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Take a paternity test and put the matter to rest, 1/30

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published January 30, 2007

Crist says "no" to DNA test to settle claim Jan. 26 

It seems to me only common courtesy for the governor to take a DNA test so that the 17-year-old girl and her adoptive parents can know for certain whether or not he is the father.

Closure in this situation, I am sure, is very important to them. If Charlie Crist feels he has nothing to hide, then why not take the test? His refusal makes him look like he is trying to cover something up.

Taking the test does not, as he said, "give it anymore dignity." It would simply close the case if in fact he is not the father.

For the sake of the child, Charlie, take the test.

Curtis Whitwam, Tampa

Israel shouldn't be above criticism Jan. 27, letters

Understand the nature of Israel

Several recent letters about Israel reflect a misunderstanding of what makes Israel a "Jewish" nation. We believe it is important to make clear what that term means, and what it does not mean.

Primarily three things make Israel a Jewish nation. First, the rhythm of public life is based on the Jewish calendar: Saturday is the day of rest, not Sunday; schools are closed for Passover vacation, not Easter; New Year's day is not Jan. 1, but the first day of Tishri.

Second, the government provides financial and legal support to Jewish religious institutions. This is very different from our American traditions, where the First Amendment prohibits government establishment of religion.

However, in Israel there is complete freedom of religion for other faiths, churches and mosques are sustained and respected, and non-Jews, who make up about 25 percent of the population, are not required to observe Jewish practice.

Finally, in Israel any Jew from anywhere in the world may seek asylum and claim citizenship. In the 1930s and 1940s, the gates of every Western nation - including America - were slammed shut in the face of Jews desperately seeking to escape the Holocaust engulfing Europe. Israel was founded on the principle of "never again" - never again would any Jew be unable to find refuge from persecution.

But it is also important to make clear that a "Jewish nation" does not mean that there are two classes of citizenship in Israel. Every Israeli citizen, Jew and non-Jew, enjoys the same legal and political rights: the right to own property, the right to vote, the right to protest government action, the right to have access to independent courts of justice.

Israeli society is not perfect, or beyond criticism - as a glimpse of its own free press would make clear. But if ranked along the spectrum of nations that make up the world community today, there is no question that Israel enjoys a position among the free and democratic nations of the world, and should be accorded honor and respect for its achievements in the face of unceasing efforts by its enemies to destroy it.

Dr. Bruce Epstein and Barry Augenbraun, co-chairs, Jewish Community Relations Council of Pinellas County, St. Petersburg

Carter ignores Holocaust Jan. 23, commentary

Carter's blunder

Professor Deborah Lipstadt's deferential treatment of Jimmy Carter's baffling foray into political literature was more charitable than what the former president deserved. Her historic, victorious fight with David Irving, the most notorious Holocaust denier, makes the professor eminently qualified to examine Carter's book. Palestine: Peace not Apartheid is full of half-truths, inconsistencies, omissions and plainly biased, inexcusable blunders.

Admittedly, the former president does not deny the Holocaust. He can even boast about his active role in establishing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, but ignoring the Holocaust and its legacy, as he does in his book, is culpable. How can a statesman, an avowed pacifist, one so instrumental in shaping Middle East policy, undergo such a change of heart? Could it be that the man who once courageously admitted he had felt lust in his heart now, in the same heart, stealthily harbors a grudge against Israel?

The damage that the book has done to the cause of peace in the Middle East is being compounded by the author's bland explanations of his message as he navigates the talk shows. In a spirit of compassion for a good man gone wrong in this particular instance, I would like to paraphrase Luke 23:34: Forgive him for he does not know what he is doing.

Jerry Rawicki, Seminole

Handicapped parking space filled by judge Jan. 26, story

Will judge step up?

When an administrative law judge is discovered committing what appears to be fraud by using someone else's handicapped parking placard to gain an illegal and undeserved handicapped parking space, what will happen?

Will the judge try to "explain away" the situation, or will he step up to the other side of the bar of justice, rebuke himself, apologize and be the kind of model citizen the public would expect from a judge?

Will he gracefully and humbly accept whatever punishments the law calls for - jail time and up to a $1,000 fine, or will we once gain see a public official be placed above the law and avoid the consequences of his actions?

John Farnham, St. Petersburg

Read 'em and weep Jan. 27, Floridian story

Spoiled reading

I can think of no better way to discourage the reading of fine literature than to publish condensed versions of books that include the surprises in their endings.

Yet that is what you did with your Read 'em and weep feature in the Saturday Floridian.

You show a stunning disrespect for the authors and, even more important, for anyone who might have been looking forward to reading any of the classic novels you spoil.

What's next? Publishing spoilers for TV shows and movies?

Shame on you!

George Meyer, Tampa

For victim's husband, closure tops revenge Jan. 27, story

An amazing man

I couldn't help but think what an amazing man Mac Brown is after reading the article regarding the jury's decision Saturday morning. My heart goes out to him. This man is a role model for all of us, not just those who are suffering and looking for revenge.

He is making a bigger statement here about how each of us should live our lives. My prayers are with Mr. Brown and his family.

Carrie Reiter, Tampa

See what DNA says

Come on, Charlie, be a stand-up guy, put your DNA where your mouth is. If you are so sure it was "not possible" for you to be the father, then prove it.

Sandy Foster, Seminole

Get facts first

If you have facts that can be substantiated, publish them. Otherwise please refrain from being a rumor mill and smear sheet.

I certainly expect more from the St. Petersburg Times than smearing the governor's name across the front page with unfounded and unsubstantiated rumors. If it is the truth, maybe then it is a story.

Wilmer LaBrant, Largo

Test all at birth

This is a simply request to Florida's legislators for humanitarian legislation that would benefit men, women and children throughout their lives: mandatory DNA testing at birth.

The benefits of mandatory DNA testing at birth include: for children, knowing for certain who your father is; for women, the financial benefits of child support; and for men, knowing for certain whether or not a child is yours - whether you are married to the mother or not.

The importance of this issue far transcends the Crist case, as Florida and America must face the following statistical realities: 37 percent of infants are born to women not married at the time of birth; 50 percent of first marriages end in divorce; and about 85 percent of mothers are granted child support by family courts sans the DNA certainty that the man required to pay the child support is, in fact, the biological father.

Let us legislate the use of the science we currently have to make more certain the lives of our citizens.

Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D., professor of psychology, Florida International University, Miami

[Last modified January 29, 2007, 21:48:10]