Protests work
I suspect that Renee Nicole Good had seen videos of masked untrained ICE thugs jump out of their unmarked vehicles, smash a driver’s window, pull the driver out, and manhandle him/her after throwing the driver to the ground. Imagine the terror she felt when an ICE agent tried to yank her car door open and then reached through her car window to open her door from the inside. No wonder she tried to speed away before a masked ICE thug murdered her.
Stop this reign of terror. Your vote counts.
Erica Chenoweth and other researchers coined the 3.5% rule: “When 3.5% of a country’s population participate in sustained non-violent protest, the government collapses.” 3.5% equals 12.5 million Americans. Seven million attended the last “No Kings” protest.
Please protest ICE’s domestic terrorists, the high costs of living, the demolition of our health care and insurance systems, the lawlessness of Donald Trump, and the complicity of our current Republican leaders. Protests work.
Tom Donahue, registered Republican, Fort Myers
We’re better than this
Every single day, we witness another horrific incident in this country, the direct result of actions initiated by the president and carried out by the government’s actions and inaction — on both sides of the aisle. Lies and propaganda have taken the place of truth; violence, bullying and bigotry are acceptable standards of behavior; and an ugly era in history repeats itself as shades of Nazi Germany seek to darken the American soil.
We as a country are so much better than this — we have proven it many times in many ways. And we as individuals can help our country find its way back — but not by staying on the path we’re currently being led down.
I realize there are many reasons why others will disagree with me, and I respect their right to their opinions. I also respectfully ask them this question: When they look at what’s happening in the U.S. today and the effect it’s having here and throughout the world, do they still see themselves and what they believe this country represents?
For me, the answer is, sadly, no.
Elizabeth (Bet) Koeninger, Fort Myers
Stand up against this tyrant
OMG! Are there no Republicans in Congress with the backbone to stand up against this would be toddler tyrant?
He wants to “whitewash” the Smithsonian’s documentation of American history, he is withdrawing from 62 international associations that might try to guardrail his actions, he is doing everything possible to honor “whiteness,” his regime wants to break national hero Mark Kelly, ICE has become his “Brown shirt” goon squad, he acts as he pleases with no respect for Congress’s legislative role, he is trying to manipulate Republican wins wherever he can. he wants to vastly increase spending for the Department of “Defense” to create his “dream” military. He loves threatening other countries on the pretense of protecting American interests, he does what he pleases and litigates later, he uses “power” to impose his wishes on other countries − and the lists go on and on. Wake up Congress if you are afraid of Trump you don’t deserve to represent anyone − you are our only hope to stop this charade.
Ted Barto, Naples
Hypocrisy?
I have seen many opinions that the ICE shooting in MN was justified due to not following law enforcement instructions and self-defense. Ignoring the fact that detailed analysis shows that the shots were fired after the threat to the officer had passed, how many voicing those opinions had little problem with Trump pardoning the Jan. 6 protesters who had actively assaulted Capitol police?
Chris Johnson, Fort Myers Beach
Making China Great Again
Donald Trump’s bullying friends and foes alike will result in diminishing American power, prestige and wealth. The dividends he brags will flow from Venezuela are a costly mirage. The payoff is illusionary − and any money squeezed from this latest adventure will go to the pockets of Trump and his cronies, not to the people of Venezuela or the U.S.
China will be by far the biggest winner, with Russia close behind. The security of Taiwan, Ukraine and much of Eastern Europe is threatened. Meanwhile, threats against Greenland will reduce the NATO alliance to nothingness. The world will be a scarier place.
Bruce Beardsley, Naples
Not lifting us up
When viewing the events in Minneapolis that took the life of a 37-year-old mother, did you feel the ICE agents were Making America Great Again? Or maybe it was Kristi Noem calling it domestic terrorism, or listening to Trump attempting to justify the actions of ICE. MAGA? I don’t think so.
