Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble after a strike in southern Tehran, Iran, Friday.
Is Iran really a threat?
Was Iran really such a threat to the United States that we had to preemptively attack the country? Were Iran's actions in the Middle East so egregious that it was necessary to kill its leaders? Consider the following: How many foreign scientists has Iran assassinated in recent years? How many cities, towns, schools and hospitals have Iranian forces struck over the past years? How many people have they starved to death? And how many countries has Iran invaded, seeking to rebuild a fallen empire? Nonetheless, the U.S., unprovoked, chose to attack Iran (while continuing to ignore Russia's aggressions against Ukraine).
(Well, at least now, when Congress now tells Ukraine "Sorry, we don't have any Patriot missiles we can give you," it need not prevaricate.)
John Prugh
Foothills
TUSD
Both of our children received quality educations at Tucson public schools a number of years ago. After reading Tim Steller's article in Sunday's paper, I have to wonder why a parent would send a child to any TUSD public school. Superintendent Trujillo's reassurance that the district isn't bankrupt hardly inspires confidence in the future of public education. It's obvious that the legislative agenda is to gut all public education. I feel sorry for the dedicated teachers and support staff who are clearly fighting a losing battle.
Charles Schultz
Northeast side
Which is it, Mr. President?
Last summer, after bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities, the President assured us that Iran’s nuclear program had been “totally obliterated." Eight months later, he tells us that Iran is near to producing a nuclear weapon and he must declare war on Iran. Both things cannot be true, so which is it? In addition, he claims that Iran is within weeks of developing a ballistic weapon that can reach the US, despite our intelligence agencies saying Iran is years from such a missile. Can he not see why he has lost all credibility with our citizens and with all world leaders? How does he expect any other country to believe anything coming from the United States? President George Bush started this loss of trust with his lies about weapons of mass destruction that led to the Iraq War. We can all see how well that worked.
Don Ries
Southeast side
How we mail our ballot
We should all agree that it is vital for every qualified voter to be comfortable about voting in coming elections. But I just learned that a friend of mine did not feel it was safe to mail the recent RTA ballot, which required their name, address, and phone number on the outside. And therefore, they did not vote. While I don’t share their concerns this is an issue which needs to be clearly addressed. The reasons that one envelope now serves as both return and Ballot affidavit envelope have been addressed by the Pima County Recorder’s Office, but there may be a significant number of people who are still not prepared to do this, especially if they drop their ballot in a U.S. post office box. It would be good to see more public discussion of the new ballot form.
Katy Garmany
West side
'Uncomfortable' history
History is messy. But it is valid. It cannot be erased, covered up. I worry about future generations that will not be learning about historical events that are being wiped out, eliminated. This is one of the most racist things imaginable. To say your culture, your history is better than anyone else’s. To say that you don’t want your people to feel “uncomfortable.” How “uncomfortable” did the slaves feel? My 12th great-grandfather Alexander was born in 1610 in Perth, Scotland. He was captured by the British in 1650 and sent to Maryland as an indentured servant. Later, he became rich, had a tobacco plantation and had a slave. Does this make me feel “uncomfortable”? It sure as heck does. But it has spurred me on to be a better person and work on being an anti-racist.
Margaret Gordon Magruder
Downtown
A holy war?
In the commentary and press briefings defending the War Against Iran, I have heard almost nothing about the most important issue involved: Are these attacks moral? Personally, I consider a country preemptively destroying another country's infrastructure, assassinating their governmental leaders, killing hundreds of innocent citizens and destroying their homes to be immoral.
Israel and Pete Hegseth's Christian Nationalist evangelicals justify these deplorable actions as a moral Holy War, doing God's will. Israelis point to God's wrath in the old Testament. “...In the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.” (Deut. 20:16) Many evangelicals justify this war through their belief that Israel's total control of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple will bring the return of Jesus Christ.
If my God could justify killing 158 innocent school children, I would find a new God.
Bruce Hilpert
North side
Deflection again
Our friend LMJ Jr. is at the favorite Republican deflection game again. Don’t believe your lying eyes at the news, look over here at these old complaints that are all Biden’s fault. No mention of the stupid shooting war Trump started in the volatile Middle East with no exit strategy, just listen to the comforting words from our fearless leader that he “believes” we won. Gas prices rising exponentially? A temporary inconvenience. Deal with it. Reports that Iran is considering sending ships loaded with drones to attack West Coast targets? It will never happen. They wouldn’t dare. Reports that Russia is making tons of money from their biggest export oil sales? Putin is his buddy. No mention of the ever-unfolding Epstein saga, which may yet bring Trump down, redactions notwithstanding. Illegal tariff refunds? Don’t hold your breath. Civil unrest and government shutdown over ICE abuses? Ignore your lying eyes, just stay focused on these old complaints, and smile. Everything is under control.
Morton Smith
Foothills
UA hoop thoughts
First, I hate UCLA and USC for destroying the Pac-12. I should be in Vegas celebrating victories at the NY/NY casino. That said, the 2026 team is much better for competing in the Big 12. Can you imagine this team entering March with UCLA (KenPom No. 29) and Washington (KenPom No. 53) as the biggest challenges? UA would be nowhere near as prepared.
