Rubio had the guts to reportedly stand up against Musk’s mindless government dismantling | Opinion
Rubio spoke up
Kudos to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for being the only member of President Trump’s Cabinet who reportedly has objected to the mindless government dismantling of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Florida’s former senior senator reportedly raised his concerns directly to Musk at an emergency cabinet meeting last week. While Musk lamely pushed back in his usual insulting manner, Rubio’s rhetoric apparently worked, as Trump directed future employment discharge decisions be made by the respective units. Trump also supposedly reduced Musk’s role from unilaterally issuing firing fiats to making recommendations to departmental decision-makers. This effectively stops him from wielding a chain saw to carrying a suggestion box.
For his critical contribution, Rubio deserves congratulations or, as some would say, Mazel Tov.
Marshall Tanick,
Naples
Golden buses
Re: the March 9 story, “Sheriff suspends enforcement of some Miami school bus camera tickets after complaints.” How quickly they forget. Republican State Rep. Vicki Lopez helped BusPatrol turn a profit off school bus camera citations in Florida. Her son was hired by the company.
She co-sponsored the bill allowing cameras on school buses statewide. Within months, her family had cashed in on the new industry through a web of connections built with BusPatol, which stood to make millions from traffic tickets. She got re-elected on Nov. 5, 2024.
Barbara Sangetti,
Miami
People’s voice
Reading Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez’s March 9 op-ed in the Miami Herald, “No rubber-stamp legislation, focus on insurance,” was encouraging. I do hope he puts his words in action and is not cowered by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his coterie.
It is refreshing to see that we finally have a politician who is putting the interests of Floridians who elected him ahead of his own future political ambitions. For too long, the interests of private lobbyists and special interest groups have trampled the rights of ordinary Floridians.
Perez has given some hope that the voices of ordinary Floridians will be heard in the halls of Florida’s legislature.
Shabbir Motorwala,
Kendall
NOAA layoffs
I spent my career at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lab on Virginia Key, researching oceans and the atmosphere and their impact on climate and publishing in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The work of NOAA labs is vital in this time of climate change and global warming. We are already witnessing this change, via TV news reports, of the increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, heat waves and flooding events.
Although I’m now retired, NOAA continues to do valuable work for Americans and the world in this area. NOAA employees are highly educated professionals and it makes no sense for Elon Musk and DOGE to be firing any of them.
David Enfield,
Miami
How to protest
The March 9 op-ed by John Crisp, “Just which hill should the Dems choose to die on?” presented an interesting dichotomy.
There’s much ado by most everyone who did not vote for our president, myself included, and by a small but growing number of Congressional Republicans with intestinal fortitude. However, we are merely venting our spleens, for not much will change while those without their inguinal package fear being primaried.
What we can do is collectively flood our elected representatives’ phone message boxes, their email inboxes and U.S. mail boxes — much less knock on their doors — to express the fear of losing our vote. Giving up should not be in our collective vocabularies.
Either way, we have four years ahead to either swallow our pride or be proactive.
H. Allen Benowitz,
Miami
Rubio a letdown
President Donald Trump got at least one thing right when he labeled then-U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as “Little Marco.” Consider the Miami Herald’s photo of a solemn Rubio hugging Cuban American Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart at the memorial for former Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart.
Rubio, whose entire political career has purportedly been dedicated to protecting those who’ve fled Communist dictatorships, is now lightning-quick to carry out Trump’s fiats, including the just revoked foreign aid to opposition activists and political prisoners in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Trump, always quick to size up an easy mark, was talking all along it seems not of Rubio’s physical height, but of his moral stature.
Steve Kronen,
Miami
Divine scene
Perhaps because the Lent season has just begun, Miami Herald photographer Carl Juste’s dazzling photo of a paddle boarder on Biscayne Bay in the March 10 edition reminded me of religious iconography.
The sunrise on the shimmering water capturing that scene provides a master class in composition.
Norma A. Orovitz,
Bay Harbor Islands
Chaos meets chaos
The only way to fight bullies is to stand up and watch them cower. Mark Caney, Canada’s incoming prime minister, has that opportunity. As soon as President Trump’s tariffs are implemented, Canada must have rolling blackouts in the U.S. states where it supplies electricity. These states — New York, Michigan and Minnesota — will be unable to plan activities because they won’t know if they will have electricity.
So far, no country has had the guts to stand up to Trump. Let’s hope the nice Canadians are the first.
Sol Yanowitz,
Miami
Just an illusion
At first glance, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Fox News (Fox) seem worlds apart — one a wrestling empire, the other a major news network. Both, however, thrive on scripted narratives designed to entertain and provoke.
WWE presents itself as professional wrestling, but fans know the outcomes are predetermined. The athletes are real and the physical toll is undeniable, but the storylines are crafted for maximum drama. The goal isn’t competition — it’s emotional engagement.
Fox brands itself as a serious news organization, yet it has been repeatedly exposed for pushing misleading narratives, omitting key context and shaping stories to fit an ideological agenda. Its prime time hosts blur the lines between fact and political theater, not to inform but to keep audiences emotionally invested through outrage and fear.
WWE openly admits it is “sports entertainment.” Fox, despite court cases and internal leaks exposing its tactics, continues to claim journalistic legitimacy. WWE fans know they’re watching a performance; Fox viewers often don’t. Both masterfully captivate their audiences. The difference is, one tells you it’s a show.
Paul Howard,
Naples
ID please
Last Monday, President Donald Trump posted on social media that people protesting at town hall meetings in Republican districts were “paid troublemakers.” U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson repeated the claim, adding, “They’re professional protesters. So why would we give them a forum to do that right now?”
There is a simple solution to prevent this and Republicans have already suggested it, not for town hall meetings, but for elections: require voter ID. Simply require attendees to present an ID, then compare it to voter registration rolls.
If Republicans refuse to do that, then their constituents can rest assured that their representatives are cowards and liars.
David Frank DeLuca,
Palm Bay
Tired thumbs
For those of us without a hand counter, it’s impossible to count the lies coming out fast and furious from the person who is supposed to keep us informed about the nation’s business. The Miami Herald should designate a section of the daily paper (or at least after every speech) to let us know which of Donald Trump’s pronouncements are fact or fiction.
We’ve gotten so used to everything he says sounding so important, that we need clarity. The truth section should be very short.
Barbara Goldin,
Miami