Valuable opportunity
Girl Scouts was a part of my life for 13 years--I started in kindergarten and graduated from high school with three fingers still stuck together in salute. At each developmental stage throughout the program, I have fond memories of blissful camping, summer trips, and patches earned.
But recently in the media, reporters have portrayed Scouts as annoying pre-teens coming to your door, Tagalongs in tow, ready to force the idea of abortion on prospective members. This is not the case at all.
Girl Scouts is the largest leadership organization for girls in the world. For over a century, girls have abided by the Girl Scout Law's inspiring pledge: "I will do my best to be courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do."
Programs such as Take Action Projects; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM); and Be a Friend First (BFF) were generated to benefit a different sector of self-building, and because of them, there have been higher percentages of proactive girls today.
These proactive girls could become some of the most influential women in the country: 75 percent of the women in the U.S. Senate are Girl Scout alumnae, and more than half of the women in the U.S. House of Representatives are alumnae as well.
So before you judge a Girl Scout by her vest, think about how some of those badges could transform into Nobel Peace Prizes.
ISABELLA RAGNI
Conway
On the way to Mars ...
Well, I don't know what E=mc² means, but I do know NASA is planning to send some idiots to Mars as soon as it can. Maybe they just wanted some privacy ...
We built a colossal satellite dish and pointed it to the sky with hope to connect to life from outer space ... How cool is that? How 'bout that Hubble space telescope? That thing has sent back images that only a person on LSD could appreciate. What if E.T. contacts us? We could show him the neat pics we have.
He might share with us things we won't understand and we could tell him why we have spent untold fortunes in space and left the hungry and the homeless standing on our streets to suffer. Perhaps we can show him our sophisticated defense weaponry and how after all these centuries we still use gunpowder and lead projectiles to kill. I'll bet he'll really be impressed to see how diverse our population has become and how badly we hate each other.
By the way, thanks for Einstein and the E=mc² thing. Can't tell you how many times it came in handy patching my roof, ending quarrels with my neighbors, tuning up my old Ford and making the North Koreans think twice about stealing our national secret for Boston Baked Beans.
We probably won't be living here much longer, what with all the wars, bombs, hatred and the like. The water is dirty and mostly dried up, and the air around our planet really sucks. So, if we could just exchange a little culture while you're here, we would be very grateful.
And thanks for sending Donald Trump. At last we know the answer to if there's any life from other planets.
Before you go home, E.T., would you go by Washington and tell them that there are more important matters pressing and we sure could use some humanitarian things before they leave for Mars?
RONALD SMITH
Little Rock
Seat belts saving lives
Bravo, Mr. Larry Gentry! Boo to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
I believe the wearing (or not) of seat belts is always--repeat, always--germane to the story. It is much more important than the weather conditions at the time of the accident. Seat belts save lives.
JACK SCHMEDEMAN
Little Rock
Conservation queries
In light of yet an another horrific mass school shooting in our nation, I ask the questions: What are our conservative politicians conserving for us, our children, and future generations?
Why is it so important to them to deny women the right to affordable health care to the extent that threats are made to shut down the government?
How do these public servants justify their allegiance to corporate entities and special-interest groups over and above the health and welfare to the people of the United States?
Where is the humanity in playing the blame game, denying, outing and humiliating others who choose to live their truth in this free country?
Who among these self-labeled conservatives can claim an ancestry that is 100 percent Native American?
Can we stop labeling and judging, and just try—just try—to love one another, protect and preserve all precious forms of life on our Mother Earth; live and breathe in the spirit of Christ, Buddha, all the great prophets and our divine creator?
What are we conserving? What legacy are we leaving? How will history portray us as a nation of people?
Peace is not something we find. Peace is what we make.
LANA WIEDOWER
North Little Rock
Defunding stupid idea
I am writing in response to the decision of the governor to deny women and men access to health care by defunding Planned Parenthood clinics in our state.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in 2014 provided Arkansas women with 372 cervical cancer screenings, 522 breast cancer screenings, and 2,559 test for sexually transmitted infections during the past year. Over 300 men also received services in their clinics. In Arkansas, Planned Parenthood reportedly is providing comprehensive health care to 3,968 patients.
No federal funding is expended on pregnancy terminations. The Arkansas affiliate does not participate in fetal-tissue donation, a subject of some widely discredited videos collected by an anti-abortion group in the effort to ban all abortions in America.
The action of the governor is in response to political pressures being exerted by a contingent of misinformed constituents who have never visited a Planned Parenthood clinic and have no inkling what services really happen there.
Defunding a primary health-care provider in a state where health services are difficult to access is just plain stupid.
CAROL L. RODDY
Little Rock
He’s born to be mild
Do Razorback fans need to buy our big, expensive head football coach a big, expensive motorcycle?
MIKE VOWELL
Little Rock
Editorial on 10/05/2015