All us billionaires who voted Patronis must be celebrating ‘Big Beautiful Bill'
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PNJ Headlines: Here's what's in the news Tuesday
People react to arrest of woman with dementia, Santa Rosa zoning board controversy, and Seventy1 Bistro in Tuesday's news
Opinions expressed in Letters to the Editor are those of our readers and not the Pensacola News Journal. In order for letters to be considered for publication, they must be 250 words or less and include your full name, address and phone number. Only your name and city of residence will be published. Submission does not guarantee publication. Email submissions to opinion@pnj.com.
All us billionaires who voted for Patronis must be celebrating now
To all voters in House District 1, there was a special election on April 1. Just recently, you were asked to exercise your constitutional right to vote for your representative. The race was between Democrat Gay Valimont and Republican Jimmy Patronis. And Jimmy Patronis won. Thank you to all who voted.
Just to point out that your vote counts, the U.S. House of Representatives voted this week on the 'Big Beautiful Budget' that will cut Medicaid, SNAP, and Meals on Wheels to name just a few things. And this budget will also give tax breaks to all of you billionaires. The amazing thing is that it passed by one vote!
It comes down to what is important to you. If more people had voted to elect Gay Valimont, that bill would not have passed, we would not have the possibility giant cuts to Medicaid and the other cuts in this Budget. Since more people voted for Jimmy Patronis, there is the possibility that huge tax cuts will be available for the very rich. Which will affect you?
If Gay Valimont had been elected on April 1, you would have been responsible for saving Medicaid and disappointing those billionaires in the neighborhood. Please don't think that your vote doesn't count. Because it does. It did. And will continue to matter.
Donna Grace, Gulfport
Perhaps neighborhood developers should take bear habitat into consideration
Whose fault is it that bears are "encroaching" on our neighborhoods? For how many years and how many acres have people encroached on bear habitat? Maybe those responsible for giving permission for development should identify bear habitat and consider the bears. Then maybe the bears would not get a death sentence from those who moved into their land. Perhaps redevelopment of rundown areas could be considered, instead.
Meg Melvin, Pensacola
Pensacola Beach could do more to give warning flags better visibility
As a resident of Santa Rosa and Escambia counties off and on for almost 50 years, Pensacola Beach is a big part of my life. You hear about the beach warning flag system daily on the news, which is a great thing. Arriving on Santa Rosa Island from the Bob Sikes Bridge, you immediately see the warning flag color (which can change throughout the day).
If you set up at the Casino Beach parking lot, you are one of the few lucky ones that can see the warning flag. We recently rented 102 Ariola Drive for the week. There were 13 of us of whom only two could see what color the warning flag was that was flying at the end of the pier. The lifeguard trucks that roam the beach have what amounts to a small piece of colored cloth attached under a surfboard.
There are a lot of American flags flying on the shoreline, but not one beach warning flag! People are chastised and berated for not following the warning flags that they cannot see! The warning flag system is a great idea but can only be followed if it is visible. It seems the lifeguard trucks can put in a little effort and fly a warning flag.
Also, if you display the warning flags along with the American flags, they would be visible to many and do the job they were intended to do, save lives.
Cyndi Schumaker, Milton
Donald Trump's corruption must be resisted
As the continuing blatant immorality and corruption of Donald Trump seems inevitable, the temptation to just accept it increases. But he will be stopped! We cannot just give up. Our voices of protest must continue to mobilize the people.
Stopping Trump won't end the threat to the United States and our system of government. The demise of Marx and Hitler did not end Marxism and Fascism. Trumpism has spread to a large portion of our population.
The resistance to the threat they project must continue. Our vigilance and action against them will continue. The extreme right of neo-Nazis and white Christian nationalists will not go away. But their political aims can be suppressed.
Michael Gilbert, Jay
Memorial Day is not for veterans, but for those who gave all
This weekend is not Veterans Day. It's Memorial Day — a time not to thank the living, but to honor the fallen.
I say this with the utmost sincerity, please do not thank veterans this weekend. Those of us who are veterans have our day in November. Memorial Day is for our brothers, sisters, and siblings who gave everything — the ones who didn't come home.
When you thank us now, it reminds us that we made it back while they did not. It's a heavy reminder, one that intensifies the pain.
This weekend is not about service — it's about sacrifice.
To the estimated 22 veterans we lose to suicide daily — we remember you. Not every battle ends on the battlefield. Our hearts are with your families. The fight to support change and support service members must continue.
Veterans represent every race, religion, ethnicity, and background.
They spoke many languages and had families from every corner of the world. They loved in many ways.
Make sure your idea of patriotism is not narrow minded. Honor all of them.
To the family of SrA Fortson, we honor his service, his legacy, and his sacrifice. He was a hero. While justice may be absent, we continue to demand accountability.
Christina Forrest, Navarre
Why is DeSantis fighting so hard to deny climate change
Floridians, it's time to get serious about combating climate change. Why is it taboo to include those words in any government legislative materials? Gov. DeSantis doesn't believe that our weather is changing in dramatic ways. He like Donald Trump dismisses the evidence that these wild weather patterns have anything to do with manmade emissions of carbon dioxide and methane.
Extensive scientific studies have shown that these gases emitted into our atmosphere are heating the planet beyond normal cycles producing havoc (e.g. historic numbers of devastating storms, fires, tornadoes and droughts). DeSantis supports Donald Trump's willingness to 'drill baby drill' producing more polluting fossil fuels. DeSantis offered marginal effort to reduce damage to our environment by banning release of helium filled balloons over our waterways (known to harm/kill turtles/other sea life).
Yet he has prevented cities and counties from banning the distribution of more damaging plastic bags. Encouraging the use of multiple cotton or plastic bags is a meaningful step to reducing production of petrochemicals. Estimates by reliable sources show that we Americans use approximately 100 billion single use plastic bags each year. By eliminating those bags, we could avoid production of three million barrels of oil.
Wayne Seden, Gulf Breeze
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