YOU SAY: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Class program inspiring
I love political correctness. I saw the Bryker Woods Elementary fourth-grade class perform a holiday program at the Retirement and Nursing Center on Burnet Road. It was beautiful! Marvelous! Brilliant! Christmas carols, Hanukkah songs, Kwanzaa music, Fiesta Posada songs, I don’t know what all! All kinds of winter celebration songs. I looked around the room at the staff, residents, guests, children (through my tears). Variety! So American! MJ Hickerson
Austin
Kids expect too much
Re: Dec. 6 article, “Judge orders Christmas nonprofit shut down.”
Not everyone is a “giver” — there are many “takers,” especially people taking advantage of charitable organizations this time of year. How is it determined who receives gifts from Blue Santa? Christmas Bureau supported single parents. I’m all for helping others having hard times, but there are way too many “unwed mothers” today getting government assistance.
Why do people keep expecting others to help them out? Because this attitude starts when they are very young. Some of us grew up in times when we got clothing, books, games and few toys. Kids today now expect Christmas to come all year round since whatever they want can be charged and paid for later. U.S. government isn’t the same as Santa Claus, but many parents now think Uncle Sam and charities are “Santa Claus,” not them. Kids eventually learn there isn’t a Santa but need to know there also isn’t a “money tree.” Mollie Hejl
Austin
We need radical changes
If our government and political parties do not make radical changes in how our government is financed and actually have a balanced budget, the U.S. will no longer be a major power in the world, and that scares me more than anything. What is wrong with our government? They expect all of the businesses and citizens to live within their means and to pay their taxes. Why doesn’t our government have to live by those rules? There has to be a meeting of the minds of our political parties, a real balanced budget with actual money in the bank, or I hate to think about the revolution against our self-serving politicians. A politician-for-life needs to be a thing of the past. It is not serving us well right now! Nancy Goodman
Manor
Look at creatures’ eyes
Re: Dec. 12 letter to the editor, “Running from danger?”
With respect, I have to point out to the author that the way to decipher whether or not a species is predator or prey is to look at the eyes. Eyes in front implies a predator; eyes to the side indicates prey. Additionally, the image processor between our ears is optimized for recognition. Extremely rapid segmentation and classification of image features (decrypting camouflage strategies) and acute motion detection in peripheral vision are essential to survival of predators. We do those very well. Another strategy is to be an omnivore, and we are grateful that we have that capability.
A lot of us must have been eaten while on the veldt, but I don’t think that accounts for the functional aspects of the systems. It is nice that a sufficient number of our ancestors were able to run fast enough, climb high enough or hide well enough, though. John Pearce
Austin
What about moderates?
Democrats have the far left. Republicans have the far right. Libertarians have the far out. Moderates are forgotten. Sammy L. Franks
Austin
Hospitals’ costs affect us
Re: Dec. 13 letter to the editor, “Seton’s charity care.”
Someone has to pay for all goods and services. Although the author means well, he seems unaware that charity hospital care does indeed cost taxpayers through increased insurance premiums and hospital copays amounting to thousands of dollars. We taxpayers pay our own bills, and my hospital stays have been very expensive. We pay for Obama care with taxes and for hospital losses unless we never have to go there. Does this man think that Seton has unlimited funds with which to absorb the cost of charity care? Nothing is free. Bonnie Streetman
Austin
Trails plan has dangers
Re: Dec. 6 article, “Proposal: Open 3 trails at night.”
No wonder we voted for single-member districts. With Chris Riley it is all about downtown Austin and bicycles. I can’t believe he would actually think opening the trails at night for bicycle riders is going to reduce traffic by being an alternative way home for bicycle riders. How long before one of the riders is mugged in the park at 2 a.m.? Now he wants to reduce the parking spaces downtown so more people will ride their bike to town. If you go downtown to meetings or restaurants, how many of the attendees there would appreciate you showing up in your sweaty spandex?
History teaches on taxes
When Bill Clinton raised income tax rates, Republicans screamed that it would destroy the economy, that millions of jobs would be lost, that tax revenues would plummet and that we would plunge into a deep recession. What happened? More than 20 million jobs were created, the thirdhighest GDP growth since World War II (the top two were also Democrats), and we had a budget surplus for the first time in many years. George W. Bush inherited that, immediately cut taxes, and we ended up with the second worst period of GDP growth and a huge and growing deficit.
Now, as President Barack Obama pushes for tax hikes on the wealthy, Republicans are raising the very same concerns that they did with Clinton. Were they asleep for 16 years during Clinton and Bush? History shows us that there is a big difference between theory and reality. Ellen Harrison
Austin Lonny Gorban
Austin