Dallas, TX
Letters to the Editor — Texas prisons, voting, Dallas sanitation, ‘Morning Has Broken’
For shame, Texas
Re: “Prisons Must Stop Sweltering Cruelty — Texas inmates are being ‘cooked to death’ without air-conditioning,” Monday editorial.
I correspond with 13 women in Texas prisons, including my own family member, who has lived in four of the female units. Eight of those 13 do not have air-conditioning, and winters are also brutal on those units. They live in cinder-block buildings or metal industrial buildings with metal roofs and no insulation.
They were sentenced to be confined, not to be tortured. The cruelty our governor, lieutenant governor and state senators are allowing by refusing to use surplus budget money to provide relief and basic humane treatment of fellow human beings is beyond comprehension.
Most of these state leaders claim to be Christians. I have written them directly, repeatedly, respectfully, on this issue and never receive so much as a form letter in return.
God sees, hears, knows and remembers (Exodus 2:24). The ultimate reckoning will not be kind to those who “close their hearts to pity” (Psalm 17:10).
In the meantime, advocates for humane treatment of Texas prisoners will continue to call for basic standards of climate control for human beings. As for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s claims about heat mitigation, they are true only on paper. There are so many failures in carrying out even those pitiful efforts. For shame, Texas!
Becky Haigler, East Dallas
Prisoners are people
Regardless of their crimes, prisoners are people — people with a right to life and a constitutionally guaranteed right to not be treated cruelly. I have never been incarcerated, but I have experienced homelessness. I know something about dealing with a Texas summer without air-conditioning. Not surprisingly, it’s excruciating.
Forcing anyone to endure these conditions and suffer from heat-related illnesses more than exceeds the definition of cruelty. If we are morally and constitutionally proscribed from treating people this way, how can we justify the cost of fighting a lawsuit that by right should be won by the plaintiff? How can we justify the cost of treating those who suffer? How can we justify undermining the humanity of our brothers and sisters?
Eric Wallace, Dallas
Expired license is an ID
Re: “Voting and license logjam,” by James Elliott, Sunday Letters.
In his letter, Elliott wrote about a family member whose license had expired. He and the family member are inconvenienced by the backlog of available appointments to renew the driver’s license.
However, the expired license is still an acceptable form of ID for voting in November. Per the office of the Texas Secretary of State, a license expired no more than four years is acceptable.
Mr. Elliott, please encourage your family member to take her expired license to the polls and exercise her constitutional right to vote!
Karen Cannon, Arlington
Voter ID myths and truths
I am concerned that people are hearing rumors about voting problems and deciding not to vote due to them. A few examples are: Myth: You cannot vote with an expired license. Truth: You can if you are under 70 and it expired less than four years ago. Over 70, the expiration date does not apply.
Myth: You cannot vote without a driver’s license. Truth: There are seven forms of photo ID plus many alternate IDs that are acceptable for voting. Check this website, votetexas.gov/voting/need-id.html.
Myth: Food and drink cannot be offered to people in line to vote. Truth: This is true only if it is done on a partisan basis. If offered in a nonpartisan way and without electioneering, it’s totally acceptable in Texas.
Check the website above for the rules and don’t believe what you hear about barriers to voting. Turn out and vote your conscience.
Marcia Grau, Richardson
Vocal crowd seeks alley pickup
The Dallas Department of Sanitation Services and District 9 council member Paula Blackmon must have been shocked Monday when they held a community meeting on the department’s proposal to move sanitation pickup from alleyways to curbsides. A standing-room-only crowd of all ages swarmed into the Ridgewood Belcher Recreation Center’s large meeting room.
The attendees overwhelmingly voiced their opposition to department director Clifton Gillespie’s plan to phase out alleyway trash collection, which accounts for 38% of all garbage pickup in the city.
So many people showed up to voice their feelings, some had to park on distant surrounding streets and lean up against the meeting room walls. Only one microphone was used — had the leaders never run a community meeting before?
