Letters to the editor for Sunday, September 10, 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

9/11 remembrance

Recently the White House explained that the president will travel to Alaska to mark the somber occasion of 9/11 after his Sept. 10 trip to Hanoi, Vietnam, where he will meet with Vietnamese leaders to discuss technological innovation and climate change. It will be the first time that a president has not attended any of the observances that have been held annually in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, or at the White House. 9/11 was one of the worst events in our country's history.

The decision to forgo the traditional observance at the attack sites or the White House in favor of other topics raises concerns about the administration's priorities. Seems the president and progressives along with the media want to cancel events that have united Americans.It's vital to prioritize commemorating the heroes and victims of 9/11 above all else on this day of remembrance. Many Americans find it disheartening that the focus appears to have shifted away from honoring the memory of those who perished, and that the consciousness of 9/11 is receding. It was a terrorist attack against our country, and everybody should remember it and take precautions and watch out and hope it never happens again.

Lou Walker, Cape Coral

Which way do I steer?

A Jimmy Buffett story recently claimed the song "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was inspired by a bar in Cabbage Key. Not according to Jimmy. On his Sirius XM channel he cleared up the origin by stating it was inspired by a trip to Tortola after a long sailing journey. During the trip he had troubles with his boat and limped into Tortola after days at sea eating canned food and peanut butter. The marina had a bar serving cheeseburgers, and he stated "we ate as many cheeseburgers as we drank pina coladas." That's the real story.

Jeffrey Hesley, Bonita Springs

Nikki Haley best in debate

After watching the GOP debate, I believe Nikki Haley performed better than all the men candidates.  Florida Governor DeSantis showed little or nothing; he has the personality of a wounded rattlesnake.  Several candidates blamed President Biden for our inflation, but Haley told the truth about inflation.  Inflation had started before Biden took office. Trump's enormous debt of 7.8 trillion was one factor, but the main culprit was the COVID-19 virus, which affected the prices of almost everything in our country and the world.  The economy is getting better by the month, with inflation down to 3.2 percent and unemployment at a low 3.8 percent.

One large problem is the gas and oil companies; no president can control these greedy people. The Canadian Keystone Pipeline would not help the price of petroleum, because it is a “very poor grade” of crude, now being trucked to Texas, refined and shipped overseas.

One Republican letter writer claims it is only the “left” who are violent.  The “right” only makes threats, but no violence.  He also states that there have been 179 acts of violence against the “right” by the “left” in the last five years, but no list supplied.  Apparently he forgot about the Jan. 6^th (2021) insurrection that injured 140 Capitol policemen — three died after.  The violent people were all Republicans trying to overthrow our government and democracy. Many are now convicted and in jail. The majority of mass killers in the last five years were “white supremacists” from the “right.”

E.L. “Bud” Ruff, Naples 

Cheap shots at Trump

Your constant barraging of biased writing has really gotten to me. Media is supposed to be impartial, but I see your newspaper is not. You consistently throw barbs at the Republican Party namely former President Trump. These are cheap shots at a man who did a great service to our country. Worst of all your ridiculous cartoons making Trump look bad. This week's Sunday paper was the worst. What about Biden? I don't see any cartoons of him falling or sniffing someone's hair. You don't say anything about the open borders allowing Chinese, terrorists, drug dealers, and human trafficking to come through. What about the files found in his garage for all to see? Nobody is saying anything about that, right?

Antoinette Allia, Fort Myers Beach

Incompetent Biden Cabinet

Can anyone name a member of Biden's Cabinet that has in any way exhibited the ability to handle their job in a quality manner?

Certainly at the bottom of the barrel is Mayorkas, followed closely by big stock profits in her pocket Granholm, the overseer of the horrible planned Afghanistan departure Austin, the I only use private jets when necessary Buttigieg, and the I never leave my office Becerra. Just to name a few.

Biden's incompetent menagerie of Cabinet members reflects directly upon Biden's and Obama's inability to speak the truth and to do what is right for America rather than enriching their own pockets and those of their supporters.

Name one and prove me wrong.

