President Joe Biden arrives Monday at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport for an event in Manchester, N.H.
Putin endorses Biden for President
I continually read letters posted by the Star about Trump and Republicans supporting Putin. Well, guess what, Democrat readers, Vladimir Putin has just endorsed Joe Biden for President. He prefers Biden over Trump. Why? Because he considers Trump too “unpredictable.” Maybe the reason he never invaded Ukraine under Trump was for fear of what he might do. No such fear of Biden, as Putin invaded Ukraine twice with him in the White House. Putin knows that Biden is in cognitive decline, and if that 3 a.m. call came into the White House, Biden likely would not remember that he is the President. As for House Republicans not passing legislation to fund weapons for Ukraine, all along Biden has not provided them with the most modern weapons to win the war, but rather with just enough capability to have a stalemate, which is where we are at now. Biden has feared that Ukraine’s winning the war might result in Putin using nuclear weapons. Thus, Putin for Biden! A new “Russia collusion.”
Ardel Francis
Northwest side
Good news
While looking at the paper, I thought of Anne Murray’s 1983 hit song “A little good news” today. Wow! Seems like things sure haven’t gotten better over the years and we sure could use some good news. I’m not holding my breath though.
Gail Powell
Northwest side
President Biden, the ‘Divider in Chief’
From Joe Biden’s Presidential inauguration speech on Jan. 21, 2021, “We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.” There was more “unifying” rhetoric from Biden that has proven to be hollow. He has done nothing but be uncivil and divide Americans, continually claiming that 70 million Republican voters pose a threat to our Democracy. No mention of Democrats’ threat to Democracy trying to keep the leading Republican candidate off state ballots. Biden used the State of the Union speech not as a unifying voice for America but as an angry campaign speech attacking Republicans and members of SCOTUS, who were in attendance. The liberal-dominated news media was ecstatic as their cognitively challenged President appeared vigorous for a change. Maybe he was given a double dose of his memory medicine. Biden is the “Divider in Chief,” and he is not a nice guy! Ask Navy, his until recently ignored seventh granddaughter.
Haley Roberts
North side
Royal disaster
Britain’s Princess Catherine recently had to apologize for photoshopping her family’s Mother’s Day portrait. Apparently, she corrected a sweater, a zipper and her hair. What a shameful scandal! I’m sure glad I live in the U.S., where our leaders have never tried to pull the wool over our eyes!
James Nesci
East side
Thank you, Steve!
I would like to thank Councilmember Steve Kozachik for his wonderful service to the Tucson community the last 15 years.
Tucson’s loss will be Pima County’s gain. He’ll definitely be missed.
Matt Somers
Midtown
Contributing to the greater good
Re: the March 11 letter “’Fair share’.”
Has anyone also noticed that the rich hide their wealth to avoid paying taxes, rather than just paying their fair share?
Consider how paying taxes actually impacts those who have low or average income, compared to the wealthy. In 2024, if your annual income is $35,000 and you’re married filing jointly, you’ll be in the 12% tax bracket, leaving you with $30,800 to spend as you wish. If you make $350,000 and you’re married filing jointly, you’ll be in the 24% bracket, and you’ll have to somehow scrape by on the measly $266,000 you’ll have remaining. Compare the after-tax remainders, and then tell me you’re not fortunate. Of course, all of this is before exemptions, which again, exponentially, favor those with higher income.
Sure, the higher the income, the greater the tax. That’s only fair. Rather than whining about those who have less than you, be thankful that you can contribute more to the greater good.
Jim Taylor
East side
Integrity of elections
We, the People, accept the results of our elections. Why? Because there are so many safeguards in place, we know we can. Decentralization of the voting process using many well-trained paid and volunteer poll workers provides numerous protections in the process, making the chance of significant fraud virtually impossible.
Of the 3,400,000 votes cast in Arizona’s 2020 election, there were nine confirmed cases of voter fraud, and the results were adjusted accordingly.
Voter registration requires a social security number confirming your citizenship and age. If you vote by mail, your signature is verified with signature already on file with the State. If you vote in person, you must present a government-issued photo ID or two other forms of ID to verify your identity and address. The tabulation machines are calibrated and tested to ensure accuracy.
We must encourage all eligible voters to register and vote. We owe it to each other to be active participants in Our Democracy.
Leadawn Anderton
Southwest side
City Councilman Kozachik to resign
He can’t resign soon enough. He doesn’t care about his constituents but he will bend over backwards for wealthy developers. The sad thing is that for the next year, we will be stuck with some political hack picked by the mayor and the rest of the City Council, none of whom even live in Ward 6. It is time to change the city charter and have replacement council members chosen through special elections. Doing otherwise is undemocratic. And we need to have ward-only elections and have them chosen every two years. It is time to take back control of our city from political elites.
David Moore
Midtown
Ciscomani endorses wrong candidate
It comes as no surprise that Rep. Juan Ciscomani recently endorsed Donald Trump.
Rep. Ciscomani wants us to believe that he’s not an extremist, but his actions prove otherwise. He has been a steward for Donald Trump’s extremist policies that endanger our working class, reproductive rights, the Latino community, and the environment.
I’m disappointed but not surprised by Rep. Ciscomani’s endorsement of Donald Trump. You would think for a guy who likes to “hear out everyone,” Ciscomani would finally listen to the concerns of his constituents. Nope!
