Opinion: Nation needs Bob Graham to seek presidency

Diane Roberts is right, as usual. It is time for Bob Graham to step up to the plate. He needs to go after this nomination hard before George and Co. ruin the economy, wreck the environment and destroy Social Security and Medicare -- to say nothing of nonsensical tax cuts that even many of his own party cannot support. Another four years of George W. Bush could devastate the country.

Graham has demonstrated sound leadership in Florida over many years, and we need a responsible person of his caliber to address health care, education and Social Security. His work on the Intelligence Committee has demonstrated his honesty and ability in handling foreign affairs. I do not believe we would be getting involved in a war with any country on the basis of proof no one is allowed to see.

As for Graham's "quirks," I think those things make him human. I have some myself.

P.S. Can't you guys get Diane Roberts to write more columns for the paper? I know I am not her only fan. I wish I could write as well as she does. Maybe she should run for president!
-- Thomas R. Minyard, Palm Harbor

Graham should be governor again

Re: Graham looks likely to run, Jan. 8.

I recently placed a call to Sen. Bob Graham's Tampa office to express my views regarding his exploration of the option to run for the presidency in 2004. I stated that Sen. Graham did possess the qualities and experience to become a formidable candidate as the Democratic Party nominee. And, as a retired teacher on a limited income, I would financially support him as much as possible in this objective.

However, I also said that I hoped he would not run for the presidency but, rather, come home and run for governor in 2006. We need strong and positive leadership in Florida to get us through the decade ahead regarding the mandated improvements in education.

When my wife and daughter and I moved into Florida in 1980, we found the education system robust and productive under Gov. Graham's leadership. The high-water mark in quality education was achieved in 1987 when 61 cents of each revenue dollar went to support education. We all remember the seven-period school day and the University of Florida's status as a major national research university.

Since then, my family, along with the other members of the Florida family, has witnessed the steady erosion of our schools -- at all levels -- due to ineffective leadership by both political parties in the executive and legislative branches of state government.

Now we are in crisis and I see no hope for positive, lasting changes without that positive, strong leadership sadly lacking in Tallahassee. So, Bob Graham, please come home and lead us back to 1987.
-- Wallace F. Witham, Belleair Bluffs

Graham is out of touch

Re: Bob Graham's presidential bid.

Sen. Graham is thinking about running for president. What a disaster this would be for the country. Bob Graham is consistently rated as unfriendly to the taxpayers by Citizens Against Government Waste. He has yet to meet a tax hike he does not like. Sen. Graham has been a wholehearted supporter of every socialist big government giveaway proposed since he has been in Washington.

Bob Graham plays to his home audience as a moderate, but his voting record shows quite the opposite. He has supported every leftist policy of his party as well as every U.N. treaty that calls for the gradual surrender of our national sovereignty to international law.

Bob Graham has shown himself to be out of touch with the average citizen. He is intellectually dishonest and quite frankly, not that smart to begin with. If anything I have written here can be proven different by his voting record, I challenge him to show it.
-- Andrew Nappi, Hudson

Eminently unqualified

Re: Graham would make Florida proud.

Your paper wasted a few trees in printing Diane Roberts noncritical piece on why Bob Graham should be president. Her article states that members of the White House staff break out in a "cold sweat" at the thought of him running for president.

My slant on this is different, and I break out in a "cold sweat" because I consider him eminently unqualified for the job. I base this on the good senator's appearances on the Sunday Morning Fox News show where Graham had difficulty dealing with some of the questions that Tony Snow asked and appeared to be flustered during much of the interview. I would have thought with his apparent knowledge gotten while head of the Intelligence Committee that he would have had a better grasp of the subject matter. No matter how much money he raises for this effort, he cannot be good karma.
-- William Nichols, St. Petersburg

Noise ordinance will serve Pinellas well

Re: An arbitrary noise ordinance, editorial, Jan. 9.

The Pinellas County Commission passed a noise ordinance last week that will best serve the needs of its citizens. Over the past couple of years, various members of the board have received calls from citizens whose quality of life has been seriously impacted by actions of nearby residents. Whether it was amplified music at 2 a.m., loud exhaust noise or boom boxes from passing cars or even a cannon shot off during Buccaneer games, these disturbances have impacted and continue to impact the citizenry.

