Letters

Helping the homeless

As a volunteer at The Van, I have seen the magic of Christmas in the wonderful donations from individuals, civic organizations, and religious groups of new jackets, thermal underwear, and socks for us to deliver to our homeless population. I hope that everyone who has helped receives a personal blessing from your generosity.

Please remember that the need continues and we will do all we can to provide necessities to the many unfortunately un-homed in our city. Thank you all!

LINDA BELL

Little Rock

Petulance in column

The opinion column by Victor Davis Hanson on last Monday's editorial page gave us an almost incomprehensible mishmash of petulance, sarcasm and innuendo. But a couple of points deserve comment.

Mr. Hanson seems upset that a vaccine which he heard could take up to two years to develop is in fact ready for use in nine months. I don't understand the complaint. Is this a conspiracy theory? For those of us not wired into the wisdom of QAnon and Alex Jones, perhaps Mr. Hanson could elaborate in a future column.

Second is his belief that it is bad form for retired military officers to speak out against Trump. In fact, it is their duty, as it is the duty of retired engineers and all other patriotic Americans to speak out against threats to our country. It's worth noting that President Trump was reportedly meeting with felons to discuss the feasibility of a military overthrow of our democracy while Mr. Hanson penned his opinions.

NICK KENNEDY

Bella Vista

Disappointed in him

I sometimes wonder if we know who we voted for. I proudly voted for Sen. Tom Cotton, and will probably do so again as I think he is an honorable man. However, the senator being a prior military veteran, I assumed he would welcome correspondence from other veterans.

I am an 85-year-old veteran of 20 years and have served in Korea and Vietnam. Early this summer I mailed a letter to Senator Cotton or his staff concerning a matter pertaining to my military service. About a month or so ago I mailed another letter to Senator Cotton. To date I have not had at least the courtesy of a reply.

Could it be the senator is no longer interested in one old veteran in Arkansas, but has bigger fish to catch? Since I am nearing "end of life" it is not important, but I am disappointed.

GENE E. STANTON

Horseshoe Bend

Two parties fail U.S.

Slightly more than a century ago, American poet Robert Frost asked: "Why abandon a belief merely because it ceases to be true?" Were he still around today, he might ask: Why abandon your two-party political system merely because it is destroying your country?

With keen foresight, George Washington alerted the public to this possibility in his farewell address, and John Adams similarly warned that to divide our republic into two great parties is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil.

They obviously recognized the real elephant in the room more than 200 years before anyone knew there was such a thing. They would have known that our country can no longer wait for the members of our existing parties to either grow up or expire, and that they must be pushed to the margins by a vigorously expanding centrist party.

Since polls now show that a majority of Americans support the need for a third party, perhaps this would be a good time to persuade our most prosperous patriots to join small donors in mega-funding a new party to occupy that vast middle ground between where the elephants and donkeys now frolic. And once we are no longer limited to our present binary-choice, zero-sum system of governance, the us-versus-them mindset will slowly melt away, because cross-party coalitions would then be required to conduct the people's business.

Then, as blind allegiance to party and ideology gradually gives way to rational analysis, civil discourse, and a sense of common purpose, perhaps we will be governed in a fashion that would have pleased our founding fathers.

DAVID L. HENDERSON

Hot Springs Village

His accomplishments

Here's thanks to President Trump for all that he was able to accomplish for America and for Israel, in spite of dug-in resistance from the Democrat Party and obstacles from within like no other president in our history ever likely had to overcome.

Now, we can only pray that God will get hold of Joe Biden and shake him from being the old D.C. pol into a president who will remember that he is no longer Barack Obama's yes man and that he will recall that America was not founded by Chinese or Muslims; that our future as a nation must not be placed in their hands.

Looking ahead to 2024, how would a Republican ticket of Tom Cotton/Nikki Haley sound? I think they would flush the swamp like a mighty rushing stream.

JACK MAYBERRY

Sheridan

So, there's that then

First, we had the unsuccessful

anti-bullying campaign by the first lady, which obviously didn't start at home. Now Mitch McConnell has jump-started the campaign. He says the Senate will not be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats' rich friends who don't need the help--in reference to a $2,000 stimulus check proposal backed by the bully-in-chief, Donald Trump.

The sudden concern by McConnell over inappropriate use of borrowed money is hilarious. Didn't he bully the Senate into an enormous tax break for his rich friends, who didn't need the help? Did Republicans suddenly have a come-to-Jesus moment in regard to spending? I doubt it; the record deficit under four years of Trump and the spineless Republicans stands. But I sleep better at night knowing Mitch will not be bullied.

BETTY McSWAIN

Fort Smith

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