Trump acted quickly
I read with interest Louise Henderson's rant about President Trump in the paper. I usually have to tune in to MSNBC in order to be exposed to such vitriol and hatred of the president.
I remember back on Jan. 31 when Trump announced a ban on travel from China. That was followed shortly by a ban on travel from Europe. The media proclaimed him racist and xenophobic for such rash and unprecedented actions.
Louise says that he should have "acted appropriately and earlier." I can only imagine how bad our situation would be today had he not acted as quickly as he did.
When you are afflicted with "Trump Derangement Syndrome," nothing that Trump says or does will ever be good. Take heart, Louise, the November election is not that far away. It's a shame that you will be disappointed ... again!
GORDON GONDEK
Little Rock
What we have to lose
Almost four years ago, Donald J. Trump asked the black community what we have to lose by supporting his candidacy. With the ongoing pandemic of covid-19, the answer has been made crystal clear--our lives. I believe Donald Trump's slow response to recognize the seriousness of covid-19 without question has led to thousands of lives being lost, with a disproportionate number of those lives lost being African American.
Despite being warned in January and February, and possibly late December 2019 about the seriousness of covid-19, Donald Trump instead called it fake news, and a conspiracy by the left and mainstream media to bring him down. It was only after the stock market crashed in mid-March that he finally took it somewhat seriously, and declared a "national emergency, two big words." By that time, a funeral in Albany, Ga., had taken place in the black community, which led to several covid-19-related deaths. Also, several family gatherings had taken place, leading to more deaths.
It is apparent that Donald Trump is now resolved to open the economy and allow more people to die, especially since it is a fact that covid-19 is more devastating within the black and brown communities. It seems Donald Trump's motivation to "move on" and open the economy is being done simply to save his political future. Even though this virus is still spreading, which will lead to more deaths in the tens of thousands, the Trump administration has talked about disbanding the White House coronavirus task force. Donald Trump's message is crystal clear. He cares more about himself than people dying from the coronavirus, especially since a disproportionate number of those dying are black and brown. Where is Kanye West when you need him?
AUSTIN PORTER JR.
Little Rock
Guidelines need teeth
Reopening our state has serious issues if we hope for it to work successfully. It seems no one is attempting to police those that choose to not follow the guidelines. Just go to Walmart, Sam's, Lowe's, etc. It may be time for our governor to put some teeth in his words and stop the violations. Big fines might help, because we don't want something like what happened in Georgia a while back.
We have made great progress, so Governor Hutchinson, please get help and enforce the guidelines. From an old guy with diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
TOMMY THOMPSON
Morrilton
It's all about choices
If you favor keeping businesses closed, favor home isolation, favor public parks, etc., closed, then is your salary/paycheck guaranteed during this time? Are your health benefits guaranteed during this time? Are you able to work from home with no discernible dropoff in productivity? Is someone in your home receiving pay/benefits during this time?
If you favor opening restaurants, stores, businesses at a regulated, monitored level: Is your job dependent on this type of business being open? Are any benefits dependent on this type of business being open? Do you have a steady income of any kind provided by someone in your household which allows you to not work at this time?
Reopening the world is not about "whiners" wanting a haircut. It is about those people doing the cutting actually earning some money and getting their lives back. Reopening is not about "whiners" demanding anything, but getting people back to work instead of having to go to food banks, having to get utility assistance, having to make very hard choices every day.
Those who insist on the world staying closed, I know, believe they are right; otherwise they would not hold the opinions they do. Conversely, those who advocate for reopening believe they are right, for the same reason. People do not hold opinions they know to be wrong. If a store owner chooses to reopen, that is the choice of the store owner. No one is forced to go to that store. If a restaurant chooses to open, then no one is forced to go there. Choices.
Tough choices for all. However, there are many who simply cannot sit in homes and wait. They need to support families, buy food, pay bills. If Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe's, and other big stores can be open, then so can the small business, the family store, the one-worker shop.
Choices.
DAVID KELLEY
Louann
Argument is flawed
John Brummett's latest effort to besmirch President Trump is not only a fatally flawed argument, but it also is potentially harmful to many Arkansans who have recently lost their jobs and the employer-provided health insurance that went with it. Brummett bemoans that Trump refuses to open a special enrollment period for Obamacare for such situations.
The reality is that such legislative overreach is unnecessary. If you have left your job for any reason and lost your job-based health insurance coverage, you already qualify for a special enrollment period, which means you can enroll in a marketplace insurance plan at any time. You usually have 60 days from the day you lose your coverage to enroll. The problem is that Brummett's erroneous allegation may cause some of the unemployed to not seek ACA insurance, believing they're not eligible. They're wrong. So is Mr. Brummett.
DENNIS LAWLER
Fayetteville
Editorial on 05/14/2020