Judicial vacancies; Iran deal; Paxton unknown; The Donald; Bears and Frogs

Judicial vacancies

The column published Thursday, while addressing an important issue, omitted key details and overlooked the bipartisan work already being done to fill these critical posts. ( “Texas judicial vacancy flood means Cornyn, Cruz must act.”)

Ensuring federal courts in Texas have the best judges is vital, which is why I have been working with the Obama administration to fill these openings as they arise.

Along with Sen. Ted Cruz, I have established the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, a bipartisan panel of leading attorneys in Texas, to identify the most qualified candidates to help fill vacancies.

Since President Obama took office, he has nominated and the Senate has confirmed 12 consensus nominees to fill judicial vacancies in Texas.

I was proud to recommend all of them, including U.S. District Judge José Rolando Olvera Jr., who was just sworn in this week in Brownsville. Our bipartisan committee will soon begin accepting applications for vacancies in Brownsville and Tyler, too.

As a former judge, I understand the importance of having high-caliber legal minds on the bench, and I will continue to work to ensure Texas has the best and brightest judges in these important posts.

— John Cornyn, U.S. senator

Iran deal

The Iran deal isn’t just about keeping the Iranians from developing a nuclear bomb. It’s also about opening Iran to foreign investments. German and British investors have already toured Iran.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have miraculously, in the face of a full-on race to invest in Iran, held the coalition together long enough to arrive at a deal that will keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon for at least 10 years. Without the deal, Iran could get to a nuclear bomb in less then a year.

A vote in Congress against the Iran deal would not stop the other parties from implementing it. A vote against would, at most, limit American companies from doing business with Iran.

Filibustering the vote would keep hidden just how inconsequential the Republican-led Congress has become in regards to this issue

— Laurin McLaurin, Benbrook

Paxton unknown

The Thursday editorial suggested that voters knew of then-candidate Ken Paxton’s legal woes prior to electing him. (“Wait and see on Paxton”)

This is clearly untrue.

The majority of November voters had no idea who Ken Paxton was, much less his legal transgressions, because the majority of voters who elected him voted a straight Republican ticket with no idea of who they were putting into office.

This has been true for a very long time now, and it is the main reason that Texas continues to lead the nation in negative indicators such as uninsured children, college preparedness, air quality and expensive failed lawsuits against the federal government.

There is no greater threat to our state and our nation than uninformed voters.

— Mark Greene, Fort Worth

The Donald

It’s hard to fathom that at this stage of the presidential race Donald Trump is still in the lead.

He has no realistic concept of the working class, Mexico, immigration or amnesty. His ego continues to overload his mouth to say some of the craziest things ever.

That’s just to name a few of his quirks.

But here’s the most outrageous point of all: He’s still better than the last (almost) eight years!

— Vance Martin, Fort Worth

Donald Trump said on a recent Meet the Press the national debt was $1.8 trillion and rising.

The actual national debt (not counting Social Security and Medicare) is $18 trillion.

Bad enough that Trump doesn’t know what he is talking about, but the panel said nothing.

Where is Jon Stewart when you need him?

— James C. Paisley, Keller

Bears and Frogs

One aspect of this Baylor ordeal that disturbs me is TCU fans’ reveling in Baylor’s failure to take action.

Bears and Frogs, I challenge you to lay aside “rivalries” and commit to improving your universities together.

Baylor, don’t you think it’s time to let your administration know that winning at this cost isn’t acceptable?

TCU, don’t you think we can make that clear, too?

There are many things in this life more important than football.

This isn’t a rivalry issue. This is a human dignity issue involving a woman who was raped and a university that failed to act.

I know most of you genuinely grieve over what happened to that girl.

But somebody has to say something.

— Ty Bowden, Fort Worth

This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Judicial vacancies; Iran deal; Paxton unknown; The Donald; Bears and Frogs."