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A statement was made in a recent LTE regarding the Affordable Care Act. It read “Obamacare has never been truly successful.” What is the basis for this comment? In its 15-year existence, the ACA has dramatically increased the number of insured Americans, provided heretofore unavailable consumer protections, and provided coverage for over 45 million people through various ACA provisions. Many testimonials assert that the ACA saved lives. The burden of astronomical U.S. healthcare costs cannot be placed on any single entity, much less on the shoulders of the ACA alone. The healthcare delivery (and cost) system in the United States is oppressive and unsustainable, and will take a monumental, concerted effort by many to address. (By the way, Mr. Walters, it’s the Republicans who refuse to negotiate on healthcare issues, not the Democrats. And this “hatred” mantra is getting really tiresome. Consider the virulence directed toward President Obama by those who are now, in all probability, Trump supporters.)

S. Ross Emmanuel

Southeast side

Shutdown of Congress

On May 24, 1774, the Virginia House of Burgesses called for a resolution to “fast” based on the actions of the English Parliament that threatened destruction of American colonists’ civil rights. The resolution easily passed. Quickly, Governor Lord Dunmore, the King’s representative, shut down the House of Burgesses and dismissed all of the people’s representatives. Today, we have a government shutdown being perpetrated by “King” Donald and “Lord” Johnson. We pay taxes but are denied our civil rights to equal representation because their actions are a de facto “dismissal” of our Democratic representatives. An armed insurrection resulted; King George sent in troops to quell the resistance. It failed. I don’t think our modern “Redcoat” leaders understand how serious we are about what they are doing. Patrick Henry said (paraphrased) “It is a fearful situation when a most contemptible minority can prevent the alteration of an oppressive government that ought to be instituted for the common benefit.” Democratic leaders, occupy Congress, force King Donald to arrest you.

Richard Harper

Northeast side

Credit where credit is due

We recently drove from Minnesota to Tucson, a trip we’ve made each fall since 2003. In 22 years, we’ve never encountered as much road construction as we did this October. There was highway repair and upgrading in both red states and blue states, which I can only think is a result of President Joe Biden’s massive, bipartisan infrastructure bill. Thank you, Joe Biden, for being a president for all the people, whether they voted for you or not. Thank you for staying committed to your oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Thank you for adhering to the rule of law. Thank you for your moral courage and your compassion for those suffering loss, whether from gun violence or natural disasters. Thank you for leading our country forward out of the COVID pandemic and putting us on a path to economic prosperity. Thank you for restoring our country’s credibility on the world stage. Thank you for putting our country before your own personal interests.

Mona Udstuen

Northwest side

Register, then vote, please

The midterm elections will be held on Nov. 3, 2026. This election will determine control of the U.S. Congress. Next year, 33 Senate and all 435 House seats will be on the ballot. Everyone needs to vote like their life depends on it, because it does! Check your voter registration through the Pima County Recorder’s Office at . If it is not correct or you are not registered, you can change your registration info and register to vote at this website. Voter registration must be completed 29 days prior to an election.

Please do this now. Don’t wait. Thank you.

Natasha Thomas

East side

SNAP Benefits

Much furor has been raised over the cessation of SNAP (Food Stamp) benefits due to the government shutdown. The USDA is sitting on more than $3 billion of contingency funds that most legal experts agree could be used in this situation, but the Trump administration is refusing to release. While for most SNAP recipients this will be a temporary hold, UN Refugees and asylum seekers, who are legally sanctioned to be in the U.S. as they await their path to permanent residency and citizenship, are now permanently eliminated from the program. Some of these folks are served by an organization that I volunteer with, Iskashitaa Refugee Network. They are hard-working families displaced by war and famine in their home countries. Many of them have spent years in deplorable refugee camp conditions while doing all the legal things necessary to emigrate to the United States. Has this nation become so heartless to deny sustenance to the poorest of the poor? Is this what our moral values have come to?

