Threat to civil liberty
First, I'm not anti-Semitic, and second, I have never read the Arkansas Times.
The Democrat-Gazette article last Saturday, "Judge to issue order on Israel-pledge law," about Act 710 of 2017 is worth reading. This law prohibits companies that contract with state agencies from boycotting Israel. This law was challenged by the Arkansas Times when it attempted to secure an advertising contract with a state university and refused to sign the pledge that it wouldn't boycott Israel. The Times has challenged the constitutionality of the law. The attorney general's office has filed arguments in support of the law. The ACLU presented an interesting opinion which made a sound argument against the law.
The part of the law that really gives me heartburn, in addition to an attack on free speech, is that the law "contains an exception allowing a business to contract with a state entity without signing the no-boycott pledge if the business agrees to give the state a discount of 20 percent below the price of any other similar business that agrees to the certification." This sounds like blatant extortion sponsored by the state, in addition to other egregious attacks on the public and businesses.
Who was responsible for introducing this bill and where did the idea for such a law originate? This law is a ludicrous and blatant attack on civil liberties, among other things, and should be repealed immediately. Also, everyone associated with making and passing this law should be held accountable and their veracity questioned.
Also worth reading is "2 pre-filed bills traced to 2 men from out of state" on the following Sunday.
Articles such as these make one shudder and question the mentality and motives of those in charge of government in Arkansas.
LOUISE HENDERSON
Hot Springs Village
Left, right both guilty
Ms. Coralie Koonce, responding to Dr. Preston Jones' guest column, presents a very good litany of political correctness perpetrated by the right. Yes, the right is guilty of many things, although I hesitate to call it political correctness, but rather rigid uniformity and adherence to certain beliefs. The right, keep in mind, is supposed to act this way, is expected to act this way.
The left, on the other hand, is the open, tolerant, diverse, and inclusive segment of society which is theoretically opposed to this rigid mindset, the mindset of the right. Which, in practice, it is not. Yes, the left, which supposedly created political correctness, is just as stifling, just as intolerant, just as non-inclusive, and just as non-diverse when it comes to differing opinions and perspectives. If it doesn't fit, it must be shunned, dismissed, thrown aside.
Yes, the left is just as bad as the right. Perhaps the world should take heed of The Who and "Won't Get Fooled Again": "The parting on the left is now parting on the right."
As always, slow down and grill.
DAVID KELLEY
Fort Smith
Editorial on 01/14/2019