Letters to the Editor

Why is Lamar Smith voting to spend millions unnecessarily?

Friday, 11 June 2010 00:00

JC Dufresne Herald-Zeitung - June 11th 2010

Congressman Lamar Smith makes much of the deficit on his campaign website referring to it as “a mountain of debt for our children to pay” then going on to say “which why is Congressman Smith voted against the stimulus”. Unfortunately his hypocrisy is showing because he voted to keep $485 million in the Defense Appropriations bill that pays to continue to develop a jet engine that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says the military doesn’t want. This is an alternate engine for the Lockheed built F-135 Joint Strike Fighter which already has an operational engine from Pratt & Whitney. According to Rear Admiral Mike Manazir, the Navy doesn’t want an alternate engine as it “would deploy only one type of engine in its JSFs that go to sea to optimize logistics and supply chains.”

I don’t know about you but if the Pentagon doesn’t want a piece of military hardware I think that’s a pretty good indication that we don’t need it. Smith’s vote amounts to corporate welfare for the GE/Rolls Royce consortium that is developing the engine. I might be able to understand his vote if the engine were being built in his district but it isn’t so he can’t claim local jobs are at stake.

If the deficit is so important to Mr. Smith why is he voting to spend nearly half a billion dollars unnecessarily? According to the logic he espouses on his website that money should go to reducing the deficit.

Trust, but verify' information about the justice center

Friday, 19 February 2010 00:00

John Niven Herald-Zeitung - Feb 19

Some of the best advice ever given to a U.S. president and American citizens was given by Mikhail Gorbachev who told Ronald Reagan, "Trust, but verify." Who would have thought it would be a relevant issue so close to home? I would tweak it to fit today's New Braunfels issues to be: "Trust less, but verify more."

The issue I refer to is the collection of 3,000+ signatures to force a vote on the certificates of

Read more: Trust, but verify' information about the justice center

Thank liberal, long-term thinking when you cash your Social Security check

Friday, 19 February 2010 00:00

Robert Ragels Herald-Zeitung - Feb 19

What bothers me more than the "I've got mine, forget you" attitude of a recent letter, "Liberals should learn to think long term" is that he complains about liberals cutting Medicare payments. It was in 1998 that the Republicans passed 20 percent cuts in Medicare payments and only because of "liberals" like myself has it been postponed until the law can be changed by Democrats so that doctors will be paid fairly without worrying about their fees being decreased.

Read more: Thank liberal, long-term thinking when you cash your Social Security check

Hightower's column a good replacement for Molly Ivins

Friday, 12 February 2010 00:00

Zachariah "Zack" Coombes Herald-Zeitung - Feb 12

Just wanted to applaude two columns newly appearing in the Herald-Zeitung: Jim Hightower on Texas politics and Ray Austin on fishing.

Jim Hightower is a good replacement for Molly Ivins, whom I sorely miss. God rest her soul. I actually met Molly some years ago while we both were waiting in line to check out books at the downtown Austin Public Library - a very tall redhead with a sharp mind and a biting wit.

Zachariah "Zack" Coombes
New Braunfels