LETTERS

More extreme climate

A recent letter-writer said that the abnormal cold we’ve experienced recently had to be a result of global warming. That may have been sarcasm, but I believe it is absolutely the truth. The overall warming of the climate is indisputable (see climate. nasa.gov/evidence), and one of the consequences we are currently experiencing is more extreme weather events. That means more droughts and floods; record-breaking cold as well as hot; stronger typhoons and hurricanes; and overall, a climate that just isn’t as predictable as in the past.

When looking at the effects of worldwide climate change, don’t just look at what is happening in your backyard. A friend recently spent the holidays in Berlin, and said the temperatures were balmy. It didn’t even get to freezing. It was the warmest December anyone remembers in Berlin. On the coldest day in 20 years here in Arkansas, it was 62 degrees and sunny in Berlin.

Remember also that prolonged heat waves in the Northern Hemisphere in 2013 set new record-high temperatures.

We could well follow the German example with widespread adoption of solar energy on rooftops. Prices for producing solar electricity are now very competitive, so it is exciting to see many in the U.S.-including right here in Northwest Arkansas including Wal-Mart-working to address the problems of climate change by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil fuels.

BECKY GILLETTE Eureka Springs

The presidents so far

Not many Americans remember the presidents who followed Washington; 93 percent of Americans don’t even know all of the presidents, but know George Washington was the first.

I can recite the presidents from the first 10; they are: 1. George Washington, 2. John Adams, 3. Thomas Jefferson, 4. James Madison, 5. James Monroe, 6. John Quincy Adams, 7. Andrew Jackson, 8. Martin Van Buren, 9. William Henry Harrison and 10. John Tyler.

From the next 10 presidents, they are: 11. James Knox Polk, 12. Zachary Taylor, 13. Millard Fillmore, 14. Franklin Pierce, 15. James Buchanan, 16. Abraham Lincoln, 17. Andrew Johnson, 18. Ulysses S. Grant, 19. Rutherford B. Hayes and 20. James Garfield.

From the 21st to the 30th: 21. Chester A. Arthur, 22. and 24. Grover Cleveland, 23. Benjamin Harrison, 25. William McKinley, 26. Theodore Roosevelt, 27. William Howard Taft, 28. Woodrow Wilson, 29. Warren G. Harding and 30. Calvin Coolidge.

From the 31st to the 40th: 31. Herbert Hoover, 32. Franklin Roosevelt, 33. Harry S. Truman, 34. Dwight Eisenhower, 35. John F. Kennedy, 36. Lyndon Johnson, 37. Richard Nixon, 38. Gerald Ford, 39. Jimmy Carter and 40. Ronald Reagan.

From the 41st to the 44th: 41. George H.W. Bush, 42. Bill Clinton, 43. George Walker Bush and 44. Barack Obama.

JOHN HUERTA Warren

Seems only a pretense

While channel-surfing, what appeared before my eyes: bearded, gun-toting, religious fanatics! Why, they looked like they’d just stepped off the plane from Afghanistan. Still had their cammies on, probably from fightin’ our boys. Do you think they might’ve been the ones that killed those Navy SEALs?

They were pretending to be Christians, but they quoted that old covenant God made with the Hebrews. So, ol’ Hajji apparently didn’t know enough about Christianity to understand that the covenant God made with the rest of us is only found in the New Testament.

Why, any Christian congregation that still practiced that old covenant stuff would be expelling all members who had a tattoo.

ate bacon, pork sausage, pork chops, ham or other food from animals which do not chew the cud. Guess that also includes any heathens that eat rabbit, squirrel and a heck of a lot of other critters.

ate lobster, crab, shrimp, crayfish, oysters, clams, scallops, octopus or catfish. Yes, brothers and sisters, catfish don’t have scales.

Now we make heroes out of people who dress and act like our enemies. The only difference seems to be the book in their hands.

So, brothers and sisters, let’s bring our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces, sons and daughters back from those useless foreign wars, because as Pogo Possum said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” JOE F. MARTIN Fayetteville

A very simple concept

I am really pretty tired of those who judge Mark Pryor’s Christianity.

Inevitably, they bring up acceptance of homosexuality and abortion as the great sins that keep him and his party on the side of the devil. I remind Bob McAtee and others like him that there are hundreds of Christian denominations that vary in their interpretation of the Bible. Of course, there are those Taliban-like Christians that feel their beliefs are the only true way.

Except in the case of the law, we need to allow God to be the judge of right and wrong. This Bible verse says it best: “You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Understand that people may not have choices. As a therapist for several years, I found that homosexuals knew from a very early age that they were different. Subsequent research tends to support that most gays are born and are not making a choice. It seems most fundamentalists refuse to believe this theory because it would mean God made those individuals gay.

We need legislators who support the Constitution and the founding fathers’ belief that all men are created equal. Not physically or mentally, but equal under the law with the rights and privileges that belong to all citizens. What is hard to understand about the word “all?” The rights of gays under the Constitution are a legal issue, not a religious issue.

Finally, I think if you can review Christ’s work while he was here on earth and make it fit the Republican Party agenda, you are some kind of Houdini.

ED HUDNALL Bryant

On equality and rights

Equality in a nation is equality of opportunity, not of ability.

In some instances when it comes to gender, women may never be equal to men. Without a handicap given, I doubt that the five best women’s basketball players will ever beat the five best men. Just ask the Marines who found that most female recruits couldn’t pass the strength test.

Moreover, the best group of people for any given task may not reflect a racial, gender, sexual or ethnic balance and can still be a group selected without bias.

Our second lesson for 2014: In any nation, its citizens must first demand their responsibilities before expecting their rights. Without a responsible citizenry, rights too quickly become abused.

THOM LAKSO Russellville

The trust has vanished

Re Lt. Gov. Mark Darr: Yes, Mr. Darr, I can forgive you for the 11 mistakes you made.

Human nature, however, prevents me from second-guessing every other decision you might make in the future.

RUSSELL LEMOND Little Rock