Tucson Speaks Out: December 9

Fighting drugs, regime change, or oil?

The US failed to change the governments of Viet Nam (1955-1975), Afghanistan (2001-2021), and Iraq (2003-2011) with disastrous costs in money, American lives, political turmoil, and international prestige. Now Trump is tinkering with governments in Latin America with threats to cut funds to Honduras if right-wing presidential candidate Tito Asfura is defeated. His warships in the Caribbean have destroyed 22 small boats supposedly carrying drugs but he pardoned Honduran ex-President Juan Orlando-Hernández’ 45-year sentence for smuggling more than 400 tons of cocaine! In the American Revolution, British warships carried thousands of soldiers to fight the war in America. So far, the US fleet is only political grandstanding, but Trump is threatening to invade Venezuela, not to stop drugs or regime change but to gain access to global oil resources.

Well-armed nationalists and guerillas would resist Americans anywhere in rugged Venezuelan landscapes. War in the Amazon tropical forests would be Viet Nam again.

Tom Van Devender

North side

When the state chooses your party

In Communist East Germany, the government simply assigned people to political parties. It was a quiet but powerful way to control political life: the state decided who you were.

Arizona shouldn’t be doing anything that even faintly resembles that history. Yet Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has said he will automatically reassign nearly 47,000 No Labels voters to the Arizona Independent Party becauses of the wishes of a new party chairman, without any formal input from those who chose to register with the No Labels Party. Fontes's office says people who don't like it can “just change it back.” But political identity is a fundamental right, not a clerical detail. Forcing voters into a party whose beliefs they may not share undermines voluntary political association.

No democracy should ever let the government choose a citizen’s party for them.

Richard Grayson

West side

Tucson, where have you gone?

I left Tucson in the early 70’s, after graduating from Catalina High School, and the U of A. My wife and I were recently in town, and I was saddened by what I discovered. The University, which used to be a green, lovely oasis in the middle of the city, has become homogenized with multistory buildings, surrounded by high-rise apartments, all at the expense of green space. And the condition of the streets, unbelievable!

In my dream world, I saw myself returning to Tucson someday. Now I see you can never go home again. Tucson has lost its charm. How sad.

Dave Roberts

Midtown

Regional Transportation Authority

The Regional Transportation Authority has been and is a boondoggle forced upon the taxpayers of the City of Tucson for twenty years. They have built numerous stoplights that have slowed traffic, built sidewalks to nowhere, and have taken main arteries of streets in our community to gas guzzling stop and go. They have not improved our streets; one has to dodge potholes while driving or riding a bicycle, nor have they solved our commuter traffic within our community. They have consistently spent dollars on high cost administration and advertising that has resulted in lack of funds to do what was promised upon formation. Our Mayor needs to find another way to improve our streets other than promoting a continuation of this RTA boondoggle. Vote no in March.

Dominick San Angelo

East side

Peace talks

I am sorry to say that the peace talks are just a waste of time. What some people do not seem to understand is that despite what Russia says it does not want peace. What Russia wants is Ukraine, all of it. That has been true when the war started and is still true today. If Russia really wanted peace they could simply stop attacking Ukraine. But they have no reason to stop. The Russians are very slowly advancing on the round. The US no longer provides military support to Ukraine. The sanctions are being bypassed by China, India, and others. The war will only stop when the Russians think they cannot win. That will only happen if the Ukrainians are given long range weapons that can destroy Russian military bases, refineries and drone factories. In the meantime the peace talks are simply a way for Russia to say they are interested in peace while at the same time allowing them to continue the war.

William Brandt

Oro Valley

Project Red

Thank you Tom Ackerman. It is MORE than about time that data based information be made available to our fellow readers. I did some research about red light cameras:

• 39,345 traffic fatalities last year, 25% at intersections.

• traffic accidents are the #2 cause of death in children and young adults

• in Tucson: 2,100 recorded violations for red light and Yield sign ignoring last year twice that of 2019.

• of the top 6 intersections for red light violations, 5 were on either Grant or Golf Links

• U of A study of impact of cameras reported 29% decrease in T-bone injuries.

