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© St. Petersburg Times, published June 25, 2001
While Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed the Crib Safety Act, it is not due to a lack of concern for the safety of children in hotel rooms, but rather because the bill, as written, simply does not protect children.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, had good intentions with this bill. However, if implemented it would have lulled parents into a dangerous and false sense of security about the safety of cribs in these lodging establishments. A recent NBC Dateline investigation could not find a single report of a crib death in a hotel anywhere in the nation. Still, the department remains fiercely committed to education because we recognize there is much we can do to reduce the risks of injury in cribs in Florida's lodging establishments.
Under Gov. Bush's leadership, we are committed to an aggressive educational campaign to provide safety information to hotels and motels. We fully support model legislation such as that promoted by the Danny Foundation, which makes it illegal for a commercial user to sell or place in the stream of commerce an unsafe infant crib.
Parents may not understand that most lodging establishments assemble cribs only when needed by guests and then disassemble the cribs after each use. In most cases, the frame, baseboard and mattress are not kept together once disassembled. Because it is not practical for inspectors to enter an occupied room to inspect a crib in use, an inspection of a crib in storage would never guarantee the correct frame, mattress and baseboard would be used together during occupancy. Additionally, the repeated assembly and disassembly required by lodging establishments could, over time, weaken the structure.
Further compounding this false security is the fact that Senate Bill 856 does not give the department the authority to have an unsafe crib removed from a lodging establishment or require the establishment to cease the use of the unsafe crib. While the department prioritizes the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and visitors of this state, there is still no vacation from parental responsibility. Senate Bill 856, if implemented, would have provided a false sense of security to parents because enforcement of this bill would not only be impractical but would not have the intended effectiveness.
-- Kim Binkley-Seyer, secretary, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Tallahassee
Re: Crib safety bill gets veto, June 20.
In his first inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson said it best, "... a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and is necessary to close the circle of our felicities."
Too bad the Democrats in the Florida Legislature have chosen to overlook this most basic tenet of representative and libertarian government. Thank you, Gov. Bush, for having the insight to realize that it is not the constitutionally mandated job of government to rein in the daily activities of its citizens. Bush has shown restraint and fiscal responsibility in the face of those who believe that his vetoes are somehow going to cause the collapse of civilization.
However, more can be done. What Democrats and their lobbyists fail to understand is that we will vote them out of office for their arrogance and attempts to micro-manage our lives. Their job, as our representatives, is to ensure that our rights are protected and that we are able to pursue our dreams without infringement. Government has no compelling interest in what crib I use; whether or not I wear seat belts; what substances I may ingest, inhale or inject; what automobile I drive and whether or not I use a cell phone in said automobile. These activities, as well as many others, do not violate the rights or property of my fellow Floridians. Simple possession or use of a legally produced product evokes no moral or ethical dilemmas so long as I am not violating the same rights of my fellow citizens.
Gov. Bush, it is time to stop straddling the fence. I urge you to join the Libertarian Party and make your journey to the side of freedom complete. It is your destiny.
-- Joe Haynes, Seminole
Re: Gov. Bush's veto of crib safety bill.
In theory, parents should know what is and is not safe for their children. They should be able to recognize when crib bars are too wide or if a toy is too small.
However, this is not the case. Even the parent with the best intentions may not realize the danger in cribs or toys. In some cases, it is a good idea for the government to get involved.
We have laws that are supposed to prevent violence to children. Why not have one that makes parents aware of the dangers to children that lurk right under their noses? I cannot understand why Gov. Bush would pass up a chance to save a child's life. It takes so little effort to make parents aware.
-- Bernadette Machiniak, New Port Richey
For Pete's sake! Do we need another congressional committee wasting time and money studying ways to protect us from ourselves? Don't we have any regulatory agents and corporation executives with common sense? Are all consumers really nitwits?
Okay, so Firestone made a bad batch of tires and Ford designed an attractive but inherently unstable vehicle. That doesn't mean all sport-utility vehicles have to be unsafe! Both the problem and solution are as plain as the noses on your faces, people.
