Letters – World Cup, mental health, politics, GOP's elephant - EUROPE SAYS
The pink glow of specialized LED grow lights illuminate the inside of AT&T Stadium in Arlington to prepare turfgrass growth for World Cup games. Readers praise the work of World Cup organizers. Tom Fox/The. . .
The pink glow of specialized LED grow lights illuminate the inside of AT&T Stadium in Arlington to prepare turfgrass growth for World Cup games. Readers praise the work of World Cup organizers. Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning NewsWorld Cup was perfectTo Monica Paul and her North Texas FWC Organizing Committee staff: Congratulations on the achievement of a lifetime by successfully presiding over and organizing the World Cup in North Texas. Truly, it was perfect. As a 72-year native Dallasite, I applaud all your efforts and hard work that enabled us to view our city and metroplex and even the world through the eyes and joy of all the participants during these six weeks of sheer joy and excitement. Article continues below this adI am reminded of the great pride and blessings of our privilege of being Texan and for our democracy in the U. S. Your success will live in the hearts and minds for generations for years to come. God bless you. Teresa Klembara, GarlandSad to see it endRe: “My World Cup diary — A soccer-starved Irishman soaks in the flags, fury and flops,” by Rob Curran, Sunday Opinion. Article continues below this adThanks to Curran for sharing his “My World Cup diary” with us. Upon reading this quite humorous recap of his personal diary entries, it succinctly drove home how fortunate we were here in North Texas to serve as hosts for the biggest sporting event on the planet. Only two of his nine diary entries happened to take place at the venue that hosted more matches than any other, Dallas (AT&T) Stadium in Arlington. By highlighting events held at Fair Park, a restaurant and a beer garden in Denton, a private party and at his own home, he showcased how the impact of hosting the FIFA World Cup extended far beyond the pitch where the actual competition was held. Sadly, Curran was not alone in thinking that he had tickets to the June 22 Argentina and Austria match. My older son also thought he had secured tickets many months prior through a ticket broker to see Lionel Messi perform his wizardry in person, only to receive the “Seller could not provide tickets” message that likely caused Curran his “FOMO hell. ”Overall, we pulled off a grand event in which our little neck of the woods here in North Texas shone quite brightly, and by doing so, many of us are sad to see it come to an end. David Alan Jones, Farmers BranchArticle continues below this adLaws need modifyingRe: “Feds Should Fund Mental Health — Texas can’t meet the need alone,” Sunday editorial. You state that we have swung too far in the direction of closing state hospitals due to poor conditions and not replacing them with other forms of care. We have also swung too far in our laws from the 1970s concerning involuntary care. Our current laws allow mentally ill people to completely fall apart and be denied care until a tragedy occurs. We allow people to deteriorate to the point of being evicted from their residences, wandering the streets and living under bridges. The current laws have set the bar so high that a person in psychosis has to be either suicidal, homicidal or have altered mental status so advanced that they are a danger to themselves and others. Article continues below this adYou can build all the hospitals you want, but under our current laws you can’t make people go the hospital, stay in the hospital, take medications, take treatments unless they are court-ordered and that bar is very high. Those who were in favor of closing mental hospitals instead of fixing them are now asking, “Are these people better off in the old hospitals or better off living in boxes under a bridge?”As your editorial reports, there are 338 people in jail who should be in a mental hospital. They are in jail because they could not get the help they needed until they committed a crime. Until we modify our laws, nothing will change. Are they truly good deeds?Re: “Judging deeds over words,” by Richard Romm, Monday Letters. Article continues below this adRomm from the United Kingdom sent a surprising letter touting all the “good deeds” President Donald Trump should be credited for. Oh, the irony — the only one listed that showed up for this term was giving a long-delayed Medal of Honor to James Capers Jr. Every single other act — mostly signed bills brought forth by Congress — were in his first term. While I didn’t fact check everything, the bump stock banning that Romm touted Trump passed over the objections of the National Rifle Association was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2024. Trump, himself, has not only pulled the funding for our parks — which are woefully understaffed now — but he is actively moving logging into our forests. I guess it surprises me to read a letter of defense for a president from a resident from another country when, since his 2025 election, he has done nothing but insult and threaten our allies, driven up tariffs and threatened anyone who looks different with deportation at best, or being killed. Most Americans are humiliated by and apologetic about his behavior and furious that he’s spending our tax dollars to build shrines to himself while ordinary citizens are struggling to buy food and keep a roof over our heads. Article continues below this adOut of touchRe: “Abbott’s campaign paid $25K to rent elephant — Exhibitor failed to register with Houston before bringing Paige to convention,” Sunday Metro story. If I had any doubt about the Republican Party being out of touch with the rest of Americans, it was dispelled by the reporting of $25,000 being spent to bring that poor elephant to the convention. And illegally at that. The elephant in the roomLet’s discuss the elephant in the room. What were they thinking at the Texas GOP convention?If some of their ideas and proposals weren’t strange or unrealistic enough, Abbott’s campaign paid $25,000 to rent an elephant without registering it with the city. Apparently, no thought was given to the poor animal, how frightened it might be in such an environment and how ill-treated it might have been. All to what end? For show, for some pictures with the governor or just because they could. When people are struggling to make ends meet, to put food on their table, the Texas GOP rents an elephant. This money would have been put to better use by donating it to some charity, like a food bank or even the SPCA. Is no one else offended by this, or have we become so jaded that it makes no difference to us?Elena C. Hines, North Dallas