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Re: Pulp nonfiction, editorial, Jan. 30.
Your recent editorial failed to report the real news about the public-private partnership between the Escambia County Utility Authority and International Paper Co. Three years ago, the utility and paper mill entered into an agreement to increase protection for the environment in the Panhandle. The partnership benefits our environment, economy and quality of life.
Under the plan, the utility is building a new regional wastewater treatment facility to meet growing demand in the region. The utility is applying for a low-interest loan from the state to fund construction of the facility. International Paper is donating land for that facility at the site of its paper mill in Cantonment. The company is investing its own funds to upgrade the paper mill and achieve long-term compliance with environmental standards.
Together, the partners would share the cost of constructing, managing and operating 2,000 acres of restored wetlands, which would naturally filter and polish treated wastewater from both facilities.
The paper mill will become the first facility of its kind in the nation to eliminate a direct discharge of wastewater into surface water. Thousands of working families whose livelihoods depend on the paper and timber industry would gain greater job security knowing that the mill would continue to operate cleaner and more efficiently than ever before, which also means thousands of acres of productive timberland will remain untouched by development.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission is fully responsibility for the current situation regarding Judge Charles Cope. I commend the Legislature for stepping in and taking action. The judge's arrogant behavior in suing the two women that were involved in his most recent debacle is nothing more than a symptom of his disease.
Since 1996, when the judge got his first DUI, Cope has been on a steady downward spiral. The JQC, by ignoring the obvious and simply giving Cope a "slap on the hand" for his poor judgment and unseemly (if not criminal) behavior has left the taxpayer to foot the bill. Cope was paid during the lengthy investigative process and has kept a minimal schedule since he was reinstated. Now, the taxpayer is looking forward to the cost of his pension. We must have regulations put in place to prevent the public from being the victim again. The JQC (made up of the judge's colleagues) enabled Cope to continue on his destructive path instead of requiring that he get treatment for his disease or resign.
Our judiciary, as the guardian of our law, must treat the most wicked of us as it would the cream of the crop - no disparate treatment, no repressive treatment. Our laws against double jeopardy basically say we can't be kicked around twice for the same problem and once it's been adjudged, right or wrong, that's it, it's over, period.
Every government or quasi-government agency that handled the matter of Charles Cope failed the very public they serve, from the California prosecutors who plea-bargained down the serious charges against him, to our own state's judiciary through the proceedings of the Judicial Qualifications Commission and the subsequent slap on the wrist he received from our state Supreme Court, for among other reasons his "sincere remorse," which none of us other than the court ever heard or witnessed.
But there's no provision in our law for a "do over" in this matter, and any attempt by the Florida Bar as an arm of the Florida Supreme Court to do so would essentially amount to an assault on any and all of our rights against the same kind of treatment in any given situation.
The Florida Supreme Court had the only up-to-bat it should be given in this matter, and in spite of the fact the justices struck out, the rules shouldn't be changed in hindsight to give them another shot at it.
Re: Ex-judge blames others, not alcohol, Feb. 5.
Sorry, but Charles Cope will get no sympathy from me about his current woes. He thinks his mistakes do not justify where he is right now, that the process that brought him to this point is unfair and that he doesn't have the resources to fight the Legislature.
How many people have stood in front of Cope in his chambers feeling exactly the same way? There are people who have been in that situation and have lost far more than Cope stands to lose. He still has his license to practice law (for now) and he is eligible for a pension. The problem, from Cope's point of view, is that the system worked, but he doesn't agree with the outcome. He can now join the ranks of everyday citizens who have to pay their legal bills and live with uncomfortable consequences.
Cope should treat the experiences of the past couple of years, however painful, as a pivotal point of change. Having been on the receiving end of a justice system he believes to be unfair, I hope he becomes a compassionate and honest man before he attempts to re-enter that system as an officer of the court in any capacity.
This is a pretty big wakeup call, Mr. Cope: Your actions were suspect, your behavior arrogant, and your lack of professionalism and respect for the bench appalling. Take a look at yourself and make a change.
