No Kings demonstration planned in Collier | Opinion letters

Letters to the editor for Sunday, March 1, 2026

• A "No More Kings" demonstration is planned to protest what organizers call a constitutional crisis.
• Readers expressed divided opinions on President Trump's State of the Union address and his presidency.
• Writers debated topics including tariffs, college debt, the war in Ukraine, and a Florida bill on cursive writing.
• Several letters to the editor criticize President Trump's character, policies, and perceived authoritarian tendencies.

No Kings demonstration planned

We can rationalize almost anything, yet some things are self-evident. America is more than a piece of land. It is an idea, a glorious dream, a work in progress. For nearly 250 years, it has been based on principles and checks and balances described in our Constitution. These principles and safeguards comprise the heart of our “democracy.”

We are currently in a “constitutional crisis.” This occurs when one branch of government ignores the Constitution, ignores the safeguards, and performs as if is above the law − accountable to no one. This is the antithesis of democracy. It is totalitarianism and worse.

Democracy is non-partisan. It is neither Republican nor Democratic. It is what makes America American. There has never been a more important time for Americans across the political spectrum to speak out, unite and defend democracy. One of the best ways to peacefully express support for the America we love is to participate in the “No More Kings” demonstration on March 28, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Collier County Government Center. Two hours of your time is a small price to pay for the opportunities and good life most of us have experienced in this wonderful place we call America.

Libbie Bramson, Naples

Do we have Union?

After watching The State of The Union I have one question. Do we have Union? The answer is obvious.

Marc Bellagamba, Fort Myers

Democrat act of idiocy

During President Trump's State of the Union speech, he challenged our elected representatives to "Stand if you agree: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens." All the Republicans stood, and all the Democrats who weren't boycotting the speech remained seated. What is wrong with these people? Is it more important for them to demonstrate their childish hatred for our elected president than it is to show support for the citizens whom they represent? I guess so! Please remember this act of idiocy when you go to the ballot box.

Dave Bridgeman, Alva

Trump's latest vanity project

The view from Arlington house is breathtaking. While standing on the hallowed ground of our national cemetery, your eye is drawn to the Lincoln Memorial. This view elicits, even in the least thoughtful of us, consideration of the sacrifices made by Americans – from ordinary men and women to leaders like Lincoln − who gave all they had so we can enjoy freedom and prosperity.

My stomach turns at the thought of Donald Trump's latest vanity project, a 250-foot-high arch that by destroying this mesmerizing view also destroys one of the most meaningful experiences citizens can encounter: the appreciation of the sacrifices American citizens are willing to make for freedom and our unique ability to come together to heal after our greatest national trauma. The fact that our current president is a five-time draft dodger makes a mockery of our veterans' service.

At what point will members of Congress speak up against the reprehensible behavior of Donald Trump? I have written Byron Donalds, Rick Scott, and Ashley Moody asking this question.

Peter Duggan, Cape Coral

Private grief, political capital

In the recent State of the Union address by Donald Trump, in addition to some very brave military members and first responders, several victims of violent crime were introduced before the nation and the manner of the violence they suffered was described in detail. The USA Olympic hockey team was honored for their victory over Canada. The stories of the bravery of those presented was clear, the violence suffered by those victims is heartbreaking, and they deserve compassion and remembrance.

But I found myself troubled.

A State of the Union address is, by design, a political speech. When private grief is placed within that setting — amid applause lines, political campaigning and policy arguments — the line between honoring victims and using them becomes thin. This concern is not about party. It is about dignity.

In Southwest Florida, we value respect, personal responsibility, and restraint. We teach our children not to claim credit for sacrifices they did not make. The suffering of crime victims belongs to them and their families. It should never feel like an instrument in service of anyone’s political standing.

We can debate taxation by tariffs, immigration abuses and reform, public safety and police brutality, violations of the Constitution, the rule of law, and criminal justice vigorously. But we should be careful not to convert personal tragedy of a handful of innocents into political capital.

After eight decades of watching presidents from both parties, I still believe the highest form of leadership is kindness, restraint, and, respect — especially when others’ pain is involved.

