Tucson speaks up: Letters to the editor for the week of Dec. 26, 2025
- Updated
Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeffrey McConnell, West side
In 1968 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Ever since then the secular media have insisted on the honorific ‘Dr. King’. I find his academic honors, tarnished by a plagiarized doctorate, totally inconsequential compared to his societal achievements that were fueled by deep Christian faith. I marched with him.
In 2025 Charlie Kirk was assassinated. A devout Christian first and foremost, he preached personal responsibility — ‘fix yourself before fixing society’ — and unlike MLK found his political voice in the Republican Party. Yet in the Daily Star’s 1000 word Associated Press report on the opening of Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix, the first since Kirk's death, the word ‘Christian’ appeared just once, qualified as ‘white Christian.’
These two private citizens, holding no public office, transformed America's trajectory through faith-inspired action and paid the ultimate price. It is regrettable that legacy media persistently marginalizes the religiosity central to their legacies.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Eleanor Arnold, Northeast side
Back in 2015 when Donald Trump blatantly asserted he could fire a gun down 5th Avenue in New York and no one would stop him, my reaction was, "Who would ever vote for this guy?" Unfortunately, we found out.
Trump will never have my vote because I look at the man, the integrity of the person, not political hype and empty promises. DJT is a convicted felon, a lying, greedy, power-obsessed megalomaniac who cares only about himself and amassing a greater fortune.
Yes, we needed to secure our borders and get control of the migrant situation, but not by gestapo tactics of wrenching children from mothers and seizing people off the streets without a chance to call loved ones.
I am horrified at what we are becoming and hope our cowardly congress will wake up and act on behalf of us citizens instead of DJT. The next time you vote, look at the integrity of the person, not just at the hype and promises.
Eleanor Arnold
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Alan Roehl, Green Valley
At the recent Turning Point conference Vice President Vance said that U.S. "Christianity is America's creed, the shared moral language from the Revolution to the Civil War and beyond." Apparently, he attended a different school than I did. At my school I was taught that one of the tenets of the Constitution is that America has freedom of religion. So I am wondering whether the Republicans will nominate Vance for their Presidential candidate for the 2028 election, and what will happen if he is elected. Does Vance intend to deport all non-Christian individuals from the U.S.?
Alan Roehl
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Dan Gipple, Southeast side
Normal presidents use national addresses to talk about issues of critical importance. They’re meant to inform, unify or bring as sense of calm in uncertain times. Trump’s was not. Instead, we heard a shouting, unhinged rant delivered at warp speed.
It was essentially a grievance-filled campaign speech. There was a recitation of all he’s done, replete with lies. One absurd example: 500% price reduction. Mathematically impossible without a rebate.
There was a diatribe of complaints upbraiding us because we weren’t sufficiently grateful to our dear leader for his prodigious accomplishments.
He often blamed Biden and the Democrats for problems, even idiotically stating that the Democrats want to raise healthcare premiums. Perhaps he’s too distracted, in between naps, with designing a $400M gilded ballroom to notice that it’s actually the Republicans.
This is who he is – utterly incompetent, full of rage and mendacity and increasingly incoherent.
Dan Gipple
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Leslie Kanberg, Downtown
There are many problems having a president who does not filter his language and is often combative. Yet we have grown accustomed to his demeaning outbursts, the rambling, stream-of-consciousness speeches, and the all caps, middle-of-the-night tweets. But let's not forget that Mr. Trump's sleep issues, uncontrolled anger, slurred and incoherent speech, as well as his unsteady gait, are all symptoms of dementia.
We now head into a new year with a Commander-in-Chief in obvious decline, a Supreme Court happy to give him more power, and advisors enabling his every petulant, even illegal whim. Meanwhile, two unelected White House officials are destroying what he can of our federal government (Russell Vought) and deporting our law-abiding neighbors (Stephen Miller). While I struggle to imagine how our country can endure three more years of the unchecked chaos and corruption of this administration, I hope we - the people- now value leaders who are wise, tolerant, and reassuringly sane.
Leslie Kanberg
Downtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Sam Foster, Green Valley
The President of the United States has renamed a memorial building in our Nation’s Capital to honor himself. This egomaniacal act has been relegated to the back pages of the major news outlets as if it were a normal occurrence. Perhaps if he erected a neon Trump sign atop the Washington Monument, or a bust of himself on Lincoln’s shoulder, would the people rise up in their disgust. But no, it seems the President has no limit to his crass degradation of our Nation’s institutions, landmarks, and history – and the media and the people seem to accept this as normal. I know that This Too Shall Pass, but I for one will do whatever I can to hurry it along. I am outraged.
Sam Foster
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Melody Sears, North side
A leading center for earth science research is on the chopping block, says Budget Director Russell Vought, who accused the center of "climate alarmism."
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado is a global leader in weather and climate research, which includes tracking severe weather events and researching how solar activity affects the earth's atmosphere, thus accurately predicting our weather. NCAR's years of research allows forecasters to predict weather days, weeks and months in advance (a boon to farming). The Center developed instruments to be dropped from planes to predict hurricane paths, and studied downdrafts, which led to detection of wind shear at airports that in turn have prevented hundreds of deadly aviation accidents.
Along with some government and National Science Foundation funding, more than 100 universities joined to create the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research to operate NCAR's laboratory.
So called "climate alarmism" is a stupid reason to end a useful and lifesaving institution studying weather and its effects worldwide. NCAR must not be dismantled.
Melody Sears
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Glen Vann, West side
When submitting a letter to the Star, writers are first informed that "facts must be annotated by links shared in the "Notes" field". After suffering through Loyal Johnson latest "contribution", I wondered if his claims "the Biden Administration opened the floodgates, inviting 10 million immigrants to enter the country", and the even more dubious, "significant number" "were (violent) criminals", were accompanied by any such links.
Ironically, Johnson's defense of the Trump Administration's actions in response and his description of Biden's "willfully ignoring" law, comes just after 60 Minutes' story about the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador. Trump ignored a Federal Judge's order and shipped hundreds of immigrants to that facility, using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
The vast majority of those sent to what has been described as a torture prison, had NO criminal records despite the Administration claims that they were gang members.
Glen Vann
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Kym Jones, Midtown
Ms Katz, here are some real figures. Total deaths of Palestinians is 60 to 69 thousand. Over 145 thousand wounded. This does not include the nearly 10,000 not accounted for and presumed buried under the ruble. More than 18,500 were children. 10,000 were women. Israel has disputed this but Israel has not provided its own comprehensive account of Palestinian casualties. Every day we saw Israel bombing hospitals, schools and places of worship. IF they suspected Hamas in those places why not send troops to root them out instead of killing everyone? I used to support Israel but not now or ever again. What we saw was genocide, period.
Kym Jones
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Bruce Joffe, South Tucson
Trump appointed worm-brained RFK Jr. to lead the HHS department and destroy our country's world-wide supremacy in medical science and public health. Funding for scientific research has been withdrawn. Science is supplanted by conspiracy theories, superstition, snake-oil hucksterism, and disregard for authentic scientific knowledge.
But there is reason for hope that Trump and RFK Jr. will fail. California's Governor Newsom is hiring respected former leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish world-leading public health science in California, for California and for a growing consortium of other states. An emerging 15-state "Governors' Public Health Alliance" will provide guidance from actual scientific research on vaccines, medications, testing for dangerous new diseases, and response coordination to health threats. Becoming the first U.S. state to join the World Health Organization, California's Health Alliances will replace the MAGA-undermined CDC and may even rescue the USA from becoming a second-rate scientific has-been.
Bruce Joffe
South Tucson
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Monica Mohan,
I hope that the following is taken into consideration should this situation be presented in the Diocese of Tucson - as I understand that you have a new Bishop.
In certain Dioceses within the Catholic Church, kneelers are being banned - even though one can still receive kneeling and on the tongue. They would just have to receive kneeling on the floor. In respect to the elderly and disabled, how can they still exercise their right to kneel and receive on the tongue if there are no kneelers? How is this any different from a public building where all can enter - such as a library - but a ramp is not provided? There is no difference. If there is something that I am not aware of in this situation, I apologize. Otherwise, how was/is such little consideration given to the elderly and disabled in these decisions?
Monica Mohan
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ron Lancaster, North side
They say Trump writes his own speeches. His helpers won’t write what he wants. They are too embarrassed. With a limited vocabulary, he makes his points. The President’s last speech before the nation was one for the ages. Clearly, it showed that he is stupid, stubborn, and strange. To make his points, he hollered at the camera, thinking it was the best way to hammer home his whoppers.
He weeds out anything that might sound like the truth. It would confuse people.
Our elected leader is his own hoax. He has even fooled himself. He thinks he is the best thing this country has ever seen. Most Presidents must wait until they leave office to have statues and buildings dedicated to them. Not our guy. He honors himself while he can bask in his own glory and make his people fall all over themselves in disingenuous compliments.
