Offshore oil drilling in Florida? Readers weigh in

It’s time to ban offshore drilling near Florida forever | Feb. 13 Column

The majority of Florida voters voted for President Donald Trump. Now they should support his drilling efforts. You cannot approve of Trump’s removing the Alaskan oil drilling ban without approving of removing the Gulf of Mexico drilling bans. The not-in-our-backyard attitude is neither fair to the industry nor to your party. Drill baby drill! That’s what you voted for, so let it happen.

Craig Lewis, Tampa

Ban oil drilling off Florida

It’s time to ban offshore drilling near Florida forever | Feb. 13 Column

Good job Floridians. You voted for a president who doesn’t care about Florida’s shorelines or economic well-being. When you go to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean and tar balls are washing ashore and multiple businesses have closed, feel good about having a hand in this happening.

Chuck Fitch, Gulfport

Liberal hypocrisy

It’s time to ban offshore drilling near Florida forever | Feb. 13 Column

In a recent Tampa Bay Times guest column, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and former local chamber of commerce CEO Robin Miller penned their direst perplexity over the idea of drilling for oil a safe distance from Florida’s coast. The thinly veiled Trump-roast wasn’t backed by facts or even a coherent argument — just the usual hand-waving hysteria we’ve come to expect from a political party that treats energy policy — which literally fuels our economy — like a poorly researched middle school science project.

In the latest anti-drilling crusade, Castor and Miller failed to name a single project that poses a genuine threat to Florida’s coastline. Not one. It’s almost as if they are more interested in scoring political points than providing actual evidence. The logic seems to be: “Drilling is bad because… well, just because!”

Never mind that modern drilling technology in the United States has made offshore operations safer than ever. No, let’s keep importing oil in behemoth tankers from the Middle East, where environmental regulations are as rare as a Democrat admitting their party is in shambles.

Perhaps the writers believe the planet is safer when tankers crisscross the oceans, burning fuel and risking spills, all so we can avoid tapping into our own resources. It’s blatantly ironic.

Larry. D. Clifton, Brooksville

Oh, Canada!

Florida depends on Canadian visitors. Will Trump’s trade war turn them away? | Column, Feb. 9

My wife and I are Canadians who have owned a winter home in Florida for 31 years. For the last 23 years, we have spent 5½ months each year wintering in the Sunshine State. We have made many friends, both Canadian and American, in our community here.

We are very disappointed in your leadership’s desire to engage in a trade war. The rhetoric coming out of Washington about Canada and Canadians is offensive and certainly not appropriate or necessary if one wants our relationship to continue. It is an insult to suggest that any country could annex another sovereign country on a whim.

We are truly disappointed by the complete lack of outrage from our American friends and neighbors, from Florida’s leadership and from the Republican Party itself.

Must we assume that what is being said and done about and to Canadians is supported by the majority of Americans? We don’t want to reach that conclusion, so we will patiently wait and watch for signs that our continued friendship between our two countries will be valued.

Nancy and Larry Koehle, Weeki Wachee

I-4 expansion

Tampa’s most snarled interchange is about to get more complicated | Jan. 29

The expansion of Interstate 4, while likely welcomed by many commuters, is not a long-term fix to congestion. Plenty of research shows that widening busy roads eventually leads to more traffic. What does actually help the problem of massive congestion? Functional mass transit. Build a train, not a lane.

Kate Munkittrick, St. Petersburg

No to bigotry

Vance says DOGE staffer who resigned after a report of racist postings should be brought back | Feb. 7

It’s hard to keep track of the concerning things going on in Washington. Still, one clear-as-day problem is that, as a nation, we have become unacceptably tolerant of racist, misogynistic and other antisocial behavior. Such behavior has become increasingly common among those involved in government. It was recently revealed that a member of Elon Musk’s DOGE team had made bigoted internet posts like “Normalize Indian hate.” He resigned but was rehired when the vice president implied he was just a “kid” who should be forgiven.

I am a Christian and believe strongly in forgiveness, but that is not the same as tolerance. If a person is “adult” enough to be rooting around in important government services, we cannot simply forgive and forget their “youthful” mistakes. How can we know if they’ve truly repented and reformed? How can we blindly give them control over government departments that help minorities especially?

A broader problem is that the media has given too much latitude to bigots and other deplorable people. Newspapers won’t call out bigotry — it’s always just “alleged.” This has allowed public figures to be more openly hateful. Kanye West recently declared “I am a Nazi” on Elon Musk’s X. Musk himself gave what appeared to me to be an obvious Nazi salute on inauguration day. The media has also granted cover to politicians like Vice President JD Vance and their weak logic for employing racists. With national media failing the moment, I hope local papers like the Tampa Bay Times can more boldly challenge bigotry and other antisocial behavior.

Peter Youngblood, St. Petersburg

Go DOGE

The Democrats and the mainstream media are complaining daily that Elon Musk and the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency are out of control in their finding of millions in wasteful government spending, like programs for sex changes or Sesame Street in other countries. They complain about DOGE and Musk, but I have yet to hear one of the many Liberal cable TV hosts or websites bring up the many bizarre programs the United States is sending our taxpayer dollars to fund. Keep it up, Democrats, and 2026 and 2028 will be more of the same.

Scott Shimer, Land O’ Lakes