News

Selection process has given us judges of integrity, honesty

Letters to the Editor
Published May 7, 2005

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Re: Stacking the deck.

The Times' May 1 editorial began with a preconceived opinion about the judicial nominating process and then sought a way to defend it. Unfortunately, a lack of facts did not prohibit the Times from plowing forward with an unsubstantiated ideological rant that does injustice to the judges admirably serving the state of Florida.

The men and women I have appointed to the bench are judges of impeccable integrity - jurists who have no desire to subvert the judicial process to advance their own agenda, and who have a well-earned reputation for excellence, honesty and candor. I seek and appoint dedicated, hard-working judges who promptly apply the law based on facts in evidence, uncolored by personal, political or religious beliefs, who understand that they are interpreters of the law, not creators of the law. These personal attributes are paramount in the selection process and transcend everything.

I seek judges who reflect the vibrant diversity of Florida - diversity of thought, culture, ethnicity, family structure and spirituality. I encourage applicants from all backgrounds and seriously consider every qualified candidate, regardless of background. My record supports my commitment to diversity: More than 40 percent of all my appointments have been women or minorities.

The qualities listed above are taken from a letter I wrote to all judicial nominating commissioners last year when the process was being questioned. I wanted to make sure that every commissioner understood, in my own words, what I expected from them. It is not simply a "form letter" as the Times dismisses it, but a call to the judicial nominating commissions to give us a broad selection of the best judicial nominees.

Regarding the commissions themselves, while the governor has the authority to appoint all members of the commissions, four of the nine appointees must be selected from names submitted by the Florida Bar. As a result, the commissions reflect a balance between the two branches of government, as they always have. Of course, the Times conveniently ignores the fact that I have never once rejected a single slate of nominees proposed by the Florida Bar. This is not the covert, partisan operation the Times purports, but a process that has garnered excellent judicial candidates and is completely consistent with our three-branch system of government.

In fact, although the Times clearly disagrees with some of the recent appointments I have made, it does not argue that any of the appointees were unqualified for the bench. Rather than acknowledge natural differences in judicial philosophy that occur in an independent judiciary, the Times insinuates that the selections reflect political influence. That is untrue. The commissioners and judges appointed since 2001 were chosen for their abilities and the respect of their peers, not their partisanship.

The Times' treatment of the judicial nominating process would better serve if it adopted the attributes of the judges we seek: making judgments based on facts in evidence, uncolored by personal or political beliefs.

-- Jeb Bush, governor, Tallahassee

Too many guns on the streets

Re: Small shop builds one big gun, May 5.

The owner of Serbu Firearms boasts that the company is making "the biggest, baddest gun you can buy without a special license." He also wants me to believe that these weapons will be used only by gun enthusiasts, for fun, in target shooting competitions.

Please! It's bad enough that in the same issue of the Times, two other headlines reported that a second-grader found a Magnum pistol in his school backpack, and that a silent gunman shot a man in front of his daughter for no apparent reason.

Are there not too many guns on the street now? Do you really want me to believe that this new weapon, with a range of half a mile, will be used only for target shooting? No, eventually some deranged, angry, vengeful person will, for whatever reason, create havoc on someone, something, some place.

In the name of reasonableness, where are our lawmakers? It is unconscionable that a weapon the military designed to stop trucks, blow holes in buildings, bring down airplanes, can so easily end up in the hands of ordinary citizens. What next? Can I expect to see a neighbor in his front yard with a rocket propelled grenade on his shoulder? Shades of an Iraqi marketplace. Disgusted!

-- Orfeo Trombetta, Seminole

Don't promote this big rifle

Re: Small shop builds one big gun.

Was this a paid advertisement for the company that builds this rifle or just bad judgment by the editor to publish a very detailed article and photos with "the biggest, baddest gun you can buy" on the front page of the City & State section? It's not surprising to see an article below it about a second-grader with a gun in his backpack! Kids read the papers, too!

