"Bushwhacked," by Jim Schutze, June 5
The Gang's All Here
Hear, hear to Jim Schutze's "Bushwhacked." Finally, someone in the local news industry understands the way Dallas and all of Texas is a participant in national and international affairs. This is especially the case now that the Bush Library and think tank are coming to town, to SMU. Schutze's questions are right on target: Do we want to associate our city with the war-crimes gang? Do we want to brand ourselves as the state within the union that readily condones criminality and the breaching of the Constitution? In short, do we want to go down in history as the state that gave shelter—gave a library and think tank—to the worst president in American history? I recall the fateful words of President Gerald Turner in a faculty meeting at SMU back in January 2005, "Let history tell the truth about the W. administration and the Iraq War." Well, history is unfolding now. Today, W.'s approval rating hovers somewhere between 24 and 38 percent. And, as Schutze's insightful and shit-with-a-mouthful article tells, W., Rove and Cheney are en route for just deserts in the form of an international war crimes tribunal. Kudos to the restoration of justice after its frequent miscarriage. And thank you, Jim Schutze, for speaking the obvious truth!
Charissa Terranova, Dallas
"It's Dr Pepper Time," by Robb Walsh
That's the Ol' Pepper
Enjoyed your story! We appreciate your visit to the museum. We are not owned or operated by Cadbury—now Dr Pepper Snapple group. The reason that we have exhibits about other brands is because we have the largest and broadest collection of soft-drink items in the world.
Jack N. McKinney, Waco
"Room Reservations," By Jim Schutze, May 29
Checkout Time
Jim Schutze's article on the Dallas hotel issue hits the nail on the head. The politicians that we continue to elect are slowly spending us into poverty as they use our money to erect monuments to their monumental egos. Whether it be the AAC or this hotel, it will cost the city money for years to come.
I am just glad I don't live in Dallas, but we have the same mentality in Rowlett, with the city constantly seeking to borrow money for projects and running up a mountain of debt which is closely followed by property tax increases.
This is symptomatic of the problem we have throughout this country, from the federal government on down. Has anyone considered the amount of money it takes to service our $10 trillion federal debt? Do we have any idea how much the first $200 billion deficit from the Reagan years, which has never been paid down at all, has cost current taxpayers and will continue to cost taxpayers for decades to come?
We simply have forgotten how to manage without a credit card—buying things and just hoping that before the bill comes we will be able to borrow some more money to pay for what we bought last month. We are going 100 mph into a brick wall, and it is not going to be a pretty sight when we hit it.
Ultimately, the solution is in our hands. We need to stop electing people to office who only have one solution, and that is to expand the economy by borrowing money. That is the path that has been taken in Washington for the last seven years, and we now have an additonal $4 trillion of debt and the economy is stagnated with rising inflation.
So much for the Republican solution.
Stephen Potter, Rowlett
"Phony Heroes," by Glenna Whitley, June 5
The Real Deals
Together with Tom Cottone, I authored the Stolen Valor Act, which was "Part 1" of a two-part series of valor bills. The second part (HR 3769) is called the Military Valor Roll of Honor Act of 2007 and is currently before the House Armed Services Committee and is co-sponsored by 62 members of Congress including five of Texas' 32 members of Congress. That bill would require a national database of all awards, meaning state DMVs could immediately check an official DoD database before issuing distinctive plates to ensure they are valid. There is extensive information on this bill at www.homeofheroes.com/rollofvalor, and I encourage those who care about this issue to put the pressure on your other members of Congress to co-sponsor and move HR 3769 forward.
Doug Sterner, Pueblo, Colorado
