Miami historian behind Trump library challenge should be Citizen of the Year | Opinion
Land transfer fight
Three cheers for historian Marvin Dunn, Miami’s modern “Horatius at the Bridge.”
Dunn is the sole resident who challenged in the courts Miami Dade College’s shuffle-shifting of a 2.6-acre parcel of land into the shifty hands of Gov. Ron DeSantis, for a gift to President Trump for his presidential library, while the hypnotized population stood silent and a bit afraid.
It’s wake-up time — and time to nominate Dunn for Miami Citizen of the Year.
Edward Cooke,
Miami
No more war
I’m a combat veteran. This year, instead of celebrating Veterans Day by purchasing so-called on sale stuff you don’t need, spend a bit of energy on stopping wars.
I do not want my sons and daughters nor my grandchildren to experience the horrors of war. I do not want anyone to do that. Write your representatives or just vote for those who do not support more wars.
Miles Woolley,
Kendall
Pour the champagne
U.S. Rep. and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is retiring. Finally! Good riddance and hallelujah. It’s about time.
Mike Turkal,
Palmetto Bay
Ethics? Not!
My thanks to Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago for calling out the unethical Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission.
That commission is ethical to whomever has the deepest pockets to pay attorneys.
Monica Tracy,
Miami Beach
Cheney’s legacy
Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who died last week, was an uncontrolled war hound who wanted to kill every warm body in the Middle East. He adored making war and killing people he did not like.
As for former President George W. Bush, Jr., he was weak and overpowered by Cheney, as he ran our foreign policy.
Rather than being, maybe, the most influential vice president ever, Cheney certainly was the VP with the most blood on his hands.
How interesting the Miami Herald would so covet a radical, right wing politician?
Michael G. Merhige,
Kendall
Public road fix
Re: the Nov. 7 Miami Herald editorial, “A gated public road is a luxury most of us can’t have.” A far better solution would be to have armed security patrol the neighborhood. In addition to providing the necessary security, it would help to stop speeders, especially if FHP or other police agency officers were used.
As for those living on the water-side of Alton Road, a gate would not prevent access to their yards from the water. They might consider an armed marine patrol for that purpose.
Robert E. Panoff,
Pinecrest
GOP embarrassment
I am offended that political commentator Nick Fuentes, an avowed racist, antisemitic and inflammatory character who has little to contribute that is not hateful and ignorant, is accepted by many in the Republican Congress.
Fuentes had the audacity to say, during his interview with Tucker Carlson last week, that when he was younger “the diversity had not really reached my corner of Chicago yet.”
His last name is Fuentes. He is diverse! His father is diverse. This country is diverse. That’s what makes this country unique, innovative and interesting.
Will Florida’s two U.S. senators speak out against this toxic individual?
Blanca Hager,
Miami
‘Other America’
In 1962, Michael Harrington published a landmark work with photos, “The Other America.” It exposed to non-impoverished America a side of the country (mostly rural) they didn’t see or perhaps didn’t want to see. It was a catalyst for the War on Poverty.
I thought of the book, especially the photos, when I saw, juxtaposed on the same page in the Miami Herald, articles about tens of thousands of layoffs at UPS and Amazon next to an article and photo of a luxury steakhouse opening locally. All of this is happening in the midst of a government shutdown affecting millions of employees and people dependent on government benefits.
Is this the new other America U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has been soapboxing about?
L. Gabriel Bach,
Key Biscayne
Endless roadwork
I frequently drive the section of U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail), between Krome Avenue and the Miccosukee Tribal lands. That two-lane section of road has been under construction seemingly forever. In most locations, concrete barriers are on both sides of the road, often within inches of the rumble warning buttons at the edge of the road.
Essentially, by the time you feel the buttons, you are already into the concrete barrier. Fortunately, while that has not happened to me yet, judging by the marks on the barriers, it has happened to others.
With RVs, trailers and oncoming headlights in the mix, this creates an extremely dangerous situation, especially while heading east at night. There is literally no margin for error.
There seems to be ample room on the shoulder in most areas to move these barricades further away from the driving lane without interfering with areas under construction.
This road is notoriously dangerous at best. This condition makes a bad situation intolerable.
James Woodard,
Palmetto Bay
Society’s choice
The American Dream, the creation of James Truslow Adams, was written in his 1931 book, “The American Epic.” It was a warning.
Previous republics ended when wealth formed a confederation against everyone else. Adams believed in pursuing a better life, not a richer one. He also believed in unity, rather than living divided. Republics, he felt, represented the best chance of organizing society collectively, uniting atomized individuals to control powerful elites. Adams imagined a republic, or a representative government, engendering unity, encouraging responsibility and instilling respect for the law.
Freedom begins when long-held prejudices are exposed and denounced, including those once treated unjustly. Instead of pitting us against them, the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis believed, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act and each generation must do its part to help build what we call the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.”
Adams and history agree: without unity, no republic can endure elites who manipulate differences to divide and control. Our choice is between being for the republic’s constitution, dreaming of “a more perfect union,” or being a confederate, standing divided and adrift.
Philip Beasley,
Plantation
Veterans always
Veterans Day is a reminder that our nation’s protectors are our active military branches (Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, Merchant Marines and Space Force). All the branches interact to safeguard our country. Not only do these branches protect America, they do so as part of NATO and in peacekeeping missions worldwide.
I learned on my first day in Vietnam in 1967 that where there is war, there can be peace. Training for those who will become veterans one day is based on duty, commitment, honor and country. The uniform symbolizes the dedication to uphold values and principles: justice, freedom, liberty and human rights. Veterans are peace workers.
Veterans Day, then, is every day. Give a veteran a smile and say thank you.
The motto of the Vietnam Veterans of America is ”Never again will one generation of Veterans abandon another.” This is our human spirit for all.
Louis Cohen,
Tamarac
Crypto fools
Per Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, “Narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same.”
Taking that thought a bit further, why is our federal government so ardently behind cryptocurrency, which appears to help foster illegal drug activity?
Eliminating crypto would significantly reduce the movement of illegal drugs without resorting to violence. Unfortunately, it is always about the love — of money!
Richard F. Katz,
Cooper City