LETTERS

It makes more sense

My personal thanks to Ann Link, who recently wrote concerning Tracy Roark’s support of the Trap/Neuter/ Release (TNR) program relative to homeless cats. I, too, have been feeding feral colonies for many years and have yet to understand why some people are so vehemently opposed to such colonies. Left unattended, these unfortunate creatures will reproduce many times yearly, becoming diseased and likely starving from overpopulation.

My friend and I have trapped dozens of cats, had them vetted (mostly at our own expense) and then released back into colonies, if possible. While some business owners have been very cooperative with us, some have not and insisted that feeding stop.

Do these people not realize that it makes more sense to TNR them and at least have some control over population? Most of these cats are homeless because of uncaring “owners” (I use that term loosely) who have dumped them or abandoned them or let them roam freely, unaltered. They are at the mercy of us humans, and many humans don’t have enough heart to at least let those of us who do care give these animals a chance to live.

Tracy Roark is my hero for what he has done and continues to do at the Little Rock Animal Village, and in working to change laws affecting the lives of not only dogs, but all animals, including feral cats. Hopefully, his attempt to educate the general public in this regard will be most successful.

BILL RATCLIFF

Little Rock

Utopia not happening

Responding to AJ Zolten’s description of the silent majority and the destruction of our political process, I am reminded that peace at all costs is no peace at all.

Yes, this election is disruptive, but maybe we need that. I certainly am not happy with what we have had for years. What Mr. Zolten seems to desire is Utopia. It ain’t gonna happen.

It seems the poor are designated as such by the government and it buys votes, ergo the 47 percent of Americans on various kinds of assistance. I believe we would not have an immigration problem if the government did not pay us enough to not work. And governance from a stance of “let’s all be nice and get along” will bring foreign enemies against us.

I am old enough to remember Hitler. We don’t need another Neville Chamberlain in the White House as we have had for seven years.

JOAN Y. MILLER

Scott

A display of snobbery

I believe Philip Martin is an erudite snob. If he weren’t such a hemorrhaging aorta safely ensconced in the People’s Republic of Hillcrest who thought hardworking Arkansans cared about piffle like film festivals, he’d know that what drives Donald Trump’s support is reasonable, justifiable

anger. Being angry that the economy is a mess, that the national debt is a terrifying threat to our children, that illegal immigrants are stealing American jobs, that

centuries-old institutions like traditional marriage are being trampled by Washington elites … that kind of anger doesn’t make someone stupid, though Mr. Martin certainly seems to think so. Any American—right, left, or centershould be angry about these things.

Based on the adage of saying nothing if I cannot say something nice, let me note that I share Mr. Martin’s apparent horror at the thought of President Trump. But, apparently unlike him, I am smart enough to recognize that Trump has people who run his Twitter account for him; that suggesting that Trump would nominate an unqualified person for the Supreme Court is foolhardy; and that Trump has dozens of policy positions with which one might reasonably disagree without stooping to ad hominem attacks (i.e., “special effects hair”).

I also know how to use the “unsubscribe” tool in commercial emails. I mention this last point since Mr. Martin noted he has been getting emails from Trump hotels for the last eight years. Or maybe he keeps receiving them for the same reason I read Mr. Martin’s columns: We’re both gluttons for punishment.

STEPHEN DAWSON

Little Rock

Publish a voter guide

It seems the electoral process in Arkansas is hiding. So are the candidates. I believe this lack of transparency about who is running for public office is undermining our democracy.

Local newspapers used to publish voter guides with biographies of the candidates. Not anymore, apparently. Our local newspaper had no mention of the primary that I saw until March 1, the day we went to the polls.

The time has come for the Arkansas Secretary of State, who is responsible for elections in our state, to begin compiling a voter guide about all candidates for public office and ballot issues. This could be published online with pictures and biographies from all the candidates, and pro-and-con statements from advocates and opponents of ballot measures.

Many states publish voter guides, so Arkansas would not have to reinvent the wheel. It would require some initiative, and a commitment to preserving our democracy through an informed electorate.

FRANK LEEMING

Hot Springs Village

Revere human dignity

In the early 20th century, nativist movements were formed to combat what was perceived as a threat to existing American culture posed by immigrants. The Ku Klux Klan used strong nativist rhetoric. Mexicans and Mexican Americans alike were rounded up and deported during the Great Depression.

In 2016, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination has promised to create a “deportation force” and build a wall along the southern border. The same candidate says Mexican immigrants are criminals, rapists, and drug traffickers. He’s being supported by white supremacists and initially declined to condemn them.

Those “leading” the GOP are Americans before they are Republicans. They should act like it. For all the talk about being an inclusive party, their tolerance of all this speaks volumes. This isn’t about partisan politics. It’s about decency and respecting human dignity.

We shouldn’t be a country where kids constantly worry that their parents will be taken away. We shouldn’t be a country that deports talented young people who, for all intents and purposes, are American. The United States—a nation of immigrants—cannot be a place where immigrant families live in fear.

VICTOR J. ROJAS

De Queen

It seems only logical

If it is unacceptable for the president to make appointments during the last year of his term in office, then, it seems to me, members of Congress should refrain from voting on all bills during the last year of their terms in office.

That’s fair. Right?

LEN WHITE

Fayetteville

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