Letters to the editor: Nov. 11, 2003

Letter of the Day -- Veterans' day will come

Editor, Naples Daily News:

I'm not used to complaining about the state of things in this world except to my long-suffering wife. But a couple of things in the news recently have really upset me.

The shameful way this country is treating our veterans who are in need of medical care is beyond belief.

Then came the "extravagant" actions of our Congress, which doubled the death benefit of active duty personnel to $12,000.

These people willingly go into battle for us knowing some of them would be killed or injured and their families got a measly 12 grand, while we send billions of dollars around the world for many less-deserving purposes.

On the other hand if you are a noncommissioned civilian (9-11 victim) your family gets $1 million or more.

I don't want to belittle the tragedy of 9-11, but where is the fairness and justice in all of this?

Apparently there are not enough veterans' votes to interest our politicians. There must be some way to change our priorities.

Marines are left out by Daily News

Editor, Naples Daily News:

The Naples Daily News again fails to recognize over 228 years of service to our country. Since Nov. 10, 1775, thousands of Marines have given the ultimate sacrifice for democracy in such faraway places such as Bellau Woods, Tarawa, Guadalcanal, the Chosin Reservoir, Vietnam, Lebanon, etc.

Although there are plenty of Veterans Day advertisements by stores whose ads help pay the profits of the Naples Daily News, the newspaper continues to forget the Marines' contributions also by burying the celebrations far into the latter sections of the paper.

Never forget, it is the veteran, not the reporter, that has given us the freedom of the press.

Honored for service

Editor, Naples Daily News:

As a member of the Naples community, I want to express my sadness and sincere sympathy to the family, especially the children, the friends and fellow policemen of Officer Hugh May.

On Veterans Day, it is appropriate to honor Officer May as someone who protected our way of life and our freedom, both while he was served in the Army and while he served on the Naples Police force.

May he rest in peace!

Join our observance

Editor, Naples Daily News:

Veterans Day is a special day for us to pay tribute to the men and women who served in our nation's armed forces.

It is a day to recognize those who sacrificed in defense of freedom and democracy. As we celebrate the lasting contributions of our veterans we also honor those serve today -- active components, National Guard and Reserves.

Whether fighting on foreign soil or conducting humanitarian missions at home, they voluntarily face danger and endure hardships in order to save lives and safeguard our way of life.

On this 50th anniversary of Veterans Day, the citizens of Collier County are invited to attend the ceremony in Cambier Park, Old Naples, starting at 9:45 a.m. today (Tuesday).

Let us never forget the individuals who served our country.

Past, present and future

Editor, Naples Daily News:

All I know about the veteran's experience I learned from Hollywood flicks, history books and my own father's carefully sanitized, PG version.

Anyone in his 80s likes to talk about the past. The future isn't what it once was and the present is already recorded in endless doctor visits.

Even now when I know I'll never have another chance to hear the whole truth -- what he's scared to tell anyone, what he wishes he didn't have to think of -- I know I can only ask and wait.

I know why he doesn't say. I discovered it in an indirect way when our older son insisted on signing up with the military after 9-11.

We were so proud of him just as we are of my brother who has already been called up for two tours.

But when friends and family asked about what he was up to, we got the strangest silence.

Weren't they happy that others were willing to step up to the plate and defend their country?

It's what that defense includes. Who can be happy that they will go on about their lives in a world of options that don't include losing a limb or even a life?

And maybe dad doesn't want to have to say out loud how glad but guilty he feels to be where others never reached.

But he loves to talk to and about his son and grandson. They stand for all that was and may be.

And I guess that's enough.

Not enough, and enough

Editor, Naples Daily News:

-- It is indeed insulting to offer a 1.2 percent raise to our support staff when you gave the rest of the employees a 4 percent raise. Without them we would be lost.

How insulting School Board members Pat Carroll, Dick Bruce and Kathleen Curatolo are, after agreeing to give ex-Superintendent Dan White $350,000-plus, after he caused us to spend all of that money on excessive buildings and all of the reading problems.

Give the support staff a decent raise too, now.

