A leading Human Rights Watch monitor who was abruptly put on the first plane leaving Venezuela early Friday said his expulsion shows the intolerance of President Hugo Chavez's government to criticism. ...more

September 20, 2008

I, for one, am really tired of reading the comments of political adversaries of current Sheriff Susan Benton and her staff of officers. Informed citizens, know what a great job the Highlands County Sheriff's Office has done for our county. ...more

September 4, 2008

On Thursday, Aug. 28 I read the article about the Arizona sheriff. I believe this man is right on target. He has saved the taxpayers a lot of money and made the criminals understand they are not in a recreation facility. It should make them think about breaking the law again in his county. ...more

September 3, 2008

Regarding "Deputies Told To curb Fuel Use" (Metro, July 4): If Hillsborough County Sheriff Gee is putting nonviolent crimes on the back burner, he should expect an increase in violent response. ...more

July 8, 2008

Once upon a time, the Republican Party believed in limited government,,,,, ...more

May 30, 2008

CLEARWATER - Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats announced a proposal Thursday that would slash $25 million from his agency's 2008-09 budget. ...more

May 22, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - In yet another incident of violence at the downtown retail and entertainment complex, an 18-year-old Largo man was robbed at gunpoint in the parking garage at BayWalk early this morning, police say. ...more

February 8, 2008

Regarding "MySpace's Changes To Shield Teen Users" (front page, Jan. 15): MySpace announced that all pages of people under 16 will be "private by default" to combat sexual predators. However, this setting can be easily changed by even a computer novice. What would be even easier would be to lie about one's age when prompted, a task anyone who can subtract 18 from 2008 can accomplish. ...more

January 17, 2008

The Patriot Act was not intended to circumvent basic civil rights. The purpose of the Patriot Act is to better assist U.S. law enforcement in fighting terrorism here in the United States and abroad. Remember Sept.11? The initial act was voted for by the Senate 98 to 1, one of the few decisions agreed upon by both Republicans and Democrats. The act breaks down the barrier between the CIA and FBI so they can share information about terrorists. Perhaps had that been done earlier, we would have avoided the Sept.11 attack and saved 3,000 innocent American lives. Many of the objections regarding the Patriot Act are actually allowed under previous and existing law, i.e., tools already used against drug dealers and other criminals. The act basically expanded them to cover terrorism and accordingly, made our nation safer. ...more

January 6, 2008

I'm commenting on the Highlands Today editorial about giving our veterans a stipend of $75 per month, which is fine, but not nearly enough. We have sent our finest over to battle for our freedoms in so many wars. We train them to kill, and whatever it takes to win. Then home they come, mixed-up, confused, depressed, no job, half the time they have lost their families, and we're gonna' give them $75 a month? ...more

January 1, 2008