Florida’s Amendment 3
Dispelling myths about marijuana and Florida’s prison population | Column, Aug. 12
The column from Ricky Dixon, the secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, was misleading and disingenuous. Dixon claims that there are currently no individuals serving time in Florida’s Department of Corrections exclusively for possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. He knows full well that there are thousands of individuals locked up in Florida jail cells for simply testing positive for marijuana.
The vast majority of individuals charged with a crime are put on probation. When monitoring individuals on probation, the Department of Corrections usually requires drug testing. When someone tests positive, they violate probation, immediately go to jail, and now face a presumption of guilt for the violation and a conviction for the prior charge.
Even though Florida does not directly send individuals to prison for possessing minor amounts of marijuana, we most certainly send individuals to the clink every day for marijuana. There are people sitting in jail for trespassing and driving infractions, but only because they tested positive for drugs, including marijuana. Why are we spending so much money to incarcerate them?
If the secretary doesn’t want to reconsider his position on Amendment 3, perhaps he can travel to every county in the state and encourage judges not to incarcerate individuals for marijuana ― since he seems to believe we don’t do that here.
Chris Mulligan, Brooksville
Vote for liberty
Dispelling myths about marijuana and Florida’s prison population | Column, Aug. 12
I could barely get through the op-ed by Ricky Dixon, secretary of the Department of Corrections, as he engaged in wild fearmongering urging Florida voters to take heed when voting on Amendment 3 in November. Firstly, it won’t be the most liberal marijuana law in the country because the state will immediately move to regulate it, as it should, like other states who have legalized recreational marijuana. Secondly, of course recreational marijuana won’t result in more people in our jails because people won’t be arrested for possessing and transporting legal amounts of marijuana. Lastly, either Florida Republicans believe in liberty or they don’t. Vote yes on Amendment 3 and tell Florida legislators to stay out of our lives.
Stacey Kroto, Pinellas Park
Come on, Times
Big media won’t be giving Walz the Vance treatment | Column, Aug. 10
Of course the media won’t be giving Gov. Tim Walz the “Vance” treatment, mainly because he is not a far-right wackadoodle controlled by gazillionaire Peter Thiel and the “orange one.” I would expect more from the Tampa Bay Times than an opinion column from a journalist associated with the conservative Las Vegas Journal-Review which was once owned by Sheldon Adelson, a far right conservative who died in 2021. As they say in football when there is an obvious miscue, “come on, man!”
David Burg, Tampa
Why beat Trump?
Big media won’t be giving Walz the Vance treatment | Column, Aug. 10
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Explore all your optionsI am rooting for Kamala Harris to win. It isn’t because of her policy preferences. These have been kept vague, but seem likely to the left of Biden-Harris which has been to the left of their 2020 campaign promises and to the left of majority views. It also isn’t because of competence, as from the exit from Afghanistan to recent Secret Service protection for Donald Trump (with baby formula shortages, airline doors flying off and the flood of people crossing the southern border in between), the shear bungling of the Biden-Harris administration has been alarming.
My hope is that a Donald Trump loss will purge us of the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” which has devalued journalism. How did President Joe Biden go from good as gold to leaden, literally overnight? How could millions of votes and dollars and several contenders be ignored to undemocratically anoint Harris, who was so long seen as political impediment? How did such an unpopular vice president become a highly popular presidential candidate with no one asking why she didn’t do more in her current role or why we must wait for her election to do more or do it differently?
My hope is faint. Still, if Trump is off the stage just maybe journalists will remember what their job is.
Pat Byrne, Seminole
“Sound economic policies.” No way
Kamalanomics will be Bidenomics 201 | Letters, Aug. 11
It is rare that so much misinformation can be crammed into one letter, but the writer lauding the “the sound economic policies” of the “previous administration” managed to do it. There was nothing “sound” about tossing $2.3 trillion into the then-President Donald Trump’s COVID relief package after enacting a $1.3 trillion tax cut, simultaneously leading to the greatest leap in the national debt since the Great Depression and dumping vast amounts of money into the economy — which also yields long-term inflation. Trump then poured more than $32 billion into farm payments, both to garner 2020 votes and to atone for his disastrous tariff policy, which ruined some farmers and added cost to every imported item consumers bought — also inflationary. Spare me the “sound economic policies” of the Republican-dominated “prior administration.”
