Wanted: JFK, Ike; DeSantis lifts vs. Haley; Israel vs. Hamas; guns vs. knives | Letters

Selfish politicians, U.S. divisiveness dangerous mix

As we read the letters to this column, it becomes clearer that we are indeed a nation divided and in regression. No longer is there the unity and pride that followed our involvement in World War II and Korea.

Even with the strong disagreement on our Vietnam actions, it did not reach the depths of division that we see today. Indeed, there are no Harry S. Trumans, Dwight D. Eisenhowers or John F. Kennedys in our leadership. It is not even close.

Any way you want to view it, we see “politics” as the major issue in our country. Now, everything that is done is directed to election or reelection. Politicians’ bottom line: How will my actions affect my voting support, not what is the best action for our country.

We are our own Middle East. Our open borders and free admission policies have no relationship to our country’s basic principles and ideals. We are becoming our own biggest enemy.

Just look at our leadership’s behavior to the movement occurring in our population. Just imagine if we are called to war to defend our country. Will a military draft really work? You know the answer, as well as I.

We have reached the onset of decline encountered by many empires in the past. Depending how steep the downward slope will determine your own personal well-being.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Are you kidding? Take off your blinders and recognize what is occurring here in America. God bless America? Why?

Ray Grochowski, Vero Beach

Matt Gaetz's made-for-TV shenanigans bad for nation

Matt Gaetz? Isn’t he the genius who wore a World War II gas mask on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives? He did it to mock those of us who wore masks during the height of the COVID pandemic. He did it because his God, Donald Trump, doesn’t wear a mask.

It does give you an idea of exactly what kind of person Gaetz is.

Yes, Matt is your typical Republican southern representative who will say “swamp’” when referring to Washington and then, after a hurricane or disaster, insist that the “swamp” bail out his district with millions in FEMA assistance.

Being a typical Republican representative, Matt doesn’t actually do much governing; his forte is getting on TV.

He talks of “constructive chaos,” as if there is such a thing. No, chaos at any level can destroy countries. But maybe this is what he wants. If he had his way, he would have shut the country down. The harm it would have done to the country is irrelevant to Matt; he has a point to make.

Would shutting down the country lead to higher interest rates on the national debt? Yes, but, more importantly, it would get Matt on TV.

Joseph Desmond, Vero Beach

At 96, he has advice for DeSantis about boosters

Maybe I am getting old, changing to 96 on Veterans Day.

But I could swear Ron DeSantis must be wearing lifts in his boots hidden under his pant legs to appear taller that Nikki Haley in the debates. It appears he is shorter in photos taken prior to being onstage with her. Being taller does not make you any smarter.

I am married 74 years and my wife is much shorter and much sharper. And if any man thinks he is smarter by wearing boots with lifts, he needs to have his head examined. It won't work.

Joe Liguori, Vero Beach

Assault rifles as bad as many think they are?

While murders are a very serious issue and seem to be on the rise in cities that have implemented "defund the police"’ policies, the impact of "assault rifles" is not the reason, contrary to what letter writer Anne Brakman and many others think.

This is a simple empirical issue that data can address. Using FBI data, all rifles, including assault rifles, are used in a small fraction of all murders — less than 3%. To add to this, four times as many people are killed by knives than all rifles, and almost twice as many are killed by unarmed people than by people using rifles.

So focusing on a small subset of all rifles, assault rifles, as the mechanism to reduce murders is clearly a very ineffective strategy.

Adam Dobrin, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Florida Atlantic University College of Social Work & Criminal Justice, lives in Port St. Lucie.

No alternative but to eliminate Hamas

Morally reprehensible, profoundly despicable, incomprehensively evil or aberrant, abhorrent hate run amok.

No matter the words used to describe what Hamas did on Oct. 7, it was vile. The actions of a degenerated, warped group that expressly calls for the killing of all members of a certain group must be met with action to preclude the possibility of that to occur.

The alternative is to allow a victory that violates everything that anyone with any sense of decency would believe to be OK. Israel must destroy Hamas. The penalty for failure is horrible to consider. Israel needs to continue until Hamas is no longer a threat.

Robert Miller, Vero Beach

Seek cease-fire, call out Israeli war crimes

I’m a member of the Palestinian community here in PSL and wanted to share that we had a large demonstration where members from the Palestinian-American community, Hispanic community, local American community and Jewish community stood in solidarity against Israeli war crimes as well as calling for a cease-fire.

We also expressed our frustration and anger with our congressional representative, Brian Mast, for comparing innocent Palestinian civilians to “Nazi civilians.”

My hope is to raise awareness, as well as call out our leaders, for their lack of action. Shurouk Hussein, Port St. Lucie

'Big Lie' of 2020 election starting to have dual meaning

Cray Little (letters, Nov. 8) asserts that the “Big Lie” (that the 2020 election was stolen) was “proven false in court 62 times.”

Although this assertion is repeated endlessly, it is not true.

A summary of these legal cases has been published by the American Bar Association. Some were filed and dismissed before the election took place and could never be “proof” for any stolen election.  Some were dismissed after the election solely because the court argued that they should have been filed before the election.

