Return prayer, paddle; Trump & DeSantis; debt; Reagan legacy

In spring 1986, President Ronald Reagan issued Procamation 5462 — National Garden Week 1986. Every year since, garden clubs across America have observed the week.

On May 9, The Garden Club of Stuart received a proclamation of Garden Week, June 4 to 10, 2023, from the mayor of Stuart. On June 6, a similar proclamation was slated to be received from county officials.

For 87 years, The Garden Club of Stuart has been promoting gardening activities in Stuart and Martin County. Gardening is a wholesome avocation that encourages appreciation of nature, and the preservation and enhancement of our environment. As we celebrate National Garden Week, enjoy the gardens we have spruced up around the city and county, and watch for floral designs from our members in the libraries around the county. Pick up a bookmark from our display for information about joining us.

This year, Satin Leaf Circle developed a beautiful butterfly garden at the Sewall's Point Town Park, complete with professional signage. Allamanda Circle continued its project restoring the native gardens at The House of Refuge and spruced up the native Coontie planting in the statuary garden at the Old Courthouse Cultural Center (Martin Arts Council) with Coontie seeds and fresh mulch.

Hibiscus Circle helps maintain the butterfly garden at Treasure Coast Hospice every month; its representatives will be there June 10 and would happily discuss their gardening with visitors. Each of our six circles maintains a garden at Possum Long Memory Lane on Hibiscus Street, a peaceful nature trail on Audubon property.

Let's all celebrate this very special week. Look for little surprises tucked into your surroundings, support the local nurseries, visit the gardens mentioned above and enjoy the flowers and pollinators. Check out our website gardenclubofstuart.org, and our Facebook page, "The Garden Club of Stuart," to see what our club is about.

Ann McCormick chairs National Garden Week for The Garden Club of Stuart

The Indian River Neighborhood Association and the Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County herein recognize and thank Sen. Debbie Mayfield for her leadership on water quality issues.

During her time in office representing Indian River County, Sen. Mayfield demonstrated her concern for our waterways by sponsoring the Clean Waterways Act. She has again demonstrated environmental leadership with her support of this year's Senate Bill 1632/House Bill 1379.

This comprehensive environmental legislation incorporates key elements of Gov. Ron DeSantis' Executive Order 23-06, signifying a firm commitment to fund projects that improve water quality. A key aspect of this bill is the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program. Among other protective measures, this program requires improved care and oversight of our waterways, improved wastewater treatment and, a gamechanger … conversion of existing septic to sewer or upgraded septic systems in our area by 2030.

While acknowledging that the bill alone does not offer a panacea for all the challenges facing the lagoon, it undoubtedly marks a big step toward our goals of environmental restoration, protection and preservation. In partnership with other local governments, we are committed to ensuring this bill's provisions are implemented with accountability. We hope this bill highlights that more needs to be done. We will continue to advocate for long-overdue water protection policies.

With this bill's passage, our organizations have renewed hope that we will accomplish our mission of restored and vibrant waterways, anticipating the day the Indian River Lagoon will again be a thriving ecosystem.

Judy Orcutt, president of Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County, and Mike Johannsen, board chair of the Indian River Neighborhood Association, live in Vero Beach.

At the April Indian River County School Board meeting, I read a couple of quotes by Black educators, including King Randall of Georgia, who Tweeted: "Negroes want to make excuses about why we can't do for self. The amount of excuses we have are the reason we really can't do better. Y’all sound like you tell your kids that if they don't succeed, it's white folks fault … "

And a gentleman in Wake County, North Carolina: "You’ve spent $1 million on a diversity office. This year, 78% of Black students aren't proficient in math; 66% aren't proficient in reading! What have you done to actually HELP the students you say need it?"

My point being, virtuous policies are great, but do they help those in need? I continue to agree with many Black leaders that "returning the paddle and prayer" to schools and "marriage before carriage" should be our focus.

At the last board meeting, two people found fault with the quotes, particularly the word "negroes," suggesting it was racist of me to read it. Never mind the messages in the quotes or the meaning of the word "quote." I didn't say it; he did.

How sad these people attack words to make themselves relevant while ignoring the real problems for kids of all colors and creeds. Statistics show kids from fatherless homes or without a strong sense of right and wrong and personal responsibility are more likely to do poorly in school, drop out, end up in jail and in poverty.

But people who question flawed, meaningless policies, suggests not all "education experts" are correct, that common sense rather than trendy ideologies should be our focus and hard work, study and a job should be emphasized ― they are the enemy. It's time to stand up and demand a return to the shared values we once held dear.

Susan Mehiel, Vero Beach

Lindsey Leake's recent article ("Immigration in the ER: DeSantis touts law forcing Fla. hospitals to collect citizenship data") seemed pro-illegal immigration, making an attempt to appeal to our humane caring for the sick.

Back in the 1960s, the population of the planet was 2.5 billion. Today, it stands at 8 billion. In order for a nation to survive and thrive, it must have physical borders. The United States is not comparable to Doctors without Borders. If the borders are open, there will be mass infiltration illegally.

How will that affect us? The economic pie only has a finite amount of capital and resources. If millions of people put new demands on it, something has to give. Social services, including Medicare, will be siphoned.

