Tucson Speaks Out: June 5

Not ‘the worst of the worst’

During the 2024 presidential campaign, we were told that “the worst of the worst” would be the target of ICE agents. We were obviously lied to.

Masked ICE agents are going after international students. They are going after our peaceful neighbors and coworkers; many here long before Biden was elected President.

We were lied to for the purpose of winning votes. Their quotas tell the truth: They intended to detain and deport as many migrants, refugees and asylum seekers of color as possible.

We won’t build new schools or hospitals where they are needed, but we are willing to build private for-profit immigrant detention centers and deport people to God knows where, all in order to meet ridiculous quotas. Instead of welcoming people who are seeking a better life and wanting to contribute to our country, we are needlessly freaking out about the re-browning of America.

Dave Gallagher

Foothills

Are you enjoying the show?

Reality TV star DJT has broadcast several episodes.

Episode No. 1 — Big Beautiful Bill The bill gives huge tax breaks to the wealthy, cuts services to Americans and increases the deficit by 3.8 trillion.

Episode No. 2 — Doge promises to cut $2 trillion from the budget. It actually cut $160 billion, all by firing 216,670 federal employees who provide essential services to Americans, including Veterans.

Episode No. 3 — Deportations Trump promised to rid the U.S. of dangerous illegal immigrants. Actually, a girl graduating from high school was grabbed by ICE, as well as students who are here legally. Masked agents grab people off the street. So much for “Dangerous Gangs”.

Episode No. 4 — My favorite episode is when Trump sells Tesla cars on the White House lawn, changes Cryptocurrency regulations as his family banks billions, pardons Jan. 6 traitors, tax cheats, and accepts bribes to give pardons. Are you enjoying the show?

Richard Bechtold

West side

Medical care for all

This is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, hence people are desperate to get in, as they have been for the last two centuries. There are plans for a $500 billion defense system. Billionaires abound. Leaders live in what amount to palatial estates, including high-rises in NYC and fancy resorts in Florida. Does it strike anyone else as absurd that Congress is fighting over health insurance for poor people? Why isn’t health care a right instead of a privilege that not everyone deserves? It reminds me of the old laws saying a husband could beat his wife as long as the stick was no bigger around than his thumb. Throw out the stick, stop quibbling over which hoops the poor must jump through to get health insurance, do the right thing and insure the whole population.

Sally Wasielewski

East side

Direction?

Everything I see the Trump administration trying seems directed toward making America move back to the 20th century, or even the 19th. For example, new manufacturing progress requires developing current ideas and personal growth rather than reopening old coal plants or extracting fossil fuels. Republican behavior looks supportive of this old America, especially with their Big, Beautiful Bill. To follow Paul Harvey’s lead, “The opposite of PROgress is CONgress. Which way do you want to go?

Spencer Elliott

Oro Valley

Diversity

I like the Arizona Daily Star’s motto, “Diversity of thought ...” It resonates powerfully. However, a perusal of the Star’s Opinion pages often leaves one questioning whether this ideal is being realized.

A recurring dominant theme appears to be a singular focus on anti-Trump sentiment. Day after day, readers are presented with postings that can be summarized as “I hate Trump because ...”

The American electorate voted for Trump not out of personal adoration, but in support of his “Make America Great Again” platform, for common-sense policies and change.

The Opinion pages frequently seem to be “plastered” with rants against Trump, and Republicans in general. Novel and often clever attempts to demean the President appear to dominate the discourse, frequently at the expense of substantive discussions of critical issues.

True diversity requires a genuine exploration of differing opinions, even those that may challenge the prevailing narrative. Without this, the Star’s Opinion pages risk becoming an echo chamber.

Day after day I find myself asking; “Diversity, where goest thou?”

Tom McGorray

Northwest side

Disgusting abomination

This is probably the only time I agree with Musk. He called the pending tax/revenue bill “... a disgusting abomination ...” Probably not because it catastrophically cuts SNAP. Nor because it imperils seniors. Not because the national debt explodes. But because the bill makes no sense. Gee, Juan. Does that mean Elon labeled your support of the bill also a disgusting abomination?

