GOP bad for Florida water; Black history, smut in school; federal dress, workers | Letters

Evidence shows Republican leadership not good for environment

Funn,y isn't it? So many right wingers cry about how wrong America is, while they are the main cause of their very habitat becoming a wasteland.

In Brevard County, a right-wing controlled county in our right-wing state, miles of the Intracoastal Waterway are dead.

No alarm cry from the government, just decade after decade of phony studies and phony front men having phony hearings and meetings about how they can't do anything until more phony studies are done.

In totally right-wing Naples, Collier County, the beach water is too often a sickly greenish or ugly septic brew for a distance of a few feet to 10 or 20 feet out from the sand from all the golf and estate pesticides and fertilizers. And Gov. Ron DeSantis says the local towns or counties can't stop it.

Add selling out the Everglades and the entire lung system of southern Florida waters to the sugar barons, which pretty much sums up to the most ignorant self-destruction by a people seen in modern times.

Republicans (mainly) are killing the planet.

Nick Constant, Fort Pierce

Don't whitewash U.S. history in Florida public schools

I am concerned and dismayed by the recent changes to the Florida history education standards for grades K-12, specifically, Standard 68, AA, 2.3.

I attended public grade school in northeastern Pennsylvania, graduating in 1991. My school and the town I lived in were predominantly white.

During my first quarter of college, I took an African-American studies class and was embarrassed about just how little I knew of the Black experience in the United States. I remember going home for the holidays and having a heated discussion with my father, who was on the local school board. How could he have not seen how little our grade-school education was exposing us to the history and reality of being a person of color in this country?

After reviewing the history standards for Florida and Pennsylvania, I am not impressed by the Florida standards. Yes, the standards mention many important African Americans in the history of this country, but there are no references or links to more information.

The Pennsylvania standards offer many references and links for further information, as well as encouraging critical discourse about the topics presented. The Florida standards do none of this, even having the audacity to claim that enslaved people could have possibly benefited from being held against their will and forced to labor, in abusive conditions. This is appalling to even be considered.

I want to be on the record as someone who spoke out against continuing to whitewash U.S. history in public schools. Please change course with the Florida Department of Education African-American history standards and encourage the teaching of the full true history of the United States without "dumbing" it down and thus encourage the dismantling of the horrible legacy of white supremacy.

Rebeca Siplak, Vero Beach

Schumer wrong on Senate dress code saga

Recently, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, relaxed the dress code, but only for the senators, in deference to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania.

Staffers and everyone else in the Senate were exempt from the relaxed code.

Later, thanks to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, the Senate reversed Schumer's relaxed dress code, including everyone.

Thank you, Sen. Manchin.

Schumer is still wrong.

Jim Grant, Jensen Beach

Don't let Port St. Lucie council fool you: Your taxes went up

As a Port St. Lucie homeowner, do you really understand your property tax?

The value of property in PSL went up by 36% in two years. That's what the tax rate or millage is applied to. So if expenses remained the same, you should have gotten a substantial reduction.

Let's say you had a tax of $1,000 just to PSL. Then you should be paying $640, but instead you got an increase. Expenses haven't gone up by $30 million.

Instead, the city council hoodwinked you and reduced the milage by a fraction, but still raised your taxes. Just ask council members where the money went.

Edward Marasi, Port St. Lucie

'Essential' workers unfairly treated during past government shutdowns

As someone who was an "essential" employee during the previous government shutdown, here's one extremely unfair part of the process.

Non-essential employees were furloughed, so they did not come to work. That meant that those of us who were considered essential had to do our jobs and theirs, too.

As a nurse, that meant no clerical support, no transporters, no CNAs. etc. We, as usual, did it all.

So then everything gets settled and after a pause, we get paid. So we lose again big time: The non-essential workers ended up with paid vacations, per se, while we, the essentials, did it all. Everyone got paid. The only ones who thanked us were the veterans who received care.

The final blow was when we finally got paid back pay, the taxes were different, so we lost again.

If these folks are deemed non-essential, why do they have jobs?

Jan Belwood, Palm City

Trump's immigration stance seems hypocritical

Republican President Dwight Eisenhower had a big grin, expanded Social Security, created a new Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and built an interstate highway system.

Republican President Ronald Reagan announced, “It’s morning in America,” gave amnesty to 3 million “illegal aliens” and told Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down that wall.”

President Donald Trump used up $15 billion in taxes for a wall, though his grandfather was one of 6 million German immigrants to the United States between 1820 and World War I. Amazingly, he went back to Germany, but Germany wouldn’t take him back, seeming to accuse him of avoiding military service. America let him back in, but now his grandson has no mercy?

Helen Frigo, Jensen Beach

Kids more likely to see smut on TV, internet than in books

Kudos to Ronald D. Roberts for his recent letter to the editor.

He was spot on with his assessment of the banning of books as opposed to the "evil and immoral" happenings exposed to children on a daily basis. Movies, TV and the internet offer far more opportunities for children to come into contact with lascivious information. Besides, books are not the No. 1 go-to for kids looking for knowledge.

Like Roberts said, leave the books to the readers and book lovers. Monitor your kids' other ways of gathering information, which are far more likely than getting it from books.

Laurie McFadyen, Vero Beach

Do we really want to give children access to smut in schools?

