Audio By Carbonatix
No Miracles,
Just Hard Work
Everyone did a great job at the NAACP event, including Rev. Willie Sims: Tristram Korten, in his column regarding the disciplinary action taken against Rev. Willie Sims of my staff (“Big Mouth, Big Trouble,” July 17), incorrectly implied that Reverend Sims was “miraculously” reinstated to lead our Goodwill Ambassadors program.
I specifically told Mr. Korten that Mr. Chico Wesley has the primary administrative responsibility for the program, and that has not changed since it was instituted six weeks ago. During the recent NAACP convention, Reverend Sims reported to Mr. Wesley, who was present throughout the convention and worked very closely with the NAACP convention coordinator and their chief of security.
In a close-out meeting, the NAACP staff stated that our ambassadors were “essential” to the overall success of the convention. I consider that a tribute to the hard work of our many dedicated volunteers, as well as Mr. Wesley, Reverend Sims, and Mr. Gene Hitchens.
While we have had our share of challenges and adversity, the staff is moving forward to overcome them and accomplish our mission. Serving our diverse community of residents and visitors is our most important goal. Our Goodwill Ambassadors program enjoys broad support from business, law enforcement, residents, and visitors. It is somewhat unique in this regard, and many visitors view it as a model program they want to see implemented in their communities. We look forward to providing quality services in the future to continue our record of success.
Larry Capp, executive director
Office of Community Relations
Miami-Dade County
Sokol: Bush Apologist
and Loyal Republican?
Probably, and apparently not tethered to planet Earth: I don’t know where Brett Sokol has been (“Crazy Like a Fox,” July 17), but George II’s brilliant little war in Iraq is slowly turning into a debacle, a great American misadventure, a guerrilla war from which this country will never extricate itself (read: Vietnam).
We will see just how “charismatic” George II still is this time next year, assuming we are still occupying Iraq. The messy quagmire could well bring him down, hopefully in 2004.
Sokol waltzes around Bush’s fundraising efforts, which prove his Republican administration is of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich — pure and simple. The Bush “Tax Relief Act for the Rich” (of which, incidentally, I am a beneficiary) has thrown the country into big-time deficits. As the government has to borrow money from the private capital markets, interest rates will certainly rise and economic growth slowed or halted. That is a great scenario for an election campaign in 2004. I’m certain Karl Rove is thrilled about this denouement to King George’s tax policies, of which Rove was the chief architect.
Where was the compassionate conservative Mr. Bush on the day the Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. State of Texas? Not a peep from the White House. Perhaps he was praying with Pat Robertson that three justices be retired. By whom? God? That type of attitude is dangerous to this country’s welfare.
Only when the great middle class wakes up and realizes it has been bamboozled by corporate interests and the religious right will this country return to sanity and economic fairness. But what will surely bring George II down is a nasty, protracted guerrilla war with body bags coming home every day. There’s no way Karl Rove, Fox cable news, Pat Robertson, or all the other Holy Rollers/Tax Relief for the Rich supporters of George II can control those images as they roll on the nightly news programs.
Obviously Sokol is a Republican and obviously I am proudly a Democrat, but I do look forward to reading more columns by him. By the way, I was a senior Capitol Hill staffer in Washington for twenty years, working for a Southern Democrat congressman and U.S. Senator, so I know how the process works in Washington. And from time to time I miss being part of the “action” in our nation’s capitol.
Winston Lett
Miami Beach
Sokol: Anti-Semitic Propagandist?
Yes, and obviously “Bushit” artist: I won’t even waste my time trying to refute Brett Sokol’s “Bushit” propagandistic drivel in “Crazy Like a Fox.” Anyone who follows the news media nowadays — even our own pathetic local media — realizes what a total disaster Bush’s policies and actions regarding Iraq have become.
But I have to take issue with Sokol’s thinly veiled, reeking-of-anti-Semitism swipe at Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Lieberman is not a religious fundamentalist, he’s simply an observant Jew who follows the tenets of his faith, which include observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Pat Robertson in a yarmulke? Nothing like a bigoted shot at the headgear almost all Jews today wear during worship services! What’s next, mocking, sarcastic references to gospel singing, Catholic saints, and Islamic prayer rugs?
Shame on New Times!
Richard Rosichan
Miami Beach
Excuse Me, Could I
Have a Place at the Table?
I’m just a little businessman, but the hemisphere should hear me: Celeste Fraser Delgado’s article about the upcoming meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (“Whole World Watching,” July 17) indicates that so far only business interests have had any input. But as a local business owner I can assure you no one ever offered me any such opportunity. How do I get to put in my two cents’ worth? Or is this limited to the very wealthy and owners of large businesses?
I’m sure you’re aware that, overall, small businesses far outnumber large businesses in terms of total employment and revenue, even though Big Business can afford the flash the public sees.
Paul Kruger
Homestead
Squawk: The World’s Most Expensive Cesspool
We could have conquered poverty with that much money: Not only was Humberto Guida’s article about Parrot Jungle true and accurate, it was comical (“For the Birds,” July 10). How someone like Parrot Jungle owner Bern Levine could get $25 million to build this cesspool is unbelievable. Do you know how many homeless that could shelter? How many rundown houses could be repaired for the poor?
Julius Clearfield
Miami Beach
Squawk: Funnier
Than Leno
At least Parrot Jungle is good for a laugh: Humberto Guida is one of the best writers I have ever read. There were more good one-liners in “For the Birds” than on Jay Leno. I laughed out loud. Keep up the good work.