Come on, St. Petersburg Times: Freedom of the press is one thing, but when I see articles like this it only confirms my decision not to renew my subscription and why your circulation has decreased!

-- Sharon Griffin, Tierra Verde

Cell phone weapon is a winner

Re: Don Wright cartoon of the 9mm cell phone, May 4.

The cartoon depicts a cell phone that also could be used to defend yourself. It's really quite a good idea.

In this day and age when gang members and early released prisoners are becoming commonplace in our society, continually threatening law abiding citizens, such a device would make major strides in cleaning up our streets.

Yes, there would be an increase in road rage incidents and accidental shootings, but if all the people I see that have a cell phone to their ear were equipped with this semiautomatic model, crime as a whole would come to an end.

Good idea. Don Wright should get it patented and I can get him some money from the NRA to help manufacture it.

-- Guy Nash, St. Petersburg

The logic of universal health care

Re: Health costs are behind the wheel of GM's troubles, May 1.

Not a day goes by, where I don't see the effects of our current health care crisis on the lives and health of my patients. What struck me, as I read George F. Will's column, is that the cost is born both by those of us with, as well as without, insurance. GM and other U.S. companies have to pay for health care that Japanese and European companies don't, because they have government-sponsored universal programs that provide medical coverage for all citizens without regard to employment. Wow, what a concept.

GM and others could sell their cars and other products more competitively, which would obviously bolster our economy. It might also have prevented me from having to brainstorm with a father of two recently about how he was going to afford his medication and followup office visits for himself and his wife since she was just laid off from her investment banking job this month and lost the family's insurance coverage. No doubt due, at least in part, to the recent downturn in our economy caused by the double-digit increases in health care costs.

Right now, the taxpayers of America are already paying for universal coverage and not getting it. We pay for the health care of all local, county, state and federal employees. We pay for every Medicaid and Medicare enrollee. It's rare that the right thing is also the ethical thing and also the best thing economically for our country. This is one such rare situation.

-- Greg M. Silver, M.D., Clearwater

Profit makes our system work

Re: Health costs are behind the wheel of GM's troubles, by George Will, May 1.

George Will finally lays it out as to where our country is eventually headed: a bloated bureaucratic health care/welfare state, like General Motors, Canada and the EU.

Yet most people feel it is somehow their "right" to be taken care of at the expense of society at large instead of taking personal responsibility for their own health. We expect our employers to take care of us and soon, we (not I) will expect the government to do it as well.

The reason our health care system works as well as it does is one simple thing: profit. Profit is what keeps the providers employed; profit is what drives the innovations in drugs, devices and procedures; and profit, coupled with supply and demand, keeps most people from seeking out health care services for unreasonably insignificant issues.

Why is personal coverage hard to find and expensive? Because employers buy up the bulk of the individual policies for their workers, leaving nothing for those who do not want the limited choices provided by the employer. Why are GM's health care costs so high? Because employees utilize an exorbitant amount of health care resources since the financial impact to each employee is so small. The employees feel they are getting something for nothing, but don't realize consumers will shop elsewhere for cars whose embedded costs are not as high.

Employers need to stop offering insurance as a benefit. Costs will go down as individual choice and demand for diverse coverage options in the private marketplace increase. The laws of supply, demand and personal responsibility cannot be thwarted by a single-payer system.

-- Joe Haynes, Seminole

Stay away from universal health care

As a senior citizen and a taxpayer, I feel compelled to share with you why I personally feel we should oppose a universal health system. Americans should recognize that socialized medicine is funded by us, the taxpayers, and not government.

There is mounting evidence from neighboring countries that a universal health plan can burden the hard-working taxpayer and compromises the quality of care offered to the citizens of these countries. A great example of this can be found in Canada and Great Britain. Although the medical care is "free" to their citizens, the access to the system is largely unavailable. Add the shortage of nurses and doctors, and these "free" health care systems are burdened with horrendous wait times. Additionally, Britain and Canada share a common socialistic philosophy that leaves many of their citizens victims of a reckless system. When was the last time you heard of an American seeking medical care in Canada? To the contrary, many of our Canadian neighbors seek exceptional health care in America and are willing to pay for it.

