America is mistreating people who attended the Jan. 6 assembly in Washington, DC

Jan. 6 assembly attendees wronged

When a young man can be prosecuted (and persecuted by the media) for defending his life against criminals, it is an injustice.

When criminals can burn, loot and steal with impunity, it is an injustice.

When thousands of immigrants cross the border illegally and are distributed throughout the country by the government, it is an injustice

When people who were at the Jan. 6 assembly at the Capitol, some of whom did not enter the building, were put in solitary confinement for months, it is an injustice.

When people can enter a store in California, take merchandise worth up to $950 and have it be prosecuted as a misdemeanor rather than as a felony, it is an injustice.

We are living in chaos. This is not the America in which I grew up.

- Clista Hancock, Arlington

Why is this not an easy call?

Just when you think that things can’t get any crazier in Washington, they do. The battle over a video put out by Rep. Paul Gosar showing him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and threatening President Joe Biden became a heated exchange between right and left. All but two House Republicans voted against censuring Gosar.

This should not be a hard call: If anyone in a workplace had done this about a co-worker, he or she would be fired. It seems that common sense has taken a back seat in the Republican Party. The Democrats are not perfect, but most of the craziness is coming from the right.

- Paul D. Vassar, Fort Worth

Not how to lower gas prices

The Biden administration continues its inept performance. Delivering 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is like spitting in the ocean and expecting to see the sea level rise. The reserve was established for emergencies, not to support a failing politician. The administration says that it is doing “everything that it can” to bring down gasoline prices, but this approach will not even budge the needle on the dial.

- Don Trott, Granbury

Don’t listen to Ted Cruz’s nonsense

Texas used to have U.S. senators with gravitas — Lyndon Baines Johnson, Ralph Yarborough, John Tower, Lloyd Bentsen Phil Gramm, Kay Bailey Hutchison. Now we have Sen. Ted Cruz, who mocks Big Bird for encouraging children to get vaccinated, ridicules GOP Rep. Liz Cheney and jokes about secession, casually contending Texas would keep its 15 federal military bases and the Houston Space Center. Fat chance.

Secession would be a disaster for Texas: In addition to the bases, we would lose dozens of Veterans Affairs facilities, including hospitals and clinics in Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas; dozens of federal prisons and detention centers; hundreds of federal offices; and federal military and law enforcement protection.

Cruz needs to get serious and stop auditioning for Comedy Central.

- George Williams Aldridge, Arlington

Biden’s wrong vaccine focus

Our illustrious president has required the COVID-19 vaccine for all federal workers, military and all businesses with 100-plus employees. Yet thousands upon thousands have illegally crossed our borders and entered the U.S. without any vetting or health screening.

Why have the COVID deaths increased this year over last year? Where is the mandate that you must be vaccinated to receive unemployment benefits or food stamps? Why does this administration punish those who produce and contribute in this country but let those who do not slide by?

- Matthew Kuzniewski, Keller