Letters

Selling them the rope

"When it comes time to hang the capitalists, they will sell us the rope" is a quote variously attributed to Lenin, Stalin, Marx, and other figures of the Communist past. The quote came to mind as I read Paul Krugman's analysis of Trump's efforts to "save" the previously embargoed Chinese telecom giant ZTE and all the jobs it provides in China--allegedly in exchange for contracts from the Chinese government to various Trump companies abroad.

The spectacle of a U.S. president selling out national security for personal profit is a new one. In the past, our presidents typically came not from the private sector, but from long careers in public service. They had no personal "business interests" to skew their judgment. But Trump comes from the business world, and reportedly from a very shady part of that world to boot. And today, it seems he is in the business of selling rope to the Communists.

Make no mistake: Superficial gift wrap aside, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin were, are and will always be Communists. And they will hang us, if we let them.

ALEX MIRONOFF

Fayetteville

Through child's eyes

My 5-year-old great-grandson was sitting with his "Memaw" (grandmother) watching the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. They both watched until the time when the bride and groom were whisked away in a horse-drawn carriage. He looked at his Memaw and said, "That was beautiful, I have a tear in my eye. Can we watch it again?"

The whole production was one of beauty, grace, simplicity and love. That is all he saw.

He did not hear the sermon, but he felt the passion in the words as they were spoken. A sermon by Bishop Michael Curry, whose words were almost as profound as those spoken by Martin Luther King. He did not notice the bored look on a lot of faces during the sermon from those liberal Westerners who probably felt very uncomfortable being in a church. He heard the passages from the Song of Solomon, but probably did not understand them.

He saw a beautiful blushing bride dressed in a simple gown with no adornments, no bling, no glitz, no expensive jewelry save for her earrings, which were small studs. He saw a tall man in a uniform gazing at her with love and adoration.

He heard a variety of music, the best being the cello version of "Ave Maria." A piece which was not sung; however, everyone who saw felt the words.

He was amazed at the carriage and white horses and men dressed in red and gold. It was a true fairy tale to him in action.

"That was beautiful, Memaw. I have a tear in my eye."

JANE DUDLEY

Scott

Little things matter

When I am out with my grandchildren, we practice, "If you drop a penny, leave it, and if you find a penny, pick it up." After reading Steve Straessle's column, "Treasures on tracks," May 19 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, I think I need to be more generous with my dropped pennies.

Thanks, Steve.

JEANNE QUICK

Little Rock

Judges consider facts

I'm a retired attorney who has never met Court of Appeals Judge Kenneth Hixson. But I'm offended on behalf of both attorneys and those not knowledgeable about the legal system by a "dark money" ad slandering Judge Hixson.

Judge Hixson apparently voted (as part of a panel of judges) to reverse the conviction of Ramon Perez for rape. The ad states that the conviction was reversed on a "technicality." It then concludes that Judge Hixson is "soft on crime."

All Arkansas appellate judges will vote to reverse a conviction at some (probably many) points. Many of the grounds for reversal that could be characterized as "technicalities" are violations of the Arkansas or United States constitutions.

Unless something has changed since I handled appeals for the state, both Arkansas appellate courts affirm a huge percentage of convictions. Occasionally there is a conviction that must be reversed because it was obtained illegally. Voting to reverse in those cases does not reflect that a judge is "soft on crime."

Judges must consider the facts and the law in each case. If Judge Hixson were truly "soft on crime," those out-of-state advertisers could have come up with many more cases on which Judge Hixson voted to reverse, not just one.

VICKI FEWELL

Sherwood

Empowering women

As Americans, we know that with the right resources, opportunities and motivation, we can support our families, educate our children, and our families can have a bright future. For 1.2 billion people globally, however, who live in absolute poverty, most of whom are women and girls, having the resources for a better future is hard to imagine.

Our Congress has an opportunity to contribute to improving the lives of women and children. The Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment (WEEE) Act of 2018 is a bipartisan bill that prioritizes women's economic empowerment in developing countries and humanitarian crises. The WEEE Act improves U.S. Agency for International Development programs that focus on women's entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, and recognizes that local savings-led approaches, like CARE's Village Savings and Loans Associations, create economic opportunities for women worldwide. If enacted, the WEEE Act would expand women's access to property, tools and training, and incentivize the financial inclusion women need to grow healthy businesses and healthy families.

I call on Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, as leaders in the Senate, to support the WEEE Act.

BETH KECK

Bentonville

Vote against outsiders

As for me and my family, we voted for all the candidates that are being negatively attacked in the media. Take that, outsiders!

BECKY RAGSDALE

North Little Rock

Editorial on 05/22/2018

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