LETTERS

LITTLE ROCK — Public’s disgust deserved

The antics of professional politicians have ceased to amaze me. There seems to be a sickness that descends upon formerly decent people when they attain public office.

This latest flap concerning the misuse of state-owned vehicles and the failure to obey federal tax laws concerning such use is not at all surprising. Several constitutional officers have made a mockery of the voter-mandated term-limits law by playing a game of musical chairs in which those who have reached the mandatory termlimit simply switch offices with another term-limited politician and go on their merry way collecting their self-awarded perks and thumbing their noses at the public, which is picking up the bill.

There is a lot of attention being given to business executives who amass great fortunes in their plush offices, but little is said about what kind of work they have to do to attain their status. If they weren’t producing for the corporation and making money for the stockholders, they would quickly be removed. Politicians, on the other hand, seem to have no need to perform, just collect their salaries and perks and con their friends into raising vast sums to gain re-election, and then eventually retire on a government pension that yields much more than any working stiff can hope to attain.

It is no wonder that the American public has become disgusted with the arrogance of these public “servants.” WILLIAM R. CANARY FlippinBack natural gas bill

Congratulations to North Little Rock for preparing the opening of a publicly accessible natural gas fueling station. Using natural gas in our autos and heavy duty trucks is one of the quickest, cleanest ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

This fuel source is not getting enough attention from the press, the government or our vehicle manufacturers. Our existing internal combustion engines can be used with minor modifications. Natural gas burns much, much cleaner than gasoline or diesel fuel. Many of us burn natural gas in our homes.

Most important, it is available right here in the good old U.S.A. in larger quantities than most can imagine. The Bakken Formation in eastern Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota reportedly has more natural gas and oil reserves than in Saudi Arabia. These reserves are on thousands of acres of federal land, thousands of acres of farmland and thousands of acres of Native American land. Northwest Arkansas has some tremendous potential.

Bipartisan bills are in the House and Senate. This proposed natural gas act provides incentives to replace diesel trucks with newer natural gas vehicles. This is a great start. Write or call your senators and representatives and have them push House Resolution 1835 and Senate Bill 1408 forward. I would much rather see them working on something like this natural gas act than all of these spending programs.

GERALD L. RICE Hot Springs Village Success is debatable

I don’t understand why this paper is so obsessed with Teach for America. The only explanation that I can think of is that there is a lack of understanding of the program.

First of all, Teach for America is very exclusive. It accepts students from the very best schools, and many qualified applicants are not admitted. In other words, it takes the best of the best.

It is not surprising that some of the teachers in the program are successful. Imagine if we recruited the most talented Ivy League graduates to write for the Democrat-Gazette. Even though those graduates would not have a journalism degree, I would imagine the quality of the paper would improve.

Second, this program is not a longterm solution because, although thesetalented people teach for a few years, they do not stay in teaching. A recent study shows that after four years, 85 percent of Teach for America teachers left the New York City school system. Teach for America’s own research has shown that few people are estimated to remain in their initial placement school or the profession beyond five or six years. In other words, these teachers leave the profession for better opportunities soon after they begin.

I think it would be worthwhile for this paper’s opinion writers to consider why those Teach for America graduates leave rather than insisting that Teach for America is a successful program.

JENNIFER CLARK Lowell Money being wasted

So the Arkansas State University Board of Trustees will vote to pay an independent search firm $45,000 plus expenses to help find a new ASU president. What?

Has anyone checked into what ASU and many other Arkansas colleges and universities offer their new assistant professors who hold a doctoral degree and, better yet, some post-doctoral training and prior teaching experience?

And this news of wasteful spending comes at the same time as annual faculty raises have been frozen in the state. Also, recall the latest salaries for sports jocks.

In the end, our college teachers always seem to get the shaft, are unappreciated and are taken for granted. Food for thought.

CHRIS T. McALLISTER Hot Springs Diversion effective

Would someone out there please tell me not to worry over the automobile companies, car dealerships and used car lots getting themselves exempted from the recently enacted Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act?

While all of the attention was being directed toward the big banks and Wall Street, someone was making an end run.

DON MANES Little RockFeedback Headline was fun

Hey, activate your “wit” genes and enjoy life, readers Anna Kay Baker and Don Renshaw, then reread the headline, “Two late touchdowns propel Naturals,” a sports-minded play on words describing the Naturals’ 15-run spurt in the last three innings of the recent game with the Travelers. (Not only two touchdowns, but a two-point conversion. Wow!)

Thanks, Democrat-Gazette, for giving me a laugh. As a writer and copy editor who started her 40-year career on the rim, a.k.a., copydesk, I appreciate the fun someone had writing that headline.

FRAN ZIMMERMANN Bella Vista Wordplay lauded

I was amazed and amused to see that not one but two of your readers felt compelled to criticize your proofreaders for allowing the headline “Two late touchdowns propel Naturals” to be printed.

Well, duh. When baseball teams score seven runs in one inning and eight in the next, that’s scoring more like football than baseball. It’s one thing for a reader to miss the play on words altogether, but quite another to feel compelled to write a letter to the editor to complain about it.

And to think these folks probably vote. Little wonder that we’ve got troubles in Washington. Great headline!

DENNIS LAWLER Springdale