The report was clear
Despite the spin from Trump's personal attorney general, the Mueller report lays it out perfectly clear. The Russians supported the election of Donald Trump, and Trump more than welcomed their support. He invited it on a number of occasions. He and his cronies had secret meetings with them. He attempted at least 10 times to stop the investigation, and attempting to do so and enlisting others to do so on his behalf was, I believe, a conspiracy to obstruct justice. Attempting to obstruct justice is a federal crime.
Time will tell the character of the Republicans in Congress. So far, they appear more interested in grasping the straws of power than in fulfilling their sworn responsibility--that of upholding the Constitution of the United States. May God bless us all.
DOUG STOWE
Eureka Springs
On obtuse comments
I see in the Democrat-Gazette that our junior senator is claiming clairvoyance in his comments on the Mueller report: "As I've been saying for two years, there's no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia." But saying things is not the same as seeing facts. The investigation didn't address "collusion," which is Trump's term (and the attorney general's); it applied the much more rigorous framework of conspiracy law. Also, though the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government, the Mueller report says that "a statement that the investigation did not establish particular facts does not mean there was no evidence of those facts."
The senator's comments on obstruction of justice are equally obtuse: "... some angry tweets about an investigation into something that didn't happen is hardly obstruction of justice." But the investigation was on the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Is the senator claiming--against the conclusions of all U.S. intelligence agencies and the special counsel--that this interference didn't happen?
The senator would do well to follow his own advice to Democrats: Put aside his obsession and join in doing the people's work. The people would benefit from an assurance that the Russian--or any--government never again interferes in our elections. The people would benefit from reliable and affordable health care (the senator recently told an EPA administrator that his "greatest concern was the public health of Arkansans"). The people would benefit from improved infrastructure, including rural broadband and net neutrality. How about it, Senator?
MARK STENGEL
Fayetteville
Bigotry was displayed
I recently read that Martin Luther King once said something like, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." I was recently the witness to something that matters here in Hot Springs Village.
My mother's house has been listed with a local realtor for several months as she has moved to an assisted-living facility. We were excited when we got an offer and expected to close in late April. The buyers were from out-of-state and here for a walk around the outside of the house preceding a viewing of the inside with the realtor later that day. The next-door neighbor has, in the past, displayed Confederate flags prominently in his front yard and a neo-Nazi flag with black swastikas off his back deck. He apparently noticed that the couple viewing the house were black. After the buyers left the original walk-around and before they returned with the realtor, the cretin next door re-deployed his Confederate flag in his front yard for all to see. Upon their return with the realtor, the couple and their two children saw the flag. It didn't take them long to determine they didn't want to live next door to a racist bigot, and they rescinded their offer.
I am sorry this happened and can understand why a black family would not want to live next door to this pea-brained bigot. And I wonder why anyone with a sense of decency and tolerance would want to live next door to him. I wouldn't.
FRANK ELLIOTT
Hot Springs Village
Does not serve state
Last week, Senate Bill 411 became Act 1076 upon being signed by Governor Hutchinson. The law--which prohibits municipalities in our state from adopting so-called sanctuary policies--contains language, I believe, that blatantly disregards protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, it strips localities of their autonomy and creates distrust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.
Act 1076 forbids cities from providing reasonable guidance to law enforcement officers--such as requiring probable cause--before a person is questioned about their immigration status and asked to produce documentation. In a letter to legislators, the governor admitted that this provision can "lead to profiling and indiscriminate questioning." This sends the wrong kind of message to communities across Arkansas.
The safety of our communities requires that all people--regardless of their immigration status--feel comfortable reporting criminal activity and cooperating with law enforcement. I believe a municipality ought to have the right to give reasonable guidance to its police officers. Not only does Act 1076 undermine local control and expose cities to litigation, it adversely affects public safety. This law simply does not serve the interests of our state.
VICTOR J. ROJAS
De Queen
Editorial on 04/23/2019