Letters to the Editor

FIGHTING DEMENTIA

One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s disease — the only leading cause of death in the U.S. that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. It is imperative that we have elected officials who are working to make Alzheimer’s a national priority.

As an Alzheimer’s Association advocate, I was fortunate to meet Rep. Louie Gohmert at his congressional office, where my fellow advocates and I shared our personal experiences with this devastating disease. We implored Rep. Gohmert to be a champion in Congress for the 390,000 Texans living with Alzheimer’s.

During our meeting, I represented all of the residents I have cared for over the last seven years in Longview, Carthage and Sachse, as well as all of the East Texas families living with this disease. I told him about the struggles we are seeing on a daily basis with seniors not being prepared for the expense of this disease. Family members are not prepared to become caregivers. Physicians are not prepared to diagnose and produce plans of care.

Rep. Gohmert told me stories of friends that have faced this disease and I saw how sincerely he hopes to help! I want to thank Rep. Gohmert and his legislative aide Brian for taking the time to meet with us and their continued help to end this health crisis!

Please join me in asking Rep. Gohmert for his continued support in the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

Jenni Wright Knutson, Garland, formerly of Longview, Certified Dementia Practitioner

CHANGES IN POLITICS

How many young people know about the history of politics and how and why changes have happened?

In the 1960s and before, most all conservatives and liberals voted in the Democrat Primary. Why? Because no Republican could be elected to a Texas state office. That was a holdover from the Civil War and northern

“carpetbagger politicians.”

In the 1960s I voted in the Democratic Primary. Whoever won was then elected in the fall election.

This gradually changed as liberals took control of the Democrat Party. l and millions of conservatives switched to voting and electing conservative Republicans and Texas became a “red” state.

In 2016, because Democrats were fed up with failed Obama “hope & change,” nationwide many Democrats voted for Trump. His policies have created millions of new good jobs, with unemployment lowest in 50 years and the highest stock market in history!

Today, the Democratic Party has been taken over by liberal radical socialists that are even worse than Obama’s and Hillary’s one-world welfare state policies.

President Trump deserves to be supported and reelected in a landslide because he has improved the lives of every citizen, including all minorities!

Even millennial voters are changing to Trump supporters for their own self benefit. That is real change!

Harry Bergman, Tyler

ABOUT REBRANDING

In the April 21, 2019 Letters to the Editor, there was a commentary by a reader suggesting Democrats need to re-brand their programs and policies to be more palatable to the American people and gain more acceptance. This reminds me of the line from Romeo and Juliet: “A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet,” which suggests the names of things do not affect what they really are. The same would apply to the re-branding of Democrat programs and policies.

The real crux in the rebranding of Democrat programs are their costs to the people, infringement on our rights, liberties, freedoms and the government interfering with our daily lives. This also begs the question of what happens when the government runs out of other people’s money to pay for these programs. Does Venezuela sound familiar?

People can call these programs whatever they desire and rebrand them as such. The underlying fact still remains the same. You can put eyelashes, rouge, mascara and lipstick on a pig, but you still have a pig. Obamacare, free education, free medical, free this and that all spell the same thing: socialism. Be careful in what you wish for; you may very well get it. Socialism is the economic arm of communism, though some would say this isn’t so. It certainly is one step closer, comrades.

J. Armstrong, Tyler

TAKE A LOOK AT WELD

As a Democrat, I feel compelled to remain quiet; I would love to see a Democratic nominee like Beto O’Rourke or Pete Buttigieg go toe-to-toe with the President Trump. As an American, however, I feel a greater compulsion to ask Texas Republicans to take a serious look at newly announced Republican nomination challenger Bill Weld when considering primary options next year. I appeal in fear for the future of our democracy. President Trump is divisive to a degree unlike any prior administration. With dictatorial tendencies, he truly believes that his political opponents should be prosecuted. While Republicans referred to President Obama as “the anointed one,” Trump believes, and the CBN would agree, that his ascension was an act of divine intervention. In the eyes of God, and in so far as he cares about American politics, morality is dispensable, His Church, given the authority to grant “mulligans” in support of fiscal policies. The fact is, a two-party system is important to the health of democracy. The Republican Party must exist, just as the Democratic Party must exist. One serves as a check on the other. But the GOP bears a great burden and must regain its moral equivalency: It needs a new “Reagan Revolution.” While I am not saying that Bill Weld is Reagan reincarnate, he is an acutely intelligent man, believes in institutions and understands cause and effect. Moreover, he is not an existential threat to our democracy.

