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Abandoning Ukraine

The decision by the United States President to abandon Ukraine and our European allies to the Russian Bear is the single most dangerous and un-American act by a president in my 78 years. Ukraine is literally fighting for its life, and this president wants it to continue to bleed and be handed over to the Russians. The Russians, who have always hated us and hate their Ukraine neighbors. Why does this president continue to push us into the sphere of autocracies such as Russia, China, and North Korea? Why? This is madness!

Dennis Rivera

Foothills

Spending and the looming shutdown

When profiteers of unfair governmental contracts and also massive tax cuts, such as Elon Musk, lament the overblown federal budget, I hear the fox in the henhouse howling that there are not enough chicken for him to eat. For decades, Republicans up and down the local, state, and national administrations have pampered their super-rich donors absurdly promoting the Reaganomics mantra of ‘trickle-down’ economics. Cutting the VA administration, e.g., is adding insult to injury; our veterans have done so much for keeping our country safe, and now they are kicked to the sideline. Shame on the draft dodger Trump and other elitists. This is utterly immoral state treason deserving a third impeachment, but the Republican lemmings are in charge taking us down the abyss where Putin the hypnotist is waiting for us already. This government is trashing education, science, medicine, the environment, and the good standing of the US in the world. How much taxes does Musk, for instance, really pay? Probably much less than all of us.

Albrecht Classen

Midtown

Ciscomani's silence

Really? Cuts are being made to Social Security staffing and offices and nothing from you? It takes over two hours on the phone just to make an appointment to see someone. Do your parents get Social Security? Is anyone in your family having a baby that needs a SS card? Or, God forbid, is disabled? That’s 6-8 months wait.

No, our $ benefits aren’t being cut per se. But our services are, and for those who need SS, that’s a cut.

And Ukraine. What a disgrace. Your silence is consent for betrayal of our promise to be there for them.

The time is quickly approaching when you and your colleagues need to stand up to serve and protect our country and her citizens as you promised.

Stephanie Salgado

Foothills

Good luck with Social Security

Social Security recipients who are overpaid after March 27 will automatically be placed at a 100% full recovery rate (rate is currently 10%). This means that regardless of who made the error, you or the government, the amount overpaid will be automatically deducted from your Scial Security until the amount is paid back. Suppose they err and say you were overpaid when you weren’t. You are on the hook until the matter is resolved. Although Social Security maintains you can contact them, 47 Social Security Administration field offices are slated for closure and 7,000 experienced employees for termination. This will result in technical outages, an interruption of benefit payments, and errors that will be very difficult to fix.

J Meconi

Northwest side

Re: Democrats' behavior

Over the past year, there have been many hateful letters criticizing Donald Trump's actions. I can't speak for anyone's emotions, but I want the writer to identify the so-called falsehoods mentioned. Facts: Trump is a convicted criminal with other serious indictments, which didn't get to court, he lies consistently, he is an adulterer, has exhibited racist behavior, was twice impeached and is now rejecting Zelensky and supporting Putin who initiated the invasion of the Ukraine and has been declared a war criminal by the World Court.

I dare say that many of the aforementioned letters were written by Independents (I am one), as well as McCain, Bush and Reagan Republicans, not just Democrats. How can Democrats even think about cooperating with someone whose every speech is totally divisive without any effort to bring Democrats or even open-minded Republicans into open discussion and negotiation to benefit all Americans? Who should be embarrassed and ashamed?

Chuck Cabrera

Oro Valley

Re: 'Why would anyone object'

As usual, Mr. Johnson in Oro Valley has expressed some mind-boggling views. "Why would anyone object?" Let's see ... maybe because the Musk/Trump chainsaw method has put next to zero thought into their slash-and-burn tactics. Clearly, "fraud" needs to be investigated, which equally clearly hasn't happened in this brief time frame. Waste may indeed exist in the massive government machinery (also needing closer examination, which no one objects to, Loyal), but so many of the Musk/Trump wild claims have been proven to be inaccurate or outright lies that even the right-wing Wall Street Journal won't back them up. Incidentally, we all benefit from government spending, Mr. Johnson, probably even you. I think you made a very self-revealing statement in your letter: "The uncompromising ideology of your beliefs has eliminated rational evaluation and any measure of common sense." Maybe you should think about it.

Hope Gastelum

East side

Trump, Musk: Do the hard work

Let's ignore political leanings for a secondÌý— whether federal employee headcount downsizing is required, whether trimming the federal government budget needs to be done to "right-size."

For argument's sake, assume those goals are indeed justified and required. Any first-year student in business administration, or public administration, or personnel management, will tell you the right way to reduce and trim is indeed hard work, but defaulting to the easiest way is a fool's errand. Good management does not simply announce any "3% budget cut across the board, across all departments" or "release all probationary employees because they can't fight."

Some departments are mission-criticalÌý— they should double. Others are "Legacies"Ìý— shut them down. Some employees are RIP (retired in place)Ìý— ease them out. As pointed out elsewhere, new employees are often the most energetic, and driven, and committed. They're tomorrow's leaders. Trump et. al. -- do the hard work.

