Opinion

The following message is one I delivered to the Hemphill County Commissioners Court Monday morning, a few days after Judge George Briant briefed the court on several bills filed in the Texas Legislature that might have an impact on local government.

WITH STATE LAWMAKERS immersed in the COVID-19 pandemic response and Texas’ electricity failures, the public’s access to information must be at the forefront of the Legislature’s actions. Information allows citizens to watch over their government, to speak out and to ask questions.

PERHAPS I WAS NOT CLEAR enough on why I was shocked [Letter to the Editor (Williams) Feb. 11, 2021, and Letter to the Editor (Antillon) Feb. 18, 2021]. First, I do have a great deal of respect for our editor; to her credit, she is principled and sometimes brave enough to give voice to an opposite opinion, no matter how harsh, and opposite the opinion. She has always had that principle, and for that, I and others owe her our thanks.

I WAS VERY UPSET when I watched the video of Tucker Carlson claiming that uniforms for pregnant soldiers and updated hairstyle requirements make a mockery of the U.S. military. Really? Extreme words from a man who never had the guts to actually volunteer in the military.

AFTER TEXAS PLUNGED into darkness and cold for much of an entire week, its grid operator told an apoplectic state legislature that “unlike California” and other regions in earlier years, Texas had avoided a full-on grid collapse by selectively interrupting service for large parts of the state.

GREG ABBOTT SOUNDS like a guy who’s had both of his COVID shots. Such confidence! The governor went to a Lubbock restaurant Tuesday to announce that he’s rescinding his coronavirus restrictions. No more mask requirements. No more capacity limits. None of it.

AS WE APPROACH the first anniversary of pandemic-induced lockdowns, hundreds of thousands of Texans are still grappling with job loss, eviction, or domestic violence stemming from the stay-at-home orders, among other issues. Now, we have just endured one of the worst winter storms on record—plunging millions of Texans into frigid temperatures and darkness due to a days-long loss of power, along with loss of clean water.

IT’S OVER! I lived like a hobo for six days and survived. The ordeal of the catastrophic polar vortex is past, but memories of the suffering linger. I was dirty, cold, hungry, thirsty, and alone. The indignity of having to set up a latrine in my home is not something I will ever forget. I’m still living with a mild case of PTSD from enduring unbearable circumstances.

I WAS IN SHOCK at the “Shocked” letter that Mr. Williams wrote in response to Editor Brown’s Field Notes from Jan. 21, 2021. Ms. Laurie Ezzell Brown is anything but “naïve.” Quite the contrary, she’s been a blessing to Canadian, an excellent mentor, and above all, a principled, well-informed, and courageous journalist.

FROZEN WIND TURBINES in Texas caused some conservative state politicians to declare Tuesday that the state was relying too much on renewable energy. But in reality, the lost wind power makes up only a fraction of the reduction in power-generating capacity that has brought outages to millions of Texans across the state during a major winter storm.