Letters to the Editor — Mask mandates, COVID-19 in Tarrant County, Social Security, Alzheimer’s
What a mandate is not
Re: “Accept the Mask Compromise – Allow School Mandates, But Let Parents Choose Their Children,” Wednesday editorial.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of mandate: “An official order to do something.” One of the things sorely lacking in our current discourse is clarity of terminology. A mandate requires a certain action, in the discussed situation the wearing of masks in school. But you are not sticking to the definition of the term by adding “but let the parents sign off”. Then it is not a mandate.
Better to reverse the “masks are highly recommended” statement if you think science supports it (I don’t) and leave the decision up to parents.
Greg Polito, Dallas
Logging off creates danger
The Dallas Morning News editorial team has suggested that there should be a mask compromise. They suggest masking duties should be allowed, but parents should be allowed to log out. I wonder if they were consulting with medical experts when making this suggestion.
When I wear a mask, I protect myself a little. But I really protect you When I don’t wear a mask, I expose everyone around me to my airborne diseases.
We cannot disable such a thing successfully. If a person signs out and gets COVID-19, he or she is putting everyone around them on COVID-19. Just in case you don’t remember, this is the virus that killed over 640,000 people in the United States.
Judy Pelowski, red oak
Meanwhile in Tarrant County
Governor Greg Abbott’s favorite district, Tarrant, had nearly 1,700 new COVID-19 cases on the first day of September. Intensive care beds are scarcer than chicken teeth here. Meanwhile, our more populous county to the east, Dallas, had 824 residents – less than half the total of Cowtown.
Thank you to Judge B. Glen Whitley for refusing to prescribe masks indoors and to the parents who sued our superintendent for blocking a mask mandate. And kudos to Rick Perry’s darling, Judge John Chupp, for ruling in favor of parents who wanted freedom and freedom so that the COVID-19 virus can spread unhindered among our children and teachers.
Another greeting to the business owners who refuse to require their employees to be masked. All in all, a banner day for conspiracy idiots, flat-earths and science-disproportionate people.
Cary Clark, Fort Worth
Abolish social security ceiling
Re: “Social Security Year Comes to Failure – Loss of Wage Taxes During Recession Adds Uncertainty,” Wednesday News.
This article could have been titled “Social Security – No Problems for the Next 13 Years” if the headline writers wanted to be optimistic rather than unnecessarily sounding the alarm. Organized retirees in Texas have known for decades that trust fund problems can be resolved simply by increasing the limit on payments from rich people.
Currently, billionaires stop paying social security taxes as soon as they make their first $ 142,800. Some of them pay in January each year while the rest of us pay every week throughout the year. The payroll tax is the most regressive of all taxes. In other words, it falls heavily on low incomes. The honest and fair thing would be to ditch this great giveaway for the rich altogether and completely abolish the Social Security cap entirely!
Gene Lantz, Dallas / Oak Cliff
Crises are not made by Biden
Re: “Biden’s Shame,” by Don Skaggs, statement dated August 22nd.
This letter quotes the Dallas Morning News editorial which said, “Afghanistan will haunt Biden’s legacy and return to its shame forever.” Then Skaggs mentions that President Joe Biden’s immigration crisis, his inflationary crisis, his high fuel prices, his growing crime crisis, his divided nation crisis will also come back “forever to Biden’s shame”.
Mr Skaggs, did you mean the immigration crisis that has plagued the US for at least 30 years? The high fuel crisis, maybe $ 2.89 compared to over $ 4 a few years ago? Our nation-divided crisis, triggered and exacerbated by former President Trump’s hateful speech? His growing crime crisis that is rife in every US city and is a problem with local police who can get help when they want?
Did you mean that our current President’s failure to smoothly handle all these problems that have gone on for too many years to be remembered will leave a shame after just seven months in office?
Mary Pritchard, Midlothian
Think about Alzheimer’s patients
The intention of my letter is not to harass people or to make them feel guilty. My goal is to educate those who are unsure about masks and / or vaccines. I just hope to give those on the fence something to think about.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) there are 6.2 million people in America with Alzheimer’s disease. That means there are 6.2 million caregivers. My husband is one of those with this disease who has no cure. The Food and Drug Administration has approved drugs that can relieve symptoms for a while. Unfortunately, doctors cannot track its effectiveness. The most recent drug was named a fast-track, with an annual price of $ 56,000.
COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on Alzheimer’s patients, increasing the number of deaths by 16%. The four main therapies that seem to help are exercise, diet, sleep, and socialization. COVID-19 has eliminated two of the four. Gyms and exercise facilities weren’t open, and there was no socialization. We are house bound.
It would be tragic for the Alzheimer’s patient to become infected with COVID-19. It would be catastrophic if the caregiver were to contract COVID-19 or the Delta variant. Thank you for taking these facts into account in your decision.
Marlene Denton, Georgetown
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