Tucson Speaks Out: January 11

Investigate ICE now

The horrific shooting of Renee Good should shock us all. We must not normalize the presence of masked, trigger-happy ICE agents swarming U.S. cities in the interest of "security."

This almost happened in Arizona. In 2025, plainclothes DHS agents in an unmarked vehicle aimed semi-automatic weapons at Tucson humanitarians near the border. A grandmother with a knee brace was handcuffed, while others were forced to lie face down in the dirt. A civil suit is wending its way through the courts.

In their haste to recruit thousands of new agents, DHS is hiring people with little training — many with aggressive tendencies and white supremacist beliefs. CBP has disbanded its Offices of Professional Responsibility and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, so there's no more pretense of internal oversight. The FBI is probing the Good case as Minnesota investigators are frozen out.

We are being fed lies that counter what our own eyes have seen.

Congress created and funds ICE. Congress has a moral responsibility to investigate ICE NOW.

Laurie Cantillo

East side

War is a crime against humanity

The U.S. Constitution gave Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. Every act of foreign military intervention committed by the United States since the end of World War II has been a war crime.

The presidency should not be a military dictatorship.

Trump’s attack on Venezuela is an act of naked military aggression and imperialism.

Presidents from both major parties commit war crimes without a formal Congressional declaration of war.

Congress has abdicated its constitutional duty to either formally declare war or end military conflicts. The last time the United States formally declared war was World War Two.

The War Powers Act has failed to check executive power. It normalizes unconstitutional military aggression by giving presidents a "grace period" to wage undeclared wars. The War Powers Act should be repealed.

Modern wars waged by the US also violate the Kellogg-Briand Pact and the United Nations Charter. No act of Congress can legalize military aggression.

Green Party candidate for Congress, AZ CD6,

Gary Swing

Northeast side

Biden made me miss that putt

It's true. had a 3-foot putt to win the match, and I couldn't stop thinking about how Joe Biden was responsible for most of the bad things that have happened to me over the past five years. Like the crazy guy in Safeway threatening me and other customers the other day. Joe Biden let this lunatic loose, and now he's going to wreak havoc on me personally.

And then, as I took the putter back to make the strike, I fixated on my kitchen where I became worried there'd be one of those undocumented aliens — probably someone from high school or grade school — hiding out there with one of my kitchen knives ready to do me in.

And then just before I struck the ball, I couldn't stop thinking about how much time I'd wasted listening to Joe Biden slurring consonants about love and community and charity. What a waste of my precious time. So I yanked the putt left and lost the match.

Thanks for nothing, Joe.

Rick Rappaport

Oro Valley

Tipping point on removing Trump

Building on a base of longstanding malignant narcissism made worse by emerging dementia, Donald Trump's megalomania is blossoming, especially evident in his overnight rants. With a staff of sycophants fine-tuning their daily diet of Project 2025-driven and outrageous overstepping, perhaps enough is enough for the required number of House and Senate Republicans to vote with Democrats for impeachment, conviction and removal from office under Article 2, Section 4.

Existing House impeachment packages can be the basis for moving forward, with wording that carefully fits Trump's long list of violations to the required "Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." The tipping point has been reached — Congress should act now.

Donald Ijams

Midtown

Government working for us

What a pleasant surprise to open up the Daily Star to a front page article about our state government, here the Office of the Attorney General, taking action to deal with our water crisis, this time in the Willcox Basin, by settling with a monster dairy operation to change their practices which caused water tables to drop and residential wells to dry up. The settlement will hopefully set a precedent for other greedy corporations, which seem to believe that "Open for Business" means "Take our water for free," and get them to change their habits or leave. This article was in stark contrast to the adjacent article where our federal government's masked immigration "agents" were shooting people and terrorizing neighborhoods without restraint or consequences, then trying to blame the victim in Minneapolis for being shot in the head and killed.

I'm just glad we have a state government helping us solve problems, not disrupting life for cruel and useless political points.

Bruce Plenk

Northeast side

The power monger

If you are still on the fence regarding Trump acting as a dictator, a king if you will, his recent interview with a reporter from the New York Times should help you see through all his lies and understand what so many of us have been saying for months. Trump was asked if there were any limitations to his power. His answer was “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.” This from the most immoral and debased person ever elected to the office of the president of the United States. The only thing worse than Trump is the Republican Congress, which could and should stand its ground and stop this megalomaniac from destroying our democracy and turning it into another Russia or China.

