Letters to the editor should be 250 words or less. Include your name and city or community of residence. Guest opinions should be 600 words or less and include a brief summary of the author’s credentials relevant to the topic. Guest opinions may include a head shot of the author. For the Fort Myers News-Press, email submissions to [email protected] and for the Naples Daily News to [email protected]
Why stop fluoridation?
If the leading toothpaste companies put fluoride in their products, why did the Naples City Council vote to cut it off in our water? It has been a great success, especially for those who cannot use our expensive dentists’ services.
Marian Lauck, Naples
Trump and the economy
How could Trump possibly handle the economy better than anyone else?After all everybody knows that he bankrupted six businesses and drove America’s deficit up higher than anyone has ever seen before.
Fred Jodice, North Fort Myers
A dose of Fox
Many letter writers accuse those on the right of being brainwashed by Fox News. It seems too many of your letter writers could use a few doses of Fox News. Why? Because many writers sound ill-informed and see only one side of issues without a full understanding of what’s really happening. For example, it’s immoral to deport illegals. What some don’t seem to understand is that the new administration is talking about the many unvetted illegals who are criminals released from jails or mental institutions or have committed crimes while in the U.S.So, to the bleeding hearts, broaden your perspectives and get a balanced view as to what is really happening. A dose of Fox will do you good!
Richard Piccirilli, Naples
Character still counts
No surprise but the weekly, if not daily, doses of hypocrisy the country can look forward to for the next four years have already begun under our newly elected Grifter-in-Chief. Mr. Trump saw fit to make the pilgrimage to the recent Army-Navy game in an attempt to burnish his conjured-up bone-spur draft dodger status and his shaky credentials as someone who has denigrated wounded warriors, POWs, Gold Star Families and Medal of Honor winners. I am sure Mr. Trump hopes we will all forget. This Marine will not. Mr. Trump did and said these things because it played well with a nihilistic MAGA mob and got him votes. In attending this particular game, Mr. Trump stood among cadets and midshipmen whose legacy represents eleven of the over three thousand recipients of the winner of this nation’s highest award for valor, most having made the ultimate sacrifice. Mr. Trump, a master at this, basked in the publicity around his presence, with no second thoughts about his past comments or actions directed at what these cadets and midshipmen represent but whose event he, per usual, exploited for self-gain. Sociopaths show no remorse, lack empathy and eventually find themselves unable to distinguish between right and wrong. MAGA, whether they are aware of it or not, entered that territory when they threw in with Mr. Trump. I am hopeful that over the next four years the non-MAGA world will be able to keep the rest of the country holding on to the enduring values that have made and kept America great, despite the efforts of those cut from the same cloth as Mr. Trump who would have us believe otherwise. Like it or not, character remains the ultimate determining factor in all of our destinies and the destiny of this country. Forgive me if I missed it but I have yet to hear this as an argument in support of Mr. Trump.
Thomas Minor, Bonita Springs
Basic rules of psychiatry
Apparently, charges in the recent political campaign that Donald Trump was an “existential threat” to democracy was not enough to sway the electorate. Now there is an op-ed in a recent Naples Daily News, “Mental illness and politics: A toxic mix”, that seeks to resurrect thoughts from a book, ”The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” edited by psychiatrist Dr. Brandy Lee and published in 2017.
Missing from the discussion is the vital fact that Dr. Lee’s appointment at Yale was not renewed as she repeatedly violated one of the basic rules of psychiatry: the patient, Donald Trump, was not examined. Likewise, Lee’s hyperbolic comment: “Trump could destroy the entirehuman species,” may have prompted some to question her judgment.
Most alarming is a lesson from the history of the Soviet Union: the abuse of psychiatry as a political weapon; as it was commonplace for Soviet dissidents to be incarcerated in psychiatric hospitals. Its use in the United States as a misguided political cudgel is much more of a threat to society than the supercharged biased comments of Dr. Lee. I’ll put my trust and faith in the American electorate rather than in the writings of a discredited psychiatrist or the reasoning of the former professor of medicine who penned the op-ed.
James F. Lally, MD, Naples
Typical Trump picks
Kari Lake has been appointed by Trump to direct our Voice of America. She’s certainly not my voice. Like her idol, she’s an election denier. She has no proof because there is no proof. She lost her gubernatorial run in Arizona in 2022 and refused to concede. She lost her senatorial race in 2024. She is sickeningly devoted to Donald Trump. As such, she will not give the rest of the world a fair and balanced picture of the happenings in America. She’ll be giving the Trump version of things, and he tends to lie quite often.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Don Jr.’s ex, has been named the ambassador to Greece. She’s on record as calling Greeks lazy “freeloaders.” She’ll probably be tasked with getting a Trump monument built atop Mount Olympus.
