Opinion: Who benefits from all this compassion?

First, the $300 tax rebate. Who will receive it? It is estimated that 45 percent of the population will receive less than the $300 or nothing. Those who do receive the full amount will be the very ones with incomes significantly above the poverty level and definitely not the working poor who most probably would spend it. Those who get the money will be the ones who do not need it for purchases and will add it to their savings.

Second, the stock market has dropped like a rock, and interest rates are down. Those most affected by this are the people who have limited investments or are living on retirement funds and may not be able to ride out the downturn. If the Social Security funds were in the stock market, those retiring during this downturn would be in even worse straits. But the compassionate conservatives are still recommending that Social Security funds be invested in the market.

While the estimated surplus is shrinking fast, the promised tax reduction remains on track. How is the compassionate conservative handling it? Well, he is taking a month vacation at his ranch. Meanwhile, back in Washington, his financial people have found, through a new method of accounting, an additional $4.3-billion to be used in the budget. Pretty creative. By the way, these dollars just happen to be part of the Social Security surplus, which we were told was not to be touched.

We definitely have a conservative administration but I ask: Who is receiving the compassion? Perhaps the question is not "Are we better off now?" but "Who is better off now?"
-- Patricia Sidebottom, Dunedin

Cuts will be remembered

Re: Sharp Medicare cutbacks planned, Aug. 20.

This article indicated there will be cuts in Medicare payments for life-sustaining implants and treatments such as were given to Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as treatments such as chemotherapy for citizens who may be dying from cancer.

The ugly head of conservatism has shown its colors once more. Is this compassion? Be honest with yourself: Would you let another person die from lack of treatment or lack of a pacemaker because you believe this cabbage about a compassionate conservative? Come on!

All of us who are 65 and older are concerned about this message of conservatism and will remember, if these cuts in Medicare go into effect. We were promised they would not touch Medicare and Social Security!
-- Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Lansberry, Clearwater

Lawbreakers are the real problem

Re: Gun buyback does some good, editorial, Aug. 17.

In your writer's view, the idea that only four of the firearms recovered in a recent Tampa buyback appeared to be stolen stands as evidence that participants in the program didn't attempt to redeem stolen guns. On its face, this is a reasonable assumption.

But the fact is, the theft of many guns, particularly in the inner city, often goes unreported. Check with unbiased sources in the municipal police departments. I think they'll verify this. To be accurate or meaningful, the fact that four guns had a paper trail must be reviewed in the light of all the facts regarding gun theft. What the media refuse to acknowledge is that unrepentant lawbreakers cause so much of the violent crime and misfortune in the inner city.

The Aug. 16 report (Deputies rain fire on gunman) of a shooting involving Tampa law enforcement officers focused almost as much attention on the cops as it did on the man they shot, a clearly unrepentant repeat criminal. For his young age, the fallen attacker had an extensive rap sheet yet was loose on the streets to attack citizens and cops alike. I doubt he would have given up his shotgun for the $50 offered by the buyback.
-- James C. Parker, Tampa

No public money for buybacks

Re: Gun buyback does some good, Aug. 17.

I feel dismay every time you destroy your credibility with editorials such as this one.

For instance, it states, ". . . one in four Americans said last year they had personally been threatened with a gun . . ." No one I know has ever been threatened with a gun during their entire lifetime. The only people I can think of that might have this experience are those actively engaged in the illegal drug trade. It also calls the SKS an assault rifle while it is far from meeting the definition of one.

I have no objection to gun buybacks, as long as public money is not used. If someone is sucker enough to sell a gun for a fraction of what a gun shop will give him for it, that's fine. If do-gooders are sucker enough to buy rusty junk that a pawn shop would not lend $5 on, that's fine also, as long as they do not use my tax money to do so. But the real shame is that the Times continues to erode its credibility.
-- Daniel Vogel, Tampa

Make an effort to prevent tragedy

Re: Gun buyback does some good.

It is unlikely, as the Times commented, that many of the guns exchanged for gift certificates would have been used for robbery or murder. However, it only takes one gun in the wrong hands to create mayhem.

Buyback programs are designed to remove guns from the home that might be stolen, are no longer safe to use or might be used accidentally. Many are unaware that 57 percent of the 30,000 gun deaths each year are suicides. In an average year, more than 15,000 people end their lives this way. The method of choice is the gun that has lain about the home for years.

