SCOTUS made right decision on affirmative action: Letters to the editor, July 9, 2023

School board, think about this

Getting the Brevard Public Schools board to think before they speak shouldn’t take such a herculean effort. BPS staff members from multiple departments came out to the school board meeting on June 27. Their complaint? Raising the bus driver rate to $20 an hour while leaving them behind. Every person recognized that bus drivers deserve that money, but so do they.

When the board members replied to these concerns, Megan Wright stuck her foot in her mouth with this response, “This is a huge crisis, if we don’t have students in our schools we don’t have schools, we don’t need facilities, we don’t need cafeteria, we don’t need any of it yet if we don’t have students there ... .”

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As the wife of a mechanic, I’d like to remind Megan Wright that if you don’t have mechanics, you don’t have buses that operate. Instead of making excuses for not better communicating that raises are coming to all BPS employees, perhaps apologizing for the miscommunication and validating their concerns would have been better received than listening to a tangent about why one department is more important than another. Sometimes less is more. Kelly Kervin, Palm Bay

Our children are at risk

This is not meant to be another divisive issue for all of us, but rather an appeal to common sense for the sake of our children.

I have this image in my head of adults arguing in the kitchen while their children pull at their clothing in an effort to get them to see that the house is on fire around them. While this is an image, it is not far from our reality. Fires are burning in the north and the west and are creating breathing hazards and illness throughout the country, while scorching heat is overloading medical facilities. Add to those the frequent tornado damages and the loss of lives as we enter the hurricane season.

So for all of our sakes, but especially those of our children who will likely bear the worst which is yet to come. I suggest we drop distractions about what our children should read or be exposed to, start caring about our children's futures and come together on saving the planet they are living on.

Marvin Goldfarb, Palm Bay

Know our country's framework

It is painfully obvious to even the most casual observer that an alarming percentage of our elected officials, both U.S. and state, haven’t even a passing acquaintance, nor accidental understanding of our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, or the Bill of Rights.

Nor do they grasp the concept of our different branches of the same governments. Perhaps we need to revisit our required qualifications for becoming a representative of “The People." Our present criterion is obviously inadequate.

Thomas Johnson, Palm Bay

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Green should be pardoned

In response to a July 2 letter from George Minto, I am also very interested in the story of Crosley Green, who has been returned to prison. From what has been written by John Torres in the past, I can't understand why nothing seems to be happening as far as the girlfriend of the victim being mixed up in the murder for which Green was convicted. If she was questioned, I'd like to know what her answers were, and who took her information.

It sounds as if Crosley Green is totally innocent and not only deserves to be released and pardoned, but also to be reimbursed for the treatment he's been given.  Of course I don't know the particulars, but Gov. DeSantis definitely needs to think hard and long about this man.

Ruth Ceike Meier, Melbourne

SCOTUS right on affirmative action

In the decision regarding race and college admissions, the Supreme Court made the right decision. In reading some of the dissent, it seems odd to me that those who call so loudly for a color-blind society are actually the least so.

Chief Justice Roberts is absolutely right in stating that "Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it." On the other hand, Justice Sotomayor's "systemic inequities may always require discrimination by race to counter discrimination by race" is one that will, or should be, relegated to the dustbin of nonsensicality from the bench.

Ernest Sanchez, Viera

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What defines a fascist?

Ingrid Jacques is absolutely right we should stop calling each other “fascists.” It brings us down to the level of the immature name-calling former president (“A radical political idea: Stop labeling each other fascists," July 2).

A fascist is one who wants to use the government to impose their views on everyone else. By this definition Moms for Liberty are fascists, as they want to impose on our school children what books to read, what history to study and to force the LBGQT+ community back in the closet. This curtailed education was roundly rejected even by the conservative electorate of Brevard County when one of the women who founded Moms for Liberty was voted off the school board in 2020.

From the days of Benjamin Franklin, most schools in the United States have provided a liberal education, i.e., the teaching of a wide variety of subjects. Most parents accept this more rounded education because their children are more likely to apply themselves to higher pursuits, as pointed out by the Pew Research Center.

A few people find that a public school liberal education takes away their parental education rights. Every state in the United States has resolved this issue by allowing parents to enroll their children in private or religious schools that restrict what is being taught. Parents in general are very knowledgeable about their children’s education needs; they don’t need Moms for Liberty imposing their views on our schools.

Gerry Harris, Cape Canaveral

Positive news stands out

What a great job the Channel 6 (WKMG) news team did before the Lake Eola fireworks presentation. It was so rewarding to hear only positive news on people that are making a difference in the News 6 area by their commitment to improve life for families that are struggling, a young man that saved a fellow student's life, and several other great examples.

We need more positive news and this was an excellent example of the same, and how rewarding it is for the viewers.  In many cases it helps create more people volunteering and taking time help to improve people's lives.

Thanks, WKMG,

Tom R. Baldwin, Cocoa Beach

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: No thanks, Moms for Liberty: Letters to the editor, July 9. 2023