Stephen Phillips, St. Petersburg
Counting votes isn’t easy
Deniers vie for ballot control | Aug. 11
Many years ago, I volunteered to work at a voting location when I was living in Illinois. It was a primary, so the voter turnout was low. At 8 p.m., we gathered the ballots. We then had to count all votes for each race and get the same numbers. I think it was between 80 and 90 total votes. Count after count, we could not agree on the total. It was after 10 p.m. when we finally delivered our hand-counted votes to the central location.
Try counting a couple million votes by hand and see how long it takes and if everyone agrees on the totals. There is nothing wrong with doing some spot checking on the machine results, but hand counting is not accurate or quick. It would be much better to use a different machine to check vote totals.
Dave Hinz, Clearwater
Character counts
Deniers vie for ballot control | Aug. 11
I heard that there was a new group in town: Republicans for Kamala Harris. Where do I sign up? I’m a Republican and a Christian. I just can’t vote for Donald Trump. He’s nothing but a liar, a cheat and a thief. He has no morals or ethics whatsoever. I’m voting for the woman with honesty, decency and integrity. Character counts.
Elizabeth Orsay, Crystal River
Deniers vie for ballot control | Aug.11
The kindest description of an “election denier” is someone unhappy with the voting outcome for their candidate or party. This description has morphed into someone who puts rationality aside, and despite logic and overwhelming proof to the contrary, rants about “stolen elections.” It’s four years after the fact, but it bears repeating that Joe Biden won the presidency fairly and squarely in 2020, and no amount of revisionism will change that history. Unfortunately, many have passed by rationality and are squarely in the world of fantasy.
As the Tampa Bay Times points out, some believe there were significant breakdowns in Florida voting to the detriment of candidate Donald Trump. The strange side of this notion is that Trump won the Florida electoral votes, making it hard to figure out how anyone in Florida could be complicit in “stealing” the election from Trump. Their lame attempt includes indicting Gov. Ron DeSantis, a strong Trump supporter, in a theft that did not happen, putting the issue firmly in the ludicrous category.
We must remember that until recently, Florida elections were the butt of jokes with incompressible standards (hanging chads, etc.) and inefficient execution. Florida has come a long way, and we can justifiably take pride in a system that is as good as, and likely better than any other state in the country. Leave the voting system as it is. Let’s not fix what is not broken.
Jon Crawfurd, Gulfport
Harris getting away with it?
This is why Kamala Harris is avoiding the press — and getting away with it | Column, Aug. 7
Why is columnist Jonah Goldberg furthering this ridiculous accusation brought about by nervous Republicans who are grasping at straws and continuing with their false scenarios? Does Donald Trump ever answer a question with a straight answer? No, he does not. Goldberg criticized Harris for going on the left-leaning “Morning Joe” program, but Trump gets a pass for mostly appearing on right-leaning Fox. Kamala Harris has been a little busy these last few weeks. She is not one to back down or shy away, and I’m sure in the near future she will address the media.
Sandy Kneen, Dunedin
Who will help?
Can this home for apes and monkeys count as a sanctuary? | Aug. 11
The front page of Sunday’s paper ruined my day. I had the idea that Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor had been closed down years ago. How is it that animal rights advocates and humane society groups have not come to the aid of these poor caged creatures? Zoos caught on 50 years ago to put the animals in as natural of habitats as possible, yet here, in our own backyard, sit these sad, soulful primates hoping someone hands them a morsel of food. Is anything being done? And thank you for reporting the situation.
Leslie Phillips, Brooksville
Interest rates
In the 1970′s when I bought my first house, the interest rates were around 7.5%. I don’t understand why there is criticism when the interest rate today for home buyers is below 7%. I am retired now and get over 5% on my savings, which is a blessing. Interest rates on savings were negligible not too long ago. I am sure that suited corporations and Wall Street.
Rose Kottakis, New Port Richey
School year begins
Pinellas should be proud | Letters, Aug. 9
The new school year is beginning, and it takes all of us to make the year a success. Students need to go to class each day prepared with all of the materials they need, homework done, well rested and well fed. It is up to parents to make sure this happens and they work with their child’s teacher to ensure a good year. Educators need to be allowed to teach and be trusted to know what is best for the students in their class. And, all of us, whether we have children in school or not, need to support, not dictate to, our school system. It takes a village to produce happy, well-educated, well-rounded individuals, and we are that village. We need to work together to make sure this happens.
Marilyn Warner, Clearwater
