First, it was all about what the country’s leader said or wanted.
Then, the opposition became the enemy, and was driven from public view. Then TV shows began to disappear. Schools began to have their curriculum changed. Comics faded away. Then neighbors were encouraged to report on neighbors who spoke against the leader or his policies.
I was an 11-year-old boy in Cuba. That was the first year of the Fidel Castro regime.
Now I am 77 years old. Incredibly, I am reliving that nightmare in this country.
Armando Lamelas, Pembroke Pines
A judge’s workload
I have worked at the Broward County Courthouse for 35 years.
The Sun Sentinel spends an inordinate amount of ink on cases of judicial misconduct. Based on the paper’s coverage, anyone outside the courthouse community would think our judiciary is uniquely dysfunctional compared to other circuits. This isn’t the case.
There are 92 judges in Broward. The vast majority work long hours at a difficult, stressful job. Court is typically in session from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but judges have a daunting amount of work outside the courtroom to complete every day.
Awhile back, I was in Circuit Criminal Court on a Friday afternoon. I said to the judge (a colleague from the state attorney’s office in the 1990s) that I was headed to Bimini to go fishing for the weekend.
“Not me,” she responded. “I have a stack of 3.850’s (appeals in criminal cases) a foot high sitting on my desk and I need to draft a detailed order for that motion to suppress evidence you just lost.”
The point is that attorneys as a rule don’t understand the workload and the stress that judges have.
Gerard (Jerry) Williams, Southwest Ranches
Loves the newspaper, but …
Thank you for the excellent letter to the editor, “Democrats in the Wrong,” by Neal Bluestein. It gave me hope that the Sun Sentinel will print good conservative articles.
The reason you receive more left-wing letters to the editor is because you have lost most of your conservative readers who believe it’s not right to support an anti-American newspaper.
I like reading the Sun Sentinel, until I come to your dreaded left-wing Marxist Opinion Page. Your cartoons are about as funny as cancer. I respect Steve Bousquet as a writer and as a good person, but his articles hurt me and the country I love.
The least you can do is print 50% conservative and 50% left-wing articles.
Alan Savitz, Boca Raton
Enough of Bluestein
Stop printing this guy’s (Neal Bluestein’s) letters! How many in 2025?
There are hundreds of letters to the editor from others. Why this dude?
Susan Schaffel, Fort Lauderdale
(Editor’s Note: According to our electronic library, the Sun Sentinel has published four letters from Bluestein in 2025.)
Out of the grip of opioids
The state of Florida just banned the only thing that ever helped me stop using opioids.
For years after an injury, I was drowning in painkillers I never wanted but couldn’t stop taking. I tried quitting dozens of times, and each attempt ended the same way: back in withdrawal, despair and danger.
7-OH is a natural substance that comes from the kratom plant. Some people use it to manage pain or anxiety or to help ease their addiction to strong and dangerous drugs.
When I found 7-OH, recovery suddenly felt possible. I could think about my future instead of just surviving the present. I went back to work, to my family, and to living my life instead of barely surviving.
This ban won’t save lives. It will put people like me back in the grip of opioids or push us toward unsafe street drugs. Florida should fix this mistake by regulating 7-OH instead of outlawing the only thing that worked when everything else failed.
Robert Adams, Dania Beach
Please submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out the online form below. Letters may be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.
