Opinion: The power of money in politics is nothing new

There is a tone of surprise in the recent article by Steve Bousquet regarding contributions to the GOP that makes this issue seem to be the exception. Wake up! If your researcherwere simply assigned to look into campaign contributions that smacked of bribery, she'd be the most overworked staffer at your paper.

However, the GOP is not the only recipient of money from corporations and wealthy individuals seeking power. Of course, we call that "access" now, and that's okay somehow.

The problem is a political system that's for sale to the highest bidder. To return Democracy to the United States will take political reform, the first step of which will have to be election reform. The first step of election reform will be to outlaw legalized bribery and institute publicly financed elections.

The only party I know that has taken a meaningful stand on this issue is the Florida Green Party and a local Green Party candidate for the Legislature, Kurt Gratzol. He neither accepts PAC, corporate or union money.
-- Jim Gary, St. Petersburg

Cash taints both sides

Re: Check, law on billboards coincide.

Why is it that if a company gives money to a politician to influence a vote it is a problem, but if a union or PAC does it is not? Either way, the persons involved are buying votes.

Bill McBride has sold his soul to the teacher union, yet you you make no mention of the millions the teachers have given him to recreate the school system in their image.

Better yet, outlaw all campaigning and have a series of debates only. Perhaps then, the politicians will be responsible to the voters. All those millions wasted can be given to real charities to help real people.
-- Ed Niklas, Tampa

Ballistic fingerprinting is ineffective

Re: Tracking bullet fingerprints, by Susan Estrich, Oct. 17.

Estrich appeals to gut emotion, calling on fear as a driving force for legislation and referring to those who oppose it as "paranoid." But the simple fact is that ballistic fingerprinting does not work. In Maryland, where ballistic fingerprinting of handguns has cost the state more than $4-million, it has not solved a single crime. This is mainly due to the fact that the fingerprinting law only applies to newly sold handguns.

To fingerprint all of the handguns already in circulation in the state would cost tens of millions of dollars more. To fingerprint all of the 250- to 300-million handguns and rifles in America, as Sen. Herb Kohl proposes, would cost tens of billions of dollars, a steep price when one considers that less than 1 percent of the nation's guns are ever used in a crime. And how will we find all of these guns, through house to house searches?

Further, shotguns cannot be fingerprinted and the barrels, firing pins and extractors of rifles and handguns can be easily altered or replaced altogether, thus changing their ballistic fingerprint.

Do we honestly think that criminals will use guns that can be so easily traced? No, criminals will use shotguns or alter their guns or find nonfingerprinted guns on the black market. So what we will be left with is a multibillion dollar federal bureaucracy that catches no criminals and does nothing but invade our civil liberties and make life more difficult for law-abiding gun owners.
-- Joshua Cabanne Smith, St. Petersburg

Another media frenzy

Re: Sniper coverage.

The media are just feeding the frenzy and fear with continuous coverage of these sniper terrorist attacks. How much is enough? We have an election in two weeks and I would like to hear the candidates address the serious social/economic issues facing our country. This is another terrible and frightening experience for us. However, it is beginning to look like another media diversion to keep people from looking at the realities of our life behind all this violence! First it was weeks and weeks of nothing but the urgency of invading Iraq and now that the president has his permission for a unilateral, pre-emptive attack, all we hear about is sniper shootings. Am I suppose to believe that dropping bombs for the sake of peace will make this a safer world?

In regard to gun fingerprinting, it is the height of hypocrisy that the administration is so quick to take away our personal freedoms (a la the Patriot Act, etc.) but when it comes to something that would actually HELP law enforcement officials do their job and track and trace criminals through gun fingerprints, they either give lip service or outright dismiss the idea in favor of their NRA buddies.
-- Marcella Respini, St. Petersburg

Stand up to insurance companies

Re: Soaring insurance costs rattle customers, Oct. 16.

Does history truly repeat itself? One hundred years ago President Theodore Roosevelt fought the robber barons of business and managed to bust some of the trusts that were strangling consumers and snuffing out competition.

Now, 100 years later, the new robber barons are called insurance companies. But the difference is there is no Roosevelt to come to our rescue. The absurdly huge increases in home and auto insurance in Florida have not aroused a champion to represent Sunshine State consumers.