Robert Geltner, Fort Myers

That machismo again

During his first inaugural address in 2017 the president warned about American carnage. Well, he promised it, we got it. Unfortunately, there’s no turning back from the abyss. America has found a new machismo as evidenced by the bacchanal scene in the men's hockey locker room after winning the gold with wannabe Kash making a complete fool of himself chugging beer and pounding I don’t know what? The women’s team who first won gold declined the White House stage. Purposely forming a seemingly F Troop for his Cabinet he’s insulated from any contrary thoughts or opinions. So now he’s backed himself into a corner again on Iran. After threats that he’d ’do something’ if the Mullahs killed protesters, 20 to 30 thousand killed and what? He sent the Armada, like days of yore, that machismo again. Now China and Russia have agreed to sell more weapons to Iran, specifically anti-ship missiles. The Ides of March are approaching, and they do not portend happy days are here again.

Laurence Jacks, Estero

Our 'Peace President'

It's time to give credit where credit is due. Our president has, by his own admission, ended 10 wars during his first year in office. It's irrelevant that some of the countries involved were geographically thousands of miles from each other and others didn't know they were at war, but, by gum, he stopped them. He can't name them, but he stopped them. An ungrateful Nobel Peace Prize Committee refused to acknowledge these great accomplishments by our "Peace President." Humbly, he plows ahead in spite of the rejection and continues to spread goodwill throughout the world.

After bombing speed boats leaving Venezuela carrying drugs and strafing survivors (although refusing to provide any proof about their cargo), he sent the military into that country in order to bring about regime change. After threatening to take over Greenland (or is it Iceland) by force, he now has forces geared to attack Iran which would result in attacks on U.S. forces throughout the region and the deaths of numerous U.S. troops.

In his first presidency our courageous draft-dodging leader abandoned our allies, the Kurds, and left them to be slaughtered by Turkish troops. But worse, far worse, he has discontinued support of Ukraine's military action while Russia continues to pound that nation into submission.

Now, it's not surprising that a war-ending, peace-loving leader has talked with President Putin "sternly" on several occasions but has not lifted a finger to help the Ukrainians with any weapons or support. Stern talks (which I doubt) only reflect a lack of leadership unless followed up by stern actions, something of which our coward-in-chief is apparently incapable. The only acceptable outcome according to Putin and Trump is for Ukraine to surrender parts of its country to Russia.

It's hard to admire cowardly behavior, much less consider his actions worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. Watch out Norway.

Robert F. Tate, Naples

Court's tariff decision welcome

I applaud the Supreme Court for its recent vote on President Trump’s tariffs. By reaffirming constitutional limits and scrutinizing the scope of executive power over trade, the Court has performed an essential service to the American people. Tariffs are often described in patriotic language, but in plain English they are trade taxes. Like any tax, they tend to raise prices, distort incentives, and reduce overall prosperity. American consumers pay more, American producers face higher input costs, and global competitiveness suffers.

History and sound economics teach the same lesson: Barriers to trade impoverish rather than enrich. A nation's people grow wealthier not by restricting exchange, but by expanding it. When the government taxes trade, it taxes cooperation itself.

Equally important is a broader principle too often forgotten. The federal government is not responsible for “managing” the health of the economy. In a genuine market economy, prosperity emerges from millions of voluntary decisions by individuals and businesses — not from centralized direction. What the economy needs is freedom: secure property rights, predictable rules of law, and a currency that is not debased. It needs low, simple taxes so that Americans can keep virtually all the fruits of their labor. And it needs a vibrant nonprofit and civil society sector to address social concerns without expanding bureaucratic control.

The Court’s action is a welcome reminder that economic vitality flows from liberty, not tariffs.

Murray Sabrin, Ph.D., Naples

Reality the enemy of left's idealism

Mamdani has been in office approximately 2 months and the far left wing liberals are realizing what kind of mistake it was to elect a man with no experience to govern the largest city and what is the greatest city in America. His better than 9% real estate tax increase for all homeowners is being met with hostile reaction from the constituency. His failure was that he didn’t realize that the governor had to go along. But fortunately, Hochul has turned his request down for the tax increase, as well as his promise of free bus rides.

This man who never signed the front of a check made promises that were believed by the far left idealists but were promises that could never be kept. The reality is that, as always, there is no such thing as a free lunch. His parental extreme far left indoctrination will not work in this country. His promise of the elimination of the police by social workers will only succeed in fairy tales. His caring more for criminals than for wounded police officers does not and will not work in the real world. He may or may not survive politically. Reality is the enemy of left-wing idealism. The residents of Seattle will also come to the realization of their newly elected mayor’s failed idealism and she will be a one-term mayor.

This far left political agenda that was pushed upon the citizenry by the likes of Bernie Sanders may hold up in idealistic and isolated Vermont but not in the real world. It hits a brick wall when “other peoples’ money” is not there.

