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, 
    I read “ARIC:Black Marchers with Guns?” I couldn’t help but notice that Rakem Balogun was disenfranchised and left homeless by the biased actions of the law enforcement partnership at the ARIC, which is operated by the Austin Police Department (APD). Balogun was targeted by ARIC after he marched in Austin. He lost his Dallas house. In Austin, APD had former Assistant Chief Justin Newsom influencing the groups that decided which “homeless“ person got housing. I was in the meeting room where it happened. Remember Newsom resigned over complaints that he had openly made racist comments against Blacks for over a decade. I also recall the 2005 Chronicle report on the APD “Burn Baby Burn” scandal. APD officers were caught celebrating during a fire at a Black business. Didn’t want to provide service (equal protection) to the Black business. So this biased ARIC targeting is part of the ongoing hate crime against Blacks by APD leadership. It’s a hate crime not homelessness.

Dear Editor, 
    Millennials, who are already the largest voting block, should be thinking about their already tarnished legacy by skipping their COVID-spreading rave parties and VOTING!
    Upwards of 50% of them did not vote in both the 2012 and 2016 national elections. 
    Please VOTE, volunteer, donate, give blood, support local businesses, and respect everyone. 
    Stop looking at your phone every 5 seconds, stop riding 2 to a dockless scooter, and have a nice day. 

Dear Editor,
    On Saturday, October 10, youth climate activists with the Sunrise Movement showed up in person at several offices of Republican Congressman Michael McCaul to deliver this message: We’re voting you out.
    We are organizers with Sunrise Austin, proud Austin residents, and constituents of the glaringly gerrymandered Texas 10th Congressional District. But we are not proud that our Congressional District is represented by fossil fuel millionaire Michael McCaul. And we say purposefully that he represents the District – not the people in it – because Michael McCaul only looks out for himself.
    To be honest, we’re tired of having a Congressman that only looks out for himself. That’s why we came together with our peers at Sunrise Katy and Sunrise Houston to remind him that he does not work for his corporate donors – he works for us. To remind him that his Congressional seat does not belong to him – it belongs to us. McCaul continues to try to sell out our future-- and now he has to answer to us.
    The first step is to vote out McCaul and replace him with Mike Siegel, a champion of the people, who will actually represent us. And the stakes could not be any higher.

Dear Editor,
    For the US to help the world’s poor to the extent it has, the government needs to protect the International Affairs Budget (IAB). Though it’s only one percent of the US federal budget, the IAB finances diplomacy and development initiatives, including efforts to help the world’s poor. The funding is too important to be at risk. But it is. The current Administration has proposed 22% cuts for fiscal year 2021. We cannot let that happen.
    Helping the world’s poor is not just a good deed; it’s a wise investment. The plight of the poor abroad affects the US economy and national security. Foreign aid helps the poor move out of poverty. That benefits the US, which sells goods abroad. The return on investment includes more production and jobs at home. Foreign aid also helps stabilize regions, making them safer.
    We need to urge Congress to protect funding for the International Affairs Budget.