Letters
Letters to the editor, April 6
TBO.com
Published: April 6, 2012
Criminal excusesPublished: April 6, 2012
Are some of our judges really interested in controlling crime or are they always looking for technical excuses to free up criminals?
The reason the above has come to my attention is a bad decision made by the Florida Supreme Court. This is a decision that freed a person who was proven guilty of growing marijuana in his residence which is against the law.
This decision was based upon a faulty technicality that the search warrant, as issued by the Court, was not legal.
This search warrant was based upon the performance of a dog trained to sniff out marijuana which is considered legal.
The court held that it was not legal for a dog to sniff out marijuana located in a residence but anywhere else it is legal.
This kind of a decision is nonsense and should be condemned as it is one more technical excuse manufactured by the Courts to free up criminals.
We need to stop the growth of crime and not add to it.
The answer to these technical excuses is to get rid of these weak judges, especially those on the Florida Supreme Court who support these excuses to free up criminals who belong in jail and not among us.
If you are concerned about crime in your neighborhood you can do something by not voting for these judges when they come up for election.
Norman Pallot
Weeki Wachee
Getting at the real message
Naturally, colorful language will always get the reader's attention whether or not any useful knowledge is being imparted.
Case in point: Columnist John Nash as usual takes on President Obama and his handling of the situation in Afghanistan in "Obama's chance to be a leader."
He, of course, is free to write whatever he wants just like the rest of us, but c'mon! Just to show what I mean, here are several sentences with his inflammatory words in parentheses.
"The president's (naïve, thoughtless) handling of the recent tragic incident…is (irrefutable and shameful) testimony to the (dangerous) incompetence of the Obama administration."
"Mr. Obama and his (bobble-headed) departments of state and defense…"
"That's not unexpected, because our (inept) president…"
"According to news reports, our (feckless lawyer) president, (politically ambitious) secretary of state, and (law-trained, political) secretary of defense…"
The message, which is Mr. Nash's personal opinion, would be just as clear and just as powerful without the parenthetical words. Just read them aloud both ways and see what you think.
All I ask is that when you read the violent and vicious rhetoric to which we will all be subjected from all sides during the next months, you sift through the colorful language and focus on what the real message is. You might be surprised at what you're left with.
All I ask, Mr. Nash, is that you eschew obfuscation.
G B Leatherwood
Spring Hill
Ashamed
It was wonderful to read in your paper on Sunday that the county commissioners, clerk of the circuit court, property appraiser, tax collector, supervisor of elections, the sheriff and school board members all got raises, while the people who work their butts off and the people who put their lives on the line to protect get nothing and have gotten nothing for years. You all should be ashamed of yourselves!
Gerri Kraft
Spring Hill