Some moderates think the presidential candidates are too extreme. And some people don’t want to vote for either elderly candidate. Some don’t think it matters who they vote for.

It matters greatly.

Vote Republican if you want:Authoritarian government instead of a democracy.To get out of the Paris Climate agreement.Tax subsidies for fossil fuel companies.Tax cuts for the rich and for corporations, and for the deficit to go up.Scientists replaced by Republicans at the EPA.Russia to defeat Ukraine.To get out of NATO and WHO.To not allow abortion for incest, rape, or the mother’s health.To defund the CDC.Your tax dollars to fund private schools.To end Obamacare.Chaos.

Also, vote for the Conspiracy Party (Republican) if you believe:Climate change is a hoax.The 2020 presidential election was stolen.Obama was born in Kenya.The Sandy Hook shootings were staged.

Otherwise, vote Democrat.

Don Hammond, Austin

Displaying Ten Commandments in

classrooms is ‘only hope’ for sanity

Noting the moral decay that has run rampant in our country ever since God was taken out of our classrooms over 60 years ago, even if I weren’t a ‘believer,’ I’d still want the Ten Commandments prominently displayed in every one of our nation’s classrooms. It’s our only hope for restoring sanity in our ‘lost’ United States.

If we don’t act quickly/decisively, we won’t have a republic left worth saving.

Let us teach our children the morals on which the ‘Greatest Nation in the History of the World’ was founded.

Kudos to Louisiana for making it state law to display the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.

Newt Hasson, Austin

Giving tax money to private schools

is taxation without representation

Gov. Greg Abbott‘s proposed educational savings accounts are an expansion of state government. The accounts will require administrative oversight and fraud prevention and enforcement for families and private sector schools.

Giving public dollars to private educational entities, led by unelected officials and free from the exact constraints imposed on public schools, is taxation without representation. The choice to attend a private school is a private sector transaction, already granted by state law. Texas legislators need to honor their constitutional oath to maintain and improve our current public education system.

Tricia Kim, Austin

Let Austin light rail move forward

so it improves our quality of life

Re: June 16 commentary, ‘Austin’s light rail opponents are trying to undermine taxpayers’ vote‘

Austin voters want to increase options for transportation instead of driving personal vehicles all the time. Why are the opponents working to take away the rights of voters? Drivers on IH-35 have noticed it looks like a slow-moving parking lot. Tail pipe pollution from all those vehicles degrades air quality.

Light rail will help reduce traffic jams and provide bike and pedestrian pathways, make connections with Capital Metro bus routes and improve its service. It has a potential to spur affordable housing developments close to transit, creating walkable communities.

According to the EPA, the transportation sector is the largest source of polluting greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions also contribute to global warming. We want this lawsuit to stop; allow the light rail project to proceed and improve quality of life for Austinites.

Kalpana Sutaria, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Austin Chapter

In striking down bump stocks ban,

justices show they’re the worst ever

Re: June 14 article, ‘Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on gun accessory’

Beyond any doubt, the current Supreme Court, with the exception of three sane justices, is the worst in the history of the United States.

The reversal of Roe v. Wade was most tragic enough.  Now bump stocks!  What else?

Without life appointments and left to the vote of the people for each and every one of them now on the Court, I am certain there would be a more compassionate group of justices seated who also conform to the rule of law. Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, Earl Warren, and other distinguished late justices are, I am certain, tired of turning over in their graves.

Bess Mitchell, Austin

Speak up to protect fundamental

freedoms and reproductive rights

Re: June 13 article: Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion medication mifepristone

The Supreme Court’s decision to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone is a win, but anti-abortion groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom may continue to challenge the FDA’s approval. These groups seek to impose their narrow religious beliefs on all of us. For example, they aim to revive the Comstock Act, an outdated law restricting the mailing of “obscene” or “immoral” materials, threatening not only abortion access but also LGBTQIA+ rights and other civil liberties across Texas and the nation.

Supporting organizations that fight these arguments is crucial. We must speak up to protect reproductive rights and our fundamental freedom to make decisions about our own bodies based on our own beliefs.

Leland Murphy, Austin

Republican Party’s ‘eat your own’

strategy defies any explanation

For Republicans glued to their information silo, here is some information you might not know. Republican officeholders are engaged in an “eat your own” strategy to pursue policies not supported by a majority of Texans.

Gov. Abbott provided resources and campaigned against Republican State legislators who did not support his foolish school voucher policy while refusing to adequately fund public schools. Rural school districts are suffering the most. Attorney General Paxton supported Republican opponents against those Republican legislators who voted to impeach him.

On the national level, Kevin McCarthy, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has supported Republican opponents to those Republican incumbents who voted to remove him from the Speakership.

Not to be missed, there’s convicted felon Donald Trump endorsing candidates who display the most loyalty to him. Can anyone explain this Republican strategy?

Craig Hackler, Austin

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Voting matters, so vote for the GOP if you want these specific things