John Trainor

John Trainor - Tucson

America: Democracy's country

October 18, 2022

I love America because it is democracy’s country, and I love democracy. I love American democracy because in its ideal state — a state it has yet to fully attain in any place — American democracy recognizes the intrinsic worth of every person and welcomes diversity by offering a promise of a place where the differences of all people can co-exist in peace. It offers hope that someday in America all people will be free to live their lives as they see fit rather than as others believe they should. America’s original motto, “E pluribus unum” — out of many, one — speaks to unity in diversity as do the first three words of the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, which defines the structure and purpose of a government made for democracy’s country. Those words are: “We the people.” Though those words did not at first include all people, many more have been included over time. So we know it works. The hope for the future is that all people will someday be fully included.

Today, democracy’s country is threatened by those who believe more in one man’s lies of exclusion than in the Constitution’s inclusive truth of ”We the people.” The survival of democracy depends on the votes cast in this election. Those votes depend on whether citizens believe that preserving democracy is more important to their future than today’s gas prices or following the lies of the last election to their inevitable autocratic end. The question is, which has more value to us and our children and America’s future — loyalty to one man, today’s gas prices or democracy. If you love democracy’s country as I do, then you must vote D for democracy.

Existential threats to democracy

September 17, 2022

What is an existential threat? An existential threat is a threat to the continued existence of something. Democracy deniers are by definition an existential threat to a government of, by and for the people. Elements of the Republican Party claim the United States is not a democracy but a constitutional republic. Democrats believe we are both a democracy and a constitutional republic and they fight for policies that will preserve and strengthen both.

Two currently active Republican schemes to deny democracy constitute existential threats to representative democracy. One is a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to consider something called an “independent legislative theory.” This theory could empower state legislators to refuse to certify the results of a presidential election so they can select their own slate of electors. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear this petition. Other Republican elements continue efforts to call an Article V “convention of the states” they say “to amend” the U.S. Constitution. This could result in a rewrite of the founders’ original document. Success for either attempt would mean the end of representative democracy in America as we know it.

Direct democracy is protected in Arizona through a state constitutional right of initiatives and referenda. Republican legislators have made access to direct democracy more difficult and initiative success more likely to be overturned by the Legislature. Three legislative propositions are on the ballot this election year intended to further undermine and weaken direct democracy in Arizona. They are propositions 128, 129, 132. Vote no on these propositions and help preserve our state constitutional right to practice direct democracy. Join Democrats in their fight to preserve representative and direct democracy and our constitutional republic by voting D up and down the ballot.

Vote D for Union and democracy

August 8, 2022

Some in our country today are fanning the flames of secession and civil war and theocratic authoritarian rule. The Jan. 6 Committee has confirmed what we all witnessed, that a mob — incited by Trump and aided by elements of the GOP at all levels — stormed our Capitol out of loyalty to one man whose aim was and still is to overturn a free and fair election and install himself as the ruler of our nation.

The most important issue of the midterm elections is the preservation of our Union and American democracy. Without our Union we are no longer a nation. Without our belief in democracy — the soul of our democratic constitutional federal republic — we are no longer a free people.

Union and democracy will be gone unless Americans vote to keep alive the truths that define what it means to be an American — the self-evident truths articulated by our founders — that all men are born with equal rights that are secured by government; that our government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed; and that the consent must be a majority consent. All will be gone if we fail to live the related truths — that no man is above the law — not even a president — and that for our leaders and ourselves, character and accountability matter.

Our ballot choices are R or D. Voting R means continued attacks on these truths as the Trump GOP backs insurrectionists, election deniers, QAnons, Christian nationalists, secessionists and armed militias. It is imperative that Americans who care about the preservation of our founding principles and the survival of our Union and democracy vote D up and down the ballot in November.

Historic midterm vote needed

June 28, 2022

Highly respected conservative Judge Luttig called Trump and his allies “a clear and present danger” to American democracy. (Jan. 6 hearings, June 16) That danger will grow in 2024 if Republicans win majorities in the U.S. House and Senate and in state legislatures, state offices and governorships in 2022. Saving our democratic constitutional federal republic today and for generations to come is the most important issue of the 2022 midterm elections.

In 1941 America went to war against three dictatorial regimes. Those regimes had in common populations that followed leaders who promised to make their countries “great again” by destroying the enemies they said were defiling their national culture. Those leaders had in common powerful propaganda assets and a willingness to use violence. All infected the hearts and minds of their followers with a “big lie." All claimed to be national saviors while seeking power for themselves. All ended in rubble and ruin as men and women of many nations who valued democracy and freedom and human dignity united to sacrifice their lives to defeat those dictators.

