Rally against Gov. DeSantis’ bad bills

On July 1, many of the bills passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis will take effect. These radical policies will hurt everyday Floridians and working families, while serving big business, such as insurance companies and energy monopolies, the billionaire class, the NRA and other self-serving donors, zealots and lobbyists. DeSantis and his allies’ legislative attacks have been especially severe to working-class families, women, and Black, brown and queer communities.

At 5 p.m. on July 1, South Floridians will gather in front of Homestead City Hall to make our voices heard. Our brothers and sisters in Broward and Palm Beach counties, Tampa Bay, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tallahassee and other cities also will assemble peacefully, but powerfully. We are committed to safeguarding our rights, liberties and democratic values against a governor and cohorts who serve only themselves. We all deserve leaders who put protecting our freedoms — not their own personal dogma, political aspirations, or even prejudices — first.

We reject the governor and his allies’ promotion of extreme ideologies and undermining the interests of working Floridians. We will not allow manufactured culture wars to divide and distract us.

By uniting, we demonstrate the strength of our movement, our determination to protect all Floridians and the joy we find in demonstrating the solidarity between us. We invite all to join the rallies and, more important, to stay engaged in the political process to demand change and truly protect our freedoms.

Our protests across the state and ongoing efforts will be a testament to our determination, resilience and unwavering commitment to preserving the freedom and democratic values we hold dear.

– Jacquelyn Wheeler,

West Palm Beach

POPE IN CUBA

Re the June 28 editorial, “Pope Francis shouldn’t have welcomed Cuba’s leader. He helped legitimize a brutal regime:” Pope Francis, like his predecessors, is the shepherd of his flock. He has been entrusted by God to spread the gospel to all human beings, even those who persecute others.

I do not condone Cuba’s human-rights record. However, Pope Francis is not a normal head of state. He has a moral obligation to reach out to those who engage in the persecution of others. God loves the sinner, but hates the sin.

Pope John Paul II, along with Lech Walesa of Poland’s Solidarity movement, worked to free Poland from communism more than 40 years ago.

Engagement, not isolation, is the key to longterm success. The pope prays every day, asking God for guidance. It is up to those who are shown the path — the Way, the Truth and the Life — to follow it.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has to decide for himself if he chooses forgiveness and redemption or if he keeps God out of his life. God gives each of us free will.

– Frank Morra,

Redland

FAILED PLAN

The arrogance of Miami’s City Commission is beyond stunning. In May, a federal judge required the city to submit new redistricting maps, invalidating the contentious 2021 versions opposed by most Coconut Grove residents. The city’s new proposal is even worse than before.

Personal gerrymandering once again moved Commissioner Joe Carollo’s home into his district, and added the Bay Heights area. This cynical addition looks purely punitive.

In District 1, Commissioner Alex Diaz De La Portilla seems to have benefitted when Miguel De Grandy, a redistricting expert, moved the home of his election opponent, Miguel Gabela, out of his district. Gabela indicated this before the maps were voted upon.

Despite this, the commission voted 4-1 to accept De Grandy’s gerrymandered map. Commissioners Manolo Reyes and Christine King, along with the city attorney, apparently see nothing wrong with personal gerrymandering. Commissioner Sabina Covo’s proposal was not even seriously discussed.

The plaintiffs produced reasonable maps that kept the Grove and other neighborhoods whole. Hopefully, the new proposal will be rejected.

We don’t just need to get rid of these commissioners, we need more districts to dilute their power and bring better diversity to our neighborhood representation. The current system is broken beyond repair.

– John Conrad Dolson,

Coconut Grove

OFFENSIVE PHRASING

In January 2016, at a campaign stop in Iowa, Donald Trump declared, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?”

In June 2023, at a campaign stop in Texas, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised that, under his watch, border patrol agents should be able to “respond with force if cartels are cutting through the border wall and they’re going to end up stone-cold dead.”

Do presidential hopefuls now believe they need to espouse violent, graphic visuals to win over voters, in contrast to a moreconciliatory approach?

– Betsy Sharp,

Miami

END THE EMBARGO

Concern for the Cuban people is understandable. However, the Herald’s June 28 editorial, “Pope Francis shouldn’t have welcomed Cuba’s leader. He helped legitimize a brutal regime,” misses the point. The classification of brutality in Cuba is more applicable to Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship of the 1950s and to the violations of human rights at the Guantanamo U.S. Naval base in Cuba.

America’s policy against Cuba is cruel and violates human rights. The Miami Herald is well-positioned to promote the rightful change of policy and alleviate the plight of Cubans suffering under the embargo. Former President Obama’s short-lived loosening of the embargo provided palpable relief and reduced irregular immigration into the United States.

The Trump administration stopped all that, and many Cubans left the island by whatever means possible. Many found themselves at the U.S.Mexico border. More than 190 countries worldwide oppose the embargo.

Pope Francis opposes the embargo, yet CubanAmerican politicians advocate a selfish policy under which their fellow Cubans suffer. It’s time to end this unjust and cruel embargo.

– Milton Sanchez-Parodi,

Poland, OH

PLEASE, WISE UP

I can’t fathom the lack of understanding of the people who were at Versailles restaurant when former President Trump stopped there after his arraignment.

Cubans are here because of Democrats, not Donald Trump and not Republicans. That also applies to those of other Spanish-speaking countries living in the United States. They believe the lies Trump and Gov. DeSantis tell.

Hasn’t history taught them what is real?

– Joan Fine,

Hollywood