Infantile signs for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ make me not want to return to South Florida | Opinion
Immature state
I am just wrapping up a first time visit to South Florida. I would like to return, but I will not do so if I must continue looking at infantile signs for “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Gulf of America.”
Instead, I will take my business (and tourism dollars) to other states or to Caribbean countries that have actual adult leadership.
William Nelson,
Tucson, AZ
War crimes
Re: the Sept. 28 letter, “Sink that dope.” Readers who agree with writer Lucita Moran’s justification of President Trump’s attacks on alleged drug smugglers should consider the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights statement on a similar matter: “The fact that weapons of war and combat-trained pilots were used against unarmed civilians shows not only how disproportionate the use of force was, but also the intent to end the lives of those individuals.”
That statement regarded the downing of two unarmed Brothers to the Rescue planes by a Cuban Air Force jet in 1996.
Extrajudicial killing of civilians in international airspace or waters is a war crime, whether committed by the left or the right. It must be universally condemned.
Martin Motes,
Redland
Priorities matter
In a recent letter to the Miami Herald, the writer stated that late night comedy shows are no longer funny or entertaining. Perhaps that’s true for the writer, but many people I know feel differently. However, that is not the point.
We are in peril of losing our democracy if a government official, in this case the president, can pressure and threaten TV networks to silence those whose speech the office holder finds objectionable. Democracy is based on the right of freedom of speech, even if that speech is objectionable to some.
It’s a shame that so many of the president’s supporters place so much more value on the Second Amendment over the First Amendment.
Sylvan Seidenman,
Stone Mountain, GA
College caper
As former Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón aptly stated, for Florida to give a parking lot worth more than $67 million to Donald Trump for his library and hotel is “unimaginable.” This property was intended for expansion of MDC’s Wolfson Campus, a far more productive and intelligent use.
How ironic that this library and money-making hotel will be housed in between a campus and the Freedom Tower, both of which welcomed countless immigrants. The Trump administration is now anxiously deporting immigrants. We should all be ashamed and angered by this partisan and thoughtless decision.
Ossie Hanauer,
Miami
High incompetence
The president, who claims to be the world’s best businessman, has now shut down the biggest business he has ever led.
Is this an example of the Peter principle?
Barbara Goldin,
Miami
Justice delayed
The Oct. 2 edition of the Miami Herald reported the execution of Victor Tony James, convicted of the murders of Jack and Molly Nestor 35 years ago. The Nestors’ son did not live to see justice for his parents.
The average elapsed time between conviction and execution is about 22 years nationally and 14 years in Florida. Contrast this with the case of Giuseppe Zangara, a naturalized Italian immigrant who tried to kill then president-elect Franklin Roosevelt on Feb. 15, 1933 at Bayfront Park in Miami. He missed, but wounded Chicago Mayor Anton Cernak and four others.
Zangara was caught on the same day, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to 80 years in prison. When Cernak died 19 days later, on March 6, Zangara was promptly indicted again, convicted for murder and sentenced to death on March 9. From the tracks next to the Dade County Courthouse, he was sent by train to the prison at Raiford, where “Old Sparky” awaited him. Zangara was electrocuted on March 20.
Thirty-three days from assasination to execution, including two indictments. Now that is swift justice. We’ve come a long way since then.
Norman Seagall,
Coral Gables
Foes exposed
On Sept. 30, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth held an in-person group meeting with all top military leaders. Hegseth and President Trump told them, among other things, that they would be fighting “the enemy from within,” broadly defined apparently, as Trump’s political rivals.
Both gave bizaare, rambling, unhinged speeches, proving the only real enemies from within are Trump, Hegseth and their cronies.
Doug Mayer,
Coral Gables
Reason for hope
Jane Goodall’s gentle smile and calmness won the trust of wild beings. They reached out to her, touched her patience.
Traveling the world, she witnessed the sorrow, allowed it into her soul and survived. She always claimed she had hope that young people would carry on, speak out and act to save those who cannot save themselves. She did not yell to get her warning out. Wisely, she spoke of it — the sheer madness of destroying our home planet and the creatures on it. Goodall lived just long enough to see public lands re-open to greedy corporate pillaging, environmental safeguards snuffed and funding for progressive energy alternatives cut.
Did she ever cry herself to sleep as the world took two steps back? Did she despair at the carnage of habitats destroyed, animals displaced, heads on hunters’ walls, horns ground to powder for virility?
The scientific definition of human beings changed because of her discoveries and must be redefined again if we allow her legacy to die with her.
Pat Bonner Milone,
Redland
Yankee Doodle Bunny
Once again, the U.S. displays a level of ignorance and xenophobia. No sooner was Bad Bunny announced as the halftime entertainment for Super Bowl LX, the internet was awash in outrage, mostly from the usual right-wing bloviators decrying it as “un-American,” despite Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio being of Puerto Rican descent and a U.S. citizen. (The Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 declared Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens, though without representation in Congress).
Latinos comprise nearly 20% of Americans and represent more than $4 trillion in economic impact. Of course, the right will immediately point to the number of “illegals” without considering what their additional economic impact represents.
I applaud the NFL’s move, especially at a time of heightened sensitivity and despite how the league botched the Colin Kaepernick situation. Yes, the move is a business decision and one that some Americans should get used to, lest they continue portraying themselves as the kind of people they claim not to be.
The Super Bowl has had “crossover” acts like Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and Gloria Estefan. Bad Bunny is a global superstar, performing only in Spanish. Those who claim they will spend haltime refreshing their nachos, chips and guacamole while downing a cold Corona . . . well, the irony.
Alex Jimenez,
Winter Park
Financially viable?
The City of Miami has gifted a site next to the Freedom Tower to the state, which has gifted it for a presidential library (and possibly a hotel). The site’s estimated value ranges from $67 million to $300 million.
As a taxpayer, I would appreciate seeing a transparent cost-benefit analysis from the city and from Tallahassee.
William Hayes,
Coral Gables
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 11:47 AM.