MiamiHerald.com: Letters to the Editor

Support small businesses

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30 EDT

The number of small businesses in the United States and their economic impact has increased dramatically in recent decades. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses currently provide 55 percent of all jobs and are responsible for 66 percent of all net new jobs since the 1970s.

The Marlins? Ho-hum

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30 EDT

I feel like we don’t have a baseball team in Miami anymore. At least not a bonafide Major League team.

Governor doesn’t care

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:30 EDT

By signing HB 655, which bars local governments from enacting their own ordinances on employee benefits, Gov. Rick Scott shows once again that he is beholden to big business at any cost — even at the expense of women, children, workers and those falling behind.

Don’t pile on the food

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:29 EDT

I enjoy the well-researched and well-written restaurant reviews in the Tropical Life section and have enjoyed eating at many of the restaurants featured. However the photographs of the plates highlight one of the main culprits of the obesity crisis in America — portion sizes.

Let only 50,000 immigrants in

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:29 EDT

The United States should allow only 50,000 immigrants a year to enter the country. Of these 50,000, there should be equal amounts of immigrants taken from around the world. This would help address global overpopulation and also make sure that the United States protects its economic and natural resources, not overdevelop its land, and protects the environment.

CRA doles out big bucks

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:29 EDT

While some taxpayers are dreaming about the Margaritaville resort, I wonder, how many major players would have responded if the original request for proposals had said that, by the way, our Community Redevelopment Agency will kick in $31 million to this development?

Final goal of Everglades restoration in sight

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00 EDT

This spring I was proud to carry a House bill to conclude Everglades restoration south of Lake Okeechobee, closing one of the most successful environmental restoration efforts in Florida history. By fully funding the plan proposed by Gov. Rick Scott, we will ensure that the southern Everglades and Everglades National Park will forever receive water of high quality that exceeds every standard placed upon it over the past 20 years.

High-tech dreams

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00 EDT

The June 12 editorial, Miami’s Silicon Beach, concerning efforts to bring high-tech companies to South Florida is a pipe dream. This place is afflicted by the so-called “Sunshine Tax” and until that is dispelled nothing high tech will take root here. High-tech enterprises require leaders who can look beyond their own interests and cater to the needs and desires of young people who drive these sorts of enterprises.

Build brick houses

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00 EDT

How come the people in Oklahoma and the rest of Tornado Alley don’t take a cue from the Three Little Pigs and build their homes out of bricks — or cement blocks — to keep the wind from blowing down their houses. When we see pictures of the terrible disaster scenes, all you see is piles of lumber that used to be their homes. Here in Florida our hurricanes may blow off the roof, but the houses are usually, for the most part, left standing.

Not one penny for the tea party

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00 EDT

I’m an Obama Democrat replying to Leonard Pitts Jr.’s June 5 column, The GOP as Wile E. Coyote chasing Obama. The column talks, in part about Allen West and Dick Morris calling for President Obama’s impeachment.

Illegal immigrants broke the law

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00 EDT

Re Jose Machado’s June 12 letter, Historic opportunity for Rubio: Sen. Marco Rubio is doing exactly what is expected of a U.S. senator — upholding the laws of this country, which is not betrayal. While I sympathize with Machado’s plight, the fact is that his mother was deported for violating these laws. The blame for his subsequent hardships lays solely on her and her decision to ignore laws that we all are expected to follow.

Father’s Day might be misnamed; I vote for Dad’s Day.

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:00 EDT

There’s a big difference between being a father and being a dad. The former is biological, the latter behavioral. Fathering is an act of nature, while being a dad is all nurture. It’s certainly much easier to become a father than to commit to becoming a dad.

Master of the muddle: Obama

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:00 EDT

I have written so many columns about the Syrian civil war they are like rings on a tree stump — a way of gauging Barack Obama’s steadfast inaction and what the cost has been. In one of my first columns about that war, I called on the administration to arm the rebels and impose a no-fly zone, grounding Bashar al-Assad’s attack helicopters and his airplanes. At that point — March 27, 2012 — the war had taken the lives of 10,000 Syrians.

Why you’re mad at the NSA

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:38 EDT

“What’s really going on here?” That’s the question I typically ask students to kick-start a discussion about some aspect of American intelligence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where I teach a graduate course on the subject.

Juneteenth — a celebration of freedom

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:45 EDT

Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, the Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with the news that the war had ended and freed all remaining slaves. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation — which had become official on Jan. 1, 1863.

Bees not news

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:45 EDT

Re the June 16 story Miami couple saddened after bee hive destroyed: It must have been a slow news day for the Miami Herald. This article took up two-thirds of a page in the newspaper’s local section.

Bees could be saved

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:44 EDT

An experienced bee keeper could have moved the beehive to a less troublesome location; perhaps on the couple’s property where they could continue to enjoy the bees and the bees could continue to do their good work.

Don’t hurry executions

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:44 EDT

Re the June 14 story Gov. Rick Scott signs bill to speed up executions in Florida: Why the rush to execute? There have been any number of cases in which alleged killers have been cleared by exculpatory evidence many years after they were convicted and imprisoned.

Mistakes were made

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:44 EDT

The headline How could this happen? over the Shuckers deck-collapse story really should have been placed over the story next to it, the one about Gov. Scott signing the Timely Justice Act into law.

Citizens is not on our side

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:44 EDT

Re the June 14 story Scott, others were told about insurance deal: I find it amusing that Adam Hollingsworth, Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff, says, “We expect the experts at Citizens and the Office of Insurance Regulation to act in the best interest of Citizens policyholders and the taxpayers that support the company.”

Fraud is fraud

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:43 EDT

Re the June 16 editorial, Election fraud: From the streets to cyberspace: OK, so last year, there was no such thing as voter fraud and any effort to require photo I.D. or proof of citizenship was a racist redneck attempt at voter suppression.

On Syria, tread carefully

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:43 EDT

Americans who are critical of our government’s seemingly slow response to aiding the Syrian rebels need to step back and consider why such steps must be taken carefully.