Opinion

Changing times

When Dr. Timothy Chargois was named the new superintendent of the Beaumont Independent School District, there was a sigh of relief heard both inside and outside the district.

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A step backward in health

Hypocrisy continues to prevail in Texas, particularly in the area of health. Governor Perry and others continue to promote the idea of everybody being responsible by their own health care by way of insurance. Republicans also go bonkers by attacking every organization that has ever favored allowing legal abortions – protecting the unborn, they call it. Unfortunately, at the same time, the already born do not fare so well. A recent study has demonstrated that Texas leads the nation in children’s deaths due to abuse.

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Commit the people, then troops

Unfortunately, too many Americans seem to be ignoring the fact that one of the greatest causes for the amount of debt our nation now is burden by is our two undeclared wars.

Rachel Maddow, a MSNBC personality, has recently written a book titled, “Drift.” The theme of the book is that America has begun to drift into a war-like country, too ready to engage in international intervention and adventurism.

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Accountability

School district police must investigate, not cover up

When the Beaumont Independent School District formed its own police department, administrators cited the need to provide security for its many facilities. Accepting their stated good intentions does not diminish the duty to investigate allegations of wrongdoing – rather than cover up incidents the districts might find embarrassing or for which they might be held financially liable.

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Doing the right thing because it’s right

The attempt by the Beaumont City Attorney’s office to protect Kendrick Perkins’ reputation rather than stand by the Beaumont Police Department is appalling. A full investigation would, at worst, reveal illegal actions and, at best, serious impropriety.

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Texas leaders lack vision

An oft repeated adage is that when the leaders lack vision, the people perish. Nothing could be truer as demonstrated by Texas today. Our governor and fellow Republicans apparently believe that the way for Texas to prosper is to keep taxes low, wages low and any benefits or consideration for the average worker almost non-existent. While Texas has provided great opportunities for the wealthy, who are drawn here because of the low taxes and low wages, Texas has not done right by the poor — nor the middle class.

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Evaluating the ‘enoughs’ in our lives

Regular readers know that I try to write about things about which we all have a mutual interest. Recently I have been writing about the wonderful state of Texas and her majestic beauties. I love this place and have called it home now for over a decade.

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Fire Tyrone Cooper

A four-month battle over public records that should have been released involving the arrest of NBA star Kendrick Perkins is still being fought in Judge Layne Walker’s court, but the truth is the fight is more about the cover-up at the highest levels of city government than it is about Perkins’ behavior and statements on the videos from that night.

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Legislation by corporations

It has often been said the rich man dances while the poor man pays the fiddler. With the the Supreme Court’s recent Citizen United opinion, money is more influential and important in politics than ever before in the history of America. A perfect example of how multi-millionaires and billionaires are influencing America can easily be found in an organization primarily sponsored by the Koch brothers called the “American Legislative Exchange Council,” aka A.L.E.C.

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Texas brags (again)

After writing about Texas, the Lone Star State, for two weeks now, I have received some delightful pieces of information about the state I call home. Ted and I also took a few days off and toured the beautiful Hill Country of Texas. All of the locals we spoke to in Burnet, Marble Falls, around lakes LBJ, Inks and Buchanan, in Llano, Leander, Mason County, and at Enchanted Rock assured us that the bluebonnets were the prettiest they had been in over a decade.

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