LETTERS

Bedroom community

I have been following closely the ownership of the female uterus by our state legislators, and I wish to point out to them that at no time have I signed over my rights to this part of my body to anyone. This does not state that I agree or disagree with abortion, family planning, etc., but that I believe this is a personal issue best decided by the individuals involved, not a panel of strangers.

I have always maintained that if a person practices and believes in their religious doctrine, and this holds that an abortion is against the belief, then they will not seek or obtain an abortion. It appears to me that the leaders have little faith in their members on this issue, so they are forcing this doctrine through legislation, which is not only on their members, but on an entire state to conform to their belief.

Since the legislators have decided to take ownership of the female uterus, I think it is only right that they also now take control and ownership of the male genitalia. It should be regulated and as closely scrutinized as the uterus. This will permit them to move into the bedroom completely.

MARY ANN MALAVENDA

Hot Springs Village

Progress is a process

Tea Party Republicans will soon claim credit for extending affordable health insurance to many of the working poor in Arkansas, but not too many. But they will still be unable to say without throwing up inside their mouths a little the name of the president and his team who had the imagination, courage and skill to make it possible. Nor will they credit Harry Truman, Ted Kennedy, the Clintons and other visionaries who paved the way. That’s okay; progress is a process and even foot-dragging reactionaries play a role.

However, that sentiment may be lost on those affected by, among other of their causes: slavery; war against the U.S. to protect slave property rights; no votes for women, blacks and non-property-owners; child labor and inhumane conditions; exploitation of and legal discrimination against minorities and sharecroppers; lynching; inferior schools for blacks; no-holds barred marketing to addicts of tobacco and alcohol; shifting taxes to the poor through sales taxes and gambling; back-alley abortions; criminalizing drug addiction rather than treating it as a public-health crisis; warehousing mentally ill and disabled; unsafe cars; unsafe and unhealthy workplaces; pollution for profit of water, air and land; domestic gun violence as the solution to domestic gun violence; unequal treatment of women employees; opposition to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; opposition to the American Revolution.

The list goes on and into the future with, for example, support for global warming for fun and profit.

HOWELL MEDDERS

Fayetteville

Know by name-calling

If I disagree with a black person and call him the “n” word, I am a racist. If I disagree with a homosexual and call him the “f” word, I am a homophobic.

What is a person called who disagrees with me and calls me a fat, old white man?

It seems to me if name-calling is wrong for one group, it’s wrong for all groups.

THOMAS LAKSO

Russellville

Blundering buffoons

We are in one of the most dangerous times of the year for Arkansans, legislative session time led by publicity-seeking buffoons.

Mark Darr cowardly goes behind the back of Gov. Mike Beebe while he is out of town to sign legislation. Darr disrespected Beebe as well as the very office he craves so desperately. If he is this underhanded as lieutenant governor, can you imagine what will happen if he is given more power?

Rep. Andy Mayberry and his cohort, Barney, are trying to force the Razorbacks and ASU to play. As an ASU alum, I would love to see this game, but it has no place in a legislative discussion. This is an obvious publicity stunt from a person who is so insignificant he got desperate.

Jason “Jesus Jr.” Rapert and his self-righteous assault of women. I personally oppose abortion, but I have no idea of the pain and anguish to make such a decision. It is none of my business, nor is it appropriate for government to make that choice. Rapert belongs to the party that believes a woman cannot get pregnant if she is truly raped. Is this really the group we want making health-care decisions for females? The ACLU is taking up this fight and will now educate him on civil liberties. He can return to the rest of the religious nuts and churn butter as they look for ways to interfere in other people’s lives.

If life is so sacred, why not stop the proliferation of assault weapons and magazines that have no purpose in sports and are responsible for 20 dead babies in Newtown? At least be consistent in your hypocrisy.

ALAN DAUGHERTY

Hot Springs

On passing judgment

Recently Gov. Mike Beebe criticized state legislators for overriding his vetoes of two bills limiting abortions. Beebe stated that when the legislators were sworn in with their hands on the Bible, they vowed to uphold the law of the land. Beebe believes that limiting abortions is contrary to the law.

Beebe also took his oath of office with his hand on the Bible; however, he is now passing judgment on the legality of a law passed by the Legislature. He was elected as chief executive officer to enforce the laws passed by the Legislature. The judicial branch is to determine if a law is actually contrary to the Constitution.

Opponents of these laws speak of the rights of the expectant mother but ignore the rights of the child in her womb. When someone shoots a pregnant woman and causes the death of the child she is carrying, that person can be charged with murder. If an abortionist takes the life of the same child, he is just doing his job. Why does the unborn child qualify as a person with rights to be defended in one instance, but only a mass of tissue with no right to existence in the other?

When Mary, pregnant with Jesus, visited Elizabeth, pregnant with John, the Bible says that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. It does not say the “mass of tissue” leaped in her womb. Had either of these women chosen to abort their pregnancies, our world would be a vastly different place.

RICHARD MANN

West Memphis