Leave teaching to educators, Mast's abortion views and insurance: Letters, July 31, 2022

Martin County gave substitute teachers a welcome pay raise

As a substitute teacher, I would like to give a big thank you to the Martin County School Board for giving us a pay raise.

On July 19, the board had a monthly meeting where the public could voice their issues. I was able to speak on the fact that subs were getting paid an average of $12/hour, which was 8% below the national average. Also, that inflation had affected spending and COVID was driving prices up. Now, they have given us a substantial raise up to $17.50 to start.

As the only person in the room of 70 people who was wearing a mask while I was waiting to speak, I pleaded that they urge all students and teachers to get fully vaccinated as the virus is surging once again.

Jenene Skrupky, Port St. Lucie

State-level candidates have nothing to say about homeowner insurance

My snail mail and email boxes have been inundated with campaign flyers from various candidates. Of course, this is acceptable and expected. I have noticed that state-level candidates seem to tout their allegiance to Gov. Ron DeSantis, and his agenda, as a reason to elect them.

I have not seen one thing from any state-level candidates on how they plan to address the homeowner insurance crisis. And it is a crisis. This is an issue that affects every homeowner. Pledging allegiance to DeSantis will probably get you elected now. But if something concrete isn't done about the insurance crisis, DeSantis won't get you re-elected.

For the record, I am a registered Republican.

Philip Weiler, Vero Beach

We must defer to those with experience, training in education

Parental rights extremism wrongs children, parents, and all of society.

The endless parental-rights shrieks — parents are experts, unheard and unheeded; parents know best their children’s needs; schools must not “co-parent;” teachers are overpaid baby sitters — nothing more than lies pushed by self-serving extremists.

The parental rights agenda is empty of what our children actually need — tools, knowledge, and life-skills to become productive, responsible citizens.

My children’s journey in our public schools may be challenging. They may struggle. They may have to think about and face things that are uncomfortable. But the journey is vital.

We must defer to those with experience and formal training. Parents cannot be experts on everything.

The extremist parental rights agenda distracts, making it even harder for children to find their place in the world, as plumbers, nurses, entrepreneurs, stay-at-home parents, etc. Students around the world focus on learning science, history and politics. Our children cannot compete from a bubble of false praise, watered down history, and weakened curricula. Math, science and social skills of U.S. children are embarrassingly low.

Schools are not for the benefit or pleasure of any one parent. Society is the primary beneficiary, not parents. Schools educate and prepare future generations, just as my school educated me, to become responsible citizens.

Our schools will only truly function when we accept reality. There is no boogeyman in every textbook, teacher, library, administrator, or classroom. Don’t take the bait. Be thoughtful. Don’t throw away a vote on friends or a catchphrase.

Demand the extremist, out-of-touch minority stop the drama; demand schools focus on the best curriculum and support. Vote out self-serving elected officials.

When schools do their job, our educated, intelligent children will take care of us when we need them most.

David Dinan, Vero Beach

Rep. Mast’s views on abortion, contraceptive access are concerning

I commend U.S. Rep. Brian Mast for his efforts to restore the Indian River Lagoon (and applaud this paper and other media for covering this issue so thoroughly that Republicans were forced to take the Democratic side of that issue) and his yes vote to codify the Marriage Equality Act. But our congressman’s extremist views on abortion rights and access to contraception are very concerning. With a solid majority of American citizens favoring keeping abortion legal and birth control readily available, Mast still voted no on bills to codify those rights.

This newspaper should press Mast on whether he still believes the 2020 election was stolen. Mast was one of 147 GOP representatives who voted against certifying the election results after being forced to evacuate the House chambers to avoid the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol.

Mast should also be asked about the revelations from the Jan. 6 committee hearings — that Donald Trump knew the election was not stolen but still tried to overturn it by making false claims of voter fraud, intimidating election officials, asking the Department of Justice to lie and pressuring Mike Pence to take illegal actions to keep him in power. When these illicit attempts failed his mob was the last gasp. Clearly Trump was asking his supporters to stop the certification of the election and also clear they could not do that while they were outside the building. Trump spent hours watching the attack unfold and refused to call in the National Guard or extra law enforcement and failed to ask the rioters to leave.

