Recognizing Robert Hilliard

Robert L. Hilliard, an occasional contributor of what are always thoughtful letters to the Mailbag, is a man of many titles, a partial list of which would include: liberator, educator, activist, journalist, novelist, dramatist, wounded combat veteran, and humanitarian. His quiet and unassuming demeanor would not lead you to guess his many accomplishments, however.

For several years, I was privileged to work with Dr. Hilliard on the planning committee for the annual Talbot Spivak Holocaust Memorial Project, and only gradually did I become aware of the broad spectrum of his influence and achievement, and then only when someone else would recount some fascinating aspect of his rich life. Self-aggrandizement is simply not in his constitution. Nor is it in his schedule.

Even in his late 80s, he is relentlessly engaged in the fight for fairness and the pursuit of justice. To paraphrase a modern philosopher, his ongoing work is a living testimony to the truth that the differences that stand between people of sundry races and religions are not nearly so profound as between those who feel and those who do not feel their brothers' and sisters' anguish. Our world is a better and safer place because Robert Hilliard is in it.

-Robert Beeson, Fort Myers

Telling voters what they want to hear

In any campaign for elected office, the candidates will say almost anything to voters in order to win them over. However, there is one campaign subject that needs to be aired out correctly. This subject pertains to Cuba and normalization of relations. The following has nothing to do with whether one believes we should or shouldn't normalize relations. It deals with statements that are not really thought out by all the politicians, but thought out so they can appease certain voters. Most recently by those of Jeb Bush on June 15's announcement to run for President.

Everyone of these candidates must not have of a clue about foreign relations:

They all speak of freedom for the Cuban people, openness in their society, etc., and appear to be against normalization.

Do they realize that the following countries are on the same footing with Cuba regarding, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: China, Vietnam, Myra mar, Saudi Arabia (and most on the Arabian littoral), Afghanistan; Iraq, Pakistan, many in Africa are not democracies in any sense of the word. The first few are major traders or allies of the USA, but have human rights violations that equal or surpass Cuba's.

So to the candidates: change your tune, because you insult the intelligence of some citizens who are cognizant of international relations and interactions with foreign countries. In the past, we have found that opening diplomatic relations with unfriendly countries does have its long-term rewards in achieving human rights objectives, economic stability, and intelligence gathering from agents stationed in-country.

-Chuck Klump, North Fort Myers

Injured loggerhead

I was sick to my stomach and had tears in my eyes when reading the article about the severely injured loggerhead sea turtle being cared for at CROW (June 16, CROW's loggerhead rehab a burden on budget, but staff remains committed). I so hope she lives and can be returned to her environment.

My feelings about the boater are not suitable for printing in a newspaper, but suffice it to say, my thoughts about this idiot are not positive.

-Karen Boney, south Fort Myers

Secret strategies

Everyone of the Republicans announcing their candidacy for President seem joined at the hip. They all repeat the same litany that President Obama has no strategy to fight ISIL or ISIS, but do they? Well their rational is, elect them first then they will impart their esoteric knowledge to defeat this evil scourge.

With the mind set of George W., they care not that Iraq has no leadership. That government has planes ready to abandon their country on a moments notice just like its cowardly troops did recently. Let us not repeat past miscalculations and allow those gangs to send thousands of more American soldiers back to Iraq and spend another $6 trillion on a pseudo whim of that Hark Pact. ISIL has lost 10,000 troops, United States 6 since its offensive. ISIL may plague us for a while, but it will gradually deplete their troops but our bombs will prevail until that time. The old adage of fighting them there instead of in our homeland is passé, we have been fighting those enemies here since 9/11.

-William Young, Cape Coral

No Iraq strategy

Four reasons why there can be no strategy in Iraq:

We were wrong to go in.

We were wrong to get out.

We'll be wrong if we go back in.

We'll be wrong if we don't.

-George Cook, South Fort Myers

Bike crisis

Most of us that bike, prefer a trail where we can ride safely, with as few obstructions as possible. Our goal is to get exercise and the feeling of freedom that comes with riding a bike.

To accomplish this goal, we are restricted to riding the side of the road. Most of the existing bike trail and sidewalk crossings, because of poorly engineered transitions and co-existing with cars using the same crossings, you cannot maintain a reasonable speed or get a good workout.