Ron Lancaster
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ed Waymire, Midtown
On November 19, 2025, Congress passed and the President signed into law H.R. 4405, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legally requiring the DOJ to make public all DOJ and FBI records related to Epstein and Maxwell in a searchable and downloadable format by December 19, 2025. Both the President and the DOJ are in violation of this federal law and in contempt of Congress and in contempt of the American voters who elected them, let alone the victims of the sexual pedophiles who pursued them. Pardons will likely be issued all around but renaming the Epstein files as the Trump-Epstein files is clearly more justified than any of the other public renamings that this president has been forcing on the American institutions.
As MTG finally learned, MAGA is clearly not what its followers were led to believe.
Ed Waymire
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Don Gerlach, East side
The plaques recently put on the walls of the "People's House" by POTUS are pitiful, and the renaming of the Kennedy Center, insulting. Has he no shame? The shame is what he is doing to the country, to the American people. I believe we will long regret the day that we let him and his family organization rule the country.
Don Gerlach
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeffrey McConnell, West side
I watched the President’s news conference with nine major pharmaceutical companies announcing ‘Most Favored Nation’ drug pricing agreements that will dramatically reduce the cost of medicine to Americans, leading to much lower health insurance costs.
LTE contributor Don Reis apparently saw this same telecast and chose to focus on what is the percentage decrease of a pill that currently costs Americans $10 and will soon be three or two dollars.
He and I both heard that the blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis will now be available for free to Medicaid patients so I ask him factor the number zero into his statistical mathematics.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Lawrence E. Mazin, SaddleBrooke
Donald Trump’s obsession with stamping his name on everything is often dismissed as vanity or branding. This is territorial marking. He tags surfaces that would be the envy of graffiti artists.
Territorial marking is simple: Claim space loudly and repeatedly to assert dominance. Trump’s gold-lettered surname functions exactly this way. It is not about achievement or legacy; it is about presence, I am here. This is mine!
He signs hurricane maps. He demands personal credit on government checks. He even adds his name to a memorial at the Kennedy Center. These are not acts of leadership; they are acts of possession. The presidency, to him, was never stewardship. It was territory, his territory!
Perhaps Congress should grant him one final naming privilege. Give him the Bermuda Triangle, rebranded as the Trump Triangle, where facts vanish, accountability sinks, tariffs drift untethered from reality, and misogyny reliably resurfaces. He can rename it weekly. Nothing durable ever survives there anyway.
Lawrence E. Mazin
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mary Beth Schneider, East side
Trump renaming the Kennedy Center is shameful and inappropriate. What a slap in the face of America. After President Kennedy's assassination his widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, was instrumental in the creation of the Kennedy Center, serving as an honorary chair for fundraising, championing the project as a living memorial, and even commissioning the opening night performance after her husband's death. She saw the need for a national arts center and actively promoted it, ensuring it became a reality to honor JFK’s legacy.
Shameful.
Mary Beth Schneider
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Pat DeConcini, Midtown
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration and based on my own personal experience as a former Federal Prosecutor in the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Division at DOJ, violent drug organizations often use human trafficking as a way to increase profits. They use the same trafficking routes and methods for drugs, sex and humans. Traffickers sometimes force migrants to pilot boats and use women and children who are also often victims of sex trafficking. Traffickers use drug addiction to control their slave like workers, to force long work hours and compliance and minimize escape attempts. Drug trafficking is inextricably linked with human and sex trafficking, often with mixed use vessels and vehicles. This is a law enforcement issue not a war.
Trump’s inhumane extrajudicial killings of unknown individuals in vessels near Venezuela violate U.S. and international law. How many innocent minors, victims of human and sex trafficking and people forced to drive vessels have been murdered? Their names and stories we will never know. God help us.
Pat DeConcini
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jon Young, Midtown
On March 13, 1944, German U-boat commander Heinz-Wilhelm Eck ordered his crew to machine-gun the survivors of the SS Peleus. We caught them and, after a fair trial, executed them on November 30, 1945. Their claim that they “were just following orders” is exactly what every Nazi we ever put on trial said. It did not work then and it does not work now. It is well past time for an entire chain of command to lawyer up.
Jon Young
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Toni Kane, Oro Valley
Help! Our omniscient, narcistic, and irrational president is losing it with his paranoia reaching new heights over any Republican or Democrat who says something about him in a negative way. Does he suffer from dementia? His hands reveal evidence of injections. Has he had a stroke? He is endangering our country and all Republican election office seekers in the 2026 elections. Does he care, I think not, about his political party? It is time to invoke the 25th Amendment to our Constitution.
Toni Kane
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Richard Bechtold, West side
Trump constantly brags about how much tariff money he has collected. He also says that he is giving tariff money he collected to military families and will give some to Americans for health care expenses. Please understand that tariff money is paid by us through importers paying more for products and passing the increased costs on to us. Whatever money Trump collected through tariffs is our money. Trump rewards us with our own money. The good thing about Trump is that we know exactly how many unenlightened Americans there are because they approve of him and what he does. Wake up.
Richard Bechtold
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Max LaPlante, Southeast side
It took President Obama about 14 months (427 days) from his inauguration to sign the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (Obamacare) into law on March 23, 2010, following a year-long legislative battle involving intense debate, numerous hearings, and complex negotiations, ultimately passing Congress without any Republican votes.
47 has consistently attacked the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since its inception through legislative efforts, executive actions, legal challenges, and public statements.
The administration has had 10 years to create an alternative individual health coverage market independent of the ACA. Project 2025 directly addresses the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with extensive proposals aimed at dismantling its key provisions and consumer protections including:
- weakening protections for pre-existing conditions
- eliminating financial assistance improvements
- dismantling the Medicaid expansion
- promoting non-ACA-compliant plans
- restricting reproductive health coverage
- and allowing discrimination.
Our Commander-In-Chief's new White House ballroom project cost estimate has escalated from $200 million to $400 million. Americans now know his priorities.
Max LaPlante
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Emily Morrison, Midtown
What has become of the DOGE efforts to save money? When the U.S. government authorizes Hellfire missiles, to strike alleged drug smuggling vessels, it can cost as much as $150,000 plus significant operational overhead. These operations are estimated to run about $18 million per day.
A typical Coast Guard drug interdiction off our shores, with surface cutters and sharpshooters, cost approximately $50,000. This approach is considerably less - and more importantly, is set into action only when the boats are identified and actually close to reaching our shores. The current approach looks like outrageous bombings in open waters nowhere near our coastline.
Emily Morrison
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Loyal M. Johnson Jr., Oro Valley
There is an ongoing effort to crucify President Trump and his Administration regarding ICE action, Department of Education elimination, and many other activities. Interestingly, there was no need for aggressive ICE actions five years ago because illegal immigration was limited, primarily to illegals who wanted to work.
The Biden Administration opened the floodgates, inviting 10-plus-million immigrants to enter the country with little or no vetting and willfully ignoring existing and long-standing law.
Unfortunately, a significant number of those entrants were criminals, many violent, and took advantage of the Administration’s laxity. Currently, the Trump Administration is tasked with cleaning up the mess that the previous Administration facilitated.
Similarly, the Department of Education was spending $24 billion a year to have our student test grades embarrassingly poor compared to similar countries. An abysmal failure demanding a major change in an attempt to correct this travesty. These two examples of failures to act responsibly and the resulting corrective actions rest solely in the laps of liberal Democrats.
Loyal M. Johnson Jr.
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Deb Klumpp, Oro Valley
Despite anti-science policy and defunding of research, the cause of TDS has been discovered. (Drumroll, please...)
The cause is the extreme mental derangement of Donald Trump, POTUS. TDS causes angst and stress to anyone with an ounce of morality and integrity. Every day, Trump treats us to some new show of depravity, just when you think he can't go any lower. Somehow, he manages. His recent remarks after the murder of celebrity actor/director Rob Reiner and his wife shows us just how sick Trump clearly is. Nothing seems despicable enough to faze his cult followers. They voted for and adore a hateful, revengeful, nasty bully and his depraved remarks. Sad commentary on this country. Trump used a tragic murder, inserted himself, spewed his nastiness, made it all about him. How unpresidential and embarrassing. He succeeded in getting his nausea-inducing face on the screen yet again - his rabid need for attention is bottomless. No wonder Trump Exhaustion Syndrome has set in for many.
Deb Klumpp
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Philip Reinecker, East side
President Trump recently made a claim that 28,000 people die from snakebite in Peru each year. A check of the facts revealed that there have been 10 deaths from snake bites in Peru in the last 15 years.
I'd like to say that it is a slight miscalculation, but it seems that Trump has, like in many other instances, just pulled the number out of the air and claimed it is factual. He not only lies about everything, but he also imagines or fabricates at will. He is simply not able to be truthful for any amount of time. This is the man we tell our children to look up to, who should be a shining example of all that is right and good.
Sorry, but somehow, we have a person who is just the opposite. Please save our wonderful country and get rid of this vile individual.
