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Letters To The Editor

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 3, 2007

Mission Destined To Fail

Regarding "Judge Targets Terrorism With Mideast Trip" (Metro, Nov. 29):

I see Circuit Court Judge Monica Sierra plans to take a three-month leave from her duties here in Tampa and visit Israel with a goal of teaching the Bible to the Palestinians. That may rank high on the Christian moral scale, but it ranks extremely low on the good sense scale.

Does she not understand that almost all the Palestinians in the Middle East are Muslim? Has Judge Sierra been living in some sort of self-imposed isolation from information on how Muslims in the Middle East feel about Christianity or, for that matter, any religion other than Islam? She appears to be a smart person, and I hope she understands that many Palestinian Muslims will likely take extreme umbrage with her proselytizing for the Christian faith.

I really hope she doesn't end up a hostage of some Muslim extremist group like Hamas or Hezbollah as a result of her mission. to try and convert Muslims to Christians; she may not survive that experience.KIT WERREMEYER

Valrico

Wrong Venue For News

Judge Monica Sierra, in her attempt to convert the Palestinian people to her troubling interpretation of Christianity, showed appalling judgment in her choice of venue for her press conference. There is an obvious constitutional problem with a judicial officer using her courtroom as a setting for a press conference trumpeting her zealotry. Constitutional issues aside, it's just not very classy.

President Bush's aggressive, democracy-promoting foreign policy has not brought America any more goodwill in the Middle East. Judge Sierra's crusade will do nothing to stop the threat of Islamic terror, but will likely further furnish the conditions upon which terrorism thrives - namely, religious indoctrination.

TYLER J. HUDSON

Tampa

Colleges Filled To Excess

Regarding "Quite Simple, Too Many People Go To College" (Other Views, Nov. 29):
Thomas Sowell is absolutely correct about our colleges having too many students. Our institutions of higher learning have become nothing more than student mills for the purpose of making as much income from tuition as possible, while puffing up the empire of college administrators.

It once was an honor just to be accepted to college. Now, practically anyone can attend college, especially if your family can pay for it out of their own pockets. College administrators scour the world for rich kids to attend their schools only because their families have money to pay. Four-year educations have become five, six or more year programs for those who prefer to languish in academia and its associated social life.

These "excess" college students shouldn't be there. They should be the ones to fill the ranks of the blue-collar workers that do fulfill an important role in society. We could have an adequate, productive work force, making it unnecessary to depend on illegal immigrants.

JOSEPH STAKUM

Zephyrhills

More Than The Money

Regarding "Why Take Four Years" (Letters, Nov. 28):

The premise of the letter is that we should eliminate the first two years of a university education because engineers or accountants don't need to take "courses in history, literature, religion, science and so on" in order to "make more money," which is proposed as the only reason for a bachelor's degree. How myopic!

So, why is it that all colleges and universities require courses in areas not directly associated with one's narrow major? There are myriad reasons, not the least of which is that a university graduate must be educated, not just trained. What good is an engineer who can't write a proper report or communicate ideas and thoughts clearly?

In the larger scheme of things, educated people must be able to think and understand much more than just their own focus of expertise. They must be able to relate their practice and indeed their lives to the complex world around them. For university graduates to be too narrow in scope would breed more citizens who would write idiotic ideas espousing solutions when they don't even grasp the problem.

JOHN STEFFERUD

Brandon

Leave Seminoles Alone

Regarding "Seminoles Collect Grants While Casinos Prosper" (Business, Nov. 30):

Why are we giving Native Americans such a hard time? Someone took their land away from them and put them on reservations more than a hundred years ago. Now they are trying to prosper like so many non-Native Americans and someone is giving them a hard time. Why don't we just give the Seminoles some respect and just a little love?

CHRIS DOYLE

Tampa

They Get Things Done

I find it interesting that within hours of Gov. Crist making a deal with the Seminole Tribe about gambling, we have several slick commercials being aired daily and almost hourly on TV extolling the greatness of the governor and his wisdom to accomplish this.

We have waited months for property tax and homeowner's insurance relief. Maybe it is time to turn the Legislature over to the Seminoles. They seem to be able to get things done.

BILL CURLEY

Tampa

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