Letters to the Editor:
Lockdown drills bring a mother to tears
My 6th grader just experienced his first lock down drill in middle school. He eagerly told me about the clever ways his friends would defend themselves against a "bad person breaking into the school."
It took all my willpower to hold back my tears at the thought of 11-year-old children bravely, yet futilely, defending themselves against an AR-15 with scissors and sharpened pencils, and using rolling whiteboards as shields.
Gov. Abbott and legislators: You can be the hero in my child's story by calling a special session to ban semi-automatic weapons. Please do it now.
Katherine Dombrowski, Austin
Republican fiscal, abortion policies will cost them at the polls
I'm appalled that Republicans in Congress are fighting student loan debt relief.
They didn't fight when their party gave millionaires and billionaires tax breaks!
Banning student debt relief and abortion with no exceptions will make it very difficult for the Republicans to maintain their seats in Texas.
More women I know are voting in this election than ever before. What's that song lyric? Oh yeah, "I am woman hear me roar!"
Republicans are continuing to make enemies of more than 50% of their constituents. Not a very successful strategy going into an election. I used to be proud to live in Texas, but with all these attacks on women and people of color, I don't feel like that anymore. It's sad.
Kris Lawley, Kempner
Phony charges of voter fraud are unraveling democracy
Each morning the news becomes more difficult to swallow. Voting seems to be the core of this turmoil.
I cast my first vote, for Eisenhower, in ’52, while in the Army, and haven’t miss a local, state or federal election to date. Sometimes I'm pleased with the outcome, sometimes not.
Now there is a serious problem with presidential election of 2020. A sore loser cried foul without any proof. Losing by over 7 million votes, he has summoned his confused followers to attack.
No evidence to support his claim, just blabber.
To support his lies he has enlisted elected officials to betray their sworn oath and become traitors to the country. God bless America.
Mike Henry, Smithwick
Why are we not prioritizing those who teach our children?
Billions of dollars are generated yearly to pay pro athletes. But we simply can't seem to find a way to pay our teachers a livable wage. So maybe we should just get rid of them altogether.
Florida's governor has presented three proposals for the 2023 legislative session to address their teacher shortages by allowing military veterans without a bachelor's degree, law enforcement and first responders to take these jobs. Teacher exam fees would be waived and a generous new-hire bonus of up to $5,000 would also be provided.
Unfortunately, it looks like teachers are on their own. They are going to have to fight back and strike on a national level because this is a national emergency. Airline pilots and a host of other industries have achieved positive results by striking. Why not teachers?
We can and must do better for our teachers, for our kids, and for the future of our country!
Jay Douglas, Pflugerville
Carbon emissions present a grave threat, they must be curbed
I am writing because of my concern that smog and soot air pollution caused by cars, trucks and buses is among the greatest threats to public health for the more than 45 million people in the U.S. living within 300 feet of a major roadway or transportation facility.
This became very obvious when I walked near road construction near my home and I could smell diesel fumes hanging in the air even after the engines were shut off. And when I consider how close my granddaughter’s elementary school was to that road, the impact on the young, extra-sensitive lungs is troubling.
We urgently need to get on a path to 100% zero-emission trucks and buses. The technology is here to electrify the most polluting vehicles now, including transit buses, school buses, delivery trucks, construction equipment and garbage trucks. Our health depends on it.
Roger Diedrich, Cypress
Ted Cruz's hypocrisy on student loans is appalling
Hypocritical Ted Cruz is complaining that the student loan forgiveness program is for "slackers."
Cruz, who was born in Canada and went to Princeton and Harvard Law, is whining about loan forgiveness.
Who paid for his education?
His comments are an insult to the thousands of hard-working educators, health care personnel, law enforcement staff, social workers, and those in private and public service to America.
Some may be more deserving than others, however, Cruz is in no position to espouse a purely biased political position that helps no one. The American taxpayer pays his salary, and it is hard to see we derive much benefit.
Douglas Lennier, Cedar Park
Abbott's argument against raising the gun purchase age is weak
Greg Abbott said raising the age to buy has "already been ruled unconstitutional."
What about the drinking age? Of all the rights and responsibilities accorded an adult citizen in the U.S., what is so special about the right to legally drink alcohol? Seems to be same situation with gun ownership.
The arguments in favor of a higher age for drinking is that the real world effects of 18-20 year old drinking are too serious to bother with niceties like philosophical consistence. Ownership of military-style weapons seems a policy where the real world effects might overwhelm the objections to a split age of majority.
Whether it would help I do not know. But an exception in majority age has precedents.
Tom Cuddy, Austin
Our governor worked his way through college? Try doing that today.
A recent Abbott campaign ad maintains he was really thankful for being able to work his way through college. Guess what? You can’t do that anymore!
My per-semester bill back in 1960 was around $75. I could earn that and support my myself with my other full-time job. Our kids can’t do that anymore, which Gov. Abbott hopefully knows but chooses to misrepresent.
Now Texas refuses billions of dollars of Medicare expansion funding per year. No doubt to the detriment of Texas poor folks. But that’s because ... ? Ask Gregg Abbott why!
C. Roberts, Austin
Abbott failing to represent Texans who want to raise age for gun purchases
Many parents and relatives of the children and teachers who were tragically killed in Uvalde have asked Gov. Abbott to call a special legislative session for raising assault weapon purchase age from 18 to 21.
Our governor’s response to this plea for help: It’s unconstitutional.
So now our governor sees himself as the spokesperson for our judicial branch of government. The governor needs to act on what the majority of us Texans want and need within his executive branch powers as governor. He is not part of the judicial branch.
He must address this issue with the help of our state legislature and allow the courts (even the U.S. Supreme Court) to rule on what is or is not constitutional. Since our governor is unwilling to dutifully serve all Texas citizens, we must elect a new governor who respects the will of the majority regardless of our political affiliations.
James H. Clary, Austin
Question of the week
This week we’re asking readers: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and his Democratic challenger, Beto O'Rourke, are set to debate on Sept. 30. What issues and questions would you like to see posed to the two candidates in what is likely to be their only face-to-face matchup before the November election?
How to submit a letter to the editor
Send letters of no more than 150 words to letters@statesman.com by noon Thursday using our online form at https://bit.ly/3Crmkcf or send by email to letters@statesman.com. We welcome your letters on all topics. Include your name and city of residence; we do not publish anonymous letters.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Statesman letters to the editor
