Letters to the editor for Sunday, July 23, 2023

Letters to the editor should be 250 words or less. Include your name and city or community of residence. Guest opinions should be 600 words or less and include a brief summary of the author’s credentials relevant to the topic. Guest opinions may include a head shot of the author. For the Fort Myers News-Press, email submissions to mailbag@news-press.com and for the Naples Daily News to letters@naplesnews.com

Ending in a dead heat

In the early 1970s my seat mate on a flight to the Caribbean was being sent by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a shocking mission:  To educate the farmers in the islands to adjust their crops and timings of plantings to reflect a global climate change.  How unfathomable, I thought.  Now look at where we are.

In his recent book, “The Heat Will Kill You First,” Jeff Goodell addresses how heat, not floods, not hurricanes, not rising seas, will cause most of the deaths resulting from climate change.  Extreme heat produces hyperthermia and dehydration; it kills humans. “If your body gets too hot, too fast — it doesn’t matter that heat comes from the outside on a hot day or the inside from a raging fever, you’re in trouble.”  In an interview, Goodell gave the following tutorial.

Climate change is forcing us out of the temperature range we’re used to and into unhealthy territory.  Heat is not like a hurricane where you have storm surge coming in and roofs flying off houses. Heat is an invisible force which is shaping our world.  Everything that lives has thermal limits. We work hard to keep our bodies around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If you get a temperature of 104, you’re in trouble.  External temperatures do the same thing to the body.

Everything about our world has evolved in a stable climate niche — not too hot, not too cold, a Goldilocks climate. As humans continue dumping fossil fuel carbon dioxide (37 billion tons annually) into the atmosphere, we’re moving out of that Goldilocks climate.

Folks say, “We have air conditioning, we’re going to adapt, we’re smart.” But when the power grid cannot handle the electrical demands of our air conditioners, adapting isn’t smart, it’s impossible.

We have been talking about global warming for 40 years. In 2021, there was an extreme heat wave in the Pacific Northwest.  It was 121 degrees in British Columbia. No climate model ever considered that — it was like snow in the Sahara. This is where the world is right now.  Check temperatures around the world.

Dumping fossil fuels into the atmosphere is something like, little by little, introducing carbon monoxide into a room of people.  It ends in a dead heat.

Sally Lam, Naples

Threat to democracy

How many times prior to the 2016 election did you hear or see the slogan “lock her up” on tee shirts, hats and billboards referring to missing emails and a private server linked to Hillary Clinton. Now that the person who won that election is being indicted for stealing and/or sharing top secret documents after hiding them in his private residence, one must wonder why he wasn’t locked up immediately. The young guardsman in Massachusetts, Jack Teixeira, was cuffed and sequestered right after the revelation that he leaked classified documents. Why wouldn’t the same hold true for the ex-president? Instead, his poll numbers keep rising along with contributions. Soon, he will also be indicted for his role in the January 6th insurrection.

The same congressional members who ran for their collective lives that fateful day are now coming to his aid. Most opposing presidential candidates are still reticent to criticize him.

What’s wrong with this picture?

The ONLY clarification of this pending disaster will be his conviction to a felony and thereby disqualification from the presidency.

The threat to democracy is hinging on this outcome -- riots be damned. I can’t understand why none of this occurred long ago. Hoping for a prevailing democratic outcome.

Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral

Detained in another country

The U.S. State Department cannot continue to be the babysitter for every miscreant and malcontent that runs afoul of the law in another country. As with Brittney Griner and now the U.S. service person who flippantly crossed the Korean DMZ and is being detained, it is not the responsibility of our government to become involved in an international incident to protect these lawbreakers. These foreign regimes salivate over these incidents in hopes of extracting some form of concession. Too often we have played into their hands, giving far greater than we receive in return. Bad and illegal behavior should not be rewarded. If a U.S. citizen is rightfully detained for a crime, so be it.

Hart Kelley, Bokeelia

Not getting whole story

So the investigation of how the cocaine got into the White House has been completed. It seems a little unusual that in the investigation's final report that they did not have any evidence to lead them to the culprit. First of all, they say there was no DNA on the cocaine package. Hard to believe that there is absolutely none on something like this. Second, they never really disclosed the precise location, but they said that some 500 people passed through the area? What precise area was this and what 500 people were allowed through? They never said. They say there are no cameras in the area. Are we really to believe that an area that 500 people pass through had no cameras in the place where the most powerful person in the world is present? Really hard to believe. Seems like we are not getting the whole story.

Ron Wobbeking, Naples

Vouchers aid working families

In response to the July 12 letter to the editor titled “Private school vouchers,” I object to the writer's claim that the Florida state education voucher program only subsidizes the rich and robs from the public schools.

Today I visited my hairdresser, whom I haven’t seen in five months, since I wanted my hair a little longer.  She reported to me the English teacher at Barron Collier High School was inserting gender studies into his classroom teaching, where her daughter WAS a student. When my hairdresser met with him, he tried to tell her it was part of the state proscribed curriculum.  She had researched and asked “Where is it? Show it to me!”  He could not.  She was fearless in defense of her daughter’s future.  The fact that she could be labeled a domestic terrorist did not make her back down.