Bruce W. Greer
Miami
I’m Not Saying the
Guy Should Be Fired
But how do you justify keeping such a nincompoop on staff? Deceit and incompetence are ugly words that rarely describe content seen in mass media. When they do, they are met with equally ugly reactions, as writers like Jayson Blair of the New York Times recently learned. It is unfortunate that these same words now describe Eric Alan Barton’s article “Sunshine and Bullets” (July 10), which was filled with inaccuracies that were either intentional or display an utter failure to verify data.
For example, Mr. Barton quotes Doug Thurmond, referring to a two-hour concealed-weapons-permit class offered at gun shows, as saying that anyone can “just go take the class, then you can take home anything you want — today.” This statement is completely false for a number of reasons. First, the Florida concealed-weapon-permit application takes a minimum of one month for the state to complete. Therefore it would be illegal for anyone to purchase a weapon and leave with it that same day. Even if the permit were valid at the moment it was applied for, which it is not, a buyer of a handgun would still need to wait till the mandatory federal three-day waiting period lapsed. As Mr. Barton pointed out elsewhere in the article, Broward has a five-day waiting period on all weapon purchases, which would also apply. Additionally, Broward County requires that any gun sale, including those between nonlicensed individuals anywhere in the county, must include a national background check of the buyer before the sale.
In another portion of the article, Mr. Barton states, referring to Bushmaster rifles, that “the rifles can even be converted, using directions found on the Internet, into fully automatic machine guns ready for insurrection.” What he fails to mention is that you need a skilled machinist and precision equipment to mill a substantial amount of material from the receiver and then precisely cross-drill a hole for one of the many replacement parts needed to make the weapon fully automatic. Those parts are highly regulated; the possession of any single one and the weapon is considered conspiracy to manufacture a machine gun and carries stiff federal penalties. Dealers who sell the parts will only do so to military, law-enforcement, and federally licensed individuals. The instructions, if in fact they exist on the Internet, are completely worthless if you don’t have access to a machinist, machine shop, and proper credentials to purchase the highly regulated parts.
The list goes on. In another paragraph, Mr. Barton writes, “With Florida’s weak gun laws, there’s little chance federal agents will know if a gunrunner is stockpiling weapons.” Not true. Every firearms dealer in the country is required to submit an ATF Form 3310.4 whenever “an unlicensed person has acquired two or more pistols and/or revolvers at one time or during five consecutive business days.” This form must be sent to the ATF and local law-enforcement officials. Furthermore, whenever a weapon is purchased, including those by law-enforcement officers, a background check must be performed. Multiple purchases/background checks from unlicensed individuals typically prompt investigation.
The last example is so glaringly inaccurate that it borders on ridiculous. “Federal law has long protected gun dealers, so much so that ATF agents are forbidden from inspecting gun shops more than once a year.” Under 18 USC 178.23 of the federal code, ATF agents have the mechanism to, at any time during business hours, enter and search the premises of any gun dealer who is believed to have violated laws related to the sale of firearms. This right also applies if one of the dealer’s customers is believed to have committed a violation. Not to mention the general powers of search, seizure, and arrest that all law-enforcement officials possess in criminal cases. To clarify, the one-year regulation refers only to the visits the ATF makes to verify that dealers are filling in transfer and inventory paperwork properly.
While I don’t suggest that Mr. Barton should be terminated for his deliberate deception or failure to verify data, I would expect that he and/or New Times issue a retraction or correction of the error-laden article.
Nick Davitian, Esq.
Fort Lauderdale
Eric Alan Barton replies: It is naive to believe that all gun-show dealers follow all the rules all the time. As for the federal laws on gun-store searches, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms in Miami tells a story slightly different from Mr. Davitian’s — namely, that the law forbids more than one search per year without evidence that a crime has been committed. We’d address the rest of Mr. Davitian’s points, but who can argue with his lawyerly ability to stretch the truth in support of gun ownership by terrorists?
Want to Enjoy Your
Sunset Years in Comfort?
Then smuggle drugs, not guns: Great article by Eric Alan Barton! But making a six-figure income from smuggling guns seems lame in a country where billions are made smuggling drugs. Besides, the real gun smuggling has always been done by Cuba — for more than 40 years.
But Cuba isn’t even on the federal list of terrorist countries. Oops! Oh well. Never mind!
Frank Resillez
Key Largo
Ralph Arza: Devoted Educator, Articulate Visionary
Never mind the fact that he selfishly abandoned his students: After reading Rebecca Wakefield’s article about the (unsuccessful) effort to push out Merrett Stierheim as our schools superintendent (“Stierheim’s Last Stand,” June 26), I’m baffled how state Rep. Ralph Arza can in good conscience consider himself a friend of education. He essentially left the classroom and his students in the hands of substitute teachers numerous days this year and draws salaries from both the school system and his legislative post. Yet he contends he knows what the school system needs — and even says he’d like to be superintendent someday.
By taking a leave of absence from Miami-Dade County Public Schools for the 2003-04 school year, Mr. Arza freezes his teaching position so that a “permanent substitute” will take his place for one year. I suggest that Mr. Arza vacate his teaching position so another full-time, qualified teacher can step in.
His actions appear self-serving, culturally biased, and lacking in integrity. As opposed to name-calling and talk of The Godfather, perhaps Mr. Arza could use specific, higher-level vocabulary to make his point and outline for the community his vision for the future of education.
Because I work in the school system and would expect retaliation from Mr. Arza for expressing my views, please do not publish my name.
Name Withheld by Request
Surfside