Today the despotic pattern repeats itself in our country with an ex-president who promised to make America “great again” then refused to accept a peaceful transition of power after losing the 2020 election. He infected his followers’ hearts and minds with a “big lie” and tried to overturn that election with propaganda and violence. Much like the dictators my father and his generation defeated, he and his MAGA Republican allies pretend to be national saviors while seeking power for themselves.

Only a historic midterm vote for Democratic majorities in 2022 can avert this “clear and present danger." Independents, responsible Republicans and Democrats must unite to vote D for democracy in November.

Gun control: a bipartisan duty

May 28, 2022

It is time to stop allowing our school children and church-goers and shoppers to be sacrificed on the altar of a politicized Second Amendment right. Sane and reasonable Americans must no longer elect representatives who condone through inaction the slaughter of school children and other innocent people. Every citizen’s right to life is more sacred than Justice Scalia’s politically motivated, misinterpreted constitutional right of universal and under-regulated gun ownership.

It is up to us as voters to stop more bullets with more ballots. It is time to vote out of office every elected national and state official who will not demand an end to the slaughter of innocent Americans by immediately voting to enact strong legislation to establish responsibly regulated, well enforced firearm ownership and to provide mental health services to all who qualify. Prayers and platitudes will not do it. If they did, 19 Texas school children, two teachers and many more innocents killed by guns at school and in church and in the supermarket would still be alive today.

The first duty of government is to do everything it can to assure the safety of all its citizens. While Democrats take this duty seriously by proposing gun control legislation at the federal and state levels, Republicans offer only obstruction while denying that a proliferation of under-regulated guns across our country is the root of the problem. It is time for Republicans to join Democrats to pass legislation to more closely regulate gun ownership and to ensure mental health services are readily available to those in need. Elected officials of either party who fail to do this will be derelict in their primary duty and must be removed from office by the voters in the coming 2022 election.

2022 midterm elections matter

April 25, 2022

Midterm elections are not that important because we are not electing a president. Right? Wrong! These 2022 midterm elections are the most important elections ever. What voters decide in the Aug. 2 primary and the Nov. 8 general election will determine whether the makeup of our national Congress and our state governorships, state offices and state legislatures will preserve our democracy or lead us further down the road to becoming an authoritarian state.

These midterms especially matter when one political party — the Republican Party — has for its leader a former president who clearly revealed his authoritarian tendencies in his attempt to overturn the free and fair election he lost in 2020. Undermining our democratic norms and the election process should not be a valid credential for the leadership of any political office or party in a democratic society. No matter what the former president might have accomplished while in office, his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election should forever disqualify him from holding any office or party leadership role. Yet the Republican Party, solely intent on gaining and retaining power and winning at any cost, has chosen to embrace this disgraceful celebrity. Serious Republicans can take back their party by not voting for Trump-endorsed candidates in the primary or by not voting for candidates who support any vestige of Trumpism.

Democracy is being challenged by right-wing authoritarians in America just as in Ukraine and Europe. Democrats, independents and traditional Republicans must unite in this fight for freedom by marking D for democracy up and down the ballot in the general election. When preserving democracy is the most important issue of our time, marking R is a hopeless option. Midterm elections matter. Vote!

Forget the diversions

March 23, 2022

For the 2022 elections forget diversions like CRT and cancel culture. Focus on the real issue — preserving our democracy. That is the most important issue. Take a lesson from Russian authoritarian Putin, who is reducing Ukraine to rubble to prevent the development of a fledgling democracy in that part of the world. Take a lesson from Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people, who are fighting for their lives and democracy.

Take a lesson from American authoritarian Trump, who inspired a mob to storm our Capitol on Jan. 6 in order to overturn a free and fair election and illegally have himself installed as leader of our democratic constitutional federal republic. Take a lesson from 81 million Americans who said “yes” to democracy and “no” to Trump and authoritarianism in 2020.

If Trump’s authoritarian lackeys take over the U.S. House and Senate and retain or increase state governorships and Republican majority legislatures in 2022, they will be politically positioned to return Trump to office in 2024 — if they wait that long. Democrats and independents must unite to vote and mark “D” for democracy up and down the ballot in 2022. Enlightened Republicans must vote to defeat Trump-backed candidates in the Republican primaries.

