Today's letters: Readers comment on Florida's governors and helping instead of jail time
Florida’s governors
Democrats are not always right, but let’s see what the Republicans have done in Florida since Jeb Bush was governor. First, Bush had a friend or family member who needed to make some money, so they decided Florida’s children needed to take high-stakes testing so the world could determine where they stood educationally. Ignore the school work they did all year and make passing the test the criteria for everything. Various companies made billions on this unwarranted and pointless test.
Next, Rick Scott was a failed criminal CEO of a hospital. For some reason Floridians love criminals and feel they need to be in office. He did a lot of unsavory things, but let’s check the most important. For instance, as soon as he became governor, he banned the words “climate change” from all government documents; he ignored all of the environmental issues relating to our waterways, which is why our manatees are dying in record numbers. He did not bring jobs to Florida; the people returned to their lousy paying service jobs after the 2008 recession debacle, and he called himself the “jobs governor.” He was a disaster, but the GOP backed him for a second term and then sent him to Congress.
Before we go on to Ron DeSantis, let’s look at what Donald Trump said when he was told about the COVID virus — he said it was a Dem hoax. Sounds familiar. DeSantis just called climate change “left-wing stuff.” So, when Mar-a-Lago starts getting “king tides,” will that be a Dem hoax? Of all the governors, DeSantis is the worst. After a flawless election in Florida, he decided he needed to keep the less fortunate from having it too easy to vote because they might vote for the party that cares about them. He has passed, with the help of the legislature, numerous egregious laws that have been challenged in court.
He, as his mentor Trump, has ignored the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. He has gone further and ignored the Florida constitution. He encourages people to believe they have to rebel against everything to keep their freedom, including vaccinations, masks and social distancing. He is encouraging mothers to believe children are being taught critical race theory in elementary school — which is just another GOP dog whistle. Now they want to ban books — will they be burning them as the Nazis did? When I was in middle and high school and a book was banned, we either bought one and shared it or took it out of the library. Remember “Lady Chatterley’s Lover?” We all read it and were not perverted by it. One of the best books I’ve read was “To Kill a Mockingbird.” This book is among the books they want to ban. GOP dog whistles are for the gullible. I, for one, know when I am being fed nonsense.
Barbara Hill, Eustis
Unjust sentencing
I read recently an article about a man receiving prison time for shooting a flare gun while drunk, prompting a search and rescue.
Instead of helping this man out with his issues with alcohol, we destroy his life by sentencing him to three months in a federal prison! Then three years of probation. If he was married and had children, we have damaged them as well!
He should be sentenced to drug court, DWI school and supervision until completion of these courses. Yes, include the cost of the search and rescue in fines, but to take his job, possibly his marriage — possibly his life — is just wrong!
Donald R. Stanton, Winter Garden
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Ron DeSantis, Rick Scott, Jeb Bush, and jail sentences: Reader letters
