None of its business
Big Brother seems to be alive and well in the Biden administration. Recent comments regarding the government's right to know who has been vaccinated against covid-19, and the White House plan to send teams door-to-door to determine who has been vaccinated, are truly government overreach. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra expanded on that position when he went on to say it is the taxpayers' business because of the federal money spent on the pandemic.
When has the federal government ever polled taxpayers to find out if they agree or disagree with a governmental action? Herein lies the conundrum. If, as liberals are so fond of saying, it's my body and I can do with it as I please, or whatever medical decisions I choose to make are decisions best left to me and my doctor, then what right does the government have to know what medical decisions I make?
Ronald Reagan said: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Beware of who is behind the next knock on your door.
By the way, after consulting with my health-care provider, I was vaccinated back in the early part of this year.
RUTH M. WALDON
Little Rock
Third time no charm
Please explain to me how someone can be shown coming from the hospital after their second round with covid and still say they don't know if they will get the shots.
How deaf, dumb, blind and stupid can someone get?
JACKI STAFFORD
Conway
Decision was reckless
Governor Hutchinson, it is no secret that my views on political matters differ greatly from yours. However, I can respect differing views, especially when I believe opposing views come from a person who, like myself, only wants the best for my state and country. Though I've came to terms with the fact that I will rarely agree with your policies, there are still instances in which I feel that it is my duty to speak out.
Your recent decision to take away the only livelihood that many people in Arkansas have come to depend upon to pay their bills and feed their families, by stopping the federal pandemic unemployment aid to those families, is reckless, to say the least. I believe trying to force people back to an underpaid work force before our state had enough vaccinations is exactly why our numbers are skyrocketing right now. You, and you alone, have put our entire state, possibly country and world, at risk for a covid variant that can detour all of the hard work that millions of people died for. It is extremely irresponsible, negligent, and one might say borderline homicidal to create such a dangerous situation for Arkansas, the U.S., and the world at large.
The money was not even coming from Arkansas funds; it was federal. What do you have against safe work environments, decent standards of living, and the help of the federal government? Is being able to eat at your favorite restaurants really worth the lives that are being damaged irreparably beyond recognition? I hope you reconsider your stance on unemployment for everyone's sake, but if the last five years have taught us anything, it is that Republican leaders rarely, if ever, admit to their mistakes, nor rectify them. Why do you think we're in this mess to begin with?
BRITTANY DIXON
Arkadelphia
Running away, eh?
Democrats from the Texas Legislature are running away from practicing democracy and doing the people's business. They act like they are patriots when, in fact, I believe they are socialists who want to rule by fiat and executive decree.
If they can't call the shots, they don't want the majority to call the shots either, and they will pick up their marbles and flee until they can take over using their black-shirt thugs and misinformed millennials.
Their actions are neither mature nor responsible enough for them to hold the positions they hold.
RICHARD H. BURNS
Jonesboro