Readers comment on UF track and field, new Florida laws and more
Running powerhouse
Football is king at the University of Florida. Granted, it livens up many a Saturday in The Swamp. Other sports at UF are nationally competitive, which receive minimal media coverage. Track and field has notoriously been on the sidelines for years. Yet Gainesville has been a running powerhouse for many decades.
How exciting to see that Coach Mike Holloway and his men’s and women’s teams were featured in several Sun articles recently! Once again, Coach Holloway and both his teams (men and women) won the NCAA outdoor championship held in Oregon in June.
As a runner and former involved member of the Florida Track Club, I have seen Mike (aka Mouse) on the track for years coaching high school students and now UF students. He is a wonderful model for young athletes and has been remarkably successful for many years. How fortunate we are to have Mike Holloway as a UF coach.
Congratulations to the men’s and women's track and field teams. What a great year you have had!
Carolyn Hanson, Gainesville
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Freedom vs. control
On Feb. 26, Sen. Rick Scott said in a speech that Democrats “want to replace freedom with control.” His comment is an example of projection, placing on others a quality that one has but is not proud of having.
Home rule allows a community to govern itself, a freedom valued by local citizens, Democrats, Republicans and independent voters. Yet, Tallahassee legislators have recently begun to intrude more and more into local decision-making.
Another example of projection is when one political party complains that the other is indoctrinating citizens. That is the party that is telling educators what and how to teach, and banning books and speech.
What about the freedom to control one’s body? If legislators can tell women when they can have children, when will they tell men that they need to be castrated? Today it is reproductive issues; tomorrow the freedom to have elective surgery may be challenged.
The freedom to vote is being controlled by more and more restrictions on the process. On July 1, 150 new laws went into effect, some of which are mentioned above. For a government that claims it supports less government intruding on citizens, voters must wonder about who we have elected.
Charna Cohn, Gainesville
Pure hypocrisy
A number of local Republicans supporting Keith Perry’s end run around Alachua County’s charter complain that conservatives are not fairly represented here. As a Democrat living in a Republican-gerrymandered state, I know how they feel; I have not had an elected representative in Tallahassee in decades.
Now these Republicans want to gerrymander Alachua County too, because they can’t elect conservatives here in open elections when all votes are equal. They want special districts, elevating rural voters over Gainesville’s majority, to make sure Republicans dominate not only the state, but also Alachua County.
Perry’s high-sounding calls to “duty” and “fairness” are pure hypocrisy. This is about power.
James Sullivan, Gainesville
Sickening story
I read the most disturbing news article recently. After 15 years imprisoned at Guantanamo prison, Asadullah Haroon Gul was recently released. He had never been charged. For his first nine years in prison, Gul was denied access to an attorney.
According to a United Kingdom-based human rights group, this man was beaten, hung by his wrists, deprived of food and water, prevented from praying and subjected to sleep deprivation, extreme cold and solitary confinement. In October of 2021, a Washington court determined that Gul was not part of al-Qaida and ordered his release.
Sen. Marco Rubio has criticized Biden for the release, stating, "The terrorist organization that now controls Afghanistan cannot and will not ensure Gul, or any future detainees who are released, will not return to the battlefield and potentially kill Americans or other innocent civilians." An innocent civilian falsely imprisoned and tortured for 15 years might return to the battlefield? I wonder why.
This story makes me sick.
Pam Meyers, Cedar Key
Harmful recommendation
I ask if a legal basis exists for accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis of practicing medicine without a license for inhibiting COVID-19 vaccination of infants and children less than 5 years old.
Contrary to best medical evidence (and the policy of 49 U.S. states), DeSantis apparently recommends, and directs, that such vaccination is not indicated for this age group, a recommendation that has the potential to result in illness and deaths.
Ira H. Gessner, MD, Gainesville
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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letters on UF track and field, new Florida laws and more
