LETTERS

Laws caused problem

There are a number of things in our society that cause major problems. Drug use and prostitution are two of them.

What folks do not seem to see, however, is that problems are caused by the illegality of the activities; gang sales of drugs became hugely profitable when the drugs became illegal.

Gangs, when I was a kid, were closer to those seen in West Side Story. They fought each other with knives and clubs. Why did they not use Thompson Machine guns? The weapons were for sale on the black market in huge amounts after World War II. The answer was that they could not afford them.

When widespread demand for drugs appeared the gangs found a money pit. With easy money, the gang arms race started. Therefore from the Hell’s Angels to the Crips and the Bloods, gangs became a huge problem.

I went through college with women who worked in the sex trade. It was reasonably safe then. There were few pimps and most of the working girls kept out of trouble by giving the police a few freebies.

Now prostitution has been mixed with child pornography and sex-trafficking empires. Once again the illegality has in itself created the problem. If sex workers were legal and licensed, law enforcement efforts could be focused on child abuse and trafficking, which are huge evils.

If you bust a hooker or a person buying weed, do not lie to yourself and think you are solving any problem at all.

PAUL McFARLAND

Greenbrier

This makes no sense

Biofuels sound neat. Yes, you can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. But why do it?

Why are we using ethanol in our gas in the first place?

We’ve known for decades what happens when you mix ethanol in gas. We get water in our fuel. Corrosion in carburetors. And other things I’m not going to post because they take up words.

Ethanol is more expensive to make than gasoline, and the mileage isn’t as good. If government wasn’t subsidizing, I’m sure nobody would be doing it.

And to top it all off, we make it from food we could be eating-corn. That is the dumbest part of all.

Ethanol has driven the cost of food up. Doesn’t make any difference whether it’s humans or animals, the food now costs more. Why are we using what we could be eating to fill up our fuel tanks?

Gasoline was considered too dangerous to be used at one time. It was a waste product. Until the gasoline engine was invented.

Humans do generate CO2. We exhale it daily. If environmentalists think it’s that bad a substance, why don’t they quit breathing? That or let nature take care of the environment. Nature has worked well for billions of years without our help.

ALLEN VEASMAN

Dover

Means of expression

A recent letter regarding the expression of religious beliefs or the lack thereof was quite revealing on the part of the letter writer.

She expressed that some of the earlier letter-writers had tried “just about anything to stop Christians from voicing their opinions,” yet she also said in the same letter, “please stop printing letters from those who favor abortion, homosexuality, etc.”

She added: “… let the readers decide for themselves what they want to read. Isn’t that what freedom of expression is all about?”

It appears that she seems a bit confused. It seems she likes freedom of expression as long as she agrees with the opinions expressed. That is not how it works.

I always wonder why people argue about religion. It seems especially ironic because we live in a country that allows us to be free to choose our spiritual beliefs. I also believe the quickest way to turn a person off is to argue with that person about something as personal as spirituality.

I think some people need to relax and realize that the best way to express how one believes is to act on it on a daily basis.

TOM ARNHART

Rogers

Can’t ignore his word

What Bill Moreland describes as broken in our God-created earth is, I believe, due to Satan’s intervention. When God told Eve not to eat of the fruit as it would lead to death, Satan, in snake form, convinced her she would have the wisdom of God.

With that, sin entered the world.

And as for the tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and recent off the-charts high temperatures, did our mothers not punish us when we erred? Forgive me for second-guessing the Almighty!

I believe God set faith rules for us to live by in holy scripture, and when his word is ignored, he will lose patience. So send our Supreme Court justices a bouquet of roses. Didn’t Hurricane Sandy occur after gay-marriage acts were passed?

A land of such perfection as none of us earthly beings have ever known is available in only one place-heaven-and there’s only one way to get there, through accepting Jesus Christ as your lord and savior and following him in baptism.

I’m praying for Bill.

DIXIE ANN COLE

Fayetteville

Reverse psychology

I am a very strong believer in right from wrong, but why should I believe in the Bible when it is the work of man, not the word of a god?

I believe it is wrong for Christians to try to brainwash others with their letters. Hiram Cooper’s letter says, “When disbelievers knock on the door of heaven, they will hear God’s reply: ‘I say I do not know you, depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’”

Brenda Kelley says, “Look at it this way: If I am wrong, I have nothing to lose when my life is over. If you’re wrong, you lose everything.” This makes me wonder if she really believes or if she is looking for excuses to believe. And there is no doubt in my mind-we have no idea how everything got here and we have no idea when it will end.

If I wanted to believe, these belittling letters would keep me from it.

BILL MORELAND

Rogers

Cue the drummer …

I saw on the Internet that Barack Obama and the mainstream media will never mention George Zimmerman again since he has changed his name to Ben Ghazi.

MARK MORELL

Benton