Tuesday's letters to the editor

December 4, 2012

West lost, America won

Allen West lost because he was a big-mouthed bully who ran from district to district to find the easiest race.

He wasn't even brave enough to run against a petite female named Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whom he maligned with his vile, hateful words, rather than debate her as an adult.

With his loss, America and democracy won.

Ray Belongie, Sunrise

Outdated alimony laws create 'debtor's prison'

Kudos to your newspaper for supporting a change to the archaic laws that have become a "debtor's prison" to many.

I've been paying for 18 years for what was a 24-year marriage. I've reached full retirement age, but am unable to retire in order to continue paying the alimony, while the "ex" collects part of my pension, Social Security and the alimony — and she is retired.

Let's change the laws to meet the current social values and take us out of the dark ages. Let people get on with their lives and not hold them to bad decisions they made in the past. Even prisoners can look forward to getting out after their sentences.

Jeffrey Dombeck, Boynton Beach

Cellphone story shocking

At 60 years of age, I thought I was too old to be shocked anymore. Then I read the story, "Cellphone recharge jails homeless man."

According to the story, a Sarasota police sergeant arrested the man for charging his cellphone at a public park, telling him, "theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this economy." Fortunately, a judge threw the case out the next morning.

Has it really come to this? Is America now such a cruel place that a person unable to afford housing must be denied his only link to family and friends for the few cents worth of electricity it costs to charge his phone? I don't specifically blame the arresting officer. He may have figured that, in our current social climate, with some Americans opposing universal health care and arguing for reductions in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, charging a cell phone at a city park would be considered a crime.

I wonder what Jesus would say about the cellphone story? Everyone should keep in mind the old saying, "There, but for the grace of God…"

Dan Liftman, West Palm Beach

Tirade directed at voters out of touch with reality

The Reader's View on Nov. 27 is correct that many voters do not always vote based on the most rational or informed criteria. This, however, is nothing new. We did not abruptly become "uneducated and ignorant" in the last two election cycles.

Republicans, as well as Democrats, have been elected president by a similar electorate for generations. And the statement that the writer is "too educated" to support President Obama and his policies ignorantly and condescendingly ignores millions of highly educated voters like me, who helped re-elect the president.

Robert S. Fishman, Boca Raton

Use tech talent to design proper voting machines

Each election there seem to be problems with voting machines that do not provide easy use, computation and collection of ballots. Strange that we live in a world that can fly to the moon, send rockets to outer space and know where we all are located at any time, but we cannot develop one type of voting machine for all governments — federal, states, counties and cities — that is inexpensive and easy to use.

The volume, collectively ordered, would greatly lower the cost. If every polling station used the same equipment, the familiarity for the user would expedite the process. Experienced personnel would be available anywhere in the country to resolve any malfunctions.

What is so difficult about designing the same equipment for the entire nation?

Joseph Garron, Boca Raton

Outsourcing tax receipts takes jobs from Floridians

Have we become so inept in Florida that we can't even process our own tax receipts?

My property tax check is ready to be mailed and I noticed that the envelope is addressed to a payment processing center in Newark, N.J. Is there no person, entity or department in the state of Florida equipped to handle this? Why can't we hire some unemployed or under-employed person(s) to do this job?

I have nothing against New Jersey, but what happened to hiring our own folks?

Felice Lind, Coconut Creek

Republicans hold U.S. hostage to help the rich

It's Christmas time and the Republicans are holding us hostage again. Both parties agree that taxes should stay low for the bottom 98 percent of Americans, but rather than pass that tax cut, the Republicans are holding us hostage to get a tax cut for Wall Street.

Wall Street created this recession and they aren't job creators. Wall Street is little more than the world's largest casino where the super rich go to gamble and the rest of us cover their losses when they blow it. Taxing the rich is good for the economy and is good for America.

I'm tired of being a Republican hostage. We won this election and we're going to get our way.

Marc Perkel, Gilroy, CA

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