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Knight, the election and evolution
The other Knight
Re: Feb. 6 Kirk Bohls column “Knight still big name, but he failed to put Lubbock on map.”
Though Bohls criticized Bob Knight, I recall Knight’s sentimental side, shown at the last home game of his first season at Texas Tech.
He invited the five senior players to the center of the arena. He instructed them to bid farewell and offer a thank you.
As the first young man began to speak, he choked up, and silence overcame the packed arena. Knight took the microphone from the fellow and spoke to the crowd. He explained that the first rule of public speaking is to look at the audience, and the second is to breathe. We all inhaled and exhaled on his cue.
Then the coach gave the player a pat and the microphone and trotted to his chair. With a new vigor, the player expressed gratitude to the person who had paid for his college education — his grandfather, who had recently died.
Then tears were shed by all.
GAIL MOORE
Gailmoore2002@yahoo.com
Austin
All things Clinton
Re: Feb. 8 commentary “The dark side of Hillary Clinton.”
David Brooks declares he’s “not a Hillary Clinton-hater.”
He then goes on to present the senator’s strongly held convictions, in 1992, as darkly motivated intransigence. If Brooks were to hold strongly onto his own perspective, that would probably be referred to as a well-reasoned, consistent point of view.
It’s interesting, in a pathetic way, that conservatives bristle at anything Clinton (Bill, Hillary and probably Chelsea, too).
STEPHEN WYMAN
Georgetown
The feel-good candidate
Re: Feb. 9 letters “A daughter’s endorsement.”
Three letters, almost 350 words, and not one specific policy-based reason to vote for Sen. Barack Obama.
No mention was made of Obama’s positions on the issues of the day. His only talent seems to be an ability to appeal to our desire to feel good about ourselves through prodigious use of shallow platitudes.
“Obama is the only candidate of either party who can unite the country,” one writer informs us. How does Obama propose to do that when, according to Congressional Quarterly, he can manage to reach across the aisle of the Senate to vote with Republicans only 3 percent of the time?
LYN WEINGARTEN
Austin
A McCain presidency
Re: Jan. 30 commentary “The man who can right wrongs.”
Bridget Johnson is blowing smoke if she really believes a President McCain would rein in federal spending and end partisan bickering. And forget about appealing to “those on the left.”
Sen. John McCain is much more interested in becoming commander-in-chief than president. He’s a warrior first.
A McCain presidency would bring us even more military spending, more military invasions, more body bags and more enemies.
McCain might have moderate opinions on issues such as global warming and immigration, but on foreign affairs he’s to the right of President Bush. I call that a disaster.
JOHN RUSSELL
Austin
City to the rescue … for some
Re: Jan. 31 article “City ready to pitch land trust idea to Travis.”
So Mike Martinez and the Austin City Council are proposing property tax relief to help longtime homeowners stay in their houses as their property values skyrocket - in East Austin. How nice.
It’s a pity no one thought of this in time to help those of us who used to live in the Hyde Park or North University neighborhoods. I guess if you’re white, you’re supposed to have enough money to keep up with the speculators, or get the hell out of sight.
JAMES L. HALEY
Austin
Unleashing on the governor
Gee, Gov. Rick Perry, are you going to flip-flop again when your next pick for president drops out?
Are you practicing to run for something else? Dog catcher would be good - then you’d have a choice of cats or dogs.
ALLEN SCOTT
San Leanna
Enthralling story
Re: Jan. 31 letter “Evolution too boring.”
The letter writer said he thought evolution was too boring to engage the interest of today’s kids.
I wish he could have been at church with me and my family recently at Wildflower Unitarian Universalist Church. He might have changed his mind.
During the children’s sermon, my two daughters listened with rapt attention as visiting speaker Connie Barlow told an amazing story about the creation of the universe and evolution. They were fascinated to hear that the elements that make up everything on Earth, including them, were created long ago inside stars. That our ancestors include not just their great-grandparents but also the very stars gave the girls a new appreciation about how connected we are to each other and to our world.
Evolution boring? Not to my kids.
ROBERT HEIL
robert.heil@gmail.com
Austin
Don’t pity the polar bears
Re: Feb. 10 article “Warming issue focuses on polar bear.”
It is apparent that the public does not know much about polar bears.
They are one of the most vicious predators on the planet. Presenting them as Disney-fied cuties is absurd. They largely feed on seals, waiting for the prey to pop up through holes in the ice. They’ve killed and eaten humans. How darling.
This species has survived much warmer temperatures in the distant past, and the Arctic has gone through startling warming periods many times. Climate is always in a state of flux.
ANNE FENNELL
Austin
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The author, the Muslim and the ‘F’ word
Doing a good turn of the page
Re: Feb. 9 article “In defense of Boy Scout values, Perry takes aim at ACLU.”
Gov. Rick Perry, in an excerpt from his book, says, “It fell short of the standard I learned long ago in the Scouts: to be courteous and kind.”
He says this despite accusing the American Civil Liberties Union of “protecting the rights of pornographers, molesters, perverts, terrorists, garden-variety thugs, or those merely hostile to a belief in God.”
For clarity in updated editions of “On My Honor,” Perry should add “be personally tolerant, but discourage inclusion of atheists and homosexuals from organizations” to his ethical standards.
PHILIP PAQUETTE
pjpatx@yahoo.com
Austin
Perry’s book speaks of his admiration for the values of the Boy Scouts and his dislike of the ACLU for its attacks on the Scouts’ stand against atheists and gays.
Does the governor also admire the founder of the Boy Scouts, Robert Baden-Powell, a general in the British army who spent his military career defending colonialism in Africa and India?
Later Baden-Powell became an outspoken admirer of Hitler and Mussolini and put swastikas on early Scout badges. His principal biographers considered him a closet homosexual.
Does the governor admire these values, too?
DAVID HAMILTON
Austin
So Perry has written a book.
Can someone please assist me with it? After all, any coloring outside the lines must certainly show I have lost my moral ways and strayed from traditional American values.
CHRIS BROWN
Austin
Taking us down with him
Re: Feb. 5 Ben Sargent editorial cartoon.
Sargent’s cartoon of Perry going to hell in a handbasket was classic. Perry has accomplished nothing as governor except placing a heavy burden on the old, sick and poor.
KARL JENNINGS
kgjmoney@yahoo.com
Austin
We’re not voting for mediator
It is astonishing that Sen. Barack Obama’s rallying cry - “I am a uniter, not a divider” - is finding once again a responsive audience.
We heard it from President Bush, and look where it got us. And since when are the prerequisites for a successful mediator the same as those for president? You know what they say about a good mediation: It leaves all parties equally dissatisfied.
For Sen. Hillary Clinton to be elected president, many men must overcome their reluctance to be led by a woman, and women must get over their hatred for other successful women.
It’s been done in numerous, supposedly lesser, countries. Is it possible in the United States?
MOLLY SHANNON
molly.shannon@sbcglobal.net
Austin
Meet a Muslim and see for yourself
Re: Jan. 28 commentary “Fear fanatics, not Muslims.”
Leonard Pitts’ column was beautiful and refreshing. I am a Muslim, born and raised in America and disgusted by the politicians using Islam as a weapon in their campaigns. Pitts’ words were peaceful, and I hope many Christians share his views.
If you don’t agree with his views, simply go out and meet a Muslim. That is all it will take for you to realize that most of what you have read and heard about Muslims in the media is false.
Samira Turk
turk_samira@hotmail.com
Austin
Proud to use the `F’ word
Re: Feb. 7 commentary “What’s so bad about the `F’ word?”
What kind of world do we live in if women can’t even admit that we believe we should be equal to men in all aspects?
Much like Leonard Pitts Jr.’s daughter, I may have difficulty explaining the “F” word, but I’m definitely not ashamed to say I am one. So what if I don’t think my calling in life is to cook for and clean up after my husband and family? Shame on me for having ambitions and wanting to have a successful career before settling down with a man.
I may be a mere 19, but I certainly am proud to consider myself a feminist.
SAMANTHA WHITE
sam.white@mail.utexas.edu
Austin
As a young woman during the time that feminism took root, my life was forever changed by the expanding opportunities for women. My daughters, like many other young women today who don’t seem to realize the benefits of feminism, have no clear picture of what life was like before the movement began.
Only when they bump into the limitations that still exist, primarily in the difficulty of being listened to and allowed to be decision makers, do they understand the essential tenets of feminism. If those who work to control world population and manage limited natural resources give due credence to the role that the advancement of women plays in solving those problems, perhaps there will be less hand wringing and more progress.
Everyone with a social conscience knows that the rights of women are necessary for social justice.
DOROTHY KNIGHT
Wimberley
Justice for the mentally ill
Re: Feb. 6 commentary “A way to ensure justice for all.”
Judge Nancy Hohengarten has got it right - at least from the perspective of many families who face the prospects of loved ones in prison instead of in mental hospitals. Very limited mental health resources in Texas have created crises in the justice system, jamming dockets and jails with mentally ill patients who have no place else to go.
I support Hohengarten’s position that prosecutors can gain insight and perspective by speaking with family members regarding defendants with mental illnesses. She recognizes the pain and fear of desperate parents, spouses and even children seeking justice for their relatives.
CATHERINE WEAVER
President, National Alliance on Mental Illness Austin
Austin
Ooh! That’s a pretty one
While ignoring what citizens have to say, the Texas Department of Transportation bullied through the toll roads. Now on the weighty issue of the 2009 license plate design, they solicit input from us. Boy, do I feel like a valued participant in my government.
MIKE GAUTHIER
mgauthier711@austin.rr.com
Austin
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An aphrodisiac, campaign baggage and a costly fling
Ralph Barrera
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Dried shark’s fin, said to be
an aphrodisiac, is used for
soup.
A finite supply
Re: Feb. 6 article “Wok in the new year.”
The sale of shark fins should be illegal.
Shark populations are decreasing. They are the most important fish in the sea - eating carcasses of dead whales, eating predators that have no other enemies, keeping the ecosystem in balance.
Overfishing and scandalous fin harvesting have created the decline. Save the shark and save the sea.
AUDREY DENMAN
audreydenman@austin.rr.com
Round Rock
Candidate carry-ons
Re: Feb. 6 commentary “When gender counts against you.”
Paula Poindexter opines that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s negative press is because she is a woman. Poindexter has factored out the person and focused on gender politics. The fact is, Clinton carries more baggage than the Orient Express.
WILLIAM TENERY
atenery@austin.rr.com
Austin
35 years of what?
Sen. Hillary Clinton likes to talk about her “35 years” fighting for children. Is being a corporate board member for Wal-Mart fighting for kids?
Did she try to get hubby to stop the Iraq embargo that reportedly killed up to 500,000 children? Or get hubby to head off the Rwandan genocide that killed an estimated 250,000 children? And her vote for this Iraq war that has killed and maimed and emotionally scarred uncountable youths?
Come on, girl, get real!
JOE McFATTER
Austin
The golden touch
Rudy Giuliani once was the front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination and held a wide lead over all others. Then Gov. Rick Perry endorsed Giuliani and went to Iowa to campaign for him.
Giuliani’s campaign promptly went into a nosedive. Perry put the final nail in Giuliani’s presidential hopes when he went to Florida to campaign for Giuliani a couple days before the Florida primary.
Now, Giuliani knows how the working poor and the uninsured children of Texas feel with Perry as governor.
GREG CESHKER
Dripping Springs
23 years for her fling?