Philip Reinecker
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Barbara Katz, Green Valley
Tom Van Devender's letter accuses Israel of genocide. He states numbers that are demonstrably false, and uses a double standard to judge Israel. Citing 60,000 deaths implies they're all civilians, but Hamas numbers include 12,000 natural deaths in Gaza, 1,900 Hamas misfired rockets that killed Gazans. Just one, at Al Ahli hospital, killed 500 Palestinians, and include 20,000 Hamas terrorists killed. Even so, we can agree many civilians died. What do you think happens in war, particularly a war initiated by Palestinians? Two million civilians died in the Korean War, an average of 54,000 per month, and Saudi Arabia killed 19,000 civilians in Yemen, using U.S. weapons. This is the double standard
Utilizing dishonest numbers and not acknowledging the lengths Israel has gone to avoid civilian casualties, you succumb to the false genocide charge. It cheapens the word, making it meaningless when needed to describe a real genocide.
Barbara Katz
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Donald Plummer, Northwest side
All great countries and empires come to an end and so will we .
To name a few, Roman, Ottoman , British, Russian, German and others.
Human political nature, being what it is, led to their decline and fall.
We are following the same general path of them with our world leadership position that started during WWII.
In the last year our decline has accelerated immensely.
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Kenneth Haber, Northwest side
Again. The Dems fell victim to their own stupidity. This time the Epstein release. Just last month a promise to vote on ACA subsidies. Coupled with an end to shutdown. The Repubs are like Lucy with the football. The Dems like Charlie Brown. Kicking at air. But still the Dems trust. It is a fool's errand.
Kenneth Haber
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Max LaPlante, Southeast side
Our POTUS will celebrate the completion of his first year in office by ensuring that no one will ever forget his name and that his name will live on forever. The United States of America will now be called The United States of Trump. We have New England, New York, and New Jersey. Washington D.C. is now New Trumpland. The Trump Majal was formerly known as the White House. The Republican Party is now the Trumplican Party. Mar-a-Lago will be known as Trumpville. Since there wasn't sufficient room to add his face to Mount Rushmore, it was decided to rename it to Mount Trumpmore. The Smithsonian will now become the Trumpsonian. The National Mall will be renamed Trump Mall. Any and all memorials in New Trumpland (formerly Washington D.C.) will have the name Trump preceding the memorial's name. Grand Central Station is now Grand Trump Station. Finally, not to be outdone by the Lincoln Memorial, The new Trump Memorial will be twice the height of Lincoln's.
Max LaPlante
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Scott Feierabend, Northeast side
Congressman Ciscomani,
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is established by law. It is the sole memorial to JFK in DC, much like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, as well as the Washington Monument. The name cannot unilaterally be changed by a vote of the Center’s Board, but instead requires Congressional action to do so.
For once, demonstrate some level of resolve and leadership to your constituents by stepping out from the shadow of President Trump and demanding that the name of the Center be restored. Do it now.
Scott Feierabend
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Rachel Rulmyr, Oro Valley
The Encyclopedia Britannica defines Faustian Bargain as “a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as knowledge, power or riches.” Morality doesn’t matter. Character doesn’t matter. Values don’t matter. Calling immigrants vermin and women pigs doesn’t matter. Taking away healthcare from millions doesn’t matter. Cutting USAID which prevented 92 million deaths in 133 countries doesn’t matter. Only power matters.
Remember Trump and his photo op at Lafayette Square where he held a Bible upside down? That was a true image of his plan to turn faith and democracy upside down.
What is true is false. What is false is true. What is good is bad. What is bad is good. Shooting someone on 5th Ave. is a good thing. Cruelty and hate are good. Empathy is bad. Eliminating black and brown people and establishing a new white Christian, theocratic, autocratic, kleptocratic country where freedom is only a memory is good.
We are Trump’s Faustian Bargain.
Rachel Rulmyr
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Todd Ackerman, Foothills
There is a clear need for a new investment platform that tracks the current price of Presidential pardons in dollars invested in $Trump bitcoins and the value of quid pro quo exchanges. Currency purchases of $Trump crypto currency such as $40 mil and $1mil are easy to track, but defacto trades of praise and absolution for murder in exchange for project development are more difficult. And the trade of zipped lips for Texas country club confinement was almost priceless, but may have been diluted by the release of the Epstein Papers depending on who wields the redacting pen, Certainly the pardon of a major drug dealer will raise concern among those currently bidding for pardons until the price is revealed.
The question raised by these blatant transactions is are they bribery, Emoluments Clause violations or abuse of power?
Todd Ackerman
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Karen Ratte, West side
I look forward to a future when the Kennedy Center will again be just the Kennedy Center.
Karen Ratte
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- John Bingham, Northwest side
Someone who can look at what Israel is doing in Gaza and not see it as genocide is someone who doesn't want to admit the truth. Trying to somehow use the Korean war as a similar event is a leap unlike many others. Israel was attacked and have more than doled out their vengeance. They limit food and supplies meant for those in need by many aid organizations. They also have more settlements in the West Bank, where there should be no Israeli settlements. I understand it's got to be hard to be Jewish at this time in the world, but closing your eyes to the atrocities Israel is heaping on the Gazans is just lying to yourself and I disagree with that. Put Netanyahu in jail where he belongs and let the people of Gaza try to reclaim some dignity, because Israel isn't giving any land back.
John Bingham
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Darrell Durham, Northwest side
A mother and son of my acquaintance in a city far from here are standing up for their immigrant coworkers whose children attend schools where recent ICE raids have plucked kids from classrooms and snatched parents who’ve come to pick them up. These frightened coworkers are keeping the kids home from school and forgoing Christmas and grocery shopping for fear of capture, detention and deportation. So the mother and son are taking coworkers’ shopping lists and picking up/delivering the goods they need. This — not flag-waving, political hoo-hah, indignant tweets or even writing letters to the editor, for that matter — is what it really means to be an American.
Darrell Durham
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Alan Roehl, Green Valley
Now that our leader has arranged to change the name of the Center for Arts to include the name "Trump", I suggest that he continue by signing another executive order to change the name of the "Stickney Water Reclamation Plant" (near Chicago) to the "Trump Stickney Water Reclamation Plant" so that he can have his name on the largest sewage treatment plant in the world as well.
Alan Roehl
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Norma Guest, East side
Just saw that Trump added his name -- before John Kennedy's -- on the JFK Center for Performing Arts. He is also putting his face on the National Parks pass and plans on issuing a $1 coin with, of course, his face all over it.
Be careful, big brother is watching.
Norma Guest
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeff Rayner, SaddleBrooke
Yesterday the pathetic wretch, Trump, said of Venezuela, “They took our oil and we are going to get it back.”
I do not own any oil in South America, do you? Even if you own or owned stock in an oil company in Venezuela, the nationalization of that company occurred decades ago. The loss was written off soon after.
Now the orange clown is killing accused drug runners in the attempt to incite Maduro into a military escalation. Maduro, being smarter than Trump, is standing silent as Trump slaughters people that have not had a moment in a court of law, diminishing his stature even more. He is also killing the tiny amount of international good will the US has left.
Is this what you voted him in to do? Start a war over oil assets that will never pay a penny to any of us? Who will profit?
Jeff Rayner
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- William Brandt, Oro Valley
People who are not familiar with European history may not recognize the name of Neville Chamberlain. He was the British Prime Minister who in 1938 signed the Munich Agreement which gave Hitler a region of Czechoslovakia with the promise that Hitler would not invade any more countries. Hitler ignored the agreement and invaded them anyway. This is the classic example of why appeasement does not work. It appears that history may be repeating itself. Our leaders want to give Putin a piece of Ukraine with the agreement that Russia would never attack Ukraine again. Based on Russia’s past history they can be counted on to not keep to the agreement. If that happens we can nominate our leaders not for the Nobel Peace Prize but for the “Neville Chamberlain Appeasement Medal.”
William Brandt
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Fran McNeely, Northeast side
The November 2026 elections will be some of the most significant in our country's history. The balance in the House and Senate could change and many of us are hoping it will. Hope and dreams do not make for good election outcomes. Starting now does. Do your part to achieve these goals by:
- Registering to vote and then vote in the fall.
- Encouraging family and friends to register to vote and asking them if they actually did vote
- Becoming informed via credible news sources about the candidates and the issues.
- Donating time and money to local candidates and to candidates in other parts of the country.
- Donating to organizations that support free and fair elections.
- Writing a LTE or Op-Ed to your local newspaper or newsletter.
-Attending events where candidates are speaking.
- Contacting elected officials with your concerns, and contacting them again.
- Peacefully demonstrating for your causes and issues.
We can do this!
