ASK THE BIRD: Guns for felons? Is this just a tease to get on Trump's good side?
Miss Mingo has the answers you need to navigate the news, the universe, and everything
Editor’s Note: We take a break from hard news every Saturday morning to let Hermina Hermelinda Obregon, a.k.a. Miss Mingo, share her insights with readers. She’s a recovering newspaper reporter living in a bungalow off Duval Street in Key West, where she answers the pressing questions of the day about life, the news, and the best happy hour prices. You can support her bar tab by becoming a paid subscriber.
DEAR MISS MINGO:
I get the impression that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s new push to arm “non-dangerous” felons is solely for the purpose of allowing Donald J. Trump to carry heat since he is a convicted felon, and he wants to get on his good side.
I’d like to hear what you think.
Pondering in Pembroke Pines
Dear Pondering:
Who needs trained journalists? The best questions come from readers, and this one hits the bullseye.
Yes, it is entirely possible—indeed, it’s nearly guaranteed that Uthmeier’s every deed is designed to curry favor with the MAGA crowd.
Remember, this is what Trump said about firearms during his first presidential campaign:
“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK? It's, like, incredible."
That was years before Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts. If he tried that today, he could be arrested because felons are not allowed to possess guns in New York. (Of course, they’re not allowed to shoot people, either.)
It’s conceivable that Uthmeier may be signaling Trump that in Florida, he can get away with anything he wants. After all, as Trump also infamously said:
“When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything...”
DEAR MISS MINGO:
I just returned from domestic travel. In Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., my restaurant tabs have included a strange new 10 percent to 15 percent charge. When I inquired if this was a mandatory waiter’s tip, I was informed, no, this was a fee for the benefit of the kitchen staff.
When I suggested that maybe it was the owner’s responsibility to see the help is paid a living wage, not mine, a manager was soon summoned, and it was suggested I was being disrespectful.
So, Miss Mingo, is there a way to head off this new restaurant charge before it hits Southern Florida?
Expecting the worst in Florida,
Richard Tenewitz
Dear Richard:
Yes, this appears to be a growing and annoying trend, and you’re not wrong that these fees are being levied so restaurant owners don’t have to build the extra labor costs into their menu prices.
In other parts of the world, restaurant workers are paid a living wage and don’t rely on the so-called “social contract” of tipping to supplement their wages.
Florida law is a little interesting on this front, according to my research on the never-wrong internet:
As of September 30, 2025, Florida's minimum wage for non-tipped employees is $14.00 per hour. For tipped restaurant employees, employers must pay a direct cash wage of at least $10.98 per hour. If tips plus the direct wage do not equal at least $14.00 per hour, the employer must make up the difference.
I also read that these “back-of-the-house” or “kitchen appreciation” fees are getting pushback, so you’re not alone. Some places are passing laws requiring restaurants to disclose these charges on menus and receipts beforehand.
If calorie counts are on the menu, why not the actual price? Seems fair to me.
DEAR MISS MINGO:
So, I’ve been reading about trumpet symbolism in history. There’s the trumpet of the elephant to signal its presence. The trumpets in religions symbolizing the times to come. It got me to wondering, do you think “Trump” is also a symbol?
Thank you, Miss Mingo!!
Karrie Ford
Dear Karrie:
According to some accounts, the original family name of Trump’s grandfather was Drumpf, which was later anglicized to Trump.
The name is, as you suggest, was associated with a “trumpet blast” in the 16th century.
Trump’s critics, of which there are legions, use this to make fun of the would-be-monarch. It was really popularized by John Oliver on his Last Week Tonight show.
So, is it a symbol? Yes. It symbolizes loud, annoying noises, as in: “I have to turn my hearing aid down, Martha, to block out all the president’s damned drumpf!”
DEAR MISS MINGO:
Hey Girl….Enjoy your incisive insights with your charming mix of humor!
Heard recently on the news there had been another murderous strike on a small boat, killing four accused without trial or so much as mention of a jury, of being illicit drug couriers, and that the justification was a declared “war on drugs”.
But isn’t it only Congress that is allowed to declare war?
It was also mentioned that this was the eleventh such small boat decimation with a total around 44 or so summarily blown to smithereens. But again, back in school days we were taught those accused were considered “innocent, until proven guilty by a jury of their peers…”!
Would love you to do a check in your inimitable style and report who authorized this “war”, by what authority it proceeds forward; is it in breach of U.S. or international or even moral law? Reminds me of that Russian & Israeli guy with poison or precise, exact deadly hits, unfettered, decisive, killing whoever they please. Seems inappropriate for the U.S., said to be Land of the Free and Home of the Brave!
Roy Webster
Dear Roy:
Isn’t it interesting how we play games with people’s lives while fiddling with semantics?
When is a war a war? When Congress says so. But it doesn’t make anyone less dead, does it, if Congress decides to turn a blind eye as it has with our non-war in Iran?
Seems as though we are increasingly taking pages from Vladimir Putin’s playbook, who, to this day, insists Russia isn’t at “war” with Ukraine, it’s just a “special military operation.”
A distinction without a difference that reinforces George Orwell’s reputation as a prophet for our times.
Got a question for Miss Mingo? About life, the news, or clever ways to avoid paying bar tabs? Write to her at MissMingo@Tropic.Press
Hermina Hermelinda Obregon—a.k.a. Miss Mingo—was an award-winning newspaper reporter before she involuntarily joined the diaspora of journalists leaving the newspaper profession. She now lives with her two cats—Deadline and Dateline—and her pet iguana Skippy. If you wander the streets (and bars) of Key West, you’ll doubtless run into her. She’ll be the woman wearing the ridiculous flamingo hat. If you want an autograph, you’ll have to buy her a Cuba Libre. There’s more about her here.
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Brilliant piece!