Letters to the editor for Sunday, September 17, 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
Conservation Collier threatened
Public acquisition of crucial lands has long been recognized as an important tool for environmental preservation and restoration and for providing vital green space.
Collier County voters have long understood that importance, and in 2002, 2006, and 2020 voted to tax themselves to support the Conservation Collier program, with fully 76.5% of voters doing so in the most recent year. They spoke of their having been attracted to the area by open spaces, clean water and beaches, and the presence of wildlife and their concerns about deteriorating water quality, foul algal blooms, increasing red tide, and diminishing wildlife.
Clearly the continued prosperity of the tourism, hospitality, real estate, and manufacturing industries of Collier County depend on maintaining an attractive environment.
Conservation Collier has been and remains one of the key interventions that county government can deploy to keep the area attractive for existing and new residents and businesses.
Yet it appears that the County Commission on Sept. 21 is going to consider crippling Conservation Collier and in effect announce that commissioners know better what is good for us than huge majorities of voters do. If the Commission takes that action then it will be guilty not only of excessive hubris but also of killing a goose that was laying golden eggs.
Alan and Carolyn Keller, Naples
Leave greenery in place
I traveled a lot but I loved Fort Myers-Sanibel the most. It's heart wrenching to see all the green growth being bulldozed for commercial "growth" when it doesn't need to be! What's happening along Summerlin is a crime against nature and all of us who live here. I remember when Daniels was all "green."Look at Hilton Head or even Ben Hill Griffin Parkway. Leaving the greenery in place along roadsides and camouflaging the commercial "development" is the least that we can do to protect what was once a beautiful county. It would be so easy to restore Lee County's appeal with just a little planning and zoning. But does anyone care before it's too late?
Charlotte Wheatcraft, Fort Myers
Support PLUS for Veterans Act
I was proud to serve in the Marine Corps and contribute to our nation’s success in the Persian Gulf War. But as a disabled veteran now living in Naples, it has been frustratingly difficult to receive the full benefits I earned from my service. After working with a local Veteran Service Organization (VSO) to file a claim, I was given the wrong disability rating, resulting in a lower benefit than I deserved. It was only after I got help from a private service that guides veterans through the VA process that I was able to get my full benefits. So I’m relieved to hear that Congress is considering legislation, the PLUS for Veterans Act, that would make sure veterans are allowed to continue using private guides. I urge Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart and our other Florida representatives to support this legislation. Veterans deserve to have the choice to use whatever services we want to help get our benefits.
Adam Schank, Naples
Warnings ahead of 9/11
2,977 innocent people lost their lives 22 years ago and it’s too late now but there was ample warning ahead of the tragedy and the dots were never connected. Osama bin Laden was planning such an attack a decade before the assault came to fruition. There had been FBI memos circulated that Saudis were taking flight lessons but were only interested in flying large jets but they could have cared less about landing same.
The perpetrators could have been arrested or taken into custody prior to 9/11 if these memos had been followed up on. As a result of the attacks, TSA was created and was passed by Congress and signed by George W. Bush. I’m sure this is of little solace to to the families of victims and the first responders who are still affected by the aftermath of said attacks.
Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral
Neither Trump, nor Biden
There are so many issues on which I’d like to opine, so I decided to do a lightning round.
Politics: For the good of the country, neither Trump nor Biden should run for president in 2024. Both parties need to come to their senses.
Abortion: A national consensus needs to form about how many weeks after conception a woman may permitted to abort a pregnancy. There must be exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. Abortion will be a major detrimental issue for Republicans in future elections unless they soften their policies.
Ukraine: Russia should not be permitted to win the war they initiated. They will not resort to nuclear weapons and western nations need to accelerate deliveries of the weapons Ukraine needs to win.
Guns: The Supreme Court has validated the 2nd Amendment. Gun regulations should be made uniform in all the states. No rifles sold to ordinary citizens are automatic. School, churches and other sensitive buildings need to be better protected.
Climate Change: The “Green New Deal” is a hoax. Temperatures will rise much more slowly than predicted. The U.S. contribution to rising global temperature will be an insubstantial decimal point as compared to China and India. Climate change is not the cause of forest fires; poor forest management is.
