Low Class

Regarding "Who will live to tell your story?" (Monday Gray Matters), the Chron saw fit to recycle an article by Kyrie O'Connor that was classless and cynical the first time it was run in 2015.  The disclaimer on the article read "If you want to be remembered, don’t die on Dec. 31."  O'Connor then goes on to render judgment on those who did, only a worthy few who struck her "as someone whose death received the proper attention at the time and the rest", whereas "the actor Edward Herrmann, whoever — just drifted off, their bad luck to die when no one was looking."

How very cynical of her.  Edward Hermann was a fine actor, albeit not one who managed to rotate into O'Connor's field of vision, and thus the backhanded dismissal.  The year's end is a time for celebration, optimism and reflection, all sadly lacking from this piece.  My great hope for 2017 is that my next year-end Chronicle will capture more of that, and less of O'Connor.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Of Course The Russian's Prioritized Democrats

Regarding "CIA: Russian hacks ‘prioritized’ Democrats" (Tuesday From the cover, A11), it seems obvious to me why both the Republican and Democrat parties were targeted by Russia, "but that Democratic institutions and operatives came under a more sustained and determined online assault."

Only the Democrats were conducting government business on a private server in Hillary Clinton's basement, transmitting a treasure trove of official government correspondence as well as classified government documents.  It also linked to hundreds of other Democrat operatives and organizations.  Meanwhile, over on the Republican side, evidence seems to show that all you had was Republicans, talking about politics.

For Hackers, Clinton's server is what we in Texas like to call "A Bird's Nest On The Ground:" Chock full of goodies, with minimal protection.

If you were Russia, which would you "prioritize"?

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Suspend Disbelief

Regarding "CIA: Russia backed Trump" (Saturday Front Page), the article boldly proclaims that Russia was the sole source for the Wikileaks E-Mails so damaging to Hillary Clinton, and that Russia "intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency."  This is the conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton peddled before and after the election, and that President Obama decided to dig up literally the day before yesterday.

Reasonable people might be skeptical of this theory, considering that the CIA and the other 16 intelligence agencies that Clinton and Obama are so fond of citing apparently didn't know a thing about the hacks until they read about them in the newspaper.

If I'm going to believe anybody about the involvement of the Russians - much less their motives - it's not likely to be the clueless operatives of the CIA, but the trained professionals at Wikileaks.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Saving Face

Regarding "Tough talk amplified by Chinese, Trump" (Tuesday Nation | World), emboldened by President Elect Trump's many stateside critics, Chinese officials warned Trump that "he was risking a confrontation" with China over his decision to accept a congratulatory call from Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen.  They then moved on to overt threats, and finished up by grandly declaring that unless we capitulated on Taiwan, American could never be great again.

This is standard Chinese rhetoric since the original Capitulator-In-Chief Jimmy Carter created America's "One China" policy in the 70s, essentially delegitimizing the democratically run island that China considers part of their nation in favor of a bunch of communist goons on the mainland.

Since then, American policy has been to placate China at the expense of Taiwan, and to capitulate time and again on matters of trade and monetary policy.  The ironic result of the "One China" policy is that we have handed the Chinese the economic leverage they now use to force concessions and influence our policies.

After almost 40 years of groveling before China, Donald Trump's blunt words and actions have been a breath of fresh air, and the ranting and raving of China and their sycophants within the American Establishment is proof enough to me that he is on the right path.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Point Made

Regarding "Website targets ‘leftist’ profs" (Thursday Front Page), the article tells the story of Santiago Pinon, a religion professor at Texas Christian University, who "dashed off an email to several students on a fall afternoon in 2013" to get together for a study group.  It ended with “I don’t mind if this would turn out to be a study session for my STUDENTS OF COLOR ONLY.”

The e-mail was subsequently posted to a conservative website as an example of liberal bias on campus.

Sounds fair to me.  Pinion himself admits the email is accurate, and then faults himself only because "he sent the email without rereading or editing" it. And his claim that what he really meant to do was to encourage students of color to participate rings false.  His forthright words were to exclude white students, not include anybody else.