Second, if you asked 1,000 UA fans their ranking of the player UA could least afford to lose, how many variations of the top eight would you hear? Given the balance, I suggest there would be thousands of variations. Here is mine. 1 – Braden Burries, 2 – Jaden Bradley, 3 – Tobe Awaka, 4 – Koa Peat, 5 – Mo Krivas, 6 – Ivan Kharchenkov, 7 – Anthony Dell’Orso, 8 – Dwane Aristode. However at one point this year I would have put Koa at the top and Ivan in the top 3. If UA makes a run at the title, I would not be shocked if Dell’Orso and Kharchenkov are top 5 contributors.
UA fan for life, Rincon High class of 1984.
Todd Johnson
Houston
Re: 'Christ is King'
If Christ is King then believers must …
— Honor their parents and elders
— Not take what does not belong to them
— Honor the life and dignity of all
— Love their neighbors
— Clothe the naked
— Feed the hungry
— Care for the elderly
— Welcome the stranger
— Take care of one another
The true believer doesn’t ask what country you are from, what political beliefs you have, what economic status you hold, or what religion you follow.
Jesus Christ never asked his believers to love some and not others. He did say, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Do we love others in that same way?
Karen Brady
Midtown
Would Loyal admit ...
A few questions. Would Loyal admit, regardless of numbers, that under current law, "illegal aliens" have the right to seek asylum and due process? Would Loyal admit this, his President is a convicted felon and fraudster who has pardoned numerous convicted fraudsters and drug dealers? Would Loyal admit that Trump has dismantled the Dept. of Education, while in Arizona, under its Republican Legislature, public education is consistently underfunded, while the misguided voucher program is rife with waste and abuse? Would Loyal admit that Trump's tariffs were paid for by the American people, created no jobs, and that Trump had no legal authority to impose them? Unlike North Korea, Russia or China, would Loyal admit that there's no real evidence that Iran is a serious threat to the U.S.? Would Loyal admit there's more evidence that Trump is a pedophile than that Iran has nuclear capability? Would Loyal admit that it's not antisemitic to support Palestinians while legitimately criticizing Israel? Would Loyal admit he's a victim of Trump derangement syndrome?
Stanley Steik
Midtown
Explanation needed
TEP’s Vice President Chris Norman’s guest editorial in the Star on March 12 ends with this statement: “But the evidence shows that TEP's rates are relatively low and stable, and we're working hard every day to keep them that way.” I was happy to read that. I would love to read an explanation of why their typical charge per kWh is 19.7% more per kWh (.17 kWh) than nearby Trico’s (14.2 kWh). Could it be that Trico is a co-op owned by its members while TEP is owned by a for-profit company?
Mike Carran
West side
Legislator pay
I stand against the pay increase. The legislators did not speak of all the side benefits they get ... mileage, per diem, other items. I am certainly ok with them getting a yearly cost-of-living increase equal to what Social Security gets. Or a pay increase with the elimination of the side benefits. Still needs to stay with the voters They also need term limits.
George Weatherford
Vail
Mission accomplished
In 2003, George Bush made his infamous statement, “mission accomplished,” saying the Iraq war was over. Of course, it dragged on for several more years.
This year, President Trump could say “mission accomplished” in regard to the Iran War, or excursion, or action or exercise or any word other than war that Mike Johnson wants Republicans to use.
No, the war is not over. However, Google searches for information on the Epstein files have fallen 90% since the first attack. Mission accomplished.
Mr. President, we will continue to ask about the Epstein files and you will continue to distract, but you will eventually run out of countries to attack.
Gary Haslett
SaddleBrooke
Who is this 'we'?
Trump has told us that it's good when oil prices rise because "we make lots of money." I'm not sure just who this "we" includes. It certainly isn't the independent truckers who transport our food, or the single mothers commuting to their minimum wage jobs. Uber drivers and people operating a local delivery service are left out of this "we," along with anyone else who operates a vehicle as part of their business. Perhaps Trump was talking about all the CEOs of the oil companies. I'm sure they would agree that "we" are making lots of money.
Mary Zimmerman
SaddleBrooke
Trump’s war, with a side of lobster
Trump’s war of choice is costing us $11.3 billion in just the first week.
Trump plans to bail out our farmers for $12 billion, fixing a problem he created, and sending $44 billion to Argentina.
Trump is giving $40 billion in subsidies for the dirty fossil-fuel producers who are making billions of dollars.
Under DOGE, Musk promised to save us $2 trillion when actual spending rose.
The Pentagon received $2 trillion in 2025 for the most egregious and despicable of all spending $98,329 on a grand piano for the Air Force Chief of Staff.
$9 million was spent on lobster tail and crab legs, $15 million was spent on rib-eye steak just since September 2025. But we don’t have money for food for kids or affordable healthcare? All while Trump and sons increase their wealth by $4 trillion. What happened to the party of fiscal responsibility?
Have we lost our minds?
“Let them eat lobster.”
Rachel Rulmyr
Oro Valley
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