The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 106, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 26, 2006 Page: 4 of 20
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OPINION
I'll
THE BAYTOWN SUN
4A
Sunday, Man’ll 26,2006
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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SCHOOL FINANCE .
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outof
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Stop fearing the future
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recognize reality. These undocumented work-
ing a Berlin wall along the Mexican frontier
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Editorial written by Wanda Gamer Cash,
editor and publisher of The Baytown Sun. on
behalf of the newspaper's editorial board.
David Bloom
Managing Editor
Jane Howard Lee
retired Reporter
Danielle Lynch
News Editor
American society. Like those babysitters at
the playground.
NOT UNTIL
HE FINISH
Suzanne Morris
Baytown
John Bennett
Baytown
Y A’
J
Angle Pagel, Advertising Director
angie.pagel@baytownsun.com
PRODUCTION
Wayne Oxedine, Production Mgr.
wayne.oxedine@baytownsun.com
Danielle Lynch, News Editor
danielle.lynch@baytownsun.com
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FREI) HARTMAN
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1950-1974
HOW TO REACH US
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wgcash@baytownsun.com
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david.bloom@baytownsun.com
Doyle Barlow, Sports Editor
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QTlje BwtoUm £>un
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Baytown, Texas 77522
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Government officials
State
Rick Perry,
Governor
1-800-843-5789
David Dewhurst,
Lt. Governor
1-800-441-0373
Greg Abbott,
Attorney General
1-800-252-8011
Carole Strayhorn,
Comptroller
1-800-252-5555
Jerry Patterson,
Land Com.
512-463-5001
Susan Combs,
Agriculture Com.
1-800-835-^832
Tommy Williams,
Dist. 4 Sen.
281-296-0023
EDITORIAL BOARD
Wanda Garner Cash
Editor/Publisher
Jim Finley
retired Managing Editor
Doyle Barlow
Sports Editor
Mario Gallegos,
Dist. 6 Sen.
713-678-8600
John Whitmire,
Dist. 15 Sen.
713-864-8701
Craig Eiland,
Dist. 23 Rep.
1-800-252-5555
281-534-4492
Wayne Smith,
Dist. 128 Rep.
1-866-423-5987
512-463-0733
Charles Matthews
Victor Carillo
Michael Williams
Railroad Com.
512-463-7288
To find out who rep-
resents you, visit
www.capitoLstate tx.
us/fyi/fyi.htm
________Il.rtW'. /]
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WRITE TO US
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/ IT MK5HT nct Be N
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CPKSFFEly
-ovgp!
Are Bush supporters
sleeping well nowadays?
William Rusher column was right
on (Is America doomed to lose?).
With George Bush, Cheney,
Condi Rice, Rove, Libby and many
more running our military how can
America’s military win?
They have all been proven liars
and wrong on everything about get-
ting America in an unjust war. How
can our military handle a mission
with a non-military Bush gang
telling our military what to do?
Bush has gotten over 2300 killed,
over 17,000 wounded. Not counting
thousands of innocent Iraqis.
So what was gained with getting
Saddam out? Nothing but destroy-
ing a country that had nothing to do
with 9-11-01.
I Vietnam and Iraq were political
wars that should not have hap-
pened. Bush is the one who tied
the hands behind our military lead-
ers backs. Bush and his cronies
11 ad no plan for the i mas ion and
afterwards, none.
War is hell but it is worse when
hope of eventually becoming citizens.
John McCain and Democrat Ted Kennedy,
two legislators who actually believe they
were elected to solve problems, hot just make
speeches. Under their proposal, undocument- both partic , , ,______
ed workers could obtain six-year visas allow- America seems intent on closing its borders
ing them to work here and travel home. After at precisely the moment when greater interac-
that, they could earn permanent residency by tion with the rest of the world is in our own
paying fines, filing back taxes and learning national interest.
English. Bill Gates was in Washington last week
pleading with Congress to increase visas for
high-tech, foreign-born workers. College
Name’s omission
disturbing
I just wanted to state the fact that
of the names listed on the front
page of Wednesday’s paper, one
name was left off, either mistakenly
or other.
That person’s name was Art
Ramos. He was the 15th person dis-
covered in the trailer. He was my
supervisor and friend, and it dis-
turbed me to see that he was not
mentioned.
