Responsibility is his
I believe the fact that the economy is in an inflationary spiral is the fault of Joe Biden. He is the president and he owns all of it. Inflation was predicted and it is happening now because of his policies.
Yet all we hear from him and his administration are subterfuges and obfuscations such as "Putin's price hike," "corporate price gouging," "inflation is temporary," and "inflation is not happening." From his first day in office, the president ensured prices would rise by cutting supply and increasing regulations on domestic energy sources. He now begs enemies to sell us more oil.
In my opinion, individuals who support this administration and its self-destructive policies either don't care about or possibly hate the United States of America. If Joe Biden is not a foreign agent, then he must be non compos mentis. The republic is strong, our leader is scared, weak and foolish. God bless this country.
JOSEPH GRAHAM BARSOCCHI
Sherwood
Prevent the behavior
My heart is broken, again. The latest school shooting has finally prompted me to say something.
I am a husband, father, grandfather, veteran, unapologetic lifelong hunter, gun owner, longtime NRA member. I do support background checks, red-flag laws, the police and most of our honest politicians. I keep my firearms secured when not in use. I do not support any change or revision of the Second Amendment.
As a soldier, I was taught to win a fight by any means at my disposal. Almost anything--in the right hands--can be used as a weapon. Firearms are tools, and most tools have a very specific job and are meant to make existence easier. Think about this: Firearms have been around for several hundred years. Violent video games have been around for 40 years, and AR-15s has been around about 60 years.
That being said, if I told you I wanted to start a daily indoctrination, training, and desensitizing program for every child in America and most of the world, I would expect every responsible adult in the world to rise and condemn me.
However, if you allow and encourage your child and their friends to play violent video games, you may be promoting the violent behavior and random shootings we see all too often. There is no real consequence when someone is killed in a video game, so our children and young people do not see the real harm that comes from killing another person; it is just on to the next level of the game. There is very little discussion anywhere in the news, on networks, newspapers or by politicians of the effects of these violent "games" on our children.
There are laws on the books that would help to prevent some of the violent behavior, yet they are not enforced. If we want to protect our children, we must at least enforce the laws that have been written and look to other ways to protect those who are defenseless.
DANNY L. STARKEY
Sherwood
Difference explained
Mr. Edward Chevallier's letter expressing doubts about the election based on larger margins is easily explained. In the 2012 election year he references the Democrats were running against a well-seasoned and respected candidate in the likes of Mitt Romney.
In 2020, they were running against a dolt.
RUSSELL LEMOND
Roland
Targeting of women
I realize many of you are religious maniacs who feel compelled to impose your will on all of us lesser people. l can see that many of you prefer a theocracy to democracy. How are you any different from the Taliban in imposing your religious beliefs on everyone else, especially women? Of course, every religion targets women.
I am a card-carrying liberal, also female, cootie-infected since birth, and atheist. I would like to point out that your "freedoms" are very seriously imposing on mine, i.e., your right to bear arms imposes on my right to live a peaceful life. Your bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court now wants to force women to carry children they can't afford and don't want, and imposes on a woman's right to control her own life.
Your religious rights apparently only apply to one religion, Christians. Everyone else is evil. It seems Christians have hated women since Eve took a bite out of the apple.
I am personally well beyond my childbearing years, yet I care about young women who will be forced into second- and third-class citizenship by this sexist policy. And you, who will impose this horrible fate on women, completely oppose any policy that would actually make having children more desirable, i.e., welfare, school lunches, maternity leave, medical care, good public schools, early childhood education, good day care. The list goes on.
Being able to make a living would also help. The only women who get equal pay are the U.S. soccer team, who were 10 times better than their male counterparts. Or is it that you want to send women back to the kitchen and/or bedroom?
This is so in character for Arkansas, well known as an ignorant, racist, misogynistic state. I used to think the United States as a whole was a little more enlightened. Sadly, in my life, l've learned that bad guys always win because they have the advantage of being unashamed of lying, cheating, and hurting others.
KAREN J. OWINGS
Little Rock