Make better decisions
One bad decision shouldn't destroy your life. Brittney Griner is paying the price for too much hubris, and shouldn't be surprised at the result. Seriously? You forgot? You didn't know it was there? It never occurred to you that cannabis oil could be a problem in Russia? Agreed, the sentence doesn't fit the crime, certainly not in our eyes. But it's Russia!
Thomas Jefferson famously stated that "Ignorance of the law is no excuse in any country." And neither is "Oh, I forgot it was there." But this penalty simply doesn't fit the crime. Hopefully Ms. Griner can get some help from the State Department, and make better decisions in the future.
MARK DAGUE
Bentonville
Disquieting thought
The other night, as I was winding down, my daughter sent a picture of my grandson as he was about to meet his new third-grade teacher for the first time. He was standing in front of their house dressed in his new tennis shoes, new shirt and pants. His hair expertly combed by his mother, he stood tall and proud with a huge smile on his tender face. I could see he was excited to meet her. A little over an hour later, my phone lit up with a picture of his new teacher on a flyer describing her hopes for the new school year.
What parent or grandparent wouldn't swell with pride and happiness for their child?
At 4:19 a.m. I woke up, as many of us do in the middle of the night, and as I lay there not really thinking about anything in particular, a thought and vision shook me fully awake. All I could see in my mind and think about was: What if my grandson will become another innocent child torn by bullets in his classroom with his friends and teacher this year? That picture of him about to meet his teacher would haunt me for the rest of my life. It is the same picture you see when you study any of these mass child killings we have endured.
Could any of us, seeing that, ever sleep well again?
PHIL MARIAGE
Hot Springs
There's no comparison
While I understand Scott Schuh's point, I take issue with his take on Hershel Walker's chances of winning. Though Walker made "sad attempts to answer basic socioeconomic questions," that will most probably in no way hamper his ability to get elected.
If intelligence and qualifications were a requirement to win an office, the state of Arkansas wouldn't be thought to be such a shoo-in vote for Sarah Sanders instead of Chris Jones. There is no comparison in their qualifications. Check it out, dear reader, before you vote.
PATTIE SHINN
Huntsville
He's a bad candidate
Edward Chevallier's recent letter asks: "How could Warnock be ahead in the polls right now, today?" This is regarding GOP candidate Herschel Walker's Senate race against Democrat Raphael Warnock in Georgia. Maybe if he would do a case study on the race now instead of after the election he would find the reasons.
On the campaign trail Walker said, "Since we don't control the air, our good air decided to float over to China's bad air. So when China gets our good air, their bad air got to move. So it moves over to our good air space. Then, now we got to clean that back up."
Walker told a Rotary Club in Carrollton that NATO hasn't been involved in supporting Ukraine or deterring Russia's invasion. This is a false assertion showing ignorance of current events.
He mused that a solution to school shootings include "a department that can look at young men that's looking at women that's looking at social media." Then in response to a reporter's question about gun laws stated "what I like to do is see it and everything and stuff."
Then there's Walker's biography and personal history, which includes numerous falsehoods and fabrications about graduating from the University of Georgia. The former football star's campaign removed the reference that he "graduated from UGA with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice" after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution inquired about it. Walker stated, "After playing with the New Jersey Generals, I returned to Athens to complete my degree, but life and football got in the way." In a number of speeches and interviews over the years, Walker also lied that he was in the top 1 percent of his class. His records show a B average for his three years. Why would anyone lie about something that is so easy to disprove? In June 2022, the newspaper also found that Walker's claims about working in law enforcement were either false or unverifiable.
The man was a great football player, but is that enough to qualify him as a U.S. senator? If Warnock is not re-elected, it will show Mr. Chevallier how bad the good people have become at winning honest elections.
KENNETH WEBER
Greenbrier
Must vote for change
People in our state are really concerned about teacher pay and how we get issues on the ballot. If we keep electing the same folks, guess what, we get the same results. If you really want change, get out and vote for it by electing new people to office.
If your senator or representative has not committed to help get the things you want, then vote for someone new. Same thing goes for governor; our present governor did not put teacher salaries on the call for special session, but he damn sure put in a reduction in tax for the rich folks. SHS will be even worse.
Change only comes when we actually vote it in, and November is our chance.
TOMMY THOMPSON
Morrilton