If you like ducks in Trinity Park, don’t feed bread to them

A diet too high in carbohydrates can give ducks a condition known as “angel wing.” Instead, there are alternative foods that will give them proper nutrition. Max Faulkner Star-Telegram file photo

Cruz’s projection way off track

Sen. Ted Cruz and others who have politicized our country’s response to the pandemic are responsible for more than 260,000 deaths. Cruz said: “If it ends up that Biden wins in November … I guarantee you the week after the election, suddenly all those Democratic governors, all those Democratic mayors, will say, ‘Everything’s magically better. Go back to work. Go back to school.’”

The election has been over for nearly four weeks, President-elect Joe Biden won, and we are seeing record numbers of COVID-19 cases. Hospitals in parts of Texas are near their limits, and more people will die.

That’s because Cruz and others denied science and demonized those who offered a reasoned response to prevent the spread.

- William James, Austin

Ducks better served

Please stop feeding bread to the ducks in Trinity Park. Bread is not an ideal food for ducks. It can cause developmental and mobility problems and a disfiguring condition known as “angel wing” or “airplane wing,” which can result from a diet high in carbohydrates. Better alternatives include corn, peas, lettuce, seeds, oats or rice (cooked or uncooked).

We have asked the city to provide a sign or other educational tool to discourage feeding bread to the ducks.

- Sally Hoger and Alan Reilly, Fort Worth

Not the time to cut food aid

Julie Butner of the Tarrant Area Food Bank wrote a compelling plea for action in her Nov. 22 column, “Don’t cut the Texas fresh-food program that’s vital to families in Tarrant County.” (5B)

She and the hundreds of volunteers who brave the coronavirus pandemic to help provide food to thousands during this humanitarian crisis deserve accolades. The Texas Department of Agriculture’s proposed cut from the Surplus Agriculture Products Grant program is arbitrary and discriminating. It makes about as much sense as setting a milk bucket under a bull.

Let’s band together to keep the programs alive.

- Delbert L. Cantrell, Fort Worth

Trump’s many great deeds

The commentary by John Crisp in Tuesday’s paper made me laugh. (11A, “President’s awkward exit leaves behind a big problem”) To insinuate that President Donald Trump’s handling of the virus is in a dangerous place with a vaccine on the horizon, that there is no evidence of voter fraud and that it’s a bad idea to pull the troops out of Afghanistan is ludicrous.

Crisp’s perception of the world is deeply skewed by sources such as MSNBC and CNN. To see determination to resist and disgraceful, undemocratic behavior, look no further than Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Reps. Adam Schiff and Maxine Waters.

Thank God for a non-politician like Trump. Here is hoping that he or someone like him runs in 2024.

- Don Segreti, North Richland Hills

A rocky road ahead for U.S.

For the past four years, President Donald Trump has wreaked havoc on millions of Americans’ lives. He has created unnecessary stress for immigrants, broken up homes and separated us from our allies.

Our democracy wobbles because of him and his lies and conspiracy theories about the election. The new administration has plenty of work ahead. It must restore relationships, build hope for those who were forgotten and left behind and pull the country through a pandemic.

We have to be patient. It will be a long journey filled with difficult decisions and uncomfortable moments.

- Kendrick Spencer, Dallas

Right the wrongs of the past

With the disgrace of Ellis County Constable Curtis Polk Jr. having his office in the basement next to a historical “Negroes” sign, I think it’s time to address the statue on the west lawn of the county courthouse that honors Confederate soldiers. (Nov. 19, 8A, “Ellis County gives Black constable own office, covers controversial, offensive sign”)

This is what Texans wrote in their Articles of Secession in 1861: “We hold as undeniable truths that the confederacy was established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment; that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race.”

And yet the statue has stood for more than 100 years honoring Confederate soldiers who fought to preserve slavery. It’s time for Ellis County to remove that statue and preserve the dignity of all races.

- Connie Grube, Ovilla

This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "If you like the ducks in Trinity Park, don’t fill them up on bread."