Here there be tigers
I think most people would agree that if we had wild tigers roaming near our polling sites, that would have a devastating effect on our elections. So I think the Legislature should set forth to produce a bill that would require county clerks to spend thousands on tiger repellent for our election sites.
What’s that you say? There have been no reports of any wild tiger sightings at any polling sites?
Not an issue, since after all, there have been no reported occurrences of voter ID fraud in the state of Arkansas either (even the Democrat-Gazette could not find any), and that didn’t stop our Legislature from requiring county clerks spend thousands to implement the new voter ID law.
So let’s get cracking on that tiger repellent.
MICHAEL VINING
Benton
Hey, I could do that!
I keep thinking about the highway department hiring a weather person. It looks to me like Gov. Mike Beebe is trying to find a fall guy and the highway department is looking for another job to add to its job roster pyramid. All it is is a fall guy for the higher-ups in the state. Even this past winter, Georgia could have used a fall guy when ice hit that state, tying up traffic. Now, Arkansas will go full steam on this issue of placing blame.
The job sounds good to me. Even though I do not have a degree in meteorology, I would like very much to have that paycheck. Beebe should let me do the job and I will settle for operational expenses. I will take vacations only in the summertime too. That startup will include all equipment needed as I will work off the mentioned weather person’s data.
I will promise to watch Arkansas weather reporters for weather data and the Internet systems too. From that I should be able to hit the temperature within, say, plus or minus 8 degrees. I could predict rain, sleet, snow and ice within, say, 1/2 inch and time of arrival within plus-three hours too. No negative time.
Now, I may have the snow crews out unnecessarily a few times, but the slight error is better than a huge traffic jam. Consider my cost to the state would be less than a registered meteorologist.
BEVERLY ALTMAN
Batesville
His pathetic attempt
Regarding Mr. John Brummett’s column, “Running roughshod”: Please inform Big Bad John that his attempt at overwrought sarcastic humor (?) aimed at state Sen. Jason Rapert, Jesus Christ and anyone who thinks the state should have coherent gay-rights policies is even sillier than Brummett’s usual liberal clichés full of halftruths and elbow jabs aimed at state Sen. Jason Rapert, Jesus Christ and, um, anyone or anything which happens to be this week’s talking point for the Democratic establishment.
Please excuse the sentence length, which is probably prohibited by at least one of the Ten Commandments.
TOM MURRAY
Bella Vista
Liberties for everyone
Montesquieu, Rousseau, Locke and others advanced the fundamental ideas of basic human rights. As a nation founded on freedom, which incorporated those philosophies into the Constitution, it’s the country’s and the state’s duty and responsibility to provide these liberties to everyone.
Despite the rejoicing that should be occurring as the state leads the South into a future of equality and creates history, citizens and government employees alike are refusing to accept the verdict because of religious beliefs.
Most religious tenets are based on a foundation of love and acceptance rather than hate and repression; what gives modern believers the right to spread abhorrence in the name of their deity?
Since people fear their religious rights are being trampled on, they need to recall the Constitution. Because of due process in the 14th Amendment, the basic rights outlined in the Bill of Rights address the concerns of the opposition. The First Amendment includes two main religious ideas: the free exercise clause and establishment clause. The latter reveals that the government, or any government agency, cannot establish or promote a specific religion; furthermore, if the only argument against marriage equality is derived from religious beliefs, then there is no judicial standing.
The counter-attack needs to back down because it’s reflecting poorly on the state. We (my sister and I) wanted to let the resistance to marriage equality in Arkansas know that it will not affect your religious beliefs, your heterosexual “union,” or you.
ALEXANDRA and
MARISA PECORARO
Bentonville
Ticket the violators
It seems speed traps have a twotier purpose for the police: The first is to keep people’s speed down for safer roads, but the second and equally important reason is to generate revenue. A win-win, unless you’re the person getting the ticket.
As a society, however, we are better off if people obey the law, and although there are some laws that are just plain stupid for the most part, we are better as a people with them. As Americans always like to say, we are a people of laws. If we take a look at the above example, we might find other places police can make some profit for the city and also help out the neediest of people. I’m talking about handicapped parking spots.
To gain a handicapped car plate and ID, something had to have happened that made it not only hard but also, in a doctor’s eyes, not a good idea to walk more or farther than you have to. So we have handicapped spots. Normally these are slightly wider spots with a dashed area between them to allow for wheelchairs or more access for people to get in and out of their cars or vans. What happens, however, is everybody and their brother feels they have the right to park in these spots.
I’ve heard excuses like “I will only be a minute” to “I’m the general manager of this store,” each person thinking their perfectly healthy body deserves the right to park in the handicapped spot. If the police would routinely issue the high-dollar tickets for this parking violation, however, I think we would see many less people parking illegally. Just like issuing speeding tickets, these tickets would help society and generate some cash while doing so.
GREGG L. WEBSTER
Little Rock