Fran McNeely
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Don Ries, Southeast side
Last night the President said he was lowering drug prices by 300% or 400% or 500%. Let's see what that means. If your drug costs $60, a 100% decrease would mean the cost would be $60 less or cost you nothing. The pharmacy would give you the drug for free. If the price was reduced by 200%, the price would be dropped by $120. Now the pharmacy would give you $60 along with the drug. If the drug was reduced by 300% the pharmacy would give you $120 plus the drug. Any businessman, and Trump claims he is a great one, would know no business could survive with this pricing structure. In addition, in January of 2025 the conservative magazine, "The Economist", called the US economy the "Envy of the world". The even more conservative "Wall Street Journal" concurred.
Don Ries
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Steve Rasmussen, Foothills
Many nations seem to have given up on democracy, preferring far-right authoritarian politics. Not only are parts of Europe trending this way but so are several nations in South America. Argentina’s political stance is far right with Milei in charge. He is very much aligned with Trump. The president-elect in Chile, Jose Kast, is also aligned with the far-right movement. He’s a big fan of the murderous Pinochet regime of years past. Pinochet was quasi-fascist, so those that like his political style are in the same camp. Kast’s father was aligned with the Nazis in Germany. Fascism always sells itself using patriotism, racial/political bigotry and fear of the other. It never benefits the “common good,” only the elites and business. Fascism promotes vices, while democracy promotes virtues, and yet voters get bamboozled into thinking that fascism is the solution that will save them. It’s an old strategy that worked well in Italy in 1922 but didn't end well.
Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Janine Schmitz, North side
I've been a teacher for 14 years. I've taught in 3 states - ages 1 to 80 - elementary/middle/high schools, and a college. I'm appalled and heartbroken by what I'm seeing:
-Schools overrun by students due to a total lack of disciplinary action
-Required online learning programs that implement "motivational" video games despite the fact that many students are addicted to video games
-50% of 5th-grade classroom students without the capacity to attend to a teacher for more than 30 seconds
-Young students deciding the fate of teachers with illegitimate "grievances"
-Textbooks entirely focused on one-sided agenda - viewpoints on gender identity, immigration, the definition of race, systemic racism, white privilege, the English language, history, and capitalism
-Professional development pushing agenda like intersectionality, unconscious bias, gender bias, privilege, and microaggression
-Initiatives that overcorrect antiracism and promote racism toward whites
-Content that bashes conservative beliefs/leaders without providing reasoning behind views
-Staff wages and disciplinary action dependent on race
Janine Schmitz
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Shelly Fishman, Midtown
Several months ago, I submitted an LTE in which I questioned how people like the president and his closest advisors could become so hateful and bigoted. My answer lay in the Oscar Hammerstein lyric to a song from the Broadway musical South Pacific called, “You’ve Got to Be Taught,” which the Star published verbatim.
But emotions like anger and loss of self-control are also learned – in our youth, taught to us by our parents and those who are supposed to love us. Wednesday night’s angry, desperate tirade by Trump reminded us of what a troubled family he was raised in and has, in turn raised himself. Hmm. The sins of the fathers.
He has gathered around himself those with whom he can best relate – other angry and hateful people. When the rest of the country doesn’t echo his feelings, we get scolded and can expect to be punished. I can’t wait.
Shelly Fishman
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Judith Mirell, Green Valley
Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch introduced a resolution concerning a shooting that occurred' two years ago in Burlington Vermont. The resolution states, " “Whereas Awartani, Abdalhamid, and Ali Ahmad were attacked simply for wearing a scarf using a traditional Palestinian pattern and speaking in Arabic; " is an outright lie. The resolution keeps alive the torrent of hate the shooting engendered. Social media was abuzz in Burlington calling to make the streets "unsafe for Jews".
Mind you, the incident was two years ago, investigated by the Burlington Police, ATF, and FBI. The Senators resolution is current, ignores the facts of that investigation which Vermont prosecutors used to confirm, 'no hate crime occurred'. The investigation revealed a shooter who was Pro Palestinian, anti Israeli and mentally disturbed.
The resolution put forth by the Senators is as evil as Trump saying all Somalis are bad. Give Sanders and Welch a well-deserved Pinocchio award.
Judith Mirell
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Nancy Jacques, Northeast side
President Trump isn’t making policy decisions, outside destruction of the White House. Unelected monsters like Russell Vought and Stephen Miller are. We elected Congress to both represent us and to check their Executive Branch insanity. The House can bypass the Speaker, which it accomplished for the Epstein Files. The Senate has similar means. Is cowardice stopping them from stopping illegal actions?
Congress must halt the illegal aggression taking place toward both Venezeula and Greenland, costing billions. It is Congress’ responsibility to authorize defense, not aggression, via the Wars Powers Act. Trump and Miller are breaking international and federal immigration laws with their Fascist cruelty: ignoring the Constitution; due process; access to legal counsel; violating the Alien Enemies Act; ignoring the Refugee Act of 1980; “enhanced vetting.” Need more? The horror of the 60 Minutes report, on You Tube? Laws are Congress’ responsibility dammit.
Write and call Congress. Instead of their vacations and shutdowns, do something to save people, this nation’s reputation, and any honor we have left.
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mike Bender, West side
So, after having his name affixed to the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Trump wants to name a new class of battleships after himself. As the chief of staff for former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus recently observed, this "would be hilarious if it weren't so sad." Has there ever been such an insecure, emotionally crippled president? Every day, he heaps more shame onto our nation. Thanks, Trump voters.
Mike Bender
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Christina Early, Midtown
This time of year, many wish for “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards man.” We hope in the new year to continue the peace we feel as we celebrate our holidays. Unfortunately, this year I do not feel that hope as I hear of Trump’s plan to build bigger and better warships.
Could the optics of this be any worse? Our Nobel Peace Prize obsessed President is planning on building up to 25 new Warships and announces it in the middle of the holiday season. Is this how we find peace in our world? The government is going to spend money on warships, instead of funding food assistance, affordable housing, healthcare, education? ICE continues to brutalize immigrant communities and tear families apart, yet this administration is focused on going to war? Is this the country we want? Too many questions dampening my hope for “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards man” any time soon. Happy holidays?
Christina Early
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Chuck Barrett, Midtown
Back in the mists of time when I was young and learning to type there was an exercise that went: “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.” That time has come — for men and women and LGBTQ+.
The grievously deranged despot in the White House is destroying our democracy. He must be stopped. Not by violence but by the ballot. First, with the 2026 election. Primary filing deadlines are right around the corner.
Now is the time for all good Republicans, those with a moral core and a backbone of honesty, especially those in “safe” districts, to stand for election against their colleagues who cavil and conspire.
Now is the time for all good Democrats to step out of the circular firing squad of identity politics and elitisms of whatever sort and get real about jobs, health care, migration and national security for the working class.
Now is the time.
Chuck Barrett
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Hope Gastelum, East side
It's alwasy gobsmacking to read some of the ill-considered comments made by certain contributors to this section. I think most all y'all will recognize to whom I'm referring. "Most Favored Nation" drug pricing includes a seriously long laundry list of significant downsides/issues that can profoundly impact or negate any potential benefits. Much has been written about this. As I frequently suggest, due to the limited space here, one can simply research "downsides to most favored nation drug pricing" - it's quite eye-opening. The Most Favored Nation concept is hardly a panacea to the healthcare and drug pricing issues in this country, and those presenting it as such are seeking to mislead, either ignorantly or deliberately.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Brode Meyer, Midtown
The appointment of the most mediocore Gov. Landry as "special envoy" to make Greenland a part of the United States is the the most egregious, insulting action Trump has committed. Denmark/Greenland should close their borders to Americans until Trump retracts this most absurd. notion and recognizes the sovereignty of Greenland.
Brode Meyer
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Cynthia Schiesel, East side
So, what's the difference between Trump trying to steal Greenland from Denmark and attacking Venezuela to get the oil that was lost years ago and Putin trying to steal land and resources from Ukraine? Both claim "national security" concerns. Where does it end? And, just for curiosity, why are windmills now "security risks"? The only people who will profit from removing reliable sources of energy like windmills and solar plating are the big oil companies who support Trump with donations. The American people are certainly not going to profit by going back to fossil fuels, which are finite and expensive.
Cynthia Schiesel
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Dennis Abrams, Northwest side
John Binghams latest diatribe against Israel is simply more antisemitism and Israel bashing. Equating the Israel-Hamas war with Genocide is not only historically ignorant but also blatantly false. It is war between Israel and Hamas who are supported by Palestinians and who preach global terrorism, eradication of all jews, complete takeover of Israel (river to the sea). Its a war started by Hamas. In a war civilians are always casualties as a result. That differs from genocide which is the deliberate mass execution of men, women and children. Where is your indignation about the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed by the carpet bombing of German cities an WW 2, or Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Only when Jews bomb enemy cities does it become "genocide" and atrocities.
Genocide and atrocity is when you round up millions of men, women and children for concentration camps, mass execution, and gas chambers. It is not warning the enemy of planned bombing. Read a history book, holocaust deniers.
Dennis Abrams
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeffrey McConnell, West side
In 1968 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Ever since then the secular media have insisted on the honorific ‘Dr. King’. I find his academic honors, tarnished by a plagiarized doctorate, totally inconsequential compared to his societal achievements that were fueled by deep Christian faith. I marched with him.
