Letters are posted as we receive them during the week, and before they are printed in the paper, so check back frequently to see new letters. If you'd like to send a letter to the editor, use this postmarks submission form, or email your letter directly to mail@austinchronicle.com. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
    As a retired police officer on my annual summer vacation to the city of Austin, I always look forward to reading my Austin Chronicle newspaper copy. I think of myself as both Boston Strong and Austin Weird. I consider myself conservative up in Boston, but when I land in Austin, I see myself much more of a moderate. I know Austin to be a blue island in a red state, but compared to Boston, not so blue.
    As I read the interview with John Sisson [“Meet the Candidate: John Sisson,” News, July 17], who is running for sheriff, he sounds more liberal than many Massachusetts politicians and certainly more liberal than any county sheriff I know. The job of law enforcement is law enforcement, right? In the interview I see a candidate for sheriff who sounds far more political than a sheriff ought to be.
    His gripes with the federal Secure Communities program are the exact same criticisms I hear from every liberal politician in Massachusetts. Sisson, like others elsewhere, talks about breaking up families or creating mistrust among immigrant communities. What opponents here and in Boston never talk about is that the only time anyone would ever be held under Secure Communities would be those actually arrested, not everyone who is pulled over.
    We need politicians elected to office across the country who uphold the law and not selectively choose which laws to enforce. Travis County needs a lawman behind the badge.

Dear Editor,
    I was dismayed that the feature article “Snakes on a Plate” by Jessi Cape [Food, July 10] presented only one side of the rattlesnake game meat issue and, more importantly, contained factually incorrect information.
    Contrary to Cape’s claim, rattlesnakes are not thriving or overpopulated in this region! The western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) has essentially been extirpated in many areas of Texas due to intense collection, killing, and habitat destruction. All species of rattlesnakes have relatively slow reproductive capabilities as young have high predation pressures and females reach sexual maturity late, produce few offspring, and may not produce young in consecutive years. The vulnerability of rattlesnakes is exemplified by the decline of both the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) and the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus); both species have lost over 90% of their former ranges and numbers have plummeted so low that protection status must now be conferred to avoid complete extirpation in certain states.
    I was incredulous that a certain restaurant owner cited by Cape claimed that serving rattlesnake will alleviate problems of overfarming. Oh, come on! Rattlesnake will be marketed as a vogue and chic culinary experience. Call me a skeptic, but I doubt very much that these restaurants will be creating their rabbit-rattlesnake sausages with Manchego rosti and crème fraîche to altruistically alleviate overfarming.
    Before one gives their business to a restaurant serving rattlesnake, I encourage a serious examination of the issue. Please do not be fooled into believing the baseless myths that rattlesnakes are useless and of such unlimited bounty that we would be doing Texas ecosystems a favor by killing and eating them. It is a privilege and exhilarating experience to observe a rattlesnake in the wild where it belongs, instead of as some chunk of flesh on a plate.

Dear Editor,
    In Jessi Cape's article, "Snakes on a Plate"[Food, July 10], the writer makes the naive and completely unsupported suggestion that rattlesnakes are a "thriving or overpopulated species" making "exotic meals like rattlesnake a viable option in our region." Only a brief bit of Internet research reveals that 11 species of snakes are listed by state authorities as "threatened" in Texas including the timber rattlesnake. Further examination reveals that the he-men of West Texas use gasoline to drive rattlesnakes out of their dens for "sport" to capture over a thousand last year for slaughter at the annual Sweetwater "Rattlesnake Roundup." Perhaps Cape's next article can be more informed and not encourage the decimation of another poor species on this tired old planet at the hand of man.

Dear Editor,
    As the father of two teenage mixed race sons, I need no lecture from Chase Hoffberger or anyone else as to why I should be concerned about APD shootings. It would be helpful however if he could stick to reporting facts, and not inserting snark into his pieces. His recent report on the APD shooting of David Lepine [“News Roundup: Tragedies and Textbooks,” News, July 13] begins with the unnecessary "Another weekend, another officer-involved shooting." There can be only one reason for inserting this at the beginning of his report. It is to bias the reader.
    If we believe the police report – Hoffberger offers no counter evidence, which in case he is unfamiliar with the idea, is what we would refer to as "reporting" – the man who was shot had a long criminal record, including assault, and was reaching for a gun which was recovered at the scene.
   Lowering the violence in our society is a serious subject and deserves better and more considered treatment. Consideration perhaps of the fact that last weekend will be remembered by some young police officer – I presume he is young since he has been on the force one year – it will be remembered by him as the weekend when he was forced to take the life of another person.

Dear Editor,
    I appreciate you keeping former Officer Jermaine Hopkins' story alive in the pages of your newspaper [“Did APD Short Officers Overtime?” News, July 17]. I believe in justice, and it appears that as the cards fall, Chief Acevedo's scandalous and egotistical leadership is beginning to show itself. Thank you Chief Acevedo for paying Officer Hopkins a salary to stay home for a year and study the laws that are beginning to reveal your frivolous accusations against him. So far I see the score as: Officer Hopkins – 4, Chief Acevedo – 0.
    Batter up!