Tucson Speaks Out: Sept. 11 letters of the day

What is the appeal?

What is it about Donald Trump that still appeals to so many people? Is it his racism? His misogyny — how he describes and treats women? Is it that he stiffs small businesses and cheats on his wives, his taxes and his golf scores? Is it his claims that he won the election and is innocent of all charges, despite all evidence to the contrary? Is it his attempts to overthrow the election — and blame Pence and other officials who followed the law. Is it his claim he’s a brilliant businessman — despite his many failures and bankruptcies? Is it that he totally supports the military — when he “dodged” service, calls soldiers “suckers and losers,” and uses military casualties as political props (Arlington)? Or, is it his tendency to blame everyone but himself when things don’t go his way? Trump’s appeal continues because his inappropriate words and actions tap into the worst parts of human nature. Sadly, that approach still resonates for many people.

Bert Veenstra

Oro Valley

America could be great again

Donald Trump is a force of nature thrust upon America to make us grate again. His first trip to the top was just for practice. Now he is ready to bring a churning tumult upon all he can command. If he wasn’t such a whiny baby, proud of his ignorance, his spite, and his ever-ballooning self-regard, his wind might blow out. But no, not this bag of wind with its gale force, hurling decency, honesty, and idealism aside. He is none of those.

But if Trump loses this election and he lets it stay lost, we might have America great again.

Ron Lancaster

North side

Getting nowhere fast with beliefs

The Star published a number of LTEs about the incident at Arlington, including Sunday’s edition where the writer accuses opponents of cherry-picking facts. The real problem is this: Everyone is right and everyone is wrong.

Huh? Latest research on decision making shows that “the many nested systems of human interaction that produce that result (political disagreement) are immensely complex. The full explanation for interpretation polarization requires a gestalt understanding of not just politics, but the psychology of reasoning, motivation, social rewards, social costs, norms, beliefs, attitudes, and values, not just at the level of the human interaction, but within individual brains right down to neurons, hormones and ganglia.”

Whether it’s masks or no masks, pedophiles at pizza joints, murdering hordes breaching borders, stolen elections, it’s actually much more complicated than it seems.

Still, through this unfathomable chasm of political division there is hope for common ground: character — in those who would guide us. We’re hard wired for right and wrong and must not abide a leader without it.”

Rick Rappaport

Oro Valley

Harris hoodwinking Americans

Re: the Sept. 9 article “Harris would continue path in wrong direction.”

Gary Franks and the corporate media are the ones trying to hoodwink Americans by pretending this is a normal election with two normal candidates. Instead, Trump is a manipulative chaos agent desperately trying to stay out of prison by lying about anything and everything depending on his audience. Trump is no benevolent leader who wants what’s best for our nation. If he should win the presidency we everyday Americans will continue to be divided and will spiral ever downward while his cronies destroy our democracy for their own greedy ends. I think Gary Franks and the corporate media will be okay though as Trump has said he only wants to punish those who are not loyal to him.

Karen Allison

Three Points

Border bill

Re: the Sept. 9 article “Secure the Border Act just secures racial profiling.”

My mother always would tell my brothers and sisters if you don’t break the law you have nothing to worry about. Stop the whining and move on. I am Hispanic and have never once felt like I was being profiled. Even after coming back from Tj after a night of drinking. Stop being little kids and act your age.

Nicholas White

North side

Solar energy for houses of worship

Creation is God’s precious gift. Shalom Mennonite Fellowship seeks to honor that by following indigenous lead, caring for the rain and soil, and by reducing our use of carbon by installing a solar array.

Our nano-grid powers our sanctuary, Sunday school building, and hospitality house. The 10-kilowatt solar system with battery storage provides more energy than we consume. Two-thirds of the electricity we use is from our rooftop panels. Over 40% of our solar production is returned to the community: reducing our power bill, strengthening the shared grid and our community reliance on sustainable energy sources.

Through the Inflation Reduction Act, places of worship are eligible for tax credits that cover 30% of the cost of solar installation. That benefit is also available to small businesses and homeowners.

Embracing solar was the right move for our congregation as stewards of creation. In Tucson, with the sun pouring blessings down on us, let’s not squander the gift of energy so generously given. Consider going solar.

Rev. Carol Rose

Southeast side

Republican five-alarm fire

The (dis)honorable Attorney General of Texas is suing the federal government to “block a federal rule that shields the medical records of women” who have crossed state lines to seek an abortion in states where it is still legal. What?

Will Texas women of childbearing age be forced to pull off the highway for a quick pregnancy test before being allowed to leave? Then what? Will they be arrested upon return and subjected to car searches to confiscate their contraceptives? Will Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Missouri, and others follow suit? Enough is never enough with the bizarre Republican fixation on people’s sex lives.

Voters everywhere should let this five-alarm fire burn down these MAGA extremist ideas into ashes in the upcoming election. Stop this insanity and vote for Democrats who support women’s reproductive freedom.

Gretchen Winters

Oro Valley

Trump, 1984 and 2025

The prospect of Donald Trump as President is incomprehensible. He is a Fascist. His supporters by extension are also.

MAGAs say they want their freedoms back! Actually, it is about being able to control all the things that equate to their “values”, but those values are really selfish and Un-American.

The saddest part is the blind support he stills receives from the voters of this county. His followers will accept lies, authoritarianism and soon servitude. The government will be deep into our lives to stop any threat to Trump, MAGA and Christian Nationalism. 1984!

He and Project 2025 have told us what he will do. Hitler did the same.