Lacking such a champion, it seems we must all become our own "trust busters." Examine who is letting these robber baron insurance companies charge such rates and vote people into office who will do something about them. Also, let the insurance companies know that we will not take such outrageous increases lying down. Speak softly to these companies, but let them know we intend to carry the "big stick" of our votes and our protests to state officials to see that this never happens again in Florida.
-- Douglas Spangler, Palm Harbor

What will Marine's family receive?

This week, one of our country's Marines was buried, having been killed in the line of duty in the Middle East by members of al-Qaida, the same people who killed nearly 3,000 in the World Trade disaster. We should all honor him and grieve for his family.

Now, how much are his family members going to receive from the government? I will wager that they will only receive his GI insurance. When I was in Korea that would have been $10,000. Why do I have a problem with that? A man joins the service to help protect his country and gives his life for it. His family, who surely misses him, receives a pittance. The people who survive the World Trade Center disaster are receiving millions, and demanding more. All this for people who did nothing specific for their country. They just watched their family members go to work that day.

The people related to the trade center victims have developed a case of the greeds. Should every family who loses a member to enemy action now sue the government? Should we take up collections on the street corners? Where are the donations from United Way and the Red Cross for the family of this fallen soldier? I hear nothing about this. I am not a happy person after seeing what our country has come to. Fairness and justice no longer prevail.
-- James Bardsley, Madeira Beach

Where is the compassion?

The grieving mother of Antonio Sledd, a 20-year-old Marine who was killed last week serving his country, asks President Bush to attend his memorial service this week. Her request was declined because of his schedule. Yet, he came to Florida to attend a fundraising reception for his brother Jeb's campaign for governor the very same week! And neither of them could attend?

Where are their priorities? Where is the "compassion" that the president based his own campaign on?
-- D. Cavaliere, St. Petersburg

President's priorities revealed

I think it is a shame that when Tony Sledd's mother asked the president to attend the funeral for this young Marine who died in a prelude to Bush's war, the White House responded that it was not possible for him to attend.

And yet on Thursday, just a few days after the funeral, the president was in Florida attending a fundraiser in Daytona Beach for his brother's political campaign at which each guest was expected to contribute $25,000.

This shows us the true measure of the priorities of this craven opportunist who is, I am ashamed to say, our president.
-- Arthur Clarke, Tampa

Falwell brings more strife

Re: Falwell remarks spur Indian riots, 5 killed, Oct. 12.

Amazing how much violence and mayhem can be caused by followers of Jesus, the "Prince of Peace." The Rev. Jerry Falwell is only one of many, but his case is an excellent illustration. His tactless remarks concerning Christ versus Mohammed have set Muslims and Hindus at each others' throats.

Of course, this is just a small instance of the hate-filled strife caused by Christians. Think of the Crusades. Think of the Inquisition. Think of Northern Ireland.

"Jesus set the example for love," says his champion, the Rev. Falwell. Odd: He is recorded as saying, "I came not to bring peace, but a sword." How prophetic.
-- Abigail Ann Martin, Brandon

The reverend is right

Re: Falwell remarks spur Indian riots; 5 killed.

I never thought I would be defending the Rev. Jerry Falwell or offering him my support. The recent comments from the good reverend about the Islamic religion are actually quite accurate.

I urge all Americans, whatever their religious beliefs or political stance to read a book called Jihad in the West by Paul Fregosi. Islam is a violent religion, founded by warriors who commited themselves and their descendants to bring the rule of Islam to the entire world by any means necessary.

Fregosi's book was published in 1998, before the events of Sept. 11. His book is a real eye-opener and a wakeup call to all people in Western civilization.

I am not a regular church-going Christian and certainly not a supporter of the Republican Party. But the Rev. Falwell is correct in his recent statements, and Islamic reaction to those statements proves it.
-- Sam Moffitt, St. Petersburg

An embarrassing photo

Re: Columbus Day morning duties, picture, Oct. 15.

Times photographer John Pendygraft ought to apologize to the young lady caught yawning while attending to her duties as a member of the Royal Court of the Krewe of Columbus. He showed the readers a good example of a cheap "shot."

Did he take into consideration the humiliation the young lady would be facing? Was there any thought given to the fact that it was an early morning for the entire group? Would he have published the picture if it was his daughter? I think not.

If the Times expects to retain and build its circulation, publishing embarrassing photos of unsuspecting residents is not the proper approach.
-- Jim Lambert, Madeira Beach

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