U.S. government is loaded with Floridians. Great. How about they stop Trump? | Opinion

Florida’s failures

Mary Anna Mancuso, in her May 7 Miami Herald column, “Trump puts Florida at the heart of U.S. leadership,” seems to take pride in that the most crooked and incompetent presidential administration in U.S. history is loaded with Floridians. We have not seen any Florida Republican in the federal government do anything to try to stop President Trump’s destruction of our Constitution and our democracy.

America’s all time hypocrite, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has disgraced himself by suddenly backing autocrats. We have seen U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi flagrantly upend the rule of law. Not one Florida Republican has shown a spine.

In normal times, it might be fine to write a column about congressional Floridians using their influence to get money for Tri-Rail, for example. Today, however, it is far more appropriate to write about the failure of Florida’s federal politicians to protect us from autocratic rule.

Martin Kleinbart,

Aventura

Man of wisdom

Our community lost a leader, a true trailblazer. Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipskar, of blessed memory, laid the foundation for what would become the revolution of Jewish life in Bal Harbour, Surfside and Bay Harbor.

He built The Shul (of Bal Harbour) and he built it big. Rabbi Lipskar founded the Aleph Institute — an organization that provides material spiritual support and advocacy for Jews who are incarcerated and later expanded to provide for Jewish military personnel.

Rabbi Lipskar was a giant and well known throughout the Jewish and secular world. He was a leader with never-ending wisdom, a muse for all and trusted advisor. Above all, he was a friend to all and you knew that when he was speaking with you, you were the center of attention, always with a twinkle in his eyes. As Rebbetzin Chani Lipskar told me, “he loved all people.”

Rabbi Lipskar was the Chaplain of the Bal Harbour Police Department, a role he took very seriously. He was always present and will be missed.

It is with deep sorrow that I am writing this. At the same time, I know that his legacy lives on through the institutions he founded, all the lives he touched and all the righteous work he did. His impact goes well beyond the Surf-Bal-Bay area. All of us are better for him.

Our hearts go out to Rebbetzin Chani Lipskar, his children, grandchildren, siblings and family. May his memory be for a blessing.

Jeffrey P. Freimark,

mayor,

Bal Harbour Village

History will judge

Gov. Ron DeSantis has instructed maintenance crews to shut off the flow of fluoride in our public water supplies, even though thoughtful people appreciate the dental benefits of fluoride in drinking water, which no doubt also protects the health of our “confused” (to be generous) governor. Given that DeSantis graduated from Yale and Harvard, to issue such an order implies either illness or deeply nefarious intent.

We, the people, have allowed bullies to cause too much damage to America recently. We are all responsible for this mess. Bullies will go as far as we let them, as they attempt to satisfy their psychopathic need to rule over others. Those who control the flow of fluoride must take a stand and just say “No” and keep the fluoride flowing to protect the children.

Winston Churchill, statesman and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, had a message for DeSantis: “Let all of us who are here remember that we are on the stage of history, and that whatever our station may be, whatever part we play, great or small, our conduct is liable to be scrutinized, not only by history, but by our descendants.”

Rick Soskis,

Havana

Mother, daughter grads

The captured moment, photographed between a mother and daughter graduating college together from Barry University, in the May 6 Miami Herald, was touching and inspiring. How their shared support, achievement and joy brought them closer than the years that separate them.

Congratulations to Maratha Irene Ternier and Hilary Pierre, who demonstrate that reaching milestones and achievements don’t have an expiration date.

Wishing each of them the best in their chosen career paths!

Enid Garber,

Palmetto Bay

Next step

If President Trump has forgotten that he swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, it is time to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Charles Sanders,

South Miami

No vacation spot

I regret not visiting El Salvador in the past decade, especially when it seemed that, after years of hardship, the country was finally becoming a destination to enjoy, offering opportunities for surfing, beautiful beaches and hiking. Today, sadly, I have little desire to visit.

I’m reminded of a political cartoon I saw from 1980. The image depicted then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan handing a soldier of El Salvador’s National Guard an armful of assault weapons, with the caption, “No more priests and nuns, okay?”

That cartoon could be re-imagined today, but with a disturbing twist: El Salvador President Bukele would be shown handing President Trump an armful of cash, with the caption, “No more breastfeeding mothers, bakers, hairdressers, makeup artists, or union members, okay?”

Jacqueline Gross,

Key Biscayne

Government waste

As President Trump eliminates essential agencies and lays off more than 275,000 federal workers, including those who keep his powers in check, he’s throwing millions at shameful projects, such as a $90 million military parade for himself and spending $6 million to send refugees to an El Salvadoran prison.

His golf games at Mar-a-Lago have cost taxpayers $30 million, while his Oval Office/West Wing decorations amount to nearly $2 million.

This is not our democracy; it’s DOGE: Destruction of Government for Ego.

Ossie Hanauer,

Miami

Interesting thoughts

I was moved by the Miami Herald’s May 11 special section, “Remembering our Triumph,” a commemoration of the end of World War II and the heart-breaking sacrifices made in defeating Adolf Hitler who, of course, accomplished his monstrous crimes with the willing help of those citizens who elected him Chancellor.

I wonder what the 141,000 U.S. soldiers who died in Europe during that war would have thought about a future president of the United States instructing American neo-Nazis to “stand-by,” or of that president’s unelected right-hand man twice giving an enthusiastic Nazi salute during a world-wide speech.

I wonder, too, what’s next from that president who has now threatened to forcefully annex countries beyond our borders and has disappeared people from our streets and placed them in faraway detentions because they are, in his words, “poisoning the blood” of our country.

Steve Kronen,

South Miami

May again

The merry-go-round at the old Crandon Park Zoo in Key Biscayne played Juventino Rosa’s “Over the Waves” on spring days in the 1950s. My sisters and I wore sundresses with ruffles at the hem that caught the breezes off Biscayne Bay.

Fifth grade, third grade and kindergarten were winding down as we rode our favorite painted horses on the carousel — the white one, the palomino and Big Chocolate.

Our parents, taking a rare day off from the mango grove in Kendall, waved and smiled in the crowd of grown-ups.

Then, the world turned on and on. The century changed and Miami rearranged itself, but some spring afternoons go on forever.

Miriam Rosen,

Miami

Refugee status

Because Elon Musk is a Donald Trump confidant and a native South African, I wonder if the South African White Refugee program is a means for Musk to immigrate his relatives into the USA, much as Melania Trump’s status expedited the immigration of her parents from Slovenia?

Don Deresz,

Miami