Rothstein for Governor!
Spence-Jones for lieutenant: In response to "Sheeee's Back" (Gus Garcia-Roberts, December 3): Michelle Spence-Jones is demonstrating how little she cares about her constituents by running for office again. If she had one ounce of concern, she would not run until her corruption case is resolved.
The burden of the election will rest on the overburdened taxpayers. She's just creating a zoo-like atmosphere. Does she really think Governor Crist will not suspend her again based on the pending criminal case?
What I don't understand is how we allow this loophole. Thugs and thieves called politicians have taken over South Florida. Now at least the Florida Supreme Court has allowed a grand jury to investigate crooked politicians. Enough is enough.
Or maybe Scott Rothstein should run for governor with Spence-Jones as his running mate. I am sure they would both do wonders for our state.
Tired of the Crap
Miami
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Vote for quality: It's probable that Spence-Jones will win based on race only, which is shameful at best. The person I would like to hear from is her mentor, Barbara Carey-Shuler. Spence-Jones's attorney stated he had received a voicemail from Carey-Shuler saying her words were taken out of context and she never intended to harm Spence-Jones. Out of context?! Even the bad lawyers don't use that verbiage anymore. There's something stinking in Denmark, and it ain't the fish. I hope the people will vote for the right person to represent them, not based on race or religion. Their lives, neighborhoods, and communities are at stake.
Lookitup
Weston
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He's Blessed
He escaped: Tarell McCraney's story as described in "The Dade New Wave" (P. Scott Cunningham, November 26) is fascinating, but it's a very common thing in the projects of South Florida. I also have been chased by kids with no outlook or direction in life. Tarell should understand he's blessed with this wonderful gift of playwriting skill. I am very proud of him. He did not become a product of his environment.
Claude Cadet
Miami
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Nail the Kids
Hell, look at Clemmons: If you forgive the teenager described in "Juvenile Justice" (Tim Elfrink, November 26) and let him out, it will happen again. This is his future — don't forget about the victims, what they went through, and what they are still going through.
The murder of four police officers in Washington state recently cast a pall on the nation's Thanksgiving weekend, and now there's a political controversy brewing over the main suspect in the killings. Investigators have named former Arkansas prison inmate Maurice Clemmons the primary suspect. Clemmons was released nine years ago after being granted clemency by then-governor and former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Huckabee now faces questions about that decision, which could damage his standing as a prospective Republican presidential nominee.
Huckabee commuted Clemmons's 1989 conviction for aggravated burglary and theft of property in 2000, citing the fact that Clemmons was only 17 at the time of the crimes. Clemmons, however, violated his parole and was returned to prison in Arkansas, where he remained until 2004. Before the cop killings, he was released from a Washington jail on bail. He had been arrested several months ago for second-degree rape of a child and assaulting a police officer.
Will
Miami
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Open the darn window!: It is very sad that juveniles like this one are never given the proper intervention and treatment when they first come into the system. Instead, we allow them to escalate to commiting crimes where there is no turning back. Once a juvenile does something that involves no respect for life and zero remorse, it is best to leave him behind bars. When you let out someone like that — with no roots, no support system, and no job — drugs and crime will be his only way to survive. He will return to the same life of crime. Intervention and treatment are believed to be expensive, yet we spend so much money maintaining so many people behind bars. Neither political party does anything that actually ends up serving children. Delinquent or not, children are children. But the window of opportunity for change is very small. If you don't use it when it is open, you will not succeed later.
R. Hernandez
Miami
