Re: A Palm Beach tax cheat goes free, thanks to Trump | Pat Beall column
Donald Trump is caught in another scandal.
Trump has pardoned a Palm Beach County man, Paul Walczak, who pleaded guilty to tax crimes just a month after his mother attended a $1 million-a-head MAGA fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
This is a blatant quid pro quo, the sort of thing that would have led to the impeachment and conviction of any other president.
With Trump, it’s par for the course.
Sadly, few Trump supporters will care about this suspicious action. However, MAGA folks will take great joy in watching Trump detractors whine and complain about this fishy pardon. As one of my friends wondered, are we witnessing the death of outrage?
nytimes.com
The headline on New York Times reporter Kenneth P. Vogel’s story about the pardoning of tax cheat Paul Walczak.
As a scholar of political rhetoric for four decades, I believe the rules have changed. The rhetorical playing field is no longer the same.
The moral of the story: Democrats can’t regain control if their message is exclusively or primarily a “not-Trump” one. They must convince Americans that they will fix the problems that negatively impact their lives the most. This can be contrasted with what Trump has and hasn’t done.
Such a message offers the best persuasive strategy for Democrats going forward.
Richard Cherwitz, Ph.D., Austin, Tex.
A fox in Lauderdale’s henhouse
Re: Report: New police station on rise in Fort Lauderdale has eight critical safety issues | Susannah Bryan
Would you spend $150 million-plus on a new building flawed with design defects, causing a bending roof slab and eight critical safety issues?
Most would say no.
Instead of hiring independent structural engineers and roofing experts, the city of Fort Lauderdale is relying on AECOM, the project’s design firm and the company that made the human error. It claims the building will be fine. If not, they will “take full responsibility for paying the cost of the fix.”
Commissioner John Herbst is on the right track, seeking to hold the company responsible, but he doesn’t go far enough. AECOM should be required to post a $150 million surety bond for 30 years to guarantee the police station’s structural integrity. The wiser course of action, albeit disheartening, is to demolish the 80%-complete building and begin construction anew — with AECOM footing the entire bill.
Howard A. Tescher, Fort Lauderdale
Make voting data private
I understand the desire for transparency. I also recognize that it’s time to reevaluate the right to privacy when it comes to elections.
A voter’s party affiliation should be a private matter. That could alleviate retribution, boycotts or violence. If a citizen decides to make his or her party affiliation public, that should be their right.
Mary Lou Cruz, Miami
The rich get richer (cont.)
Donald Trump Jr. will open a new members-only club in Georgetown with a $500,000 entrance fee.
President Trump hosted a gala at his private Virginia golf course for the top 220 holders of his meme coin. He’s considering a $400 million gift from Qatar to use as an Air Force One, to be donated to his presidential library. The Army plans a big military parade to celebrate its 250th anniversary on Flag Day, which happens to be Trump’s birthday (Saturday, June 14).
Now change the word “Trump” to “Biden.” What do you think Republicans in Congress would do?
Consider all this grifting, with the backdrop of DOGE eliminating hundreds of thousands of critical federal jobs and no understanding of what they did in terms of national security and safety. Now add a self-induced tariff war that’s simply a tax on consumers.
As with everything, the ones hurt the most will be the ones who can least afford it.
Tanya Miller, Hallandale Beach
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