Hey, Beto O’Rourke: Texas doesn’t need you in the Governor’s Mansion, either

No thanks to another Beto run

Beto O’Rourke running for governor will mean that after he is defeated, we won’t hear from him again. Anybody remember Wendy Davis?

The only reason O’Rourke came close in the 2018 U.S. Senate race was that Ted Cruz forgot he was a Texas senator from the moment he was elected. O’Rourke is a disingenuous politician who rails against the immigration policy of a Republican president one day and against a Democratic president because of the border crisis the next.

As a congressman, he accomplished nothing except the naming of a post office. As a presidential candidate, he was ignored.

I’m not a particular fan of Gov. Greg Abbott, who also appears to have presidential ambition and makes decision with that in mind, but he will be reelected and hopefully will govern in Texas’ best interests.

- Rick Weintraub, Mansfield

Libraries are safe from bullying

I am a transgender parent in the Keller school district. Look at the statistics on LGBTQ teens. They reflect higher rates of homelessness, mental health issues, substance abuse, involvement in sex work and suicide. Parents and school board members trying to prevent “indoctrination” are our LGBTQ children’s first bullies. You make it OK for children to tease and harass them at school.

Often, a library is a safe space where students first explore who they are in privacy and security. (Nov. 9, 1A, “Abbott asks for standards for books in school classes, libraries”) You can’t ignore LGBTQ youths, but you can drive them to self-harm.

- Victoria Jones, Fort Worth

Kay Granger just must not know

Rep. Kay Granger describes the Build Back Better bill as “socialist.” (Nov. 20, 1A, “Texans could see tax cuts, more health care from spending plan”) It’s surprising that as a former teacher she doesn’t know what socialism is. It’s an economic system in which the government owns the means and distribution of goods and services.

The BBB bill provides, for example, a rebate to buyers of electric cars. The government does not control the manufacture or the sale of electric cars. Rep. Granger, I’m going to assume that you just don’t know what you’re talking about instead of deliberately misleading your constituents.

- David Robinson, Fort Worth

Evidence it’s Trump country

I recently found a New York Times article on the disparities between COVID-19 fatality rates of Donald Trump-supporting counties and President Joe Biden-supporting counties. Through the end of 2020, those rates were about the same. But as vaccines became available and inoculation rates varied, so did the death rates.

In October, Trump-supporting counties experienced an average COVID death rate of 25 per 100,000 residents, while Biden-supporting counties saw a death rate of 7.8 per 100,000. In Hood County, it was 42 per 100,000.

As the billboard on the way into town states, we are definitely “Trump country.”

- Charles Stonick, Granbury

They won’t fix this themselves

A Nov. 18 letter writer (9A) is right that natural gas obtained by fracking is a good fuel source. But go to West Texas and see the flaring of gas that lights up the countryside at night. It contributes heavily to climate change.

Until Texas requires fracking operations to capture methane, they will continue to flare and release more methane into the atmosphere. The Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the fossil fuel industry, is never going to act responsibly to reduce methane emissions.

- Robert Terry, Fort Worth

Don’t let kids leave school

I applaud John M. Pritchett and his organization, Focus on Students, for its “Contract with FWISD Students.” (Nov. 14, 5C, “After bond vote, FWISD has plenty of money; Now, it must commit to improved learning”) But none of these goals are practical until students are interested in their own education and have respect for teachers and administrators.

I would have voted for a bond package that included funding for more truancy officers. I have lived by a middle school for 30 years and have seen one only once.

We need to stop students from leaving school grounds during the school day (yes, even high school students at lunch). Administrators need to have real authority over the kids, and parents need to sign off on that and be held responsible.

- Curtis Basham, Fort Worth