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Bethlehem, public transportation and the Capitol
Menahem Kahana AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A religious volunteer stands next to a bodybag and a stroller at the scene of a suicide bombing in Jerusalem’s French Hill neighborhood on June 19, 2002. A bomber blew himself up, killing at least seven other people, including an Israeli border guard, and wounding 40 more in Jerusalem’s second attack in two days.
The wall and Bethlehem
Re: Dec. 30 letter “No way in?”
The letter writer expresses dismay about the existence of a wall dividing Bethlehem and says that Joseph and Mary would have been cut off from the inn had the wall existed at the time of Jesus.
First, the wall does not divide Bethlehem. It separates the city on three sides from nearby Jerusalem.
Second, the wall has openings to allow individuals to cross between the two areas with appropriate security safeguards. More than 60,000 Christians reportedly visited Manger Square this past Christmas Eve.
Third, the security barrier saves lives. Palestinian terrorists killed more than 1,100 Israelis between 2000 and 2005, including 211 from Jerusalem. Since stepped-up security measures began in 2006, the terrorist death toll has been 36.
I wish the writer had as much compassion for the innocent victims of terrorist bombings as she displays for the figurines in her imaginary manger scene.
Jay Rubin
jaylrubin@gmail.com
Austin
Capitol bus stop
Re: Dec. 20 article “Capitol security plans will bump bustling bus stop.”
Gov. Rick Perry and the State Preservation Board’s plan to turn the Texas Capitol complex into a Baghdad “Green Zone” by moving one of the city’s most important bus stops speaks more of racism, classism and expedient politics than it does of “security.”
Though destroying Austin’s most vital downton transit junction might send significant numbers of transit-riding state employees back to their cars and increase traffic on our roads, most of Austin’s bus riders are minorities and earn less than $20,000 annually.
Moving the buses is really about keeping “those kind of people” away from the Capitol grounds and Governor’s Mansion.
DAVID D. DOBBS
Executive director
Texas Association for Public Transportation
Austin
War on drugs
One definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting different results. So it goes with the “war on drugs.” No matter how much it’s fought, the drugs keep flowing, including steroids.
The fact is, people will use drugs no matter their illegality. And not only is this “war” futile, but fighting over control of the illegal trade in other countries, like Mexico, has caused horrendous mayhem, for which we are responsible with our policies.
Isn’t it time to try something different? Drugs could be decriminalized. Production and distribution could be controlled and taxed. Proceeds from drug sales could be used for discouragement campaigns and rehabilitation instead of enriching criminal gangs and filling our prisons with drug abusers.
The “war on drugs” does more damage than good.
EUGENE CZORA
autocycle@austin.rr.com
Cedar Creek
Condomania
Re: Dec. 21 article “Spoke sold, but two-steppin’ to go on.”
I would like to build some condominiums at the Texas Capitol. Of course, the Capitol building can remain for character and what not.
JOSHUA BUMB
San Marcos
Taxing energy
Re: Dec. 17 article “Local lawmakers diverge on climate change.”
Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, Republican U.S. senators from Texas, should be applauded for voting against the version of the Senate energy bill containing massive new taxes on domestic energy production.
New energy taxes would have a huge negative effect on our economy since they are directly passed down to consumers and businesses in the form of higher prices at the pump and for all other goods and services.
I do agree that America needs to seek new solutions to the rising demand for energy worldwide and to address climate change. However, the last thing we need is higher energy taxes that would only make matters worse for consumers.
HAROLD R. KRISE
Cedar Park
Cost effective?
Re: Dec. 9 commentary “Communication goes both ways.”
Fred Gilliam, the president and CEO of Capital Metro, wrote that one of the goals for the transit system is to be “cost effective.”
He must calculate cost effectiveness the same way our military does. To kill four of the enemy we need one aircraft carrier, 6,000 sailors, four aircraft and four 500-pound lazer-guided bombs.
Cap Metro’s rail service will never pay for itself. It will be a money pit.
The 62 percent vote is meaningless. People vote for what is effectively advertised
DONALD HEILIG
dm_heilig@yahoo.com
Lakeway
When the war ends
When President Bush can’t keep the Iraq war going because he is no longer president and National Guard troops start returning to their jobs and displacing the ones who were doing it, what happens to our economy?
What happens to the people who were manufacturing replacement vehicles, weapons, ammunition, bombs and other military gear when they’re no longer needed?
The United States still has tens of thousands of troops in Korea, and we’ll probably have tens of thousands of troops in Iraq. The new president is going to have a truckload of problems left by the Bush administration.
JERRY GARVIN
jerrygarvin@webtv.net
Austin
Age discrimination
A new regulation gives employers, big and small, a way to “skip” around age discrimination laws.
Now they can decrease or eliminate benefits to retirees 65 and older.
Mark another victory for the Bush administration and big business.
JERRY SMITH
Fredericksburg
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Outrage over the PEC
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The board of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative met at the headquarters of the CPS public utility in San Antonio on July 16.
The gilded era at Pedernales Electric Cooperative
Re: Jan. 6 article “Co-op records: posh travel, no oversight.”
I’ve been a Pedernales Electric Cooperative customer for 25 years and am outraged at the fiscal abuse committed by the management.
At the very least, the ousted management should be prosecuted for theft. While I understand business travel is necessary to continue the education of managers of most businesses, I know I could find them a cheaper flight.
This is one more result of consumer apathy and complacency, of which most PEC members are guilty. Kudos to those who have stepped up to the plate to expose these matters and effect change.
SANDY BURTON
slw723@aol.com
Cedar Park
Other recent coverage of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative:
Jan. 6 article “Pedernales keeps paying when some are away from job.”
Jan. 6 article “Pedernales co-op changes leadersand bylaws, but members still locked out.”
Jan. 6 rundown of PEC board members.
Jan. 6 highlight “Expenses of some Pedernales executives.”
Jan. 6 editorial “PEC hire is move in right direction.”
I have been a PEC customer/member since the spring of 1977.
I read every word of Claudia Grisales’ coverage Jan. 6. I am appalled at the extravagances in salary and benefits, not to mention the luxury meals, hotels, etc.
I expected better of board member Libby Linebarger. Her reply regarding General Manager Bennie Fuelberg’s expenses not being checked was that perhaps the board was a little lax.
A little lax Â- how about a whole lot? As these expenses cover only five years by court order, I fear it is only the tip of the iceberg. I wonder how much more they have soaked the members for.
There are members on limited or fixed income who struggle to pay their bills while members of the board are wallowing in the lap of luxury. I find their actions reprehensible.
JOHNNIE L. PHILLIPS
Wimberley
Because all of our South Austin neighborhood is serviced by Pedernales, I asked the PEC if it would help us by “sponsoring” our neighborhood Christmas light display and donate a $100 and $50 gift certificates to the best lighting displays.
They said no, they could not just give away money every time someone asked or they’d be broke. But they can live it up on first-class junkets.
JAMES COOPER
Austin
Thank you, Claudia Grisales, for your thorough investigative reporting on the poisonous attitude exhibited by PEC’s top management toward us - the member/owners.
Thank you, state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, for your determinaton in holding these bums accountable and to state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, for letting them know that he is watching, too.
I have the utmost respect for the employees of PEC and their excellent service, and I suspect such integrity will continue under incoming general manager Juan Garza.
PEPPER MORRIS-PFIESTER
Spicewood
I cannot believe this conduct is being allowed by the attorney general. This is such a gross misuse of consumer money and warrants more than an investigation and a promise that it won’t happen again.
As a co-op member, I demand a refund on my bill to compensate for this type of behavior. One lawsuit appears not to be enough.
If this situation goes unchecked, expect more repercussions from a public that already is fed up with the energy regulation of this state.
JEFF WILLIAMS
jenmwil@earthlink.com
Round Rock
What is amazing to me, a 29-year member of the PEC, is that this “in your face, good ole boy” system has been allowed to continue so long with no oversight or accountability.
I doubt that my rebate check, if and when it arrives, will be enough to buy my wife and I a round trip to San Antonio.
ROBERT EWAN
Round Rock
The Way is not United
Re: Dec. 16 Rich Oppel column “United Way’s new strategy carries a risk in a new culture.”
I was educated by Oppel’s clear statement of United Way’s new goals and priorities - goals: helping communities rank important issues and devise ways to solve them, priorities: education, health and financial stability.
I agree completely with his assessment of the risk: discarding services that provide need-it-now services. I also understand his take on the new culture: hip, return on investment, individualistic.
What kind of person requires need-it-now services? There are numerous synonyms for “destitute,” some sympathetic, some judgmental. This suggests to me that there are many paths to destitution, but the suffering is held in common.
Such a dichotomy raises the question: What is the Way our community is United on?
JOSEPH A. RICE
Austin
Beware the second coming
The Texas Education Agency plot to remove science from the curriculum has been unveiled.
The plan is to move the end of the earth forward so that its followers would be alive to witness the second coming of Christ, instead of having to wait to be raised from the dead.
Warning: Don’t change your health care provider from an M.D. to a D.I.D. (doctor of intelligent design). Chances are, you will die before the new second coming.
ROBERT F. ELLZEY
Austin
Democrats spared
Re: Jan. 2 “Best of Sargent” editorial cartoons.
The two pages only showed how biased Ben Sargent is. Both houses of Congress are controlled by Democrats, yet not a single piece by him was critical of them.
ALEX MERICAS
Austin
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Cell phones, taxes and Sargent
Cell phones in schools
Re: Dec. 30 article “Officals: Rumors of school threats used to get out of exams.” As a high school junior, text messaging is a convenient form of communication when I am at school.
However, the recent news of students at Augusta High School in Arkansas exploiting the death of a fellow school mate, and using this technological asset to spread rumors of threats to avoid taking end-of-semester exams, is disheartening.
I believe that more comprehensive preventative measures must be instituted at schools other than just a ban on cell phones if we are to keep students from doing these kinds of things.
CHRISTOPHER CUEVA
christophert.cueva@gmail.com
Austin
Fuelberg’s fiefdom
The American-Statesman has asked the board of Pedernales Electric Cooperative Inc. to show leadership.
