Tucson Speaks Out: April 8

What a military officer needs to know

By way of this LTE, I am asking our two US Senators to investigate the report that DefSec Hegseth has directed the Naval Academy to remove from the academy library any books and materials related to diversity, and I ask them to ensure that this does not happen at our other outstanding military colleges. Removing from history the names and contributions of anyone who was not a straight, white, “Christian” male is, at the least, a moral crime against truth and an inane way to train the future leaders of our fighting forces. I learned long ago that all Americans bleed the same color, even the ones Sec. Hegseth does not want his future officers to know about.

Wes Ward

Oro Valley

Hands Off at Reid Park

Last Saturday a very impressive number of peaceful protesters showed up at Reid Park demanding “Hands Off!” all efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government. The organizers asked us to believe that this is a power grab by the president to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and federal jobs, apparently ignoring repeated statements by the administration that no cuts to legitimate recipients the three entitlement programs will happen.

My opinion is that they care little about those programs and fear most the loss of their decades-old sacred entitlement, federal Democrat jobs.

Jeffrey McConnell

West side

Deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

On Friday Judge Xinis ordered the Trump administration to get Mr. Garcia back to the U S from an El Salvador prison. The administration urged an appeals court to suspend the ruling. The Trump administration admitted that Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error” and the Trump DOJ lawyer handling the case, Erez Reuveni, conceded that Garcia should not have been removed from the US.

When the Trump administration filed the appeal, it turned out that Mr. Reuveni had been removed from the case by Attorney General Bondi. Now the DOJ say they have no authority to get Mr. Garcia back on US soil. DOJ lawyers argued that trying to force a “foreign sovereign government to send back a foreign terrorist in 3 days is no way to run a government and it has no basis in American law.”

This is no way to run the American government.

James Doyle

Northwest side

Creative protests

At the ripe age of 84 years, I have come to the stage in life where I only drive my car when I have to ... for things like doctor visits, etc. I also try to make those trips as short as possible ... so I tend to keep to my neighborhood. However, I do want to contribute to the current political protest movement that seems to firmly believe in everything that I believe in. Sooo … one of my “best ever” New Year’s resolutions was to change my yearly Reading Book Club activity to enact my very own list of books. This year, I decided that it shall be my “Reading Banned Books Club”. I started with the classic book, The Handmaid’s Tale. I also made a nice donation to Cory Booker last week. That makes me smile. I am so very proud of him for knocking Thurmond’s white-man’s bigotry off the pedestal and inserting a nice black man’s win there.

Sue Thompson

SaddleBrooke

Our Rome is burning

Rome burned for six days in 64 AD, stopped and then burned another three days, leaving 71% of the city destroyed. History tells many tales, some suggesting Nero may have started the fire in order to build a new palace. Was it self-serving?

Last week’s tariff announcement caused the stock market to “burn” $6.6 trillion. It has lost 17% since the high, two months ago. Notable economists and investors say that a recession in 2025 is highly likely. Morningstar calls it a “self-inflicted economic catastrophe.”

This reckless action will change lives. Food costs will increase, again. Retirement and pension savings will blow away in the flames of incompetence. Forget about buying a new car, unless you’re an oligarch. And get ready to house your relatives.

Has history taught us nothing? We are watching our economy, democracy, and history burn while our self-serving leader “fiddles” with his golf clubs far from the flames.

Stop the fire! Call your representatives. Tell them to stand for America!

Carla OHara

Oro Valley

Court won’t block motels’ demolition

While I appreciate the need to preserve buildings of historical interest and designation, I agree with the court ruling and the PCC Board conclusion that money is better spent on preserving the neon signs and demolishing the three motels along Drachman Street whose only historic significance over the last 50 years has been showcasing blight and iniquity. There have been no past or recent attempts of any amount at historic preservation. The college has been doing a wonderful job with development and improvement to the area of downtown PCC in both form and function. The new construction and expansion of college programs for both young and old is a welcome addition to the area and benefits all of Tucson. I am confident the corridor around Drachman and Stone streets will continue to be aesthetically improved and serve as a beautiful gateway to a vibrant downtown. Let the history of Tucson be told through educational and economic development from now to the future.

Emery Nicoletti

Midtown

What, me worry?

Imagine the blood-curdling howling and screaming that would come from car dealers if any unit of government proposed a one year, one half of one penny sales tax on new cars to pay for anything ... anything. Maybe fix River between Swan and Pontatoc, perhaps Limberlost between Oracle and Stone? Maybe a retirement home for ex-car salesmen. Anything at all at any tax cost would be crushed by these people.

Their guy Trump, acting alone, has slapped the biggest sales tax in history upon them, you and me and it will hit cars hard. The reaction of local car moguls? Dead silent. Trump’s reaction to increased car prices: “I couldn’t care less.” Where’s the howling?

Douglas Williams

Foothills

Bring wisdom to the White House

Former Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez announced that he “ ... received an e-mail from the US government informing me that they have suspended the visa I have in my passport” for no reason. His “crime?” Attacking Trump’s self-glorification.