Sound like this and similar websites serve a useful purpose.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Speaking Of Useful Idiots

Regarding "Report suggests Russian propaganda effort spread fake news" (Saturday Nation page A7), it appears that the New York Times is once again promoting conspiracy theories attempting to prove the Trump campaign collaborated with so-called Russian cyber terrorists who planted thousands of "fake news" stories in social media, and that "the goal was to punish Hillary Clinton, help Donald Trump, and undermine faith in American democracy."

This is not, of course, the Time's first venture into the anti-Trump fever swamps. A month ago, the Time's reported that the Russians were solely responsible for the release of a deluge of e-mails from Clinton and her supporters that showed that Clinton sent classified materials from her private server, was less than truthful about the events surrounding Benghazi, and conspired with DNC bigwigs to chisel Bernie Sanders out of rightly won delegates during the Democrat primaries.

Regardless of the origins of those e-mails, the simple fact is that reasonable people looked at the sum total of the their content, and believed them.  As to the "fake news" conspiracy the Times is now peddling, I have but one question: If this phenomenon was as wide-spread and pernicious as the Times claims, why didn't they come out with this story before the election?

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

A Sense Of Proportion

Regarding "Districts exercise sweeping powers" (Sunday front page), the political contributions totaling $3.5 Million over 15 years offered by representatives of various MUDs (Municipal Utility Districts) may or may not have resulted in corruption.  What is for sure is that the statement that the "state’s leading tea party conservatives......have championed their creation in what ethics reformers say is a clear example of special interest influence in Austin" is false.

The Tea Parties have only been around since 2004.  MUDs were created in Texas over a century ago by the Democrats.  It is unclear from my research whether the Chronicle saw fit to investigate the "special interest influence" of MUDs prior to 2004, much less assign blame for alleged misdeeds.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Deja Vu All Over Again

Regarding "When the Super Bowl first came to Houston and Rice Stadium" (Sunday Page A14), compliments to John McClain and Dave Barron for the charming retrospective of the 1974 Super Bowl, Houston's first.  I enjoyed the remembrance nearly as much as I did when I read the same article authored by Barron in the Chron during Super Bowl week of 2004.

No criticism intended.  I think recycling is a noble thing, particularly in the newspaper business, and you couldn't have picked a better story to retell.  So many weird and wonderful moments: Hunter S. Thompson speaking in tongues; sports writers busted for playing cards for money; the Minnesota Vikings forced to practice in the bird poop encrusted Delmar Stadium whilst the the Miami Dolphins wallowed in luxury at the state of the art practice facility at the Astrodome.  The list goes on.

My favorite anecdote in both articles, though, was the revelation that upon the occasion of the eighth Super Bowl ever, the best use that the NFL could find that weekend for the Astrodome - the Eighth Wonder of the World - was to host brunch for all 3,000 Swells attending the game. Granted, it must have been one awesome smorgasbord, since Chronicle society columnist Maxine Messenger gave it two huge thumbs up, but I asked in 2004 and and I ask again today: why was the Superbowl not played in the Astrodome, the most awesome sports venue on the planet?  It's as if NASA all of a sudden decided in 1969 that instead of launching Apollo 11 to the moon, they were going to send it to Philadelphia.

It couldn't have been economics.  Rice could hold just over 71,000, and the Dome could have easily been configured to hold 66,000.  Surely 5000 additional seats - a measly $75,000 in additional gate at $15 a pop - wasn't the reason?  Then again, Maxine Messenger reported that the Saturday brunch for Super Bowl Hob Nobbers at the Dome also cost $75,000.  Maybe somebody was just doing the math.

Still and all, I can't help but think that if the game had been played in the Astrodome, ticket prices might have soared to $20 each, everybody would have been rolling in dough, and the Astrodome might have once hosted a Superbowl.  But that didn't happen, and it never would, which brings me back to my original question: why wasn't Superbowl VIII played in the Dome?