Elsewhere in Trump world, his appointments show a disappointing pattern — they go to sycophants, Fox personalities, extended family members, and rich guys who want what’s best for them, not us. The common thread is that they are unqualified loyalists and will do whatever they’re told. Independent thought will not be tolerated. How about Eric’s wife, Lara, for U.S. Senator from Florida? Ouch.
Hegseth, Gabbard, and Patel will have impactful roles in jobs they are unfit for. They are scary picks whose past actions and statements should eliminate them.
Senate Republicans will have the opportunity to exercise their constitutional duty to “advise and consent.” Fearing the wrath of Trump, they are less likely to advise and more likely to consent. Trump is a powerful man and they are a spineless lot.
Kevin McNally, Bonita Springs
Becoming an oligarchy
President Trump won the 2024 election by a slim majority. Many voters expressed their support for him based on the economy. Others who did not vote for him were also concerned about the economy but thought the country was making progress in addressing the struggles.I don’t believe that voters hoped or expected our government to become an oligarchy. An oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power rests upon a small group of people. Such people can be distinguished by several characteristics, including fame and wealth. Aristotle called it “rule by the rich.”The wealth of Trump’s Cabinet and advisers is upwards of $330 billion. The stated concerns of Trump and these people are about enacting more tax cuts and a rolling back regulations. The tax cuts won’t be for the working people, and a reduction of regulations won’t protect us from the wiles of big business. The net effect of such measures is to create even more wealth for the oligarchs. Ordinary citizens won’t share in that wealth.I don’t think that most people stop and think what the implications of an oligarchy class are. Oligarchs can make huge contributions to political campaigns with no significant impact to their wealth. The money will help them control the outcome of elections and threaten persons with whom they disagree. As they profit from tax cuts and fewer regulations, they will simply acquire more wealth and more power.We have been encouraged to think that the influx of immigrants has hampered the American dream, but the real threat to the American dream is the greed of the oligarch class.We face a bleak future. Oligarchs are not interested in you or me. Everything is stacked against our future. It will be up to all of us to pay close attention to what comes next: reduction of retirement benefits, limits to health care, laws passed to protect the those in power, and a host of other things. If we are not vigilant and informed, we will all get what we do not deserve. And that prospect is frightening.
Addison Woodward, Naples
Choose democracy
I fully understand the motives of many of the young people today who support Trump for president because they are dissatisfied with our flawed bureaucratic democracy. But having fought as a World War II combat veteran against the authoritarian governments similar to what Trump proposes to bring to America, I can tell you that our American democracy, as frustrating as it can frequently be, is still considerably better than what we would have under Trump.
Robert Hilliard, Sanibel
Chaos follows Trump
Unfortunately, I have a great memory. I remember Trump and the chaos of his administration. I remember his Muslim ban and his hateful immigration policy that separated immigrant children from their parents.
COVID was attacking our population and Trump was on the air every day suggesting we take bleach and ivermectin. We saw Trump more concerned about his own health than the health of the American people. Trump refused to be a leader and put the country first. In the end 1,000,000 Americans were dead.
We saw him incite an insurrection on January 6th that resulted in the death of several police officers. He did this because he refused to accept his defeat in a fair election. Chaos follows him everywhere. Our country needs to turn the page regarding Donald Trump. He will always focus only on himself — not the American people.
JoAnn Stehr, Sanibel
Both sides to blame
Marshall Tanick’s column about “Uncivil behavior spreads to college athletics” for the most part was accurate. I was especially disappointed in the University of Nebraska’s no handshake before the game with Iowa. This former season ticket holder knows very well this was not something the university or state would condone. After every game it is a tradition to give the visiting team a standing ovation for their efforts win or lose as they head to the locker room. We appreciated both teams giving their all. My only disagreement with this column was his assertion that, “some blame the president-elect for diminishing civility.” This paragraph could and should have been deleted from this column. If he would have made a minor change and said the current president and president-elect I would have agreed with you. Both sides are to blame. Your opinion is that it’s Trump’s fault. Your little dig showed your personal opinion and was very divisive. Maybe, you are the problem?
George Hautzinger, Naples
Abuse of Biden/Democrats
I am horrified at the lies and untruths about the Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump. I am amazed at the made up lies these poor people believe and try to pass on to other people. Maybe they are feeling what many of us have been feeling with the government abuse of Biden/Democrats for the last 3 ½ years.