Re: Feb. 6 article “Mom guilty in sex assault fighting for parental rights.”
How can a woman sexually assault a man unless she is trying to castrate him or cause other physical harm?
And 23 years in prison for having sex with a 16-year-old neighbor? The woman has two young children.
She has not experienced justice; she has been persecuted.
JOHN M. BRYANT
jbryant009@austin.rr.com
Austin
Gun control in D.C.
Re: Feb. 8 Central Texas Digest item “Hutchison fights D.C. gun laws.”
It troubles me that someone representing me in the U.S. Senate - Kay Bailey Hutchison - is so involved with the gun lobbyists in Washington that she is filing a brief challenging the law requiring that rifles and handguns be registered.
When she arrived in the District of Columbia, she was required to dismantle her .357 magnum and return it to Texas. Her latest action sounds like payback time for forcing her to do the right thing.
MARY ELLEN ROCHE
Austin
Checking lost and found
Re: Feb. 6 article “State road officials say they erred by $1 billion.”
This story brings to mind the famous - though probably mythical - observation by former Illinois Sen. Everett Dirkson: “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”
CHRIS BRAMMER
Austin
Cheap shot at unions
Re: Jan. 27 commentary “Entitlement is our enemy.”
I take exception to Ruben Navarrette Jr.’s assertion that “organized labor helped bring about (loss of jobs) by pricing autoworkers out of the market.”
Poor design and lack of technological foresight regarding efficient gas mileage started the death knell of the auto industry. Demonizing unions as destroyers of jobs is wrong.
Jobs flee overseas for only one reason: more money. This action has been fortified by laws rewarding corporations for doing just that.
I work for a huge corporation that has a unionized work force. We have good benefits and above-average pay. Corporate profits run in the billions annually.
Businesses fail for many reasons. Paying your employees well isn’t one of them.
JEAN-PAUL MALUS
Leander
Smart choices
Re: Jan. 30 commentary “Americans are being driven to make smarter choices.”
Ashley Sanchez fails to state that profits from the sales of foreign manufacturers ultimately provide the greatest benefit to someone else’s economy.
Yes, the assembly plants in the United States receive some of the crumbs, and, yes, there are American workers with jobs at these facilities. But I saw no mention of the fact that General Motors and Ford still make more cars here and employ more people than foreign manufacturers. I saw no mention of the fact that GM is developing an extended-range electric vehicle that will allow people to complete their daily commute without using any gas.
When you purchase a vehicle from a foreign manufacturer, you are sending the profits overseas. With the condition of our economy, I don’t see how we could be very proud if that was our “smart choice.”
JOY VERA
Georgetown
Park Police hires
Re: Jan. 27 article “Park Police hired officers disciplined at other stops.”
Good for the Austin Park Police. Everyone deserves a second chance, and if all the men named in the story have a clean record with the Park Police -as Ralph Garcia is reported to have - doesn’t that say that they’ve made mistakes and they’re working to be forgiven and leave the past behind?
We’ve all made mistakes we deeply regret, but I don’t believe we should pay for them the rest of our lives. Most of the young men named in your story would make excellent additions to the Austin Police Department.
FREDDA HAYS
Austin
Time for payback, PEC
As a 22-year member of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative, I call for the resignation of the entire board.
This scandal should be thoroughly investigated by an outside source and legal action taken if warranted. The co-op members should also be reimbursed for the personal spending sprees and ghost salaries that these board members are guilty of perpetuating all these years.
LARRY J. BARTES
Manchaca
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Mideast, Kennedy clan and immigration agents at the jail
Dan Balilty ASSOCIATED PRESS
The mother, center, and sister of Israeli boy Osher Twito, injured during a rocket attack on the town of Sderot, cry at a hospital in Ashkelon, Israel on Sunday. Twito, 8, lost his leg in the attack.
Failure in the Mideast
Re: Feb. 6 letter “Blockading the Gaza border.”
The letter writer forgets to mention that international law prohibits terrorism and attacking a neighboring country by constantly firing rockets at schools and hospitals and killing and wounding civilians.
International law also states that when a country is attacked and defends itself successfully, the land it conquers is theirs to keep until a negotiated settlement is reached. But without negotiations, Israel returned Gaza, only to have it turn into an armed camp bent on the destruction of Israel.
Hamas has stated repeatedly that Israel must be wiped off the face of the Earth. How do you negotiate with that?
U.S. politics has nothing to do with the failure to achieve peace in the region. The failure lies with the Palestinian leadership that does not want peace; it wants Israel.
MURRAY GREENBERG
Georgetown
Fingerprinting teachers
Re: Jan. 17 article “Teachers voice objections to new fingerprinting law.”
As an Austin school district educator, I submitted to a criminal background check upon being hired in 1995. That I now must also be fingerprinted seems redundant and needlessly wasteful. Several issues have yet to be addressed by the Texas Education Agency. How long will the TEA keep the fingerprints? Upon leaving the profession, will one’s fingerprints be destroyed? With whom can TEA share the prints?
And, most important, by what authority can this government entity demand my fingerprints? It is not a law enforcement agency, and I have not been accused of any crime.
Perhaps if the TEA had done a better job of convincing me that it has the best interests of teachers and students at heart in the 13 years I’ve been a professional educator, I might give it the benefit of the doubt.
TOM WATTERSON
Austin
Kennedy for Obama
Re: Feb. 3 commentary “A crack in one clan’s unity.”
The Barack Obama endorsement does not represent a crack in the Kennedy clan. Something stronger than politics influenced the endorsement.
America in the 1960s was poisoned by racism, full of hate, fear and violence, furthering an environment in which assassination was born. We lost our best to the law of the bullet. We are far better today, but we’ve still miles to go.
There is no cause to which Sen. Ted Kennedy is more committed than that of equality. Commitment to that cause created a dark divide in America that contributed to the murder of his brothers.
Kennedy no doubt thinks Obama is ready to be president, but I think he also believes this young black man might be able to heal forever our racial wounds. I believe Ted Kennedy did this one for brothers Jack and Bobby and for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Bob Mann
Austin
(Mann was Sen. Ted Kennedy’s press secretary in the 1980s and is a senior lecturer in journalism at Texas State University.)
Fed’s access to jail
Re: Feb. 6 article “Critics: Rethink fed’s access to Travis jail.
Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton and other law enforcement officials’ decision to allow federal immigration officials access to prisoners under arrest and in county jail custody should be applauded. Once an arrest has been made for an alleged crime, a person’s background should be thoroughly checked for other criminal activity, under which illegal immigration falls. Everyone, regardless of appearance or language, should undergo the same scrutiny.
The specious arguments of Thomas Esparza Jr., Luissana Santibañez and others against such a logical and evenhanded policy is equivalent to granting special status to a certain category of criminals and is not acceptable to law-abiding citizens and lawful immigrants.
Don Loucks
Cedar Creek
Nonprofit’s funds
Re: Jan. 31 article “Police: Booster took $52,000.”
This should provide a wake-up call to nonprofits regarding the handling of funds.
Don’t rely on one person to handle the group’s finances. Maintain a finance committee as well as an internal audit group to oversee the handling of income and expenditures, preferably under a set of organizationally approved procedures. An independent audit by a certified public accountant might also be in order, depending on the amount of money involved.
This comes not from a CPA but from one who has served as a volunteer treasurer for three nonprofit organizations.
FRED ORT
gfort403@austin.rr.comRound Rock
Nuclear energy
Re: Jan. 29 commentary “Nuclear energy doesn’t make financial, environmental sense.”
Nuclear energy is safe and efficient, as proven by the many countries that provide much of their power from such plants, and it is cost effective.
The authors said that we do not have a place to store spent fuel rods. The reason we do not is because of people like them. Environmental lawsuits have held America hostage as liberal judges issue rulings detrimental to the good of the nation.
JOHN THOMPSON
Georgetown
Voter ID laws
The U.S. Supreme Court and Texas Legislature should recognize and treat proposed voter identification laws for what they are: a politically divisive “solution” to a phantom problem.
Our legislators’ time and taxpayers’ dollars would be better spent on a bipartisan effort to increase voter registration and participation rather than engaged in politically charged wheel spinning, which will continue to characterize the debate and does a fine job of keeping Texans away from the polls.
RYAN DURAN
Austin
Economic stimulus
President Bush’s economic stimulus package is a sham and a shame.
The checks might put down payments on high-definition TVs, and that’s about it. This is just more smoke and mirrors backed by funny money.
Give us an end to the war in Iraq to stimulate the economy. Give us health care and jobs; save our environment with defense dollars that wouldn’t need appropriation. This proposal is an insult disguised as a bonus for every American.
DEE JACKSON
Austin
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Willie, dancing and fingerprinting
Jason DeCrow 2007 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Willie Nelson said in a radio interview that he questions the official story of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York: ‘So, how naive are we, you know, what do they think we’ll go for?’
I’m crazy for thinking …
Re: Feb. 6 Newsmakers item “Willie has his Sept. 11 doubts.”
I have always enjoyed the talents of Willie Nelson. He has shown his virtuosity with ballads ranging from “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” to “Highwayman” to “Stardust.”
Now he has become another of his hits - “Crazy”! He has dishonored the memory of all who died in the attacks of Sept. 11 and the heroic efforts of the police and firefighters who sacrificed their lives trying to save others that sad day.
I have thrown out the records of his that I had, and I will never go to another of his concerts, watch him on TV or even stay in the same room where his music is being played.
B. LANE CHISHOLM
spiderman@burnetpc.net
Burnet
A couple of years ago, I sent a letter to the editor deriding Willie Nelson as an embarrassment rather than an icon.
John Kelso then wrote a column about me (Feb. 26, 2006, “Willie is a character, but he’s ours”) and a batch of letters was dedicated to slamming my heresy.
Now Willie has gone public with his belief that the World Trade Center towers were imploded. Yep, it was an inside job.
Anyone, including celebrity drugstore cowboys, who believes in 9/11 conspiracy theories is a fool who deserves ridicule and condemnation.
DON SCOTT
Cedar Park
Dancing in the streets
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo wants to put cameras around town as a deterrent to crime. That led to jokes about camera-fixated Austinites singing and dancing in the streets.
It could happen, especially if there were an audience. How about if we put up Web cams, with video available on the City of Austin Web site for anyone to watch? The feeds from Sixth Street would be popular on event nights like Halloween and the motorcycle rally weekend. It could even generate income.
Should someone out there in Web land spot something amiss, a 911 button would send the image to an operator.
REVILL DUNN
Austin
Nuclear argument misleading
Re: Jan. 29 commentary “Nuclear energy doesn’t make financial, environmental sense.”
This column arguing against nuclear power was misleading.
Of course we wish to promote solar and wind power. Unfortunately, the country needs more energy than those sources can provide, and we need to wean ourselves from fossil fuels.
Especially misleading was the authors’ assertion that nuclear power plants should not be built because not all of their output could be used. If power demand were to drop, fossil fuel plants would be cut back, not nuclear plants.
The other misleading information is about cost. Much of the cost of nuclear power is that introduced by people and organizations fighting it - using the legal system to stretch out the planning and construction period and introducing as much artificial cost escalation as possible.
We need to address the total energy needs of the country and the desire to reduce dependence upon fossil fuels as a common goal .
TOM SCIANCE
scscorp@earthlink.net
Austin
Fingerprinting teachers
Re: Jan. 28 letter “Finger pointing and fingerprinting.”
I think the letter writer missed the point.
