OPINIONS BEAUMONT ENTERPRISE • WEDNESDAY,JUNE 2, 2021 • PAGE A8

OUR VIEW Third poker club for Beaumont merits OK

he main reason a third Southeast Texas. poker club appears to be As always, people who like Tacceptable for Beaumont this type of activity can partici- is that there have been few prob- pate and those who don’t can lems with the first two. If there stay away. That should be a basic had been, it’s doubtful that the premise of any free country, City Council would have OKd within reason of course. This is this third club unanimously and one of the main reasons we also with little discussion. But the support removing legal barriers limited track record of these the electronic bingo hall near enterprises in Beaumont raises Livingston operated by the Ala- no red flags, and the council bama-Coushatta Indian tribe. It’s made the right decision. Beau- avoluntary pastime that many mont needs all kinds of busi- people enjoy. In the case of the nesses to thrive, and poker clubs Naskila gaming center, it also are part of the mix even if supports 700 jobs in a part of they’re a small factor. the region that can use all the In 2019 the Nederland City paychecks it can get. Planning and Zoning Commis- Acceptance of gambling in sion took the opposite approach, Texas and the nation has gone opposing an application after back and forth over the years GOP will regret mini-Trumps in 2022 many residents who live within but is trending upward lately. 200 feet of the proposed facility Texas has a reputation of being Despite the fact that the JENNIFER RUBIN Republican Party is likely to spoke out against it during a opposed to games of chance, but disgraced former president Commentary keep getting worse as college- joint public hearing with the City it does have a thriving state has national approval ratings educated voters, women and Council and planning commis- lottery and pari-mutuel betting in the 30s while his puppet in young voters flee the party, sion. In 2018, the cities of Abi- on dog and horse races. Propos- the House, Minority Leader leaving it to the most extreme lene and Webster also asked als to legalize casino gambling Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has of the MAGA cultists. poker clubs in their cities to surface in the Legislature every a12% favorable rating, 85% of Meanwhile, 36 states will “cease and desist” operations. two years, but they also sink by Republicans prefer candi- have gubernatorial elections in “I’ve been with this commis- the end of the session, this latest dates that mostly agree with 2022. A third of the Senate seats sion for 10 or 15 years, and I’ve one included. Meanwhile, thou- Donald Trump according to will be in play, including open never seen such opposition,” sands of Texans cross the Sabine Quinnipiac’s latest poll. More- seats left by vacating Repub- said Nederland Planning Com- River every day to spend money over, Democrats have a nine- crowd (e.g., voting against the licans in blue and purple states mission chairman Scott Watjus at casinos in Louisiana, which point advantage in the generic Jan. 6 commission) may dis- (e.g., Wisconsin, Pennsylvania at the time. “It’s obvious the also gets a lot of tax dollars from congressional poll for 2022. cover voters are dismayed that and North Carolina), and Re- citizens don’t want it, and it these businesses. If this carries forward to they joined the MAGA cult. publicans will try to win back especially makes it hard to give a The Beaumont City Council 2022, Republicans will be se- Moreover, the radicalization seats in blue-trending Georgia recommendation when we don’t and Police Department should lecting mini-Trumps who — of the GOP has alerted Demo- and Arizona. Would Democrats have the codes for something continue to monitor the three presumably — also believe in cratic voters to the real possibil- rather run against foaming-at- like this.” poker clubs in the city, because the “big lie” that the 2020 elec- ity that if Republicans take the the-mouth conspiracy theorists, Just as the Beaumont City this third venture probably tion was stolen, think the Jan. 6 House majority, they may not or against Republicans who Council made the correct deci- won’t be the last one seeking insurrectionists were tourists or allow a rightfully elected Demo- affirm Biden is the real presi- sion this time, that approach by approval. If the track record antifa, oppose President Joe cratic president to take office in dent, Russia is an adversary, Nederland leaders was appropri- remains positive, the council will Biden’s popular economic res- January 2025. It’s easy to imag- climate change is real and cor- ate for their city. Beaumont, the be inclined to support more of cue plan, obsess over ludicrous ine the ads featuring McCarthy porations should pay more largest and most diverse