LTE - Selective support

Regarding “Bush hits trail for Senate hopefuls — but not Cruz” (Page A5, Saturday), it’s not surprising that former President George W. Bush is not campaigning for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Bush, like his father and his brother, has always been a creature of the D.C. establishment and, like it, has never had much use for conservatives, particularly those who affiliated themselves with the tea party.

Cruz has devoted his political career to upsetting the establishment and draining the swamp. The Republican base could not be happier with his efforts.

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE - Accusers aren’t convincing

Regardng “U.S. Center for SafeSport’s ban on Jean Lopez lifted” (Page C11, Sunday ), the revelation in this article is not that the renowned taekwondo coach has been allowed to resume coaching while battling accusations of sexual abuse; the revelation is the manner in which the deck is stacked in favor of the accusers.

To cite one instance, the four women and their lawyers have avoided filing criminal charges in any locality where these acts are alleged to have occurred. It allows them to avoid the rigors of a criminal court proceeding, with specific formal charges and a grand jury or prosecutor determining the validity of their claims. Instead, they have gone the extralegal route of public defamation and lawsuit, with none of these accusers even willing to submit to a deposition. How can a man be deprived of his livelihood when none of the accusers will take legal responsibility for their statements?

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE - Little optimism

Regarding “Telescope project expenses are out of sight” (Page A3, Friday), if you want to understand why NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is 14 years behind schedule and more than $8 billion over its original $500 million price tag, you need look no further than the fact that when contractor Northrop Grumman started missing deadlines as far back as 2007, NASA simply requested more and more money, and got it.

As with many NASA projects, the James Webb Space Telescope was grossly underbid, and was literally born too big to fail. And the only thing that is absolutely certain about its fate is that come the new deadline of 2021, it still won't be done.

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE - Trump, Perry back in sync

Regarding “Perry in bind as Trump demands that he betray his values” (Page B1, Sunday) business columnist Chris Tomlinson goes out of his way to psychoanalyze and berate former Gov. Rick Perry for his role as Trump’s energy secretary in propping up the coal and nuclear energy industries. In Tomlinson’s world, there is room in America for only two energy sources: natural gas and renewables. And yet, of renewables, only hydroelectric is reliable and cheap, which leaves wind and solar — both of which are notoriously unreliable and not cheap and both of which have benefited from billions in yearly subsidies under the Obama administration.

As for coal and nuclear, both have been subject to decades of punitive and politically motivated regulations, which explains their current cost. America has vast reserves of coal and uranium. We would be crazy not to leverage those assets. Trump’s temporary subsidies to both is necessary to level the playing field, ensure America’s energy security and, in the long run, keep costs low.

He and Perry on are the right track.

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE - Stalled? No cost

Regarding “Stalled vehicles get free tows” (Page B5, Tuesday), kudos to the Houston-Galveston Area Council for its “Tow and Go,” a program that focuses on citizen safety and convenience, which is what a public service ought to do.

This contrasts dramatically with the last public effort to remove stalled vehicles from our roads, the former Mayor Bill White’s 2005 “SafeClear” program, which allowed politically connected towing companies to confiscate your stalled vehicle simply by getting there first, then charge above-rate towing fees and mandatory storage fees. Mandatory fees were removed in response to public outrage but were restored In 2011 by former Mayor Annise Parker.

SafeClear has always been a public money grab that preempts the rights and options of private citizens. “Tow and Go” appears to fix all that. Looks like third time is the charm.

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE: Sports betting

Regarding “Leagues not prepared to go all in” (Page C8, Tuesday), the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal law that limited wagering on sports events puts Major League Baseball team owners in an interesting position. The article reports that MLB is “in favor of a state or federal ‘integrity fee’ that would transfer some gambling revenues from casinos to the leagues.”

Wise guys from the mob era called that “a piece of the action” and, apparently, the people who banned Pete Rose for life because he bet on baseball games now think it’s OK to do that, as long as they get their “piece.”

These are the same hypocrites, by the way, who enabled the criminal distribution and consumption of steroids by league players because the eye-popping offensive stats of the likes of Barry Bonds kept fan interest high and the money flowing in.

The bottom line — and it’s always about the bottom line for these guys — is that if they profit, it’s OK. For everybody else, and particularly Pete Rose, they got standards.

Pete Smith, Cypress

Headlines and the AP

Regarding "Vegas casinos appear ready to embrace sports betting" (Wednesday Business B7), one of the subtle pleasures of reading a newspaper is the creativity editors have in composing the headline.  My personal favorites are the puns and alliteration.  With this Associated Press article, though, we venture into new territory: overstating the obvious. 

