As a native-born Dallasite and a guy who gets called “cheap” by his kids, I have a heart for saving old things. But as a taxpayer and someone cheering for downtown Dallas, this isn’t too hard for me to say: get rid of City Hall and partner with the Mavericks to change the trajectory of historic downtown Dallas.
Sure, the building was done by a famous architect, but that doesn’t make it great. The Meyerson? Absolutely! But City Hall? I’ve been to it many times and have had family members that have had to work in it. It was not a positive experience.
People feel like they “have” to go to City Hall, not that they “get” to. Let’s create a downtown Dallas where people are excited to go downtown — just like it was when I was a kid in the ’60s.
The federal government’s move highlights and locks in a clear inequity: The policy automatically registers men, but not women.
Men who fail to register can face fines, imprisonment and the loss of federal benefits. Soon, they won’t even have a choice. Yet, these legal obligations apply to only one sex.
The Supreme Court upheld this system in Rostker v. Goldberg (1981) based on the claim that women were excluded from combat. That reality has changed. Thousands of women now serve in combat roles across the armed forces.
Texas has already been at the center of this issue. In 2019, a federal court here ruled that male-only registration is unconstitutional. A national commission later recommended expanding registration to women. Still, no reform has followed.
If Selective Service remains necessary, it should apply equally. What’s hard to justify is a system that places civic obligations — and penalties — on only half the population.
Equal responsibility should accompany equal rights. It’s time for the Supreme Court to revisit this issue.
Steven Prohaska, Richmond, Texas
Isn’t it amazing how much money it takes to win a state election? And yet we can’t afford to fully fund our public schools, help everyone access our universities, provide food, lodging and healthcare for even our poorest neighbors or treat those choosing these United States over their home countries as better than criminals. Amazing.
Should we recheck our priorities?
I recently attended a presentation about immigration at my church. I heard the stories of human beings who were detained, abused, abducted, imprisoned or killed by agents of ICE without due process. These victims of ICE were of all ages from infancy to gray hair.
Like the majority of ICE victims, they were law-abiding residents of the U.S. Some were citizens of the U.S. Those who were not citizens already were following the complex processes laid out by U.S. law to pursue their eventual citizenship or to maintain their legal work and residency permissions.
ICE agents were the ones who ignored U.S. laws. They and their leaders have still not been held accountable for agents’ inhumane and illegal behavior.
Congress tried to reform our complex immigration and border laws in February 2024, when then-candidate Donald Trump ordered Republican senators to vote against the bipartisan bill because he wanted to use the old border policies to scare people into voting for him. Instilling fear was the practice of Joseph Stalin. Who should you fear?
Christine Anderson Guldi, Dallas
Historians don’t agree
Re: “New look for social studies — Texas officials give early OK to revamped curriculum, Bible-infused reading list,” April 11 news story.
In their reporting, Jessica Ma and Silas Allen cover the Texas State Board of Education’s go-ahead for public school reading lists to include stories taken from the Christian Bible. Their reporting points out that supporters feel inclusion of such biblical texts is crucial because they contend the founding fathers intended this nation to be a Christian one.
The story also points out that historians contest this idea. Unconstitutionality of the board’s recommendation aside, perhaps in the interest of educational balance, the reading lists the board supports should also include founders’ writings that actually opposed a nation based upon religion. Thomas Jefferson’s and John Adams’s come to mind, and I believe there are many others.
How about the Golden Rule?
Once again, the Texas Board of Education has swung and missed. Bible-infused reading to be added to the social studies curriculum is surely a joke. And please don’t insult us by attempting to disguise them as learned lessons.
Why should 5.5 million Texas children be exposed to Christianity and the Bible in the classroom? Those lessons are best served in Sunday school if that’s the desire. Christianity should not be imposed on those with different religious beliefs.
I grew up in New York, and this would be viewed as a joke in the true melting pot of our country. The forefathers had it right when they wanted church separated from state.
Sure, parents can opt out for their children, but having the board include some questions regarding the Bible readings on state tests would be a complete travesty and grossly unfair.
If board members and supposed Christian politicians want to impose their beliefs on Texas children, then become members of their local church board of elders.
History should be all about freedom from tyranny and include the American Revolutionary War, the end of slavery, abuse of the native Americans, violence toward Mexicans by the Texas Rangers and even Brigham Young, who demanded homage from those going West who stopped in his state.
At the same time, let’s not forget some of our country’s saddest moments: Pearl Harbor, Sept. 11 and Jan. 6 — when democracy almost didn’t survive thanks to our sitting president.
One can never go wrong by discussing The Golden Rule in every classroom for about five minutes each day. Unfortunately, that rule has fallen by the wayside today.