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Mexico should be made into a place no one wants to leave

Re: Walking a fine line on wall, May 20.

Mexican President Vicente Fox's protest against our president's proposal to build more fences along the Mexican border is incomprehensible to me. If so many thousands of Mexican poor are so desperate to leave Mexico that they risk life and limb and leave their families behind to find work, why doesn't Fox use his enormous power to provide more jobs for them and give them a higher standard of living?

Our country, mostly composed of both legal and illegal immigrants and their progeny, went through a crisis many years ago. President Franklin D. Roosevelt took drastic measures and was the driving force behind the creation of government agencies to provide the funds to build new bridges, roads and highways, and to repair and restore existing bridges, roads and highways and make other improvements throughout the United States.

Although the Mexican election is imminent, if President Fox's party is victorious, it could do the same thing. Instead of bemoaning the fact that his country is in a sad shape and people are desperate to leave it, he could turn it into a country that no one wanted to leave. Coca-Cola is in his country - in fact he worked there - and could assist him enormously in making a better Mexico. President Fox could seek the help of all his other rich friends to build factories, encourage small businesses and entice entrepreneurs to set up shop in Mexico where labor is cheap (now anyhow).

He should take a page from our country's history in how to overcome economic depression, homelessness, unemployment and desperation and make his country a place where many of the illegals here would return to.

Pauline Browne, Tarpon Springs

Restore pride in America

Re: Walking a fine line on wall.

Why would the Mexican people feel angry at America, when they are here illegally and still get treated like human beings, and no one is starving? How would Mexican President Vicente Fox react if 12-million Americans went to Mexico and expected his government to provide them a living?

We have freed up many of his dollars for other things by not returning these illegal immigrants to Mexico. I'm sure if our people crossed the border illegally, they'd be in a Mexican prison as soon as they were discovered. Evidently "what's good for the goose, is not good for the gander," so to speak.

We have become uninterested in enforcing the rules and regulations of our own country, thus we have this influx of illegal immigrants. So unless we stand up for what is right and take back some pride in our country, things will never improve. In fact, things will get worse, and the people who worked and made this country the greatest nation in the world will one day be looking for handouts, too. We will be our own destructors. "Give folks an inch and they will take a mile." It's being proven every day in the U.S.A.

Fran Glaros, Clearwater

A solution in economic integration

Re: Immigration reform efforts.

Both the Republican administration and Democrats' positions on immigration are demonstrative of our current officeholders' proclivity to pandering for short-term political gain.

The obvious, underlying basis for the continuing desire of people to immigrate through our southern border is market-driven and economic - supply and demand. As distasteful as those who take hard-line, xenophobic positions may find it, the slower, more difficult long-term and more probably successful resolution will be North American, if not Western Hemispheric, economic integration. Dissolving the disparity through gradual implementation of a common wage standard and universal currency as well as uniform health care, environmental and job safety standards will allow natural market forces to prevail.

As we've seen in Europe, eventually borders become less relevant. While the current gap between the United States and Canada and Mexico and other nations south may be greater than that faced in Europe, the time to begin is now. Otherwise, in another 20 years, as has occurred since the 1986 amnesty law, we'll be arguing over this again.

Chris Kenney, Tampa

For now, we need the oil

Re: Drilling ban upheld - barely, May 19.

This article reminds me just how stupid some of these "environmentalists" can be. Granted, what we need is some sort of breakthrough that will result in plenty of cheap, clean energy. In the meantime, we have to make do with oil.

According to the "logic" of some of these congressmen who oppose more production, houses are only built for developers to live in, farmers produce food solely for their own consumption and oil company executives drill for oil just so they can use it.

Of course we need safeguards, which brings me to my next point. Every accident I can think of that had to do with petroleum production involved its transportation and refinement. Regardless of where it is drilled, raw oil has to be piped in, shipped or ultimately transported by truck. A tanker coming in from Mexico or the Middle East, headed for gulf refineries, can crack up and spew oil all over our beaches. Perhaps we should be looking at the overall picture and not the emotional histrionics.

Leonard Martino, Tampa

An insulting tax increase

Re: Despite pledge, taxes rise for teens, May 21.

I am totally fed up with President Bush. By his signing a $69-billion tax cut bill, he is raising the taxes on our children. It is insulting that our children have to be taxed as much as 35 percent on their college savings. Why should our children have to pay for his mistakes?

It is the rich who should have their taxes increased. What a farce the "morality" issue was during the 2004 presidential election. The real slogan should have been "morality for the rich and suffering for the poor and our children."

Albert J. Shamro, Clearwater

Graduation decorum was lacking

Last week my child graduated from Boca Ciega High School in St. Petersburg. What I perceived as a proud moment was anything but. Having brought guests (family), I was embarrassed and outraged at the behavior of the audience, which encouraged some students to act out.

From the beginning, while our national anthem was played, there was a constant buzz and hum of talking within the crowd. The moment of silence honoring a recently deceased teacher was also ignored. Even the seniors tried to shush the crowd.

As the seniors received their diplomas and got to walk, many parents never heard their child's name called over the speaker. It was drowned out in many instances by fog horns and hooting from the audience. A percentage of seniors obviously thought this was a dance tryout, given their prancing and showing off. Even the dress code was ignored by some.

My guests will return to their hometowns and their disgust at our behavior will linger. Floridians want to defend our schools and their students, but sadly the reflection of this evening does prove a point. Let us hope next year will be the beginning of change.

Carol Caleca, St. Petersburg

Alarming attrition rates

My wife and I were dismayed when we read the data relative to the various high schools in Pinellas County. We in Florida are so focused on "No Child Left Behind," and the effort to make sure that each child can read and write, that we believe the authorities have forgotten about graduation.

Almost all of the schools show a 50 percent or more drop in the number of students that started as freshmen compared to those who graduated. This, in our view, is an unacceptable statistic. We never hear Pinellas school superintendent Clayton Wilcox mentioning this, or any remedial action to correct it.

Robert Hilleary, Seminole

[Last modified May 23, 2006, 05:04:01]