Tucson Speaks Out: May 18

Inside info

Mr. Johnson speculates that Trump, the master statesman, knows that Iran has a nuclear weapon ready to go. Mr. Johnson has no factual proof, just his self-proclaimed rational intellect. Johnson espouses that Trump always does what he says he will do. It's true, Trump does what he says he will do. The problem is that everything he does fails miserably. Tariffs, immigration, the economy, government services, gutting DOJ, FBI, education, national debt, etc. His failures include the war he started all by himself on a "feeling." (A billion-plus-dollars-a-day feeling). Logically, let's consider that Iran has a nuclear weapon in the making. Do you think they would use that weapon knowing that the United States would retaliate and destroy their entire country in minutes? Are the Iranians suicidal? Russia, China and North Korea pose a greater nuclear threat than Iran. The war is just another Trump show.

Richard Bechtold

West side

Defending the law

Failing to defend Arizona law from encroaching organizations was presented in a very virtuous tone on May 14, 2025.

Attorney General Kris Mayes, supported by the governor, is refusing to defend the laws requiring professional credentials and safe environments for abortion procedures. The American Civil Liberties Union believes that is overreach on the part of Arizona.

Validating a "person's choice of provider" to protect anyone professing to be trained to perform an abortion is somehow in the best interest of Arizona.

People with questionable training, in remote areas, with no connection to a hospital or trained surgeon, is just one more way to cycle back to the abortions performed in alleys using hangers. Who does this serve?

Why do I believe it serves the people promoting abortions to low-income women, especially women of color?

The ACLU and our white governor and white attorney general are selling our uninformed women down the river.

Paula Deter

Sahuarita

Observations and comments

1 — We are celebrating 250 years of our freedom — we were all just Americans back then — let's go back to that! No race!

2 — I am an Army vet — served during Vietnam — I met a lot of people — we were all one!!

3 — I watch a lot of sports on TV — caught on with women's basketball — incredible! (Started watching University of Arizona — Aari McDonald)! Awesome! WNBA? Incredible! Caitlin Clark — oh my God!! Female announcers and sports experts? Yes, and mostly dark-skinned! More beautiful than ever, intelligent and knowledgeable about the game — great to see, finally!? Hey, it's 2026 — hello!?

4 — Race? Yes, still going on in sports — I find it so ironic — Tiger got called every name in the book for playing a light-skin sport! Caitlin Clark called names playing a dark-skin sport — plus she got beat up badly on the court! Tiger wasn't attacked — but she was! It's 2026! They are both responsible for making their sports what they are today!! Huge!!

Jim Coughlin

Northeast side

No way!

Who would not want a street in Tucson named after a person who espoused positions promoting racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, one-male/one-female marriage only, antisemitism, climate denial, etc., etc.?

I do not want a street named after someone who pandered to the lowest common denominator by promoting fear, hate and unnecessary divisiveness.

Of course, I do not know if Kirk believed all the things he said or wrote. It is not improbable he was capitalizing on an economic opportunity solely for his and Erika’s financial benefit.

No Way to C.K. Way!

James Abels

Midtown

Charlie Kirk Way

Let's be honest, Charlie Kirk was a purveyor of bigotry and hateful ideology. Any acknowledgment of such indiscretions is an insult to Arizona, and Tucson specifically. He is far from a hero, or anyone to look up to. Charlie Kirk was a racist, hateful bigot who doesn’t deserve to be remembered.

Peter Bisschop

East side

A champion

Cruelty has a new champion. Donald Trump has proven worthy of the title. He looks under every stone to find ways to create trouble and suffering for the least of us. He is making his mark on the world with his hateful grimace and hard heart.

After only a year, he has made a pretty good start at making a mess of everything. He and his pack of rodents are fearless in this pursuit of whipping up angst until the whole world is ducking for cover.

The worst part is that we, his victims, can only watch and wish for better times, instead of the bitter ones served up.

The war he started with Iran mirrors the one he wages against his own people and the rule of law. In the end, he will lose both contests. Decent men and women of integrity will find a way to unseat this champion.

Ron Lancaster

North side

What's changed??

All of a sudden, Donald Trump needs congressional approval to reduce the federal gas tax to help the American public with the continued increases caused by his war in Iran. By the way, did he seek congressional approval to start this war and cost our country over $25 billion? He just made it clear he cares nothing about the millions of Americans suffering because of the continued increase in all areas of our cost of living. Gas, food, housing, clothing — I could go on and on. It is time for his LOYAL followers to quit drinking the Kool-Aid and insist the 25th Amendment to the Constitution be invoked and remove Trump, Vance and all his cronies from their positions. If not, the King will go on, and his loyalty to Putin will be apparent as our country is run into the ground.

William Lauffer

Oro Valley

Lying about an election

Why do people lie? It is simple to hide something that will hurt them, and for many other reasons. So why did President Trump say he won the 2020 presidential election? Albeit he lost the election. He claims the election was stolen from him; albeit the courts say different. This is President Trump's biggest lie of all. How could he admit that "Sleeping Joe" beat him? Trump could never admit that "Sleeping Joe" beat him — it would mean the end for want-to-be King Trump.

David Morales

Northwest side

The deportation shell game

Reading the reports of huge new warehouses being bought for renovation for “millions” of illegal immigrants, I set out to discover how many have actually been deported since January 2025. Not millions: by DHS's own figures, there may have been 605,000 deported in 2025 — but that may include encounters at the border in which people were turned away. The independent Deportation Data Project counts 305,000 deported. DHS claims that 1.6 million have “self-deported,” but the independent Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that the true number is perhaps 160,000 — one-tenth of that. Kaiser, and others, also report that only about 25% of the 74,000 in detention actually have criminal records. DHS has paid more than $1 billion for these empty warehouses — 13% above market value according to real estate tracker CoStar. And Alligator Alcatraz is being shut down. This is a scam, people, and we are the victims.

Suzanne Ferguson

East side

HELP at Grant and Alvernon

In June, the Tucson Botanical Garden begins its wonderful “Dog Days of Summer” program. Last summer, my friends and I struggled to reach the Garden by crossing Grant at Alvernon. All summer long, traffic was down to one lane each way, and wait times were two to three light cycles for each trip.

Guess what? A whole calendar year, 12 months, has now gone by, and everything is exactly the same at Grant and Alvernon! In one full 12-month year, all that they have accomplished is to install curbs and sidewalks on the northwest corner of the intersection. My heart goes out to the businesses trying to stay alive in the never-ending chaos, and many have already died.

Is there anyone in the city government or the county government or any sector of any government that can help expedite this unbelievable mess? What is wrong with this project? Is there ANY end in sight? PLEASE HELP!

Abigail Byrd

Midtown