To make these rides safer, I suggest the use of a rumble strip located where the existing white line is now located to keep drivers to the left of bike lanes.

At cross streets with pedestrian cross lights, make them more user friendly, allow crossings at the beginning and at the end of each through light change. Install audible horns to make the vehicle drivers aware that a pedestrian or biker is waiting to cross.

Most drivers waiting to turn right are concentrating on the vehicle stop lights and oncoming traffic to blend in; the pedestrian crossing light becomes invisible. The redesign and locations of these lights need to be addressed.

Strictly enforce the stop on red before turning right.

Remember, everyone has the right to public roads; we need to learn to co-exist.

-Robert Hance, Fort Myers

Trump for president

As an ultra-conservative, Donald Trump scares me as a candidate for president. In his speech declaring that he is a candidate he attacked numerous Republican candidates. Trump is a good businessman, but he is an idiot outside of business. He thinks his money can buy the presidency and it can't. He puts Bush down (not that I'm a Bush fan), and brags about all that he has done, but he didn't have to compromise with Congress or a state legislature. Bush has an excellent record of what he did for Florida and Trump has an excellent record of what he has done for himself, but what has Trump done for anyone else?

By following his plan, Trump is going to splinter the Republican Party and allow Hillary to waltz into the White House. No sane person should ever vote for Trump and I hope he reads this (but I know he won't).

-Bob Nudelman, Cape Coral

iPads in elections office

All I can say is wow! I did not know you could spend that much for an iPad. Nor did I know there was only one source to buy one. I am also shocked there was no RFP for that expense level, even if there is only one source. Perhaps most of the cost was really for the software placed on the iPad. But if the Supervisor of Elections was going to spend that much on software, surely the IT department would have been involved in making that purchase decision. So, I can see why Sharon Harrington says "she doesn't think the commission fully understands" and that is it "too difficult to explain." I know when I have done something that in retrospect makes no sense, those around me didn't understand it nor could I explain it to them in a way that made any sense.

Three quarters of a million here, three quarters of million there — it's only money.

-Mark Lewis, Fort Myers

Manatee tags

Regarding Mystery of Burnie, the missing manatee, June 17, while not a huge fan of the manatee because of artificially created environmental support of the species, insane slow speed zones designed as revenue source for local law enforcement, I digress.

I hope this manatee managed to remove or somebody helped remove the anchor officials call a "tag."

Talk about cruel — one flipper and dragging around that contraption just waiting to snag pounds of grass, crab traps, etc.

-Darren LaGrave, Cape Coral

Criticizing Trump

It is laughable at how many readers are criticizing the recent announcement of Donald Trump to run for President. Most of the naysayers are commenting about what an advertising genius he is and that the "marketing" is what Trump is all about. And, they are right. But, wait a minute….didn't the gentleman currently in the White House get there by pulling off one of the most masterful marketing campaigns in modern times? A guy that literally appeared from nowhere and with no experience whatsoever, yet his "advertising team" created a marketing machine that targeted specific people (followers who are easily convinced and will believe anything that makes them feel good) and successfully convinced them of an intangible. It set a new and frightening precedent clearly reflecting that marketing can sell ketchup, hair care products, new cars — and the Presidency.

Would I vote for Trump? Absolutely not. However, if he can find the right public relations firm …

-Robert Wagner, Cape Coral

Elections issues

Do the voters of Lee County have any remedy to remove the utterly incompetent Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington from office other than waiting for her to come up for reelection? The engineer of the five hour voting lines in 2012 (7 hours plus at Herons Glen where we voted) has now wasted $1.6 million on iPads incompatible with the current system. Yet when Commissioner Kiker suggested an audit of her office that "just blew her away." She had "no idea what spurred it on." (June 7, Elections office audit proposed after iPad fiasco ). Has there ever been an elected official so completely clueless? Surely there must be means of recall or impeachment.

-William Beadle, North Fort Myers

Keeping the paper balanced

Every now and then, the Mailbag runs a letter either from a conservative reader accusing The News-Press of "liberal bias" or from a liberal claiming the opposite. It's amusing.

