Letters to the Editor for June 14, 2023

During insurance crisis, Legislature did other things

Editor:

As our infamous Governor DeSanctimoneous was running for President, his lapdog Legislature sat idly by doing little to nothing while State Farm, one of the largest homeowner insurance companies in the United States, and ten other insurance companies stopped selling homeowners insurance in Florida because of their high hurricane losses, high levels of insurance fraud and out of control litigation.

But the Legislature gave DeSantis $12 million in taxpayers money to bus immigrants from Texas to New Mexico and then fly them to California, passed laws to ban books, deny transgender kids from getting medical care, a six-week abortion ban, a since-debunked Election Police Force and a never before enacted law to let him remain governor while running for President.

All this while 13% of all the homes in Florida no longer are covered by any insurance. And the three canaries in the coal mine are alerting us to what lies ahead are California, Florida and Louisiana because as insurers leave, many like those here in Florida who can't get insurance won't be able to get a mortgage, all while our DeSanctimoneous-controlled Legislature diddles and does absolutely nothing to solve the problem.

And this is the kind of person who we want to run the United States of America? You have to be kidding me!

Ross Benjamin

Venice

It wasn't George Washington

Editor:

A recent letter writer (Gondolier, June 7) felt confident enough in his knowledge of American history to criticize U.S. defense contractors for price gouging, calling them out as the perpetrators of "ugly … unrestricted capitalism," and calls our elected officials "appalling" who want to have a balanced budget vs. unrestricted raising of the national debt.

He said he was embarrassed "to have to reach back to George Washington to find one individual that got it right." He goes on to encourage the readers of his letter to read George Washington's farewell address to see what he had to say about the military industrial complex threat to our nation.

Maybe this writer needs to do just a little more research himself, particularly about the political history of U.S. presidents.

It was not George Washington who cautioned the nation to beware of the "military-industrial complex" but it was out-going President and five-star General Officer Dwight David Eisenhower who used the term in his farewell address to the nation on January 17, 1961.

I guess the writer really should be embarrassed to reach back to George Washington.

Bryant McNiece

Venice

Learn more about DeSantis in article

Editor:

Anyone interested in our governor — who he is, where he is going — should read Pema Levy's article in the July/August issue of Mother Jones.

If Ron DeSantis is truly the person Ms Levy's article describes, we should all be alarmed.

Naomi Voit

Venice

Group is not rallying about gun safety

Editor:

Re: "Venice group rallies for gun safety." How do you even sleep at night?

Your obvious disrepresentation of the group's purpose, as their signs clearly show, which is the banning of guns and not gun safety, is pathetic (though business as usual).

I am 32 years certified to teach gun safety by the nation's premier gun safety organization, the NRA, and there are other professional instructors in the area.

Any of us would be happy to come to the organization identified and give a gun safety class, but gun safety is clearly not of interest to them.

If the protestors were actually concerned about shootings anywhere or in the cited cesspool of crime called Chicago, they would be promoting causes like law and order, respect for police, sealing our borders and putting guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens.

How silly it is to think that disarming law-abiding citizens actually makes them safer.

What is of interest to this reader is the promotion of the fake term "gun violence," as if there are comparative studies on "knife violence" (much more common), "vehicle violence" and "blunt force violence" (much more common) that attract the interests of these and other disinformed protestors.

Here's an obviously undebatable point: it is not guns which cause any violence — it is an evil heart, with or without a tool.

I wonder what would happen if you tried to be honest in your reporting?

Paul DeClark

Venice

We were better off before Biden

Editor:

Here's hoping my fellow Gondolier reader is recovering nicely from a case of selective amnesia.

His reference to Gov. DeSantis as Goofy is absurd. Most Americans, both Democrat and Republican, all admit they were better off three years ago than they are today.

Has the writer forgotten what the bottom line of his 401k looked like then, or the price of a gallon of gas?

How about two million plus fewer undocumented immigrants whom we are supporting? I'd like to jar his memory on how our country then was far more respected in the eyes of the world.

How we were energy independent, and not begging the Saudis for more oil.

I guess he's ok with the humiliation we Americans faced during and after the withdrawal of Afghanistan, not to mention the 13 U.S. service members who tragically gave their lives.

He's probably ok with the illegal financial dealings facing the Biden family as well.

Goofy isn't in Tallahassee. He's further north, napping in Washington D.C., or hiding in his basement in Delaware.

Since you feel that Florida is such a terrible place, how do you explain why so many people are moving here in droves?

Perhaps you would feel more comfortable in say, N.Y., California, Chicago or Minnesota.

We love Ron De Santis and will truly miss him come Jan. 2025, when he'll be occupying the "big guy's seat."

Bill Barthold

Venice

Biden, Clinton got away with things

Editor:

Every American who believes in our Constitution should be enraged that we have a two-tiered justice system.

If you are Hillary Clinton (not President), you can whitewash 30,000 (some classified) emails, have an unsecured server in your basement and "no prosecutor would likely press charges," according to former AG James Comey.

Or in Joe Biden's case, you can steal hundreds of (some classified) documents (not President) as Senator and VP, store them in places, including garage, D.C., Chinatown, a building in the University of Pennsylvania affiliated with the Chinese and no charges filed.

It is not surprising that the DOJ indicted Trump for "mishandling documents" because the powerful Washington elite was gunning for him before he took office.

The Durham Report concludes the CIA, FBI not only spied on Trump but that the Russia hoax was concocted by Hillary Clinton and the DNC. Trump was impeached for a phone call to Ukraine, while we now know it was Biden as VP who was involved in a $5 million alleged bribery scheme with Burisma.

The Durham Report also concluded the CIA, FBI and media were complicit in suppressing information regarding Hunter Biden's laptop, which shows millions of dollars being funneled through many LLC's and bank transfers. This interfered with the 2020 Presidential election.

Not only do we have a two-tiered justice system, but there is an abundance of evidence that Trump is right and the election was rigged.

Carol Caprio

Sarasota