So what does the co-op do? Quickly hide behind closed doors to appoint a new general manager, with outgoing general manager Bennie Fuelberg there to supervise.
This board apparently thinks the PEC is still Fuelberg’s personal fiefdom. It’s still bowing in obedience to him.
If you like a puppet board, good at feathering its own nest, we’ve got one.
Board members ignore PEC member/owners and disregard their fiduciary responsibilities. Why? Because PEC bylaws give us - the owners - so little say in who’s on the board.
Some changes are possible. It’ll take petitions from 25 percent of PEC’s 220,000 members - and probably a court fight - to remove directors. It may take a wholesale change in directors to make sure our PEC manager is accountable to a conscientious and accountable board.
Let’s get organized. E-mail me.
Carlos Higgins
PECmem@sbcglobal.net
Austin
River City musings
Re: Dec. 24 Michael Barnes’ column “Holiday musings on River City.”
While visiting family in Austin over Christmas, I read Barnes’ account of his walk from south to mid-Austin. (Visit austin360.com/outandabout.) It was a great piece.
We lived in Austin for 23 years while I taught at the University of Texas. Over those years, I often chafed at Austin chauvinism . And I dismissed a lot of the nostalgia for an “old Austin” that was there before we arrived in 1978, especially as those who arrived in ‘88 and ‘98 lamented what had been there for only a few years.
But it is a very special place, and Barnes’ description of the mix of old and new, of what’s still there and what has become even better, was a fine way to explain to others why we like and are excited by many of the changes.
Horace Newcomb
Athens, Ga.
City tax breaks
The City Council has no right to decide who pays Austin’s high taxes and who doesn’t.
The City Council says the Domain deal is good business, and they may be right. What’s good for the Domain is just as good for every other business owner in Austin.
The solution is not to pick and chooses who pays taxes and who doesn’t but to lower or even abolish the taxes for all businesses in Austin.
Dwain Schuh
Furniture Market
Austin
Huckabee and taxes
Pay everyday the Mike Huckabee way.
And the trade-off … wait a minute. There’s not a trade-off, unless you count loss of government services.
The sort-of-likeable country preacher and former governor from Arkansas aspires to the folksy side of Ronald Reagan, the Republican idol-in-chief, but his 23 percent sales tax is more attuned to Reagan’s starve-the-beast director of the Office of Management and Budget, David Stockman (recently indicted for fraud), and Newt Gingrich’s stop-the-government-in-its-tracks tactics.
Grover Norquist, leader of the Americans for Tax Reform organization, joins with Stockman’s and Gingrich’s wish to strangle the government but finds Huckabee’s sales tax (which experts say could reach 50 percent) confiscatory. This is not even counting state sales taxes.
Huckabee will soon make Republicans forget that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is a flip-flopper.
BILL SHAW
bevo1@mail.utexas.edu
Austin
Disgraceful abuse
Re: Jan. 2 “Best of Sargent” editorial cartoons year.
This is typically slanted and barbed anti-Bush opinion.
For those of us who voted for the twice-elected president of this great country, the Statesman’s failure to provide an equal two-page spread of our point of view is totally disrespectful of a large number of subscribers. It is, in fact, a disgraceful, divisive and irresponsible abuse of your freedom of speech and mine.
Those of you who constantly criticize my commander-in-chief accomplish nothing more than embolden cowardly terrorists around the world who would kill you, me and our children without mercy.
Ben Sargent’s lampoons weaken America’s status in the world, as well as those who serve in the U.S. military to protect our freedoms.
I expect little change in the direction the Statesman takes at the “intersection of opinion, humor and politics,” however, I challenge you to give readers a fair and balanced view of world events and opinion.
BILL CROWE
Round Rock
Government work
Re: Jan. 2 Statesman Watch “What works now and what doesn’t - yet.”
Maybe I’m missing something, but why is it necessary to nudge government managers to do their jobs?
Isn’t this something normally expected of employees, especially those whose salaries are paid by taxpayers? Good thing we don’t all work for the government or there wouldn’t be anyone to oversee that we did our jobs.
DWAIN IDEUS
Austin
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Rocket fuel?
Do you believe that Roger Clemens didn’t take steroids?
Visit the Editorial Board blog to read one perspective on the accusations.
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The judge, the GOP and the nonprofit
Ralph Barrera AMERICAN-STATESMAN
State District Judge Charlie Baird has made a series of provocative rulings since taking over the 299th District Court in Travis County about a year ago. Often, those rulings have endeared Baird to defense lawyers and have frustrated prosecutors.
Verdicts on Baird story
Re: Dec. 29 article “Soft on crime or strong on 2nd chances?”
I found State District Judge Charlie Baird’s plea agreement with convicted bank robber Norvin Buggage disturbing. Robbing a bank with a gun is an act of terrorism. Baird’s disregard for the victims of Buggage’s crime is wrong.
Not only did Baird disregard Buggage’s heinous act of threatening bank employees with a gun, he also showed extremely bad judgement by effectively letting him go. As Steven Kreytak reports, Buggage disappeared.
Should Baird want to run for re-election, I know I will not vote for him. It appears he makes very bad decisions.
ELLEN SIMPSON
Austin
The article on Baird was disappointing.
As a defense attorney, I regularly appear before him. Though I do not agree with all of his decisions, I greatly respect him. His thinking is scholarly and insightful. He understands the function (and dysfunction) of our criminal justice system and exhibits the political courage to try new approaches to old social problems.
I wish the American-Statesman had delved into the complex issues which judges face in criminal cases. Perhaps then the value of Baird’s approach would be more appreciated.
Alternative approaches to dealing with our problems are sorely needed. You missed an opportunity to inform the public and unfairly denigrated a respected, elected public official.
SCOTT SMITH
Austin
GOP to the rescue
Even before the Republican party sold the unsophisticated voters of this country on the notion that it had the “true religion,” the U.S. tax code had become a virtual playground for the rich and powerful, especially big oil.
Over the past 30 years, much of the complexity layered onto our tax code has been for the purpose of granting loopholes that allow oil and gas producers and distributors to pay lower taxes than they would otherwise.
In the meantime, the oil industry has been engaged in the wholesale transfer of U.S. wealth to sheikdoms in places like Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Last month, the Republican party rescued big oil again by forcing the removal of tax measures from the Senate energy bill. Those measures would have removed a smattering of particularly egregious and wasteful tax giveaways to oil and gas companies.
The proof is in the pudding. U.S. policy is to sustain and invigorate those who need help the least. Devil take the hindmost.
CHRIS KELLER
Austin
Why now, GOP?
I have watched the Republican presidential candidates debate. What I don’t understand is, if Republicans are going to do all these things they are promising, why haven’t they done any of it in the years they totally controlled the presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court?
JIM DENTON
Gatesville
Racing on the toll roads
I find it amazing how fast toll roads can be built compared with regular highway construction. The toll road being built at FM 1327 and Interstate 35 near Buda - Texas 45 Southeast - is going up at blinding speed.
It seems to me that the flyover from northbound Interstate 35 to eastbound Texas 71 toward the airport was intentionally left unfinished to justify the building of certain toll roads that lead to the airport.
BILL LEWIS
Buda
United Way’s failings
Despite being created simply as a vehicle to raise funds for member organizations, as originally established, the United Way is now determining the community agenda.
It is also reflective of the United Way’s inability to successfully galvanize the community to donate to it. If it were truly successful, it would be able to fund the organizations it is dropping. The fact that Austin is 48th nationally in giving is illustrative of the woeful state of the United Way.
As a nonprofit executive who has worked with various United Way organizations for more than 40 years, I offer this: It is far better to give directly to the charity of your choice.
BRIAN ARCHIMBAUD
barch@austin.rr.com
Cedar Park
The United Way’s “new strategy” is a continuation of its movement away from truly being responsive to community needs.
The changes it has made over the past several years are what has lead to reduced contributions and support. Remember when the purpose was to provide a single place where a person could contribute, and the funds would support all community programs? We used to be able to designate where our contributions would go.
Then changes started. If the activity wasn’t politically correct (for example, the Boy Scouts of America), the organization was were kicked out.
Now we see United Way concentrating its efforts. As a result, the United Way is losing its way. That is why the United Way is getting less funding. It is why I make my contributions elsewhere.
LEE JOHNSON
Cedar Park
I swear I will
Isn’t it odd that under the most blatantly religious administration ever, we have enshrined torture into national law? Next election, I’m voting for the atheist.
TITA OWRE
Woodcreek
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Trains, sinners and chocolate
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Four nights of blaring horns during testing of Capital Metro’s new commuter trains in nearby North Austin shook up neighbors, who gave Cap Metro and the politicians overseeing the agency an earful.
Option for Cap Metro’s train testing
Re: Dec. 28 article “Testing of trains grinds to a halt.”
Capital Metro should consider the immediate erection of signs along the proposed train route stating the following: “Super Wal-Mart to be built on this site starting mid-January.”
The signs should be located at every train crossing and proposed station location and remain up for the next six months while the trains are tested elsewhere.
After the six months, the signs can come down and the neighborhood will welcome the trains and stations with open arms.
JOHN HOWARD HATFIELD
johnhowardh@yahoo.com
Austin
Seriously, about Wal-Mart
Lincoln Property and Wal-Mart should revert to their original building plan.
They made concessions to the Allandale Neighborhood Association and to Responsible Growth For Northcross, and all they got in return was a baseless lawsuit. I would welcome and patronize a complete Super Wal-Mart in Northcross, because it would be of more value to me and my family than either of the groups that claim to be acting in our best interest.
BOBBY L. DAVIS
Austin
Make all sinners pay
The state is targeting only a small percentage of sinners with the new strip club sin tax.
The best place to tax sin would be churches. This is where the broadest spectrum of sinners goes on a regular basis. Let’s not limit the tax to sins of the flesh.
There are plenty of other legitimate sins awaiting taxation.
JAMES PAINE
Austin
Call to action
I believe that the American people are stirring. The American voters in 2006 showed true political will at the ballot box. Though the change has been insufficient to force the reckoning needed, I am thrilled that so many of my fellow citizens have thrown off their cloak of apathy.
