Just read Bill Cotterell's Jan. 12 column "The big lie should be a litmus test for Florida candidates." I've been trying to get answers to that question from Rep. Brian Mast. Please, Congressman Mast, answer these three questions:

1) Do you believe that President Biden was fairly elected? Yes or no. No wavering — just yes or no.

2) Is the riot by the former President's supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, defensible in any way? Again, just yes or no.

3) Why did you vote against certifying President Biden's election? Please explain your decision.

Howard Ginsburg, Port St. Lucie

I thought your Jan. 12 article about Michelle Lodzinski’s release from prison missed the essence of a great story. It failed to explain the unique circumstances of her freedom.

Lodzinski’s 2016 murder conviction in her son’s death was vacated by the New Jersey Supreme Court last month.

Because her conviction was vacated, not just reversed, by the court, that means she can’t be retried. In addition, it was a narrow 4-3 decision after a rehearing with a judge added. The court had originally deadlocked at 3-3, effectively upholding the conviction. The action by a state Supreme Court, overturning a jury verdict and preventing a retrial, is extremely rare.

The unique circumstances of the case — lack of cause of death, her changing story, the length of time elapsing until she was charged, and the slim evidence presented — should have all been included in the story.

If the cyanobacteria problems emanating from Lake Okeechobee are not abated and the pollution is allowed to continue its poisonous contamination of the St. Lucie River, the commissioners who have allowed this will likely one day be subjects of a newspaper story like the Thursday one about Michigan officials who are facing charges related to lead contamination in the water supply of Flint, Michigan.

This St. Lucie River pollution is knowingly fed by the tens of thousands of pounds of phosphate and nitrate fertilizers used to irrigate and fertilize 500,000 acres of sugar in Clewiston, Belle Glade and Pahokee. This nutrient-laden irrigation water is then back-flushed into Lake O, corrupting that once pristine body of water and transforming it into a giant Petri dish.

The Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual is weak as it is. If LOSOM management is entrusted to locals who only care about irrigation water, we are all doomed.

We pay taxes to support our communities, not political campaigns. Yet Florida’s governor has no compunction usurping our tax dollars for his re-election campaign. I’m told what he’s doing might be considered “incidental benefit” while carrying out public office duties and not a “corrupt” abuse of power. I disagree.

All Florida Medicaid providers receive official Medicaid “Health Alert” emails from the state Agency for Healthcare Administration. However, after his Nov. 8 re-election campaign announcement,

Florida’s governor hijacked our emails with these partisan dog-whistle “health alerts."

Nov. 18: “Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Legislation to Protect Florida Jobs” (based on the speech he childishly gave in Brandon);

Nov. 30: “United States District Court of the Western District of Louisiana Issues Nationwide Preliminary Injunction Against Biden Vaccine Mandate” and “This ruling follows recent actions by Governor DeSantis to protect Floridians from losing their jobs due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates … .” (What about protecting Floridians from losing their lives?)

Dec. 9: “Emphasis on High Quality, Transparent, and Cost-Effective Health Care Clearly Prioritized in Governor DeSantis’ Freedom First Budget” (apparently not the health of the vulnerable first);

Jan. 4: a politically divisive quote from his AHCA appointee, Simone Marstilleras, “The Biden administration’s most recent action tramples the rights of health care providers and creates a scheme of unequal enforcement, as well as uncertainty, among states while litigation challenging CMS’s rule is pending in the United States Supreme Court. Thanks to the leadership of Gov. DeSantis, Florida law prohibits blanket vaccine mandates and protects jobs, ensuring that our most vulnerable are able to receive the healthcare services they need” (The governor’s campaign manager couldn’t have worded it better).

What if a “lib” governor used Medicaid dollars for such blatant campaigning? This is Florida. Loading the dice by Republican leadership is sanctioned sport.

Vaccine mandates are a perfect example of how little this administration understands the American people.

Remember when the vaccine was first available? We all were desperate to find a place to get our “shot.” We shared the information with friends and family and told them of places that had “only” a 45-minute wait. We were all happy to know there might be something to help end this nightmare. Then it started to slow down and some in the administration decided that mandating the vaccine was a good idea.

This is where they went wrong. Don’t tell the American people that they have to do something. We really value our freedom. Making this mandatory made people dig in their heels and say “no.” If they had just let it run its course and advised people about the advantage of getting a vaccine it would have been so much better and we wouldn’t be having this division.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Letters to the Editor: Jan. 18, 2022

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