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Not Surprised

Regarding "George H.W. Bush will pick Clinton? A Kennedy says so", it is hardly surprising that Democrats like Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend would troll a 92 year old for political advantage.  This is after all the party that "escorts" the occupants of nursing homes to the polls.

Sadly, it is also unsurprising to learn that George H.W. Bush might vote for Hillary Clinton.  As the author of the "Kinder, Gentler" philosophy that attempted to unravel Ronald Reagan's legacy, it is completely consistent with his long history of accommodating Democrats at the expense of his own party.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

A Simple Solution

Regarding "UT chancellor: Sitting during anthem disrespectful" (Friday Page A2), University of Texas chancellor William McRaven is umpteenth opinion maker to offer an opinion on whether the actions of San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick are appropriate, but also the umpteenth who fails to offer a solution.

Protesters such as Kaepernick ought to be given the option of leaving the field one minute before the national anthem, and then returning when it is done.  This would be respectful of the overwhelming majority of fans, yet consistent with his conscience.

Granted, Kaepernick would be deprived of his endless Selfie Moment, but that wasn't really the point, was it?

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Missing The Obvious

Regarding "Russian plot to disrupt U.S. elections probed" (Tuesday Front Page), the article claims that Russian operatives "hack systems used in the political process", but is this true?

Further in the article, specific mention is made of the recent hacking of the Democratic National Committee server by suspected Russian operatives, as well as the Wikileaks dump of Hillary Clinton campaign e-mails.  Add to that the revelations in recent months that "Guccifer 2.0" hacked the Clinton Campaign, and recent testimony that Hillary used a private server in her basement with only the most basic of cybernet security when she was secretary of state, and it seems that all of the vulnerable "systems" involved belong to Democrats.

In 2013, Edward Snowden stole millions of federal government records and took them to the Chinese and the Russians.  Last summer, it was revealed that personal files of over 24 million people were stolen from federal government computers in two separate incidents, supposedly by the Chinese.

I think I see a pattern here.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Poor Colin

Regarding "SCORN IN THE USA" (Sunday Sports C3), sportswriter Brian T. Smith is pretty hard on San Francisco backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick for remaining seated during the pledge of allegiance and declaring afterwards: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”

And while Smith also rightly points out that Kaepernick's peculiar rage likely has more to do with the fact that he's an NFL has-been at age 28 than any new-found sense of social justice, he doesn't offer any constructive suggestions to resolve the issue.

Giving Kaepernick the benefit of the doubt,  I believe he should move to a country that is more accommodating not only of his political beliefs, but his football talents as well.

Colin, Canada beckons.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Third World Justice

Regarding "Brazil charges Lochte over false report", while much ado has been made about the actions of  American swimmer Ryan Lochte and his pals at a Rio gas station 12 days ago, there has been virtually no scrutiny of the behavior of Brazilian police, prosecutors and judges, not to mention the "security guards" who forced money from the swimmers at gunpoint.

The curious behavior of Brazilian authorities starts with the lack of an  investigation of the armed guards who robbed the swimmers.  After that were a series of patently false statements by the police that the swimmers had "destroyed the inside of a bathroom", which then changed to them "ripping a door off its hinges", subsequently reduced to "vandalism" of a piece of cardboard.

In retrospect, the bulk of Lochte's story turns out not only to be true, but verified by the video the police themselves provided.  Before the Brazilian authorities are allowed to further abuse American athletes, I believe they have some explaining to do, starting with why so many tall tales were told.

It's the least we should expect before subjecting any American to Brazilian "justice."

Pete Smith 

Cypress, TX

The Unanswered Question

Regarding "Clock Boy Returns" (Thursday Lifestyle Weekly), the article devotes five pages - including the cover - to telling us the doings of Ahmed Mohamed, the Irving TX boy who was arrested for bringing to school a homemade clock that looked like a bomb.

