Tucson Speaks Out: October 7

Stand up

I am so upset with Democratic congressmen. JD Vance was on national TV spouting a flat out lie, that the Democrats are holding the country hostage to fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants. It is currently illegal for undocumented immigrants to obtain subsidized healthcare, something that requires citizenship or legal documentation and a Social Security number. Democrats are not looking to change that. They are trying to save healthcare and the ACA. Jeffries and other Democratic leaders also went on national TV to state their position. Unfortunately, what I wanted to hear was, Jeffries and others calling Vance out as a blatant liar and specifically pointing out the details of his lie. It’s time for our Democratic leaders to defiantly stand up, no more of this high road stuff. You can’t fight a bully by being the nice guy. Jeffries, it’s okay to call Vance out. This is why Democratic favorability is at an all-time low. Resist.

Peter Morales

Midtown

Any ideas, anyone?

While our so-called representatives are playing us off against one another instead of doing their job of running the government, I keep wondering why they should get paid — not just during the shutdown but generally. When most of us don’t work, we don’t get paid. Indeed, we get fired. If I were an accountant or bookkeeper or someone with a facility for math, I would try to figure out a way to withhold my taxes from the federal government and give the money to the city and state instead. And then take a write-off. Any ideas, anyone?

Barbara Benjamin

Foothills

Religious hatred on the rise?

I wonder if anti-LDS hate is ramping up once again in America. We have two recent signs it is: the BYU-Colorado football game chants (“F*** you, Mormons”); and the Michigan LDS killings and chapel fire.

Why are these portents of what is to come? Because every other kind of hate is running rampant across America now as well. We clearly have partisan political party hatred where one side calls the other “lunatics” and sends the military to cities to curb their enthusiasm.

We have anti-Latino harassment, arrests, and deportations carried out by the Department of Homeland Security, whose name might perhaps more aptly be called the Department of White People Security. The current administration is worried that brown-skinned Americans will become the largest ethnic group in America in a decade or so if deportations are not expedited like crazy.

Immigrant Latinos are getting a double dose of hate because they are both brown-skinned and Catholic in Protestant America.

Kimball Shinkoskey

Woods Cross Utah

Hatch Act violations

DoE employees, among other departments, discovered their automatic email responses during the government shutdown and furloughs had been unknowingly and illegally changed to blame Democrats for the funding lapse. Employees cannot change their outgoing messages.

“On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations.”

“Due to the lapse in appropriations, we are currently in furlough status. We will respond to emails once government functions resume.”

Due to his disdain for education, Trump never read the Constitution, or any critical US Laws, such as the “Hatch Act,” thinking it had something to do with birth control.

The “Hatch Act” (1939) is a federal law. It prohibits government employees from engaging in partisan political activity while on duty, at a government facility, or using federal property. This promotes a politically nonpartisan workplace, ensuring public services are not disrupted by partisan campaigns.

Sheldon Metz

Northeast side

Narcissists and sycophants

Narcissist and sycophants are a match made in hell. I read from Scripps News that the Treasurer, Brandon Beach, wants to mint a $1 coin with the image of Trump on it for the USA 250th Anniversary. I guess Beach’s job is safe. I wonder if it is difficult for Beach to breathe with where his head is? It is against Federal Law to make a coin with the image of a living person. Beach needs to know the law that goes with his job. I hope it is clear to all Americans what motivates Trump and his minions. Project 2025 people are behind Trump telling him what to do to get attention and admiration. Trump is on television every day. Do you remember a past president in front of a camera every day of their term? Trump the narcissist surrounds himself with sycophants and Project 2025 fascists. Wake up!

Richard Bechtold

West side

Shutdown priorities

During the shutdown, air-traffic controllers and TSA agents will remain on the job without pay, potentially leading to service disruptions as seen during Trump’s first term. National parks will operate with minimal staff, closed facilities, and limited emergency services. Government contractors will go unpaid and typically will not receive back pay afterwards. A prolonged shutdown could exhaust funds for FEMA, WIC, and other vital programs. Services like food inspections, passport processing, and most federal agency operations will be unavailable or delayed.

