Tucson speaks out: Letters to the editor for the week of Jan. 2, 2026
- Updated
Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ron Lancaster, North side
- Updated
Right from that unlucky hour when Donald Trump was elected President, America has been on a slide from a cult of personality to the makings of a criminal caste system, where the bad go free, and the good go hide. Now, we have thugs and slick conmen posing as government officials, stealing from our nationâs larder to stuff their pockets, sneering all the while.
To be a person with a darker tone to their skin is more frightening these days because of people with darker hearts. Children can be swept up by masked men with hard intent, their schoolbooks in hand and play in mind, but their hopes dashed. Mothers weep the tears of the helpless, while the fathers are locked in cages. Complaints for justice flow in from the aggrieved.
It does no good. This is Trumpâs America.
Ron Lancaster
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ke Chiang Hsieh, Midtown
- Updated
The Op-Ed on science vs. religion on Christmas Day exposed the root of polarization, namely, the prevalence of misunderstanding and hence disrespect for others. Mr. Gavlak mistook scientism for science and biblical literalism for religion. I believe (an act of faith) in broadening oneâs mind by learning relevant facts, often found by otherâs diligent investigations, to reach oneâs own understanding that would bring harmony and peace to oneself and others. The following questions would be a start and perhaps a skeleton syllabus for a high-school course in the humanities, taught next to the physics lab.
Why every culture has religion?
What are the religions in the world?
Do they have commonalities?
What has âdivine Providenceâ to do with American independence?
What sustained the survival of the American slaves and led to the Civil Rights Movement?
Why do all the leading universities offer religious studies?
Allow me to quote Albert Einstein, âScience without religion is lame and religion without science is blind.â Happy New Year!
Ke Chiang Hsieh
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jim Dreis, East side
- Updated
In the 1990s, the United Nations sent a peacekeeping force to stop the violence and ethnic tensions between Bosnia and Croatia. They should take similar action in Gaza.
Jim Dreis
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Lawrence Mazin, SaddleBrooke
- Updated
According to widely cited financial estimates, Donald Trumpâs net worth rose from roughly $4.3 billion a year ago to about $7.3 billion today, an increase of approximately $3 billion. Much of this growth is tied to his presidency: foreign-linked benefits such as a luxury aircraft from Qatar, expanded overseas licensing and property deals, and aggressive promotion of cryptocurrency ventures connected to Trump family members.
During the same period, Americans have faced elevated housing and health insurance costs, continued volatility in retirement accounts, and policy uncertainty that weakened federal agencies through mass departures of experienced staff. Promised economic relief for workers and seniors has been minimal, while tax, regulatory, and market advantages have disproportionately favored those already at the top.
Leadership is ultimately measured by outcomes. In Trumpâs first year, the data point in one direction: extraordinary personal enrichment for the president and mounting economic hardship for the public. He promised the greatest economy, but for whom?
Lawrence Mazin
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Thomas J. Plesniak, Midtown
- Updated
The author states three students wearing keffiyehs (she didn't bother to look up the proper name) and speaking Arabic, were shot in an unprovoked attack. The author adamantly states no hate crime occurred. So... it's a hate crime if a Jewish woman has a Star of David necklace ripped from her throat but not if the attempted murder of three Arab or Muslim were the victims?
Nowhere in the official reports does it state the perpetrator was pro Palestinian and anti Israeli as the author claims (ludicrous in itself) but he was a white nationalist and mentally ill, stating the CIA told him to do it.
The Sanders amendment, which I doubt she bothered to read, Senate Resolution 529, condemns anti-Palestinian behavior... remember, Bernie is a Jew and led Trump by 16 pts. in 2016.
He is the only trustworthy politician. He has been tough on child labor; fought corporate welfare; held IRS accountable; and exposed corruption of military/industrial complex. All legislation passed while being an Independent.
Thomas J. Plesniak
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Daniel Pryor, West side
- Updated
Monica Mohan's letter, "Is this discrimination?" (Dec. 27), reveals a lightning-rod issue simmering in the universal Catholic Church. To ban kneelers during Holy Communion at the New Mass is a veiled slight against the Old Mass. It is discrimination. Blame it all on Vatican II of the 1960s. When the Old Mass (Latin Mass) and the New Mass (Novus Ordo) are compared, it's noticed that the Latin Mass is a more solemn and penitential profession of faith, while the New Mass is liturgical light and breezy. How so? Compare the prayer missals. Very few Catholics know the priests are facing the wrong way during the New Mass. For centuries, before Vatican II, the priests faced correctly, i.e., liturgical East. It's Biblical, thus a historical tradition. Why constrict almost two-thousand years of tradition? And this tradition is based on the Gospel of Matthew 24:27: East is the direction to look, for the return of Christ.
Daniel Pryor
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Helen Murphy, Sierra Vista
- Updated
Rob Reiner was a successful film director who brought us these wonderful movies: "A Few Good Men", "When Harry Met Sally", and my favorite, "Misery". Donald Trump received over $400 million from his father. He is the only U.S. president who is a convicted felon (34 counts). He had six bankruptcies and other business failures. He got five military deferments. He has told over 30,000 falsehoods and is still lying. A jury found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. His cruel and inhumane policies have brought many human beings misery.
Helen Murphy
Sierra Vista
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeff Aronson, Northeast side
- Updated
In 1971 Daniel Ellsberg, a Pentagon analyst, released to the New York Times and the Washington Post information about a top secret Defense Department report about the Vietnam war that revealed many of the lies and coverups by the Johnson and Nixon administrations in what became known as the Pentagon Papers.
In spite of being ordered by Congress to release the total Epstein files, the Trump DOJ has been grudgingly and partially releasing out heavily redacted files in what appears to be an obvious coverup to protect Trump and other figures.
There have to be numerous individuals in the DOJ with access to these files who can secretly release them to the media so that the American public can learn the truth about Trump's and others' involvement with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Recognizing that while releasing these files could put the leaker in legal and even physical danger, we need another courageous Daniel Ellsberg to please step up and come forward now.
Jeff Aronson
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Don Ries, Southeast side
- Updated
How are we safer and how is America Great Again after the deportation of thousands of immigrant health care workers by the Trump administration? Who is going to work at our nursing homes, long-term-care facilities and who will come into our homes to provide care for the disabled and elderly people when so many of those currently doing these jobs are deported? Has anyone at HHS thought about the consequences of their actions? It appears not. The current system of care for our most vulnerable citizens is not perfect, but if you tear it down you must have a better plan to replace it. Obviously there is none.
Don Ries
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Judi Moreillon, Northeast side
- Updated
Really? Are you actually proud of your âDrunk Uncleâ President? How many more have to suffer or die? Three more years, no way.
The November 2026 tsunami of Democrats and Independents will bring integrity and spines back to Congress. Trump will face accountability - finally. Impeachment, conviction, and removal from office are legal consequences for defying court orders, usurping powers designated to Congress, trampling on the Constitution, and grossly grifting for personal gain.
Your Drunk Uncle has complete contempt for the rule of law and disregard for the needs of the majority of our fellow citizens. When justice comes, it will be his duped sycophants who can be relegated to the âWa Wa Bla Blaâ section.
The rest of us will roll up our sleeves and get to work to restore the as yet incalculable damage he has done to our country, our global allies, and the Earth itself.
Judi Moreillon
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Loyal M. Johnson Jr., Oro Valley
- Updated
The following was included in a Dec. 25 LTE: âBut 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.â This writer was asleep or totally secluded during the Biden Administration years. That President exhibited all of the above issues but to a far greater magnitude while liberal Democrats uncannily ignored the obvious facts. If Biden was your parent, the car keys would be hidden and a Life Alert device ordered. He could not hold a press conference without note cards and pre-arranged questions. He shook hands with invisible people and wandered aimlessly. His shuffling gate was obvious. His press conferences and cabinet meetings were far and few between and the topics were limited. To compare Biden to Trump is like comparing a sloth to the Energizer Bunny. You may not like Trumpâs policies but you know exactly what they are instead of policies carried out by unelected puppeteers who were directing Biden.
Loyal M. Johnson Jr.
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Barbara Benjamin, Foothills
- Updated
Adam Smith said it best in "The Wealth of Nations": "Nations spend what they have the most". In the case of HAMAS-controlled Gaza, HAMAS spent what it had the most: people. Israel spent what it had the most: weapons. That's why one has to be careful where he/she seeks war.
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Brooks Keenan, Oro Valley
- Updated
David McCumberâs report on the dedicated and consequential reporting by former Daily Star reporter Jane Kay regarding TCE contamination of drinking water on Tucsonâs south side was truly impressive and inspiring. The description of Ms. Kay speaking with over 500 people living in areas with elevated levels of illnesses tied to TCE summoned images from the movie âErin Brockovich,â which dramatized a similar, true story in Hinkley, California. Both cases resulted in successful class-action lawsuits by families of the victims.
In a year-end report this week, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration has âdismantled a wide range of climate and pollution regulations,â including rolling back deadlines for water utilities to remove two types of âforever chemicalsâ from drinking water and rolling back limits on four related chemicals.