Remember, Trump was the president who said the following: “I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want to do as president.” Trump believes that Article II of the Constitution gives him absolute power. Absolute power is absolutely what he wants and will take permanently if elected again. Voting for Trump Republican Party candidates or for what Bill Maher calls “The Trump Party” candidates will mean the end of American democracy and the beginning of the first ever American authoritarian state.

A question of national security

February 17, 2022

From a national security perspective, I do not understand why a twice-impeached ex-president who has destroyed and mishandled classified documents, and who enjoys close and private friendships with world dictators such as Putin, Kim Jong-un and others, is not under scrutiny by the DOJ or the FBI. The danger that he could transfer state secrets to foreign interests in exchange for aiding his return to presidential power is real. In the interest of national security he should be removed from the domestic political scene and his ability to communicate with foreign agents should be monitored and restricted.

We spend hundreds of billions of dollars on national security annually, mainly to protect ourselves from outside threats. Someone once said, “When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within.” Trump is an enemy of democracy from within our country. He has shown that in his undermining of our democratic norms and institutions, his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Yet, he is supported by most Republican leaders and the Republican Party.

Patriotic citizens who value democracy and national security must use the ballot box to remove him from power by removing from power the party he has co-opted. Without his Republican enablers, Mr. Trump is just a private citizen with many criminal and civil charges pending. Vote “D” for democracy up and down the ballot in 2022 and 2024.

John Trainor - Tucson

Vote D for democracy

January 11, 2022

Mr. Moorehouse is right — no issue is more important in the coming elections than the preservation of our democracy. (Dispatch Jan. 4) Through Trump’s continuing “Big Lie,” new Republican voter suppression laws, gerrymandering, right-wing media propaganda, the filibuster and other political tricks, we find ourselves in danger of authoritarian government or anarchy in the United States of America in 2022 or 2024.

Standing with Democrats in their fight to save our democracy at the national level are two conservative Republicans — Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. They are the only congressional Republicans to join Democrats investigating the Jan. 6 attempt to steal our democracy. They are genuine Republicans and true patriots who care about country over party as they risk everything to preserve our democratic government. The same could be said of state and county election officials and workers and volunteers of both parties who did their jobs under great pressure as Trump and his cohorts tried to overturn the election. These Americans stood united in service to democracy and our country. They deserve our thanks.

Republicans, independents and Democrats and all Americans who believe in democracy must stand united in 2022 and 2024. Since our choices at the ballot box are “R” or “D” and the Democratic Party is fighting to preserve democracy while the Republican Party — firmly in the grip of Trump — clearly is not, our only hope to defeat authoritarian rule or anarchy is for all patriotic Americans to mark “D” for democracy. It will take selfless and patriotic action at the ballot box to ensure that our government of the people, by the people and for the people does not perish from the earth under our watch. No other issue is more important.

Communism and U.S. business

December 11, 2021

Indirectly we all support communism. Our corporations provide jobs for workers in communist China and other communist countries. Our consumers buy goods manufactured by communists. Our farmers sell agricultural products to feed communists. Our businesses deal with communists to tap more markets in communist countries. We all want lower prices, higher profits and wider markets. It’s just business.

While container ships from communist countries wait offshore to unload communist manufactured cargo to satisfy much of America’s material wants and needs, Republicans in our national Congress and Republican state legislatures introduce bills requiring public schools to teach children the truth of the evils of communism. Curiously, no bills reported so far to teach the evils of fascism.

At the same time the same Republicans introduce bills to prohibit the teaching of the truth of the history of America’s treatment of Native Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, South American Americans and just about any group of Americans whose descendants did not come over on the Mayflower.

Republicans aren’t concerned about communism except as a label to pin on Democrats to win elections. Republicans label as “communistic” and “socialistic” every Democratic effort to secure democracy and improve life for all Americans. Counting on their vastly improved voter suppression and gerrymandering efforts, the GOP has determined the only platform it needs in 2022 is to continue to demonize Democrats as communists and socialists.

As we approach Christmas, let us pray the supply chain delivers our capitalistic-generated, communist-manufactured gifts to all American children on time. Looking ahead, let us resolve in 2022 to teach the truth about everything — our greatness, our hypocrisy and our complicity in aiding the growth of communism in order to enjoy higher profits for corporations, lower prices for consumers and more and more business.

Minute of silence is better

November 11, 2021

Supervisor Goodman in his recent letter justifies the practice of opening Pinal County Board of Supervisors meetings with a Christian prayer. I believe a minute of silence as suggested by Noel Reck of Casa Grande during the Nov. 3 regular meeting would be a better idea. Supervisor Goodman says, “In my opinion, it is imperative that we have our Heavenly Father guide us to make the best decisions for our constituents.”

