Florida, really is the ‘worst state’
To the editor,
In case you’ve been in a cave or on Mars, here’s the update: In response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin, “The Daily Show” host John Oliver dubbed Florida “the worst state,” citing the state’s broken laws. As a Floridian for eight years, I say Oliver couldn’t be more right. Much attention has been paid to the state’s asinine Stand Your Ground law, which Oliver described as cut and pasted from a 1880s Tombstone. That is just the start of it, however. Below is a small snippet of some of the backwards laws or policies that have been passed, largely under uber-Conservative Gov. Rick Scott.

Almost immediately upon taking office, Scott passed a law requiring recipients of welfare to pass a drug test. A federal court overturned the law, noting that the state had not proven that those receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) were any more likely to use drugs than the general population. In fact, before the courts shut down this large-scale gathering of Floridian’s urine, only 108 people had negative tests. This was only 2.6 percent of the persons who were tested. The state had to pay more than $100,000 to persons who passed the pee tests. Clearly the program was not cost-effective.

Equally problematic is the fact that the law targeted the poor, not the many corporations like Wal-Mart or Kel Tec CNC, which manufactures the gun used to kill Trayvon Martin. Kel Tec CNC receives millions in tax incentives to locate in the state. This corporate welfare is widespread in Florida, a state that in 2012 had to cut $1.8 million for school safety initiatives and $5.7 million for mental health, a state that has the highest long-term unemployment and foreclosure rates in the nation.

Another Rick Scott loser is the law that has come to be known as “Docs v. Glocks.” This gem prohibits doctors from asking their patients about guns in their homes. While clearly it is essential that gun owners store their weapons safely, the NRA-backed legislation would make asking this standard risk-assessment question a misdemeanor, subject to a $10,000 fine and even potentially the loss of medical licensure. A U.S. District Court ruled that the law was an unconstitutional restriction on doctors’ rights to free speech.

In both cases, Scott vowed to fight the court, at taxpayer expense. By August 2012, the governor reportedly had spent more than $880,000 to fight for Docs v. Glocks. He reportedly spent more than $190,000 to fight for the drug testing program. In December 2012, the Miami New Times reported that Scott had spent more than $1 million on lawsuits related to his controversial laws.

And, while Gov. Scott was a Tea Party darling for his repeated pronouncements about “limited government,” it is clear that these two laws are anything but. Instead, Scott seems to feel that it is all fine and dandy if the government gets into our bodily fluids or our medical consultations.
The list of Scott-isms could go on and on. Suffice to say, John Oliver had it right: “Just because you’re shaped like some combination of a gun and a dick doesn’t mean you have to act that way.” Indeed.

– Laura Finley, Barry University Department of Sociology & Criminology, syndicated by PeaceVoice

To the editor,
I recently returned from a volunteer trip at the Ti Kay clinic in Port au Prince, Haiti. Ti Kay is a free clinic that treats patients with tuberculosis and AIDS. Spending time with some of the poorest citizens of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere opened my eyes to desperation I had not previously imagined; patients would arrive penniless, alone, coughing up blood. But the clinic’s volunteer western medical and nonmedical staff, alongside its Haitian workers, made what seemed like miracles happen every day, and with very limited resources (literally collecting Coke bottles off the ground to make thoracentesis drainage systems).

In this way, the 85 pounds of donated supplies I brought with me to the clinic was worth so much more than I could appreciate when I packed it. I want to thank the people and Durango businesses that provided those donations: A-Med Supply, CrossFit Durango, Lyn Boyer, Faith Kilda, Zack Kurka, Carisa Poniewaz, Joy Mathis, Shirley Boyer, Shaine Baird, Gordon Pennington, Sheri Mathis-Macveigh.

Your gifts were appreciated so much: they literally clothed, fed and saved people’s lives. Thank you all. I am so proud to be part of a community that will give so generously and with so much love.

For more information, please visit www.tikayhaiti.org/

– Amanda Kiessel, Durango

Cartoon was just plain nasty
Dear Ed,
The Shan Wells’ editorial cartoon in the 7/18/2013 edition of the Telegraph did nothing but perpetuate racial tensions. Whether you agree with the jury verdict or not, certain facts came out in testimony. For instance, both the defense and the prosecution witnesses agreed that Martin was on top of a prone Zimmerman when he was shot. Yet, Wells uses his cartoon to portray the tragic killing as an execution. It was not by any standards.

Race pimps like Jackson, Sharpton and Smiley are aided and abetted by liberal media writers at the New York Times (Zimmerman is a white Hispanic) and NBC (doctored 911 tapes). Now Wells joins this “illustrious” group by fomenting racial tensions with a cartoon showing Martin being executed.

Between the time of the shooting and the arrest of Zimmerman, the FBI did an investigation to determine if there were civil rights violations and came up empty. Yet, Attorney General Eric Holder told the NAACP last week that the case was still open. Let’s face it, Obama turned it into a political circus when he said “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon Martin.’”

I know that editorial cartoons are meant to provoke thoughtful reactions whether you agree with them or not. This one was just plain nasty and did nothing to foster discussion or thought.

– Dennis Pierce, Durango

Love note from Wildcat’s mom
To whom it may concern and everybody else:
I have wanted to write before, but after reading today’s newspaper, I can no longer keep silent.

I just love reading the comic “Chech It Out!” I also have read some of the Diver columns, but must
confess the one called Wildcat is by far the best one. Those two guys are comic geniuses! You sure
have a knack for finding great talent. Keep up the good work. And give those guys a hug from me.

– Most sincerely, Jamie Reid