It is a travesty that innocent people get charged/convicted for crimes they don't commit while others who falsify facts for their own gains are regarded as heroes by their employers. Where has justice gone? What is the message being sent to the African-American community or for that matter to all minority communities about the way justice is achieved in the criminal-justice system in Broward County?
You'd think that Sheriff Jenne would have more integrity when it comes to his honorable agency. Instead of praising acts such as those reported in the article, he should be pondering the effect of such statements on his political future. He has indicated that the life of Frank Lee Smith, a black man, wasn't worth a damn; he has further indicated the level of integrity that he values and admires. Special prosecutor Mirman's decision not to prosecute Scheff does not mean much. Scheff falsified facts and lied under oath on the witness stand and to the citizens of Broward County. He should be fired for conduct unbecoming an officer and for bringing shame to the BSO. Why should I care? Sheriff Jenne sure doesn't!
If you research your files, you will find others who have been fired by Sheriff Jenne for less than Scheff's offense. What separates those men and women from Scheff? Maybe they weren't one of the boys. For tyranny to exist, good and prudent people have to stand by and do nothing. Mirman's report is not a proper fact-finding investigation. I wonder whom he was protecting? Keep up the good fight.
Name withheld by request
via the Internet
When Gerry takes over, it'll get ugly: Thank you for the informative article about the IRA's gunrunning operation and its impact on Siobhan Browne ("Irish Sting," Bob Norman, July 19). Everyone in authority here in the United States, in England, and in Eire wants to ignore the fact that the so-called IRA cease-fire and the so-called peace process are both total shams. The impoverished Roman Catholic areas in Ulster have effectively been surrendered by the British government to Sinn Fein and the IRA, and the inhabitants of those areas are now the serfs of people like Conor Claxton. Gerry Adams is presented to the world as a statesman, while in reality he is just the IRA godfather in Belfast; Martin McGuinness holds the same position in Londonderry, Pat Doherty in Donegal, and Tom Murphy in Armagh.
From their secure bases in Ulster, Sinn Fein and the IRA are now positioned to extend into the Republic and will do so in the next election. The government in Eire is either going to have to recognize the threat and do a better job of dealing with it than the British did or accept a disastrous descent into lawlessness in the Republic. Sinn Fein and the IRA are already politically influential with a political leader in Monaghan. After the next election, they will extend their power into Kerry through Martin Ferris (who with Whitey Bolger attempted to smuggle 36 tons of marijuana into Boston in exchange for seven tons of arms) and will probably also have representatives elected in Dundalk (someone from Muirhevnamore) and Donegal (Pat Doherty) with Sean Crowe and one other from the Dublin area. They will be striving for the balance of power in Eire and will therefore try to create conditions that will lead to their holding sufficient seats to negotiate to put either Fine Gael or Fianna Foel into power.
Sinn Fein and the IRA have never been responsible for operating or managing an economy but have usually been the party that extorted and distributed the largesse others created. Thus they will be well suited to present themselves as saviors of the underclass, which will grow as the Celtic tiger in the Irish economy collapses with the next European economic decline.
In any event Sinn Fein and the IRA treat those they control in the same manner as they treated Siobhan Browne. They are run and operated by people like Conor Claxton. Thank you for personalizing the lives of its operatives and its inmates. The Americans who support the Sinn Fein and the IRA need to know its reality.
Frank Harvey
via the Internet
Today beer, tomorrow crystal meth: I understand that Jen Karetnick likes being an American after all ("Cuckoo for CocoLoco's," July 12). So do the owners and operators of the new Gatsby's in Davie. They have chosen to exercise their rights by setting certain policies. The fewer minors in an establishment that serves alcoholic beverages, the better. Owners and operators of clubs do everything in their power to educate, direct, and supervise their employees into responsible service.
Drunken drivers have been known to tear families to pieces. Teenagers whose inhibitions have been lowered are more likely to try drugs or continue to do drugs during their moments of alcoholic euphoria. Nightclubs and cafés found guilty of serving minors surely are close to the end of their ride. Gatsby's is simply protecting its own interests, as should any successful business. CocoLoco's and Gatsby's are clubs from different cultures. Both deserve respect for what they have to offer the community.
Mitchell Pellecchia
Margate
Bet he likes bleach: White greetings from Port St. Lucie! I read with amusement a letter in your July 5 edition in which the writer ridiculed my pro-British position. The author of the letter said among other things that the Egyptians were an advanced civilization before the British, as if that somehow discredited my position. I hope the author of the letter is aware that Egyptian civilization was Sumerian in origin and therefore white. I assume the author is of the "Afrocentric school of history," which teaches a pseudohistory that goes so far as to claim that ancient "black Egyptians" had wings and could fly until the "evil whites" came along and shot them down.
I also found it rather amusing to read in the same issue that some white South Africans were decrying white racism. If black rule in South Africa was all so wonderful then why, pray tell, did they flee to America to escape it? Could it be that they are like typical American white liberals who preach that integration is great for us poor white peons but not for them? They force integration and black rule upon the rest of us from the seclusion and safety of their gated communities.
Shouldn't those white liberals from South Africa take the next flight back to their "integrated paradise" and set an example for the rest of us poor white peons who are too ignorant to realize the joys and thrills of living under black rule?
Respectfully yours for God, race, and nation,
Bishop John David Alder
European American Episcopal Church of Florida
via the Internet
How many roads must Stratton walk down before they...: Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed Jeff Stratton's March 1 article "Blowin' in the Wind." Not that I'm a New Order fan, I'm just rather into the melodica, particularly as played by Augustus Pablo. I share Jeff's feelings in regard to the instrument's lowly status and the way it's criticized. Many years ago I went into my local music store to order a Hohner model only to be told by the owner that he thought it looked like some kind of sex aid!
I think the point of the melodica is its simplicity. I can certainly relate to Calvin Johnson's remarks that "I just make it up as I go along." It is an instrument that seems ideally to lend itself to improvisation. I'm not a keyboard player or technically gifted musician, but I do have a good musical ear, and the melodica just seems to let you blow along to any tune, which is very rewarding in its own way. This in itself merits more respect for the instrument.
Richard Smith
via the Internet