• Intersection crashes are, “…some of the deadliest I encounter in the trauma bay.” (Dr. J. Slotkin; NYT opinion 12/02/2025)

• study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Phoenix when cameras installed reported a 21% decrease in fatalities and a 14% decrease in all other types.

Responsible drivers approach an intersection with caution; red light runners do so with intent. Let’s help them learn better.

Rick Fiello

West side

Leave history alone

Trump acts as if his time is limited and wants to “mark his territory” much like dogs do by leaving something behind. I hope the individuals involved with altering the names of institutions and building signs in public view are careful about how they proceed. They should include in their plans ways to reverse the damage they have done. I am sure that many Americans will be more than happy to have our honored institutions return to their original forms preserving our history for future generations.

Alan Barreuther

Foothills

Immigration and Drugs

Two issues suck up a great deal of oxygen and printing ink, Immigration and Illegal Drugs.

We have migrants coming to this country seeking a better life. This is Human Nature, the prudent man does what is in his best interest. They come here to work, so if there is no work, very little illegal immigration. To stop this let's fine the people who employ the illegals. $1K for the first, 2K for the second, 4K for the third, doubling each time. If a meat packing plant is found to be using 6 illegals the fine would be $63K.

Fining and jailing/deporting illegals is the same as shoveling poop against the tide.

Second: illegal drugs: if there were no appetite for drugs there'd be no need to blow boats out of Caribbean Waters.

Perhaps taking a portion of the money we use for the War on Drugs and put that into education. Cigarette consumption has plummeted since the 60s and 70s that is directly attributable to increased education.

Steve Arnold

Foothills

ACC profit over people

Considering the approval of Project Blue by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC): they continue to cater to corporations over the people who elected them. It is abundantly clear that most Tucsonans do not want Project Blue here to suck up our water and energy. This is only one of many instances where the ACC is loyal to big business over Arizonans. They moved to eliminate mandatory energy efficiency and renewable energy standards for our utility companies, even though most Arizonans want renewable energy; eliminate programs to help customers purchase energy efficient appliances; eliminate incentives to reduce energy use during high demand periods (even though these programs have been a success to date).

These elected officials have way too much power. We need to pay attention to whom we are electing. Two commission seats are up for vote in 2026. Let's let this commission know that they work for us, not the corporations.

Lori Bryant

Northwest side

Immigrants

If you are white, and filthy rich, Trump will welcome you to his America. If you are tired, poor, yearning for freedom and fear for your life in your native country, you are not welcomed here. The President of our so-called Christian Nation has recently declared that most people from Afghanistan, Somalia, and Africa are garbage. Trump believes that these unwanted immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” And what do you do with garbage? Do you remove it from your home? Trump wants to begin re-vetting these immigrants.

In Matthew 25-35, Jesus identifies Himself with the stranger (immigrant) and tells us that how one treats strangers reflects one’s treatment of Jesus Himself. For those of us who are true Christians, we need to reject Trump’s view of immigrants. We are all God’s children, and we need to love one another without any exceptions.

Robert Ferguson, 

173rd Airborne Veteran

Sahuarita

Right here in Tucson

Our Purifier-in-Chief has struck, again! Right here in Tucson! He has an aversion to people with tinted skin or who have certain other physical features, and he will get them out of this country, or die trying. He will magnify any situation to achieve that. Three more years of "purification strikes." Pushback is in order to bring dignity and civility back to the White House.

Don Gerlach

East side

ACC's repeal of REST rules

I am disappointed that the Arizona Corporation Commission voted to repeal the Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) rules. The Commission’s primary duty is to keep electricity rates affordable, and solar and wind are now the least expensive sources of new power generation.

Why repeal rules that require the most cost-effective energy?

Utilities earn profits based on how much they invest, not on keeping costs low. This creates a strong incentive to overspend and then seek higher rates. The Commission must counter that incentive to protect Arizona ratepayers.

Arizona is also seeing rapid growth in energy-intensive data centers. Nationwide, when data centers arrive, residential rates tend to rise. The same will happen here unless we expand generation with the lowest-cost resources.

Repealing REST will not save money. Replacing affordable renewable energy with expensive fossil fuels will cost us dearly.