The article recounts in detail Ahmed's travels, his family and the effect of his celebrity.  It recounts the events leading up to his arrest and the aftermath, including reaction from all parts of society.  The article covers his opinions about nearly everything, and, incredibly, proclaims him to be black.

The only thing this kitchen sink of an article doesn't cover is the one thing I was interested in: his post celebrity science career.  The child was made famous by science when he built the clock.  What has been happening since then?

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Double Standard

Regarding "More Fox News women allege sexual harassment" (Sunday Nation, Page A31), I am underwhelmed by the New York Times documenting an alleged pattern of sexual harassment at Fox News, or the implication that former chief Roger Ailes created an environment that fostered such behavior.  In point of fact, for an organization that employs several thousand, Fox News appears to be doing a pretty good job in preventing sexual harassment.

Base on this article, the misconduct of the entire corporation pales in comparison to the individual exploits of Democrats Teddy Kennedy, Bill Clinton or former San Diego mayor Bob Filner, to name but a few.  The article also lacked something that is required in abundance when other than a Republican or conservative is accused: proof.  There is one named accuser, but otherwise nothing but allegations and anonymous sources.  Shoddy, lazy journalism, on the whole.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Question Answered

Regarding "‘I WILL FIGHT FOR YOU’" (Friday front page) the subheading read "CRUZ UNDER FIRE: Many angry Republicans question senator’s loyalty" after Ted Cruz refused to give Donald Trump an explicit endorsement in his convention speech Wednesday night.  Trump’s eldest son, Eric, called Cruz’s snub “classless.”

I must admit that until now, I never conceived that the adjective "classless" could be used an article and not refer to Donald Trump or his Democrat opponent HIllary Clinton.  I still can't.

I feel for Ted Cruz.  There are some bridges you just don't cross.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Let's Debate The Real Issue

Regarding "Pain on the streets in Dallas" (Sunday front page), this article and a handful of others in the Chronicle all portray the problems in race relations the same way: 1) black people are victims; 2) white people don't understand their plight; 3) a streak of racism by cops causes them to shoot black men.

On two points, this portrayal is dead wrong.  Overwhelmingly, white people understand that blacks are victimized, but not for the reasons or by the people you think.  As to the racist cop angle, that is laughably disprovable.  Of recent high profile cases involving the death of black men by cops, the majority have been black and Hispanic.

As to the victimization of my black brothers and sisters by white people, that is real, but the wrong white people get blamed.  The Democrat Party traditionally blames average Americans, when in fact it is the white power brokers of the Democrat Party that are at fault.  For 50 years, their social and criminal justice policies have a) destroyed the black family, b) deprived young black people of job opportunities and c) fast tracked young black men into the criminal justice system.

Democrat policies on illegal immigration have provided jobs to tens of millions of illegal immigrants for low wages that would otherwise have gone to black men for decent wages.  Democrat policies on welfare, food stamps and Aid to Dependent Children have encouraged black women to have children out of wedlock, and discouraged black men from being role models to those children.  The result of all of these policies together has been the creation of generations of "super-predators", young black men with no prospects, a rap sheet, easy access to drugs and guns and a depravity born of hopelessness.

You don't need to take my word for about the existence of the super-predator.  In 1993 Jesse Jackson said “There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”   In 1994, Hillary Clinton spoke extensively of the "super-predator", declared that "we have to bring them to heel", and used it to defend "three strikes and you're out" life sentences.

Things have only gotten worse since the mid-90s, the last time prominent Democrats even touched on the real problem with black crime.  Since then, the default explanation has been "white racism", shouted from the rooftops, and things have only gotten worse.  That was never more evident than in Dallas the other day, when five white policeman tasked with ensuring the safety of Black Lives Matter demonstrators were assassinated by a racist black man.

It is now open season on white cops by black men.  Rather than double down by continuing to blame white cops, Democrats need to take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves if their policies are in any way responsible.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

LTE: Good on the Brits

Regarding "Britain votes to leave the EU" (Friday Front Page),  I believe that reasonable people everywhere can appreciate what the British have done with their "Brexit", and that small government types like myself can savor it.  The European Union is and always has been an over-reaching under-achiever that has only ever served the bureaucrats that run it.

