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Katrina's victims deserve better treatment from government

Re: Katrina.

As I read the many articles and watched the programs on TV, I could not help but feel disappointment in my government. The Gulf Coast of this nation is still suffering from Katrina one year later.

I remember what my parents taught many years ago: Take care of your home first and the rest will come.

As a nation we have not taken care of our home. No matter what the reason, there is no excuse for not having cleaned up and helped our fellow citizens restore their lives.

I wonder how our nation can tell others around the world what is right and look at the suffering our own neighbors have gone through. It is time to say, let's clean up the Gulf Coast and do just that.

LaTreetha Sharpley, Spring Hill

More Bush-bashing opportunities

Prepare for an all out blitz of Hurricane Katrina nostalgia in the media (and the Times) this week.

What with August a slow-news month, and the 2006 hurricane season so far a yawner, editors and publishers are ecstatic over the prospects of having an entire week to relive every Bush-bashing moment of last year's Katrina coverage.

Recent days' programming at CNN has begun to give a glimmer of the possibilities of all-Katrina-all-the-time coverage. Let's see how many stories the St. Petersburg Times devotes to Katrina between now and the end of the Labor Day weekend.

Jim Parker, Tampa

Society's skewed priorities

Re: A year after Katrina, not enough progress, editorial, Aug. 27.

I recently drove down U.S. 90 in Mississippi. Terrible scenes of devastation were everywhere - until the highway ended at Ocean Springs and you turned north to find a giant, brand-new casino. It was surrounded by storm debris.

I have little hope for a society that values casinos over regular businesses, much less housing.

Carol Corbitt, St. Augustine

Drug prohibition is the real problem

Re: A plan to help young black males, editorial, Aug. 25.

The bill in the Florida House (HB 21) speaks of drug abuse as one of the conditions affecting African-American men and boys. But it is primarily drug dealing that destroys neighborhoods and sends many of the subjects of this bill to prison. They are drawn to the excitement and easy money of dealing drugs, just as unskilled males were drawn to bootlegging during Prohibition (of alcohol).

Now, as then, the cause of the problems is not the drug; the cause is the prohibition, especially the resulting profit. Marijuana, for instance, retails for about 30 times what it would bring if it were regulated like tobacco. Even at its peak, illegal imported alcohol retailed for less than three times what it would have brought if legal.

One of the hidden costs of drug dealing can be a few years in prison, but even that has benefits. Prison enhances the social status of the dealer and helps sharpen his skills to not get caught the next time.

Those are the reasons unskilled African-Americans deal drugs rather than flip burgers. This bill's proposed "Council on the Social Status of African-American Men and Boys" must face that issue if it is to be effective.

John Chase, Palm Harbor

Don't blame Iorio for museum plight

Re: Mayor Iorio, the artless dodger, by Lennie Bennett, Aug. 20.

The perceptions Lennie Bennett attempts to create are so off-base that they demand a public rebuttal.

Her requirement of Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio seems to be: "Give us all the money we want and then butt out." She mentions several prominent museums that are publicly owned but independently operated. Did she bother to check on the endowments of these institutions? For example, the endowment of the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Art is five times that of the Tampa Museum of Art. That is a measure of its support within the arts community. And because it has a splendid collection that attracts a lot of visitors, it doesn't have to use that endowment for operating expenses, as the Tampa museum does.

It is not a mayor's responsibility to "inspire" contributions to the Tampa Museum of Art. That job rightfully falls to the trustees and the directors of the museum. They failed to raise enough money to fund the incredibly inappropriate (and expensive) Vinoly project, and promptly blamed it on the mayor. Neither is it the mayor's job to create an "inspiring" collection that will attract contributors and visitors, a job at which the museum directors have utterly failed.

I suspect that Mayor Iorio does not seek to "be in control." I suspect also that she cannot justify investing any more than the $21-million in public funds that is already committed toward a project for which the public has shown scant support.

Let's face it - there is a lot of support for sports in Tampa and Hillsborough County, and weak support for the arts. Has anyone noticed that two of the Florida Orchestra's 14 concerts this coming season will not be heard in Tampa at all? By contrast, St. Petersburg and Pinellas County enjoy enthusiastic support for the arts. So they fill the halls for the orchestra and boast two very fine and successful museums.

Lennie Bennett is using Mayor Iorio as a scapegoat for the failures of the Tampa Museum of Art.

Katherine Wyly, retired professor of humanities, Lutz

Which nation comes first?

Re: Old hatreds new again, Aug. 21.

No, I'm not surprised by the Nat Hentoff article criticizing anti-Semitism in the Joseph Lieberman-Ned Lamont primary. After all, Lieberman is an Orthodox Jew and has given full support to our war in Iraq. Are the two related?

George W. Bush has given full support to Israel, even during its recent full-scale attack on Lebanon, apparently to subdue Hezbollah, which has only exacerbated our deteriorating situation in Iraq.

This close interrelationship between Bush and Israel from the beginning, leading to the Iraq war, has placed considerable onus on Jewish-Americans who are noted, understandably, for their absolute support of Israel. The question now in many minds is: Which comes first - America or Israel?

W.H. Riddell, Tampa

Focus on the fatty foods

Re: Meat and dairy put on the pounds, letter, Aug. 25.

The letter writer's emphasis on the hazards of being overweight as well as obese is critical. Nearly two out of three adults are at least overweight, and the proportion of children overweight has quadrupled in the past four decades.

However, the problem is not meat or dairy. The FDA and USDA recommend diets with much fiber and nutrients (i.e., fruits and vegetables), a moderate amount of protein via meat (the key word in the previous letter was "fat-laden" and not meat), and dairy products like low-fat milk. Cutting down on processed foods, fat content, portion sizes, and simply reducing caloric intake while increasing exercise is the common sense and evidence-based answer to much of the obesity problem. Eat good meats cooked at home with a little wholesome dairy now and then with daily fruits and vegetables - and work that body.

Lee Martin, Brandon

Pluto probably doesn't even care

I was on board Earth when Pluto was promoted to a planet. Nothing happened, nothing changed and frankly I don't think Pluto gave a darn.

Now Pluto hasn't lived up to being a planet. And I don't think Pluto gives a hoot about that either.

We might do better to spend our time looking for a planet we can move to before we reduce the planet we're on to the likes of Pluto. Can't be done? Remember, Columbus was thought to be a nut and the Earth was thought to be flat. And that wasn't that many score years ago.

Hartley Steeves, Tampa

Re: Katrina.

As I read the many articles and watched the programs on TV, I could not help but feel disappointment in my government. The Gulf Coast of this nation is still suffering from Katrina one year later.

I remember what my parents taught many years ago: Take care of your home first and the rest will come.

As a nation we have not taken care of our home. No matter what the reason, there is no excuse for not having cleaned up and helped our fellow citizens restore their lives.

I wonder how our nation can tell others around the world what is right and look at the suffering our own neighbors have gone through. It is time to say, let's clean up the Gulf Coast and do just that.

LaTreetha Sharpley, Spring Hill

[Last modified August 29, 2006, 01:09:21]