Scott, many thanks for your column on “The Apopka Nuns” this morning. [“In their 80s, Apopka nuns still fight for justice“] It is so good to be reminded that there are still people out there fighting for “Truth, Justice and the American Way” like these four superwomen did and still do. Steve
Amen, Steve. Anyone wondering if they have the power to make the world a better, kinder place needs look no further than these women who’ve been doing it for the better part of a century — and who have no desire to slow down.
Thank you for your moving report on the Apopka nuns, as well as their young successor. It honestly brought tears, especially since I had just read reports on the politicians’ visit to the concentration camp in the Everglades. Dorothy
Some people find joy in helping the least among us. Others enjoy reveling in their misery. I know which I find a more compelling testimony to faith.
Scott, those nuns aren’t just beacons of faith, they’re also a hoot! J.D.
You got that right. Many years ago, I wrote a column entitled “My weekend at sex camp” about two days I spent with my son at a church-run program where middle-schoolers and their parents talk through issues like puberty and sex ed. The weekend was pretty wild — instructional but also supremely and amusingly awkward. Anyway, Sister Ann was one of the first to write in saying that, if I ever go to “sex camp” again, she’d like to tag along.
Scott Maxwell: My weekend at ‘sex camp’
Yes to mass transit! [“Money matters: SunRail costs.”] It seems like the auto-centrists never consider the full cost of us keeping THEM on the road. Moreover, don’t the speed demons want to get us old farts off the highways in our 2000 Ford Focuses? Michael
I can’t speak for the speed demons, Michael. But I’m cool with you seasoned citizens and your vintage Foci.
Scott, thanks for today’s column [“Florida’s laughable DOGE team ignores Seminole’s $60 million tax hike“]. I was wondering if anyone would see the hypocrisy of CFO Blaise Ingoglia as he investigates cities and counties — instead of the state he works for. It would not take a forensic accountant to see the blatant misuse of taxpayer funds spent defending laws that were obviously unconstitutional, building a detention center in the middle of environmentally sensitive areas and painting over perfectly functional crosswalks. Gary
Touché, Gary. And not only does the state keep spending all that money, it refuses to disclose the public records that would reveal how much of it was spent via no-bid contracts to political pals and cronies. Or submit that spending to legally required audits.
Maxwell: Florida flouts auditing law on ‘emergency’ immigration spending
Bravo, Scott, but give Seminole a break. Among the other things, the county’s penny infrastructure tax pays for are little league fields, soccer fields, kids’ playground … a lot of things that make Seminole a great place to live, raise families and grow old. M.J.
Well, as I said in the piece, I think it’s up to local voters to pass judgment on local officials. But that column obviously triggered Ingoglia, who’s quite sensitive to criticism. After I highlighted the hypocrisy of Ingoglia telling reporters he wasn’t planning to go after the tax-hikers in Seminole, he took to Twitter to suggest he now might. So Seminole may end up getting spite-DOGE’d.
F*** you, government weasel. Kyzer
Speaking of spite, this was a common sentiment among Team Ingoglia on Twitter.
F*** you. Tara
OK, I got a lot of F*** you‘s from Ingoglia’s eloquent fan base. But Tara, the F*** you that you passed along was probably the best, since your F*** you appeared right next to the picture of the Christian cross that you chose for your profile pic … where you also wanted followers to know you try to live out your faith as a wife and mother. The nuns might like a word.
Scott, do the readers support you or are you considered fake news? Stan
Well, speaking for Kyzer and Tara, I think it’s safe to say it’s a mixed bag.
Great column today concerning the Moms for Liberty and the book-banner brigade: [“The mind of a Florida book-banner is a delusional place“]. I’ve often thought that people who see porn everywhere are afflicted with the dirtiest of minds. Bob
When I see these folks targeting children’s books, including feel-good cartoon ones, I’m reminded of the old joke about the psychiatry patient who looks at three random ink blots and says he sees a naked woman in one, a couple having sex in another and an orgy in the third. The psychiatrist says, “I think you may have a problem.” To which the patient responds: “Well, you’re the one who keeps showing me all these dirty pictures!”
A page from the book “No, David!,” by David Shannon, which was removed from Hernando County elementary schools (Leslie Postal/Orlando Sentinel).
Enjoyed your Sunday column [“Ocoee? Immokalee? What’s the most mispronounced place in Florida?“] Mike
Thanks, Mike. Several readers gently chastised me for not also including places like Steinhatchee or Palatka. But I told them that if I’d tried to list every single funny-sounding word, it would’ve been a rigmarole that ended up giving me the collywobbles while still generating a hullabaloo.
Thank you for your article today about Alligator Alcatraz (a horrible name in itself): [“Don’t call it ‘Alligator Auschwitz.’ But do get angry, demand better“]. My parents were Holocaust survivors. I’ve often said to my husband that the comparison to Auschwitz is abhorrent … but so are “inmates” without due process in violation of our Constitution. Human rights seem to have disappeared and I’m glad my parents are not here to see it. Miriam
Miriam, I appreciate the perspective from someone who knows that history far too well. And I agree that some people seem disturbingly happy to overlook the due process. One reader told me he was OK with all this, because his parents took all the proper steps to immigrate here legally. I responded: “Well, what if your parents showed up to a immigration hearing they’d scheduled — just as they were supposed to — and yet were surprised by being whisked away to cages in the Everglades? Would you have all been OK with that?” I didn’t hear back.
HEY SH**HEAD! ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ IS THE PERFECT SOLUTION TO THE BIDEN/DUMBOCRAT CAUSED PROBLEM!!!!!!!!! Francis
Francis, I think what your email needed to really drive home its point was a few more capital letters and exclamation points.
smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/03/reader-letters-apopka-nuns-florida-doge/