Joel Warne, Tyler

CALIFORNIA NOT ‘GODLESS’

When letters start pouring in about the upset reader complaining about the Bible verses, I was amused when one reader called him a transplant from California. Then I read another saying he should move to the godless California. I am a California transplant and also — shock — a Christian. California is far from a godless state, but the atheists with their radical views grab all the headlines. Anyway, no need to apologize with your misguided views on the Golden State. Also, this is directed at the upset reader: please take a moment to read the Constitution correctly. If the U.S. government ever dictates the Tyler Paper has to publish Bible verses, that’s the time to complain.

Michael Miller, Troup

MUELLER REPORT

Mueller appears to think Donald Trump and his associates were too dumb to collude with Russia.

The report details an event on Nov. 15, 2015, when the wife of a Russian oligarch wrote an email to Ivanka Trump offering the Kremlin’s campaign assistance. The campaign did not follow through because, after Googling the husband’s name, they mistook him for a former Olympic weightlifter. Mueller noted that “Cohen still appeared to believe that … Klokov … was that Olympian” as late as August 2017.

The report details extensive coordination between Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks. Of course, Trump “loved” WikiLeaks in 2016; now that its founding operative, Julian Assange, has been arrested in London, Trump knows nothing about it. The lack of a nexus, however, appears to lie in the fact that Trump Jr., apparently, did not know that the stolen emails were from the Russians.

The Mueller report demonstrates that Trump never intended to win the GOP nomination. He saw his campaign as an infomercial for his company. Despite lying about it on the campaign trail, Trump believed his candidacy would get Putin’s attention and secure a profitable contract to build Trump Tower Moscow. That never happened because, while the Russians wanted to help him, Trump and his associates could not sort between the viable connections and the unviable — refusing one offered plot due to concerns about “demographics,” e.g. racial makeup, in the area.

The Russians saw Trump Tower as a firewall to conspiracy; Trump was too incompetent to bite.

Nancy Nichols, Tyler

MORE SUPPORT FOR HAGER

I’ve had a long involvement with East Texas educators, and Fritz Hager is one of the most notable and thoughtful school leaders I’ve ever met. I’m writing to encourage those who live in District 6 to vote to reelect Fritz Hager to the TISD Board of Trustees.

Father of six public school students and a foster father to two more, Fritz Hager is a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School and West Point who went on to serve in combat where he was awarded a Silver Star. He has been a CEO for successful businesses and currently serves as executive pastor at Bethel Bible Church in Tyler. His character and high standards are a constant hallmark of his service to others.

He has a remarkable command of the issues facing our schools and brings clarity and a sense of proportion to the discussions trustees have about them. During his tenure on the board, there have been continued improvements among all categories of students in academic and reading skills. There are more opportunities for students to acquire mentors, vocational learning and advanced placement classes in preparation for college. The leadership Fritz Hager has provided during these past two years as president of the TISD Board of Trustees — underscored by his integrity — has served his fellow trustees, the school district and its students exceptionally well. Please support Fritz Hager’s reelection and encourage your friends and neighbors in District 6 to do the same.

Ron Gleason, Tyler

I have been a part of TISD as a student, past employee and parent for the past 28 years; most importantly as a TISD parent and PTA member for the past 8 years. In that time, Fritz is a leader who has stood out to me as a consistent presence in TISD and has been the embodiment of a servant leader. A servant leader is one who promotes the well-being of those around them, and Fritz has personified these qualities in how he serves the staff, children and families of TISD. He cares about the students/families of TISD and this is evident in his service.

In Fritz’s years serving on the board, low-performing campuses have gone from 11 to zero. A new reading initiative was launched, improving reading scores, and he played an instrumental role in passing a multi-million-dollar bond that will allow children of TISD to attend brand new, state-of-the-art high schools; something our students so desperately need. My son will be among the first class to attend the completed schools, followed by his siblings.

I could not be prouder to have Fritz as our District 6 trustee, and I hope that he will have the privilege to be able to continue to serve our district. The best way for the children of TISD to reap the benefits of Fritz’s servant leadership is for all of you to get out and vote for Fritz Hager Jr. as District 6 trustee on or before May 4.

Bridgette Schomerus, Flint