ground when one of the agents saw his gun, grabbed it and moved away. A second or so later, agents opened fire multiple times while Pretti was on the ground. Then, incredibly, backed away from his lifeless body and shot about four more times.

That's murder, folks. Plain and simple.

Glen Vann

West side

ICE presence in Tucson

My LTEs to suggest that ICE's presence in Tucson will be coming have been met with little or ineffective response by local elected officials. A press release from the City of Tucson, without notice re: translation for immigrants and an elected official, that is more concerned about the police chief speaking with your reporter, Tim Steller, to modify his comments.

AG Kris Mayes has warned that here, in an open carry state, there will surely be clashes with recklessly trained ICE agents. Perhaps we are now seeing what immigrants have had to deal with, the brutality and level/method of enforcement.

Young and old Latino citizens are upset and carrying their passports, expecting the unexpected. City workers are being questioned by brilliant ICE agents who can't see that they are driving a City vehicle. Now, another death in Minnesota, an unnecessary car chase on 1-19 resulting in deaths, and the attempt to extort Minnesota officials to turn over their voting rolls, in exchange for withdrawing their ICE troops.

Prepare for clashes and unforeseen tragedy/wrongful arrests in our town.

Margarita Bernal

West side