In 2025 Charlie Kirk was assassinated. A devout Christian first and foremost, he preached personal responsibility — ‘fix yourself before fixing society’ — and unlike MLK found his political voice in the Republican Party. Yet in the Daily Star’s 1000 word Associated Press report on the opening of Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix, the first since Kirk's death, the word ‘Christian’ appeared just once, qualified as ‘white Christian.’
These two private citizens, holding no public office, transformed America's trajectory through faith-inspired action and paid the ultimate price. It is regrettable that legacy media persistently marginalizes the religiosity central to their legacies.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Eleanor Arnold, Northeast side
Back in 2015 when Donald Trump blatantly asserted he could fire a gun down 5th Avenue in New York and no one would stop him, my reaction was, "Who would ever vote for this guy?" Unfortunately, we found out.
Trump will never have my vote because I look at the man, the integrity of the person, not political hype and empty promises. DJT is a convicted felon, a lying, greedy, power-obsessed megalomaniac who cares only about himself and amassing a greater fortune.
Yes, we needed to secure our borders and get control of the migrant situation, but not by gestapo tactics of wrenching children from mothers and seizing people off the streets without a chance to call loved ones.
I am horrified at what we are becoming and hope our cowardly congress will wake up and act on behalf of us citizens instead of DJT. The next time you vote, look at the integrity of the person, not just at the hype and promises.
Eleanor Arnold
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Alan Roehl, Green Valley
At the recent Turning Point conference Vice President Vance said that U.S. "Christianity is America's creed, the shared moral language from the Revolution to the Civil War and beyond." Apparently, he attended a different school than I did. At my school I was taught that one of the tenets of the Constitution is that America has freedom of religion. So I am wondering whether the Republicans will nominate Vance for their Presidential candidate for the 2028 election, and what will happen if he is elected. Does Vance intend to deport all non-Christian individuals from the U.S.?
Alan Roehl
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Dan Gipple, Southeast side
Normal presidents use national addresses to talk about issues of critical importance. They’re meant to inform, unify or bring as sense of calm in uncertain times. Trump’s was not. Instead, we heard a shouting, unhinged rant delivered at warp speed.
It was essentially a grievance-filled campaign speech. There was a recitation of all he’s done, replete with lies. One absurd example: 500% price reduction. Mathematically impossible without a rebate.
There was a diatribe of complaints upbraiding us because we weren’t sufficiently grateful to our dear leader for his prodigious accomplishments.
He often blamed Biden and the Democrats for problems, even idiotically stating that the Democrats want to raise healthcare premiums. Perhaps he’s too distracted, in between naps, with designing a $400M gilded ballroom to notice that it’s actually the Republicans.
This is who he is – utterly incompetent, full of rage and mendacity and increasingly incoherent.
Dan Gipple
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Leslie Kanberg, Downtown
There are many problems having a president who does not filter his language and is often combative. Yet we have grown accustomed to his demeaning outbursts, the rambling, stream-of-consciousness speeches, and the all caps, middle-of-the-night tweets. But let's not forget that Mr. Trump's sleep issues, uncontrolled anger, slurred and incoherent speech, as well as his unsteady gait, are all symptoms of dementia.
We now head into a new year with a Commander-in-Chief in obvious decline, a Supreme Court happy to give him more power, and advisors enabling his every petulant, even illegal whim. Meanwhile, two unelected White House officials are destroying what he can of our federal government (Russell Vought) and deporting our law-abiding neighbors (Stephen Miller). While I struggle to imagine how our country can endure three more years of the unchecked chaos and corruption of this administration, I hope we - the people- now value leaders who are wise, tolerant, and reassuringly sane.
Leslie Kanberg
Downtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Sam Foster, Green Valley
The President of the United States has renamed a memorial building in our Nation’s Capital to honor himself. This egomaniacal act has been relegated to the back pages of the major news outlets as if it were a normal occurrence. Perhaps if he erected a neon Trump sign atop the Washington Monument, or a bust of himself on Lincoln’s shoulder, would the people rise up in their disgust. But no, it seems the President has no limit to his crass degradation of our Nation’s institutions, landmarks, and history – and the media and the people seem to accept this as normal. I know that This Too Shall Pass, but I for one will do whatever I can to hurry it along. I am outraged.
Sam Foster
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Melody Sears, North side
A leading center for earth science research is on the chopping block, says Budget Director Russell Vought, who accused the center of "climate alarmism."
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado is a global leader in weather and climate research, which includes tracking severe weather events and researching how solar activity affects the earth's atmosphere, thus accurately predicting our weather. NCAR's years of research allows forecasters to predict weather days, weeks and months in advance (a boon to farming). The Center developed instruments to be dropped from planes to predict hurricane paths, and studied downdrafts, which led to detection of wind shear at airports that in turn have prevented hundreds of deadly aviation accidents.
Along with some government and National Science Foundation funding, more than 100 universities joined to create the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research to operate NCAR's laboratory.
So called "climate alarmism" is a stupid reason to end a useful and lifesaving institution studying weather and its effects worldwide. NCAR must not be dismantled.
Melody Sears
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Glen Vann, West side
When submitting a letter to the Star, writers are first informed that "facts must be annotated by links shared in the "Notes" field". After suffering through Loyal Johnson latest "contribution", I wondered if his claims "the Biden Administration opened the floodgates, inviting 10 million immigrants to enter the country", and the even more dubious, "significant number" "were (violent) criminals", were accompanied by any such links.
Ironically, Johnson's defense of the Trump Administration's actions in response and his description of Biden's "willfully ignoring" law, comes just after 60 Minutes' story about the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador. Trump ignored a Federal Judge's order and shipped hundreds of immigrants to that facility, using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
The vast majority of those sent to what has been described as a torture prison, had NO criminal records despite the Administration claims that they were gang members.
Glen Vann
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Kym Jones, Midtown
Ms Katz, here are some real figures. Total deaths of Palestinians is 60 to 69 thousand. Over 145 thousand wounded. This does not include the nearly 10,000 not accounted for and presumed buried under the ruble. More than 18,500 were children. 10,000 were women. Israel has disputed this but Israel has not provided its own comprehensive account of Palestinian casualties. Every day we saw Israel bombing hospitals, schools and places of worship. IF they suspected Hamas in those places why not send troops to root them out instead of killing everyone? I used to support Israel but not now or ever again. What we saw was genocide, period.
Kym Jones
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Bruce Joffe, South Tucson
Trump appointed worm-brained RFK Jr. to lead the HHS department and destroy our country's world-wide supremacy in medical science and public health. Funding for scientific research has been withdrawn. Science is supplanted by conspiracy theories, superstition, snake-oil hucksterism, and disregard for authentic scientific knowledge.
But there is reason for hope that Trump and RFK Jr. will fail. California's Governor Newsom is hiring respected former leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish world-leading public health science in California, for California and for a growing consortium of other states. An emerging 15-state "Governors' Public Health Alliance" will provide guidance from actual scientific research on vaccines, medications, testing for dangerous new diseases, and response coordination to health threats. Becoming the first U.S. state to join the World Health Organization, California's Health Alliances will replace the MAGA-undermined CDC and may even rescue the USA from becoming a second-rate scientific has-been.
Bruce Joffe
South Tucson
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Monica Mohan,
I hope that the following is taken into consideration should this situation be presented in the Diocese of Tucson - as I understand that you have a new Bishop.
In certain Dioceses within the Catholic Church, kneelers are being banned - even though one can still receive kneeling and on the tongue. They would just have to receive kneeling on the floor. In respect to the elderly and disabled, how can they still exercise their right to kneel and receive on the tongue if there are no kneelers? How is this any different from a public building where all can enter - such as a library - but a ramp is not provided? There is no difference. If there is something that I am not aware of in this situation, I apologize. Otherwise, how was/is such little consideration given to the elderly and disabled in these decisions?
Monica Mohan
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ron Lancaster, North side
They say Trump writes his own speeches. His helpers won’t write what he wants. They are too embarrassed. With a limited vocabulary, he makes his points. The President’s last speech before the nation was one for the ages. Clearly, it showed that he is stupid, stubborn, and strange. To make his points, he hollered at the camera, thinking it was the best way to hammer home his whoppers.
He weeds out anything that might sound like the truth. It would confuse people.
Our elected leader is his own hoax. He has even fooled himself. He thinks he is the best thing this country has ever seen. Most Presidents must wait until they leave office to have statues and buildings dedicated to them. Not our guy. He honors himself while he can bask in his own glory and make his people fall all over themselves in disingenuous compliments.
Ron Lancaster
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ed Waymire, Midtown
On November 19, 2025, Congress passed and the President signed into law H.R. 4405, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legally requiring the DOJ to make public all DOJ and FBI records related to Epstein and Maxwell in a searchable and downloadable format by December 19, 2025. Both the President and the DOJ are in violation of this federal law and in contempt of Congress and in contempt of the American voters who elected them, let alone the victims of the sexual pedophiles who pursued them. Pardons will likely be issued all around but renaming the Epstein files as the Trump-Epstein files is clearly more justified than any of the other public renamings that this president has been forcing on the American institutions.