The key to taking our country back is political participation. I urge all of us outraged with the direction of our country to join the political process. Speak out. Join a campaign. Call your representative. Write to a letter to the editor. Protest. None of us can stand idle in 2008.
DAVID CRUMP
davcrump@yahoo.com
Austin
Semi-sweet response
Re: Dec. 31 article “Professor of chocolate unwraps many lessons for students to savor.”
What’s going on up there at Southwestern University? Caffeine overload from the high cacao content?
This story about a semester of chocolate offers the perfect example of why higher education is held in such low standing among many sensible people.
Here’s a curriculum proposal for spring ‘08: a symposium on s’mores.
DON GRAHAM
dgbb@mail.utexas.edu
Austin
Johnston’s deficiency
Re: Dec. 30 article “Johnston High tackling truancy.”
So the principal at Johnston High School thinks little bribes from Sonic will improve attendance.
Isn’t this the same school where the students walked out when they didn’t think their academically deficient football team would get to play; likewise when they went to support the march of illegal immigrants?
I’ve been reading the same things about Johnston (and a few other schools) for the entire 30 years that I’ve been in Austin.
It’s not the school that’s deficient, it’s the students. It’s a significant portion of the student body that has no interest in learning, that has no values imparted to it from family and cultural sources and likely never will.
THOMAS BRYAN
tdbryan@sbcglobal.net
Austin
Tough climate for GOP
Re: Dec. 17 article “Local lawmakers diverge on climate change.”
Kudos to Jason Embry for doing a piece to show the true motivations for the Austin area’s Republicans.
Michael McCaul appears to be the only one to even acknowledge the man-made component of global warming, and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (sadly, the only Democrat profiled) is the only one with enough courage to do anything significant about it.
The rest continue to bad-mouth concern for rising oceans and species going extinct (U.S. Rep. John Carter’s “Chicken Little” comment), claim they still don’t have a clue on what to do (U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith wants “good science” before acting), or defer entirely to science, as if our elected representatives are somehow incapable of actually doing anything with the most powerful government in the world. (U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, didn’t even complete the survey. Did she need help filling out the form?)
BLAIR DANCY
Austin
United Way fallout
Though the goal of focusing on education, financial stability and health as a means to ending poverty is worthy, this should not be done at the expense of the community’s immediate needs.
And I’m more than appalled that the list of eliminated agencies seems to take direct aim at women, people with disabilities, the homeless and people who can’t afford health care. What an absolute disgrace.
How on earth could the United Way make the decision to cut funds to the Salvation Army, SafePlace, Caritas and the People’s Community Clinic - places that are providing crucial, life-saving services? It could have structured a phased-in approach to address the root causes of poverty without pulling the rug out from under people who are poor now.
I will never give money to the United Way and am pulling out my checkbook to give as much as I can directly to these affected groups.
MICHELE WILLIAMS
Austin
Central Texans, who are national leaders in driving commercial and civic innovation, are tremendously well represented by the progressive leadership at the United Way Capital Area. It is an organization that is driving community innovation and attacking root issues that keep too many of our neighbors from reaching their potential.
United Way opted not to take the easy road and maintain the status quo, but through thoughtful planning and the participation of thousands of Central Texans, it has sought to identify the root causes of key community issues that today are leaving too many people and families left in an “opportunity gap.” United Way is poised to use community funds in a focused fashion to attack those challenges head-on.
As a longtime United Way volunteer, it has been a privilege to see the evolution of the organization from community caretaker to community innovator.
HEATHER BRUNNER
Austin
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On matters of torture
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mark Bowden wrote: People can be coerced into revealing important, truthful information. What works varies for every individual, but in most cases, what works is fear, fear of imprisonment, fear of discomfort, fear of pain, fear of bad things happening to you, fear of bad things happening to those close to you. Fear works better than pain. Read Bowden’s follow-up column “Rethink the concept of morality.”
Re: Dec. 29 commentary “Torture isn’t always wrong.”
Mark Bowden’s column presents a ridiculous and indefensible double standard.
The subtext of his argument is that mere citizens should not ask questions or undermine the “heroes” of the war on terror. Best not to ask about the methods employed in intelligence gathering, sonny. Leave it to the professionals, and we’ll keep you safe - even if we have to break a few laws to do so.
Bull. This is a country of laws. It is what sets us apart. It is the only thing that lets us speak to the world with moral authority.
Bowden concludes: “Waterboarding Zubaydah may have been illegal, but it wasn’t wrong.”
This thinking is poisonous. Torture is rightfully illegal, and torturers should be prosecuted. If it is to be condoned, then make it legal - and bring this country to its moral nadir.
ROB ROBINSON
buzzardcheater@gmail.com
Austin
Bowden’s repulsive support of torture repeats the rationales used by every torturer through the ages.
State torture effectively serves only two functions: to generate confessions and terrorize political opposition.
Those who justify state torture are using the Constitution for toilet paper and do far greater damage than any bomber. If you think that only the bad guys will be tortured, there will be no one left to speak up when they come for you.
MICHAEL POLACHECK
polam@grandecom.net
Austin
According to Bowden’s logic, it would be OK to, for example, threaten a terror suspect with the rape of his young daughter or with cutting off the heads of his elderly parents.
This would certainly inflict fear in the person without actually doing him physical harm. If such threats did not have the desired effect, the next step might be for the interrogators to make good on their threats.
Illegal, barbaric, you say? Bowden has an answer for that, too: “It is an ugly business. … If the result of the act itself was a healthy terrorist with a bad memory vs. a terror attack that might kill hundreds or even thousands of people, it is a good outcome.”
Granted, Bowden is referring to waterboarding and not to rape or murder. But, if we judge waterboarding to be OK, we are already a good way down that slippery slope.
DORIAN de WIND
Austin
I take strong issue with Bowden’s arguments and conclusion that torture is not always wrong.
By defending the CIA’s use of waterboarding, he exposes this nation’s moral ambiguity regarding torture that has sprung quite literally from nowhere since 9/11.
W e citizens can only infer that the real position of our government is along these lines: We torture those whom we think are really bad guys, and we ship people we are not sure about to others to torture them on their own.
The ambiguity of whether or not torturous acts are wrong and illegal and whether or not they are or have been performed does not protect our nation’s security, its dignity nor its humanity.
THOMAS HARTMAN
Georgetown
Bowden argues that if waterboarding Abu Zubaydah resulted in stopping one al Qaeda attack, it was justified.
On the other hand, Ronald Suskind, in his recent book “The One Percent Solution,” reports that the CIA had determined Zubaydah to be clinically insane and that, under brutal torture, he shrieked out one imaginary al Qaeda plot after another.
It seems unlikely, without verifiable evidence of even a single instance of thwarting al Qaeda, that we’ll ever really know if waterboarding “worked” in the Zubaydah case. What we will always know, however, is that all torture is cruelty and therefore evil.
TED S. CORIN
Austin
By publishing this, the American-Statesman has done a great wrong to America. Bowden gives no solid evidence that torture has produced good results and completely ignores its evil effects on helpless innocents as well as the brutalizing of those who carry it out.
The only argument presented against torture is appeal to self-interest - that information obtained is unreliable - and then he proceeds to denigrate that idea.
This commentary in an Austin newspaper is a great shame. It betrays America’s highest and best moral values.
C.E. PRINCE
cejprince@aol.com
Austin
Gun control
Re: Dec. 16 commentary “The wisdom of bearing arms.”
The column advocating the “wisdom” and right of any citizen to bear arms, based on two recent shootings, was one-sided and laughable.
O’Brien cited the Omaha mall shooting and the Colorado church shootings as evidence that people should be armed to fight off attackers, advocating against any form of gun control.
Perhaps if we had adequate firearm-control laws that followed the constitutional amendment - the right of the militia to bear arms - then the victims wouldn’t have needed to be armed to defend themselves, because the perpetrators wouldn’t have had the weapons in the first place.
SHELLEY SEALE
Austin
Inefficient middleman
I am greatly disturbed by United Way’s recent decision to end or drastically reduce funding to more than 30 local not-for-profits that provide basic, vital services such as emergency shelter, food and health care.
United Way has become an inefficient middleman, and in a community as wired as Austin, there is no longer a need for a middleman like United Way.
BLAINE BULL
Austin
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Person of the year
Time magazine picked Russian President Vladimir Putin, a choice questioned by columnist Tom Palaima. Who do you favor for 2007’s person of the year?
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Taking neighborhood rules seriously
Ralph Barrera AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Bill Kirchenbauer, a comedian and actor who moved from Los Angeles two years ago, is waging a crusade to make the governing body of the Village of the Hills enforce a ban on basketball hoops placed in front of houses.
Guy walks into a neighborhood …
Re: Dec. 20 story “Hoops score zero points with comedian.”
This story nearly brought me to tears. I really feel for the plight of the petit-bourgeoisie at Village of the Hills as they battle the scourge of unsightly sports equipment inappropriately placed at people’s residences.
It would seem Bill Kirchenbauer’s career has stalled somewhat and he has a little too much time on his hands leaving him to reflect on these weighty topics of our time. What’s next? The old ruler and measuring grass height?
And what would his “Hollyweird” ilk say to hear of such a waste of 1980s sitcom talent?
CHRISTOPHER W. RINGSTAFF
Rockport
Change Austin’s stingy image
If Austin liberals would stop shopping for groceries at very expensive - though politically correct - stores, they could free up millions of dollars to support local charities and change Austin’s stingy image.
That would be the moral thing to do.
DAVID SWEET
david@hayshills.com
Buda
Iconic abuse
Re: Dec. 21 article “Spoke sold, but two-steppin’ to go on.”
When iconic places are abused like this, they are no longer iconic; they are exploited.
The Broken Spoke is an Austin institution that has showcased Bob Wills, Dolly Parton, Ray Benson, Willie Nelson and Jerry Jeff Walker, to name a few. Now it’s going to be sitting amidst apartments, Starbucks and God knows what else.
I just don’t get it. Is this what Austin has become? Why can’t some things be left the way they are? People should want to move to this city so that they can have the privilege to dance and drink in a place so famous and unique.
