Two killings, two perspectives
On Sept. 10, 2025, a husband and father was shot and killed while giving a speech at a university. Flags were flown at half-staff, shock and distress were expressed, sympathy was offered, streets and public places were given his name. His killer was identified as a 22-year-old local Mormon man from a Republican family who was possibly considering suicide. The government reacted by defining any negative comments about the victim as “hate speech” and threatened penalties. Journalists and TV hosts received terminations and recriminations.
On Jan. 8, 2026, a wife and mother was shot and killed while driving her car in Minneapolis. Outrage and shock were expressed, videos provided, rallies and demonstrations were held. Her killer was identified as a U.S. federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who may have ignored law-enforcement rules about shooting into a moving vehicle. The government responded by immediately labeling the victim as a “domestic terrorist” before any investigation had occurred.
In both cases, children lost a parent and spouses their partners. The glaring disparity in the government response is hard to ignore or comprehend. The source of the current division and distrust within the citizenship of this great nation is on public display. I yearn for “One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Terrie Watkins Mount Dora
ICE is necessary after open southern border
In an recent wire story published in the Sentinel, one protester of the recent enforcement activity in Minneapolis is quoted to say: “We’re trying to get people to change their minds and see that ICE is wrong.”
Over 10 million undocumented people walked into the U.S. between 2020 and 2024, according to one count, including hundreds of thousands of minors. Where are they? What is their health status? Do they have criminal records? Who is paying for their housing, food stamps, clothing, schooling or medical care? How many of our legal citizens are denied services because resources are being exhausted?
Opening our southern border for years was wrong. No nation, no matter how benevolent, can survive without the ability to secure its borders.
If the person quoted has a better idea with regard to how to deal with 10 million undocumented immigrants, I am all ears.
Robert Anderson Winter Park
Venezuela is all about the oil
Call me picky if you want, but since when exactly did U.S. laws apply within Venezuela? Toppling the regime of a smaller country is always the easy part. The hard part is what comes after.
The people who do this kind of stuff always expect a pro-U.S. nirvana. It rarely works out. For examples, look at both Iraq and Afghanistan. Venezuela is already suffering severe shortages of food, medicine and electricity. This abrupt regime change may worsen the humanitarian crisis, forcing massive international aid, potentially with U.S. boots on the ground, which would be politically explosive at home and abroad.
“Winning” Venezuela militarily might be simple; holding it politically and economically is another story entirely. The U.S. will now inherit a volatile broken system, and history suggests that we will not succeed. Meanwhile, it looks like what this was really all about is oil. Trump is not keeping that a secret but is being quite open about plundering it all. Within hours, what promptly swung into action was a massive propaganda flag-waving event.
I’m not suggesting that Maduro was a good guy. Far from it. His brand of authoritarian rule devastated Venezuela and crushed democratic institutions. All that has happened is that one tyrant has overthrown another tyrant simply to grab all the other guy’s oil. The guardrails are gone. This has only ever been about the oil.
Tim Tanner Orlando
Doing Putin’s bidding
President Trump has repeated his demand for the U.S. to take control of Greenland. He seems to be doing exactly what Vladimir Putin wants. Trump has leaned toward Putin’s side in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Putin approves of Trump’s seizing Venezuela’s president and his wife, bringing them to the U.S. for trial. Invading and seizing Greenland would destroy NATO, exactly what Putin seems to want.
Whatever the source of the control, it is clear to me that Trump is discharging orders given to him by Putin. Peace and stability in the world are now at a tipping point with Trump’s military aggression and his actions to dismantle NATO. Democracy here at home is also facing its most serious threat since the Civil War. We need a modern-day Thomas Paine to come to our aid: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Richard Sutherland Winter Haven
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