Innovation on horizon
I saw recently a picture of a gorgeous new truck that had been designed and built by Wal-Mart and more than 20 partners. I want to offer them congrats for having the guts to start the ball rolling with that beautiful new truck.
It will be battery-powered. I hope to see a whole fleet of them on our highways some day soon.
Just think: No air pollution, not much noise, and less damage to the roads from the lighter-weight trucks.
Another thing to be wowed about: My latest catalog from Hammacher Schlemmer has a human-powered car we can order, and I quote: "This is the hybrid vehicle powered by electricity generated by human effort. Its on-board power generator transfers the mechanical energy produced by pulling its four two-handed rowing bars into 2,500 watts of electrical energy."
To make a long story short, four people can propel this car up to 60 miles an hour, and they could rest when they got tired and the stored energy would take over.
The car sells for $60,000. I wonder if they have sold very many. The practicality of such a car is not known yet, I am sure. The really good thing is it was made in the U.S.A.!
ELEANOR FOSTER
Greenland
Enumerated reasons
I have held my peace as long as possible. Were we founded as a Christian nation? Are we a Christian nation?
I will not attempt to answer the former question as there are space limitations; however, in the face of personal responsibility in making ours a Christian nation, I ask that all who proclaim the United States a Christian nation to make it so by living as Christ admonished us to live.
We were requested to number our reasons:
- Give to the poor.
- Visit the sick and imprisoned.
- Pray for our country and its leaders, regardless of party or religious affiliation.
- Do not go looking for the speck in your fellow citizen's eye; take care of that plank in your own.
- Judge not lest ye be judged.
- Love one another.
- Love one another.
- Love one another.
- Love one another.
- See 6 - 9.
Until all professing Christians in our country do these things, I doubt that we are a Christian nation.
CYNTHIA BUEHLING
Little Rock
His hateful response
I read Judge Wendell Griffen's response to state Sen. Jason Rapert's column on gay marriage and the judicial rulings related to it. I was appalled.
As a brother in Christ (he claims to be a pastor?), he excoriates Senator Rapert by calling him bigoted, evil, ignorant, hypocritical, disingenuous and unjust, among many other descriptives, because the senator has the gall to question the ruling by Judge Chris Piazza. Is it not possible to disagree on gay marriage and still respect each other?
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, I felt Mr. Griffen's response to be hateful and condemnatory, the exact thing he excoriates Senator Rapert for.
TERRIE SHIRES
Conway
Danger of negativity
Proof once again that half-truths, negative ads and personal attacks often help the opposing candidate. Congratulations, Leslie Rutledge. You ran a positive, informative and straightforward campaign.
WINFORD HOOVER
Russellville
Putting price on lives
Let me begin with a simple analogy: Take a room in a house and then take a hose and run the exhaust from a car's tailpipe into this room. The noxious gas will fill this room fairly quickly and poison anything in the room. Some will seep out the cracks and windows, but not enough to ensure survival.
Now, if this idea were to be extended to a larger environment (Earth), the same thing happens, just on a much larger scale. In other words, the Earth and her atmosphere act as the walls and ceiling--trapping much of the gas--presumably enough to create the same toxic environment.
There are about 200 million drivers in the U.S. alone, and even more in the world. Of course this does not include the other noxious-gas-releasing entities, including power plants and even us and other lung-bearing, CO2-releasing animals.
Money always becomes the argument as to why we are killing ourselves, but is this not crazy? The whole concept of money, which is strictly just that--a man-made concept--should not be so inflexible. Everything man-made can be unmade, or at minimum, manipulated for the right reasons. All of this is not scientific, but common sense--OK, maybe a cool preschool science experiment would demonstrate this phenomenon.
Can we predict the future with 99.9 percent accuracy in anything we do--no; however, we can make educated predictions based on simple concepts or elaborate scientific experiments--in this case the outcome would be the same.
Ponder this: Can we really put a price on our lives? I am not trying to make enemies or join sides, as this is not a war. We are not killing anyone but ourselves!
SHANE HAMPTON
Fayetteville
There oughta be a law
I would like to suggest a new law be passed--the law would require that anyone running for office must only speak the truth of him or herself, or his or her opponent. Any statement found to not be true would cause the person making the untrue statement to be prevented from seeking the position and would also be held on criminal charges with a mandatory jail period equal to the term of the office being sought.
Another portion of the same law would include anyone making an untrue statement regarding any party seeking office would also be held accountable for the untrue statements and would serve jail time at half of the term of office, mandatory time served, no exceptions.
It seems all we hear from politicians are lies, lies and more lies about themselves and their opponents. Some are so bold that they make statements about what they're going to do if elected when the position they seek doesn't even have the authority or power to make that decision. Remember all the things the president was going to do if elected? Lie after lie.
ROBERT L. MAYNARD
Hot Springs Village
Editorial on 06/23/2014