Michael Zubrow, Naples

Separate church, state

I'm following up on Bill Korson's Letter, "Prayer at board meetings" (Sept. 6). Like Mr. Korson, I'm "all in" as a devoted Christian, and I also respect the historical foundation of separation of church and state, as ably stated by Mr. Korson's quotes of Thomas Jefferson.One of the most religious of our founders, John Adams, a deacon in his Congregational Church in Braintree MA, was also adamant about the separation. He stated, "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion, - as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of religions..." Imposition of religious views, prayer, or practices upon others in public arenas, whether those views and prayers are misguided or not, is just un-American.

Peter Johnson, Ph.D., Fort Myers

Playing with fire

Democrats, some independents, and even some never-Trump Republicans are giddy over the prospect of using  the “insurrection” clause of the 14th Amendment  to keep former President  Trump off the ballot next year by invoking the portion that bars anyone from holding elective office who has “engaged” in an insurrection or aiding others in doing so.

But they are playing a dangerous game that resembles a high wire act by daring aerialists, imbued with rich rewards but high risks. If successful, their effort at candidate suppression would be salutary. But it’s rife with risk  because it plays right into what our Senator Marco Rubio described in the 2016 presidential primary campaign as  the “small hands” of the ex-president.

While attractive to academics and some pundits, the movement to disenfranchise  Trump-inclined voters may not be as appealing to elected officials and judges who must decide whether to allow him to be on the ballots in the various states. It does not seem likely that the current composition of the Supreme Court, the ultimate destination of inevitable litigation that will address and resolve the insurrection issue, will deem him ineligible to run for a return to the White House, especially in the absence of a prior judicial determination of his role in an “insurrection.”

Meanwhile, during the insurrection imbroglio, the GOP frontrunner will point to the effort to eviscerate his candidacy as another illustration of how he is the victim of a weaponized attempt to keep him out of the White House, which constitutes an attack on his wide band of supporters, too. Like his quartet of indictments, a legal challenge on “insurrection“ grounds will redound to the benefit of the ex-president’s popularity, at least within his party, not to mention the millions of dollars he will gather from small donor contributors to wage his ballot battles.

So, the insurrection-disqualification advocates ought to be careful because they are playing with fire that might burn them badly.

Marshall H. Tanick, Naples

Focus on Florida, governor

Gov. DeSantis wants to be president. He’s traveling all over the country making his case for that job. But right now, he is the governor of Florida and as such, he should be working to help the constituents of his state. Recently, according to Forbes ( 8/30/23) Gov. DeSantis vetoed a request by the Florida Deartment of Energy to accept $346 million of funding earmarked for Florida in the Inflation Reduction Bill. The funds cover a $174 million rebate program for energy-efficient home improvements, a $173 million rebate program for energy-efficient home appliance purchases, as well as $5 million to cover the costs of the rebate administration.

In another instance, DeSantis has rejected $24 million that would improve waste water plants in rural areas of the state. We all pay federal taxes to fund these programs and are entitled to these benefits. Encouraging the purchase of energy efficient products, upgrading homes to be more energy efficient and improving waste water treatment plants helps the people of Florida. DeSantis is determined not to acknowledge any benefit of this administration’s Inflation Reduction Act -- even if doing so hurts Florida. Apparently, it is more important for him to run for president than to help his constituents here in Florida! But, isn’t that what should take precedence over his campaign for president?

Joan Fanelli, Fort Myers

Biden incompetent

Sunday editorial Page: unreadable. You continue to pander to 25% of the local population.Did you happen to watch President Biden attempt to speak on his trip to Florida? When will you see that he is not able to even read his note cards let alone have any rational personal thoughts. He fits ole Hillary's "it takes a village" to get him through the day.

Don Rader, Naples

Low oxygen in waterways

During the month of June 2023, oxygen levels in the Marco waterways were the lowest in recorded history. The average oxygen level was 3 mg/L. This is well below the level that indicates healthy conditions at 5 mg/L.

Lowest readings were at the Swallow sampling location (1.3 mg/L) and Landmark (1.9 mg/L). Of the 14 sampling locations, 13 are considered hypoxic and none of the samples were considered healthy.

Dissolved oxygen (DO), which is the amount of free oxygen dissolved in water, is an essential component of the aquatic environment. The most important and commonly used measurement of water quality, it indicates a waterbody’s state of health -- that is, the ability to support aquatic life. A vast array of aquatic organisms depends on the presence of adequate levels of DO for survival. Generally, waters with DO concentrations of 5 mg/L or higher can support a well-balanced, healthy biological community.