Will Mast still vote for Trump should he win the GOP nomination? Will he stand firm on his current views of abortion rights and contraception? Voters deserve to know before they go to the polls this November.

Steve Tierney, Fort Pierce

Alzheimer’s is at crisis levels in Florida, and Congress should act

Alzheimer’s is at crisis levels in Florida and action at the state and federal levels is critical to supporting those in our state impacted. Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed the READY Act, to encourage early diagnosis of the disease. However, with more than 580,000 living with the disease and the number expected to grow in the coming years, we must do more. There is currently no viable prevention, treatment, or cure. I know personally the brutality of this disease.

I was the primary caregiver of my uncle who went missing for 18 hours. It was an excruciating ordeal for my family. Thankfully we found him, and following that he was never left alone.

Much progress has been made in the fight against Alzheimer’s over the last decade, thanks in large part to the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) and the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act (AAA). With both set to expire in 2025, updated legislation is critically needed.

I m asking Rep. Brian Mast to join the Alzheimer’s Association in supporting these two bills. H.R. 7775, NAPA, would build on the progress made in research, clinical and long-term care and public awareness. H.R. 7773, AAA, would ensure Congress is equipped with the best information to determine necessary Alzheimer’s research funding levels each year.

I hope that Florida and our elected officials like Rep. Mast support Alzheimer’s research and care, and prioritize our friends, family members and loved ones impacted by this disease.

Please join me in the fight for a world without Alzheimer’s disease.

Nancy Ginden, Palm City

Stop-and-frisk policies encourage criminals to move to greener pastures

It appears our FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) contains 2.5 million felons and fugitives who commit a felony by possessing a firearm. Oddly, over half the names on the NICS are the six million illegal aliens that the 2005 REAL ID law kept from having motor-vehicle ID even to cash a check in the United States.

When you divide the names on this list by our 3,150 U.S. counties the average is under 800 names for each sheriff to police.

Enacting a 24/7 stop-and-frisk program might involve fewer than half that many when the initial screening is performed by county sheriffs, who know most of the criminal population on a first-name basis within their extended law-enforcement family.

Crime is not random. Criminals habitually violate criminal laws. Every encounter with law enforcement means they are frisked for felony firearm possession or other weapons.

Legal firearm owners exhibit extremely low criminality, and holders of concealed weapons licenses are even lower than law enforcement.

When this was routine law enforcement it meant these encounters stopped when criminals moved on to greener pastures where “social justice” means they never hit lockup or overnight. At least in Palm Beach County they release many of those illegal aliens, mostly after accidental encounters that still violate openly our sanctuary city, county and state laws requiring them to detain for ICE.

Jim Matthews, Tequesta

Are Christian Nationalists Christian?

Jesus didn't hate the Jews, He was one. He didn't preach hate of those not like himself, only love. He didn't wield a sword against his enemies or his neighbors. He didn't encourage his followers to punish others in his name. He did not involve himself in the politics of the Roman Empire. He loved his neighbors, and his enemies. He preached treating others like you yourself would like to be treated.

Perhaps I have a misunderstanding of the Christian Nationalist movement, but their ideology espousing an America where the government is subservient to the Church, made up of only Christians, and imposing its moral code on the population, seems counter to the teachings of Jesus.

Paul Milelli, Vero Beach

Let us be grateful for all we have, and help those less fortunate

While it is true part of our population is struggling with higher costs, let's admit that most Americans have never had it so good. Did your parents or grandparents have three TVs and two cars? Europeans have been paying higher prices for years and yet don't seem to whine about it as many of us do. They also consistently rank higher than we do on happiness scales.

How did we become so spoiled? We complain about costs and yet airlines, restaurants, and hotels are full. Could it be that we have been conditioned by decades of media propaganda that we not only need more stuff but deserve it?

Let's be grateful for all we have, help the less fortunate when we can, and see if we can get by with just eight pairs of shoes.

Walter Fulton, Fort Pierce

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Let educators teach; Mast's abortion views: Letters, July 31, 2022