Possible explanation
In last Monday's paper, Bradley Gitz extolled a member of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team for remaining in the locker room and not wearing a gay pride warmup jersey. A little research would have easily explained why.
The player is Ivan Provorov. He is Russian and his parents still live there. I assume that Provorov at some time would like to visit his parents. Considering all the criminal anti-gay laws Vladimir Putin has had enacted (some providing for prison sentences), it was only prudent to protect him and his parents by not taking part in the warmup.
RALPH HAMNER
Hot Springs Village
A couple of things ...
Thing One: I, along with a significant number of my Christian-raised atheist friends, will dearly miss the wisdom, grace, religious sanity and kindness proffered by the Reverend Lowell Grisham in the northwest edition of the Democrat-Gazette. He is the consummate, exemplary, wise, compassionate, genuine Christian gentleman. Thank you, Father, for showing all of us the way. May you and your wonderful family be blessed.
Thing Two: Speaking of sanity, I just listened to Lauren Boebert praise the GOP ruling that U.S. Congress members may bring guns into committee meeting rooms. What could be a more perfect place to bring a loaded weapon than into a deliberative body that used to (and I emphasize "used to") pride itself on reasoned debate and compromise? I will be sending her a gift to celebrate her questionable decision: several boxes of cheap aluminum foil. That way she can pass it around to her fellow gun-toting colleagues so they can all make their "tin" foil hats to tell each other apart. I hope she'll be wearing her new chapeau to the National Prayer Breakfast.
LINDA FARRELL
Bella Vista
Pursuit of happiness
Re Philip Martin's radical happiness: Yes, Thomas Jefferson turned John Locke's phrase into the truly American phrase "the pursuit of happiness," but I believe not for the reasons Martin mentions.
I recommend that everyone from Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin read "The Swerve" by Stephen Greenblatt. If they do, they will learn something about history and might just see how silly some of the kerfuffle about education is. Greenblatt shows how Lucretius, more than 2,000 years ago, held that happiness comes from this corporeal frame, and Jefferson had multiple copies of Lucretius' poem "De Rerum Natura" in his library.
With little help from Thomas or Alito, from Huckabee Sanders or Griffin, we are getting there. We are pursuing happiness.
KEN COOK
Hot Springs
Curious, not fearful
I once heard an amusing story about a literature professor who announced to his class, "Starting Monday we will discuss Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales,' but we will omit 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' because it is entirely too provocative for classroom discussion." When the class reconvened on Monday, the professor said, "Today we will discuss 'The Nun's Priest's Tale'." Everyone in the class was prepared.
Perhaps all the hubbub about critical race theory will have a similar result. According to your newspaper, our governor's minions are scrutinizing an Advanced Placement course on African American Studies already offered to students at 60 high schools across the country. One Baton Rouge high school had to add a second period because of the course's popularity. Students boast of being enlightened, not indoctrinated. That alone makes me curious, but not fearful.
MARC MUNCY
Clarksville
War talks necessary
About two months ago I warned Arkansas Democrat-Gazette readers that by sending billions more in military weapons to Ukraine. We are just escalating the war there and in effect causing thousands more to be killed on both sides.
And now it has happened. I saw Wednesday on a national television network that Russia's Vladimir Putin is calling up 300,000 more troops for use in Ukraine. Tiny Ukraine can't match that figure, and the American people would likely impeach Joe Biden if he or any other president sent U.S. troops there.
The cocky Ukrainian president thus far refuses to negotiate with Putin until he first withdraws Russian troops. That isn't likely to happen because by then there would be nothing to negotiate.
Yes, Putin is backed into a corner, but isn't going away.
The only solution as I see it is for the United Nations to demand a 30-day cease fire during which a national referendum would be held under UN supervision to see if Ukraine wants to again be part of the former Soviet Union. Putin must agree to accept the results of the referendum or else face worldwide condemnation. Even Russia's closest ally China has demanded a peaceful solution to the war.
Russia's people do not support the war, as thousands of soldiers and civilians have recently migrated to other countries.
Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons but won't because he knows we also have nukes and that likely would mean the destruction of the world if both countries used them.
War is stupid. Talks, even if unsuccessful, are far better than killing each other.
VERNON McDANIEL
Ozark