The hypocrisy of a bulletproof state Capitol | Letters to the editor

Isn’t this deadly ironic?

Bulletproof windows are being installed in the state Capitol in Tallahassee (at a cost of $62 million, the Orlando Sentinel reports). They will protect the same state lawmakers like my representative, Chip LaMarca of Lighthouse Point, who supported the no-background check law (HB 543) last session.

Our lawmakers will be safe behind bulletproof glass. I just wish that every school, store or bowling alley could afford the same protection.

Michael Brown, Fort Lauderdale

A big progressive mess

As a lifelong Democrat, I am saddened and appalled by the so-called progressive wing of the Democratic party.

Their values are anything but progressive as expressed in their revolting calls of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which is code language for Israel’s destruction.

It shows its true colors when Democratic members of Congress, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Pramila Jayapal, cannot vote for a bipartisan resolution to condemn Hamas atrocities. They repeat worn-out tropes that Israel is a “colonial” or “apartheid” state that commits “genocide,” and conflate murders committed by terrorists with Israel’s right to self-defense. Their strident anti-Zionism would deny the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and is nothing less than antisemitism in disguise.

Progressive values have led American universities to become breeding grounds for hateful speech and acts against Jewish students. Clearly, President Joe Biden and responsible Democrats must consign that element of their party to the proverbial dustbin, lest it consume the entire party and its electoral prospects.

Jonathan Rubin, Deerfield Beach

A snarled mess at Searstown

A more “cosmopolitan” Searstown in Fort Lauderdale? Unrealistic and illogical is more like it.

Three high-rise towers and a 188-room hotel? What were they thinking? The traffic there is terrible now.

Lordy, projecting five years from now, Fort Lauderdale will be a snarled mass of a mess of traffic. And the strain of major construction. Not to mention all of those additional toilets, showers, dishwashers and washing machines. And garbage. Meanwhile, they are building more on Broward Boulevard, lots more. They have slaughtered Fort Lauderdale like a fattened cow and delivered her to the Beast of Development.

It’s greed and stupidity. Nothing more. Nothing less. I am glad I knew her when she was tarnished — a little seedy even. Manageable and still naturally so beautiful. No smog ever. And still filled with big old trees.

Jody Kenyon, Oakland Park

Expand child tax credit

Congress is back to work with a lot of items on the agenda, and one item is taxes.

Big corporations are pushing Congress to pass legislation in a matter of weeks to expand corporate tax breaks.

With recent census data showing that child poverty more than doubled in 2022, it is imperative that any tax package include an expansion of the Child Tax Credit for low-income families. In 2021, the expanded CTC lifted over 3 million children out of poverty. By allowing the CTC expansion to expire, lawmakers have abandoned those children. Here is their chance at redemption.

When it comes to tax priorities this year, kids must come first. Rich corporations and their CEOs don’t get to cut to the front of the line. Members of Congress must demand that any tax package this year significantly reduce child poverty through an expansion of the Child Tax Credit.

Donna Friedman, Deerfield Beach

Concern over speed bumps

Why did the city of Plantation put speed bumps on Northwest 118th Avenue, north of Sunrise Boulevard?

My main concern is for emergency vehicles. If they are running a Code 3 with a patient and have to slow down twice, it could be the difference between life and death. I challenge the mayor and city council members to drive on 118th Avenue and experience this situation.

Peter Eckert, Plantation