With all due respect, Supervisor Goodman, that is the heart of the matter. Many of your constituents do not share your belief in your “Heavenly Father.” Many do not wish to be subject to public incantations to your “Heavenly Father” when they attend public meetings. They do not approve what they believe amounts to government sanction of a religious exercise before, after or during the conduct of public business.

While it is true that many of your constituents are Christian and would approve Christian prayer as part of the board meeting, as elected officials you should be sensitive to the feelings of all your constituents, not just those with whom you share a religious belief. That is what it means to take an oath or affirmation to support and defend the Constitution of the United States — a secular document that equally protects your right to believe in your “Heavenly Father” and my right not to.

If you and other board members believe you need to communicate with your “Heavenly Father” in order to make wise decisions for your constituents, a minute of silence will do just as well. You would be joined in that meditative minute by all present. In this way, you connect with your God, show sensitivity to all and avoid the discord and division of imposed public prayer.

The destruction of individual liberty

Septemer 25, 2021

I disagree with every unsubstantiated assertion touched on by Cecelia Levatino in her sarcastic listing of Biden’s “successes.” (Dispatch, Sept. 23)

I will respond to what the writer views as Biden’s most significant “success.” The other six are, by her reckoning, less significant. The writer says, “Biden has destroyed (or is working to destroy) individual liberty in America by mandating the vaccine.”

Today, individual liberty in America depends on the people of America — the entire group of us — defeating a pandemic. In 1859 John Stewart Mill wrote the following basic principle on individual liberty in his Essay On Liberty:

“ ... that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”

As elective surgeries are postponed and care is rationed, we can see how those who assert “individual liberty” to avoid vaccination are filling our hospitals and draining our medical capacity and thereby causing harm to others. We can also see that new COVID variants are developing and extending the life of a pandemic that could by now have been controlled through universal vaccination.

President Biden’s mandate is a use of government power rightly exercised to prevent harm to the general society. Biden’s strong leadership in the fight against COVID will be successful only if all eligible Americans join the fight by getting vaccinated. The more harm done to a society that supports individual liberty, the more likely it is that individual liberty itself will be destroyed.

Freedom clinics for pregnancy

Defeat the McConnell calculation

August 11, 2021

Freedom is good and government mandates are bad — right? So why is it OK for government to mandate that every fertilized human egg in a country of 330 million people must develop into a fully grown infant? That’s not in the Constitution. For those who believe it is the job of state and federal government to mandate that every potential human life must be carried to term at the cost of freedom of choice of an actual living person, consider the following proposal.

Government should end punitive legal remedies that force every woman to carry to term.* Let government establish “freedom clinics” where human cells and embryos are harvested or “set free” by qualified medical professionals for development to term under controlled conditions. This would save the developing life and free the woman to choose her own life, as the man who fertilized the egg is always free to choose his — unimpeded by government.

Such a plan would serve the interests of both pro-life and pro-choice advocates and help end a source of perpetual political division in our country. Granted, one political party will lose its most reliable election issue. But, it will still have immigration and “socialism.”

How would it work? Impregnated women who do not wish to remain pregnant would visit a “freedom clinic” to free their developing cells early in pregnancy. Government would establish methods for bringing these cells to term. Aborting precious life would thus be avoided and freedom for all would be protected. Adoption options would be considered at term. As always with seminal ideas, many details remain to be worked out. It is not my job to bring this conception to term. It is my job, simply, to fertilize the egg.

*The printed letter in the Dispatch omitted this sentence. We think it should be published as originally written.

Defeat the McConnell calculation

June 25, 2021

If Democrats successfully enact the Biden agenda for the American people, their chances of increasing Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate in the midterm elections will be improved. If Democrats are stopped by the filibuster and Republican obstruction, Republicans will dominate the 2022 elections. That is the McConnell calculation.

If Democrats do not secure federal protections for voting rights and Democratic election processes and procedures before the next election, Republicans will try to gain majorities in both houses through voter suppression, election process manipulation and election nullification now being approved in Republican statehouses across our country. The true “deep state” is an invisible union of Republican state legislatures and corporate America working through ALEC. Together they have written laws designed to rig elections while making voting more difficult for many Americans. The invisible Republican “deep state” and the Senate filibuster will destroy our democracy if Democrats do not confront the filibuster.

