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Hernando Today

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 24, 2008

Letter Was A Joke, Right?

As a writer, I enjoy satire, especially when it is so well written that it takes me a while to recognize it. I've even been fortunate enough to get some of mine published on these pages.

In his letter headed "Soldiers Aborted," (Opinion, Thursday, May 22) Vernon Carles seems to be saying that it is the Supreme Court's fault that we don't have enough troops to fight our wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.

Why? Because they ruled in favor of abortion in 1973! Therefore,not enough male babies have been born, thus reducing the number of males available as soldiers.

Huh? Oh, I get it - this is a joke, right?

Gail B. Leatherwood

Spring Hill
Share The Road
On May 21, I participated in the cycling "Ride of Silence" event, which started from the Suncoast Trail near State Road 50 and the Suncoast Parkway down to the Brooksville courthouse in downtown Brooksville. This event honors those cyclists who have been killed or injured by run-ins with motor vehicles on our nation's roads.

In addition, the other reason for the ride was to promote awareness among motorists that cyclists should share the road with motor vehicles. Yes, cyclists use the same roads (except toll roads and interstate highways) and are to obey the same rules.

Since I have been hit by a car and escaped major injury, I felt a need to attend this ride of silence. The effort to organize this ride was very good, but the turnout was very low with only 12 cyclists making the ride. Although it had personal meaning to me, the effort did lack recognition for its purpose.

One idea would be to wear a bright yellow T-shirt with bold black letters on the rear saying, PLEASE SHARE THE ROAD. The size of the shirt could allow for the shirt to be worn over the cycling jersey. If a county budget didn't allow this expense, a small charge to the participant could defray most of the T-shirt cost.

Having just moved from Georgia to Florida, I appreciate the local counties and the Florida Department of Transportation's effort to provide sufficient shoulders on the roads to allow cyclists to use the roads. Unfortunately, many motorists believe that cyclists should not be using the roads, and some display a range of angry emotions including hollering, throwing objects, seeing how close they can get to the cyclist and even trying to run them off the road.

After riding for 25 years, it has been my experience that most drivers are not aware of the amount of space between the cyclist and their vehicle. An experienced rider will ride far enough to the right to allow almost any vehicle to pass them without using the left lane. Five percent of the drivers know their spacing and 5 percent try to see how close they can get or even try to run the cyclist off the road.

The use of cell phones while driving, especially those texting, has made it even more dangerous for cyclists on the roads. Just recently in our club in Georgia, one cyclist was severely hurt and one other was killed while riding on a county road with little traffic. The driver was using a cell phone and lost control while passing the cyclists.

Hernando County is fortunate to have two trails for cycling and running. My hat is off to Florida for making these available. But the local roads are for cars and cyclists. Remember, "Same Roads, Same Rules." Honk, pass and wave.

Paul Logue

Brooksville

Defining Evil-Doers

This past Thursday I read Frances Earl's column and if she wants to call the Bush Administration a much of evil-doers, then I think it is time to remind her of some real evil-doers who have been haunting Washington for nearly 50 years.

If you want to talk about evil-doers, you have to go no further than Sen. Edward Kennedy who back in 1969 literally got away with murder by leaving a poor girl to drown and to cover it up. Now that to me is evil.

You have from West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and God knows what he did during those years. That to me is evil.

You have Rep. Barney Franks and former Rep. Gary Studds caught up in child porn rings, and that to me is evil.

What is worst is that the people of these states continued to vote these people back into office. Like Faust selling his soul to the devil, these people sell their souls just so they can enjoy the benefits of pork projects these politicians bring to their states.

Just remember that because a person is incompetent does not make them evil.

Peter Stathis

Spring Hill

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