Imagine Kay and Brockovich proving that industries had polluted drinking water with carcinogenic chemicals and industry officials responding, âSo what? Itâs not illegal. Trump eliminated the regulations.â
Brooks Keenan
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Hope Gastelum, East side
- Updated
Ed LeGendre's LTE of 12/27 (Wa Wa Bla Bla) seems to miss an extremely critical point. What separates infantile Trump from the "drunken uncle at Thanksgiving" is the fact that the current raving lunatic in the White House occupies a position of unspeakable power - the power, in fact, to not only devastate people's lives in this country, but literally around the world. He has shown he's willing to make outrageous and often illegal decisions based on his frequently ill-considered "reasoning." I propose a bargain with Mr. LeGendre: When Donald Trump somehow magically transforms into a sane, coherent, non-sociopathic, decent human being, I'll stop reminding people that this "President" displays none of those qualities. Until then, I, and probably many other like-minded folks, will not take our collective foot off the gas, and will continue to reiterate the significant dangers presented by the twisted mindset of "drunken uncle" Trump and the sycophants surrounding him. Deal with that.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- James Abels, Midtown
- Updated
SB 1070 is as necessary as a screen door on a submarine. âSenator Jenae Shamp of Surpriseâ wants to study Trump Derangement Syndrome as a psychological condition.
A complete waste of funds as this has already been studied as confirmation bias. Confirmation bias, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is âthe tendency to gather evidence that confirms preexisting expectations, typically by emphasizing or pursuing supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence.â
I recognize three strains of TDS.
Left TDS: Trump can do almost nothing right.
Right TDS: Trump can do almost nothing wrong.
And finally, Trump TDS: I am the only one who can fix everything because I know what is best for America! Just ask me (or not), Iâll tell you, I am the GOAT.
James Abels
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Andrew Kunsberg, East side
- Updated
Mr. Bingham, this was a war perpetrated by Hamas, no one blames them for the starvation and putting people in harm's way. Why do they get a free pass? They gruesomely murdered over 1,200 children and adults in Israel. Took many people hostage, including the dead. Your message only increases hate towards us, please admit that Hamas is the blame. As someone said to me, it was a war, innocents are killed. Our narrative it needs to end, hate begets hate. I know your opinion is your opinion, I don't want Hamas to be martyrs. Where is the outrage of them killing their own after the cease fire? Hamas was stealing food where is the outrage? Hundreds if not thousands of those missiles shot at Israel every year from Gaza, no targets, just aimed at Israel. When Hamas protects their flock, like Israel does, war will cease and we will have peace. I truly believe they knew the narrative and collateral damage that would happen. Enough is enough.
Andrew Kunsberg
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ronald Eustice, Northwest side
- Updated
President Trump has sparked a fresh row with Denmark after appointing Louisiana's Governor Landry special envoy to Greenland. Trump has refused to rule out using force to secure control of the island.
Greenland's prime minister said the island must "decide our own future" and added "Greenland is not for sale!"
Trump claims we need Greenland for national security, not minerals and mentioned Chinese and Russian ships as potential threats in the nearby seas.
Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, has had self-government since 1979. Opinion polls show overwhelming opposition to becoming part of the US.
As with his military and rhetorical aggression towards Venezuela, it indicates Trump is determined to gain greater control over what his recent National Security Strategy called "the Western hemisphere," a sphere of influence that he hopes will cover the whole of the Americas.
Greenland holds vast mineral wealth, including critical elements like neodymium, dysprosium, graphite, lithium, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, iron ore, titanium, vanadium, and uranium, essential for green tech and electronics.
Ronald Eustice
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Updated
Greenland and national security
President Trump has sparked a fresh row with Denmark after appointing Louisiana's Governor Landry special envoy to Greenland. Trump has refused to rule out using force to secure control of the island.
Greenland's prime minister said the island must "decide our own future" and added "Greenland is not for sale!"
Trump claims we need Greenland for national security, not minerals and mentioned Chinese and Russian ships as potential threats in the nearby seas.
Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, has had self-government since 1979. Opinion polls show overwhelming opposition to becoming part of the U.S.
As with his military and rhetorical aggression towards Venezuela, it indicates Trump is determined to gain greater control over what his recent National Security Strategy called "the Western hemisphere," a sphere of influence that he hopes will cover the whole of the Americas.
Greenland holds vast mineral wealth, including critical elements like neodymium, dysprosium, graphite, lithium, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, iron ore, titanium, vanadium, and uranium, essential for green tech and electronics.
Ronald Eustice
Northwest side
Time traveler
I've been out of town for a couple weeks, missed reading our hometown newspaper. But whaddyaknow? Reading the LTEs today, I think I must have been in a time machine. I really had to look twice, because the same subjects, same writers, same complaints were there. Is there nothing worthwhile happening in our Old Pueblo, or are my fellow desert denizens in the time machine with me? Just wondering! Feliz Navidad y Prospero AÃąo ...
Deby Mantecon
East side
Dark skies
In her Christmas Day opinion piece, âSteps the city can take to remove poverty labelâ, U of A student Hannah Meltzer calls for adding more streetlights in Tucson.
Ms Meltzer should know that Tucson is a Dark Sky Community, surrounded by world-class astronomical observatories that would be blinded by bright streetlights.
These include Kitt Peak to the west, the Mt. Lemmon Sky Center to the north, the Large Binocular Telescope to the east, and Whipple Observatory to the south.
Astronomy, including amateur astronomy, is an important industry in Tucson and is vital to further our understanding of the universe and our place in it.
Roger Voelker
Southeast side
Israel and Gaza
Mr. Bingham, this was a war perpetrated by Hamas, no one blames them for the starvation and putting people in harm's way. Why do they get a free pass? They gruesomely murdered over 1,200 children and adults in Israel. Took many people hostage, including the dead. Your message only increases hate towards us, please admit that Hamas is the blame. As someone said to me, it was a war, innocents are killed. Our narrative it needs to end, hate begets hate. I know your opinion is your opinion, I don't want Hamas to be martyrs. Where is the outrage of them killing their own after the cease-fire? Hamas was stealing food, where is the outrage? Hundreds if not thousands of those missiles shot at Israel every year from Gaza, no targets, just aimed at Israel. When Hamas protects their flock, like Israel does, war will cease and we will have peace. I truly believe they knew the narrative and collateral damage that would happen. Enough is enough.
Andrew Kunsberg
East side
SB 1070 derangement
SB 1070 is as necessary as a screen door on a submarine. âSenator Jenae Shamp of Surpriseâ wants to study Trump Derangement Syndrome as a psychological condition.
A complete waste of funds, as this has already been studied as confirmation bias. Confirmation bias, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is âthe tendency to gather evidence that confirms preexisting expectations, typically by emphasizing or pursuing supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence.â
I recognize three strains of TDS.
Left TDS: Trump can do almost nothing right.
Right TDS: Trump can do almost nothing wrong.
And finally, Trump TDS: I am the only one who can fix everything because I know what is best for America! Just ask me (or not), Iâll tell you, I am the GOAT.
James Abels
Midtown
The real truth
John Bingham's 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). It's a war started by Hamas. In a wa,r 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
MLK and Kirk
A writer recently whined about Gestapo ICE agents wearing masks for fear of being doxxed. Does he feel the same about college professors on Turning Point USA's "professor watchlist" being targeted, harassed and doxxed for espousing views contrary to TP's beliefs?
To quote one professor on the list, "I was targeted by Turning Point for writing an op-ed about gun violence and not having guns on campus, so for Charlie Kirk to be assassinated by a gun on a college campus is beyond ironic." So true.
Comparing MLK and Kirk is obscene, considering Kirk stated, "MLK was awful; he's not a good person." Kirk also stated the Civil Rights Act "created a beast, and that beast has now turned into an anti-White weapon." Yeah, us white folk have really had it rough. MLK's activism was inclusive; Kirk was white-centric and adversarial. I believe Kirk never came to a debate to "listen." He only came to pretend to.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Nature and nurture?
I read a story today of a newly discovered plant found in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, called a Fairy Lantern Flower and classified as a mycohetertroph. A mycohetertroph lives a parasitic plant lifestyle, which steals all its energy and nutrients from subterranean fungi to live.
âMost plants form a symbiotic partnership with mycorrhizal fungi, a relationship that stretches back in time about 500 million years âĻâ The article goes on to state, âMycohetertrophs cheat this system by taking without giving anything in returnâĻâ
I am often amazed to see how the community and relational dynamics found in nature are mirrored in human behavior.
Is it that Trump and his misguided sycophants and wealthy donors are merely following the parasitic side of nature as the excuse for their behavior â like the Fairy Lantern Flower?
I fear that their nature is shaped by something misguided over time. We must remain hypervigilant to overcome the inequities they are fostering with their shameless behavior.
Please stay engaged and vote.
Howie Adams
Northeast side
Put the phone down
My family just left our house after a wonderful Christmas party. Kids, grandkids and guests all had a great time. I'm sitting in my office decompressing and watching some local news. A guy comes on the screen saying that you can go to the store and buy QR code stickers to put on the boxes with your Christmas stuff. You put the QR-coded sticker on the box, then take your smartphone, load the QR code in your phone with a description of what is in the box. Dear Lord ... Put a piece of tape on the box and take a magic marker and write what is in the box on the tape. Don't risk someone hacking your phone, breaking into your house and stealing your $5 box of glass balls. Put your phone down. You can put your Christmas ornaments away without your AI smartphone.
Richard Bechtold
West side
Ignoring the Korean War and geocide
I noted Binghamâs ltr dated Dec. 25 ruling out U.S. actions in the Korean War with Israel and Gaza.
