Garner's background will inform her leadership
I am a mother and a voter in District 84, and I can't wait to vote for Denise Garner.
District 84 has been Denise's home for over 30 years, where she's been a nurse, a small business owner and a nonprofit leader. Denise and Hershey are incredibly generous, and they have worked for years on initiatives to close hunger gaps and make excellent health care and education more accessible.
Denise was an oncology nurse for years, so she understands the problems facing Arkansans when it comes to health care. She understands that most Arkansans simply can't afford to get sick, and she opposes extreme state budget cuts that have endangered our state's rural hospitals and clinics.
Denise has integrity, and she's committed to ethics in government. Too many of our current legislators are being investigated and indicted for ethics scandals--it's time for a fresh start.
Denise's opponent, Rep. Charlie Collins, crossed some lines with his guns-everywhere law. His law puts guns on college campuses (including dorms), public parks and bars. It's a radical law that no one in District 84 wanted, but Rep. Collins ignored his constituents. It's a dangerous law that defies common sense.
I can't wait to vote for Denise, and I can't wait for my kids to know that their friend Denise works in the state House.
Catherine Snyder
Fayetteville
U.S. government's actions speak louder than words
The savage killing of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. government's response to that incident is horrendous.
There is no doubt that Khashoggi was murdered in barbaric manner by Saudi Arabia, and here we have a president who says he believes the Saudi explanation that Khashoggi was killed in a "fist fight." Trump has also said that he would not back down on $110 billion in U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Conservative Americans always wonder why people across globe dislike America as much. Here is your answer. On one hand American government and politicians talk about "freedom," "freedom of expression" and "free press," they blame other countries for not embodying these principles and they call themselves greatest of the human conglomerate who follow these principles, and on other hand, ... American policy has always been to not incur any short-term losses over long-term losses that inevitably come from atrocities. In short American policy, in many occasions, has been hypocritical.
Here we have a U.S.-based journalist killed in a barbaric manner and the U.S. government is basically turning a blind eye. This is exactly the same thing that happened years back in Iran when the U.S. government, instead of honoring the people's decision, backed the dictator Shah of Iran. This is exactly what happened in past when it came to dealing with dictators in South America. This is exactly what happened in past in Pakistan when democratically elected Nawaz Sharif was toppled by General Musharraf. This is exactly what is happening today in the case of North Korea where barbaric Kim Jong Un has been given a red carpet. This is exactly what is happening today when the U.S. government is silent about human rights abuse in Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.
I hope the American people understand these hypocrisies in American policies and demand more accountability from their leaders based on principles.
Ani Marathe
Bentonville
Commentary on 10/27/2018