Letters

Was just an oversight

I was just working through the pages of the Sunday Democrat-Gazette and came across an article that got me to dreaming and wondering.

How would it be to have a taxpayer-supported job that was so important, so overwhelming with responsibility, so well-paid that a person could "oversight" a little ol' gift of $20,800. I mean, the state of Arkansas must really be getting its money's worth from that employee if a gift that would be five or six months' income for the average Arkansas household can fall by the wayside as an "oversight."

And the really neat part of my dream is that if a busy employee just happens to be caught with "an oversight" like that, why, it is just un-oversighted and no one is bothered a bit. It is all taken care of.

Man, I would like to have a taxpayer-supported job where maybe I could have an "oversight"or two like that every once in a while, but then I think that maybe the taxpayers would want to reduce my responsibilities so that I wouldn't have so many "oversights," and I wonder what I would do then.

HERB HAWN

Little Rock

Tone inappropriate

An openly political hit-piece editorial on Sen. Tom Cotton must have accidentally ended up in Sunday's paper as a High Profile feature. It seems Cheree Franco managed to inject at least one snarky comment into every passage of her yellow journalistic review of Senator Cotton's life to date. I believe her tone and phrases were insulting and opinionated from a dark, angry political orientation and are more appropriate in Slate than the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She is entitled to her opinion but it was misplaced in this biographical format.

John Brummett must be so proud!

MARK RICHARDSON

Jonesboro

On facts and opinion

On Oct. 29, 2015, the New York Times published an article by Kate Taylor concerning Success Academy of New York City. Ms. Taylor painted a picture of the organization which is much different from that of the writer of the editorial of April 22 published in this paper.

As is often the case, there are two sides. That reported by Ms. Taylor is fact. That of the editorialist is merely opinion. Readers will hopefully recognize the difference.

SAM HIGHSMITH

Little Rock

They who supplied it

Another good reason to make firing squads the preferred manner of public executions is that when somebody demands to know where the bullets are coming from, just say "Wally World."

And another thing. In those car ads on the TV, the small print says "Real people. Not actors." What are they trying to tell us? Rearrange the words, and add a verb to make it a complete sentence: "Actors [are] not real people."

DON SHORT

Farmington

A misguided crusade

Jerry Cox, head of the Family Council, recently announced that he's working with legislators to introduce a bill that requires people to use the bathroom of their birth gender. He seems to believe, albeit misguided, that women and girls are at risk from sexual predators who may be disguised as transgender Arkansans.

However, this simply isn't happening. It's a proposed law looking for a problem that doesn't exist. But then again, we shouldn't be surprised.

This is a formula for Jerry Cox, attacking the lives, rights and dignity of LGBTQ Arkansans. He led the campaign for years to deny LGBTQ Arkansans the right to adopt or provide foster care. His efforts cost taxpayers a significant amount of money in court cases, legislative fights and a ballot initiative. He falsely opined then as well that the LGBTQ community was comprised of sexual deviants and child molesters.

About half of rapists are acquainted with their victims. With girls under 18, 93 percent of them are related to or know their attacker.

We absolutely know that some girls will be raped by male relatives. Should there be a law banning girls from living with their male relatives? This is a real danger--girls are being raped. But generally not in public bathrooms, nor are trans people involved. The majority of juvenile rapes happen in safer environments, like the predator's own home.

There is a sexual-assault problem, but it isn't transgender people using the bathroom of their gender identity. If Jerry Cox really wants to get serious about the risk of sexual assault to Arkansas' women and girls, he's completely missing the point going after the trans community and the use of public restrooms.

RANDI M. ROMO

Little Rock

Insulted by response

Arkansas Game and Fish Director Mike Knoedl recommended the banning of baiting deer in response to the chronic wasting disease problem in north Arkansas. A valid concern was raised by Commissioner Andrew Parker regarding the severe economic impact a ban on baiting could have on Arkansas. Director Knoedl responded that he doesn't believe it will hurt merchants because they don't make a large profit on deer corn, and that corn is an inducement for customers to buy things like snacks and soft drinks.

The main focus of my family's business, Banks Feed LLC, has been the development, production, manufacture and distribution of a mineral-enriched protein supplement, Deer 365, that was designed to improve the overall health of deer. We do not sell snacks and soft drinks. We are not Wal-Mart. We sell our product through a variety of dealers who depend on the sales of deer products for their livelihood. We are insulted by the trivialized response as to the economic impact on Arkansas. In looking only at the merchants who sell the end product, he has erroneously overlooked the vendors who manufacture/grow/supply the products.

We understand that our product, and other vendors' products, are not food plots promoted by the Game and Fish Commission. Both food plots and supplemental products are supplemental feeding. There is no distinction.

STEPHANIE BANKS

Arkadelphia

Editorial on 04/28/2016

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