During the Korean War, 12%â15% of the North Korean population (c. 10 million) was killed in the war, or approximately 1.2 million to 1.5 million people, which was called âAmericaâs greatest war crime.â General Curtis LeMay said, âU.S. forces killed off 20% of the population of Korea as casualties of war.â The United States dropped 635,000 tons of bombs, including 32,557 tons of napalm â more than was dropped during the entire Pacific campaign of World War II.
The historian B. Cumings called the American bombing of North Korea to genocide. We carpet-bombed North Korea using napalm and destroyed many towns and cities that "ranged from forty to ninety percent." Why are those figures irrelevant to Mr. Bingham? If we apply the same standards to the Korean War as to Gaza, Binghamâs hypocrisy is hard to ignore.
Mark Elliott
Green Valley
A plea for humanity
I admire the politicians and residents who bravely show up and speak out for justice when ICE arrives in their communities, ripping predominantly innocent people from peaceful lives. The detainments and deportations are profoundly immoral, happening only because our president is a bully whose enablers and followers are comfortable with his gratuitous and xenophobic cruelty.
Of course, our immigration system is broken. But why must it be so? Why shouldnât welcoming and aiding human beings in need be among our top priorities? Speaking as a mother, grandmother and former educator, I see the right of all children to live in a nurturing, loving world as critical to our humanity. Weâve got to design and build a way out of this madness ASAP. Oh, and letâs bring along our love of democracy, our great diversity and our better angels to meet this challenge. Without them, nothing will change.
Vera Pfeuffer
Midtown
- James Abels, Midtown
- Updated
12/27/25: A6 âMedicaid paid over $200M for dead peopleâ.
Per statista.com: Medicaid paid $748 billion in 2021 and paid $824 billion in 2022, total $1.572 trillion. The article stated overpayments to dead people of $207.5 million during 2021-2022. That is an overpayment for those years of 0.0132%. If $207.5 million was for one fiscal year, then that is an approximate overpayment of 0.026%. Less than 3 errors in 10,000 transactions. Sounds like a very low clerical error rate, not a fraudulent scheme. However, upcoding is inherently fraudulent. I presume there are other instances of fraud but 0.026% is not it.
James Abels
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Vera Pfeuffer, Midtown
- Updated
I admire the politicians and residents who bravely show up and speak out for justice when ICE arrives in their communities ripping predominantly innocent people from peaceful lives. The detainments and deportations are profoundly immoral, happening only because our president is a bully whose enablers and followers are comfortable with his gratuitous and xenophobic cruelty.
Of course our immigration system is broken. But why must it be so? Why shouldnât welcoming and aiding human beings in need be among our top priorities? Speaking as a mother, grandmother and former educator, I see the right of all children to live in a nurturing, loving world as critical to our humanity. Weâve got to design and build a way out of this madness ASAP. Oh, and letâs bring along our love of democracy, our great diversity and our better angels to meet this challenge. Without them nothing will change.
Vera Pfeuffer
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Barbara Katz, Green Valley
- Updated
A Christmas letter ignores the point my letter makes, it was a war in Gaza. This is what happens in war, however the writer wants this war to be judged differently. This writer belittled that 54,000 civilians died monthly in the Korean War, but that's the analogy the Chair of Urban War at West Point uses, who continues, " If we used (that) logic, every major war would be called genocide." My critic speaks of limiting food aid into Gaza, while reality is that Israel facilitated more than 2 million tons into Gaza. The Lieber Institute says, "Legally there is no obligation to provide humanitarian relief to the civilian population under the control of the other party (Hamas)." No historical precedent exists for the vast quantity of aid Israel facilitated into Gaza. The writer laments Israel's not giving land back. Israel tried that in 2005, giving back all the land, resulting in Palestinians electing Hamas and attacking Israel.
Barbara Katz
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mark Elliott, Green Valley
- Updated
I noted Binghamâs ltr dated 12/25 ruling out U.S. actions in the Korean War with Israel and Gaza.
During the Korean War 12%â15% of the North Korean population (c. 10 million) was killed in the war, or approximately 1.2 million to 1.5 million peopleâ which was called âAmericaâs greatest war crime.â General Curtis LeMay said, âUS forces killed off 20 percent of the population of Korea as casualties of war.â The United States dropped 635,000 tons of bombs, including 32,557 tons of napalm â more than was dropped during the entire Pacific campaign of World War II.
The historian B. Cumings called the American bombing of North Korea to genocide. We carpet-bombed North Korea using napalm and destroyed many towns and cities that "ranged from forty to ninety percent." Why are those figures irrelevant to Mr. Bingham? If we apply the same standards to Korean war as to Gaza, Binghamâs hypocrisy is hard to ignore.
Mark Elliott
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- William Garrity, Foothills
- Updated
I'm so glad they finally want to investigate the derangment of Trump voters. Why do intelligent moral people vote for a man who bragged about the felony sexual assault he has committed? Who enthusiastically told of walking into the dressing rooms of underage girls? Who likes girls "young" with the "too young" age being 12? All his own stories. What patriot votes for a man orchestrating a coup? Who supports dictator Putin? A six-times-bankrupt businessman? Who puts a video of himself bombing his citizens with feces, who proudly claims he hates his opponents, his fellow citizens? This is a short list of available topics but how deranged are you to keep voting for him expecting him to be a decent moral president? Oh wait -- the study on TDS is about studying people appalled by his character and actions? Wow that is a truly deranged study.
William Garrity
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ron Lancaster, North side
- Updated
Trump strikes again. This time, Nigeria, but he is still involved in Venezuela by sea, and soon by land. Yes, our Peace President has ambitious plans to expand American influence worldwide. No country is safe. Our trailblazing despot is doing this, not by charity and diplomacy, but by fire and annihilation. Murder is always on the docket. None dare call it murder, however, since the Supreme Court has given him the authority to carry on as he pleases.
Trump is a man to fear, not just here at home with his personal police force, ICE, but everywhere his military can reach. He has no fear his generals will refuse to carry out his orders. In this they are more cows than bulls. They sit quietly when he walks into a room.
President Trump has a big appetite for conquest, even if no one else has the stomach for it.
Ron Lancaster
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- S. Ross Emmanuel, Southeast side
- Updated
I'd like to offer a thousand thanks to the Star for printing two exceptional opinion pieces, one by Robert Gavlak and the other by Robert Kimball Shinkoskey. Mr. Gavlak speaks to the inappropriate pairing of science and religion in the same classroom. The piece is articulate, intelligent and generally spot on as it clearly and concisely explains the wildly disparate positions of evolutionary theory and Intelligent Design, and why one should stay in the classroom while the other should remain in the church. Mr. Shinkoskey's article, "A trend worse than gerrymandering" absolutely nails the current Republican governing theory - one which rejects governance as public service to the country in favor of "too much is never enough" - translated as however much corruption they can get away with and how much money they can stuff in their pockets. Both of these articles soar a million miles above the MAGA mindset op-eds that have appeared in some recent editions. Thank you!
S. Ross Emmanuel
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Howie Adams, Northeast side
- Updated
I read a story today of a newly discovered plant found in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia called a Fairy Lantern Flower and classified as a mycohetertroph. A mycohetertroph lives a parasitic plant lifestyle which steals all its energy and nutrients from subterranean fungi to live.
âMost plants form a symbiotic partnership with mycorrhizal fungi, a relationship that stretches back in time about 500 million yearsâĻâ The article goes on to state, âMycohetertrophs cheat this system by taking without giving anything in returnâĻâ
I am often amazed to see how the community and relational dynamics found in nature are mirrored in human behavior.
Is it that Trump and his misguided sycophants and wealthy donors are merely following the parasitic side of nature as the excuse for their behavior â like the Fairy Lantern Flower?
I fear that their nature is shaped by something misguided over time. We must remain hypervigilant to overcome the inequities they are fostering with their shameless behavior.
Please stay engaged and vote.
Howie Adams
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Hope Gastelum, East side
- Updated
A writer recently whined about Gestapo ICE agents wearing masks for fear of being doxxed. Does he feel the same about college professors on Turning Point USA's "professor watchlist" being targeted, harassed and doxxed for espousing views contrary to TP's beliefs?
To quote one professor on the list, "I was targeted by Turning Point for writing an op-ed about gun violence and not having guns on campus, so for Charlie Kirk to be assassinated by a gun on a college campus is beyond ironic." So true.
Comparing MLK and Kirk is obscene, considering Kirk stated, "MLK was awful; he's not a good person." Kirk also stated the Civil Rights Act "created a beast, and that beast has now turned into an anti-White weapon." Yeah, us White folk have really had it rough. MLK's activism was inclusive; Kirk was White-centric and adversarial. I believe Kirk never came to a debate to "listen." He only came to pretend to.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Bert Hanson, Northwest side
- Updated
I've got it and I can still function as a civil, functioning member of society.
First, TDS is not fatal. Every day or every other day I see a live picture of this sham of a man and you can see him deteriorating in his looks and mental acuity. I know we are all getting older but you can really see this man on a daily basis sliding "downhill." Using his own volition he won't make it to the end of his elected term.
Second, I am revisiting the television series West Wing...which I really enjoyed in the early 2000s.
I was reluctant to view but I have not seen the technological drawback that I was anticipating. It's just real quality programming and many storylines are still in today's news.
I'm getting through my TDS by watching Martin Sheen do what is morally right (in most cases) for America.
