Kudos for supporting nation
A better future
Regarding “United under Biden,” (A14, Jan. 21): Kudos to Garth Brooks, a longtime Republican, for singing at Joe Biden’s inauguration, supporting the person who was elected to office. He, as an American, is ready to move on, to have our leaders get on with the health and economy of this nation. He set aside his preference for the good of the country.
We should all support the president, even if he was not your choice, and his Cabinet, praying for wisdom, guidance and discernment. In this way, we can uphold the Constitution and look forward to a better future.
Carole Wakefield, Houston
Big statements
Regarding “President Biden, don’t write off oil and gas,” (A17, Jan. 24): It is highly ironic to hear Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick, a Republican, declare how urgent it is to “take measure of the needs of every American who has suffered through the economic turmoil of the last year.”
The House of Representatives passed a second stimulus bill May 15. The leadership of Craddick’s party, specifically Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, waited months to take any action on a second stimulus bill, as enhanced unemployment benefits ended and millions of Americans faced hunger and homelessness.
Andrew Edmonson, Houston
Apparently Christi Craddick doesn’t understand the difference between a regulator and a lobbyist. As she notes, Texas energy producers leave a “massive footprint on our economy,” and that footprint includes thousands of uncapped wells, some of the worst urban air pollution in the country, and periodic oil spills and pipeline ruptures. When it comes to Craddick, I’m reminded of the old saw, “Putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.”
Bill Wilson, Houston
‘Everyone else was doing it’
Regarding “Feds debate not charging some rioters,” (A4, Jan 24): With the exception of the Civil War, the assault on the Capitol was an unprecedented attack on our country by a large number of its own citizens.
Every person who penetrated the Capitol on Jan. 6 should be charged, at a minimum, with unlawful entry of a restricted area.
Responsible parents do not accept the excuse of “everyone else was doing it” from a toddler or a teenager, and responsible parents dole out logical consequences for their children’s misbehavior.
By the same token, a responsible justice system must hold the adults who broke into and swarmed the halls of the Capitol accountable for their crimes — regardless of any prior criminal record. Not to do so is a dereliction of their oath to “support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Aletha Evert, Houston