Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a Get Out The Vote rally Saturday at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C.
Trump, caretaker
In his campaign ad, Trump claims that “God” chose him to be caretaker of the Earth; at the same time advocating for more oil drilling, a known source contributing to global warming and the destruction of the earth. So much for caretaking.
The wannabe caretaker influenced the insurrection of our Capitol and stole top government secrets for his own use. As President, Trump refused to acknowledge the danger of the COVID entering into our country, resulting in the death of thousand of Americans.
Some religious fanatics believe that “God” chose an evil person to fight evil on earth. That excuses their support of Trump. Trump convinced many of his MAGA supporters that he won the election. Now he wants them to believe that he is the “Chosen One.”
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Dale Lindstrom
Marana
America
I can’t believe it — 300 million people in our country and the “best” two candidates to run it are a narcissist under indictment and an incompetent environmental specialist who gives trillions of dollars to his buddies in “green” energy companies. Many, like Solyndra under the Obama administration, will fail.
I think that this tells a lot about our country and the way it is heading. Our country has no budget. Spend however much we want on whatever they want to spend it on. So what if we spent 1.4 trillion dollars over the last 6 months leaving us 34 trillion dollars in debt? There is no more middle. Everybody is either far left or far right. Can our country survive?
Thomas Wenzel
East side
Trump hates America
Trump’s greenlighting of violence suggests that he doesn’t believe in American democracy. Political violence and threats of political violence are at record levels and costing Americans dearly. Trump’s violent rhetoric is resulting in enormous amounts of money being spent on security, while Trump’s security is paid for by the American taxpayers.
Election officials and election workers are at risk and hard to find due to violent threats. A man who believes that elections are rigged except for the ones he wins does not love American democracy.
A man who is hateful towards descendants of migrants of color like Nikki Haley and Barack Obama, while failing to acknowledge his own migrant mother and paternal grandfather, and wondering where all the migrants from Norway are, hates America and all that America stands for.
Rather than making America great, Trump is doing his level best to destroy America.
Dave Gallagher
Foothills
Donald Trump is guilty
Re: the Jan. 27 article “Jury: Trump must pay $83.3M in damages.”
Perhaps now the media will stop printing Donald Trump lies. Perhaps now, the media will turn off the mics and klieg lights, and stop the film, and stop the sound bites. The blasphemous and libelous lies have been adjudicated. The juries have made rulings. They are not alleged.
Donald Trump is guilty. His statements are false and defamatory — in the extreme.
The penalties — so far — add up to more money than most of us will see in a lifetime. He is adjudicated in a court of law by a jury presided by a judge. Donald Trump is guilty.
John Yoakum
Midtown
Recycling
I read where NJ passed a law about plastic bags and it failed. It failed because no one actually thought it out in advance. Just because it pops into your head does not make it a good idea unless you understand the consequences that will occur in the future. Eliminate one use plastic bags will require a replacement, what are the choices and what is the cost? Then who pays the cost of the replacement and will they be used?
The problem has always been the trash created and the landfills that were the result. Ever wonder why we have never implemented a recycling program that actually can solve the problem? Our solution is always the easy way out, open the lid to the trash can, throw it in and close the lid. Excavations have shown that landfills don’t decompose in any reasonable time frame, want to read a newspaper from 50 years ago, dig it up. We need a better solution.
Loran Hancock
Northwest side
A Republic ... if you can keep it
In 1787, representatives of the 13 colonies gathered to debate and adopt a new form of government...a representative democracy, or republic. It was based on elected representatives adopting laws and an elected President executing those laws. Afterwards, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” He replied, “A Republic...if you can keep it.”
So much for our Republic. Today, we have a Congress with one party that refuses to pass legislation that is essential to our country in deference to an unelected and indicted former president. This week he instructed those members of both houses of Congress to refuse to negotiate or pass legislation dealing with immigration. Why? To enhance his personal agenda for reelection at the expense of the nation’s interests. Apparently, many of our so-called “patriots” have opted for a monarchy.
Bruce Hilpert
North side
COVID “The Killer”
In 2016, America elected a moron as POTUS. Americans endured four years of holding our breath (and noses), praying that disaster didn’t strike. Sadly, (just as we rounded the final turn) it came in the form of COVID. The moron dawdled, and blustered how, “it couldn’t happen here,” but it did! As it turned out, he had torn up the pandemic playbook that Obama gave him!
Because of his malfeasance, more than a million (and still counting) Americans died! My mother was one of them.
I was at her bedside, as she struggled to draw her last breath on Dec. 14, 2021. She was 95 years and 48 days old, and one of the most loving, and forgiving persons I’ve ever known!
I’m still grieving, and I’ll be damned if I ever forgive those recalcitrant miscreants (unrepentant sinners) who voted for that fascist imbecile! I’m certain Christ hasn’t done so!
John Balsbaugh
Midtown
Legislature drug testing
Re: the Jan. 29 article “AZ lawmaker wants random drug testing of colleagues.”
Random drug screening for the AZ Legislature? Suddenly I realize why we see so many just plain stupid bills! Way to go Julie Willoughby!
Richard Eaton
West side
Soothsayers
It is fascinating to me that so many of your readers can see clearly into the future. They can accurately predict the terrible things that Trump will do to the bloated government, the individual citizens who disagree with him, and his disregard for Constitution. Apparently, they cannot see any potential positive policies he may incorporate.
What is far more interesting to me is this ability to see into the future by these soothsayers. Please, please, tell me what is going to happen to the stock market for the next three years so I can get rich. Another thing, if these predictive powers are so accurate, why could you not predict that Joe Biden, touted as the great unifier who would solve the countries problems, has managed to generate policies that have divided the country’s citizens to an extent not seen since the Civil War. Great Unifier, my foot!