Removing or amending the Senate filibuster is the only choice for Democrats. It is a choice forced on them by Republicans unwilling or unable to debate the merits of legislation designed to serve most Americans. Even Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin must concede that where there is no debate, there is no democracy. The filibuster as used today ensures there will be no debate. Mitch McConnell and the Republican Senate know they cannot win on the merits of their arguments because a majority of the American people — Democrats, Republicans and independents — already approve the agenda Democrats have offered. The only hope for Republican victory in 2022 is obstruction through filibuster. That is the McConnell calculation. To save our democracy, every Democratic senator must defeat that calculation by rejecting the filibuster.

Party put before country

May 26, 2021

When an American political party values holding power more than preserving democracy and serving the people, it has lost its way. When its goal is to stay in power no matter what it takes — from lies over truth — hypocrisy over integrity — voter suppression — gerrymandering — undermining trust in elections and government itself — white-washing insurrection and accepting authoritarian leadership, it has chosen to place party before country.

Consider the Republican Party’s choice of a leader. Trump’s authoritarian disposition as president was well known. It is especially clear in his refusal to give up power after having lost in a free and fair election. Holding onto power by any means is the essence of any authoritarian leader and those who empower that leader.

Consider the party’s acceptance of Trump's “Big Lie.” The preponderance of evidence shows Trump lost to Joe Biden by over 7 million votes in a fair election. Principled Republicans who have spoken out against the “Big Lie” (Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Mitt Romney, Brad Raffensperger and others) have been vilified by Republican Party leaders and Trump because they chose truth over the “Big Lie.”

There are many problems in this country that need to be addressed by bipartisan legislative action. The minority Republican Party in both the House and Senate chooses to obstruct. Without regard for what a majority of the American people want and need, it focuses only on regaining majority power in Congress in the 2022 midterm elections even if it takes a “Big Lie” and an authoritarian leader to get it done, and even if it means ignoring the American people, destroying our democracy and crushing our best opportunity in many decades to rebuild America and empower Americans for the 21st century.

PAY ME NOW OR PAY ME LATER

April 27, 2021

Say a conservative senator and a liberal senator are driving across the same bridge at the moment it collapses and both are lost in the river below — along with everybody else on the same bridge. Whose political ideology matters most now?

The senators’ common interest was to ensure the integrity of the bridge and the safety of their constituents. The liberal advocated an infrastructure bill along with funding. The conservative said he would fight it all the way. His main excuse — our national debt would increase and harm America’s future.

Increasing debt was not a problem for conservatives when they were in power. They voted to continue spending even as they voted to cut revenue. A reduction of revenue — over $3 trillion in tax cuts under two conservative presidents (Bush and Trump) — contributed to increasing the national debt while our infrastructure decayed and a few wealthy people became more wealthy.

If conservatives are truly concerned about the national debt as something more than a talking point for the next election, they can reduce it by increasing taxes on corporations and the super-wealthy and using that revenue to support the Biden infrastructure plan. This visionary 21st century American infrastructure plan will help make American corporations more competitive globally, the super-wealthy even wealthier and America a better place for all.

Conservatives can work with liberals to invest in a world-class America where our children and grandchildren and American business can be competitive in the world of tomorrow, or they can fight against that all the way to the next election — and wait for the bridges to crumble. America is in a “pay me now or pay me later” moment. “Pay me later” will always be more costly.

March 18, 2021

There are two indisputable facts about the Arizona 2020 election: 1. If former President Trump had been reelected, the Arizona Republican legislative majority would not be questioning the integrity of the election. 2. Arizona Republican voter suppression legislation says more about the lack of integrity of the legislative majority than it does about the lack of integrity of Arizona’s election system. Republican legislators question the soundness of the system that elected Biden even though it was the same system that elected them. Can we expect them to be resigning soon in the interest of “election integrity”?

Republican leaders believe voter suppression helps them win elections. Many times it has. We heard it from Heritage Foundation founder Paul Weyrich in the 1980s when he said he did not want everyone to vote because Republicans gained more leverage when fewer people voted. We saw it with Donald Trump undermining confidence in the 2020 election and we heard it again from Arizona House member John Kavanaugh recently in his elitist “quality vs. quantity” comments on voting.