-- Haven't we put up long enough with Edward Morton and how NCH Healthcare System cares for indigent patients? If he wants to stop the new hospital from stealing some of the patients, he should offer an HMO to our retirees. He should have done that 10 years ago, instead of us having to go all the way to Fort Myers for medical treatment.

Wising up

Editor, Naples Daily News:

Another kudo for Jeff Lytle and the Naples Daily News for alerting us in Sunday's column that a development candidate is testing the waters to run against one of if not the best commissioner we have had yet from her district, Donna Fiala.

She has steadfastly supported not only the citizens of her district, but the citizens of the entire county. As she has grown in her position she has also grown in her knowledge of what Collier County needs.

I have not always agreed on every issue with Commissioner Fiala, and probably won't in the future, but she has shown that she is solidly in support of the needs of the representative citizens of Collier County and not the special interests of Collier County, and for that she gets my support.

Perhaps the reason for "one of their own" testing the waters is because they are not happy with her decisions. Mr. Jones will not get a warm response from those of us who are tired of commissioners of former years pandering to special interests in Collier County.

We have only to look at what that has done to our county; we are still suffering the effects.

Times have changed, citizens are wiser.

Warning welcomed

Editor, Naples Daily News:

Thanks for Jeff Lytle's Sunday item that WilsonMiller employee Gavin Jones is considering opposing Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala in the 2004 election. Decent citizens should consider this a warning!

WilsonMiller is a major player on the developer team that has run Collier County for its financial benefit and to the detriment of most citizens. Jones is a former county planner, like other former planners such as Bob Mulhere, Wayne Arnold and Ron Nino, who front for developers before the County Commission and advisory boards. They join former county attorney staffers in this sorry work.

Jones would oppose a commissioner who believes she was elected to represent all the citizens. She had the temerity to ask that developers devote a minuscule amount of their massive earnings to increase affordable housing for teachers, firefighters and others. Developers set the dogs upon her in committee meetings. (Financial note: WCI stock up over 100 percent, year to date.)

The supply of developer-reliable commissioners has been dwindling, with the indictment of Tim Constantine, John Norris and Tim Hancock. Another commissioner feared to again face the voters. Maybe they know that our new state attorney is not a Stadium Naples stockholder.

Let Gavin Jones run. Watch where his money comes from. And support Donna Fiala.

Who's hiding the meeting?

Editor, Naples Daily News:

The Vanderbilt Beach community scored a huge victory last week when Collier County's Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) voted 6-0 to support the community's proposal for new zoning regulations and oppose the county staff plan.

The EAC's recommendation will now be forwarded to the County Commission. But there's one more hurdle the community faces before the commissioners get to decide on the future of Gulfshore Drive. The Planning Commission must also vote on a recommendation. The time and location for that meeting has been changed so many times, it's become a game of "who's hiding the meeting"?

We have finally found out that the meeting will be this Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in conference rooms 609-610 at the county's Development Services building, 2800 N. Horseshoe Drive.

Residents of Vanderbilt Beach and all in Collier County who want to see building heights come down and green space increase are urged to attend.

The planning commissioners seem receptive to change. Even the county attorney testified at the last meeting that there should be a consideration of bringing the height down from 100 to 75 feet. But so far the planning staff has ignored the needs of the community. In fact, we've been told that the planning department is paying $5,000 to bring in a financial consultant to oppose our plan at Thursday's meeting.

We want to protect our fragile beach and the lives of those who live in this coastal high-hazard area. What happens on Vanderbilt Beach affects all of us. Please attend this meeting.

Get real; it's football

Editor, Naples Daily News:

Regarding the Immokalee High football coach's suspension:

First of all, young player Louis Gachette needs to be playing "powder puff" football if he can't take a slap to the helmet or a kick to the padded part of his backside without getting a high-school football coach a three-day suspension.

Coaches don't get rich teaching kids the game of life. What's going to happen when a young man gets older and doesn't show up for work on time or the boss yells at him? Does he quit or walk off?

Better yet, does he tell his mom his boss yelled at him for doing something his boss asked him not to do? Should his mom then have his boss reprimanded and get him suspended or fired?

