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POLITICIANS CAN'T SEE PAST MONEY

 
Published July 7, 2010

Pasco GOP books are in the black - July 2 letter

At this time in Florida to be congratulating oneself and one's party about fundraising abilities in light of the Republican Party's fast and loose ways with money is of great concern. The former Speaker of the House, Ray Sansom, is under indictment due to behind-the-scenes funny money dealings and a sweetheart job; the former party leader Jim Greer has also been indicted and his deputy is singing to save his hide for setting up a company to skim funds from the party; party leaders set up a buyout to get rid of Greer; and numerous party operatives had a good old time with party credit cards.

It seems their money management activities leave a lot to be desired. It is truly a shame that politics has been degraded to such a point that money seems to be all that matters - buying and using influence.

To run for statewide and national offices, millions of dollars are raised through contributions of concerned citizens, party members, political action committees, shadow committees, and now large organizations and businesses. Money talks and buys influence.

There must be something I'm missing in this mad dash to office. In Florida, people running for governor are throwing millions of their own dollars into the races. It does not stop at our borders. Again, candidates' own mega dollars were put into primaries in California and Nevada. The pay for these public service jobs cannot be the attraction. It must be that the connections, the perks, and the fame draw people into the political spectrum now, but unfortunately money has tainted our governmental processes at all levels.

Dale Gottschalk, Hudson

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Treat guns as seriously as pills - June 27 letter

Guns and pills? No comparison

If the standard for controlling crime was affected by gun control laws, then Vermont, with the fewest state gun control laws in the nation, should have the highest crime rates. In reality, it has one of the lowest rates.

Since 1987, when Florida established the right of all eligible law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms, Florida's crime rates have fallen dramatically and continue to fall, with a 12.9 percent decrease in the murder rate in 2009. Prior to 1987, each and every local government was passing its own version of gun control laws, and the result was legal chaos, a total lack of conformity from city to city and county to county, violations of the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms, and skyrocketing crime rates. Today, order prevails with uniform state laws, lower crime rates, and more than 729,000 citizens with valid concealed carry permits.

Federal law requires that the sale of more than one handgun within a five-working-day period must be reported by each federally licensed dealer to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives by Form 4473, which clearly identifies the purchaser and the make, model and serial number of each firearm. There is a background check of each purchaser, and a three-business-day waiting period before the handgun can change hands, unless the purchaser has a Florida concealed weapon license. It is a felony for an unlicensed individual to buy guns for the purpose of resale anywhere, or for another person. The interstate sale/transfer of all firearms go through federally licensed dealers.

Comparing prescription drug abuses to our constitutional right to keep and bear arms is more than a stretch. It's absurd. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has just indicated that the states and local governments cannot interfere with those rights, as described in the Bill of Rights.

Lee Hanson, Hudson

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Wildlife travel zone shrinks

June 20 article

When wildlife lose, we all lose

I guess it has and always will be about the developer and how many homes they can squeeze into the land.

With all the knowledge we have about the environment and how development affects everything we touch, you would think we would do the right thing.

It's all about money. Greed. No one is happy with what they have. It always has to be bigger and better.

Nothing has been learned from the housing bubble. We are looking forward to building more and more, even when towns and subdivisions are void of people and business.

Look at our politicians; they are the ones to blame, but we continue to re-elect them (like we have any choice). However, we need to look at ourselves. Do we learn from our mistakes?

Kathleen Jones, New Port Richey