Two members of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Mark Kimble and Damien Meyer, believe that voter suppression is not the answer for Republicans. They say to win votes, Republicans should find better candidates and develop better policies. (Arizona Daily Star, March 14, 2021)

This makes sense and would show more integrity than relying on legislative power to rig elections. Granted, better candidates and policies are not within reach of today’s Republican Party or Arizona’s Republican legislators. What else can they do but continue to pass laws making it more difficult for everyone to vote, thereby ensuring that fewer people can vote so Republicans can wield even more leverage to steal future elections?

February 18, 2021

I disagree with B. Branagan’s notion that we have a republic but not a democracy. (Dispatch, Feb. 13, “One-party rule hurts nation”)

We have a democratic constitutional federal republic. Our constitution sets up the structure and the division of powers between our national government and state governments and the people, all with the goal of establishing and preserving democracy. Our government is based on majority rule together with the protection of the rights of the minority. Democracy does not mean one party rule or mob rule or indiscriminate majority rule as Branagan believes.

Democracy means rule by the people as opposed to rule by an autocratic few. Our Declaration of Independence states that “governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The preamble to our constitution begins with the words, “We the People of the United States...." It does not begin with the words "We the rulers of the republic." Under our democratic system the people are sovereign.

We practice both representative democracy and direct democracy. We rely on democratically elected representative government for local, state and national governance. Constitutionally protected direct democracy avenues are available when elected representatives fail to serve the people. In Arizona the people are empowered to make their own laws through the direct democracy of initiative and referenda.

Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said that we have a republic, if we can keep it. That is true. We also have a democracy, if we can keep it. The surest way to lose both is to allow our republic to become a stepping stone to authoritarian rule by not defending our democracy.

January 15, 2021

The lie promoted by Mr. Finchem that the Arizona 2020 presidential election was stolen really comes down to this — the presidential candidate who would support Mr. Finchem’s far-right extremist views did not win. Mr. Finchem’s distress comes not from concern about election irregularities but from the failure of Mr. Trump to win Arizona’s electoral votes.

My distress comes from the fact that Mr. Finchem is still in office after attending and approving the storming of our U.S. Capitol. A photo of Finchem in his big, black cowboy hat and a wide grin as he watches the events unfold is indelibly fixed in my mind. He appears absolutely gleeful amid the chaos, destruction and desecration of that day.

It was reported that Finchem was in Washington to deliver evidence he thought would help overturn the results of the Arizona 2020 election. In fact, he was there to support the huge lie at the center of the maelstrom he helped create by perpetuating that lie — that the election had been stolen. The fact that he did not enter the building but watched from the back of the crowd because he was late does not mitigate his complicity.

Through his words and actions to undermine a free and fair election, Mr. Finchem has violated his oath as an elected Arizona legislator. He should be removed from office immediately. To learn how you can join the recall effort now underway, go online to Blog For Arizona: Finchem Recall.

December 15, 2020

Did the Divine Right of Kings against which our American revolutionary patriots fought almost 250 years ago make a comeback in America in 2016? I ask because Donald Trump and others claim, with all it implies, that he was chosen by God.

In America the president should be chosen by the people. Trump has never been chosen by the people. In 2016 he lost the popular vote by 3 million. In 2020 he lost the popular vote by 7 million when 81 million Democrats, independents and Republicans united in a resounding “no” to Trump.

Most Republican senators in what was formerly the “world’s greatest deliberative body” no longer deliberate but have become obsequious lords and ladies of the ruling class headed by Trump. Federal and state Republican house members and senators alike bow and scrape and hold their tongues and do his bidding. Too few continue to deserve their respected titles by being faithful to their oath to protect the Constitution — too few.

Muddled red-hatted minions claiming to be patriots mindlessly chant his slogans. He lies to them. He uses them. He plays them for cash. He insults them. They bow before him and bask in his phony majestic beneficence. They swear their allegiance and their lives not to our Constitution but to one man and the entitled ruling class he represents.

Losing a presidential election once meant congratulating the winner and stepping down from office graciously so the business of the people could proceed in a peaceful manner. It was about the country, not the person. All those who support Trump’s efforts to overturn the will of the people should be ashamed to call themselves Americans as they help him make his devil’s deal — the U.S. Constitution for a crown.

November 17, 2020

I completely agree with Janell Alewyn’s recommendation (Dispatch, Nov. 14) that those who choose to ignore reasonable safeguards against the COVID-19 virus, thus putting themselves and others in danger, should go to the end of the line for treatment. I would go a step further and ask for support for state and national leaders who mandate masks.

