Letters – Kirstjen Nielsen's Exit, SB 9, Texas Legislature, Joe Biden, Property Taxes

Prepare for Miller's riseThe purging going on at the Department of Homeland Security is a prelude to President Donald Trump setting up a new executive department that will be headed by Trump adviser and confidante, Stephen Miller. Miller will become the director of the Department of Xenophobia and with the president's consent, Miller will live out what seems to be his dream of cleansing America of immigrants. Tony Torres, GarlandFocus on the real issuesIt's late but it is too important not to weigh in on SB 9. We have more important things to do than to have to deal with voter suppression and the wholesale efforts of people to keep folks from voting - this should be a given. The barbaric women's issues that have been voted in our State Legislature are part of those important issues. So are gun laws, or at least monitoring the purchases of firearms in this state. Wrong people have access and are purchasing them -- people who are prone to violence and might have mental disease are purchasing these firearms. When are we going to stop some of this? Also, our environment is presently challenging us beyond our capabilities. Public education is at risk. And foremost this state needs Medicare expansion. It's ridiculous for us not to have this in our state. I urge Gov. Greg Abbott and Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos and Sen. Nathan Johnson to focus on these important issues rather than keeping people from voting.Elaine Hooper, Dallas/Highlands NorthSB 9 would restrict votingI have lived in Texas my entire life, and as an emerging adult I am excited about the prospect of being able to have a voice in my community. Many of my peers share this excitement, but many choose to abstain from voting because they don't believe their voice matters. SB 9 will only further discourage young voters and people of color, who are a vital part of our community, from taking part in this democratic right. SB 9 looks a lot like the literacy tests and poll taxes placed on the African-American community in the past. Passing this bill would put us on the wrong side of history.Mary Silva, DallasBiden's behavior no jokeRe: "Biden jokes about his behavior with women," Saturday news story.I like Vice President Joe Biden, but find unacceptable his making light of touching women (by saying he had "permission") in a speech on April 5. I am amazed that a person as politically experienced as Biden at minimum is so challenged rhetorically; you can't say you "understand" and will be "mindful" of this matter in a video one day and several days later joke about it. This shows he may not get it and has no message discipline -- a well-documented weakness of his. Making a few women feel uncomfortable didn't have to be and shouldn't have been an issue for Biden, but his response may make it an issue. As a communication scholar, I believe there is a rhetorical lesson here for all politicians. When accused of something, think through the appropriate way to handle it, offering one and only one response; don't let a 24-hour story turn into one that keeps on giving.Richard Cherwitz, AustinTouchy-feely politickingJoe Biden's potential presidential run resembles Frank Skeffington's last campaign for mayor of an East-Coast city, presumably Boston, in the leading political novel of the 1950s, Edwin O'Connor's The Last Hurrah. Skeffington, the master of the former "ward" politics of rising ethnic groups, is surprisingly defeated by an unexpected competitor, the bland, handsome, inexperienced Kevin McCluskey, a younger Irish World War II veteran. Skeffington's defeat occurs within his own Irish ethnic group, not by a rising competing group such as the Italians.The Last Hurrah is rich in ethnic Irish color, such as the wake with the body present in the home's parlor. Such examples are typical of Biden's past, including the "touchy-feely" brand of politicking. In The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan, a speechwriter for and biographer of another Irish politician, Ronald Reagan, cautions the 74-year-old Irishman Biden not to run. She details the embarrassing downside of such a campaign at the mercy of youthful, less-charitable political operatives.Frederick W. Fraley, East DallasTaxes, our taxesTexas officials like to make fun of states that offer more services at the cost of higher taxes. "Taxachusetts" is one put-down they use. However, if you're a homeowner in Texas you pay higher property tax rates on average than those who live in California or Massachusetts. When it comes to property taxes, Texas should be spelled "Taxes".Joel Hale, Dallas  Continue reading...