A refreshing change
I have been disgusted by comments from the right about some of the selections by President-elect Joe Biden. And social media is loaded with vicious attacks every day. They often are critical that his choices include too many women or minorities and that the selections are not diversity in action but affirmative action.
I think it's terrible for people to assume that only white European-lineage men are capable of performing important jobs. Tucker Carlson went so far as to call Dr. Jill Biden illiterate simply because he is jealous of her educational achievements while he only achieved a BA. It was reprehensible when the president said that Kamala Harris might be an illegal choice for vice president because her parents were immigrants.
I believe it's time for a change in how government is run, and this will be a refreshing change from the many unqualified and often corrupt lobbyists and former big business CEOs selected by this past administration.
PAUL WAGENER
Jacksonville
One simple decision
Coronavirus is a bizarre respiratory illness that affects us all differently. As it spreads across America, mask mandates have become the new normal, and with good reason. It is critical to recognize some may show severe illness while others who are asymptomatic unknowingly spread the virus. You may not realize it, but the decision to wear a mask, whether for yourself or others, can save lives.
As research emerges from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proving that masks reduce the spread of covid-19, some still ignore the data and refuse to wear a face covering in public. A study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that if the U.S. had introduced a uniform national mask mandate for employees of public-facing businesses on April 1, the number of deaths would likely have been 40 percent lower the following month.
Coronavirus spreads through respiratory droplets that line the insides of our mouths and noses. Masks help prevent these droplets from escaping our bodies and becoming airborne. It is important to protect ourselves and others. Furthermore, in conjunction with the Arkansas Department of Health and governor's office, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences published an advertisement promoting the "Power of You," stating that although we don't know all of the complications from covid-19, we do know wearing a mask can protect ourselves and others from infection.
The elderly and people who suffer from severe underlying medical conditions are at high risk. My aunt, who has lupus, recently contracted covid-19 through her work. Along with this disease, coronavirus has made it extremely difficult for her to recover. She has damage to her lungs, and fluid around her heart.
Although some may argue that because they appear young and healthy, they shouldn't have to wear a mask, it is hard to ignore the research. These individuals should consider this information before they choose not to wear a mask. You can save lives by one simple decision.
GRANT WELCH
Bella Vista
Ignore disinformation
You know how annoying a jingle that gets stuck in you head can become. I feel that way after D.T. has repeated disinformation about whatever it is he wants everyone to believe. Even how things are phrased (with certain inflections and cadence) can become hypnotizing.
Over and over the falsehood is repeated, like one of those tunes, only instead of just hearing it in our minds, we begin to buy into it.
Memory is triggered with repetition, and if something is repeated often enough, our minds begin to learn the repeated narrative. Our brains are an interesting, resilient organ, but everything has a limit, and apparently a repeated statement creates a memory that, after x number of cycles, we start to subliminally accept just to "keep our sanity."
How can we break the cycle of repeat, learn, believe?
Do not listen. In fact, if the media would just stop printing and retweeting his nonsense, we should be able to quickly heal and return to a normal society: one that listens, reasons, and makes rational decisions based on the facts, rather than following the same repeating loop we've heard so many times. Think about that, if you can still organize a coherent thought of your own. Change the station, turn down the volume, and look away. Be careful, don't be another conspiracy theorist recruited by this fading administration's manipulations. Instead let's turn the page, and welcome fresh dialogue with our incoming administration.
GEORGE IMRIE
Springdale
Connecting the dots
Congressman French Hill, as a longtime banker, knows when a loan doesn't pass the smell test ... actually the stench of a dead skunk during the heat of an Arkansas summer. As a member of the Congressional Oversight Commission, he is questioning a $700 million loan given to a Department of Defense "essential" supplier, YRC Trucking, on the verge of bankruptcy that received a variety of unusual handling to get approved quickly. He's connecting the dots to the people and politics behind it, but will anyone be held accountable and the real truth come out?
I think not ... so seldom ever does. It's just 700 million taxpayer dollars. Sigh.
SCOTT SCHUH
Little Rock