Feedback: October 24, 2025

It’s a Big Small World

Dear Editor,

When international aid is frozen, America pays the price. Cutting off assistance may sound like putting America first, but in reality it weakens our economy, endangers our security, and gives ground to our adversaries.

I am a volunteer advocate for the Alliance for American Leadership. I joined because I believe America should lead on the world stage and international assistance is a critical way to make that happen. I became passionate about this issue after learning how cuts to aid programs impact our community. U.S. foreign assistance has helped stop diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and Ebola before they reached our shores. I know people who have suffered from these diseases, and I’ve seen how vital prevention programs are. When we pull back from providing support – whether it’s vaccines, clean water, or conflict prevention – the risks eventually come home.
U.S. international assistance serves as a smart investment in American strength. Programs that provide food, health care, and development overseas limit conflict and displacement that disrupts American interests. Think about the COVID-19 outbreak, where so many lives were displaced, especially here in Austin. If we invest in that 1% of our budget, we can help ensure that the U.S combats outbreaks before they happen. It’s also a benefit for our economy; most aid dollars are spent right here at home on American-grown food, medicines made by U.S. medical companies, and equipment from U.S. manufacturers. When we step back, nations like China and Russia step in – reshaping the world in ways that undermine U.S. influence and values.

I urge Sen. [John] Cornyn, Sen. [Ted] Cruz, and [U.S. Rep. Lloyd] Doggett to protect these effective programs that put American security, prosperity, and leadership first.

Ava Sprott

Luv Doc Fan Club

Dear Editor,

Wow.  Kudos to [the Luv Doc]… and a golf clap too… although I have never once played  that stupid game.

I guess I have been ignoring your column since it started back in the Korean Conflict… but I must say you are about the funniest writer in town.  I have clipped out your last dozen rants and store them alongside my Xerox of [Michael] Corcoran’s classic “Ten Warning Signs of Alcoholism” from back in all of our heydaze…

In all seriousness we are lucky to have you here yelling at us dipshits…

Thanks,

Davis McLarty

Do the Math

Dear Editor,

Brant Bingamon cites a Nate McGuire sample figure of a $482 increase in city taxes on a $500K home if Prop Q is passed [“The Prop Q Debate Has Entered the ‘Silly Season,’” News, Oct. 17]. Bingamon says the city calculation is lower, at $200. At tx.omniballot.us, a sample ballot I generate says the city tax rate last year was $0.4776 per $100 valuation, and Prop Q approval would jump the rate to $0.574017 per $100 valuation. The increase is thus $0.096417 per $100 valuation. Moving the decimal one place to the right, that increase comes to $0.96417 per thousand-dollar ($1,000) valuation. A $500K home has 500 thousands, so simple multiplication, 500 x $0.96417, gives $482.085. This is simple arithmetic, and is where the $482 seems to come from. Moreover, the increase, dividing the rate if Prop Q is passed by the older rate, comes to a 20.18% jump in the tax rate, which at least sounds large, if not the largest ever as claimed by Save Austin Now.

I wish reporters, internet or newspapers, whether they’re self-made or credentialed with a degree from a journalism school, would include enough math coursework in their education to be as numerate, and as interested in being numerate, as they are literate, and interested in good wordsmithing.

Chris Kuykendall