Letters to the editor for Saturday, July 1, 2023

Cancel Rosanne Barr show

Sarcasm can be biting but it should be satisfying and humorous.Rosanne Barr’s “sarcasm,” reported in the June 29 Naples Daily News in connection with her scheduled appearance at Barbara Mann, was neither fun nor funny, clever or witty.In cancelling others, she revealed herself. She used so-called “sarcasm” as a cover to smear and target others. It’s a ploy by those not clever enough to be humorous. This was hate speech, and it inspires others to hate. Is Barbara Mann okay with this? I am appalled at the “show will go on” mentality. Shouldn’t Barbara Mann cancel, rather than condone, someone who herself cancels others?

Patricia Aiken-O’Neill, Naples

Hate has no place here

I am writing to you on behalf of the steering committee of the Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida, an affiliate of the national organization Interfaith Alliance. Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida is made up of people of many faiths and no faith, clergy, and lay members of diverse faith communities. We come together because of our shared commitment to inclusive religious freedom and democracy.

A recent Naples Daily News article reported on antisemitic comments made by actor and comedian Rosanne Barr. During her appearance on a recent podcast, Barr said: "....nobody died in the Holocaust either. That's the truth. It should happen. Six million Jews should die right now because they cause all the problems in the world."

Antisemitism is not a punchline and statements like this perpetuate hate and misinformation. In recent years, we have witnessed a steady rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes and incidents alongside this kind of rhetoric. Barr is scheduled to appear at the Barbara B. Mann theater on October 7th, despite her well-publicized track record of racist and discriminatory remarks. We hope that people join us in contacting theater administration to say hate has no place in our community. Our community is better than this.

Lisa Freund, Naples

Hypocrisy from the right

Here they go again. The right of center majority on the Supreme Court has blown up the practice of considering race in college acceptance policies. These people hate affirmative action; they loathe it -- or do they?It is estimated that that somewhere between 25 and 35 percent of incoming Ivy Leaguers are "legacies." The admissions officers there have openly considered a history of family affiliation with the university a plus in the application process for as long as I can remember. It is a poorly kept secret that "family affiliation" has been a significant, if not pivotal, factor in the evaluation and acceptance of these students. Wow, that's some affirmative action for you. That's the very definition of the thing. We're all still patiently waiting for the howls of outrage from the right.I guess they're fine with affirmative action that further entitles the white, wealthy, fortunate and privileged among us. They just can't stomach the policy when it offers a leg up to a Black kid who wasn't born to a long litany of "good breaks" and advantages. Go figure.

Geremy Spampinato, Naples

Seek alternatives to abortion

While the practice of abortion has been around for thousands of years, Josephus, a famous Jewish historian summarized for us: “The Law orders all offspring to be brought up and forbids women either to cause abortion or to make away with the fetus.”

Nearly 1,000 years later, John Calvin demonstrated the Christian tradition of opposing abortion was still alive and well. He contemplated on Exodus 21:22-23 and wrote, “The fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and it is almost a monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man’s house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light.”

While the situation of a brain-dead adult is equally sad to consider, my Christian belief insists that life for all humans (both born and embryo) is sacred. I understand that there are difficult situations in which the choice of abortion may arise, such as cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk. These are heartbreaking circumstances that require our empathy and support. In such situations, we should advocate for alternatives like adoption, providing comprehensive care and compassion to both the mother and the child.

While I understand that some Christians may interpret certain biblical passages differently, these principles form the foundation of my belief that abortion is not aligned with Christian teachings. Ultimately, our shared faith calls us to love and support one another, even when we hold differing opinions. May God's wisdom and grace guide us as we seek to understand His will.

Faith Moore, Bonita Springs

Pluralism is our blessing

As we prepare to celebrate America’s enduring independence, let’s ask ourselves, "What is at the core of America’s greatness?"For me, it’s our cultural plurality.Like a treasure chest overflowing with sparkling jewels from every corner of the Earth, America’s multicolored radiance stands out on the global stage.It’s ALL the jewels together that make America great and that make each one of us Americans a reflection of our treasure chest’s rainbow of colors.Regardless of our ethnic heritage, if we visited the countries of our ancestors, we may look like the indigenous population, but the full spectrum of multicultural gems here in America reflects outward from each of us like a brilliant display of July Fourth fireworks.Pluralism is our blessing, and our greatness.

