Texas’ Kay Granger voting her conscience on House speaker tore Republicans apart | Opinion

Jim Jordan deserved support

As a constituent of Rep. Kay Granger, I am extremely disappointed in her votes for a new House speaker. Instead of supporting Republicans and trying to work together, she worked to tear them apart by voting for Rep. Steve Scalise instead of Rep. Jim Jordan.

Granger ignores her constituents and defends herself as voting her conscience. (Oct. 23, 1A, “Rep. Williams won’t run for US House speaker”) She is not there to vote her conscience. She’s there to represent us. She works for us. She’s forgotten that, and she must go.

- Linda McDonald, Weatherford

Texas teachers need Prop 9

Voters have the opportunity to acknowledge the commitment and time that retired educators devoted to students and community over the past years by supporting Proposition 9 on the statewide ballot. This would give retired educators a small cost-of-living raise. No Texas retired educator has received a raise since 2004.

Among retired educators, 95% do not receive Social Security. With inflation skyrocketing, most cannot keep up with the cost of living. Legislators voted unanimously to put this on the ballot and have allocated the money. There would be no new taxes for this raise. Please vote for Prop 9.

- Donna Stevens, North Richland Hills

Franklin deserves restitution

In 1995, former Fort Worth police officer Brian Franklin was convicted of sexual assault after his friend’s 13-year-old daughter accused him of raping her. At a retrial in 2016, a jury found him not guilty after he spent 21 years in prison. But since Franklin wasn’t declared innocent, the state has denied his request for financial compensation. Otherwise, under Texas law, he could be entitled to almost $1.7 million.

The fact that a man was wrongly imprisoned for 21 years and denied compensation is ridiculous. It’s another example of how the justice system has failed us. Franklin spent a good chunk of his life in a prison cell for a crime he did not commit. That’s 21 years he will not get back. He deserves compensation.

- Emily Fuentes, Haltom City

Missing the point on Israel

Ryan Rusak’s Oct. 15 column, “Cruz misfires at Biden on Israel, ignores Trump’s Netanyahu hit” (5C) missed the point. In the opening hours of Hamas’ attack against Israel, the Biden administration’s Office of Palestinian Affairs called on Israel to stand down. After Cruz criticized the administration, the office deleted the tweet. The next day, the State Department tweeted that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was pushing for an immediate cease-fire. After criticism, the department deleted that tweet as well. Now, Democrats have shifted to different ways of calling for Israeli restraint, including “proportionality.”

It would be nice to live in a world in which the Biden administration and Democrats unequivocally supported Israel.

- James Ashby, Euless

Trump is purely transactional

I commend Cynthia M. Allen’s column about whether Donald Trump is a friend to pro-lifers. (Oct. 3, 10A, “Pro-lifers: Donald Trump is a fair-weather friend”) I see him as a person who has no empathy for others.

According to Allen, Trump still “conveniently forgets that his presidency was made possible by the movement he now seems hesitant to claim as his own.” When he needed to say something or act somehow just to have people on his side, he did it, no matter what. What Trump always seeks is his own personal benefit.

As Allen said, “Trump will serve whatever cause best suits his political aspirations.”

- Odalis Valdivia Perez, Fort Worth