Letters to the Editor

NOTHING IS FREE

I’ve never been hired for work by a poor man. A poor man can’t give you a job, and if everyone in the USA sat on their butts and didn’t work, waiting for free money and housing, there would be no grocery stores, no clothing stores, no cellphones, no TVs, no truck drivers, no petroleum, no solar power, no natural gas, no nuclear, no transportation because the people who own these businesses are sitting on their (bottoms), too, waiting for their free money. If you don’t understand that, then you are brain-dead like U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. Socialism makes the people who pay all the taxes give up and say, “What’s the use?” Nearly all the major manufacturing companies moved out of the USA to other countries during the ’70s and ’80s due to sky-high taxes imposed on them by the American government for being wealthy. That left a lot of people in the USA with no jobs and no money. They simply lost their desire to have a business in America. Somebody has to pay the price for socialism to get free everything. In this life nothing is free. Somebody, somewhere had to pay for it.

David Kelly Mitchell, Tyler

ANTI-VAX WORRY

I’m worried about the harm the anti-vax movement is causing around the country. Because of the spread of outright false information about a link between vaccination and autism, parents are stopping their children from getting necessary vaccines. As a result, diseases that have long been a thing of the past are starting to come back and infect the children, causing severe illness and death. It isn’t just a problem for those children, though; it’s also affecting other children. So, not only are these parents hurting their own children, but also others.

Sen. Cornyn, Sen. Cruz and Rep. Gooden should start a discussion in Congress about the harm that comes from not vaccinating, and I ask that some form of legislation requiring vaccination be considered, plus a way to prevent the spread of misinformation. Something needs to be done before more children are hurt unnecessarily by these diseases that should be long gone.

Brandon Mitchell, Ben Wheeler

GUN RANGE REGULATION

Life has been miserable and dangerous for neighbors living near a gun range south of Chandler. Efforts are underway to have the gun range inspected and regulated by the county in an effort to control the noise and stop the stray bullets shooting towards adjacent properties.

There is a state law regulating gun ranges in counties with a population of more than 150,000 people. Unfortunately, Henderson County does not meet that requirement. There is no oversight or regulation for the 225 of 254 counties in Texas that have a population of less that 150,000.

The property owners affected by this gun range are not against guns or hunting. We are concerned that the gun range has been constructed per National Rifle Association (NRA) guidelines, maintains adequate liability insurance coverage, is operated in a safe manner and is considerate of the property owners safety adjacent to the range. Otherwise, the gun range is a disaster waiting to happen.

We need your help. Will you contact your state representatives and state senators to ask them to enact a gun range safety law in all 254 counties in Texas. Henderson County and the other 224 counties deserve equal protection.

John Nash, Chandler