What's the point?
Dear editor:
Right now we have our government debating voter rights. They want everyone's vote to count. No matter race, gender, and so on.
Yet, it's another bloated bill with no substance and a lot of pork. The way voting works now, it's not a race or gender issue, as much as they want you to believe. It's a two-party system issue. If you live in a red state, and are a Democrat, your vote doesn't matter and vice versa. It's a waste of time to go vote for anything because if one party outnumbers the other. What's the point?
That's why, no matter what bill they pass, it will never matter. The election of the president should be made to be the popular vote, as the electoral college is outdated and no longer needed in this day and age, along with other things I won't get into.
But as far as local and state elections, if you are the other party in a red or blue state, just stay home. Your vote won't make a difference, ever.
Half the time one of our two parties won't even bother running someone against the other party (Arkansas governor, as an example). We will have a Republican by default; no choice in the matter. That's the real issue with voting in this day and age. Everyone talks about their right to do this, or not to do this. One side pushes their agenda on people like abortion saying it's wrong, while the other side says their body, their choice ... while the other side pushes vaccines, and the other side screams my body, my choice.
When do you see the stupidity right in front of your face? That nothing you do or think matters except to you, and some weird group of people on the internet.
Ron Swanson
Hot Springs
Kissire a 'great example'
Dear editor:
Growing up in Hot Springs I, along with all my friends, was fortunate to have had the Hot Springs Boys Club. The director was Ira Lollis, who became the greatest influence in my life (and many others) other than my parents.
Robert Kissire became the next director in 1969. I served on the board for 20-something years while Robert was director. It didn't take me long to learn that he was going to have the same influence on kids that Lollis did. He never turned his back on a kid, especially one who was struggling to make it despite the odds against him. These were his kids.
Robert was hands-on. He was not one to sit in his office all day -- you could find him working on the fields during baseball season and always doing what was needed to be done trying to save money for the programs for the kids
In this age of travel baseball, volleyball, etc., many are left behind because of the financial expenses involved. These are the ones Bob felt the most responsibility for. He made sure that no one was turned away. His dedication and sacrifice touched more lives than we will ever know.
Melinda Gassaway stated in an editorial some time ago about Ira Lollis that "he was every boy's example of what a good man should be."
Ditto that for Robert Kissire.
Don Little
Hot Springs
Nothing to say?
Dear editor:
Why would our elected federal officials (Sen. Cotton, Rep. Westerman, etc.) have nothing to say about Jan. 6? Shame on them.
Ken Cook
Hot Springs
Old 'team spirit' needed
Dear editor:
Sad that the first Sunday issue of the New Year had two extremely negative letters and nothing positive in either one. Barry White suggests in his missive that our country is "going to the dogs" in politics, government, economy and education. Mrs. Robinson, in her usual style of garbled, unrelated items, sounds her usual megaphone lauding Trumpism.
In spite of the pandemic, 2021 saw many improvements in several areas. Unemployment figures are the lowest in years. Until the omicron variant appeared very late in the year, most regular restaurants had reopened with full service, grocery shelves were much fuller, scarcity of some items had lessened, and live social activities had increased, with retirement centers, nursing homes and government buildings welcoming visitors. It was an A-plus year compared with 2020.
Of course, Mrs. Robinson's adoration of Mr. Trump will never die, even with all his failures to show a "win" in 2020 and with all his many court failures this year. Die-hard fans that strongly suggest a "cult" movement around their failed hero will simply not give up, though the various conspiracies that their hero promoted have proved totally false. Such tripe is kept alive by a few ultra-right-wing congressional representatives and senators, Ms. Greene being the absolute worst non-thinker among them.
Now we are about to have a former Trump spokesperson, Sarah Huckabee, elected governor. As Rex Nelson, regular columnist and former co-worker of Sarah's dad, former Gov. Huckabee, wrote in his Jan. 2 column, if she is smart "she will treat 2022 as a graduate seminar, learning as much about Arkansas, its history and its people as she can ... if the social media culture wars continue, it will prove that her interest is in making money and playing the national political game." Rex also suggested that 2022 would be better in Arkansas politically if Arkansas voters "say they've had enough of the Know Nothings in the Legislature, those loudmouthed members who play to the social media mob."
Mr. Nelson has been in journalism and politics all his adult life and remains a true thinking conservative, presenting facts from thorough research to support his ideas. If only our state Legislature could have more like him elected, we might get back to being purple rather than red or blue. I have lived through both the latter, and history proves that when there is no sitting down sharing ideas through discussion, resulting in compromise, many unfortunate things occur, which only time takes care of.
In the meantime, we all suffer from those putting their own self-interests ahead of the general population, and the old team spirit of "one for all and all for one" dies.
John W. "Doc" Crawford
Hot Springs