Sunday's Letters to the editor

OPINION

Trump not right choice

Dear editor:

As Americans, we all have the weighty responsibility to decide who our leaders are going to be. What a challenge! One that must be taken seriously with great consideration. It is no small ask of the multitude.

Without emotion, we must look at the choices and contemplate how each man will approach the challenges he will face. We have a pretty good sample from the previous four years on what Trump's ideas and concerns are for our country.

Some of the issues of great concern to us in the current atmosphere seem to be the following: environmental and climate change; immigration policy; police training and violence; anomalies between treatment of people reflective of race and gender; economic progress; education; and currently, the COVID-19 virus that is devastating our population.

Climate Change: Trump's record is clear. One of the first things he did after taking office was to reject the Paris Climate Agreement to get us out of it as fast as possible.

He is in favor of promoting the coal industry, which has seen its former and last good days. He does not believe that the strange changes in our weather patterns have anything to do with the warming of the planet. He ignores science. He is working to continue to roll back standards of carbon emission in vehicles. He expands drilling in pristine places such as Alaska and offshore places such as California and Florida. He wants to remove the Clean Water Act and to weaken the Endangered Species Act.

Immigration: The refugees at the borders of California and Texas were treated inhumanely during previous attempts to enter this country. Children were separated from parents and, in many cases, placed in cages with limited access to the necessities of life.

Police Training and Violence: Neck holds and other rough treatments as well as "no-knock" policies, resulting in deaths of a number of Black or brown offenders. While this is not specifically a Trump policy, he has done nothing to change it.

Economic progress: If Trump had pursued eradication of the coronavirus early and avidly, we might not have had to lose our economic gains. Losing jobs and endangering our local businesses have been two of the most long-ranging effects of this pandemic.

COVID-19: While loss of life, lost jobs and failing businesses have been results of the virus, Donald Trump has downplayed it from the beginning. His excuse is, "I didn't want people to panic." Are we children? We need the truth. Trump has no science background, as evidenced by his injecting bleach as a cure statement.

Education: Perhaps appointing Betsy DeVos as secretary of Education was Trump's biggest mistake here. She promotes all the things that work against democratic education: school choice, vouchers, etc.

Donald Trump simply does not possess the brainpower to be the leader of the Free World. He does not have the education nor the concern for all the American people one needs to lead in a balanced, educated and thoughtful manner.

Carol Nash Smith

Hot Springs

Trump a better choice

Dear editor:

I continue to see a steady barrage of attacks on Donald Trump, so for those who think he is so terrible, here is the alternative.

The Democratic Party is the party of death, as it aggressively supports the murder of thousands of unborn children via abortion. It also supports assisted suicide, a form of euthanasia, since in the view of the Democratic Party the elderly are no longer needed.

It is the party of racism, tracing its beginning to the start of Civil War, through segregation and current-day efforts to suppress the rights of minorities, even supporting Affirmative Action, which implies minorities need help in competing with whites. Among the more terrible examples are Bull Conner, Richard Byrd, and Govs. George Wallace and Orval Faubus.

It is the party of suppression of free ideas, including shouting down those of differing views, canceling the speeches as well as using economic pressure and false sexual accusations to harm those who disagree.

The Democratic Party is the party that denies the right to self-defense and defunds the police so violence cannot be prevented, a process particularly harmful to the minority community.

The Democratic Party hates religion and attempts to prevent churches from having access to any public facilities, praying in public, or using tax money extracted from those of faith.

The Democratic Party hates capitalism despite the worldwide example of the prosperity provided to billions of people across the planet.

The Democratic Party promotes socialism despite its obvious failures ignoring the economic harm in the countries of Cuba and Venezuela as disastrous examples in our hemisphere.

The Democratic Party supports Marxism via the bogus Black Lives Matters movement bent on destroying our country, economy and way of life. This dangerous movement is supported by Democratic mayors in Portland, Seattle, New York and Chicago.

The Democratic Party believes all property belongs to the state and ownership of private property should be forbidden.

The Democratic Party believes climate change is totally caused by man and is convinced humans are capable of correcting it, effectively denying the existence of God.

The Democratic Party supports unchecked immigration, including providing social benefits, paying unemployment, social security and allowing noncitizens to vote.

The Democratic Party hates our country and its exceptional history and is tearing down and demeaning those who established this country by perverting the facts and exercising post facto analysis.