Despite the shutdown, the Trump administration has deemed a $20 billion bailout of Argentina essential. This benefits Trump allies Javier Milei and Rob Citrone (heavily invested in Argentine companies and debt), linked to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. While state infrastructure projects pause, construction of Trump’s White House ballroom will continue. Meanwhile, members of Congress, who have the authority to end the shutdown, will continue to receive their salaries.

Barbara Hall

Midtown

Military leaders

Trump calls 800 military leaders in for a conference. He explains that they need to follow his nonsensical directions and everyone get into shape. This hogwash is coming from a renowned draft dodger who is a minimum of 100 pounds overweight. He is speaking to Generals and Admirals who have proven their military expertise over many years and have shown that they can administer far beyond the capabilities of our fearless leader. Does this individual have no sense of realism? Does he ever look at himself and realize that he is a blustery fat boy who has no conception of what the military is all about? I recall reading about Hitler downplaying his experts and being proven wrong to the detriment of the German nation. I wish our military professionals were not subjected to the embarrassment of listening to a man who has absolutely no background in anything but bullying, lying and ridicule.

Philip Reinecker

East side

Antifa as political scapegoat

Despite what some may want to believe about Antifa, it is not an extreme leftist group or a group of any kind. No leader, no black uniforms, no vests, gas masks, head coverings with slits for their eyes, and no one is funding it. Antifa is an ideology that is opposed to fascism but Trump wants to designate this Antifa boogeyman as a “terrorist organization” in order to quell any protests against his illegal and fascists policies.

On the other hand, ICE appears to be a well-funded ($28.7 billion for fiscal 2025) terrorist organization. With all the expensive armament they could want, federal agents recently raided a residential Chicago apartment building. They violently and indiscriminately dragged families out into the street, broke down doors, used drones and even had agents repel from a helicopter onto the building. No warrants, no due process. Americans who value democracy must oppose this authoritarian regime.

Karen Allison

Three Points

TRIO programs

The US Department of Education has canceled the highly successful Trio Upward Bound grant programs at Pima Community College because of dubious reasons. The cancellation letter states the programs are being canceled because of a Pima statement that mentions equity and a plan to provide racial justice workshops to the students. These things are not actually in the grant proposal. The phenomenal students at Desert View and Sunnyside High Schools stand to lose $3 million in college readiness services while Tucson at large will lose $7.5 million total. The Upward Bound Program at Desert Vista Campus is highly successful, meeting all of its objectives the past 5 years, including an over 50% college graduation rate each year. In 2024 it partnered with NASA for the Education Downlinks program whereby students were able to ask questions of astronaut Jeanette Epps at the International Space Station. I highly encourage the Pima Governing Board to file a lawsuit to reinstate the funding.

Marisa Morales

South Tucson

Government shutdown

The key point Democratic senators are concerned about is the extension of enhanced subsidies for health insurance.

These were put in place as temporary subsidies under President Biden due to Covid a few years back. They were extended once, and do not expire for a few more months, allowing plenty of time to negotiate about them.

Democrat Senators should vote to pass the continuing resolution to fund the government as has been done numerous times before and negotiate the sticking points later.

Instead, Democratic senators choose to shutdown the government, causing financial pain to millions of tax paying citizens, while they continue to be paid.

The unthinking self-centered Democratic senators should be ashamed of themselves.

Matthew Scully

Sahuarita

Blame game

Remember back in 2013 when Trump said “A shutdown falls on the President’s lack of leadership. I mean problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top. A shutdown means the President is weak.” Trump is the President and his party controls both houses of Congress. Prioritizing cruelty over caring, the Republicans keep regurgitating another big lie that the Dems want to fund health care for the undocumented, which is absurd and illegal. Or, we can’t afford it, while they provide a $20 billion bailout to Argentina, $70 billion bailout for soybean producers because of Trump’s disastrous trade wars, or funding Israel’s genocide in Gaza. No loss of pay for Congress while they force other Federal workers to do without. There would be no shutdown if the Republicans actually cared about protecting the health care of Americans. The fish rots at the head.

Stanley Steik

Midtown