In ocean and freshwater environments, the term "hypoxia" refers to low or depleted oxygen in a water body. Hypoxia is often associated with the overgrowth of certain species of algae, which can lead to oxygen depletion when they die, sink to the bottom, and decompose.

Oxygen levels in the Marco Island waterways have been declining since 2019. The root cause was determined to be phosphorus in the reuse water distributed by the sewage treatment plant. Phosphorus is an element of fertilizer that feeds algae in the waterways.

Eugene Wordehoff, Marco Island

The company he keeps

Let’s see what kind of people Trump likes. Insurrectionists from Jan. 6, accused criminal Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas, white nationalists and Christian nationalists. A person is known by the company he keeps and Trump's company are the garbage of America.

Albert King, Naples

Pragmatist, no compassion

As a Representative in the House, Ron voted against helping the victims of Hurricane Sandy; it was too socialistic. Then came Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Idalia, a different Ron surfaces. He wants federal assistance for his State of Florida.

Ron is a pragmatist. He knows what will strengthen his image. He knows what will get him reelected. He knows what he has to do to beat Trump. He had no compassion for the victims of Sandy. He really has no compassion for the victims of Ian and Idalia since he did next to nothing to help folks get insured against these natural disasters as his legislation benefited his political donors over his citizens. He offers nothing to prevent natural disasters. He does only what it takes to get votes.

His pragmatism and lack of compassion are evident in other arenas. He removes relevant history from continuing victims of racism so he can garner votes of the prejudiced. He refuses to recognize gays, lesbians, transgenders as God’s children present in life as a natural event and uses attacks against them to garner the votes of the homophobics. He is against abortion but he is okay with abortions during the first 6 weeks of pregnancy -- all in disregard of women’s right to health and health care. He banned mandatory COVID masking and vaccinations to garner the votes of few as he placed the health and lives of the many in grave danger. And he has abused our Bill of Rights from many angles particularly our First Amendment rights; he has banned perfectly legitimate books from libraries, tried to silence Disney, imposed codes on teachers, criminalized protected public protests. All to garner votes to the detriment of minorities, to the detriment of the weak, of the poor, of good people.

Joe Haack, Naples

Investigation or theater?

It's axiomatic that all politicians make untruthful statements, albeit more so lately. Joe Biden is on record of saying he knows nothing about this son's business dealings. Is he lying? If so, do his lies, or the actions he lied about, constitute a crime or rule violation that crosses a constitutional threshold to impeach him? A recent letter to the National Archivist from the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Accountability (CCOA) indicates that the CCOA is investigating Joe Biden's conduct while he served as vice president. The committee may find he committed crimes or rules violations while serving as VP. So what? Is there a legal basis for crimes or rule violations while serving as VP that can be "carried over" to him as president to support impeachment? If not, then is the CCOA reduced to charging Joe Biden with liar, liar, pants on fire and is this sufficient to impeach him? If not, then the CCOA is just kabuki theater and the GOP, the Democrats, and the Biden administration already know that nothing will come of these investigations. Meanwhile, the Democrats are taking concrete action -- four Trump indictments, and counting.

Michael Mainelli, Estero

Make America united again

I guess “Way to go Brandon” is also known in his emails as Robin Ware among other names he used.

I guess Joe decided not to use Robinhood for his emails from all his followers while as a VP. Robinhood donated the spoils. I guess that’s not what Joe was willing to do. Robinhood wouldn’t work if you weren’t helping the less fortunate. Lol.

Trump needs to Trump onto something else.

Dump Trump and Biden. Make America united again!

Leo Amos, Matlacha

Sabotaging economy

With the looming debt ceiling negotiations only a month away, the Republicans who put Kevin McCarthy in as speaker (after 15 embarrassing votes), will be looking to get their payback by thwarting the deal from the short-term agreement. Instead of impeachment inquiries and looking for Hunter Biden’s misdeeds, they would rather set our economy back substantially at a most critical time. Even though Biden’s critics won’t admit it, our economy is far superior to those of any other developed country. Does the right think it will hurt the president by sabotaging the post-pandemic progress our citizenry finally enjoys and not their constituents? Instead of continuing sucking up to the four-indicted thug and his delusional followers, maybe they should honor their oath of office and the Constitution. I think after almost three years of propagating the huge lie, they would finally have the courage to sever their relationship with the pathological liar.

