Letters to editor for Saturday, May 8, 2021

Readers write to Fort Myers News-Press and Naples Daily News about election law…

Letters to editor for Saturday, May 8, 2021 1

DeSantis signs bill to abet election lie

It has taken a while, but  Republicans finally concluded that since they have won the popular vote in very few presidential elections in recent years, they are either not popular or there are more Democrats voting than Republicans.

So under the guise of solving a problem that really doesn’t exist, while also trying to give credence to the big lie, as told by the big liar, legislatures in red states are changing rules to reduce chances to vote. Trump clone Ron DeSantis signed it into law (Thursday).

It just never ends. Republicans  keep trying to put lipstick on the big-lie pig. The latest is the formation of the Election Integrity Alliance, chaired by former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Peter Navarro. Based on their previous performances, it would be appropriate to never believe anything any of these people say. I’d be shocked if any of them could spell integrity.

If attempts by Republicans to suppress the vote don’t give you a window into the character of those across the aisle, maybe those who insist on disparaging President Biden by flying vulgar flags using the F word and ignoring the proximity of children will. These people keep proving Hillary’s remark about “deplorables.”

Roger W. Quagliano, Estero

Favor solar chargers over gas station

The Collier County Planning Commission should resoundingly reject the request for a variance to build a RaceTrac gas station at Golden Gate Parkway and Santa Barbara Boulevard.

Gas stations are in decline. There are roughly 25 percent fewer retail fueling locations in the U.S. today than at the peak in 1994, according to the Department of Energy. Improved vehicle fuel efficiency explains much of the reason for the disappearance of so many gas stations. Even with rapid growth over the next 10 years, the demand for gasoline filling stations will diminish, but we would be saddled with those tanks for many decades. It’s difficult to convert obsolete gas stations to other land uses. Say no to another brownfield in our county.

Before it approves installation of additional underground gasoline tanks, Collier County should assess future demand for new gas stations in a world where fleets are turning over to electric vehicles.

The time is ripe for RaceTrac to build a prototype convenience store with solar power chargers that would be embraced by neighbors and increase property values. Golden Gate (Parkway) has convenient access to Interstate 75 and the Coastland Center mall.

Bebe Kanter, North Naples

The big hole in election-fraud allegation

Here’s my question for those who subscribe to Trump’s big lie:

Let’s assume, super-hypothetically, that Trump is right and there was massive voter fraud; if so, why did the fraudsters target only the presidential race? Democrats had their sights set on numerous down-ballot races, including House and Senate seats they were sure they could flip, but in almost all cases they failed. If I’m committing voter fraud, I want bang for my buck; why would I ignore all but one electoral race?

If we lived in a sane society where voters could distinguish fact from fiction, the GOP would be headed down the toilet. All it has to offer is a bogus culture war: Biden is coming for your beef and your guns! 

The new litmus test for Republicans has zero to do with the Constitution or the good of the country. It’s simply: Do you support Donald Trump and his lies? Fox News does, and that’s why the country is going to remain deeply divided.  

Ray Clasen, North Fort Myers

Is SW Florida’s racial climate ‘ugly’?

“SW Florida’s racial climate is ugly” was the headline over a (guest column). The two examples the writer gave were a 1924 lynching of two black men by a white mob in Fort Myers and an annual Naples Jaycee’s Sunshine Minstrel Show last held in 1972.

I learned the column writer is an associate professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and founder and director of its Center for Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. He teaches courses such as “White Racism” wherein students learn how “racist ideologies, laws, policies and practices … have operated for hundreds of years to maintain white racial domination.” After reading Professor Thornhill’s guest column in the NDN and reviewing his course offerings, it appears he is focused on the sins of the past.

My experience with Southwest Florida race relations is as a Harry Chapin Food Bank volunteer, where predominantly white, middle- and upper-income volunteers work for several hours each day to provide free groceries to a predominantly Hispanic and Black clientele.

John Chandler, North Naples


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