2024 has quickly deteriorated into the nastiest, most mean-spirited election year | Opinion

Election rhetoric

The election campaigns, national and local, have deteriorated into the nastiest, most mean-spirited mudslinging I have ever seen in my voting years. Using campaign donors’ money, whether from PACS or individuals, to pay for mailers and TV ads that are aimed at getting our vote is not the way to get our vote.

Candidates do not have specific plans for any issue that affects our lives. Instead, there are broad statements on immigration, health care, taxes, etc.

Hiring comedians to speak at campaign rallies is an invitation for disaster. Today’s comedians are not funny; they are insulting. A candidate trying to separate themselves from speakers’ comments doesn’t work. Campaign managers should know what a comedian’s style is.

Meanwhile, President Biden and former President Donald Trump are given an open mic and they hurl insults at any person who doesn’t follow their politics. After the damage is done, the media tries to explain that we are all stupid and don’t understand what was really said. We really are in trouble in this country for trying to maintain the First Amendment’s right to free speech.

Whatever your faith, say a prayer for peace.

Marie D. Valenti,

South Miami

Biltmore remake

I am appalled and outraged upon reading that our beloved jewel, The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, has had its lower lobby remade into a cold, gaudy and tasteless to the point of looking cheap. This was once was our pride and joy. The pictures I have seen made me very upset and angry.

I am all for stopping this barbaric action, as has been done by city officials, to make the building managers undo all this bling-bling and make them restore the lower lobby to the way it was.

Maybe it is time for this generation of managers to find a place they can call their own and then do whatever they want with it. The Biltmore Hotel certainly is not theirs.

Sylvia Viyella,

Coral Gables

Self-censorship

Neither the LA Times nor the Washington Post endorsed a candidate for this presidential election, which is one of the most polarizing in our country’s history, offering two distinct views of America’s future. I prefer a newspaper that makes an endorsement with a cogent explanation of its viewpoint, even if they don’t support my choice. I don’t prefer a paper that is gutless and sits meekly mute.

Non-endorsement for fear of reader retribution, or worse, retribution from a candidate who ceaselessly attacks the news media and would continue doing so if elected, is moral cowardice.

Ceding to political pressure, the priceless First Amendment’s freedom of the press — a right and an obligation — is the downslope to becoming a worthless propaganda rag, like Cuba’s Granma or Russia’s Pravda. Good for nothing, except if you’re on the way to the outhouse and are out of toilet paper.

Michael Marmesh,

Miami

Speak up

As the sun rises in Beirut, families should be preparing for school; instead, they are shaken awake by the sound of bombs. This is the grim reality in Lebanon, where Israeli aggression has intensified and the toll on civilians and journalists has been devastating. Last Friday marked 46 consecutive days of intense Israeli aggression in Lebanon and a heartbreaking 390 days of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has stated that this is the deadliest conflict for journalists they have ever documented. Preliminary investigations show at least 134 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon. Journalists are essential in providing information to the outside world, yet Israel’s restrictions on foreign journalists make it increasingly difficult to report the truth.

These attacks on journalists are not collateral damage; they are an assault on the right to free press. At a time when accurate information is crucial, the silencing of storytellers undermines democracy and accountability.

We must advocate fiercely for the protection of journalists. Telling the truth should never be a crime.

Raina Zantout,

West Kendall

Stay in your lane

I no longer trust male Republicans. They seem hell-bent on controlling women. The original framers of the Constitution were all male and they didn’t even give women the right to vote. Apparently, we were too ignorant. Now, male Republicans want to make healthcare and moral decisions for us about abortion.

Pro-life is a choice, as is abortion. I have no problem with people making choices specific to their own needs. I do have a problem with people, who themselves cannot give birth, making decisions about my right to terminate a pregnancy.

Why do some women support men who have a long history of trying to control us? Why do Republicans support the freedom of choice concerning guns, but not a woman’s right to choose an abortion?

If you are pro-life and want to deliver, that is your choice. If you want to end the pregnancy, that is your choice. That is no other’s business. Everyone deserves to make their own choices in life. I don’t need a man to tell me what to do.

River Morrison,

Orlando

Election errors

Regardless of who wins or who loses in the Electoral College, two facts relative to the 2024 election are unconscionable.

First, that a national election depends upon the outcomes in only a half dozen states. Second, campaigns — thanks to the primary system — last far too long and are unjustifiably expensive.

David Kahn,

Boca Raton

Ticking clock

The Dolphins lost again. It’s time to take a hard look at the overall chances of this team to excel not only this year, but in the future. The Dolphins must get younger, stronger and more flexible. With the trade deadline approaching, management must evaluate every player on this roster — a “24/7” job for any successful general manager in this league.

We have a creative coach who pushed the Buffalo Bills, the top team in the division, to its limits by designing plays to maximize our talent against their defensive schemes. We have a defense that lays it all on the line every week, but has a few holes to fill in the roster.

Despite our record, we are close to being special, but we can never be afraid to part company with any player if we see a chance to improve the team. Fans are most loyal to organizations that refuse to settle for anything less than being the best.

Do we have the right management team in place to build a successful roster?

James Gersing,

Kendall

Proud of Dolphins

For the past three weeks, the Miami Dolphins defense has made a great case for Swiss cheese. Most of us thought the defense would have been shredded by Josh Allen and the Bills offense. Stunning the Bills with an opening three and out, the Dolphins defensive team played admirably against a great offense. Miami Herald Sports columnist Greg Cote got it right. The Dolphins did everything but win.

The great NBA referee Earl Strom coined a phrase, “The Pro Call.”

What is a pro call? It’s not tossing a flag for unnecessary roughness — questionable at best — with the score tied. A great game spoiled. Let the teams win it one way or the other.

Allen Lundy,

Cooper City

Back to normal?

With the election finally over, we can stop the numerous daily texts begging for money and the ads on TV can return to warning us about side effects to unheard of drugs and diseases.

Art Young,

West Kendall

Endorsement acts

I wonder if actors and other celebrities who come out endorsing political candidates realize that their audience could only be people who lack the intellectual capacity to properly reason as to which candidate to vote?

Who in their right mind would tell anyone, “I voted for this candidate because such-and-such actor told me to?”

Worse, why would the news media publish stories in which actors are making fools of themselves?

Fernando Gallo,

Miami