Mark Hanna

Foothills

Trump’s double standard

Mr. Trump’s recent trip to Asia included negotiating with China to help curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., which is a real issue. This seems like a reasonable and sensible way to address the problem. However, when it comes to drug smuggling from Venezuela, a real non-issue, his policy is shoot first and ask questions never. Makes one wonder what his real motive is here.

Michael Becker

Midtown

Pray for AG Kris Mayes

Our Attorney General Kris Hayes has a deadline of Nov. 22 to decide whether to continue the prosecution of the AZ 11 fake electors and their unindicted co-conspirators. These corrupt lawyers and political operatives tried to overturn the 2020 election in our state by forging fake electoral vote certificates and sending them to Washington to be used in overturning the election on Jan. 6. While some may think this is politics today or old news, I think nullifying a certified election is a crime. AG Mayes has some difficult realities to consider. Will the so-called Supreme Courts overturn judicial error? How dangerous is bucking our Supreme Leader and his Lawfare warriors? What are the impacts in an election year of continuing a trial of participants in the Big Lie and their political allies, some of whom are running for office? Will the grand jury indictment be dissolved and the charges dropped? The only thing I can offer is prayer and my vote next year — if it is counted.

Frank Hartline

Foothills

Kozachik nails it

Thank you, Steve Kozachik, for an insightful, thoughtful analysis of the current state of our nation (����Ӱ��AV, Oct. 30, “Tucson Opinion”). You nailed it.

Alison Hughes

Midtown

Cure for shutdown and healthcare

Matthew Scully’s Oct. 31 letter is as shortsighted as he says the Democrats were. He says, “... the problem that will exist after the temporary subsidies expire is a direct result of shortsighted ‘solutions’ put in place by Democrats in the past.”

In fact, the “shortsighted solution” (Affordable Care Act/ACA) was a Republican creation adopted by corporate-funded Democratic politicians.

The ACA is an expansion of Republicans’ Romneycare, a 2006 Massachusetts system firmly embedding profit motive in healthcare, which is a conflict of interest. It’s a Wealthcare system transferring wealth from the 99% to the 1% by using taxpayer money to subsidize private investor-owned insurance companies, including Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) by paying them to cover people who cannot afford their exorbitant premiums.

Demand Republicans end government shutdown by agreeing to pass HR 3069 Medicare for All, which will cover everyone in the US, remove profit from healthcare, and save us $450 billion/yr.

Lee Stanfield

East side

SNAP emergency funds

DOJ attorneys argued the Ag Department could only release emergency monies to fund SNAP in the event of an “uncontrollable catastrophe.” Kind of describes the Trump Administration and the Republicans in Congress who support it.

Sheldon Clark

Vail

No food or no health care?

I saw a poster today on a light pole: Under a photo of Mike Johnson, the message:

“No food for you until the Democrats let us take away your healthcare.”

As I was pausing to take a photo, everyone who walked by showed — by words or thumbs up — that this pretty much describes the Republicans’ position.

Ann Davis

Midtown

Settle the vaccine issue

An LTE on Oct. 31 suggested that failing to vaccinate was akin to “driving under the influence with your kid in the car. Your deliberate neglect places the child’s life at risk.”

There is a groundswell of concern that vaccination, particularly at the current schedule, which encourages giving multiple vaccines at the same time to infants and toddlers, can be harmful. The response from Big Pharma and the CDC has always been “Nuh-uh, vaccines are safe.”

Why don’t we put vaccines and the current schedule to the test, so parents can make intelligent decisions? Compare the health results of those vaccinated on schedule to those on a modified schedule, and to the completely unvaccinated.

Who are the healthiest? The answer may shock us all; the huge pushback from Big Pharma and the CDC indicates they may already know.

What if it’s a different neglect: That blindly following the schedule is instead like giving your child a vodka tonic in her baby bottle?

Richard Peddy

East side