Russia and our nation
Did Russia try to influence our 2016 election because its president, Vladimir Putin, did not want Hillary Clinton to win the American presidency?
I believe the obvious answer is yes, but the question remains: Why?
Putin is still allegedly mad at Clinton for reportedly trying to get him beaten four years ago. At that time, Clinton, as secretary of state, could have used her influence with our intelligence agencies to spy on Putin just as Russia spies on us.
Most people seemingly believe Putin was not freely elected, but facts seemingly indicate he got 82 percent of the vote. He was the candidate of the Russia United party. It might surprise some that one of the largest political parties in Russia is the Liberal Democrats.
American pollsters say Putin today still is supported by over 80 percent of the Russian people. The bottom line is that Putin isn't going away, and President Donald Trump needs a top expert on Russia to deal with him.
Neither the United States or Russia wants war because both nations each have over 5,000 nuclear bombs which could wipe out our entire planet.
Instead of constantly taunting each other, it would be to the advantage of both nations to work together to attack terror, which seemingly threatens all countries.
VERNON McDANIEL
Ozark
A menacing monolith
I ask myself, "What is it about a cold slab of stone with a few etchings that enrages a human being to the point of destroying it at the expense of his personal property and reputation? What frightening message threatens him that he lies awake at night planning ruin?"
Oh, wait, this isn't the first time ... why, the owner of the first slab of stone(s) with the same words did the same thing. A short time after those words were etched into his inanimate tablets, he threw them down in a fit of rage and smashed them to smithereens. Albeit from entirely different motivation.
I also ask why the power of the Ten Commandments is so strong that it seems people are afraid of who or what it represents. Since anger is usually preceded by fear, this must be the reason.
Could it be that the book from which it is lifted gives the clue to its power? It says of itself it is living, as in having breath and vitality and consequence. It is active, contains energy and movement. It is doing something. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That is scary!
Do we know of any other writing or book that makes such bold claims of itself?
Think about it.
SUSIE W. MARSH
Little Rock
Responsible services
Fact: The major, if not the only cause of abortions, is unwanted pregnancies. The main purpose of Planned Parenthood is to reduce unwanted pregnancies. By offering responsible family planning services, it has reduced the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies.
The Senate's health-care bill would defund Planned Parenthood. By supporting this bill, it seems senators become complicit in increasing the likelihood of unwanted pregnancies and, therefore, the probable number of abortions. By the logic which many of these senators have used to advance the defunding of Planned Parenthood, they are implicitly cooperating in the murder of unborn citizens.
LEN WHITE
Fayetteville
Was it same election?
Jeez, Professor Gitz. Which election did you watch last year?
To assert that Donald Trump was the only one of the GOP candidates who wouldn't have won in a walk takes imagination to new heights. Do you really think that Bobby Jindal or Rand Paul or Scott Walker or the Huckster could have won? And how about the empty suit twins Ben Carson (think Dan Quayle in the third grade) or Little Marco? Seriously? And lastly, Senator Cruz, the first coming of Tom Cotton but without the military chops, and the ever-scintillating Governor Kasich?
Each of these candidates in the general election would have had to defend policy positions that might not have been exactly appealing to the electorate at large. Only Trump could, and did, operate solely on personality.
No one including his current staff even today know his positions on many of the issues facing the United States. He doesn't know either. That's a very frightening reality but totally unsurprising.
We all need to remember that incompetence is not grounds for impeachment or removal under Amendment 25. Keep in mind too that there's another election coming and changes can take place in Congress that will effectively neuter The Donald. But first the Democrats have to lose Ms. Pelosi and come up with solutions to issues that matter more in the grand scheme than who goes to which bathroom.
Good luck to us all. Only 42½ months to go, if we last that long.
DENNIS BARRY
Little Rock
No science in notion
I enjoy the columns of Dr. Bradley Gitz. Mostly, I believe, he is astute. However, last Monday he discussed President Trump's ascendancy and termed that ascendancy "luck."
Now Gitz has a specialty in "political science." I submit that this term is a definite misnomer. There is no science in politics. Some have said that political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Be that as it may, we Americans try to make it otherwise.
Until the last century and a half, there was the quaint notion of "divine providence." Many prominent Americans, from the founders--Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, etc.--through the terrible Civil War, Lincoln and many others believed that there was precious little luck in the events shaping our country's progress.
Andrew Jackson would probably be considered a "thug" today. He killed men in duels, was outspoken and brash. Yet I think few called it "luck" when he defeated the British in New Orleans. Even Jackson began to see himself as a servant of "divine providence."
This whole idea is unpopular today. Perhaps it is because divine providence implies both a divine being and a purpose. And so the notion of "luck" is seen as a better fit.
Gitz says that most any Republican could have defeated Hillary. Whatever kind of thinking this is, it is certainly not science.
FRED SAWYER
Little Rock
Editorial on 07/10/2017