LETTERS

LITTLE ROCK — Change the rules for judges

The recent story about the apparent shortage of federal judges in Arkansas probably elicited no comment. The public has become used to just accepting whatever Congress wants to do about federal district judges.

The story would have us believe that there is a shortage when in fact they are all still there, getting paid for life. Four of them have taken that old reliable route of senior status, which translates into “I’m tired of all this work so I’m going to just start taking only the cases I want to.” Of course, everyone in Congress pretends there is now a vacancy so that four more new ones can be appointed-for life, of course.

We can’t change the salary thing, but we can demand that the judges perform at full capacity. After all, they were the ones who wanted the job. One judge has been on senior status for about 20 years, according to my memory.

We should eliminate the senior status sham and insist that they work until they actually retire, not when they want to, but when they can’t keep going. And retirement pay should be commensurate with retirement, like the rest of us.

There is no shortage of federal judges, it’s just a shortage of those willing to really work. Those who take senior status should have to make a choice: Keep working or resign. Term limits, anyone?

WALTER SKELTON Little Rock

Ross fights for state

I’ve heard from too many uniformed people that Mike Ross does what he is told in Washington, so Idid some research and here are a few headlines of stories I found about Ross and his supposed obedience to Washington:

The Hill: “Blue Dog stand forces Pelosi to back down.”

FOX News: “Democrats Voice Opposition to Health Care Bill.”

The Washington Post: “Liberal and Conservative Democrats Feud Over Bill.”

It’s clear that Ross is willing to stand up to the president and to those in Washington when he disagrees with them. These stories are from July 2009 and the health care vote didn’t happen until November, a good four months later. Nancy Pelosi was scrambling to get as many votes as she could to pass health care at the last minute. Remember all the backroom deals?

Ross even said that the president called him that night and he still said no. The idea that Pelosi “let” Ross vote no is not only ridiculous, it’s also not believable.

We need someone in Congress who will stand up to the extremes in both parties, and Ross is our guy. He works hard, comes home every weekend, listens to us and votes how we tell him to. He is the only candidate with real ideas and real solutions with substance.

Everyone has a congressman, but we in the 4th District have Ross, a guy who fights for us every day.

SAMMY PARKER Louann

Goodness not visible

Recently, my 18-year-old daughter was on her way to class at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She was stopped by a red light on Rodney Parham Road when she was rear-ended by an elderly woman. The impact was hard enough to knock my daughter’s vehicle into the intersection. The lady left the scene of the accident. My daughter was in shock, but thankfully not hurt as not one person stopped to check on her, see if they could help or to let her know they were a witness to the hit-and-run.

My daughter is a very kind-hearted young lady who has been raised to respect her elders and to help people who are in need in any way she can.She is just starting out in this world as an adult and this accident, although minor, was a major setback to all she has been taught and all she believes about the goodness of people.

My message to the elderly lady who hit my daughter’s vehicle and then drove off: What an example you are setting for young people, especially those who are taught to respect the elderly. For the people who witnessed this accident and did nothing, I sincerely hope that next time, it is not one of their children in that intersection, in shock and not knowing what to do. Helping each other, whether young or old, friend or stranger, is just the right thing to do in any situation. I sincerely hope my daughter continues to believe that despite this recent experience.

JOHN SPENCER North Little Rock

Toeing Obama’s line

I recently learned that Arkansas is channeling Barack Obama’s stimulus money through its Department of Energy to the Clinton Foundation Climate Initiative.

Martha Murray, who did work with the CCI as “policy associate to address global warming with large scale and replicable green building projects,” is now the coordinator between Clinton Climate Initiative and Gov. Mike Beebe’s office.

Just why is Arkansas channeling stimulus money to the partisan CCI to implement its global warming program? And why does Beebe need a coordinator between his office and the CCI? Is this even constitutional? How many other states are channeling Obama’s stimulus money to the Clinton Foundation or other liberal groups to implement their agenda?

The Clinton Foundation is doing very well without Arkansas’ money. It says it “brings together a community of global leaders . . . more than 100 current and former heads of state . . . hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective non-governmental organizations, and prominent members of the media” who “have made more than 1,400 commitments valued at $46 billion.”

Murray was part of the lobbying effort for the House cap-and-trade bill that even Sen. Blanche Lincoln opposed. Would our governor still be popular if Arkansans knew he is a true Obama Democrat?