Every teacher I know is concerned with the safety of the children we teach. If you look at the statistics, you’ll see that most children are exposed to criminal activity and/or sexual abuse in the home, not at school, and it usually involves a relative.
Should we make a law where everyone who lives with a child submits to mandatory fingerprinting and background checks (which teachers already go through sans fingerprinting)? No. That would be unreasonable and costly, just like this new law.
I am tired of the pervasive mindset that everyone is a suspect. I wonder how much of her freedom the letter writer is willing to give up for the safety of children.
BILLY WILSON
Pflugerville
Use rebates to bring soldiers home
So the president and Congress want to give back some of our money in their economic stimulation plan so we will go out and spend more money and consume and buy more unnecessary items in an economic mirage of the deconstruction of American capitalism - further feeding the piranhas of corporations, Wall Street and the Pacific rim.
We should all welcome our money back, but if they want to buy my vote, then let my tax return money buy a soldier serving in a war constructed on lies and media manipulation a one-way, first-class ticket home.
BRUCE DAVIS
Austin
Can’t eat cloned meat
What most people don’t understand, because the media go for the sensational instead of the facts: You have no chance of eating a cloned anything.
Cloning is very expensive. You might, someday, eat the offspring of a cloned animal or drink her milk, but this will be from an animal - a second- or third-generation animal - that is in no way different from a “natural” animal that we already use.
If you want to avoid the whole issue, become a vegetarian. Oh, wait - we’re manipulating plants, too.
RICK HOLCOMB
Austin
Election fraud
Re: Jan. 13 Washington Post editorial “Voter fraud vs. voter discrimination.”
Voter fraud is a non-issue; the real issue is election fraud.
The problem in our election process is not with the voters; the problem is with secret vote counting machines.
All e-voting machines used in our election process should be banned. Voters should cast ballots on paper that are then counted by citizens, by hand, in full public view at the precinct level.
Without full transparency in our election system, there will always be questions about accurate results. Voters deserve better.
JENNY CLARK
Austin
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Economy, Obama and acupuncture
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Juliana Cumbo, giving an acupuncture treatment to Todd Cash, is blind.
The blind acupuncturist
Re: Feb. 1 article “Blind acupuncturist asks again for OK to practice.”
Meng-sheng Lin, the licensure committee chairwoman of the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners, asks, “Would you go to a blind acupuncturist?”
Yes, I would, if she is qualified and highly recommended. People who are blind don’t fly planes because that doesn’t allow for substitution of other senses (like touch) for vision.
As a responsible adult, I want to choose my own practitioner from all candidates who demonstrate the minimum skills, knowledge and ethics. I don’t want to be “protected” from competent professionals with unblemished records because the state board fears a lawsuit.
Their only concern should be: “Is she qualified?” not “Will we be sued if something happens?” or “Would anyone go to her?”
JOANNA CORDRY
Austin
A few years ago, I was a patient of Juliana Cumbo.
I have received acupuncture from licensed practitioners in California and Austin, so I have others with whom to compare her.
I am so disappointed that she hasn’t been granted a license. Cumbo was the most professional and skilled acupuncturist from whom I’ve received treatment. I frequently was awed that I never felt her insert needles when she asked me if their placement was comfortable.
It’s a disservice to the public not to grant her a license.
CEDAR SEXTON
Austin
For more on Juliana Cumbo, read “State to evaluate blind acupuncturist’s skills.”
Economic stimulation the fair way
The economic downturn requires rapid stimulation of the economy by the government to prevent a recession.
Because everyone eventually will pay the cost of increased inflation caused by any stimulation package, fairness requires that the temporary increase in the purchasing power benefit most of the people regardless of their federal tax status.
The simplest solution would be to temporarily suspend the collection of Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes from individuals and pay them from the federal budget. This will increase the purchasing power of the majority of the population immediately after the next payday, without increasing the federal budget deficit more than would any other proposed tax relief.
VIKTOR HOLOUBEK
Austin
Kucinich under the radar
Dennis Kucinich’s 2008 presidential campaign proceeded under the radar for most Americans, made apparent by the fact that his dropping out of the race garnered him more spotlight than he’s probably had since his UFO debacle at a debate in October.
The media are squarely to blame, focusing solely on the moneyed candidates who traditionally are more aligned with the elite than was Kucinich.
Kucinich was always a long shot - not because he was out of touch with the people but because he was out of touch with corporate America.
JUSTIN FINNEY
Austin
Obama needs to lay it on the line
Re: Jan. 26 commentary “Who we really are.”
Ellen Goodman mentioned Shelby Steele, born of a white mother and black father. My dad, the Rev. T.W. Simer, officiated at the wedding of Steele’s parents in his all-white church in Harvey, Ill., in the early 1940s.
I was about 12 years old and still remember that their twins, Shelby and Claude, were strikingly beautiful. They looked golden to me, with their bright smiles and flashing eyes. I also remember wishing I could have skin that color.
My dad was dismissed from that church after 27 years for performing that wedding. From then on, he laid his life on the line so others might have a chance at “the dream.”
Sen. Barack Obama shows promise. Substance is another thing, and until I see him come close to laying it out there like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and my dad did, he is not credible nor should he be elected.
SANDRA WALPER
Cedar Park
Threat of creationism
Re: Jan. 24 article “Creationist school furor still growing.”
Hopefully the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board realizes that mainstream Texas is not the least bit threatened by the development of an online graduate degree program in science education from a Christian perspective of creationism.
Nobel Prize winner Robert Curl’s assertion that doing so will make Texas a laughingstock is laughable in itself. What’s also laughable is that Curl and other members of the self-anointed intelligencia fear that their own secular ilk will realize that the hot air they spout isn’t enough to keep their own egos inflated.
And Nobel Prize winner Alfred Gilman’s assertion that teaching anything but Darwinian evolution will be a detriment to recruitment of the top scientists smacks of misplaced elitism.
With $3 billion on the table, researchers will follow the money trail like hound dogs to a jackrabbit. It doesn’t take a Nobel laureate to tell you that that’s real evolution.
BOBBY SEIFERMAN
Round Rock
Smarter than a fifth-grader?
Re: Jan. 25 article “Are you ready for UT? A&M? New standards might say `no.’”
The new college-readiness standards just approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reminds me of the game show “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?”
The answer is that you are smarter if you are still a student in the sixth grade, but after you cease being a student, you start to forget the facts a fifth-grader knows.
But while you get relatively dumber as you age, you learn other things. I’m long past knowing all the state capitals, but I know how to find them.
MONNIE ANDERSON
Austin
Auditing Pedernales Electric Co-op
I am dismayed at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative board of directors’ decision to hire its own audit firm rather than use the independent Texas State Auditor.
The board doesn’t get it. We deserve transparency. Perhaps they just don’t know that Enron’s Arthur Andersen is no longer in business.
PAULA GOODSON
Buda
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Pryor, Perry and PEC
Rodolfo Gonzalez AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Austin comic Cactus Pryor, 85, recently announced that he has Alzheimer’s disease.
The value of humor
Re: Feb. 3 article “Laughing at the enemy.”
Ricardo Gándara’s story about Cactus Pryor and his wife, Peggy Davis Pryor, brought mixed memories to me. I have known, from a distance, the Pryor family as far back as his father, Skinny, and the Cactus Theater. At 86, I have experienced his humor under various situations.
Reading about his Alzheimer’s disease brings me recognizable pain for him and his wife. My first wife died with this disease. My advice: Make the most of every minute you are together, and continue to utilize your wonderful sense of humor to handle what is ahead.
Today, I have a wonderful wife, Linda, to help me through some difficult times. We work with people who, along with their caregivers, face this disease.
It takes the support of spouses, family, friends and medical personnel, but it also takes a strong sense of humor. Cactus is the one to teach us. Life is serious enough.
E.G. VORWERK
Austin
In the early 1960s, a “generalissimo” from a “newly emerging” South American nation was the guest speaker at a Bergstrom Officers’ Club dining-in.
He wore an ornate purple uniform drooping with medals. And he spoke Spanglish with perhaps a Serbo-Croatian accent. In his after-dinner speech, the general found fault with everything American, but most of all with his hosts. His insults overlapped each other.
In a short time, many listeners wanted to toss him out the door. About then, the general switched to good-old-boy Texas lingo and revealed himself as Cactus Pryor in disguise.
Forty-five years later, I’m still laughing.
HANK ZEYBEL
Austin
We’re not worthy
Re: Feb. 1 article “Perry backs McCain, says he will win war on terror.”
Gov. Rick Perry, when asked when he’ll have another lengthy meeting with reporters, answered, “When I want to. Would that be an appropriate answer?”
No, it is not appropriate. This is the arrogance of an elected official who received less than 40 percent of the popular vote.
Obviously, the cocky Aggie yell leader is feeling his oats.
JANE GOSSETT
San Marcos
Rudy, my man
Re: Jan. 31 Gardner Selby column “Endorsers don’t get to dance with those they brung.”
If John Doe doesn’t know or care about Gov. Rick Perry’s ill-fated decision to help presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, what was the point of Perry doing it?
Is Bill Crocker of Austin, a member of the Republican National Committee, saying Perry’s endorsement was worthless? Based on subsequent events, that may be right.
ANDY ROGERS
Austin
Keys to the vault
Re: Feb. 3 article “No-shows collect co-op pay.”
The more we learn about the management of Pedernales Electric Cooperative and its amazing abuse of power, the more it looks like grand larceny.
Not only did the directors set them selves up in unchallenged positions, receiving huge amounts of pay for no work, now we find that they arranged to continue that pay after leaving PEC.
I have always found PEC repair people to be fast, hard working and dependable. They are the real PEC to me.
One former manager who receives full pay for no work, Sandi Cunningham, has another business named Keys To The Vault. That sort of describes the whole PEC situation, doesn’t it?
I call for the resignation of all PEC board members.
(I would rather have this letter published in the PEC magazine, but they have not mentioned this scandal. Instead, they print more biscuit recipes and photos of grandchildren in cute overalls.)
KENNETH G. WILSON
Dripping Springs
I look forward to each edition of the American-Statesman with equal parts dread and anticipation. I wonder if each new PEC story can top the last one regarding greed, plunder and arrogance on the part of the board of directors, Bennie Fuelberg and Bud Burnett.
I give a huge thanks to the Statesman, reporter Claudia Grisales, state Sen. Troy Fraser and state Rep. Patrick Rose, among others, for keeping this issue front and center with us.
There was one unintentional nugget of humor when the story quoted from the letter sent by the PEC board of directors to the members: They don’t want to use taxpayer funds for the purpose of an audit. Yes, but they freely dip into the PEC coffers to treat themselves to all kinds of luxuries and exorbitant salaries.
MARILYN ALLEN
Burne
Putting rebate to good use
Re: Feb. 1 letter “Stimulating the economy.”
I agree with the letter writer that many who will receive a tax rebate (especially if the Senate version passes) do not need the money and won’t spend it. History repeats itself.
I do have suggestions for those who receive a check and don’t need it.
Go to a local grocery store, buy food and donate it to a food bank. Go to a discount store and buy clothes to be distributed to those who have very few to wear. Go to a school and give some of the money to teachers to replace the money that they pay out of their own pockets for school supplies each year. There are clinics that need supplies and a multitude of other good causes to give the money to.
CONNIE MORTON
cnn_morton@yahoo.com
Meadowlakes
They say that bread and circuses kept the people of the Roman Empire happy for a long time. So now to cheer us all up we are about to be tossed a little more bread, otherwise known as the president’s stimulus package.
