Silence from Florida leaders on UF spending scandal is downright shameful | Opinion

Florida’s shame

Re: the Sept. 3 story, “Sasse’s UF hires racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel costs.” The more that comes out about the lack of responsible spending of taxpayer dollars by UF’s former president, the more distasteful it becomes.

As a 1982 UF graduate, I’m sorry to see this beloved institution’s reputation sink to a new low. The silence from politicians, such as Florida’s two U.S. senators and Gov. DeSantis, is deafening and downright shameful.

Ollie Daniels,

Pembroke Pines

Voter communication

Reading the Sept. 3 Miami Herald editorial, “Meager mail voting and high turnout could spell trouble,” I was surprised, disappointed and alarmed. Surprised and disappointed because I know of so much good effort to get voters re-registered for vote-by-mail because the “new rules enacted by the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature three years ago still confuse voters.”

Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Christina White is widely lauded for the work she does, but, alas, she could use some help with the messaging.

How can we help? What about some nonpartisan Public Service Announcements? Billboards?

Any means to reach thousands of people.

Anyone who remembers the long lines and irate voters during the 2012 election surely does not want a repeat. That threat is alarming and this election is far too important to be left to chance. The time to reach out is now.

Marcia Braun,

Miami Springs

Truth out loud

My thanks to James Gaddis for being the truth-bearer about Gov. Ron DeSantis’ gangster approach and plans to destroy the nature of our state parks. Gaddis’ ethical behavior is an example of “no good deed goes unpunished.”

For being seemingly ethical, the state fired him for “conduct unbecoming a public employee.” It is DeSantis who should be fired for his ongoing unbecoming conduct.

Whomever now hires Gaddis will be getting an employee who respects truth and speaks up.

Ellen D. Coulton,

South Miami

Scary times

Re: the Sept. 5 op-ed, “AI is here. How can we make it less scary, safer?” Google’s complimentary Gemini AI addition to its search engine results reads that, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it,” which is often attributed to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, perhaps falsely.

This begs the question: If I’m a bad actor and I consistently post and publish misinformation of a specific topic in multiple, creative and consistent ways online, does an AI search collect this pattern of poisoned data and predict or provide a search result suggesting the misinformation is factual and the truth?

How does AI distinguish truth from fiction?

The authors recognize the problem, but offer no concrete solutions. Happy Halloween?

Don Deresz,

Miami

All about Trump

As I read Peter H. Swartz’s Sept. 4 op-ed, “Trump’s visual politics are reshaping America,” I could feel a rush, followed by an increase in my pulse rate. Then, an uncomfortable need to shift in my seat as I felt beads of sweat slide down my temple.

Solipsism and narcissism. Admittedly, I had to look up the former. “The view or theory, that the self is all that can be known to exist.” An incredible psychological explanation about a man who likes to look at himself.

I’m so shaken, I can’t seem to finish my letter to the editor.

Allen Lundy,

Cooper City

Party gone amok

Our nation was founded on separating governmental authority, citizens electing officials, jury trials, individual rights, nonpartisan justice and respecting the U.S. Constitution. A political party that wants to “drown the government in a bathtub” while dismissing the Constitution represents lawlessness fueled by self-doubt.

Donald Trump’s “I alone can fix it,” is a cry negating citizens’ participation, ending an ongoing experiment in self-government lasting 249 years.

What will replace elections, jury trials, civil and human rights, nonpartisan justice and a Constitution that places limits on executive, legislative and judicial power?

We have witnessed: an attempt to overturn an election; the suspension of the Constitution’s emoluments clause while dismissing the 14th Amendment’s decree denying anyone participating in an insurrection from becoming president; the mocking of jury trials and judges; chants of “lock her up,” denying due process; the curtailing of civil and human rights; and a Department of Justice turned into a weapon.

Dehumanizing and slandering “the loyal opposition” (a British term), is not governing. It is an attempt to destroy, seeking to replace “We the People” with a party of one.

Phil Beasley,

Plantation

Somebody’s hero

I’m not sure about whom we speak of when we discuss our military heroes as “losers,” but I’m tired about blanketing all our people in uniform as heroes. Military heroes are those who engage in heroics in battle; not so for just wearing the uniform.

I was a U.S. army officer attached to the marines floating off Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis. I also was a CIA officer on my first tour in Vietnam (1965-67), shot at on choppers and spotter aircraft. At no time have I ever been a hero.

We need to stop calling our men in uniform heroes, especially when engaged in unnecessary military activities against inferior foreign units of no threat to us. Frankly, they are more like cannon fodder sent there by those not willing to do the dirty work themselves.

Let’s not bastardize the word “heroes” by labeling those as such who are not.

Michael G. Merhige,

Kendall

Teen shooter

I am willing to bet that the 14-year-old who shot and killed four and injured nine in an Atlanta-area school on Wednesday had been bullied before, during and after school. No doubt there also is an internet connection to this.

Why can’t there be college graduate students working for extra credits at the schools to interview “at-risk” students monthly to try and avoid these tragedies? Isn’t anybody thinking of solutions?

Mark Osman,

Kendall

Book smart

Books are gateways to knowledge and insights, evolving from ancient scrolls to Gutenberg’s printing press and becoming essential to literacy and education. Works like the Bible and “Harry Potter” offer invaluable lessons, from spiritual guidance to personal resilience.

The recent surge in book bans is troubling. As reported by The New York Times, students argue that these bans stifle educational growth and limit access to diverse viewpoints. The American Library Association noted a 38% increase in book bans in 2022, with a focus on books by or about LGBTQ individuals and people of color.

The Supreme Court’s 1982 ruling in Island Trees Union Free School District vs Pico provides local school boards broad discretion but lacks clarity on balancing community values with diverse perspectives.

Banning books impedes intellectual development and contradicts our constitutional rights to freedom of speech and press.

We the people must ensure that political authorities respect our right to access literature. In this constitutional democracy, we the people elect our leaders and we have the power to uphold our right to free inquiry and education.

Diego Hernandez,

Homestead

Think about this

Our forefathers must be turning over in their graves. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on Dec. 15, 1791 and protects the right of Americans to possess weapons for the protection of themselves, their rights and their property.

Just because we have a right to something, doesn’t mean this right should be unconstrained. The best way to prevent gun violence is to keep guns away from those intent on causing harm in the first place.

Poll after poll shows that most American citizens want stronger gun regulation and an assault weapons ban, but in this “democratic” country, the majority do not get what they want.

Mario Signorello,

Port St Lucie