Tucson Speaks Out: April 9

Four American soldiers were flown home in boxes on Saturday. Trump played golf in Florida.

Randy Ryan

Vietnam veteran

East side

Brown-skin fear

I was deeply saddened by a conversation I had with a friend. She and her husband, both physicians, U.S. citizens, and of Indian descent, visit their families in India at least once a year. She told me that she is worried about difficulty re-entering the U.S. after international travel. I said that since she is an American citizen, there shouldn’t be a problem. Her response: “Brown-skinned people are being targeted at customs.” She feels the need to delete anything on her phone which might implicate her as anti-Trump. A number of her Indian friends with green cards — physicians, scientists, university professors — had planned summer travel, but are canceling their plans due to fear of being blocked on reentry into the country. What has become of Emma Lazarus’ “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free....” or, at least: Give me our own American citizens or legal residents who happen to have brown skin? This shocks the conscience.

Sandra Katz

Foothills

Trump tariff problem

I read with interest Tim Steller’s column “Business elites should confront tariffs” in the Sunday edition. He’s absolutely right.

With the stock market in a free fall due to the obsolete tariff policy of the president, it is time to really study this problem. What worked in the early 1900s will not work in the modern world of computers, internet and massive transportation systems. Other alliances will be made. Meanwhile, China, India, and Russia will become stronger at America’s expense.

Jim Click’s reaction was confusing. Click, who has donated nearly a million dollars to Republican candidates and PACs since the January 6, 2021, attempted coup by Donald Trump, says, “We’ve got plenty of product right now for sale.” We are headed for a possible depression in the next few months. Soon, fewer will have the money or credit to buy the “product.”

J.P. Morgan notes, “Disruptive U.S. policies have been recognized as the biggest risk to the global outlook all year.” Business elites — confront the problem!

Matt Somers

Midtown

Love for San Pedro River animals

We have a chance to embrace and hold dear the animals and people who live in the lower San Pedro River area. Here, the company Faraday proposes to build the Copper Creek mine, to span a huge 28-square-mile project upon land that serves as a lifeline for Arizona’s endangered species, and to use massive amounts of Arizona’s dwindling water, 70,000 gallons a month for each of 67 drill sites.

Here the ocelot, jaguar, Mexican spotted owl, as well as turtles, ring-tailed cats, and multiple bird species make their homes, and rely upon finding water. Indigenous peoples of Arizona regard this land as sacred. The toxic tailing piles could blow upon people’s homes, churches, and schools. We can show our concern and love for these wonderful animals and peoples by emailing the BLM at blm_az_sfo_coppercreek@blm.gov through April 14, 2025. Thank you for being a voice!

Carol Fortier

Midtown

Thank a federal employee

I wanted to thank some federal employees to boost their morale given the current hostile environment, so I went to the nearest Social Security office and asked the security guard if I could bring some donuts for the staff. He called the manager, who said they can’t accept gifts. So, the purpose of this letter is to thank all federal employees for their work. Even though there are no doubt efficiencies to be gained, I know they are like most of us, they just want to do a good job. PS: Would Elon Musk refuse the donuts?

William Durbin

Foothills

Medicaid and elder care

Medicaid pays for the care of 53% of nursing home residents in Arizona, providing critical services for seniors. The media often lumps Medicaid in with other “entitlement” programs, stigmatizing it as a handout to the undeserving.

In reality, many of us, and our friends and family will rely on Medicaid at some point. After years of dealing with a complicated chain of events involving private insurance and various Medicare programs, when Medicare coverage runs out, only Medicaid steps in for seniors.

If Medicaid is cut by the $880 billion proposed by the Republican Administration, the impact will not only be on the poor and working class, but the middle class will take a major hit as well, forcing many to pay out of pocket for their themselves and family members.

In Arizona, the cost for Nursing Home care can average $97,000 per year.

The time has come for Congressman Ciscomani to step up and take a stand to protect Medicaid in the final budget bill.