Christine Bosch

Hot Springs

Wildfire control

Dear editor:

In response to Mr. Smith as to why we can't have large numbers of air tankers to stop the wildfires in their tracks, it seems such a simplistic solution to a tragic situation.

The fires, by the time they are discovered, are already moving at a speed usually driven by high winds. Aircraft dropping retardant have to get up and personal with the fire and are affected by the thermals generated from heat that can actually lift a fully loaded tanker off course, disperse the retardant so that it is ineffective, not mention limited to no visibility which prohibits aircraft from even dropping their load of retardant and returning to base.

Most of these fires are a result of human negligence, but once it's started, Mother Nature is in charge. Climate change is a factor, but more of a factor is people are moving out to these areas and are being affected more frequently, where before no one cared much because it was just woods -- now it's something else's fault, because of the freedom we have to live where we want. However, with freedom comes with responsibility.

Nicholas Grauds

Hot Springs

Life can be short

Dear editor:

Our nation has remembered and reflected upon the worst radical Islamic terrorist attack we ever had upon our homeland, on Sept. 11, 2001, 19 years ago. Almost 3,000 (2,977) poor souls came to a sudden tragic and unexpected end to their lives!

My wife, Bettye, who is also a long time Christian, said something about 9/11 that I thought was very profound. She said, "Not a one of those people who died in the twin towers realized when they woke up that morning, that it would be their last day to be alive in this world!"

When each of us starts a new day we don't have any idea what is going to happen to us on that day. There are so very many ways that each one of us can leave this world -- often suddenly and unexpectedly!

Life really can be very short! Someone once asked the great evangelist, Billy Graham, "What was the most profound thing that he had realized after many years in the ministry?" He paused and then answered "The brevity of time!" Proverbs 27:1 says, "Do not boast about tomorrow ... " and James 4:13-15 warns "You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ... you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"

God is trying to get our attention with this pandemic Chinese virus, horrific wildfires, the terrible violence, chaos and disorder happening in our nation! Its time to wake up and stop ignoring God and His ways! "It doesn't really matter how we die, or from what we die. The only thing that truly matters is whether or not we are right with God."

We may die from the virus, from cancer or a heart attack, a car wreck or an accident, a tornado, a hurricane, a wildfire, a gunshot, etc., etc. etc.! "All that matters is -- have we turned away from our sin life (repented) and asked God to forgive us by entrusting our souls to the only Savior, Jesus Christ?" (The Rev. Franklin Graham, Decision magazine, June 2020)

Many of you say that you will do that "one of these days." Satan loves that, because he knows that by your continuing to put off life's most important decision, you may very well fail to ever get saved! (By your inaction.) Have you trusted in the sacrifice Christ made on the cross to pay the penalty for all of your sins? Your sins have offended God! You cannot save yourself.

The Good News is that God loves you so much that He is willing to forgive and save you through His Son, Jesus Christ! Eternal life in heaven is available to you as a free gift, but you must choose to receive it by calling on Jesus. Remember this -- if you don't choose to be saved, then you've chosen not to be saved." (John 3:18)

Lloyd Hoffman

Hot Springs

Columnist rebuttal

Dear editor:

An Op-Ed by Cal Thomas in today's The Sentinel-Record demands a response.

Cal Thomas claims several news people use "anonymous" sources in order to diminish and defame Trump. He denigrates their reporting as a means of harming Trump's reelection. His criticism reeks of "Trumpisms." "I'm the smartest, best president and I know everything you need to know, just ask me." Anyone that disagrees is against Trump and his plans to run the country from his position of power as president of the United States of America.

I guess he didn't see the interview retired Lt. Col. Vindman had with Lester Holt concerning his being forced out of the White House department of foreign service because he wouldn't lie for Trump. I guess Mr. Thomas believes if you ignore those who sign their names and are exposed publicly are unimportant therefore not to be included in his opinion as "fact."

I see many of these so-called unbiased and fair diatribes on your pages that project Trump as a "victim" of left-wing, progressive, Democrats willing to do anything to prevent Trump from continuing his last four years of incompetence and intent to turn us into an autocracy, aka a fascist state.

Please check the sources of the people you put out there as "fair and balanced." Lies in print carry a lot more weight in this world when the news is full of videos of "reality as it happens" live facts as creations of sinister people with plans to mislead and defer or deflect the truth. Calling attention to Cal Thomas' rhetoric with the headline "The Anti-Trump Conspiracy" feeds into the misinformation and suspicion people are being groomed to expect from our government and the press. I expect better from a local small-town paper like yours.

Judy Ladd

Hot Springs

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