Opinion: Graham's words of concern for state ring hollow

Having attended the recent Suncoast Tiger Bay Club program in which U.S. Sen. Bob Graham was the guest speaker, I felt compelled to comment in regard to this article.

First, Graham's aggressive support of a constitutional amendment that would resurrect the university system's defunct Board of Regents is particularly disconcerting and circumvents the will of Florida's citizens. Graham requires reminding that as a U.S. senator, he has direct jurisdiction over issues that pertain to our federal government. Therefore, Graham is best advised to concern himself with those federal matters that the people elected him to address, while allowing the state's administrators and Legislature to address issues pertaining to Florida's education system.

Also, Graham continues to attack Gov. Jeb Bush's record on the economy and education, citing compelling statistics contained in the Florida Chamber of Commerce's Cornerstone Report. Clearly, the information in this report is outright alarming and warrants our attention and remedial action. However, Graham, who served two terms as Florida's governor in the not too distant past, clearly bears a substantial portion of the responsibility for the glaring problems cited in the Cornerstone report. In addition, Graham also conveniently overlooks the fact that the Bush administration's streamlined education governance structure, while still in its infancy, is an innovative model that is being closely monitored, even applauded, in certain other states.

In the twilight of his career, it is unfortunate that Graham chooses to be a hindrance to progress instead of a catalyst for positive change. Graham has built a political legacy by playing important policy issues around the edges and directly down the center. As a citizen of Florida who is concerned about our cumulative future, I am disappointed about our beloved fence-sitting senator's ongoing, indirect efforts to undermine Gov. Bush's integrity. Clearly, Graham's motives are questionable and his means cowardice. If Graham is indeed concerned about the state of Florida's education system and economy, then he should demonstrate his conviction and courage by actually entering the arena and running for governor.
-- Mike Mayo, St. Petersburg

Schools are good for teaching character

Re: Character teaching would expand, Feb. 20.

Congratulations to Rep. Connie Mack for sponsoring HR 1273, requiring"character development" in all grades of school. When children learn and abide by the rules of "patriotism, responsibility, citizenship, kindness, respect, honesty, self-control, tolerance and cooperation," then violence, domestic and on the street, will decrease, our jails will be much emptier and all of us will sleep more peacefully.

Religions can teach the same "character development," and have an important place in society -- in churches and synagogues. Religion and/or prayer even a nonsectarian one, in our schools will always cause dissension and discomfort to those who do not practice any faith. Ethics should be taught in the home, but unfortunately this is often done too late or not at all. Our schools are the ideal place to teach the basics of the Golden Rule.
-- Renee G. Salzer, St. Pete Beach

Anti-drug ads miss the mark

Have you seen the new full-page newspaper ads from the ONDCP (Office of National Drug Control Policy)? Or the absurd Super Bowl ads suggesting that if you buy drugs, you are helping terrorists?

One ad shows a young woman's face, along with text that reads: "Last week, I washed my car, hung out with a few friends, and helped murder a family in Colombia." At the bottom, it says: "Drug money helps support terror. Buy drugs and you could be supporting it too."

They claim that buyers of products are responsible for the bad things that are done with the profits. They try to capitalize on Sept. 11 and our hatred of terrorists, and use them to bolster the failing war on drugs. This is sick and disgusting.

I'd prefer to see an honest ad, perhaps one showing the face of drug czar John Walters, saying: "This week, I had lunch with the president, testified before Congress, and helped funnel $40-million in illegal drug money to groups like the Taliban." At the bottom: "The war on drugs boosts the price of illegal drugs by as much as 17,000 percent -- funneling huge profits to terrorist organizations. If you support the war on drugs or vote for the politicians who wage it, you're helping support terrorism."

If the ONDCP was to tell the truth, it would say that the war on drugs is a price-support system for terrorists and drug pushers, rather than telling us that consumers bear responsibility for the actions of everyone who was involved in the manufacture or distribution of products they use.
-- Hal Dunn, Wesley Chapel

Why blame the doctor?

Re: Doctor guilty in OxyContin case, Feb. 20.

I can understand where Dr. James Graves was a little indiscriminate in prescribing medication, but you shouldn't blame the doctor for the addicts who took the medication in a manner that wasn't prescribed. If those patients had taken the medication as prescribed they would still be alive today. I blame the addicts, not the doctor, for deception and their own demise. I know people who take OxyContin and they abuse it, too, but is it the doctor's fault?

