Texas voters: You don’t have to like Democrats, but you do have to vote Republicans out
All Texans pay for GOP nonsense
Since Gov. Greg Abbott took office, my property taxes have nearly tripled. His administration wastes billions on ineffective border initiatives and turns away billions for Medicaid expansion. Through our property taxes, urban homeowners bear the cost of providing health care to the 18% or so of Texans who don’t have insurance.
Independents and reasonable Republicans: You don’t have to be a Democrat. You don’t have to like Democrats. But you must vote for Democrats this fall to rid Texas of Greg Abbott and his wrecking crew. They’ve run Texas for 22 years, and they’ve run it right into the ground.
- K.J. Lawrence, Arlington
Both parties need better offers
My compliments on the insightful Aug. 1 front-page story about local Republican politics. (“Can Tarrant County’s GOP unite before November?”) Those who were angered or disappointed about the county judge race between Tim O’Hare and Betsy Price have had time to think about the results, and the party may not be as divided as some believe.
Political campaigns are always filled with false promises and attacks. We’re used to it, and we remember that whoever wins has to work within a system that dictates the job description. They can never do what they think and promise they can do.
I’m a lifelong Republican who voted twice for Donald Trump. They were votes against what the other party offered, not a vote for Trump. Neither party has offered high-quality candidates in recent elections.
- Wanda Conlin, Fort Worth
Democrats’ plan looks bad to me
The July 29 story “Biden hails Democrats’ inflation-fighting package” (12A) makes the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 sound so rosy that it should turn everything around. It’s a bunch of hooey, especially calling it an inflation-reducing act. It would end up accelerating inflation.
Raising taxes on corporations would cause them to increase prices on goods, passing that on to the consumer. Any good company would also search for ways to lower the costs of producing goods, such as moving operations offshore to reduce labor and tax costs. So much for bragging about job numbers after that.
- John Boyd, Fort Worth
Latina women’s voices invalidated
As a college student and future professional, I have noticed that Latina women are not taken seriously. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was sexually harassed on the Capitol steps, called a “big booty Latina” who “kills babies” simply for representing her political party and her political beliefs. More recently, Texas Republican Rep. Mayra Flores has been referred to as “Miss Frijoles” and “Miss Enchilada” simply for being a Mexican-born woman who has diligently and legitimately made her way into Congress.
Why is it that no matter how hard Latina women like me work, society meets us with sexism, racism and efforts to invalidate our presence in the professional world?
- Maria F. Padilla-Platas, Denton
A glimpse into Fort Worth’s past
I want to thank Carol Roark for her fine history lesson July 31 about the Commercial Standard Building. (1C, “Why this iconic building may remind you of Frank Lloyd Wright”) As a non-native architect who has lived and practiced in Fort Worth for 18 years, I’ve driven past that building many times and have always been curious regarding its history and its architect.
Having apprenticed under E. Fay Jones, the architect of the Marty Leonard Chapel who was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, I always thought the Commercial Standard Building must have had some kinship with Wright’s work. Roark’s story about that history was a joy to read.
- Dwight G. Hartwick, Fort Worth
We help train better teachers
The best way to address the shortage of educators in the Fort Worth school district and elsewhere and to keep class sizes at a manageable level is to invest in aspiring teachers. One way to do this is to help them earn their degrees efficiently and cost-effectively.
At WGU Texas, a nonprofit online university, we’re doing our part by making sure our future educators can earn their teaching degrees at about half the cost of other comparable institutions nationwide. WGU’s Teachers College graduated more than 9,187 students nationwide between September 2021 and June 2022. We want teachers to be not only good educators, but also to be successful professionals with little debt and room for continued growth.
Let’s work together in Texas to ensure we have an abundant supply of this critical workforce.
- Linda Battles, Austin
The writer is WGU Texas’ regional vice president and chancellor.
