Dusk begins to fall Nov. 8 at a section of border fence in Brownsville, Texas.
Biden’s border policy is the issue
Re: the Nov. 28 article “Cartel violence empties border town.”
The AZ Star’s story detailed how the small town of Sasabe, Sonora MX has emptied down to 100 residents due to cartel violence. Two factions fighting over migrant routes. This was the second such report about migrants now flooding through the Tohono O’Odham reservation, which spans 70 miles along the border with no border wall allowed by the tribe. The report cited armed cartel members in trucks driving migrants to the border. Just who caused this chaos and violence at the border? I would argue it has been President Joe Biden’s open border policies. The cartels have become rich from charging millions of migrants $3000 to $7000 to be brought up to the border. They are grateful to Biden. Migrants use to fear and run from the Border Patrol, now they run to them to surrender and make dubious asylum claims. As in the AZ Star’s other report on all this, there was no criticism whatsoever of Biden’s border policies.
People are also reading…
Langhorne Bilby
Marana
Marshall Plan for Palestine
Re: the Nov. 29 article “Gaza devastation requires new Marshall plans.”
The op/ed piece about a Marshall Plan for Palestine is far and away the most brilliant, yet common-sense, article I’ve ever seen regarding the destruction in Gaza and a political solution for the future. It seems obvious that the whole world needs to step in to rebuild Gaza for everyone’s good, not just the Palestinians. David Myers, a teacher of Jewish history at UCLA, addresses with compassion and pragmatism all the questions and objections that might arise about the plan. It is not only sensible, but also humane for all involved, and it will benefit the U.S. as well. He discusses an eminently sensible solution to the political question of how the Israelis and Palestinians can share the land without all the strife of the past 75 years. Anyone who hasn’t read this article needs to look it up immediately!
Aston Bloom
East side
Santos kicked out
New York Rep. George Santos, who has been embroiled in criminal and ethical investigations over his conduct, has been expelled from Congress after a vote by his Republican peers, becoming only the sixth member ousted from the chamber in its history.
Is this the same body that is willing to bring back Donald Trump as president? Apparently the Presidency has a lower ethics standard than does Congress!
Greg Hollingsworth
West side
Cooperation is possible: The ouster of Santos
For a long time, I was rather despondent as to the communicative culture in our political system. The gulf between both parties appeared to become deeper and deeper, with less and less core values concerning democracy, freedom, justice, and happiness shared by members on both sides of the political spectrum. Charges of corruption, mutual blaming, legal suits, committee investigations, threats of impeachment, etc. have swirled around massively, and yet, there is suddenly a glitter of hope. With a vast majority, the House of Representatives voted to oust the New York Representative George Santos because of a long litany of criminal charges having knowingly violated ethics guidelines, House rules, and criminal laws. Does this mean that ethic ideals have reentered the political arena? Of course, we all can and maybe should disagree at times concerning political issues, but we must find common ground in ethics, morality, and justice. Maybe the time has come again for Republicans and Democrats agreeing at least on the fundamentals of our country. This is progress!
Albrecht Classen
Midtown
Need continues for us to do our best
About immigration. I am told there are some 100 million people around the world who have no national identity. For whatever reason, they have left whatever they had and have moved to whatever might lie ahead.
That is a human tragedy.
We like to think we are the land of the free and the home of the brave. We tell ourselves we are generous and caring.
It really is time we proved it — to ourselves and our children.
Of course, we cannot welcome 100 million people — that will require ALL the nations of the world to accomplish.
But we can welcome those on our southern border — Tucson sector — right now.
We can be our best.
Claudette Haney
Green Valley
Trump destruction
Re: the Nov. 27 letter “Addiction.”
The writer is convinced that the Democrats’ hatred of Trump is akin to that of an Oxycontin addict. This is another example of the Republicans’ habit of projecting their failures and misdeeds onto anyone who’s not in lock step with their MAGA cult. They fail to condemn or even acknowledged Trump’s history of racism, sexual abuse or his massive financial fraud, including his companies’ latest convictions in New York. He even used his Georgia mugshot to grift more donations from his cult members.
Let’s not forget he inspired the deadly insurrection on January 6, his ongoing election denials even after 60 judges, some that he appointed, ruled against him. He has compromised our national security by flaunting classified documents and suggesting General Milley should be executed. And we should overlook these heinous acts?
Republicans hate President Biden for “destroying” America. Are rebuilding our infrastructure, the lowest unemployment rates in decades, record job creation, and the Dow’s all time highs destroying America? No, but Trump is.
Gerry Wolter
SaddleBrooke
Georgie’s buddies
George Santos gets expelled from the House of Representatives by a 3 to 1 vote. The House’s Ethics Committee presented extensive evidence of all his infractions. Yet, five of Arizona’s Republican Representatives all voted to not expel Georgie Boy. Would the Arizona Daily Star please request editorials from these individuals as to which evidence was insufficient to expel Santos.
Jay Gandolfi
Northeast side
Trump hate is learned
A writer seems to believe that those of us who despise Trump get some form of enjoyment from it. I do not. In my history classes we were taught how our soldiers fought and died to remove the scourge of authoritarianism form the world in the 40’s. My lessons covered the rise and fall of the three major powers in the Axis coalition, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Because of those learned lessons, I see Trump as the wannabe Hitler he is. The same emotional arguments are made to his supporters about “Them” as the cause for all social ills. His threat about “rooting out the vermin” actually is verbatim from Nazi, J. Goebels. This means in our time and place your neighbors, coworkers and too many to name.
