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How does flag burning turn into speech?

Re: A veteran is prepared to burn the flag, letter, June 1.

I am a Vietnam-era veteran and I took the same oath as the letter writer did to defend the Constitution when I entered the military. I thank him for his service.

Both he and Nat Hentoff (Flag amendment is desecration of the Constitution, May 25) should really try to connect how "free speech" will be inhibited in any way by banning the burning of our national symbol. Burning the flag is an obvious physical act. If you want to stand up and make a public speech, you're not going to be inhibited from doing so.

Yes, freedom of speech is just that - the ability to say what you want when you want about just about anything you want. How is desecration of the flag detrimental to freedom of speech? Are we talking metaphorically here?

Pardon my possible lack of understanding, but I just don't see the connection. And according to all polls taken on this subject, I don't think most Americans do either. I pray the Congress will finally pass this amendment.

Paul Lukacs, Indian Rocks Beach

There are better ways to protest

Re: Flag amendment is desecration of the Constitution.

The American flag is not just a symbol of the United States. It is the United States. It does not represent a faulty administration or elected officials. It is the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

To desecrate the flag is to desecrate our country and what it stands for: freedom, equality and opportunity. Opposition to governmental policies can be demonstrated in more constructive ways by attacking the specific actions of elected officials that we find objectionable.

I feel very fortunate to be an American citizen, and I will always honor the flag because it is to me the embodiment of the American spirit.

Evelyn Kornfeld, Oldsmar

Right to dissent is fundamental

Re: A veteran is prepared to burn the flag, letter, June 1.

The letter writer got it exactly right - legally, constitutionally and politically - in his opposition to the constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the flag.

This measure would itself do violence to one of the most precious rights that we as Americans enjoy, and that the flag represents: the right to dissent.

As my favorite law professor put it, "The way to counter bad advocacy is with good advocacy," not by suppressing the sentiment one finds offensive. The freedom to advocate one's positions, no matter how distastefully expressed, is the bedrock upon which our philosophy of a citizen's role in our society is founded. To abridge that right is to grievously injure the very principles that make America great.

Morris Bornstein, Seminole

Why is it hard for boaters to slow down?

Re: Manatees endangered no more? May 31.

I read with interest the article regarding the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission getting ready to take the state marine mammal icon off the endangered list next week.

I was happy to read that the commission's executive director said that it will not lead to a rollback of boating restrictions and that boating advocates may be disappointed by the end result. There is a concern that if the manatee population is growing, that the state Legislature might weaken manatee protections.

What I don't understand is why is there so much of a controversy in this area? Why is it so hard for boaters to slow down in restricted areas? I grew up boating with my dad, and I love boats and being on the water as much as the next person. I would hate to be on a boat and hurt or kill a manatee because we were not being careful in their waters in which we are merely visitors. Slow down and smell the seaweed.

Debbie Roberto, Clearwater

Those pesky boating hazards

Re: Manatees endangered no more?

So the staff at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission want to remove the pesky manatee from the endangered species list. Well, all I can say is, it's about time!

I mean after all, according to the commission there are about 3,000 of these boating hazards lurking in the waters around Florida, just waiting to inflict damage to those poor unsuspecting boat owners who want nothing more than to go really fast.

I am just sorry the commission isn't going to declare open season on these living navigation hazards. Maybe then boaters could manage to improve on the manatee kill rate (only 80 killed last year) or at least better the injury rate (80 percent carry the scars from flagrantly getting in the way of boats). Boaters will need to be careful though, since killing too many manatees will only put them back on the endangered list, and we all know what that can lead to!

John Hogan, Hernando

One family's good works

At a recent community event, I was reminded of the important role each of us can play in making our community a better place, and the stellar example set by three generations of a local family.

On May 20, while attending United Way of Tampa Bay's inaugural Generations event to celebrate this family, I joined other business leaders and community supporters to recognize this family for their many contributions to the arts, education, and health and social services.

