LETTERS

LITTLE ROCK — How to serve justice

I agree with Philip Martin’s opinion in the Perspective section that the “death penalty” from the NCAA would not accomplish much in the Penn State case. The football players and coaches who are there now had nothing to do with Jerry Sandusky and his horrific crimes against innocent young men.

I believe those in administration who helped cover it up in order to protect the “Great Penn State” should be in jail with Sandusky; they essentially aided and abetted him for many years so are just as guilty.

It is just too bad that Joe Paterno did not live to also have to pay for his part.

As an avid football and Razorback fan, I think this is one time the NCAA needs to back off and let our legal system punish those responsible.

BRENDA TERRAL

Little Rock

Our country’s at stake

It is time to take this country back to its historical greatness, which has largely been lost in the last few decades. The country that was the shining beacon of hope for the world. The country that was founded for the express purpose of citizens being able to pursue life, liberty and happiness limited only by their own efforts.

We have lost our way in the darkness of secular conformity and laziness. We are fat, under-educated and easily swayed by entitlement envy.

There is a memorial in Plymouth, Mass., dedicated to the Puritans who began colonizing in the early 1600s. It is now known as the National Monument to the Forefathers. Among other virtuous ideals engraved into that huge monument, there are five main points the Puritans believed to be necessary to establish and maintain a free country: faith, liberty, morality, law and education, each supporting the precepts that allow for justice, mercy and equality.

What the Puritans knew was that with liberty comes responsibility toward God, family and neighbors. We, as a nation, have become divided into groups who do not share these same lofty ideals. We are literally at the point that a national crisis will dictate the declaration of martial law.

The fall election will likely be the most critical in the history of this country. It is imperative that we regain our lost virtue and our liberty.

GUY HOWE

Bella Vista

It’s about democracy

In his column about outsourcing being a good thing, Bradley R. Gitz paraphrased Winston Churchill, with “capitalism is the worst kind of economic system, except for all the others.”

Churchill’s famous quote was about democracy, not capitalism. His full quote was: “Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

And by the way, I think Gitz’s contention that outsourcing is good for the U.S. economy was about as wrong as his Churchill quote.

JIM LANCASTER

Sheridan

Is that really needed?

So Pulaski Technical College is constructing a $15 million school at the Saline County line. This school would be able to train 850 students in the art of cooking.

Was a survey made to ensure a need for this many cooks?

Could a dental, engineering or veterinary school be of more value?

GEORGE GRAHAM

Conway

Letter is disrespectful

I was appalled when Clyde Bell arrogantly declared that awarding Purple Hearts to Pvts. William Long and Quinton Ezeagwula would “cheapen” the award. Bell seems like one of those people who strut around like a military expert without ever having served his country in the armed forces. If he ever has worn the uniform, he should be even more ashamed of his disrespectful comments.

It seems Bell has been isolated in his safe little world and never heard of the “war on terror” in which our soldiers are still dying. Our brave military men and women have been killed or wounded in Iraq, Afghanistan, at Fort Hood preparing to deploy and yes, in Little Rock.

Modern warfare is no longer limited to fighting America’s enemies on foreign soil in a “combat zone.” Our enemies have brought the combat and killing to American soil. The terrorist who killed Long and wounded Ezeagwula cut them down because they were U.S. soldiers. That attack was no different than a Taliban ambush in Iraq or Afghanistan.

These young men should be awarded Purple Hearts; they earned them protecting Bell and all Americans with their lives. The only thing cheapened here was Bell by his own disgraceful declaration that the service and sacrifices of these two soldiers was merely “regrettable” and unworthy of special recognition.

Bell owes an apology to Pvts. Long and Ezeagwula, their families and all our brave men and women in uniform.

JAMES P. BLOK

Benton

She’s a mother to all

“Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.” Mary was given full grace; therefore she was incapable of sin. Jesus began his public ministry when he changed water into wine at a wedding after being asked to do so by his mother. From the cross, Jesus looked down at Mary and said, “Woman, behold thy son,” then at the Apostle John and said, “Behold thy mother.” So Mary is the mother of all and our spiritual mother in heaven.

Jesus told Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of the nether world shall not prevail against you. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, whereas whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loose in heaven.” In 2,000 years of an unbroken line of popes, we have biblical scholars and theologians to help with information on the Bible, which was written in ancient Greek and when translated to English, some words were given different meaning. For instance, the eye of the needle is not a sewing reference, but is a low passage in the wall that the city uses after the main gate is closed through which you must crawl to get in and therefore arrive defenseless.

The book of John says that if all the things Jesus did were to be described individually, the whole world couldn’t contain the book that would be written.

Mary was so much more than just an incubator. She is the mother of God.

JAMES B. McGOWAN

Cotton Plant