LETTERS

Dangerous choice for U.S.

The president is under pressure to become militarily involved in Syria, but I believe that would be insane for a number of reasons.

We can’t be sure who used chemical weapons. I do not believe the Syrian government wants to draw America across the red line, since they already have the apparent military advantage along with support from Russia and Iran.

On the other hand, other groups certainly would. Many people profit from continuous warfare, especially people in the arms trade.

Observers on the scene strongly suspect that Muslim extremists are mingled with the opposition, with plans to kidnap the revolution and establish an Islamist state hostile to the United States. A good strategy for them would be to cause us to further drain our depleted treasury.

Any time we send bombs and missiles flying, we create a new generation of suicidal terrorists who hate us. Experience shows that no matter who wins Middle Eastern wars, the United States is seen as the enemy invader, although we have token help from allies. We certainly should send humanitarian help for the refugees.

Many Americans fear an isolationist policy because we were late getting into World War II, but Syria is not like Hitler’s Nazis. Syria is not an expansionist nation. It just has a stubborn dictator who is determined to stay in power.

It is wrong to be silent in the face of such imminent danger. Speak up before it is too late and Syria becomes another disaster like Iraq.

GLENN PICKEL

Fayetteville

His political history

I was born in the late ’30s and have made these observations about Arkansas politics.

My parents were Yellow Dog Democrats, as were most Arkansans. They always voted for a Democrat no matter who was running. On the state level, this changed after a term or two with Bill Clinton. My parents, along with some others,began to see that the Democratic Party was leaving them. I could see this happening before they did.

The national party of Democrats was gradually changing to a liberal view. Arkansas Democratic governors were changing from conservative to liberal, with three after Orval Faubus. The senators changed to the liberal side after John McClelland left.

The South has changed from being conservative Democrats to now being conservative Republicans. Arkansas has finally made the switch.

Now to the present. Mark Pryor has finally gotten a legitimate conservative opponent in Tom Cotton. I believe he represents the views of most Arkansans and needs your support. We do not need a liberal senator to represent us.

WESLEY E. POOLE

Hot Springs

C’mon, let ’em play!

It seems the athletic department at the University of Arkansas has no intention of changing its longtime tradition of refusing to play any other in-state athletic team. I was hoping when Jeff Long came on board that he would have the foresight to abolish this outdated anachronistic policy.

Elitism and cowardice apparently still prevail on The Hill.

BURT MADDEN

Little Rock

Powerful, insightful

Perhaps it was because we had lived through the times-times fraught with societal themes and counter themes, currents and cross-currents. They were tumultuous times, times of great national and local changes-changes which were so personal and close to home.

The audience viewing The Butler when I saw it was almost entirely white and older. We had lived through the 60-odd years portrayed in the movie.

Curiously absent from the audience were the young (perhaps they prefer the more violent offerings also being shown) and those most directly affected-although there were two black couples.

We all need a strong exposure to the multiple messages of The Butler-a powerful and insightful movie in the midst of Hollywood’s usual fluff, nonsense, sex and gore.

JOHN SCHMEDEMAN

Little Rock

On the war on words

What a piece of work by Charles Krauthammer with his attack on the current administration. He lambastes President Barack Obama for not identifying the enemy as radical Islam. Wouldn’t the enemy merely repeat the statement, dropping the adjective?

He also says the word “extremism” has no content. Let’s see. Major Nidal Hasan is an extremist, Krauthammer’s preferred word. I believe Nidal killing 13 soldiers and wounding more than 30 others is extremism.

Of course, we could ask Bradley Gitz for clarification. Then again, maybe not.

Krauthammer calls for honesty and clarity from the president. Does that mean like we really thought there were WMDs in those trailer trucks? WWCD: What would Cheney do?

Krauthammer naively states this is the “world’s first lexicological war.” Forty-five years ago, the military told me “strategic withdrawal” had replaced retreat and “C-rations” were food.

It was the military that classified Hasan’s extremism as workplace violence, perhaps in order to deny those affected of proper medical care and pay. Not the president.

I see Krauthammer’s column as a classic example of urinating on someone’s back and telling him it’s raining. But again the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sought balance with the Bloomberg View’s “The evolving fight” on the same page. Thanks. Semper Fi.