I guess to mention courageous Republican representatives could be considered an oxymoron.

Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral

Big downside!

Jay Custa had an interesting letter on 9/2. He states that he has more of a tendency to believe scientists on climate change because they use science. As has been stated many times in these pages, scientists are also political in nature in that they skew their research to follow what the politicians want them to conclude. That is if they say climate change is real, they will get lucrative grants to continue their studies. These grants are the mother's milk of science.But, Mr. Custa's most disturbing thesis is that if we take actions, even if climate change is a hoax, we will have spent money and created jobs. No downside! (Exclamation point his.)No downside? Spending money just in case is a huge downside in my opinion. Aren't we spending enough money as it is? Good grief, how big does he want the deficit to be? Big downside! (Exclamation point mine.)

Chuck Bainbridge, Naples

Origin of 'woke'

Let’s first get to the root of where the term "woke" originated.In the 1930’s, the American of African descent blues musician Huddie William Ledbetter, better known by the stage name Lead Belly, composed a song to encourage his fellow Americans of African descent to stay awake to the constant threat of attacks by Americans of European descent.Of course, growing up in a country that disenfranchised its black-skinned citizens, Lead Belly was not given the same educational advantages of his white-skinned fellow Americans. Therefore, his command of "proper" English was sorely lacking.

So, instead of urging his fellow Americans of African descent to “stay awake” to racial injustices, he used the only English tools he had and urged them to “stay woke.”If he had said “stay awake,” racist politicians wouldn’t have this convenient "woke" substitute for the N word to dog whistle and fire up the racist elements in our society.So the next time you hear politicians rail against the woke mob, do a mental translation to the word they really mean.

J. Cant, Naples

Media message

Writers from all sides are presenting their concerns and the letters become a regurgitation of talking points, misinformation, fake and false diatribes, and mostly people afraid their reality is not real but camouflage to conceal agendas of our elected officials and power brokers. There are stories of local interest, statewide interest and national interest but using a critical eye to disseminate the crush of information takes more than a quick read in The News-Press and USA Today. To find the message in a story a person must be aware that news has become a moving target. Fact checkers, expert analysis, and favored opinion scribes attempt to shape a story more than report on a subject. If we are to be an informed electorate then we need to have all opinions and facts presented. But today, the goal of the press and media is to report and TELL you what to think. No room for conflicting evidence leading to an opinion other than the writers' and editors'. Obedience is the goal.

Because of the tone, opposing sides dig in rather than discuss. The fight is to protect rather than to educate. And the outcome is predetermined. Let's look at three stories falling into the category of predetermined news and the implications everyone should be aware of.

1) Living in the Yacht Club, we were sold a bill of goods for a complete remodel of the park. From an improved beach, a water slide, a new HQ for the marina, parking improvements and $60 million for the redo. Hurricane Ian put a wrench in the plan, but did it? I would estimate that our beloved mayor will be seeking additional funding for the Yacht Club and the timeline, well, not in my lifetime.

2) Other than paid activists and hair-on-fire anti DeSantis haters, we don't really know what is going on at all levels of Florida education. Are topics threatening our kids? Should a 10-year-old really have the option to bypass parents on big decisions such as trans and abortion? And do any of you think a book filled with pornography is age appropriate? And I bet that book does not sit on your coffee table at home.

3) COVID - from what we have learned, lab leaks, social media coverups, and the shot that would save the world are at the heart of pushback. Do you really want another shot? What is in it, what are the side effects, and immunity passed out to the pharma world while hundreds of billions of dollars go missing? The evidence is faulty, the information unreliable and the people in charge are involved with a coverup.  I won't take any shots. I don't trust medicine, pharma or NIH and the CDC. We have become a country divided, not by ideas, but corrupt salesmen. We have many problems, but the media should be our trusted source rather than a mouthpiece for the corrupt. We need to turn off the noise.

Jack Holt, Cape Coral

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Sunday, September 10, 2023