Sunday's letters: Democracy is about choices

Vanity, thy name is third party | Oct. 2, Daniel Ruth column Democracy means having choices We are told to ignore third parties and subscribe to political reality — namely, that we have a two-party system.The best definition of democracy I have encountered is: "a choice among alternatives." Both of our parties have merged as one with the "military-industrial-corporate-media-finance" complex. They have sold their democratic values to their financial supporters.Both parties are guilty of voter suppression, of ignoring our U.S. Constitution, of favoring war over peace, and of sabotaging the creation of third parties with the Federal Election Commission and the presidential debate committees.How can voters support third-party candidates when the latter are ignored by the two major parties and the press? Viable third parties challenge the actions and reactions of major parties, thereby holding them accountable.Supporters of democracy encourage third-party candidates and refrain from ridiculing and condemning them as vain people.Vanity, thy name is control. Arthur Hebert, Largo Her errors cost lives | Oct. 2, letter He poses the greater risk While it is true that, unlike Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump's "mistakes" have not "put a nation at risk," it is also true that he has not yet been in a position to influence national risk. Trump's mistakes put his personal empire at risk by losing $916 million in 1995 and costing his business associates untold loss and hardship.I don't want to think about the damage his mistakes could do to the United States should he become leader. Sheila Wasserman, St. Petersburg Playing with the big boys | Oct. 3, letter Don't condone verbal abuse Although I understand the message the letter writer is trying to convey, I have to question it.So, because Donald Trump bullies and verbally harasses men, women should be accepting of it when they are harassed? Man or woman, no one should have to put up with verbal abuse from their spouse, families, bosses or anyone else, let alone a presidential candidate.We teach our children to respect others, and then we have someone constantly doing just the opposite. If the only way Trump can communicate is by name-calling and ridiculing others, why would anyone want him to represent our beautiful country? Lillian Ferencz, Clearwater Kaine, Pence take center stage | Oct. 5 Pence was statesmanlike One thing stands out from the vice presidential debate: Mike Pence does not belong on the same ticket as Donald Trump. Where Trump is rude and insulting, Pence is statesmanlike; where Trump has demonstrated a remarkable ignorance of world affairs and admiration for dictators like Vladimir Putin, Pence offers sound foreign policy; and where Trump switches positions to whatever suits his personal brand, Pence is a dedicated public servant with deeply held conservative values. Ed Cronyn, Tampa Kaine was ill-mannered The vice presidential debate was a debacle because one man, Tim Kaine, was obviously ignorant of the rules of a debate: that each man has an allotted time to answer a question without interruption.Kaine had zero self-control and smirked constantly while being rude, disruptive and extremely annoying.Mike Pence, on the other hand, remained calm while trying to answer the questions during his own allotted time despite the fact that Kaine constantly talked loudly over him.I wanted to hear what both men had to say, but the way Kaine acted assured me I would never vote for him and the presidential nominee he would be a partner to in our government. Pence showed himself to be the better man, one we can admire and also trust for his self-control and knowledge. Shirley Volkert, Spring Hill Trump's taxes Business and community Perhaps worse than the revelation that Donald Trump might not have paid income taxes for nearly two decades is his notion that this somehow makes him smart and a shrewd businessperson. On the contrary, it shows just how out of touch he is with my community, my customers and Florida voters.I own a small business and consider myself a rather savvy businessperson. It is for that reason that I pay my taxes in full. I benefit from my taxes paid each time I hire or do business with a person educated through our public school system. Each time a new guest attends our annual festival, I know they've used public roads and bridges to get there. If manipulating the tax code to avoid all tax responsibility were, in fact, genius, our state would be starved of its resources in the name of intellect. Megan Baker, Brooksville Clock for Rays move is ticking louder | Oct. 4, John Romano column Better transit is the key Although TV viewership of Rays games has skyrocketed, it hasn't translated into substantially more fan attendance. I believe the reason is inadequate public transit to get to and from games.This problem can begin to be solved by extending the hours of bus service so fans can remain for nine innings knowing they can take a bus home after the game. Also, the rapid transit bus proposal between downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach needs to be operational before the start of the 2017 Rays season. I'd also suggest that the County Commission implement a north/south rapid transit bus route to intersect with the east/west route so residents in north county can attend Rays games.All the teams John Romano mentioned with attendance more than double the Rays' also have robust public transit. St. Petersburg and Pinellas County do not. Frank Lupo, St. Petersburg

Sunday's letters: Democracy is about choices

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