LETTERS

LITTLE ROCK — Excuse for veto fails to satisfy

It didn't surprise me that President Bush vetoed a bill that would help end the suffering of many American citizens. What surprised me was the excuse he used.

Bush claimed, with a straight face, that the program would be too costly to expand. If you believe this, then you must still believe that Iraq had weapons ofmass destruction.

Why is it that when funding is needed for wars, new weapons programs or bridges to nowhere, there is never talk by the president about a lack of money? That $430billion for the Iraq war never gets a second thought in the White House, but if someone looks to help end suffering, either through stem-cell research or by way of health care for children, Bush turns his pockets out and shrugs his shoulders.

Obviously, Bush hasn't read the entire proposal or he would know that the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program would have been funded by an increase in the federal cigarette tax. What a shock, a program that would have been funded!

Many on the right claim that if the tax is increased, the funding will dry up as people quit smoking. This argument is ridiculous. If smokers did abandon their habit in mass, it would only lead to more money in the coffers. We would actually save more health care money than we would generate from the tax. Besides, the GOP mantra is that less taxes equals more revenue.

Using this twisted reasoning, the "less money" generated by the cigarette tax would actually increase the federal revenue. Either way, everyone wins.

LEE VAN ALLEN Rogers

Appraisers part of crisis

I recently had a home appraised and came away convinced that careless mortgage lenders and the dilatory Fed aren't the only ones contributing to the housing crisis in this country.

It took only a few minutes of conversation to convince me that the quality of expertise I would get from these appraisers would be the equivalent of the reliability of President Bush's explanation of the causal inferences inherent in plasma physics.

In their self-proclaimed "certified" opinion, the value of a double-wide trailer and a custom-built estate, provided the square footage was the same for both, was comparable. Hmm. Interesting.

"Houses in this price range don't sell, since people who can afford an expensive home like this would rather build" was one of the many witty, though not well-timed, quips made while going through my house. Predicting human behavior seemed beyond the scope of their expertise, so I was compelled to respond: "In that case, why don't you rely on replacement cost as a relevant value, since that would reflect the going rate for new construction?"

No comment.

I suspect such a suggestion is tantamount to heresy when directed at one who knows the esoteric art of calculating square footage.

Moral: The next time you need a property appraised, ignore "certified" appraisers and ask a third-grader instead. At least they have the good sense to see value in a magnificent rose in bloom.

HARRY HERGET Jonesboro

Another piece of history

Piggott is the locale of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center at 1021 W. Cherry St. Here, the beautiful second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, was married to Ernest Hemingway during the 1920s. Pauline's father was a wealthy lumber dealer. The property is owned by Arkansas State University at Jonesboro. Tours can be arranged.

Hemingway, the writer, had a penchant for beautiful women, liquor and playing poker. His famous novel, "A Farewell to Arms," later a motion picture, which is the tale of a young American ambulance driver serving the Italian army in World War I, was written in 1928.

Hemingway relocated in his latter days to Key West, Fla., where he wrote "The Old Man and the Sea," gaining additional fame for the writer.

On my visit to Piggott in 1984, I was keenly interested in the icebox furnished with blocks of ice, a cook stove, a 1934 wall calendar and living room furniture containing a Tiffany lampshade.

Hemingway was married four times and was a heavy drinker, yet today is credited as one of the 20th century literary icons together with William Faulkner and Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Arkansans interested in this state's history should study "Sentinels of History," compiled by Mark K. Christ and Cathryn H. Slater. Arkansas is an anachronism in that our history is neither Western nor Old South; it is a combination.

RICHARD B. DIXON Benton

Facility finds right team

My son was sent to the Alexander Juvenile Correctional Facility for nonviolent offenses. He was 17 going in, and I was terrified due to past publicity.

I became involved daily via phone and visitations throughout his stay. While there, my son earned his GED and learned respect for people and property, responsibility, leadership and numerous positive behaviors. This was all taught by G4S Youth Services staff. I met some of them and I can say that Todd Speight and his staff turned my son's life around in a great way.

I have immense respect for their efforts to change direction for the youth entering that facility. G4S staff members work hard to redirect teen lives in positive ways, and this time they deserve our support. This time the state chose the right team for our teens. A thank-you to Speight for his belief in our children's abilities.

PATRICIA PEARSON Bentonville

Bike event not covered

I suppose that writing about the Razornutts running up the score is more newsworthy than writing about 1,600 ofthe normal citizenry of Arkansas and other states riding bicycles 25 or 50 or 75 or 100 miles in the community celebration of the Big Dam Bridge 100.

Since not one drop of ink was spent by the Democrat-Gazette in reporting this event [after it occurred], let me say that it was just wonderful. With enthusiastic volunteer support and professional traffic control, the ride went off without a hitch. Coupling that with a sparkling Arkansas autumn day, we experienced an event that continues to make us proud. Perhaps next year our local paper will choose to cover such positive news.

DONNA CAVE Little Rock

Feedback

Conflicts will escalate

Re the letter, "Troops will not return": The writer is probably right. Syria's loud war drums may be spelling out the "accidental war."

I suspect America could be drawn into the coming conflict. Syria's President Bashar Assad has said that his armed forces are preparing for that war. Syria is preparing chemical weapons and buying sophisticated Russian weapons, and they are buddy-buddy with Iran and North Korea.

At this time, Iran is said to be using Syria as a conduit to resupply Hezbollah. Syria, Iran and North Korea are like sticks of explosives waiting to be lit. Our county is facing a life-and-death challenge down the road. The ultimate victory of Islam in America can be avoided not by more government, but by less. It is my belief that the real endangered species these days are plain ole truth and common sense.

JOHN R. MAY Paragould

Choice just obfuscates

The editorial, "What needed to be said/On the 50th Anniversary of The Crisis," was very well done, but in the last paragraph the word "simulacrum" was used. I don't know if the writer was trying to impress people, but I felt that the word just confused the readers. Why not use the word "likeness" or "imitation"? A good writer tries to inform, not confuse.

LLOYD HENNING Hot Springs Village