LETTERS

Smarts slippin’ away

Reading Get Fuzzy was a great way to begin my day. The strip is clever and funny. I looked forward to seeing it daily. Now that it’s gone, I miss it a lot.

I’m college-educated with many, many hours beyond my graduate degree. I’ve always considered myself intelligent and well-read, but after reading Womu a few times, I’ve noticed a change in my intellect. My speling has slipped and my grammar has taken a nosdive down. This drop in branpower has happened after reading Woomo just a little like 3 or 4 tims.

Somtimes I don’t finish sentences all the way to the

Somtimes I repeat myself. Sometimes I repeat myself. Somtimes I repea

I think this Wuumu strip is makin me dumb and dumber. I think this Wuumu strip is makin me duSo I’m afraid this slide will keep getting werse and werse and so I’m not going to read Whammo anymore because this slide will jus get werse and werse and before long the only job I’ll be fit for is the U.S. Congress.

So please bring back Get Fuzzy before I start my congressional campaign.

JOHN C. JARBOE

North Little Rock

Comics bottom of list As if we have nothing else to gripe about, the comics are on the bottom of this reader’s list. But they do give a chuckle every now and then, except when they get political or religious.

Here’s an idea. Hold a contest for people who doodle or such to submit their work. Idea two would be to get rid of Lio, Dilbert, Luann, Judge Parker, Mutts (What’s with all the “sh” from a cat? Stupid) or any of the dramatic serial stuff.

I can draw, I have funny quips, I have a job that affords me at least one entry relevant to human nature, pets, time, jobs, military and so on.

With all we have going on in the world, most of all our daily lives, do we want to laugh or worry about Lio blowing us sky-high with nothing to say?

DEK E. KELLY

Rogers

Just waiting them out I want to thank the editorial writers at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for another fine editorial about how Obamacare is going to increase our wait times at our doctors’ offices.

I’m outraged! I believe this increased wait time will be due to all those millions of pesky poor people who can now go see the doctor when they get the flu. They used to just suffer it out at home and, according to the CDC, thousands of people die of the flu each year. Of course, these new patients won’t care about the wait time, since even seeing a doctor at all is a blessing for them. But the rest of use might have to bring a book or a tablet because of the horrible inconvenience.

I’m sure the editor and the rest of us who already have health insurance would love to see millions of people’s needless suffering reduced and thousands of deaths eliminated, but not if it means waiting an extra hour at the doctor’s office.

What’s the world coming to?

MICHAEL VINING

Benton

Students losing lottery

As a current student at the University of Arkansas, I know how difficult it can be to pay for tuition, books and fees, despite the fortune of being born into a solid middle-class family.

Imagine being a recent high school graduate who lives as about 20 percent of all Arkansans-under the poverty line. This is the grim reality for many college freshmen.

The difficult and very real question they have to face is how to pay for college.

Most people likely would agree that education is the greatest equalizer of all and that a college degree provides an opportunity to rise above socioeconomic boundaries. However, as college tuition has increased, the Academic Challenge Scholarship-funded largely by the state lottery-has decreased.

The scholarship initially provided $5,000 per year to each qualified Arkansas student attending a four-year university. For the 2013-14 school year, the scholarship provides only $2,000 to first-year students, with an increase of $1,000 each year thereafter.

These cuts are extremely discouraging to poor students relying on this scholarship to fund their education.

What is more disheartening is that these cuts could have been prevented. In April, a bill went before the Arkansas House Rules Committee to mandate that 25 percent of lottery proceeds be designated for the scholarship program, but failed in committee. In Arkansas, about 20 percent of lottery proceeds are used for scholarships, less than most other states with lotteries.

I think this is wrong. Our investment in education must come first.

JAEL KIMBALL

Rogers

Did what they had to

In a recent Tom Dillard column, he stated that, during the Civil War, a Union Army foraging detachment was ambushed and cruelly annihilated by Confederate troops.

What is a foraging unit? If an armed foraging unit came to your home and demanded food, clothing, blankets and whatever else they desired, would not you consider them plunderers or pillagers? Were they cruelly annihilated or were the Confederate troops protecting their citizens from pillagers? I seem to recall that many Union foragers also committed horrible crimes.

Mr. Dillard seemed to be particularly concerned that a large number of black troops were also killed.

I understand that. They probably did not understand the enormity of their crimes, but I think the Confederate troops did what they had to do.

WILLIAM CLEVELAND

Clarksville

Move to state positive

My wife and I just moved a few days ago from Riverside, Calif., to Alma. I would just like to mention two very pleasing things we discovered right away.

First, the folks are truly more friendly and helpful than in Southern California.

Secondly, I really like the format of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Each article in your paper-small, medium or large-has a large, dark heading.

It makes your paper much easier to read, therefore, more enjoyable in doing so.

Thank you for two positives right off the bat.

LOU L. EAGLER

Alma

Editorial, Pages 73 on 12/08/2013

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