Doesn't anyone else remember the VW bus? Obviously, the SUV fills a need for a great many Americans. When I went shopping for mine, I simply ignored all those that are higher than the wheelbase is wide. Unfortunately, that's most of them. You have to do your homework.
-- Steven C. Nicolo, Clearwater
I was a bit upset at the media circus surrounding the execution of Timothy McVeigh but even more upset at the reaction of the European community and other countries of the world. They appear to look down their noses at the United States for its "barbaric" practice of capital punishment.
About a week later I read with interest a Times article about China's crackdown on on crime. The Times reported that China has executed approximately 1,000 people since April!
Where was the torrential flow of consternation and disgust from the hypocrites who felt compelled to criticize the United States?
-- Thomas P. Halvey, St. Petersburg
The notion that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime is archaic. It is a vestige of a time when it was used to discourage horse thieves.
Having worked in law enforcement for 25 years, I can tell you that capital offenders rarely take time for thoughts of the consequences, with one interesting exception. There are legally sane but emotionally ill people among us who commit horrendous acts for the notoriety. The death penalty only serves to give them the platform they seek. We demean ourselves as a society every time we send one of these sorry souls to meet his maker.
-- Michael Scott, St. Petersburg
Re: "It was all family and firefighting," June 19.
I would like to address the story of the three New York City firefighters who died in a fire on Father's Day. Being the daughter of a retired New York City firefighter, I hope the regular public can honor these brave souls as I have seen done my whole life.
They put their lives in God's hands every day when they go to work. They are not Web designers or lawyers. These chosen few are heroes. They are husbands and sons, brothers and fathers. They face death with fists forward, never wondering if this is it, or if they've kissed their wives or tucked their kids in for the last time.
They don't get the recognition they deserve, but an ash-covered baby breathing fresh air is all the thanks they need. So here is my tribute to those who go on despite life's troubles, the fallen brothers, the tragic losses that a fire bestows. This is my thanks to the world's bravest.
-- Heather Colahan, Brooksville
As I started to read my paper on June 22, I looked forward to reading about the funeral in New York the day before that honored our silent heroes, firefighters. To my dismay not a word was mentioned on the front page. Only the deaths of Carroll O'Connor and John Lee Hooker made the front page.
There was a picture on the page 3 of a son of one of the fallen firefighters but nothing more than a few lines under the picture. Don't get me wrong I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment of both these men, but our heroes and role models should not be actors, musicians and sports figures. Our children should be raised to look up to our nation's firefighters and police officers. They are the real silent heroes who get paid a tiny fraction of what these sports figures, musicians and actors get but will risk their own lives to protect the lives of others.
Can many of our TV role models say they would risk their own lives to protect any one of us!
-- Danielle M. Fritz, Spring Hill
Re: GOP's ploy gives Democrats only one shot in 2002, June 18.
I wish to comment on Howard Troxler's column concerning the abolishment of the runoff election in the coming Florida gubernatorial campaign. My personal feeling is that ending the runoff election is long overdue. There is no reason for candidates to get a second chance to appeal to the voters if they couldn't do it the first time.
Troxler points out that popular Florida politicians like Lawton Chiles and Bob Graham would never have been winners without the runoff. I do not see that as a legitimate reason to maintain this costly and unnecessary procedure.
Imagine what would have happened if the closeness of the 2000 presidential race had caused a national runoff election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. The only answer is chaos.
-- Barry Sleesman, Spring Hill
What your painters did to the comic page's Snuffy Smith on June 19 was enough to make creator Fred Lasswell turn over in his grave.
With one swatch of blue ink, the Times employees who turn black and white comic strips into color comics were able to turn a dry creek bed into a water-laden stream, make a fish hook float on top of the newly created water and completely kill the visual element of that day's panel.
Don't the people in charge of tampering with the artist's original work at least read the strip before taking crayon in hand?
-- Ron Stuart, Clearwater
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