Recent letter writer Ronald Roberts seems to be directing Moms for Liberty to drop their goal of disallowing government schools' ability to provide evil and immoral happenings ― as he maintains cell phones and computers offered to children.

I am sure these mothers and fathers supervise what their children are exposed to via these media outlets.

When visiting a nearby public library, I observed a 12-year-old seated to my left viewing pornography. Apparently, he was able to sneak into the adult section, where there are no restrictions, as opposed to the children's section where porn is not available online — as is proper.

Roberts may not oppose adults viewing the same (nor do many free-speech advocates), but most folks believe it inappropriate to expose children to this, especially on our dime.

Parents may provide or expose whatever they wish to their own children out of their own budgets. A point the moms are making is they choose not to underwrite porn, filth, multiple genders, CRT, etc. in government schools subsidized by taxpayers ― without their knowledge or approval.

This practice the moms are working toward is correctly labeled as “age-appropriate book shelving,” which most parents and interested adults support.

Any parent opposed to this may, of course, present their children whatever they choose as long as they are not violating any laws of child protection.

Please re-think your position and apply reason.

Audrey Taggart, Hobe Sound

As nation burns and costs skyrocket, legislators dilly-dally elsewhere

Florida’s coastal counties are on the cusp of an insurance industry catastrophe.

The problem: “While Americans were moving to risky places (threatened by floods, hurricanes and wildfires), climate change was making them riskier” (The Economist). As local homeowners now know, some insurance companies are refusing to write new policies or are canceling existing ones. Other insurers are increasing premiums dramatically — doubling, tripling and, in some areas, quadrupling rates.

Insurance companies are beginning to factor “climate risks” into their actuarial calculations. Currently, 39 million properties — nearly a quarter of all properties in the continental United States — have yet to have climate risks reflected in their premiums, according to the First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research group.

That’s about to change. According to Dave Jones, former insurance commissioner of California: “We are marching steadily towards an uninsurable future in a number of places across the United States.”

We’re reaching what’s called an “inflexion point” in the insurance industry. Sean Becketti, a former chief economist at Freddie Mac, calls rising insurance premiums “the canary in the coal mine” for how climate change will affect property insurance markets. He warned the U.S. Senate that “overvalued homes will depreciate as their true risk is realized and, unlike after America’s subprime housing bubble burst in 2007, they will not recover their value” because the cost to insure them will make them unaffordable.

Our insurance premiums will continue to rise in direct proportion to statewide property losses compounded by global warming. While the Florida Legislature and the U.S. Congress have not done nearly enough to address the existential crisis of climate change and its destructive results, conservative legislators and their unhinged supporters want to eliminate abortion, curtail human rights, ban books and rescind voting rights for some Americans.  What a collection of nincompoops.

Cray Little, Vero Beach

How does Trump get away with what he says, does?

Isn't it against the law yelling "fire" in a crowded theater?

Why isn't Donald Trump arrested for calling for the death of Gen. Mark Milley? Trump has gotten more and more deranged. Isn't there anyone in the Republican Party who has the guts to call him out?

The two debates that the prospective candidates have held have been a cheering section for Trump. Chris Christie and maybe Nikki Haley are the only two who have any guts. What is our country coming to with such a roster of losers?

Trump's trials can't come soon enough, when Americans can see him testify under oath (if he even tells the truth then). What's wrong with the GOP when its members support someone who has four indictments? Why are they so afraid of Trump?

Trump isn't qualified to be president; just ask his former staff!

Rita Wolper, Stuart

GOP divisiveness in Congress bad omen for our nation

I fear for our democracy.

There are Republican politicians willing to shut down the government and cause hardship to millions of Americans over a squabble between Make America Great Again Matt Gaetz and MAGA Kevin McCarthy. These are just two of the people who spread false information that Donald Trump won the election. Or, they had questions. That is baloney. These MAGA Republicans are still lying to you.

When was the last time Republicans in Congress ever actually did anything other than complain? Border crisis? OK, why are the Republicans in the House not offering any solutions? They are in charge. MAGA Republicans in Congress seem willing bring down democracy in our country to stay in power.

All but one of the GOP presidential candidates signed a pledge to support Donald Trump if he won the primary. Trump has been accused of sexual assault and has 91 charges against him and indictments in four states. He threatens people.

He says the FBI and Justice Department are corrupt. They are not. The FBI and Justice Department are American institutions. We are a society that has agreed to a set of rules. The same rules for all.

The MAGA Republicans are trying to divide us. I do not want to hate my fellow Americans. It was more fun when we were all on the same side. USA! Americans helped stop world wars l and ll. We are helping Ukraine. We Americans help all over the world. We are the good guys.

The MAGA Republicans in Congress seemingly would rather turn America into an autocracy than protect democracy and the Constitution.

Rosemary Westling, Jensen Beach

Why connect Statue of Liberty to immigration?

Oct. 1 on "Face The Nation," I heard New York Gov. Kathy Hochul brag we have the Statue of Liberty in our harbor to welcome immigrants.

Let's start with the myth that the State of Liberty was built to welcome immigrants. The Statue of Liberty, not the Statue of Immigration, was given to the people of the United States by the people of France as a symbol of friendship and to celebrate our having recently freed slaves.

Tom Tomlinson, Palm City

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: GOP hurts Florida water; Black history, U.S. workers needed? | Letters