Tucson Speaks Out: June 29

Reflecting his incompetence

The “reflecting pool" demonstrates the enormity of Trump's character: no obtaining authority, claims of construction superiority (you can’t cut it with a knife), on time/on budget ($1.8 mil to $14/15 mil), and it all failed due to someone else’s fault (left-wing vandals). Trump’s incompetence encapsulated in one construction project! See this in a war he didn’t get authority for, whose self-stated objectives haven’t been met, a war seemingly no better settled than the JCPOA, which he 86'd in Trump 1.0 and one which has needlessly cost lives and carries an extreme bill. Now he wants billions while the DOD sits on billions of uncommitted funds and then has the guts to stuff this supplemental with pork- farm relief from his own imposed tariffs, money for Ebola victims in Africa (remember USAID?), etc. So, if running your business into bankruptcy, lying about it, blaming others and then asking for financial relief needs a champion — congrats, Trump is ready to represent you!

Norman Patten

Midtown

Traffic enforcement, cameras

Councilman Cunningham was on target when he recently said that distrust was the reason a new traffic camera program would die again. That was the reason it died last time. The general feeling of the population was that the contractor had a financial incentive for fines, that the contractor and not the city was in charge and that the contractor shortened the yellow light times to make more profit. I agree that we need the cameras, but with a transparent contract. Maybe the council could also consider refunding a TPD traffic unit. Patrolling motorcycles are a good deterrent to violations.

BTW, many of our pedestrian deaths are due to pedestrians indiscriminately walking the traffic lanes and wearing dark clothing at night.

David Germain

East side

World peace, not simply a concept

The biggest hurdle in establishing “World Peace," is finding the catalyst, something that compels the people to join in, where they benefit, not just for the sake of Peace itself, but financially, and personally. There is only one catalyst that has a chance of accomplishing that goal: replace the War Industry Economy with an economy that generates profit and salvation, and the only plan I have ever found that has a chance of working is a space colonization and exploration industry economy. 

World Peace is the biggest and baddest monster on the block, baddest I say, because we have to eliminate ‘War’ first, and we have too much anger, hate and all the virtues of Humanity, in which I will include, the seven deadly sins put together, to have a semblance of a chance put a dent in the trials, and get them out of the way, or settled into a plan of operational solutions first.

John Hargis

St. David

Trump is a racist

Trump is a racist, and here is some of the evidence. From personal experience and living in Romania for eight years, we know there are hundreds of undocumented Romanians and thousands of undocumented Europeans living in Chicago. When ICE raided Chicago, how many white people were detained? South African visas are only issued to white South Africans. Trump put the heads of President and First Lady Obama on gorilla bodies in a social post. Who does that except a racist? Trump affirms this racism with his own words. “S-hole countries in Africa; Somalians are garbage; Haitians are eating the dogs and cats of neighbors in Springfield, Ohio; Mexico is sending their murders and rapists to the U.S.” These are just a few of the remarks Trump has made about dark-skinned people and the countries they come from. How much more evidence do you need?

Don Ries

Southeast side