An arena event for all
There is a movement afoot in our legislature to create laws that are for the direct purpose of allowing discrimination against Arkansans of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persuasion. Senate Bill 202, already passed, bans cities from providing full civil-rights protections to its residents and at the same time selectively usurps the standard of Home Rule. House Bill 1228 will allow anyone to use their personal religious beliefs to refuse services to anyone who doesn't fit their religious code's standards.
Nothing slippery about that one. Given that this effort is rooted in the good Christian faith of some of our citizenry, then let's just cut to the chase. Stoning. Public stoning to death for myself and the rest of Arkansas' LGBT community.
Now then, where to hold such an event? How about at Verizon Arena? That ought to be big enough to hold all of the folks in Arkansas who think their religious opinion gives them the right to dictate public law that impacts all Arkansans.
Hey, I know--you could have a lottery, sell tickets to see who wins the right to hurl the first stone at my head. Here's another great idea--you can take photographs of my dead body and make them into postcards, then use one of your postcards to write a note to Aunt Betty and ask her to come for a visit. And hey, let's get rid of those pesky stubborn sons, adulterers, those who take God's name in vain, etc., too!
Please. Let me know the date as soon as you can. I need to get my affairs in order and say goodbye to my mom and dad, my five brothers, my two daughters, my two grandchildren and all the rest of my relatives. I'd like to say farewell to all of my friends and all the good people of Arkansas that I have had the privilege of knowing.
RANDI M. ROMO
Little Rock
Help on icy commute
I was in a several-car slide show last week. One car was in the ditch, a Yellow Cab was turned sideways and the cab driver said he was waiting on his company's tow-truck. I was almost hitting him and about to go into the ditch. More cars kept coming. It was like a zig-zag.
I finally started pointing the cars coming behind me to stay to the left.
I had already called the 311 number, which is a non-emergency help number. Finally, a police officer came and had the road blocked off.
The tow truck from the cab company told me he could get my car steered to the dry spot at the bottom of the hill. As I was getting out to sit in the back seat, I fell on my knees, then I fell on my rear and my shoes fell off skidding down the hill. The tow-truck man had to literally lift a 167-pound woman straight up and place me into my back seat. He then had to chase after my shoes. His taxi buddy was laughing and the policeman covered his mouth and looked the other way. I got my shoes and he guided my car safely. I hugged him, thanked him and got his name--Danny.
I thank those Yellow Cab drivers and their tow-truck buddy Danny, and the policeman doing his duty.
MELBA SHARP
Little Rock
Cheers for our carrier
Our newspaper carrier is awesome! Every morning last week, despite the icy roads, we had a newspaper every morning at our door by 5 a.m.
I wish the U.S. Postal Service was as efficient and dedicated--we had no mail delivered all week until late Thursday night around 8 p.m. Special thanks to our carrier.
GAIL LAVENDER
Bryant
Where savings result
The collapse in oil prices over the past year from $107 per barrel to below $50 a barrel reduces the national average price of regular gasoline from $4.06 per gallon to about $2.15. Further, expected savings in heating-oil bills this winter will potentially be $776. The simple question is why.
Domestic production surges due to fracking which extracts oil from shale, which boosts U.S. oil reserves. OPEC stays the course, no reduction in daily supply. Less oil is consumed in the United States of America due to more efficient automobiles plus changes in America's driving habits. In the U.S., miles per gallon in 2004 were 19.3 miles per gallon, in 2014 it was 24.2 and getting better.
An increase in world oil production from 2007 to 2013 was 6.53 percent.
This phenomenon does not constitute savings for most citizens. They are spending it on electronics and appliances, clothing, restaurants and sports.
Employment will go up. A bump in sales encourages this reality.
ROBERT HYMER
Little Rock
Can't read fine print
Well, I've finally had to give up on the challenging New York Times Sunday crossword ... not because it is so difficult, but because it's so small! Why not print it the same size as the other Sunday crossword?
SUSAN BUTLER
Benton
Age no consideration
Are Americans getting soft? We fight wars, not to win, and we sentence cold-blooded murderers to prison to let them out. Our dad was murdered by two teenagers, one of whom was released when he turned 18, for lack of a facility to house him. The older one, the mastermind, was sentenced to life with no possibility of parole, predicated on a plea bargain by our family because we didn't want to be responsible for another person's murder.
Never mind that after the crime you spend the next two years in and out of the courtroom while the defense tries to prove that he was insane. He was not deemed insane, but of low IQ. In this time period, our family had to relive the event over and over afresh.
Never mind worrying about the soft governor commuting his sentence. Never mind the Supreme Court ruling that teens should not be sentenced to life, and you start going to court all over again to hearings where soft defenders want to free the killer.
Now we have lawmakers who want to enforce that no teens are sentenced to life, and this idea is supported by the only state newspaper.
Obviously the citizens above have never been subjected to a murder close enough to know the pain that endures for many lives. Not only the first generation in a family suffers, the second generation suffers.
If the lawmakers succeed, let's look at 28 years. Some of the first generation possibly will be gone, but the second generation will still suffer. And, if the murderer is released, and low IQ was the original problem, what is to say that there will be no more murder? I personally had to forgive the murderer in my heart for my own salvation, but murder is murder and the taking of life should not be treated lightly. The murderer's age has nothing to do with it.
LINDA CAMERON AKERS
Sherwood
Read and write well
Being a retired teacher, I can only applaud the bill presented in the Arkansas House by State Rep. Kim Hendren to make cursive writing mandatory in Arkansas schools.
Educators recognize the connection between writing and reading comprehension--so if we really want our children to read well, they need to be able to write well. If someone can't sign his legal name, will he make an X? And how unique is that?
Let's all support Mr. Hendren!
LINDA BELL
Little Rock
Answer to the query
A recent essay by Eli Lake asked the question: "What makes these 17-year-old kids pick up an AK-47 instead of trying to start a business?"'
Perhaps if the question were rephrased--"What makes these kids pick up a gun instead of digging a ditch?"--it would apply in Watts, Little Rock or anywhere in the world.
Is the answer, in part or in whole, because it is easier/more fun/more exciting?
ROBERT JOHNSTON
Little Rock
Editorial on 02/27/2015