Wake up Washington. Every day Trump finds a new level of corruption | Opinion

The height of corruption

Trump is the most corrupt individual elected to the office of president. He has been an unethical, immoral grifter his entire life. Now he is aided by the Supreme Court, which granted him immunity, and the Republicans in the Senate and House, who blindly support his illegal activity to destroy the Constitution (Project 2025).

Day one, Trump pardons 1,500 insurrectionists. Then enlists Elon Musk’s DOGE to illegally fire federal employees and close agencies needed by US citizens

Then he enacts his tariffs, which throws the economy into chaos. Prices rise.

Last week, he received a $400,000 bribe from Qatar, which could cost the taxpayers a billion dollars to retrofit. Next comes the Big Beautiful Bill that only benefits the rich. A day later, he hosted a dinner to sell his corrupt cryptocurrency. The guests paid an average of $1.8 million to enrich the Trump Crime Family.

This week he is pardoning fellow felons who were tried and convicted by a jury of their peers. Some even pleaded guilty. This goes against the norms of pardon policies.

All while deporting immigrants and sick children who entered the country legally.

Can’t get more corrupt than this.

Steve Golubic, Puyallup

Scouts helping to revitalize Tacoma

Dear Tacoma residents. I’m in Troop 507, located in the Fernhill area.

One of my troop members is an Eagle Scout now, but to become an Eagle, he had to do a community project. His project was cleaning up part of a neighborhood, which is at South D Street behind Fred Meyer.

A neighborhood group that helped with the success of this project, are part of a group called South End Neighborhood Council (SENCO). Not only was our troop there helping, but we had a lot of volunteers helping too.

The first thing we did was spread mulch and dirt, but before we could do that, we had to clean up the place. We found random assortments of trash, including needles. With help from everyone together we got the cleaning done and were also able to plant a variety of plants.

Our troop came back several more times to clean it up. Then we came back to enjoy a neighborhood party. The work it took to revitalize that area was worth it. It looks amazing now, and I hope to do something similar for my Eagle Scout project. Let’s revitalize Tacoma!

James Frazier, Tacoma

Dying for American empire

Every Memorial Day, we’re asked to bow our heads and salute the flag in solemn gratitude for those who “died for our freedom.” But the truth is far more painful: our soldiers aren’t dying for freedom — they’re dying for profit.

We are not a peace-loving nation. We are an empire addicted to war, propped up by a military-industrial complex that profits from every bullet fired and bomb dropped. The children of senators and CEOs don’t enlist. It’s the poor, the forgotten, the desperate — offered a uniform and a promise, but handed a death sentence wrapped in a flag.

They’re sent across the world to kill people they’ve never met, in wars that crumble under scrutiny. Civilians become collateral. Our democracy erodes — not from foreign threats but from within, by those who trade lives for power and profit.

The hardest truth? Many of our fallen didn’t die for a cause — they were sacrificed yo keep defense stocks soaring and politicians in office.

Stop repeating the lie. They didn’t die for freedom. They died for empire.

If we truly want to honor them, we must make sure no one else dies for a lie.

Let them be the last.

Gregory Alderete, Steilacoom