Would you have had courage of John McCain?
Whether one agreed with Sen. John McCain’s politics or not, there is one thing that is irrefutable. He has been a man of character, intestinal fortitude and honor.
I doubt that I or any of my friends would have turned down an opportunity for an early release from intolerable living conditions in an enemy POW camp just because accepting preferential treatment was against the military’s code of conduct.
Paul L. Newman, Merion Station, Penn.
This Democrat stands and salutes a man of honor and integrity
I have just read the announcement from Sen. McCain's family, and I am saddened deeply, and expect even more so, in the near future.
I am a Democrat, but I stand and salute in total respect for this man of honor and integrity, and I will scream in pain if our president of the United States does not show this man the total respect and honor that he so deserves.
If he shows any disrespect for this man, it will firmly state that our great country does not have a leader, but rather a moron trying to act as a man.
Don Smith, Phoenix
Trump is right about some of the media. They are biased
I agree with Mike McClellan’s column (“Journalists aren’t the enemy: Ignorance and corruption are”), but he misses the president’s point.
Trump is rightly concerned about yellow journalism, as well as the lack of integrity in reporting. Newspapers lose credibility when facts are deliberately omitted, or if a sensationalized narrative is repeated ad nauseam.
Many news consumers are misinformed because of this; e.g, many people are unaware that President Obama wrote an executive order (EO) to place a travel ban on certain countries, similar to Trump's.
No one cared when Obama did it, but a legal fight ensued when Trump did, and he was called a racist for doing it. Don’t rely on biased “fact checkers,” read the EO's at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/.
The media is a significant contributor to the current high emotional state of our country. We can’t have constructive dialog when only one side of an issue is reported, and when facts are selectively omitted to knowingly mislead readers.
Laura Accordino, Glendale
Community colleges are killing their football teams. Terrific!
What do you call it when the Maricopa County Community Colleges drop football? A good start.
If you want an education, go to school. If you want to play a sport, join a club.
Bob Altizer, Phoenix
What an absurd false comparison: The sins of Obama vs. Trump
In Thursday’s Letters, Mr. Leon Ceniceros of Mesa stated that the media bashed Trump but went soft on Obama. This statement is stunning in its level of false equivalency.
Comparing the "lie" of whether you may be able to keep your doctor as stated by Obama, to the debauchery, the average of 7.5 lies a day, the Access Hollywood tape, the belittling of the handicapped reporter and the Gold Star family, not to mention the insults toward McCain, the bigotry and the utter lack of taking responsibility, the alienating our allies in abhorrent manner and chum- ming up to Putin and Kim Jong Un make this man deserving of every bit of criticism laid at his door.
I fear what might come next, as he will save his own skin before caring about this country.
It's disingenuous to expect the same level of negative media in both cases. I would add that Obama has been married once, and there were no convicted people in his inner circle.
B. Walters, Scottsdale
Trump seems poised to misuse his presidential authority to pardon
A president abusing his pardoning privileges for favors (such as loyalty and keeping your mouth shut) is not what the Founding Fathers intended for the presidential pardon.
Mike Kiehl, Phoenix