Who knew we all knew so much?

US downs Chinese balloon over ocean | Feb. 5

Who knew we had so many “experts”? Suddenly, with minimal information, the average citizen seems to be an expert on surveillance, spy balloons, F-22s, missiles, in-air explosion debris fields and international diplomacy. If the Chinese were hoping for nothing more than the further implosion of American political rhetoric, mission accomplished. I think I see why the intelligence community kept the previous balloon incursions a secret.

John Skey, Bradenton

An untold toll

Florida is still learning a hard COVID lesson | Editorial, Feb. 7

Hey, I’ll be 90 in a couple of weeks and don’t feel safe at all in a state where I think the governor demonstrates daily his belief that politics is more important than public health. Right now, 63 Floridians are dying every day from COVID; 95% of them are 65 or older, including many who have not gotten a booster shot that might have saved their lives. How many have died because of the misrepresentation of the bivalent booster by the governor and his stripping away of mask safety measures?

John Ennis, Hudson

Band together on bans

Throw the book at the thought police | Column, Jan. 29

It’s ironic that certain groups are protesting the banning of certain books in public school libraries. I can remember a few years ago when some liberals were calling for the banning of “Huckleberry Finn,” “Tom Sawyer” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” because they used racist language. It appears now that everyone has gotten into the act. My personal opinion? If it is important to you that your child gets exposure to certain writings, you have several options. For one, you can go to your local library. If the library does not have the desired books, you can get together with like-minded persons, buy the books and share them in a local book drop box (which is already being done with “The Bluest Eye”).

Tom Craig, Riverview

An easier way

Tax refund is proposed | Feb. 7

Here’s a novel idea. Instead of spending up to $15 million to refund nearly half a billion dollars to whomever paid a few dollars of taxes, why not just spend it all on road and bridge repairs in Hillsborough County? People who do not live in Hillsborough also paid taxes and trying to figure out who gets money will certainly be fraught with what I’ll call “clusterfraud.” This is a simple solution.

David Lubin, Tampa