Holiday break from politics
Take a step back
The divide among Americans on President Donald Trump and impeachment is pretty even from what I have seen in polls. The screaming between the sides is insane. So instead of bickering, we all need to step back and just look toward 2020. Get involved in the political process. Don’t just vote. Work in the campaign of the person of your choice. If your candidate wins, then that’s great. If your candidate loses, then at least you have the right to complain. In the meantime, let’s all take a break from screaming, namecalling and arguing and enjoy the holiday season for the next several days. Congress is on break, so why can’t we be too? Connie Huch, Houston
Recycling fix
Regarding “Is there as way to fix plastic recycling?” (Dec. 22, A1): While there are numerous ideas and projects in the works to address the choking plastic scrap problem, sometimes the simple solution is the most practical. Some of the ideas are very sophisticated, such as AI robots for sorting and the use of acids to breakdown unusable plastic refuse to its chemical composition to development of new types of plastics.
It would be beneficial to repurpose the 90 percent of the recycled plastic that ends up in landfills. One possibility would be to soak this plastic in fire retardant and UV inhibitor, melt it and recast into large blocks weighing several tons. They could be used as flood-control seawalls, beacherosion barriers and even for the border wall. These blocks could also have a use in general construction. Lynda Crane, Conroe
Exes can stay out of Texas
Regarding “Vibrancy elsewhere has exes leaving Texas,” (Dec. 23, A15): I take issue with those who move here, greedily accept the benefits that motivated their move in the first place and then complain that things are different than what was left behind.
For nearly 60 years I have read and heard the criticisms of this great city and the myriad apologists for its traffic, weather, suburban sprawl, dearth of walkable places and lack of zoning. Houston’s resilience, robust economy, social diversity and cultural plenty speak far more clearly and persuasively than I can in repudiating the critics and apologists. Good riddance to Mr. Llamas’ exes who left for the coasts in search of a better lifestyle. Raymond Ruiz, Manvel