Kenneth Haber

Northwest side

Hats off to Cory Kowitz

Just a quick note to acknowledge Cory and his weather prognostication ability. I believe it was around May 21/22 when, while subbing in for the regular weather anchor on KOLD, he casually mentioned a low-pressure system could form off Baja that might result in rainfall around May 31/June 1. From what I could tell, he beat the other local TV meteorologists by two to three days on predicting the rain that we received over the weekend.

As a side note, I have been impressed by the quality of predictions and presentations of the local TV meteorologist/forecaster teams since moving to Tucson in February. For a smaller mid-level market, Southern Arizona is blessed by having multiple weather teams that would rival those found in much larger markets.

Tom Furlong

East side

Tucson leadership

When my wife and I moved to Tucson 40 years ago, it was a nice city. In the interim, the Democratic Party has turned it into a crap hole. The streets have been neglected and are full of potholes. Defunding the police has resulted in rampant crime. Making the bus free has resulted in crime being transported throughout the city. The parks have been taken over by the homeless and street drug criminals. The majority of TUSD third-graders cannot read at their grade level.

The city council and mayor have failed miserably to properly manage the city. They all need to resign.

Frank Pisut

West side

National debt

Hey gang, we have a National debt of over $36 trillion and growing. Like any good functioning system, we need to spend less. All system expenditures need to be reduced. Some programs need to be reduced significantly or cut. Many programs have fraud and need extreme controls. We all are part of the problem, and Congress seems unable to make the hard decisions. Donald Trump and Musk are at least attempting to attack the spending. The Democrats waste their time with Trump hate and have no ideas or propositions to reduce spending. We cannot have all the federal programs currently in place. It’s time the progressives get with solutions to this problem, because you are now part of the problem. I support Juan Ciscomani because he is part of the solution.

Doug Shumway

Green Valley

North Korean justice

In the Boulder terrorist attack, the suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was taken into custody and faces multiple felony charges and a federal hate crime charge. Felony charges include 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight “with intent and deliberation” and the other eight “with extreme indifference”. Normally this matter would be national news but President Trump continues to meddle, making grandiose gestures and outrageous proclamations about a case he knows little about except to “mete out” justice as he sees fit; his decision to export the suspect and his family smacks of another autocrat’s actions — found in North Korea where the guilty party and three generations of his family serve the sentence together. Regardless of how much people want to take “justice” into their own hands, we cannot go back to the mentality of “string ’em up,” where the “good, the bad and the ugly” would receive the same justice. I would advocate the same for President Trump should he find himself on the wrong side of the law.

Richard Rebl

East side

Has Tucson given up on modernizing traffic?

When I was a child — I’m 43 now — the on/off ramp at St. Mary’s and I-10 was shut down in anticipation for the clover that was supposed to eventually be the Aviation/I-10 interchange. Buildings downtown were declared historical sites and buildings that prevented the connection using Toole from Broadway. Thirty years later, it seems the workaround that was thought up in lieu of the original plan is struggling to be finished. Why have we never had a direct answer as to why the city or state has not pursued a loop? For example, from I-10, Grant Road reached all the way out east, turns into Kolb, which heads south and meets up with I-10 again.

Why haven’t ANY solutions been pursued to keep heavy traffic off of surface streets, which would help with the constant potholes and road maintenance and widening that Tucson keeps chasing its tail with regard to traffic issues?

Jose L Roman Jr

West side

Killing hungry people

I am shocked at how a nation can open fire on people who are hungry due to famine caused by the same people who are firing on the food seekers. The nations that are providing the food are doing it to help, and the country is using the food as bait. I do remember I was called a baby killer when we were involved in a quagmire, as it was called, but we called it the Vietnam War. But, I know for a fact we did not use food as a bait, nor did we fire on the general public, only the “enemy”.

Vicente Rivera

Northwest side