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A man named Justice
Texas lost a judicial giant in the passing of Judge William Wayne Justice, who stood tall for Justice. He was a man who taught and practiced more Christianity than the preachers and evangelists, and he paid the price. I am sure he knew the hymn, "It pays to serve Jesus, it pays every day. It pays every step of the way." Yes, he paid the price for serving the teachings of the Master and the law of the land. Many Texans paid him with shunning and hatred, but he made Texas a better state. — Wendell Franklin Wentz, Rockwall Natural gas issuesAs a worker in the oil and gas industry, I took exception to the remarks from Southern Methodist University professor Al Armendariz about the economic impact of new air regulations. (See: "State’s permit process revised," Thursday)Armendariz said it is no "big deal" for our employers to spend millions complying with new rules. In fact, it is a big deal. Those millions are diverted from payroll, workers’ benefits and pensions. It’s trendy these days to embrace the attitude that big companies have deep pockets and that nothing the federal government throws at them can hurt them financially. This is not so. It’s naive to think that "piling on" isn’t going to eventually threaten my job and increase consumer prices. While efforts to continue to improve air quality are important and worthwhile, there’s no place in the discussion for flippant remarks when it comes to jeopardizing jobs in Texas. It’s quite a luxury for Armendariz to nonchalantly perch in academia while workers like me face the very real possibility of losing our jobs. — Chip Patton, Fort Worth The Star-Telegram recently reported that the U.S. has stockpiled so much natural gas that its storage capacity will soon be exhausted. No mention was made of this oversupply in a Friday report that the Fort Worth City Council is hustling through Chesapeake’s application to cross city streets in order to run a natural gas pipeline through Carter Avenue, a stable neighborhood in an east-side area. Why the hurry? In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court gave governments the right to take private property from citizens and give it to private corporations. Since then it’s been "Katy, bar the door" for fat cats. Going a step further, the state of Texas gave pipeline companies the same right to condemn private land as governments have. Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a bill that would have allowed pipelines to run along state highways. Where will it end, folks? Do you think they will stop at your doorstep? As naturalist John Muir said, "Nothing 'dollarable’ is safe." — Guelma B. Hopkins, Fort Worth Why I teachThanks to Bob Ray Sanders’ Wednesday column, I was reminded of one reason I teach. (See: "A tale of a son’s love and a mother’s lasting lessons")In the 1970s, I had the privilege of having Mrs. Carroll for honors geometry at Eastern Hills High School. (Her son Courtney also was in the class, but after all these years, I still can’t think of her as Jackie Carroll.) She was one of the most intelligent and gracious people I have ever known, and she taught her children to be gracious. Too often we see only the barriers to justice, and it is good to be reminded that there is a path to justice for all.
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