Cabinet appointments
Don’t erode what makes America great | Dec. 12
Thank you to guest columnist James Unnever for stating that virtually none of the incoming president’s cabinet appointments have real experience or the background to run those departments efficiently and effectively with integrity and honesty.
Without strong leadership to guide and listen to the people who know how each department operates, those cabinet positions are ineffective and nepotistic. It’s up to the U.S. Senate to carefully consider each and every appointment before expressing approval, and that is frightening! We, the people, elected them to the Senate, but they have forgotten their purpose: to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution.
Our country deserves better. Please, Senators, use a clear head and logic before approving appointments. Even if it means the incoming president has to return to better-qualified lists of candidates, that’s his job as chief executive of the country.
Carol Hess, Hudson
Who judges merit?
Don’t erode what makes America great | Dec. 12
James Unnever’s thesis is disputable for several reasons. First, since Griggs v. Duke Power in 1971, tests of merit that result in disparate impact (causal or not, public or private) have become legally unsustainable. This has resulted in a bias toward college degrees. Sorry, Thomas Edison and countless others who don’t have a formal education.
Second, merit has always been multi-dimensional. In disparaging some of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominations, the professor’s merit criteria are not necessarily inclusive or decisive to actual performance. We have all been exposed to many examples where the experts were wrong, too often without admission, accountability or course correction, or they were unable to disentangle themselves from groupthink and bureaucratic conventions.
Third, there is no case to be made that Trump’s selections are historically peculiar. Many have noted that some of the disappointment of the Biden administration and his undemocratic removal arose because too many of his inner circle were not his people but those whose primary allegiance was to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren and their visions.
As we learned from President Harry Truman’s battle with Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and as Trump surely learned in his first term, loyalty is a valid criterion for merit, not only for the political well-being of the nominator but also for the consistency and efficiency of pursuing the voter-approved agenda. Trump may have some surprising selections, but pursuing meritocracy requires performance evidence, not preemptive presumption.
Pat Byrne, Seminole
Mystery of the majority
Don’t erode what makes America great | Dec. 12
Since the election, as before, many opinion writers have analyzed why half of our nation went for President-elect Donald Trump. I think the products of sloppy, venal entertainment substitute for real thinking, reading and honest discussion.
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Trump’s rhetorical style aligns with the sense of grievance that many people (justly) possess; he makes us feel he’s with us and has the answers to our problems. And his superficial approach matches how much our public life depends on quick, easy messages. Why read an analysis of how COVID triggered inflation when you can blame it on poor governance? Why think through the details and the morality of wholesale blame of migrants when it’s easy to draw the problem in black and white? Why complain about the influx of drugs without figuring out why so many citizens want them?
In short, going on feelings rather than thinking makes it easy and habitual to trust and value the untrustworthy.
Antonia Lewandowski, Largo
Right on the money
Don’t erode what makes America great | Dec. 12
I just read James Unnever’s column. All I have to say is, amen, brother!
Ralph L. F. Sica, Tampa
DEI? How about WEI!
Don’t erode what makes America great | Dec. 12
One of the many racist insults Vice President Kamala Harris was subjected to during her campaign for president was being a “DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) hire” even though she was elected to offices at the local, state and federal levels. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominations for his Cabinet positions make me think of another acronym: WEI, for white, entitled and inept.
Joseph Brown, Tampa
Next steps
Pinellas County approves bonds to pay for new Rays stadium | Dec. 17
Now that the Pinellas County Commission voted to issue the bonds, the city and county’s obligations are largely fulfilled. The Rays then have a problem.
Here is the solution:
Major League Baseball needs to backroom engineer a sale of at least 51% of the Rays to a billionaire with liquidity. Having a billionaire owner on paper is no longer sufficient. Professional major-league franchises need owners who can stroke a check for $1 or 2 billion like Steve Cohen.
The Rays have stated that they can’t afford to fund $100 to $200 million more to cover cost increases due to delays by the county. This is chump change in today’s world of sports. Only new, wealthier ownership will be able to weather the unknowns and increased costs in the quest for a new stadium.
Next, the stadium conundrum needs to shift its search to Tampa. All along, the Rays, Major League Baseball, consultants, demographers and even fans recognized that Tampa is the epicenter of Tampa Bay. Darryl Shaw’s Gasworx is one of many options that could make for a viable stadium location. A wealthier ownership group will be more inclined to build a stadium in Tampa.
The only wild card is the vast profits to be earned by the land development rights attached to the Tropicana Field site in St. Petersburg.
In any event, only a new, cash-rich owner will be able to bring this challenge to fruition.
St. Petersburg will be fine either way. Play ball … soon.
Scott Wagman, St. Petersburg
Christian school shooting
Teacher, student, and shooter die at private Christian school in Wisconsin | Dec. 17
Too many evangelicals say that if there were prayer in the schools there would be no school shootings. How do they account for Monday’s shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin? It’s not prayer, nor the absence thereof. It’s the guns.
Gail A. Reynolds, Dade City
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Publish date : 2024-12-21 20:13:00
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