Give whites a role in Legislative Black Caucus
Doug Thompson reported Sept. 2 that Arkansas state Sen. Joyce Elliott still wants the Legislature to form a new subcommittee to study race relations with a stated goal of "providing recommendations on ways to address historic and current divisions within the state."
By "historic," might she mean when Rep. Richard Carroll, whose district was 65 percent black and whose wife was black, asked to join her Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus but was denied membership because his skin was a different color than hers? She was reported to claim, "excluding white lawmakers is a legitimate form of discrimination because black legislators need to join with others of 'common cause.'"
Joyce Elliott now says, "All I am asking is could we be the leaders?" Well, I have a recommendation that doesn't require a new subcommittee. Elliott could lead by starting with her own club. How about introducing some diversity in its roster and its Facebook photo? She could then lead by recommending similar changes in the national CBC membership. Perhaps she could even integrate with the Arkansas Legislative White Caucus. Oh, I forgot. There is no Arkansas Legislative White Caucus; that would be racist.
And to letter writer Coralie Koonce, who said "Phil Warner writes about the Charlottesville rally from a biased perspective, if it is biased to believe that the First Amendment applies to all people and not just to those who hate Robert E Lee, then I admit to and embrace that bias. Did you really think the "peaceful counter-protesters" with signs that said "Black Lives Matter New York" were carrying them just because those were the only protest signs the Charlottesville Walmart had in stock that morning and that they were not from New York?
The truth is, thousands of folks came to Charlottesville early that Saturday to shut down a judicially approved rally to protest the city's decision to sell a statue donated to it in 1924. The city said it would abide by the judge's ruling, but the police stood back and let these "counter-protesters" attack with rocks, bottles, and urine-filled balloons to incite violence so city officials could declare an "unlawful assembly" before the rally could even begin, thereby denying Unite the Right their judicially affirmed First Amendment rights. If the Phelps family and Westboro Baptist Church have a right to express their opinions at funerals and Jewish institutions all over the U.S., certainly Unite the Right had a right to express opposition to an intended statue removal, and they were denied that right in Charlottesville.
Phil Warner
Garfield
Newspaper exposes its liberal leanings with columns
I have reduced the number of days I read the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for many of the same reasons readers of our only state newspaper have. In staying consistent with the 97 percent of media journalists in the US who openly support liberal ideals and give financial support to the Democrat Party, the Democrat-Gazette continues to spew left-wing bile in its Voices section.
Recently a couple from Conway announced they were canceling their subscription due to the constant bloviations by John Brummett and Phillip Martin as well as a heavy dose of editorials from writers who work for the Washington Post and New York Times (which Brummett proclaimed the greatest newspaper in the world). A reader from Heber Springs recently voiced dismay at the constant attack by the Democrat-Gazette on the president and Arkansas members of Congress. The bottom line is the Democrat-Gazette IS the Washington Post and New York Times. Count the number of times articles are published from those rags in our paper.
Voices like Paul Greenburg and Bradley Gitz balance it some but are overwhelmed by the left-wing media machine. Democrats are out of power in this state forever. The fact that this newspaper won't reflect that shows its true liberal colors.
So continue to let Brummett, Martin and the rest of the lefties climb their soapboxes, print clips from liberals in Little Rock and Fayetteville and by all means keep printing those stupid political cartoons from that idiot in Chattanooga.
Liberal is as liberal does, Mrs. Blue.
Don Landrum
Fayetteville
Editorial on 09/13/2017