Sound Off: June 11, 2025
Sun Herald readers weigh in on local and national topics.
Greta Thunberg, that perpetual teenage looking darling of the climate change ideologues, staged a publicity stunt with a one vessel boat flotilla purportedly trying to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza to bring relief aid. Well, she's an unemployed young lady now, who trades her infamy for sustenance so it's vitally important to stay in the public eye. A decade ago she told the world we were all going to die in seven years due to climate change. Instantly, she was the media and greenies public facing patron saint. Oops, we're still here which is a disastrous blow to her credibility. But a girl's gotta make a living, so she morphs into a different cause celebre. Go home Greta and plant a tree before we all die seven years from now.
Greta Thunberg and her selfie yacht has been stopped by the IDF. The Israelis just saved her life. Being allowed to continue was suicide. Hamas would have paraded her for days
What Kristi Noem said about presidential use of the National Guard: 'If Joe Biden federalizes the National Guard, that would be a direct attack on states' rights. Over the last several years, we've seen Democrats try to take away our Freedoms of religion, assembly, and speech. We can't let them take away our right to defend ourselves, too. South Dakota defends the Constitution.'
An opinion writer expressed concern about district federal judges decision overreach. Why are they not concerned with firings at Consumer Protection Agency, or cutting funds for Public Broadcasting, or cutting funds for cancer research, or firing Inspector Generals or causing economic chaos with absurd tariffs, or on and on. If concerned about judges, reflect on Republican Judge Aileen Cannon's continuous delays in President Trump's prosecution and sentencing assuring he's not in jail but rather running for President. I guess that was OK.
Hurricane-prone states have declared martial law after devastating hurricanes to federalize the national guard to assist local law enforcement. This drastic move gives the national guard additional powers, and is always done at the state's (governor's) request. Today the federal government is deploying and federalizing the national guard to repress protesters in California. The governor has not requested this assistance. Another similar occasion that comes to mind is the use of Storm Troopers and the SS in WWII. This is 2025 and our country is a republic where states have much autonomy. This is not a Nazi-controlled regime
It's sad that media and Democrats' coverage of the 2020, 2024 and now 2025 riots all state how peaceful these protesters are while businesses, buildings, vehicles, and more are being destroyed by fire and police, if allowed to engage, are attacked. Few if any are arrested, and if they are, they are released soon after with no punitive action. It's time these destructive protesters are stopped, arrested and prosecuted.
The Los Angeles police chief admitted that his police were overwhelmed. The National Guard was deployed. Now 800 Marines are on the way. Governor Newsom should be arrested immediately.
Perhaps if we'd treat rioters the way they should be treated, there would be less rioting. Just a thought.
California is a mess. Californians love the fact that they harbor illegal immigrants and are proud of it. They take in federal dollars yet deny federal authority. It doesn't work that way.
The rioters in L.A. are burning Old Glory and swinging the Mexican flag, fighting to prevent being deported back to Mexico! Let that sink in. Democrats are pure genius.
I applaud President Trump for moving to quash the violent protests happening in California. I only wish he had been inclined to do the same when it was his supporters on Jan. 6.
It's kind of cute how worked up folks are about people waving the Mexican flag in the L.A. riots. It's also cute how unconcerned those same folks are when it's a Nazi or Confederate flag. Can't imagine why that would be.
Opinion writer would like to know why Trump keeps giving pardons to his convicted fraudster friends. The answer is very simple. He pardons those who helped him commit his frauds. The list is long, and not just for fraud. Steve Bannon was convicted of embezzling hundreds of thousands from the build-the-fence contributions, plead guilty, and Trump pardoned him before jail time. Washington is now a cesspool with an impotent Congress afraid to stand up to moral responsibility in fear of losing their cherished jobs.
Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@sunherald.com.