BLANE WILHITE

Piggott

Republican racism?

Some say nothing is absolute. I believe such people have obviously never read Charles Krauthammer’s newspaper columns.

Even in columns that have absolutely nothing directly to do with President Barack Obama, his administration or his policies, Mr. Krauthammer cannot seem to hide his disdain-even disgust-with the reality of having a black man in the White House.

Case in point, Mr. Krauthammer apparently approved of George W. Bush’s “signing statements,” his presidential decrees that his administration would unilaterally disregard parts of new laws passed by Congress. Yet Mr. Krauthammer vociferously attacks President Obama’s decisions to not enforce clearly unconstitutional laws seemingly passed to crush minorities (lengthy mandatory imprisonment for black and brown crack users while only slapping the hands of white cocaine users).

The only real difference I see between these two presidents regarding such executive actions is …. cue the drum-roll and trumpets … skin color.

In his defense, Krauthammer is not the only one fighting every idea from President Obama. The entire Republican Party apparently has dedicated itself to “proving” that he is intellectually, morally and racially (OMG, he’s black) incapable of successfully leading the United States of America.

Sadly, President Obama’s election in 2008 and re-election in 2012 didn’t deal a death blow to racism in America. His election to the presidency seems to have simply motivated Republicans, such as Mr. Krauthammer, to wear their racism on their sleeves while denying its existence.

JIM BLOK

Benton

Tracking could help

Way back when Sen. Dale Bumpers was in office, I remember there was a young man who drowned on Bull Shoals Lake. It took law enforcement two weeks to recover the body.

I sent Bumpers a letter suggesting that he was in a position to initiate legislation requiring people who go swimming in lakes, rivers and oceans to wear tracking devices on their swimsuits so their bodies could be located if they drowned. He wrote me back saying that he did not think people would approve this idea because of privacy concerns.

My concern was the effort and cost required by law enforcement to locate and recover the bodies.

It’s the same thing with recovering stolen vehicles. All new vehicles should have tracking devices. Some do. Law enforcement spends millions annually looking for stolen vehicles. Owners should be grateful for any help they get in recovering them.

This is not an invasion of privacy, it’s reality. Grand theft auto is a huge problem in this country.

These tracking devices are not big, cumbersome gadgets, nor are they expensive. Exactly why these devices are not widely utilized on people, vehicles or high-theft items to our benefit is a mystery.

We have utilized bar codes to identify animals, but I have not heard of bar codes utilized on people to identify their bodies. This would save law enforcement a lot of time and money. Security cameras scare some folks.

LUCIAN SIMMONS JR.

Oil Trough

How to help Arkansas

Hey folks, here is an idea to help our home state: an Arkansas jobs lottery parallel to the Scholarship Lottery that we presently have. In essence, the state government would donate raw land and vacant buildings, bought with profits from the jobs lottery, to companies wanting to locate here.

I recently sent this idea to the Arkansas Lottery Commission in Little Rock. I believe it could help Arkansas attain a very low percentage rate in unemployment, eventually near zero percent.

God bless Bill Halter for our Scholarship Lottery. Arkansas could be first in the nation to start a jobs lottery, and thus serve as a pilot program for all the other states to follow.

We could even have a national jobs lottery, with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. I feel that it’s at least worth a try. Ernie and David of the Scholarship Lottery’s past could be the two to direct our new lottery.

God bless Arkansas and the United States of America!

MIKE MURPHY

DeWitt

Feedback

Some more equal

Keeping with the Obama administration’s apparent ideas on homosexualizing society, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently gave homosexuals up to 10 days marriage leave. That special leave is in addition to normal 30 days per year leave.

Gay and lesbian service members who are assigned more than 100 miles from a state where same-sex marriages are legal, or who are assigned overseas, will be granted these extra days to travel where they can marry legally.

As I understand it, there is no special leave for a soldier who wishes to marry a person of the opposite gender.

In other words, no heterosexuals need apply.

BOB MERRIMAN

Hensley

On the golf course

On vacation recently, President Barack Obama played golf six times. Six times in one week.

I guess when Obama was considering running for president, he also thought about becoming a pro golfer.

In the end he must have realized that being a pro golfer wouldn’t afford him as much opportunity to play golf as would being president.

FRANK LATIMER

Little Rock