Electric Vehicles: The conversion to electric vehicles will take decades longer than advertised. The cost of upgrading the national power grid will be massive. Wind and solar will not suffice; new technologies such as small modular nuclear reactors may be the answer.
Oil: Halt the restraints on drilling for oil, permit more pipelines, refill the strategic petroleum reserve, and return to self-sufficiency. Gasoline is not the only product made from petroleum. Aviation fuel, lubricants, paint and plastics are just a few examples of critical products dependent on oil. There are no substitutes and the need for oil will last beyond this century.
Immigration: Legal immigration is beneficial and should be significantly expanded; illegal immigration is extremely harmful. Finish the wall, strengthen the Border Patrol and deport recent illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, there are too many illegal immigrants already here to find and deport all, so create a path to amnesty for those living here a certain number of years or more without felonies.
Illegal Drugs: Decriminalize marijuana nationally. Release all prisoners convicted only of use or distribution of marijuana. Redirect police to “hard drugs” only (non-prescription opiates, cocaine, fentanyl and the like).
Discrimination: The way to stop discriminating on race, gender, national origin or other traits is to simply stop. The recent Supreme Court decision on college admissions was a good start.
Readers may not agree with these opinions, but they are the unvarnished truth.
Ira Cotton, Naples
Respect magnificent manatee
I cringe every time I hear a local news anchor, interviewer, or interviewee use the term “sea cow” when talking about Florida's magnificent manatee. The manatee deserves better than this. The manatee is not even related to the cow. In fact the elephant is said to be a closer relative. It's possible the term "sea cow" even came about as an early example of body shaming. The manatee is not built for speed, but that's a large part of its charm.
If Floridians truly want to save the manatee from extinction they can start by dumping the antiquated “sea cow” moniker. News anchors, are you listening? Treating the manatee with more respect might even increase boater awareness of the animal. It would no longer be dumbed-down to a mere sea cow when struck by a boat, as in “it was only a sea cow.”
Consider China's panda or Australia's koala. Have you ever heard anyone from these two countries use a derogatory nickname for their beloved animals? They would never allow it. The same respect should be applied to Florida's manatee.
Ken Warner, North Fort Myers
No need to proclaim sexuality
Today I am reading the Women of the Year section of The News-Press. One question burns in my mind.
The section gives the reader an interesting point of who the person is, where they are from and most of their accomplishments. However, also included if they are gay, if they are LGBTQ or transgender or transsexuals.
If the person is not any of the above listed, nothing is made or mentioned that the person is heterosexual. And why is that? Why no proclamation of that sexuality? Why if you are anything other than heterosexual, it must be proclaimed!
Trust me, no one cares what your sexuality choice is. Only include that tidbit of information on your singles or Tinder accounts. You don't need it listed on a resume so why scream it from the mountaintops!
Sharon Heard, North Fort Myers
Privacy and abortion
The current deliberations by the Florida Supreme Court with respect to privacy and abortion seem pretty straightforward to me. Does your right to privacy allow you to kill your 5-year-old child in the “privacy” of your own home. Obviously, no. Then how can your right to privacy give you the right to kill your unborn child in an abortion clinic?
Terry Sternad, Cape Coral
Commentators on CNN are inclined to ask each other incessantly how the appeals of those indicted in the attack on Jan. 6 might play out in the courts.They need to be reminded that those people were not playing games or acting on a stage for amusement.They were cooperating with a deranged individual who simply couldn’t bear the fact that he lost and was intent on being reinstalled or destroying our beloved America if he didn’t get his way.We all know that they are just stalling for time in the hope that they might get away with it while their lower level accomplices languish in prison.Had the shoe been on the other foot the Republican controlled House and Fox News would be foaming at the mouth to bring about a speedy resolution forthwith.What a terrible mess four years of a festering cancer has visited upon us.
Fred Jodice, North Fort Myers
False equivalence
Response to slavery then and now. The writer compared slavery being akin to migrants coming in and working low wage jobs. He attains that there is little difference. I beg to differ.