Scotty Dean

Midtown

'Still making great photographs'

Thanks to the Star and writer Henry Brean for Sunday's feature story on renowned photographer Jack Dykinga.

His career accomplishments in photography are inspiring.

As an inveterate news reader, I am grateful for the ongoing focus on significant local stories, the quality of reporting, and the efforts that go into keeping the daily newspaper relevant despite recent cyber problems.

Randall S. Smith

Midtown

Playing Monopoly

You don't understand. Donald J. Trump is playing MonopolyÌý— with the country, with the world. His interest is not in you, me or the country's wellbeing. His interest is in the challenge of playing the game. Simple. Dangerous.

Don Gerlach

East side

Tariffs, the perfect white-collar crime

Manipulate the stock market with tariffs, get rid of IRS investigators, ruin the DOJ, have the Supreme Court give immunity, unlimited pardons and easy money.

Dan Bannon

Midtown

Vocabulary lesson

The Democrats' lexicon has now chosen "climate crisis" to replace "climate emergency," downgrading "climate change" which had earlier deposed "global warming" and in turn relegating "weather" into obscurity. I suppose we have adult/child Greta Thunberg to thank for this.

The Republican dictionary addresses "climate solutions" which are not found in the 2016 Paris Agreement that focused on the globalists’ desire to only redistribute wealth.

Trump's instincts are correct on this issue and pretty much right on everything else. No more woke idiocy.

Jeffrey McConnell

West side

Donald's DEI deal

When you announced the U.S-Mexico-Canada trade deal in 2018, Donald, you trashed NAFTA as “the worst trade deal ever made,� touting your USMCA as “the most amazing deal.�

Despite the differences between the two, one thing stayed recognizably the same.

First, $20 billion in direct subsidies and an equal sum in indirect subsidies to U.S. corn farmers. That kept farmers overproducing and prices below the cost of production. Farmers stayed afloat — though taxpayer dependent — and agribusiness flooded the market on the cheap.

Second, in Mexico, which imports more than 90% of U.S. export feed corn, the flood pushed down the price of corn by 66%, pushing Mexican farmers off their farms by the tens of millions. Mostly they went to the cities — grubbing for make-work jobs. But under NAFTA/USMCA some 8-10 million came to the U.S. desperate for work to save their families.

That’s your trade, Donald. Corn for migrants.

It’s also your DEI deal: Destruction, exploitation, injustice.

Chuck Barrett

North side

Tyranny of unintended consequences

Two months into the Trump presidency, we are being treated to a daily cascade of chaos courtesy of Musk and his adolescent rabble: critical staff fired and then rehired in the Department of Energy; veterans crisis hotline staff fired; avian flu researchers fired and then rehired; funding for important scientific research summarily halted; repeated illegal actions requiring judicial intervention; and the list goes on. While we are being distracted by this circus, serious damage is being done to agencies across the federal government. Much of this damage may not become apparent for weeks or even months. In the best of circumstances well-planned and executed reductions-in-force are disruptive and adversely impact productivity. What we are being privileged to experience will undoubtedly appear as B school case studies showcasing how not to implement a reduction-in-force. Our Oro Valley and Foothills MAGA apologists are, for once, strangely silent. Perhaps there are no words.

James Dolian

SaddleBrooke

A call for Aari McDonald

The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ women's basketball team went viral on April 6, 2019, when it beat Northwestern 56-42 before 14,644 in the WNIT final at McKale. Aari McDonald scored 19 points, going 8 for 17 from the field. Next season, the team scored 69.1 points per game, finishing 24-7. McDonald averaged 20.6 per game. The NCAA Tournament was canceled in 2020 (coronavirus). In 2021, the team went to the NCAA championship game. McDonald was triple-teamed by Stanford on the final play and UA lost by one point. Since then, attendance has averaged 6,600. The current coach is paid $1.2 million per season. Players leave because they have to play full-court press instead of scoring points. Or worse. McDonald earns $80,000 playing in the WNBA. Maybe $300,000 more for going to Beijing in the offseason. Players like to play. Maybe Aari wouldn't do it. But shouldn't the AD at least ask her if she is interested in resurrecting the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ program?

Walter Ramsley

East side

Federal debt

At last, a guest opinion that makes some common sense: "Turnaround expert warns of Armageddon for America." The federal government has debt of $36 trillion. That's more than $100,000 for every man, women and child. The guest opinion states federal revenue increased 500% and debt increased 1,000% since 1990. This happened because politicians who try to impose fiscal discipline usually get voted out of office. Interest on the debt is now 24% of revenues. In order to keep this percentage from rising, the guest opinion said we need to consider some drastic measures. This includes reducing expenditures to the bare bones by considering only what is essential to serving the needs of our taxpayers and selling federal land and buildings. If we continue on our present irresponsible course, in the near future the dollar will have to be devalued and then we will have Armageddon.

Douglas R. Holm

East side

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