At least she's no longer behind the wheel: Although Betty Bowen's lack of any sense of personal responsibility, disregard for human life, and lurid racism is certainly revolting, the gentle treatment she received from law enforcement is no surprise ("Driving While Demented," Ashley Harrell, August 24).
Driving in South Florida is dangerous because there are so many people on the road who do not pay attention to their surroundings. Seniors who can't see are only part of the problem. There are thousands of people of all ages on the road today who can see and are going to cause a serious accident because they can't be bothered to get off their cell phone, stop reading the paper, or doing anything other than paying mind to the road.
Betty Bowen's cavalier attitude is to be expected when police ignore drivers like her on a daily basis.
Kristin Currier
Hollywood
Bull Dozier
The reverend loves everyone: I never declared that Muslims such as Ali were blood-thirsty barbarians. I would never say such a ridiculous thing like that ("Allah Drops In," Sam Eifling, August 17). Secondly, I never called Islam followers "evil, corrupt, bad people." I simply stated that "Islam is a very dangerous evil religious cult." Since a few people have gotten upset over my use of the word cult, I find it necessary to cite the Webster's dictionary meaning of the word, which is "a system of religious worship or ritual, quasi religious group, often living in a colony, with a charismatic leader who indoctrinate members with unorthodox or extremist views, practice, or beliefs." Certainly, this describes the Islamic religion because it has a charismatic leader named Muhammad and indoctrinates its members (followers) with unorthodox and extremist views, practices, and beliefs from and by the teachings and sayings of the Koran and the Hadith.
Thirdly, during my interview with Sam Eifling, I told him that I loved the Muslim people because they are creatures of God and victims of the Islamic religion that is based upon the teachings of the Koran. I told Eifling that I love all people regardless of their affiliations. I have absolutely no hatred in my heart toward anyone. Please believe this.
Fourthly, your article stated that I played briefly in the National Football League for the Bears and the Jets. The reason I played briefly for the Bears and the Jets is because I got injured and was subsequently waived because of my injuries.
Lastly, I believe Muslims are extremists when they take the teachings of the Koran to heart and make Muhammad their role model.
The Rev. O'Neal Dozier
Pompano Beach
Dozier's a testament to his times: Not only is the Rev. O'Neal Dozier a hateful bigot of the garden variety; he's a religious liar too. Sam Eifling quoted the "very" Rev. Dozier saying: "Jesus never told me to live by Old Testament standards. He told me to live by New Testament standards. So that's what I do as a Christian."
Geez, didn't Jesus practice the Old Testament? Perhaps Dozier is unaware that the New Testament was written many years after Jesus, the Jewish rabbi, was crucified by the Romans. How would Jesus, then, know what the New Testament contained, and how could he request anyone, especially a hatemonger like Dozier, to follow it?
Simply, Dozier is full of crap! How can he blame Muslims for proselytizing when that is also the goal of evangelical Christians like him? Is that the pot calling the kettle "black" or what? More important, how could a creep like Dozier have been chosen by Jeb Bush to be a part of the Judicial Nominating Committee? What qualifications, other than suckering blacks into voting against their own interests by voting Republican, did he have? Does being racist count?
Harvey Slavin
Hollywood
Karr Wreck
Editor's note: On Friday, August 18, we posted a brief story on our website about University of Colorado Professor Michael Tracey, the man credited with bringing superfreak John Mark Karr to the attention of the Boulder District Attorney's office. Our story explained that a dedicated band of Internet sleuths had for years debunked Tracey's work on the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. Two years ago, for example, the sleuths reported that Tracey's latest documentary had announced a new "prime suspect" in the case, a man who turned out not to be a suspect at all. Our story, "JonBenet Flimsy," can still be found on our website, browardpalmbeach.com. What follows is a sampling of the responses the article generated.
Blame the DA, not Tracey: I agree that this latest lead in the Ramsey case is probably a wild goose chase. I also agree that the professor is shooting from the hip and is probably after publicity. But after all, it is the new DA who is following this lead, and while she probably should, it is also clear that she has excluded the parents from her line of inquiry. This is an inexcusable mistake.
Stephen Morton
New York City
Tracey looks the part: I saw Michael Tracey on Larry King the other day. I told my husband he's squirrely and trying to get media attention. He would offer no valuable information, instead stating he would not disclose the content of the e-mails or conversations he had with Karr. His appearance on Larry King was pointless. It was nothing we hadn't heard before in his press conference, and I think he's just trying to get national attention for his own notoriety.
Lisa Lynn
Powder Springs, Georgia
