Letters to the editor for Sunday, January 2, 2022

Dems control media but can't govern

I am amazed at how many so-called "lifelong Republicans" have converted because of "Trump supporters" fighting against vaccinations and wearing masks. Well where did they hear this lie? The "Mainstream Media" who all parrot the Democrat socialist mantra. You can watch every "Mainstream Media" station and not only do they continue their effort to promote racial division they repeat the same exact words! Now your writers are attacking Gov. DeSantis as well!

Here's the reality. Democrats can win elections simply because they control the media and population centers but they sure can't govern. Every blue state is broke, crime-ridden, racial violence abounds, corrupt and COVID-19 deaths are highest in the country! Truth is I know a lot of Trump supporters and all of them have been vaccinated and received their booster shots. Out of all these people I know not one is a racist and not one is a toothless rube. So where do your letter writers get their information? The lying media. So when I listen to Jen Psaki ramble on with her lies and arrogance to defend the worst administration ever and the media never even questioning one iota I sense that if our country continues down this road we're doomed.

Michael E. Campbell, Fort Myers

Democrats voted for sinking ship

I so much enjoy the Democrats getting all worked up about a past president. Has there ever been a time where a candidate would not give up and seek recounts, voter fraud, and claim voter suppression? Let me see if I can go back into history and find someone who fits this bill. Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams, to name a few! And just when it could not get more interesting, CNN is offering a list of candidates to replace Joe Biden and Kamala. Did you Democrats vote for a sinking ship (S.S. Minnow)?

Dems failed to impeach, twice. And now we know the Jan. 6 commission is on a fishing expedition led by the Skipper (Pelosi) and Gilligan (Schiff). They brought along the professor (Fauci), and Mr. and Mrs. Howell (the Gates). Along for the ride is Ginger (Psaki), and Maryann (AOC). But best of all they get their news from a coconut radio running on solar! And won't the castaways be surprised with climate change.

Dems have all three branches of government. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial along with the media control messaging, frequency, and content. But this boat has a problem. Dems elected a sock puppet as captain, a first mate with less common sense. Legislatively, they fill the boat up with useless cargo such as the Green New Deal, higher taxes on the boat owners, no fuel to power the engines, and a commune where all get equal amounts of fish and vegetables, health care, and housing. Have you seen the huts on "Gilligan's Island?"

The Dems may get off the island, but somehow, I don't think they actually want to leave. The daily activities of scrounging for morsels to satisfy their egos, the wish to hear their names on the coconut radio is mesmerizing to them and after they tax the Howells, all that is left is the monkeys. Yea, us.

So, as long as you focus on Trump, you will never fix the hole in the bottom of the boat.

Jack Holt, Cape Coral

Believe in the science

This is exactly how I feel about COVID vaccination. I had two shots and on the 22nd of December I also got my booster shot.

No, I don't know "what's in it." Neither this vaccine nor the ones I had as a child, or the ones I have on my many trips to the China and the Far East.

Nor do I know what's in the 11 secret herbs and spices at KFC.

I also don't know exactly what's in Perindopril ,Clopidogrel, Simvastatin or Tylenol -- they just cure me from my pains.

I don't know what's in tattoo ink and fillers on every ingredient in my soap, shampoo or deodorants. I don’t know the long-term effect of mobile phone use, or whether or not that restaurant I just ate at really used clean foods and washed their hands. There's a lot of things I don't know. I do know one thing: Life is short. Very short. And I, personally, still want to do things. I want to travel and live my life without fear.

Throughout my life I've been vaccinated against many diseases, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chickenpox, hepatitis, influenza, rotavirus, tetanus. I trusted the science, and never had to suffer through or transmit any of those diseases.

I'm vaccinated. I believe in the science and the World Health Organization and not the people who are spreading disinformation. I strongly believe this is the right thing to do. We have two cousins who died of COVID in New Jersey.

This is getting very, very serious now. The latest variant omicron is doubling the cases every second day.

But I don't want to: Die from COVID-19, take a hospital bed if I get sick, not be able to hug my grandchildren, have to test routinely, live my life in fear.

I would like to wish all of you good health, stay safe, please get vaccinated.

Pream Mathura, Naples

DeSantis has got to go

Our immature, childish governor picked Brandon as his site to announce the new Republican-sponsored bill to negate the federal mandate for companies to require vaccines. Some boneheads in attendance chanted the “Let’s Go Brandon” slogan which you now see as bumper stickers in addition to the F--- Biden flags.

Although he’s taken so many detrimental actions for our fellow state citizens, this was just the frosting on his half-baked ideas. Instead of concentrating on getting our woefully low vaccination rates higher, he has chosen to keep us sick by allowing citizens to opt out of a mandate that really works.

Now, with cases up-ticking in the U.S., this is the last thing we need. In Europe, they are contemplating lockdowns again so, it’s just a matter of time when all these un-vaccinated self-serving morons are going to affect the well-being of us all. The holidays are upon us and so unvaccinated Floridians will travel to the north to infect relatives who are forced to be indoors at this time of year. DeSantis has to go next November if there are any voters left.

Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral

Sen. Scott should follow Dole's example

In a phone interview with Sen. Scott for the front page Dec. 18 article reporting his observations on the "game...that is Congress" he complains that "...a lot of Democrats, won't even talk to me." It's a curious observation because legislation is passed in Congress only when viewpoints are shared, negotiated and refined into a package that represents all sides who vote for it. No one gets everything they want and it reinforces that the "perfect is the enemy of the good."

Perhaps the answer to the senator's complaint lies in his own words later in the interview: In response to a question about how he "wins people over," his answer is not one of reaching out; it's not one of building consensus; instead, it's his way or the highway..."You've got to be able to convince people of your way of thinking about things or the right way of doing things."

That indeed, may be his playbook for moving forward in the Republican Party, but it fails to address the many needs of both his constituents and the public at large and results in a stasis that many of us abhor.

The late Sen. Bob Dole understood the art of politicking. As a first-term senator, Sen. Scott would do well to listen up and learn from those who understood how to get the job done.

Patricia Aiken-O'Neill, Naples

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Sunday, January 2, 2022