Bert Hanson
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Thomas Kovach, North side
- Updated
As a non-religious person who firmly believes in the separation of church and state, I began reading Robert Gaviakâs column âReligions, science donât belong in the same classroomâ thinking I would agree with it entirely, but then there was an aspect of it that I found disturbing: his one-sided portrayal of religion as something that âhas remained throughout history the blunt instrument of oppression used to cudgel humankind into submission through discouragement of independent thought an deterrence of self-determinationâ. This view of religion is both unfair and harmful to our society. First, there are numerous scientists who are still members of a religious community, and religious people who respect the findings of science. And in our current highly polarized society, defaming a large percentage of our population in this way can only lead to further strife. We need to find a path of respect for each otherâs beliefs â or non-beliefs.
Thomas Kovach
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jay Gandolfi, Northeast side
- Updated
Dear Congress members and Senators â
The public wants a healthcare plan identical to yours. Your health care comes via the DC Health Link, which was established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The federal government covers 72-75% of your premium on your plans. When you are in Washington DC, you get care from the Office of the Attending Physician for exams, consultations, and tests ($650/year). Middle- and lower-income Americans would love to have these benefits. With the expiration of ACA supplements, will your plans greatly increase in cost to you?
You can retain this insurance after 5 years in office whether you resign, retire, or are voted out of office unless convicted of a felony while in office. This does not apply if you have immunity status from the Supreme Court. By the way, the healthcare plans for the Supremes are even more benevolent.
How can you consciously let the supplement to the public for the ACA terminate while you are so coddled?
Jay Gandolfi
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Margaret Gordon Magruder, Downtown
- Updated
I love reading the Arizona Daily Star, not just for the news, but for the humor. It often is found in unexpected places. For instance, in todayâs (12/26/2025) Section B Page 1 there is a sad piece about self-deporting through the CBP Home app. It âis the best gift that an illegal alien can give themselves and their families this holiday seasonâ, "fast, free, and easy ... download the app ... fill out your information.â The inducement has increased to $3,000 until the end of the year. Now the laughter part begins. âDHS will take care of the rest including arranging and paying for your travel back home.â Does that include the armor tank, the Gestapo? Are you laughing yet? If not, close your eyes and imagine the scenes passing through your mind. Youâve seen them before. Arenât they etched there?
Margaret Gordon Magruder
Downtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Bruce Hilpert, North side
- Updated
Last Saturday I dove past a group of young people walking a picket line at the nearby Starbucks. When I stopped to talk I learned they had organized to join a union and voted to go on strike when the company refused to negotiate a contract.
I was surprised and very impressed. These young adults put their jobs and paychecks on the line to fight for better pay, better working conditions and self-respect.
In the 1950s, union membership in the United States was approximately 35%. Today it is 9.9%. When one looks at the transfer of wealth to the upper 1% and the resultant reduction for the bottom 50% over the same time, the corporate destruction of unions is a major factor. How inspiring to see these young people taking action in the fight to make America great again for workers.
Bruce Hilpert
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Shelly Fishman, Midtown
- Updated
This is our legacy?
They are invading their neighboring states, controlling elections and annexing territory. They are killing civilians and kidnapping children. Thousands are being killed. They are claiming historical hegemony â the Warsaw Pact.
We are sinking boats and killing their crews. We are claiming that we own their natural resources. We are boarding their ships and stealing cargo. Hundreds are dying. Thousands could die. We are claiming historical hegemony â the Monroe Doctrine.
Stop! This is centuries-old thinking -- barbaric decision-making.
They are wrong.
We are wrong.
The parallels are frighteningly clear.
Stop. Stop now.
Shelly Fishman
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ed LeGendre, East side
- Updated
Bla, bla, wa, wa, Trump. After a year of reading the forementioned, I think the Star should have a special section for the Bla Wa Trump People.
We all get this. We read it often. Is it possible to filter all the Trump LTE tirades to a special section of its own? Readers who cannot remember from one day to the next, can go straight to this section and read what they might have forgotten.
This will save a lot of time to just âcut to the chaseâ and you will have all your Wa, Wa, Bla, Bla. You neednât have to read through meaningful letters to find your favorites.
Shoot 5th Avenue people, 34 felonies, grab âyou know whatâ, we all know. When he does something dumb again, then new Bla, Bla, Wa, Waâs letters can be âin the front rowâ.
Trump is like a drunken uncle at Thanksgiving. He will be your drunken uncle for the next three years.
Deal with it.
Ed LeGendre
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Chuck Nathan, West side
- Updated
I nominate Kelley Benson's opinion piece on Trump Derangement Syndrome as the most insightful and useful observation on for what passes nowadays for political discourse. No matter what your political identity, it calls for a long, hard look in the mirror at what we can do as individuals to correct the disastrous course we've charted. This piece should be widely circulated and taken to heart.
Chuck Nathan
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ron Nason, Midtown
- Updated
The sounds of âAway in a Mangerâ drown out the cries of terrified children separated from their parents by masked ICE agents. The refrains of âSilent Nightâ repeat like the lethal nighttime attacks on fishing boats with no evidence. A redeemed Scrooge cries âMerry Christmasâ while Scrooges in Congress cut funding for the most vulnerable to pay for more tax cuts for the rich -- donors over constituents. As prices rise and the economy shrinks the president screams a torrent of âalternative facts.â Even Santa, who can visit 8 billion people in one night, canât cut drug prices by 500%.
Reactionary media continues brainwashing as legacy media sane-washesâthis Dysfunctional American Christmas isnât really happening.
Silently, angels unaware provide transportation and food for the least among us. Wise men, in the words of the âHymn for the 81%â still find Jesus on the wrong side of walls built to divide us.
Ron Nason
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Sandie Stone, Green Valley
- Updated
In today's LTE Donald Plummer seems to have a defeatist attitude about great empires doomed to failure. A quick look at those he listed I found a common thread: corruption, weak leadership, nationalistic arrogance, failure to help the poor which in some cases led to civil war. It all sounds too familiar, but we do not have to accept these things as our death knell. We will not be defeated. History does not have to repeat itself.
Sandie Stone
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Dennis Abrams, Northwest side
- Updated
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.
- Judith Mirell, Green Valley
- Updated
Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch introduced a resolution concerning a shooting that occurred' two years ago in Burlington Vermont. The resolution states, " âWhereas 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
- Updated
President Trump isnât 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 Congressâ 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; âenhanced vetting.â Need more? The horror of the 60 Minutes report, on You Tube? Laws are Congressâ responsibility dammit.
Write and call Congress. Instead of their vacations and shutdowns, do something to save people, this nationâs reputation, and any honor we have left.
Nancy Jacques
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mike Bender, West side
- Updated
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
- Updated
This time of year, many wish for âPeace on Earth, Goodwill towards man.â 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 Trumpâs 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 âPeace on Earth, Goodwill towards manâ any time soon. Happy holidays?
Christina Early
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Chuck Barrett, Midtown
- Updated
Back in the mists of time when I was young and learning to type there was an exercise that went: âNow is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.â That time has come â 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 âsafeâ 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
- Updated
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
- Updated
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.
- Bette Bunker Richards, Midtown
- Updated
Arizona is to receive about $200 million for rural health care. Building the White House ballroom is to cost about $400 million. It is obvious where this government's priorities are.
Bette Bunker Richards
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeffrey McConnell, West side
- Updated
Iâve written zingers about the idiocy of the Democratic Party but turning the mirror around, whatâs wrong with Trump? These four immediately come to mind:
- Heâs a living president who attempts to name government facilities after himself as if he was branding his hotels. We have an ego issue to accept or deplore.
- Heâs excluded advanced nursing programs from "professional degrees" that qualify for maximum federal student loans. Methinks cost cutting has gone too far.
- He needs to release 100% of the Epstein files instantly. Skip the redaction process and let the lawsuits begin.
- He wants to distribute $2.000 dividend checks to each taxpayer with tariff dividends rather than using this windfall to reduce the national debt. This smacks of Democrat-style vote buying.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ronald Pelech, Midtown
- Updated
Re: Letter, "Wa Wa Bla Bla," 27 December 2025:
This LTE says letters about Donald Trump's continual follies should be relegated to a special section instead of the opinion pages because Trump is our "drunken uncle" for three more years. Should Trump walk all over us without resistance when our Founders did not allow King George III to do so? Trump is supposed to be president of our nation and not some dysfunctional uncle. Perhaps the writer should avoid the opinion pages and submit his "Wa Wa" to the comics section.
I have to laugh at the LTE of 4 December that said the Star "sold its soul to the left." Truly liberal publications like Mother Jones would never publish George Will as the Star does. Such complainers would go into shock if exposed to Mother Jones. Do they seek to push the Star to become like Fox News, Trump regime state media? They must not succeed. Speak out.
Ronald Pelech
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Gretchen Winters, Oro Valley
- Updated
A sampling of various polls shows that an average of 39% of adults responding favor Trump. Thirty-nine percent is a large number considering these are people in agreement with:
âĸ Trump and his family engaging in massive corruption schemes
âĸ Taking health care and food assistance from millions of people
âĸ Targeting legislators and judges with violent rhetoric and threats
âĸ Running up the national debt by trillions of dollars to benefit billionaires
âĸ Starting a war with Venezuela
âĸ Voting with Russia, North Korea and China in all matters, and so on.
These things are ultimately harmful to Americans. So, who are the 39%? They are among our friends, family members, and neighbors who wish us harm.
Our answer? Join a local Democratic group, participate in Democratic actions, support and vote for Democrats.
