Balloon Boy Returns
That kid is cool: I just read your profile of Richard Heene's family, who became infamous for their "Balloon Boy" hoax in Colorado and now live in Florida ("Float Home," Deirdra Funcheon, December 13). Falcon Heene, the "Balloon Boy" who now fronts a metal band, seems like a cool kid to me. bobbjobob
Weird Art
That ain't art: Somebody please stop this nonsense. None of the weirdest exhibits you found during Art Basel ("Basel's Weirdest Art," Carlos Suarez De Jesus, December 13) is actually art: It's tasteless garbage. This story makes me even more thankful I wasn't at any of the art fairs for this stupidity. With Miami bombarded by this kind of stuff, we should be able to sue these self-proclaimed artists. Maybe I ought to go crap on their front-door welcome mat at their home and tell them I'm an artist too. jgcamp99
Don't censor art: Whether you think these pieces are stupid garbage or not, art represents people expressing themselves. If an artist likes dildos and other objects you call "garbage," so be it — they have every right and freedom to express that. Would you rather censor them or there be a rule where anyone can't express what they want? Steve Sylus
I know garbage when I see it: I wouldn't know what good art is if a trailer full of dildos slammed into my house. But I do know stupid crap when I see it. Seems like every year I read about things that get weirder and weirder. These are sorry excuses for art. It seems like people are taking creativity out and substituting it with shock value. And they get away with it because no one can question what is good art or garbage. Gabriel Geronimo Pedraza
What about the nude carnival? You forgot to mention Peter Anton's Sugar & Gomorrah, the converted carnival ride full of nearly naked people and giant doughnuts. That ride was pretty extraordinary. Leo Martinez
Terrible TSA
Screeners are the worst: Juan Garcia, the screening director at Miami International Airport who left the Miami Police Department after getting caught trying to buy sex ("TSA Trouble," Tim Elfrink, December 13), isn't the only creep and criminal at the agency. Let's revisit some of the other local TSA screeners who have helped the agency's reputation here. In September, a Miami screener was arrested for child pornography. In July, a Dade officer was booked for attempted theft, battery, and disorderly conduct in Key West. Two TSA employees from Miami-Dade were arrested in March after allegedly wrecking a South Beach hotel room and shooting a gun. In January, a local officer and his wife were charged with ripping off passengers' luggage. Nationwide, there have been 104 TSA workers arrested in the past 24 months, including 15 arrested for child sex crimes, 30 for theft, 12 for smuggling, and one for murder. According to news reports, the TSA allowed a known pedophile to work at Philadelphia's airport for six months after he was exposed. When will America demand that the TSA be replaced by a responsible agency that doesn't hire perverts, thieves, and thugs to staff its checkpoints? fisher1949
We're not laughing: This is just further proof that the TSA is an utter joke. crbullseye
Criminal Malpractice
Prosecutors care more about pot: The State Attorney's Office in Dade has always been more interested in prosecuting young, black pot smokers than going after real criminals. The story of Homer Kirkpatrick, the doctor accused 20 years ago of abusing HIV patients in Miami Beach but never charged until now ("Doctor Scumbag Returns," Michael E. Miller, December 13), perfectly illustrates this fact. TheDog