Mg
ov. Perry should stand fast and insist
■ —lawmakers fix school funding before
vJ they clog the agenda of the upcoming
special session.
Though others are clamoring to consider a
host of additional educational reform issues,
legislators will bring better focus and more
resolve to the debate floor without trying to tackle
everything that ails public education in Texas.
Indeed, the special tax reform commission
Perry Charged with making recommendations
for the school finance issue is equally adamant
that the special session be a one-topic effort. At
least until the money matters are solved.
Lawmakers return to Austin April 17 for the
■30-day special session. This will be their fourth
attempt to adopt a new tax structure to support
; the state’s $33 billion public education system.
In three previous special sessions since 2003,
lawmakers have failed to figure out how to give
homeowners relief from high property taxes.
They failed primarily because lawmakers were
i reluctant to offend voters - and contributors - by
creating or expanding other taxes.
This time around, there’s no wiggle room. The
Legislature must agree on a new way to pay for
public education by June 1. That’s the deadline
• set by the Texas Supreme Court last year when it
ruled the state’s dependence on local property
: taxes isunconstitutional. If the Legislature
doesn’t find an alternative to the current Robin
Hood plan, the Supreme Court will shut down
Texas schools. Right away. No more checks
I from Austin after June 1.
If that looming threat doesn’t sharpen their
pencils, were in trouble.
■ ■ There’s hope, however. The tax reform panel,
• led by former state comptroller John Sharp, has
already done most of the heavy lifting toward
solving the funding crisis. The panel has recom-
; mendations for the Legislature that can reduce
property taxes by a third without raising the state
sales tax. The likeliest - and perhaps, most 7
unpopular — approach would overhaul the
business franchise tax by eliminating the part-
1 nership loophole.
■ Clearly, almost any alternative is better than
■ the Robin Hood plan that depends heavily on
local property taxes and requires property
wealthy school districts to share revenue with the
rest of the state.
Even Speaker Tom Craddick agrees that the
state must bear the greatest burden for public
education. Currently, the funding equation is
upside down, with local property taxes paying
for about 65 percent of public education.
Craddick said last week that the House is
“committed to shifting public school funding
from local property taxes to state taxes.”
Gov. Perry insists that the special session
should stay focused on “what the Supreme Court
lias directed us, mandated us, and that is
lowering property taxes.”
We wholeheartedly agree and encourage
Baytown’s lawmakers to share the governor’s
focus. Once the Legislature decides how to pay
the bills, the debate can turn to teacher pay,
curriculum reform and other school improve-
mentinitiatives.
Until then, legislators should be ready to work,
compromise and make unpopular, but necessary,
decisions.
■
here legally or illegally. We have to make it
possible for them to get here legally."
Unfortunately, Flake’s sane view was ■
swamped in the House last year by a wave of dent said this week, “we shouldn’t allow iso-
xenophobia and political opportunism. ;----j —;_■—-i.-i
Everyone agrees on enhanced border control,
but the House endorsed an awful idea: build- ble answer to illegal immigration is a pro-
ing a Berlin wall along the Mexican frontier gr?~. thfr cffcfr riti"—t: r.:;;
that would make a mockery of the Statue of w illing to work hard and become part of
Liberty. As for the millions already here, the A —“““ —~-u--1 ;1- •«— -- i—t—ixx—
measure offers a totally unworkable solution:
send them home.
American history has long been pock- Steve and Cokie Roberts can be contacted
marked by spasms of know-nothing nativism, by e-mail at stevecokie@gmail.com.
said: “As Republicans, we need to recognize officials still complain that foreign students,
-------jr—m.-x-------J -----^.1,.. A—
them now and that we’re going to need them
and that ill-tempered impulse re- '
emerged after Sept. 11, stoked by
demagogues like Rep. Tom
Tancredo of Colorado. As reported
in The. Nation, Tancredo said
recently: ‘‘Yes, many who come
cross the border are.workers. But
among them, are people coming to
than English (primarily Spanish, but CTCVf A PA|(|E kill me an(i y°u anc* y°ur
alcn Pnccian anrl in ntv> mca UILIL U UVI1BL Jrpn
ROBERTS
. The cardinal particularly condemned a pro-*
vision criminalizing any aid to any illegal,
here illegal- even by a pastor. “We are called to attend the , P . n ,
v....., r„. „ _________v !2 12 last, the littlest, lowest and least in society,” hav® an 'Competent President
million by recent estimateswho perform he declared. like we have.