Re: Voting on our domestic differences, by George F. Will, Feb. 2.
I take issue with George F. Will's contention about the difference between liberals and conservatives. He is right that many liberals like the safety net provided by many government programs. The reason for this is not to promote dependence on government but rather that liberals recognize that in our society we do not all start out with the same advantages and that individuals are often constrained by external factors such as the parents they are born to and their environment.
What liberals are saying is that regardless of the choices someone makes (which are often but not always determined by external factors they are born into) we won't tolerate our children being hungry or going without medical care when sick, or our elderly, or our mentally ill, or our disabled, who by the way did not choose to be this way).
Liberals do not want to limit the freedom of choice. In fact, in many areas liberals want to allow for more individual choice. For instance, being able to choose what happens to your own body (abortion rights), being able to marry the person of your choosing rather than having it dictated to you that you can only marry someone of the opposite sex.
Liberals understand that people are entitled to choices but are also sometimes constrained by circumstances. It is a myth that anyone in America can become president - otherwise why would so many of our presidents be prep-school educated white males who had rich daddies? Come on and get real!
Re: Voting on our domestic differences, by George F. Will.
I need only one word to describe this article: despicable. It is nothing more than a mere compilation of an old conservative agenda, aiming at the total eradication of any rights or benefits dearly earned by the American workers over decades.
Will is sounding more and more like a used-car salesman. He has become nothing other than a Rush Limbaugh who has mastered the English language. But using nice words doesn't give him the right to insult the working class. Saying to people earning $8 per hour that "Private investment of Social Security taxes would democratize access to wealth creation," is an insult to their intelligence. They know it is nothing but a new tax evasion loophole, created solely for the benefit of the rich and for the corporate powers.
The deceptive propaganda affirming that "Democrats want to limit freedom of choice," is an insult to both their intellect and their hard work, and a deliberate falsehood. We know it, and Will knows it.
So, Mr. Will, I have one question for you, and for your friends from the Republican right wing: What are your motivations? Why are you systematically ignoring the hardship of the working people, always siding with the rich and powerful? Why?
Re: Dejected teen saves the day, Jan. 29.
How refreshing to read that teenager Justin Gregorich not only is a sensitive and caring young man, but has the generous impulse to act in such a courageous manner, along with two other adult citizens, when they rescued the "accidental traveler" from a most probably fatal situation. How refreshing to read this "Kids' Good News" article on the front page of the Times.
Beyond that, though, my thoughts turn to the ugly situation of bullying in our schools and the overall effects of the miscreant behavior of the youngsters callous enough to engage in it, as well as the parents, coaches and teachers and the vice principals who allow our young rude rubes to participate in bullying. Hopefully, these very "models," who are ultimately responsible for molding our young people to live in and shape society will pause and reflect on their own contribution to our future.
Bravo to Justin Gregorich. What a fine boy he is. I do hope the coach will put him on the football team. He may be a big surprise.
I also hope the boys who were teasing him realize that Justin is a fine, better boy than they are.
I do not know Justin or the man he helped save, but I do want to thank him. Guess the walk was good after all.
Re: An indictment of our culture, Feb. 4.
Laudations to Crispin Sartwell for his masterful piece on the Super Bowl "entertainment"and to the Times for publishing the same. Not only does he provide a trenchant analysis of that particularly distasteful exercise in wretched excess but also has blessed us with a wonderful example of critical invective. Some of us deeply regret the demise of that art form in this dismal age of political correctness and mind-numbing mass media brainwashing.
It will lighten the gloom that accompanies my rare lapses into meditation on pop culture to be able to conjure up the image of a "fascist armadillo" and "feculent ego." Dare we hope that Mr. Sartwell's genius will inspire a revival of such writing? There may yet be hope for civilization.
Re: Super Bowl show.
How dare they interrupt our beloved ritual of violence with images of nudity? Don't they know there are children watching?
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