On the anthem fallout
Nail on head, Mr. Gitz! Your assessment of a group of NFL players and their choice to kneel during the Star Spangled Banner gets an amen from me. The right "to make fools of ourselves with public utterances" sometimes allows the majority of the population affected by such utterances to respond by opening new windows into their decisions to disrespect our country and its military, veterans and citizens. Power to Mr. Jerry Jones. And to you.
GWEN FULLEN
Arkadelphia
Sure, it's working out
Let me see how patronizing I can be--ah, poor, gentle reader, the Kool-Aid tasted sooo good. And the promises made.
Hillary, that evil mistress of the dark, running a child sex ring out of a pizza joint, would be slowly dipped into a giant deep fat fryer and spend the rest of her life behind bars--bars, I tell you! That horrible "previous president" who had the audacity to get re-elected will be erased from memory and history books. And the wall--oh, the wall that wouldn't cost us a penny 'cause it was gonna be paid for by Mexico--100 percent. And if we just give billionaires and corporations a big tax cut ($1.5 trillion, to be exact) then all that money would trickle down to us hardworking 'Muricans and we would get pay raises and bonuses. How's that working out?
And all the good God-fearing Christians--y'all got an admitted sexual harasser who bragged about grabbing women just 'cause he's rich, famous, and powerful. Is the Kool-Aid giving you a belly ache yet? Oh, wait, there's more. How about having an affair with a porn star right after his son was born, and paying her off with hush money? Or the Playboy Bunny? And more hush money? Ooh, ooh--how about his boys bragging how they don't need American banks, 'cause they get all their funding from Russia? Remember Russia? The "Evil Empire"? Ronald Reagan?
I know, y'all didn't vote for him 'cause he's a Sunday School teacher. I just hope all that Kool-Aid don't give you diabetes. And maybe God will forgive you. Who knows? Trump may even go back to being a Democrat. After all, he's lied about everything else.
JOEL EASLEY
Scott
Nice weather lately ...
This has been a pretty nice summer in Arkansas thus far, so Arkansans can be forgiven for their confusion at Governor Hutchinson's use of the Rainy Day Fund to plug a highway funding hole. Apparently the governor's funding gymnastics in 2016 were not sufficient to fix the issue, nor could the GOP supermajority pass any meaningful legislation in the two years since the last "rainy day."
With sunny skies, low unemployment and strong revenue, one wonders how many millions the governor would require if it were actually raining.
BRANDON RUSH
Fayetteville
Time to retire DUKW
The recent deaths and sinking of the DUKW (Duck) in Missouri brought back some memories of my World War II father who drove one during two of his five island campaigns in the Pacific in WWII. I grew up in Hot Springs and the WWII surplus DUKWs were a big part of the Hot Springs tourism industry and even named after famous Hot Springs hotels like the Velda Rose and Majestic. The DUKWs used in WWII and Korea were built by Yellow Coach and General Motors from 1942 to 1945, and all are now well over 70 years old.
Though we begged often, my dad would never let my brother and me ride one as he said they rode too low in the water, had constant water-seal failures, sank like rocks, and were unstable with a full load of ammunition, personnel or 105 Howitzers, even in mild surf. Every time we saw one full of tourists, he always told my mother to say a little prayer for the riders. He thought the awnings installed for the tourists were absolute death traps if one sank. Needless to say, we never took a duck ride.
I am not for putting anyone out of business, but perhaps it past time for these long-serving old boats on GM truck chassis that were never meant to be tourist boats to be retired to museums or sold to individual military vehicle collectors who often own jeeps, trucks and even tanks. Perhaps simple boat rides are now in order.
I have passed my father's warnings on to my children and now my grandchildren. You cannot regulate personal choice, but you sure can regulate safety on antiquated technology, and perhaps it is time to do so.
RON FULLER
Little Rock
Disrupting economy
The rise of the U.S. economy may be over. Investors are no longer earning as much interest on their Treasury bonds, as indicated by the recent flattening of the yield curve. This curve is a graph that tracks the value of Treasury bond interest up to the maturity of the bonds. This flattening yield curve has been the harbinger of economic recession since 1970.
The next recession will likely be the result of a confluence of damaging factors and events. The biggest negative factor may be the sinking reputation of America abroad. President Trump is a natural-born disruptor, and has ruined trust in America. The rest of the world must trust America in order to continue buying our products and services.
Also, if our bonds are no longer lucrative, then why buy them? China and other countries provide the money for Congress to operate when Congress accumulates budget deficits. Low-yield bonds and Trump's disruptions could scare away these funding sources. Congress would be prompted to cut social programs out of future budgets and millions of governmental employees would be laid off. These unemployed workers would no longer have the money to buy services and goods. Here at home, Trump's tariffs have already put the fear of bankruptcy into farms and businesses.
What can we do to fix the problem? We can remove the disruptor and install an enabler.
GENE MASON
Jacksonville
Editorial on 08/07/2018