Leavin' on a jet plane
Respectfully, Governor, doesn't your duty include making life better for all Arkansans, not just the ones with healthy bank accounts?
There is a way to help low-income Arkansans find jobs without yanking their health-care coverage when they can't navigate your user-unfriendly reporting system. Hop a plane and head for Montana! They have found a way to add "heart" to their program.
BETTY HUNT
North Little Rock
Enemy of the people
The phrase "enemy of the people" has an interesting history. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its first occurrence in English was in a translation of Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play, An Enemy of the People. In the play, there is some irony attached to the phrase in that it is used to denounce the hero, a doctor who has discovered that his town's water supply is contaminated, threatening the town's main business, baths. So originally it referred to someone who was presenting facts that were unwelcome to the powerful. That has not prevented its un-ironic use by tyrants and would-be tyrants, and it was commonly used in communist countries to attack anyone who challenged the rulers.
Our current president's use of the phrase to disparage the news media is right in line with this tradition.
Indeed, his behavior toward reporters and other members of the media, and his new practice of canceling the security clearances of his critics, calls to mind another phrase from the same tradition: "Why should a government which is doing what it believes to be right allow itself to be criticized?" This is reported to be part of a speech delivered in 1920 by V.I. Lenin.
It appears that our president's affinity for Vladimir Putin is not merely personal, but based on a sympathy for the philosophy of government that Putin and his predecessors have adhered to.
BARRY D. GEHM
Batesville
Circling, leaderless
I don't know which disappoints me more: a 3-year-old president in a 72-year-old body, or our congressional body of Republicans who behave like parents shamelessly indulging a spoiled brat.
I supported T-Rump early in his campaign; however, when my principles outweighed my politics due to T-Rump's breathtaking and unambiguous xenophobia, racism and misogyny, I abandoned my support and found myself asea, a voter in need of a palatable candidate.
Since that moment, I have grown tired of witnessing T-Rump's titanic number of bad acts and the concomitant failure of Congress to exercise its constitutional prerogative to check and balance his increasingly dangerous and, I believe, yes, treasonous behavior.
We are now a country adrift. Leaderless.
T-Rump has succeeded in loading up the political powers that live inside the beltway and moving them out of the swamp to the toilet bowl.
Now we're circling.
HARRY HERGET
Little Rock
Can't build that there
So someone in the Trump pack has realized it is not feasible to build a wall in some areas along the Mexican border. As Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise." If they had taken the effort to "fly" Google Earth along that route two years ago, that ingredient would not have been added to the stuff Trump started putting out on the subject.
I have spent lots of time exploring south of Tucson, with special interest in the 35-mile area between the Arizona/Mexico border towns of Sasabe and Nogales. For about 10 miles east of Sasabe are low mountains of the Cobre Ridge, then you get into the Pajarito Mountains. They are so bad, with steep ridge sides and deep narrow canyons, that the ranchers don't even build fences there because they know their cattle are smart enough to stay off that mountain.
If Trump decides to spend the money to get special equipment to build the wall anyway, that will not stop the border-crossers. The country south of the ghost town of Ruby, and in the Pajaritos, is honeycombed with old mines which could easily be reopened and extended beyond the border, giving easy access into Arizona and points north.
Ooops, I forgot! Mexico is going to pay for that wall, so it's their problem. Right.
GEORGE W. GATLIFF
Little Rock
Of terms of discourse
Why is Clarke Tucker on the defensive about Nancy Pelosi? The Republicans drag out that old attack ad and use support for Pelosi as a dog-whistle to misogynistic and homophobic (she's from San Francisco) voters. They also decry Chuck Schumer to rev up the anti-Semites.
The Democratic Party stands for equal rights, voting rights, health care, education, and an economy based on a strong middle class with a safety net when necessary. And no, the Democratic Party does not promote open borders and endorse crime.
Pelosi's skill was critical in the passage of the Affordable Care Act and Obama's stimulus bill, which brought us out of the worst recession since the Great Depression. In saying that he will not support her, Tucker is allowing the Republicans to set the terms of discourse.
Let's talk policy--not personal attacks based on gender, race or religion, even if it is not spelled out.
SUSAN WESTON
Clinton
Prepare for the vote
In order to vote this Nov. 6, you must be registered 30 days prior, postmarked or turned in on Oct. 8. Early voting is Oct. 22 through Nov. 5 at your county's courthouse. Election day is Nov. 6 and requires you to vote at a specific polling place.
Verify your registration by contacting your county clerk. Your name and address on your registration must match your ID.
MARK EASTBURN
Eureka Springs
Editorial on 08/19/2018