Missing Greenberg
I miss Paul Greenberg. I miss his wisdom, humility, humor, and common sense. I miss his honesty and fairness, his comforting trust in the essential goodness of man, his keen observations of history and the human condition. He taught us so very much without lecturing or being condescending.
He is an uber-mensch, the grandfather we all wish we had, our very own warm, approachable Henry Louis Mencken. I for one was delighted to have known him through his words, and I hope his retirement brings him as much pleasure as his observations did to so many of us.
BOYD BURKHOLDER
Hot Springs Village
Rein in government
It seems that most Americans share a concern about our national condition: the corruption and dysfunction within Washington, D.C., expanding bureaucratic regulations, and lobbyist influence. In recent surveys, up to 90 percent of Americans distrust our federal government.
Our federal government has over-reached its constitutionally established boundaries for many decades and has its tentacles in almost every aspect of our lives. We should understand that this is not a partisan issue. It has intensified over the last century or more.
Washington, D.C., will never voluntarily relinquish power and control, no matter who is elected. The federal government spends recklessly, leading this country toward financial ruin. We must return power to the states and to the people in order to restore the balance of power the founders intended. The wisest path is Article V of the U.S. Constitution. Our founding fathers expected the states to exercise Article V by convening a Convention of States when the federal government exceeded its constitutional limits. Twelve states have passed such a resolution. Arkansas is almost there but needs your support.
Opposition to this idea is funded by special-interest groups and individuals who stand to lose a lot of power and money if Americans successfully restore the original intent of our democratic constitutional republic. Imagine if these special-interest groups had to set up 50 offices, one in every state, to influence our nation's course rather than one mega-office in Washington, D.C.
Join with your fellow Americans in this movement. Urge and empower your state legislators to pass the resolution and call a Convention of States. It's not a dream, but it's up to us to make it happen. Details are available at www.conventionofstates.com where you can sign the petition and get involved by selecting the "Take action" tab.
RANDY ALEXANDER
Rogers
A grocery monopoly
Our choices of brand-name products are diminishing in Kroger and Walmart. They are both clearing name-brand products and installing their brands. The area needs some competition for these two that will give us choices in what brand we purchase and not be forced to buy theirs.
S.K. ONEIL
Sherwood
Hysterical crusades
A recent editorial derided Planned Parenthood for finally complying with a medically unnecessary law that requires a backup physician with hospital admitting privileges for abortions by pills--"common sense," according to the editorial (for a procedure that is a hundred-fold less risky than full-term pregnancy).
The law, crafted to discourage persons who manage their own sex lives and families, cleverly exploited an outdated FDA policy. The FDA currently considers Planned Parenthood and emergency rooms good backup for abortions.
Like other licensed facilities, Planned Parenthood's already complied with strict clinical standards (and still does). The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found no evidence that hospital admitting privileges improve abortion safety. Instead, it reported that such laws threaten quality of care, obviously adding expense, alarm, and bureaucracy with no benefit--just as legislators apparently intended. Yet misstatements like yours help scare doctors from open support (the reason for Planned Parenthood's delay in finding one).
When the law took effect earlier this year, women across Arkansas faced an obstacle course of money, time, and travel to visit the state's only remaining abortion facility, where surgical abortion was their only option. These hurdles might be invisible or trivial (as the state's attorneys tried to claim in their imaginative courtroom testimony) to well-paid writers of the statewide newspaper, but they are effective hurdles to most women. Ultimately, a court intervened, agreeing with medical evidence and informed common sense that the law protects no woman's health.
Access to abortion in Arkansas remains tenuous. It is a serious matter that most of us want available (safely) and free of sensation and hysterical crusades. Falsely reviling professionals who provide legitimate, desired services makes our state neither healthier, safer, nor happier.
JIM WOHLLEB
Little Rock
Respect to be earned
I agree with Mike Masterson that respect for the office of the presidency is necessary. Unfortunately, the current occupant does not understand that. He is rude, crude, and berates reporters and the networks they represent except, of course, the compliant Fox News.
He belittles former government officials and military officers who differ with him and is most certainly a stranger to the truth. Given these characteristics, it is little wonder that the media does not treat him in a more respectful manner. That treatment is, I believe, directed at the occupant, not the office.
I was always taught that respect is something that is to be earned. As Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."
JOHN DUPREE
Fayetteville
Editorial on 11/23/2018