Michael Zubrow, Naples

Avoiding college debt

Attention all parents. Please don’t fall into the lie that private universities will give your child a better head start in life. I know they will take the virtual tour and receive lots of mail and feel special/important. Private universities use these deceptive practices and make students believe it’s a privilege to be accepted. Students love to be accepted and feel wanted. However, they also have the honor of being in debt for the next 30 years and paying thousands more money than their degree is actually worth. It’s OK to say the word NO. Please don’t allow your child to manipulate you into saying YES. By saying YES, you are allowing them to dig themselves into so much debt before they even know what they really want for their future. Plus, you will need to cosign on these loans at 6.39 percent or higher and risk your home equity, savings and retirement funds.Please look at community colleges and our wonderful public universities in Florida instead and save a bunch of cash. A lot of parents don’t understand the first few years of college are mostly general education courses. College majors usually start third year and most students will change majors. Higher education is getting extremely expensive and acquiring crippling debt at such an early age is ridiculous. Universities are selling long term loans with lots of interest to parents who will not say no to their children. Please don’t be afraid to say the word NO.

Otto Hampel MA/MS, school counselor and parent, Fort Myers

Ukraine’s war effort

At the dawn of four years of terrorist Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, I wanted to take an opportunity to address our community on my activities within Ukraine’s war effort.

My work continues on international, national, and local levels. Since being back from Ukraine and taking footage and interviews in both civilian and military sectors, I went to DC in October and met with key figures in the war effort, I volunteer with Ukrainian soldiers recovering from severe injuries in the U.S., I publicly addressed to our world affairs community in Naples alongside a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and my journalism work continues on various channels. The people's war effort presses on in spite of the inaction of policymakers. We want freedom for the Ukrainian people and to prevent a larger war in Europe. However, we need military capability to achieve this in order for Ukraine to counter Russian aggression. We'll never give up until we end this war the right way, swiftly, with Russia completely ceasing its occupation of Ukrainian lands, never to invade Ukraine again. The U.S. can still help our Ukrainian brothers and sisters achieve this before it's too late.

Thank you to all of our American friends who have stood by the Ukrainian people during this important fight for humanity and freedom. We will remember you forever in our shared history. Together, we will prevail.

Alexandra Zakhvatayev, Cape Coral

Our president is a bully

Nobody likes a bully. Who wants to be intimidated, whether it’s by your self-important supervisor at work or by an aggressive neighbor. Our president is a bully. Trump loves to push people out of his way, to assert himself over those he considers less powerful, and in his mind everyone should bow to his will. He’ll use the tools at his disposal to assert his superiority — spiteful tariffs, overzealous ICE, a menacing armada, a compliant House and Senate and DOJ, and MAGA judges in key spots eager to do his bidding.He likes to punish those who disagree with him. They might be politicians, journalists, comedians, even Supreme Court justices. Since he thinks he can’t be wrong about anything, those who express independent opposing viewpoints should be silenced. He wants everyone to fear and obey him. When disappointed, he becomes vindictive. It incenses him when his handpicked justices defy him. He’s ashamed of the “unpatriotic and disloyal” SCOTUS justices who showed more allegiance to our laws than to him. Trump has no appreciation of our constitutional separation of powers. He does not accept our principle of three co-equal branches of government. He wants to be an unchallenged autocrat.For 250 years we’ve been guided by our Constitution, our values, reason, discourse, bipartisanship, compassion, and leaders who think of more than just themselves. It’s a shame we’re straying off course.

Kevin McNally, Bonita Springs

Doomsday − a 50/50 proposition

When asked, Artificial Intelligence takes a 50/50 chance position on doomsday issues: Climate change - a little over 50% chance that humans will suffer severely from climate catastrophes; American democracy - 50/50 that we will end up an authoritarian state; Economic calamity - 40 % chance it will be the worst crash in our lifetimes; Artificial intelligence - a little less than 50% chance that AI becomes our enemy and overtakes us.

50/50 implies “a balanced scenario where two choices have equal odds, often used to describe random, unbiased outcomes.” Artificial Intelligence is working hard to appear unbiased.

Joe Haack, Naples

Subservient Republicans in Congress

Many explanations have been advanced for the subservience of the Republicans in Congress to President Trump that has taken place during his two terms, with particular intensity during the current one, despite a few recent deviations by a handful of GOP members

The rationales have included fear of retaliation by the president like cutting off programs and funding for their areas if they oppose him; concern over having to battle internal intra-party primaries against opponents endorsed by him; even worry about personal safety of themselves and their family members, among other matters.