The British have shown us all the way.  Is there perhaps a "Texit" in our future?

Pete Smith 

Cypress, TX

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http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/letters/article/Sunday-letters-Pension-troubles-Brexit-8324060.php

The Real Cause of Absentee Fathers

Regarding "Policies to get fathers involved will help children" (Friday Outlook A23), Robert Crosnoe says that "state of fatherhood in this country is abysmal", and provides the usual laundry list of public programs to help "absentee dads", including paid family leave and "parenting education programs."

Mr. Crosnoe creates the impression that dads are "absentee" regardless of marital status.  This simply is not true.  If the parents are married, fathers are just as engaged as mothers.  It is only when parents are not married that there is a high risk of absentee dads.

The simple fact of not being married happens because a) the parents never did marry, or b) got divorced.  Either way, our laws as currently written virtually ensure a high percentage of absentee dads because the mother will be granted full custody, automatically making the father a second class citizen in the raising of their children. 

If Mr. Crosnoe wants effective public policy regarding parenting, two things need to happen:

1) We need to take away the financial incentives for women to have children outside of marriage.

2) We need to grant fathers exactly the same custody rights as mothers.

These policies are fair, gender neutral, and ultimately benefit the people who really matter, our children.  They also don't require a dime of taxpayer funds to be thrown at yet more public programs.

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

A Rapist Lurks On Every Corner Of Suburbia

Regarding "We must fix the culture that gives rise to rapists" (Sunday Outlook A34), to prove that this culture exists, Leonard Pitts cites statistics from a group known as RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), the most dubious of which claims that "only six in every thousand perpetrators of sexual assault end up in prison."

Let's start with the fact that on the front page of RAINN's own website, they insist that "Only three out of every 100 rapists will ever spend even a single day in prison", five times the rate cited by Pitts from the same source.  Clearly, RAINN and Pitts wish to create the impression that there are millions of rapists roaming the streets, but on their own terms, exactly how big would that number be?  According to Prisonpolicy.org, 169,000 convicts are currently in prison for rape, a bigger percentage of the prison population than for any violent crime but robbery.  Taking Pitts at his word about six out of 1000 being convicted, that would mean that for this sample alone, there's an additional 28,000,000 rapists wandering free.   

That number is clearly absurd, but it points to the interesting fashion in which advocates of a "rape culture" game the statistics.  Now they wish to add the new spin of "White Male Privilege" to the mix, resulting in a perfect storm of nonsense, seeing as how white males per capita commit far fewer rapes than black or Latino males.

There are usable statistics to cite to discuss the problem of rape.  Unfortunately, this article doesn't include any of them. 

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

Chris Tomlinson had a cow, even thought we asked him not to

Regarding "Uber appears to be in the subprime auto business" (Thursday Daily Digital) Chris Tomlinson sees no good coming of the ride sharing company offering car loans to future drivers.  He cites an East coast professor who declares the loans are "predatory and are very much driven toward profiting off drivers.”

Does he mean like every other car loan, ever?

At least the rhetoric has been toned down.  In the on-line version yesterday in Chron.com, Tomlinson referred to "Predatory terms", "profiting off drivers", "payday-loan racket", "exploitative lending practices", "Ayn Rand-loving sociopaths", and those are by no means all of the pejorative terms used to describe Uber in this article.

And yet despite the multitude of declarative statements, both versions of the article are amazingly fact-free: no actual rotten loan terms inflicted by Uber on the unsuspecting poor, nor a single anecdote of an abused Uber driver, just the conspiratorial musings of Chris Tomlinson enabled by yet another East Coast elitist college professor hurling accusations from his Safe Space. 

We get it. Uber, bad. But any reasonable person who read the first five sentences of the article would at least contemplate the potential good of the proposition. To do otherwise is to deny the existence of hundreds of thousands of Uber drivers oblivious of their victim-hood. 

