‘Millions to lawmakers’ says it all
Re: “Firm gears up for gambling push — Las Vegas Sands gives millions to lawmakers, hires dozens of lobbyists,” Wednesday news story.
The first sentence in this story, “Casino and resort giant Las Vegas Sands has hired dozens of lobbyists and contributed millions of dollars to dozens of Texas lawmakers and legislative groups ahead of a renewed push to expand gambling this session,” should stop everyone cold in their tracks. I don’t care one way or the other about gambling, but just substitute the special Interest du jour for “gambling” and you have a precise description of lawmaking in Austin and Washington, D.C.
Rick Nelson, Arlington
Don’t forget union busting
Re: “Texas Rangers will be stronger by confronting their past — Alongside heroic incidents, painful ones must be revisited, too, as organization nears its bicentennial,” by Doug J. Swanson, Wednesday Opinion.
Hooray for Swanson’s op-ed setting straight some of the record on the gory history of the Texas Rangers. He might also have mentioned their long and sordid history as union busters.
He did mention their attacks against the farm workers organizing in the Valley. The hero of that particular story was Dallas’ own Pancho Medrano. Along with others, Medrano was beaten by the Rangers. He served as the lead plaintiff in the case that went to the Supreme Court. His victory over the Rangers was a victory for all working families in Texas!
Gene Lantz, Dallas
President-elect, Dallas Central Labor Council
Critiquing Rangers with relish
This is in response to the op-ed by Doug Swanson about why the Texas Rangers should acknowledge their sordid history of misdeeds. My answer is why should they when he does such a great job of it and with so much relish.
Richard L. Williams, Dallas/Oak Cliff
Give families gun control
Re: “Bills target guns, police immunity — Uvalde families lead charge to boost shooting responses,” Wednesday Metro & Business story.
The story states, “Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez on Tuesday announced he filed one bill to compensate victims of school violence by taxing bullet sales,” and “In a public appeal inside the Texas Capitol, the families [who lost loved ones] called for immediate action, including on raising the purchase age to buy a firearm.”
Wouldn’t we be much better off with some sort of gun control which would make compensating victims of school violence unnecessary? These families are asking for immediate action, not compensation.
Peggy Carr, Dallas/Bluffview
Discipline begins at home
Re: “Schools rethink behavior policy — Teachers, lawmakers, parents ask if children need tougher discipline,” Jan. 22 news story.
No discussion on student behavior in the schools can be complete without taking into account the role of parents. If discipline and respect for authority is not taught in the home, there is only so much the school can do to influence a child’s behavior in that environment.
Growing up in a family of four children, we were taught to always respect the teacher and any person in authority. If we got into any type of trouble at school, we knew the consequences at home from our parents would be far worse than what the school would mete out to us. There was a standard we were expected to uphold with any adults in authority and consequences to be had if we didn’t follow those rules.
This story reports that “school systems have faced questions from teachers, parents and lawmakers about whether” children need tougher discipline? Yes, they do, and that discipline must begin in the home if teachers are to be successful in the classroom.
Kay Wrobel, Plano
Patriotism is nonpartisan
Re: “Let’s agree to gather even if we disagree — Faith communities expose us to diverse viewpoints, and that’s good,” by Sarah Cotton Nelson, Jan. 22 Opinion.
I’m a brunette. I wear red. It’s my best color. I also love our country. It’s the greatest country in the world. And I love to wear clothes that display my patriotic spirit, especially my red, white and blue sequin jacket with the American flag on the front and “Proud American” on the back.
But my Democratic friends are horrified. “Don’t dress like that. People will think you’re a Republican,” they say. Since when do Republicans have the market cornered on patriotism? And how I dress has nothing to do with how I vote.
We all love our country no matter what our political leaning. So, let’s rejoice in our differences and come together with a willingness to open up and try to understand each other’s viewpoints.
More important, let’s not jump to conclusions about how someone else votes.
Joan M. Ridley, Old East Dallas
Let U.S. pay what it owes
Most Americans at some time in their lives have struggled to pay their monthly obligations, car payments, mortgages, credit card bills. Juggling debt can lead to bankruptcy, foreclosure on homes, repossession of cars and disastrous situations for the average American.
The United States of America is on the verge of a national and global financial disaster. There is not enough money in the coffers to pay our obligations. The previous administration handed the wealthiest Americans and corporations a cut in taxes, reducing the amount of money in the piggy bank. No wonder we can’t pay our bills!
If the wealthiest Americans paid their fair share of taxes, there would be no need for House Republicans to be considering reducing Medicare and Social Security for seniors. There would be no need for the Treasury Department to tap into government retirement funds, essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul.
All Americans have a stake in the existence of Medicare, Social Security and the financial health of our country. A bipartisan legislative solution to raising the debt ceiling crisis is critical. No new debt will be incurred. We just have to be able to pay what we owe.
Marian R. Levinstein, Lantana
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