Letters to the editor: Oct. 11, 2009

Here are letters to the editor from Daily News editions of Oct. 11, 2009:

Letter of the Day: The three of us

Editor, Daily News:

I had the pleasure of attending the Blessing of the Animals on Oct. 3 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Bonita Springs with my dog, Mr. Tux.

What a lovely experience!

Since it is held on St. Francis Day, I always take my dog, as my dad’s name was Francis, and he was such an animal lover.

It makes me feel close to him.

He also loved Mr. Tux, so we both have a special bond.

The way the clergy ran the special service was just so heartwarming, and I know my dad was there too.

I want to commend St. Mary’s for a wonderful experience and can’t wait until next year.

Thanks for a great morning.

— Susanne Turner Mehall

Bonita Spring

Pet project coming up

Editor, Daily News:

Saturday is National Feral Cat Day.

I am a feral cat advocate, although I wish there were no feral cat colonies. I long for the day when all cats have a loving indoor home.

Right now, unfortunately, that is not the case. There are feral cat colonies because people have allowed their unspayed and unneutered cats to roam freely. People have created this situation, not the cats.

Luckily, Collier County has many concerned citizens who are willing to give of their own time and money to do trap-neuter-return (TNR) projects.

Our community should know that TNR for feral cats is a win-win endeavor. TNR improves the lives of the cats by sterilizing them, which ends the breeding cycle, and vaccinating them. TNR also ends common behaviors associated with outdoor cats such as yowling, fighting, spraying and roaming, which makes life better for humans.

A managed trap-neuter-return program has a set feeding area and schedule, and the caretakers closely monitor the colony for health and to make sure all cats are sterilized.

The traditional method of controlling feral, abandoned, free-roaming and stray cats has been catch and kill. This method is cruel, endless and, most of all, has been proven ineffective. In addition, catch and kill takes a huge toll on the monetary and manpower resources of Collier County Domestic Animal Services.

In a time of budget cutbacks in the county, TNR is the most economical and compassionate solution to help cats and communities coexist peacefully.

For more information visit our Web site: www.animalcompassionproject.org.

— Michele Antonia

Naples

Animal Compassion Project

A toast to accuracy

Editor, Daily News:

The naming of Ave Maria’s new pub, the Queen Mary, seemed to inspire letter-writer Daniel Dix to begin revising history.

Any student of Tudor England is well aware that Mary Tudor earned the nickname “Bloody Mary” by burning at the stake 300 Protestants in her brief five-year reign. And to compare Mary to Elizabeth was a big mistake.

Building upon the work of earlier Tudors, Henry VII and Henry VIII, Elizabeth was a key contributor to guiding England from the medieval to the modern era. In her 44-year reign, 250 criminals either died in prison or were executed principally for treason in direct efforts to overthrow her government.

She was a religious moderate but had little patience for religious fanatics, either Catholic or Protestant. Her subjects gave her the nickname of “Good Queen Bess.”

So Ave Maria’s pub is named for one of the most tyrannical rulers in history and the naming of their law school after Thomas More is not much better. More, while possibly the most brilliant person of his age, had the bad habit of burning at the stake anyone whose religious beliefs differed from his own. His body count was relatively low only because his tenure as Henry VIII’s lord chancellor was cut short by his own execution.

I wonder if any of Ave Maria’s facilities are named after Catholics who gave their lives to Christian charity rather than to the execution of dissidents.

— Ed Hummelstein

Naples and Jonesboro, Ark.

Now ask yourself ...

Editor, Daily News:

The liberal left, including President Barack Obama, consistently say the Republicans have no ideas on positive change to the health system and don’t want it changed.

They have tried to amend the proposed bills and have been voted down every time. Their amendments are tort reform, to exclude illegal immigrants, no federal money for abortions, no forced participation in abortions.

They also want ability to purchase insurance across state lines and for small businesses to go together and buy group insurance, which have both proven to lower costs. There is a record of every time they voted these amendments out.

So when you hear that statement about the Republicans, it can be proven to be a lie.

Now ask yourself why they do not want any of these amendments to the bills? Could it mean they do not want tort reform, are going to include illegal immigrants, use federal money for abortions and force pro-life people to perform them?

The changes in where and how businesses can buy insurance would create competition so they wouldn’t have to depend on and be ruled by the government.

Could these bills be more about seizing power and limiting rights instead of health reform?

— Paul D. Larson

Naples

Kiss and tell

Editor, Daily News:

Even though kissing is as old as recorded history, while a lot more fun, some do not know the thrill of osculation.

Eskimos, for their thrills, rub noses. Other countries, instead of puckering, have their own methods.

It had been said that ancient Romans and Greeks fed their mates onion and garlic to keep other guys from grazing in their pastures. Everyone knows about the French kisses.

Kisses had everything to do with being released from Bentley Village Care Center on my lucky Friday, March 13.

I was stretched out on a lawn chair sunning, half asleep. This gorgeous young lady (about 67) walked over and planted five light kisses — smack, smack, smack, smack, smack — on my lips and rushed away.

I jumped up, straightened up, put on shoes and went as fast as I could to the nurses station.

Nurse: “What do you want, Mr. Eubank?”

Me: “Where did the young lady go who came by a few minutes ago?”

Nurse: “A few service people have passed by here, but no young lady. So go back to your room.”

Me: “Must have been an angel, and since I feel so good I do not want to stay here over the weekend.”

Nurse: “I can’t release you without your doctor’s notice.”

Me: “OK. Please hand me a phone and I’ll call my doctor.”

After answering his questions, he said: “It’s OK for you to leave; let me speak to the nurse.”

— Buddy Eubank

Naples