Don’t blame DeSantis for executions
Stop blaming Gov. Ron DeSantis for doing his job! Many people on death row have been there 20 to 30 years or more after extensive investigations including grisly crime scene evidence collection, months and sometimes years of testing, multiple witnesses questioned again and again and detectives compiling tons of evidence to present to a grand jury to see if it’s enough to prosecute.
Then a trial where, if there is a conviction, it would punish a person for brutally killing another human being — all while a defense attorney picks apart everything presented. Yes, I understand they’re defending the rights of the accused. My point is, by the time a person is convicted of murder and sentenced to death, plus allowed multiple appeals, they have lived for years. The victim(s) of their crime suffered unimaginable pain and death and families of victims continue to suffer until the sentence is carried out. Only then can healing begin.
Please stop blaming DeSantis for doing his job.
– Victoria Pope, Orlando
War is hell on budgets
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testified before the Senate on June 21 that the Iran war has cost $37 billion to date. In addition to the heavy toll on our troops, the ancillary costs of the war have been staggering. One is the cost of fuel since the start of the war on February 28. Americans use 350 million gallons of gas a day and 160 million gallons of diesel a day. The average cost of both has been about a dollar more per gallon since the beginning of the war. This amounts to an additional $60,455,000,000 ($535 million per day) in additional fuel costs to the citizens of this country.
For a country that has a $39 trillion debt, the taxpayers have a right to know the real cost of the war, not just the government version.
— Jim Rose, Ormond Beach
Amendment 3 is misleading
When you read Amendment 3 to the Florida Constitution that is planned to appear on the ballot for the 2026 midterm election, ask yourself just why the Florida Legislature entitled it, “Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes.” That title would have you believe that all property taxes are “excessive” without any substantial accompanying documentation to validate that statement. What is “excessive”? Is Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia’s annual salary of $135,000 “excessive”? Just what is the standard for “excessive”?
A supposedly objective description of Amendment 3 that would accompany it on the 2026 midterm ballot states that it “protects small businesses,” even though there is no clause in the proposed amendment that guarantees such protection, or describes how exactly it would do that. The summary also claims that the amendment “benefits Florida taxpayers by ensuring core services” and “ensures fairness for Florida residents.”
Funding core services is already the essential element of county and local governments’ budgets, So what do we need Amendment 3 for? What constitutes “fairness” and how do you “ensure”‘ fairness for everyone?
The three lawsuits that have been filed against Amendment 3 rightly state that Amendment 3 is full of ambiguous, misleading and politically loaded statements. I am voting “No” in part because of this, and support blocking Amendment 3 from appearing on the 2026 Midterm ballot.
My wife and I willingly pay our property taxes under the current system because we support our local community by doing so. Hopefully we will be able to continue providing this support in this manner.
— Chuck Weirauch, Casselberry
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