Congressman: Bring back our US troops
Thanks to U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, for keeping in touch with his constituents on his recent Thanksgiving trip to Afghanistan. Being better informed about the present situation in that war-torn country will enable him to have better input in Congress.
I’m killing two birds with one stone. Instead of writing to him, I’m doing it through the people’s voice. So I ask Rep. Gonzalez: In your discussions or debates in Congress, is there a foreseeable timeline when U.S. troops will come home for good? What is there to gain. We’ve been there since 2001 and have lost over 2,000 soldiers — twice that were lost in the senseless Iraq war. Our country is in great debt. This is our nation’s longest war at 15 years and $70 billion. Our efforts have been wasted. Your response will be thoroughly appreciated.
Pete Romero, McAllen
Trump’s xenophobia
On Nov. 28, the president of the United States openly promoted Britain First, a far-right political organization and anti-Muslim rhetoric on Twitter. The three posts, titled “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches;” “Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!” and “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” constitute a virulent attempt to demonize the Muslim community. This diffusion of xenophobic sentiment is not new. Over time, anti-Muslim racism has been woven into the threads of America, particularly post-9/11. It has homogenized the ethnic group and perpetuated the false narrative of all Muslims being terrorists. The president’s endorsement reflects his racial insensitivity. These anti-Muslim retweets, I believe, are yet another reminder of how unfit Donald Trump is for this office.
In Trump’s tenure, his remarks have been anything but culturally competent; they have and continue to fill communities of color with angst and fear. And the unwillingness of Trump’s sympathizers to decry his bigotry obscures the little human rights progress we have made. It’s terrifying living in a country where our federal administration will not openly decry racism.
Orlando Ochoa, San Juan
Protect Pharr trees please
Help the Live Oak trees torn from Mother Earth’s embrace. Their roots were ripped up by the mean, yellow, excavation machines after their many decades of long service to shade the students of the former Eli Whitney Elementary school, and efficiently perform other valuable environmental services. Then their limbs were cut up into piles. I’m stumped as to the public assurance from the Pharr city manager regarding the threat to nine trees. It’s a ‘treevesty’ of justice. Two trees were felled within hours in July.
City of Pharr: Please ’leaf’ our native trees be. The destruction is certainly not at all ‘oakey-dokey’ and should cease forthwith. And please provide the unanswered Freedom Of Information requests to determine transparency, accountability and when violations are assigned, how much the fines will be!
Dr. Kenneth C. Fletcher, Pharr
Thanksgiving TV parade
I wonder who might have genuinely enjoyed watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? I attempted to view it by switching back and forth on all channels, hunting for this annual extravaganza. But I didn’t see much parade. The entire broadcast was continuously taken over by live interviews and advertising. The greatest part of the parade was shrouded and became nothing less than continuous impositions.
It seems to appear the TV media continue to show proof of its degrading entertainment value.
Ben L. Raiche, Pharr
