Letters

Compelled to write

I have not submitted a letter to the editor in years in spite of the fact that at least once a week I see something in the paper that seems so outrageous I compose one in my mind. Now I feel compelled to write. The ongoing articles concerning the method of execution used by Arkansas seem to fit this category.

I have had medical procedures in which I was given anesthetic via a simple, virtually painless injection and seemingly woke up 10 seconds later with no recollection. Why is it that this cannot be used prior to lethal injection or other means of execution? Also, I have had pets put down to eliminate suffering, and the injection given seemed to be both painless and instant.

Can someone give me a rational answer why this is such a problem?

And before you anti-death penalty people write about how unfair the death penalty is, how about addressing the unfairness of the approximately 17,000 innocent people who are killed on our highways each year by drunk drivers due to our slap-on-the-wrist laws for DUI? If you want take up a cause, how about working on that one?

And while I am at it, how about a real no-brainer--shut down the hog farm whose permit was slipped in without any effective public notice or proper procedure. If this is not clear evidence of crooked politics in Arkansas, I don't know what would be.

HUGH MUIR

Bella Vista

You don't pose threat

Why would you carry a gun? Do you plan to shoot somebody? If you say protection, how does that protect you? By the time you get your unloaded gun out of your pocket or purse, you'd be too late to stop and load, decide, and then to fire. If someone is after you with a gun, you have no chance at all. You carry loaded, you'll likely shoot yourself in the foot. Please look at the old west and decide why that did not work for them.

Let's get these guns off the streets, out of the hands of people who aim to commit murder, and please don't let it be you in that position. We have laws and officers of those laws who are also in constant peril because of people who think they can take care of themselves by carrying.

Believe me, you who carry are no threat to someone who is intent on murder, unless you are too.

CAROLYN MOSELEY

Mabelvale

Other quotes to heed

Those folks who oppose public executions are fond of quoting the part of the Bible which says, "Thou shall not kill." A thorough reading of the Bible would also uncover this passage: "no atonement can be made for murder except by the execution of the murderer." The Bible also says, "all murderers must be executed."

Read the whole book. Those quotes are in there.

DON SHORT

Farmington

But I need my blanket

Our 14-year-old niece who lives with us tried to leave for middle school (eighth grade) the other day carrying a blanket.

My wife says, "What's with the blanket?" My niece says, "It's for NAP class at school." (insert pregnant pause)

My wife says, "Nooo blankie at school" and "don't forget your notebook!"

TIMOTHY M. BLANCHARD

Rogers

Republicans' agenda

The federal budget, tax reform and health care are huge items on the legislative agenda as members of Congress return to Washington. Under the Trump administration, Republican values have been on vivid display. Not since the early 1900s has our nation's great wealth been concentrated in the hands of so few. And yet, programs that assist the needy, the poor and the middle class are being slashed in order to fund more tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations. I believe the recent attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act was a naked, reprehensible demonstration of this core value of class warfare. It's almost as if Republicans want to eliminate poverty by getting rid of the poor.

Government is not a business. It is big, messy and inherently inefficient. I, for one, am happy to see my tax dollars fund programs that benefit the needy, the general public, as well as enhancing quality of life for all citizens, knowing that a small proportion of these funds will be "wasted" by individuals who take advantage of the system. This is preferable to more wealth being transferred to those who already have far in excess of their basic needs, at the expense of daily suffering and hardship of the masses.

A message to members of Congress: I understand being faithful to one's party, but do not forget that you are ultimately accountable to your constituents--the general public, not the moneyed few and corporations. Legislate accordingly; you will hear us at the polls.

GARY KAHANAK

Fayetteville

A fret over rosewood

Stop the furniture harvesting. It's ruining our guitars.

In the new CITES regulations for rosewood, it's pointed out that rosewood and other materials such as mahogany are being used by Chinese furniture builders at such a rate that is deforesting some of the biggest forests that hold these exotic woods. The regulations put new limits on import and export of these woods and cause a huge problem for anyone who wants a new guitar with rosewood on it--that means new papers and permits are needed.

Guitars use a very small amount of rosewood, mainly only for fretboards and acoustic bridges, but even so, that in itself puts many more regulations onto the shipping of these instruments to you from the manufacturer. These are exotic woods used to craft some of the best instruments in the world, but yet it had to become endangered.

I mean, come on. It's not even the guitar manufacturers doing it, yet even they are limited by this new regulation which went into effect Jan. 2. This is gonna cause more people to have trouble shipping instruments, buying the woods and guitars, and it takes up and wastes time because now you have to get all this new documentation just to buy and ship the stuff? Forget it. Rosewood is dwindling in supply.

Well, isn't that just great?

RYAN CLAY SMALLEY

Mabelvale

Editorial on 04/16/2017

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