city in them. cultural memes that have noth- and Republican Reps. Marjorie taxes? It is not even close. the region, should have a more How many is another ques- ing to do with governing and Taylor Greene of Georgia, Jim It is possible Republicans will open-minded attitude toward tion, but it’s also one that elect- seek to make it harder to vote. Jordan of Ohio and Matt Gaetz come to their senses and step proposals that wouldn’t be a ed officials and city residents How might that play in con- of Florida: Would you trust away from the brink of MAGA good fit for smaller towns in can consider as they come in. gressional seats that swung them with 2024 election? madness, finding candidates from Democrat to Republican Certainly, the Quinnipiac poll who eschew the “big lie” and ANOTHER VIEW in 2020 (e.g., California’s 39th is bad news for the rebel Re- have actual ideas for governing. and 48th districts, or Florida’s publicans such as Reps. Liz But do not count on it. 27th)? The candidates who Cheney of Wyoming, Adam If the Republicans’ opposi- Next pandemic requires tried to keep their distance Kinzinger of Illinois and Peter tion to the Jan. 6 commission from Trump may fall prey to Meijer of Michigan and for and their ejection of Cheney MAGA Republicans in the pri- those who hold out hope there from House Republican leader- the truth from this one maries. And Republicans who is still a viable war for the soul ship are any clue, the descent sold themselves as moderates of the Republican Party. of the GOP into “evil lunacy” BY THE WA SHINGTON POST The agenda also includes but ran toward the MAGA Alas, in the real world, the has not slowed. documenting the frightful narra- Asense of relief that the pan- tive of the pandemic in the eyes demic is ebbing in the United of victims, families and health- Voters reject ‘critical race theory’ States should not ease the im- care workers. Already, the group portance of understanding what has conducted 110 listening ses- FORT WORTH— Southlake CYNTHIA ALLEN nents derive by creating a went wrong and how to fix it. sions across the United States is not the most unlikely place [email protected] “Black point of view” is danger- We have often underscored and Europe, consulted with for a showdown over critical ous — especially when it is be- the inept response of President government officials and ex- race theory. lied by evidence to the con- Donald Trump and urged in- perts, and identified about 40 The Dallas-Fort Worth trary. vestigation of the virus origins. lines of inquiry and work plans. suburb is a red city, but its In a webcast, he described But there are deeper, systemic Acommission would require surrounding county went how “the sense of being spoken failures that must also be studied real muscle and resources, larger blue in the last presidential for” leaves him “frustrated as a and addressed. The largest pub- and different than the 9/11 Com- election (for the first time in Black person because of the lic health disaster in a century mission, of which Zelikow was more than 50 years) and its assumption that I would agree deserves an independent, non- executive director. the demographics are dra- with everything that’s being partisan commission to find the Such a nonpartisan commis- matically shifting as coastal adolescents do best — acting taught to me by these so-called answers. President Joe Biden sion would be a golden opportu- Democrats flock to Texas. foolish, albeit not malicious. diversity experts.” and Congress should step up to nity to rebuild U.S. credibility Southlake’s demographics, But outraged parents de- Columbia University linguis- the plate. after the stumbles of the pan- wealthy, well-educated and manded the school district, not tics professor John McWhorter Some partial efforts have demic. It could document clearly white, also are typical of en- parents of the offending teenag- has written extensively about already been made, such as the what went wrong, why certain claves where things like “critical ers or the students themselves, how the victimhood mentality World Health Organization’s pandemic response plans buck- race theory” and its more in- make reparation. embodied by cultural sensitivity inconclusive joint work with led and how crisis decisions nocuous aliases are ascendant. The plan laid out a series of and critical race theory pol- China on the virus origins, or the were made, and show what a But such theories met resis- objectives and ways to achieve icies, particularly in schools, is recently published evaluation of government should do next tance in the May 1 nonpartisan them, including mandatory condescending paternalism that aWHO independent panel. But time. municipal elections, in which “cultural sensitivity training” robs Black people of their agen- what’s needed at this point is to It