Blame for stagnation
It just makes me sad that the editorial staff chose to publish the cartoon last Saturday showing an empty chair saying it represents the president's accomplishments. If there is a lack of accomplishments, I think you should point the blame on the do-nothing Congress. President Barack Obama continues to try to get things done through the limits of executive actions and is criticized and threatened at every turn. It seems Congress does only enough to keep the lights on, while the obstructionist demeanor goes on.
There is a reason the president has over 40 percent favorability while Congress languishes under 20 percent.
PAUL WAGENER
Jacksonville
Who's in control here?
In Sunday's edition, a Washington Post article addressed the issue of hobby droners and air space. John Boggs in Kentucky argued that his drones could go anywhere with no restrictions from property owner.
Why? According to the Federal Aviation Administration, it has jurisdiction over all air space above the tips of your grass blades. Therefore the owner cannot deprive others of the use of that space.
If Mr. Boggs' argument holds up in court, the mind boggles at the possible consequences. My entire house is above grass level. Could the FAA claim it is under its jurisdiction/control? In-ground swimming pools would be mine, but an above-ground pool might not be.
My porch and deck would be up for grabs, as well as the roof, which could be out of my control as well, wouldn't you think? Forget the picnic table, patio, and barbecue also.
You might want to think twice before getting that trampoline or treehouse for the kids.
Silly, you say? When you get a gaggle of lawyers and politicians eager to break new legal ground, there is no telling what you will reap.
Let's see how this plays out in the federal courthouse, then decide if you agree with their thoughts.
This was written in humor. But will the joke be on us?
KAREN HAMPTON
Perryville
Change the flag also
I really think it's time for the people of Arkansas to change our state flag. It looks too much like the Confederate flag and that's just not right.
I'm sure it would be okay with the fine residents of Arkansas, along with canceling Robert E. Lee Day and changing Confederate Boulevard in Little Rock to Springer Boulevard. It would bring all of us closer together.
T.M. BROWN
Clinton
Go bump in the night
Some time ago I made a mental note to myself to immediately check outside to see if the sky was falling if I ever found anything I could agree with in a Philip Martin column, certain that if such happened it would surely be the beginning of the Apocalypse.
Well, it happened and the sky did not collapse. In a column following Halloween, he stated that he did not believe in ghosts and cited an Ambrose Bierce piece that wondered why spectral apparitions normally appear fully clothed as though clothing followed them into the afterlife.
I could only agree and it has always puzzled me how ghostly spirits could pass ethereally through solid walls or doors and still be able to somehow knock over a lamp, flip on a light switch or go bump in the night.
Nearly everyone, though, including myself, enjoys a good ghost story. When I was a very young impressionable kid, a neighbor lady was especially good at weaving scary tales of supernatural stuff. I recall sitting on my mother's lap listening to one of her tales when I thought I saw a ghost through her front-door glass, walking on the front porch. It was a few years before I convinced myself that "my ghost" was merely a real person.
Still, on any given dark and stormy night, if perchance I hear an unfamiliar sound, my rational explanations are apt to steal away and hide in the murky unknown and I timorously ask myself, "what was that--the wind--only just--the wind?"
JOHN McPHERSON
Searcy
SEC of horse-racing?
We were delighted to learn via the letters column that there are others who lament the absence of a greater news presence of Oaklawn-generated news items. Mr. James Sanders' recent letter highlights this obvious lack of interest in one of Arkansas' sports landmarks.
It seems that Arkansas' media interest in the "Sports of Kings" before, during and after the annual meet falls far below the level that one would expect, considering the national status of our local thoroughbred racing facility.
C'mon, Wally, think of Oaklawn as the SEC of the thoroughbred world.
TONI WALLACE
Hot Springs Village
Prayer is a privilege
Re Paul Christ's letter stating his belief that "praying is a self-serving psychological ploy," I believe praying is a self-serving and other-serving spiritual pursuit.
Prayer is a duty, a gift, a privilege. And when prayer is offered in a sincere, faith-based manner, I believe it does indeed "exert influence over situations and events" beyond our control, because heartfelt prayer aligns itself with divine intervention.
It's interesting that the writer's last name is Christ. I pray that one day he may recognize, and be influenced by, Jesus Christ's teaching on prayer, as well as Christ's love for both reader and writer, a love that encompasses the psychological realm and beyond.
LINDA L. SCISSON
Little Rock
Editorial on 01/23/2016