LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Time To Take Down The Bird Feeder

I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed.

What a beauty of a bird feeder it was, and I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had many kinds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table - everywhere!

Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.

And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the backyard was like it used to be - quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now let's see.

Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care and free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing five families; you have to wait six hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's second-grade class is behind other schools because more than half the class doesn't speak English.

Corn flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to press one to hear my bank talk to me in English and people waving flags other than our flag are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.

It's just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.

If you agree let it be known loud and often.

If not, you'll be cleaning up the poop for the rest of your life.

Charles Fisher

Weeki Wachee

Something Smells Funny

This idea smells on so many levels! What are the county commissioners and the parks department thinking? Willy's Tropical Breeze on Pine Island didn't just happen. It is the result of hard work and dedication. Why would they consider jeopardizing what has become a proud local landmark? This county has plenty of squeaky wheels; Willy's isn't one of them.

It makes me wonder whose "brother-in-law" is preparing to swoop in and reap the benefits of the successful business built by Willy Kochounian over the past 18 years.

As a longtime Pine Island resident, I would consider a change of management at Willy's a great loss to the community.

As an experienced food service troubleshooter, I can say without question that such a change is a gamble with very poor odds for success.

Deborah Walker Bellet

Pine Island

Who Would Sign First, Read Later?

I have a question to the readers of Hernando Today: Would you sign something without first reading it?

I know I wouldn't, know matter how much pressure was put on me, and I am assuming that most people wouldn't either.

So the question is why on earth did Congress pass the so-called stimulus bill without having a chance to read it? Why? Because President Barack Obama says if we don't pass this bill things are going to get worst. Does anyone really think this bill is going to do anything?

That's another thing, back during the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt gave these fireside chat speeches and if you listened to them, he was always talking about hope. Well, when President Barack Obama speaks, he is not very inspiring. In fact, he said on more than one occasion that things are only going to get worse. Well, so much for instilling confidence. Every time he speaks it seems he stock market gets lower and lower.

You also have to wonder about some of the choices he has made for his cabinet; a number of them have been tax cheats. Even the head of the Ways and Means Committee in charge of writing the tax laws, one Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, is under investigation for breaking tax laws. Just so you know, as a former IRS employee, I can tell you that if this was you or me, we could face possible jail time.

When asked about corruption in Congress, President James Garfield once remarked "don't blame the Congress, blame the people who put them there."

Peter Stathis

Spring Hill