Thursday's letters: Organic farming in Florida, attack on Pelosi home and more

Florida needs organic farming

I loved Santiago De Choch's Nov. 1 guest column about sustainable farming (“The Florida life that’s disappearing”).

Our society has managed to pave "paradise and put up a parking lot” over the years, destroying nature’s ecological balance. The eradication of global warming has become a religion to some who haven’t explored the unintended consequences of their actions.

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Perhaps the answer to global warming, along with feeding an expanding population, would be more local organic farms, more green spaces with air-cleansing trees and more options for safe, public transportation –along with fewer miles of asphalt, fewer roads and fewer insecticides polluting our environment.

Forget about carbon taxes: “Going Green” should be synonymous with more trees and clean air – not with taxing the population and blaming gaseous cows for creating an unseen carbon footprint that only the government and its appointed experts can measure and define.

Melissa Morrill, Sarasota

Hold GOP accountable for Pelosi attack

On Oct. 28, a man broke into the California home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband, Paul, with a hammer. Paul Pelosi underwent brain surgery and, fortunately, is expected to recover. But news reports have stated that after breaking into the couple's home, the accused assailant shouted, “Where’s Nancy?"

House Speaker Pelosi was not home at the time of the incident, but there should be little doubt that this was an attempt to assassinate her. The man who beat Paul Pelosi previously posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about the 2020 election, the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, climate change and COVID-19 vaccines.

We should also not forget that during the attack on the U.S. Capital, the mob that pounded on doors was also repeatedly yelling, “Where’s Nancy?”

The calls for violence from some members of the Republican Party are out in the open. We should recall that Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy once joked about hitting Nancy Pelosi on the head with a gavel. Now a right-wing fanatic has invaded Speaker Pelosi's home and brutally beaten her husband.

Only members of the Republican Party spew toxic violent language, conspiracy theories and misinformation. This attack was political.

Teresa Jenkins, chair, Charlotte County Democratic Party, Port Charlotte

Don't vilify Republicans over abortion

In response to a recent letter writer regarding abortion, am I to believe that all Republicans are turning women into criminals? All of us? Does that mean that all Democrats have forgotten that there is another option to abortion, and that it’s called birth control?

Most women have access to birth control through the Affordable Care Act or through their private insurance, and most uninsured women can receive it from community health centers, local clinics and other agencies.

Birth control comes in many forms, including pills and IUDs. So if you do not want a child – or if having a child is detrimental to your health – then be responsible and use birth control.

The Democrats are also spreading misinformation regarding abortion in Florida. Currently, a woman can get an abortion up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, and longer if it is necessary to save her life or prevent serious injury – or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality.

Let’s keep the information accurate and stop the hatred.

Cynthia Watt, Lakewood Ranch

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida needs organic farms, hold GOP accountable for Pelosi attack