Letters

Yep, here we go again

To the Amendment 94 crony commission: If you have not given at least 2 percent raises to every single person you are responsible for in your own personal business just because they show up for work every day, and you are considering awarding raises for elected officials who should have known what the salary of said position was before they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars getting elected to that position, then I think you should resign your commission.

LLOYD KASSLER

Bryant

One powerful mantra

It is undeniable that the current health-care law (the Affordable Care Act) has problems. It took a long time over many congressional hearings and floor debates to get it passed in its present form. Why would any thinking person want to go through all that again?

Instead of reinventing the wheel, why not hold hearings and floor debates to fix the wheel that we've got now? To even the most casual observer this would seem to be the best thing to do. My understanding is that the Democrats in Congress are ready to engage in across-the-aisle discussions to do just that, but the Republicans are demanding total repeal as a first step. Why is repeal of the current law such a powerful mantra?

As for a replacement law, the proposals so far just seem to be the current law rewritten to accomplish two basic things. First, abolish the increased taxes on high-income earners and second, because of the loss of income from the taxes, reduce coverage for some of the poorest recipients. Then to disguise the lack of money from taxes, they give what funds they do have to the states as a block grant. Therefore, it will be the responsibility of the states to determine who gets left out of health-care coverage when the money runs out.

Aye, there's the rub! The governors take the blame; Congress does a happy dance.

RICHARD PICARD

Little Rock

Stop blaming others

For the last seven months I think I have been asleep. I could have sworn Donald Trump was elected president of the United States in November 2016. If he was elected, why is Barack Obama's name mentioned every other week by Trump? It seems Trump is obsessed with accusing Obama for his failures.

Obama is accused of Otto Warmbier's death after his return from North Korea. Otto is not Obama's son; blame the parents for letting him go to North Korea. The world knows how crazy Kim Jong Un is, and parents still send their kids over there. I can tell anyone the Obamas would probably never let their daughters go to North Korea, China or Russia.

As Americans we love to shift blame. If you fail as a parent, blame yourself, not the next guy. Donald Trump needs to grow up. This is not a time for the schoolyard bully and the blame game. When will Trump make America great like he said? All this time and nothing but blaming. All I have heard and seen were lies, golfing and using taxpayers' money. He needs to keep his promise to the people that voted for him believing he is a man of his word. I have not seen that yet.

Just remember, boys will be boys, but one day they do grow up.

JULIA RANDLE

Jacksonville

Advice to Democrats

During your life you will be presented with many challenges. Some you will win and some you will lose.There is no disgrace in losing because you can always work harder and improve your ability so that the next time you might win. Whining, name-calling and finger-pointing accomplish nothing.

I have always considered myself an independent voter as I have voted both Democratic and Republican in the past. However, no matter who won, I gave my support to the winner, because if he makes things better, things will be better for me.

I believe if the Democrats would assist President Trump in his efforts to be a good president, we all will win. If they continue to whine and degrade the president and he fails, the people will feel it is the fault of their party, and the Republicans will have another winner in four years. My advice to the Democrats is quit your whining and do your best to make this a better country, and in four years find a better candidate to run for president!

LAWRENCE H. ALLEN

Highland

Sending clear signals

It always strikes me as a bit strange that we Arkansans look forward so much to the newest high-tech items when so many of us have as yet not mastered the simple technology of turn-signal use. Since we have noticed that even a large number of drivers of law enforcement vehicles are included in that non-signaling group, perhaps most have never been trained in the use of turn signals. So today our lesson will be on how to use turn signals.

Look on the left side of your steering column and you will find a little control lever/stalk. If you are planning to make a right turn, push that lever up until you feel a click. Planning a left turn, push the lever down until you feel a click. After your turn is completed the lever will usually return to the center position on its own. Pretty cool, huh? If you notice that you still have an arrow blinking on your dash after the turn's completed you will need to manually return the lever to its center position. You have probably noticed many times a vehicle driving for blocks or even miles with one taillight blinking; these are usually folks that have not completed their turn signal training.

OK, now we get a little more complicated--lane-change signaling. To let other drivers know that you wish to change lanes, you will need to use that stalk on the left side of the steering column again. Only this time you will only move the lever part-way up or down, not locking it in place as opposed to your turn signal use training. The lever/stalk is spring-loaded and will return to its center position when you release it after you have let it blink a few times before and during your lane change.

I realize that this is all new to many of you, but just keep practicing and it will soon become a normal part of driving for you. I think that is about all the lessons most of you can handle at one time, so we'll put off lessons on "driving on your own side of the road" for later.

JOHN A. YATES

Conway

Editorial on 06/27/2017

Upcoming Events