Fort Pierce mass shooting; born-again deficit hawks; recruiter DeSantis | Letters, Feb. 8

Column wrong: We're all defined by fatal shootings

I have to disagree with with the recent column, "Fort Pierce shouldn't be defined by fatal shooting."

Fatal shootings do define Fort Pierce and the entire United States. That is us, a nation that has raised guns to a value above human Iife. Our cities and counties support and allow gun shows over and over. We flood our cities with guns with almost NO safety rules in place. Only America has this level of gun death.

There were 18,000 deaths in Ukraine last year, and 40,000 gun deaths in the United States in 2022. Guns certainly DO define Fort Pierce and all of America.

Until we embrace the facts and decide that guns are actually part of the gun death problem and mass shootings, we will just watch the deaths continue and go up.

I am sure the 29-year-old woman with her child wasn't planning on being killed that day. She thought going to a parade was OK to do.

Guns and violence is Fort Pierce and all of America, from a toddler with a loaded gun last week to a 6-year-old shooting his teacher this month to mass gun murders happening daily across the land.

I appreciate your desire to want to live in a great city that is safe. We simply no longer have that in the United States. Breaking news: As I write this, there are reports of 10 people dead in another mass shooting in Monterey Park, California.

From sea to shining sea, America has accepted gun deaths as normal and refuses to value life with any sort of national gun safety legislation or anything that would slow the rate of gun deaths.

Our sheriff cannot fix the problem until the laws are improved to protect people.

Stephen Blank, Port St. Lucie

Golden Rule commandment essential in our society

Weeks after one of our neighbors in Fort Pierce was killed and 7 others were shot, I wrote:

“As a congregation, we condemn this act of violence and the impulse toward violence that this shooting represents.”

Since then, there have been mass shootings in California and other parts of our country. Then the Memphis Police Department released footage of five police officers brutally and fatally beating Tyre Nichols during a routine traffic stop.

We are quickly disintegrating into a culture lacking basic impulse control (reasoned self-regulation) and compassion ― things requisite for a functioning society. As this man was crying out “Mom!” and “I just want to go home,” he was beaten, pepper sprayed, tased, beaten senseless and died days later.

This kind of violence has become so commonplace we are quickly becoming anesthetized to the evil such impulses and actions represent. While talking heads on both sides of the political spectrum offer predictable talking points, the gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to a higher and holy standard.

The Lord commands us: “Love one another as I have loved you.” This is not a suggestion, punchline, tagline, talking point or hashtag. This is the command of Christ, placed upon each individual follower and upon the church as a whole.

John’s prologue (John 1:5) declares, “light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” and I say yes! But I know, someone needs to lift high the light, fan the flame of love, speak light into the darkness. Someone needs to call evil, “evil.”

May we each be that someone. This is the call and challenge of Jesus Christ on our generation, and it begins with each of us obeying Jesus’ command: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Ellis Brust, Fort Pierce

Born again GOP deficit hawks must keep up the pressure

It is great to see the Republican Party making the deficit an important issue.

Where have these deficit hawks been? About 25% of ALL of the national debt was amassed between 2017 and 2020 during Donald Trump's presidency. Where were the Republican votes to stop spending when $7 trillion was added to the $20 trillion national debt under Trump? The debt rose from 104% of gross domestic product in 2017 to 129% of GDP in 2020. In two years, Joe Biden's administration has reduced the debt to 123% of GDP.

Republicans are late to the party. The Biden administration reduced the 2020 U.S. budget deficit of $3.13 trillion to $1.38 trillion in 2022. The 2023 budget passed with bipartisan support, 68-29, and will reduce the budget deficit to $1.2 trillion. That deficit is lower than during the George W. Bush administration's final years.

For the past 42 years, every Democratic president has reduced the budget deficit. Every Republican president since Ronald Reagan has increased the deficit. Bill Clinton's administration eliminated the deficit. Then the Bush administration left the deficit at more than $1 trillion.

The new deficit backbone among Republicans is good. Let's hope they keep that spine in 2024 budget negotiations with more ideas on where to cut spending other than cutting the IRS tax collection enforcement. Let's hope that the Republicans end their deficit spending permanently.

However, now the debt ceiling must be increased. We mustn't ruin the credit of the United States by defaulting on the Republicans' past borrowing.

Steven Schlitt, Vero Beach

DeSantis should use state funds to lure teachers, nurses

When I was reading the lead story of the Jan. 27 newspaper, a thought occurred to me.

While Gov. Ron DeSantis has already spent $6.2 million to recruit new law enforcement officers from across the country, he is seeking an additional $30 million. Later in the article, there is a suggestion by Sen. Tom Wright, R-New Smyrna Beach, that the program be expanded to include other first responders.