I recommend a do-over consisting of both sides of the argument. It's the least I can expect from the Chronicle business columnist. 

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

First, Universities Serve Themselves

Regarding "Students pushing back on intern tuition" (Monday Business), compliments on a revealing article regarding the current state of our system of higher education.  It was revealing to learn that universities across the country are charging students tuition for the unpaid internships they do at private businesses: this was certainly not the practice when I was going to college in the 70's.

Our university system has an increasingly unsavory reputation for exploiting student labor, including thousands of teaching interns in our colleges who work for course credit and a pittance in pay, not to mention the thousands of student athletes who risk injury to earn the NCAA billions, but receive not a penny in return.

It's refreshing to learn of students challenging their university for unfair labor practices.  May their efforts shine a bright spotlight on all the ways universities exploit students, including their monopolistic pricing policies for tuition.

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

Talk About Gender Confusion

Regarding "‘Restroom law’ battle is a fight over nothing" (Sunday Outlook), transgender activist Phyllis Randolph Frye contends that attempts to restrict men from accessing women's restrooms is much ado about nothing, stating that "laws on the books already address (the) predator issue."

Nobody would dispute that laws to punish sexual predators exist, but this is the smoke screen that transgender activists constantly throw up to confuse the issue.  Simply put, under present law in most precincts, the doors of women's rest rooms are closed to all men, regardless of their sexual orientation or any criminal intent.  Transgender anti-discrimination laws as currently written throw those doors wide open to every man.

 

Why is it that transgender activists refuse to admit this simple truth, and why do they keep changing the subject?

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

Donald Trump: Not So Closet Democrat

Regarding "Trump’s foreign policy vision: America first" (Thursday Nation | World), there was little that was revelatory about Donald Trump's views in the McLatchy News article.

The caption to the accompanying picture of Trump is another matter, describing "Democratic presidential candidate Donald Trump"  

All of a sudden, the man, his words and his actions made sense. 

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

Regarding "GOP delegates in N.Y. may all go to Trump" (Wednesday Page A20), billionaire Donald Trump has complained repeatedly about the alleged fraud that denied him delegates in Republican primaries.  This has happened in states as varied as Florida, Louisiana, Colorado, Wyoming and Texas.     

Now, Trump stands poised to claim 100% of New York delegates despite winning only 60% of the vote.

Will his whining continue?

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

James Harden Is The Problem

Regarding "You gotta move" (Monday Sports), the subtitle of the article proclaims the obvious when it says "FLAW OF STANDING STILL ON OFFENSE RETURNS, MEANING THIS TEAM IS GOING NOWHERE FAST."  The caps are appropriate, as Rockets fans have been shouting the same thing at their TV screens for the past six months.

Charles Barkley said it best in a Chronicle article from Feb 5th: "The Rockets are just not a good team, man, they've got an awful offense, just sitting around watching James Harden dribble for 20 seconds and then step back and shoot a 3-pointer or go to the basket … that wouldn't be fun to play with."

Sounds like it's time to say something else that is obvious: James Harden is the biggest part of the problem.

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

Neonics Crazy Or Batshit Crazy - No Difference

Regarding "Garden-care giant to drop chemicals linked to bee declines" (Wednesday A11), the article trumpets the decision by garden-care giant Ortho to stop using Neonicotinoids in their consumer products.

The problem with this pronouncement is that there is not an ounce of evidence that "Neonics" have anything to do with colony collapse disorder among bee populations.  There is not a single government funded study that shows a connection; no studies from industry experts; no university funded studies.  From the whole of respectable science, there is nothing that demonstrates a connection.

The sole source of "evidence" of the ill effects of Neonics comes from a variety of Lefty interest groups that got tired of losing in their efforts to ban GMOs (genetically engineered crop seeds), and needed a new whipping boy.  For evidence of this, you need look no further than the quotes in the article from the "Center for Biological Diversity" and "Defenders of Wildlife".  They are both part of a small and incestuous group of websites that cite each other endlessly, beating the anti-Neonics drums every day, the sound resonating across our fair land  and into the ears of impressionable journalists who take it as fact because they hear the accusations oft-repeated, and like the idea of influencing the behavior of giant corporations by giving rumors the same weight as fact.

