No ordinary holiday season
Spirit of Christmas
Regarding “To get in the holiday spirit, these Houstonians spend $5,000+ on massive Christmas light displays,” (Dec. 1): I don’t mean to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, but I was reading the Houston Chronicle’s article about the extensive pre-Christmas lighting and decorations, especially in the upscale River Oaks and Tanglewood neighborhoods, and thought to myself about the many thousands of dollars spent by the homeowners to decorate their homes. And I wouldn’t ordinarily begrudge them from spending this money, which is obviously expendable income in ordinary times. But these are not ordinary times. So many fellow Houstonians have lost their jobs and income and are in the position of being unable to put food on the table for their families and are in danger of losing their homes and apartments and being left essentially homeless. And I thought to myself just how much more it would matter if the monies used for the decorations were used instead for food for those unable to provide it or for other necessaries which are now beyond reach — just how much more the spirit of the Christmas season would be shown over and above the temporary lighting and decorating of homes.
Mitch (Scrooge) Glassman, Houston
Time to move on
Regarding “Texas Republicans press Barr on Trump’s claims.” (A2, Dec 2): I was so disappointed by the Houston Chronicle’s decision to give huge coverage on page 2 to the push by Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Sen. Ted Cruz for further investigation into Donald Trump’s discredited allegations of voter fraud while at the same time relegating to page 4 Attorney General William Barr’s finding that the Justice Department has found no indication of widespread election fraud. Why enable the irresponsible behavior of elected officials
who know better by putting them in the spotlight they crave? I admit I expected more from Crenshaw, but Cruz’s behavior is unsurprising. The notion that continued investigation of the election results would help rebuild confidence in our election system is absurd. He knows full well that no amount of further legal review will change the minds of the huge percentage of Republicans who believe the election was rigged unless they are proven right. Shall we just recap those who have disproved the notion that Trump won? That would be the majority of voters, the poll watchers, the vote counters and recounters, county election boards, state election boards, governors and secretaries of states, different unsuccessful lawsuits and the Justice Department. Sadly, the extraordinary amount of coverage the media has given to Trumps’ wild allegations has just fueled the fire of this ridiculousness and done real damage to public confidence in our election system. Time to move on.
Jane Crowder Schmitt, Houston