Imagine the horror that was in Viet Nam happening here. That is what he and his group want. I know that those folks have never been in a real war. Not a desirable hatred.
Jeff Rayner
SaddleBrooke
AZ’s rural groundwater
Re: the Dec. 3 article “Big points in new plan for AZ’s rural groundwater.”
Thank you Tony Davis for your continued coverage of the critical need to better manage Arizona’s rural groundwater basins. The resistance to monitoring and metering of water use by some rural supervisors and legislators is dumbfounding. Their resistance to adoption of necessary management tools will perpetuate a “tragedy of the commons.” You can’t manage it if you don’t measure it.
Sheldon Clark
Vail
Chain of evidence
To date every Tom, Dick, and Harry has passed around Hunter Biden’s laptop. No telling what was put on or taken off the computer. When evidence is seized it has to be guarded against tampering. Therefore, a chain of receipts for the evidence being transferred from one entity to another is imperative. So, when Comer and his ilk of the House Oversight Committee present the laptop as ‘evidence’ in the sham hearing of Hunter, that evidence will be of no value whatsoever.
Jon Langione, Former police officer
Marana
An academic playoff
I have always been a football fan and the college playoffs are kind of special.
However, the purpose of college is education.
I would like to see an academic playoff between our elite colleges.
I’d like to see Harvard and Stanford in an academic Rose Bowl or Notre Dame and Alabama in an academic Cotton Bowl.
I’d like to see colleges compete, not scoring touchdowns but developing Rhode Scholars and Pulitzer Prize winners.
Doctors for our elite hospitals and PHd’s.
Instead of players for the NFL I would prefer engineers and Supreme Court clerks and judges.
An Academic National Champion each year.
An academic playoff between our Colleges and Universities.
Tom McGorray
Northwest side
This might work
At a global warming protest demonstration in Europe, a man was seen carrying a sign that read:
“WE MUST SAVE OUR PLANET. IT’S THE ONLY ONE WHERE THERE’S BEER!”
Well, if that doesn’t get climate change deniers to change sides, nothing will!
Rick Cohn
West side
Israeli Visa restrictions
The US is imposing visa restrictions on Israeli’s BELIEVED to have committed violent acts on Palestinian people. So much for due process.
These are the same people who criticized a travel ban on people from certain countries associated with terrorists.
The visa ban is equivalent to France imposing a similar ban on people in the US believed to have committed racial acts.
Just another example of a double standard for Israel.
Steve Scholl
Oro Valley
The AZ Legislature
How do you explain to someone wanting to move to Arizona or who lives in another state why the AZ Legislature will not confirm our Governor’s appointments? We as voters, no matter the party, elect the Governor and we understand this includes his/her cabinet and appointees. The legislature is saying “we lost and/or we don’t like her, so we are going to exercise the only power we think we have.” The immaturity of this type of political power play is astounding. It speaks to the character and capacity of the people blocking progress and the lack of belief this legislative body has in people it serves. It is setting the way of the future and more retaliation. There is so much more work to do that is important to Arizona. Once again Arizona looks silly and any progress the legislature might make is overshadowed by this.
Maryann Beerling
Midtown
Border closures/Congress
I was reading about the border closures down south, and wondering why Congress can’t work to solve these problems, which are hurting our economy.
I am equally concerned about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed rules and regulations which will have dire and direct negative economic impacts here in Arizona. Specifically, they are looking at rules and regulations that would affect the very chemicals that are used in the production of electric vehicles and semiconductors, not to mention consumer electronics and even the sterilization of medical devices that are produced here in Arizona.
Congress must impress on the EPA that these types of regulations can and will have negative effects on our economy and even threaten to derail our efforts to reduce our dependence on environmental harming fossil fuels.
Kelly Jones
South Tucson
Liz Cheney
I have been so impressed with Liz Cheney in the last two years. Her working and personal background is impressive. She knows what a President should be. A President has principles that transcend one’s political party. Being a Democrat or a Republican only provides one’s guidelines from which a President attacks our nation’s problems and our nation’s influence in the World’s problems. As a Democrat, and a newly enlisted soldier, I cast my second ever Presidential vote for Ronald Reagan because I believed he was the best choice. Cheney absolutely sees the danger of a Trump Presidency to our Democracy. She calls for a bi-partisan effort to prevent his reelection. Principled people no matter what party are what we need in a President; a uniter. I join her in uniting against the reelection of Trump. I know my vote to elect her as President in the future would be a well placed one!
Frank Montez, retired ARNG, retired Raytheon Missile Systems
East side
Some in Congress playing a deadly game
Do you ever find yourself screaming at TV, as if news moderators can hear you? I don’t mean Fox. That’s Theater of the Absurd. I mean news.
I can’t believe the utter shortsightedness, the apparent lack of Republicans’ knowledge of history, their ineptness in “connecting dots” that go beyond the latest poll of their “base” (note pun about thinking here), or “political advisors” of what game will spin well with “base” voters. Tie immigration to a reenactment of WWII? My point: What sane person withholds funding Ukraine? Republicans: any thoughts on what comes next? Poland, for one. Who else took Poland?
There are three demagogues-slash-psychopathic leaders in the world right now. One seeks power albeit already commands these congressional puppets. One heads Russia. Guess the other, none being popular with their country’s majorities. What might this be reminiscent of?
Time to scream at Congress: NO Christmas break! Instead, Do your job! Pass Ukraine funding AND immigration policy Dems are inviting you to do!
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
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