As the Great Depression raged on, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the New Deal, stabilizing banks and forever changing the relationship between the government and its citizens. The New Deal included the Glass-Steagall Act and the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Congress also ratified the 21st Amendment in 1933, repealing Prohibition.
Glass-Steagall
A January 18 LTE stated that FDR passed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 as part of the New Deal legislation “that Americans take for granted now.” G-S separated risky investment banking from traditional commercial banking, outlawing banks from gambling with depositors’ money, which was a major factor in the bank failures that helped bring on the Great Depression.
The letter writer should know that, far from being taken for granted, Glass-Steagall was repealed by the Republican-controlled Congress in 1999.
Today’s hard-right Republicans seem determined to also repeal the rest of FDR’s New Deal, and thus return us to the Robber Baron era of the late 19th century.
Roger Voelker
Southeast side
Those scary wine moms
FOX News ran a segment where David Marcus said that there is a “gang of wine moms using Antifa tactics to harass ICE agents.” He went to on say that the women were “self-important white women” who were protesting with “weird and disturbing glee.” He seemed very upset about the whole thing and I don’t blame him.
This is a most scary situation. Next we will have Antifa Aunties or Gewurztraminer Grannies taking to the streets with charcuterie boards, frightening those masked and armed ICE thugs with leftover brie. They need to be stopped! I am sure Kristi Noem will put those dastardly women on the domestic terrorist list.
Gary Haslett
SaddleBrooke
Third Impeachment
Just a note to counter Mr. Wolf's comments of January 18th about Trump's potential 3rd impeachment, which I believe the country absolutely does "have the stomach for" as Trump is clearly now more insane and demented than ever. Of course, it takes a 2/3 vote in the Senate to convict - that "math" is widely known. The only "fact" that truly matters in this process is the ongoing sycophantic cowardice of the current crop of weak-minded congressional Republicans who do not "have the stomach" (translation: courage and integrity) to remove this vile and dangerous criminal from the presidency (even though I imagine most of them wish he would just disappear and let them off the hook for their pathetic inaction). That is the sad "reality."
S. Ross Emmanuel
Southeast side
Real reason Trump wants Greenland
Trump wants Greenland for its extensive Rare Earth Elements, not because he’s worried about the strategic defense importance of the island/continent to the US.
REE’s are critical for electronics manufacture in the USA and the world. Large deposits of iron, copper, uranium and titanium don’t hurt either.
The current treaty with Greenland/Denmark permits the USA to put whatever defense infrastructure on the island as we wish; there is no limit in the treaty. So there is no defense justification for our ownership of the island. In fact, as is apparent, our acquisitive action may severely weaken NATO, hurting our defense.
Just as we learned with Venezuela, the reason for military action was not really drugs but Oil. In the same way, Trump is justifying the action in Greenland using defense as a ruse to secure significant mining resources for the USA and its companies.
Scott Hunt
Oro Valley
Terry Bracy article
Terry Bracy's timely article "Ballots or bullets? It's time to choose" proves that we have a domestic terrorist at work in Trump.
Domestically, his use of ICE is sowing fear and murder in American cities, especially blue ones.
Abroad, Trump's designs to buy or invade Greenland threaten to destroy NATO, since his assault upon the island would require other NATO members to defend it, imploding the alliance.
Thirdly, do we think Putin is idly standing by? If Trump goes after Greenland militarily, could not Putin reconsider his nation's sale of Alaska to the U.S.? After all, Alaska is closer to Russia than Greenland is to the U.S., and resource-laden too.
This madness must stop. Trump's boast that the only limit on his behavior is "my own morality" is revelatory, and remarkably accurate.
The 25th Amendment requires a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress to impeach the president. But we have a better, cleaner, quicker option: To vote his enablers out of office in November. As Terry Bracy says, "Time to choose."
