Letters – Gov. Greg Abbott, Moon Conspiracies, President Trump, Taxes, Military, the Press

Legislature should fix this nowRe: "An Abuse of 'Privilege' — New law lets legislators withhold records," Wednesday Editorials.I agree wholeheartedly with everything contained in this editorial, with one exception: the last sentence. If there were ever a need for Gov. Greg Abbott to call for a special session, this is it. This travesty of a law requires immediate elimination/correction.Roger Tuttle, Fort WorthPeople follow politicians' leadRe: "Moonstruck — Can We Get Back?" Sunday Arts & Life story.Shoot for the Moon author James Donovan laments the popularity of conspiracy theories that astronauts never landed on the moon. Blame is placed on the ignorance of conspiracy theorists, but also on a supposed general anti-science bias in American society and the fact that most people were not alive when Apollo 11 landed a half century ago.However, this leaves out one other important reason: $178 billion (2019 dollars) of sunk costs in an incredibly successful program placing human outposts on the moon, and not a person on the moon for the past 47 years to show for it? That's insanity. The landing could never have actually happened because no one in their right mind would ever do that, correct?In 1967, after a tour of one of the facilities producing the Saturn V rocket that propelled the Apollo missions, President Lyndon Johnson observed, "It's unfortunate, but the way the American people are, now that they have developed all of this capability, instead of taking advantage of it, they'll probably just piss it all away." This, of course, is precisely what happened. Stupid conspiracy theorists? Well, for so long they've had American politicians as such wonderful role models.Robert Butsch, DuncanvilleDon't blame young peopleI have to disagree that young people are perpetuating most of the moon conspiracies today. Steph Curry and I might share a nickname, but our views on space exploration vary drastically. To cast that judgment onto the next generation, the one that will inherit our ongoing projects beyond that thin blue line, does not get us any closer to the surface of the moon again. Things that would get us closer? Let's start with enough spacesuits for women to do extravehicular space walks.To the book recommendations, I would add Michael Massimino's Spaceman, Scott Kelly's Endurance, and anything from Chris Hadfield. I'm grateful for all of our astronauts today and for the collaboration we have between nations aboard the International Space Station.Stephanie Seman, DentonU.S. already owns the hardwareRe: "'Stay true to our cause' — Trump celebrates 'great nation' as critics say he politicized holiday," Friday news story.Regarding the cost of hijacking the Fourth of July, please keep in mind that we own all that military hardware and airplanes and the personnel are already paid for their service. I would assume if the Blue Angels were not performing in Washington, D.C., they would be performing somewhere else. We taxpayers own those jets also and the pilots understand their mission. I have participated in several airshows in the past, doing flybys and meeting all the eager young people after landing. It's always a great experience to promote our military life and encourage them to get involved. Well worth the effort.The latest buzz is all about the instruction given to the troops on what to say to people during the festivities. Yeah, we did that 30 years ago, too. Those poor troops would benefit from some good rules on how respond to being grilled by whoever takes issue with what they are doing. Happy Birthday, USA!Robert Ponti, Far North DallasSpending the parks' moneyPresident Donald Trump has bragged that he worked the system to not pay income taxes for years and will not release his income tax forms as past presidents have done. Yet he is spending the National Park Service entry fees of thousands of taxpaying Americans for tanks and other military equipment on July Fourth. Is this an effort to outdo North Korea, Russia and China's military shows of force? It seems these countries' leaders are the people he admires the most in the world besides himself.Mary Pritchard, MidlothianVoter bribes vs. military celebrationAfter watching 20 Democrats outline how they would financially destroy the United States with their trillions of dollars worth of voter bribes, I see they are complaining about the cost of the Fourth of July celebration honoring our military. They must have felt left out when President Donald Trump said he didn't think it was appropriate to have clowns marching in a military parade.Chris Hill, AllenConsiderations for Trump supportersArdent Donald Trump supporters will go to the polls next year and before they cast their ballot, I suggest they consider the following: 1. Trump's assault on truth. If your daughter or son ran for president of the senior class saying he gave the greatest speech ever to a packed auditorium, when every fact, including pictures taken by the school newspaper is contrary to his assertions, what would you say?2. Watch the documentary, When They See Us. When asked about what he thought about the documentary, which showed beyond a reasonable doubt that the teenagers had spent many years in prison for a crime they did not commit, Trump responded that they admitted it. Remember he took out ads after the attack wanting a return of the death penalty. A foundational American belief is in the rule of law. Do you trust that Trump respects this belief? 3. Religious hypocrisy. Christians, especially Evangelicals, express a strong belief in the Bible. In light of many, if not most of Trump's actions, I respectfully request a re-reading of the Bible, paying close attention to the words attributed to Jesus. If I'm not mistaken, the Bible mentions hypocrisy more times than homosexualityLarry Brown, Dallas/Preston HollowRead this bookThe nonfiction best-seller Unfreedom of the Press by Fox News' Mark Levin should be read by everyone who relies on newspapers or television for their political news. Parts of the book are a little hard to wade through, but you should come away with a clearer picture of today's political reporting.Donald E. Reichert, Garland  Continue reading...