Will put us back on track
The American electorate in all its infinite wisdom has selected the best candidate. Democracy works. America has the perfect spokesman for what ails it. We truly have what we deserve. We'll be back on track in no time at all, great again. With the carpets cleaned, the walls whitewashed and windows opened to air out the place and the uppity interloper banished, the White House will be ready for a new inhabitant and a new start.
The Republican conservative values--home, tax breaks, balanced budgets, men-and-women-only relations and abortion eradication--have hit a home run. The evangelicals have led us to a great moral leader even if he has a little difficulty pronouncing "2 Corinthians."
No point in being a poor loser; we were beat fair and square. In fact we have great opportunities here. Me, I'm going to invest in corner liposuction and breast enlargement clinics, one on every block. The economy will boom when the massive iceberg-sized foreign money which has been patiently treading water offshore is allowed back in at discount rates. Think of the wall we can afford; it will be bigger than the Great Wall of China.
I can hardly wait. You won't recognize the place: new bridges; skinny Playboy bunnies, big-bosomed compliant wives, mistresses and one-time-conquests walking down every street; homosexuals and illegal abortion clinics out of sight, driven once again to their proper place, the back alleys. Mexicans will be ejected, Muslims prohibited. Global warming will be exposed for the hoax it is, Flint water will be bottled for sale. We'll click our heels, John Wayne will unleash carpet bombs and the Muslim civil war will end on cue. Now that a great moral leader with a steady hand and an eagle eye is steering our ship of state, it will be like heaven on earth.
All I can say is, "What were you thinking?" May God have mercy on our souls!
DANNY HANCOCK
Lonoke
Inauguration nearing
I wrote these words not upon the inauguration of this new president, but the one before him. Yet the words are still true, and will remain so as long as the republic endures:
"For the sake of this great rite of passage we will wear our edges smooth. We will still our querulous, raucous voices. We will crouch quiet, a great assemblage of mutts, vital, angry, good-hearted, tenacious, straining to hear the promises our new leader is making to us.
"We will honor the perfection of this idea as the massive force of empire passes flawlessly from one hand to another."
ANN LINK
Little Rock
Social Security checks
A society is judged by how it treats the most vulnerable. At this point, what difference does it make? A word of caution: Don't assume your elected officials and your elder watchdog association are watching out for you while you are covered by Social Security's many benefit programs. Check the cost-of-living adjustments recipients are receiving.
For the record, here's the ugly past and deplorable future. President Barack Obama assumed office on Jan. 20, 2009: 2010--zero percent, no increase in benefits--flatlined; 2011--zero percent, no increase in benefits--flatlined again; 2012--3.6 percent, an increase--we have life; 2013--1.7 percent, some increase--we have a beat; 2014--1.5 percent--slight increase--hanging in there; 2015--1.7 percent--some increase--holding on; 2016--zero percent--no increase--flatlined again; 2017--0.3 percent--increase?--bring in the paddles, stand clear!
I personally want to thank those who worked so hard to "give" the average Social Security beneficiary our (rounded-up) $4 per month increase in our benefits for 2017. Take a bow, AARP, Mr. President, our dedicated Congress, and those beloved federal bureaucrats. Something has got to change.
President Trump, I and 65+ million other beneficiaries need your help.
PAUL MEEKS
Little Rock
Support our freedoms
Recently, I was appalled to read a letter to the editor which not only disrespected our current president in a fashion previously unheard of in this great nation, but a letter which also so boldly claimed that women should not have been granted the right to vote.
I am not usually one to contribute a letter to the editor, but I must wonder--how can anyone truly claim to be a supporter of the many freedoms granted to us in this country while exclaiming that women, around half of the entire American population, should not be allowed to vote? Is it not American greatness which propelled the early feminist movements forward? Is it not the freedom that the Republican Party so desperately clings to which grants women the simple privilege of being full citizens?
I encourage the author of the aforementioned letter to speak openly with the women in his life. I am positive that these women will have the patience and energy to educate him and lead him from his misogynistic views. Until then, I would like to see the letters to the editor section be a bit more cautious of the dangerous messages it is spreading.
