Re-election assured
I, like tens of millions of Hillary's deplorables, have not written Trump support letters to the nation's Voices pages for three years. We didn't want our tires slashed or cars surface-keyed by peaceful Dems.
So here's my prediction for November 2020.
Dems have assured President Trump's re-election with their fake impeachment, non-existent Russia collusion charge and the treatment of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. We are more angry and committed than ever. Also, we will extend our lead in the Senate and take back the House of Representatives.
For the next four years America will experience an unprecedented golden economic age, with every willing worker participating. Retirees will be especially blessed. Iran and China can't endure four more years of depression, so they will start to behave rationally. Europe will pay for NATO. Muslims will quiet down. The American media will suffer four apoplectic years.
Twenty years later, Americans will realize that Donald Trump deserves a shrine on the Washington Mall between the Washington and Lincoln memorials. Everyone will be invited to the dedication. Trump supporters will enjoy a feast. Dems and the media will be served a generous helping of crow.
Remember, you read it here first.
BOBBY WARNER
Hot Springs Village
On medical authority
Now that Donald Trump has moved on from prescribing bleach injections to covid-19 patients, he has decided to advise health officials when it is appropriate to open schools during a raging pandemic. As a father who socially distanced himself from the upbringing of his own children, apparently Trump gained a special ability to raise yours.
Arkansas has a senator with experience as both a school board member and a medical practitioner. Where does he stand on opening schools during this pandemic? When lives are at stake, why do Republicans like Sen. John Boozman enable Trump's dangerous, life-threatening behavior?
Also, where does Tom Cotton stand on Trump allowing Putin to place bounties on our troops? Will Cotton continue to support and praise a president who won't confront Putin?
America is not managing this pandemic as well as most African countries. Our incidence curve is rising while others are flattening. We used to be the gold standard for medical treatment before Donald Trump became our nation's foremost medical authority. I accept Trump's ignorance, but didn't count on Boozman's and Cotton's complicity. Do they think covid-19 only kills Democrats?
LISE FRULIO
Bentonville
Outside election cash
I live in Centerton, and I seldom receive solicitations from Arkansas politicians at any level. However, I receive multiple solicitations from political campaigns in California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Maine (I probably missed some). None of those solicitations are for a national political campaign.
I read that in 2016 Beto O'Rourke in Texas had donations exceeding $20 million from the state of California. Sen. Lindsey Graham is seeking help for his current campaign from citizens from states other than South Carolina to combat an election opponent raising millions of dollars from California, New York, etc.
The reason I point this out is my concern that donations from outside our election boundaries could heavily influence who is elected, and that should not be allowed.
As a result, I suggest that Arkansas set a national example by banning outside money from our Arkansas elections. This means that donors must be a resident of an electoral area to donate to a candidate for elected office in Arkansas. We should also require PACs and political parties to restrict election spending to money raised directly within the election area. This should go all the way down to the city council level.
Let's get big out-of-state money out of our Arkansas state politics.
GENE WAGNON
Centerton
Global conservation
Supporting Arkansas' largest industries and protecting the environment are often symbiotic. Sustainable use of natural resources, like forests and waterways, ensures both their longevity and that consumer needs are met.
In forestry, the industry is uniquely balanced to provide essential timber products while also maintaining our forests. In the case of fishing, obeying angling guidelines is essential to ensure the health of fish populations and support growth within the fishing sector, providing sustenance, economic options, and industrial stability. However, it's important that these same protections exist outside the United States as well, and international conservation work is critical in ensuring that foreign producers follow similar sustainability standards as we do here.
In 1972, my father founded Neeley Forestry, and we have since grown into a family forestry business that services 400 clients and spans 20,000 acres across three states. I know how important it is that we get a fair market price for our products, but illegal and unregulated logging operations overseas can drive down global prices for timber products and harm legal businesses like ours. Illegal logging and fishing practices also often result in environmental degradation, endangering both the communities on which they rely and the health of our planet.
What happens overseas affects not only our environment but the livelihood of a number of industries here in Arkansas and families that depend on them. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that our congressional leaders support efforts to invest in international conservation work to stamp out illegal resource exploitation, overfishing, and environmental degradation abroad.
JD NEELEY
Camden