Letters: Longtime Republican has had enough of party's misinformation and delusions

I was registered as a Republican for over 30 years and have always voted for the person, not the party. However, I switched to NPA (No Party Affiliation) when Rick Scott bought the Florida Republican Party with his dirty money years ago to become governor.

In light of the events of the last few years, it is safe to say I’m extremely unlikely to vote for a Republican any time soon. I am appalled at what has become of the party. It seems most Republican leaders don’t run on issues or platforms anymore, but instead campaign based primarily on misinformation and telling us their opponents are evil. I suppose it is to be expected when the titular leader of the party is someone as unprincipled and repugnant as Donald Trump.

I am a reasonable person and highly educated; when I look at the facts in a nonpartisan objective manner, it is obvious to me that Donald Trump is a narcissistic egomaniac, as well as a racist. He appears incapable of telling the truth, caring only about himself and what keeps him in the news. His ego drove the attempt to overthrow our government, rather than admit defeat in what was clearly a free and fair election.

He is, at the very least, a traitor and a despicable human being who should not be allowed to have any role in our government. I have tried for years to understand those who support him. While their numbers seem to be dwindling, there are still far too many who sing his praises and promote “the Big Lie” of election fraud. If you can’t see this and believe he should be reelected, then you are deluding yourself — or you are just as bad as he is.

Steve Johnson, Jacksonville

Media shouldn’t show partisanship

The edited version of the Palm Beach Post interview with Val Demings that ran in the Times-Union on Sept. 7 was not only not news, it was utter fluff. It gave me no insight into Demings or her positions. In her response to a question on abortion, she doesn't even mention the word "abortion," for God's sake. Perhaps there would be something newsworthy if the journalist had pushed for more clarification.

Furthermore, an interview with one candidate, without explicit acknowledgment of a future interview with the other candidate, is partisan, clumsy and wrong.

In our present environment, when journalism is under attack by partisans on the right and left, the media does itself no favors with clumsy, obvious stuff like this, even when you inherit it from a South Florida newspaper. Politico and CNN have both embarked on efforts to tamp down obvious partisan sanctimony in their reporting, which had gotten over the top during the Trump years.

As an example, go back to Brian Stelter’s final “Reliable Sources” broadcast; it was dripping with sanctimonious posturing about standing up to "demagogues." As if he alone defines demagogues. Bernie Sanders is a demagogue to many people. Those who are journalists should certainly report on them, but it's not their job to choose sides.

For the record, I wouldn't vote for Marco Rubio even if he canceled my mortgage payment. I just don't want to infer partisanship so obviously — on one side or the other.

Mike Disch, Neptune Beach 

Experts clear on when life begins

In 2004, the American College of Pediatricians concurred with the body of scientific evidence corroborating that a unique human life starts when the sperm and egg bind to each other. “As physicians dedicated both to truth and to the Hippocratic tradition, the College values all human lives equally from the moment of conception (fertilization) until natural death.”

As recently as May 2022, Michael Egnor MD, professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics at State University of New York — Stony Brook, agreed. “Human life begins at fertilization of the egg by the sperm. After that point, every fertilized egg is a distinct separate human being. There is no scientific debate about this fact. It is a fact as certain as gravity or that the earth orbits the sun.”

While some argue that there is no way to truly know when life begins, many advancements in technology and medicine say otherwise. So maybe it is time for a thoughtful discussion of abortion. We need to know the risks to the mom in an abortion, but we also need to consider what life the baby might have had. How many potential scientists, teachers or doctors have been lost? How much better would it be for the mother to put her baby up for adoption?

Finally, we have to agree that an abortion is a procedure that involves a human being distinct from the mom’s body.

Marie Schaefer, St. Johns 

Did I mention potholes?

It was encouraging to read of newly elected Jacksonville City Council President Terrance Freeman’s concern for the ordinary citizen and the creation of a Special Committee of Critical Quality of Life Issues. It was doubly encouraging for him to state, “We always talk about how, as council members, we are the closest to the people. So, a pothole is a pothole. It really has no affiliation.”

I was thinking about those things on my daily walk, a circuitous route that takes me down San Diego Road past Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, up White Avenue, then past Spring Park Elementary School and St. Nicholas Playground to Spring Park Road.

Along this entire 1.7-mile route, the sidewalks are broken and uneven, strewn with litter, trash and broken glass. Large sections of the sidewalk are overgrown and impassable, forcing the walker into the street. On White Avenue, the sidewalk around Douglas Anderson — one of our city’s premier educational institutions — discontinues altogether.

I believe I can speak for the ordinary citizen when I say a well-manicured and maintained city will go a long way towards making us support things like downtown revitalization, exotic hotels and multi-million-dollar sports facilities.

In order to be proud of our city, we must first have a city of which to be proud. Did I mention potholes?

Carlton Higginbotham, St. Nicholas  

Everything at stake in November

I commend the Times-Union for publishing the Sept. 7 article “Demings pushing to knock off Rubio,” which was an abbreviated version of an interview The Palm Beach Post had with U.S. Senate candidate Val Demings, who is also former Police Chief Demings and current U.S. Rep. Demings.

I have had the privilege to meet Demings in person and have heard her speak. Her honesty, integrity and focus on issues that cut through party lines, as well as her commitment to improve the lives of all of her constituents, have made me commit myself to helping her get elected to the U.S. Senate.

The upcoming November election is one of the most important in our lifetime. All those values that are the vital hallmarks of our democracy are on the line: voting rights, reproductive rights, the economy and climate change — devastating so many parts of our country and the world — just to name a few.

It is time for partisanship to end, because everything is now at stake. There must be allegiance to our core democratic values and to the rule of law; not to a particular individual or ideology (no matter what party).

Carolyn Zisser, attorney at law, Atlantic Beach

Voter fraud police have selective penalties

The very different treatment  of those arrested for voter fraud in The Villages and the 20 former felons recently arrested in South Florida should alarm all citizens. The people in The Villages were arrested by regular sheriff’s deputies. They all pleaded guilty to voting twice but were offered diversion programs that will clear their records after they pay fines and complete community service. DeSantis’ new election “gestapo” (I mean police) arrested the former felons for voting only once after being sent a registration card from their local election office.

All thought they were eligible to vote after the people voted to restore felon rights to vote in 2018. One was arrested in his underwear; another had committed his crime in 1999 and served his sentence. Now his job and livelihood are jeopardized, simply for voting.

Maine and Vermont allow all citizens to vote, even if incarcerated. Why are there any restrictions anywhere on the very simple and mundane process of voting?

In my mind, it can only be voter suppression.

Suppression laws game the system in a certain political direction and we the people have allowed it to happen. Shame on us.

Cherie Wilson, Green Cove Springs 

Perfect example of racial disparity

Is it so hard to see the difference between being Black and white in our society? On Sept. 7, I saw an article in the Times-Union explaining that Brittany Martin, a Black protester, was given a four-year prison sentence for speaking harshly to police during a protest. That sent me to Google looking for the average sentence for white protesters who stormed Congress on Jan. 6.

While several longer sentences were given, the median of those sentenced was 45 days, with most charged with misdemeanors and given non-prison sentences. Ms. Martin’s sentence seems so harsh when compared to the white rioters at the U.S. Capitol. It also appears to be a perfect example of judicial disparity due to race.

Peter Bishop, Jacksonville

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Longtime Republican has had enough of misinformation and delusions