More than the ‘cool factor’
Flexibility a positive trait
Thou shalt not flip-flop is not the 11th Commandment
Our political commentators would lead us to believe that to flip-flop is a sin. The whole purpose of political discourse is to enlighten your opponent so that they reconsider their position.
Should we have criticized segregationist for embracing civil rights? Should we have done so to male chauvinists for realizing they were wrong? How about those who formerly opposed gay rights?
We should not force politicians to hold on to positions that they no longer believe in so as not to be tarred and condemned as a flip-flop. We make our political leaders afraid to take a position on a controversial issue because, God forbid, if they must change their opinion they will be accused of violating the “11th Commandment.”
George Liss, Boca Raton
The Jan. 2 story “Doing Cart-Wheels” missed the practical points regarding golf cars (not carts).
Though they can be tricked-out and driven on limited roadways, their best value is provided to the millions of Floridians who live in residential communities where such rules do not apply.
A new, basic electric golf car (for 2 or 4) can be bought from $2,500 to $5,000. Good used ones cost less than half.
Most run on 48-volt rechargeable batteries (standard 120 volts outlets). And maintenance costs average less than $500 per year.
By using golf cars within residential communities (the back can be fitted-out as trunks, zippered plastic sides installed against rain and many other off-the-shelf options are offered by manufacturers and retailers) instead of gas-guzzling cars, everybody wins: Less pollution. Less parking and garage spaces. Less noise. Better accommodates the handicapped, and so on.
And, by replacing a gas car with a golf car (that second one used primarily to drive to the clubhouse) the savings can be $7,000-10,000 per year.
Time for all nations to rethink immigration
The threat to European society is not multiculturalism or xenophobia, but rather the type of immigrants they are accepting.
Immigrants to Europe must adapt to Europe, not demand that host countries acquiesce to their wishes to replicate their old lives, even to Europe’s detriment.
When my grandparents immigrated to Canada 101 years ago, they kissed the ground. They were grateful to Canada for freeing them from oppression and for giving them a fresh start, and they tried to fit into the Canadian way of life. They would never have thought to demand special treatment. They were proud Canadians. Their religion was a private matter, not one that public institutions had to bend to.
Muslim emigration to the West has been troublesome. The majority appear not to want to join the mainstream of their adopted countries, but to replicate their cultures and conflicts and to establish enclaves where Sharia law overrides the law of the land.
In England, France, Sweden and Norway, Jews fear for their safety and are leaving in record numbers.
In Western universities, Jewish students are harassed by the Muslim Brotherhoodcontrolled “Israel Apartheid Week” and “Boycott, Divest and Sanction” anti-Israel/ anti-Semitic groups.
We must all rethink our immigration policies. We need immigrants who want to become part of their chosen countries, not ones who want to dominate.