Our shattered lives
I wrote this on the one-year anniversary of 9/11, and it still applies today:
Shattered lives and severed dreams on that September morn. Lord help us, and protect us! Without warning, tragedy brought mourning. Even to those unborn ...
We changed our way of life, but not our thinking. We trust less and fear more. We still lie, cheat and steal from each other and demand another war. Nothing's changed ... it all went for naught. Crying's stopped ... don't give it a thought. Nothing's changed, and perhaps never will. Where lies the fault in a massive kill? Nothing's changed. We really blew it. Love and peace were knocking on our door. What hath man wrought upon himself? It's not enough, just give us more.
ROBERT SHURBET
Little Rock
Set aside ordinance
I really didn't want to write this because I have an aversion to persecution and hate mail, but it needs to be said and Jesus did say, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for my sake."
May God have mercy on the city of Fayetteville, and in particular, its city council, as they have enacted a so-called anti-discrimination ordinance that I believe demonstrates a total lack of a fear of God. It apparently seeks to appease, accommodate and approve of lifestyles and behaviors that God, in his word, calls perversion and abomination, and I think it is symptomatic of the sinful culture of our nation.
Do not expect God to continue to bless Fayetteville if it continues on this path. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for all sin, and I believe this action by the city council mocks him at the foot of the cross and must be set aside.
DAVID L. JOHNSON
West Fork
Progress in Mideast
The horrific violence ravaging Iraq and Syria underscores the urgency to the U.S. of moving ahead with inclusive, diplomatic efforts in the region. One means of doing this is to engage with Iran in negotiations about its nuclear program. This is a unique opportunity to de-escalate the violence in the region.
The first step for a more comprehensive agreement was struck last year. As a result of the preliminary deal, the world is further from a nuclear-armed Iran. Iran committed to freezing its nuclear progress and opening up its nuclear program to continued inspections. The deal also put both of our countries on a path to peacefully resolving the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. It has given both sides a chance to negotiate peacefully a settlement that eliminates the threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.
This is why I believe additional sanctions shouldn't be used; too much is at stake to risk undermining further negotiations. We are at a special place; so much has been achieved despite so many challenges. Diplomats on both sides will be restarting their talks in advance of the UN General Assembly meeting in order to secure a final, comprehensive agreement by Nov. 24th. I'm asking Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman to openly support this historic diplomatic initiative, thereby contributing to its success.
JOHN COFFIN
Little Rock
Deceitful strategies
The political ads that saturate the airways now are particularly disgusting when you know most of them are untrue and designed to deceive the viewer. The one I find most egregious is the one where the fellow says: "I can see my retirement from here, but every time I see Tom Cotton, I feel it slipping away."
What nonsense! Most economists as well as the CBO have warned that Social Security and Medicare will eventually become insolvent unless drastic measures are taken to reverse the course we are on.
Tom Cotton is a conservative who I believe wants to save Social Security and Medicare and knows there is no way of maintaining solvency by staying on this road to oblivion.
Raising the age requirement to 70 may be the only way of saving these programs for future generations, but it seems Mark Pryor and the Democrat smear machine would have you believe that Cotton's only motive for favoring a later retirement age is to deprive some folks of their Social Security benefits. How deceitful.
GARY LEMON
Cabot
Just telling the truth
John Brummett is not liberal. He simply tells folks the truth about what is going on in politics and people think he is liberal.
I am reminded of Harry S. Truman, who explained, in 1948, "I never gave anybody hell. I just told the truth and they think it's hell."
JAMES WILLIS
Little Rock
Red-light regulation
Have you just barely avoided being hit by a car speeding through a light that just turned red or seen drivers who believe themselves to be above the law in this respect? I think we have all seen this and perhaps been threatened by it, and it seems to be getting worse.
Every year in America, about 20 percent of car accidents are caused by drivers running red lights, taking some 800 American lives every year and an estimated $7 billion of property. To curb this reckless driving behavior, many cities have installed red-light cameras and report that they are indeed effective in reducing the running of red lights, and by inference, have also reduced resulting accidents and injuries.
Arkansas' Act 1451 of 2005, however, prohibits their use here. As well, in 2013, House Bill 2158 in support of the cameras was defeated in the 89th General Assembly of the House of Representatives, although the bill had earned the support of the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police.
The use of red-light cameras does not infringe on anyone's constitutional rights, nor are they focused on any one race, age, gender or socioeconomic status. They simply report the truth.
I strongly urge the Legislature to revisit this possibility, and in doing so, have a meaningful conversation with the public in appropriate venues. Let a proper and representative percentage of the general population of Little Rock make this decision in a democratic way, not just the Legislature. In that case, I will be happy to abide by their choice.
If even one life is saved by the use of these cameras, isn't it worth it? It might even be your own.
RAY MOORE
Little Rock
Who pays for that?
In a recent letters section, a writer seems to indicate she doesn't have to pay "to subsidize millions of emergency-room visits by uninsureds" any more because the Affordable Care Act will insure those previously uninsured visits. This is only true if she pays no federal income taxes now. For the citizens that pay federal income taxes, I believe they will see increasing taxes to cover those visits. Obamacare, as the ACA is known, is subsidized by taxpayers.
So, all you taxpayers get ready to start paying more federal and state taxes to support the ACA! I'm always amazed that people think government programs are going to save them any money.
RICHARD HARRIS
Conway
An expensive service
According to a recent story, it cost $700,000 to haul off 700 loads of debris in Pulaski County. It seems like to me that, at $1,000 a load, this was mighty expensive debris-hauling. No wonder the county is out of money.
SANDY JOHNSTON
Jacksonville
Editorial on 09/11/2014