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Re: Finance bill tips funding our way, Nov. 26.
No doubt countless individuals in the Tampa Bay area are applauding the fact that U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, a Republican, will be steering some $190-million from the federal coffers this way. Perhaps the applause should be held.
We Republicans champion ourselves as the fiscally conservative, limited-government type. It is only those free-spending Democrats who seek out federal dollars for pet projects in their respective districts. Well, politicians such as Bill Young dispel such a notion. Pork apparently knows no party line.
Spending $50-million for the Treasure Island Causeway bridge replacement; $750,000 for laptop computers for Largo patrol cars; $500,000 for bicycle trails in St. Petersburg? Gimme a break. These projects do not remotely resemble legitimate expenditures of federal dollars. The last I read, the federal deficit for this fiscal year will be some $400-billion. Bill Young and many others like him in Washington on both sides of the fence are largely responsible for that projected deficit.
The projects to which the $190-million will be directed are, almost without exception, pork. Pork tenderloin, in fact. So long as voters keep electing and re-electing the likes of Bill Young, our multitrillion-dollar national debt will continue to grow, and generations to come will be saddled with that burden.
Hold the applause, and start thinking about what is best for the country the next time Bill Young is up for re-election. Let us hope a viable candidate steps forward from either or both parties who is concerned about doing what is right at the federal level, rather than re-electing someone who brings home pork to appease those in his district so he will be re-elected.
Re: Finance bill tips funding our way.
I know I should feel really good about the fact that money is coming out of the pockets of shrimp pickers in Louisiana and asparagus farmers in California to help pay for a $300,000 addition to Ruth Eckerd Hall, and a $250,000 PAL facility in Pinellas County.
It's just that I start to wonder about how much is coming out of my own paycheck to finance a skating stadium for kindergartners in Minnetonka Falls, and build a lint museum in Oshkosh.
And then I really start to worry about what happens to the balance of pork (oops, I meant "power") when our own congressman, C.W. Bill Young decides to retire.
I mean, does anybody else wonder whether this is really the way to run a great country? And whether something has gone really wrong in the way our congressmen and senators think about what they are entitled to do with our money under our Constitution?
Re: Bridge may get $50-million relief, Nov. 26.
Spending $50-million on a bridge? That is ridiculous. The Republicans are talking fiscal conservatism yet our pork-loving congressman, Bill Young, wants to appropriate $50-million to buy a new bridge over to Treasure Island! Without a toll-booth, no less!
My wife is tearing her hair out. I already have. But we have to have fish broils to raise money for my step-grandson's elementary school. And my interest rate continues to extend my student loan payments. And putting that money into Midtown would be "socialism." But spending it in an affluent neighborhood where many support the status quo is okay because these folks will vote to re-elect the Republican pork-barrel congressman.
So we need a Democratic challenger next year. And please, folks, help register somebody to vote. As a veteran of Vietnam, I want to thank all those who talk war but never serve, and all those who talk conservatism but put money where it makes the wealthy even more comfortable at the expense of the rest of us.
Re: Activists complain of abuse in Miami, Nov. 26.
In addition to this story from the Associated Press, this writer also witnessed the cited events live on TV and heard first-person reports on the radio. The spectacle of black-helmeted, black-uniformed, black-visored and black-booted police beating on their shields with their batons while exercising "crowd control" during last week's trade talks in Miami, presented a chilling harbinger of what could happen here if the "security obsessed" administration is allowed to continue to squelch dissent in the guise of "maintaining order."
When the Founders included in our Constitution "the right of the people peaceably to assemble," there was an implied caveat that intended some restraint on police provocation. Unfortunately, when thousands show up to exercise their right to demonstrate against perceived government transgressions, there are bound to be a few malefactors in their midst. But the actions of these overly rambunctious few should not justify the behavior of the "black-shirted" law-and-order minions who seem inspired by the John Ashcroft approach to dissent.
Not to be ignored is the seeming indifference of the press without whose vigilance and - where appropriate - indignation, such events will surely escalate. I say this because, to my knowledge, the St. Petersburg Times has not, as yet, raised its eloquent editorial voice against the rubber bullets, tear gas and handcuffs used last week against retiree-activists and AFL-CIO members in our sister Florida city. How else are Jeb and George to know?
