Tantrums, Medicaid, rail

For class’ sake

Regarding “Stop suspensions” (Editorial, Sept. 16): You are correct; suspending the child doesn’t help the child having the issues, but who it does help is the other students and the teacher. While objects are being thrown or tantrums occur there is no teaching, no learning. Everything stops!

Instead of demanding/suggesting that educators stop suspensions for these youngsters, give real alternatives to how to handle a full-blown temper tantrum with a class of terrified 4- to 8-year-olds.

Removing the troubled child is at least a ‘time out” for everyone to re-focus. The mental health consultant that might be on campus at the time can’t be in all the classrooms that have young ones who may have a hard time coping with life that happens in a classroom.

Absolutely, focus on helping the youngest of those troubled in our schools during the time away from the class. But don’t take away a consequence that allows the education of everyone to carry on.

P. Gee, Houston

Constitutional mandate

Regarding “Prescription for Texas” (Editorial, Sept. 17): The case was made for Texas to accept Medicaid expansion. The bottom line is simple: Medicaid expansion is financially sound, morally correct, and it will immediately improve the health of over 1 million Texans. It would also improve the financial health of Houston and Harris County and the taxpayers. Finally, I believe that the expansion of Medicaid is a constitutional mandate, necessary in order to “Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”

Without access to affordable healthcare, the preamble to the U.S. Constitution is just empty words.

Bill Turney, Houston

A new low … er, high

Thank you for your valiant effort to encourage the governor and state Legislature to pursue a remedy for our state’s outstanding achievement of highest number of uninsured in the nation. This is no easy feat! By now you are no doubt aware that the most common response will be, “How many of these uninsured are illegal migrants?”

However, the real problem is the righteous disregard of the public health of Texans. Whether it is proposed legislation to weaken vaccination requirements, turning a blind eye toward the industrial degradation of air and water quality, or the very quiet and deliberate acquiescence to mass shootings, it is as clear as day that Texas health ranks low in the minds of our elected leaders. Whatever the reason, there is evidently an unwavering commitment to this position.

Gerald Busch, Houston

Train vibrations

Regarding “Texas bullet train has builder, but it's still far from end of line” (City/ State, Sept. 15): We have all been reading about the proposed high-speed train between Houston and Dallas for a few years now. The prospect originally appealed to me, but there is one issue that causes me to question whether or not this is a good move forward.

Aside from the eminent domain issue, what I find curiously missing from the coverage and discussion is the ground vibration these trains are said to inflict upon the areas around the rail lines.

I have read that the vibration produced by these trains is more of an annoyance than the noise they create and it can have adverse effects on the environment, structures, and humans existing within miles of the rail lines. This is the one issue that could effect the most people in our densely populated northwest area of the city.

Giselle Doss, Houston