Letters

Prefer iPad version

I noticed a reader did not open her Sunday paper, preferring the iPad version. In November, I will be 92 and, like her, I prefer the iPad version to the regular paper version.

Mr. Hussman, you did good. And I have been opening the paper for many years. I even competed against the Wichita Eagle when I was a radio and TV newsman. One day at a news conference we electronic guys were making humorous comments to the Eagle guy.

He said, with a mischievous look on his face, "Now we may be the only newspaper in town, and don't you forget it!"

JIM SETTERS

Russellville

Rhetoric won't help

Ryan Norris' guest column bemoaning the rapid and entirely predictable rise of the national debt is hypocritical.

Where was this angst when the lawmakers he praised for not voting for the latest budget bill voted for the horrendous Trump tax cut that is driving the current debt? Budget deficits do not miraculously disappear by cutting revenue. The impact of the tax cut, so widely dismissed as false by the then Republican majority, has in fact come to pass. Add to that the tariffs (that supposedly will be paid for by China) imposed by our president with a business degree who does not understand basic economics, and we have our current situation.

The nation's legislators need to raise revenue and control spending. That will require common-sense approaches and compromise from both political parties, and not more rhetoric from Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump.

DONALD ENTENMAN

Blytheville

Why, that's brilliant!

We buy Greenland. All the ice melts. We get rich mining the vast gold and oil reserves uncovered.

Brilliant.

So ... global warming is, in the end, a good thing; it's all part of a plan to inexpensively uncover unlimited wealth. Wile E. Coyote couldn't have done better with rocket-powered roller-skates.

I'll bet you two drilling rigs and raise you an oil pipeline that after we buy Greenland and unleash this modern-day gold rush, it will make the last one in Alaska seem just plain puny. Just think, when those reserves in Alaska run out, we can float those oil rigs through the ice-free-by-then Northwest Passage straight to Greenland. All the pieces of this perfect pragmatic plan are snapping together like a 1,000-piece puzzle.

But don't let the Danes hear whispers about the lost gold mine. It would drive up the price if they knew; I read about all this in The Art of The Deal.

Finally! I can quit worrying about running out of gas. That climate thing is under control after all. How can we doubt the wisdom of those in power now?

DANNY HANCOCK

Lonoke

Reinforcing behavior

In regards to Mike Masterson's column of Tuesday, no, sir, this is only the beginning of the dark clouds over this kid's future and everyone around him. Understanding his problem? Puleeze! His only problem was that he did not get his way and a stranger usurped his parent's authority, encouraging such behavior when the answer is "no." Or a worst-case scenario in our increasingly sick society, this kid has now learned he can get what he wants from strangers. Can you say lurking pedophile?

Shame on this parent for not sticking to his or her guns. This could have been a valuable learning experience for everyone that day if the parent had said, "I'm sorry, my son is not behaving in an appropriate manner right now and will not be rewarded for this display." It was stated the parent could now enjoy peace restored without giving in to a tantrum. The parent gave in to that tantrum by default. Masterson doesn't state the age of the child, but that parent's future peace is at grave risk if this behavior is not dealt with.

We've all been in a checkout line with those copious displays of goodies enticing shoppers stuck in place. How many times have you seen a parent tell a begging child no? There are two outcomes, but whenever the parent says "no" and means it, I always say something to them about what a good parent they are. This is the behavior we need to be reinforcing.

T.A. SAMPSON

Canehill

Downfall of mankind

I guess I should know by now you can't stop or prevent ignorance; it's mankind's downfall, I'm afraid. Even with all our educational systems, modern scientific disciplines, knowledge, research and investigations, many of us lack the ability to look, or see the big picture of true reality. Most of us need to believe in some higher power governing and controlling our future. We can't accept that we are totally alone, and on our own, and this world we call Earth is all we will ever have.

People have always been out for blood, and took matters into their own hands. There is no more evil today than there has been in the past; we just are more aware of what's going on in the world, and we have new and more destructive ways to kill and destroy each other and all the things around us.

I've seen so much hate, bigotry, ultra-conservatives' hypocrisy, financial and political elitism and, usually, with the support of religious idealism, or "God is on our side, and by our side, so you better watch out, and either join us or suffer the consequences." It's a shame that humans can be so easily manipulated, to the point that they become totally committed to a religious ideal, and become a devoted follower of their leader. There are all degrees of this "brainwashing," from a cult follower or religious fanaticism, to very narrow-minded conservatism, to blind faith in anything.

The truth hurts sometimes, and we all want to be comforted by our faith. But we have to be able to accept the real facts and incorporate them into our belief system; otherwise we will be inclined to repeat all the mistakes of the past. There is no evil on Earth without mankind. Water has never been 7 miles deep over all the planet's surface. Earth is billions of years old. All living things are related. Fortune-tellers, mystics and psychics can't tell the future; no one can since it hasn't happened yet.

We are all in this together, whether we like it or not.

L.D. BINTLIFF

Bee Branch

Editorial on 08/25/2019

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