I read the letters to the editor just about everyday. When I find myself having hope in this world that there are actually intelligent people out there making decisions and raising children, I open up the AJ and become extremely grounded into the realities of life in West Texas. This letter below is particularly great. The story he tells is ok, but where's his point?

Life In Refugee Camp
Imagine that a foreign army surrounded Lubbock County. The army rounds up every man, woman and child and herds all into refugee camps. Then they took our families' land, homes, businesses, schools and universities for their own use.
We are living in these refugee camps without employment, without schools, without health services, and without universities.
Imagine that our families had been in these camps for three generations. Our grandchildren and now great-grandchildren have no hope; just more hunger, more unemployment, more sickness.
KEN HARGESHEIMER/Lubbock

Secondly, this next letter is also enjoyable. I admit, I wasn't here in town, or born for that matter, when the tornado hit Lubbock in 1970 or 1971 or whatever. I guess I'm not scared of tornados, how many actually happen 'round here? I remember one day there was a funnel cloud dropping a possible tornado by the movie theater, but to the chagrin of my mother, Adam and I went to the movies anyways. You cannot miss opening night!! Anyways, back to my point. I don't think sirens are necessary in this day and age. Case in point, Saturday while watching hockey on ABC, Ron Roberts cut into my game to announce that bad weather was approaching. Wait, that's a lie, he interrupted so he could tell us that HE thinks that maybe there might be some bad weather later that evening. For like 5 minutes, he drones on and on about how the conditions in Eastern New Mexico and also West Texas SEEMED right for bad weather. What happened that night you ask? Not a damn thing! I missed like 4 minutes of delightful Stanley Cup Playoff action, so that Mr. Ron Roberts could tell me about what he thinks and how great a job they at ABC are doing and how they'll keep us informed. So, do we really want people like Ron Roberts activating tornado sirens every time HE thinks, maybe, just maybe, there might be bad weather? No, I'd rather die than hear them or him.

Tornado Warning Sirens?
Once again, we find ourselves at the beginning of our annual tornado alley residency. And, once again, the City of Lubbock has done nothing in the way of activating a warning system (sirens).
The casual suggestion from City Hall is to buy a weather radio. Well, listen up, City Hall, we all pay enough taxes to fund a decent warning system, and, as much as the mayor and city council members tell us that they care about the people of Lubbock (that would be us), I think protecting our lives would be part of the deal. Or maybe they only care, verbally, in an election year.
Oddly enough, I spoke with a friend in the Dallas area last night (4-16) after their storms, and she informed me that there were sirens going off from one end of the metroplex to the other from the onset.
How about it, City Hall? Can you care as much about the safety of your citizens as the big boys do?
CHRIS POWELL/Lubbock