Post-election review

Doug McVicker’s letter Tuesday complaining that no one had given him information concerning the ballot leads me to believe he is a typical liberal wanting the government to do everything for him.

If he had used his initiative, he could have found FreeVotersGuide.com on the Internet. At churches, the Liberty Institute made available free voter’s guides also.

Remember, sir, when you point your finger of blame, there are three fingers pointing back at you.

John Stoker, Eddy

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Many thanks to U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco. He has served his neighbors in an honest and caring manner. I believe in him now as much as I always have.

I am glad to call him a friend and a neighbor.

Tone’ Mahon, Waco

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Does failed state House candidate John Mabry think the people of District 56 are idiots? He can blame his loss Tuesday on Washington, but the truth is he has only himself to blame. We elected him once before, then voted him out. His election turned out to be a mistake when he and his buddy, state Rep. Jim Dunnam, led Democrats in fleeing to Oklahoma in 2003.

That is why he was not re-elected. Thanks, fellow citizens of District 56, for not making the same mistake twice.

Courtney Carter, Waco

‘Piling on’ recalls

In football, the situation described below is known as piling on.

It has been well publicized that Toyota has had a series of large recalls. For whatever reason, these recalls seem to have been featured in the Tribune-Herald with somewhat more frequency and prominence than necessary.

It is the duty of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the automobile manufacturer to investigate and correct safety defects, which is news and worthy of publication.

Documents filed by the plaintiff attorneys in a class-action suit are not. Every such filing will contain one-sided allegations of wrongdoing. This is the job of the plaintiff’s attorneys. They are highly unlikely to file documents complimenting the defendant.

On Oct. 29, the Trib published on Page 10A a newsworthy article about a recall announced by Nissan. But adjacent to this article — with contrasting background to make it stand out — was an Associated Press story regarding such filings, [“New claims made against Toyota in acceleration defects suit”]. While the story did contain statements made by Toyota that countered the claims, the headline was obviously intended to imply support for the veracity of the allegations.

Every vehicle manufacturer has had and will continue to have safety recalls. That is the whole point of having the safety regulatory agency oversight. Continually publicizing the same, somewhat stale news indicates a bias.

It may seem strange to readers that a competitor would call this piling on, but I feel compelled to do so as a matter of fairness.

Peter Kultgen, Bird-Kultgen Ford, Waco

EDITOR’S NOTE: The headline merely stated the nature of the claims made in the lawsuit. It did not pass judgment on the validity of those claims.