We all have read of or seen people who believed Trump’s fabrication that the pandemic was a Democratic hoax intended to bring him down, only to change their minds when they or family members found themselves in the ICU. The real hoax was perpetrated by Donald Trump when he politicized this viral infection to serve his own political purposes. Those who bow to Trump’s self-proclaimed infallibility in medical matters and follow his lead by refusing to wear masks or to social distance do a disservice to fellow Americans and unwittingly commit the unforgivable Trumpublican sin of practicing “political correctness.”

Experts agree that it is scientifically true that this infection can be managed if all wear masks, maintain social distancing and wash their hands while waiting for a vaccine to be developed. But the politically correct believe that what is actually true matters less than what Trump says is true. Through him they foolishly see reasonable and effective precautions against sickness and death as a tyrannical imposition on their freedom. Their slavish devotion to Trump and their politically correct beliefs will lead to more of them and other people waiting in hospital lines where they will suddenly come up against the hard fact that the experts were right all along. We can defeat COVID-19 if we act on the actually true and ignore the politically correct by following the advice of medical experts and supporting a national mask mandate.

October 5, 2020

My wife and I watched the LD11 Clean Elections debate on YouTube on Sept. 30. We were impressed with the thoughtful and articulate responses of retired Marine JoAnna Mendoza of Red Rock and Dr. Felipe Perez of Oro Valley. JoAnna is running for the Arizona Senate seat occupied by Vince Leach. Dr. Perez seeks a House seat held by either Mark Finchem or Bret Roberts.

We were disappointed that neither Sen. Vince Leach nor House members Mark Finchem or Bret Roberts chose to participate. Where were they? We would like to have heard what they had to say about their response to the critical issues of COVID-19 and schooling and Arizona’s economy. These representatives were elected to work for us. Attending debates is part of the job. This is not the time for incumbents to fail in that responsibility by hiding from their constituents.

We can understand that Leach, Finchem and Roberts might not be proud of their records as legislators — especially during this pandemic. Their dedication to ALEC and corporate interests far outweighs their dedication to solving local problems for the citizens of LD11. We can understand that they do not want to appear on YouTube opposite two strong Democratic candidates who are well qualified to publicly challenge their records just before an election.

The way we see it, Democrats won the Clean Elections debate by respecting the LD11 community enough to show up and talk about the important issues that affect us all. Incumbents who are afraid to come forward to discuss school funding and the pandemic economy must have little confidence that they have done a good job while in office. We will vote for JoAnna Mendoza for Arizona Senate and Dr. Felipe Perez for the Arizona House.

September 5, 2020

If we want law and order in our streets, a commonsense place to start would be to disband so-called militias of both the right and the left. Gangs of men in our streets brandishing semi-automatic weapons do nothing to bring law and order to our communities. They bring fear and the potential for lethal violence. In Kenosha, Wisconsin, two protesters are dead, another injured because a young man with a gun responded to a militia all-call. An alleged militia member was shot dead in Portland.

The term “militia” implies government sanction. Without government sanction and regulation, so-called militias might just as well be called gangs. Why does the media use the term “militia” to describe these self-organized, free-lancing paramilitary units that have no connection to government. Most so-called militia members justify their existence as the first line of defense against tyrannical government. The problem is that so-called militias can just as easily be used to support the rise and persistence of tyrannical government.

The idea of a “well-regulated militia” in the U.S. Constitution was of citizen soldiers prepared to come at the call of government to defend the nation. That is different from thousands of individuals responding to a private citizen’s call to lock and load to defend, at whatever time or place, whatever they choose to say they are defending.

If we want peace and order in our streets, we must make just laws and enforce them equitably. That is the message of protesters across our county. Common sense should tell us that putting our faith in AK-47s and AR-15s carried by gangs of either the right or the left will only lead to more fear and more lethal violence in our communities. It is time to say to all so-called militias, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

August 4, 2020

I disagree with Anthony Smith (Dispatch, Aug. 1) that reelecting Trump in November will bring us a safe and prosperous country. Reelecting Trump will bring an authoritarian order never before seen in this country. Law will be what the president and his attorney general and his rigged Supreme Court say it is. America will become a country not of laws but of men who wield power with impunity in the name of law. We see that happening already with an impeached president pardoning friends like convicted lawbreakers Joe Arpaio and Gen. Flynn and commuting the lawful sentence of Roger Stone. Trump believes he is the law. AG Barr agrees.