Are they building condos around the Roman Coliseum? Can you the live on top of the Eiffel Tower?
I despise those who see the Spoke as a place to “fill around.” You don’t see condos on the Capitol grounds.
BRIAN FRITTS
Austin
Local foodies
As publisher of Edible Austin magazine, the all-about-local-food Edible Communities publication that debuted in Central Texas last June, I’d like to express our appreciation to the American-Statesman’s Kitty Crider and Ed Crowell for their coverage of local food people last year.
We encourage them to join us in celebrating our local food heroes on an ongoing basis in the coming year, as well as tackling some of the issues that local food producers, restaurants and retailers are dealing with in bringing these products to market.
MARLA CAMP
marla@edibleaustin.com
Austin
Charitable funding
Re: Dec. 24 letter “Battling the root of problems.”
A co-chairman of United Way Capital Area’s campaign explained the recent shift in allocating funds: “Address the underlying causes of the problem, as well their symptoms.”
This increased allocation to root causes of poverty makes sense if the total funds are adequate, but the new allocations are made by making draconian cuts to such basic support organizations as the Salvation Army.
WILLIAM MURRELL
Austin
The good book
Re: Dec. 23 editorial “Evolution fight threatens Texas.”
Let me urge all who care to take steps to inform themselves regarding this sensitive subject. I recommend reading “The Language of God” by Dr. Francis S. Collins. He is a world-renowned scientist and head of the Human Genome Project.
Collins is also a devoted Christian. We must not allow this question to destroy our schools or community.
I wish Gov. Rick Perry could make it required reading for all the members working on the redesign of science education and selection of text books for our public schools.
JOAN B. BUZZARD
Lakeway
Coca-Cola plant in India
Re: Dec. 25 article “Fight over India Coke plant bubbling.”
It’s unfortunate that people pushing a political agenda continue to use our operations in Kerala, India, as a vehicle for their anti-business crusade. The plant was regularly inspected by statutory authorities and was always found to be in compliance with regulations. The Indian courts have not found that our company violated any relevant Indian laws.
The majority of the scientific data confirms that we operate our plants in India according to the same high environmental standards that we follow globally. Our company has one of the best wastewater treatment systems in the food and beverage industry and follows the Central and State Pollution Control Board norms for waste disposal.
Rather than flogging a dead issue, it would be far more constructive for these misguided efforts to be redirected at supporting community water projects that would really help the people of rural India, as we have been doing.
TOM MATTIA
Senior vice president
Worldwide Public Affairs and Communications
The Coca-Cola Company
Atlanta
Austin police officers on patrol
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo is working the streets as a patrol officer.
This is quite a change from past chiefs, one that has been a long time coming. I’d like to hope that Acevedo will not require all officers to work a shift as a patrol officer only during the holidays but make it a mandatory shift for all officers multiple times during the year, if not once a month.
This would allow all officers to be out in our community and understand issues firsthand.
KEITH NICOLL
keiffers@austin.rr.com
Round Rock
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Keep lights shining longer
The Trail of Lights is a wonderful event, but I am wondering why it is open only through Dec. 23. To me and many others, the Yuletide season extends through the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Since many people are off work that week, it is a time for friends and family to visit. We would love to be able to take our out-of-town visitors to see the Trail of Lights, but it is not open! It seems that people in the Austin area (probably driven by merchants) want to start Christmas earlier and earlier and then throw it out in the gutter at noon on Christmas Day. It would be wonderful if the Trail of Lights would extend from Christmas to the evening of Dec. 30. If it is matter of cost, I’m sure commercial sponsors could be found.
RICHARD M. BROWN
Georgetown
Fixing the immigration problem
It was heartening to read the Dec. 24 article “Law contributing to immigrant exodus from Arizona.” The illegal immigration problem is so easy to solve it’s not even funny. Look at what Arizona has done — that’s the blueprint. Fine businesses or revoke their licenses and look at how quickly you get results. No need for a fence when illegals self deport.
For years, the service and construction industries have had the luxury of illegal labor. Their business model just got the hit that should have been enacted a long time ago. I own a business — it’s not hard to find good legal labor. You just have to pay a little more. Novel thought.
BILL TOTAH
Austin
Changing the U.S. identity
Amy Chua’s attempt at finding a middle ground on immigration is a solution in search of a problem (Dec. 22 column, “Immigrate and assimilate”). Immigrants will continue to assimilate in time as they always have. The real issue is that the “national identity” must change to accommodate them, just as St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by non-Irish, spaghetti is considered wholly American and Catholics are now considered members of the tribe. This identity change is what anti-immigration groups fear and are fighting against. This is why they cling to laws written when the Ku Klux Klan was at its peak and whose explicit purpose was to keep America white. Oppressing the stranger will not fix anything. America must bury the seed of its identity so that our “national identity” can be reborn and made new.
NATHAN G. HARDEE
Austin
New gas tax not the answer
Re: Dec. 21 column by Jonathan V. Last, “America’s oil obsession just might need a new tax.”
Last indicates that a tax might be the best way to go when the market needs interference. Hasn’t he seen how government’s attempt to regulate markets and the economy portend nothing but dismal failures over the years? Look at the chaos the Federal Reserve system has promulgated.
He has offered a carrot, however. He says a consumptive tax could be folded back to give folks an income tax break. Good luck on this. Once the government gets its hands on your money, you’ll be hard pressed to get anything back. Even if this did happen, how does this benefit the poorer people and folks on fixed incomes who don’t pay much, if any, income taxes but need automobile transportation and buy gasoline frequently? What Last’s proposal does is take much needed money immediately from those who sorely need it and reduces available dollars needed in the marketplace to sustain a robust economy.
Not a happy scenario.
RON BASELICE
Lago Vista
Now is the time for change
Re: Dec. 7 article “Fired officer can get job back.”
The arbitrator’s reinstatement of Austin Police officer Gary Griffin highlights the grave need for a better meet-and-confer contract between the city and the police association, and not just a new city manager, but a reformation of the office.
Toby “My Hands are Tied” Futrell says there is no standing to appeal. The civil service law doesn’t dictate an arbitration process — she negotiated it. New contract negotiations are just beginning (she should not be involved), and they must be conducted openly for more accountability.
The American-Statesman has rightly pushed for a less heavy-handed police union, which, because of poor campaign laws, has “soft-monied” our City Council into office, with much help from big developers. With a new police chief, new union head, pending new city manager, pending new district attorney, federal investigations and possible council restructuring via districts, now is the time for the community to demand a more responsive government.
Debbie Russell
debmocracy@yahoo.com
Austin
What’s wrong with a little pork?
With the passage of the federal budget recently, the words “earmark” and “pork-barrel spending” have been bandied about in hushed whispers or loud indignant outrage as if they’re bad things. I pay federal taxes like everyone else. I want to see some amenities other than basic government protection we normally take for granted, like police, fire, EMS, schools and the military. If I pay for a museum in New York or to preserve a forest in Colorado, even though I don’t live there, I still get benefits. Now I have something to visit as a tourist to those places. It’s not wasteful spending — it’s an investment in the infrastructure and our culture. What I find wasteful is writing a blank check funding two stalemated foreign wars or financing interest on an out-of-control debt. Let’s spend money wisely on us at home for a change!
SKYLOR WILLIAMS
skylor_williams@yahoo.com
Austin
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Bethlethem and United Way
Craig Nelson COX NEWSPAPERS
The 24-foot security barrier that encircles the West Bank town of Bethlehem, satirized with a mural of it enclosing a Christmas tree, next to a cylindrical Israeli watchtower.
No way in?
This Christmas, I was dismayed to learn that Bethlehem is divided by a wall.
I knew that the Israeli government was constructing a wall that they say is to keep their people safe. It turns out that this wall is being constructed in many places that keep people from doing their daily work.
Did you know that if this wall had been constructed in the time of Jesus, it would have cut Mary and Joseph off from the inn where Jesus was born?
I decided to experiment with my manger scene. You can see the picture on my blog (http://malahinitx.blogspot.com). I hope it is as disturbing to others as it is to me.
Here is a Web site with more information:
http://cpt.org/campaigns/nowaytotheinn/description.php
JANICE FRIESEN
janicef@jfriesen.net
Austin
The United Way issue
Re: Dec. 16 Rich Oppel column “United Way’s new strategy carries a risk in a new culture.”
I would like to thank Oppel for his perceptive commentary on the United Way funding cuts and its new focus on poverty.
The nonprofit community understands that poverty is a serious concern, yet we must not forget the organizations that address the immediate needs of our most vulnerable citizens: the victim of abuse who needs a safe place to sleep, the elderly citizen who is delivered meals, or the person with a developmental disability who needs assistance to sustain a basic quality of life. These are the people who will suffer from United Way’s recent decision.
It is now, more than ever, that we need the community’s support to get through this tough time. There is a long list of basic needs organizations needing help to reduce the effects of these funding cuts and ensure that no one goes without food, health or shelter. Austin needs to take action.
SUSAN EASON
Executive director
Arc of the Capital Area
season@arcofthecapitalarea.org
Austin
I’d like to clarify for your readers that not all United Ways work the same way. Though each United Way serves the community, how they do it is very different.
Residents of Williamson County have their own United Way - the United Way of Williamson County, of which I am a board member.
Our approach to community funding is not like the United Way Capital Area. We are addressing “first things first” by supporting a range of safety-net programs and services for the most vulnerable in Williamson County while funding programs that address the “root cause” of systemic community issues.
The United Way of Williamson County will focus on our vision that everyone in Williamson County has a hopeful future - and to do that, we want the residents and nonprofits of Williamson County to know they have a choice.
So remember: Whenever anyone says United Way Â- you should ask, “Which one?”
MICHELE GLAZE
Cedar Park
It is amazing that the United Way could see its funding drop and place the blame everywhere but with itself. What has changed with charitable giving is not so much the different philanthropic styles of Generations X and Y or changing corporate culture. It is a lack of trust in the intermediaries that stand between our charitable giving and the good works we want to support.
Nationally, United Way has faced scandal after scandal because of the way it mishandles public trust and dollars. Our United Way takes a bigger cut of donations than other workplace giving programs.