DEBBIE PELLEY Jonesboro

Reject ‘no’ candidate

Why would Arkansas voters replace U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, chairman of the Agriculture Committee, with a “no” candidate?

This particular no candidate had several chances to improve the economy by voting yes on legislation, but he sided with the no political party in all cases. That is exactly what we can expect from the future-no action, no improvement and back to do-nothing politics.

This no candidate makes a big thing of standing his ground while playing football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. This is exactly what he will do-stand his ground with the no political party instead of doing what is best for Arkansas.

Having a photo shoot in the middle of a cotton field does not make a candidate worthy of chairing the Senate Agriculture Committee. I call on all Democrats and responsible voters to vote for Lincoln in the November elections. We must continue to move ahead, not backward.

LYLE STAFFORD Maumelle

Costs are not so tiny

Yesterday was a day of excitement for my wife and me as we are retired. The news was that the costs we will face as Obamacare is being put into policy are just “mere pennies” of our living standard.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln can be more than just a little proud of her guarantee of the Obamacare becoming the national policy on health. Let’s look at these “tiny” costs.

Our combined Social Security income is $29,465.60, and since the socialist Democratic Party has worked hard for us, my income in 2011 will be the same as 2010. Our Social Security Part D is only $2,313.60, supplemental insurance is $2,876.40 and our drug insurance is only $1,992, for a total of $7,182 per year.

Now with the Obamacare for the coming year our “mere pennies” increase comes to $2,544.96 for Part D, $3,164.04 for supplemental insurance and $2,191.20 for drug insurance, for total of $7,900.20, or almost 27 percent of our income.

However, Obamacare is going to up us by reducing our Medicare yearly expenses to our health providers by $2,000, so our new 2011 total will actually be $9,900.20, or about 33 percent of our income. This is only for 2011. Now we must learn to live on only 67 percent of our yearly income after we pay for our Obamacare.

I can’t wait until Nov. 2 when we citizens can start to rid America of the socialist Democratic Party.

PAUL M. DAVIS Cabot

Some don’t miss W.

Re Annie Snow’s letter: The topic of her letter seems to be why she misses George W. Bush. Apparently, she places more importance on whether the president bows to another leader than on how the economy is doing.

Does she miss W.’s two unfunded wars? Does she miss the economy tanking and the housing market collapsing? These all happened under the leadership of W. Granted, the Democrats were in power for his final two years, but by then the damage had already been done.

Did she enjoy the fact that under Bush, our country was reviled throughout the world? I suppose that to the narrow-minded right, with their morally superior attitude, W. is missed. He represented a chance to impose martial moral law on this country. The teapublicans are hoping to get another chance at this come November. Now the teapublicans want to monitor you in your bedroom to make sure you are engaging in only Christine O’Donnell approved activities.

Is Snow willing to step forward and be the first to submit to such an invasion of privacy? She must be suffering from amnesia because I don’t miss W. and neither should anyone else who was awake during his eight years in office.

JUD HANSON Fayetteville

Service praiseworthy

I use this forum to publicly thank Baker Kurrus for his 12 years of exemplary service on the Little Rock School District board of directors.

School board service requires a special breed of public servant. They assume responsibilities relating to our children and to our tax dollars, and that’s a volatile mix often leading to emotionally charged issues. And, of course, we all know parents of children who can do no wrong.

Baker has been a model public servant, studiously studying the issues, giving his time and energy to be available to his community, listening to all points of view, but always displaying the courage to be faithful to his own conscience.

Baker, thanks for your service to our community and our children. You’re a good man.

JIM ARGUE JR. Little Rock

Feedback Need is desperate

I cannot believe what I just read in the Democrat-Gazette-a long story about this Grandma’s House in Fordyce and the four women who have donated their time and energy scrubbing, cleaning and painting this former nursing home, dreaming of preparing a good place for foster children.

I can’t describe the desperate need for this type of facility for children in all kinds of bad situations simply because the state Department of Human Services cannot find proper places for them.

Grandma’s House is ready to open, but it can’t because it can’t prove that it will be financially secure for six months so that it can get a license and a federal grant. What a tragedy.

We have a government that gives grants for birds, snakes and insects, and then I read where the Game and Fish Commission has received a federal grant for $871,000 to give duck hunters access to more land in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge.

What’s wrong with this picture?

ANN L. PORTER Bauxite