Roger W. Quagliano, Estero
Humanity lost in lies
Barely before the slain 37-year-old model U.S. citizen and mother of a 6-year-old could be unceremoniously hauled from her vehicle after being shot by an ICE agent, “Annie Oakley” Noem, “I was in the Marine Corps but the Marine Corps was not in me” J.D. Vance, and our severely “truth impaired about everything” president were before microphones calling her a domestic terrorist. Modeling the behavior of truthful, thoughtful public servants who wait for an investigation to determine the facts, they all depicted this lady with reportedly one traffic ticket in her life as someone who TRIED to run over an ICE agent (Noem and Vance) or ACTUALLY RAN over the ICE agent and put him in the hospital where he was clinging to life (Trump). None of these low folks in high places were telling the truth. Of course as actual videos of the incident emerged, proving them all wrong, they did the Trump two-step and doubled down on the lies. So anxious was this version of the administration’s three stooges to protect their dear leader by any means necessary that they barely acknowledged the tragedy of this highly likely innocent woman’s death. This administration has long demonstrated a lack of humanity, many would say intentional cruelty, in their actions and policies, and they work really hard to convince the rest of us that this should be a normal American value. It is not, do not let them and clearly send that message in November.
Thomas Minor, Bonita Springs
Regime change in Venezuela
Of the many inconsistent, illogical, and ill-advised statements made by President Trump and members of his administration regarding the invasion of Venezuela last weekend, the one by Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson’s is the most inane. He minimized the belligerence by stating: “We’re not engaged in a regime change.”
Oh.
However deposed Venezuelan former leader Nicolas Maduro is characterized − and it ought to be a bad one − when one country, the United States, sends in military troops to another nation, captures its president and removes him from that land, it sure looks like “a regime change.”
While that may not have been the only or principal reason − expropriating oil seems to be the rationale du jour now − changing the regime there is the unmistakable result.
The old saying, “if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”
Regime change has been the outcome of the invasion, and try as he might, Speaker Johnson’s quack cannot duck that reality.
Marshall H. Tanick, Naples
Expect more intimidation
If you’re waiting for a proper response to the shooting in Minneapolis, don’t hold your breath. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, before even seeing the video of the incident, labeled the 37-year-old mother of three a Domestic Terrorist. Who in their right mind would buy this assertion. The agent who fired the deadly bullet was inexplicably at the front of the car. The poor lady was obviously afraid for her own safety and actually waved the agents to go around. Instead they got out of their vehicle and accosted the lady by trying to open her door so they could probably drag her out. With the blessing of their president, vice president and Homeland Security chief, there is no chance in hell this unfortunate, preventable occurrence will ever be prosecuted. Instead, DJT is sending more agents to intimidate the citizens of Minneapolis further. Remember, he never makes a mistake and won’t apologize for anything.
Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral
Is this what we want?
Regardless of our political leanings, I am guessing that anyone watching current events is trying to figure out what’s going on. With the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the roaming explanation for that action, we are left to parse out what the real motivation is and how it serves the United States. Not a historical scholar, I venture once again to discern the puzzle of “why” based on the musings of those who are. The conversation emerging about annexing Greenland which would break our NATO agreement, might be a piece of the puzzle. The latest military action to control Venezuela isn’t about drugs or even oil. It’s about power. The conversation emerging about annexing Greenland which would break our NATO agreement, points to this theory too. This is about controlling the Western Hemisphere, its resources, and perhaps even more significant, our military. While it’s not my original thought, it is the one that makes the most sense to me. It’s about the president of the United States taking control of the military for his own purposes without congressional approval. While there are examples across political parties in the 20th Century of presidents deploying troops without that approval, they generally fall into the categories of self-defense, the defense of an ally, lawful, or were part of a NATO action (Kosovo) or the UN Security Council (Korea). This is the second instance, the first being Iran, in which Trump has deployed forces citing presidential authority. While governed by a different set of rules, his deployment of troops unbidden to states to suppress opposition to his policies supports the theory that he is attempting to establish governance of the military solely to the president. Why is this important and why does it make sense? With all the attention focused on the mid-term elections, which some predict will shift the power of Congress to the Democrats, establishing a pattern of presidential authority over our military that does not involve Congress, shifts the balance of power to the president. While many factors contribute to the rise of an autocrat, a common thread is control of the military to suppress opposition and stay in power. In Project 2025 which has proven to be a kind of road map for the Trump presidency, the “Mandate for Leadership blueprint, proposed several measures to consolidate presidential authority over the military and national security apparatus. … The initiative is built on a controversial legal theory that the entire executive branch, including the Department of Defense (DOD), should be under the president’s direct and absolute control, potentially removing traditional independent checks.” We need to ask ourselves, is this what we want? Is this the path that will preserve our republic, that will support our democracy where we have a voice? If it isn’t, we need to contact our representatives and make our voices heard.
