Dog Whistles
Dear Editor,
Watching Republican members of Congress these last two days follow the president’s flip-flopping on the Iran war justification reminds me of sheep herds pivoting quickly in response to their herding dog’s immediate obeyance to his master’s whistle. No thinking. No questions. No doubts.
Our founders wisely created three branches of government, with Congress being Article I and having the sole authority to declare or authorize war. This president has completely bypassed Congress, the majority part of which apparently enjoys being sheep.
Call your members of Congress and remind them that they do not get to choose their job responsibility; those are defined in the Constitution.
As debate continues as to the wisdom of the president starting this war, the bigger issue is that one person made this decision that was not his to make and with no authorization or consultation with the branch of government whose role it is to declare and/or authorize war.
Even bigger than that is that the majority party is giving him this power and will not even question this decision.
Cathy Murphree
South By Shutout
Dear Editor,
I haven’t seen anything about SXSW’s decision to eliminate the wristbands for the film festival. They have offered them since the Fest started over 30 years ago and I have attended every year. I cannot afford $1,000 for a badge and single-admission films cost up to $25. They offer the option of working 24 HOURS as a volunteer (which they describe as a LITTLE amount). Hope they bring it back next year.
Dan Eggleston
This article appears in March 6 • 2026.