I would like to encourage every woman to get out there and vote, especially for local elections. Finally, to all the girls who read that unfortunate nonsense: Absorb all the knowledge you can, and do not let men like this devalue you.
ERICA KRINER
Pine Bluff
Changes in behavior
A recent letter-writer stated that Donald Trump has been recently "saved." We do not tend to use that term in my church, preferring to say that a person has become a Christian or joined the church. I certainly need to work on my attendance, and I am far from a perfect Christian.
However, a person's becoming a Christian could be expected to lead to changes in behavior. Tell me, have you seen something that I have missed? Trump appears to be just as much a lying, amoral, money-hungry misogynist as he has always been. The major thing that mystifies me is how a person who purports to be a Christian could support such a reprehensible person. That is the true mystery to me.
CATHERINE LAMB
Little Rock
Caught you flinching
Although I have not often agreed with your editorial conclusions, I have always admired your courage in taking a slant--that is, coming down forcefully on one side of important issues.
However, when it came time to endorse a candidate for president of the United States, you flinched.
STEPHEN P. NICHOLS
Fayetteville
Most wonderful time
It's that time again--deer season.
The veins in their necks are swelling, they get a low-grade fever and start to paw the ground. I am not talking about the deer--I am talking about the hunters.
Deer "hunting" is no longer hunting. It is a game of chance. You get up into this little hut, and take your chances that a deer will walk by.
WAYMOND TEAGUE
Greenbrier
So, if it's rigged ...
The moment Mr. Trump won the election, he became a public liar. Why? He repeatedly and pointedly claimed, for the entire month prior to being elected, that the election is rigged. Well, it's the honesty of our system that had him elected. Therefore his repeated claim is simply a lie.
Let's be thankful for our country and its systems. Let's hope that lies by elected officials do not become common practice, much less cast the course for our new president. Let's unite and move forward.
BRUCE SCHULTE
North Little Rock
His greatest error
As far as planet earth is concerned, I think God's greatest error was creating the human race. Humans may have a God-given soul but after many millennia that soul has not resulted in a better world. That soul has not produced an improved human being, either in their treatment of other humans or in their treatment of other life forms.
Sorry, God, but earth would have been a better place without your intervention.
PAUL CHRIST
Harrison
Wake-up call for D.C.
Some of us Americans were surprised and others shocked at the election of Donald Trump as our next president of the United States. It is the first time in our history as a nation that someone who has not either been in the military or held an elected political office has been elected to serve as president.
Trump's election speaks to where we are as a nation, and demonstrates the power of the American people when they unite, want change, and believe that they are not being served by the current established government system and its leaders. This widespread dissatisfaction with our government began with the hopeful election of Barack Obama eight years ago. Unfortunately, he was not able to address the needs of many Americans, and will end his presidency with a much more divided and divisive government.
Donald Trump's election should serve as a wake-up call to all those in government that they must focus on the issues of Americans and work together. This is both the challenge and the opportunity for the U.S. to continue as a real democracy, or to continue down our current path of more polarization and division which will ultimately lead to the destruction of our democratic society.
Donald Trump stated in his acceptance remarks that he wants to unite all of America and work for all of America. This is now in the hands of all who hold political office, as he cannot do it alone. I hope our leaders can put aside their differences and make America great again.
CLINT VOGUS
Jonesboro
Lost respect for UA
I lost a lot of respect for the University of Arkansas Athletic Department because of the action of the six lady basketball players and the support of that action by their coach and athletic director.
I stopped watching NFL games this year for lack of anything from managers and the NFL commissioners. My thanks to Jerry Jones for a proper response. It is an insult to all people and their families who have supported their rights and provided protection and safety so these girls can attend school and play basketball.
If these girls want to change things, let them get involved in the part of government that has control over the people they are protesting. Maybe their supporters will assist them in this life decision. The insults they are exhibiting now require zero effort. It just show an attitude of "Look at me, look at the attention I'm getting." i.e., a do-nothing attitude.
LES NICHOLS
Hot Springs Village
At my chamber door
As Ed Poe's mysterious bird once quoted, may we hear the names of Bush and Clinton ... nevermore!
BOB CARNATION
Austin
Editorial on 11/14/2016