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Miami Herald
28 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Florida Democrats look to stop the bleeding during annual political conference
A question loomed over Democratic party leaders and volunteers on Saturday as they pumped hip hop through the speakers at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood: can Florida Democrats find a way to win next election season? Democrats in Florida have faced stinging losses on the ballot, especially over the past six years. Some point to fundraising issues as the cause. Others point to shrinking voter registration numbers. At Leadership Blue, an annual Democratic conference, several elected officials and party leaders agreed on one thing: they have a messaging problem, and President Donald Trump might help them solve it. Democrats mentioned immigration, tariffs and potential cuts to healthcare as issues that have caused division in Florida districts that voted Republican. Deportations in South Florida were central to the discussion, with issues like revoking Temporary Protected Status, instating travel bans and targeting immigrants who have not committed crimes roiling Hispanic communities. 'I think what's happening from the federal government being compounded by the state government, in terms of immigration, gives us an opening,' said Samuel Vilchez Santiago, chairman of the Orange County Democrats. Last year, Trump and Florida Republicans put a message out that they were for the working class, said Santiago, who is Venezuelan-American. He said Hispanic communities in Florida, many of which helped the Republican Party win competitive districts in Miami-Dade County, believed Trump would deliver on promises to lower the cost of living. But Democrats say Trump has failed to deliver, and they plan to take advantage of it. Those unfulfilled promises, combined with growing negative sentiment toward immigration enforcement, may give them an edge during next year's midterms, Santiago said. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who paid a visit to Leadership Blue, felt the same. Beshear, a Democratic governor in a red state, thinks Florida Democrats have a way to portray themselves as people that can bring change. 'What you'll start seeing is people who don't just feel regret, but they feel betrayal,' Beshear said, speaking about Trump's campaign promises. 'Because someone who told them they were focused on them is now telling them their kids have too many toys.' As a whole, though, some admit they could have done better with reaching out this past election cycle. Millie Herrera, a longtime Democrat and part of the party's budget and finance committee, thinks the party could improve in reaching out to every Hispanic community in Florida. Herrera, who is Cuban-American, thinks it's time to organize locally and year-round, rather than just during election season. In her Hialeah community where she runs a small business, she said she often hears Hispanic people say that Trump had promised to only deport criminals. The Democrats knew that wasn't true, she said, but failed to communicate that. This time, she is confident they will do better. 'We have always been for working people,' Herrera said. 'We have always been for immigrant communities. Maybe what we need to concentrate in our message is reminding them who has been there for us.' Present at Leadership Blue and handing out blue jolly ranchers to attendees, David Jolly, the former Republican congressman who announced his run for governor of Florida as a Democrat on June 5, said Florida is ready for a change and ready to build a coalition that leads with democratic values. While previously acknowledging Democrats have failed voters in the past, Jolly is hopeful Florida is ready for a change: A Democrat governor. 'This is a Democratic party that is united, and united to win,' Jolly said. Recent ups and downs Wins have been hard to come by for Florida Democrats. In April, Democrats witnessed defeats in two special elections for Florida congressional seats despite creating a stir by outraising Republican candidates. But even in defeat, Democrats celebrated because they outdid their previous numbers in both districts, viewed as deep-red and won in November by Trump by over 30 points. Josh Weil and Gay Valimont, running to representdistricts on the eastern coast of Florida and Pensacola, respectively, narrowed the gap to under 20 points each in their races. At the time, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power likened the Democrats' campaigns to 'setting millions of dollars on fire.' But Democrats see it differently. 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They gained two Congressional seats, seven Florida Legislature seats and one statewide seat — with current party Chairwoman Nikki Fried winning the race for commissioner of agriculture. Since then, Republicans have surged in the state, securing super-majorities in the Florida Legislature, expanding GOP dominance in the Florida congressional delegation and ending the days when Florida was known as the nation's largest swing state. Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis — who likes to compare the Florida Democratic Party to roadkill — both won their most recent races in the state by double digits. In November, Miami-Dade County voted Republican for the first time in a presidential election since 1988. Alongside Miami-Dade, other left-leaning metro areas in the state swung red as well: Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Duval County and Osceola County. Pouring salt on the wound, state Sen. Jason Pizzo, who served as the Senate Democratic leader in the Florida Legislature, told his colleagues earlier this year that he was changing his party affiliation, saying the Democratic Party is 'dead' in Florida. Pizzo now says he'll run for governor as an independent candidate. Still, Fried — who said Pizzo's resignation as party leader was 'one of the best things to happen to the party in years' — said Democrats in Florida are united and the party's message is succinct. She said she wants people to know that the Democrats are not giving up on them. Despite disdain or criticism from former members of the party, Fried said the party embraces a culture of respect where everyone is welcome, feels seen, is listened to and has a say. 'We talk with one voice, and we really have created a coalition in our state that people feel like you don't have to always agree with everybody inside the party,' Fried said. 'That's what the benefit of being a Democrat is — we are a big tent, which means there's going to be different sides of the spectrum.'
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39 minutes ago
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I'm here to challenge you and hopefully earn your trust
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Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
IDF Releases Video Purporting to Show Strikes on Iran
Video released by the Israel Defense Forces appears to show a number of IDF strikes on Iranian soldiers and missile launchers. Video mute at source. (Source: Israel Defense Forces via Associated Press)