I would like to take this time to thank my coaches for teaching me promptness, courage, teamwork, character, toughness, respect (for myself and others), self-esteem and responsibility and for knocking sense into my head when I needed it, and yes, kicking me in the butt when I needed that!

Keep your head up, coach. There are other lives to shape. I'm not saying you are completely without fault, but I think anyone who has ever played this game would agree winning doesn't come from begging, pleading and worrying about hurting feelings!

Congratulations on your winning season, coach. I hated seeing you kick my Naples High School's butt, but congratulations anyway!

Getting nasty

Editor, Naples Daily News:

It appears to me that there has been a decided change in the Letters to the Editor feature. What for many years has been an enlightening exchange of views on a variety of subjects has become a vitriolic, abusive forum, replete with personal attacks on other letter writers in violation of your stated policy prohibiting personal attacks on individuals.

To verify this perception I kept a record of the anti-Bush or anti-Iraq letters and the pro-Bush or pro-Iraq letters over a two-week period. The venom that was spewed was disgusting. Also, during this period you published 24 letters opposing the president and his policies, and six letters in support of the president.

Ironically, there also were several letters accusing you of a Republican bias in deliberately giving a low estimate of attendance at a Democratic Party rally.

Does your selection of letters represent the total of all letters received -- i.e., 80 percent anti-Bush? Or do you just select the ones that are particularly inciteful to stir the pot? Your readers would like to know the policy of the Daily News and the editorial page editor in this regard.

I have a suggestion: How about exchanging mail addresses among all of these garbage dispensers, be they from the right or the left, and just let them write to each other and spare the rest of us from their vicious, hateful prose.

Where seldom is heard ...

Editor, Naples Daily News:

Re: Joe Miranda's letter saying National Public Radio (NPR) is "leftist" radio.

Ha! WGCU-FM featured stories about night bird calls, the Sanibel Bridge debate, California fires, the 7.2 percent increase in the gross national product and a wonderful story about nostalgic candy.

The music is marvelous.

The one thing that wasn't heard was name-calling and derogatory slurs.

Thanks to Joe Miranda's letter, I will have to increase my support of National Public Radio.

Unlikely stories

Editor, Naples Daily News:

When people think of poverty they envision a small child with dirt on its face, soulful eyes staring up at them, shoeless, beside a rundown shack. This is not the condition of the majority whom Democrats now describe as poor. Democrats, the champions of political correctness, have also attempted to change the meanings of terms, such as illegal immigrants to undocumented immigrants.

It would seem proper to me that it is time to change the word poverty to "having less than others."

Justification for such a change rests in the fact that the people identified by present-day politicians as impoverished are better off than we would think.

For instance the Census Bureau recently released some startling figures:

45.9 percent of the people the Democrats describe as poor own their own home. As described by the bureau, an average home has three bedrooms and 11/2 baths.

97.3 percent own a color TV, and over half own two TVs; 62 percent have cable or satellite.

72.8 percent own vehicles; 30 percent of this group own two;

98.9 percent own refrigerators;

78 percent own VCRs or DVD players;

58 percent own stereos;

So when Democrats wish to tug at your heartstrings in order to create class warfare against the so-called rich, who in truth are mostly you, the middle class, please realize what they are doing.

From war to winter

Editor, Naples Daily News:

We all know (some are forgetting!) we were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. President George W. Bush is trying to protect us by winning the war and peace in Iraq.

Would the protesters versus this war not have fought Adolf Hitler?

Also, how can any judge, at any level, in due conscience try to stop the partial-birth abortion bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush? Individual states may opt out, but this is so morally wrong!

The procedure is really murder as no one can argue a near-term baby is not a living human!

What is happening to our country when a child in Pittsburgh is sent home from school for wearing a necklace with a cross on it? (She won her case!)

Have you heard about the ACLU trying to change "Christmas Vacation" on some school calendars to "Winter Vacation"? They want to do away with Christmas, even banning Christmas decorations! Where is the national outcry?

Our old hangout

Editor, Naples Daily News:

The Port Royal spring that Martin Reff was referring to in his Friday letter to the editor was a popular hangout in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The spot was known to locals as Rusty's Hill as you could drive on the vacant lot, up a small hill and hang out by the spring.