Tucson Speaks Out: September 2

Great Lakes

Many decades ago, I learned the names of the Great Lakes by remembering "HOMES," the initials for Huron, Ontario, etc. Now, with no more Lake Ontario, I guess it's "SHAME."

David Armet

Midtown

DEA and immigration

Sometimes I just can't get over the lack of understanding of current events with the media today. Apparently, there was a DEA truck seen at an immigration deportation. And the reaction by the media is appalling. Why on earth would the DEA be involved in immigration deportation? Really??? Duh! President Trump said exactly what he would do — deport criminals. Get it now? Thank you, President Trump, for making America safe again!

Jaime Spicker

East side

A solution in search of a problem

There has never been any evidence of widespread voter fraud. Time and time again, every court that is presented with claims of voter fraud finds no evidence of fraud.

The Constitution is crystal clear that States run elections exclusively. There are over 5,000 counties running local elections. A massive election fraud scam would require the nefarious deeds of thousands of election workers all over the country. Does anyone think that thousands of poll workers could keep their participation in voting fraud quiet?

Trump is trying to use the Post Office to carry out his interference with states' rights to run elections. Trump is also trying to discourage voters by over-regulating the voting process and making it more difficult to vote by mail and in person. Trump is corrupt. Wake up and don't believe Trump's lies about voting fraud or any of his other lies. Let the states run their elections and keep Trump's egomaniac paranoia out of elections.

Richard Bechtold

West side

Standing up

I believe Trump must go ASAP. Doing nothing positive (except, of course, the renaming of a lake) and managing to make a fool of himself and America's voters every day.

Duane Barbour

Midtown

TUSD closing schools

“TUSD could close up to 10 schools” is the headline of Sierra Blaser’s article, but she avoids adressing why closures are being considered. Since 2018, enrollment has dropped about 25% while teaching and administration positions have been relatively stable. The Super tries to blame people who intentionally want to led deconstruct and destroy” public education. Perhaps the decline in students is because TUSD is not doing a good job of educating students and parents go elsewhere? Nevertheless, when enrollment declines by about 25%, the number of buildings, teachers and administrators should also decline.

Steve Scholl

SaddleBrooke

School closures

I see by the Arizona Daily Star’s headline of Aug. 29 that TUSD is planning for possible school closures. It appears that the far right, along with the Republican Party's plan to defund public education, is working just fine.

Richard Govern

Foothills

Lemmings alert!

There are still 33% of American voters who firmly believe in the current president as the savior of our nation from all evils in the world, transforming the U.S. into a new Shangri-La. What really happens is the very opposite, and the abyss is simply waiting for us. Virtually all our traditional economic, military and political partners have been snuffed, deceived, threatened and betrayed. Canada was to be the latest victim, but they cannot be intimidated. The Iran war is a complete disaster; our stockpile of weapons is depleting dramatically, while the national debt is now reaching $40 trillion. Much of our country was built by brilliant immigrants, but visa fees of $100,000 now shut them out. Detention centers mushroom all along the border, and ICE spreads fear and acts brutally against innocent people. The rule of law used to be obeyed, but now even the DOJ hides the Epstein file to protect a perpetrator. Sycophants and lackeys run our country.

Albrecht Classen

Midtown

Come one, come all

After a year and a half in absentia, Juan is actually going to make an appearance in a debate with the Democratic candidate. All constituents of the Arizona 6th Congressional District will have this rare opportunity to actually see and hear from their elected official. Unlike the majority of Juan’s appearances in Southern Arizona, which are staged events with MAGA elite in front of a hand-picked audience (a public relations opportunity). This will be the first time since the 2024 election for all of the CD6 constituents to see and hear how Juan defends his voting record and its impact on the entire community that he represents. Please make every attempt to send questions and watch this historic event. If you miss this appearance and Juan is re-elected, you will not see him at an open public event until August 2028.

Jay Gandolfi

Northeast side

DEA melting into ICE

Over 50% of Drug Enforcement agents have been pulled from their jobs fighting drug trafficking and moved to immigration enforcement under ICE. According to the Cato Institute, that’s over 25,000 DEA agents now tasked with arresting immigrants who have committed no crimes except a desire to better their lives for them and their children. Yes, the exact same crime that my grandparents committed in the early 1900s.

Please think about this: what is killing more Americans, immigrants or illegal drugs? The answer is obvious. Vote accordingly.

Mark Elson

West side

Testosterone and the military

The Department of War is mandating that service members aged over age 30 be screened for testosterone deficiency. This is problematic and potentially puts service members at risk for an unnecessary and potentially harmful treatment, not to mention a 2 in 3 risk of infertility that takes 3-12 months to recover. Many times, if there is a low T, it is from a reversible cause. Furthermore, if we test the T levels on all service members on the aircraft carrier that is prolonged at sea, I would really worry about mutiny and riots breaking out if we add more T to the chemistry. And on another point, no shots in the arm but yes to shots in the butt?

Sander Zwart

Midtown

How about therapy?

Trump won’t admit his personally selected crony botched the Reflecting Pool job. He blames imaginary vandals, and the Park Service, DC prosecutor, and Interior Secretary echo his lie. When the cases against the supposed vandals go to court, where facts and evidence matter, the DC prosecutor ends up admitting incompetence was the cause.

Trump won’t admit his Iran war is a disaster for our reputation, economy and weapons supply. His Cabinet and Republican Congress go along with his posturing. The cost is $100 billion and rising.

Trump won’t admit he lost the 2020 election. Although that election was litigated, scrutinized, and declared valid by his own appointees, DHS was recently tasked with finding votes from illegal immigrants. ProPublica has a detailed report describing this massive effort. After months of investigation, only a couple dozen potential cases have been identified.

Repeatedly, the whole government responds to “prove” Trump’s ego-saving lies, wasting massive amounts of money and diverting personnel from their proper work. What an incredible waste!

Barbara Hall

Midtown