That is the problem at the local level of law enforcement — police who believe they are the law and who break the law in the performance of their duties and get away with it. This is the root cause of the BLM protests. All protesters are not anarchists and all police are not storm-troopers. It just takes a few to defame the rest. Most of our law enforcers are decent, dedicated, hardworking professionals who put their lives on the line for the community every day. Most protesters are decent people — from students to veterans to grandparents — who are seeking justice through our democratic system and are willing to put their lives on the line

If the majority of our budgets go to funding public safety, as Anthony Smith says, why not reconsider how effectively the money is spent. Should some go to police reform? Can we reduce the root causes of crime such as mental health and neglected social conditions through redirecting a portion of law enforcement funding? I am with Biden — it is worth considering.

July 2, 2020

Nobody ever voted for ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) yet ALEC drives legislation for all Arizonans by using legislators Arizonans did elect. ALEC is a private, national organization that threatens our democracy at the state level by seducing our elected legislators with perks and “model legislation” to push a national agenda that serves radical conservative and religious right ideology and corporate America. Through ACCE (the American City County Exchange) ALEC has extended its reach into our counties and cities.

ALEC is a danger to good government. A co-founder of ALEC, Paul Weyrich, called the idea of good government the “Goo Goo syndrome." View the video on YouTube where he advocates voter suppression to benefit the radical right. Type in YouTube and Paul Weyrich and click on the video.

According to Alexander Hertel-Fernandez in his 2019 book about ALEC, entitled "State Capture": “Weyrich emphasized that his philosophy about political change was ... ‘different from previous generations of conservatives ... We are no longer working to preserve the status quo. We are radicals, working to overturn the present power structure in this country.’” (Dallas 1980)

ALEC relies on radical conservative legislators like LD11’s Leach, Finchem and Roberts as well as most Republicans in the Arizona Legislature to pass its national agenda of voter suppression, protection of “dark money,” public money for religious schools, elimination of minimum wage laws, privatization of public schools, public lands and prisons, state preemption of local government, ending Obamacare and the U.S. Postal Service and much more. Learn more online at “ALEC Exposed."

Radical conservative LD11 state legislators Leach, Finchem and Roberts work for ALEC. Elect LD11 legislators who will work for you by voting for Democrats in 2020.

June 2, 2020

The real question for this climate change and coronavirus era is not how soon we can get back to our jobs and entertainments and conveniences so that we can live as we lived before — the real question is what should we do to ensure our survival going forward.

What political, social and personal policies should we consider and enact to ensure the availability of the following necessities: clean drinking water, clean air, a stable food supply, clean and stable energy sources and efficient transportation, health care and education systems. How should we arrange our economy and infrastructure to support it all? How do we secure our physical survival while protecting human dignity and human rights?

If we insist on returning to a belief in unlimited economic growth for a few, rather than moving forward to a belief in limited and optimal economic growth for all, only the few will survive in a world no longer worth inhabiting.

Forests would not exist if every tree decided it had the right to outgrow every other tree and the right to all available resources to support only itself. Because everything in nature is connected, every living thing is limited in its ability to extend its growth. We are being reminded by climate change and this pandemic that we are part of nature and are not exempt from limitations on our growth.

This is not a partisan issue. We humans distinguish ourselves from other furry creatures on this planet by our intelligence. Climate change and this pandemic are telling us to use our intelligence to reflect and reconsider our way of life, our connection to the Earth, and what we need to do to establish a stable and sustainable future.

May 2, 2020

Just received a handful of mail. There’s a new book, my electric bill, a few pieces of junk mail and my bank statement. Some days I get Netflix DVDs and, around holidays, cards from my kids and grandkids and friends. At voting time I also get a voter’s guide and my ballot. Later I will be dropping off something — mailing a check to pay a bill, or sending a small package to my brother in Florida, or mailing out my ballot. All of this I get at minimal cost and minimal personal effort.

So I was astounded when I learned that President Trump and state Sen. Vince Leach do not support the United States Postal Service. They are opposed to including it in the national COVID-19 bailout and would rather have it fail.

Some say it is because they fear voting by mail will increase voting and that will benefit Democrats. Others say Trump and Leach wish to privatize mail delivery along with public schools and prisons and Social Security. Privatization is what happens when people who do not really believe in public service and democratic government get themselves elected to public office. That usually happens when fewer people vote. Kapeech?

Americans need to support the USPS as we support our military, our fire and police and our public schools. These institutions and others served our country long before Trump and Leach decided government should serve corporate America and big money. Trump and Leach will be forgotten. The institutions that actually do something to make our lives better will go on to serve us and all who come after as long as we support them by voting for people who really do believe in public service and democratic government.

Letters to the Editor by John Trainor