Donald Trump is besting even Bill Clinton when it comes to corrupt abuse of pardons

Not really for men to say

My response to Cynthia M. Allen’s Nov. 20 column, “Gigliotti right: Biden threatens Catholic teaching on abortion”: (15A)

Neither the Rev. Jim Gigliotti nor any of the (all-male) Catholic hierarchy will ever have to deal with the financial and emotional consequences of an unwanted pregnancy. Gigliotti should stick to his own business and leave the abortion question to be resolved by those it affects exclusively: women.

- John Edstrom, Fort Worth

How you show community spirit?

As COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths soar in our area, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones brags about pandemic-era attendance records at AT&T Stadium and Arlington prepares to host 10 straight nights of crowds for the National Finals Rodeo. (Nov. 18, 1B, “Coaching staff in COVID-19 bubble, but attendance will be increased”; Nov. 29, 4B, “With COVID-19 raging, why are we bringing thousands of rodeo fans to Fort Worth area?”)

Do these people care about our community beyond the opportunity to enrich themselves? And how do the doctors, nurses and health care workers who have been fighting to save lives for more than eight months feel about this disregard of protocols for preventing the spread of the virus?

- Marc York, Fort Worth

Hopeful sign of America’s strength

If you watched Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, you saw that America is great and has always been great. Now, let’s hope we can end the fighting among ourselves and bring back our self-respect with caring and helping.

I hope we all had a happy Thanksgiving, America. Someone is watching over us.

- Gary B. Hicks, Forest Hill

Mammoth corruption at top

President Donald Trump is the LaVar Ball of American politics: Like the notorious basketball dad, Trump always talks a better game than he plays.

Candidate Trump vowed to “drain the swamp” and end abuses typified when President Bill Clinton pardoned 140 criminals his last hour in office, among them fugitive felon Marc Rich. Trump turned the swamp into a cesspool with his appointment of unqualified cronies to the federal bureaucracy and his pardoning of felons such as media mogul Conrad Black, financier Michael Milken and disgraced Gen. Michael Flynn, as well as his Justice Department’s lifting parole restrictions on traitor and convicted spy Jonathan Pollard.

Trump’s actions (and those of previous presidents) substantiate George Orwell’s adage that some people are more equal than others — especially if they have money and friends in high places.

- George William Aldridge, Arlington

Teachers have proved their mettle

As we have progressed through the pandemic, few have had to adjust as much as teachers. Overnight, they were thrown into a situation that completely transformed their profession into one of uncertainty and constant change requiring great flexibility.

They have stepped up and met the challenge, deserving our utmost respect and appreciation. I hope our teachers will be among the first to receive vaccinations when they become available. Surely they deserve a measure of protection so they can continue to educate our next generation without reservations.

- Norman Robbins, Fort Worth

The writer is a Fort Worth Independent School District trustee.

This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Donald Trump is besting even Bill Clinton when it comes to corrupt abuse of pardons."