Columns

To The Editor: When Donald Trump first entered the arena of presidential candidates, my perspective of him was a spoiled, obnoxious billionaire hungry for power and prestige. I figured he had no chance of actually winning the nomination, much less the election. As time went on, he was both nominated and elected despite his personality because so many people eventually saw what I saw.

To The Editor: I am addressing Kirk Pate’s letter of Oct. 7, in which he talks about valuing our freedoms. Disregarding his blatant false statements regarding “Trump Republicans” for the time being, I will address his initial statements on freedom. First, “to retire in dignity.” Where is the dignity when retirees are not free to travel, due to outrageous gas prices resulting from Biden’s war on fossil fuels? Where is the dignity when Biden is making America dependent on our enemies and Socialist countries for fuel? Where is the dignity when many (not just retirees) must choose between buying groceries or medications or paying their bills, due to exploding inflation which, again, is the results of poor decisions and executive orders coming out of the Biden administration? Where is anyone’s dignity when we are afraid to walk the streets of our neighborhoods and business districts because the liberal judges have released repeat offenders – including rapists and murders – without bond? Where is the freedom for those who are being trafficked by the cartels, those coerced into decades of servitude by the coyotes, those dying from Fentanyl overdoses, those killed by illegals and terrorists who are swarming unimpeded across our borders, all due to the Biden administration’s “open borders” policies? Where is the freedom for our military personnel and federal employees to make personal medical decisions when this administration continues to demand COVID vaccinations in order for them to continue their service or employment? Where is the freedom for those whose homes and businesses were destroyed and lives taken during the summer of the BLM/ANTIFA riots, for which no one has been held responsible? (Many liberals, including Democrats in congress, helped secure releases for those who perpetrated the crimes.) Where is the freedom for law-abiding conservative Americans who are being harassed and falsely arrested by Biden’s weaponized FBI and DOJ? (Not to mention the potential for the same on steroids once the additional 85,000 gun-toting IRS agents are up and running!) Where is the freedom for the children who are being indoctrinated to hate and fear those of other races, as well as America? Where is the freedom for those young children who are being sexually mutilated, either physically or chemically, before they can even comprehend the long-term consequences? And where is the freedom for that unborn child whose life was ended without mercy because the mother failed to plan ahead and take control of or responsibility for her reproductive system?

Miles of Memories This column was originally printed in The Record more than a decade ago, but in light of Queen Elizabeth’s recent death and Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, immediately ascending to the throne of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as King Charles, III, I wish to repeat this piece today for newer readers. In 1977, while teaching senior English in Houston, I read information in the Sunday “Chronicle” stating England’s Prince Charles would be in town later that week on Oct.

C APITAL Highlights Flu season is underway, and health officials are urging Texans to get their vaccinations as soon as possible, since it takes about two weeks for the shot to take effect. “Because influenza can be a very serious disease, we recommend that all individuals aged 6 months and older get their flu vaccine every year,” said Dr.

In 1956 I was a freshman attending La Grange High School. Being raised on a farm and doing all sorts of physical labor, including helping dad move houses, I was muscled up pretty good and in great physical shape. So much so that one day I was approached by the football coach and asked how come I wasn’t signed up to play football. Well I tried to explain the best I could why I couldn’t play football for him. First of all, my dad – being of the “old school” – didn’t care for the sport. He said it only caused young kids to get hurt unnecessarily and later in life the injuries would haunt them and possibly hinder them from working to their full potential. Another reason was that there absolutely was no way I could stay after school and practice every day. There was no way for me to travel back and forth to town and besides I usually had a days’ worth of chores to do after school. Dad also said that instead of “working out” in the school gym he could find enough for me to “work out” at home on the farm.

T EXAS History Two year old AlbertaYvonne Howell, the only child of a couple in Haskell, died on Oct. 15, 1937 after taking a poisonous but perfectly legal drug, prescribed by doctors and sold over-the-counter by pharmacists, that was blamed for ten deaths in Texas and another 97 in 14 more states in a six-week period.

That Little Voice It’s been a week of celebrations in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. And in San Miguel, a celebration always includes parades, fireworks, crowds, color, and family gatherings.

To The Editor: Ask Ms. Reid to change a few words in her letter from last week: 2016 Election instead of 2020 Democrats instead of Republicans Trump instead of Biden Then ask yourself – what would you say if the Republicans created a “Russian Hoax” about Biden and held hearings etc… for the four years of Biden’s term.

To the Editor: In Fayette County and across America, we value our freedoms. Freedom to retire in dignity, decide whether and when we grow our families and know our kids will make it home safe.

To The Editor: It seems the author of the recent letter “Telling the Real story on Rising Prices” suffers from strategic amnesia – a syndrome that lets someone forget they are guilty of the behavior for which they demonize another. The Democrats are not “tackling price gouging” though the ploy has been around since the 1970s. President Joe Biden is the latest to use it. The Inflation Reduction Act (also known as “Build Back Broke Act) was passed with VP Kamala Harris breaking the tie and has been described by a senior policy analyst for budget policy at the Heritage Foundation as a “Trojan Horse for more of the same policies that created ‘stagflationary’ fire consuming the economy in the first place.”