Time has come for people to oppose reckless growth
Editor: The issue of water availability and long-term sustainability has finally provided the citizens of Boerne and Kendall County with the catalyst needed to put the brakes on the unsustainable and reckless growth we have endured over the past decade plus.
Our elected officials are beginning to enact some substantive measures to address the issue of water; however, in my opinion only after irreparable damage has been allowed to occur to this special place we call home.
Euphemistically speaking, they are closing the barn door after the horse has already gotten out. Private NPO’s/NGO’s have been instrumental in prodding our government officials into action.
We the citizens of Kendall County and Boerne have a very important role to play moving forward. We as citizens, as members of the “court of public opinion,” have far more options available to us to hold real estate developers, their collaborative partners and, dare I say, our elected officials “feet to the fire.”
We need to send the message to the real estate development industry we are not willing to sell our community out for some token “pocket park” or token gesture as when cutting down a 100-plus-year-old tree and replacing it with three pathetic saplings (which in case you are not aware is a common practice in Boerne), in exchange for some high density development.
We have the ability to send a very public and powerful message to the real estate development community: if you want to develop any sort of project in our community, you are going to pay a very high price for that privilege.
“The power of the people is stronger than the people in power” -- spread the word.
- Robert L. Imler Boerne resident
Both parties have their ‘kooks’
Editor: Though leaning pretty far left on a number of issues, I agree with Richard Sena’s “total disgust at the reaction on many U.S. college campuses in supportive response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel.”
It is impossible to grasp how anyone – right, left, or middle – can support, let alone celebrate, Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attack in Israel. And yet, around the country, some people have.
And then there’s Ukraine. Since Russia invaded that country in February 2022, the far right in Congress and in some conservative circles have taken up the bogus claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was in self-defense, or otherwise justified.
This is the same Russian president who has attacked a sovereign nation without provocation and deliberately bombarded civilian targets; who has encouraged (if not ordered) the summary execution of both military and civilian Ukrainians, the rape of Ukrainian girls and women, and the kidnapping of innocent Ukrainian children and their removal to Russia.
And yet, around the country, some people on the Right admire Putin, claiming he’s waging a righteous fight in Ukraine.
To paraphrase Mr. Sena, where do these “kooks” come from?
The fact that some modest number of far-left individuals on college campuses or in some parts of Congress have expressed a misguided and depraved defense of Hamas’ terrorist attack does not mean that all Democrats -- even those of us who grew up in the “radical” ‘60s and ‘70s -- should be painted with the same brush.
It would be like asserting that all Republicans are in line with “self-absorbed narcissists like Reps. Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert.” (Or, one might add, Donald J. Trump.)
In this light, it would be a momentous thing if still more Republicans could acknowledge that the extremists in their own party are just as “kooky” as the extremists in mine.
- Cindy Offutt Fair Oaks Ranch resident
Democracy at a stalemate
Editor: The Boerne Star has provided a means whereby people/groups of opposing views have an opportunity to express their concerns through the Progressive View column and the Right of Center column. The last two columns certainly meet the bill of interest. Although the writers contrast in style, it is always good to see issues discussed.
I know both of these gentlemen. Kevin Henning wrote in the Progressive column the need for us as neighbors to come together with old fashion “courtesy or considerate behavior towards others which used to be an attribute of the Texas Legislature that was proudly displayed.” Unfortunately, this no longer exists.
Kevin offers pragmatic solutions with data to make his points. For example, “establishing an independent redistricting commission to lessen partisan gerrymandering which currently exists (other states have done this with success).
The Democratic Party is just as guilty as the Republican Party when it comes to gerrymandering, but the point is that it needs to stop. I like what Alaska did during their last election. Alaska went to rank voting, and both Democrats and Republicans won various seats. Alaskans were the winner with a government that more closely represents the people. Rich Sena is more of a flame thrower. He cites “The Squad, college campus protests, brown and black shirt fascists who shout down conservative speakers, Cuba, and Venezuela.” There were no solutions offered. What’s interesting is that both men want the same thing, but they go at it in different ways. They, and we, want to see our country prosper, survive and enjoy peace and justice for all. Our democracy has always been from day one an experiment in governing. Each generation tries to perpetuate an even greater, more successful atmosphere in which we live.
The system at this point is at a stalemate unless we are willing to listen to one another without the shouting or win at all cost mentality. Rich brought up Hamas. Anyone who supports Hamas is sick. Their whole intent is not to govern but to destroy Israel.
When Israel was established in the 1940s, there were to be two states; Israel and Palestine. That never happened, and the Palestinian people have been the losers for all these years.
Why this has never happened is beyond me, but it gave Hamas the opportunity to come into Gaza and win an election that put them in power. Hamas immediately suspended future elections, again the Palestinian people are the losers.
When people are protesting and showing support for the Palestinians, their support should be for the Palestinians, not Hamas.
- Richard Cardwell Boerne resident
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