Get real, people! The News-Press and its parent company, Gannett, are "for-profit" businesses, whose primary objective is to sell as many newspapers as they can and end up with a positive bottom line. To do that, they publish a panoply of syndicated columns from writers that cover the whole political spectrum. Furthermore, their "balance" of opinions comes very close to reflecting the demographics of the local market.

There's something for everyone. Liberals get E.J Dionne who spends a lot of time telling Republicans what they should do. Leonard Pitts offers a more philosophical liberal approach with a good amount of space devoted to racial issues. The few remaining thinking moderate conservatives in the area get an occasional bone of logic backed up by fact from Kathleen Parker. The "true" conservatives get their in-print "Fox News" fix from Cal Thomas, who writes passionately about religious freedom for all, as long as it's his religion, and Charles Krauthammer, who occasionally says something lucid about U.S./Israeli relations. The orthodox Obama-haters get regular infusions of vitriol from the "Queen of the Cheap Shot," Michelle Malkin, who willingly stoops to trashing the president's wife and children as subject matter.

It is a sad fact that people today would rather read opinions which support their own biases. Truth isn't nearly as important. The News-Press is only covering all its bases. We're getting what we deserve.

-Jay Light, Fort Myers Beach

Presenting the facts

Unfortunately, what began as a journalism endeavor is today a huge marketing and propaganda endeavor. That is only one result of how capitalism works.

Hidden in the June 17 The News-Press is a journalistic effort of merit (Leonard Pitts, Justice Scalia: What's your opinion now?). In journalism, such facts and reporting deserves a front page headline, not a hidden back page. While it does advance an opinion, it more importantly is based upon facts. While advancing the opinion that a death penalty is immoral, the journalist secures the opinion through historical fact based in the record; a common story, today.

Briefly, yet another black man was charged, bullied and harassed, tried and convicted of a murder. He was sentenced to death. His appeal went to the Supreme Court where Justice Antonin Scalia publicly ridiculed and disparaged his case along with ridicule of then Justice Harry Blackmun. Scalia is wrong again and again; time after time, based on his personal values, not on justice. As it turns out, the black man was innocent. While serving a life-sentence, the black man was exonerated as innocent by DNA evidence, and now has been pardoned.

Justice Scalia does not serve justice either politically or morally. That is both an opinion and a fact as is the story of what happens to journalism in a capitalistic society. And so goes the public interest and the common good.

-Bob White, south Fort Myers

American jobs

I cannot believe that I actually agree with Nancy Pelosi about anything. However, this time she is right. Past trade agreements have been totally one sided. They have cost millions of American jobs in manufacturing and agriculture. NAFTA and GAFTA should have been named GRAFTA! American workers got screwed while multi-national corporations and crooked politicians made billions of dollars. This agreement is even worse. It cedes American sovereignty to an un-elected multi-national commission who will now be in charge of our immigration and tariff policies. Do we really want foreigners in charge of these policies when our own crooked politicians are already screwing us royally? Call your representatives in Congress and tell them that a vote for this agreement will be political suicide. If this is such a great deal for America, why has it been kept so secret from the American people and even from the members of Congress and from the news media?

-Steve Pelle, Fort Myers

Killing wildlife not answer

Re: FWC Proposed Bear Hunt

The Florida Wildlife Commission's answer to any wildlife problem is to hunt the animal and kill it.

Most recently, FWC declared the Burmese Python, hogs, and Lionfish to be a problem.

The commission's solution is to approve hunting permits to kill them all.

Now, some bears are roaming within city limits, and FWC's proposed solution is to allow hunting to kill the bears outside the city limits.

Yesterday I noticed a lot of butterflies in my yard.

I hope FWC doesn't find out about this.

They will approve a hunting season to kill them.

-Patrick Gould, Fort Myers

Dumb driving habits

People do not use turn signals! I have had so many close calls when someone changes lanes with no warning or even worse turning into a drive way or side street and never warn you. They just hit the brakes and then make a very slow turn. I do wish the police and sheriff's department would make that something they would hand out tickets for all the time. Maybe if people started getting tickets for this very dumb habit it is just possible that some drivers would start using one of the first things you are taught in drivers education. I can not be the only one that notices this every time I am on the road.

-J. Bruckman, Buckingham

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