At long last, some truths about who or what is a Puerto Rican is beginning to surface, as propounded by Dennis Freytes in his MY Word essay in the Orlando Sentinel, Feb. 5, objecting to Puerto Ricans being called "foreign." The resulting backlash reminds me of the Muslim agitators responding to the publishing of the Danish Cartoons. ...more

February 12, 2008

Norma McCulliss of Palm Harbor urges support for the Lupus Foundation of America. ...more

January 29, 2008

The "Other Views" column (Jan. 15) by Bev Griffiths, chair of the Tampa Bay Sierra Club, contained numerous errors about Mosaic's phosphate business and phosphate operations generally. ...more

January 22, 2008

Undeterred by controversy, a mysterious visitor paid his annual tribute at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe early Saturday, placing three red roses and a half-filled bottle of cognac before stealing away into the darkness. ...more

January 20, 2008

Why isn't the paperwork for deportation being prepared so this "Cuban citizen" can be immediately deported, either back to Cuba or to any other country that will take him when his sentence is completed? I don't understand how a person can be sentenced up to life in prison for possessing or selling small amounts crack or powder cocaine, but this guy gets off with a meager three years in prison for the manufacture and sale of large amounts of marijuana. Maybe, the judge's hands are tied by the sentencing guidelines, and if so, they need to be changed by the legislature. ...more

January 14, 2008

Refer to Mr. Ludacer's literal repeat of his editorial concerning the Patriot Act and Major Johnston's volatile diatribe about our efforts in Iraq. It's a shame Highlands Today can't find something new to accept instead of simply allowing a repeat of an earlier editorial from Mr. Ludacer or the kind of attack mounted by the major. It seems the major has an axe to grind with the military, apparently because he could not advance beyond the rank of major. Personally, I didn't get beyond the lower ranks of the enlisted men but I didn't and don't blame politics for that. 1 simply recognize that I did not apply myself to do any better and the major doesn't seem to be able to face that fact about himself. He chooses to pass the blame to politicians, for whom I often also have little love lost but they aren't the bullies standing in the way of personal development. ...more

January 13, 2008

The average resident of India knows much more about America than the typical U.S. citizen knows about India. ...more

November 23, 2007

I am writing in response to two letters to the editor in the Highlands Today of Nov. 17. I agreed with both letters wholeheartedly. First, the letter from Don Streeter. Sir, I, too, think it is a good idea to vote all incumbents out of office. When our elected officials refuse to listen or acknowledge what is in the best interest of their constituents, we use our most powerful tool available. We "un-elect" them. Yes, this may be a situation of throwing the baby out with the bath water, in that the very few good elected officials will lose their positions of trust, but we, the voters, desperately need to clean house. ...more

November 21, 2007

Randy Ludacer's letter in the Sunday, Nov. 11 Highlands Today is so full of misinformation it needs to be answered. Mr. Macklin did not come out against people of Spanish descent. He was trying to get rid of the illegal aliens, and not Mexican bashing, as stated by Mr. Ludacer. Mr. Ludacer calls them undocumented workers; that is like calling drug dealers unlicensed pharmacists. It is not a cheap shot, or bashing a powerless minority, to try to rid this county of criminals. If you are in the United States and do not have the proper paperwork, then you are committing a crime and thus are a criminal. That seems to be what they don't understand. All government paperwork should be in English. ...more

November 17, 2007

TAMPA - Three managers of an organization that distributed marijuana throughout Tampa were arrested Tuesday, Tampa police say. ...more

November 7, 2007