I have no argument about the trials of life as an immigrant toiling away and earning little and finding it difficult to make ends meet. Sadly very true.
However I do find quite a few differences. Slaves were stolen from their homeland and brought chained on boats. They were bought, sold, raped, maimed, killed, separated from family, not given an education, nor were their children whom also were enslaved. No room for improvement in their lot in life.
Many immigrants come for the dream of their children having a freer and better life. They came by choice. I will not rename the atrocities that they do not have to deal with, that slaves did.
When people leave their homeland. When they travel the treacherous route to get here. They do not find roads paved in gold. But they do find a way to make life better for themselves and their children.
I find the comparison shameful and dismissive of the shamefulness of slavery.
Jeri Heap, Fort Myers
Climate change models
Connecting a changing climate to human activity dates back to the work of two Nobel winners for Physics, Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann, who pioneered climate models in the 1960s. These models help understand how climate has changed in the past and change in the future. They employ mathematical equations which describe how energy and matter interact in different parts of the ocean, atmosphere and land.If humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels, these heat waves would still be considered rare. But in reality, we can expect them to come around every 15 years in North America and every 10 years in Europe, according to attribution scientists.
“Attribution scientists” use climate models to replay the past few hundred years on Earth, removing all greenhouse gas emissions made by humans. When they compare this hypothetical world with our own, they can see whether extreme events such as floods, droughts or cold spells look any different and what effect those emissions have had on our weather. In July, an attribution study found that the heat waves in North America and Europe would have been impossible in a world without greenhouse gas emissions.They project that, if humans continue to produce emissions at today’s rate, it will speed up to every two to five years (as opposed to its current schedule) starting in the mid-2030s.We will only experience the beginning of our climate change contribution; our children and grandchildren get to do the real suffering.
Joe Haack, Naples
Lies and free speech
Maybe if we stopped allowing our public servants to weaponize the First Amendment’s Free Speech protections with authoritarian, propagandistic lies to attack the very democracy that created this sacred freedom, we wouldn’t have to resort to the 14th Amendment.Guess what will be the very first thing outlawed if the authoritarian public "servants" succeed in destroying our democracy with Free Speech protected, propagandistic lies?Free Speech!How can we prevent this?A start would be to require each campaigning and elected public servant to swear an oath, just like a courtroom witness, to tell the verifiable truth with no hearsay or face disqualification, removal and criminal perjury indictment if it is proven they lied.I’m sure most democracy-loving Americans would swear an oath to temporarily set aside their First Amendment right to lie in order to truly, and respectfully, serve their fellow citizens.
J. Cant, Naples
Disinformation danger
It baffles me to read letters from people who get their disinformation from supposed “news” sources. Repeating opinion news disinformation only makes you a follower, like many who believed Hitler and Jim Jones.
I want facts of the who, what, where, when, not conspiracy theory and discord. It is all about getting you angry with someone that does see the truth. If it is repeated over and over, do you believe it?
Our country is at a critical turning point with chaos created by false leaders. And rhetoric filled with disinformation. Are you teaching your kids to lie? Hope not. How about taking things that are not theirs? Hope not. How about bullying? Saying please and thank you? Not obeying the laws?
You are entitled to your thoughts, but work on finding the truth for all. Make the world a better place as our military fought for. Fly your flag respectfully.
Christianne Murphy, Fort Myers
Old whine in new battles
A proposal is being floated from some quarters of the Republican Party to re-brand its anti-abortion position in light of the thrashing it has taken in the polls and from the electorate in a number of states, both Blue and Red, over the past year.
Instead of labeling themselves and their backers as “Pro-Life,” the movement suggests changing the designation to “Pro-Baby” in order to broaden its appeal.
But it’s not clear that would help, and it might actually backfire. It would detract from the central concern, which is enhancing the rights of women and probably would not entice any new supporters, except infants, who can’t vote and many wouldn’t be able to until they reach 25 if Vivek Ramaswamy’s raise-the-voting-age proposition becomes a reality.