The trouble is that it will go to many people who really don’t need it and there will still be those who will never get any help at all. My advice is if you have food on the table, a roof over your head and are making ends meet, instead of buying more toys made in China, help the people that our president does not care about. Donate your check to Meals on Wheels, Capital Area Food Bank or an organization that feeds the homeless.
That’s what I’m going to do.
GEORGIA CORIN
Austin
Filling the job market
Re: Jan. 26 commentary “Jobs are where the money is.”
Bob Herbert accurately writes that Americans’ income has stagnated since the 1970s. However, his solution reads like a high school economics paper.
Herbert says we need to create high-paying jobs by investing in our infrastructure and green energy projects. We already have the jobs, in science and technology.
Thousands of jobs that require technical expertise go unfilled everyday. We require foreign workers on visas to fill them. Every year we graduate high school and college students on shaky career paths.
Working parents want the best for their kids, but often lack the skill set and time to help these children down a science path that holds a brighter future.
By the way, our teachers are maxed out.
Herbert says we need to “think Manhattan project.” I completely agree.
JOHN LAWRENCE
ana.mail@sbcglobal.net
Austin
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The next JFK, and paying for health care
Charles Rex Arbogast ASSOCIATED PRESS
Caroline Kennedy explains her endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama: ‘I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.’
A daughter’s endorsement
Re: Jan. 30 commentary “A president like my father.”
I was profoundly moved by Caroline Kennedy’s piece endorsing Sen. Barack Obama.
There are many intelligent, competent people in the world, even in the world of politicians. But very few people can move others the way Obama can. Those who dismiss him as just a great speaker can’t hear the music.
Additionally, he has great intelligence, wisdom and charm. He is the one we need to lead us to better times. We absolutely do not need a divisive, combative, secretive candidate like “the Clintons.” I say the Clintons rather than Sen. Hillary Clinton because we would not have the first woman president, we would have the first couple president.
JACKIE STEWART
JaStewrt@aol.com
Austin
The juxtaposition between Caroline Kennedy’s column endorsing Obama and Bridget Johnson endorsing Sen. John McCain (Jan. 30 commentary “The man who can right wrongs”) couldn’t be more striking.
Kennedy has a well-developed sense of perspective and unparalleled dignity. Having witnessed numerous presidential candidates, she has chosen this moment to endorse her first. Why? Because “the qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.”
I was overwhelmingly inspired by her father and feel that same sense of inspiration and hope from Obama.
Meanwhile, Johnson suggests we return to the politics of the past by electing the oldest president in history, because he is a war hero and a true conservative. She conveniently forgets when he abandoned his “straight-talking express” and pandered to the Revs. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, and a host of far-right quacks he previously derided.
The choice is obvious: an inspired future or a bridge back to the 20th century.
DeWITT MOFORD
DeWittMoford5@aol.com
Austin
Obama is the only candidate of either party who can unite the country.
The American people are tired of the divisiveness that Bill and Hillary Clinton generate. The so-called experience of Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain will just be used to maintain the status quo.
Obama is a person with a vision who appeals to everyone’s better nature. He is wise beyond his years.
Like President Kennedy, Obama will usher in the dawning of a new day in America.
PAUL L. WHITELEY SR.
Louisville, Ky.
Paying for health care
Re: Jan. 20 article “The uninsured.”
This was a poignant reminder that all of us are affected by this growing crisis. Texas has low rates of employer-sponsored health coverage, but simply making the insurance market more competitive won’t solve the problem completely.
There is no silver bullet that will make health insurance more affordable and accessible. But meaningful changes can be made, including appropriate investments in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program and private-sector health insurance reforms. Health care providers need to be part of the solution, but real change will require the involvement of government, insurers and the business community.
Clearly, this is a problem that demands a cure, and Texas hospitals urge legislators to make this a priority issue when they convene next January.
DR. DAN STULTZ
President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association
dstultz@tha.org
Austin
It is ridiculous that Americans have come to expect someone else to pay for their health care.
Health care costs should be transparent and market-based. Health insurance should not be tied to employment but rather be sold to individuals and families at competitive market prices. And Americans need to realize that health care in this country is the best in the world, and we must allow the free market - pharmaceutical and research companies - to do their work.
Let consumers invest in pretax Health Savings Accounts and let them make smart choices about their health care.
JOE AIELLO
joe@travelassistnetwork.com
Oak Hill
There was no mention of single-payer health care, which has been endorsed by the American College of Physicians and the 14,000-member Physicians for a National Health Program. Overhead with private insurance runs at 33 percent, as compared to 3 percent with Medicare, a single-payer system. Insurance companies pay huge staffs to review and deny coverage.
Despite spending 2.5 times per capita more than all other developed countries on health care, the United States consistently ends up with the poorest health care when compared with those same countries.
GAYE KOPAS
Austin
Mental health in prison
Having served in the Travis State Jail and the Travis County Jail for almost four years in programs with other licensed professional counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed social workers treating drug and alcohol addicts and violent domestic abuse offenders, we discovered that a great many people we have treated suffer from antisocial personality disorder, depression and other addictive disorders that can be dual diagnosed.
Almost all of the core issues relate to physical, emotional or sexual abuse and abandonment. Many also have severe family and relationship issues. These people recycle through the criminal justice system with no treatment.
To not treat mental health in prison wastes taxpayer money and the lives and families of thousands. It would be great to see broad-based community support for this issue.
DR. STEVE LARSON
Austin
Sounds like a book review
Re: Jan. 27 article “Honor thy coach.”
It had mystery, suspense and it was thrilling. I could not put the story down until finished. Unusual for me. Kevin Robbins is a gifted storyteller.
SIIRI WILSON
siisupuppy@yahoo.com
Austin
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Downtown beauty, whining and Russkie
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Great stage presence
The close-up photo of Dennis Schamanek playing his guitar (above and on Jan. 30 Metro & State cover), accompanied by wind on one of our amazing sunny winter days, was notable also for its setting: the 300 block of Congress Avenue.
The framing of the photo gives no indication that if the guitarist looked up, he would be facing one of the massive modern towers that increasingly characterize downtown.
American-Statesman photographer Jay Janner did all readers a favor by capturing Schamanek against a stretch of Congress Avenue in which the handsome, “human-scale” architecture from Austin’s first century still offers a colorful, inviting experience and aesthetic relief from the concrete-and-steel overhaul that’s underway.
Commerce that can thrive on this scale is one of the best parts of downtown Austin.
Thanks for a glimpse of a place where it still happens.
KAREN POPE
Austin
Whining is worse than train whistles
Austin has become a city of whiners.
People buy houses close to a railroad track and then complain about train whistles. A major retailer wants to build a store on the site of a shopping center that never did very well, and a neighborhood group whines about traffic. Austin almost comes to a standstill at peak traffic times, so the state builds toll roads, and another group of people whines and complains.
Capital Metro was only testing the trains for a temporary time; tolerate some inconvenience. Wal-Mart will energize the Anderson Lane/Burnet Road area for other businesses. And, finally, no one is forcing anyone to use a toll road.
JIM RATZMAN
jimratzman@sbcglobal.net
Austin
Who’s in charge?
It’s now clear who all the idiots are.
How else do you explain all the recent stupid headlines? Instead of fixing the problems that exist for prison guards - increasing their pay and making working conditions better - let’s just let the prisoners out. To fix the foundering economy, let’s send a check to everyone so they can go out and shop. That will fix all our worries, won’t it?
Don’t even think about the subliminal message that your vote is being bought for a few hundred bucks. For crying out loud, America, when are we going to stand up for ourselves and send these morons packing?
MELISSA MAXWELL
Austin
Watch what happens
Re: Jan. 24 article “Chief pitches `virtual patrols.’”
Using video cameras to watch for criminal activity is a good use of technology.
If a famous person walked by, or someone was doing something stupid or funny, or the police were arresting someone, people with camera phones would whip them out and take pictures - and that would be OK.
But if the police want to use video technology, then they are interfering with our privacy rights.
You can’t have it both ways. Let’s use video cameras and make Austin safer for the visitors, the residents and the officers who patrol it. Besides, many businesses have surveillance cameras and no one seems to mind them - except the thieves.
JUDY BURDETT
Kyle
East Austin lot rules
Re: Jan. 18 article “Council upholds ‘06 lot size rules for East Austin.”
Shame on you, Austin City Council.
No more than 10 years ago, the city turned a blind eye toward East Austin, but now it sees a gold mine. Voting to uphold the 2006 lot size rules was a slap in the face to residents who have lived there for generations but soon will be forced out of their homes because they won’t be able to afford the property taxes.
This does make business sense for some “new” property owners looking to make quick money, and for the City of Austin, but it’s at the expense of others.
JONATHAN HALE
Pflugerville
Recycling thumb’s up
Re: Jan. 25 article “City takes recycling in new direction, ditching multiple bins for all-in-one cart.”
I live in Circle C Ranch, and we recently switched to the City of Austin for our waste/recycling service. I was surprised to find out that we are in the pilot program for recycling; we have the all-in-one recycling.
The first week we used it, my husband commented that our recycling container was heavier than our trash container. I love putting it all in one big trash bin and rolling it to the curb.
Three cheers for Austin for working on getting all of us to recycle. I am able to put many more items in the bin these days because much more is allowed.
JOYE BROOKS
Austin
The other human face
Re: Jan. 23 Rich Oppel column “One way to tell a story is to put a human face on it.”
If social conservatives really want to know the cause of America’s moral decline, they need look no further than Mr. Russkie’s inability to see himself in the faces of others.
When you begin to care more about the contents of your wallet than the welfare of your neighbors, you begin to lose the cohesiveness that truly keeps a country strong.
None of us is perfect. All of us, including Mr. Russkie, are but one poor choice away from disaster. Ask the employees of Enron who foolishly made the poor choice to invest in their own employer. Ask the young soldiers who joined the military to be all they could be and ended up spending years fighting another country’s civil war.
NED CARNES
Austin
Bus stop troublemakers
Re: Jan. 19 Central Texas Digest item “Lawmakers: Let Capitol stop be.”
Even during the turbulent times of the 1960s, when the anti-war activists were throwing their firebombs at vehicles in the Capitol parking area, the police were able to contain any and all threats to the building and the folks therein.
Never once have I heard of, or seen, any bus or passenger attempt to cause any terror, turmoil or trouble to anyone who was entering or exiting the Capitol grounds.
I really think the removal of the bus stop is strictly to satisfy the ego of some ignorant official, some “do-gooder,” or some busybody not native to Austin.
TOM ADAMS
Manor
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Iraq, domestic violence and raising the gas tax
Iraq like Vietnam
The similarities between Vietnam and Iraq are too real.
Both undeclared wars were started on false pretenses - Gulf of Tonkin and weapons of mass destruction. Both President Johnson and President Bush believed the United States could fight a war and maintain a strong economy. Both ran up huge debts.
In Vietnam, our troops were forbidden from entering North Vietnam. In Bush’s war on terrorism, our troops are forbidden from going into Pakistan. Both wars had economic gains in sight - rubber plantations in Vietnam and oil in Iraq.
Furthermore, there was a no-win policy in Vietnam, and it appears that there is a no-win policy for getting the real perpetrators of 9/11.
ED LINDSAY
Killeen
Time for a U-turn
Re: Jan. 15 letter “Seeds of change.”
