Tortured regent; Charleston murders

Tortured regent

The only thing “weird” about the “tale” of UT System regent Wallace Hall (June 18 editorial) is that major media outlets like the Star-Telegram have grossly underplayed and misreported the story.

A successful Dallas businessperson with absolutely no hint of political ambitions, Hall is known as a man of formidable intelligence and rectitude. When he worked assiduously to obtain the information required to expose a pattern of political favoritism in UT School of Law admissions, House Speaker Joe Straus and his minions unsuccessfully attempted to impeach him.

While deserving, disadvantaged students across Texas are unable to obtain acceptance at UT Law School, unqualified family members of Texas elected officials and their cronies have been admitted. According to an exhaustive study of admissions by Watchdog.org, “Of the nearly 2,700 UT Law students to take the bar exam since 2006, only 29 have failed it three times or more. At least seven of those have ties to current or former Texas state officeholders.”

Why aren’t the Star-Telegram and other major Texas news organizations expressing outrage over affirmative action for the politically well-connected in UT admissions and the torture being visited upon Hall for trying to put a stop to it?

— Lee Spieckerman, Fort Worth

Charleston murders

The murders at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., have been like a kick in the gut.

America is staggered and sobered by the events because it is no different there than anywhere else in America. As a country, we are angry, violent, mistrustful and divisive.

We claim to be the greatest Christian nation in the world. It is time to behave like it.

It’s time for the country to rid itself of its exclusivity and to remind ourselves that it is America’s inclusive nature that makes it great.

Members of Emanuel AME Church reached out to a newcomer, someone different from them, and welcomed him into their circle. By doing so, they sacrificed all for their faith and have shown us the way forward.

We should all be as brave.

— Bruce W. Cavin, Fort Worth

Fox and news are two words that should never occur in the same sentence, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck and her two co-“reporters” have once again proven that.

They “reported” that the tragedy in Charleston was a crime against faith because it occurred in a church, failing to mention that it was an African-American church and that the alleged killer showed racist leanings on his own social media.

Fox News is a true representation of an oxymoron, not as extreme as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck, but equally as dangerous in feeding off the public naiveté.

— Floyd S. Ostrom, Arlington

I was born and raised in New York City, home to the most slaves north of the Mason-Dixon line in pre-revolutionary America.

And I know that without the North, slavery would not have lasted as long as it did.

Still, to read that the Confederate battle flag flew at full staff in South Carolina the day after Dylann Roof’s arrest was a slap in the face.

Sure, that flag is an emblem of heritage. But don’t hide behind pride for your past by flying the flag of rebels who enslaved people, and who built wealth on their backs and at the cost of their lives.

Don’t fly that flag, not on this day.

— E.A. Robertson, Fort Worth

Gun control

In a Friday letter (“Open carry”), Mauricio Duque speculated that Texas’ new open-carry law would lead to AK-47s on the street. He claimed, “Refugees from other countries fled their former homelands for that very reason.”

Those other countries outlaw gun ownership. Gangs have guns and run rampant, so people leave.

Gun control would be a surefire way to drive people away from the U.S., because the gangs would run rampant.

Also, sometimes the gang is the government.

Gun control only takes guns out of the hands of lawful owners. It does nothing to restrict outlaws.

Chicago has gun control, and it has had more than 1,000 shootings this year. Gun control will not achieve Duque’s objectives.

— Michael D. Dirmeier, Keller

Sex education

In response to Ron Criswell’s June 17 letter (“Teenage pregnancy”):

It seems that he believes that the entire responsibility for teenage pregnancy is on the shoulders of the girl.

What about the other person responsible for this usually unwanted, unexpected unborn child?

Why not “convince” these males, young and old, not to impregnate young girls they meet?

We don’t seem to think this subject is something we should talk about or teach in our schools.

Since abstinence is not working, why don’t we try something else?

— Ann Schrader, Arlington

Elder care

Good advice for youngsters who may have a poor attitude about school:

You have nothing to worry about, as it doesn’t take much of an education to clean up after old people.

— George Copeland, North Richland Hills

This story was originally published June 23, 2015 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Tortured regent; Charleston murders."