As MTG finally learned, MAGA is clearly not what its followers were led to believe.
Ed Waymire
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Don Gerlach, East side
The plaques recently put on the walls of the "People's House" by POTUS are pitiful, and the renaming of the Kennedy Center, insulting. Has he no shame? The shame is what he is doing to the country, to the American people. I believe we will long regret the day that we let him and his family organization rule the country.
Don Gerlach
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeffrey McConnell, West side
I watched the President’s news conference with nine major pharmaceutical companies announcing ‘Most Favored Nation’ drug pricing agreements that will dramatically reduce the cost of medicine to Americans, leading to much lower health insurance costs.
LTE contributor Don Reis apparently saw this same telecast and chose to focus on what is the percentage decrease of a pill that currently costs Americans $10 and will soon be three or two dollars.
He and I both heard that the blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis will now be available for free to Medicaid patients so I ask him factor the number zero into his statistical mathematics.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Lawrence E. Mazin, SaddleBrooke
Donald Trump’s obsession with stamping his name on everything is often dismissed as vanity or branding. This is territorial marking. He tags surfaces that would be the envy of graffiti artists.
Territorial marking is simple: Claim space loudly and repeatedly to assert dominance. Trump’s gold-lettered surname functions exactly this way. It is not about achievement or legacy; it is about presence, I am here. This is mine!
He signs hurricane maps. He demands personal credit on government checks. He even adds his name to a memorial at the Kennedy Center. These are not acts of leadership; they are acts of possession. The presidency, to him, was never stewardship. It was territory, his territory!
Perhaps Congress should grant him one final naming privilege. Give him the Bermuda Triangle, rebranded as the Trump Triangle, where facts vanish, accountability sinks, tariffs drift untethered from reality, and misogyny reliably resurfaces. He can rename it weekly. Nothing durable ever survives there anyway.
Lawrence E. Mazin
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mary Beth Schneider, East side
Trump renaming the Kennedy Center is shameful and inappropriate. What a slap in the face of America. After President Kennedy's assassination his widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, was instrumental in the creation of the Kennedy Center, serving as an honorary chair for fundraising, championing the project as a living memorial, and even commissioning the opening night performance after her husband's death. She saw the need for a national arts center and actively promoted it, ensuring it became a reality to honor JFK’s legacy.
Shameful.
Mary Beth Schneider
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Pat DeConcini, Midtown
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration and based on my own personal experience as a former Federal Prosecutor in the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Division at DOJ, violent drug organizations often use human trafficking as a way to increase profits. They use the same trafficking routes and methods for drugs, sex and humans. Traffickers sometimes force migrants to pilot boats and use women and children who are also often victims of sex trafficking. Traffickers use drug addiction to control their slave like workers, to force long work hours and compliance and minimize escape attempts. Drug trafficking is inextricably linked with human and sex trafficking, often with mixed use vessels and vehicles. This is a law enforcement issue not a war.
Trump’s inhumane extrajudicial killings of unknown individuals in vessels near Venezuela violate U.S. and international law. How many innocent minors, victims of human and sex trafficking and people forced to drive vessels have been murdered? Their names and stories we will never know. God help us.
Pat DeConcini
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jon Young, Midtown
On March 13, 1944, German U-boat commander Heinz-Wilhelm Eck ordered his crew to machine-gun the survivors of the SS Peleus. We caught them and, after a fair trial, executed them on November 30, 1945. Their claim that they “were just following orders” is exactly what every Nazi we ever put on trial said. It did not work then and it does not work now. It is well past time for an entire chain of command to lawyer up.
Jon Young
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Toni Kane, Oro Valley
Help! Our omniscient, narcistic, and irrational president is losing it with his paranoia reaching new heights over any Republican or Democrat who says something about him in a negative way. Does he suffer from dementia? His hands reveal evidence of injections. Has he had a stroke? He is endangering our country and all Republican election office seekers in the 2026 elections. Does he care, I think not, about his political party? It is time to invoke the 25th Amendment to our Constitution.
Toni Kane
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Richard Bechtold, West side
Trump constantly brags about how much tariff money he has collected. He also says that he is giving tariff money he collected to military families and will give some to Americans for health care expenses. Please understand that tariff money is paid by us through importers paying more for products and passing the increased costs on to us. Whatever money Trump collected through tariffs is our money. Trump rewards us with our own money. The good thing about Trump is that we know exactly how many unenlightened Americans there are because they approve of him and what he does. Wake up.
Richard Bechtold
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Max LaPlante, Southeast side
It took President Obama about 14 months (427 days) from his inauguration to sign the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (Obamacare) into law on March 23, 2010, following a year-long legislative battle involving intense debate, numerous hearings, and complex negotiations, ultimately passing Congress without any Republican votes.
47 has consistently attacked the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since its inception through legislative efforts, executive actions, legal challenges, and public statements.
The administration has had 10 years to create an alternative individual health coverage market independent of the ACA. Project 2025 directly addresses the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with extensive proposals aimed at dismantling its key provisions and consumer protections including:
- weakening protections for pre-existing conditions
- eliminating financial assistance improvements
- dismantling the Medicaid expansion
- promoting non-ACA-compliant plans
- restricting reproductive health coverage
- and allowing discrimination.
Our Commander-In-Chief's new White House ballroom project cost estimate has escalated from $200 million to $400 million. Americans now know his priorities.
Max LaPlante
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Emily Morrison, Midtown
What has become of the DOGE efforts to save money? When the U.S. government authorizes Hellfire missiles, to strike alleged drug smuggling vessels, it can cost as much as $150,000 plus significant operational overhead. These operations are estimated to run about $18 million per day.
A typical Coast Guard drug interdiction off our shores, with surface cutters and sharpshooters, cost approximately $50,000. This approach is considerably less - and more importantly, is set into action only when the boats are identified and actually close to reaching our shores. The current approach looks like outrageous bombings in open waters nowhere near our coastline.
Emily Morrison
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Loyal M. Johnson Jr., Oro Valley
There is an ongoing effort to crucify President Trump and his Administration regarding ICE action, Department of Education elimination, and many other activities. Interestingly, there was no need for aggressive ICE actions five years ago because illegal immigration was limited, primarily to illegals who wanted to work.
The Biden Administration opened the floodgates, inviting 10-plus-million immigrants to enter the country with little or no vetting and willfully ignoring existing and long-standing law.
Unfortunately, a significant number of those entrants were criminals, many violent, and took advantage of the Administration’s laxity. Currently, the Trump Administration is tasked with cleaning up the mess that the previous Administration facilitated.
Similarly, the Department of Education was spending $24 billion a year to have our student test grades embarrassingly poor compared to similar countries. An abysmal failure demanding a major change in an attempt to correct this travesty. These two examples of failures to act responsibly and the resulting corrective actions rest solely in the laps of liberal Democrats.
Loyal M. Johnson Jr.
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Deb Klumpp, Oro Valley
Despite anti-science policy and defunding of research, the cause of TDS has been discovered. (Drumroll, please...)
The cause is the extreme mental derangement of Donald Trump, POTUS. TDS causes angst and stress to anyone with an ounce of morality and integrity. Every day, Trump treats us to some new show of depravity, just when you think he can't go any lower. Somehow, he manages. His recent remarks after the murder of celebrity actor/director Rob Reiner and his wife shows us just how sick Trump clearly is. Nothing seems despicable enough to faze his cult followers. They voted for and adore a hateful, revengeful, nasty bully and his depraved remarks. Sad commentary on this country. Trump used a tragic murder, inserted himself, spewed his nastiness, made it all about him. How unpresidential and embarrassing. He succeeded in getting his nausea-inducing face on the screen yet again - his rabid need for attention is bottomless. No wonder Trump Exhaustion Syndrome has set in for many.
Deb Klumpp
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Philip Reinecker, East side
President Trump recently made a claim that 28,000 people die from snakebite in Peru each year. A check of the facts revealed that there have been 10 deaths from snake bites in Peru in the last 15 years.
I'd like to say that it is a slight miscalculation, but it seems that Trump has, like in many other instances, just pulled the number out of the air and claimed it is factual. He not only lies about everything, but he also imagines or fabricates at will. He is simply not able to be truthful for any amount of time. This is the man we tell our children to look up to, who should be a shining example of all that is right and good.
Sorry, but somehow, we have a person who is just the opposite. Please save our wonderful country and get rid of this vile individual.
