A Tucson Republican’s call for unity after Deb Haaland’s win

Good morning, friends!

Today, I celebrate Deb Haaland, New Mexico’s next governor and the first Native American woman to lead an American state. A remarkable milestone!

I remain a proud Republican, believing in free speech, entrepreneurship, hard work, merit and personal responsibility. But I don't believe political differences should prevent us from celebrating one another.

Perhaps that is where our country needs to go: beyond labels, blame and division, toward understanding.

The speeches of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., and the great orator and war chief, Tecumseh are ageless and profound. If their unpopular voices were silenced, we would all be at a loss.

A saying often attributed to the poet Rumi reminds us: “Yesterday, I was clever and wanted to change the world, today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” My prayer is for the wisdom to begin there.

His most beautiful invitation is: “Out beyond our ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing is a field. I will meet you there.”

May we find that field together.

Jeanne Osgood

Vail

Warrior ethos?

Macho-man Pete Hegseth struts and poses, blathering on about a “warrior ethos.” As a baby boomer, I met many WWII veterans (enlistees, draftees and professionals) and for much of my life have read books on the two World Wars and the Korean War. Never once have I read or heard about this "ethos." We never had a warrior class or tradition like Japan and Germany, but our citizen soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors engaged in the nastiest, most disgusting, depressing, dangerous and terrifying job in the world and beat them. I've read and heard from many vets, including my father, that the blowhard loud-mouths (sound familiar?) tended to be the first to fold when the bullets started flying. For 250 years, we never had, and we don't need a "warrior class" in our military. By definition, our military men and women are warriors.

Vance Holliday

Foothills

Afghan heroes deported to Afghanistan

Before Trump was president, our country held respect throughout the world for our ideals of freedom and justice. After President George W. Bush started the Afghanistan war on Oct. 7, 2001, freedom-yearning Afghans, hoping to liberate themselves from Taliban oppression, began helping our forces as translators and guides.

The ill-conceived war didn't work out so well. Twenty years later, on Aug. 30, 2021, President Biden honored the Doha surrender agreement signed by Trump in February 2020, and pulled out the last Americans and some of our Afghan allies from the country.

Those Afghans risked their lives in hostile Taliban territory to help us, and we gave them shelter here. But now, Trump is preparing to deport Afghan immigrants back to Afghanistan where those with ties to U.S. forces could face deadly danger . This betrayal is a crime against those who risked their lives on our behalf. It crushes the possibility of other freedom fighters ever trusting us in the future.

For shame.

Bruce Joffe

South Tucson

The current state of global warming

The Earth is in an unprecedented state of climate strain, with the years 2015-25 confirmed as the hottest 11-year period on record. Global temperatures consistently hover near or above 2.2 degrees farenheit above pre-industrial levels, pushing the planet toward the limits established by the Paris Agreement.

The primary catalyst for this warming remains the record-high concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in our atmosphere.

Consequences of a rapidly warming planet:

– Intense storms: Warmer air holds more moisture, fueling heavier rainfall, severe flash floods and stronger hurricanes.

– Severe droughts: Higher temperatures speed up evaporation, drying out soils and shrinking drinking water supplies.

– Wildfires: Extended dry periods and heat create longer, more destructive wildfire seasons.

Becky Conners

North side

Let's take a deep breath

The election's over and, while most of us are elated at election results, it's not too early to take a deep breath and assess possibilities. One outcome that looms is that the Democrats, following tradition, may shoot themselves in the foot. On this score, two potential major issues come to the fore: first, emboldened, ambitious, young newcomers to both the Senate and House may buck the "old pros" who know the ropes. Instead of taking their time and learning how to achieve goals, impatient newbies may create internecine warfare within the party, thereby jeopardizing chances for sustaining their recent victory and chances for presidential victory in 2028. The second possibility is congressional Democrats overpromising, again jeopardizing all they have gained. Let's hope we all take a deep breath.

Barbara Benjamin

Foothills

We the people

When Trump won the popular vote by 1.48 percentage points in 2024, we watched elite law firms, powerful universities, big tech, corporate leaders, media companies, the GOP, and too many Democratic elected officials decide it was in their personal best interest to defer to Trump. We had a wide range of outstanding candidates who fought hard and won on Nov. 3. I am deeply grateful to them. That said, all credit goes to the American people who understood no one was coming to save us. Trump and his minions were determined to destroy our country, betray our allies, and enrich themselves. The American people stood up and fought back. We have been working every day for this massive repudiation of Trump and MAGA. We have a chance to hold people accountable, repair, reform, and improve our beloved country. That work begins now.

Janet Marcotte

Northeast side

Respect veterans

I would like to request that Gov. Katie Hobbs and Lieutenant Governor-elect John Giles correct what I consider a discourtesy to Arizona's Veterans by Arizona Motor Vehicle Division policy. Currently, if a veteran renews a driver's license or ID card online, the "veteran" designation is removed from that document. The only way to retain the designation is to journey to the MVD. Why? A veteran doesn't lose that distinction just because a few years have passed, so why is it necessary to go to the agency and produce a DD214 to prove it once again? Hopefully, our leaders can restore government respect to those who have participated in service to their country.

Rick Cohn

West side

What the pundits aren't saying

It's not just the price of gasoline. And no, J.D. Vance, it's not just the Iran debacle. And it's not that both President Trump and Elon Musk tried to buy the election, Trump with outright bribery, Musk with buying all the media for a propaganda blitz.

I'm convinced it's much deeper than that. What both Trump and Musk represent is something deeply un-American, and what America, in its 250-year history, has stood for, and at its onset, unique-representative democracy, a proud voice of the people.

And what both of them just got is democracy in spades, what King George, in his arrogance, got in 1776: a huge comeuppance. Hopefully both learned a bit of humility. Hopefully they will learn that here, at least, the people still win. And if they haven't, they both will be big losers.

John Schmidt

Southwest side