Tucson Speaks Out: September 14

President’s bombshell

I'm a proud voter and taxpayer responding to headlines ricocheting around the country (and the world).

Trump just shot the life raft out from under his vulnerable Republican candidates with his blatant announcement, not just an offer, of monetary rewards to Americans in exchange for their votes. Don't worry … he's not going to use his own money. His administration has suggested using ours (tariff revenues, for starters).

Mildred Harris

Foothills

Beyond the same conversation

Women’s health has spent too much time fighting the same battles.

We debate whether more research funding is necessary, whether women are adequately represented in clinical studies, and whether conditions that disproportionately affect women deserve greater attention. Meanwhile, many of the same gaps remain. Diseases continue to be diagnosed late, symptoms are still misunderstood, and important questions about women’s health remain unanswered.

The frustrating part is that recognizing the problem is no longer enough. We already know that women have historically been underrepresented in research and that sex differences can affect disease, symptoms and treatment. Yet progress often becomes trapped in arguments over funding, priorities and policy instead of moving toward implementation.

Change will always bring disagreement, but disagreement cannot become an excuse for inaction. Women should not have to wait while institutions repeatedly reconsider whether their health deserves greater investment.

If we continue having the same debates without changing what we fund, study and implement, we should not be surprised when women continue facing the same outcomes.

Umaiza Amer

Oro Valley

'Bereft' of sanity

What Trump actually “did:”

– Immigration: Federal courts have ruled that specific administration immigration policies violated federal law (details easily available).

– No tax on tips/overtime: These tax deductions have many restrictions and run out after 2028.

– Less tax on Social Security drains billions of dollars in revenue, threatening the program’s future.

– Apprehension and prosecution of known criminals? Trump pardoned people convicted of Jan. 6-related offenses and commuted the sentences of others.

– Fraud? Think Trump University, Trump Foundation, persistent financial fraud, 34 felony counts for falsifying business records.

– American industry? Total manufacturing employment remains lower than when Trump took office in 2025. Under Biden, about 15 million jobs were added, while Trump added about 6 million jobs over his first three years.

– Trump Rx? Limited value for insured people.

– Hate green energy? Let’s just keep ensuring our annihilation through increased use of fossil fuels.

Hope Gastelum

East side

No, you cannot buy my vote

OK, so Trump has promised $5,000 to everyone if the Republicans win the midterms. I filed that one away under Trump lies and broken promises. So you think $5,000 would look good in your bank account. Think again. With everything costing more because of Trump’s stupid tariffs, illegal war, the cuts to essential services and tax breaks for billionaires and corporations, your $5,000 will be gone in a New York minute. If you are happy with Trump’s lies and enriching himself, his family, and others on your backs, by all means vote Republican. If you are happy with totally incompetent people in positions of power, vote Republican. If you want to end this nightmare and have a government that cares about its citizens, then vote blue.

Dottie Fagg

Northeast side

There he goes again!

Where are Donald’s promised $2,000 rebates for the tariffs from last year? Never happened. Instead, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimates tariffs cost each American $1,000 in 2025, and that will likely increase to $1,300 this year. And what happened to his promised $5,000 dividend for each American from the DOGE cuts? The answer is easy ... they never arrived, and DOGE was shut down because no real savings were realized; just thousands of Americans lost their jobs. So why should we believe in his $5,000 promise this time? It will cost us a mere $1.2 trillion. Has he actually become a socialist? Or is he just so naïve that he thinks that his bribes will work as well as his threats to Iran have? Enough.

Larry Holzman

Oro Valley

Bad choice

Trump’s $5,000 to each person with income under $400,000 is a bad choice. Too complicated. Make it easy. Simply declare an income tax holiday. Nobody with income under $400,000 pays income tax in 2027. No withholding. No hassle. We can afford it. The debt is a paltry $40 trillion. Another trillion is meaningless. And taxpayer/voter happiness is important.

Kenneth Haber

Northwest side

Remembering the A-7 crash of 1978

On Oct. 26, 1978, an Air Force A-7D Corsair II lost power over Tucson. Captain Fredrick Ashler guided the crippled jet toward an empty UA practice field, staying with it until he ejected — moments before it crashed on Highland Avenue near Sixth Street, narrowly missing Mansfeld Middle School and the university.

Leticia Felix Humphrey and her sister, Clarissa Felix, both UA students, were caught in the crash. Leticia died at the scene; Clarissa died shortly after from burns. Six others were injured. Capt. Fredrick L. Ashler survived and deserves to be remembered as a victim, too — he did what he could to avoid injuring people below.

I was 21, a medic in the Davis-Monthan ER that day. I remember the alert, the silence when we learned the crash was at the university, then the scramble.

Forty-eight years later, there's still no memorial at the site. I'd like a modest stone placed there, naming Leticia and Clarissa, so two young women who never came home aren't forgotten.

Don Simpson

East side

Real tragedies

I was in the Marine Corps infantry in Vietnam, so I have an idea of how frightening war can sometimes be. With all the reports on how much money the situation in Iran is directly costing U.S. taxpayers and how gas prices are wrecking our economy, we at times lose sight of the cost in human lives. We can only imagine the damage to their mental health. These should be the focus of our attention. These are the real tragedies.

David Byrne

Northwest side