I look forward to future AP articles employing this technique; perhaps they could expound on how President Trump feels about Twitter.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Franchise Owners Are Hypocrites

Regarding "Leagues not prepared to go all in" (Tuesday Sports Page C8),  the decision by the Supreme Court to overturn a federal law that limited wagering on sports events puts team owners in Major League Baseball in an interesting position.  The article reports that MLB is "in favor of a state or federal 'integrity fee' that would transfer some gambling revenues from casinos to the leagues."

Wise guys from the mob era called that "a piece of the action", and apparently, the people who banned Pete Rose for life because he bet on baseball games now think it's OK to do that, as long as they get their "piece."  These are the same hypocrites, by the way, who enabled the criminal distribution and consumption of steroids by league players because the eye-popping offensive stats of the likes of Barry Bonds kept fan interest high, and the money flowing in.   

The bottom line - and it's always about the bottom line for these guys - is that if they profit, it's OK.  For everybody else, and particularly Pete Rose, they got standards.

Pete Smith 
Cypress, TX

LTE: Rumble in Waco

Interesting.  This is the letter that was published.  Below that is the letter I wrote.  The Editors inserted the word "alleged" three times.  Why?  On a humorous note, I misspelled the word "situation", and they left it in.


Rumble in Waco

Regarding "Waco melee probe falters" (Page A1, Sunday), what is amazing three years later is how little the Waco and state police have revealed about the role they played in the slaughter that left nine bikers dead and 18 injured.

To this day, we don't know how many of the casualties were caused by the police, but that is not the least of the alleged misconduct. The police were there in force and armed to the teeth, yet rather than insert themselves between the gangs and control the situtation, they stayed on the perimeter, allowing the melee to begin. Once it started, they alledgedly shot bikers until the bikers were subdued.

The real story here is the alleged misconduct of law enforcement officials, not unlike those of the Clinton administration in their military siege of the Branch Davidians a quarter century ago, ironically, also in Waco. Hopefully we have learned from that tragedy, and won't allow this one to be similarly swept under the rug.

Pete Smith, Cypress


The letter I wrote:

Regarding "Waco melee probe falters" (Sunday Front Page), based on the stories in the Chronicle three years ago, what is amazing three years later is how little the Waco and state police have revealed as to the role they played in the slaughter that left nine bikers dead and 18 injured.

To this day, we don't know how many of the casualties were caused by the police, but that is not the least of the misconduct.  The police were there in force and armed to the teeth, yet rather than insert themselves between the gangs and control the situtation, they stayed on the perimeter, allowing the melee to begin.  Once it started, they shot bikers until the bikers were subdued.

The real story here is the misconduct of law enforcement officials, not unlike those of the Clinton administration in their military siege of the Branch Davidians a quarter century ago, ironically, also in Waco.  Hopefully we have learned from that tragedy, and won't allow this one to be similarly swept under the rug.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Black On White

Regarding "White student calls police on black peer who fell asleep in dorm common room" (Friday Front Page), there was something very familiar about this story, going back to my college days.  It wasn't until near the end before my suspicions were confirmed, when I read that the black student - Lolade Siyonbola - admitted that she "had flipped off the lights and went to sleep". 

In other words, she turned a common room into her personal bedroom, depriving other students of it's use.  Untold in the article is how many times Ms. Siyonbola had committed this offense in the past, but from the reaction of the white student, Sarah Braasch, it had happened before.

This was a common practice 35 years ago by students of all colors.  It was rude then, it's rude now, and Ms. Siyonbola is no victim.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

LTE - Over and out

Regarding “Era of deducting $65 dry-aged steaks may end” (Page B2, Sunday), the news that businesses may no longer deduct meals with clients from their tax bill is a welcome development. Forcing taxpayers to subsidize any meals for business people — much less obscenely overpriced ones — has always been wrong.

The big news, however, is the elimination of the deduction for entertainment expenses, including golf outings and concert tickets. That includes tickets for the likes of the Texans, Rockets and Astros. This is a game-changer. Not only does the law further prevent billionaire owners and millionaire athletes from exploiting taxpayers, it also destroys the incentive for corporations to buy season tickets, which account for up to 90 percent of stadium capacity.

Overpriced tickets depended on three things to survive: a government granted monopoly, exemption from anti-trust laws and taxpayer subsidies. President Trump’s tax reform law has destroyed the most important of the three. This may well be the demise of the season ticket and the return of more reasonably priced tickets available to the common fan.

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE: Sinclair plants flag

Regarding “Separating the fake from the real news” (Page A17, Thursday Outlook) columnist Kathleen Parker sounds the alarms about the conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group having its “193 local television stations read an identical script on the air denouncing other traditional news organizations as producers of ‘fake news.’ ”

Parker is right to view Sinclair as a threat, but they are not a threat to free speech, as she suggests. They are a threat to the comfortable monopoly that the liberal, mainstream media has had for decades. She better get used to the idea that she operates in a marketplace instead of crying “the sky is falling” just because some competition shows up.

