Letters to the Editors

Policies let illegal aliens avoid the law

Re: Mexicans welcome SunTrust ID policy, story, April 12.

The article clearly states, "SunTrust's decision will affect hundred of thousands of illegal immigrants" and also states that SunTrust will accept matriculas as ID.

These (creative) matriculas are called "documents" by Mexico's President Vicente Fox -- hey, the instant solution to that minor problem of "undocumented persons." No more worries about international treaties, national laws, passports, visas and other legal claptrap.

In simple terms, President Fox wants to send to us those Mexican citizens that Mexico can't support. He loves them only for the "gringo" dollars they return to Mexico ($9.2-billion last year; put that in our balance of payments equation) and the number of illegal family members they take into that big welfare state in the north.

Oh, yes, the other forms of ID accepted by SunTrust are easily obtainable, too (anybody can get voter registration when they pick up a driver's license), so why does SunTrust bother to require any ID from illegal aliens? Of course, they will still require ID from U.S. citizens.

Regardless of all the excuses being made (SunTrust wants to make a profit; do-gooders want illegal aliens to be safe and comfortable; businesses want cheap labor; politicians want Hispanic votes), the truth is that all these people are aiding, abetting and rewarding illegal aliens in continued violation of U.S. laws. And some web of convoluted thinking makes them think that U.S. citizens and legal immigrants have a moral obligation to obey U.S. laws.

I again ask the question: Can you truly believe that all of these Mexican nationals (decent people, I am assured) will become law-abiding U.S. citizens, when they get what they want by breaking U.S. laws? You and I break U.S. laws and we go to jail.
-- R.J. Radford, Clearwater

Voters already have spoken for library

Re: Decision on new Largo library needs to be made by voters, letter, April 9.

Ms. Zampieri objects to the new library project approved (unanimously) by the Largo City Commission. She complains that "a project of this size and cost needs to be approved by the people"' by referendum.

She will be pleased (perhaps) to learn that indeed this project has been approved by popular referendums -- at least twice, and perhaps three or four times.

To explain:

Most -- some $19-million -- of the new library's capital cost is drawn from Largo's allocation of the Penny for Pinellas tax referendum, which was overwhelmingly approved by the voters.

The balance of capital cost is projected to be raised by growth in the Largo tax base due to recent annexations to the city of Largo, all of which were approved (in referendums) by the voters in those new areas.

Ms. Zampieri, please know that Largo's commitment to an excellent library is a vital investment in growth, both for individuals and the community, and especially for our children and young people. If you will withhold judgment for now and observe closely the positive results that will be generated by the new library, perhaps you will have a different assessment in a few short years.
-- J.B. Butler, Largo

Drive-through rules leave a bad taste

I am a local paramedic who works in Pinellas County. I was working on the night of April 11 at about 10:15 p.m. I had been working for several hours without a break and my partner and I were getting very hungry. We were finally able to go get something to eat at a Burger King located on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.

When we arrived, the dining room was closed to the public but the drive-through was still open. We were not able to fit our emergency vehicle into the drive-through due to the low clearance. As we approached the drive-through window, the staff stated that we had to drive through. When we told them that we were not able to, they went to get their manager. The manager then came to the window and stated it was against company policy to serve walk-ups.

We were very hungry and they refused us the right to buy something to eat just because we couldn't fit our emergency vehicle through their drive-through. They had the ability to serve us as paying customers but turned us away. That kind of service I can do without.
-- Rufus Lowman Jr., Largo

Bravo, Kiwanis, for teaching kids to swim

I wanted to comment on the April 14 article, Kiwanis Club to make kid a swimmer. I think that the Kiwanis Club is a doing a wonderful thing by teaching little kids to learn how to swim through their Every Child A Swimmer program. I think that it is even better because it is free. Because we live in an area where little kids are drowning because they don't know how to swim, it is important that every child knows how to swim.
-- Kyle Blount, age 12, Largo

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