Policies and plastics
Chinese influence in Cuba
Regarding “Trump declares economic war on Cuba” (Chron.com, Thursday): My wife and I recently returned from a 12-day cruise to Cuba. We stopped at the cities of Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Havana. There were about 160 passengers on the ship and, while I seldom asked, there was probably a fair mix of Republicans and Democrats.
All I talked to, which was most, felt the Cuban embargo is not just outdated and foolish but also dangerous. If we continue the current course, there would seem to be considerable risk of a Chinese military base springing up 90 miles from Key West, Fla.
Everywhere one looked there was Chinese presence.
I had the pleasure of riding around Havana for over an hour in a 1928 Ford. There was just the driver and I so we had many interesting discussions. When we entered the international section of town he said there are now a lot of Russians moving back. I asked about Chinese and he said, “Actually, not so many yet, but there is bound to be soon with the amount of activity they have here.”
We need to think seriously about whether a few votes in South Florida is really worth the risk of another Cuban Missile Crisis.
Kenneth B. Gunn, Magnolia
Money and staying power
Regarding “Higher pay will not solve teacher shortage” (Outlook, Wednesday): There is probably good cause to raise salaries for teachers, but the op-ed does not give adequate reasons for teacher salary increases. I remember when I was in high school, there was a movie playing, “Blackboard Jungle” with Glenn Ford and Sidney Poitier, depicting classroom struggles in New York City schools. It is unfortunate that some aspects of the students’ attitudes are still found today in urban schools, and teachers are totally unprepared to handle them.
In the old days, there were coaches who would take care of unruly students, and things like corporal punishment could be meted out to disruptive students. So it seems that some people think that if you throw enough money at teachers, there will be more staying in the classrooms and not venturing out to private industry to try their hand at that. It is too bad that someone trained to teach will abandon the profession for dollars promised by other professions. Sounds sort of like the way professional athletes jump from team to team, doesn’t it? Too bad.
Lawrence Keen, Pearland
What next, literacy test?
Regarding “SB 9 is a bad idea” (Editorial, Wednesday): Isn’t it time for Republican state legislators to stop trying to act like Southern Democrats following Reconstruction? Back then blacks were denied the right to vote by all kinds of legislative measures, most obviously the literacy test. Dan Patrick’s latest reincarnation of post-Reconstruction attempts to keep certain classes of voters from the polls is not only self-defeating in the long run but a real smear on the face of Texas politics.
History has taught us that these attempts will fail in the long run no matter what they gain for the party in power in the short term. I would hope he would open up the history books and see that cooperation and an attempt to get as many eligible voters to the polls as possible is the only approach in a true democracy.
James W. Gilbert, Rosenberg
Sport of hog baying
Regarding “Comedian Whitney Cummings sparks social media outrage over small Texas town’s legal tradition” (Chron.com, Wednesday): Thank you for writing this article in such a nonbiased manner. I am so happy I don’t have to defend a family tradition we have had for ages. The dogs love it, we love it, and the kids enjoy coming out too.
Chandly Maynard, East Texas
Waste not, want not
Regarding “Plastic waste requires actual conservatism” (Texas Inc., Monday): I was astounded to read in Chris Tomlinson’s column, calling for more personal responsibility for conservation to combat plastic waste, that 20 percent of all plastics produced in the world annually not only are not recycled but end up in the oceans.
While landfilling waste is not the best option, it certainly is better than littering. It seems we need to have a global slogan similar to “Don’t Mess with Texas” to remind everyone to properly dispose of trash.
Bill Spear Bartlett, Jersey Village