could also look ahead at the two school board candidates for students and staff, evaluat- cy. undertake the largest commis- benefits and risks of the onrush- who opposed a proposed “cul- ing instructors on their “cultur- Brown University economics sion investigation in American ing biomedical revolution — tural competence action plan” al competence,” student-led professor Glenn Loury is equal- history, with international coor- which has made possible, among for the district trounced two bias self-assessments, and the ly ruthless. He argues that the dination and help. other things, the remarkable who supported it, by a margin creation of a database “to docu- cultural pressure to accept the Fortunately, with foundation mRNA pandemic vaccines. An greater than that which separat- ment micro-aggressions and notions embodied by critical support, much groundwork for investigation of the virus origins ed Donald Trump and Joe Bi- discriminatory behaviors in the race theory, is akin to “cultural such a probe has been laid by would be worthwhile but also den in November. discipline history for students.” revolution,” “witch huntery,” the Covid Commission Planning challenging. It must examine That suggests these candi- We’ve seen how “diversity and the “burning of apostates Group led by Philip Zelikow at possible animal spillover or an dates and their respective ideol- and inclusion” training has at the stake.” the Miller Center of Public Af- inadvertent laboratory leak in ogies weren’t solely defeated by played out in other environ- And Chloe Valdary frequent- fairs at the University of Virginia Wuhan, which China has denied abunch of pro-Trumpers on ments and how the ethos of ly argues that the kind of racial and the Johns Hopkins Center and shown little willingness to partisan lines, as some have “white privilege,” white shame essentialism manifested in for Health Security at the Bloom- investigate further. argued, but by a broader coali- and “white fragility” animates critical race theory destroys our berg School of Public Health. Decisions ought to be made tion of voters who perceive real such teaching. So, it’s reason- humanity. The planning group has iden- before too long to get a national harm in the unrelenting effort able to worry that, once en- She is the founder of a di- tified an ambitious agenda that commission off the ground. It by a powerful few to frame acted, this kind of plan would versity, equity and inclusion looks both back and ahead, could be chartered by Congress, everything, in all circumstanc- have a divisive, damaging and training program, Theory of including study of the origins of by Biden or privately, but it es, through the lens of race. ultimately racist effect on chil- Enchantment, focused on in- the virus and variants; gaps in would probably be best as a The Carroll ISD’s action plan dren (including Black students), stilling empathy, pursuing indi- biosurveillance and data collec- government endeavor, gaining was the district’s response to teachers and the community. vidual and community poten- tion; problems in pandemic unfettered access to records and incidents in 2018 and 2019 in That’s one of the arguments tial, and developing character. preparedness and local public people. Looking back at this which students using a racial against typical “diversity and Its first principal is to “treat health; difficulties with mitiga- period won’t be pleasant, nor slur in videos posted to social cultural sensitivity” programs people like human beings, not tion and its tools; faults in care without uncertainties. But the media. Neither of the videos made by Black intellectuals political abstractions.” for the sick; and the challenge of unvarnished truth in a national occurred on school campuses; such as Coleman Hughes, who Unsurprisingly, her program diagnostics, therapeutics and commission report will be a gift both appear to show groups of argue that the moral legitimacy does not call for a micro-aggres- vaccines. to the future. clueless students doing what that critical race theory propo- sion database. BEAUMONT ENTERPRISE Your opinion counts PAUSE TO PRAY Lord, inspire us to get outside Letters to the editor must have terprise Clarice Touhey, Brenda Mills, Advertising Director more this summer to enjoy this the writer’s address and phone P.O. Box 3071 Publisher and President Paul Banister, Circulation Director number and be addressed to: beautiful world you created. Beaumont, Texas 77704 Texas Community Group Vic Odegar, Managing Editor Opinions@BeaumontEnter- Your greatness and majesty are Letters guidelines are online at Thomas Taschinger, Opinions Page prise.com or evident in every flower, bird and for Hearst Newspapers BeaumontEnterprise.com/ Editor Opinions, The Beaumont En- sunset. They should help us opinions appreciate you more. Amen.