Gretchen Winters
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Terry Louck, East side
- Updated
Never apologize to anyone ever.
Science is stupid.
Anyone different is bad.
Don't be nice, nice is for losers.
Cheating is for winners.
America is the only country in the world.
Women are less important than men.
Be afraid of anyone non-white.
Facts and truth are not important.
Low-paid people are idiots.
Lying is fine now.
It's ok if your father cheats on your mother.
Never take responsibility for your actions, just blame others.
You can hurt other people as long as it benefits yourself.
Terry Louck
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ron Lancaster, North side
Right from that unlucky hour when Donald Trump was elected President, America has been on a slide from a cult of personality to the makings of a criminal caste system, where the bad go free, and the good go hide. Now, we have thugs and slick conmen posing as government officials, stealing from our nationâs larder to stuff their pockets, sneering all the while.
To be a person with a darker tone to their skin is more frightening these days because of people with darker hearts. Children can be swept up by masked men with hard intent, their schoolbooks in hand and play in mind, but their hopes dashed. Mothers weep the tears of the helpless, while the fathers are locked in cages. Complaints for justice flow in from the aggrieved.
It does no good. This is Trumpâs America.
Ron Lancaster
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ke Chiang Hsieh, Midtown
The Op-Ed on science vs. religion on Christmas Day exposed the root of polarization, namely, the prevalence of misunderstanding and hence disrespect for others. Mr. Gavlak mistook scientism for science and biblical literalism for religion. I believe (an act of faith) in broadening oneâs mind by learning relevant facts, often found by otherâs diligent investigations, to reach oneâs own understanding that would bring harmony and peace to oneself and others. The following questions would be a start and perhaps a skeleton syllabus for a high-school course in the humanities, taught next to the physics lab.
Why every culture has religion?
What are the religions in the world?
Do they have commonalities?
What has âdivine Providenceâ to do with American independence?
What sustained the survival of the American slaves and led to the Civil Rights Movement?
Why do all the leading universities offer religious studies?
Allow me to quote Albert Einstein, âScience without religion is lame and religion without science is blind.â Happy New Year!
Ke Chiang Hsieh
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jim Dreis, East side
In the 1990s, the United Nations sent a peacekeeping force to stop the violence and ethnic tensions between Bosnia and Croatia. They should take similar action in Gaza.
Jim Dreis
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Lawrence Mazin, SaddleBrooke
According to widely cited financial estimates, Donald Trumpâs net worth rose from roughly $4.3 billion a year ago to about $7.3 billion today, an increase of approximately $3 billion. Much of this growth is tied to his presidency: foreign-linked benefits such as a luxury aircraft from Qatar, expanded overseas licensing and property deals, and aggressive promotion of cryptocurrency ventures connected to Trump family members.
During the same period, Americans have faced elevated housing and health insurance costs, continued volatility in retirement accounts, and policy uncertainty that weakened federal agencies through mass departures of experienced staff. Promised economic relief for workers and seniors has been minimal, while tax, regulatory, and market advantages have disproportionately favored those already at the top.
Leadership is ultimately measured by outcomes. In Trumpâs first year, the data point in one direction: extraordinary personal enrichment for the president and mounting economic hardship for the public. He promised the greatest economy, but for whom?
Lawrence Mazin
SaddleBrooke
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Thomas J. Plesniak, Midtown
The author states three students wearing keffiyehs (she didn't bother to look up the proper name) and speaking Arabic, were shot in an unprovoked attack. The author adamantly states no hate crime occurred. So... it's a hate crime if a Jewish woman has a Star of David necklace ripped from her throat but not if the attempted murder of three Arab or Muslim were the victims?
Nowhere in the official reports does it state the perpetrator was pro Palestinian and anti Israeli as the author claims (ludicrous in itself) but he was a white nationalist and mentally ill, stating the CIA told him to do it.
The Sanders amendment, which I doubt she bothered to read, Senate Resolution 529, condemns anti-Palestinian behavior... remember, Bernie is a Jew and led Trump by 16 pts. in 2016.
He is the only trustworthy politician. He has been tough on child labor; fought corporate welfare; held IRS accountable; and exposed corruption of military/industrial complex. All legislation passed while being an Independent.
Thomas J. Plesniak
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Daniel Pryor, West side
Monica Mohan's letter, "Is this discrimination?" (Dec. 27), reveals a lightning-rod issue simmering in the universal Catholic Church. To ban kneelers during Holy Communion at the New Mass is a veiled slight against the Old Mass. It is discrimination. Blame it all on Vatican II of the 1960s. When the Old Mass (Latin Mass) and the New Mass (Novus Ordo) are compared, it's noticed that the Latin Mass is a more solemn and penitential profession of faith, while the New Mass is liturgical light and breezy. How so? Compare the prayer missals. Very few Catholics know the priests are facing the wrong way during the New Mass. For centuries, before Vatican II, the priests faced correctly, i.e., liturgical East. It's Biblical, thus a historical tradition. Why constrict almost two-thousand years of tradition? And this tradition is based on the Gospel of Matthew 24:27: East is the direction to look, for the return of Christ.
Daniel Pryor
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Helen Murphy, Sierra Vista
Rob Reiner was a successful film director who brought us these wonderful movies: "A Few Good Men", "When Harry Met Sally", and my favorite, "Misery". Donald Trump received over $400 million from his father. He is the only U.S. president who is a convicted felon (34 counts). He had six bankruptcies and other business failures. He got five military deferments. He has told over 30,000 falsehoods and is still lying. A jury found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. His cruel and inhumane policies have brought many human beings misery.
Helen Murphy
Sierra Vista
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeff Aronson, Northeast side
In 1971 Daniel Ellsberg, a Pentagon analyst, released to the New York Times and the Washington Post information about a top secret Defense Department report about the Vietnam war that revealed many of the lies and coverups by the Johnson and Nixon administrations in what became known as the Pentagon Papers.
In spite of being ordered by Congress to release the total Epstein files, the Trump DOJ has been grudgingly and partially releasing out heavily redacted files in what appears to be an obvious coverup to protect Trump and other figures.
There have to be numerous individuals in the DOJ with access to these files who can secretly release them to the media so that the American public can learn the truth about Trump's and others' involvement with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Recognizing that while releasing these files could put the leaker in legal and even physical danger, we need another courageous Daniel Ellsberg to please step up and come forward now.
Jeff Aronson
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Don Ries, Southeast side
How are we safer and how is America Great Again after the deportation of thousands of immigrant health care workers by the Trump administration? Who is going to work at our nursing homes, long-term-care facilities and who will come into our homes to provide care for the disabled and elderly people when so many of those currently doing these jobs are deported? Has anyone at HHS thought about the consequences of their actions? It appears not. The current system of care for our most vulnerable citizens is not perfect, but if you tear it down you must have a better plan to replace it. Obviously there is none.
Don Ries
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Judi Moreillon, Northeast side
Really? Are you actually proud of your âDrunk Uncleâ President? How many more have to suffer or die? Three more years, no way.
The November 2026 tsunami of Democrats and Independents will bring integrity and spines back to Congress. Trump will face accountability - finally. Impeachment, conviction, and removal from office are legal consequences for defying court orders, usurping powers designated to Congress, trampling on the Constitution, and grossly grifting for personal gain.
Your Drunk Uncle has complete contempt for the rule of law and disregard for the needs of the majority of our fellow citizens. When justice comes, it will be his duped sycophants who can be relegated to the âWa Wa Bla Blaâ section.
The rest of us will roll up our sleeves and get to work to restore the as yet incalculable damage he has done to our country, our global allies, and the Earth itself.
Judi Moreillon
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Loyal M. Johnson Jr., Oro Valley
The following was included in a Dec. 25 LTE: âBut 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.â This writer was asleep or totally secluded during the Biden Administration years. That President exhibited all of the above issues but to a far greater magnitude while liberal Democrats uncannily ignored the obvious facts. If Biden was your parent, the car keys would be hidden and a Life Alert device ordered. He could not hold a press conference without note cards and pre-arranged questions. He shook hands with invisible people and wandered aimlessly. His shuffling gate was obvious. His press conferences and cabinet meetings were far and few between and the topics were limited. To compare Biden to Trump is like comparing a sloth to the Energizer Bunny. You may not like Trumpâs policies but you know exactly what they are instead of policies carried out by unelected puppeteers who were directing Biden.
Loyal M. Johnson Jr.
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Barbara Benjamin, Foothills
Adam Smith said it best in "The Wealth of Nations": "Nations spend what they have the most". In the case of HAMAS-controlled Gaza, HAMAS spent what it had the most: people. Israel spent what it had the most: weapons. That's why one has to be careful where he/she seeks war.
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Brooks Keenan, Oro Valley
David McCumberâs report on the dedicated and consequential reporting by former Daily Star reporter Jane Kay regarding TCE contamination of drinking water on Tucsonâs south side was truly impressive and inspiring. The description of Ms. Kay speaking with over 500 people living in areas with elevated levels of illnesses tied to TCE summoned images from the movie âErin Brockovich,â which dramatized a similar, true story in Hinkley, California. Both cases resulted in successful class-action lawsuits by families of the victims.
In a year-end report this week, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration has âdismantled a wide range of climate and pollution regulations,â including rolling back deadlines for water utilities to remove two types of âforever chemicalsâ from drinking water and rolling back limits on four related chemicals.