The letter writer caused me quite a laugh. I agree somewhat about the gullibility of the American people. After all, Republicans have ruled the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives for much of the last eight years. They have engaged in the greatest redistribution of wealth upward that this country has ever known.
The robber barons would be proud of their Republican heirs. Is it time for a change? I’d say it’s time for a complete U-turn.
JUDY WARDLOW
Copperas Cove
Transform public safety
Re: Jan. 20 letter “The role of public safety in Austin.”
The letter sounds like a plea to stay the course in the way Austin police is funded.
The writer is part of the pro-police inner circle that supports the way things are run, and that’s fine. But his assertion that “our streets and neighborhoods are remarkably safe” is not.
Look at crime within the police department, and public service in general, jumping from 10 years ago. From cops committing fraud, sexual attacks on minors, cyber pornography, participation in gambling operations, shootings of pets, etc. It’s all there in the American-Statesman.
It’s time for a good city manager to look and transform the police into a “protect and serve” entity and allow fire-fighters to declare every new building hazard-free while still in the blueprints, and kick out all those supporters and donors who have sunk APD, firefighters and EMS into a fantasy hole.
PAUL AVIÑA
Austin
Domestic violence and immigration agents
Re: Jan. 31 article “Sheriff’s cooperation with immigration agents welcome.”
SAHELI (Support, Advocate, Heal, Empower, Listen and Inform) is an Austin-based nonprofit that provides assistance to Asian families dealing with domestic violence and abuse.
In domestic violence disputes, dual arrests of the perpetrator and victim are common. SAHELI regularly assists victims who have been wrongfully arrested.
Now that Travis County is allowing federal immigration agents unfettered access to all people taken into custody, any victim of domestic violence who gets dragged off to jail along with the abuser faces the very real threat of deportation. This will certainly make victims of domestic violence less likely to report assaults.
The new policy is essentially a statement by Travis County law enforcement that deporting undocumented workers is more important than fostering a relationship of trust and cooperation between police and longtime residents.
Linda Phan
Executive director, SAHELI
lphan@saheli-austin.org
Austin
Diplomacy in Iraq
Congress has an opportunity to take a step toward world peace by mandating a diplomatic surge for Iraq and its neighbors by enacting H.R. 3797, the bipartisan “new diplomatic offensive for Iraq act.”
The bill requires the president to develop a regional diplomatic plan for the Middle East modeled on the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group; directs the president to designate a special envoy to implement the plan; mandates quarterly progress reports to Congress; and urges the president to work with the United Nations Security Council to increase UN support for stability and reconstruction in Iraq.
By passing H.R. 3797, Congress can provide strong bipartisan support for the vigorous and constructive diplomatic foundation needed to overcome past policy failures and set the United States on a new course in Iraq and the Middle East.
ROBERT VIGGIANO
viggiano_rp@yahoo.com
Georgetown
Raising gas tax
Re: Jan. 16 editorial “Paying at the pump for roads, bridges.”
Though I agree that our current approach to funding the nation’s highways and other surface transportation systems is broken, sending more of the taxpayers’ money to Washington won’t help. That is because raising the gas tax and increasing federal spending won’t improve commuting; it will just make it more expensive.
We’ve increased federal transportation spending by more than 100 percent over the past 25 years. We’re spending 300 percent more on highway construction alone than we were in 1983, exceeding inflation by more than 60 percent. Yet all this spending has just led to a 1,150 percent increase in earmarks and special-interest funding in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, the average driver’s commute time has increased by 300 percent.
We need to encourage innovative approaches like congestion pricing, variable tolling and public-private partnerships that allow communities to generate significant new revenue while actually reducing congestion.
MARY E. PETERS
U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Washington, D.C.
Parking lot dispute
Re: Jan. 28 article “Parking lot dispute leads church to sue over SOS law.”
The rhetoric from Hope in the City Christian church is representative of the behavior that has made me quit going to church and drift away from Christianity. The denial of a parking area construction permit has nothing to do with freedom of religion. The church has shown itself to be petty and selfish with its lawsuit.
PHILLIP PETERSON
philsspam@yahoo.com
Lockhart
Buy low, sell high
Re: Jan. 27 editorial cartoon.
The cartoon about Social Security and the stock market is a perfect example of the media’s ignorance of the subject.
It implies that the recent fall of the market proves the danger of investing Social Security funds in stocks. Savvy investors know that this is the time to buy, which is how the Social Security funds would be used.
By age 62 or 65, huge profits would be realized by retirees. Too bad this truth is still unknown by the masses, thanks to the media and Democrats.
TOM SWEATMAN
Austin
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Gaza, civil liberties and Wal-Mart
Blockading the Gaza border
Contrary to Israel’s argument that blockading the Gaza border is necessary until Hamas stops firing rockets into Israel, international law bars Israel from “collective punishment,” or starving 1.5 million Gazans because 10 Israeli citizens were lightly wounded by rocket fire.
Of course, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel, but Israel must be willing to sit at the table.
This recent humanitarian crisis perfectly highlights the folly of President Bush’s late-term strategy for peace in the Middle East. Hamas, regardless of whatever vitriol it has expressed toward Israel in the past, won elections that the United States promoted. It must be negotiated with and has indicated it would accept Israel contingent upon a fair, two-state solution.
Unfortunately, U.S. politics has hampered rather than helped in this area over the past 41 years.
JUSTIN FINNEY
Austin
California-style civil liberties
When Austin enlisted a Californian to head its police force, I guessed the inevitable eastward drift of civil-liberty reduction would shift into high gear.
Sure enough, Chief Art Acevedo plans on planting surveillance cameras to record our every move, citing public safety.
Mark my words: Drunken driving checkpoints are next on the agenda. Nights in the Bay Area for me evoke memories of coned intersections, flashing lights and cops leaning into the car to smell our breath.
MARK DYE
Austin
Why pick on seniors?
Re: Jan. 29 article “Senator: Give rebates to Social Security recipients.”
Why beat up on seniors? When Texas lawmakers excluded seniors from property tax reductions, voters reversed that.
Now it’s the feds doing it to seniors. Washington decided to give about $150 billion to select citizens. That will stimulate the economy - if the chosen recipients will spend it. But apparently administration and House leaders think seniors on Social Security are undeserving - or not reliable spenders.
Not so, says Montana Sen. Max Baucus, Finance Committee chairman. His proposed economic stimulus package would include seniors. They would do exactly what Washington wants with the rebates: They’d spend it.
Tell Congress to include seniors. It’s the right thing to do.
Carlos Higgins
Austin
Gay parents
Re: Jan. 27 article “Study: Gay parents earn less.”
After a family wedding recently, my 6-year-old daughter asked, “Do you remember your wedding to Papi?”
As a gay man, I responded, “I remember our exchanging rings.” What I did not say is that I also remember paying for two adoptions, negotiating a legal parenting agreement (that may not hold up in a socially conservative Texas court) and spending hours with an estate attorney in an attempt to duplicate what is accomplished through a legally recognized marriage license and still does not come close to equality.
We are not asking to be married in a church; we are asking for the same treatment as other couples - to be treated equally under the law.
Kudos to those gay individuals providing homes to more than 17,000 Texas children despite a state that does not help and actually places barriers in place for these loving families.
KEN LAMBRECHT
Austin
Capitol bus stop
Re: Jan. 19 Central Texas Digest item “Lawmakers: Let Capitol stop be.”
A hearty round of applause for our local legislators who oppose the state’s plan to close the Capital Metro bus stop near the entrance to the Capitol at 11th Street and Congress Avenue.
Those wishing to remove the bus stop - and that seems to include Gov. Rick Perry’s office - offer an argument that is not merely patently specious, it is demonstrably absurd. If an unencumbered exit from the Capitol is so urgently needed, why is the exit at 15th Street and Congress barricaded?
If, on the other hand, plans for renovation of the Governor’s Mansion include enhancing curb appeal by removing the poor and the disabled from its proximity, then the plan at least becomes comprehensible while it remains intolerable.
PETER FAZZIOLA
redriver_78701@yahoo.com
Austin
Education philosophies
Re: Jan. 21 article “KIPP creating charter district.”
The opening of additional KIPP campuses in Austin is about fundamental differences between two competing educational philosophies.
On the one hand is the egalitarian belief that education is a right and must not be denied to anyone, as practiced in the United States and some other western nations. On the other is the principle (born in China, and seen primarily in Asia) that education is a privilege for the deserving and must be earned. KIPP obviously leans more toward the latter.
While teaching in Japan’s school system for 10 years, I saw students, like those at KIPP, going to school six days a week and being asked to leave if their commitment level (or that of their parents) was not high enough.
Only time will tell how “No Child Left Behind” equips the next generation, but KIPP will allow us to watch firsthand the way a non-Western approach to learning compares.
SHERWOOD MOFFETT
Hyde Park High School
shermoffett@sbcglobal.net
Austin
Sent to timeout
Re: Jan. 17 Central Texas Digest item “Officer suspended for 3 days.”
Austin Police officer Gabriel Padilla was suspended for three days for reportedly putting a very rude person into “timeout.”
I hope Padilla enjoys his three days off, and I am sorry he is losing his pay.
There are many more rude and obnoxious people who need to be put in timeout.
SUSAN TENNISON
Manchaca
Please don’t hate me
I like Wal-Mart, and I’m almost afraid to say it.
Because I make so much money as an elementary school teacher, Wal-Mart works for my budget. I can actually afford to feed and clothe my family with goods from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart might even provide jobs for some of my neighbors and convenience for my elderly neighbors who don’t own a car.
I will still patronize Zinger Hardware, Sun Harvest and the other stores close by because they offer something unique.
The amount of whining by the Responsible Growth for Northcross (RG4N) is sickening, and it wastes both the time and money of the city and the courts. RG4N does not speak for all the residents in this area.
Some of us are looking forward to Wal-Mart. So stop whining, and please don’t hate me.
LESLIE PEARLMAN
Austin
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Perry strikes out;
legalized drugs’ supporters strike back
Gerald Herbert ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas Gov. Rick Perry joins former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani’s wife, Judith, at a campaign rally in Clearwater, Fla., last Monday. Giuliani dropped out of the race on Wednesday.
Giuliani strikes out with Perry
Gov. Rick Perry won this term with only 39 percent of the vote. For some reason, he thought that this would make him a heavy hitter on the national scene, and he became a spokesman for Rudy Giuliani.
In Giuliani’s only serious run at a primary in Florida, he got only 15 percent of the vote. Hopefully, this woeful vote of confidence will dash any national ambitions that our governor may have.
BILL LEWIS
Buda
Giuliani gambled by putting all his eggs in one basket, with the basket being Florida. He brought in an outsider to stump for him. Now the yolk is on him.
He found out at least three things in his quest for president. First, being the mayor of a city hit by terrorism does not qualify you for the presidency. Second, a basket leaks; use a bucket next time. Last, Perry carries no weight in Florida.
His “whoop” for a possible stepping stone to the White House got whomped. Thank goodness.
Butch Lee
Lexington
Applaud for Villa Muse
Re: Jan. 24 editorial “City should not rush to follow Villa Muse’s script.”
What is the American-Statesman thinking?
Is it the old “no growth” policy it is endorsing? The editorial about Austin public safety unions (Jan. 24, “Austin unions line up bargaining chips”) suggests a budget crunch, and yet the Statesman is against business growth and development that will bring in more revenue to help the budget.
