Letters

The wisdom of Trump

I believe the event at Ohio State proves the wisdom of Donald Trump. There is no racism, hate or bigotry in protecting one's life, property, and liberty.

Electing wise leaders is a Christian duty. Let those hypocrites who say "work together" stop whining and unite to work with Donald Trump, the president-elect.

DON CROWSON

Benton

Milk's words relevant

Harvey Milk, civil rights leader and the first openly gay man elected to public office in the U.S., was assassinated 38 years ago this past Sunday.

I wasn't alive when the Briggs Initiative was proposed--a California law that would have facilitated the widespread banning of gay teachers (or anyone who supported LGBTQ rights). I know that the residents of California came together and firmly rejected it.

I am alive in 2016, a time where there are over 100 active anti-LGBTQ bills in 22 state legislatures. And soon, there will likely be a nationwide anti-LGBTQ law proposed with the words "religious freedom" slapped on the front to try to conceal the reality of its violent nature.

Harvey Milk always spoke on the importance of hope. It is my hope that Arkansans will recognize that these "religious freedom" bills contain the opposite of the promise of freedom. I believe they provide another avenue for discrimination against our neighbors. I suggest rereading Milk's words because they are just as relevant today as they were 40 years ago.

CAMILLE RICHOUX

Little Rock

An attempt to divide

After eight years of divisive and segregated policies, I believe the presidential recounts are not intended to flip the election; it's to undermine the Donald Trump administration and his attempt to unite it.

I think the people who call themselves Democrats today are not real Democrats. The old real Democrats loved this country and elections were battles on how to make it greater. It seems those who call themselves Democrats are out to destroy the Constitution of the United States and the rights within.

The Republican Party should monitor very close any recount because I believe these Democrats have earned no trust. I believe President-elect Trump is demonstrating the ability to select good people with hope of uniting our country and to truly make it great again.

FLOYD HOPSON

Hazen

Cost-effective at UA

The highest-paid state employee in Arkansas is our football coach, Bret Bielema, at $4 million-plus per year. We just struggled through another mediocre season, including a 56-3 thumping by Auburn and an embarrassing loss to Missouri, the worst team in the SEC this year.

In his four-year tenure, we have an overall record of 25 wins, 25 losses; conference record of 10 wins, 22 losses. These include losing the first 13 conference games we played under his leadership.

Recently they closed the printing office at the U of A, costing people their jobs and paychecks. The reason given was that it was not "cost-effective." Perhaps they should apply the same standard to our football program.

RON RICE

Hot Springs Village

Agreed on that point

Congratulations, Arkansas. You have voted to elect a narcissistic windbag.

Donald Trump said one thing during the campaign that I agree with: The election was rigged. Over and over on the campaign trail, he said it was rigged. So I must conclude that his election is not legitimate.

The combination of the words "Trump" and "president" will never cross my lips.

K.E. POLLOCK

Little Rock

System secures votes

Following the recent election there has been some criticism of the electoral college system of electing our president. Many of the complaints center around the fact that one candidate won the popular vote but lost the electoral college.

I would first point out that neither candidate got a majority of the votes, so a win based upon a plurality of the votes would also be subject to criticism, possibly requiring a costly runoff (the instant-runoff procedure advocated by some could solve that problem)

Second, I agree with those who say that the electoral college system preserves a say in the process for the states with lesser populations. Just by way of example, there was some speculation on election day that New Hampshire's four electoral votes might be the key to winning the election. Without the electoral college, candidates would campaign only in the most populous states, and probably only in the most populous metropolitan areas.

Third, consider the following admittedly extreme but not so far-fetched scenario: Candidate for president A is from the state of Wyoming, and candidate B is from California. Both candidates are popular nationwide, but because she is more popular, candidate A carries the other 48 states by an average of 50,000 votes per state. She carries her home state of Wyoming by an 80-20 percentage, giving her around 120,000 of that state's votes. At that point, not counting California, candidate A leads candidate B by 2,520,000 votes. Candidate B gets two-thirds of California's nine million votes, beating A in that state by three million votes. Candidate B therefore wins the popular vote by 480,000 votes, even though he carried only one state. I love my fellow citizens from California, but I would not want the wishes of 49 states to be subordinate to the wishes of any one state.

GRISHAM PHILLIPS

Benton

Editorial on 11/30/2016

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