part of my letter to Senator Hutchison

Story:
---> She had previously replied with a letter that read in part:

I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to strengthen priorities for the security of our nation, keeping your concerns in mind.

---> My reply in part reads:

You cannot do this. It is impossible. Please do not try. It has gotten so that every time I hear someone in Washington use the word, “security”, I start to worry that more civil liberties are about to be taken away.

You say that you will keep my concerns in mind. I used to do a lot of work for Habitat for Humanity. The way I see it, Texas' share of the cost of the war on Iraq (so far) comes to about $29,000,000,000. At $58,000—which buys a lot of house in a poor part of town, especially when your neighbors help you hammer—that comes to 500,000 houses, and that's just in Texas. Or call the price of four years at a state university with a lot of help toward $3/gallon gas and pizza to be $58,000 and you can take some of those 500,000 houses and turn them into college educations. I know a lot of teachers who would be very happy if their salaries were raised to $58,000.

If you want to give me security, start thinking about spending money and time doing things that will bring a smile to someone's face and keep it there for years. Happy people do not want to hurt other people unless they are a fanatic of one stripe or another. We can deal with the homegrown fanatics. We just have to stop creating them abroad.