Perhaps if United Way stopped trying to dictate the way nonprofits carried out their programs and focused more on a transparent way to facilitate the generosity of our community, all of us would fare better.
MARY KEENAN
Austin
I read with interest about United Way Capital Area’s changing direction and new focus.
I applaud the fact that it is looking hard at itself and how it works within our community. Trying a new approach is critical, as the existing patchwork of charity and governmental help does not seem to be stemming the tide of those in need.
Sharpening its focus to prevent these social ills from occurring in the first place means fewer people will find themselves in trouble and in need of help. Its new, long-term focus seems a worthy cause to support.
As with most things, prevention is the best cure.
ANDY GREENAWALT
Austin
He doesn’t care, either
Re: Dec. 22 letter “Who cares?”
I am among many, many others who support the letter writer.
If professional athletes want to use performance-enhancing drugs at the risk of their health, then so be it. I really don’t care.
It just confirms the mentality of these very rich, spoiled - but very stupid - ego-centered individuals.
JIM ANDREWS
patches@nctv.com
Burnet
Why we should care
Re: Dec. 24 letter “Political egos at work.”
The letter writer asked “who cares?” about Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s endorsement of Sen. John McCain.
Probably more than a few folks care - folks who have always thought of themselves as Democrats but have found their party hijacked (for money or fame) by weird Harry (Reid, the Senate majority leader from Nevada), San Fran Nan (Pelosi, the speaker of the House from California) and other nuts on the way left end of the political spectrum.
Lieberman is the rare politician this year who has the clarity and political courage to do the right things, rather than follow his party “leaders” like a lemming over the edge of the cliff. He’s a Democrat with a brain whose endorsement should carry a lot of weight.
DANIEL BRIGHT
Austin
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Goodwill toward Austinites … but not toward burros
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
A sign of respect for the Christmas season in the Milwood neighborhood in Northwest Austin.
Marquee mark
Every evening when I return from my office to my neighborhood, Milwood, I pass the small Islamic Ahlul Bayt Association center. I often enjoy the proverbs and sayings posted on its marquee (left over from the previous owners of the building, a small Baptist congregation).
But recently I was moved to tears by its message: “Greetings on the birth of Jesus.”
As a Christian, I was overwhelmed at this generous expression of goodwill and respect for another religion. None of the holiday music or decorations I have seen this year has touched me as much as this simple message.
I am proud to live in this neighborhood, and I am proud that the members of the Islamic Ahlul Bayt Association have chosen Milwood for their center.
It gives me hope that through communication and respect for all people of faith, we truly may enjoy peace on Earth.
ANN YOUNG
Austin
Faulty energy bill
The more that I look at legislation concerning energy that is proposed or passed, the more I am convinced that our legislators - such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas; U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas; U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; and even President Bush - have lost their good senses.
The new energy bill provides for an increase five times the production of ethanol, which is proven to not be energy efficient. It requires more energy to produce the product, and vehicles capable of using ethanol get fewer miles per gallon.
The bill also promotes the use of light bulbs containing mercury. Tell me what we are to do when it is time to dispose of light bulbs containing mercury. Mercury is extremely dangerous to our health.
I believe the old saying applies to Democrats and Republicans that they don’t have the brains that God gave a brass monkey. They only want to be re-elected, and these new policies sound good.
JAMES N. ANAGNOS
Austin
Killing burros
Re: Dec. 18 article “No wrongdoing found in killing of wild burros.”
I was horrified and saddened that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department found no “wrongdoing” in the killing of 71 feral burros at Big Bend Ranch State Park. Wasn’t the act itself wrong?
It was witnessed that the shooters, Dan Sholly and Michael Hill, left many to “wander off and die” and that many park employees, besides a guard who submitted a formal complaint, said that these shootings were unnecessary and cruel. Even one of the shooters was quoted saying that the killings were an “extremely sad and distasteful thing to do.”
So why was it done? So that some water holes out there can be used for a few bighorn sheep that will probably end up being hunted down and killed for sport anyway?
A portion of my taxes goes to TPWD, and I demand that these senseless killings be stopped or some alternative, more humane method be implemented immediately.
MICHELE ANNINO
Round Rock
The story is deeply disturbing to me and to all who value the burro, brought to the West with miners, packers and other settlers of the United States.
It may be legal within our state to shoot these animals - even to shoot a nursing jenny with foal at her side, which other reports of the incident have stated - but it is just plain wrong, and TPWD knows that the public will not accept burro shooting in its state parks.
I can hardly imagine how a wild, scared burro is “humanely” gunned down. This story bears further scrutiny.
KATE BREMER
Blanco
Be enlightened
I live in Cuernavaca, an old neighborhood where there are no street lights and the night sky is full of stars.
Austin has been a place ahead of its time when it comes to light pollution. Lost Creek is a development where the developer purposely excluded street lights from the design to preserve the night sky.
Bee Cave is booming with new housing and a new shopping center. As the population grows, so does light pollution.
Does the outdoor front of a department store really need to be brightly illuminated all night with beams shooting upward? By design, good outdoor lighting is energy efficient and does its job without polluting.
I invite all to be aware of this form of preventable pollution as our community deep in the heart of Texas grows. Our night sky is a beautiful resource that can be preserved while accommodating growth and security.
JEREMY GREEN
Austin
Sham degree
Re: Dec. 15 article “Creationists seek to train educators.”
Whatever happens next month, when the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board votes on the recommendation that the Institute for Creation Research be accredited to offer master’s degrees, Texas has already lost.
The news of the recommendation has meandered into The New York Times, as did the Chris Comer story.
Why is our state education system national news? The reason might be that, to most of the country, our puerile grappling with evolution and creation is an oddity and, to our state, an embarrassment.
When a University of Texas science master’s graduate goes to apply for a job in another state, will she have to explain that only some schools in Texas offer master’s in creation-based education? In considering accrediting this sham, Texas has hurt the reputation of its institutions, its students and its professionals.
RYAN LATHAM
Waco
Taxing oil
Re: Dec. 21 commentary “America’s oil obsession just might need a new tax.”
Jonathan V. Last said that the costs paid by U.S. taxpayers for their oil-based economy are reflected in ways other than just the price at the pump. If the price at the pump were higher, the other costs likely would be reduced.
He also points out that oil companies can benefit handsomely as a result of the dear cost paid by Americans in lives, as well as lucre, when we wage war for oil.
Much of that financial benefit is then transferred to governments and private owners of oil resources in politically unstable areas where the oil is located, particularly the Middle East.
But where is the politician who will support an oil tax? For that, Americans could really use some leadership.
CHRIS KELLER
cbkeller@texas.net
Austin
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Campaign crunch time
Should Congress force caucuses and primaries to start later in the year and, if so, how much later?
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Harmony, conservation and torture
Ralph Barrera AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The construction of the Long Center for the Performing Arts reused many of the materials from Palmer Auditorium.
Looking for better harmony
Don’t the people at the Long Center for the Performing Arts know that the blue windows in the front clash very badly with the green in the roof?
And to add insult to injury, by trying to replicate the tile look with the windows, they have created a tacky visual cacophony. Hope the music inside is more harmonic.
MEG WILSON
nunoweaver@austin.rr.com
Austin
Christmas Mountains
Re: Dec. 16 Mike Leggett column “Climb past misinformation for clarity on land sale issue.”
Were John Poindexter (who has a bid in for the Christmas Mountains) truly the conservationist he claims to be and not afflicted with the disease to acquire that seems to plague the ultrarich, he would work hard at keeping the Christmas Mountains in the public domain (as a state natural area or part of the national parks system) by setting up a generous endowment to ensure that the property is managed in perpetuity according to the stringent and appropriate conservation guidelines set forth by the Mellon Foundation.
This same endowment could be used over time to acquire an easement to access the area. This is the way private citizens become servants of the public good and is the true meaning of a public/private partnership.
Of course, Poindexter is free to purchase private property on the open market and conserve and manage wildlife to his heart’s content.
MAUREEN HOWELL
Austin
Respect for Obama
I cringe every time I hear U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., referred to as a “boy” or “when he was in kindergarten.”
Whether it is on purpose or not is hard to tell. But this is often a way to diminish the authority and strength of black men at points of power.
HUDSON “BILL” PHILLIPS
Austin
CAMPO stands up to Legislature
Re: Dec. 17 Ben Wear column “21 questions on missing toll cash are still hanging.”
Central Texas has been ignored by the state for decades, and Austin is the nation’s most congested city of its size because of it. Now, because the Legislature and the Texas Department of Transportation have abdicated their responsibilities, our only choices to build new roads are ones we come up with ourselves - specifically, through tolls.
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization made this inevitability a little easier to swallow by securing some of state funding. Now, the state may be walking away even from that.
A strong transportation system takes more than good intentions. It takes money. A lack of money - or refusal to spend it here - bears responsibility for our crushing traffic problems. It is past time someone stood up for the residents, business owners and commuters in this region.
I commend Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, for this effort.
PHIL PARKER
Austin
U.S. can’t become isolationist
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is as worthy as the rest of the candidates; none seems to stand out.
But one of his ideas concerns me. Like so many Americans, Republican and Democrat, he seems to have a somewhat tarnished view of the world.
Bring all the troops home? Haven’t we tried that before as “isolationist” America - until Dec. 7, 1941? The only difference is the world is now much smaller and far more dangerous. If we stick our heads in the sand, the world will come calling, and it won’t be tiny wooden planes loaded with conventional bombs.
I agree with Paul in part on some issues. However, withdrawing troops from President Bush’s war in Iraq has to be planned and based on all factors that may affect our national security. Any withdrawal must absolutely be devoid of politics.
RAMON C. NOCHES
Austin
Republicans as conservationists
Re: Dec. 17 article “Local lawmakers diverge on climate change.”
Jason Embry aptly describes the environmental dilemma facing Central Texans and all Americans. With the future characterized as Republicans versus Democrats, the environment loses - and we all lose.
Republicans and Democrats are good at many things, but both parties must do a better job of working together for a clean environment.
Many environmentally concerned Republicans are ready to abandon the party because it does not represent their environmental views. Republicans for Environmental Protection is working to reform the party from within and return to a core value of Theodore Roosevelt: Conservation is Conservative.
