Kay Granger served Fort Worth well. Demeaning her now is just showing jealousy | Opinion
Respect her
I wish each of us could do what Rep. Kay Granger has done. I know her as a great politician who braved the world of selfish politicians and helped Fort Worth, her congressional district and all of the United States.
She ran in 1996 promising to help build the Chisholm Trail Parkway and did. She worked to help General Dynamics and Lockheed get contracts for the F-16 and F-35 fighters. She helped Texas Wesleyan University grow. She worked both sides of the aisle to grow Fort Worth into a powerhouse.
Now, Granger is in an independent living facility, where my wife and I live. Some are demeaning her out of jealousy.
- Thomas Hazlewood, former mayor of Cleburne
Need to know truth
The phrase “no taxation without representation” rings true now that we know Rep. Kay Granger has been struggling with dementia for months. She hasn’t voted in the U.S. House since July.
This compares to Republican uproar over President Joe Biden’s mental capabilities last summer, and it highlights the legislative need to disclose elected officials’ incapacitation.
No precedent exists for removal of incapacitated House members. This needs to change. If you failed to show up for work for five months, you would be fired.
As Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales has said: “Congress should do its job, and if you can’t do your job, maybe you shouldn’t be there.”
- Richard Dible, Weatherford
The vital F-35
The Star-Telegram’s editorial about Elon Musk and the F-35 fighter does not clearly confront the mistaken focus of Musk’s recent comments. (Dec. 22, 4C, “Hands off the F-35, Musk. America needs the fighters”)
He is correct to look at the original design requirements, but he didn’t look at another purpose of the program — to keep the U.S. defense industry’s manufacturing capability healthy while providing functional, innovative and world-class capability to our military.
That effectiveness was demonstrated by Israel’s recent action in Iran. No pilots or aircraft were lost. The F-35 does not perform the same functions allocated to drones, and vice versa.
By analogy, an orchestra’s conductor is familiar with the capabilities of all the instruments in the ensemble, yet is master of none. But we are willing to pay big bucks to hear live performances led by top conductors.
The F-35 is a world-class conductor. We must keep our manufacturing base healthy.
- Bob McCann, Aledo
Good news
Thank you for the wonderful Dec. 22 story and photo about Christmas giving at Alice Contreras Elementary School. (10A, “How all elementary students at this Fort Worth ISD school got early presents from Santa”) It started my day with a big smile. We don’t know about these feel-good stories unless they are highlighted through news sources, church or word of mouth. Reporter Lina Ruiz did some very good writing, also, as usual.
Thanks for doing your part in communicating and highlighting good news as well as bad.
- Linda Bartles, Fort Worth
Carter’s credits
We should all remember former President Jimmy Carter’s finer moments. He is often thought of as a peanut farmer, but he was much more than that. He served Georgia as governor and served our nation as the 39th president. His ability to bring leaders from Israel and Egypt to the peace table fostered the landmark Camp David peace accords.
Carter served in the U.S. Navy and received the World War II Victory Medal (among others). He graduated from the Naval Aacademy in the class of 1946 with a bachelor of science degree, so he was above average in aptitude.
In my view, fateful circumstances overshadowed his time in the White House. Jimmy Carter’s accomplishments will be remembered.
- James A. Marples, Longview