The "loud and raucous" standard passed by the board last week was declared constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court by an 8 to 1 decision in 1949 and has been upheld literally hundreds of times since then by courts across the country. Even here in Pinellas County, courts have had the opportunity to address this issue when the city of Clearwater's ordinance (which contains the same "loud and raucous" standard) was upheld as constitutional. While the St. Petersburg Times may believe that "such vague phrases should have no place in the law," the U.S. Supreme Court believes otherwise. In fact, most municipalities within Pinellas County believe otherwise, as many of them have passed "loud and raucous" or other similar standards that do not rely on decibel readings for enforcement.

While equipping the sheriff's deputies with noise meters may seem like an easy solution to a big problem, it simply is not feasible in this time of budgetary crisis. Meters suitable not only for measuring noise but establishing a decibel reading "beyond a reasonable doubt" (the standard for local ordinance violations proceedings) cost nearly $3,000. In addition to that cost, multiplied by the number of sheriff's deputies, is the cost of training each deputy and the cost of annual calibration of the meters, which adds close to another $1,000 per deputy.

In passing the noise ordinance, the board provided standards for deputies to rely on in determining whether complained-of noise is "loud and raucous." These standards include: the volume, intensity and duration of the noise; the volume and intensity of any background noise; and, perhaps more important, the time of the day or night when the noise occurs. These factors prevent "arbitrary judgment calls" or a "free hand" in enforcement, while also putting citizens on notice of what constitutes a violation.

An example of teens listening to loud music is a perfect one. While this activity would likely not meet the "loud and raucous" standard at 3 p.m., it likely would at 3 a.m. Under either scenario, however, the defendant would be entitled to a trial on the merits, and a judge would decide whether the law had been appropriately applied and the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

I believe the Board of County Commissioners struck a fair balance in passing the new noise ordinance and look forward to the fair and reasonable implementation of that ordinance.
-- John Morroni, Pinellas County commissioner, Clearwater

Court ruling lacks justice

Re: DNA test will not end child support, Jan. 10.

What a sad state of affairs when the Supreme Court of this state orders a man to pay child support for another 10 years for a child that is not his. This action reinforces the position that most noncustodial parents already know: The courts are not about justice and best interests of the children, but money and big business. It is a sad state of affairs that courts reward lying as the means to a desired end. The system will not go after the real "father" who should be paying child support because it already has someone designated as "father" to pay that support.

The ruling also says that a person can lie as a means to an end but is still a good parent. What type of example does that set for that child and our society? It's a wonder any of our children grow up to be law-abiding citizens.

My prayers go out to Michael Anderson and ask the Lord to give him strength to endure this ordeal. They also go out to our legislators and the judiciary that they may receive the knowledge, wisdom and guts to make proper (morally right) decisions and laws.
-- Richard Polkowski, St. Petersburg

What happened to privacy?

Re: Discs in trash lead to porn charge arrest, Jan. 8.

It's unbelievable. A man discards his porn discs. A passerby, a stranger, then picks them out of his trash, takes them home, views them and summons the police!

Is there no privacy -- even in one's garbage? Are all our little "sins" and foibles to be the concern of the public? Are we all to be surrounded by tattletales -- read "nosy" citizens -- exposing us to the world? Well, "Yes," Attorney General John Ashcroft would probably answer. We're to be moral, he'd insist, his kind of "moral," on his terms, and that of the police.

To most of us, Edward Mitskevich's personal hobbies may seem tasteless and even repugnant. But they are his. If he had injured anyone, of course that is a different matter. But there is no evidence of that.

No, what is so appalling is that the whole matter hinges on a kind of prurient righteous, busybody cast of mind. It is tantamount to peering into bedroom windows, opening personal mail, thumbing through diaries. Is this what our leaders in Washington want?

And if we object, have the terrorists won?
-- Abigail Ann Martin, Brandon

Is there something to hide?

Re: This "controlled environment" prevents growth of tough questions, by Lucy Morgan, Jan. 11.

It was very frightening to me to read this column. The effort to control a newsperson's ability to ask and get answers to questions related to our government would indicate that there's something to hide.

What ever happened to "government in the sunshine"?
-- Shirley M. Day, St. Petersburg

Who won?

Re: Afghans play game of tradition, Jan. 11.

I'm not offended by the pictures of Afghans playing polo with a decapitated goat, but I'm infuriated that this is on Page 2A of your paper! It should be in the Sports section.

It is a sport, isn't it?
-- Steve Oromaner, St. Petersburg

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