Ronald Reagan would be the first to approve expanded early voting in Tarrant County | Opinion
Gipper knew
Thank you to the Tarrant County commissioners for approving the election administrator’s recommended early voting locations. (Sept. 13, 1A, “Dems rejoice after decision on college campus voting sites”) “The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties,” Ronald Reagan said in 1982. Our goal must always be to remove barriers and provide all eligible citizens the opportunity, access and ease to register and cast their votes. Early voting, offering a broad window of locations and days, increases participation better than almost anything else.
The commissioners upheld that commitment. Only Judge Tim O’Hare objected. You let the people down, Judge.
- Margaret Russell, Saginaw
Gonzales’ words
In an election where every vote counts, any and all endorsements have value. Those who take a public stand do so at some risk, especially when it’s a stand against the party one has been identified with for decades.
In the case of Republican former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales backing Democrat Kamala Harris, his voice is one in a chorus that appears to be getting larger and louder. (Sept. 15, 1C, “Another Texan and Bush Republican backs Harris over Trump. Will it matter?”)
- Edward B. Valverde, Hurst
Believe eyes
Texas has been through the wringer this year. We’ve endured the largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history, the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record and high summer temperatures.
This isn’t the weather our grandparents knew. The extreme events are no longer natural disasters — they’re the direct result of carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels, wrapping our planet in an ever-thickening blanket. As the recently launched Act of Man campaign makes clear, these extreme weather events are not acts of God but human-exacerbated.
The good news: We have the power to change this. Fossil fuel pollution may be driving these unnatural disasters, but solutions are within our reach. Texas is rich in wind and solar energy, and our communities are resilient. Harnessing our ingenuity can help us build a better future. The time to act is now — before it’s too late.
- Katharine Hayhoe, Lubbock
Every person
Calling every American: Please act like one and stand up for a person’s right to live, whether he or she is disabled, “unwanted,” inconvenient, burdensome or in the womb, from conception on. Americans have answered many challenges in the past by doing what is courageous and right. Surely we can do so again. How? By supporting leaders who help those in need with lawful, God-loving action.
- D. Carolyn Allen, Fort Worth
Just admit it
A stark difference between Democrats and Republicans is that when Joe Biden looked old and not up to the job of president during the debate, Democrats didn’t try to blame everything but the man himself. They saw the truth and said it out loud. When it comes to Donald Trump’s debate loss to Vice President Kamala Harris, Republicans blame everything and everyone except the old man not being up to the job and lying about his performance.
- Blake K. Wallace, Arlington
Tarrant for all
I strongly believe in separation of church and state. The previous Tarrant County judge, Glen Whitley, started Tarrant County Commissioners Court sessions with Christian prayer, as does the current judge, Tim O’Hare. Many people who attend these meetings are not Christian and do not feel comfortable having to hear a Christian prayer at a meeting on county business.
Tarrant County is a diverse county. Let us acknowledge that with more inclusive prayers, or better yet, let us remember that we are doing secular business and have no public prayer at all.
- Phil Sawyer, Fort Worth