Opinion

In a state where more than 60% of the residents are people of color, the Texas Legislature is proposing maps where white people have voting majorities in 50% of the congressional districts.

A year before Texans will vote in the general election race for governor and other statewide offices, the list of candidates remains incomplete.

Before a couple of weeks ago, it had been over 20 years since my wife and I attended a Texas A&M football game.

Political people often compare Texas election maps to a state-shaped bowl of tomato soup with blueberries sprinkled in it. Most of the state in those post-election illustrations is Republican red, with smaller areas — the big cities and, increasingly, their suburbs — colored Democratic blue.

Nearly 100 years ago, in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that vaccine mandates were constitutional. Justice John Marshall Harlan explained that “Real liberty for all could not exist under the operation of a principle which recognizes the right of each individual person to use his own [liberty in a way that results in injury to others].”

When I worked at my late uncle’s junkyard during junior high school, one of the regular customers (a crusty coot who resembled a cantankerous Roy Rogers sidekick wannabe) assured us that he luxuriated in a steaming bathtub each and every night.

My journey this week took me to Charlie Campise, a Christian brother and old friend. I asked him to share his journey as the guest columnist.

Marking this twentieth 9/11 anniversary, we are mindful of its horrors and sustained by the memory of its heroes, especially first responders who put service ahead of self. Today, in a time of so many divisive forces, we are stronger when we remember what binds us. We draw inspiration from the way our Nation — all of us, as citizens and neighbors — came together after the tragedy on 9/11. That is the spirit evident yesterday when the City of San Marcos and the San Marcos Fire Department held a solemn remembrance, followed by the first responders’ memorial stair climb.

On that horrific day, I received a call from a friend of mine in hysterics, telling me to call my brother, Chris, and my father, Ted, immediately.

Editor:

Early on the morning of September 11, 2001, I was a newly minted warehouse supervisor for a farmers cooperative.

The start of the school year is always an exciting time and serves as a reminder that we all must continue learning to be healthy individuals, productive workers, informed citizens, and supportive family members and friends. As our kids return to school, adult learners can also return to class by taking advantage of the variety of courses offered through LifeLong Learning-San Marcos (LLL-smtx).