There is a price to pay for pseudo humanity. If you wish to give up the sanctity of nations for a global order, you open yourself to increased vulnerability. Especially when those sacrifices are being made by the middle class and poor and not the elite or super rich.

Let's personalize this:

What would your attitude be if your mother or father needed vital medical care? However, what if priority were given to somewhere here illegally? Would you still persist on calling this person undocumented? Would you be calling them a migrant?

More than likely you would scream to the rafters: "My parents are Americans and they should come first!"

If that's correct, maybe it's time for anyone sympathetic to immigrants here illegally to reevaluate their positions.

Peter Degen, Port St. Lucie

Now that Ron DeSantis has officially entered the presidential race, I think we should take the time to consider the portions of the electorate he has already alienated by his actions as governor.

First, we have women and everyone who believes a woman has the right to decide what's best for her body.

Then there are African-Americans, Hispanics, LGBTQ+, and anyone who believes in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Finally, we have educators at every level, as well as all parents who want a truthful, un-whitewashed education for their children, basically anyone with an open mind.

So, that leaves hardly anyone except old white guys, like me, and I sure as heck wouldn't vote for him.

Good Luck, Ron.

Thomas Welsh, Palm City

Donald Trump was a successful businessman, a TV star, a Democrat and finally a Republican president.

He won because he was not a politician. Some say he lost for the same reason. I say he lost because he thought he was more important than his party, than his country. I guess that describes most politicians. When love of self exceeds love for mission and American values, you lose.

His ideas for America first, law and order, secure borders, energy self-sufficiency, world peace through strength and unpredictability, lower taxes and smaller government produced results instantly. For the first time in a very long time, America was on the right track.

With his smirk of superiority, his "I am the greatest" talk, name-calling, his manner and deportment, he set himself up to be hated by enough voters, enough writers and broadcasters to overshadow the great things he was achieving for the country and to bring him down in embarrassing defeat to end his political career.

Donald J. Trump, after self-inflicting fatal wounds, is done.

It's not too late for one final act to show he really does care for his country, for his party, for his grandchildren. Admit the obvious: He cannot win.

Turn the party over to Ron DeSantis. Don't destroy him and the party. If Trump truly wants to make America great again, it starts with him standing down and getting out of the way so DeSantis can defeat those who would destroy our way of life. They must be stopped, and it will take a common effort to get this job done.

Trump still has the power to defeat the leftist assault through DeSantis. He should use that power wisely. The survival of this nation hangs in the balance.

Robert Heslop, Fort Pierce

As I followed the self-inflicted debt-ceiling crisis created by Republicans under the guise of deficit reduction, I was struck that those who received the Trump tax cuts (which all agree contributed to the deficit in a big way), rich mostly Republican donors, who make their money on the backs of middle class and poor, still aren't paying taxes even as those who work to make money for them are paying taxes.

That's the definition of Republican tax fairness and deficit reduction.

Joan Fox, Vero Beach

Watching U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts recently complain about being heckled at law school graduation commencements brings several things to mind.

1) As he claims the SCOTUS is ethical, the courtroom scene from "Animal House" ― where the speaker knows they are selling a false bill of goods and the "audience" calls them out rudely ― comes to mind.

2) He tries not to stand in profile so the resemblance to Pinocchio is not shown.

3) What kind of behavior does he expect after these graduates are witnessing what I view as the corruption of someone supposedly holding the most respected legal position in the United States?

What a role model for these students. He has basically turned into a spin-doctor publicist.

Jeff Hamilton, Sebastian

Where is the outrage following the release of the Durham report? What was revealed is so much bigger than Watergate and yet the report seems to be marginalized by the Democrats and media.

It concluded that the FBI and Department of Justice never should have launched an investigation into alleged Russian-Trump collusion. Never should a special counsel have been appointed. How different the Trump presidency may have been if this cloud of deception hadn't hung over it.

We learned that John Brennan knew of Hillary Clinton's plot to vilify Trump with a lie and that Barack Obama was briefed on it as well. But nothing was done to stop it.

We know it was a lie when it was reported that 51 intelligence agents claimed that Hunter Biden's laptop was just Russian misinformation. Polls show this censoring on information may have changed the election as one of six Biden voters said they would not have voted for Biden if they had known the truth. In addition, the FBI has sat on Hunter Biden's laptop for the past four years. Looks to me like the FBI was trying to influence an election.

It seems the FBI has been weaponized to help one party. It shut down four criminal investigations into the Clintons. It has sent agents to take down license plate numbers of parents attending school board meetings. It has sent investigators to the homes of Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Donald Trump. At least one FBI agent who publicly objected to this behavior said he was punished.

The FBI colluded with social media to prevent information on subjects that didn't fit its narrative. Nothing has changed to stop the FBI from repeating these actions.

Americans have lost trust and faith in our institutions. It is certainly a sad day for our country.

Betsy DiBenedetto, Vero Beach

We are on the verge of reawakening ambition for virtue in the lives of our Indian River Shores law enforcement who have been silenced for 44 months.

Now that the self-absorbed chief has retired, a case broken in October 2019 by a detective from his division will be reopened after being closed for months due to the lack of empathy for the elderly by the status quo mindset of a leader.

The Shores public safety leadership are now showing no sign of a decay with a dedication to the truth. I think they will finally give the condominium owners the due process that was denied them for 44 months.

Joe Liguori, Indian River Shores