Villa Muse wants to reclaim flood plain land in Southeast Austin, an area that could use economic growth, but the Statesman (and City Council) want to hold it back.
Part of Villa Muse’s request is typical; it wants tax relief. But part of it is very realistic: It wants out from under the burdensome, lengthy and expensive Austin development rules and regulations.
Austin should get out of its way or streamline the process so costs and development time are reduced. Villa Muse should be applauded for trying to reclaim flood plain land.
PAUL ABNEY
Austin
And applaud sheriff
Re: Jan. 26 article “Feds get more jail access.”
I applaud Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton for doing the right thing and allowing immigration agents more access to the county jail.
Illegal immigrants have already violated immigration laws, but only if they commit additional crimes will they come to the attention of immigration agents.
We have allowed our borders to be violated. Why should alleged criminals be immune to any of our laws, including our immigration laws?
JOYCE THORESEN
Austin
What a breath of fresh air - an elected official who is complying with the law.
A very pertinent comment by Hamilton: “My contention is that the best way for (undocumented immigrants) to not come under scrutiny is to not commit crimes.”
Now if Austin police and jail officials would also be instructed by the Austin City Council to obey the law.
OLIN DEARING
Austin
Legalized drugs
Re: Jan. 25 letter “What war, man?”
The letter suggests legalizing drugs will lead to pilots and police using them while on duty.
We already have legalized drugs, including alcohol, and have laws preventing pilots and police officers from using them while on duty.
Why does this person think legalizing cocaine or marijuana would not come with the same restrictions as other legal drugs?
DOUG JACOBS
Austin
The letter was a ridiculous spin on a serious subject.
It has been 35 years since President Nixon declared a war on drugs. Since then, the United States has spent $500 billion dollars fighting this war, millions of U.S. citizens have been incarcerated, half a million U.S. citizens are in prison right now, yet illegal drugs are more prevalent, accessible and cheaper than ever before.
The war on drugs hasn’t worked. A change is needed. Maybe legalization of drugs would take away the criminal element and let the United States control and tax the drugs. Maybe then we could concentrate on demand instead of supply, rehabilitation instead of interdiction.
WAYNE NAGEL
Austin
How sad that discourse is marginalized to childish banter and outrageous claims.
Regulation of currently illicit drugs means they would follow the same edicts and mandates as currently legal drugs such as alcohol.
As a liberal, I trust the police and every other public servant who puts my life in his or her hands to do the right thing without having big government play the role of “personal choice” police. Grow up.
MICHAEL McKENZIE
mjmckenzie4444@yahoo.com
Leander
What a scare tactic. Alcohol is still the number one drug of choice, yet it is legal.
Do you really know when you board a flight that the pilot is sober?
Maybe we should just make alcohol illegal. Oh, I forgot; that was tried and it didn’t work. The same thing is happening with drugs.
ONA SOUTHERLAND
chieph1@aol.com
Driftwood
Are we to presume that because beer and bourbon are legal, pilots are allowed to do boilermakers before landing?
The “war on whatever” paradigm has run its course. It is time to look at what laws work and what laws backfire.
The laws with mandatory sentences have filled the jails with nonviolent people. Many of the people who wanted these mandatory sentences also complain about “coddling criminals,” whatever that means.
RICHARD GRAVOIS
Austin
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Presidential endorsements
The American-Statesman Editorial Board has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the Texas primaries on March 4. Read the endorsements and let us know what you think.
For the Democrats: Sen. Barack Obama
For the Republicans: Sen. John McCain
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A matter of principle
Standing up for the principal
Re: Jan. 26 article “Parents feel `alienated,’ seek ouster of principal.”
What’s the matter with kids today? Their parents.
The recent “traditional activities” at Austin High - complete with smoke bombs, running through hallways, hoisting a vice principal and generally behaving as 6-year-olds - were ridiculous and embarrassing.
Wake up, parents. Teach your children to respect their environment and their peers, and help them grow into responsible adults.
Congratulations to Principal John Hudson for wanting to make the students financially accountable for the damages. That is the real world.
I’m a long-ago graduate of Austin, and the above activities were not one of our traditions.
ROBERT CLARK
Austin
After teaching in the Austin school district for 31 years, the last 14 at Austin High, I left to take a position at the University of Texas - not because of John Hudson’s leadership but because I am passionate about training future teachers of Texas.
I found Hudson to be most supportive of excellence in teaching in all disciplines. I found him to be fair to teachers and students. How sad that parents are speaking for those of us who left to advance their agenda.
Note that none of the parent concerns address student achievement.
I do not know one teacher or administrator there who does not have student success as their paramount concern.
GRETCHEN POLNAC
Former English Department chairwoman
Austin
What nerve that a principal would actually read a book at an athletic event.
Instead of thanking him for actually doing his job, this group of parents wants him fired.
JOHN JEBENS
Georgetown
As a former high school principal in Round Rock and a taxpayer in the Austin school district, I applaud Hudson for his efforts to stop a student activity that resulted in vandalism and an unnecessary clean-up expense to taxpayers.
Students who participated in this so-called tradition demonstrated no pride in their school. Additionally, a principal who places academics as his highest priority should be highly respected by students and parents.
As to the parents who condoned these “acts of tradition,” I say, “Grow up.”
LINDA WATKINS
Austin
What audacity that the principal has to set such a poor example for students by reading a book at a sports event. They might get the idea that academics are just as important as football.
And what would possess him to think that a “tradition” of vandalism might be something that should be stopped? How could he possibly find fault with excessive pep rallies and annual celebrations of the “tradition” of the school just because they interfere with classes?
The school board should give Hudson a commendation for trying to teach the students the importance of reading and education along with the difference between tradition and vandalism.
REBECCA LINTON
Austin
Soon after I began teaching high school science, I heard a principal say that the key to an administrator’s success was taking care of the ABCs. This meant athletics, band and cheerleaders - namely, keeping the parents of students in these activities relatively happy.
This seems to be Hudson’s main failing. He foolishly thinks that academic success is a school’s primary mission.
It would be unfortunate for the students, parents and teachers of Austin High to lose a principal so dedicated to classroom success.
STEVE BRATTENG
Austin
Textbook revisions
In 2003, four members of our Texas State Board of Education voted against adoption of certain science textbooks because “they don’t present the weaknesses of evolution,” according to one of the four conservative, fundamental Christians on the board, Don McLeroy.
McLeroy, a dentist in Bryan, is the Board of Education chairman appointed by Gov. Rick Perry. In 2005, McLeroy delivered a lecture at Grace Bible Church, saying, “We’re all lined up against the fact that naturalism, that nature is all there is.”
Uh-oh. Are we destined to face the ridicule of the world as Kansas did, or pay for expensive court battles like Dover, Pa.?
Texans must fight to leave the teaching of science to our scientists, and the teaching of religion to the clergy. Our state science standards should be revised to focus on evolution, the unifying theory linking all studies of life.
JEANNINE MARSHALL
Austin
Foreign oil
Re: Jan. 16 commentary “Myths about kicking our oil habit.”
Thank you for printing the Robert Bryce column for its common sense (an uncommon quality) about an emotional topic. If the United States cut its energy use in half, we’d still be dependent on foreign energy.
MARC BREWSTER
Austin
Health care costs
Re: Jan. 25 editorial “How long can Texas turn its back on us?”
It is incorrect to say that the cost of insuring those without health insurance would be less than the costs of uninsured people not paying emergency room bills. At best, it would be no better than an even trade.
That would happen only if the newly insured did not use any more health care than they do now, and if the new insurance policies eliminated bad debts.
But people with insurance would avail themselves of more health care, so more money would be spent in total. The new insurance wouldn’t pay all the costs, so we’d still have bad debts in the system.
Bad debts by others is a small fraction of my health insurance cost. My share of the cost of insuring 5.7 million Texans would be much greater.
We must attack root causes of high health care costs, not just look for other taxpayers to pay for them.
WILLY GRAVES
Austin
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Maxey, Hope and the election
Mental illness … dirty politics
Re: Jan. 26 article “Earle: Maxey sought leniency for companion.”
I am astonished that so much ink was wasted attempting to “smear” former state Rep. Glen Maxey.
It looks like Maxey pressed District Attorney Ronnie Earle for humane treatment of a person with a mental illness and a substance-abuse problem. Most decent folks would do the same for someone they cared about.
The real shame in this story is that our nation — and Texas, in particular — has no humane way of dealing with the mentally ill, especially if they run afoul of the law.
In 1986, Maxey was a tireless worker when Austin’s first AIDS services organization was a five-person, all volunteer group trying to help a fast-growing population that was shunned by nearly every agency in town.
Obviously, someone who opposes Maxey’s bid for election as Travis County tax assessor-collector slung some mud and the Statesman ran with it.
LUCY WILEY
Wimberley
Dirty politics is a fact of life in Travis County. The Statesman took a personal family crisis and tried to make it something improper.
Given that Earle prides himself on including families who want to be advocates for their loved ones, isn’t it fitting that Maxey made a case for his friend with a troubled history of mental illness? Prison is no place for those with mental illness.
For those of us who have had to deal with mental illness, having an advocate can make a world of difference. I applaud Maxey for trying to get help for his friend and wish the Statesman and the Spears campaign wouldn’t make this a campaign issue. It is a personal, family issue.
CELIA ISRAEL
Austin
Cheers to Earle. We easily forget that our legendary D.A. is relentlessly nonpartisan when going after elected officials who may have violated the law. To the long list of those who scowl at the mere mention of Earle’s name (Kay Bailey Hutchison and Tom DeLay, to name only two) we can now add Maxey.
Jeers to Maxey. While certainly admirable and understandable, Maxey’s personal lobbying of Earle on behalf of Brian Eager certainly carries with it a strong whiff of impropriety and misuse of office.
BRAD O’BRIEN
alamobpo@hotmail.com
Killeen
Maxey publicly claimed that I am responsible for the story describing how he tried to pressure Earle to reduce cocaine and DWI charges against his boyfriend.
I did not even know about the incident, and I played no part whatsoever in that newspaper story. Maxey is entitled to personal privacy. He’s not entitled to lie to get elected tax assessor-collector.
This story has given Maxey another opportunity to demagogue and spin the facts. As the treasurer for Nelda Wells Spears’ re-election campaign, I’ve watched Maxey attack her with lies during this entire campaign.
In contrast, Spears has done an excellent job with integrity and dignity. She has created the best tax office in Texas, one with the highest voter registration rates and tax collection rates and award-winning customer service.
Only with lies can Maxey explain why he’s running against her.
Bill Aleshire
Aleshire@R-ALaw.com
Austin
SOS and the church
Re: Jan. 28 article “Parking lot dispute leads church to sue over SOS law.”
Shame on Hope in the City for thinking that it is above the law.
If the Save Our Springs ordinance was passed in 1992 and the church bought the land in 2004, it seems obvious that its leaders knew of the restrictions on development. In fact, those restrictions probably saved the congregation money on the purchase. Now the church wants to challenge those same restrictions under the cloak of freedom of religion?
Freedom to practice religion is not the same thing as freedom to trash the environment, and I’m appalled that the church would act in such a selfish and irresponsible manner.
BRIAN ENGEL
bd_engel@hotmail.com
Austin
As a resident of southwest Austin and a practicing Christian, I hope that the City of Austin successfully defends this lawsuit and the zoning code. Maybe Hope in the City should consider locating to a less sensitive area or utilizing sustainable practices to transport members to services.