Our health care system understandably is not perfect; however, it is still the envy of the world. Our capitalistic free-market system supports advances in medicine through entrepreneurial research and development. I urge all taxpaying Americans to keep Washington lawmakers from implementing a multimillion-dollar national health care plan.

-- Joan Atkins, Palm Harbor

Marching orders

Re: Vote was too good to be true, May 5.

Martin Dyckman's commentary begins with the following statement (emphasis mine): "Anyone who thinks honestly about solving America's health care crisis understands that someday, somehow, the law must require everyone to be insured."

Dyckman's totalitarian roots are really showing!

I thought Christian conservatives were always being singled out as absolutists, but Dyckman wasted no time in clearing up that misunderstanding. Also, his statement erases any doubt that honest people might disagree.

From here on in, I'm going to check my ideals at the door and simply subscribe to whatever new discoveries Dyckman and the editorial staff of the St. Petersburg Times think is good for me. I've advised my family physician to do the same.

-- Jim Parker, Tampa

Parents should have equal custody

Re: Senate bill not as public as battle over custody.

The April 30 article by Lucy Morgan unfairly criticized Tom Pepin regarding his attempt to secure a child's right to equal time-sharing with both parents. Since Mr. Pepin's divorce is finalized, a change in the law would not affect his court decree. As a family law lawyer in favor of equal time-sharing, I applaud Senate President Tom Lee and I am sad to hear that this effort was frustrated.

A change in the law to provide equal access would eliminate custody wars, which require thousands of dollars in attorney fees and, thus, would conserve the family assets. The present family court system pits parent against parent and the "winner" takes all. In truth, as Mr. Pepin and Sen. Lee know, there are no winners in divorce. Divorce wars are a nightmare for both parents and the children!

I am the president of the Children's Rights Counsel of Florida, a state chapter of the national organization, and our federally trademarked motto is: "The best parent is both parents." With more than 40 percent of marriages ending in divorce, the bill proposed by Mr. Pepin is progressive and similar to bills being considered in more than 35 states. How does it feel to be a noncustodial parent limited to seeing your children every other weekend? Mr. Pepin's bill would eliminate this heartache. Thank you, Mr. Pepin and Sen. Lee, for your efforts! Please don't give up.

-- Margherita Downey, West Palm Beach

Parental responsibility

I was interested in your April 30 Page 1 story Ire aimed at handcuffed girl's mother, with reference to Inga Akins. Actually, parents should be responsible for their children.

I recall being in Shijazhuang, China, and going to an elementary school of 1,800 students. We were in a classroom with about 75 students, and there was one teacher. All the students were attentive and doing their work. I thought this might be a setup, so I slipped out and went into several other classrooms. The situation was the same.

I asked the teacher what she does with an unruly child and she said, "We call the parents and that is the end of it."

Too bad in our society there is not the parental responsibility that we saw in China.

-- John Q. Huey, Oldsmar

Joys of the jacaranda

Thank you for Purple Days, Lauren Bayne Anderson's May 3 article on the jacaranda (and for the photography as well). As an old guy, I especially appreciated the line (which I took as a metaphor extolling the joy of aging) by Bob Albanese: "The older the tree, the better the bloom."

I have been enamored of this tree since reading the now somewhat locally famous line from Wilbur Landry: "... all is well in the world, the jacaranda are in bloom in St. Petersburg." Landry, who was the St. Petersburg Times' international columnist, took time from reporting war and strife to "smell the roses" for us - or, rather, appreciate the jacaranda.

I would like to propose a photo contest to search out the most beautiful jacaranda in all of Pinellas County (or the bay area).

-- Norm Bungard, St. Petersburg

[Last modified May 7, 2005, 01:02:18]