Terminology can, to be sure, constitute a powerful tool in political discourse, if it’s deployed adroitly. The Republicans successfully used “family values” as a theme until it fell in behind a leader who has none. The phrase “gun control” has been effective, too, in castigating as over-reaching those who favor reasonable firearms regulations.
Democrats have been less astute in political phraseology. However, that may be changing with the abortion issue as proponents are now using the term ”reproductive health” to emphasize the impact on women of stringent anti-abortion laws, like the bans in nearly a dozen states or the severe restrictions like the six-week limit enacted this year here in Florida.
The most effective way for the anti-abortion forces, synonymous with the GOP, to combat the gains that reproductive rights adherents are making in the public mind is not to change the label, which is merely putting old whine in new battles, but to abandon the underlying policies that are causing the disenchantment with abortion foes.
Marshall H. Tanick, Naples
Obama's puppet
The truth be told Obama figured out a way to gain a third term. He got his fragile, non thinking former VP elected president. Obama could use his puppet to continue his "fundamental changing of America." Over 70 people from Obama's administration are in control of Biden. After Joe's 40 years in Washington one would think he would know people to hire. Guess not.
Government would control our lives or at least attempt to by influencing the news we hear and read, telling us that health emergencies, man created, would be managed by government. They would use pandemic fear to further its cause.
Americans must open their eyes and realize how pivotal the 2024 election will be. We will either return to moderate government that stays outside our living rooms and kitchens or we will be prisoners in our homes.
Michael Zubrow, Naples
School choice best option
What I write next makes absolutely no sense but it is true.
The teacher unions that represent the people that we employ to provide our children with an education have great power over that education but have no obligation to our students or for student learning.
Don’t blame the union. Old fashion industrial union responsibility is to their dues-paying members. There are no students in the teachers union.
Don’t blame the teachers. This situation benefits many of them, some much more than others.
Teacher unions can, and will if they sense a threat, control the election of legislators, school board members and the administrators who manage the school systems. This union defense of the status quo is impenetrable. There is no greater power left to cause change, except for the general public.
Unless we have a George Floyd moment in education, which changes the thinking of the whole country and galvanizes action for change in the mission of the teachers union, there is none.
I am not advocating the elimination of teacher unions, which is not going to happen, but a change in their mission and function in education to include student welfare and achievement as part of their responsibilities. This will only happen through legislation and with legislators who experience more pressure from the public for change than from the unions who block it.
Public school achievement levels, led by minority school systems, will continue to decline. Nothing is being done to reverse that trend.
It is society which is adapting to the situation by using affirmative action, diversity, equity and inclusion to award minorities positions they cannot gain by merit. We are dummying down as a nation, which has consequences.
Until then, school choice is the only current option. Go around under-performing public schools, which can’t be changed, and create a new system. This movement is exploding.
G.Z. McKinney, Bonita Springs
What now?
I'll have to side with recent letter writer, Mr. Zubrow, in reference to President Joe's "weaknesses."I voted this channel last time around, but don't think I'll play that card again.But all things considered, what's a middle aged working guy to do now?Can't vote for the narcissistic felon.Can't vote for the narcissistic wannabe dictator from Tallahassee.Didn't get a read on the latest kindergarten corral on TV the other night.Guess I still gotta year to go until I do the "innny-minny-miney-moe..."
Steve Zihala, Naples
Political violence
On Saturday, August 26, you published a letter decrying the supposedly under-reported incidence of political violence by the left as contrasted with the right. It included statistics without attribution.
That same day a right-wing extremist shot and killed three Black Americans in a Jacksonville Dollar General store bringing to mind these statistics from verifiable sources.
As of May 2022, right-wing extremists had killed more than 330 people in the U.S. over the prior decade, according to statistics compiled by the Anti-Defamation League. That is 75% of all the deaths caused by political violence in the U.S.Left-wing or anarchist violence made up 4% of the deaths with the rest being attributed to Islamic extremists.
In 2021, terrorists killed 30 people in the U.S. — 28 were victims of right-wing attacks, according to a separate database maintained by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which has tracked domestic terror since 1994.
Daniel Graziano, Naples
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Sunday, September 17, 2023