We don’t need his support of Trump. We need him to listen to the needs of his constituents across his district. We are tired of the photo-ops and the updates on his social media that don’t show us anything.
Rep. Ciscomani has failed his congressional district and Arizona by voting against us, siding with the ultra-wealthy, and becoming a full-blown extremist.
Judy J Gillies
Downtown
Say their names
Majorie Taylor Greene’s reprehensible action at the SOTU shows she has no shame. Her exploitation of a murdered women in Georgia by an undocumented immigrant with “say her name” has me wanting to say to MTG “say their names,” after 50 people killed by a deranged gunman who was an American citizen in Las Vegas in 2017. Or after 18 were. shot in Maine by a US army reservist. Or 10 people, all African American, murdered by a homegrown gunman and racist. How do we protect our children in classrooms from their classmates with guns? So what are Trump Republicans saying about gun shootings by American citizens besides thoughts and prayers? According to the soon-to-be-convicted-felon Trump, we need to get over it, move on. They are not for sensible gun control, and now not even for immigration reform. They are hypocrites trying to sway public opinion for their own political power. Oh, and thoughts and prayers to the deceased Republican Party, which is now the Trump party.
Chris Sipp
Midtown
Ciscomani’s incredibly shrinking memory
How many times do we need to remind Congressman Juan Ciscomani?
According to his latest constituent newsletter describing his impression of the President’s State of the Union address: “Border security remains the top priority for Americans, yet President Biden provided no meaningful answers to a crisis of his own creation.”
Juan, are you having a memory lapse? Why don’t you mention the FACT that there is a Senate bipartisan bill that does, indeed, provide “meaningful answers” that is gathering dust because your proxy-leader-presidential candidate says don’t consider it? In FACT, the President implored you, Juan, to pass this border security bill now. Did you forget that? Does the cat have your tongue when you write your nice newsletters? Or is it simple political expediency to leave out important information that your constituents demand and deserve?
There are over-the-counter medications that tout improved memory. I suggest you consider them.
Paul Emmert
Marana
Israel shouldn’t be legislators’ top priority
Re: the March 10 article “Israel shouldn’t be top priority for AZ legislators.”
Thank you, Tim Steller, for writing this column. It really validates what many of us who live in LD 20 are thinking. Alma Hernandez is the Rep. in my district, though I did not vote for her and I am NOT OK with her approach. She does not represent the views of many of her constituents. She displays the flag of Israel on her desk in the AZ State House! Israel is an apartheid state, well documented by international human rights organizations. Israel has been committing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza for the past 5 months. Now, Gazans are dying of starvation, with Israeli forces killing people waiting for food. And, Hernandez has the gall to leave the AZ legislature in the middle of the session, taking other legislators with her on a one-sided trip to bolster support for Israel. Shame on you, Alma!
Sarah Roberts
West side
Biden delivers bombs, then aid to victims
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, President Biden has supplied Israel with 2,000-pound bombs, precision-guided bunker busters, Iron Dome interceptors, artillery shells, and ammunition, among others. These weapons have led to the slaughter of more than 30,000 Palestinians, many of whom are women and children. Lately, as if shaken awake from a stupor, President Biden has begun delivering food and water to those who have temporarily survived the genocide in which he has played a leading role. Question: Is President Biden’s latest humanitarian gesture a case of amnesia, delusion, denial, desperation to ingratiate himself to the “uncommitted” voters, or a typical example of political moral depravity?
Adnan Almaney
Southwest side
Strong graduated taxation benefits all
“Pulling oneself up by one’s own bootstraps” defies physics and, when applied to life, denies reality. Hard work is necessary for success but never sufficient. Has anyone succeeded in anything without other’s help? Without our parents or guardians, teachers, family, friends, communities, institutions, etc., could we have made it? We benefit from each other through public services: schools, roads, sanitation, police, fire, etc., all provided by dedicated, competent specialists. To enable them to excel in benefitting us all requires adequate taxation.
Graduated taxation is fair sharing of wealth to provide universal services in a civilized society. A flat-rate tax could destroy a minimum-wage worker’s family but won’t scratch a super-rich while diminishing the services needed, especially for the poor. Sharing wealth to benefit the whole was a Christian practice (Acts 2:44-46). Love your neighbor as yourself, pull others up by voting for strong graduated taxation!
Ke Chiang Hsieh
Midtown
Think about beauty
In this contentious time, think about the beauty of the planet, the desert and the mountains, the rainforest, coral reefs, and ice sheets. Climate change threatens them all.
NPR reported that the oceans have borne the greatest burden of rising temperatures, and reefs may be the first ecosystem destroyed. Carbon dioxide from fossil fuels makes the water more acidic, a death sentence for the coral. Without urgent action to save our reefs, this living species will be gone by the end of the century, during our children’s lifetime.
The time for fossil fuels is over. The US and 200 other countries agreed to reduce fossil fuels for the first time in decades of UN climate talks. The Biden Administration has acted with $623 million in grants to fund EV charging stations and ports across the U.S. In Arizona, school districts will receive Clean Bus Grants to fund electric buses.
Beauty deserves care. Beauty deserves justice. Vote for Biden.
Margaret Scott
Midtown
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