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Florida continues to offer good jobs to its residents

Re: Jobs are plentiful; quality not so much, Nov. 17.

As job creation in Florida hits a new high, it is unbelievable that the St. Petersburg Times only continues to see the sky falling.

Close examination of this highly questionable "recent study by University of Massachusetts economists" reveals it to be nothing more than a partisan hack job. Beginning with the "study's" less-than-credible use of small samples, it is clear that the authors carefully chose indicators that would produce their desired result. It is clearly biased against the large states, with California, Texas, Florida and New York falling into the bottom half. In addition, the work-fairness dimension used the degree to which a state is unionized, something that is much more a political question than valid statistical measurement. Automobile workers in Michigan might have some input into this particular measure as they now stand in the unemployment lines.

While our state has seen steady growth in the number of new jobs, the quality of those jobs has also grown. In fact, the jobs that are showing the most growth are also paying above-average wages. Of nine industry sectors showing growth in October 2005, six had average wages higher than the state's 2004 average of $35,159. And the low-paying service jobs you bemoan don't even make it into the top three growth sectors.

Florida is fortunate to have an economy that is as resilient as it is dynamic. Our economic development and workforce development are second to none, and I am confident we will continue to create high-skill, high-wage jobs that will offer incredible opportunities for all Floridians.

Focusing on the negative

Re: Malls see drop in weekend's sales, Nov. 28.

This is a great example of how the Times uses biased headlines to promote its far-left liberal agenda. The headline gave the clear impression that the annual kickoff to holiday sales was disappointing, implying a weak economy stemming from Bush-related policy mistakes.

But for those who read the article thoroughly, what did it say? Visa cardholder spending was up 11.4 percent from last year. Wal-Mart had a record 10-million customers in its stores before noon on Friday. Online purchasing was up 22 percent. JC Penny broke a record for customer transactions. Mall-based stores, however, were down 0.9 percent, so technically, the headline was correct. Malls did see a drop in weekend sales, but everyone else's gains more than made up for it.

The Times headline was based on the one minor negative fact of the weekend, ignoring the many strong, positive results that have retailers ecstatic about the remaining 27 shopping days.

Telling a story in pictures

At a time when Americans are hopefully looking at our country to reassess its worth and dedication to our ideas of freedom and justice for all, I wish I owned a newspaper. I could portray the dilemma in pictures on the front page.

One side: the crowds at the various stores where people waited in the cold for hours to buy expensive gifts on sale. Under that picture: the brawl that ensued over a laptop.

On the other side (take your pick): a soup kitchen where families with children wait in line for a meal, a homeless shelter, a place where the homeless spread a blanket in the cold to sleep, a rattletrap car sheltering a family.

Jarring juxtaposition

Re: Front page, Nov. 26.

Two lines of people were placed on the front page in two different pictures: those standing in line to get into a Target store before dawn on Black Friday in the center of the page and, at the bottom of the paqe, those in China with rusty buckets waiting in line for fresh water. Can't those looking for a bargain and those merely looking for a way to survive after a chemical spill be pictured on different pages?

The PRIMER mission

Re: Questions bring more questions, letter,Nov. 19.

The letter writer can drop the conspiratorial tone, with the unstated implication that PRIMER, a local organization that "Promotes Responsibility in Middle East Reporting," is an arm of - what? - the Israeli government? He has the perfect right to ask questions, but informative dialogue occurs with respectful discourse intended to convince and inform, not innuendo intended to distort and confuse.

As for the questions, PRIMER exists to ensure that distortions of fact in the media in regard to events in the Middle East and the history of Israel and the region are addressed for correction or, at least, clarification.

PRIMER's newsletter and mailings are funded from small voluntary contributions from thousands of American citizens.

The "we" Norman Gross referred to was its board of directors and members, who are ecstatic that a voice of moderation is developing locally in the Muslim community. But we have some legitimate questions about the possibility of Saudi funding which, if that is the case, could lead to questions of motive and intent.

And yes, because of Saudi funding internationally of Wahabi fundamentalism in schools and mosques, documented repeatedly by our government and media, it would be confidence building to be assured that no such funding or influence exists for CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) before it is given unquestioned positive status by our media and local government.

An image without context

Re: A hard route to school, Nov. 24.

To critics of the one-sided photos that the Times has often used to accompany its reports on the Middle East conflict, your editors have now offered an ingenious response: Just show the picture and don't bother with a story!

Looking at this Nov. 24 picture, your readers could be led to conclude that they were looking at an example of gratuitous cruelty and oppression by the Israeli military.

An accompanying story, however, might have pointed out that in the last six months a dozen Palestinian teenagers have been found at similar checkpoints strapped with bombs or bombmaking material to be used on Israeli citizens. It might have pointed out that within the last several weeks a Palestinian woman who was passing regularly through such a checkpoint to receive free medical treatment at an Israeli hospital was detained when she was found to be carrying bombs under her clothing for delivery to terrorists in Israel.

Given a report that provided that context, your readers might be left with a different reaction to photos like the one you featured. And they might conclude that so long as the Palestinian Authority continues to support terrorist infiltration, and so long as Palestinian society continues to encourage these teenage terrorists and praise the successful among them as martyrs, they are victims of themselves, and not of the Israeli military.

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 09:01:59]