Letters

Treatment of veterans

Last month Channel 7 reported the story of two former nurses complaining about the work environment at the Central Arkansas Veterans Hospital. One even blamed it for her failed marriage. I don't know about that.

What I do know is that I've been using the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System for almost 40 years, and I give them an A+ for their treatment of veterans. All I can say is thank God for the Central Arkansas Veterans Hospital, and keep up the good work.

THOMAS P. TAYLOR

Benton

Symbols and rituals

Corey Thomas Flanagan writes that the average NFL salary is almost $2 million, but doesn't note that the average career length is 3.3 years. Many players leave because of injuries; others are cut because of the stiff competition.

Most NFL players earn six figures. The average is skewed because of high incomes earned by a minority of top stars. Many CEOs, athletic coaches, and hedge-fund managers earn much more than NFL players, for more years, and without any concussions. Were they also "silver-spoon-fed"?

It is so easy to disparage people when you disagree with them.

In the past, kneeling was a sign of respect. Now some have decided that kneeling is a terrible sign of disrespect. They say that everybody should follow the military code in how we act around patriotic symbols and rituals. So the military is now the model for democracy, and patriotism is all about symbols and rituals.

Because some have hijacked the idea of patriotism, I prefer matriotism. Matriots care more about the welfare of 300 million people, their own communities, and the conservation of the land with its native plants and animals than they do about being spit-and-polish about symbols and rituals.

CORALIE KOONCE

Fayetteville

Matter of economics

Editorials. Unsigned. We all read them, though they're printed by those apparently without the guts to attach their names to their sentiments. The Oct. 8 editorial, however, begs questions. Topic? Abortion, something opined about regularly. Target? Planned Parenthood, which actually receives zero taxpayer dollars for said action (it's called the Hyde Amendment).

"Abortion is no longer a crime--at least as far as courts are concerned." True. Been that way for years. Called Roe v. Wade. Dates back. Entitled to opinion, I'd only ask those unnamed editorial writers how many children they've adopted. Unsigned opinions aside, facts are hard to ignore.

According to the U.S. census, 21.3 percent of Americans receive some type of government assistance; 15.2 percent receive multiple programs. Where exactly do your writers think the vast majority of people on these programs come from? Odds on those children multiplying that same dependency cycle? Anyone? The Pew Institute notes only 46 percent of children now live in a home with two parents in their first marriage; 34 percent live in a single-parent environment.

According to almost all scientific data, our world population has increased almost 100-fold since what we recognize as the birth of Christ. The earth and the resources it provides to sustain life haven't gotten any larger.

In short, I am happy to give tax dollars to Planned Parenthood for birth control or abortions (if it could do so legally). It's a simple matter of resources and economics. Through education, prenatal care, and other vital services, they save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars every year, and could do more. A stitch in time saves nine. Again, opponents of abortion: How many children have you adopted?

ANTHONY LLOYD

Hot Springs

Can be more generous

I read with interest an article titled "Clinton Foundation announces themes for essay contest." It made me laugh sarcastically. The article is so well-written, but the content is, in my opinion, ridiculous.

The Clintons are multimillionaires, or maybe billionaires, and they can fund a single scholarship in this essay contest valued at only $2,500. My husband and I are retired middle-class people, and we just funded two separate $2,500 scholarships through a local foundation. We are very passionate about a good education.

I'm disappointed in the Clintons in that I am certain they could fund a much more generous scholarship. They should be ashamed.

MADONNA K. BRON

Benton

On nuclear deterrence

Kudos for Dr. Bradley Gitz for his column on the role of nuclear weapons in keeping the peace. I would like to add a few words about deterrence.

What is it that makes these weapons so effective as a deterrent? First of all, it is the absolute horror that results from their use. The disaster on 9/11 was a horrible, senseless tragedy. Multiply that times the total number of buildings in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. Then multiply that by the number of large cities. Imagine the economic Armageddon that would result from the loss of every operating computer, server or microprocessor in the United States due to the electromagnetic pulse from a very high altitude burst over the center of the country.

Another deterrent is that the leader who makes the decision to start a nuclear conflict is immediately placed on the front line, unlike conventional war where we send our "boys" over there. Decapitation would be one of the first priorities of a response.

The third factor is the inability to unmake the decision or to truncate the extent of the conflict. This could lead to the end of our species due to radiation and the loss of sunlight.

Other countries envy the benefits of the deterrence enjoyed by nuclear states. Unfortunately, our efforts to prevent proliferation only slightly slow the process. The genie is out of the bottle. The technology is well-known and plenty of businesses worldwide stand ready to sell components required for the development. Each new nuclear state stimulates one or more antagonist states to do likewise. Pakistan wanted to deter India, Iran wants to deter Israel, North Korea wants to deter the United States (or South Korea, our client state).

WADE SELPH

Hot Springs Village

Walk in officers' shoes

My solution to the issue of NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem: Next season, as soon as the teams play their last game, have every NFL player fly to Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, or any other high-crime city and spend the next six months riding in a patrol car with police officers to see what they deal with on a daily basis.

Then, after experiencing what the officers go through as they deal with the public, if they still feel like protesting, they can take a knee, stand on their heads or do back flips during the national anthem for all I care.

FREDERICK KING

Mount Vernon

Advertising too early

Every year stores start advertising their Christmas merchandise earlier and earlier. I personally believe everyone should boycott all stores that put out their Christmas merchandise before Thanksgiving.

Christmas isn't about merchandise and greed; it's about celebrating the birth of Christ.

PAT R. OAKES

Little Rock

Precious unborn lives

I just wanted to say that I absolutely loved the editorial, "Baby in the womb," that was in last Sunday's paper.

This is a subject that absolutely makes my heart hurt. I will not quit fighting for the precious unborn lives until my dying breath. God bless whoever wrote that and you guys for publishing it.

Have a wonderful day!

DIANE CAPLE

Malvern

Editorial on 10/23/2017

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