Friday Letters: Views on Hurricane Dorian, the treatment of Trump and more

Treatment of Trump and his

family has set a bad precedent

In my lifetime no president has experienced the intensity of vilification that has been inflicted on President Donald Trump. There is no excuse for the voracity of these excessive attacks on both Trump and his family.

Candidates without thick skins may as well hang it up now. But even if they do have thick skins, they must still worry about seeing open warfare declared on their family members and associates.

Sadly the tactics currently being used against Trump will also be used against future presidents; actions always have consequences and what comes around, goes around.

Tom Phillips, St. Augustine

Why can't we enforce public safety

measures when it comes to firearms?

The brush with Hurricane Dorian saw local, state and national governments spring into action. The response was quick, decisive and sometimes overzealous -- but it was always in the interest of public safety.

We saw mandatory evacuations, restricted access to some areas, curfews and the prohibition of alcohol sales during certain hours. And we the public accepted all these measures as necessary to protect life and property in the face of a disaster.

So my question is this: If government is permitted to take such measures in the interest of public safety, why is it seen as unconstitutional to place restrictions on the sale of assault weapons and the size of gun magazines?

Jim Kavanagh, St. Augustine

British Parliament rebels

stood up for what's right

"Good show!" and "Well played!" to the Conservative members of the British Parliament who recently bucked Prime Minister Boris Johnson and blocked his plan to plunge Britain into a no-deal Brexit that would be devastating to Britain's economy.

The 21 members of Parliament who voted against the prime minister, a fellow Conservative, stood up for what was best for their country.

According to reports these 21 people may even be booted out of their party, which will likely end their political careers. However, they proudly stood up for what was right -- even at great cost to themselves.

I just wish the Republican members of Congress in our country would show such intestinal fortitude.

Tom Ray, Fernandina Beach

Take any unused supplies

to the local food banks

If you are not going to use all of the food and water that you stockpiled for Hurricane Dorian, please take those supplies to your local food bank. Della Stout, Green Cove Springs

Don't overlook the dangers of

wooden debris during storms

There have been numerous warnings about dangerous riptides during hurricanes.

Unfortunately, many surfers and those riding boogie boards ignore this wise advice; because they are experienced swimmers, they have confidence in their ability to use flotation devices that might offer some protection in such life-threatening currents.

But there's another danger that is never mentioned during a hurricane or even a strong nor'easter -- it's the safety threat that's caused by dangerous wooden debris.

The wooden remnants and planks that are often ripped from piers and swept out to sea during hurricanes could maim or kill any surfer or swimmer unlucky enough to encounter this hazardous rubbish.

It might be prudent for the media to start making people aware of the dangers of floating debris during riptides.

Linda Turner, Jacksonville

Some things are (sadly) back

to normal in our community

Hurricane Dorian has passed our area with blessedly little serious damage.

But when I watched the TV news Wednesday night, I saw that both a shooting and a homicide had taken place in Jacksonville in the hours after Dorian passed.

Wow!

It didn't take Jacksonville very long to get back to normal!

Dayle Vickery, Orange Park

Mayor Curry deserves praise for his

leadership during Hurricane Dorian

I think people should think twice before they throw rocks at Mayor Lenny Curry for instituting mandatory evacuations as Hurricane Dorian approached our city.

The mayor made his decision with the help of an enormous amount of information that had been provided to him by various sources and experts.

What if Dorian had wobbled to the left just another 10 or 20 miles? What if it had directly hit us? If the city had not carried out mandatory evacuations, the results would have been disastrous.

I appreciate Mayor Curry's leadership, and I thank him and everyone else who worked to keep us safe during Dorian.

Scott Lara, Arlington

The Hurricane Dorian hype

was completely overblown

All throughout last week the TV news stations predicted that Hurricane Dorian would absolutely arrive in our area by that weekend.

Then suddenly they began predicting that the hurricane would absolutely arrive sometime during Tuesday night of this week -- and they started using phrases like '"hunker down," "evacuate," "rush to the supermarkets now," "call your friends" and "pray for survival."

Come Wednesday morning, however, we didn't see a massive hurricane. What did we see instead?

All we saw were camera-hungry local TV reporters standing on beaches and in front of shuttered stores while nothing more than a bad rainstorm was taking place around them -- all while trying to salvage their dignity by continuing to hype up this "once in a century storm."

Worst of all The Florida Times-Union halted my home delivery for three days because it said its paper carriers needed to stay safe. But the fact of the matter is that I could have delivered newspapers on my bicycle during this "life-changing hurricane."

I lived in New York for 59 years and not even the worst snow blizzard up there generated this kind of overreaction. My God, people, return to Earth!

Carl J. C.-Hafner, Jacksonville

Monroe lacks objectivity in

writing about Mayor Curry

A recent letter writer stated that Times-Union columnist Nate Monroe never has anything good to say about Mayor Lenny Curry.

I agree.

Monroe may be entitled to his opinions on Curry but it would be nice to see at least an ounce of objectivity.

The letter writer was right: if Monroe is the best that the Times-Union has to offer, maybe it should think about closing up shop.

Calvin Johnson, Jacksonville

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