Confederate Kidnapping
The kid was in danger: There are obvious questions for the family court based on your reporting of how a mom living in a home full of weapons and extremist beliefs ("Rebel Yell," Kyle Swenson, August 14) was allowed to keep the child. If a toddler living in a home with open boxes of ammo and guns isn't child endangerment, what is? You'd think that would be enough to remove a kid from a situation like that. Guess not. gumsandals
Politics aren't reason enough: You can't discontinue visitation of a child just because the parent has the Confederate flag and bullets lying around the house. Indeed, bullets are safest when they are not in guns. Worshiping the Confederate flag is idiotic, but it is not proof of an unfit parent. So kill the judge-bashing, please. Darren Hutchinson
A-Rod's PED Connection
Respect the source: To anyone doubting the accuracy of anything related to the story of Yuri Sucart, A-Rod's cousin and longtime PED connection ("Yuri Sucart's Tragic Tale," Tim Elfrink, August 14), please remember it was Miami New Times that broke the Biogenesis story and exposed the corruption that came along with it. Like it or not, agree with it or not, New Times pulled the curtain open and exposed there was no Oz. Let's not make A-Rod into a saint. Clemente Morales
Inside the circle: Only Yuri Sucart and Alex Rodriguez know the truth. We do not have an idea of what arrangements they had. Manny Castillo
Cash Cops
Ban tow company work: The news about Miami Beach cops being banned from off-duty work at nightclubs ("Off-Duty Cash," Trevor Bach, August 14) raises a whole other concern about the force: Off-duty police should not be allowed to work at tow companies either. Who cares if the Towing Bill of Rights allows payment by credit card? The tow companies demand cash, and off-duty officers just help facilitate that. swinghigh
Bad jokes: What a joke for the police union to use the argument that crime goes up or the police resources would not be needed if these off-duty police officers, who use taxpayer resources, were working at the club. These off-duty officers still have to call police for backup or to arrest and transport lawbreakers when they're working these jobs. I applaud the police chief and hope he continues to clean up a lot of the substandard police officers working for the agency! sajones
Stop whoring out badges: Letting police officers do so much off-duty security work is a huge conflict of interest. I would rather my tax dollars go to paying honest cops doing honest work for their community than a bunch of greedy, fat pigs who are interested only in fattening their own, already-overpaid wallets. You don't think cops who whore out their badges and authority we give them in order to make sleazy cash on the side are not going to have a conflict of interest? Say one club pays them and another club doesn't, and then both call the police. Who is going to get first response? This is nothing but a gangster protection money racket that completely undermines the public good. If these cops want to make more money, they should work on being better cops, not abusing the authority we give them to whore out protection money on the side. I support the new chief. Dan Oates is a no-nonsense, take-no-shit cop. voxveritas
Gun-carrying and distracted: The cops get the salaries their union negotiates, and they get great benefits. If that's not enough for them, they can find another line of work, though very few of them could find another job that pays as well, even without working outside details. Protecting the community while working more than 16 hours a day means they're not going to do a very good job — their judgment will be impaired. They carry guns, you know. Steve Atlas
Asking for corruption: There is a conflict of interest when a police officer works off-duty for another enterprise using his badge. He is entitled to work a second job if he wishes, but make sure it's a job where the badge is not used, because corruption will soon follow. Gabriel Miami
Bad apples: I don't see anything wrong with an individual having a second job and earning more money as a result. Several public servants have side jobs, and those side jobs do not interfere with their regular eight hours at work. Unfortunately, a few bad apples have ruined it for the rest. Other than the top few officers you found, the average cop is making only about $5,000 a year at nightclubs, and none of this is taxpayer money but rather is paid by the business that hires them. A lot of you simply hate cops and will find any excuse to vilify that profession. Armando Roberto Alfonso