James Lewison

Foothills

Girls were stars, too

Thanks to the Star for publishing my little cartoon honoring Quentin Bryson, the “Athlete of the Year” for 1959 at Catalina High. I enjoyed drawing those sketches, always to honor boys, never the best girl athletes. Not once. We had fine girl players, like Sandy Boonstra who was sports “girl of the year” her junior and senior year, playing volleyball, basketball, softball and hockey. But no cartoon. Wouldn’t happen today. Let’s hope.

Ford Burkhart

Midtown

Enduring Trump’s craziness, again

As a retired teacher, I feel fortunate now in retirement that I and my husband “made it.” Now, however, what kind of craziness must the younger generations put up with? Maybe some folks who voted for Trump thought he would “shake things up.” After all, how bad could it be? Wrecking our country, laying off hundreds of thousands with no clue how to fix the disaster they caused — that’s how bad. Nor do they care one bit. If this is what some think MAGA is, good luck to them — they probably haven’t even noticed the stock market and world tumbling down around them. Some people have told me they would like to live elsewhere until Trump gets out of office. I prefer to live in my great country, only the USA, and work to fix the disaster from within, which is really the only way to go.

Fran Gordon

Green Valley

Be afraid, be very afraid

A Republican Congressman from Texas quoted Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels with regard to eliminating free speech and truth and the reporting thereof: “It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion.” So, it’s all right to report lies as truth? It’s all right to ignore the truth because it might bring some questions? It’s all right to deny history? Freedom of Speech is one of our fundamental rights. If you are not appalled by this, or excuse this, or accept this in silence, you are no American — you are a Fascist and there is no excuse for your existence except to foment pain and suffering.

Cynthia Schiesel

East side

Destroying democracy

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that the media and the liberals declared that if President Trump was elected then democracy would be destroyed. So many people were concerned that they shifted away from voting for Trump to make their feelings known. Oh wait, got that backwards, most of the voters voted in favor of President Trump, not trusting the imaginations of the liberals that spent their time Nazi name-calling and making up tragic scary scenarios. Now that the election is over and and the Harris/Walz nightmare has faded away, what have we learned instead? Liberals “claim to” represent law-abiding behavior, the country is being overwhelmed by lawlessness, the damaging of private automobiles and the burning of unsold cars still on the lot. What would drive liberals to break the law instead of demanding law and order? Is lawlessness a sign of the collapse of democracy? Do laws apply to everyone, or just conservatives? Can anyone that doesn’t agree, break the laws without consequence?

Loran Hancock

Northwest side

Trump’s comments

In a photo of Donald Trump’s profile in one of his golf carts, he is quoted as saying we “should toughen up”

Many. many years ago, when someone was told that the peasants didn’t have bread to eat, she replied: “Let them eat cake.”

We all know what happened to Marie Antoinette, don’t we?

Thomas Krahn

South side

Take a deep breath

The April 3 opinion piece by Gil Shapiro framed a clear picture of facts describing DJT and his supporters. Anyone suggesting otherwise is lying to his (her )self. (the Big Lie, January 6, Convicted felon, Impeached President 2x, bankruptcy filings 6x, etc.). I ask that you read the article again, slowly, thoughtfully with an open mind. If that’s not possible, then take a deep breath and just answer Gil’s questions honestly and see what could happen. I did this with a Trump supporter and surprisingly, our answers and exchanges closely aligned.

By the way, are you as healthy financially today as you were say — April 2? C’mon man, let’s be honest with ourselves and answer the questions.

Ernest Saccani

Foothills

What is Ciscomani doing for Arizona?

What is Juan Ciscomani doing? As the executive branch unbalances our system, what is Congress doing to be a check on that power? The president and his cabinet are illegally cutting jobs that our country depends on. What is Juan Ciscomani doing? The president and his cabinet have halted Congress-approved funding, and what is our Congress doing about it? The president has levied tariffs, suspended habeas corpus, and begun dismantling free speech. How is Juan Ciscomani protecting the Constitution? The JRCA is going to strip the judicial branch of its power, and the SAVE Act will disenfranchise millions of votes. The cuts to Medicaid will devastate lives, and the cuts to Social Security will ruin the financial stability of many others. So what is Juan Ciscomani doing about it? From a concerned citizen who wants the best for the world and country

Jeanette Rupel

East side