Where are the honest, selfless leaders?
Once upon a time there was this beautiful land known far and wide as the Land Of The Free. In this wonderful land there lived many citizens that enjoyed the benefits of this freedom and as such they were happy to perform their duty. In a ritual every four years they went forth and cast their lot for the future leader of the land.
Most of the population was divided into two clans, the Blues and the Reds. The clan leaders and the rich merchants would put forth a recommended choice from each clan. While the majority of each clan would choose the one from their clan, others, usually non-clan members, would sway the result based on which one they thought would be the best future leader of the Land Of The Free.
Since the year 2016, the choice of the people has come down to holding their collective noses and choosing the individual disliked least, as opposed to one they really wanted. It should be noted that holding one’s nose while completing a ballot is not the easiest of tasks.
Now it has come to pass that the people are once again distraught with their choices. The citizens want very much to choose a leader that they respect and will feel safe with, but this is not to be. They are becoming jaded and weary of being presented with a less-than-stellar choice for a future leader. It is feared that once again the people in the Land Of The Free will be compelled to vote not for the best, but the least bad.
The Land Of The Free was created, nurtured and protected through the years by strong, honest, hardworking leaders who put the nation’s people before their own ambition, fortunes or pet peeves. Where are those kinds of leaders today?
Bill Andrews Orlando
Limit fertilizers near Indian River Lagoon
The Indian River Lagoon (IRL), situated on the east coast of Florida, has historically been one of the most diverse, unique, and environmentally important ecosystems of North America. Unfortunately, human-induced nutrient loading is the leading cause of the rapidly degrading health of the IRL to the verge of ecosystem collapse.
Fertilizers that contain nitrogen and phosphorus are damaging to the health of the IRL because they cause harmful algae blooms, especially in the warm summer months. However, residents, businesses, and towns in Brevard County are all in a unique position to make positive change in the IRL. Nearly half the lagoon’s length and 70 percent of its area fall within Brevard County’s jurisdiction and programs such as Save Our Lagoon and Lagoon Loyal detail the causes and solutions to the pollution problem — in addition to ways that the half-cent sales tax benefits the IRL and how you can help.
Currently, a seasonal ordinance is in place banning fertilizer application from June through September. However, as part of the solution, each town in Brevard County needs to help by imposing local ordinances to enforce the 15-foot no-fertilizer buffer zone from bodies of water and to also offer rewards to residents and businesses for compliance. Such ordinances would improve the IRL’s health, maintaining its biodiversity and improving its climate resiliency for the future.
Liana van Woesik Melbourne Beach
Schumer pandering with call for new elections in Israel
I was shocked, appalled and embarrassed at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel, which is equivalent to the Israelis calling for President George W. Bush to be removed after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Imagine that, after 9/11 and when we were fighting al-Qaeda, and winning, one of our allies calling for new elections in America, or for President Bush to resign. Schumer’s comments are clearly pandering to the hard Left and to Muslim votes that they might lose in the coming election. Oct. 7 was the worst massacre committed against Jews since the Holocaust, and for Schumer and Biden and the Democrats to deny Israel the right to defend itself against Hamas is a disgrace and the worst example of playing politics before an election that I have seen in my lifetime.
Charles Michael Sitero Ormond Beach