As I applauded, along with 300 of my peers, in tribute to this family, I recognized that those who are most helped by them may be unaware of the identity of their patrons, who seek no recognition for their countless good works. In fact, they only agreed to be recognized at the Generations event because it raised money for United Way.

But even after dinner was over, tributes complete and the band played its last song, the truth remained - the James family of Raymond James Financial demonstrates an unparalleled spirit of giving back to the community. Helping others is part of the family's values - passed from one generation to the next. It began with Bob James who started the firm 44 years ago and instilled the same passion in his son Tom, who now leads Raymond James as chairman and CEO. Today, Tom's sons, Hunt and Court, carry the family legacy of giving.

It is the James family's values of helping others that really made me stop and think. All of us can effect change in this community, regardless of our financial means. Even small contributions can assist in providing job training skills for someone trying to get ahead or disaster relief for a family who has lost its home.

And there is so much more each of us can do to help one another - by giving our time. Volunteers create real, positive change every day throughout Tampa Bay.

So as we thank the James family for all they do to make Tampa Bay a better place to live, I challenge you to ask yourself, as they did, "What will be my legacy to this community?"

Sherrill W. Hudson, chairman and chief executive officer, TECO Energy, Inc., Tampa

Stick to the rules in Yankeetown

Re: When developers arrived, peace left, May 30.

I moved to Yankeetown to get away from the overbuilding of the Tampa Bay area. Like many of the more rational thinking residents, I know development has to arrive eventually as it has been creeping north for some time. What we object to is the underhanded way the developers moved in, intimidating and threatening us and the town with lawsuits if we did not comply with their demands for a complex that was much too large for this very small town. This was a shock for the members of the Town Council as the previous mayor had never informed them of these plans.

Yankeetown lies in a large flood plain and high wind hazard area and there are restrictions concerning building heights and density, which the developers insist on ignoring.

The developers say their project will make jobs and be good for the town. People here have jobs that pay more than any resort staff earn or they are retired, so that is a lame excuse.

I doubt any tourist will visit more than once when they meet biting no-see-ums, coral snakes and rattlesnakes and poisonous recluse spiders, as well as the rock mine across the river which shakes our homes twice a week.

We have no police force, condos, malls, entertainment centers or public transportation. We tolerate these drawbacks because of the serenity and unspoiled beauty of the place.

Developers must realize they cannot ride roughshod over most of our residents, and if they want to erect anything they must adhere to the laws of this town. Anything else will not be tolerated.

Peg Spetz, Yankeetown

A common language is vital

Re: Bilingual ballots stain our civic life, May 26.

It is very seldom that I find myself agreeing with George Will, but I must applaud his column about bilingual ballots. It seems to me imperative that a nation designate an "official'' language. By doing so, it not only preserves its national identity, it also links its citizens into a cohesive whole.

I have no quarrel with those immigrants who cherish their heritage. In the privacy of their homes and clubs, of course they should be permitted to speak and write the language of that heritage. But when it comes to their status as citizens of a "new'' country, it behooves them to learn the language of that country.

Will is absolutely right when he says, "What public good is advanced by encouraging the participation of people who, by saying they require bilingual assistance, are saying they cannot understand the nation's political conversation?'' And he ends with a telling assertion:

"The idea of citizenship becomes absurd when sundered from the ability to understand the nation's civic conversation."

Countless immigrants in the past 200 years have made English their language, and so become part of America. Countless immigrants never objected to learning English - in fact expected to do so when they made the United States their home. I might add that Will makes one very sharp point: "Racism'' has nothing to do with it.

The idea of a concerned people joined by a common language is the issue - and vital.

Abigail Ann Martin, Brandon

Doing some immigrants a disservice

Re: A dollar and a dream, May 31.

When Dae Shin arrived in this country in the early '70s he was still in his 20s and he could speak no English. I doubt if there were Korean-language radio or TV stations that he could listen to. I'm sure that whatever official documents he was confronted with in this country were not written in Korean, and I'm absolutely certain that he did not have the luxury of simply pressing a number in order to converse in whatever dialect he spoke back in his homeland. Yet through hard work, plus a fortuitous meeting, he is now an English-speaking success story.