The economy: Capitalism=Supply and Demand=Price gouging. The whole world has gone through inflation post COVID. We actually did better.

The border: Trump and Republicans in the House killed the bipartisan Senate Border bill, so he’d have it as a campaign issue.

Luther Creed

Foothills

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Facts are stubborn things

Re: the Aug. 26 letter “Ciscomani fraud.”

Facts, John Adams told a Boston jury in 1770, are stubborn things. Here are four in response to a recent letter:

Congressman Ciscomani did not vote on the Build Back Better Act. It was passed in November 2021. The congressman took office in January 2023.

The congressman did not vote on the border bill. It never came before the House.

The funds the congressman is bringing back to Southeastern Arizona for local projects are not part of Build Back Better. They are allocated through the annual appropriations bills and are known as Community Project Funding.

The amount the congressman has either secured or preliminarily secured for district projects is $60 million, not $34 million.

The letter writer has, of course, a right to his own opinions. John Adams and his fellow Founding Fathers made sure of that. But even the most stubborn partisans among us would probably agree that no one has a right to be wrong in their facts.

C.J. Karamargin,

senior adviser to U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani

Midtown

Wake up!

We hear that the high cost of food, gas and rent is because of inflation caused by President Biden. We hear all kinds of economic college jargon about too much money in the economy and other nebulous concepts. I have an economic concept everyone can understand ... greed. A person can put off purchasing a car, clothes, furniture, cell phones, televisions and many other items. We must purchase food, gasoline and a place to live. We have no choice. The stock market is over 40,000. Unemployment is low, wages are up, interest rates are falling and a barrel of oil has dropped by $10 in the last month. Why are we not getting the benefits? It’s about greed. It’s about price fixing. It’s about a lack of free market competition. Every time the working class gets a wage increase, corporations collude to take their cut of middle class worker’s money.

Richard Bechtold

West side

No on 311

Vote No on Proposition 311 unless you are a mean-spirited hypocrite. Prop. 311 purports to give a more substantial and appropriate award to the widows and orphans of our emergency responders killed on the job. I applaud the sentiment and would gladly have my taxes increased to support families who suffer in so many ways because of the loss of a public servant. However, a Yes vote would not cost me a dime. Prop. 311 would impose a fee on people who steal a loaf of bread to feed their family, or violate some ordinance because they are homeless, or other law breakers who disproportionately tend to be poor. I wouldn’t be contributing a dime. Effectively I would not be supporting these widows and orphans, the poorest in our society would. How the Republican legislators who put this on the ballot can call themselves Christians is beyond me when this fails to meet Christ’s test in Matthew 25 for who is a real Christian on multiple points.

Patricia Morris

SaddleBrooke

Water shortage

Here is how you secure AZ and Tucson’s water supply concerns once and for all. We shut/close off the straws that go to California from lakes Mead and Havasu. Arizona along with Nevada are landlocked! California is not a landlocked state and has 840 miles of coastline to get their water from. It is a very easy solution. California with its 298-billion-dollar budget and its 4-trillion-dollar economy can afford to and should be water independent. They can use desalinization or whatever system they want to use for their water. By no means should they be using landlocked states’ water. This will in turn ensure that AZ and Nevada will then have plenty of water for years to come.

Mark Timpani

East side

Election

Hello all you MAGAs. So you’re going to vote for Trump? You should all stop for a minute and think of what you are doing. Unless you are of the 1% you are nothing. He will tear this country apart and does not care if you voted for him or not. He holds up a bible and wants you to buy one. He has probably never been to church in his life. I can’t believe you are that dumb. Every word that comes out of his mouth he is either blaming someone for something he did wrong, calling them venom, or losers, he respects no one. In fact he is not even allowed to vote in this election. Get your head on straight and send this person where he belongs — prison.

Donald Bernier

Midtown

Will we be fooled again?

Trump should settle up with Tucson on his outstanding bill before he sets his foot here. Or are we going to take him on his word? Cash would be nice, but he may offer us equal monetary value via the Trump Swag catalog. I guess we might look at some golden athletic shoes, digital trading cards, cloth squares from his famous suit, mug shot T-shirts, and whatever else is newly listed. For some reason, I have the ominous feeling we are going to be stiffed again!

Alan Barreuther

Foothills

Trump in Tucson

A quick question regarding Trump’s upcoming visit to Tucson:

Did we we get paid up front, or are we hoping he goes against his usual routine of skipping town with a never to be filled IOU?

David Reynolds

East side

Kindness of neighbors

Dear Republican neighbors, you are kind. You have helped me many times and are good people. You know what kind is. Please don’t vote for a man who is unkind. How do I know he is not kind? I know he has turned on the folks that supported him, to the point of threatening lives. I know he has had three wives and cheated on each. I know he has been found guilty by many juries made up of folks, just like you and me. We all make mistakes, but I have never heard him apologize. I’ve never heard him say thank you. We may disagree on policy, but please keep in mind, this man does not support your policies. He has supported all sides at one time or another depending on what was going to help him. It is all about him, not you. Thanks again.

Shirley Pevarnik

West side

UA students demonstrate

Re: the Sept. 3 letter “UA student protests — war in Palestine.”

This letter deserves a response.

The letter writer extols the virtue of the protest against Israel even though the students broke some UA policies and laws (trivial in the letter writer’s eyes). This war would never have happened if the Palestinians had not attacked Israel.

Letter writer, what would you do if you were attacked?

Deedee Bruster

SaddleBrooke