NWA LETTERS

If bar allows guns, staying out is a choice

I would recommend that anyone opposed to certain legislation in our state (or anywhere else) should read the legislation before complaining. Regarding a letter in the March 15 paper, in which it was implied that House Bill 1249 would allow weapons into bars, you will be glad to know the proposed bill allows these places of business to prohibit the carrying of weapons just the same as other private businesses.

If you feel unsafe being in a bar with potentially armed patrons, then don’t go to that bar if they allow it. Besides, most of them will surely prohibit weapons on their property anyway.

NICK HOLT

Fayetteville

Razorbacks don’t get benefit of fair referees

When Coach Bret Beliema laid into the refereeing in the Hogs basketball game against Kentucky, he was speaking from experience. Line up against Alabama in football and you can be guaranteed a few things. They will get every call, every replay will go their way and if there is the slightest question of who gets a fumble or if someone was in or out of bounds, you guessed it: No ref in the SEC will go against Saban.

The same is true nationally when you go against Coach Cal, Bill Self, Coach K or Roy Williams in basketball. You can expect the same treatment. Our team played well against Kentucky and North Carolina, but couldn’t overcome their three-person advantage (refs). Up by one against the Tar Heels at the end of the game and one of their players charges one of ours, and then travels before putting up the shot. Easy calls for most refs, but the three stooges swallowed their whistles.

Hogs teams will have to overcome this type of blatant favoritism forever. Soon we will beat top teams in spite of this advantage. Then Dick Vitale can cry for all of them … baby!

DON LANDRUM

Fayetteville

Climate changes not subject

to alternative facts

I feel the need to respond to the recent letter from Gerald Holland in Bentonville, whose letter to the editor was published in the March 22 issue.

Alternative Fact No. 1: “Carbon is not a pollutant.” Carbon would not be considered a pollutant if its atmospheric level remained under 280 parts per million. Its current level is over 400 ppm, which causes the ocean to become acidic (inhibits plankton, coral reefs, and shellfish growth, which permeates up the food chain), reduces the heat loss from the earth into space causing all the glaciers to melt, which in turn will eventually result in the rise of the ocean by over 200 feet, resulting in the loss of coastal habitable land, which will cause the loss of homes to over 216 million people by the end of this century.

Alternative Fact No. 2: “A carbon tax will raise the living costs of all Americans.” In fact, the proposed tax revenue will be returned to the public, raising the income of those persons in the lower 70th percentile of income level. The increase in government management of this program is expected to be very modest.

In 2012, there were a total of 137,650 permanent coal-related jobs nationwide, and 806,831 oil and gas jobs as of 2011. By contrast, there were 3,401,279 green jobs in 2011. The Department of Energy predicts using conservative estimates that by 2030 there will be over half a million wind jobs alone.

I would heartily recommend the following web pages be read by everyone to fully understand the “real” facts about this program: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/new-analysis-global-exposure-to-sea-level-rise-flooding-18066 and http://citizensclimatelobby.org/ carbon-fee-and-dividend.

CHARLES SISCO

Fayetteville

[email protected]

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