I pray it will equal out soon. And America will once again be the “Home of the Free and the Brave”
Marjorie Hancock, Naples
Trump and the Constitution
The re-affirmation by President-elect Trump last week of his intent to pardon the January 6th rioters, including some 127 Floridians, the largest group from any single state, coupled with his repeated threat to prosecute and “jail” members of the congressional investigative committee that examined that outrage.
The two presidential-to-be pledges reflect how much — and how little — the incoming president understands about the Constitution.
He recognizes and relishes his unfettered presidential authority in Article II of the Constitution to issue pardons for anyone he likes, a power that he exercised 144 times during his prior administration for cohorts, fellow conspirators, and campaign contributors, among others, in addition to some worthy recipients.
But he is clueless about imprisoning elected officials whom he doesn’t like with jail time for carrying out their elected jobs. Another constitutional provision, Section 6 of Article II, immunizes members of Congress — both the House of Representatives and the Senate — from legal actions, civil and criminal, due to the performance of their official duties. The prohibition of such charges is contained in what is known as the “Speech and Debate” clause, a measure emulated by statutes and constitutional provisions in 43 states as well, but inexplicably not Florida and an eclectic group of six other jurisdictions: California, Nevada, Iowa, Mississippi, and the two Carolinas, North and South.
That federal immunity from criminal charges is a topic that the incoming president knows something about because of the Supreme Court ruling in his favor last summer. It would proscribe the kind of Stalinesque show trials that he would like to orchestrate by baiting his subservient Justice Department to be led by our state’s former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who needs little encouragement to carry out her long-expressed vendetta.
Meanwhile, he can turn his attention to the court martials and treason charges against military officers that have displeased him that he has advocated. Those proceedings might extend to executions, which are expressly prescribed in the Constitution.
That part he probably has familiarized himself with, but the incoming president ought to bone up on other provisions. Perhaps he can use a tutorial from another member of the Florida legal bar, Matt Gaetz.
Marshall H. Tanick, Naples
Insurance claims
The recent assassination of the CEO of United Healthcare calls attention to the whole subject of insurance. We have been bombarded this last several years with negative information about homeowner, storm, flood and health claims.
My personal experience has been good. The only fuss I have had was a skirmish with an appliance “insuror” who managed to duck all my claims and flood me with meaningless e-mails and denials. My experience with health insurance (a combination of Medicare and United Health) has been seamless for 25 years since retirement.
But then I read about all the problems folks have with insurance and am reminded of the John Grisham novel of 1995 “The Rainmaker” and its follow-on movie, wherein the insurance company involved had a policy of denying all claims for several iterations, knowing that many people will give up after three or four rejections. Perhaps a little severe but serves to illustrate the relative inability of the consumer to battle any large insurer and win. A relative once worked for a very large insurer and confirmed that the first response on storm claims was to try to find a loophole in the policy which allowed them to pay nothing. Not that they were dishonest, only that their initial motivation was to pay nothing, then figure out if they were required to pay anything. Not a pleasant business plan, but effective if you can intimidate customers to the point of surrender.
You can battle these things all the way to your state insurance commission but most of us lack the stamina to follow-through on the maze of administrivia that gets thrown in front of you. Now that the problem with insurance has created massive headlines occasioned by a murder, maybe some reform can occur that will protect us all from the blanketing news about denied claims and bankrupt insurance companies and provide some real protection from corporate gunfire.
Charlie Berry, Naples
Voter redemption
A majority of voters elected to revert back to a guy with humongous baggage because they thought he would lower costs caused by inflation. Obviously they didn’t foresee what came along with it. His recent selections to his Cabinet were fraught with incompetence and loyalty to him. That and what their TV ratings were seems to be the main criteria for his choices. His proposed tariffs on China, where much of our imports are originating, will not lower any prices but will spur increases. We, the buyers of said goods, will end up paying for the repercussions caused by these taxes. There were approximately 90 million voters who obviously thought none of this mattered enough to get them off their sofas. They can possibly redeem their lethargy in two years whenever the next members of Congress will be chosen thereby making the rest of the president’s term lame. When the apple cart overturns, they can look in the mirror and blame that person they see and will only have themselves to blame.
Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral
Disinformation campaigns
It’s no exaggeration to say that Russia is actively waging war against the United States — not with bombs or missiles, but through disinformation campaigns that are just as destructive. Russian influence operations, spread through social media and even major media outlets like Fox News, have infiltrated the MAGA movement. Many followers, often unwittingly, have become tools of Russia’s strategy to weaken American democracy and sow division.This is not some baseless conspiracy theory. It is well documented that, since 2016, Russia has been deliberately working to divide Americans and undermine trust in our institutions. Their ultimate goal? Destabilize the country from within, making us more vulnerable to outside interference and authoritarian influence.But it’s not just MAGA members who are involved. A powerful media mogul, an Australian immigrant, has been a key player in spreading disinformation. Another major figure is a South African-born billionaire, another immigrant, now the world’s richest man. He has a vested interest in the success of the MAGA movement and Project 2025 because he stands to avoid billions in taxes if they succeed, accelerating his ambitions to become the first trillionaire.Russia’s tactics may not be as visible as conventional warfare, but they are just as dangerous. This ongoing attack threatens the very foundation of our democracy. As Americans, we must recognize and confront these threats before they spiral further out of control. Will we act in time to defend our democracy, or will we fall victim to this covert war?
Paul Howard, Naples
Unconventional Cabinet
Trump is receiving a lot of criticism about many of his Cabinet picks in that they are unconventional and/or are not DC insiders. I think most people agree that DC is broke and needs fixing. It does not seem practical to try to fix what is broken in DC with more insiders. Seems like the insiders are part of the problem. We need a fresh view of what is going on in DC in order to address the problem.
Ron Wobbeking, Naples
Hatred and greed
Humans are not born with hatred.Hatred has to be taught. Trump is teaching Americans how to hate. Christian Nationalists are his best students. There is nothing Christian about Christian Nationalism. It has become the worship of power: social power, economic power and political power. Christian Nationalism is pro-wealth, and pro white supremacy. A religion of sharing has become a religion of greed. Christian Nationalists obsess over peoples’ private lives, while the planet burns.
If this was truly a Christian nation, we would guarantee health care to every single person, we would love all of our LGBTQ neighbors, we would make sure that every child in this country was housed, fed, clothed and educated. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would accept Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and atheist people as our neighbors.
The teachings of Jesus Christ are teachings of love and compassion. Hatred and greed have replaced the virtues of acceptance and sharing.
Joe Haack, Naples
Harris vs. Trump
Trump told women “,..I will be your protector.”He bragged about being able to sexually assault women then was found civilly liable for a sexual assault. And he is now a convicted felon.Rick Scott runs an ad saying he will protect Medicare.He sponsored sunset legislation that would have terminated the program without a vote to extend it and he ran a company that paid $1.7 billion in fines for Medicare and Medicaid fraud.And you criticize Harris for changing her position on immigration controls saying she flip-flopped and got tougher?As “f” words go “flip-flop” seems better than “fraud” or “felon.”
Daniel Graziano, Naples
Enough of both of them!
The man can’t even know the decent words in the English language to speak about his opposition! To call the opposition such a demeaning description, and then not answer questions about his own policies and plans is abominable!
Most recently to talk to reporters and say the Georgia governor couldn’t get to President Biden and the governor responds by saying “I spoke to the president on Sunday.” His lackey talks about the president being “at the beach,” but never ever says anything about the man regularly being on the golf course!
Donald Trump is a disgrace; can’t use the English language properly and then chooses as his lackey a man who spreads lies about people and animals, a person who would be a laughingstock in the international world. Enough of both of them!
Franklin C. Warner, Fort Myers
Lying, cheating
If you tell a big lie frequently, many people will believe it. Adolf Hitler, in his 1930s autobiography “Mein Kampf” described his philosophy of telling a lie so huge that no one would suspect it was false, telling the massive lie over and over so that people will start to believe it’s true.Donald Trump has and is following Hitler’s playbook, from lying about the 2020 election to trying to influence peddling in Ukraine, etc. He is a proven cheater at a game that he professes to love, golf. In his book “Commander in Cheat,” Rick Riley, former award-winning sportswriter for Sports Illustrated, describes Trump cheating in golf. Trump’s caddies used the nickname “Pele” for Trump because he used the proverbial “foot wedge” so often. He cheated students at the erroneously called Trump University forcing him to have to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement. Trump admires fascist and autocratic leaders throughout the world that demonstrate evil intentions. He sells anything that he can make a buck on such as shoes, steaks, perfume, books, the Bible all while he’s not supposed to make money off of the presidency.Unfortunately, many in the USA have not realized how good we had it prior to his coming on the scene. They have elected a convicted felon found liable for sexual abuse and a pathological, sociopathic liar as our next president. Where is their moral and ethical compass?
Tom Beck, Naples
This post was originally published on here
