Can always just skip it
In reply to David Ferguson's letter, it's named the Voices page because everyone has a right to voice their opinion. You're not subjected to read every word from Al Case. All you have to do is skip his letter and go on to the next one.
I enjoy reading his letters and have only one problem with them. He doesn't write enough letters.
GAIL CNUDDE
Rogers
Helping achievement
Congratulations to Bentonville! District officials have realized that bad behavior of students affects their and their classmates' academic achievement, and they are doing something smart about it. Little Rock School District chooses to stick its head in the sand. It has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on materials, consultants, academic coaches, professional development, meetings, and useless paperwork.
Many children living in poverty suffer from lack of learning stimulation along with physical, social, and emotional neglect. Nearly every day the media report news of child abuse: starvation, beatings, incest, verbal and sexual abuse, and appalling punishments.
Thousands of these cases go unreported. These children aren't interested in learning. Instead their minds are full of worry. Will there be electricity, water, heat, beds, blankets, food, bathrooms, roaches, rats, even, for God's sake, gunfire and more at home? Do they care about honor roll or a bag of chips for passing a test? Hardly.
Many children are traumatized just as adults are, and in their fear and frustration turn to theft, vandalism, bullying, defiance, and disrupting their classrooms in every conceivable way.
If high achievement is the goal, the schools need to identify these children at least as early as preschool and begin teaching them the social skills they must have to succeed in school and life. Every year that goes by without intervention makes that success less likely.
Bentonville is starting with two classes of six. Little Rock could fill a school.
SUE JOYCE
Little Rock
It's only propaganda
Once upon a time, we had (mostly) journalists in the mainstream media. No more. Slanted stories based on shady information aimed at pushing an agenda seem to be the norm now. It is not just fake news; it is often disinformation and distorted "news."
We keep hearing about immigration but that is not the real story. It is illegal immigration that is the focus of border control and policy discussions. It seems enforcing the long-existing laws and supporting orderly immigration doesn't support the agenda of the largely leftist media, so they constantly paint those wanting the laws of the United States enforced as being anti-immigrant instead of telling the truth regarding illegal immigration.
Climate change/global warming. Yep, it is happening. Climate change is always happening--short- and long-term. We are about 11,000 years or so on our way out of an ice age; of course the earth is warming. The real question is how much, if any, has human activity affected the warming? Will it make any difference if humankind reverts to Flintstone-like living? Do we really need to destroy our economies or change our lifestyles for what might be a fraction of a percent of warming? The media agenda wants us to think that we can stop the warming if we would only ... whatever the flavor of the day is for the cure.
Gun crime is another favorite distortion. Across the country there are thousands of gun laws. Criminals break the law--that's what they do. It appears the new leftist media wants to make law-abiding citizens criminals by attacking their guns rather than doing something about the real criminals.
I shouldn't even mention their fascination of Russia, Russia, Russia and Trump without mentioning the actual connections with the DNC and the Clintons. Again, mentioning the left's dealings with Russia doesn't promote the anti-right agenda.
News. No, not really. With few exceptions, just propaganda for the left.
MARK BARNHARD
Little Rock
Paying for health care
Sorry to hear that Sen. John McCain has brain cancer and will be under treatment. Just wondering how much he is paying for health-care insurance.
JIM HENNEBERGER
Austin
Feeding the homeless
My last letter stated that the city leadership doesn't want homeless people in downtown Little Rock or even city parks. It scares away our citizens and puts forth a bad image to our tourist-conventioneers, and clients of real estate developers trying to sell condos in downtown Little Rock. Of course, they were not willing to admit that for fear of appearing heartless.
So a committee was formed to "study this problem." The predicable result: Ask the city for a tent and transportation to a location far removed from the shadow of downtown. So the bottom line is the developers, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, and the mayor get what they want and we taxpayers pay for it.
And you wonder what is wrong with this city?
DON SHELLABARGER
Little Rock
Don't cut Medicaid
Cutting Medicaid is bad for Arkansas! Medicaid spending creates good health-care jobs, gets sick people quickly back to work, saves families from paying Grandma's health costs, and helps poor children grow into productive citizens. It's a public investment that infuses billions of dollars into our local communities and businesses.
Just last year, total Medicaid spending in Arkansas was about $6 billion, and the Feds paid 90 percent of that money. Take away the partisan politics and I think you'll see that everybody in Arkansas benefits from this program.
If you care about the quality of life in Arkansas, you should demand more Medicaid spending, not less.
CHERYL WOODARD
Little Rock
Editorial on 07/22/2017