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Tuesday's letters: Animal abuse no laughing matter

 
Published Feb. 8, 2016

Man accused of punching police horse at Gasparilla | Feb. 3

Animal abuse no laughing matter

The article on Chad the police horse being punched on the nose during Gasparilla took a playful tone toward a serious problem: animal abuse. The writer may have been trying to dress up an otherwise mundane report of arrests during the pirate debauchery, but the fact that an animal was attacked is not funny.

Nowhere does the article address Chad's injury — we must assume the horse was not seriously hurt — but instead seems hyperfocused on the alleged abuser's Hawaiian shirt.

All stakeholders in our community, the media included, must unite to form a strong voice against animal abuse, so people like Chad's alleged attacker will get the message that it will not be tolerated. Perhaps the alleged attacker, if found guilty, could be the first name on the county's proposed animal abuser registry.

Deborah Van Pelt, Tampa

Rays drop hints about a stadium like no other | Feb. 5

Dream away, but pay too

So now the Rays have published their wish list of must-have items for their new ballpark. Most people have similar lists when it comes to buying a new home. The only difference is, the general population either pays for the home themselves or secures a mortgage. Why should the public pay one nickel for the Rays' new home?

P.J. Jaccoi, Sun City Center

Frustrated veteran teachers publicly throw in the towel | Feb. 4

It's not a normal 9-to-5 job

This article was appreciated, sad and thought-provoking. I am a local veteran teacher. I enjoy my profession. Yet in the three-plus decades, I have worked with and for teachers who required help and assistance during and after professional difficulties.

I take issue with Kate Walsh of the National Council for Teacher Quality and her blithe and dismissive comment about teachers being down on themselves and not realizing that there are days when "all of our jobs are terrible." Our profession is not an ordinary 9-to-5 job. It is highly personalized and engaged. It is dynamic and very draining.

Imagine being responsible for a room with your children, all of their friends and many of their enemies. Any parent who has done weekend duty at a slumber party or skating party knows that children can be fun, moody, great, unpredictable, occasionally cruel and sometimes hard to focus. Any adult who has done time on a soccer field, basketball court or baseball field knows that parents can be both supportive and counterproductive — depending on the circumstances.

Tom Chapman, Brandon

They chose NRA over you | Feb. 5

Protecting our rights

Thanks for this list. It gave me the opportunity to reach out to all of those individuals to thank them for standing up for my rights, since my local newspaper clearly isn't interested in doing so. I will remember who was on my side come election time and do whatever I can to support them.

Brian Hughes, Spring Hill

Sheriffs and guns

The Times has been antigun for as long as I can remember. You have now sunk to a new low by calling out our state legislators and by misrepresenting the facts. There are many Florida sheriffs who support open carry, but you chose to only refer to Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

Open carry will prevent a concealed weapon permit holder from being harassed or arrested because of an accidental display of a handgun. This has happened because current law is vague and the only way to be sure it does not happen is with open carry. You and the rest of the fearmongers said that it was the end of the world when Florida passed concealed carry and that did not come true either.

Douglas Seberle, Hudson

Medicaid expansion

Pragmatism over politics

Political ideology appears to have run into common sense and humanity in Kentucky. Newly elected Republican tea party Gov. Matt Bevin campaigned that he would repeal the state's Obamacare Medicaid expansion, implemented by his Democratic predecessor. Once in office, Bevin decided it's not such a good idea after all to throw half a million people off of Medicaid once the benefits became obvious. Maybe this could be a lesson to Gov. Rick Scott and our Legislature.

Tom Meyers, Tampa

Everyday nuisance spreads Zika, fears Feb. 5

Insect kingdom

Dennis Moore, director of the Pasco County Mosquito Control District, is quoted as saying about the Zika-carrying mosquito: "They're the cockroaches of the insect world. They're closely associated with people." That's odd: I've always thought cockroaches were the cockroaches of the insect world. Ah well, live and learn.

Michael Zwerding, Palm Harbor