Tamora Muir

Southeast side

Costa's hummingbird Bob

So refreshing to read a positive story on the front page about Bob, the Costa's hummingbird, and his journey to Tucson. Henry Brean's story about the rescue was heartwarming. Kudos to Ms. Munson in Nebraska and to our own Tucsonans of the Southern Arizona Hummingbird Rescue Julia Lehman and Patricia Coghlan. Julia and Patricia nurtured and rehabilitated Bob in each of their backyard aviaries until he was ready to spread his wings.

Marge Humphreys

Foothills

Assault on a member of Congress

A news reporter and a member of Congress were fired upon by federal agents with pellets and gas. Whether those agents were executing lawful warrants at the time is beside the point. The agents were required to do their jobs in accordance with the Constitution, which they took an oath to uphold. They failed. They violated the First Amendment rights of the news reporter and the member of Congress and impeded the ability of the member of Congress to do her job, asking them questions as a means of engaging in oversight of federal government agency operations. As video shows, the member of Congress was wearing a dress and heels and was unarmed. She neither impeded nor obstructed their operation. She was simply talking and asking questions of the agents when they fired at her feet. Assaulting a member of Congress is not only a violation of her civil rights; it is a crime. I hope those federal agents will be held accountable in a court of law.

Amelia Cramer

Downtown

Front page news

A tough way to start the day when the front-page headlines offer: Trump suspending all refugee programs (not including white South Africans), Trump’s scathing criticism of our European allies, Trump’s Supreme Court approving Texas’ redistricting favorable to Republicans, and Trump’s Defense Secretary denying the “kill them all” orders in the Caribbean. As Sir Walter Scott stated centuries ago, “oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Lord help us.

Milo Borich

Northwest side

Democracy in jeopardy

We elected a criminal as our President, and he has escalated his crimes to make him and his family extremely rich. As an American, I have never been so afraid and ashamed of my country. Our President intimidated and insulted our good neighbor Canada. He threatened to invade Greenland and Panama. This administration is now murdering people in international waters and threatening the sovereignty of Venezuela. Trump has put many of the authors of Project 2025 in his administration for their help in getting him elected. Project 2025 is associated with Christian Nationalism, a white supremacy organization that is international. Their goal is to replace the American government with that of a religious authoritarian government. If you haven't noticed the erosion of our democracy, you haven't been paying attention.

Dale Lindstrom

Northwest side

Rage bait

Rage bait — The Oxford University Press defines it as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger,” which is “typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account.”

Congratulations to Loyal M. Johnson Jr. A phrase created for him and ilk.

Philip Jeremy

Midtown

Girl Scouts

We in Southern Arizona are fortunate to have someone as passionate and invested in Girl Scouts as Kristen Garcia-Hernandez. She wrote that leadership calls for leading by example and "that experience demystifies the path to success."

The best thing Southern Arizonans can do is donate to the cause. I have started donating a small portion of my income to Girl Scouts because young ladies, more than ever, need positive role models within their community.

Roberto Martinez

South side

ICE is the illegal alien in Arizona

Regardless of Trump's hatred of our Constitution, democratic process, and Rule of Law... ICE has no constitutionally legal authority to: enter a dwelling or workplace without either a warrant signed by a judge, or the permission of the resident or employer; wear things that mislead people into thinking they are domestic police; wear masks, but no badges or name tags; drive unmarked vehicles; arrest anyone without a warrant signed by a Judge or evidence of a probable crime; deport anyone without due process; initiate physical violence on the person being arrested, or any member of that person's family, or any bystander, observer, peaceful protestor, or any elected government official present; detain or arrest anyone by using racial profiling, as defined by Constitutionally authorized laws, not as defined by illegal dictates of a President who daily violates our Constitution.

Although less than 5% of ICE arrestees have committed a violent crime and less than 30% have committed any crime, ICE still engages in the above illegal actions.

Lee Stanfield

East side

Trump being held accountable

It seems like Trump could truly shoot somebody on 5th avenue and his cult would not care. Ordering the military to execute people in boats on the open ocean with no hope of being able to reach the United States seems to be an international war crime. The only hope is the courts in The Hague will hold him accountable after his term in office is over. There seems to be nobody in the United States able to force him to be an honorable person. The Supreme Court has become able only to rubber-stamp any action taken by Trump or anything a red state wants to do.

Harry Whitney

Catalina