Trump’s excuse? Arias established diplomatic relations with China In 2008. Trump hates China. Over half of all Teslas are made in China, as are all of Trump’s scam products, even his Bibles.

It appears Arias criticized Trump a few weeks ago, saying, “He’s like an emperor, telling the world what to do.” So, any leader who loves America and has compassion for the country but speaks poorly of the self-anointed emperor or disagrees with His Majesty can be denied a visa or even imprisoned if they set foot on American soil.

Arias criticized the Zelenskyy attack in the Oval Office as lacking “diplomacy, measure, respect and calm.” The revocation, he stated, was “characteristic of an autocracy.”

Costa Rica is a friendly ally.

Sheldon Metz

Northeast side

Money destroyed collegiate sports

Money has destroyed collegiate sports. Players can transfer from their schools, virtually at whim, for more NIL money or for petty grievances. Leaving the fans to simply root for a jersey rather than players that they have watched develop over the years. The venerated PAC12 “Conference of Champions” dissolved after over 100 years. Stanford now plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Geographically absurd. The universities care only about sports revenues, not the impact on player-athletes’ health and well-being flying back and forth across the country. Nor about late night game times for loyal fans. I’ve been a U of A season ticket holder since 1983. Now it’s time to spend my money for the pros, where the money has lesser effect and where team stability is much greater than in the NCAA.

Dennis Winsten

Northeast side

Idiocy

A frequent writer from the radical right, has offered many preposterous ideas in his most recent rant against a writer who has expressed concerns about the administration’s lack of self control and total ignorance of legal process. Instead of attacking the assertions of the writer, the Loyalist simply regurgitates the lies and propaganda spewed by Fox News. He has no data to support his idiotic claims.

• Diligent and enlightening audit? Where are the findings?
• Progress in peace talks in Ukraine war. Nope.
• Trans men brutalizing young women in sports. Only in radical echo chambers is this real.
• Tariffs will fix our trade deficit. It has never worked in our history.

By your own statements, you earn the descriptor of idiot.

Jeff Rayner

SaddleBrooke

Tariffs and economy

Re: Tariffs Torpedo Markets, 4 April.

Trump tariffs will probably cause a worldwide recession, as did the Smoot-Hawley tariffs which extended the depression of the 1930s. What was not discussed in the article was that Trump has no understanding of why trade imbalances exist. The Trump method of calculating other countries so-called tariffs is nonsense. Trump’s alleged rate from each trading partner is found by the difference of the value of US imports and the value of US exports divided by US imports. As an example, the US imports $131.5 billion from Korea while we export only $65.5 billion for a difference of $66 billion. Dividing that difference by $131.5 billion is equal to 50%. However, it is a meaningless figure. Balance of trade has nothing to do with determining tariffs. World leaders are now aware of how ignorant our president is. This will cause the US consumer to pay thousands more for goods they buy.

Michael Mount

Foothills

What’s the threshold?

How much damage is needed before the GOP members of Congress who are not blinded by Trump join with Democrats to stop Trump’s reign of terror, before our economy and country falls (further) into permanent disrepair? All this pain is based on Trump’s “hunch.” His “acumen” only shows us why he had to file bankruptcy seven times in his “successful” career.

Troy Watson

East side

Our inclusive society

I was in junior high school when my dad got real sick. They took him to UCLA medical center and did a lot of tests. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

Then a blood test intern who had arrived here from Korea on a student visa suggested a test for some disease that was common in his country but rarely appeared here. That test pointed out the problem. My dad got the appropriate medication and returned home healthy.

What if Trump had been president and deported the intern?

Our whole country benefits from immigrants from different countries, with different cultures, different religions, different races. Somewhere here, some “different” person has the knowledge and experience to solve a pressing problem.

We need to maintain an inclusive society. Don’t let MAGA deportation policies take away the special sauce that makes America truly great. Trump’s policies wreck and weaken our country.

Bruce Joffe

South Tucson

Barely four months

Once again, I must respond to LM’s taking liberty with the facts. Illegals and possibly legal immigrants have been flown without “due process” to Guantanamo and El Salvador at great taxpayer expense. The Trump administration is also paying El Salvador to keep these human beings imprisoned. Very few have committed serious crimes compared to the numerous U.S. citizens that have murdered hundreds with assault weapons. That’s fear. One convicted criminal (Donald Trump) doesn’t fear consequences for his actions thanks to a very questionable decision by the Supreme Court. Since President Zelensky was demeaned and blamed for the Ukraine war, any current talks are far from resolving that war. Antony Blinken spent countless hours working to negotiate both the Ukraine and Gaza wars far from Democrats accepting endless wars. Trump’s latest firing of the Director of NSA without cause mitigates further against a resolution. As for further waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars how about the taxpayer money transporting Trump weekly to play golf?

Chuck Cabrera

Oro Valley

Tariffs

On “Liberation Day” Trump did not impose tariffs on his friends in Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Belarus. I did not know that those countries were our friends. He did impose tariffs on Heard Island and McDonalds Islands. Since there are no people living there, Trump must think that he is penalizing the penguins for their trade surplus with us.

Stanley Ponczek

Northeast side