Regula Case
Midtown
Youth homelessness intervention
A recent article in the paper on Jan. 12, discussed the necessity for intervention in helping youth homelessness so that the children do not end up on the streets. I just wanted to mention that we are fortunate enough to have an excellent organization here in Tucson, Youth On Their Own, YOTO. As retired middle school and high school teachers, my husband and I have had a number of students whom we have referred to YOTO. These children were able to pick up the pieces of their lives, finish high school and go on to become productive, responsible adults. We know a couple personally and are very proud of the adults that they have become, all because of the help and support from YOTO. We encourage you to support this amazing organization.
Vicky Konecky
East side
Criminally insane?
In a recent NYTimes interview Trump confessed that his real desire to own Greenland is because it is “psychologically important.” Asked the reporter:“... to you or the U.S.?” “For me,” said Trump.
This is insane. But the real reason may be that he is criminally insane. It has come to light that the push to own Greenland is backed by an oligarchy of American billionaire investors backing mineral investment companies including KoBold Metals and Critical Metals Corp. With the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars from these same investors into Trump's coffers, the crimes of bribery and/or insider trading certainly bear investigation.
While Trump is immune from prosecution when in office, there are other options for dealing with a President who conducts foreign policy for personal gain and psychological deviance: Impeachment or the 25th Amendment.
Bruce Hilpert
North side
Re: Biden's Open Border Policy
As is frequently the case with MAGA supporters, the author of the subject letter fails to rely on any factual evidence to support his claim. Instead he relies upon fiction. Independent research organizations with no political bias conclude Biden did not have an open-border policy. The Cato Institute, for example, drew this conclusion:
Illegal immigration had already increased to a 21-year high before Biden entered office.
Biden immediately started increasing expulsions from his first day in office.
Biden tripled interior detention and increased border detention 12-fold.
Biden increased air removal flights by 55 percent over 2020 levels.
Biden negotiated broader expulsion deals with foreign countries than Trump.
Biden got many foreign countries to carry out crackdowns on illegal and legal migration.
Biden removed or expelled 3.3 million border crossers — three times as many as Trump.
But, again, let's not let facts intrude upon the delusions of MAGA supporters.
By the way, where are the Epstein files?
David Becker
Oro Valley
Trump
What is the way out of our national crisis before our democracy and maybe even the world is driven to absolute catastrophe? The only way is for the Republican Congress to stop being cowards, stand up and impeach this President the next time he even threatens Greenland or especially Canada with military force. The Senate must then get up the nerve to convict him. Remember, if not for a few Republican Senators who refused to convict him five years ago because they thought he would be gone forever, he could not have run for office again. Whatever happens in the future is all on them.
Eugene Kubina
Green Valley
RTANext
The letter titled “RTANext will not repair potholes” questions the $177M authorized in the plan for Arterial and Collector street repairs. The author ignores that the plan includes a potential additional $80M if there are additional sales taxes collected over the pessimistic projection used in the plan. The additional $177M to $257M at the author’s estimate of $1M per mile will repave up to 177 to 257 miles. That is a substantial boost to the funds currently available.
The author is correct these funds cannot be used on neighborhood streets. The RTA is for Regional Transportation, not local streets. Accordingly, the City of Tucson passed Proposition 411 three years ago. As of June 30, 2025 it had raised over $189M with over 80 neighborhood projects completed or in process.
This plan has taken several years to put together and have the local jurisdictions agree upon. It is time to move forward.
Dale Calvert
East side
ASDB closing
I was saddened to learn of the planned closing of the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. My father, Charles Thornton, was wrestling coach at the school from 1947 to 1961. His achievements included building the first running track with a hand rail for blind runners, and leading the first known rim to rim crossing of the Grand Canyon by blind and visually impaired hikers in 1956.
The Grand Canyon crossings, and hikes in the hills and mountains near Tucson are some of my fondest memories. Mt. Wrightston in the Santa Ritas, and Mt. Wasson in the Tucson Mountains were among our favorite destinations. Most of all I made friends to last a lifetime.
William Thornton
Midtown
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