The Republican Party, with its “can-do” attitude, will excel in environmental protection when it sets environmental priorities.
Science observes what is going on and will not save us from peril. We must work together to save ourselves.
Republicans must be an important part of this process.
IRA YATES
Austin
Matters of torture
Re: Dec. 21 article “Bush: `No opinion’ on CIA tapes until after inquiry.”
It was reported that Rep. Lamar Smith , R-Texas, cited information he purportedly received from CIA Director Michael Hayden that the tapes were destroyed to prevent terrorists from developing “effective counter-strategies.”
What in God’s name would be an effective counter-technique for waterboarding? Holding your breath?
CARROLL O. DAVID
San Marcos
Democrats’ claims
One hundred years from now, the Democrats will claim to be the anti-abortion party just as now they claim to be the pro-minority, anti-slavery party.
In 1935, it was the Democrats who defeated the anti-lynching bill, and it was Ronald Reagan who signed the bill that made the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.
RICK HILL
rick.hill@c-fan.com
Buda
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Pollution, homelessness and greed
Junk food and the `dead zone’
Re: Dec. 18 article “Demand for corn ethanol fuels Gulf’s `dead zone.’”
Corn ethanol fuels the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico because of the huge profits government subsidies give corn farmers and the resulting huge amount of nitrate runoff into the Mississippi River.
Too bad this did not get to be a major front-page and televised news story until after the Senate finally passed the farm bill, whose subsidies create this huge profit, making low prices for junk food, and high prices for healthy food, which get little or no government subsidies.
The chemical nitrates run off the land and pollute our rivers, finally heading for the Gulf of Mexico.
Do we really want to kill the Gulf to keep junk food cheap?
JANET GILLES
janet@texasrealty.com
Austin
When we ignore the cause and only deal with symptoms, our efforts are, in the long run, disastrous.
Symptoms: dwindling petroleum supplies, overfishing, global warming, species extinction, air and water pollution, etc. Causes: Our numbers have reached such proportions that the planet cannot supply our needs or absorb the byproducts of our daily activity.
The solution: Stabilize or lower the human population. Otherwise the generations to follow will experience a relentless decline in their quality of life.
DIANE YOUNG
youngdw@centurytel.net
San Marcos
Homelessness
Re: Dec. 16 column “United Way’s new strategy carries risk in a new culture.”
Thank you, Rich Oppel, for lending credence to social services that provide basic needs. I’d like to expand upon his statement: “Poor, hungry, cold and abused people will always be among us.”
The homeless have not always been among us. Homelessness as we know it started in the early 1980s. Between 1978 and 1983, there was a 78 percent funding decrease by Housing and Urban Development, drastically affecting the ability to provide affordable housing.
Simultaneously, scores of people with mental illness were turned out of institutions and into our streets without an adequate community mental health system to receive them. It was the perfect storm, and the numbers of homeless have increased ever since.
This can be reversed. In Austin, we can end homelessness with enough affordable housing, superior mental health services and an adequate safety net to prevent future homelessness.
JO KATHRYN QUINN
jokathryn_quinn@yahoo.com
Wimberley
Navarrette’s drivel
Re: Dec. 17 column “A negative won’t yield a positive.”
Conservative columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. is just way too clever. Not only does he slam Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., as usual, but in a really smarmy way he manages to smear, by association, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
He repeats, almost word for word, what he supposedly deplores reading or hearing then adds truly racist remarks as if he is just wondering whether that is behind liberal Democrats’ so-called desperation.
Shame on the American-Statesman for printing this mean-spirited drivel.
JUDITH HUME
jhudh@earthlink.net
Georgetown
Iowa voters
I grew up in LeMars, Iowa, and have lived in Texas for almost 30 years. If Obama and Clinton think they can become president relying on the Iowa voters, they need to think again.
Iowa voters will select someone with political experience - certainly not Obama and for sure not a fluffy-headed woman such as Clinton.
I am moving back to Iowa in the spring and will be an Iowa voter for the 2008 election.
FRANCES LEONARD
Austin
Economic liberty
Re: Dec. 13 letter “GOP pandering.”
The letter writer is right on target, but does he really trust the left to fix the problems he mentioned?
The economy, housing, jobs, health care and the future of Social Security and Medicare are problems that will require statesmanship and the art of compromise - something that has been sorely lacking in Washington of late.
I keep hoping conservatives can support U.S. Rep. John Linder’s (R-Ga.) Fair Tax. It will benefit all, rich and poor.
True economic liberty can go a long way in addressing problems that should concern all Americans.
MART GOODMAN
mkgoodman@austin.rr.com
Cedar Park
Greed and children
I spent two hours online trying to buy tickets for my daughter and granddaughter to the Hannah Montana concert, only to get bumped off line. I wasn’t able to purchase them before they sold out in a few minutes.
But the real problem here is that only minutes after the tickets were sold out, ticket brokers went online selling them for unreasonable amounts. There was a four-ticket limit, so how did these scalpers get all the tickets?
It is a sad day when greed takes precedence over the happiness of a child.
DIANA BERTRAND
Elgin
Imagination and excitement are the essence of being a child. For those who remember, being caught up in the moment is what shows like Sesame Street, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice brought us when we were children.
Our parents understood our excitement and even encouraged our fascination with the childhood characters we grew up watching by taking us to those events.
Children still personify the happiness of old, but a ticket to a childhood event that used to cost $15 to $50 dollars is now $100 to $2,000 dollars and up.
The greed of high executives looms over these events, and the happiness of a child is being exploited to make a buck.
CARLOS BALDERAS
Austin
Pat on the back
I think the American-Statesman is doing a great job of reporting the news these days by including controversial issues as well as reporting on interesting science discoveries and engineering developments.
DR. EUGENE PRESTON
g.preston@ieee.org
Austin
Permalink | Comments (21) | Post your comment Categories: Letters to the Editor
Reagan, taxes and evolution
Ralph Barrera AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Members of the 1967 state championship team from Reagan High School held their 40th reunion at Scholz Garten recently. John Keel flips through clippings and memorabilia at the gathering.
Thanks for the memories
Re: Dec. 17 article “Reunited Raiders savor unlikely title.”
Thank you so much for the coverage of the 1967 Reagan Raiders event at Scholz Garten. Kevin Robbins’ work touched the hearts and souls of so many players, parents, spouses, their children and fans from those dynasty years.
We never imagined the extent of the coverage that the American-Statesman gave us. We were just hoping for a blurb in the back pages of the Sports section.
Though the event was important to us as teammates, the Statesman’s coverage and extraordinary efforts reminded us that while we are now older men, once, not so long ago, we were Friday night heroes.
John Keel
Austin
Also at statesman.com
From our archives: Reagan captures 1967 state title
Why not reform entire tax code?
Re: Dec. 5 commentary “Congress must fix flaw in tax code.”
I ask the author, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, why stop there? Why not propose a way to reform the entire tax system?
A progressive income tax provides disincentives for me to aim for the highest paying job once I graduate college because 40 percent or more of my salary will go to fund wasteful spending by you and your colleagues. It’s always easy to advance federal projects when you’re using someone else’s money.
Forget about the alternative minimum tax and try cutting down the IRS Tax Code that puts such a burden on our eyes, wallets and economy. Cut government spending, not our paychecks.
ABHINAV KUMAR
owlstone@hotmail.com
Austin
Endorsement of closed doors
Re: Dec. 18 endorsement “Experience matters most.”
When did The Des Moines Register lose sight of its most important function?
The First Amendment freedom we give the press creates a reciprocal duty to exercise it for us. If the press doesn’t use it, we lose it.
The owners and editors of the Register have betrayed our sacred trust. The Register’s endorsement of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is an endorsement of a government of closed doors, secrets and half-truths.
During her first co-presidency, Clinton arrogantly proclaimed that she would not allow “… reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president.”
This attitude never went away. She continues to stonewall media requests for documents and information from the Clinton Presidential Library. She continues to “employ” as an “adviser” Sandy Berger, the former national security adviser. He was caught removing highly classified documents from the U.S. Archives.
MICHAEL CADY
mike88b@hotmail.com
Pflugerville
Evolution? Yeah, that’s important
Re: Dec. 14 editorial “Official: I was looking out for TEA.”
In her interview with the American-Statesman, Texas Education Agency Deputy Commissioner Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds appears surprisingly ignorant about evolution.
“I know now that it has very real importance in modern science and research.” Seriously? She didn’t know this before the current hubbub? And she is a deputy commissioner with the TEA?
Later, Reynolds says, “We are a state agency and must respect the beliefs of Catholics, atheists, Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone.” Uh, not really. The TEA’s mission shouldn’t be affected by the beliefs of any of these groups.
I have a hunch that Reynolds would be better suited and perhaps more qualified to teach Sunday school than to continue her work with the TEA.
BEN REHDER
Dripping Springs
Not all Americans torture
Re: Dec. 17 commentary “There go our morals.”
Jay Bookman does an excellent job of pointing out the obvious. To recap his facts: 1) the CIA has tortured prisoners under the orders of top officials of the Bush administration, including the president himself, and 2) federal law makes it a felony to torture, approve of torture or facilitate torture, with no exceptions.
Where he goes wrong is in trying to place the blame on all of “us” - American citizens. This is absurd.
Our laws are in place, and we are right to expect, nay demand, that our elected and unelected officials obey the law. To be clear, neither “I” nor “we” tortured anyone. “They” did it, that is, President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and their henchmen.
Why have these felons not been brought to justice?
JOHN HERNDON
jherndon@austin.rr.com
Austin
Outrageous claim by Perry
Re: Dec. 14 article “In backing Giuliani, Perry critical of Bush.”
I find the following quoted remark by Gov. Rick Perry particularly offensive: “If we elect the Democrats across the board, the war on terror is not going away. It’s just going to have to happen here.”
This falsely implies that only Republicans (such as Rudy Giuliani) can prevent acts of terror from happening on U.S. soil. Neither party can guarantee that, under their watch, terror will not strike here. Such a statement is outrageously misleading political rhetoric, and I assume readers will take it as such.