So while I was trying to get a much needed haircut and color, she was arranging uniforms for the private school, where she decided to send her daughter. She rents her home, has never been to Europe.  She is not already wealthy.  She wants an appropriate education for her daughter.  She doesn’t even know about the vouchers.  She wants what is best for her daughter and will sacrifice to get it.

Then after my haircut, I met my husband for dinner at our favorite Third Street restaurant.  At dinner our waiter, whom we know well, complained about the local schools and the high cost of private school for his two boys. He did not know about the vouchers either.

At the same restaurant, which is a few blocks from where I live, the assistant manager had mentioned to me over the winter, how worried she was about her son entering high school. She felt that despite the cost and financial sacrifice, a Catholic school would provide a better opportunity for him.  She wants him to be able to focus on academics.  Since I was following the legislative session, I was able to keep her informed about the voucher program, about which your July 12 writer complained.  She was able to receive a much needed and appreciated voucher for her son.

These hard-working Americans love their children and want the best for them.  They understand the only way their children can advance is through a decent education, where there is competition for grades and advancement.  They are aware of the shortcomings of public schools and the monopoly the teachers union has enjoyed.

If the public schools cannot provide appropriate academic education, parents should have the right to seek the best options to choose where their kids go to school.  Only with competition, will our school boards, across the country, force union control out and quality education in.  God bless Moms for Liberty and other courageous parents and organizations for taking up this fight.

Kathi Lewis, Naples

Name outstanding students

Regarding the Leadership in Flight story and photos in July 14 Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press.

I wish you had named each of these outstanding students honored by the Collier NAACP. The story names all the adults -- from the NAACP, the Collier Sheriff's Office, the Collier County Commission and Sen. Rick Scott's office -- but not the exceptional students themselves and the schools they represent. Two students featured in photos are named in the captions, but the other four students get zero recognition.

These hard-working young people are the real story here. Let us know who they are.

Vicky Bowles, Fort Myers

Senator's tantrum

The  petulant action by Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville holding all military promotions up by his demand that the Pentagon rescind its policy of paying the travel expenses of women in the armed services to obtain an abortion outside of states that restrict their rights, including the large numbers of them at the 21 military bases here in Florida, is not only odious to women but has caused consternation within the Defense establishment.

But these concerns overlook another feature of his one-man freeze. What allows him to get away with it?

This apparently is due to the  arcane ”Unanimous Consent” rule  in that so-called “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body” that allows a single member within that august chamber to hold proceedings hostage to his/her/their own whim for an indefinite period of time like a spoiled child holding his/her/their breath to get its way.

The ex-Auburn football coach is not the only one to run this play; his Republican colleague from Texas, Ted Cruz, also used the ploy as an end-run around democratic principles a few years ago when he held up ambassadorial appointments because he wasn’t getting his way about something or other.

Tuberville has been called the “dumbest senator” in that body by some observers, a fairly low bar. But he’s clever enough to use this device successfully, at least so far.

What the other solons ought to learn from this episode is that any of them can bring the Senate to a halt by stomping his/her/their feet and, to borrow a phrase from Nancy Reagan, just say “No.” Under that protocol, any progressive senator could use the same device to stop any unfavorable legislation until the body eradicates some measure they don't like or, conversely, enact one they do want.

It’s time for this “Deliberative” body to come into the 21st Century and sack that procedure that deliberately impedes progress, rather than allow It to facilitate infantile behavior like Tuberville’s tantrum.

Marshall H. Tanick, Naples

Crime here, up North

As a new resident to Southwest Florida, I got a kick out of my Minnesota friend’s submission (Intemperate, Ignorant Trump, 15 July) justifiably lamenting the state of affairs surrounding the Central Park Five. But like so many snowbirds from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, he protests a bit too much by comparing it to “the law here in Florida, which has been on the vanguard of capital punishment over the years.”

That’s rich coming from anyone in the Twin Cities, where crime has been surging in the wake of decisions by local and state officials to "stand down" during the George Floyd riots. In fact, violent crime in Minnesota has gone up double digits in both 2020 and 2021, according to the BCA’s Uniform Crime Report. Meanwhile, there is a mass exodus going on up North with downtown Minneapolis vacancy rates reaching all-time highs as residents flee for, well, Florida.

Finally, any suggestion that violent crime is higher in Red states due to policies like the death penalty (let alone Donald Trump) is too clever by half considering "the murder rate for counties that Biden won is much higher than for the counties that Trump won – 5.97 versus 2.58 per 100,000 people – 131% higher.”  More proof that "defunding the police" isn’t too wise no matter where it’s tried.

The writer is a good guy, but this one’s a real stretch.

Jason Lewis, Fort Myers

Python problem

Recent articles on the python problem state that they have devoured just about all of their normal prey.

Does the future result in their starvation or will they be coming for new food sources in more populated areas?

These invasive creatures have adapted and will continue to adapt in the future.

I'm not betting on their extinction.

