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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 13, 2008

Will Skip This Election

Regarding "A Mistake To Not Vote" (Letters, June 10):

I am one of the many who gave of themselves to the Clinton campaign. I could have given to the Obama campaign, but I saw no reason to do so. After all, I am not impressed by the man. The Democratic Nation Committee had no right to take what I gave to the Clinton campaign or to Hillary Clinton and give it to the Obama campaign.

If there was a mistake to be made it was in the DNC thinking this Clinton supporter will vote for Barack Obama for the sake of the party. Wrong! Obama did not win the Democratic presidential nomination; it was stolen from Clinton and given to him. If Clinton was a man this would not have happened. Had she been a black woman, this would not have happened. Most whites will not make such a statement, but my being a black man allows me to speak that truth.

And now, I plan on going fishing on Nov. 4 and invite all like-minded Clinton supporters to join me.

BOBBY McGILL

Valrico

Casting Half A Vote

Voting is democracy fulfilled. However, when alterations are made in this institutional process by revenge or retaliation that affect 100 percent of one vote or water down the will of the voter by 50 percent, something is definitely wrong ethically, morally and legally!

I vote in all elections. Win or lose, my vote has always counted for 100 percent of one vote. Now, because of controlling bureaucracy by people I didn't vote for or give authority to alter my vote, they have compromised by vote by 50 percent.

I regretfully have decided to apply the same methodology to future voting. I will only drive 50 percent of the way to the polls and return home. This is not what I want to do, but I know if I drive 100 percent of the way, I might vote for someone I really don't want to. Besides, they won't let me cast a half-vote anyway.

BOB KAISER

Tampa

And They Want Unity?

As angry as I was about the DNC's ruling concerning Florida, at least it was consistent across the board. What they decided about Michigan was completely beyond reason. To actually take delegates that belonged to Hillary Clinton and give them to Barack Obama after he removed his name from the ballot was inexcusable. I don't know how many votes each one of those delegates represented, but I consider it a gross example of voter disrespect to have done that. And the DNC claims to want party unity?

The other day I called the RNC and requested that they print signs that say something to the effect, "Another Democrat for McCain." It is not enough for me just to show my anger at the DNC in general, at the disrespect they've shown the voters in Florida and Michigan, and for the way they have treated Clinton. I want the DNC and the media to know why I and maybe some of you are voting for McCain.

B. MADDEN

Tampa

He'll Never Please Some

List the great presidents and you have to include George Washington. Why? Because if he doesn't make it work, none of us are watching a HBO miniseries on the life of John Adams.

Washington understood that if he failed, America's grand experiment with democracy would most likely fail too. Because the Father of our Country succeeded, we are preparing to elect our 44th president.

For the first time in our nation's history, there is the real possibility that a black man will assume the Oval Office. If elected, Barack Obama will have to work harder, longer and smarter than any president in recent memory, and no matter how much he succeeds it won't be good enough for many. But wouldn't it be refreshing to have a leader of the free world who understands he represents something greater than himself, a man who knows he has to make it work?

PAUL DAVID PRUITT

Tarpon Springs

More 'Research' Needed

Regarding "Defining The Second Amendment" (Other Views, June 9):

You have got to be kidding me. Stephen Halbrook is a research fellow? He should learn how to do a little research.

He refers to Webster's Dictionary to make the argument that because "coat of arms" is mentioned in the definition of "bearing arms" it means to carry arms in a coat when, in fact, a "coat of arms" refers to heraldic symbols, not smuggling a pistol under a smock. He goes on to say that although a "militia" is "men...organized into companies, regiments and brigades..." the essential fact there is that they are not professional soldiers.

How does that translate into: "any jackass with a gun?"

PETER WOOD

Tampa

Bring Back Inspections

I have a new twist on the recent Interstate 75 tanker incident. What we should be discussing is how to prevent this tragedy from happening again. The solution seems simple: Bring back car inspections!

I'm appalled at the kinds of vehicles I see on the road that look like they are being held together by duct tape. The tanker incident, from what I have read, started by a spinout due to the rain. Obviously, this must have been caused by balding tires on a vehicle that should not have been allowed to operate in that condition.

If our state had a $30-a-year-per-vehicle inspection tax that took no more than 20 minutes out of our lives, this entire mess and others like it could have been prevented. Every day we see a missing side mirror, faulty brake light or stalling car; these kinds of accidents must happen more often with the media only reporting the ones that happen fantastically.

With almost 6 million homeowners in the state each having an average of two cars per household, you create $360 million alone in revenue. This number does not even take into account the number of renters or even the total number of registered cars in Florida. Existing auto garages can be used as inspection facilities with those owners who participate paid for their trouble.

DAVID M. MARTINEZ

Bradenton

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