Peter Morales

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Midtown

Almost 100 killed in Venezuela attack

Trump invaded for oil. He strongly supports oil, coal and natural gas, aka fossil fuels. He is against wind power, solar power and other forms of alternative power.

Oil and gas interests spent about 450 million during the 2024 election cycle on lobbying, donations and ads influencing Trump & congress.

In 2010, the Supreme Court struck down campaign finance restrictions on independent political spending by corporations and unions, in a 5-4 decision with the majority opinion written by Justice Kennedy, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Alito, and Thomas, ruling it a First Amendment free speech issue. 

This gave corporations, including AI, the same political speech rights as individuals.

Some call this weaponizing free speech.

Trump’s 5 Supreme Court justices gave him, a convicted felon (34 counts), immunity on July 1, 2024, and the same judges have used free speech as the excuse to allow anyone with $ and a platform to say most anything. Resist.

Dan Bannon

Midtown

Minneapolis

Concerning the tragedy in Minneapolis and what led up to this. Open borders, sanctuary cities, demonization of law enforcement, rampant fraud, which led to ICE being deployed to that city. After Jan. 6, I thought it was not acceptable to harass law enforcement. Take away any one of these factors, and maybe things would be a bit calmer in that city, and she would still be with us.

Mark Moral

East side

The USA today and the 1920s

Not the happy roaring ’20s, but as Germany's dictatorship was arising.

In the U.S., there has been a slow but steady drift into fascism since Trump now has unlimited power. People will learn to live with it as Germans did in the 1920s.

He believes in maximum force and "punch back" twice as hard to his opponents as they did to him to keep maximum control of the country.

The latest version of this is his "national police force," as seen in Minnesota and Oregon. For the most part, he has control of the rich, media, Congress, military and Justice Dept. and uses a propaganda-type press conference.

Donald Plummer

Northwest side

Oh, George Washington

When we elected George Washington as our president, we established the idea that the person we chose would be trusted not to use physical force against the citizenry. He was a general who understood the use of power and knew he should never order or condone the unlawful use of armed force. This example has been followed by almost all our subsequent commanders-in-chief. Now, our president is, by example, trying to normalize the use of force, not only against foreign presidents that he doesn’t like, but against our citizens in large left-leaning cities, such as Minneapolis.

Oh, George Washington, where are you now? O,h citizens of the United States, we must defend ourselves against a militaristic president. Write your congresspersons. Vote in November. We must act.

James Torrey

West side

Thanks to the Trumpers

I just learned that the cost of my Eliquis has gone up 33%, thanks to the “Big Bastard’s Bill” and you gullible Trump/Cisco voters. Can’t wait to see the new cost for my other meds! This, on top of the 10-plus% increase in my groceries created by the Felonious Occupant’s idiotic tariffs — bless your hearts, lemmings. Perhaps your financial pain is similar (hope so anyway), but I know you will nonsensically write it off to Biden, who’s been out of office for over a year. How about LBJ?

I should count myself lucky, though. There are no sissified, masked ICE Gestapo wussies knocking at my door looking for “illegals” or murdering me in my car. Well, the year is young.

If it does happen, you true believers will buy your leader’s explanation: “Jim resisted arrest; he assaulted the ICE agent, who is now hospitalized with a stubbed toe and a bruised ego.”

Thanks again, imbeciles.

Jim Christ

East side

Trump's morality?

In an interview with the New York Times yesterday, Trump stated: “I don't need international law.” His only limits on his use of power is “my own morality, my own mind.” With this statement, he joins a group of world leaders that includes Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, Adolf Hitler, and Benjamin Netanyahu. Even his supporters recognize Trump's guiding principles include greed, narcissistic egoism, unlimited use of power, unrivaled hate and revenge.

Yesterday, The "Catholic National Reporter" branded JD Vance's comments about the murder of Renee Good as “a moral stain on the collective witness of our Catholic faith. His Catholicism seems to be little more than a political prop, a tool only for his career ambitions and desire for power.”

Clearly, Trump and Vance's moral codes are lacking. By ignoring international and U.S. laws, he is charting a disastrous course for our country.

Bruce Hilpert

North side