Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Florida redistricting process may not be pretty, but it is fair

In your recent editorial (A misuse of public money, Oct. 25) you misstate and mischaracterize my opposition to the proposed constitutional amendments to change the way Florida's political boundaries are drawn. This is a legal proceeding, not a political campaign.

These petitions plainly violate existing law because they involve multiple subjects and hide their true effect from the voters. Courts have recognized that, as speaker, I have a duty to ensure the integrity of the ballot and electoral process. I refuse to shirk that duty.

What I have done is to ask Rep. Dudley Goodlette, an accomplished lawyer and someone respected by Democrats and Republicans alike, to review the proposals. He fully agrees with me that it is our responsibility to submit our concerns to the Florida Supreme Court and to argue them in court on behalf of the Florida House.

Further, as speaker, I have retained outside counsel to assist Rep. Goodlette and I have set a cap on the legal fees to ensure that it is done responsibly. To remain silent on this issue may indicate to the court a lack of concern on our part, and nothing could be further from the truth.

The arguments in our briefs are perfectly illustrated in your editorial. You describe one of the amendments as creating a "nonpartisan" redistricting commission. However, the actual amendment language sets up an inherently partisan commission with at least 12 of the 15 members being political appointees. To imply that political leaders would appoint people who disagree with them politically is at best naive.

You also mention that one amendment would require redistricting to occur in 2007 but, just like the ballot summary, you fail to mention that the new lines would be drawn using 7-year-old census numbers and would ignore the rights of anyone who has either moved to or moved within Florida since 2000.

Finally, you mention the third amendment that would rewrite the rules for redistricting, which is the pleasant-sounding hook used to entice people to sign the petitions. Like many of the paid petition gatherers working on this effort, you fail to mention that this amendment has already been thrown out by the courts and will not appear on the ballot.

The process by which Florida draws its political boundaries is not pretty, but it is fair. It is a process that encourages those closest to the people, and elected by the people, to fight for their communities first and place partisanship second. It is a process that removed the old-guard power brokers who had been in control for more than 100 years, and allowed minority representation to rise to its highest level ever in the state House, state Senate and in Congress. It is not a process that should be changed lightly, and particularly not through a set of poorly-written, ill-conceived and misleading amendments to the Florida Constitution.

In this instance, when two amendments so deeply threaten the separation of powers, the institution of the Florida House and the basic rights of every Floridian, it is my duty as speaker to voice our opposition. To do otherwise would be to ignore my responsibility to the Constitution and to the people I represent.

Yearly tests for elderly drivers

Re: Screening elderly drivers, editorial, Oct. 23.

Maybe the biggest part of the problem with elderly drivers is the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issuing them driver's licenses that are good for six years. It might be time to mandate yearly competency exams for citizens above a certain age. The elderly citizen is more likely to have a significant decline in his health and mental status in a shorter period of time than someone half his age, and testing their vision doesn't seem nearly adequate enough.

Surely we have the technology nowadays to create a simulation/virtual-reality type of test that could create various driving conditions to test the reactions of elderly drivers much like our pilots and astronauts undergo in their training. How about a driving test on a test track with "pop-up" pedestrians and other simulated events that would require the driver to react quickly?

Test all drivers regularly

Re: Elderly drivers.

There is a simple solution regarding exams for driver's license renewal. Why should we discriminate and only test the elderly?

Unfortunately, changes in vision and general health that could impact driving skills are not limited to the elderly. Everyone should be tested on a regular basis regardless of age.

Don't put others in danger

Why is it that you can't hit a golf ball as far as you used to? How come there are so many accidents where the driver's foot slips off the brake pedal and onto the gas pedal? They usually end up in someone's living room or a storefront.

Reaction time, reflexes, judgment, eyesight, hearing are some of the reasons old people retire in the first place. It's part of the aging process. I will be 78 years old in a couple months and I have not driven a car in the last eight years.

The excuse that you must drive to survive is total nonsense. There is adequate public transportation, buses, taxicabs, delivery services, etc. It's obvious that you don't mind risking your life but you should not be allowed to jeopardize others'.

Driving and memory loss

For families coping with Alzheimer's disease, driving is a balancing act of independence and safety. The key is to recognize when safety becomes more important than independence, which requires the active involvement of family and caregivers. Florida estimates that more than 380,000 residents have probable Alzheimer's disease, and many others are experiencing early signs of memory loss. While it is not appropriate to assume that all older adults have memory loss, or to remove the driving privileges of those with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, driving is a skill that erodes over time for those with memory loss. Research shows that drivers with cognitive impairment are seven times more likely to be in an at-fault crash than drivers the same age without memory loss.

If you or a loved one is experiencing memory loss - the kind that challenges daily life and requires changing activities that were easily done in the past - talk to your doctor or health care provider. A formal driving evaluation can help determine whether it is safe to continue driving. Look for warning signs such as trouble with turns, delayed responses, not staying in the proper lane, near misses or close calls and confusion of the gas pedal and brake. Also, plan in advance for when driving is no longer safe by identifying alternative transportation with family and friends in your area.

For more information about resources available for coping with Alzheimer's disease and memory loss, contact a memory disorder clinic near you by calling the Elder Helpline at 1-800-96-ELDER (1-800-963-5337).

School Board squashes minority rights

Re: School calendar will be strictly secular, Oct. 26.

The recent Hillsborough County School Board decision not to grant a day for Muslim students to observe Eid al-Fitr and to rescind the day given for Jewish students to observe Yom Kippur is unfortunate because the board's action by accommodating only Christian students is thereby a de facto trampling of minority rights - something the Constitution and Bill of Rights prohibit.

A December holiday still stands to accommodate Christians. Furthermore, most Christians in the United States have never observed Good Friday as a day off. Since Easter always is on a Sunday, that holiday is also not in jeopardy. So the only negative impacts are on the minority students, Jewish and Muslim, who only asked for one day for a religious observance. I hope a constitutional challenge is forthcoming.

Assaulted by frightening images

It became a Sunday morning ritual in our home for our first-grader to delve into the Times for the TV guide to check out the Disney Channel movies for the week. Last Sunday morning she screamed and threw the guide down on the counter where I could see the image of a sadistic-looking man with blood-covered teeth holding up a knife. Why, of the infinite number of images you could select for the cover, would you choose such a horrific one - the kind of unnecessary material that creates nightmares for a 6-year-old?

The other morning while flipping channels on network television, I came across a victim whose small intestines were being disemboweled and tied around a spit. As I was trying to get such a disturbing image out of my mind I wondered why an 18-year-old couldn't view that in a movie theater without showing ID but a toddler could come across it at home on a Tuesday morning. It's not enough that I monitor TV programs; I now have to worry about commercials and newspapers as well. Does the Times realize the impact of macabre images on young people? Did it dawn on the editor that hundreds of children will have that issue sitting in their family room all week? And then we wonder why we have violent, disturbed children and adults who have no respect for others (or themselves). Shame on you for being part of the problem.

[Last modified October 29, 2005, 01:44:11]