Four or five uniformed police officers watched over the crowd, even rushing to “escort” out a too-vocal resident at one point.
Gillespie heard a number of thoughtful suggestions from the attendees, from privatizing existing alleyway trash collection to using more modern, more maneuverable, automated side-loading mini-trucks for pickup in narrow alleys. Whether he truly listens to them remains to be seen.
Glenn Hunter, East Dallas
‘Praise every morning’
Re: “Don’t overlook morning’s promise — Early hours bring moments of hope, beauty and clarity,” by Christopher de Vinck, Saturday Opinion
De Vinck’s column is a lovely paean to a daily reflection that thanks and humility are such life-giving virtues, “recognizing all over again that we are on a long, joyful adventure.”
In no way does he suggest a competition with the Benedictine monks in Vermont. But he does reveal that “the monks greet each day with song and prayer, and they are filled with gratitude to God. I try to greet each day with words, poetry and with a sense for it all.”
Here he puts one in mind of “Morning Has Broken,” a haunting song that shares his own sense of new beginnings each day, but does affirm what is most important: “Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s re-creation of the new day.”
Tom Jodziewicz, Irving
We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com
At least four people were injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd of people in Dallas on Thursday evening.
Dallas police responded to an “Assist Officer call with an Ambulance” at approximately 7 p.m. in the 300 block of West Davis Street.
Authorities learned that a vehicle drove into a crowd, injuring multiple people. At least four have been taken to a local hospital for treatment. Police said no one was in critical condition.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested at the scene, police said. Authorities are still working to determine if this driver could have been drunk or if this could have been a medical episode.
According to police, there is no indication that the crash was terrorism related.
The investigation is ongoing.
This story will be updated as we learn more.
Dallas, TX
FOX’s Kasper Schmeichel compares England to Dallas Cowboys, so who are their other sports analogs?
Scottish World Cup fans reportedly drink Boston dry
Dana Perino announces that Scottish World Cup fans have caused an unprecedented beer shortage in Boston, emptying bars and liquor stores. Jesse Watters playfully observes that Europeans visiting America seem to “love it,” despite negative media portrayals, while Greg Gutfeld adds a satirical comment about “liberal mayors” and local resource management, contrasting Boston’s beer woes with LA’s water and Chicago’s Bears.
FOX Soccer analyst Kasper Schmeichel came prepared for this year’s World Cup on American soil.
The former Danish goalkeeper may not be from around these parts, but that didn’t stop him from dropping an eerily accurate comparison between two overconfident but long-suffering sports programs.
With England and Croatia warming up inside AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Schmeichel decided he would roast two fanbases with one stone, comparing the Cowboys to the Three Lions with a hilarious one-liner.
Funny, but also painfully true if you’re a supporter of either team.
COWBOYS LEGEND DIGS DEEP INTO THE TEAM’S MISSING ‘FIBER’ THAT’S RESULTED IN SUPER BOWL DROUGHT
I made a comparison last week between the English national team and Notre Dame, but Schmeichel got me thinking, who are the sports analogs to England from the four major North American leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA)?
Today, I will be doing exactly that, including giving a slightly better NFL comp than the Cowboys (shocking, I know).
Without further ado, let’s piss off our neighbors from across the pond.
FROM 4 STRAIGHT SUPER BOWL LOSSES TO JOSH ALLEN’S PATRICK MAHOMES PROBLEM, BILLS MIGHT BE CURSED
NFL – Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears helmets are displayed before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev., on Sept. 28, 2025. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
While the Dallas Cowboys are a fine comparison for the English national soccer team, I think I can do one better.
Schmeichel mentioned that England “won it once and have never stopped talking about it,” and although the second part of that statement applies to both, the Cowboys are five-time Super Bowl champions, having won it most recently in January 1996, a good three decades after England.
If you really want a team that more accurately mirrors the hard luck of the English, it would have to be the Chicago Bears.
