Oncor, why did you have to destroy one side of my oak tree?
If it plays like a slot machine ...
Tessa Weinberg’s excellent Wednesday front-page story, “Texas high court hears Fort Worth case on eight-liners,” clearly laid out the issues in the Texas Supreme Court case on eight-liner gambling machines. Here are other matters for readers to consider:
First, these are slot machines. No matter what you call them, they look and play like slots, with minor exceptions. Second, gambling houses tend to become havens for crime. Third, operators try to skirt the law by letting bets ride and offering prizes far in excess of the $5 legal maximum. The law makes no provision for this. Further, some game rooms are known to give cash under the table to regulars.
- Rodger Weems, State chairman, Texans Against Gambling, Grand Prairie
They are making D.C. royalty
So far, Republican senators have been in lockstep with what the president wants on impeachment, even on witnesses. No senators should be that blindly loyal to any president. They should be loyal to what is best for the country.
They are treating Donald Trump as a king.
- Paul D. Vassar, Fort Worth
Cornyn and Cruz, how can you?
We don’t do monarchy in America. What Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are allowing to happen is to make Donald Trump a king, with no oversight or regard for the will of the voters.
Can my senators honestly say that was the intention of the Founding Fathers? Stop enabling this destruction of the republic.
- Rachel Sollid, North Richland Hills
Romney’s sad disloyalty to Trump
Benedict Arnold is dead, but is he? Sen. Mitt Romney may be the reincarnation of the despicable Arnold. I remind myself that I once favored Romney for the presidency. And now he has taken his sack of sour grapes to the Senate, where he is playing the role of an anti-Trumper. Pretty sad.
- Marshall Stewart, Fort Worth
Why special election ignored?
Your paper published stories Jan. 26, 27 and 28 about Democratic efforts to turn Texas blue. I found no story Jan. 29 or 30 about the results of the special election in Fort Bend County. Did I miss something, or have you again confirmed my belief that the Star-Telegram is biased?
- Michael Smith, Grapevine
Bills for the debt will come due
It’s been three years now, and the swamp still hasn’t been drained. So it is up to us, the voters, to vote out all incumbent politicians, starting with the White House. Yes, the unemployment rate continued its decline under President Donald Trump, but at what cost to us taxpayers? Some corporations pay zero income taxes, and the 1% of the ultra-rich now owns more wealth than the majority of Americans combined.
Who is going to pay off the $23 trillion federal debt? Look in the mirror.
- Edward Lindsay, Fort Worth
Just compare the track records
I have come to trust NPR’s news reporting. After reading about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s reaction to questions by NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly on Ukraine, and the State Department subsequently barring another NPR reporter from covering the secretary’s trip to Europe, I am struck not only by the difference between the facts as reported by NPR and as provided by Pompeo’s office, but also by what can only be viewed as retaliation by the State Department.
The credibility of those involved is often all we have to go on. So, I side with NPR.
- Dan Sykes, Fort Worth
Unnecessarily trimmed oak tree
It’s time again for Oncor to trim and ravage our trees. And sadly, our magnificent oak was no exception.
Our tree with its beautiful canopy went from dense green to a spindly brown stick tree. This oak was not under the power lines, but beside them a good distance. It will take years to regrow.
I understand the need to keep trees at bay around power lines, but I own the tree and the land it’s on. There has to be a better way.
- Tony Price, Fort Worth