Get the words right
A little semantics: Abortion, "kill a baby" and murder are used a lot with pregnancies. Let's be precise. A doc gets up in the morning and says, "I am going to terminate a pregnancy this morning." He didn't get up and say, "I am going to kill a baby today." He has no interest in killing the baby. Would he perform the abortion without killing the baby if he could? Most assuredly, without question. The baby is collateral damage (very bad way to describe a life).
An analogy: You get up in the morning and say, "I am going to have some scrambled eggs." You didn't get up in the morning and say, "I am going to break some eggshells." I don't believe you have any interest in breaking shells. They are just collateral damage.
There are placards or big signs in street demonstrations that say "Murderer." Not quite; murder is determined by the courts only after a person is convicted of the crime of murder.
Let's get it right.
WAYMOND TEAGUE
Greenbrier
Waiting in emergency
Recently, my wife, an 83-year-old lady, fell, striking her head on a side table, causing a significant knot. As a precaution, we went to the emergency department of Baptist Health in North Little Rock to ensure that she didn't have a brain bleed or other serious injury. Within 30 minutes a CT scan was performed and she was instructed to wait in the admissions area for the availability of a bed. After six hours she was escorted to a bed in a hallway, seen by the doctor for less than 10 minutes, told that the CT scan revealed no problems, to take Tylenol for pain, use an ice pack to reduce swelling, and sent home.
I fully understand and appreciate the triage concept where the more seriously ill are treated first; however, I believe common sense should be incorporated as well. One would surmise that a serious head wound would rank rather high on the list and that a qualified professional would review the CT scan immediately. Although, thankfully, hers was not serious, it seems logical that she could have been informed and released without having to wait the long period given the insignificant time required to utilize a room and see the doctor. Such action would have been inconsequential for at least 90 percent of patients seen before her.
But wait, that would require some common sense, or "horse sense," as my dad called it, something infrequently seen in today's society!
FRANK BRUCE
Sherwood
Not good time for all
Mr. Jack Mayberry, I think your letter in the Voices page would have been very different had you been born an African American or Mexican American or Native American or any of the many other groups of people who are probably not as nostalgic for the days when prejudices and discrimination were rampant and even sanctioned in our country.
JULIA FOSTER
Monticello
It's all neat and tidy
I am no biblical scholar. But from time to time my memorized Sunday School Bible verses resonate with current events, such as a report of lost Medicaid health insurance for 25,000 fellow Arkansans who just happen to be children. That is half of annual births statewide, or the pupils in 1,000 elementary classrooms. The following quote came to mind.
"Shed no blood, but cast him [Joseph] into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him. ... And they took him, and cast him into a pit."
Bloodless hands, disappearing children. All neat and tidy. Amen.
CHARLES FEILD
Little Rock
Raises are affordable
In regard to your editorial of Sept. 18, you criticized the UAW for making what you consider to be unreasonable demands that the auto companies and the country cannot afford. You either deliberately or conveniently ignored one of the key reasons that the UAW is making these demands: the outrageous, obscene and completely unjustified amounts of money that the auto companies are paying their executives.
Executive pay has increased at least 40 percent over recent years, a much higher increase than the workers have received. Some executives at GM and Ford are receiving more than $20 million per year. If the auto companies can afford to give their executives 40 percent pay increases and compensation of more than $20 million, then they darn sure can afford to pay their workers a lot more than they are making now.
And as for your statement that car prices have increased a lot in recent years and increased worker salaries will increase prices again, well, it seems clear that one reason that car prices have increased is because the executives passed on their salary increases to consumers. But company management does not have to pay for increased worker salaries by increasing car prices; instead, they can easily pay workers more by paying themselves less.
So please stop with such foolish statements about how the companies and the country can't afford to pay workers more because clearly we can. It's like how here in Arkansas we constantly hear that we can't afford to pay teachers more or put more money into our schools but we can darn sure afford anything we want for school sports programs.
MARK WOOD
Arkadelphia
Rather open about it
Saw a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un returning home on Sunday, waving from his train after concluding a trip to Russia's Far East. Hmmm, he doesn't seem to be worried about who knows about his comings and goings.
BARRY MARTINDALE
Harrison