All that said, it leaves skeptics like myself to explain why a giant corporation like Ortho would remove Neonics from their products if there was nothing wrong with them.  I believe the answer can be found in a quote from Ortho's vice president and general manager Tim Martin, who admits that "eliminating Neonics from Ortho products might require gardeners to apply them more frequently."

Did he just say that removing Neonics would force gardeners to buy more of his products?  Why yes, yes he did.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

P.S. - The use of Neonics by gardeners represents less than 1% of the total used worldwide.  Commercial agriculture uses the other 99 point something percent.  Call me crazy, but that information belonged in this article, somewhere.

LTE: Player Safety

Regarding "New double-play slide rule helps Rays beat Blue Jays" (Wednesday Sports C2), kudos to Major League Baseball for taking concrete action to curb intentional injury on the field.  The article goes on to explain that the new rule is named after Chase Utley, the L.A. Dodgers 2nd basement notorious for his many attempts to disable or terrorize fielders by running out of the base-path and targeting them with his cleats.

It's appropriate that baseball teams who attempt to injure will now be penalized.  Intentional injury is an affront to sportsmanship and common decency.  With an ounce of luck, a similar rule will be enacted in professional football and other sports as well.

Pete Smith
13906 Crow Ridge Ct
Cypress, TX 77429

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/letters/article/Thursday-letters-Baseball-rules-minimum-wage-7232822.php?cmpid=gsa-chron-result

Police Malpractice

Regarding "42 more bikers indicted in Waco fracas" (Thursday City State A3), it was interesting to read that the grand jury had now indicted a total of 148 bikers for the melee that left nine gang members dead.  It was interesting to read that they could all face "15 years to life in prison if convicted" for participating in the riot. 

What I find lacking in this account of the "fracas" and every prior story is why it ever happened in the first place.  Dozens of heavily armed police officers were on the scene, and not only contributed to the carnage but may have actually been responsible for the majority of the fatalities.  Clearly police officials knew that, or they would not have shown up in force.

Unanswered is why police commanders allowed the gathering to happen?  Why were officers staged only on the perimeter?  And why, ten months later, have law enforcement officials still not revealed who shot whom?  

This entire tragedy could have been prevented with some early and common sense intervention by the police.  Why didn't that happen?

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

Latino Democrats Have Some 'Splainin' To Do

Regarding "S. Texas remains corruption hotbed", (Monday City/State), kudos to John MacCormack for a detailed and insightful article about municipal corruption.  What was particularly remarkable was the passage where he explained some of the reasons for the corruption, including: "a cultural tendency to see public service as a means to personal wealth", "a one-party political system with entrenched political bosses", and "systemic election fraud."

Here in but a few words, John MacCormack sums up what Republicans have been complaining about for generations regarding the Democratic party.  He emphasizes the point by comparing the travails of S. Texas Democrats to "Chicago, New Orleans and New York", all run by Democrats.

It's notable that you cannot cite comparable instances of such wholesale municipal corruption by Republicans.  Democrats do not own corruption as individuals, they do own corruption as an institution.

This article was illuminating.  Hopefully it will start a long overdue national conversation about the source of corruption, and its remedies.

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

Five Democrats Leaning On Shovels

Regarding "Was pothole program just a show?" (Thursday Outlook), Mayor Sylvester Turner proclaimed in his opinion piece that there were "no games with this big initiative: We got it done."  He then goes on to describe his efforts to marshal resources from several city departments to: fill potholes.

My questions are: Did he do anything that was not already expected of city employees?  Is he serious taking a victory lap after but a few weeks?  And finally, does he regret the publicity photo taken when he launched the campaign?  It shows Mayor Turner and at least four other municipal employees around a pothole; Turner is the only one working.