ED KOPAS
Austin
Waste of wind and solar power
I have lived in Bastrop or the Bastrop area for almost all of my life and have noticed the rapid growth here for some time.
If we are going to sell off our farms, ranches and wilderness areas to developers, why not build solar and wind energy farms instead of other commercial ventures? Looking at the gas pump. I think we could all use a little assistance in the sale and distribution of energy, and our nation’s and state’s energy policies are disastrous.
What a waste of the abundant wind and solar energy we have all around us.
SAM JONES JR.
justsam3@sbcglobal.net
Bastrop
Permalink | Comments (11) | Categories: Letters to the Editor
Time to step in?
Should Gov. Rick Perry intervene in the curriculum fight over evolution and intelligent design?
To read the Statesman’s position, visit the Editorial Board blog.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Talk Back
Travis fails mentally ill patients
Re: Dec. 13 editorial “Mentally ill, with nowhere to go but ER.”
Though I agree that the state should spend more money on mental health, I disagree with the editorial’s assertion that Travis County has been discriminated against under current state funding mechanisms. Travis County sends more folks to the state’s mental hospitals than the county is authorized not because of inequities in state funding allocation, but because the Travis community fails to provide adequate local resources for the mentally ill, as is done in most other Texas communities. Every large metropolitan county in Texas except Travis has local in-patient mental health beds in the public and private hospitals. The emergency departments in these hospitals have also trained their emergency room personnel to handle psychiatric patients. The real question is why our local hospitals don’t provide for the mentally ill in crises like other large metropolitan counties in Texas.
GUY HERMAN
Austin
Mental health funding inadequate
Thank you for publishing an editorial on the pressing need to increase in-patient service capacity for mental health treatment in Austin and Travis County. I had the privilege of serving as chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Austin-Travis County MHMR Center almost 30 years ago. Inadequate funding for mental health care, both at the state and local level, was an issue back then as well. Many patients, after discharge from the Austin State Hospital, choose to stay in Travis County rather than return to their county of origin. That factor, coupled with the exponential growth we have experienced in our community, ought to convince lawmakers that changes in the current state formulas are in order. Inappropriate ER visits and/or incarceration are costly and ineffective treatment options for those who need mental health care.
JUDY YUDOF
judy@yudof.com
Austin
Embarrassing leadership
How embarrassing for Southwestern University, a respected institution, to have to acknowledge Lizzette Reynolds as an alumna (Dec. 14 Q&A, “Official: I was looking out for TEA”). A deputy commissioner of one of the country’s largest education agencies, Reynolds apparently not only never took (or passed) a science course (“I didn’t recognize the importance of the subject…”), but is also woefully ignorant of the powerful political pressures brought upon her own agency by the religious right (“That took me by surprise…”).
As a taxpayer, parent and citizen, I’m appalled.
JUDY FORGASON
Austin
No more faith-based voting
Re: Dec. 9 editorial “Experts: Don’t mix science, religion.”
What a relief that the editorial board endorses real science over faith in the school curriculum. Now, all we need is an opinion against faith-based voting.
Using electronic voting systems require an act of faith, that invisible ballots are counted as cast.
The continued use of secret vote counting is undemocratic.
Years of evidence, scholarly studies and computer experts’ testimony have clearly shown that e-voting systems have the worst record for accurate vote counts. The secretary of state should immediately decertify and ban all e-voting systems. The California secretary of state decertified all e-voting systems, including ones currently used in Texas.
A full refund on all e-voting machines should be repaid to all the counties that bought them.
If Texans want fair vote counts for the primaries, then we must return to paper ballots, hand-counted in full public view at the precinct level.
JENNY CLARK
Austin
Battling the root of problems
As co-chairman of this year’s United Way campaign, I think it’s important to clarify United Way Capital Area’s role in helping provide basic needs services such as food, clothing and shelter. As Central Texas’ population booms, the demand for these services continues to grow. So our community’s challenge becomes: How do we prevent the need for such basic services in the first place? I think United Way has found an answer: Address the underlying causes of the problem, as well as their symptoms.
Though this new approach still includes providing food and emergency financial assistance to our most vulnerable citizens, United Way is also focused on why people are hungry and homeless in the first place. Supporting the “safety net” remains integral to United Way’s work, but we have expanded our vision to include a community-wide effort to empower every person with the opportunity to succeed.
Bill Wilson
Austin
Political egos at work
Re: Dec. 10 article “Lieberman says McCain could create unity in U.S.”
It is an example of Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s huge ego that he thinks his endorsement of Sen. John McCain for president is important. Who cares?
BARBARA WISDOM
Austin
Judging our sports heroes
The Mitchell report is a tough pill to swallow for baseball fans and especially for Texans, but our state’s sports heroes have endured allegations of cheating before. How can anyone say that pitcher Roger Clemens’ reputation should be any more clouded than cyclist Lance Armstrong’s? Both modern-day sports legends have had their accomplishments attacked, and they both deserve the same level of scrutiny. Claims against Armstrong have been the subject of entire books, and he has dealt with repeated allegations from accusers more numerous (and less tainted with problems of their own) than the Rocket.
I’m not saying Armstrong is dirty or that Clemens is clean. I doubt we’ll ever know. But removing an accomplished athlete from his pedestal on the allegations of one guy who cooperated with a private business investigation under threat of federal prosecution is a bad and sad thing. And if that’s the standard, it ought to apply to every star in Texas.
CHRIS LIPPINCOTT
Austin
Performance enhancers not new
For many years, athletes in all sports have used many different methods to improve their performance: heavy training, yoga, steaks, an assortment of fruit juices, dextrose, natural steroids, etc. The classic example is Babe Ruth, who did it on hot dogs and large quantities of beer.
PHIL TERRELL
Dripping Springs
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Letters to the Editor
In Christmas, we believe
Once more, we are subjected to James H. Dee’s sophomoric ranting against Christianity (Dec. 15 column “The Christmas story didn’t happen.”)
He obnoxiously announces that Jesus was actually born around 5 B.C. — not the year zero due to a sixth century mistake — a fact that nearly every sixth-grader who attends church already knows.
It’s interesting that Dee would mention King Herod’s death in 4 B.C., to which the Bible alludes, enabling us to date Jesus’ birth. The specificity of the gospels (even listing the Syrian governor at the time) as well as later geographical landmarks (like the recently discovered Pool of Siloam) is one reason the New Testament is taken seriously by archeologists.
On the basis of one scholar’s opinion, Dee pronounces the birth narratives frauds. But he quickly turns from that to “expose” God’s utter inability to judge people because of a perceived moral dilemma that even God can’t overcome. Really?
DAVID SWEET
david@hayshills.com
Buda
*
I am sorry that James H. Dee feels it necessary to mock Christians and their faith, especially at this time of year, which is a holy and reverential time for Christians. I am also sad to know that the Austin American-Statesman feels the need to publish a diatribe such as this. Why does the Statesman feel it is necessary to offend all of the Christians in its readership, which surely it succeeded in doing? If this is the Statesman’s idea of presenting balanced viewpoints on its editorial pages, I would ask that it rethink its position.
JIM McNABB
jdmcshop@mac.com
Austin
*
Why am I surprised when non-Christians make lengthy arguments a game of spiritual “gotcha”? I’m surprised when the arguments fail to take into account free will and grace. The existence of evil doesn’t negate the existence of an omniscient God. Existence of evil does not mean the employment of evil. A person is of free will to ignore God’s commands and turn to evil, or follow the commandments and be in God’s grace. Yes, grace is an either/or proposition, yet it is a decision left to individual. The dilemma then doesn’t reside with God, but in the individual’s choice.
James H. Dee’s arguments are interwoven with skepticism — he’s looking for a reason to doubt, not looking for a reason to believe. His reasoned argument is at the core of scientific thought. The flaw with that method is that faith is not science, and proof is not needed to have faith.
CHRIS STIEHL
Austin
*
James H. Dee claims that there is no historic basis for celebrating Christ’s birth on Dec. 25. He repeats what critics for centuries have said: “…no Christian source specifies Dec. 25 until the early fourth century.” For centuries, competent biblical scholars have answered: “It is true that during the reign of Constantine, special inquiry was made with respect to the date of Christ’s birth, and that Dec. 25 received official sanction. However, much earlier than this, the attention of students was focused on this very date; for example, by Hippolytus (170-236 A.D.). He was a disciple of Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John (“The Gospel of Luke,” William Hendriksen).” John was the disciple Jesus entrusted to care for his mother, Mary. Who better than the mother knows what date she gave birth?
REV. PAUL R. HARRIS
Trinity Lutheran Church
Austin
*
I agree with the professor that the Christmas “facts” did not happen as many would believe that they did. We are always adding to God’s word or taking from his word meanings that are not intended.
As Christians, we believe that the entire Bible is the attempt by God to reveal his character and love, our purpose, our sin, his holiness and his redemption. We take the whole scripture or our view of him is distorted and inaccurate.
When I stand in front of God, I won’t be asked whether I believe the Christmas story. No, he will ask if I believed in the one who was born according to prophecy, whom he sent to pay the price for my sin. Is this justice? How can it be just that someone without sin pay the price for mine? No, it is not justice but mercy. Please read it for yourself.
JEFFREY HUDGINS
Buda
*
In response to James H. Dee’s question “how can a perfectly just divinity establish an ethically acceptable dividing line between the good and the bad,” I respectfully ask: How can imperfect beings like ourselves demand that the Creator of the universe meet our worldly ethical standards? Even Plato is less than God; otherwise by the standard definition “that which is greater than all else,” we should declare Plato to be God.
BOB BARKER
Austin
*
James Dee uses Y2K, a 20th century priest and New Testament scholar, his high school grading system and Plato to prove that the Christmas story didn’t happen, that heaven and hell are unfair, that faith is impossible and that God isn’t as smart as we would like to think. I can’t decide who is the bigger Grinch: him or my ex-employer, who thought $10 gift certificates to Wal-Mart were good Christmas bonuses. WILLIAM TENERY
atenery@austin.rr.com
Austin
In Jesus, I don’t believe
I have always appreciated James H. Dee for explaining mythology the way he does, and his Dec. 15 column is right on.