Imagine Kay and Brockovich proving that industries had polluted drinking water with carcinogenic chemicals and industry officials responding, âSo what? Itâs not illegal. Trump eliminated the regulations.â
Brooks Keenan
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Hope Gastelum, East side
Ed LeGendre's LTE of 12/27 (Wa Wa Bla Bla) seems to miss an extremely critical point. What separates infantile Trump from the "drunken uncle at Thanksgiving" is the fact that the current raving lunatic in the White House occupies a position of unspeakable power - the power, in fact, to not only devastate people's lives in this country, but literally around the world. He has shown he's willing to make outrageous and often illegal decisions based on his frequently ill-considered "reasoning." I propose a bargain with Mr. LeGendre: When Donald Trump somehow magically transforms into a sane, coherent, non-sociopathic, decent human being, I'll stop reminding people that this "President" displays none of those qualities. Until then, I, and probably many other like-minded folks, will not take our collective foot off the gas, and will continue to reiterate the significant dangers presented by the twisted mindset of "drunken uncle" Trump and the sycophants surrounding him. Deal with that.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- James Abels, Midtown
SB 1070 is as necessary as a screen door on a submarine. âSenator Jenae Shamp of Surpriseâ wants to study Trump Derangement Syndrome as a psychological condition.
A complete waste of funds as this has already been studied as confirmation bias. Confirmation bias, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is âthe tendency to gather evidence that confirms preexisting expectations, typically by emphasizing or pursuing supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence.â
I recognize three strains of TDS.
Left TDS: Trump can do almost nothing right.
Right TDS: Trump can do almost nothing wrong.
And finally, Trump TDS: I am the only one who can fix everything because I know what is best for America! Just ask me (or not), Iâll tell you, I am the GOAT.
James Abels
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Andrew Kunsberg, East side
Mr. Bingham, this was a war perpetrated by Hamas, no one blames them for the starvation and putting people in harm's way. Why do they get a free pass? They gruesomely murdered over 1,200 children and adults in Israel. Took many people hostage, including the dead. Your message only increases hate towards us, please admit that Hamas is the blame. As someone said to me, it was a war, innocents are killed. Our narrative it needs to end, hate begets hate. I know your opinion is your opinion, I don't want Hamas to be martyrs. Where is the outrage of them killing their own after the cease fire? Hamas was stealing food where is the outrage? Hundreds if not thousands of those missiles shot at Israel every year from Gaza, no targets, just aimed at Israel. When Hamas protects their flock, like Israel does, war will cease and we will have peace. I truly believe they knew the narrative and collateral damage that would happen. Enough is enough.
Andrew Kunsberg
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ronald Eustice, Northwest side
President Trump has sparked a fresh row with Denmark after appointing Louisiana's Governor Landry special envoy to Greenland. Trump has refused to rule out using force to secure control of the island.
Greenland's prime minister said the island must "decide our own future" and added "Greenland is not for sale!"
Trump claims we need Greenland for national security, not minerals and mentioned Chinese and Russian ships as potential threats in the nearby seas.
Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, has had self-government since 1979. Opinion polls show overwhelming opposition to becoming part of the US.
As with his military and rhetorical aggression towards Venezuela, it indicates Trump is determined to gain greater control over what his recent National Security Strategy called "the Western hemisphere," a sphere of influence that he hopes will cover the whole of the Americas.
Greenland holds vast mineral wealth, including critical elements like neodymium, dysprosium, graphite, lithium, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, iron ore, titanium, vanadium, and uranium, essential for green tech and electronics.
Ronald Eustice
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
Greenland and national security
President Trump has sparked a fresh row with Denmark after appointing Louisiana's Governor Landry special envoy to Greenland. Trump has refused to rule out using force to secure control of the island.
Greenland's prime minister said the island must "decide our own future" and added "Greenland is not for sale!"
Trump claims we need Greenland for national security, not minerals and mentioned Chinese and Russian ships as potential threats in the nearby seas.
Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, has had self-government since 1979. Opinion polls show overwhelming opposition to becoming part of the U.S.
As with his military and rhetorical aggression towards Venezuela, it indicates Trump is determined to gain greater control over what his recent National Security Strategy called "the Western hemisphere," a sphere of influence that he hopes will cover the whole of the Americas.
Greenland holds vast mineral wealth, including critical elements like neodymium, dysprosium, graphite, lithium, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, iron ore, titanium, vanadium, and uranium, essential for green tech and electronics.
Ronald Eustice
Northwest side
Time traveler
I've been out of town for a couple weeks, missed reading our hometown newspaper. But whaddyaknow? Reading the LTEs today, I think I must have been in a time machine. I really had to look twice, because the same subjects, same writers, same complaints were there. Is there nothing worthwhile happening in our Old Pueblo, or are my fellow desert denizens in the time machine with me? Just wondering! Feliz Navidad y Prospero AÃąo ...
Deby Mantecon
East side
Dark skies
In her Christmas Day opinion piece, âSteps the city can take to remove poverty labelâ, U of A student Hannah Meltzer calls for adding more streetlights in Tucson.
Ms Meltzer should know that Tucson is a Dark Sky Community, surrounded by world-class astronomical observatories that would be blinded by bright streetlights.
These include Kitt Peak to the west, the Mt. Lemmon Sky Center to the north, the Large Binocular Telescope to the east, and Whipple Observatory to the south.
Astronomy, including amateur astronomy, is an important industry in Tucson and is vital to further our understanding of the universe and our place in it.
Roger Voelker
Southeast side
Israel and Gaza
Mr. Bingham, this was a war perpetrated by Hamas, no one blames them for the starvation and putting people in harm's way. Why do they get a free pass? They gruesomely murdered over 1,200 children and adults in Israel. Took many people hostage, including the dead. Your message only increases hate towards us, please admit that Hamas is the blame. As someone said to me, it was a war, innocents are killed. Our narrative it needs to end, hate begets hate. I know your opinion is your opinion, I don't want Hamas to be martyrs. Where is the outrage of them killing their own after the cease-fire? Hamas was stealing food, where is the outrage? Hundreds if not thousands of those missiles shot at Israel every year from Gaza, no targets, just aimed at Israel. When Hamas protects their flock, like Israel does, war will cease and we will have peace. I truly believe they knew the narrative and collateral damage that would happen. Enough is enough.
Andrew Kunsberg
East side
SB 1070 derangement
SB 1070 is as necessary as a screen door on a submarine. âSenator Jenae Shamp of Surpriseâ wants to study Trump Derangement Syndrome as a psychological condition.
A complete waste of funds, as this has already been studied as confirmation bias. Confirmation bias, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is âthe tendency to gather evidence that confirms preexisting expectations, typically by emphasizing or pursuing supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence.â
I recognize three strains of TDS.
Left TDS: Trump can do almost nothing right.
Right TDS: Trump can do almost nothing wrong.
And finally, Trump TDS: I am the only one who can fix everything because I know what is best for America! Just ask me (or not), Iâll tell you, I am the GOAT.
James Abels
Midtown
The real truth
John Bingham's 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). It's a war started by Hamas. In a wa,r 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
MLK and Kirk
A writer recently whined about Gestapo ICE agents wearing masks for fear of being doxxed. Does he feel the same about college professors on Turning Point USA's "professor watchlist" being targeted, harassed and doxxed for espousing views contrary to TP's beliefs?
To quote one professor on the list, "I was targeted by Turning Point for writing an op-ed about gun violence and not having guns on campus, so for Charlie Kirk to be assassinated by a gun on a college campus is beyond ironic." So true.
Comparing MLK and Kirk is obscene, considering Kirk stated, "MLK was awful; he's not a good person." Kirk also stated the Civil Rights Act "created a beast, and that beast has now turned into an anti-White weapon." Yeah, us white folk have really had it rough. MLK's activism was inclusive; Kirk was white-centric and adversarial. I believe Kirk never came to a debate to "listen." He only came to pretend to.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Nature and nurture?
I read a story today of a newly discovered plant found in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, called a Fairy Lantern Flower and classified as a mycohetertroph. A mycohetertroph lives a parasitic plant lifestyle, which steals all its energy and nutrients from subterranean fungi to live.
âMost plants form a symbiotic partnership with mycorrhizal fungi, a relationship that stretches back in time about 500 million years âĻâ The article goes on to state, âMycohetertrophs cheat this system by taking without giving anything in returnâĻâ
I am often amazed to see how the community and relational dynamics found in nature are mirrored in human behavior.
Is it that Trump and his misguided sycophants and wealthy donors are merely following the parasitic side of nature as the excuse for their behavior â like the Fairy Lantern Flower?
I fear that their nature is shaped by something misguided over time. We must remain hypervigilant to overcome the inequities they are fostering with their shameless behavior.
Please stay engaged and vote.
Howie Adams
Northeast side
Put the phone down
My family just left our house after a wonderful Christmas party. Kids, grandkids and guests all had a great time. I'm sitting in my office decompressing and watching some local news. A guy comes on the screen saying that you can go to the store and buy QR code stickers to put on the boxes with your Christmas stuff. You put the QR-coded sticker on the box, then take your smartphone, load the QR code in your phone with a description of what is in the box. Dear Lord ... Put a piece of tape on the box and take a magic marker and write what is in the box on the tape. Don't risk someone hacking your phone, breaking into your house and stealing your $5 box of glass balls. Put your phone down. You can put your Christmas ornaments away without your AI smartphone.