But the best reason may be found in the philosophy espoused by 14th Century British philosopher William Ockham, who professed that if there are multiple explanations for a particular phenomenon, the simple one is usually correct. Known as Ockham's Razor, the concept is bandied about quite a bit these days.

It might be applicable to the nearly universal obedience by GOP members of Congress to the president.

The simple − and probably correct − reason is that, with very few exceptions, they all agree with his policies.

That Ockham wielded a pretty sharp Razor.

Marshall H. Tanick, Naples

Petulant man child hates losing

At the risk of angering the person who anointed them, the court finally came through on the side of the law and the Constitution. Of course, Dopey Don (caught sleeping again) called them disloyal and said he was ashamed of them. When they kept him out of jail, they could do no wrong.

And since when does a Supreme Court justice proclaim loyalty to anybody, let alone a wannabe mobster. So what comes next? Giving the tariffs back to the payers will be very cumbersome but has to be done one way or another. What he did with the taxes (tariffs) was illegal but that never stopped him before. This petulant man child hates losing and has already retaliated with another across-the- board tax which will also come under attack. Rand Paul was one of the few Republicans who vocally came on the side of SCOTUS. I don’t know what else has to happen before more congressional members learn how to speak their mind while the main threat to them has been weakened and vulnerable.

Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral

Science of cursive writing

Speedy thumbs on smart phones and hand printing notes and letters are eliminating cursive handwriting, but at what cost? According to scientists and the Florida House of Representatives, the cost is too high. For them, science proves that cursive writing goes beyond forming letters. It better engages distinct brain circuits, enhances neural connectivity and strengthens learning in ways typing and hand printing cannot do as well. In short, cursive is an evidence-based way to enhance literacy and comprehension.

Integrating cursive with other proven reading strategies – including phonics, fluency and vocabulary – motivates learners, improves spelling and deepens understanding of new information. On February 4, the Florida House passed House Bill 127 – the cursive bill – with a unanimous 111-0 vote. Now it’s up to the Senate. Last year the House passed a similar bill and the Senate failed to act.

The House bill, co-sponsored by Representatives Dana Trabulsy (R-Ft. Pierce) and Toby Overdorf (R-Stuart), would require second to fifth graders in public and charter schools to receive cursive instruction and then demonstrate proficiency. Senator Erin Grall (R-Ft. Pierce) sponsored Senate Bill 444, the companion to the House bill. It must clear three Senate committees and the full Senate, reconciled with the House bill if necessary and then be signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Rep. Trabulsy said, “We’re in a digital age right now. We’ve lost sight of our foundational skills that connect us to history and sharpen our minds.” She noted that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written in cursive. And, so are grandparents’ letters to their grandchildren studying in our schools.

Last year, according to Florida Politics, senators were told that a National Library of Medicine 2020 analysis found cursive to be an “essential precursor for further academic success.” The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, reported that only 31 of every 100 American fourth graders were proficient readers in 2024. Re-educating teachers to understand and teach cursive can’t come soon enough. If the Senate and governor agree, the cursive bill could become law by July 1.

Joyce S. Rankin, Naples, is the author of "The Science of Cursive Writing, A Teacher’s Guide to Cursive Writing."

Showing us his true colors

My morning starts with looking at news to see what has happened overnight. I am now used to seeing the latest chaos the occupant of the White House has in store for us today! I used to believe he can't go any lower from the many uses of his time. But again, I am mistaken.

I may be naive, but the president of the United States is the president of all of us who live here. Not just his brand, color and those that agree with him. So, why I am shocked today? There are 50 + governors and others who are in charge of their states and territories. Every year they have a "bipartisan" meeting. They then are invited to the White House for dinner. Oh, surprise, this year two governors were not on the guest list for invitations! Surprised, no. Appalled, yes!!

The little man with no empathy, no caring for others is once again showing all of us his true colors.He made an executive decision to not go to the Super Bowl; too far he said. Not the right answer! His distaste for the half time act was his real answer. Not being loved and adored by the fans, who probably would have booed him was probably more correct. He also couldn't stand that the Obamas were cheered and given a standing ovation at the basketball game.

You don't have to like everything an administration tries to accomplish; you just have to have character, empathy and reach out to all who helped put you in that position.

Barbara Herstig, Naples