Pete Smith

Cypress, TX

LTE: Major Detour

Regarding "Britons to decide whether to stay in the EU" (Sunday World), with the national referendum on June 23rd the question that Britons must answer is: Do they want a relationship with the mainland European countries based on self-determination and negotiation, or capitulation to a bunch of Eurocrats out of Brussels?  

To me, the issue is not whether Great Britain should leave the European Union, but why they ever joined in the first place, and PM David Cameron negotiating for a so-called “special status” in the 28-nation bloc reeks of the kind of cynical horse trading that made the EU a bad idea in the first place.

Here's hoping the "no" votes prevail.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/letters/article/Tuesday-letters-Houston-transit-Supreme-Court-6847665.php

Media Stalkers

Regarding "Manziel’s problems continue to mount" (Saturdays Sports), I was completely un-surprised to find that Johnny Manziel's travails were Page One news in the Chronicle.  Along with most of the sports talking heads on TV and radio, dirt on Johnny Manziel is the drug of choice for Chronicle sports writers, even during Super Bowl week.

The nonstop coverage is not only disturbing, it is pathological: The same few factoids recycled and rehashed each day; The endless moralizing, tongue clicking and finger wagging; And most disturbing to me, the outright mean-spirited tone of the narrative.  To listen to Brian Smith, David Barron and the rest, Johnny Football has no redeeming qualities at all, he is on the road to perdition, and every rumor that reflects badly on him is automatically reported as fact.

I can tolerate - barely - some overkill.  In the Twitter Era, it's what reporters do.  What I can't tolerate is the fish bowl they've put Manziel in, because they have absolutely no intention of ever letting him out.

If the Sports Paparazzi is really concerned about Johnny Manziel's well being, they should try giving the story a rest for a few weeks.  I know it will be painful, but it will at least let them get back to reporting on Sports, which is what they are paid to do.


Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Democrats Are Ingrates

Regarding "Emails questioned state’s role in water crisis" and "Illinois governor, GOP leaders want state takeover of Chicago schools" (Page A2), these two headlines perfectly express what is happening in states where Democrat politicians have ruled cities without challenge for over 50 years: everything is a mess, and it's time to find somebody to blame.

Fortunately for Democrat politicians, there's always the Republicans who have to come in and clean up their mess.

It's not just the schools in Chicago or the water system in Flint that are broken in those two broken cities.  The Democrat Party is broken, and until that is acknowledged, the tragedies will multiply, and no amount of blame-shifting will fix them.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Disqualified For Being A Crappy Writer

Regarding "Why Lanier Middle School should lose that Confederate name now" (Tuesday Gray Matters), the title of the opinion piece succinctly explains why blogger Andrea Greer feels the name of the school should change: the simple fact of Sidney Lanier being a southern white man during the civil war is sufficient reason to ban his name from polite society.

That simplistic approach stands in marked contrast to the man himself, not that Greer appears to know anything about him.  In addition to being a Poet/Author/Musician, Lanier was also an English teacher, and Andrea Greer is sorely in need of the services of one.  Her piece is an exercise in bad grammar and composition, both tortuous and torturous.  That alone reasonably ought to disqualify her from having an opinion on Lanier's qualifications.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

LTE: Highest form of literature

Highest form of literature

Regarding "Fruit of their labor" (Page C1, Friday), on behalf of pun-lovers everywhere, thank you for this New Year's Eve sports section of the Chronicle, which had two references to fruit, including Houston Cougar's victory of Florida State in the Peach Bowl, and "Ole Miss recalls sour Peach" (Page C6).

But for sheer virtuosity, there is no improving on "Whitewash courtesy of extra-strength Tide" (Page C3) about Alabama's victory over Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl. The author connected the shutout, the victorious team's name and the name of the bowl in a pun trifecta, literally tying all the threads together.

Pun intended.

Pete Smith, Cypress

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/letters/article/Wednesday-letters-Stereotypes-wealth-puns-6738878.php