Letters to the Editor for Sept. 17, 2013

Published: Monday, September 16, 2013 at 8:26 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, September 16, 2013 at 8:26 p.m.

An embarrassment

Where to begin. I am a 70-year-old senior who served my country well in the 1960s. Not since the Carter years have I ever been embarrassed of my country. Mad, yes, many times.

Today I am embarrassed of what our president has done. I always thought he is over his head, but as our president I always showed support. His actions showed his true colors — he does not care about our nation, only his legacy

A military strike on Syria should have been quick and fast, not lip service. He never intended to make that decision. If it did not work, and he had to put “boots” on the ground, his legacy would have suffered.

He wanted Congress to make the decision, so if it failed he could blame them, a Republican Congress matter of fact.

Here is how we stand now. The world is laughing at us, Syria has put their thumb on us, Russia is now the leader of the world, Putin will get a Nobel Peace Prize.

God help us.

Vince Alessandro


Ahead of his time

This president is much ahead of his times. He echoes the future generations’ questions: Why did the world stand by while the Middle East was becoming a chemical and biological wasteland? Why was a policy of benign neglect endorsed as the Middle East succumbed to a nuclear waste site?

We have asked the same of the European Holocaust, genocide in Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur. Why did the world do nothing, as Jews were being taken into gas chambers, and today, in this tech aware age, witnessing the same chemical extermination?

At least this president has brought it to the world stage.

What of the Arabs that have been silent and offered no political solutions to the civil war in Syria. After all, it is their land, their people and culture. It is not enough to say “let Allah sort it out.”

This appeasement attitude, putting their heads in the sand, will not stop the escalation to greater weapons of mass extermination. The winds will blow their way.

It is not operationally impossible to remove these chemical weapons. It is the lack of will and consensus of the world leadership that build bunkers of immoral consent.

In ethics, “ought implies can.” They can remove the weapons.

There are always potential harms in attempting to change the world but also unrealized good.

Like Martin L. King said, we cannot fight darkness with darkness, but with light. This president has shed light on this recurring genocide. Will the world see it for what it is?

Joseph Vidal


McClain’s mistake

I read with dismay that County Commissioner Stan McClain toured the Marion County Jail with representatives of CCA.

As a retired correctional worker, I have insight into private jails. Instead of the private vs. public argument, let’s look at it from a community and local business perspective.

Let’s assume the jail is privatized. Then the main goal becomes profit vs. punishment or rehabilitation. Private prisons run with the bare minimum of everything. That is how they make money. How many staff will lose their jobs? How much will salaries be cut? How many benefits will be eliminated? How many staff will have to move out of the area to make a decent living?

Do you think that jail staff do not spend their money here in this county?

Of course they do. They buy houses, they buy cars, and they eat at restaurants and do all of their shopping here. Currently, the jail spends its money in the local economy: food, health care, equipment, training and fuel.

Now privatize the jail by contracting with a private prison corporation. Now where do all the tax dollars go? You lose all of the tax dollars from the staff that lose their jobs, and possibly leave Marion County. Those staff who remain will have their salaries and benefits reduced, thus dramatically curtailing their spending power.

The profit from the jail would also not remain exclusively in Marion County either. These corporations are based elsewhere, and that is where the lion’s share of the profit would go. I could go on.

So what initially appears to be a smart financial move, in reality is not. Long term, you lose more than you gain.

Bad choice Mr. McClain!

Brian Reinblatt


A big thank-you

Concerning Keith Mahabirsingh’s fiery dump truck accident on I-75 in June, I want to thank all of you for your prayers, expressions of sympathy through cards, visits, offers of help, gifts to the Shands Burn Center, and attendance at Keith’s memorial service.

And this is a special thank-you to staff writer Austin Miller for his sensitive, in-depth coverage and follow-up on Keith and his accident, especially the articles on the “Miracle Team,” as they called themselves. I called them “Keith’s Angels.”

I received many remarks of appreciation for those articles. There are still those among us who will reach out and risk their lives to help others. We should not have to commit a crime to get our names in the paper. Roy Graham and Judy Servidio attended the memorial service, and both spoke.

Keith’s burns were so bad, covering 70 percent of his body. God was gracious to take him.

So thanks, again.

Lydia Mahabirsingh


Romney and Russia

During the presidential debates one short year ago, President Obama chastised his opponent Mitt Romney for claiming the biggest geopolitical threat facing the U.S. was Russia. I wonder if he would do that today?

Howard Glassman



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