Richard Bechtold
West side
Ignoring the Korean War and geocide
I noted Binghamâs ltr dated Dec. 25 ruling out U.S. actions in the Korean War with Israel and Gaza.
During the Korean War, 12%â15% of the North Korean population (c. 10 million) was killed in the war, or approximately 1.2 million to 1.5 million people, which was called âAmericaâs greatest war crime.â General Curtis LeMay said, âU.S. forces killed off 20% of the population of Korea as casualties of war.â The United States dropped 635,000 tons of bombs, including 32,557 tons of napalm â more than was dropped during the entire Pacific campaign of World War II.
The historian B. Cumings called the American bombing of North Korea to genocide. We carpet-bombed North Korea using napalm and destroyed many towns and cities that "ranged from forty to ninety percent." Why are those figures irrelevant to Mr. Bingham? If we apply the same standards to the Korean War as to Gaza, Binghamâs hypocrisy is hard to ignore.
Mark Elliott
Green Valley
A plea for humanity
I admire the politicians and residents who bravely show up and speak out for justice when ICE arrives in their communities, ripping predominantly innocent people from peaceful lives. The detainments and deportations are profoundly immoral, happening only because our president is a bully whose enablers and followers are comfortable with his gratuitous and xenophobic cruelty.
Of course, our immigration system is broken. But why must it be so? Why shouldnât welcoming and aiding human beings in need be among our top priorities? Speaking as a mother, grandmother and former educator, I see the right of all children to live in a nurturing, loving world as critical to our humanity. Weâve got to design and build a way out of this madness ASAP. Oh, and letâs bring along our love of democracy, our great diversity and our better angels to meet this challenge. Without them, nothing will change.
Vera Pfeuffer
Midtown
- James Abels, Midtown
12/27/25: A6 âMedicaid paid over $200M for dead peopleâ.
Per statista.com: Medicaid paid $748 billion in 2021 and paid $824 billion in 2022, total $1.572 trillion. The article stated overpayments to dead people of $207.5 million during 2021-2022. That is an overpayment for those years of 0.0132%. If $207.5 million was for one fiscal year, then that is an approximate overpayment of 0.026%. Less than 3 errors in 10,000 transactions. Sounds like a very low clerical error rate, not a fraudulent scheme. However, upcoding is inherently fraudulent. I presume there are other instances of fraud but 0.026% is not it.
James Abels
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Vera Pfeuffer, Midtown
I admire the politicians and residents who bravely show up and speak out for justice when ICE arrives in their communities ripping predominantly innocent people from peaceful lives. The detainments and deportations are profoundly immoral, happening only because our president is a bully whose enablers and followers are comfortable with his gratuitous and xenophobic cruelty.
Of course our immigration system is broken. But why must it be so? Why shouldnât welcoming and aiding human beings in need be among our top priorities? Speaking as a mother, grandmother and former educator, I see the right of all children to live in a nurturing, loving world as critical to our humanity. Weâve got to design and build a way out of this madness ASAP. Oh, and letâs bring along our love of democracy, our great diversity and our better angels to meet this challenge. Without them nothing will change.
Vera Pfeuffer
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Barbara Katz, Green Valley
A Christmas letter ignores the point my letter makes, it was a war in Gaza. This is what happens in war, however the writer wants this war to be judged differently. This writer belittled that 54,000 civilians died monthly in the Korean War, but that's the analogy the Chair of Urban War at West Point uses, who continues, " If we used (that) logic, every major war would be called genocide." My critic speaks of limiting food aid into Gaza, while reality is that Israel facilitated more than 2 million tons into Gaza. The Lieber Institute says, "Legally there is no obligation to provide humanitarian relief to the civilian population under the control of the other party (Hamas)." No historical precedent exists for the vast quantity of aid Israel facilitated into Gaza. The writer laments Israel's not giving land back. Israel tried that in 2005, giving back all the land, resulting in Palestinians electing Hamas and attacking Israel.
Barbara Katz
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Mark Elliott, Green Valley
I noted Binghamâs ltr dated 12/25 ruling out U.S. actions in the Korean War with Israel and Gaza.
During the Korean War 12%â15% of the North Korean population (c. 10 million) was killed in the war, or approximately 1.2 million to 1.5 million peopleâ which was called âAmericaâs greatest war crime.â General Curtis LeMay said, âUS forces killed off 20 percent of the population of Korea as casualties of war.â The United States dropped 635,000 tons of bombs, including 32,557 tons of napalm â more than was dropped during the entire Pacific campaign of World War II.
The historian B. Cumings called the American bombing of North Korea to genocide. We carpet-bombed North Korea using napalm and destroyed many towns and cities that "ranged from forty to ninety percent." Why are those figures irrelevant to Mr. Bingham? If we apply the same standards to Korean war as to Gaza, Binghamâs hypocrisy is hard to ignore.
Mark Elliott
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- William Garrity, Foothills
I'm so glad they finally want to investigate the derangment of Trump voters. Why do intelligent moral people vote for a man who bragged about the felony sexual assault he has committed? Who enthusiastically told of walking into the dressing rooms of underage girls? Who likes girls "young" with the "too young" age being 12? All his own stories. What patriot votes for a man orchestrating a coup? Who supports dictator Putin? A six-times-bankrupt businessman? Who puts a video of himself bombing his citizens with feces, who proudly claims he hates his opponents, his fellow citizens? This is a short list of available topics but how deranged are you to keep voting for him expecting him to be a decent moral president? Oh wait -- the study on TDS is about studying people appalled by his character and actions? Wow that is a truly deranged study.
William Garrity
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ron Lancaster, North side
Trump strikes again. This time, Nigeria, but he is still involved in Venezuela by sea, and soon by land. Yes, our Peace President has ambitious plans to expand American influence worldwide. No country is safe. Our trailblazing despot is doing this, not by charity and diplomacy, but by fire and annihilation. Murder is always on the docket. None dare call it murder, however, since the Supreme Court has given him the authority to carry on as he pleases.
Trump is a man to fear, not just here at home with his personal police force, ICE, but everywhere his military can reach. He has no fear his generals will refuse to carry out his orders. In this they are more cows than bulls. They sit quietly when he walks into a room.
President Trump has a big appetite for conquest, even if no one else has the stomach for it.
Ron Lancaster
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- S. Ross Emmanuel, Southeast side
I'd like to offer a thousand thanks to the Star for printing two exceptional opinion pieces, one by Robert Gavlak and the other by Robert Kimball Shinkoskey. Mr. Gavlak speaks to the inappropriate pairing of science and religion in the same classroom. The piece is articulate, intelligent and generally spot on as it clearly and concisely explains the wildly disparate positions of evolutionary theory and Intelligent Design, and why one should stay in the classroom while the other should remain in the church. Mr. Shinkoskey's article, "A trend worse than gerrymandering" absolutely nails the current Republican governing theory - one which rejects governance as public service to the country in favor of "too much is never enough" - translated as however much corruption they can get away with and how much money they can stuff in their pockets. Both of these articles soar a million miles above the MAGA mindset op-eds that have appeared in some recent editions. Thank you!
S. Ross Emmanuel
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Howie Adams, Northeast side
I read a story today of a newly discovered plant found in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia called a Fairy Lantern Flower and classified as a mycohetertroph. A mycohetertroph lives a parasitic plant lifestyle which steals all its energy and nutrients from subterranean fungi to live.
âMost plants form a symbiotic partnership with mycorrhizal fungi, a relationship that stretches back in time about 500 million yearsâĻâ The article goes on to state, âMycohetertrophs cheat this system by taking without giving anything in returnâĻâ
I am often amazed to see how the community and relational dynamics found in nature are mirrored in human behavior.
Is it that Trump and his misguided sycophants and wealthy donors are merely following the parasitic side of nature as the excuse for their behavior â like the Fairy Lantern Flower?
I fear that their nature is shaped by something misguided over time. We must remain hypervigilant to overcome the inequities they are fostering with their shameless behavior.
Please stay engaged and vote.
Howie Adams
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Hope Gastelum, East side
A writer recently whined about Gestapo ICE agents wearing masks for fear of being doxxed. Does he feel the same about college professors on Turning Point USA's "professor watchlist" being targeted, harassed and doxxed for espousing views contrary to TP's beliefs?
To quote one professor on the list, "I was targeted by Turning Point for writing an op-ed about gun violence and not having guns on campus, so for Charlie Kirk to be assassinated by a gun on a college campus is beyond ironic." So true.
Comparing MLK and Kirk is obscene, considering Kirk stated, "MLK was awful; he's not a good person." Kirk also stated the Civil Rights Act "created a beast, and that beast has now turned into an anti-White weapon." Yeah, us White folk have really had it rough. MLK's activism was inclusive; Kirk was White-centric and adversarial. I believe Kirk never came to a debate to "listen." He only came to pretend to.
Hope Gastelum
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Bert Hanson, Northwest side
I've got it and I can still function as a civil, functioning member of society.
First, TDS is not fatal. Every day or every other day I see a live picture of this sham of a man and you can see him deteriorating in his looks and mental acuity. I know we are all getting older but you can really see this man on a daily basis sliding "downhill." Using his own volition he won't make it to the end of his elected term.
Second, I am revisiting the television series West Wing...which I really enjoyed in the early 2000s.
I was reluctant to view but I have not seen the technological drawback that I was anticipating. It's just real quality programming and many storylines are still in today's news.
I'm getting through my TDS by watching Martin Sheen do what is morally right (in most cases) for America.