LAURA L. JOHNSON
Austin
Antiquated election process
Being only 16, I will have to wait until the 2012 general election before I can vote.
However, the primary and caucus system seems to be a bit outdated. All 50 states should hold their primaries on the same day, about six to eight months before the general election. That way, there is less opportunity for mudslinging, more attention given to the candidates’ real qualifications, and less time for the pundits to analyze and reanalyze every breath the candidates take.
The original primary/caucus system was set up to allow time for hand-counting and give antiquated newspaper publishers time to print the results a few days later. In the age of instant global information, it’s time to rethink our election process.
VINCE MATL
Bastrop
An alternate view
Re: Jan. 22 letter “Women’s votes.”
I thought the idea was to vote for the best candidate for an office and not to “make history” by voting in the first woman president.
Perhaps Sen. Hillary Clinton is the best candidate, but the decision to vote for her should be based upon on competency, not gender.
DANIEL LEO
Georgetown
Aiding veterans
Re: Jan. 26 commentary “Generals get the glory - and the cash.”
If what Jay Bookman wrote is true - that the nonprofit group Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes ate up 74 cents of every contributed dollar - the managers should be ashamed.
Last summer, residents of Lakeway started up a fundraising effort to support our most seriously wounded warriors. From the outset, the committee pledged to ensure every nickel contributed to the Patriot Fund would go directly to support veterans. Any operational expenses are considered “in-kind” contributions.
I am confident that 100 percent of the contributions go to the purchase of iBOT Mobility Systems (high-tech wheelchairs). To date, no fewer than two iBOTs have been donated to veterans adopted by residents of Lakeway.
MICHAEL R. BOSTON SR.
twobostons1@sbcglobal.net
Lakeway Patriot Fund Co-chairman
Lakeway
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Hannah Montana, Econ 101 and Spain
Alas, more on Hannah
I see that the American-Statesman is keeping right on top of the issues of most significance to its readers with the big color photo of Hannah Montana on the Jan. 25 front page.
Along with articles on the dismal housing market, allegations of corruption at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative, shenanigans in the presidential campaigns and controversial new standards in the education system, I find it ironic that the photo of the teeny-bopper rock star was placed adjacent to an item on the economic stimulus plan.
The proposed rebates of $600 to $1,200 should be enough to buy one or two tickets to her concerts — a quick fix to jump-start spending.
DIANNE PINGREE
Austin
The Hannah Montana hype, given center stage by the Statesman, left this reader wondering:
Is this tween popular culture a positive trend? Is Hannah the role model we want our young girls to emulate? What message do parents and elders (and newspapers) send 15-year-olds when we encourage such idolization?
Let’s take our role as adult guides seriously.
SARA DUNN
saradunn@juno.com
Austin
Surgery for obesity
Re: Jan. 23 article “Obesity surgery can cure diabetes, study suggests.”
I very much agree with the Australian researchers who have proven that gastric and Lap-Band surgery will greatly aid diabetics. But most insurance companies do not understand that by paying for this surgery they will ultimately save money.
My daughter is a single mother with a family history of severe diabetes. Her great-grandmother, grandmother and grandfather all died of complications from diabetes. I have had a kidney transplant and have diabetic neuropathy and diabetic retinopathy.
My daughter, although not yet diabetic, has all the risk factors and has fought unsuccessfully her whole life to lose weight. She asked her insurance company about helping her get Lap-Band surgery, but it has flatly refused.
If all of the insurance companies agreed to cover this surgery for those whose weight is considered obese, billions of dollars in health care could be saved - as well as eyesight, limbs, kidneys and lives.
CHERYL REGISTER
tennisbuyer@yahoo.com
Round Rock
We need a job stimulus
Upon announcing an economic stimulus package meant to head off a recession here, foreign stock markets plunged dramatically. Apparently the rest of the world sees this as a bad idea.
Americans are so indebted that any spending will merely lower our credit card balances, providing a one-time benefit only to banks and credit card companies.
What’s needed are more jobs at better pay, which would benefit individuals as well as financial institutions. Because of the combination of pork barrel spending and ill-advised tax cuts at the state and federal levels, investment in infrastructure has been virtually nonexistent since the Reagan “revolution.”
Put Americans to work building and repairing roads, bridges, sewer lines, railroads, etc. Of course, there needs to oversight and an absence of no-bid contracts and other scams that provide benefits only to large campaign contributors, as was the case in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
HOWARD SHAPIRO
lafleopard@sbcglobal.net
Austin
And we need Econ 101
It was the beginning of the fall semester at New York University in 1940. A large freshman class had assembled for Economics 101. There was the usual scraping of feet, low-toned talks and shuffling of papers.
Then Mr. Ellerman walked in. He waited until all the noise had died down. He pulled out a chair, put his left foot on it and looked around the silent classroom. Then, with a sonorous voice, he said, “Gentlemen, there is but one law in economics.”
Silence followed. “Gentlemen, there ain’t no free lunch.”
How I wish that all of today’s wise economists had taken Econ 101 at NYU. We might not be in the mess we face today. One hundred billion more dollars is just another free lunch.
But, hey, there ain’t no such thing.
JOHN H. BRAND
jbrand@austin.rr.com
Austin
So who gets bailed out?
Re: Jan. 19 commentary “Putting pennies in your pocket.”
Rich Lowry pooh-poohs the proposed financial stimulus packages with the argument that we should accept the financial swings, such as the impending downturn resulting from the subprime mortgage crisis and the previous savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and ’90s, as part of the natural swings of capitalism.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Both are scandals and both resulted from greedy investors making unsound investments in the lending markets.
Banks are providing large numbers of mortgages to high-risk borrowers, compounding the problem by disguising the riskiness of the loans in clever packages and selling them to other financial institutions. That the S&L officials were bailed out by the government might have enabled the subprime crisis by leaving its perpetrators with the idea that they, too, will be bailed out.
Given that Lowry must know all this, I think his column was a little dishonest.
DANA BALLARD
Austin
Return to rightful owner
Re: Jan. 26 article “Spain tries to sink treasure hunters’ claim.”
So, Spain doesn’t believe in “finders keepers” where gold coins from an 18th century sunken Spanish ship are concerned. Spain wants the treasure returned to its rightful owner.
I can get behind that movement. Give the treasure hunters a fair finders’ fee and return the treasure to the native Americans, from whom it was stolen by the Spanish.
How can Spain possibly complain about a fair policy like that?
JIM KELLY
jkelly4@austin.rr.com
Austin
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The economy and the Reagan legacy
The Reagan legacy
As an amused liberal, I implore any conservative to please explain why all the Republican candidates are falling all over themselves to claim the Reagan legacy.
In his eight years in office, President Reagan:
• Raised taxes to make up for the mess his 1981 tax cuts made of the economy.
• Granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.
• Withdrew troops from Lebanon after the tragic bombing of our Marine barracks there.
• Negotiated with our worst enemy at the time, the Soviet Union.
• Supported abortion rights as governor of California
All the Republican candidates, as well as most conservatives, swoon at the mention of Reagan’s name. But mention President Bush, the right wing’s knight in shining armor, and the room goes quiet.
What’s a poor conservative to do?
PAUL T. STEMPKO
Round Rock
Stimulating the economy
President Bush has proposed giving every taxpayer a cash handout to stimulate the economy - ironically, a liberal approach to a conservative problem. The economy is being driven downward by the high cost of gasoline, which affects everything in our culture.
A better solution might be to use the welfare checks to find a solution to the gasoline issue, whether it is the government paying the oil companies directly to reduce the price or paying industry to find immediate alternate fuels or engines.
We are enmeshed in a war that will never end because of oil. Eliminate the need for Middle East oil and we will eliminate the need to sacrifice our young men and women to pay for it.
The trillions of dollars financing the war could be used to fund domestic energy research, stimulating the economy.
BILL FISCHER
Cedar Park
Bush recommends tax rebates to stimulate the economy. The wrong people will receive it, myself being one. Most receiving this tax rebate don’t need it and won’t spend it.
This will defeat the purpose of stimulating the economy. Needing it are those not earning enough to pay income taxes.
This tax rebate is only a Band-Aid when it comes to diverting a recession. It will add to a skyrocketing national deficit, which is now at $9.2 trillion.
The national debt, deficit spending, weak dollar, outsourcing of good-paying jobs, reduction of middle class, Iraq war costs and big tax cuts to the super rich are the reasons for a declining economy, which will not be slowed down or corrected by a tax rebate.
COL. COLIN J. N. CHAURET, USAF Retired
Cjnchauret@aol.com
Universal City
If it weren’t so depressing, news on the economy would almost be amusing.
You want one sure way to kick-start the economy from almost certain recession and ease the burden on consumers? Demand credit card companies drop interest rates to reasonable rates.
By reducing the interest rate to 10%, consumers across the board would be getting a raise, the local economy would get a boost from spending, and consumers would be able to reduce their debt to healthier levels.
The main cause of this current economic problem? Greed.
JACKIE KNOTT
Fischer
Not amused
Have you seen southeastern Travis County lately?
Villa Muse doesn’t have to pay $8.6 million to reclaim floodplain, nor whine about being included in the Austin extraterritorial jurisdiction. The developers could simply go elsewhere in southeastern Travis County and find tracts of land suitable for their large development.
They want the FM 969 location to be close to downtown Austin. If they want to be in Austin yet don’t want to pay Austin taxes, join the rest of us.
Quit whining and move your project a few miles down the road. If it’s really that viable and fantastic, it’ll do just fine there.
The City Council needs to stop selling Austin residents short and start standing up to developers who include rezoning and other concessions in their business plans.
HILARY DYER
Austin
School at Mueller
As the Mueller Airport redevelopment project is a high-profile, urban, public/private collaboration that has served as a national model of community planning, the Austin school district should contribute to the project by building an elementary school there. The school was on the original list of building projects for the 2008 bond but has been removed by the Citizen’s Advisory Bond Committee for failure to qualify as a present, critical need.
The Mueller neighborhood is taking shape after a decade of collaborative planning. Mueller is projected to add 100 elementary-aged students per year for the next 10 years. That would require the existing Mueller-area elementary schools receive critical over-crowding assistance during 2011-2012, when schools from the 2008 bond would be completed.
Why can’t the district allocate for well-planned civic growth instead of being forced to consistently react to sprawl-oriented growth? It’s time to reward good planning.
DUSTY HARSHMAN
Austin
Public input
I fail to understand all the fuss regarding “public input” when the Austin City Council is doing its job making decisions on issues that come before it.
These officials were elected by the public to make decisions, and if the public doesn’t like those decisions then vote the rascals out of office. The whole purpose of having a representative form of government is to avoid having the public vote on every issue.
If that system is not acceptable then change it, but meanwhile let those responsible for making decisions do their job.
MURRAY GREENBERG
Georgetown
Champion of the people
Re: Jan. 17 letter “Divine revelations.”
I’m not sure what the letter writer is upset about - that his grandfather lived a meager life or that Christians these days have both the fortitude and money to give generously.
I volunteered to drive my truck and trailer to Louisiana to carry pallets of bottled water, food and clothing after Hurricane Katrina. Guess who set that whole outreach in motion? Joe Champion, pastor of Celebration Church.
He walks the walk and talks the talk. Funny thing is, I don’t attend his church; I go to Shoreline.
As far as the current or future president relying on divine intervention, thank God someone has the fortitude to do what is right regardless of what a minority in this country or what other nations might think. Doing the right thing is not always popular.
