Disdain for scholars
Perhaps the definition of hubris was fully embodied recently by Bradley Gitz. With no apparent sense of irony, he offered a pontifical opinion, without a law degree or any valid claim whatsoever of being a constitutional expert, on the 14th Amendment. He put forth his legal opinion as if he had a direct connection to the god of epistemology.
His disdain for the opinion of genuine legal scholars, relative to his own, is particularly revealing.
JERRY HENDERSON
Little Rock
Nagorno-Karabakh
Thank you for your recent editorial about the plight of ethnic Armenians in the autonomous region of Mountainous ("Nagorno" in Russian) Karabakh, the Artsakh province of medieval Armenia that was "gifted" to Azerbaijan by Stalin in 1923. Their suffering gets lost in the litany of wars, domestic turmoil, and disasters that plague our current world.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev is hoping to starve the local population into submission. His ultimate goal is the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population of that open-air ghetto. Armenia is too weak to intervene. Azerbaijan, with help from its allies Turkey and Israel, rules the roost.
Russia, which has a defense pact with Armenia, refuses to help it, as it is engaged elsewhere in its efforts to restore the Romanov/Soviet empire. The West, including the USA, provides emotional support, but is not interested in getting mixed up in the Southern Caucasus, which Russia considers part of its empire. Prayers and words of support will not change the facts on the ground. The UN Security Council, which has refused to get involved, must be encouraged to take stronger action by the USA and the West.
SARKIS NAZARIAN
Little Rock
Conviction unneeded
In his Sept. 18 opinion, Bradley Gitz pronounced that those who thought Donald Trump was prohibited from office by the 14th Amendment were absurd because Trump had not been charged or convicted of insurrection.
From 1866 to 1872, the 14th Amendment kept ex-Confederates from office, without being charged or convicted.
CLIFF HOOFMAN
Enola