Fort Worth has no need for commercial poker houses

Cut the bucks and get results

We can solve the executive branch’s refusals to cooperate with inquiries from a House committee: Just cut off program funding. The House has the power of the purse, and if the White House and departments ignore requests, then cut off their funding. That is what the federal government threatened to do to states that didn’t pass mandatory seat-belt laws.

The president said he is the most cooperative executive ever in regard to working with Congress. Then he should keep his word.

Fort Worth showed its own poker face

Kudos to Fort Worth’s Zoning Commission and City Council. Both turned down a zoning request that would have put a commercial poker house on Camp Bowie.

Not every city saw through poker houses’ bogus claim that they are exempt from Texas’ constitutional prohibition on commercial gambling. These establishments — including in Fort Worth — falsely claim that they fall under the “kitchen-table poker” exception.

Some cities, such as Austin, Abilene, Webster and San Antonio, either bought commercial poker’s deceptive claims or were unwilling to spend the law-enforcement time and resources to shut them down.

Not so in Fort Worth. Way to go, Cowtown.

Good way to stop handsy Joe

Women keep popping up saying Joe Biden made them uncomfortable with physical contact they don’t consider sexual, just unwanted. But I have yet to hear any saying what seems, in my experience, the surefire way to get him to stop: Tell his wife. It would have stopped immediately if any of them had just done that.

Red-light cameras are legal and work

I respectfully disagree with my old friend Chuck Noteboom about his Wednesday letter to the editor (13A), as well as the editorial opinions of the Star-Telegram castigating red-light cameras.

As a 1965 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and a lawyer who has tried constitutional law issues for more than half a century, I can tell you with some authority that there is nothing unconstitutional about red-light cameras. I have successfully defended suits against more than 25 cities challenging such laws. The matter is now before the Texas Supreme Court, and I am confident it will be upheld. The attack on the law by my reprehensible state Rep. Jonathan Stickland is high praise.

My wife has been more successful than Chuck before local judges, probably because she is a very effective advocate. The law works and is supported by law enforcement. It is being attacked by politicians because it is an easy target.

We have a system in place that works

I support both the Electoral College system and continuing to have a Supreme Court consisting of nine justices. However, Marc A. Thiessen’s March 24 column states that (some, not all) Democrats want to “tear up” the Constitution by advocating changes to the above structures. (5B, “Democrats are biggest threat to Constitution”)

The Constitution has been altered 27 times via an established constitutional process, and any change to the electoral system must go through this same process. The Constitution does not specify the number of Supreme Court judges; nine is a traditional number. Therefore, calls for change to either structure are not efforts to “tear up” our Constitution.