Philip Reinecker
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Barbara Katz, Green Valley
Tom Van Devender's letter accuses Israel of genocide. He states numbers that are demonstrably false, and uses a double standard to judge Israel. Citing 60,000 deaths implies they're all civilians, but Hamas numbers include 12,000 natural deaths in Gaza, 1,900 Hamas misfired rockets that killed Gazans. Just one, at Al Ahli hospital, killed 500 Palestinians, and include 20,000 Hamas terrorists killed. Even so, we can agree many civilians died. What do you think happens in war, particularly a war initiated by Palestinians? Two million civilians died in the Korean War, an average of 54,000 per month, and Saudi Arabia killed 19,000 civilians in Yemen, using U.S. weapons. This is the double standard
Utilizing dishonest numbers and not acknowledging the lengths Israel has gone to avoid civilian casualties, you succumb to the false genocide charge. It cheapens the word, making it meaningless when needed to describe a real genocide.
Barbara Katz
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Donald Plummer, Northwest side
All great countries and empires come to an end and so will we .
To name a few, Roman, Ottoman , British, Russian, German and others.
Human political nature, being what it is, led to their decline and fall.
We are following the same general path of them with our world leadership position that started during WWII.
In the last year our decline has accelerated immensely.
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Kenneth Haber, Northwest side
Again. The Dems fell victim to their own stupidity. This time the Epstein release. Just last month a promise to vote on ACA subsidies. Coupled with an end to shutdown. The Repubs are like Lucy with the football. The Dems like Charlie Brown. Kicking at air. But still the Dems trust. It is a fool's errand.
Kenneth Haber
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Max LaPlante, Southeast side
Our POTUS will celebrate the completion of his first year in office by ensuring that no one will ever forget his name and that his name will live on forever. The United States of America will now be called The United States of Trump. We have New England, New York, and New Jersey. Washington D.C. is now New Trumpland. The Trump Majal was formerly known as the White House. The Republican Party is now the Trumplican Party. Mar-a-Lago will be known as Trumpville. Since there wasn't sufficient room to add his face to Mount Rushmore, it was decided to rename it to Mount Trumpmore. The Smithsonian will now become the Trumpsonian. The National Mall will be renamed Trump Mall. Any and all memorials in New Trumpland (formerly Washington D.C.) will have the name Trump preceding the memorial's name. Grand Central Station is now Grand Trump Station. Finally, not to be outdone by the Lincoln Memorial, The new Trump Memorial will be twice the height of Lincoln's.
Max LaPlante
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Scott Feierabend, Northeast side
Congressman Ciscomani,
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is established by law. It is the sole memorial to JFK in DC, much like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, as well as the Washington Monument. The name cannot unilaterally be changed by a vote of the Center’s Board, but instead requires Congressional action to do so.
For once, demonstrate some level of resolve and leadership to your constituents by stepping out from the shadow of President Trump and demanding that the name of the Center be restored. Do it now.
Scott Feierabend
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Rachel Rulmyr, Oro Valley
The Encyclopedia Britannica defines Faustian Bargain as “a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as knowledge, power or riches.” Morality doesn’t matter. Character doesn’t matter. Values don’t matter. Calling immigrants vermin and women pigs doesn’t matter. Taking away healthcare from millions doesn’t matter. Cutting USAID which prevented 92 million deaths in 133 countries doesn’t matter. Only power matters.
Remember Trump and his photo op at Lafayette Square where he held a Bible upside down? That was a true image of his plan to turn faith and democracy upside down.
What is true is false. What is false is true. What is good is bad. What is bad is good. Shooting someone on 5th Ave. is a good thing. Cruelty and hate are good. Empathy is bad. Eliminating black and brown people and establishing a new white Christian, theocratic, autocratic, kleptocratic country where freedom is only a memory is good.
We are Trump’s Faustian Bargain.
Rachel Rulmyr
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Todd Ackerman, Foothills
There is a clear need for a new investment platform that tracks the current price of Presidential pardons in dollars invested in $Trump bitcoins and the value of quid pro quo exchanges. Currency purchases of $Trump crypto currency such as $40 mil and $1mil are easy to track, but defacto trades of praise and absolution for murder in exchange for project development are more difficult. And the trade of zipped lips for Texas country club confinement was almost priceless, but may have been diluted by the release of the Epstein Papers depending on who wields the redacting pen, Certainly the pardon of a major drug dealer will raise concern among those currently bidding for pardons until the price is revealed.
The question raised by these blatant transactions is are they bribery, Emoluments Clause violations or abuse of power?
Todd Ackerman
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- John Bingham, Northwest side
Someone who can look at what Israel is doing in Gaza and not see it as genocide is someone who doesn't want to admit the truth. Trying to somehow use the Korean war as a similar event is a leap unlike many others. Israel was attacked and have more than doled out their vengeance. They limit food and supplies meant for those in need by many aid organizations. They also have more settlements in the West Bank, where there should be no Israeli settlements. I understand it's got to be hard to be Jewish at this time in the world, but closing your eyes to the atrocities Israel is heaping on the Gazans is just lying to yourself and I disagree with that. Put Netanyahu in jail where he belongs and let the people of Gaza try to reclaim some dignity, because Israel isn't giving any land back.
John Bingham
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Darrell Durham, Northwest side
A mother and son of my acquaintance in a city far from here are standing up for their immigrant coworkers whose children attend schools where recent ICE raids have plucked kids from classrooms and snatched parents who’ve come to pick them up. These frightened coworkers are keeping the kids home from school and forgoing Christmas and grocery shopping for fear of capture, detention and deportation. So the mother and son are taking coworkers’ shopping lists and picking up/delivering the goods they need. This — not flag-waving, political hoo-hah, indignant tweets or even writing letters to the editor, for that matter — is what it really means to be an American.
Darrell Durham
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Alan Roehl, Green Valley
Now that our leader has arranged to change the name of the Center for Arts to include the name "Trump", I suggest that he continue by signing another executive order to change the name of the "Stickney Water Reclamation Plant" (near Chicago) to the "Trump Stickney Water Reclamation Plant" so that he can have his name on the largest sewage treatment plant in the world as well.
Alan Roehl
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Norma Guest, East side
Just saw that Trump added his name -- before John Kennedy's -- on the JFK Center for Performing Arts. He is also putting his face on the National Parks pass and plans on issuing a $1 coin with, of course, his face all over it.
Be careful, big brother is watching.
Norma Guest
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeff Rayner, SaddleBrooke
Yesterday the pathetic wretch, Trump, said of Venezuela, “They took our oil and we are going to get it back.”
I do not own any oil in South America, do you? Even if you own or owned stock in an oil company in Venezuela, the nationalization of that company occurred decades ago. The loss was written off soon after.
Now the orange clown is killing accused drug runners in the attempt to incite Maduro into a military escalation. Maduro, being smarter than Trump, is standing silent as Trump slaughters people that have not had a moment in a court of law, diminishing his stature even more. He is also killing the tiny amount of international good will the US has left.
Is this what you voted him in to do? Start a war over oil assets that will never pay a penny to any of us? Who will profit?
Jeff Rayner
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- William Brandt, Oro Valley
People who are not familiar with European history may not recognize the name of Neville Chamberlain. He was the British Prime Minister who in 1938 signed the Munich Agreement which gave Hitler a region of Czechoslovakia with the promise that Hitler would not invade any more countries. Hitler ignored the agreement and invaded them anyway. This is the classic example of why appeasement does not work. It appears that history may be repeating itself. Our leaders want to give Putin a piece of Ukraine with the agreement that Russia would never attack Ukraine again. Based on Russia’s past history they can be counted on to not keep to the agreement. If that happens we can nominate our leaders not for the Nobel Peace Prize but for the “Neville Chamberlain Appeasement Medal.”
William Brandt
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Fran McNeely, Northeast side
The November 2026 elections will be some of the most significant in our country's history. The balance in the House and Senate could change and many of us are hoping it will. Hope and dreams do not make for good election outcomes. Starting now does. Do your part to achieve these goals by:
- Registering to vote and then vote in the fall.
- Encouraging family and friends to register to vote and asking them if they actually did vote
- Becoming informed via credible news sources about the candidates and the issues.
- Donating time and money to local candidates and to candidates in other parts of the country.
- Donating to organizations that support free and fair elections.
- Writing a LTE or Op-Ed to your local newspaper or newsletter.
-Attending events where candidates are speaking.
- Contacting elected officials with your concerns, and contacting them again.
- Peacefully demonstrating for your causes and issues.
We can do this!
Fran McNeely
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Don Ries, Southeast side
Last night the President said he was lowering drug prices by 300% or 400% or 500%. Let's see what that means. If your drug costs $60, a 100% decrease would mean the cost would be $60 less or cost you nothing. The pharmacy would give you the drug for free. If the price was reduced by 200%, the price would be dropped by $120. Now the pharmacy would give you $60 along with the drug. If the drug was reduced by 300% the pharmacy would give you $120 plus the drug. Any businessman, and Trump claims he is a great one, would know no business could survive with this pricing structure. In addition, in January of 2025 the conservative magazine, "The Economist", called the US economy the "Envy of the world". The even more conservative "Wall Street Journal" concurred.