J. Cant, Naples

California or Florida?

Governor Newsom is not running for president.  Instead he is just "chirping" from the sidelines.  The people are already voting with their feet, as they are leaving California in droves while Florida continues to grow.  The choice -- live in California with high crime and high taxes or in Florida with lower crime and lower taxes.  Let me think on that for about half of a nanosecond.

Don Cummins, Fort Myers

America noble and generous

In America today, we are a nation divided. Feelings run deep for various causes. And as troubling as this might appear, it was always so in America. We are a nation born in the fires of revolution. Throughout our history, there have always been periods of great division. And even during the greatest of these periods, the Civil War, we survived and came back stronger. And in this country, you get to say what you think, without fear of a knock on the door at 2 a.m.

In this great land of ours, those who are willing to work can still achieve success. It is possible for the sons and daughters of working men to get great educations and rise up through the ranks, to become professionals. Though there are spotty pockets of poverty, most Americans have food to eat, available medical care and a decent place to call home. In many nations of the planet, this is not so.

The complicated matrix of our society, composed of some 325 million souls, is multiracial, multi-ethnic and differently purposed. Yet, somehow, we manage to not only take care of our own, but look out for millions of others on the planet.

In the history of the world, there has never been a country so noble of purpose and generous of spirit. Military cemeteries around the world, filled with our finest, are mute testimony to our resolve and our commitment to freedom. God bless America.

Joseph Xavier Martin, Estero

Trump vs. Biden

I'd like to respond to a contributor (Trump was a complete failure) who was responding to, I believe, a recent letter from me about President Trump's accomplishments.

Yes, 11 million jobs were created during the eight years of the Obama administration.

During the four years of the Trump administration almost 7 million jobs were added prior to the pandemic.

So I'll give the contributor the benefit of the doubt that President Trump did inherit an economy that was on the upswing.

The contributor did say that the unemployment levels did drop under President Trump but also said that because of that it would follow that they would drop for minorities and women also. That just isn't true.

Historically whites have had a lower unemployment rate than minorities, yet the minority numbers did fall to record levels under Donald Trump.

But here's where it becomes a little tricky for the contributor, who said that under the Biden administration 10.7 million jobs have been created. Let's take a closer look at that.

According to the House Budget Committee 72% of those jobs are people who are returning to the work force after the pandemic. But if President Biden wants to hang his hat on that, be my guest.

The contributor also said the unemployment rate in 2020 was as high as 14.9%.

Did I miss something ? Didn't the entire world pretty much shut down in the spring of 2020? Is it possible that just might have something to do with the high unemployment rate?

Once again, I know the hatred for Donald Trump is real but to say he was a total failure is laughable.

Heck, if I look hard enough I'll probably find some Joe Biden accomplishments also.

Rick Manuel, Dade City

Misinformation about abortion

I read with disgust the Your Turn article by Dr. Karysse Trandem. She is entitled to her opinion on abortion, but to state that "such as that women who have even one abortion have a 40% increased risk of breast cancer, 81% increased risk of chronic mental health problems, 36% increased risk of future preterm births, and a risk of bleeding, infection, and need for uterine surgery" as the basis for her so called opinions goes to show that if you repeat misinformation enough it becomes truthiness.1. "Introduction: Research clearly shows abortion (also called induced abortion) is not linked to an increased risk of breast cancer." Susan G. Komen2. "Scientific research from around the world shows having an abortion is not linked to mental health issues but restricting access is." American Psychological Association3. "Generally, elective abortion isn't thought to cause fertility issues or complications in future pregnancies." Mayo Clinic.It is this misuse and misunderstanding of statistics and facts that cause so much of our political divide and needs to stop.

