Can culture be separated from the reality of mass shootings?

Greene is right about immigration

Great column by Richard Greene on the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus becoming a U.S. citizen the right way. (Aug. 4, 4B, “Rangers’ Elvis Andrus understands citizenship in a way that Democratic candidates don’t”)

Most United States citizens do not oppose immigration. What we oppose is people breaking our immigration laws.

The Democrats on Capitol Hill are tearing our country apart by encouraging criminal activity and not helping to fix the system. I hope and pray the citizens of this nation will realize what is going on and the Democrats’ actions will backfire at the polls.

One part of culture left out

Cynthia M. Allen’s Aug. 9 column, “Culture, not Trump, created the El Paso shooter,” makes a spot-on assessment of the “anti-culture” responsible for mass shootings in America. (13A)

However, the commentary fails in identifying two key factors: Mass shootings are a uniquely American problem. If our culture takes the blame, why aren’t these shootings happening in other developed nations?

Also, the number of guns in America surpasses the number of citizens, and accessing firearms is effortless compared with other developed nations.

I agree with Allen in her call for “profound cultural transformation that revolutionizes the way we perceive and treat every human being.” But we also need to dramatically decrease the number of firearms in America.

White supremacists perceive an ally

So Cynthia Allen thinks our culture, not President Donald Trump, is responsible for the massacre in El Paso. On the face of it, she is correct.

But anyone who denies that Trump exacerbates those cultural trends is not being honest. White supremacists believe they have a friend in Trump. Racists are emboldened to be more open with those feelings because of Trump.

No, the president doesn’t deserve direct blame for what happened in El Paso. But he magnifies the culture that breeds these type of incidents.

The downsides of Medicare now

So, you want Medicare for everyone?

First, Medicare for seniors is not free, and it’s not cheap. Each month, a significant amount of money is subtracted from my Social Security payment to pay for my Medicare.

Second, Medicare pays 80% of approved charges such as hospital stays. That leaves me holding the bag for 20% of a hospital or medical bill, which can easily amount to thousands of dollars. The only way around this is to purchase a Medicare supplement insurance policy for hundreds a month.

Third, very few doctors accept Medicare seniors as patients these days. The government reimbursement to doctors is so small that they are lucky to break even on Medicare patients.

Be careful what you wish for.

Texas needs O’Rourke in Senate

Come back, Beto.

At a time when we as a state need representatives who will fight for us and for our children, we need Beto O’Rourke to be our man in Washington. He can be more effective addressing the critical issues that face us in the U.S. Senate.

We are a state that is grieving, and we need his passion to help us through this time.