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE: Trump vs. Amazon

Regarding “President attacks Amazon again, this time about taxes” (Page B7, Friday), President Trump hit the nail right on the head when he stated that Amazon and the companies that sell through them “pay little or no taxes to state & local governments…and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business” as a result.

Any Amazon customer can prove this for themselves. Simply look at the history of your purchases on your Amazon accounts page: Less than 20 percent of purchases will show any sales tax, and frequently only a small percentage of what is due.

This is particularly harmful to states like Texas with a high sales tax. It is also harmful to local economies that rely on thriving local businesses for a tax base. This is theft, and theft is a crime. It's time for local and state governments to start treating it as such.

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE - Think prevention

Regarding "Push to prevent further tragedies ramps up" (Page A1, Saturday), at long last, the movement to arm teachers and staff members in our schools is getting some fair scrutiny in the press. Meanwhile, Houston's police chief, Art Acevedo continues to pooh pooh the movement and asks “Do we really want to see cases of a teacher’s gun discharging and hitting a student?”

The problem for Acevedo is that since 2012, nearly 1 in 7school districts across Texas have allowed teachers and staff to carry concealed weapons, but there has not been a single instance of a teacher even discharging a firearm on campus, much less shooting a student. And many of these campuses also advertise that school staff is armed, introducing a gratifying uncertainty into the lives of potential mass shooters.

Acevedo needs to open his mind to the groundbreaking work being done elsewhere, instead of simply blaming guns for everything. It is clear from the experience in those 172 Texas school districts that guns in the hands of good people is the solution, not the problem.

Pete Smith, Cypress

https://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Arming-teachers-12714763.php
 

 

LTE - Texas GOP AOK

Regarding “Censuring of Straus a ridiculous move by extremists in state GOP” (Page A3, Thursday), columnist Erica Greider takes exception to the Republican Party taking exception to the actions of Joe Straus, the liberal Republican Speaker of the Texas House.

Well, I take exception to Greider’s characterization of GOP leadership as “extremist.” Considering their margins of victory in statewide elections, folks like Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt.Gov. Dan Patrick clearly represent not just the mainstream of the Republican Party but also the people of the state of Texas.

As for Joe Straus, Greider would have us believe that the sole reason he was repudiated was his lack of support for the bathroom bill, when in fact he also stiffed Republicans on property tax and education reform, to name but two of many other betrayals. This is not to say that there is no place for Straus in Texas politics. It is to say that he would likely be more comfortable practicing his craft as a Democrat.

Pete Smith, Cypress

LTE - You Win Some, You Lose Some

They call them "letters to the editor" for a reason.  

Sometimes they're too long, sometimes they're not well written, and sometimes - despite containing exactly the right words in exactly the right order - there's just not room to print 'em.

I've come to appreciate over the years that editing is an art form, and many of my letters to the editor have been surgically parsed to retain their meaning, and my punchy, prose style.  Other times, they've been trimmed with a weed whacker, such as below.  

This is what got printed....

....And this is what I wrote:

Regarding "Sales tax ruling could be reversed" (Monday Business), Chris Tomlinson explains in admirable detail the problem of Internet retailers that rip off states and localities for the sales taxes that all conventional retailers in those states must pay. with the largest villain by far being Amazon.com.  Amazon.com and thousands of businesses like it have exploited a loophole caused by the failure of our courts to treat all retailers equally, creating not just an unfair bounty for these on line retailers, but allowing them to use that advantage to destroy their brick-and-mortar competition.

The problem is, we need to stop looking at this as a regulatory issue, and start treating it like a crime.  If any other company based in Amazon.com's home state of Washington were to engage in an Internet scam that specifically sought to destroy Texas businesses and defraud the State of Texas of hundreds of millions in revenue every year, the Texas Rangers would be all over it, as would the appropriate law enforcement agencies of the federal government, and all governed by existing federal law governing interstate commerce.

And you need to target not just the companies in those states, but the states that abet the fraud by hosting the scam.  There should be no safe haven for Internet fraud, however much you might want not want to offend Amazon.com, or the greedy politicians of Washington state. 

LTE - Risky Proposal

Regarding “Texans hope to spur earmark revival” (Page A15, Wednesday), as a lifelong “small government” type, in the past 50 years, I literally never saw a government spending program that was not abused, and the term “pork” rolled easily off the lips of politicians. And then came the tea party movement in 2009. That small government movement finally gave Republicans some backbone, and as the article points out, the worst form of pork — the earmark — was banned in 2011.

Now Texas Republicans like U.S. Rep. John Culberson want to bring them back, allegedly for the limited purpose of funding more hurricane relief. What nonsense.

If Congress allows one form of earmark, it will soon allow all earmarks. Culberson and those others have to know this, so if they wish to lose the support of the tea parties — otherwise known as the Republican base — then by all means, pursue earmarks.

Pete Smith, Cypress