Letters: Improve wages & hours

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“Of the Texas households that receive SNAP benefits, a little more than half—50.4 percent—are working households. But they either are working for such low wages or at such reduced hours, the families remain in poverty.” 

We can continue to feed the children, and nothing will ever change. Hungry children are not the problem, but the consequence of the problem. We need to work on the low wages and reduced hours.

This problem must first be addressed by answering the question, “Why are the wages low, hours reduced?”

Now, we can begin to solve the problem and reduce the hungry children.

Fred Rosenbaum

Gainesville

Subpoenas: ‘Pure harrassment and intimidation’

Thanks for the solid defense of religious freedom

What I find most disturbing is that, from what I know, certifying petition signatures should only involve certifying the proper wording on petition, and then certifying that signatures are from citizens living in the city limits of Houston. Groups collect such petitions in many ways, even hire companies to do it. Therefore, all the city needs to do to defend itself in the lawsuit is to demonstrate that each signature thrown out was thrown out for the correct reasons.


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What else matters? How would the sermons be germane? Just as there is no throwing out votes based on inaccurate political ads, there is no throwing out of signatures on petitions based on any conversation or speech that led up to the signature.

By signing the petition, the citizen certifies that he or she agrees with the actual wording on the petition. That’s it. (How could any city monitor every single conversation related to collecting signatures for a petition?)

Therefore, the subpoenas are exposed as pure harassment and intimidation. The city government is angry that churches opposed them and lashed out against that opposition through the subpoenas. The mayor’s office actually exposed it’s motives by claiming the pastors brought the subpoenas on themselves by being involved in politics.

As you stated, the pastors were within their rights in advocating on an issue, and constitutionally protected speech should never be punished with government sanctions under the guise as ‘discovery’ procedure.

David Sweet

Buda


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