Sound Off: January 14, 2026

Sun Herald readers weigh in on local and national topics.

Double standard

There’s a real and uncomfortable contradiction going on, and it’s not a fringe observation — it’s a classic problem of power, hypocrisy, and credibility. Here’s the core of it, clearly stated: Trump threatens Iran with “deadly force” if its government kills protesters. Meanwhile, in the U.S., armed government agents kill a protester, and there is no comparable threat, accountability, or international condemnation from the same voices. If Iran issued the same ultimatum to the United States, it would be dismissed as propaganda, meddling, or even an act of hostility. That is a double standard.

Would you still say it?

All of these people saying just comply with ICE, I wonder if you’d say the same if President Obama had sent them? You need warrants to take American citizens.

Should have been home

The person shot in Minneapolis might be living if she and her wife were home, instead of harassing law enforcement. This was on her.

Win or lose

Boy do I miss the days when Republicans and Democrats understood that politics wasn’t solely and completely about winning and losing. That you could work with the other side. That not everything is black or white.

Erosion of rights

This incremental erosion of our rights will be the slow death of our freedom. The federal government is essentially targeting anyone of their choosing. This should alarm all Americans, regardless of party. The fundamentals of freedom is what this country was founded on, what we are proud of and what sets us apart from the rest of the world. Be mindful, it is a slippery slope that our government is taking us on.

Don’t forget

I just hope that once we have all had enough of Donald Trump and whatever this style of governance is, that everyone remembers the way the game is played now. And that when the next Democratic president takes office and goes after Republicans the way Trump is going after Democrats, there shouldn’t be any complaining.

EPA

I’m sure all the MAGAs out there are glad that the EPA is now run by the polluters. It’s totally refreshing that threats to human health will no longer be considered in setting pollution limits. Way to go, President Trump.

Rampant fraud

Massive fraud has become a quiet epidemic inside our bloated, out-of-control bureaucratic government, draining billions from taxpayers while accountability remains almost nonexistent. Layer upon layer of agencies hemorrhage money through waste, abuse, and outright corruption, yet investigations stall, consequences are rare, and reforms are endlessly “studied” instead of enforced. Every misused dollar is taken from working Americans who are told to tighten their belts while the system that failed them grows larger, slower, and more expensive. The real outrage isn’t just the scale of the fraud—it’s the complacency that allows it to continue, year after year, with so little being done to stop it.

Nice vetting

The Democrats chose Gov. Tim Walz as their last vice presidential nominee. It took all of what, a year or so for his political career to go up in flames? Nice work, Democrats.

If only

Wouldn’t it be nice if our president got as completely obsessed with health care, jobs and grocery prices as he is with the ballroom, “arc de Trump,” Venezuela, Greenland, rewriting history, dissing Joe Biden, whining about an election he lost and remaking Washington D.C. in his gold image? We can dream.

Get ready, GOP

All the Republicans in Congress who stuck with Donald Trump after the insurrection believing he was the only way forward for their job security have just ten months to go before many of them lose their seats directly due to Trump’s egomaniacal attempt to take over the world regardless of the consequences. Most should be kicked to the curb for putting their own interests above the good of Americans, and although I don’t agree with her views sometimes, they could all learn a thing or two from Liz Cheney.

NIL

I’m supposed to believe NIL is a bad thing in college football when Ole Miss and Indiana are in the national semifinals? No, thanks. I’m good with this new system.

Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@sunherald.com.