However, I don’t think he takes it far enough. The alleged Jesus is nothing more than a myth, a fabricated character. Jesus Ben Pantera died around 88 B.C.E. and was killed for blasphemy. The story of a Jewish messiah was circulating, and the two stories merged, creating the Jesus myth of the Bible. No contemporary historian at that time mentions Jesus. Josephus’ works were altered by Eusebius to include a comment on the Christ much later. The secondhand accounts, called hearsay like Suetonius, Tacitus and Pliny, are nothing but after-the-fact stories.
When the preachers start teaching that, then we may have historical honesty in many churches.
MARK JOHNSON
md457@hotmail.com
Round Rock
Permalink | Comments (23) | Categories: Letters to the Editor
United Way Capital Area changes funding method
Re: Dec. 15 article “Nonprofits feel pinch of United Way’s shift.”
Having been a regular donor to Meal on Wheels, SafePlace, El Buen Samaritano and Habitat for Humanity, United Way’s changes in funding distribution smacks of excuse-making rather than logic. Many reasons abound for donor decreases, but rather than tailoring its fundraising approach to a younger population, United Way prefers to cut agencies it perceives to be a drain. It was good to see which groups will receive increases, as I will no longer donate to them but increase my giving to those receiving cuts or outright elimination in funding.
Additionally, I have notified my employer that I am eliminating my payroll deduction to United Way and will urge it to discontinue affiliation with United Way as well.
DIANA GRAY
Austin
*
I can appreciate the United Way’s desire to fund organizations that address the underlying causes of our society’s illnesses. However, I strongly disagree with its decision to severely reduce or eliminate funding of basic food, shelter and emergency care services, especially those that aid the helpless, such as children, the elderly and the mentally ill. Therefore, I will be withdrawing my annual support of the United Way through payroll deductions and sending that money instead directly to agencies it has adversely affected. I encourage all like-minded people to do the same.
KIM VITRAY
Austin
*
After months of vague answers, our United Way Capital Area has announced the funding cuts to agencies that serve Austin’s most vulnerable: the elderly, the hungry, the homeless, the poorest of the poor.
Happy Holidays. However, this year, Tiny Tim won’t even have a crutch to lean on. The United Way has abandoned its tradition and noble history of effective fundraising in support of a “market-basket” full of community nonprofits in favor of a model that will raise funds to address so-called root causes. Laudable goal. Damnable means. At this holiday season, I hope we all — especially major employers and their employees who give via workplace campaigns — reflect on this choice.
The United Way is fond of speaking about the need to teach people to fish rather than merely give them a fish to eat. It’s a lovely parable.
But when you’re hungry — not just figuratively hungry, but in actual need of food — what is the value of a high-minded organization merely offering you the rod?
CHRISTOPHER MAHER
cmaher@fosforus.com
Austin
The fight for our lives
Re: Dec. 17 column by Jay Bookman, “There go our morals.”
Bookman claims that the U.S. should not engage in waterboarding to save American lives. Though he might be right about that, he is dead wrong in his analogy of prior wars (World War II and the Cold War) and states: “but this time, under far less threat, we broke our own laws…”
Wrong. The “war” with radical Muslim terrorists is just as dangerous, if not more so, than WWI, WWII or the Cold War. When Hitler, Stalin, et al wanted to conquer the world, they did so with conventional warfare. These Muslim terrorists are cowards whose “battlefields” are markets, churches, offices and other public gathering places. They fight with car bombs against innocent people and wage a war of fear, hoping to wear us down.
Regardless of your belief concerning waterboarding, you are dead wrong if you don’t comprehend that we are in for the fight of our lives and the future of the world, just as our fathers and grandfathers were many years ago.
KEMP KASLING
Austin
In support of an officer
I have been following the process regarding Sgt. Michael Olsen and the deceased suspect. Being a recently retired police officer from San Diego and a new Austin resident, I find the procedural differences interesting and disturbing.
The Dec. 14 article ends with a quote from Rodney Hargrove, an Austin minister and supporter of the Brown family, saying, “A man is dead who had no weapon.” I do believe I read that a gun was found at the scene, internal affairs cleared the officer and a grand jury found no reason to charge the officer. That should have been mentioned. Without that, the article is slanted and not fair to the officer.
Having walked in his shoes and forced to fatally shoot a suspect, I believe we should support our officers and not discredit them in the media.
MICHAEL BRADBURN
Pflugerville
Protect our prairies
Re: Dec. 14 article “Austin agrees to buy land over aquifer for $30 million.” Naturally, I’m pleased that the City of Austin has arranged to protect 3,058 acres in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, but my pleasure is tempered when I see how little we are doing to protect land on the east side of the Balcones Fault. Few Texans realize that of all the types of habitat in the United States, it is our prairies that are the most endangered: Scientists say that less than 1 percent of the original 20 million acres of Texas’ tallgrass prairie remains.
Originally, excessive farming and ranching caused the loss, but now prairies are being covered by the subdivisions, businesses and roads springing up to the east of Interstate 35. Ironically, Austin’s “smart growth” policy and the policies of nearby communities are partly responsible for that surge of development, so I urge the authorities to make amends by protecting as many of our remaining prairies as possible before they go the way of the buffalo that once grazed on them.
STEVEN SCHWARTZMAN
Austin
Who cares?
Re: Dec. 15 article “Steroid shame.”
I do not think I am alone in not giving a diddly-squat that overpaid men playing sports for entertainment take steroids.
LINDA WILES
wileslinda@yahoo.com
Round Rock
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Letters to the Editor
Bringing problems to light
Re: Dec. 16 article “The fight for their streets.”
Thanks so much for putting the word out about what we, the taxpaying residents of South Central East Austin, have to deal with in our daily lives. This part of Austin has been ignored by city officials and the district attorney’s office for so long. Here we are, practically in the shadow of the Capitol, and the Montopolis neighborhood has organized dog fights, drug rings and theft rings on the streets. How ironic is that?
I just wish there had been a little more emphasis on the first, second, third and fourth generations of drug families that live in this neighborhood. That is an ingrained part of the Montopolis culture that needs to be exposed, explored and dealt with. I would venture to guess that 90 percent of the burglaries, prostitution, domestic violence, assault and other such crimes in this area stem from the drug trade. Again, my thanks for shining a light on the problems those of us who live in Henry Sector face on a daily basis.
DELWIN GOSS
Delwingoss@aol.com
Austin
Affirmative action faults
Education has gone from being a luxury to a necessity in our society. Many of the best jobs require degrees. Affirmative action was designed to give everyone a fair opportunity at an education. However, I feel that affirmative action policies create a form of reverse discrimination.
I am not denying a problem exists; however, I have proposed a solution that could hopefully wean our society from the crutch known as affirmative action. Improving the education system at the lower levels and encouraging parents to be active in their children’s lives will instill better values in students, creating more of a drive to learn. If necessary, apply affirmative action policies to lower level education to help educate students at a younger age so that by the time they are at an undergraduate or graduate level, they do not need the “boost” given by affirmative action.
MARK HAJDIK
southstarinc@gmail.com
Austin
God is in schools
I take issue with two statements in the Dec. 13 letter “Schools better off without God?”
First, any schoolteacher could assure the writer that though required, mostly Christian prayers were removed from public schools, God wasn’t. Schools are filled with students and teachers of faith who frequently pray — to pass an important test or for patience to get through the last period of the day before a holiday. Second, there is no conflict between the concept that God created the universe and the theory of evolution, if one can accept that God’s “days” might not be limited to the human day of 24 hours.
God help us all if the human race ever quits evolving, for that would destroy the hope that someday in God’s time there really will be peace on Earth.
KRIN B. PERRY
Austin
Romney’s hypocrisy
GOP, the party of prejudice and hypocrisy at its best.
On Dec. 6, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney asked Americans to view his candidacy with a sense of tolerance. “We believe that every single human being is a child of God,” he said. “We are all part of the human family.” In the next breath, he demeans and demonizes immigrants (part of the human family), playing to the lowest common denominator of the Republican Party, the intolerant Southern white base. Republican presidential candidates are diving all over each other to be the best anti-immigration hardliner.
Why doesn’t Romney just call hard-working, brown-skinned Hispanics, terrorists? It works for Homeland Security.
RON LOWE
Harlingen
Democrat can win
I see a bit of fantasy in W. Gardner Selby’s Dec. 13 column, “Year Of Magical Thinking: Democrats fantasize about unseating Cornyn.”
I believe that it is Selby’s delusion that the average Texan will continue to support the people and the party that endeared Enron’s Kenneth Lay, lobbyist/convicted felon Jack Abramoff and indicted GOP leader Tom DeLay.
Also, Selby’s comments about polls being skewed by the inclusion of too many Hispanics is unbelievably ignorant of the power of these voters in Texas politics. In a state where the governor won re-election with 39 percent of the vote, I suppose anything is possible, including Rick Noriega winning a Senate seat because he represents the true values of a majority of Texans. The politics of war and corruption is indeed a nightmare that need not continue.
HENRY KIGHT
Austin
TEA can fix its mess
Re: Dec. 14 interview of Texas Education Agency deputy Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, “Official: I was looking out for TEA.”
Reynolds admits that she was ignorant of the subject of the e-mail forwarded by Chris Comer, the ousted science curriculum director. What she fails to explain is why she thinks that it was inappropriate for a science educator to forward an e-mail about a legitimate talk on science education.
In the job posting for Comer’s replacement, the TEA states that the person in this position “works under general supervision with considerable latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.” Comer was doing her job promoting good science education, and Reynolds inappropriately e-mailed Comer’s supervisors and suggested that Comer should be terminated for this. There is one correct course of action for the TEA to end this mess: (1) Admit Reynolds made a mistake; (2) apologize for the mistake; and (3) offer to re-instate Comer. Until the TEA does this, the questions about political bias and anti-science sentiments at the TEA will remain.
DAVID M. HILLIS
Alfred W. Roark Centennial Professor
Section of Integrative Biology
University of Texas
Austin
Permalink | Comments (20) | Categories: Letters to the Editor
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