Trump’s speech gives hope for hostage’s return
This week I was honored to attend the president’s State of the Union address as a guest of Congressman Ted Deutch. I did nothing to earn this honor: It was because my husband, Bob Levinson, has been detained by the Iranian government for nearly 11 years. Bob was taken while visiting Iran in 2007, and he is the longest-held hostage in American history.
I am not a public person. Never would I have imagined I would be a guest in the U.S. Capitol. I said yes to the congressman’s invitation because America, Iran and the world need to be reminded that Bob is still not home. I am reminded every morning when I open my eyes. This wonderful, loving man — husband, father and grandfather — needs to be sent home to us. Now. He is almost 70 years old.
President Trump spoke about setting politics aside to “get the job done” and how “the most difficult challenges bring out the best in America.” Those words give me hope that the president will do what it takes to get my husband home. He has to.
The president said, “Americans love their country. And they deserve a government that shows them the same love and loyalty in return.” No one deserves that love and loyalty more than Bob, who spent his entire career serving this country. My husband deserves to be free, and I believe President Trump can make that happen. It is time to get the job done.
Christine Levinson Coral Springs
Don’t jump, Florida
The Sentinel has published commentaries that are sympathetic toward felons, who cannot vote after their release. In my 36-year career as a social worker, I witnessed more of life’s misery than most people see. I am acquainted with the damage that criminals do to our society and am therefore opposed to felons regaining the right to vote, which they voluntarily forfeited when they decided to commit criminal acts.
Should distributors of crack, opioids, methadone or ruffies, which have destroyed countless lives, serve out their sentences and then run to the polls? How about someone who assaults another, causing lifelong paralysis? Someone would now spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, but the perpetrator would serve his sentence and then go free. Should that perpetrator vote in an upcoming election?
Felons may have served out their full sentences, but it is impossible to repair the damage they have done to our society. These are not theoretical examples; these are people that I have known during my career.
The argument has been made that Florida is one of only four states that prevents released felons from voting. If 46 states jump off a bridge, is Florida going to jump, too?
Dale Davies Casselberry
Puerto Rico repairs: Do it right
First, thank you to all those who have sent water and food and worked on the distribution to Puerto Rico. Second, thank you to all those who provided temporary power to those around San Juan who now finally have it.
However, the time for Band-Aid assistance is long past. The island’s wood poles don’t need 2-by-4 supports or patches. They need Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance for full replacement — island wide. The concrete poles need to be reinstalled.
The hurricane spawned damage-causing tornadoes. FEMA must replace that damage as well — not just repair it. Island-wide problems require island-wide replacement and installation, not just localized temporary repairs.
Douglas Buskers Apopka
Defending all rights
Letter-writer Ron Berti on Jan. 27 complained that the National Football League refused an Amvets ad in the Super Bowl program. The ad would have urged the players to stand for the national anthem. I, too, am a veteran. The U.S. Constitution that I swore to uphold and defend says nothing about standing for the anthem. It does, however, guarantee each of us the right to engage in civil disobedience for the purposes of illuminating an issue so that we may petition the government for the redress of grievances.
Those are the rights I was defending during my service.
George Gizelt Eustis
