Nope, not Krugman
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial-page editor owes Paul Krugman an apology for printing his name (accidentally, no doubt) at the end of a column written by Charles Kraut-hammer.
Krauthammer is not, factually, in the same universe with Krugman.
JOHN L. YOUNG
Ola
On Arkansas ground
Recently I helped teach a class on historic preservation to a mental health facility. The facility teaches its students about coping skills, coping thoughts, safe people and safe places. There were pictures that the students colored of old historic buildings.
They discussed with me and each other what historic preservation means to them. They wrote down why they think buildings need to be preserved and how.
It occurred to some of us that buildings in general and Arkansas buildings including the Arkansas soil itself can be a grounding technique, a coping skill, a safe place.
Buildings in Arkansas, oh how I love them. There are old buildings, spacious buildings, tall buildings. There are ceilings, long, high stairs. There are the quiet buildings, the serene. There is the historic, those having the feeling of the historic. The historic that captures your being, that rests on your body and your mind.
There are buildings I've been to, buildings I have lived in. Buildings I'd like to visit or live in. They're colorful, detailed, decorative. They are the Old Mill, the Mary Lake Monastery. The Oasis, the former Territorial Restoration, the Bill Clinton Library, schools, churches.
Oh the buildings, the buildings in Arkansas. Oh how they ground me. The Arkansas ground keeps me remembering what grounds me. With Arkansas buildings I am grounded. And with Arkansas preservation I preserve my soul.
AMY BETH SAWYER
Little Rock
To logical conclusion
Re Chloe Wood's Voices letter: I agree with Chloe that a life is ended any time that a pregnancy is prevented. (Begin sarcasm font) I believe that needs to be taken to its logical conclusion. Any fertile woman who goes through a month without making a reasonable effort to become pregnant is preventing a life from continuing and should therefore be punished. I leave to others the expansion of this concept to men (End font).
The argument is that life is sacred, and begins at conception. I believe that life actually started, depending on your belief system, between 5,000 and 3.5 billion years ago and that human life started sometime after that. I believe that continuing and expanding human life, within reason, is a good thing; however, allowing said life to expand to its full potential would cause problems.
If just one couple starting in about 1700 (roughly 10 30-year generations ago) had emulated my great-great-grandparents with their 12 children (never mind the Duggars), I believe they would have produced more than the current population of the earth.
If they had started around 1350, they would have had 22 generations, and would have, by now, exceeded the mass of the earth. (Begin sarcasm font) At that point, I would start to feel crowded. Fortunately, there have been wars, plagues, famines, and pestilence to somewhat mitigate that crowding (End font).
CLYDE BAILEY
Little Rock
Let that die before me
Life is one of the most cherished things in our world. I say most, because our history is replete with examples of life being treated as if it were a disposable commodity. However, for the most part, we all cherish life.
There's one form of life (hate), figuratively speaking, I would prefer to see extinguished before I meet my maker. I just read an article about the city of New Orleans trying to procure a contract with a vendor to remove Confederate monuments from public display. Potential vendors are fearful of having their names publicized because of death threats received by another vendor who previously contracted to do the job. One company's owner even had his expensive automobile burned.
Being a 65-year-old African American male, some might find it strange that I would say I really don't care that much whether Confederate monuments are removed from the public square. If we were to take a long, hard look at commemorative symbols around the country, we could probably find reasons to remove many of our public monuments.
I'm more concerned with removing the hate from the hearts of us all. It's the life of the hate that lives in all of us that I would like to see die a death befitting the ugliness and pain it projects and generates. I'm thoroughly convinced that tearing down monuments won't accomplish that.
HOSEA LONG
Little Rock
Keep it to yourselves
I hate that this country has become a morally corrupt mess. I hate the fact that we can't even watch television today due to the content of men couples and women couples. There are actually men and women that do believe in one man and one woman as a married couple and hate having to change the channels every time this horrible content is shown. Does America really believe this is right?
I know the squeaky wheel gets the oil, I believe but America is falling apart. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this same issue, and people wake up, I think he is destroying the United States of America as I type this letter. Please, LGBT, don't shove your behavior down our throats; we are sick of it! Keep your lifestyle to yourself. We aren't all liberals. If that is the lifestyle you want to live, take it to California, not Arkansas. I believe your kind is destroying Christian business people because we don't want to make you a "wedding" cake. I'm sorry, that is our choice. Find your own kind to do your catering and leave us alone. Thank you.
D.A. ROWE
Russellville
Editorial on 04/20/2016