Why not expand the program to include teachers and nurses? Let’s attract talented educators and skilled medical personnel. It would be a sound investment in our kids and help those in need of care. What do you think, governor?

Jan Drygulski, Vero Beach

Homeowners associations can be fraught with issues

While Cray Little is quite capable of responding to the points made by Bill Fredericks (Jan. 26 letter), I would like to comment on some of his observations and suggestions.

I do believe that many boards comprise members that like the job because it gives them power and authority, and sometimes that can lead to petty or group-think decisions. And while it is true that those directors can only enforce rules set out in the homeowners association covenants, boards can exercise power beyond the strict rule of law.

For example, in order to determine offenders who do not scoop the poop, a board may vote to have dog feces found on the common property sent to a lab to determine DNA and then require all dogs in the community to be tested for DNA.

It is often the case a board is made up of like-minded recruits from long-serving directors (the buddy system), and these boards now vote as a block. Another example is when a majority of such a board may choose to ignore its fiduciary responsibility and vote that there is no need for an audit of contract deliverables because board members simply “trust” that all was done properly.

As Fredericks pointed out, there is always the “nuclear” option under Florida Statute 720 to remove a board member with or without cause. That, however, requires a critical mass of owners to organize a special member meeting (as opposed to a board of directors meeting), where a "membership" (owners) vote is required. These are almost impossible to organize, and of course no one is going to vote without knowing the basis of the cause, which then involves an educational process.

As Fredericks pointed out, there is often a scarcity of owners that want to serve, and it is unlikely that a quorum required to pass such a membership vote would materialize unless there was an overwhelming cause for concern. So, the silent majority live with it.

Rod Ralph, Vero Beach

Code enforcement needs to do its job

I've found Indian River County code enforcement does not enforce rules or follow through.

Violations happen all around Vero Beach, but when it comes to the Gifford area, code enforcement lacks concern for taxpaying citizens and their property. When code enforcement officers see a violation and a citizen points it out, they do not address the full issue. Citizens are supposed to accept a half job and shut up?

I've seen where a violator corrects only part of the issue and still has an unpermitted fence attached to a neighbor's property and code enforcement does not handle the violation. Who takes on the responsibility to do the right thing?

Treat all citizens fairly and follow governed rules and codes we should all adhere to.

Azlee Baker, Vero Beach

Abortion doctor seems to have priorities mixed

May I offer Dr. Colleen P. McNicholas some thoughts on her recent column suggesting that abortion is a health problem?

Abortion's object is to get rid of human life. That is distinctly NOT healthy. Another way to say this is "murder." Just to be scientifically clear as to when life begins, I will give some quotes from scientific sources.

The American College of Pediatricians concurs with the body of scientific evidence that corroborates a unique human life starts when the sperm and egg bind to each other in a process of fusion of their respective membranes and a single hybrid cell called a zygote, or one-cell embryo, is created.

In the February 1999 edition of the International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Dianne N. Irving, M.A., PhD, writes:

"The fusion of the sperm (with 23 chromosomes) and the oocyte (with 23 chromosomes) at fertilization results in a live human being, a single-cell human zygote, with 46 chromosomes, the number of chromosomes characteristic of an individual member of the human species."

Maureen Condic, Ph.D, associate professor of neurobiology and adjunct professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine, wrote in 2014:

"The conclusion that human life begins at sperm-egg fusion is uncontested, objective, based on the universally accepted scientific method of distinguishing different cell types from each other and on ample scientific evidence (thousands of independent, peer-reviewed publications). Moreover, it is entirely independent of any specific ethical, moral, political or religious view of human life or of human embryos."

I realize that thinking of it as a life-ending process will impinge on Dr. McNicholas' job description as an abortion provider, but her OB-GYN skills can be used in other areas.

Mary Lou Rodimer, Sebastian

Why not participate in VFW Auxiliary art awards?

Recently, I heard the Martin County School District has decided not to participate in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Patriot Scholarship Program.

Why would our local schools not partake in this program this year? I hope this is not the case. In recent years, our students have participated in this program. I have attended the awards ceremonies with their families and fellow students and have seen the pride in their eyes as they receive their awards.

For more than 40 years, this scholarship program has recognized high school students whose art work expresses patriotism. In my opinion, it is a very sad day if this decision to take away this opportunity from our youth to compete is accurate.

So if what I heard is accurate, could someone from the school take the time to share with the public as to why our schools are not participating in this program? I am anxiously awaiting clarification.

Gary Hayes, Stuart

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Fort Pierce shootings; GOP deficit hawks; DeSantis dollars | Letters