Don Ries
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Steve Rasmussen, Foothills
Many nations seem to have given up on democracy, preferring far-right authoritarian politics. Not only are parts of Europe trending this way but so are several nations in South America. Argentina’s political stance is far right with Milei in charge. He is very much aligned with Trump. The president-elect in Chile, Jose Kast, is also aligned with the far-right movement. He’s a big fan of the murderous Pinochet regime of years past. Pinochet was quasi-fascist, so those that like his political style are in the same camp. Kast’s father was aligned with the Nazis in Germany. Fascism always sells itself using patriotism, racial/political bigotry and fear of the other. It never benefits the “common good,” only the elites and business. Fascism promotes vices, while democracy promotes virtues, and yet voters get bamboozled into thinking that fascism is the solution that will save them. It’s an old strategy that worked well in Italy in 1922 but didn't end well.
Steve Rasmussen
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Janine Schmitz, North side
I've been a teacher for 14 years. I've taught in 3 states - ages 1 to 80 - elementary/middle/high schools, and a college. I'm appalled and heartbroken by what I'm seeing:
-Schools overrun by students due to a total lack of disciplinary action
-Required online learning programs that implement "motivational" video games despite the fact that many students are addicted to video games
-50% of 5th-grade classroom students without the capacity to attend to a teacher for more than 30 seconds
-Young students deciding the fate of teachers with illegitimate "grievances"
-Textbooks entirely focused on one-sided agenda - viewpoints on gender identity, immigration, the definition of race, systemic racism, white privilege, the English language, history, and capitalism
-Professional development pushing agenda like intersectionality, unconscious bias, gender bias, privilege, and microaggression
-Initiatives that overcorrect antiracism and promote racism toward whites
-Content that bashes conservative beliefs/leaders without providing reasoning behind views
-Staff wages and disciplinary action dependent on race
Janine Schmitz
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Shelly Fishman, Midtown
Several months ago, I submitted an LTE in which I questioned how people like the president and his closest advisors could become so hateful and bigoted. My answer lay in the Oscar Hammerstein lyric to a song from the Broadway musical South Pacific called, “You’ve Got to Be Taught,” which the Star published verbatim.
But emotions like anger and loss of self-control are also learned – in our youth, taught to us by our parents and those who are supposed to love us. Wednesday night’s angry, desperate tirade by Trump reminded us of what a troubled family he was raised in and has, in turn raised himself. Hmm. The sins of the fathers.
He has gathered around himself those with whom he can best relate – other angry and hateful people. When the rest of the country doesn’t echo his feelings, we get scolded and can expect to be punished. I can’t wait.
Shelly Fishman
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Judith Mirell, Green Valley
Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch introduced a resolution concerning a shooting that occurred' two years ago in Burlington Vermont. The resolution states, " “Whereas Awartani, Abdalhamid, and Ali Ahmad were attacked simply for wearing a scarf using a traditional Palestinian pattern and speaking in Arabic; " is an outright lie. The resolution keeps alive the torrent of hate the shooting engendered. Social media was abuzz in Burlington calling to make the streets "unsafe for Jews".
Mind you, the incident was two years ago, investigated by the Burlington Police, ATF, and FBI. The Senators resolution is current, ignores the facts of that investigation which Vermont prosecutors used to confirm, 'no hate crime occurred'. The investigation revealed a shooter who was Pro Palestinian, anti Israeli and mentally disturbed.
The resolution put forth by the Senators is as evil as Trump saying all Somalis are bad. Give Sanders and Welch a well-deserved Pinocchio award.
Judith Mirell
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Nancy Jacques, Northeast side
President Trump isn’t making policy decisions, outside destruction of the White House. Unelected monsters like Russell Vought and Stephen Miller are. We elected Congress to both represent us and to check their Executive Branch insanity. The House can bypass the Speaker, which it accomplished for the Epstein Files. The Senate has similar means. Is cowardice stopping them from stopping illegal actions?
Congress must halt the illegal aggression taking place toward both Venezeula and Greenland, costing billions. It is Congress’ responsibility to authorize defense, not aggression, via the Wars Powers Act. Trump and Miller are breaking international and federal immigration laws with their Fascist cruelty: ignoring the Constitution; due process; access to legal counsel; violating the Alien Enemies Act; ignoring the Refugee Act of 1980; “enhanced vetting.” Need more? The horror of the 60 Minutes report, on You Tube? Laws are Congress’ responsibility dammit.
Write and call Congress. Instead of their vacations and shutdowns, do something to save people, this nation’s reputation, and any honor we have left.
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mike Bender, West side
So, after having his name affixed to the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Trump wants to name a new class of battleships after himself. As the chief of staff for former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus recently observed, this "would be hilarious if it weren't so sad." Has there ever been such an insecure, emotionally crippled president? Every day, he heaps more shame onto our nation. Thanks, Trump voters.
Mike Bender
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Christina Early, Midtown
This time of year, many wish for “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards man.” We hope in the new year to continue the peace we feel as we celebrate our holidays. Unfortunately, this year I do not feel that hope as I hear of Trump’s plan to build bigger and better warships.
Could the optics of this be any worse? Our Nobel Peace Prize obsessed President is planning on building up to 25 new Warships and announces it in the middle of the holiday season. Is this how we find peace in our world? The government is going to spend money on warships, instead of funding food assistance, affordable housing, healthcare, education? ICE continues to brutalize immigrant communities and tear families apart, yet this administration is focused on going to war? Is this the country we want? Too many questions dampening my hope for “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards man” any time soon. Happy holidays?
Christina Early
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Chuck Barrett, Midtown
Back in the mists of time when I was young and learning to type there was an exercise that went: “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.” That time has come — for men and women and LGBTQ+.
The grievously deranged despot in the White House is destroying our democracy. He must be stopped. Not by violence but by the ballot. First, with the 2026 election. Primary filing deadlines are right around the corner.
Now is the time for all good Republicans, those with a moral core and a backbone of honesty, especially those in “safe” districts, to stand for election against their colleagues who cavil and conspire.
Now is the time for all good Democrats to step out of the circular firing squad of identity politics and elitisms of whatever sort and get real about jobs, health care, migration and national security for the working class.
Now is the time.
Chuck Barrett
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Hope Gastelum, East side
It's alwasy gobsmacking to read some of the ill-considered comments made by certain contributors to this section. I think most all y'all will recognize to whom I'm referring. "Most Favored Nation" drug pricing includes a seriously long laundry list of significant downsides/issues that can profoundly impact or negate any potential benefits. Much has been written about this. As I frequently suggest, due to the limited space here, one can simply research "downsides to most favored nation drug pricing" - it's quite eye-opening. The Most Favored Nation concept is hardly a panacea to the healthcare and drug pricing issues in this country, and those presenting it as such are seeking to mislead, either ignorantly or deliberately.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Brode Meyer, Midtown
The appointment of the most mediocore Gov. Landry as "special envoy" to make Greenland a part of the United States is the the most egregious, insulting action Trump has committed. Denmark/Greenland should close their borders to Americans until Trump retracts this most absurd. notion and recognizes the sovereignty of Greenland.
Brode Meyer
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Cynthia Schiesel, East side
So, what's the difference between Trump trying to steal Greenland from Denmark and attacking Venezuela to get the oil that was lost years ago and Putin trying to steal land and resources from Ukraine? Both claim "national security" concerns. Where does it end? And, just for curiosity, why are windmills now "security risks"? The only people who will profit from removing reliable sources of energy like windmills and solar plating are the big oil companies who support Trump with donations. The American people are certainly not going to profit by going back to fossil fuels, which are finite and expensive.
Cynthia Schiesel
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Dennis Abrams, Northwest side
John Binghams latest diatribe against Israel is simply more antisemitism and Israel bashing. Equating the Israel-Hamas war with Genocide is not only historically ignorant but also blatantly false. It is war between Israel and Hamas who are supported by Palestinians and who preach global terrorism, eradication of all jews, complete takeover of Israel (river to the sea). Its a war started by Hamas. In a war civilians are always casualties as a result. That differs from genocide which is the deliberate mass execution of men, women and children. Where is your indignation about the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed by the carpet bombing of German cities an WW 2, or Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Only when Jews bomb enemy cities does it become "genocide" and atrocities.
Genocide and atrocity is when you round up millions of men, women and children for concentration camps, mass execution, and gas chambers. It is not warning the enemy of planned bombing. Read a history book, holocaust deniers.
Dennis Abrams
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
View this profile on Instagram#ThisIsTucson 🌵 (@this_is_tucson) • Instagram photos and videos
Most viewed stories
-
A list of places that will be open on Christmas Day 2025
-
New eats! 10 new restaurants that opened in Tucson this fall
-
Ring in 2026 at these fun local New Year's Eve events 🥳
-
Over 20 fun events to do in Tucson December 26-28 💖
-
Over 40 free events happening in Tucson this December! ⛄
-
Tania's 33 and 12 other places to find bomb menudo in Tucson