The Bush administration failed in its Western energy-corridor process by neglecting clean renewable energy and not talking with local officials on where best to plan for pipelines and power lines.

Congress heard that message loud and clear April 15 from energy experts and county, state and tribal officials representing Arizona and the 10 other Western states hit by corridors.

On a map, the corridors look "like a giant extension cord to existing coal sources," Rep. Raúl Grijalva said, wisely calling attention to this polluting folly.

Crisscrossing nearly 3 million acres of public lands, the corridors will harm scenic fragile landscapes like the Sonoran Desert National Monument and Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

When the administration took on designating these corridors, they took on the responsibility of doing it right. But they got it wrong and need to go back and consult with local and tribal officials to protect our public lands.

It's time dirty-energy development stops coming at the expense of America's natural heritage.

When our community comes together to support those in need, it should be appreciated and acknowledged.

Recently KOLD News 13 held a Phone-A-Thon to help working uninsured families gain health insurance coverage on KidsCare.

What a good cause, but what a great job KOLD did. It treated the story as a major news story and gave it the respect it deserved.

As it reported, more than 100,000 working families are eligible for this governmentally subsidized program. We have to help those in need as more and more families are feeling the stresses of our economy.

Re: the April 18 article "Viewers, critics irate over ABC's handling of Dem debate."

The flap over the last televised debate suggests to me that we need a debate where the candidates question the news people. That might be more revealing.

Re: the April 18 letter "Minutemen drawn from all walks."

What a mean-spirited, hateful letter it was the Star published, where the writer railed about a Minutemen cartoon by David Fitzsimmons. The writer ranted on, stating that most Minutemen were previously important people and then finished up by personally and nastily attacking all cartoonists.

To paraphrase Shakespeare's words, Thou does protest too much, or in my words, "Just because you were CEO of Enron doesn't mean you're not a thug."

To me, the surprising viciousness of his letter indicates he saw truth in the drawing and he reacted like a child. One can only hope the other guys calling themselves Minutemen and wandering the Green Valley desert are slower to erupt than the writer and can keep the lid on his boiling pot.

Good work, all newspapers. I like political cartoons, even when I don't agree with the subject.

Re: the April 18 letter "Minutemen drawn from all walks."

I enjoyed David Fitzsimmons' April 10 editorial cartoon.

Obviously, the letter writer did not enjoy the cartoon and feels Fitzsimmons would not be able to function as a Minuteman according to his letter. Well David, all I can say is, "them there is fightin' words."

Keep up the good work, Fitz.

Re: the April 20 article "Don't roll out Rillito soccer balls just yet" and the April 22 guest opinion "Turn Rillito into a soccer complex" by Stephanie Maben.

May I suggest that we convert Tucson Electric Park for horse-racing use and build a ballpark Downtown, where it would be a centerpiece for the revitalization.

Horse racing may be a reasonable use for the beautiful flat land out there; so might soccer fields. Meanwhile, fans of baseball, and a real Downtown, could actually fix some of the previous mistakes and get this revitalization back on track.

I wonder if I could get the license plate folks to make me a vanity plate that says — in nice, big, bold letters — "In Darwin We Trust." I'll bet you a Gideon Bible from a Motel 6 nightstand they wouldn't.

But I believe I'll give it the old college try just to see what happens.

I have a novel idea about whether we should leave Iraq or stay indeterminately. Iraq has a democratically elected government and a constitution, and is scheduled to hold elections at the end of summer. Why doesn't the Iraqi government put on the ballot a simple question: Should the American occupying force be allowed to stay or should it leave Iraq now? We should follow their choice.

Iraq has the government Bush has wanted, perhaps not functioning as he would have it, but it was elected by the people and their voices should be heard, unlike here in America where the people's voices are ignored.

Our presidential contenders spend a lot of time telling us what they will do or not do with Iraq. They should be guided by the Iraqis. After all, it is their country.

Our troops have fought and died for their freedom, let the Iraqis chose their own destiny.

I read an editorial in the New York Times April 18 about how Congress "has also been far too acquiescent, standing aside as the administration undermined civil rights and the constitutional system of checks and balances."

The Times notes that the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the State Secrets Protection Act and that Sen. Jon Kyl is attempting to undermine the legislation with an amendment that "would require judges reviewing state secrets claims to give utmost deference to the government, a standard intended to thwart meaningful judicial review."

This information made me wonder just how many times the Star must have regretted its endorsement of Kyl during the last election. I know that the senator does not often speak for me.