3 HISTORIC NFL FRANCHISES FIND THEMSELVES IN SAME BOAT SINCE TURN OF THE CENTURY
They have one Super Bowl win to their name, which came 40 years ago, and really don’t have much else to show for it.
Also, having lived in the DFW area for the better part of a decade, I can confidently say Cowboys fans are a little too arrogant and cocky to be compared to the English.
Sure, England will say things like “it’s coming home,” but they are far more self-deprecating and aware of their faults, even nihilistic in some cases.
The Bears hang onto their history because they know things will inevitably go bad for them on the biggest stage.
Speaking of which…
NHL – Toronto Maple Leafs
Spencer Carbery, assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, looks on from the bench during the third period against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ont., on April 14, 2022. (Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Toronto Maple Leafs actually line up with England more closely than either fanbase would like to admit.
While the Leafs have a litany of Stanley Cups to their name, their most recent win was back in 1967, less than a full year after England won their first and only World Cup.
As far as expectations go, both constantly go into their respective tournaments with the weight of the world on their shoulders, only to come crashing down in the most horrific ways imaginable.
For the Leafs, it comes in the form of blowing big leads in the playoffs, while English fans and players alike can’t even hear the words “penalty kicks” without having a mental breakdown.
England and Toronto are both long-suffering cities, but their fans keep showing up expecting a different outcome.
Insanity? No, just sports fandom.
NBA – New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks celebrates a three-point basket with Karl-Anthony Towns during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on June 5, 2026. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
This one would have been an even better comparison if the New York Knicks hadn’t gone and won the whole damn thing this year, but these two sports teams are still eerily similar.
WHY THE KNICKS, DISRESPECTED BUT CLAWING BACK, TOUCHED A RAW NERVE IN NEW YORK CITY AND ULTIMATELY THE COUNTRY
Think of the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Championship run as a window into what it would look like if England captured a World Cup (on American soil, no less).
Before this year, the Knicks famously had not won a Larry O’Brien trophy in over 50 years, yet they were still considered one of the “blue bloods” of the NBA.
Decades of heartache didn’t change that; it only made their fans more insufferable, but their triumph earlier this month in the NBA Finals exorcised all those demons.
THE ATHLETIC BEWILDERINGLY CELEBRATES ‘ZOHRAN MAMDANI SPORTS SUMMER’ AFTER NEW YORK KNICKS WIN NBA FINALS
A win in the World Cup Finals would probably do the same for England fans, as you could probably feel that sigh of relief from the other side of the Atlantic.
MLB – New York Mets
New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto reacts after scoring a run on an RBI double by infielder Bo Bichette against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on April 2, 2026. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
Hello again, New York.
The Big Apple certainly has its fair share of winners, but it also has plenty of franchises that are aching to make a trip back down the Canyon of Heroes, none more so than the Mets.
Year after year, the Mets are near the top of MLB in terms of spending, with little to show for their efforts.
WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE
They won a World Series back in 1986 and have been chasing that high ever since.
The common thread between England and the Mets (along with all the other teams on this list) is expectations relative to results, and it seems like the Mets are sort of a Schrödinger’s baseball franchise in that regard, expected to both compete for a World Series with their high-priced talent and flame out in spectacular fashion all the same.
FOX ONE’S NEW WORLD CUP VIEWING EXPERIENCE
England always has flashy players heading into World Cup play, but the results haven’t been there, and they’ve often been sent home in brutal fashion, offering a great parallel to the Mets’ clockwork-like midsummer swoons and late-season meltdowns.
Guerrocastillo was taken into custody without incident and charged with Prohibited Weapon, a third-degree felony; Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon, a class A misdemeanor; Possession of Marijuana under two ounces, a class B misdemeanor; and Public Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
“Foot patrols are a foundational part of policing, and our Deep Ellum Task Force officers are making great arrests and providing increased security by walking a beat,” said Deputy Chief Devon Palk, who is commander of the Central Patrol Group. “Having our officers on foot, on horseback, and in our new Polaris utility vehicle puts officers exactly where we need them during peak hours in the area.”
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