President Bush has been helpful, too, urg-
ing lawmakers to tone down their rhetoric.
The national debate on immigration, he
warned at a press conference this week, “if
not conducted properly, will send signals that
Warren, you are right, many tn
this country have been hoodwinked
y Bush.
Thank the Lord they have found
out how bad Bush has misled this
country. He has caused many hear
aches for families who have lost
loved ones or have come back from
Iraq a completely different person.
I want to let you know, no one
has spoken bad about our troops.
Your treasort words are wrong. I
served and if I want to say some-
thing about who is sending our mil-
itary to a war I can and will.
Bush is the worst President that
has ever been over our great nation.
As for the enemy coming to our
house, they are already here. Read
the newspaper, watch the news,
people are killing or hurting our
people every day here, it’s a war
■ -here. ■■
Now we have to pay for it, Iraq
will never be stable.
How about 9 trillion dollars in
debt, our children and grandchil-
dren will have to pay it back some-
way.
We need to get our troops out as
soon as possible. They are worn
out and tired. People are not join-
ing up now so they need rest for
maybe God forbid another conflict.
The far right ultra and neo-cons
are out of touch now with the
American people.
I am also a Vietnam-era veteran
and 1 support the rights of freedom
of speech.
Bush is the one who got us in this
mess, now he says it’s up to the
next President to get us out of Iraq.
What a man. I hope all you who
voted for him can sleep well. I can
because I did not or would not have
voted for him.
Norman D. Burkett
Baytown
Shifting the debate
is susualstrategy
It is all too convenient to write
off as a political ploy Senator
Feingold’s attempt to hold Bush
accountable for breaking the law.
The President can and should act
within the law at all times.
Shifting the debate is the usual
strategy of the Bush administration
when its policies are arrogant and
indefensible.
If you want to understand the cur-
rent debate over immigration policy,
do what we did last week. Take
your children (in our case, two
grandchildren) to the playground
for a few hours and look around.
Most of the caregivers we
observed spoke a language other
also Russian, and in one case, 01 VnorDTc''11’ drcn ”
Icelandic). If you listened to the ROBERTS It’s time for voices of reason and
workers in many restaurant kitchens. humanity to step forward and
packing sheds or construction sites, chances oppose that sort of blatant fear mongering,
are the pattern would be the same — employ- Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles
ees speaking other languages than English, made a good start, telling parishioners in his
Families and businesses, almost every- Ash Wednesday sermon to stand up to the
where in America, depend on immigrants to “increasing hostility toward immigrants”
make life easier. They cook meals, clean reflected in the House bill.
houses, pick our food, pour cement and pro-
grain computers.
But many of these workers are ____D_.
, . . ly. They are part of a. vast army — 11 to 12
v.------x • ...u_
essential tasks, but live in legal limbo. And
their presence poses an extremely thorny
question: How does the country engage their
talents while enforcing the law?
The Senate is due to take up this question
next week, and there’s only one answer that I don’t think will befit the nation’s history
makes any sense: reinforce the borders, but and traditions
recognize reality. These undocumented work- To his credit, the president favors a guest
ers must be given clear legal status and some worker program that would provide some
hope of eventually becoming citizens. safety and security for undocumented aliens.
This is the approach offered by Republican But he doesn’t go far enough, rejecting the
>_t.„ __j r->—i—xt.j iz----j.. principle in the McCain-Kennedy bill that
would create a path toward citizenship.
The xenophobia infecting lawmakers in
• ,xt. —xxjes js profoundly counter-productive.
Rep. Jeff Flake, a thoughtful conservative
from Arizona, got it exactly right when he
that we need foreign workers. That we need especially from Arab countries, have trouble
Xi.™ ...... .....i Xi.., *- —j 1 . attending American.universities. The rejec-
in the future. We’re either going to have them tion of the Dubai ports deal grievously
ixx— i—ii—:n.—ii.. t._,„ x_ :x wounded an economy in dire need of foreign
investment.
“We shouldn’t fear this future,” the presi-
lationism and protectionism to overwhelm
us.” He’s right about that, and the only sensi-
gram that offers citizenship to newcomers
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Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 106, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 26, 2006, newspaper, March 26, 2006; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1191811/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.