With the whole world watching, police interaction with protesters last week at the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) meeting in Miami, was an embarrassing overreaction by law enforcement and an affront to the freedoms we mightily boast about in this nation. Furthermore, the mainstream American media fell short in capturing and relaying the chilling turn of events. In the final days leading up to the event, the city of Miami reneged on agreements made with march organizers.
Lawmakers hastily passed ridiculous new ordinances which would suppress the free speech of citizens during this critical period, only to expire the following week. As the event began, the city rolled out thousands of riot-gear-clad police, far outnumbering the protesters at most points. Reports of the indiscriminate firing of so called "nonlethal weapons" on crowds of chanting, but otherwise peaceful people should be investigated. The Police Department claims that trash cans had been set on fire in the street and some private signs of businesses had been defaced.
I contend that if the city of Miami had kept its promises to the thousands of citizens who came to Miami to be heard, protesters would have made their way dutifully to their destinations, made their points and left. Instead, their buses were held and routes were blocked off within the city. Organizers expected 20,000 to 30,000 to attend, but reports estimated crowds of only 8,000 to 9,000 actually made it to the march's destination. Marchers were beaten back by police, not allowed to flow into certain areas as planned, and confusion and frustration set in.
I accept that there were some few young people setting fires late in the day, and their actions are not condoned. Still, a trash can on fire in the middle of the street calls for a fire extinguisher. It does not give police the right to indiscriminately fire on a crowd. People were unnecessarily injured, panicked and intimidated. International media, having no need to play down the police violence here in America, showed this to the whole world.
Shamefully, it may be down to this: How far will those in power go to obfuscate the issues? Will they undermine democracy? Will we let them?
Some of your readers will be pleased to read about the hundreds of retired trade union members who were transported to Miami to join in the protest against the FTAA. The downtown march was at least two hours late in getting started, because of blocked streets and other detours ordered by the police. Dozens of seniors, exhausted by the waiting, started leaving the park, only to discover that the most direct route back to their bus was blocked by double and triple walls of police.
They informed the retirees "this street is closed to contain the demonstrators to a closely confined area." Many protested, having to walk four or five additional blocks to the north into a section where tear gas was in use. Most limped and shuffled away from the officers. However, one woman, about 75 years old and 5 feet tall, had enough of police orders. She tore off her hat, clenched her fist and proceeded to give those boys dressed like ninja warriors a piece of her mind. I was in a hotel lobby, the doors blocked by police, "for our safety," and witnessed this event.
So what is the point of all this? The media showed police arresting young anarchists, and not 20,000 members of the steelworkers, I.B.E.W., textile and so many other unions, that were there to say no to FTAA.
Re: Parents' prank lands 7 teens in handcuffs.
Liza Moran and her husband Jake are furious at the police. Why?
Because the police broke up their well planned birthday party for their daughter who had invited friends over to celebrate and have a "slumber" party.
The parents executed their plan perfectly. They went outside and cut the electric power to the house and then started tapping on the windows to scare the girls. The frightened girls ran from the house screaming and laughing, but according to the parents it was all a prank.
A neighbor called the police and reported gun shots in the area. The police responded promptly.
The dispatcher informed the squads that there had been a burglary at the Morans' home a couple of days before. The officers observed persons running from the area and followed police procedures in taking control of the situation.
It turned out that the "prank" backfired on the Morans and they now are blaming the police for overreacting to the situation that the Morans caused.
The Morans should be issued citations for disorderly conduct for creating a situation that tended to disturb the public peace.
Re: Bush asks for removal of Schiavo judge, Nov. 22.
Boy, if this isn't a case of the pot calling the kettle black. According to Jeb Bush, the judge "cannot continue to preside over this matter without being swayed by his own personal biases and prejudices in this case."
Isn't that exactly why Bush himself insinuated himself into what should have been a private, family matter? He has personal biases and prejudices that he is using as a government official to try to sway the results of a private matter. The judge is saying and doing nothing different than what other judges before him have done in this case - made a lawful decision. The government, by law, has no right, ethical or moral or legal, to interfere in this private matter.
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