PUBLIC VIEWPOINT Hog Basketball Lost Its Heart

DUPLICITY DEPLORABLE

— The Hog basketball program is in the toilet. Go ahead and flush it. Take it all the way down and rebuild. They could be no worse off. John Pelphrey is banking on three 18-yearold kids to resurrect the program. It’s not going to happen. There may be two kids on this roster that good college programs would desire to have. These boys do not possess a tough, inyour-face attitude.

Remember when Nolan had players like Day, Miller, Wilson and Bradley? These guys were hard-nosed.

They left it on the floor.

I didn’t even mention Corliss and others. The above-mentioned also had tremendous heart and were proud to be Razorbacks.

Nolan would get in their face. He would make corrections that he needed to. They had a desire to play for their coach. Their play put 20,000 Hog fans in the seats. Walton Arena was feared by opponents.

Now, we are no better than a mid-major program.

Eddie and Nolan, are you available?

DAN KILGORE

Prairie Grove

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WAR’S COSTS ADDING UP

We are having to learn the hard way that you cannot change 1,000 years of history in one generation. But you can destroy the one generation that is trying to make the change - and that is exactly what we are doing, destroying our younger generation.

We hear some about the thousands who have been killed over the last 10 years.

We hear very little about the tens of thousands who have been wounded during that time. And we hear absolutely NOTHING about the hundreds of thousands who have been mentally and emotionally “killed” and wounded. Many of these have become a burden and even a threat to their families and others around them.

How much more will it take for our leaders and generals to realize that we are not helping the Afghans or the Iraqis? We are only destroying ourselves and bankrupting our country.

Imagine what we could do with the hundreds of billions of dollars we are spending in these two countries!

The time to end this war is now! Maybe we should let our congressmen and women know that.

BILL KELLER

Bella Vista

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I hate it when politicians say one thing and do something else. Even worse, I hate it when the voter buys into their deceit without thinking. Perhaps worse is when the media join in to promote this nonsense.

Case in point. We had asnowstorm, 5 to 8 inches in Benton County. The quick response by the county board was, let’s see how much we spent on snow removal, and then we may become eligible for money from FEMA to reimburse us some of our expenses. Sounds good on the surface, but all Benton County Republicans and Tea Party promoters rally against the federal deficit, which is awash with red ink. Perhaps if we get this “free money” the deficit will just go away.

Want to hear more about greed by Republican politicians? Try Oklahoma.

The governor wants Obama to declare the entire state a disaster area and send money, but aren’t all Republicans (especially in Oklahoma) against the federal deficit and the bloated socialistic liberals?

I guess not. Washington is handy when we want money.

How about “earmarks” or “bundling” to make spending more palatable?

Here in Rogers, we are being prepped not to increase taxes but to extend an existing 1 percent sales tax. Why do we need the extension? It is essential we replace the aging patrol cars for the police (I favor that) and do a bit of infrastructure improvement. Oh by the way, we’ll also build a water park on an existing softball/soccer complex and move that facility to the Hudson Road/Dixieland area. Plus we will need this bond money to rehab Lake Atalanta with a swim pool, road improvements and create a new recreation area (nostalgia?). And we will be paying this tax for how many years? And over the lifetime of the tax we will reap how many dollars for other projects?

Now politicians, voters, media, are you really “conservative” and “antitax” or are you just willing to make a bargain with the devil if you get the money and then complain?

CHARLES ALDRICH

Rogers

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STATE OF ROADS UNBEARABLE

Ihave witnessed over

and over all the city and county trucks driving all over Northwest Arkansas and their snow plows are nowhere near the roadways. The city of Rogers and the county do a very poor job of snow cleanup. I pay taxes along with everyone else here and think the city and county should do more to ensure the safety of local residents through cleaner roads during winter. I went to Missouri the other day and when I reached the border of Missouri, it was clean and clear as usual in the winter. When you pass back into Arkansas, then you have to deal with treacherous conditions that are unsafe for all motorists.

JEFFREY ROY

Rogers

Opinion, Pages 16 on 02/27/2011

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