Austin American-Statesman letters to the editor, Oct. 1, 2023

Orwellian echoes: Ken Paxton's return

and Patrick's behavior boggle the mind

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Ken Paxton is innocent. Dan Patrick is a fair and unbiased judge. George Orwell’s 1949 novel about the then distant 1984 foresaw a time when the obvious would be turned on its head to benefit those in power.

Those in power in the Texas Senate did just that when they chose to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Paxton and return a man under investigation by the FBI and indictment for securities fraud to the highest legal office in the state. It boggles the mind.

Patrick’s acceptance of a $3 million donation from a pro-Paxton PAC and his subsequent excoriation of the House who brought the charges leaves no doubt of his loyalties.

The behavior brings to mind the old saying, “Who you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes.”

Lynda West, Austin

Witness testimony and evidence didn't

stand a chance in the Ken Paxton trial

The cowardice of 16 Texas Senators won the day for Ken Paxton. Witness testimony and evidence apparently didn’t stand a chance against the “so what” defense and a biased judge. In the end, Dan Patrick has added $3 million to his campaign coffers and Paxton starts his retribution tour of 2 GOP senators and 60 GOP representatives indicating both lack a minimum of integrity and dignity necessary for their positions.

Apparently, this impeachment has caused Patrick to grow a fiscal conscience in calling for an audit around misuse of citizenry dollars. In the same vein, can we audit what Paxton’s pet donor project, his affair, and firing of whistleblowers will/have cost us? What about an audit of the $5 billion to Operation Lone Star and what it’s delivering for Texans?

Gary Goldman, Austin

Paxton trial outcome would have been

different had the jury been impartial

At the beginning of a jury trial, the judge and attorneys seek to determine whether prospective jurors can be fair and impartial. Any prospective juror who either has a strong prejudice for or against the defendant or who has predetermined what the trial's outcome should be is not allowed to be a juror in the trial.

In a vote on the first pretrial motion of the Ken Paxton trial, before any evidence had been presented, six senators agreed that all 20 articles of impeachment should be summarily dismissed. There can be no doubt that these senators had made up their minds. They openly admitted that they were not impartial, and they, along with Mr. Paxton's wife, should have been immediately excused from the proceedings. Had there been an impartial jury, the final verdict might have been more in line with the evidence.

Bill Russell, Austin

Suddenly, inflation matters to Republicans.

But where were these concerns before?

Re: Sept. 24 column, 'Did you know the US debt is at $33 trillion? Will anybody fix it?'

A big election is coming, so money is suddenly important to conservatives again, and columnist Ingrid Jaques wants us to "count the zeros." She also wants us to know who's to blame: "last year's Inflation Reduction Act ring a bell?"

Yes, it does. So does the Iraq War. But those trillions were for guns and war, not for Americans struggling with paying bills. So that doesn't count.

Never let them forget who they are and what they've done.

Ken Lones, Austin

Recycling plastic is not enough,

and incineration is not the answer

Environmentalists and politicians need to change the way we speak about plastic pollution. We often hear the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle,” but there is more focus on recycling than reduction. Recycling plastic, simply put, is not enough.

Plastic incineration is also frequently claimed to be the perfect solution. If plastic is burned and destroyed, it no longer causes harm, right? This notion is incorrect and is leading us and our policies in the wrong direction. Plastic incineration is far from an acceptable solution, as it contributes heavily to air pollution. The only way to work toward a more sustainable future is to reduce plastic production and consumption altogether. There is no magic cure to fix the consequences of plastic while our economy still relies on it, we just need to stop contributing to the problem. We need to pass bottle bills, plastic packaging taxes, and policies that limit single-use plastics.

Eliana Legatt, Austin

Growth goes unchecked with little

regard for the area's quality of life

Growth:  When is enough enough?

Almost every week in the Austin American Statesman, there is news of another million-dollar incentive to a business to expand in the Austin area (NXP), and more large apartments being built (Pflugerville, Leander). The area is already running short of water and electric capability.  Dumping thousands more cars on already congested roads without any additional capacity improvements shows complete local government lack of planning.

When is it time to protect the quality of life for current citizens. Austin once was a lovely area, but not any longer.

Jerome L. Kruemcke, Georgetown

No outcry against weaponization

when it's a Democrat who's indicted

So, New York democratic Senator Bob Menendez is indicted for bribery.

I’m waiting for supporters of Trump to loudly decry this ‘weaponization’ of the Department of Justice against officeholders.

That is unless the department enforcing one statute is OK but enforcing another – such as hiding classified material in your residence – is not.

Joe Pastusek, Pflugerville

Before cutting taxes, the Legislature

needs to fund essential state services

The Legislature is offering reduced property taxes (Proposition 4) and a prohibition of a wealth tax (Proposition 3) on the November 7 constitutional amendment ballot. Let’s send a loud message to the Legislature that before they reduce taxes, we want them to first fund essential services (support for public education, childcare, teacher raises, added health care (including Medicaid expansion), clean energy incentives, non-toll road transportation, mental health care, support for higher education, improvements to the grid).

The Legislature has failed in its job to provide adequate services to Texas residents. Let’s tell them what we think of their priorities. Let’s tell them to spend the surplus budget on making Texas a better place to live, not on tax cuts. Vote NO on Propositions 3 and 4.

Steve Gerson, Austin

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Letters to the editor: Orwellian echoes, Patrick and more Paxton reaction