To the Editor. Cancel culture took out Historic Statues, took out Dr. Seuss. What's next.... Sun Bay Paper.... or just an ol' fashioned Nazi "burning of the books"? Keep up the fight!I’m asking all the businesses I frequent why they aren’t in your paper, supporting your good work! I suggest all your readers do the same! Ron Andress Ed. Note: thanks Ron, every dollar helps keep the doors open! The federal rule that requires air travelers to wear face masks, which the Transportation Security Administration first imposed more than a year ago, was scheduled to expire this Friday. But the TSA extended the requirement for at least another month, for reasons that are even harder to understand than the original rationale for the mask mandate. That is saying a lot because the scientific justification for the TSA's rule has always been weak, given that the conditions on airplanes are not conducive to COVID-19 transmission. The ventilation systems on commercial aircraft, which mix outdoor air with air recycled through HEPA filters and limit airflow between rows, help explain why there were few outbreaks associated with commercial flights even before vaccines were available. "The risk of contracting COVID-19 during air travel is low," an October 2020 article in The Journal of the American Medical Association noted. "Despite substantial numbers of travelers, the number of suspected and confirmed cases of in-flight COVID-19 transmission between passengers around the world appears small." Sebastian Hoehl, a researcher at the Institute for Medical Virology at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany, concurred in an interview with Scientific American the following month. "An airplane cabin is probably one of the most secure conditions you can be in," he observed. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly reiterated that point during a Senate hearing last December. "I think the case is very strong that masks don't add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment," he said. "It is very safe and very high quality compared to any other indoor setting." American Airlines CEO Doug Parker agreed. "An aircraft is the safest place you can be," he said. "It's true of all of our aircraft; they all have the same HEPA filters and air flow." On Feb. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending general indoor masking in parts of the country it rates as "low" or "medium" risk, which as of last week covered more than 98% of the U.S. population. According to the CDC, then, it is safe to dispense with masks in stores, churches, schools, bars and restaurants -- environments where the risk of virus transmission is much higher than it is on airplanes. Yet the TSA said it extended its mask rule "at CDC's recommendation" so the agency could develop "a revised policy framework" based on "the latest science." Mask rules for transportation are complicated, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, because people are "moving from one zone to another" -- an explanation that makes little sense when virtually the entire country is in the same "zone" as far as the CDC's mask advice goes. The TSA's mask mandate has predictably led to much unpleasantness, driving a surge in disputes between travelers and flight attendants. For every obnoxious passenger who moons, berates or assaults the mandate's enforcers, there are many others who quietly resent this thinly justified imposition, especially when it compels them to force masks on recalcitrant toddlers. That expectation is especially difficult to justify since the risk to children from COVID-19 is infinitesimal even if they are not vaccinated -- smaller than the risk of dying in a car crash if their parents decide to avoid mask hassles by driving instead of flying. Adult travelers, meanwhile, can protect themselves by getting vaccinated and, if they are especially cautious, by wearing high-quality, well-fitting masks, regardless of what everyone else is doing. The Association of Flight Attendants nevertheless urged the TSA to retain the mask rule. The AFA's enthusiasm for hygiene theater is of a piece with its enthusiasm for security theater: Back in 2005, when the TSA began letting passengers carry small scissors and short screwdrivers, the union warned that "the aisles will be running with blood." In that case, calmer heads prevailed. But more than two decades after 9/11, U.S. travelers are still saddled with myriad nonsensical restrictions. The mask rule is just the latest example. Jacob Sullum Ed. Note: as we go to press the CEO’s of major airlines are joining up and asking for the TSA to remove the mask mandate for air travel! The Sun Bay Paper Page 8 March 25, 2022 - March 31, 2022 Letters To The Editor Guest Editorial PHONE: (239) 267-4000 MAIL: 16970 San Carlos Blvd. #160, Ft Myers, Fl 33908 E-MAIL: production@sunbaypaper.com WEBSITE & DIGITAL VERSION: http://www.sunbaypaper.com The Sun Bay Paper To the Editor, I'm selling my White Privilege Card. It's just over 69 years old, but is in mint condition, It has never been used, not even one time. Reason for selling is that it hasn't done a damn thing for me! No free college, no free food, no free housing, no free internet, no looking the other way while I loot, didn’t get no job or entrance to college for which I'm not qualified, no free anything! I actually had to go to work every day of my life while paying a boatload of taxes to carry those who chose not to work! If you are interested, I prefer cash but would be willing to do an even trade for a Race Card, which seems much more widely accepted and comes with countless benefits if you fit the profile! Interested? contact me on my non-Obama cell phone that I pay for every month. To show my support, I’m sending a check for a digital e-subscription, even though I can get it for free! Sam Rollings, online reader Ed. Note: thanks Sam!... For your support and your letter! To the Editor: Just so you know, I'm a Biden supporter, recently moved here from California, I do like some of your stuff, it makes me think.... however I imagine there are more like me, maybe you could print an article about something he's done or doing that you like? Gladis Summers Ed. Note: I'm trying to find that. It must have been blocked by Twitter and Facebook... but thanks, for reading our paper! ...... You reminded me of a story I received but didn’t know what to do with.... A rancher from Ocala noticed a man drinking from his creak and shouted "Whatcha doin? Ya don't wanna be drinking from that, It goes through my corrals and is full of horse pee and cow shit" The man said, "I'm from California and am thinking of moving to Florida, and I didn't quite understand what you said." The rancher yelled back, "If you use both hands, you won't spill any" It’s just a joke.... Welcome to Florida, please remember why you left Cali! Quote of the Week "These are the times that trymen's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." - Thomas Paine 1776 To the Editor. What a mess, Ukraine is getting turned into rubblel, God Help Us! i fear we are getting in WWIII? Janice L. Kleinworb
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA2ODE3