The same applies in general to the many thousands of South Vietnamese, who overcame great odds to reach this country when we abandoned them to the Communist North. They, too, got no special favors language-wise, but today the signs of their success are visible all around us.

If the Asians, as well as other nationalities, can come here and learn English, why cannot the Central Americans? The answer, of course, is that they do not need to, but by not making it a requirement, we are doing them and this country a disservice.

R.G. Wheeler, Lealman

Keep the filth out of the paper

Re: Mama's girl, June 1.

It's bad enough that I can't avoid some sort of porn in my e-mail in-box or from bulletin boards, or online pop-ups or TV - but to get it from my local newspaper? That's so disgraceful. It's bad enough to know in the back of my mind the filth that is in our county. I don't need to read about it in detail from you.

Do you and Joe Redner have a special relationship? Stop featuring him and Mons Venus and other strip joints.

And on top of all that, your placement choice was equally off color: in the same section with the comics. I used to read the comics with my kids! Now I'll think twice before sharing any part of your newspaper with anyone.

Shannon Weber, Largo

A disgraceful display

Re: Mama's girl.

You should be very proud of yourselves for the very large and disgusting story plastered all over the front page of the Floridian section. How a nauseating it was to open the paper and read this huge story about the mother-daughter pole dancers and how good they make men feel by rubbing against them. The story was all about how respectable the profession is and how proud the mother is of her daughter for her talent in turning men on. The daughter, as well, is grateful to her mom for teaching her the right moves on how to slide back and forth on men.

The article is a disgrace to the paper and to families that receive it. You not only took up the front of the Floridian but also continued onto almost a full page inside. This story was fit for Hustler magazine, not for the newspaper.

We read daily about sex crimes, murder, suicide, tragic accidents, and it seems like only at graduation time do we hear about the great thing kids have done. This story had no place in my living room.

Now that summer is here, my three teens also read the paper in the morning, and what a shame our kids had to see how this sinful profession was exposed. But good always can come out of sin. I was able to show my teenagers how the devil is always working to snare the unsuspecting, but at least in this family we have the Lord in our lives. I really hope you print this in the opinion section of your paper, or are you too ashamed?

Diane Isenhart-Roy, New Port Richey

The wrong lesson for young people

Re: Mama's girl.

What an advertisement for the Mons Venus! On the front page of the Floridian, too! A lot of young girls and kids read this section. Wow! It tells them how you can make lots of money and set your own hours. The younger the better. Forget working at Taco Bell or Kmart. That's for suckers. You, too, can own two houses by the time you're 23!

The only thing you have to do is take your clothes off and dance in front of total strangers who are gawking you or give lap dances to these strangers. What a mother/daughter team! That's really what you want to teach your children. Anything for a fast buck.

I don't know who I feel more sorry for. The mother who taught her daughter that it's okay to dance naked for a living, the daughter who never learned to value herself as a woman, or the Times for embarrassing itself by printing a story that certainly didn't need to be told. Very sad.

G. Grzeslo, Largo

This is inappropriate reading

I am writing regarding the story that you chose to present as the cover story of the June 1 Floridian section. What are you thinking? This is a family newspaper and I just ordered my subscription for Newspapers In Education so that I can use your newspaper in my classroom all summer.

A story about mother/daughter strippers is not the one I want with my morning coffee, nor do I want my students reading this trash.

If there are no quality stories in all of your circulation area on which you can report, then please fill the space with something that isn't offensive and doesn't contain a front page picture of a pole dancer in a strip club.

We are routinely faced with enough garbage in the national and world news each day. Please don't publish this type of story in our local papers. I'm seriously considering canceling both my home and school subscriptions. A story about mother/daughter strippers is going too far!

Kathleen M. Stephan, Port Richey

[Last modified June 3, 2006, 06:34:10]