Keep a close watch on your precious pets and small children.

Bob Paolello, Bonita Springs

Hope is not a plan

I will be the first to admit our governor fooled me completely. He now has blatant disregard to the people of Florida. His race to the far right is quite appalling. As I predicted; his poll numbers are falling quickly. His most recent and angering statement was in regard to Florida's property insurance crisis. When asked if he'd call a special session of our Legislature; he said no. Not until after hurricane season. He then quipped: We should keep our fingers crossed that a hurricane doesn't hit Florida. Really governor; hope is not a plan. Please resign today and run your presidential campaign into the ground; instead of Florida!

Robert Jenkins, Naples

Republican Party hijacked

Here’s some words of encouragement to true patriotic Republicans:I know you must be sad that the once high-flying "Air Republican" party you once loved for its fiscal and social conservatism was literally hijacked by fascist terrorists and is now barreling full speed toward our democratic infrastructure.

Even though that plane still has a big red “R” on its tail, the pilots who commandeered the cockpit are NOT Republicans. They are fascists and they intend to crash that Air Republican plane, and you, into the democracy you hold dear.Please take inspiration from the Flight 93 heroes on 9/11 who learned where that beautiful United aircraft was headed and chose to do something to stop it from crashing into the White House, even if it meant they were going down with the plane.This is your chance, and obligation, to have a heroic “Let’s roll!” moment.

J. Cant, Naples

If Trump is elected

Donald Trump has very clearly warned us what his election would mean for our democracy. He will take unprecedented steps to enhance the power of the executive and diminish that of the legislative and judicial branches. He will drastically change the democracy we’ve enjoyed for 250 years. He wants unfettered authority to be the great dictator he sees himself as. He wants to rule, not govern. He’d like to be as powerful as despots like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Putin, and his pen pal Kim Jung Un of North Korea. All he needs to succeed is about 80 million people to vote for him in 2024. It sounds crazy, but stay tuned.

He does need a few things to fall in line for him to succeed. The first step is probably the easiest: win primaries, get the nomination. His loyal base will make him the nominee. It doesn’t seem to matter to those who love him that their guy is twice impeached, twice indicted (more to come), narcissistic to the max, verifiably disrespectful of women, and a vindictive bully. It’s OK with his supporters that he tried to undermine the peaceful transfer of power after he lost the 2020 election.A bigger hurdle for Trump will be delaying his legal problems until after the next election. We’ll see if his overstressed team will be up to the legal gymnastics necessary to postpone these cases. His hope is that they can, then he gets elected, and he pardons himself once he is the autocrat-in-charge. He probably becomes the favorite if a third party candidate enters the race. Beware. His success is not implausible. If elected, he’ll abandon Ukraine, and weaken our relationships with NATO and our allies. At home he’ll favor the rich and make life miserable for anyone who doesn’t fit his notion of normal.Of course, he could be a convicted felon by the time we get to vote. Even that may not matter.

Kevin McNally, Bonita Springs

Is the soul a real thing?

As powerful as the human mind can be, it seems to begin like an empty vessel, filling itself with thought and understanding from the experience of its host and partner, the soul, which must certainly be, unlike the mind, fully developed at birth. We wonder is the soul a real and true thing? It is most certainly a spirit, so you tell me.

For the last years of their lives my parents and I lived together, good friends; they in their eighties, myself, a quarter-century younger, alone and retired from my working careers. Fully conscious, alert and in no pain, each passed within a minute with no warning, as if God took them in his hands, snatching them up to his heart, painlessly, a blessing for the goodness in the lives they each had led.

For each, one day some “thing” was there inside them and the next day it was gone. The thing I’m speaking of was most certainly their “soul,” an eternal spirit that lives within each of us, the energy that tells us where and who we are each time we return from our rests, awakening from our temporary sleep, before the final time our eyes are closed.

It is the very spirit that lives alike in me and you. My own now guides my hands as they lie on the keyboard typing out this letter. I can feel its power and sense its wondrous mystery in the messages we can share with our lives. Can you? Is the soul a real and true thing?

I can tell you I miss dearly the two who brought me to this world and unconditionally loved me, as I did and still do them, for every moment of their lives. It often feels as if a part of those two souls lives still in me today and always will.

Some believe the soul is an eternal light that each human is promised, given, and will remain with all who have seen and felt its presence, even after that last darkness comes to each life.

I believe it is real, because I have lived my life.

Ed McCoy, Bokeelia

Flunks Disciple Test

During an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network last week, Governor Ron DeSantis said he’d like to have been among the original Christian disciples:  “These guys all went out and they dedicated their life to spreading the gospel. I look back at that and would loved to have been able to be there with them.”Unfortunately, with his Florida record, Ron DeSantis would surely flunk the Disciple Test having failed to read books like those of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.Matthew Chapter 25:31. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me….44 They will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a big stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Sorry Ron.  With your spiteful racist and homophobic record, your subhuman treatment of immigrants and your withdrawal of programs and funds from the poor, you’ll have to go back to school and read ALL the books.

Joe Haack, Naples

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Sunday, July 23, 2023