Sick of it
Re "When the caged bird writes," July 31: As a UT student, I am often subjected to the editorial ramblings of your publication while waiting on the Forty Acres bus. The trend I have seen in The Daily Texan is not only disturbing, but inappropriate. How much coverage are you willing to give convicted criminals to satisfy your jailhouse fantasies? Not everyone in prison is a misguided, wrongly prosecuted soul that needs saving.
My mother was murdered on Nov. 22, 2004, and her former lawn man and his daughter were convicted of the crime. Ronnie Joe Neal and his daughter Pearl Cruz tricked my mother, Diane Tilly (an Alamo Heights school teacher and founder of The Robbins Academy in San Antonio) into letting Pearl into her home. Pearl said her car had broken down and she needed to use the phone. Pearl pulled a gun on my mother and let her father in. The ensuing hours were consumed by the rape, kidnapping and murder.
Pearl Cruz finally led police to my mother's grave site and told police the brutal details. The nearly two-year-long ordeal of the trial and sentencing is still not over for me and my family. Ronnie was sentenced to death row, but Pearl pled to lesser sentencing for her cooperation. We will constantly be reminded of that night before Thanksgiving in 2004 when our lives were devastated by a senseless crime.
Next time you print a series of letters from convicts (or hop on the bandwagon of a convicted killer facing the death penalty) try thinking of the victims and see if you still feel as strongly. Not everyone is who they make themselves out to be.
Stephen Tilly Kinesiology senior
Health care is not a right
In reference to "A bleedin' heart's case for universal health care," July 26: "Sicko" inspired Andrew Vickers to make his "bleeding heart" case for universal health care. Moore fails to mention that socialized medicine always produces far more, equally heart-wrenching cases than he shows. For example, Britain's former showpiece National Health Service is renowned for dirty hospitals that make you sicker than when you arrive, and many choose to pay for their own care rather than wait for their pre-paid (but uselessly late) care. The simple fact that health care is not an unlimited resource means it will be rationed somehow - either by a price system or, if the government prohibits that, by the simple expedient of making people wait for their low-cost (or "free") medical care. If that means that many die while waiting for life-saving treatment them's the breaks.
The most important point is that doctors, nurses and other medical personnel - just like butchers, bakers and Plan II seniors - have a right to offer their services at the price they choose, and their customers have the right to choose from the alternatives. Health care is not a right; it's a product. If health care is seen as a right (as in socialized systems), then anyone can demand health care at any time and in any amount - and they will.
Alan McKendree School of nursing staff
Gotta regulate
Re "Ignoring the undertones of socialism," July 30: Colin Pace should check out a recent column by economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. It is called "The French Connections," and points out how in 2001 the U.S. led other countries like Japan, France and Germany in the number of people who had high speed internet access. However, by the end of 2006 all three countries had more broadband subscribers per 100 people than we did. The "funny" thing is that, despite our leaders' faith in the "free market," our "high speed" connections are much slower than theirs and much more expensive. French broadband connections are three times as fast as ours and Japanese high speed is almost a dozen times faster. Access in both countries is also much cheaper because their governments used judicious regulation to promote competition.
Originally our American Internet flourished in the dial-up era because federal regulators forced local phone companies to act as common carriers. (I know the Salil Puris out there are starting to go fuzzy because I'm dealing with specific facts - sorry.) But the telecommunications giants, along with some help from The Wall Street Journal's editorial page, succeeded in creating the kind of atmosphere where Bush administration appointee Michael Powell was placed in charge of the FCC and then the digital robber barons were set free to do as they liked. The result is that there is little competition in U.S. broadband - if you have a choice locally it is between the local phone or cable monopoly. As a result, the U.S. is lagging in new applications that need increased internet speed. France leads in the number of internet TV subscribers while the U.S. isn't even in the top 10.
The government has power, and it can either use that power to protect the public interest or abandon its role and its people to the whims of the mighty and the powerful. In the market, as in the jungle, the mighty will prevail and they will create an order that does not necessarily benefit the many and, in fact, may create great injustice and harm to all. So when you good Conservatives read your Bible, you might consider that regulation may be a form of morality operating in the realm of economics.
Jon Pearson UT Alum
Gotta moderate
Re "Ignoring the undertones of socialism," July 30: Socialism is indeed a loaded word. It became that way as a result of a conspiracy around the turn of the century by people who felt deeply threatened by the influence of writers such as Edward Bellamy, who were annoyed by the injustices of the industrial revolution. As a consequence, many demonize this word, which is ironic because, basically, people can't survive without socialism. The most fanatically pro-capitalistic country would crumble without socialism. The internal structure of families, corporations and most social entities are socialistic. If the U.S. slowly eradicated all of its socialistic institutions, competition would indeed grow at the expense of all long-term accomplishment, and things would become barbaric.
The key is to moderate capitalism. Without laws and regulations, corporations would be free to become as criminal as any sociopath. The real struggle surrounding socialism is just a case of disguised class warfare. Subconsciously, we all accept socialism for the fact of life that it is; we just fight over how everything is to be redistributed. Many would like to see much of our effort invested in control such as drug wars, prisons and the military. Others would like to see it invested in education, health care, proper regulations for the common good, etc. If a society allows itself to fragment over wealth, then it will spiral downward.
Ben Chorush UT alum
Jiminy cricket
I would like to thank the crickets for invading the Main Building. It brought to light the issue of, well, lighting the tower. It looks beautiful lit up on special occasions, but does it really have to be lit every single night?
This is light pollution (When did you last see the stars?) and a waste of electricity. The University can afford it and the rest of the city (Frost bank, etc.) are major light polluters. You might say it's a drop in the bucket, but that's not how things change.
Let's demonstrate to the city our commitment to conservation of energy by lighting the tower less often.
Alvaro Garcia Electrical engineering PhD student
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