Today's Letters: Wildlife board choices are predictably Republican

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published August 13, 2007

Wildlife board: friends or foes? Aug. 9, story  

Did Florida's Defenders of Wildlife really expect a Republican governor to appoint anyone who had a record of caring for animals to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission? The real world of Republican politics is defined solely by money. The Pinellas County Commission's recent scandal is a perfect example, although most of the commissioners do not tag their political affiliations after their names.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker is another Republican who is far too close to the developers' interests, but he covers it well. Charlie Crist can no longer cover the Republican greed stripe beneath his smile and professed concern for all the people of Florida. Too bad he did not include the animals in that concern.

One of these days the citizens of Florida will elect representatives who truly care for our environment and not how to make wealthy developers richer. Hopefully the voters will wake up before the last wild creature is killed and the last beautiful landscape is paved over and the water views are blocked by high-rises for rich folks.

So many of us hoped Crist would be different from the last governor, whose damage to wildlife surpassed that of all the greedy politicians before him. By this action, it seems Crist can't change his stripes anymore than a zebra can.

Richard O'Toole, St. Petersburg

Wildlife board: friends or foes? Aug. 9, story

Who speaks for wildlife?

What was Gov. Charlie Crist thinking when he appointed those three unlikely candidates to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission?

Did Crist and his advisers really search all over Florida for the best qualified people? Who is going to speak for the wildlife? There is a climate crisis looming (as the governor knows) and the impact to Florida's wildlife is expected to be immense. It seems it might become more difficult to defend the commission's decisions with this membership. We will see, but I don't hold out much hope.

Patricia Kiesylis, St. Petersburg

Against their nature

I've been very impressed with the job Gov. Charlie Crist has done so far, and I'm a Democrat who didn't vote for him. However, that abruptly changed when I read about the people he appointed to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

How can these people possibly be given the job to protect our fragile environment when it goes against their occupations and business interests?

Sometimes I actually believe these Republicans aren't going to be happy until they've paved over every field, wetland, forest and lake and put up condos, malls and industry. The environment in Florida and the people who love and appreciate it are in for some very trying times.

Bob Haynes, St. Petersburg

Gators, steer clear of Temple Terrace Aug. 10, story

There's no gator problem

With their declaration that all alligators longer than 9 feet can be slaughtered, it would seem that the Temple Terrace City Council is lobbying hard for inclusion on the Florida "anti-Fish" and "anti-Wildlife" Commission.

The combination of an obviously unsupervised off-leash dog and an unfenced yard in close proximity to a road or river is a recipe for disaster, anywhere. Unfortunately, that dog (expensive as it was) wound up in the river because it was left unsupervised in an unsecure environment. It could just as easily have run into a street and been hit by a car. Human negligence killed that dog - which is a shame.

The knee-jerk reaction by the Temple Terrace City Council is absurd. One council member said, "People can say no one has been killed by an alligator in Temple Terrace, but why wait until someone dies to fix it? It's like not putting a traffic light at a dangerous intersection until somebody dies." This defies logic.

Maybe there is a reason no one has been killed by an alligator in Temple Terrace. Could that reason possibly be that gators in Temple Terrace are not a problem? Probably.

Perhaps the Temple Terrace City Council really should look at dangerous intersections (56th and Busch, Fowler and Riverhills) where people have actually been killed. The council could also remind pet owners to keep their pets either on a leash or in a secured environment before authorizing the slaughter of innocent animals in an attempt to fix a problem that simply doesn't exist.

David Miller, Temple Terrace

New thinking on insurance Aug. 5, editorial

Let Citizens expand

There are no options for homeowners wanting private property insurance. There is only one kind of tree (Citizens Property Insurance) standing in this insurance forest. The majority of Florida homeowners (60 percent) are already in state-run Citizens with more being added every day as the private insurance companies continue to cancel policies.

The state needs to make Citizens available to more low-risk homeowners to help lessen the risk to the state.

The state should undo the discounted reinsurance for the private insurers who have not lowered their premiums and in many cases canceled policies. This also would lessen our financial risk, and that money saved could be applied to cost savings for Citizens.

Private insurance companies would love the state to cover the big risk of windstorm damage while they just cover the low-risk comprehensive claims. How that would lower our financial risk is not clear to me, but I do see how the private insurers get the cake and get to eat it.

One thing is clear: Private insurance is not available and affordable. I hope the state will not give in to the private insurers and let Citizens grow throughout the state. If the private insurers can't compete, so be it. We need available and affordable insurance now!

Reggie Hall, Ozona

Recruitment incentives get Army strong ($45,000, anyone?) Aug. 10, story

Bring back the draft

What is wrong with "we the people" and our government? It's time for all to stand and say enough is enough. It should be clear to everyone with half a brain that we need a military draft. Unfortunately, those with the power lack the courage needed to step forward and acknowledge this.

About 60 percent of Americans supported going to war in Iraq when President Bush and company were out pushing the need for such military action. Many of those who supported going to war with Iraq are now preventing their children and other loved ones from enlisting in the military, especially the Army and Marines.

Today's Army is worse off than it was with draftees in it for years. Our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan need a break from combat. These incentive packages are not going to get the job done; only a military draft will. It is time for those who supported going to war with Iraq to step forward and demand the return to a military draft. And those supporters who are still young and able enough to join the Army should be first in line to volunteer.

Bobby McGill, Valrico

Recruitment incentives get Army strong ($45,000, anyone?) Aug. 10, story

Purchasing patriotism

When the Army is willing to pay $45,000 to those with drug and criminal records who are overweight, overage and undereducated in order to get them to sign on the dotted line, it puts the lie to the success of the all-volunteer Army (which politicians like to tout as an unqualified success since it protects their kids from a possible draft).

It also puts the lie to the politicians who claim that everybody in Iraq is a patriot whose only reason for being there is to defend this country from its enemies.

That $45,000 will buy a lot of patriotism, and it's too bad they weren't paying that when I enlisted as a clean-cut, intelligent, law-abiding kid back in 1953 for $78 a month.

R.G. Wheeler, Lealman

[Last modified August 12, 2007, 20:26:03]