Re: Police too addicted to lure of easy money, by Robyn Blumner.
-- Thanks to Blumner for writing so persuasively about property forfeiture, one of the linchpins of the drug war, that "other" endless war. Both wars are perpetuated by public fear and official conflicts of interest, and both are costing us cherished legal traditions.
Our elected officials alarm us about "drugs," about "terror," about whatever, and begin building their careers countering that threat. While most of them do have good motives, the effect of their taking of the property of powerless people without bringing charges, much less a conviction, sets us back to medieval times when the "king's men" had free rein to control the king's subjects.
When Congress wrote the legislation to allow these abuses, they effectively ended the "rule of law" we once took such pride in, and established the "rule of men." It is happening so gradually and so rationally it is barely noticed.
-- John Chase, Palm Harbor
It's all about revenue
Re: Police too addicted to lure of easy money, by Robyn Blumner.
Robyn Blumner hits the nail on the head with her column highlighting some of the greed spread throughout the nation's police organizations via use of the forfeiture of assets system. In truth, it is more of a spoils system. Unfortunately, Blumner's column touches on only the tip of the iceberg. New sources of revenue are constantly sought - witness the recent trend of police writing tickets for failure to use seat belts when no other offense has been committed. It has nothing to do with saving lives. It's all about revenue.
Police constantly tweak crime statistics to justify higher budgets and additional officers. This includes, in many cases, charging a suspect with every possible offense in the attempt to make him or her look like the worst type of criminal, when the act might have been very minor in nature. All of this when crime is at a 30-year low.
At the Probation Department level, in most states, when a felon has served his time in prison, he is hit with a large bill. The returning former inmate is placed in debt by the justice system without a job, and little chance of getting one due to his conviction. If he is unable to pay, he is threatened with violation of his probation. It is a never-ending scheme.
I hope Blumner will continue to shed light on what is going on in our justice system. The system can and should be changed, and if her columns prod enough people to write to their legislators, it will be changed.
-- Larry Fox, Largo
Religion and democracy
Re: We cannot democratize the world, Aug. 17.
One just has to know the dominant religion of a particular country to ascertain whether it has rule of law and democracy, and whether it values freedom for all its peoples. Though this may appear to be a "politically incorrect" observation, just stop and think about it: The Greeks and Romans had rule of law but did not value freedom for all peoples, e.g., they practiced slavery. Need one mention the abysmal human rights record of the major Eastern religions with the inescapable caste system and the fatalism of reincarnation? Islam's Koran and Hadith condone slavery, reject equal rights under the law for non-Muslims and severely limit independence and rights for women, making Islam inherently undemocratic and unqualified to provide liberty for all peoples.
Compare these religions' teachings to the teachings of Jesus, in which we find the roots of the world-changing view that every human being is of value and is loved by God. It is from this perspective we live today in a country that declares that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
-- Ruth A. McNulty, St. Pete Beach
Saving for college
Re: Looking for college-cost options? by Helen Huntley, Aug. 17.
I find it misleading that Huntley suggests several methods of financing college at what is described as "no cost." That information should be labeled "getting other people and taxpayers to pay for your child's college." Huntley might consider counseling people about beginning to save money very early on if they plan to bring children into the world, not about how to get other people, taxpayers and contributors (tax deductible!), to pay for their responsibility. The government obtains the money from somewhere. A responsible position would emphasize that there are sources of money for college, but the first source must be from the people that brought the student into the world, not how to position your money so other people pay.
-- Pete Church-Smith, CFP, St. Petersburg
Courage to come forward
Re: The scent of evil, Aug. 17.
Chris Tisch has done an excellent job of relating the poignant story of the sexual abuse that Roger Ouellette inflicted on his adopted daughter. It takes a very brave woman indeed to be able to step forward. Just think of how many children she may have saved from his abuse. Without her testimony, Ouellette most likely would never have come to justice. If you have ever dealt with a friend or relative who has suffered at the hands of a sexual abuser, you understand the importance of reporting this type of abuse and getting these people off the streets.
It really makes you feel good inside to see how the family and neighbors pulled together in support of this woman. So often, you will see families turn against one another in denial. They often justify this by saying the person isn't doing it anymore. These people don't just stop doing it, and it is occurring more often than most people want to admit.
Hopefully, this will help bring some closure to a very sad part of this woman's life. I think she is truly a hero for what she has done.J. Larry McElveen, Belleair Bluffs
-- Touchy-feely discipline
Re: Corporal punishment not a subject for school, by Mary Jo Melone, Aug. 17.
Personally, we do condone corporal punishment. We also spank our children, although we do not have to much anymore: Both boys, ages 4 and 7, know right from wrong. They are polite and respectful, and as a parent, I would not be upset if the adult in charge used corporal punishment to enforce discipline.
Melone really should learn the difference between discipline and abuse. We do not spank our children when angry. If we are upset and "on the raggedy edge," we send them to their room until we have had an opportunity to think about a proper punishment.
I am only 35, and in "the old days" we had respect for police, firemen and school staff, including teachers. We had respect because we knew if we "got smart" or "stepped out of line" we would be disciplined with corporal punishment. That type of discipline demanded respect. I have gotten many comments from neighbors, family, teachers and even total strangers at restaurants, on how well-behaved our children are.
The problem with today's youth is that the parents of my generation rely on the touchy-feely discipline approach of time-out or taking things away. By assigning value to things and taking them away, you are breeding a generation of children that feel "stuff" is the most important. I applaud the school board members who stand up for corporal punishment. If more parents felt the way they feel, we would not have the discipline problems that we have with today's youth.
-- Stephen Woodin, Oldsmar
Paddle them and move on
In school, I spent many hours doing penance by writing sentences for my various transgressions, and about once each week I received a spanking. We were always given the choice of a spanking or staying after school, and most of us chose the spanking. Once we did our time or got our spanking, that was it for the event. There were no notes sent home, no conferences, no grudges, and what happened at school stayed at school, in most situations. This was in Pinellas County.
Today we've made discipline into an industry. Just the other day, my first-grade grandson got into some trouble for socializing at an inappropriate time. A note came home, a conference was held, sentences were written, and he did some hard time after school. I thought, that's a lot of time and energy invested in a small problem. Why not spank him and be done with it? Instead, Mom and Dad and a fleet of educators took hours away from what they do best to fool around with a 15-minute problem. We're not talking murder and mayhem here, we're talking about a gabby first-grader in the first week of school. Paddle them and move on!
-- James B.Johnson, Port Richey
[Last modified August 24, 2003, 01:47:21]
