Add Abbott's pardon of Perry to his long and indefensible list | Letters to the Editor

Regarding the pardon of Daniel Perry, who shot and killed Garrett Foster in downtown Austin, what more does our governor have to do (his offensive list is long and indefensible) before Texans impeach or vote him out of office?

Marty Lange, Austin

I'm not a right-winger but scenes

of disorder at UT turn me off

Austin is suffering from a shortage of police officers, uncertainty of timely emergency services arrival, homeless encampments and other maladies from a city council more interested in pushing a far left agenda than managing the bare nuts and bolts of good governance.

For the Statesman to advocate for UT to coddle spoiled brats who often don't fully understand the issue they are protesting is frustrating. If anything, the UT administration should have acted sooner to keep the situation from evolving (into) what we saw at Columbia. Thinking they can win support by being a nuisance and disorderly.

I'm not a right-winger, in fact I loathe Trump. But the scenes of disorder have me bracing for a Trump win because some of you can't see the forest for the trees. These scenes turn off middle of the road people like me.

Patrick Austin, Austin

How many know about the 1948 war

and its trauma to Palestinians?

As I've listened to news about the horrific crimes of October 7 and the ravages of the war in Gaza, I've felt that there has been something missing in the discussion of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the 1948 Palestine War, Israeli forces evicted the populations of hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages, which were razed to the ground to prevent residents from returning. Palestinians were massacred, and wells were poisoned. Over 700,000 Palestinians, whose families lived for generations on the land that became Israel, fled or were expelled. Palestinians call this "The Catastrophe," and it was commemorated on May 15, Nakba Day.

Shouldn't these events be included in the conversation? Critics of university protests allege the students are ignorant of history. Yet how many Americans are aware of this collective trauma to the Palestinians?

Terry Hansen, Milwaukee, Wis.

Is the demand for vouchers a ploy

to starve the public schools?

Dade Phelan wants school vouchers and more tax reductions. Public school systems are badly underfunded because the governor demands private schools. Is this idea of more tax reductions and reconsideration of school vouchers just another way to starve the public schools, downgrade their quality more, and make people want private schools that never account for the money?

Educational money is better spent on big teacher raises, smaller class sizes and making sure teachers are well qualified and use high-quality educational materials.

Joanne Brininstool, Austin

There's money for the DPS' border

work, but services for citizens lag

Yet, its DPS offices Recently, Texas DPS notified me that my driver's license would expire in a month and I needed to renew in-person. Fine – but the earliest available appointment to do so was in September.

With considerable perseverance, I eventually snagged one of a limited number of same-day appointments. (I'm sure many let their licenses expire.) Then I spent two hours in the understaffed, standing-room-only office. The staff were pleasant despite the overload; but time lost is onerous. For many, it means lost pay from work.

Meantime, Governor Abbott, grandstanding in service of his political ambition, spends billions of dollars on Operation Lone Star to deter migrants, including money for DPS on the border. But our governor and legislature refuse to spend money to make DPS services work smoothly for citizens, because they do not care. Ordinary people pay the cost in months to get an appointment and hours to get service.

Anne Peticolas, Austin

On gun safety, some politicians go

against the majority of voters

Re: May 14 commentary: 'Though I'm a gun-owning Texan, the NRA is not welcome here'

Thank you, Steven Kling for speaking out for the majority who want mandatory background checks, red flag laws, and raising the age limit. As a gun owner, I would add banning assault style rifles as only the military and terrorists need these weapons.

There is no clearer example of politicians in the pocket of corporate greed than those who go against the majority of voters in both parties by refusing to act for our safety.

Rona Distenfeld, Austin

'Meddling' Paxton doesn't have the

time for your genuine concerns

I was reading an article the other day that said, “If you suspect fraud,” contact your local attorney general’s office. Is this a joke? Our Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is always meddling in some out-of-state’s hospital records or attending Donald Trump’s trial in New York, doesn’t have time for a genuine Texas concern. What is wrong with him? What is wrong with Texas?

Jan Blythe, Marble Falls

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Add Abbott's pardon of Perry to his long and indefensible list