Leaving Florida to feel welcome? Goodbye, good luck: Letters to the editor, June 4, 2023

Posey let us down on debt limit

It was a shock to see our congressman, Bill Posey, join radical rightists like Matt Gaetz to oppose raising the debt limit. Had Mr. Posey and his extremist comrades prevailed, my wife and I would have forgone our Social Security checks, our retirement nest egg would have been slashed by the market collapse, and our military would have gone unpaid. Shameful!

Gerard Harbison, Melbourne Beach

Does Tobia truly care about scrub jays?

The May 30 article "Feedback sought on boardwalk proposal" describes a proposal by Brevard County commissioner John Tobia to spend $150,000 to $300,000 to build improvements to a beach access between two properties whose owners have refused to provide the county access to their beach for a $54 million beach renourishment project by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers..

His reaction is similar to the action he advocated in a dispute between Brevard County and the town of Malabar described April 26 in a FLORIDA TODAY article titled "Judge orders Brevard and Malabar to meet over tree-cutting on conservation land." Brevard County planned to cut down thousands of trees in the Malabar Scrub Sanctuary. Malabar officials objected when the learned about the number of trees planned for removal and refused to provide a tree removal permit on terms Brevard County wanted. At Tobia's recommendation, the county denied access to the property and erected a fence around it. 

Some amount of clearing is likely necessary to improve the property for optimum scrub jay population. However Tobia has generally opposed Brevard County purchasing land, stating he preferred to see it developed to increase the tax rolls — so I doubt he has any great concern for the scrub jays.

James Beasom, Melbourne Village

Good luck on your way out

The FLORIDA TODAY article citing families that are leaving Florida states that many say they “don’t feel welcome” or safe. I presume they will move to a blue state or city where there is no violence, everyone feels free to openly express diverse opinions, kids get an appropriate education, and everyone is welcome regardless of their political preferences. Good luck!

William Alford, Melbourne Beach

More:Brevard families leaving Florida: Why they say Sunshine State no longer feels like home

Here's what GOP is really saying

I agree with the members of the Brevard Republican Executive Committee in regard to getting back on track for all of America. However, I don’t agree as to why.

They state the aura of “We don’t really care what your problem is — just follow the rules that I have made, and do what I say” is not good. Yet, Gov. DeSantis and the Republicans in the Florida Legislature have said just that through their actions: We don’t care if you want to vote, we’re going to make it harder for you. We don’t care that you are in the LBGTQ community, we’re not going to recognize your existence. We don’t care that you are a woman who must make a difficult decision regarding your pregnancy, we’re deciding that for you. We don’t care that you want to read a particular book, we’re going to tell you what books you can or cannot read. We don’t care that historians write the truth regarding this country’s history: We’re deciding what is true and what can be taught in our schools and colleges.

Yes, we need to get back on track. Elect officials who listen and consider every American’s opinion, not just their own. They represent all their constituents, not just those of their own party.

Brenda Callahan, Palm Bay

More:What's appropriate for kids to read in books? New Brevard schools review committee forms

Which way do we go?

Letter writer Ed Taylor tells us to follow Judeo-Christian value system, but he does not say which of the many Christian denominations we are to follow. (“Faithful must stand firm," May 26). 

Mr. Taylor is correct in saying that Christianity was a part of life during the founding of the country.  It's also true that during the founding of the country some denominations thought that their version of Christianity was the “absolute religion." In fact, members of the Virginia state-sponsored Anglican denomination physically attacked members of the Baptist denomination for their beliefs.

To prevent religious infighting in the new country, James Madison, who is considered the “Father of the Constitution” added “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” to the Second Amendment of the Constitution.  This freedom to follow or not follow any religion or lifestyle is what makes this country great.  In our time, the government cannot force us to follow the “woke” concepts the current governor and Mr. Taylor are advocating.

Angela Harris, Cape Canaveral

POTUS' fall isn't funny

The recent news reports of President Biden’s fall over a sandbag at the graduation ceremonies of the Air Force Academy revealed two sides of the political divide — and a third observation much more dangerous.Certainly, on seeing the nosedive, there were many who had a moment of “schadenfreude” — the German word for an emotion that means “pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.” Hah-hah – This proves he’s too old! Well, shame on you for that emotion! He is our president — the proper emotion should be concern, no matter your political persuasion. But on the other political side, we saw aides, even military brass, quickly literally yanking up the president of the United States in order to minimize the embarrassment of the situation. Well, “all’s well that ends well” is another emotion as dangerous as schadanfreude.When your 80-year-old grandfather or grandmother takes a nose dive like that, the worst thing one can do is yank them back up on their feet without making sure no damage is done. Otherwise, you risk even more serious damage. Unfortunately, falls at that age often cascade into more serious consequences. According to the CDC: " Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults."

A bit more respect and concern for safety over political issues, please. 

The Rev. Ron Meyr, Rockledge

The price we pay to live here

Recent letter writers have loudly declared changes to our property insurance laws are a giveaway to insurance companies, who make huge profits on Florida homeowners' backs. If this is true, why are they leaving? Why is Citizens growing? In case of "the big one," if Citizen fails, who pays the claims? You, the taxpayers.

And now, State Farm announces they are stopping writing new homeowners policies in California, citing wildfire risks and a regulatory climate that forces them to sell policies that lose money.

Imagine if the headline said State Farm was leaving Florida because of hurricane losses, which they nearly did after Andrew.  Hurricanes are expensive, a price of living in Florida.

The recent fixes Florida tried are among other things, trying to reduce fraud. I hate high policy rates too, I also pay them, but I hate even more paying extra because some people, including trial lawyers, game the system. We have all heard someone brag about getting a new roof, furnishings, with a false or inflated claim. And we pay for it. Lawyers file absurd suits, and if they lose, they do not pay insurance company defense costs, as in most civil lawsuits, We do, in higher premiums.

Bottom line, if Insurance companies were making too much profit, they would be running into Florida, not away from us.

To those who scream about outrageous profits, imagine waking up  each day knowing your home was completely uninsured. Scary? You bet.

Craig Graham, Melbourne

DeSantis threatens state constitution

Since DeSantis formally announced his candidacy for the Republican Party presidential nomination, Trump, as is his wont, has resorted to demeaning name-calling and character assassination despite being a one-time supporter of DeSantis, praising the governor's merits. Trump has done his usual about-face, denigrating challengers' abilities and accomplishments.

DeSantis' authoritarian leadership enabled him to amend Florida law facilitating the possibility to seek the presidential nomination while remaining in office. Under DeSantis' rule, Florida has evolved into the Republic of Gilead, minimizing women's rights, banning books, controlling educational curriculums, penalizing organizations for having contrary opinions and rezoning voting districts to ensure election outcomes. DeSantis is a threat to our constitution.

Trump's instability was clearly demonstrated Jan. 6 during his seditionist rantings inciting a malicious mob of rioters, leading to the incursion of our Capitol building due to his delusional belief of a rigged election. For some reason, Trump has yet to be held accountable for this treasonous action.

Both Trump and DeSantis are spiteful, vengeful, dictatorial borderline fascists, possessed with Svengali-like powers of persuasion, capable of browbeating underlings into adopting contentious resolutions.

Trump is a megalomaniacal bully while DeSantis employs a totalitarian approach to governing. Neither man is suited to be president of this great nation.

Gregory W. Hewitt Melbourne