Those upset about Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons should apply same logic to Biden’s actions | Opinion
Biden’s pardons
Re: the Jan. 29 Miami Herald editorial, “Trump whitewashes history with J6ers pardons.” Why is the Herald editorial board and a host of other publications so incensed about the J6 pardons but nary a word about the more than 7,500 people President Biden pardoned on his way out the door?
What is grotesque about Biden is not only the sheer number of pardons but also the blanket pardons for his family (just in case), the J6 committee members (just in case) and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, Sen. Adam Schiff and others given preemptive pardons. No charges have even been filed against them.
Biden made a mockery of the his pardoning powers. If this editorial board sees fit to call out Trump for J6, then it should show the same circumstances Biden used for his pardons.
Jon Bechtel,
Brentwood, TN
Call the lawyer
Philip Levine’s Jan. 31 op-ed, “Florida’s ‘homestead hostages’ hold the key to housing,” left out much information. Transferring or porting part of the Save our Homes homestead protection (the difference between its fair market value and the assessed value) is capped at $500,000.
In his example, instead of porting $800,000 on a prorated basis to the new property, one can only port up to $500,000. Furthermore, there is an income tax obligation on the sale of a home. Husband and wife can exempt $500,000 of the gain but Individuals can only exempt $250,000. An amount above that is taxable at capital gains rates, most likely.
If a homeowner wants out because they want to downsize or transfer to a different location, these kinds of financial impacts are a minor issue in the whole transaction. However, the article does not discuss how selling a homesteaded property will affect insurance affordability and the condo crisis.
Real estate lawyers and accountants know about this situation. It’s not a crisis. It’s just something to take into account when someone wants to sell their property, move or do something else with the proceeds.
Gary P. Simon,
Pinecrest
Bottomless rants
How many of us felt sick last Thursday as we listened to President Trump’s vicious and endless “blame game,” two whole minutes of his scripted “words of comfort for a mourning nation?”
Vicious and cruel indictments were levied against diversity, equity and inclusion, while many bodies of the tragic mid-air collision were still in the freezing waters of the Potomac River.
Who does that?
After years and years of Trump’s “going low,” he went even lower. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was absolutely right: “Despicable.”
Marcia Braun,
Miami Springs
Wasteful decision
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava let citizens down when she backed out of the waste-to-energy incinerator in Doral. It’s understandable the residents didn’t want it, but she didn’t make her decision until President Trump’s son, Eric, stepped in.
How many other decisions is she going to make for the Trumps?
Carol Hamilton,
Miami Springs
Pay attention
Florida students’ reading and math scores fell to the lowest mark in more than 20 years on the nation’s most recent “report card.”
Perhaps more attention and resources should be provided to Florida’s schools and less attention payed and resources squandered on propping up Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed presidential campaign with “woke” witch hunts, book banning stunts and stacking school boards with political hacks.
Carol Billups,
Fort Lauderdale
Redefining sex
The Jan. 30 online op-ed, “Economists know what Trump’s gender order will bring” appears to miss a major point. President Trump is wrong on the simplicity of his assertion that “there are only two sexes, man and woman.” This simplification ignores decades of scientific understanding of sex. This topic doesn’t get more coverage but it should, as a multitude of peer-reviewed publications address this cogently, using advances in understanding DNA and hormonal changes dictated by biology, not choice.
A good place to start reading is a 2018 article in Scientific American, “Sex Redefined: The Idea of 2 Sexes is Overly Simplistic.” Any other Google search on transgenderism will uncover additional articles in respected journals.
Fifty years ago, I taught middle school biology and the paradigm of the two gender sex model, determined by X and Y chromosomes. Science advances and paradigms disappear, however. We accept those changes when enough information accumulates.
To embrace scientific advances, or to show compassion and respect for others, especially on this sensitive topic, is not “woke.” Let the science drive the decision-making and show compassion while doing so.
John Conrad Dolson,
Coconut Grove
Business blunder
In the Jan. 29 letter, “Jobs for all,” the reader states, “Trump signed an executive order that does away with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the federal workforce and any organizations that do business with the government.”
I work for a global IT consulting organization that supports and promotes DEI internally. Will the federal government no longer consider our bids to its RFP’s, even if it is the best offer among competitors, just because of its stated position on DEI?
If true, it would be a shame for the government to pay more for less, but it might explain why so many of Trump’s personal business ventures have failed.
Rich Szymanski,
West Kendall
Let’s be creative
The Jan. 29 article, “Deep Seek’s Rise: How Chinese startup went from stock trader to AI star,” identified two qualities — innovation and inclusion — to achieve a technological gem of such competitive economic superiority.
Perhaps as a nation we should be modeling such “out of the box” thinking to increase our share of exports instead of launching a hail of tariffs, halting and slashing research funds and banning diversity, equity and inclusion. These self-destructive policies will indeed “bring America back again” — to the Dark Ages.
Don Deresz,
Miami
Warning sign
In the recent face-off between Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro and President Donald Trump, it is worth noting Petro’s statement, that “a migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves.” It shows where his moral compass is located.
If one of the tactics on the MAGA agenda is bullying, then God help us.
Ollie Daniels,
Pembroke Pines
Hypocritical appeal
In a recent White House memo, President Donald Trump stated that the United States will use its naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to house criminal migrants “in order to halt the border invasion, dismantle criminal cartels, and restore national sovereignty.”
How self-righteous to use national sovereignty as a justification for detaining migrants on a naval base that is maintained on another nation’s soil and against the wishes of that nation.
Regarding Guantanamo Bay, in 2023 Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote: “Cuba reiterates its just claim for the return of that territory, whose use currently constitutes a violation of national sovereignty, an affront to the principles upheld by the Cuban State and its people.”
Trump’s hypocrisy is further evidenced by his threats to the sovereignty of Canada, Panama and Greenland.
In his inaugural address, Trump asserted, “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world.”
Arrogance and bullying will not engender respect and admiration, only anger and resentment.
Terry Hansen,
Milwaukee, WI