THOMAS D. REYNOLDS
tdr1500@yahoo.com
Leander
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Letters to the Editor
Aiming higher?
Now that Gov. Rick Perry is backng GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, do you think he would be picked to be part of a McCain administration? Is there any Cabinet job with his name on it?
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Talk Back
Clinton, Reagan, Roe and King
Charlie Riedel ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Clinton campaigns for his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., on Saturday in Missouri.
There goes Clinton again
With his constant campaigning, President Clinton once again shows his disrespect for the office of the presidency.
Though most former presidents avoid primary politics, Clinton has only increased his role while stumping for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Always mindful of his role as the elder statesman of the party, former President Bush never publicly campaigned on behalf of his son or openly criticized other Republican candidates.
President Reagan never went into the Oval Office without a coat and tie on, out of respect for the office. Clinton had a hard time just keeping his clothes on.
RICK HILL
rick.hill@c-fan.com
Buda
Speaking of Reagan
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has been questioned about his motives for recent positive comments about President Reagan.
It’s simple: He’s talking about understanding the public mood. Obama’s not afraid to give credit where it’s due - even to someone from the “enemy” camp. He’s not afraid to point out where liberal ideology has failed - such intellectual honesty in a politician is refreshing.
Obama’s cross-party appeal is largely because he rebels against ideology. He understands we’re frustrated by the partisan fights dominating politics and how that keeps us stuck.
Expect to hear contradictory interpretations about Obama. Indeed, he’s eloquent, inspirational and conciliatory in tone. But he isn’t the vacuous, style-over-substance candidate often portrayed.
Doubtless, his policy views are liberal, but he avoids the trap most politicians fall into, on the left and the right. He hasn’t subverted his own judgment in service of any political ideology.
LAURA JORDAN
laura@laurajordan.net
Austin
Roe v. Wade
This month is the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that affirmed a woman’s right to choose abortion. It has survived 35 years of ideological attacks and the open hostility of three presidents.
The American people still support the substance of Roe, but they take it for granted. Thousands of women died from unsafe illegal abortions in the dark days before Roe. Those days could return if we fail to continue working against federal judges selected for their right-wing and anti-abortion credentials, judges who seek to overturn Roe at the first opportunity.
But the legal right to choose abortion is only one part of the reproductive health agenda that needs urgent attention. Full funding for universal access to birth control, comprehensive sex education for young people, enactment of legislation that would put Roe into federal law - all these are vital elements to protecting women’s reproductive health.
BETTIE FORMAN
Austin
View from the left
The confused hypocrisy of the left knows no limits.
On the one hand, left-wing sycophants breathlessly hope for a recession in the same self-flagellating manner they tried to bring about a military and political loss in Iraq in the hopes that they could finally pin something on the Bush administration.
Then they wail, moan and complain that they cannot go to restaurants and Disneyland this year while they cheer on the class-envy, wealth-redistribution pablum regurgitated by the Democratic leadership.
They quiver with joy when their leaders threaten to “really take it to the rich” - until they realize that it is their wealth being confiscated. Then they call it a recession.
STEVE RUTLEDGE
newsteve60@gmail.com
Austin
King’s own words
Dedicating a full editorial page to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Jan. 21) was a wise move.
By letting us read King’s own words, we can truly see into the heart and soul of this patriot. King reminded us that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were put on hold for most African Americans. Thankfully, King used the words of the Declaration and the Constitution to remind America of its shortcomings on civil rights. King prevailed because freedom and liberty cannot be given to one group but denied to another.
BRIAN J. BERRY
Austin
City manager
Re: Jan. 18 editorial “Whirlwind courtship and then a brief honeymoon.”
Marc Ott, the new city manager, hasn’t even taken office and already he’s being second-guessed.
Whatever skills or abilities the American-Statesman thinks he will need do not matter at this point. His performance will determine if the best choice was made. Give him a chance.
CHARLES H. PENNIE
Austin
Evolution too boring
Re: Jan. 21 commentary “Don’t call creationism science.”
John Young’s column is another attempt to keep the Institute of Creation Research from attaining a graduate degree program for creation science.
Young fails to see that Darwinism has failed to pique the interest of students to further their academic knowledge. Except for T-rex kicking dinosaur butt, evolution stinks. It’s boring and no self-respecting kid is going to lay claim that he came from a monkey.
Darwinism has contributed more to the dumbing down of our kids than all the negligent, uncaring, uninvolved and pathetic parents combined.
MIGUEL VILLALOBOS JR.
mvjr2serve@yahoo.com
Austin
Enlightened Christians
Re: Jan. 18 letter “Christianity and creationism.”
The letter writer is right. Fundamentalists should not be allowed to get away with equating Christianity with their cult of “creationism.”
Because it is unreasonable to expect a reporter to be a scholar conversant in the ever-shifting doctrines of Christianity, who is going to stop them? The only ones who might have a chance are this “huge majority” of Christians who keep their mouths shut. And they don’t seem to vote, either.
No outcry has arisen in the “enlightened” Christian community to protest the notion that creationists should be accredited high school science teachers. No leader of the Austin Christian community has come forward.
We’re back to the Dark Ages, and I don’t see any Christians trying to bring light to the situation.
F. W. WESTBROOK
Austin
Permalink | Comments (30) | Categories: Letters to the Editor
Placing a new bet
Which Republican presidential candidate do you think Gov. Rick Perry should support now that former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has withdrawn from the race?
Permalink | Comments (30) | Categories: Talk Back
Drugs and the highway to heaven
David Oziel ASSOCIATED PRESS
Police officers guard cocaine seized from a ship in the port of Manzanillo in western Mexico in November. The Mexican government believes its war on the drug cartels has been a tentative success.
War on drugs
President Bush wants to put billions of dollars back into taxpayers’ hands?
I have a suggestion where that money might come from. Consider a long-running program that wastes billions of dollars a year and causes much bigger problems - the war on drugs.
From the late economist Milton Friedman to William F. Buckley Jr. to the Cato Institute and the RAND Corp., all agree that U.S. drug policy is in need of serious reform. Bush is in search of a legacy; maybe he should start by opening a reasonable dialogue looking into what is arguably the worst ongoing domestic and foreign policy this country has ever embarked upon.
Wait, Bush being practical or reasonable? Forget it.
How about a little courage from “change”-chanting 2008 presidential hopefuls? Anyone?
HOWARD WILLIAMS
howilliams@gmail.com
Dripping Springs
Re: Jan. 18 commentary “The war next door.”
The column by Austin Bay illustrates the great damage the U.S. war on drugs has inflicted on our neighbor Mexico.
He states that “the drug cartels have enormous financial resources,” due, of course, to the illegal drug trade.
“Execution-style killings in Mexico … in 2007 … were an estimated 2,500” due to the illegal drug trade.
“200 Mexican soldiers and policemen had died in the last year and a half at the hands of drug cartels” due, again, to U.S. policy.
We think our country has a huge problem with illegal immigration from Mexico. What about the huge problem Mexico has with with our ill-advised war on drugs?
Isn’t it time to try something different for both problems?
EUGENE CZORA
autocycle@austin.rr.com
Cedar Creek
Disposable income … what’s that?
My disposable income is negligible. I think there are few, if any, households bringing in less than $40,000 per year that wouldn’t say that.
When will the Fed realize that our economy is directly driven by an ability to make discretionary expenditures? If we can’t afford to buy anything other than what we need, we won’t stimulate economic growth.
If you want to stimulate the economy, this is the economic class that must be helped.
DAVID FISHER
Austin
Caring for older adults
Re: Jan. 22 article “Amid life’s puzzles, two women click.’
I read with interest Andrea Ball’s story about Elderhaven, the only adult daycare facility in Travis County.
As life expectancies lengthen, programs like Elderhaven are growing more integral to how family members effectively care for older adults. Having a safe and interactive place for them to go to during the day not only benefits them but allows their caregivers to get the peace of mind they need in order to better manage their own lives.
That is why United Way Capital Area has significantly increased its investment in programs for older adults, including the Elderhaven program, through Austin Groups for the Elderly. This year, we will grant more than $300,000 to community-based services that provide high quality care to older adults, helping them live healthy, safe and independent lives.
LIZ GUERNSEY
Austin
Does it go through La Grange?
Re: Jan. 20 article “Is I-35 highway to heaven? Some Christians say yes.”
I was disappointed that of all the religion topics that could be covered, the American-Statesman chose the story about the claim of Interstate 35 being a holy highway.
Texans know that if there is a holy highway, it is Interstate 55 because ZZ Top sang, “Jesus just left Chicago and he’s bound for New Orleans.”
KIM JOHNSON
Austin
No integrity in PEC leadership
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking.
The current Pedernales Electric Cooperative board had years to do the right thing but instead did what lined its own pockets while ignoring the fiduciary rights of the members. At a recent board meeting, new President E.B. White whines that they want us to forgive their mistakes while they “turn over a new leaf.”
The board has hired Juan Garza to clean up the mess, and that is a step in the right direction, but all involved should demand the immediate resignation of current board members.
The board has provided no leadership but tries to take credit for the excellent service provided by PEC’s workers. The PEC delivers great service because the employees draw the line at stealing from their neighbors.
RANSOM DUKE
Spicewood
Audits, accountability and the PEC
Regarding who ultimately audits the Pedernales Electric Cooperative, members would be better served by the state auditor, who has a duty to the public interest.
A certified public accountant’s duty is to its client and to present fairly the financial statements. The state auditor will be able to examine past the threshold of “materiality” that often conceals malfeasance.
Unfortunately, it looks as if the crisis of accountability at the PEC won’t be confined to poor governance, nonexistent expenditure controls and lack of proper audits. The class-action litigation by members faces an uphill battle as well.
Because of tort reform, chances of the class action being certified - cleared to proceed after early appellate review - could be less than one in 10. It is likely that misguided tort reform will take its toll on public accountability, as well.
Richard Viktorin
Austin
Transparency at Eanes
Re: Jan. 19 editorial “Going online to see if government is in line.”
I agree that government, including public school districts, should post public information online.
The Eanes school district continues to resist open government by refusing to post the check register on the district Web site. I have repeatedly asked the superintendent and board to consider this user-friendly and transparent approach.
In fact, each time I request this public information, I specifically state that if the district will post it, I won’t request it.
Still, this basic Eanes public information is available online only on a citizen Web site, www.keepeanesinformed.com.
DIANNA PHARR
dpharr@austin.rr.com
Austin
Permalink | Comments (18) | Categories: Letters to the Editor
Latest comments
Miguel, you seem to be saying that public schools of the 50s, 60s, and 70s were better than they are today. That’s when I went to public schools too and they didn’t teach Creationism then either; however, they did teach the Theory of Evolution,
... read the full comment by Kat | Comment on Economy, Obama and acupuncture Read Economy, Obama and acupuncture
Bet she could!
... read the full comment by Steve Rutledge | Comment on The author, the Muslim and the ‘F' word Read The author, the Muslim and the ‘F' word
steve: Sheila is not amused (and apparently neither are quite a few women reading this thread!) by your limited and possibly medieval view of the potential of the human female.
you are hereby cursed to a life of pastel colors and hugh grant movies!
... read the full comment by rebuttal | Comment on The author, the Muslim and the ‘F' word Read The author, the Muslim and the ‘F' word
Hey elfgirl! You really need to get out and meet more men, hon! If you insist on keeping company with the pony-tailed metrosexuals, you’ll just keep getting boxed in by closet rednecks who keep demanding their dinner!
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