Bert Hanson
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Thomas Kovach, North side
As a non-religious person who firmly believes in the separation of church and state, I began reading Robert Gaviakâs column âReligions, science donât belong in the same classroomâ thinking I would agree with it entirely, but then there was an aspect of it that I found disturbing: his one-sided portrayal of religion as something that âhas remained throughout history the blunt instrument of oppression used to cudgel humankind into submission through discouragement of independent thought an deterrence of self-determinationâ. This view of religion is both unfair and harmful to our society. First, there are numerous scientists who are still members of a religious community, and religious people who respect the findings of science. And in our current highly polarized society, defaming a large percentage of our population in this way can only lead to further strife. We need to find a path of respect for each otherâs beliefs â or non-beliefs.
Thomas Kovach
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jay Gandolfi, Northeast side
Dear Congress members and Senators â
The public wants a healthcare plan identical to yours. Your health care comes via the DC Health Link, which was established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The federal government covers 72-75% of your premium on your plans. When you are in Washington DC, you get care from the Office of the Attending Physician for exams, consultations, and tests ($650/year). Middle- and lower-income Americans would love to have these benefits. With the expiration of ACA supplements, will your plans greatly increase in cost to you?
You can retain this insurance after 5 years in office whether you resign, retire, or are voted out of office unless convicted of a felony while in office. This does not apply if you have immunity status from the Supreme Court. By the way, the healthcare plans for the Supremes are even more benevolent.
How can you consciously let the supplement to the public for the ACA terminate while you are so coddled?
Jay Gandolfi
Northeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Margaret Gordon Magruder, Downtown
I love reading the Arizona Daily Star, not just for the news, but for the humor. It often is found in unexpected places. For instance, in todayâs (12/26/2025) Section B Page 1 there is a sad piece about self-deporting through the CBP Home app. It âis the best gift that an illegal alien can give themselves and their families this holiday seasonâ, "fast, free, and easy ... download the app ... fill out your information.â The inducement has increased to $3,000 until the end of the year. Now the laughter part begins. âDHS will take care of the rest including arranging and paying for your travel back home.â Does that include the armor tank, the Gestapo? Are you laughing yet? If not, close your eyes and imagine the scenes passing through your mind. Youâve seen them before. Arenât they etched there?
Margaret Gordon Magruder
Downtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Bruce Hilpert, North side
Last Saturday I dove past a group of young people walking a picket line at the nearby Starbucks. When I stopped to talk I learned they had organized to join a union and voted to go on strike when the company refused to negotiate a contract.
I was surprised and very impressed. These young adults put their jobs and paychecks on the line to fight for better pay, better working conditions and self-respect.
In the 1950s, union membership in the United States was approximately 35%. Today it is 9.9%. When one looks at the transfer of wealth to the upper 1% and the resultant reduction for the bottom 50% over the same time, the corporate destruction of unions is a major factor. How inspiring to see these young people taking action in the fight to make America great again for workers.
Bruce Hilpert
North side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Shelly Fishman, Midtown
This is our legacy?
They are invading their neighboring states, controlling elections and annexing territory. They are killing civilians and kidnapping children. Thousands are being killed. They are claiming historical hegemony â the Warsaw Pact.
We are sinking boats and killing their crews. We are claiming that we own their natural resources. We are boarding their ships and stealing cargo. Hundreds are dying. Thousands could die. We are claiming historical hegemony â the Monroe Doctrine.
Stop! This is centuries-old thinking -- barbaric decision-making.
They are wrong.
We are wrong.
The parallels are frighteningly clear.
Stop. Stop now.
Shelly Fishman
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ed LeGendre, East side
Bla, bla, wa, wa, Trump. After a year of reading the forementioned, I think the Star should have a special section for the Bla Wa Trump People.
We all get this. We read it often. Is it possible to filter all the Trump LTE tirades to a special section of its own? Readers who cannot remember from one day to the next, can go straight to this section and read what they might have forgotten.
This will save a lot of time to just âcut to the chaseâ and you will have all your Wa, Wa, Bla, Bla. You neednât have to read through meaningful letters to find your favorites.
Shoot 5th Avenue people, 34 felonies, grab âyou know whatâ, we all know. When he does something dumb again, then new Bla, Bla, Wa, Waâs letters can be âin the front rowâ.
Trump is like a drunken uncle at Thanksgiving. He will be your drunken uncle for the next three years.
Deal with it.
Ed LeGendre
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Chuck Nathan, West side
I nominate Kelley Benson's opinion piece on Trump Derangement Syndrome as the most insightful and useful observation on for what passes nowadays for political discourse. No matter what your political identity, it calls for a long, hard look in the mirror at what we can do as individuals to correct the disastrous course we've charted. This piece should be widely circulated and taken to heart.
Chuck Nathan
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ron Nason, Midtown
The sounds of âAway in a Mangerâ drown out the cries of terrified children separated from their parents by masked ICE agents. The refrains of âSilent Nightâ repeat like the lethal nighttime attacks on fishing boats with no evidence. A redeemed Scrooge cries âMerry Christmasâ while Scrooges in Congress cut funding for the most vulnerable to pay for more tax cuts for the rich -- donors over constituents. As prices rise and the economy shrinks the president screams a torrent of âalternative facts.â Even Santa, who can visit 8 billion people in one night, canât cut drug prices by 500%.
Reactionary media continues brainwashing as legacy media sane-washesâthis Dysfunctional American Christmas isnât really happening.
Silently, angels unaware provide transportation and food for the least among us. Wise men, in the words of the âHymn for the 81%â still find Jesus on the wrong side of walls built to divide us.
Ron Nason
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Sandie Stone, Green Valley
In today's LTE Donald Plummer seems to have a defeatist attitude about great empires doomed to failure. A quick look at those he listed I found a common thread: corruption, weak leadership, nationalistic arrogance, failure to help the poor which in some cases led to civil war. It all sounds too familiar, but we do not have to accept these things as our death knell. We will not be defeated. History does not have to repeat itself.
Sandie Stone
Green Valley
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.
- 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, " âWhereas 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 isnât 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 Congressâ 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; âenhanced vetting.â Need more? The horror of the 60 Minutes report, on You Tube? Laws are Congressâ responsibility dammit.
Write and call Congress. Instead of their vacations and shutdowns, do something to save people, this nationâs 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 âPeace on Earth, Goodwill towards man.â 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 Trumpâs 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 âPeace on Earth, Goodwill towards manâ 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: âNow is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.â That time has come â 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 âsafeâ 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.
- Bette Bunker Richards, Midtown
Arizona is to receive about $200 million for rural health care. Building the White House ballroom is to cost about $400 million. It is obvious where this government's priorities are.
Bette Bunker Richards
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Jeffrey McConnell, West side
Iâve written zingers about the idiocy of the Democratic Party but turning the mirror around, whatâs wrong with Trump? These four immediately come to mind:
- Heâs a living president who attempts to name government facilities after himself as if he was branding his hotels. We have an ego issue to accept or deplore.
- Heâs excluded advanced nursing programs from "professional degrees" that qualify for maximum federal student loans. Methinks cost cutting has gone too far.
- He needs to release 100% of the Epstein files instantly. Skip the redaction process and let the lawsuits begin.
- He wants to distribute $2.000 dividend checks to each taxpayer with tariff dividends rather than using this windfall to reduce the national debt. This smacks of Democrat-style vote buying.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Ronald Pelech, Midtown
Re: Letter, "Wa Wa Bla Bla," 27 December 2025:
This LTE says letters about Donald Trump's continual follies should be relegated to a special section instead of the opinion pages because Trump is our "drunken uncle" for three more years. Should Trump walk all over us without resistance when our Founders did not allow King George III to do so? Trump is supposed to be president of our nation and not some dysfunctional uncle. Perhaps the writer should avoid the opinion pages and submit his "Wa Wa" to the comics section.
I have to laugh at the LTE of 4 December that said the Star "sold its soul to the left." Truly liberal publications like Mother Jones would never publish George Will as the Star does. Such complainers would go into shock if exposed to Mother Jones. Do they seek to push the Star to become like Fox News, Trump regime state media? They must not succeed. Speak out.
Ronald Pelech
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Gretchen Winters, Oro Valley
A sampling of various polls shows that an average of 39% of adults responding favor Trump. Thirty-nine percent is a large number considering these are people in agreement with:
âĸ Trump and his family engaging in massive corruption schemes
âĸ Taking health care and food assistance from millions of people
âĸ Targeting legislators and judges with violent rhetoric and threats
âĸ Running up the national debt by trillions of dollars to benefit billionaires
âĸ Starting a war with Venezuela
âĸ Voting with Russia, North Korea and China in all matters, and so on.
These things are ultimately harmful to Americans. So, who are the 39%? They are among our friends, family members, and neighbors who wish us harm.
Our answer? Join a local Democratic group, participate in Democratic actions, support and vote for Democrats.
Gretchen Winters
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
- Terry Louck, East side
Never apologize to anyone ever.
Science is stupid.
Anyone different is bad.
Don't be nice, nice is for losers.
Cheating is for winners.
America is the only country in the world.
Women are less important than men.
Be afraid of anyone non-white.
Facts and truth are not important.
Low-paid people are idiots.
Lying is fine now.
It's ok if your father cheats on your mother.
Never take responsibility for your actions, just blame others.
You can hurt other people as long as it benefits yourself.
Terry Louck
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
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