Loyal M. Johnson Jr.
Oro Valley
So blind!
Okay, at last, now I see.
“Just think how he appointed those three young SCOTUS justices, doing away with nasty ol’ ‘Roe’, all those babies he saved. I don’t care about insurrections, tax evasions, Georgia phone calls, rapes, multi-impeachments, Access Hollywood, etc; all I care about are those sweet little babies, he saved them, he saved them. He’s got my vote!”
Wow. So blind. Wow.
James Torrey
West side
Jaguar letter refutes left-wing narrative
Re: the Feb. 6 letter “Jaguar reintroduction.”
This letter was written by a biologist specializing in the Sky Island mountain ranges in Sonora, Mexico. What he essentially said was that the Arizona mountains are not the normal habitat for Jaguars, but rather tropical habitats of thornscrub found further south. And that the occasional males spotted in the AZ mountains wandered from their normal areas. I believe this biologist’s letter about the Jaguar refutes the false narratives of the left-wing AZ Star, left-wing environmentalists and left-wing animal rights people who have repeatedly used the Jaguar issue to attack border barriers.
Shaki Johnson
East side
The case against TikTok
I believe that TikTok should be banned. The FBI has expressed significant national security concerns regarding TikTok due to its ownership by ByteDance, a Chinese company.
The Biden administration banned TikTok on government devices.
TikTok systematically promotes or demotes content on the basis of whether it is aligned with or opposed to the interests of the Chinese government.
It is in control of the data, It’s the control of the recommendation algorithm. It’s the control of the software. This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese government and it “screams out with national security concerns.”
TikTok presents cybersecurity concerns, misinformation and propaganda and data collection problems.
Surveys show significant portions of teenagers spend considerable time on TikTok: Almost 2/3 of US teens use TikTok daily (Pew Research, 2023), 16% report “almost constantly” using it. Among girls, nearly half feel “addicted”.
This level of use raises concerns about potential negative effects on mental health, sleep, bullying, and academic performance.
Tom McGorray
Northwest side
No call for ceasefire
Our Jewish community is already facing unprecedented hate and our Tucson leadership must take this into account and see the dangers of calling for a ceasefire. Holding American Jews accountable for the actions of a foreign, sovereign government is blatantly anti-semitic. How can our Tucson leaders, 7500 miles away from this conflict, not understand the consequences and complexities of calling for a ceasefire? Targeting the Jewish state has already led to an increase in Jewish hate. Jews of the world are scapegoated because of an action by a foreign government. Calling for a ceasefire only fuels the hate seen across Tucson, on the UA campus and among people protesting against Israel. In good conscience, can you truly say that you are a scholarly expert on the Israel/Palestinian issues? It is an extremely nuanced and complicated history. Making blanket statements gives permission to blatant anti-semitism. It is adding fuel to a fire that has existed for centuries-the hatred against Jewish people and the hatred of a permanent Jewish state.
Kelly Koren
Southeast side
Trump loses again, thank God!
Another win for Democrats in the upstate New York special election. What’s the message for Republicans, and the “new” speaker of the House (Donald Trump don’t know who Mike Johnson is), what’s up with losing? MAGA republicans, how ridiculous you look to the rest of us. Supporting someone who wants to take everything from you and give you NOTHING in return. Keep your ridiculousness, to yourself. You’re not going to win in November. These early elections are a “bellwether,” for later this year. You will lose, because you have chosen to “hang” with the biggest loser.
Mary Bradley
Northeast side
Misquotation of the Bible
Re: the Feb. 14 letter “Christianity a cult.”
The letter writer should read more of the book of Luke. In the passage cited, Jesus is telling a story about a harsh ruler and the quotation is what that ruler said at the end of the story.
I cannot permit such an ignorant remark to go unchallenged.
Kathleen Bents, cult member
Midtown
Sham impeachment of Mayorkas
What a joke; what hypocrisy for the Republicans to say that Secretary Mayorkas lied to Congress and failed to live up to his oath. The real reason for this impeachment goes beyond the wishes of their dear nationalist leader. It is racism, pure and simple. Look at who was leading the charge: Johnson, Scalise, and Marjorie Taylor Greene — all with white nationalist leanings. Look at the words they used. We are going to deport Secretary Mayorkas because — fill-in-the-blanks. He is not white like us. He is an immigrant from a Communist country. He has a funny-sounding name. If this goes to a trial in the Senate, imagine for a moment that Marjorie Taylor Greene is an impeachment manager or any other of those loony characters in the US House of Representatives.
This is a sham, scam, and disgraceful, unconstitutional use of impeachment. Voting to continue to keep Republicans in charge of any form of National government is hazardous to our health and well-being. This racist impeachment will not stand.
James Robinett
Southwest side
Trump embraces Communism
As a student of history and having lived through the Cold War, I am concerned about our future. “Communism, and its tears” refers to the hardships, human rights abuses, and tragedies associated with communist regimes throughout history. These regimes result in oppression, famine, and the loss of individual freedoms, leading to suffering for people living under them. Only the elite thrive.
The new czar Putin holds ultimate power and control over Russia, similar to the autocratic rulers of the past. His authoritarian actions, his consolidation of power, and his suppression of dissent and opposition are the communism of today. The new want-to-be czar of the US, Trump, who admires Putin and authoritarianism, encourages Putin to expand his reach across Europe, ultimately even beyond.
Trump and his MAGA buddies will expand authoritarianism in the US with communism to follow. He desires one united partnership with Putin, a global superpower under communism. The new Axis of Evil with Trump. Vote anyone but MAGA.
Mark Ziska
Midtown
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