The young and the elderly are more likely to commit suicide. With 38 cases of murder-suicide with guns to date this year, Florida is believed to be the nation's leader in murder-suicides among older couples. In many cases, just a trigger lock would have prevented the tragedy, especially with teen suicide.

No home should have a firearm where there are frequent quarrels; heavy alcohol or other drug use; teenagers; frequent, unsavory visitors; or anyone suffering depression or a serious illness. Despite what the gun lobby maintains about the need for self-defense, this is a formula for tragedy.

How many homes contain cheap handguns like the "Raven" Nathaniel Brazill's grandfather left unsecured in a dresser drawer and which Brazill used to kill his teacher? What about 14-year-old Edwardo Rodriguez of Lakeland who was accidentally shot by a playmate with an old gun the family thought didn't work? Donation of these guns during a buyback or use of a trigger lock would have prevented both of these tragedies.

In mid-September there will be a repeat of the yearly five-county gun buyback program. I urge everyone who has a firearm in the home that has outlived its usefulness, or where the aforementioned conditions exist, turn it in at the upcoming buyback, or at least install a trigger lock.
-- Arthur C. Hayhoe, executive director, Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Zephyrhills

More negative spin

Re: Exchange of bullets hospitalizes teen, Aug. 15.

It is curious how the media, when reporting on something or someone they dislike, always manage to put a negative spin on the story. This headline is yet another example of this bias. Instead of saying "Business owner defends his life," or some other accurate description of what occurred, a headline with negative connotations is used.

This was not about street gangs shooting each other or youths unintentionally discharging a firearm. This is about an armed thug who decided he had one up on an older gentleman -- and lost.

Yes, it is a shame that any person regardless of age should be killed or injured, but what is the alternative? Is it more acceptable to report that John Harmon, an innocent man going to work, was viciously gunned down for a few dollars? It should come as no surprise that victims enjoy living as much as the hoodlums attempting to kill them -- nor the fact that there are potential victims willing and capable of defending themselves when their lives are threatened.

The real victim, Mr. Harmon, is fortunate that he accepted the responsibility for his own safety and is therefore alive today and not another statistic.
-- Ed Mejias, Tampa

A laughable notion

My sides are sore from laughing at The first Lady looks like a leader by Robin Gerber in the Aug. 18 Times. That had to be written as satire. There's no way Gerber can believe that the American people are that stupid, can she? Laura Bush has a teenage daughter who has been busted twice for underage drinking! Gerber has to be out of her mind to compare this woman to Eleanor Roosevelt.

Why do you print this trash? I sure wish there was an alternative newspaper to the Times in this area. Sometimes I don't even like to wrap my trash in it!
-- Harold Teague, Madeira Beach

Avoid snake sensationalism

The media coverage surrounding the escape of the large Burmese python in Clearwater is a good illustration of the unfounded fear, hysteria and sensationalism that too many people still have about snakes. In reality, snakes are shy animals that do not like being out in the open (especially in daylight). Humans are not natural prey for any species of snake. The "danger" they pose to humans has been, and continues to be, grossly exaggerated and sensationalized.

Burmese pythons are large and powerful animals, and they do deserve a lot of respect. But they are no more dangerous than German shepherds or Dobermans (both of which have killed far more people in a single year than have ever been killed by captive snakes).

I have always advocated a permit system whereby people who want to keep these snakes should show they can provide proper care and housing for it. Such a system will help weed out those who just want these animals to show off, or who don't have proper space or equipment to keep them, or who don't have the experience necessary to handle them.

Instead, the latest incident and the sensationalism surrounding it only make it more likely that uninformed officials will fall all over themselves to "do something" about the problem and produce ill-thought-out ordinances. I hope that the actions of this irresponsible snake keeper will not lead to such an overreaction based on irrational fear.
-- Lenny Flank, director, Suncoast Serpentarium, St. Petersburg

An appalling feeding practice

Re: Hide the pets: Jake the snake's loose -- and hungry, Aug. 18.

I am just appalled after reading the article about the Burmese python. To feed that reptile a furry little rabbit just to satiate its hunger is totally unacceptable. There must be an alternate feeding method besides a live animal. To sacrifice a beautiful pet such as a rabbit to satiate such a terrifying looking, so-called pet as a snake is just baffling. This surely must be one painful and frightening way to die.

I am not nor have I ever been an animal-rights activist, environmentalist or any other type of "ist." This article just hit me the wrong way, and I know there are others who feel as I do.
-- Thomas Hunt, Clearwater

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