If you're going to start convicting doctors, let's start with the doctors to the stars who give them anything they want. I have yet to see them in court. What about Elvis Presley's doctors? This is exactly the reason people in chronic pain have such a hard time getting pain medication: The doctors are afraid they could be blamed for their patient's ignorance or addiction.
-- M. Ortt, St. Pete Beach

Distorting Mideast realities

Re: Peres: A beacon of light, Feb. 17.

It is a pity that even when Bill Maxwell writes a column about Israel that is reasonable in tone, he cannot resist distorting reality in a way that would change the focus of the problem, and thus the sense of justice in resolving the issues that separate Jews from Arabs.

For instance, Maxwell refers to the Arab refugee problem that was created in 1967. Surely he knows that the refugee problem was caused in 1948 and not by Israel but by the Arab governments intent on destroying the Jewish state. Before attacking the fledgling nation, the Arab governments encouraged Arabs living in the new country to flee their homes so that they would be out of the way of the fighting so that the "Jews could be driven into the sea." Most of the Arab residents heeded that call. After the fighting ended, the Israelis would not let enemy civilians intent on destroying Israel back in. What country would?

The other distortion is that Ariel Sharon's visit to Temple Mount single-handedly provoked this latest fighting. Maxwell must be aware that the attacks on Israelis began before Sharon's visit. He also must be aware of the speech by a Palestinian Authority Cabinet official in Lebanon stating that Sharon's visit was a convenient pretext. Sharon's visit was idiotic because it provided cover for the renewed attacks by the Arabs against Jews, but it was hardly the reason or cause of the fighting.

Please, Mr. Maxwell, deal with reality.
-- Bill Blocher, Lakeland

Accountants seek improved regulation

The Certified Public Accountant profession in this country has a 100-year history of serving the public interest based upon the fundamentals of independence, objectivity and integrity. Therefore, the collapse of Enron has left CPAs everywhere as dismayed as anyone.

While we believe that self-regulation has been effective in contributing to a financial reporting system unmatched in the world, we recognize the need for improvements in oversight. Therefore, the profession has committed to work with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress as they develop recommendations to change the regulation of the accounting and auditing profession.

None of us can say with certainty where the culpability lies in this financial tragedy. As of today, we do not yet have all the facts. The outcome of the numerous investigations now in process will provide a basis for future assignment of blame. Please be assured, however, that our profession has zero tolerance for any CPA or CPA firm that does not knowingly adhere to the rules.

The Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which represents 18,500 CPAs in 4,400 offices in Florida, remains committed to fully cooperating in any discussions of improving the regulatory standards governing our profession in Florida. Nevertheless, we urge the public to withhold judgment of this profession until all facts are available.
-- Lloyd "Buddy" Turman, CAE, chief executive officer-executive director, Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Tallahassee

Auditors aren't very independent

I have been following the Enron situation and have been amused by coverage in many ways. Arthur Anderson is consistently made out to be one of the bad guys when, in fact, it did not do anything that any one of the Big Five accounting firms don't do on a daily basis.

If there is anyone who believes that members of the auditing firm are in there with their green eyeshades, going over the books and keeping the company on the straight and narrow, they need to take a hard look at the way the system works. The unspoken secret in the accounting industry is that any one of the Big Five will do the audit work at a hefty discount if the company will agree to buy their "strategies." Most of the strategies work along the line of "we will show you how to avoid paying $2-million in taxes and for showing you how to do this, you will pay us $1-million in fees." Enron was paying Anderson $50-million a year in these fees.

The phrase "independent auditor" has gotten to be an oxymoron. In most cases, the firm that is auditing the books is the same firm that is showing them how to cook the books. According to the latest Forbes list of the largest companies, all of the Big Five accounting firms are in the top 12, with Arthur Anderson being the smallest at $9.3-billion in revenues! PricewaterhouseCoopers has $23.1-billion in revenues and KPMG is at $11.8-billion. Those are not numbers generated by auditing fees.

Arthur Anderson's big problem is not that it did anything the other Big Five firms don't do. Its problem is that it happened to be the auditor for a very large, very visible company that went belly up. Enron's big problem is that it had a management team that had the same set of ethics as their auditor. As long as we put the fox in charge of watching the hen house, this type of thing will continue to happen.
-- R. Morrison, Tarpon Springs

A man worth meeting

Re: Equal footing, by Elijah Gosier, Feb. 19.

Dallas Wright (the shoe-shine man) is so far ahead of the average man, be he black, white, red, yellow or brown. Mr. Wright knows who he is, he knows his self-worth, he likes who he is and enjoys what he does for a living. Who could ask for more of life! I hope I meet him some day. I want to shake his hand.
-- Barbara Ahigian, Madeira Beach

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