Susan Kaercher Meyers, Naples
Beef and climate change
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just proclaimed that beef and fats are good for us, despite the scientific evidence on which the previous dietary guideline was based. Americans may decide to alter their eating habits based on the new dietary guideline, or not, but there’s a strong reason to reduce beef consumption that is unrelated to diet: climate change. Emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cause climate change, and an enormous amount of those emissions come from the production of beef. These include emissions from deforestation to clear land for grazing, emissions arising from the growing of crops for animal feed, and emissions of the GHG methane that is released from ruminant animals. If you are trying to help the planet reduce the emissions of GHGs, eating poultry rather than beef would be a much better choice. The production of one pound of beef results in the release of 100 pounds of GHGs, but the production of one pound of chicken results in the release of about 15 pounds of GHGs.
Patricia Duncan, Fort Myers
Bluster with little substance
I am a supporter of President Trump and the Republican Party. However, I am not blind to incompetent members of the party. The two whom I am referring to that are always speaking on TV are James Comer and Jim Jordan. They are a lot of bluster with little substance. Comer says he is going to do this and find that. He has, unfortunately, become the Adam Schiff of the GOP.
Americans need to see those politicians guilty of misbehavior brought to justice. The boastful speech serves no purpose except to illuminate that many elected officials, who work for us, are in positions which are way over their capabilities.
We need to put people in charge that can bring the good back into our government.
Michael Zubrow, Naples
Affordability starts at home
The country is up in arms about affordability. The focus is on housing, food, and energy. So how does a person, let alone a country, tackle the affordability question? Everyone has a comment, a shoutout, or banging a drum over the cost of everyday life. The examples I am about to lay out require an acceptance of where we are today.
Starting with housing, the problem is not the pricing structure because homes are negotiated all the time and you don’t have to overpay above your means. However, it may require you to live elsewhere, and you may have a longer commute to work and you may have to share or take in roommates. But the real crisis is the mortgage rates. The mortgage rate is high right now. A 6% rate means hundreds of dollars higher. This is a banking issue, not a “short term interest rate” via the Fed. Lower the rates, things are more affordable. Banks won’t lower rates until they are convinced the economy is good.
Food is harder. While America grows enough to share with the world, we have outsourced our farms and food production to other countries. In addition to where our food is located, we are putting politics right in the middle. Restrictions on where and how along with onerous regulations, we have priced our food beyond many people’s resources. We choose processed foods, ready to eat, fast food, and ignore the basics. How do I know this, look how fat America is. We don’t need to buy three bags of chips and get one free. And we throw away about 50% of our food. Leftovers fed a nation, now they sit in the bottom of our garbage cans.
Energy. There is no easy answer. We flip the switch we expect the light to go on. We start the car; it needs gas or electric. And our homes require heat and air conditioning. We go to the movies, we go out to dinner, we drive down a street at night, and we expect them to work. We need massive power to run AI, factories and mills, schools and domed stadiums. Energy is expensive. The best strategy is to turn off the lights when we leave a room, we turn down the heat or turn up the air, we drive only when necessary, and we should be good stewards of this source. But I would check the tax rates on these products.
Affordability starts at home. and if you want progress, look in the mirror.
Jack Holt, Cape Coral
Purge Republican enablers
While we are distracted by Epstein, Venezuela, ICE etc. the administration is busy dismantling the entire structure of America. What we don’t see is the changes in museums to alter factual history to reflect the Trumpian version. The attempted ruination of our national parks so they can be sold off to profit-making businesses. The cutting of social services and health care to people in need. In every case it is so the rich can get richer. Trump only values wealth and the rest of us can rot as far as he is concerned. If you don’t like the above remember he is enabled by Republicans like Byron Donalds. We need to purge all Republicans from local offices to president.
Benjamin Glick, Naples
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Protests work. Stop this reign of terror | Opinion letters
Reporting by Letter writers / Fort Myers News-Press
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