Michael Posner, Fort Myers

Had enough affirmative action

Please allow me to use street logic and exaggerate to make my point. There are always more applicants for a college than there are openings. If the majority of applicants are Asian, have the highest scholastic numbers, and only the highest numbers are admitted, they will fill the school with Asians. Therefore, there will be no whites and Blacks in the school. That is what would happen. However, affirmative action is not the remedy. The remedy is to determine why don’t the whites and Blacks have the same high scholastic numbers. My logically correct solution is investigate the schools that the lower scoring students come from. Investigate the possibility of lack of parental guidance or lack of two parent families. In summary, why do Asians outscore whites and Blacks. Sixty years of affirmative action is enough.

John Piccolo, Estero

Too many manatees?

News-Press headline says "Boats again no.1 killer of manatees."

Then the article goes on to say 100 suspected to be red tide related plus cold weather caused deaths and perinatal deaths. The article further states that hundreds of manatees starved because there's not enough seagrass. Fake news!?

Isn't it obvious there are too many manatees?

Shouldn't we be more concerned about seagrass, red tide and too many manatees?

Jack Zinke, Cape Coral

Jan. 6 accountability

Forget for a moment that dingbat Donald is a wealthy, narcissistic, megalomaniac who can afford to buy the best and most expensive legal representation that most people couldn’t afford in a lifetime. Do you still think that no one is above the law and our justice system provides the same or equal amount of legal defense expertise for everyone? Trump’s gunslingers are going to jail for their crimes. More than 1,000 people have been arrested in relation to Jan. 6 attack on our Capitol and 320 have been charged with “assaulting or impeding law enforcement,” yet, the ringleader has yet to be arrested and tried after two years of investigation and worldwide unequivocal visual and vocal evidence of his culpability and intent to overthrow our democracy. It’s beyond normal sensibilities that a national political party would even think, much less support, an ostentatious nut job. Worse yet is a judicial system with a biased deference for tyrannical wealthy tycoons and the Republican Party that aided and abetted this monstrosity. Thank You, Moscow Mitch.

Leo Boghosian, Bonita Springs

Governor's agenda

Our governor does not want any discussion in classrooms about LGBT orientations. He already championed the law pertaining to kindergarten through third grade which brought about the ire of the Walt Disney folks who he subsequently punished and they were the state’s largest employer. Now he wants to include grades 4 through 12. Does he actually think this will curtail the number of people who identify as LGBT. In this day and age of cell phones and the internet, does he actually believe this will have any effect or causation on the direction of the lives of the young citizenry. Right now, there are approximately 7.2 percent in the U.S. who are openly declaring they belong to the LGBT community. The number of closet-dwellers would probably increase these numbers to 10 percent. Would the governor like to add a class for conversion of these kids to being straight?

I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral

Keep lifestyle to yourself

Regarding the LGBT issue that’s been dominating the news media for quite some time, it is getting out of hand. You LGBT people know who you are, what you are and, when you do what you do. I really don’t care. Just stop pushing it in our faces and making political issues out of it. By parading around in your he and she weird outfits doesn’t help your cause. Keep your choice of how you live your lives personal, don’t put it on display and expect us to accept it. If the gender you choose makes you happy then be happy for yourself and fellow LGBT followers. I personally don’t care how you live your lives, just don’t intrude in mine. You don’t see or hear non-LGBT people parading around saying we’re straight.Stop poisoning our youth with your beliefs, there’s enough going on in this world without your trying to influence them, especially in classrooms.

Anthony Edwards, Cape Coral

Creeping communism

Wake up, America, before it is too late. Remember Khrushchev’s predictions? This is a sobering reminder. It has been over 60 years since Russia’s boorish leader Khrushchev delivered this address at the UN. Most people were not alive when he banged his shoe on the desk at the UN and made these remarks.

Here is what he said: “Your children’s children will live under communism. You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright. We will feed you small doses of communism until you wake up and find out you already have communism. We will not have to fight you. We will so weaken your economy until you fall like ripe fruit into our hands. Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not."

Remember: Socialism leads to communism. How do you create a socialist state? These are nine levels of control:

1.Control health care 2. Create poverty 3. Grow debt 4. Force gun control 5. Promote welfare 6. Control education 7. Control religion 8.Create class warfare 9. Control the media.

When we look at today’s situation, the country is moving ahead in all nine areas and freedom is curtailed at a rapid speed by the government and their allied organizations. Wake up, America!

Erik C. Meyer, Naples

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Saturday, July 1, 2023