LETTERS

Uncommon wisdom

A word to say how much I enjoyed Philip Martin’s column in last Sunday’s Perspective section: Mr. Martin is, I believe, mostly the movie critic, but he writes on other subjects as well.

His piece this day had to do with sports. He speaks of super-achievers such as Tiger Woods, but along the way he gives us a little uncommon wisdom. He says: “The best lesson that playing sports holds for most of us is that it doesn’t really come down to desire and effort. Sometimes it’s impossible to overcome superior athleticism and physical acumen … you cannot will yourself into being faster and stronger than you are.”

I believe that this is also true of other endeavors. We are told that we can be anything we want to be if we try hard enough. I’m for trying hard but I think it’s dishonest to tell our kids that the sky’s the limit when we should know that there are certainly limits and sometimes it is good to be aware of them.

I think Philip Martin is an excellent writer and it is good that the Democrat-Gazette has him.

FRED SAWYER Little Rock

Worth remembering

’Tis truly a cold day somewhere when I agree with the opinion of Paul Greenberg. Sunday, April 13, was such a day.

I refer to his remembrance of Robert Strauss. I met Strauss only once, very briefly, when I was 19. I will always recall the occasion because for a brief few seconds I felt I was the most important person in Mr. Strauss’ presence.

“… it was the country’s interest, not either party’s, that came first [for Bob Strauss].”

Oh for his like today!

SAM HIGHSMITH Little Rock

Almost makes sense

Sometimes I almost think Mr. John Brummett is being led as if by an occult hand to the light of common sense in his comments about Rep. Tom Cotton, but then he will revert to calling him extremist, etc.

Just as the obese often see slender folks as extremely thin, common sense apparently has been out of fashion in the U.S. Senate for so long that it may be perceived as extreme. A healthy diet is no more to be feared than healthy government spending is. CLIFFORD EATON Danville

Case very disturbing

The Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents believe that nursing home residents deserve their basic civil right to access our legal system.We have read news accounts describing how campaign contributions totaling $21,000 were made July 8th to seven PACs by Michael Morton of Fort Smith. Morton, along with six businesses he controls, each donated $3,000 to a different PAC. In December and January, these same PACs made contributions to Judge Mike Maggio’s Court of Appeals campaign. Morton says he was contacted by representatives of the campaign about making the contributions sometime around May 2013.

The July contributions appear to have been made the same day that Maggio, currently a circuit court judge in Faulkner County, had a hearing involving a nursing home Morton owned in that county. In May, a jury had returned a verdict of $5.2 million. The July hearing was held so Morton’s attorneys could ask Maggio to set aside or reduce the verdict. He did just that, reducing it to $1 million.

It appears Morton and his companies were the sole donors to six of the seven PACs and that Maggio was the primary recipient of funds from the seven PACs. Campaigns for judicial races can’t start soliciting money for candidates more than six months out from an election. It appears that was not the case here.

AANHR is very disturbed and extremely concerned. It is very possible that someone might likely assume that Maggio accepted campaign contributions from a nursing home owner in order to lower a verdict regarding the horrific death of a nursing home resident. AANHR will be watching with great interest to see how any ongoing, or future, investigations play out.

MARTHA DEAVER Conway

Honesty and integrity

A recent story provided the amounts of money candidates had gathered. Most of this money goes for the political ads we see on TV, and in their current form, I believe these ads represent a waste of this money and in some cases represent misinformation. Whenever such an ad comes on and I am in charge of the “clicker,” I immediately mute or change the channel temporarily. The information in these ads has descended to the level of noise, which is defined as useless sound which irritates people.

My idea for a political ad is one that shows a candidate’s platform(what they stand for) and their voting record if they have one, and other biographical information. No remarks about other candidates will be made in any form. The information that results will be enlightening and not irritating.

To those that feel my proposal is naive, I suggest that honesty and integrity will be the result. These and other virtues are needed, not only in political ads, but in our world today.

GEORGE WILKEN Maumelle

Claims aren’t truthful

The anti-Tom Cotton ad that has been running on television is full of lies. It tries to make a connection between Cotton’s brief time as a management consultant and the insurance industry, saying that before Congress, Cotton was paid handsomely for working for insurance companies. The Washington Post published an article proving this ad was false, and totally debunks the claims; it says there is no evidence that indicates that Cotton worked for insurance companies. Cotton’s former boss at McKinsey & Co. also confirmed Cotton never worked for insurance companies.

The ad also claims Cotton wants to end Medicare’s guarantee. The Post called this attack “stale” and said it has been “repeatedly discredited.” That was the same attack leveled against John Boozman by former Sen. Blanche Lincoln, and we all know how that turned out.

Arkansas voters need to know that none of the claims made in this anti-Cotton ad are true.

LLOYD HOFFMAN Hot Springs