Go high, not low
Re: “‘Hot Wheels’ Slam Sums Up Crude Politics — Trump opened the door and Crockett walked right in,” Thursday editorial.
I am shocked that Rep. Jasmine Crockett would make such a disgusting reference to a person with a disability. No matter the terrible things this governor has done, and I am definitely not a fan of his, his disability should not be mentioned in such a way.
Remember what Michele Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.” This should be the mantra of all Democrats as they fight the extreme right.
May Sebel, Dallas
Governor has the power
I think Gov. Greg Abbott should be flattered, if not amused, by this nickname. He could have it emblazoned on the chair back.
This is the only event involving our governor in over five years that has made me smile.
Crockett didn’t call him handicapped. She in fact acknowledged the power he has demonstrated. Power I see in his single-minded insistence that my taxes pay for private school tuition and the power he demonstrated as opponents failed in their re-election bids.
I have yet to see him use his power to help those less able to pay for it.
Ellen Isaly, Dallas
Cabinet qualifications
Re: “National Insecurity — Texting possible intelligence information was sloppy; Texan John Ratcliffe should have known better,” Wednesday editorial.
In 2019 when John Ratcliffe was nominated to be Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, I thought he was short on qualifications. In an attempt at humor, I wrote a letter to The Dallas Morning News asking, “Who says John Ratcliffe is unqualified to be director of national intelligence? There was not one terrorist attack in Heath during his entire term as mayor.”
You chose not to print the letter, which is clearly your right.
After reading this editorial, I am glad to see you have finally come around to my way of thinking. The primary qualification of Ratcliffe, as with many other members of the Cabinet, is his blind loyalty to Donald Trump. Let’s all hope we don’t have a national emergency.
George Neary, Dallas/Preston Hollow
Thanks is due
I just want to offer a big thank-you to The Atlantic and to Jeffrey Goldberg. Thank you!
Elaine Fannin, Denton
Say no to crypto
Re: “Bitcoin a good investment,” by Brian Morgenstern, Wednesday Letters.
No surprise that Morgenstern of Riot Platforms, bitcoin’s biggest data miner, supports bitcoin as a place for Texas to invest public dollars. Hard pass.
Yes, its volatility makes bitcoin an unacceptable risk. But, there are many reasons not to support cryptocurrency in any way.
Here are two. Bitcoin is the currency of choice for criminals worldwide, including terrorists. Crypto was created to keep payments secret, and that includes payments for crimes being an impenetrable secret from law enforcement. Texas should never support criminal endeavors.
Two, crypto mining is incredibly data intensive and an enormous waste of energy. Approximately 2% of the U.S. electricity consumption is burned on crypto mining globally. Processing these criminal payments burns 160 terawatt hours, enough to power 200 million or more homes for a year.
While the drug trade and other large-scale crime syndicates enjoy confidential payments for their crimes, we could be powering every home in the U.S. for a year with electricity to spare if we used crypto mining electricity for home energy instead. Say no to crypto.
Jerry D. Andrews, Coppell
Churches and taxes
Re: “Tithe fraud suit avoids discovery — Financial records of megachurch won’t be presented for now,” Wednesday Metro & Business story.
The church wants to avoid producing its financial records and have the case dismissed based on a common law doctrine that ecclesiastical decisions should not be reviewed by courts of law. It seems like the church wants to have it both ways — be a nonprofit organization that enjoys no burden of taxation on its income and property while avoiding having to participate in the public judicial system to resolve civil disputes.
Isn’t it time we did away with immunity in the form of the ecclesiastical doctrine for churches that take advantage of tax laws? Other nonprofits have to make all their financial records public, why not churches?
Better yet, why not abolish that nonprofit status for all churches and only allow property tax exemption on the church buildings themselves? A lot of property between Dallas and Fort Worth would immediately hit the market if we did.
Grace Weatherly, Argyle
Don’t isolate students
Re: “Discipline for Texas’ Youngest Students — Teachers need protection, but Legislature must give schools options so kids aren’t left behind,” Sunday editorial.
As a former teacher in an alternative education program, I want to draw attention to the part of your editorial that too many are likely to miss: removing struggling students from the classroom is the first step, not the last one.
When kids act in severely disruptive or even violent ways, they need more adult interaction, not less. As written, House Bill 6 promises only to shuttle “problem” kids to alternative virtual schools, which may temporarily improve the learning environment for other students but does not address the root causes of the behavior.
Citing Dallas ISD’s reset centers is important. Here you have a program attempting to do right by students, removing them from the classroom, yes, but also sending them directly to specialists focused on behavioral interventions.
As is the case in so many ways with Texas public education, the reset centers are good policy undermined by a lack of resources. Truly focusing on student discipline requires legislators to fund schools well enough to hire mental health staff and social workers. Relocating students with behavior issues to a virtual setting will not solve a problem. If COVID-19 taught us anything, it would make it worse.
Zeph Capo, Austin