Big lie "proven false"? No way.

Many cases were dismissed simply because, under the U.S. Constitution, the appellate courts believed that they could not “interfere” with the “certification process” in any state. Finally, the bulk of the cases were dismissed for lack of “standing.”

In the most famous of these cases, the state of Texas sued Pennsylvania and several other states alleging significant “voting irregularities” as a result of a lack of “improper ballot integrity protections.” But rather than deal directly with the substance of these allegations, the Supreme Court simply defaulted and dismissed the case “for lack of standing under Article 3 of the Constitution.” To my knowledge, not one evidentiary hearing was permitted in any of these 67 (not 62) cases.

In short, procedural and constitutional issues and not any lack of “evidence” doomed these legal challenges. And it’s about time that the media and some letter writers get this straight.

Dom Armentano, Vero Beach

Here's how to start solving immigration crisis

Our federal government has found it acceptable to open our borders to almost anybody who wants to come to America for a better life. Here's one solution.

Many of our citizens are too lazy to go back to work. Since immigrants want all the goods, services and safety our government pays for (that means us), all immigrants who come here must register to be here and pay taxes on their earnings to reduce our burden.

Employers can hire registered immigrants and must provide proof as such on demand, be highly fined for hiring undocumented people and be closed down for a second offense.

Registered immigrants who want to become American citizens will need to apply immediately and complete the requirements do so within two years. Failure to actively become a citizen will cut off their benefits.

The providers of American citizenship courses will provide quarterly evidence of immigrant course progress and application status to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department. Those who are not American citizens should not be allowed to vote in any American elections under any circumstances.

Immigrants want to work. They want a better life. Immigrants helped build this country. Let them help us rebuild it!

For the impoverished, the feds should restart the Works Project Administration, which employed millions to fix and create buildings, roads, etc., which we so badly need. Government can contract transportation to and from those projects. Immigrants should be included in this. To those capable and refusing to work (panhandlers), we should not give money. Those not capable can be referred to many service organizations already in place.

I'm not perfect and you may have other thoughts, additions and needed modifications to this, such as temporary housing. We have to start somewhere, and the sometime is now.

Bruce Montefusco, Hobe Sound

Americans willing to abort nation to kill unborn?

As someone once said, "Elections have consequences."

Take the state of our nation today: Inflation is rampant; thousands are dying each day as a result of our open borders; we're involved with two wars; our military is weakened; our cities are in decline; and the man in the White House doesn't always tell the truth and is a suspected money-launderer. It's a Democratic administration disaster.

One would think that sensible, clear-thinking citizens would evaluate the situation and opt for a change of direction. Except they don't. Apparently, they've decided to accept such disaster and even extend it — as long as they can retain the right to kill the unborn. The future of America be damned as long as they can prevent a future for the unborn.

What does such thinking say about patriotism? About their love of country, even their love of their own children, who will have to live with the administrations they vote for? If abortion has priority over the economy, our national security, over military preparedness, our struggling cities, we are, in effect, eventually aborting America, the country with which we have been blessed.

Then there is belief in God. If there is a God, he is the creator of life and if that is so, we haveno right to determine which of the lives he creates we will let live, no right to "play God." It takes a fading belief in the almighty to act otherwise — another portent of the destruction of the America many of us love, one founded on Judeo-Christian morality.

Daniel J. Gorman, Palm City

Is our nation under God too militaristic?

Don’t we have drones that can drop bombs? Why do we need “new and improved” Stealth bombers, costing $650 million each?

Our $500 million ones bombed a parking lot in Panama and a house in Iraq? Not one showed up on 9/11/2001, nor did any Defense Department/NORAD plane, for that matter.

Why aren’t the well-subsidized folks on the Space Coast updating our obsolete air-traffic control systems and airports and building better bridges and roads to get to them? Isn’t that what Ike would be doing?

China has built a Stealth bomber? So what? Thirty-five million Chinese people were killed during 10 years of Japanese occupation, compared to half a million Americans. Japan took the island of Taiwan from China in 1895 to start their military buildup about the time we were taking over Hawaii, Guam, Wake Island and the Philippines to protect ourselves.

Taiwan is 90 miles off their coast? Like Cuba to us? Which was also supposed to be a “self-governing island,” according to the treaty we signed with Spain. Yet our troops stayed two years, and we just up and took the land for Guantanamo and have kept a military base there ever since.

Now how much is it costing us to send battleships and fighter planes to patrol the South China Sea? China built the Pingtan Strait Road rail bridge for $215 million. It’s on the web; compare it to the rusty, 100-year-old lift bridge in Stuart.

“Taiwan is one of the biggest investors in China … In 2021, the value of cross-strait trade was US $273.06 billion,” is what the official Taiwan government website seems to say. Are we investing in Cuba, or still maintaining an embargo? Is this a “nation under God," dependent on the military industrial complex for our prosperity and prestige?

Helen Frigo, Jensen Beach

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Trump lies? DeSantis lifts, Haley; Israel vs. Hamas; Gaetz | Letters