Readers comment on UF's reputation, Joe Biden, Donald Trump and more

Autocratic behavior

Kudos to the recent column in The Sun regarding the lowering of the University of Florida’s excellent reputation because of trust issues between university administrators and faculty/staff/students.

The hiring of Dr. Joseph Ladapo in spite of improper hiring practices is a case in point. That this hiring was prompted by the upper administration and not the UF department, and was likely influenced by higher political powers, opens up criticism — ultimately interfering with UF's hard-earned reputation as a first-class, top-ranked public university.

That Gov. Ron DeSantis could and would interfere with employment choices within our university system is an example of autocratic behavior. His actions of dismissing an Alachua County School Board member and making his personal replacement is another example of a power play.

DeSantis shouts out that he represents "freedom" but he uses his power to dictate what freedoms he approves of and what freedoms he chooses to squash. Think hard this November before you vote to re-elect this governor who proclaims he stands for freedom. In reality, you will be voting for someone who dictates his authority/power to do and get what he wants.

Gail Walker, Keystone Heights 

More letters:

Readers comment on Title IX, abortion, Jan. 6 and kidney stones

Readers comment on increasing density in Gainesville, political vandalism and more

Readers comment on the meaning of freedom and local political candidates

Bravo to UF athletes

Athletic events are great for bringing people together. There are the Olympics, the World Cup and, this year, the World Championships. The championships have 192 countries with over 1,000 athletes

Florida athletes included Grant Holloway (gold), Anna Hall (bronze), Champion Allison (gold) and Talitha Diggs (gold). We can be grateful for living in Alachua County, where we can pick and choose our favorite Florida teams and athletes to cheer for and watch.

Larry Schwandes, Gainesville

Ecological disaster

I care deeply about the health of the environment so birds, animals and humans can live healthy lives. I encourage everyone to read about Utah's Great Salt Lake drying out leading to an ecological disaster.

My husband and I used to attend the annual bird festival on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and see a wide variety of migrating birds. We knew water was not being protected when we moved out of state, but I had no idea how bad the situation was until reading Nathan Frandino's article from Reuters.  

Florida's environment is at risk, too, as long as Republicans are in charge. The issues may be different, but if you love the natural environment of Florida, please vote accordingly. Some politicians pretend to be environmentalists, but pay attention to how they vote.

Barbara Brewer, Alachua 

Biden’s policies

The far left of the Democratic Party, including Joe Biden, has a radical environmental agenda. The world is laughing at Biden in Air Force One using tons of gas and emitting tons of emissions to go to Saudi Arabia to ask for more oil production as oil is sitting in our own backyard.

Because of Biden’s failed policies, the country is in decline. His motto: America last.

We have the never-ending Jan. 6 kangaroo court that will come to the same conclusion as the Mueller report — nothing. The left is so terrified Donald Trump will run that they would like to destroy him now. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has ties to China and his laptop is giving off disturbing information.

American citizens are not safe, especially in Democratic-run cities where crime is up. Chicago has the most shootings and the strictest gun laws — go figure.

People are screaming about the Supreme Court decision on abortion, which gives the decision back to the people. Nobody is talking about personal responsibility. If you don’t want a child, take the necessary precautions.

God bless our country. I guess it's hard to do that when God is taken out of everything.

Eileen Maren, Gainesville 

Trump’s record

Under President Trump and his totally controlled Congress, plus many state and local governments loyal to him and with three Supreme Court justices nominated by him, we got the following:

• They greatly strengthened the idea that owning guns is our most important right even if mass killings of school children continue or increase.

• They denied global warming and refused to make any effort to deal with it.

• While claiming to be preserving freedom and rights, their Supreme Court moved to deny women the right to control their own bodies.

• Ex-president Trump lied about the election results and organized and encouraged his followers to participate in a coup attempt.

It’s no wonder we are a totally divided nation with seemingly no way to agree on the best way forward. Step one must be Republicans taking back control of their party.

James H. Sullivan Jr., Gainesville

Join the conversation

Share your opinions by sending a letter to the editor (up to 200 words) to letters@gainesville.com. Letters must include the writer's full name and city of residence. Additional guidelines for submitting letters and longer guest columns can be found at bit.ly/sunopinionguidelines.

Journalism matters. Your support matters.

Get a digital subscription to the Gainesville Sun. Includes must-see content on Gainesville.com and Gatorsports.com, breaking news and updates on all your devices, and access to the eEdition. Visitwww.gainesville.com/subscribenow to sign up.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letterson UF's reputation, Joe Biden, Donald Trump and more