Tucson Speaks Out: November 16

President Nixon was removed from office for a conspiracy and break-in. He was encouraged by the Republican Party to resign. Now, over 50 years later, we have a President who at least had knowledge of young girls being sexually trafficked. Whether he participated in their being exploited or not, he was aware and had a daughter that he could actually relate to. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have someone strong in the Republican Congress like Senator Goldwater who can convince the President to resign for the good of the Nation. We will never have that because “King Donald” will never ever leave. So very sad to have such a weak Republican Party.

May Beth Schneider

East side

Tolerance

Many thanks to Rabbi Ceitlin for his excellent and insightful guest opinion (Star, Nov. 13) on the damage done by speech and writing (and actions!) based on false information. In this instance, the unfortunate but innocent wearing of a T-shirt by math teachers to signify the difficulty of solving math problems (all who struggled with math can identify!) was taken to mean something totally different, and as he says, a viral firestorm erupted before the school could explain. And it has not stopped, despite the explanation and fact that they were used last year and therefore could not possibly be referring to Charlie Kirk’s murder. There are individuals on social media — and unfortunately in public and political office — who thrive on creating as much suspicion, distrust and anger as they can against their fellow citizens. Untold damage to the social fabric is being done by these individuals. Rabbi Ceitlin’s gentle advice, old as the Talmud and Christ’s words in Matthew, and mirrored in Rotarians’ 4-way test, should hold. Selah!

Abraham R. Byrd III

North side

Adelita Grijalva

This letter is for a huge shout-out to Adelita! How can anyone from Arizona not be proud of her? In her acceptance speech, she reaffirmed the Democratic commitment to the immigrant. She told her story about her own family’s immigration to this country. She immediately voted to have the Epstein files released. She will be a wonderful voice in the absolute defeat of the Trump Administration. Just last night, JD Vance on Fox News was still blaming Biden for all their woes. They have been in office for a year, with only hate and defeating democracy on their agenda. They are taking your money, your welfare, and giving it to billionaires. What the hell is wrong with Republicans? The blame game is futile; everyone knows how horrible this administration has been. Can’t wait to watch it come crashing down. They will be, and are, the biggest losers.

Mary Bradley

Northeast side

Not answering the question

The question posed was if it seemed excessive that 45 million people in our bountiful nation were receiving SNAP benefits. Instead of a yes or no, there was a vitriolic lecture concerning how important these benefits were. The real issue is who really needs them as compared to those who receive them without a legitimate need. A Government Accounting Office report issued Sept 26, 2024, is as follows: “USDA estimated 11.7% (or about $10.5 billion) of SNAP benefits that it paid were improper —meaning that payments were the wrong amount or otherwise should not have been made. This was an increase from the prior year’s estimate of 11.5%. We’ve also made recommendations in the past to help ensure SNAP benefits are used as intended. For example, USDA has yet to implement our recommendation to increase penalties for when a retailer exchanges recipients’ SNAP benefits for cash instead of food.” Why are you so affronted and terrified of questioning and investigating this and similar programs?

Loyal M. Johnson Jr.

Oro Valley

Outstanding!

Ranked No. 2 nationally by Backstage (No. 1 Alvin Ailey School; No. 5 Juilliard), the U of A School of Dance continues to be a jewel in Tucson as I witness at their “Fall for Dance” opening night. Kudos to the student dancers for their energy, synchronization, strength, balance and grace. This is a dance season not to be missed!

Phineas Anderson

Catalina

Trump is amoral — are you?

Amoral — adjective: lacking a moral sense; unconcerned with whether something is right or wrong.

How can there still be Trumpers who still support him, despite his obviously corrupt past, his unethical money grubbing, and his current attempt to hide his sexually criminal behaviors? The Republican Party has been discredited by Trump, but can return to a respectable organization by rejecting him now. Please don’t believe Trump when he claims that he is “Born Again,” as it is one of the few exit strategies that he has left in order to escape his Epstein child rape involvement. Please remove yourself from the WCN (White Christian Nationalism) Republican base by standing up for your moral beliefs and rejecting this amoral sub-human who is leading our country towards an immoral autocracy.

Revone Bauwens

Southwest side

Transgenders in sports

I just read a great LTE telling our “Loyal” friend in OV to prove what he constantly lies about, Dems. Now he’s after the almost completely nonexistent transgender women in sports. He’s now stating that all women are abysmally letting down their daughters and granddaughters for not standing up against the 10 known transgender athletes in NCAA sports.

Of over half a million athletes competing in NCAA-sanctioned sports, 10 are known transgender athletes. That’s 0.002%. It’s a shame that all the mothers and grandmothers don’t follow our Loyal friend’s advice and stand up against these 10. This is such a travesty that all women are allowing by not standing up against those 0.002%. Times are changing, and our Loyal friend just can’t seem to keep up. Maybe his hero, the liar and felon, will try to force his party to eliminate them. Wait, he has.

John Bingham

Northwest side

Law of the jungle

A journalist recently asked President Trump about legal authority to blow up Caribbean boats. He answered that authority comes from the fact that illegal drugs kill people in America.

This shows that #47 does not recognize sources of authority other than his own right hand.

The President made no mention of statutory law, constitutional law, international law, treaty agreements, the Supreme Court, rules of engagement ... just his own peculiar brand of animal instinct. He must do it because “I alone can fix it.”

Does it matter that innocent people die in this Latin American manhunt? Nope. Does it matter that the American people and their elected representatives have no say in the new system of rule by the king of the jungle? Nope.

Is it sad that nobody else but him is smart enough to get things done? Yes, it is very sad.

Kimball Shinkoskey

Woods Cross, Utah

What’s the problem?

Loyal M. Johnson Jr., in his Nov. 14 letter, pinpointed a major problem needing immediate attention.

It’s not homelessness, with 2,000 or more living in Tucson’s alleys and washes. Nor is it masked men roaming our cities, snatching people away. It isn’t first-time homebuyers for whom the president proposes 50-year mortgages.

It’s the two-thousandths of 1% of college athletes who are transgender. That is just 10 people among everyone who plays college sports, the NCAA’s president told a U.S. Senate committee.

Horrors!

Equally shocking is the situation in K-12 sports. Save Women’s Sports, which advocates banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports, identified five transgender athletes competing across the country, Newsweek reported.

No wonder Mr. Johnson wants American women to undertake a “No Men” march.

By all means, let’s go full-throated on what he called a “horrific injustice.”

Shraddha Hilda Oropeza

West side

What does Trump really care about?

There are 6 million drug addicts in the USA. In 2023, 105,000 died of overdosing on drugs. Drug addiction is a terrible plague that addicts have done to themselves. We are to believe that Trump cares so much about drug addiction that he put a $7 million a day aircraft carrier, several $250,000 a day warships and destroys alleged drug boats with missiles that cost between $1 and $4 million each. Tens of thousands of Marines are on board some ships. Do you believe that all that firepower and expense is needed to find and destroy small drug boats? I wonder if the large oil reserves of Venezuela play a part in Trump’s war on drugs. Given that everything Trump does involves money and profit, it’s hard to believe he is spending millions of dollars a day because he cares about drug addiction. Enjoy the show. Wake up!

Richard Bechtold

West side