by The Monitor
Posted: Thrusday, November 21, 2013 12:15am

Voter ID laws

State Rep. Terry Canales’ Nov. 10 guest column “ID laws making it harder for Texans to vote” decried Texas’s new voter identification laws.

Despite Canales’ deep dive into the issue, he forgot one key demographic that is negatively affected by these new draconia rules: The more than 500,000 Texans in college.

Whether you are an Aggie, Longhorn or Red Raider, you have to present identification different than the one provided by a Texas public institution, your university, to cast a ballot in the state.

As bright Texans leave home to pursue the higher education that drives Texas forward, they are simultaneously being disenfranchised by the state’s new voter identification laws.

In its next session, the Texas Legislature should either repeal its unnecessary and discriminatory voter identification law or add identification issued by all public institutions to the list of approved identifications.

James Lewis,

advocacy director, oung Democrats of America, Alexandria, Va.

Enjoy the church music

This is about the complaints about the noise made by the church in Mission. I, for one, love the ringing of the bells and the playing of the “Ave Maria.” The music makes me feel relaxed; it gives me a piece of mind and gets me closer to God.

The ringing of the bells takes me back to my youth — to another time that was less hectic.

Anybody who hears the bells ringing should be grateful and in the ringing of the bells should seek peace within themselves.

Anyway, that is my opinion: Listen and relax.

Maria M. Perez, Edinburg

Obamacare

I resent Ricardo Flores’ Nov. 17 letter referring to those who oppose Obamacare as “whiners.” The writer obviously has not looked into the ramifications of Obamacare and to the end of this disaster made up as a legacy to a loser.

I give willingly to those charities and organizations of my choice even though I live on a small retirement income. I resent the fact that President Barack Obama wants to forcibly make me give to illegal aliens and many who are too lazy to work by using our tax dollars. This, even though I give to a good number of these charities, organizations and persons, it is by choice and not by force that Obamacare is coercing from me and you by using our tax dollars.

Obamacare is another liberal, socialistic dream world where all persons are equal even though subsidized by the few. Take another look at it dreamer.

Floyd Benjamin,

Mission