Let religious symbols be displayed for the holidays
Letters to the Editor
Published December 18, 2005
Re: Christmas display stands alone this year, Dec. 15
It seems that your staff writer Garrett Therolf is confused that only Christmas is represented on public lands.
I would like to end his confusion. Dec. 25 is a holiday in which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is not a Jewish or Islamic holiday, only a Christian holiday. To Rabbi Jeff Zaremski I would say the same thing. I would not be offended to see a Star of David on the Jewish holidays or any other religions' symbols on their holidays. Rabbi Zaremski may have forgotten who landed on Plymouth Rock and needs a history lesson. As a reminder it was the Pilgrims. They were a group of Christians that wanted religious freedom.
Our country is 90 percent Christian and I am sick and tired of the other 10 percent infringing on our religious beliefs, customs and rights.
-- H. G. Shirer, New Port Richey
It's not inclusive to prevent the mention of beliefs
Re: Christmas display stands alone this year, Dec. 15
Regarding the lack of participation in Pasco County's holiday display compromise/policy by all the usual suspects who seem to throw a hissy fit any time a Christian display gets within a stone's throw of public property.
A cynic may conclude that this lack of participation indicates that all of the complaints and concerns previously expressed are not really about equal access, equal exposure or inclusion of their views, religious or not, but about eliminating any mention of someone else's beliefs. So much for inclusion.
Fortunately, I am not a cynic.
-- Tom Waldbart, Wesley Chapel
Someone needs to figure out flu shot distribution
On a recent Saturday, several hundred mostly senior citizens and I stood in line for at least four hours at the Gulfview Square Mall in Port Richey waiting to gt a flu shot. This, to me, is reprehensible.
I had already called my doctor, the county Health Department, CVS and Publix only to be told there was an ample supply of vaccine, but the problem was distribution.
Flu shots are not something new. They have been around for years. It would seem to me that someone would know how to run such an operation by now. What will happen if we need bird flu shots?
What is happening to our country? New Orleans is still suffering as are people in southern Florida from hurricanes.
Hello Sen. Mike Fasano, Rep. John Legg, Pasco Health Department, U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez and President Bush. Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
-- Caroline G. Johnson, New Port Richey
Everyone should heed advice on washing hands
Re: Avoiding the flu is simple: Wash hands, Dec. 9 column by Jeff Webb
Webb's column should have been on the front page of the Times.
As I read it, I had the feeling that my father had written it 70 years ago. He was a chemist and insisted on clean hands. The only thing to touch our face was a fork or spoon, and as a result of passing this advice to my children, I have been known as "Mr. Pure" instead of "Dad," and I have always taken that as a compliment.
May I add to Webb's list "Wash your hands before using the restroom" (think about that for a moment), as well as washing after using the restroom? For an in-swinging restroom door, use a paper towel or toilet tissue to open; an out-swinging door only requires an elbow. And how about washing hands before, as well as after, when tending the sick?
I have Webb's article on my desk and will frame it and hang it on my bathroom wall so my grandchildren will see and read that grandpa isn't the only person who asks "Have you washed your hands?"
This article should hang in every school restroom, every restaurant restroom, and every day school classroom. Small children may not be able to read it, but maybe the caretakers will care enough to exercise its message.
By the way, we were taught to sneeze into our elbow or shoulder many, many years ago.
Thank you for caring enough to write on a subject that most people could care less about: personal hygiene. My wife and I carry personal hand wipes and pocketbook-size liquid hand sanitizer; both are great for after greetings at church, eating out and after pumping gas.
-- Warren Earle, Zephyrhills
[Last modified December 18, 2005, 01:02:23]
