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Open hypocrisy

Dear editor:

The new governor has censored books, free inquiry, classroom discussions, acknowledgment of sexual gender, sexual orientation and complete history of Black culture.

Her voucher system in education LEARNS will result in siphoning thousands of public dollars from Arkansas public schools to pay for private and religious education where "indoctrination is common" when she earlier declared that "Schools must educate, not indoctrinate." This suggests open hypocrisy! And readers should remember that private and religious schools are not required to accept "all students." Add to these facts that the cost of this new system is projected to be $343 million by its second year. How does such cost affect small public schools already producing quality education? Many will likely be forced to close when about $7,000 per transfer student will go to the private or religious school rather than to the public one.

Governor Sanders' own ideas of appropriate religious indoctrination as well as "Christian Nationalism" (that means making our government not secular but religious) are being heavily injected into this LEARNS system.

Where is the separation of church and state in this new education scheme? Where and how is our national Constitution being followed? Have the readers who thought this new thing sounds good due to the raise in salaries it brings considered how many million dollars the various lawsuits are going to cost, lawsuits already being organized? That is our public tax money!

The governor is simply building her base of ultra-right folk in preparation for her run in the future for president of our USA! She makes it all sound great and thousands of Arkansas voters have not considered the full ramifications of LEARNS! Woe to public education in our state if this program is fully implemented, and woe to the average taxpayer's wallet!

Dr. John W. "Doc" Crawford

Arkadelphia/Hot Springs

'Borrowed' time

Dear editor:

As of December 2022, the Social Security Trust Fund has asset reserves of $2.8 trillion dollars. This is an increase from $47 billion dollars at the end of 1986.

At the same time, the U.S. government has "borrowed" more than $2.8 trillion dollars from the Social Security Trust Fund and pays to the fund an average interest rate of only 1.5%. The loan is backed by special non-traded Treasury securities which represent about 9% of the total U.S. debt of about $31.1 trillion dollars.

Social Security and Medicare receive revenues from a separate tax paid by wage earners and their employers. They add nothing to the federal debt.

When lawmakers say that Social Security benefits and Medicare need to be cut to balance the federal budget, they are lying. What lawmakers should do is increase the interest rate paid and begin the process of repaying this debt.

Social Security and Medicare are not entitlement programs. They consist of money paid by wage earners and that money belongs to "We The People."

John Grillo

Hot Springs

A right to be free of fear

Dear editor:

Twenty-eight percent of our population has been impacted by guns; my family included. Gun rights, accelerated with Reagan and Trump, made gun ownership legal for the mentally ill. Politicians have been buying votes on the blood, rights and lives of the innocent for 63 years. Supported by the NRA, they will not change and are complicit and compliant with their wishes at the expense of the innocent.

Reagan Republicans said if we deregulated guns and let anyone buy and carry as many as they wanted, wherever they wanted, it would clean up crime and put the fear of God in the politicians. "An armed society is a polite society," a bumper sticker said during Reagan's time. The NRA promoted the lie that our Founders put the Second Amendment into the Constitution so "patriots" could kill politicians. Five Republicans on the Supreme Court twisted the law and lied about history to make guns more widely available.

We do not have a "polite" society nor politicians that listen. People are killing children and not politicians. Our gun carnage is unequal anywhere in the civilized world. We have 12 million hunters, but many of the 400 million guns are sold to people with the intent to use for crime and thoughts of overthrowing the government. People have a right to be free from the fear of guns. The Second Amendment needs amending and politicians refusing reasonable constraints voted out.

Jerry Davis

Hot Springs

Have hope

Dear editor:

The harder life gets, the more crucial hope is.

Throughout tough times, we are best to look ahead. This is where hope is. What we do today can help or hurt our tomorrows.

Be aware of what is going on and vote. Voting did not come easy for many people decades ago. As late as 1954, Indians -- Native Americans -- were kept from voting in some states.

Today, Americans are up against the diseases, the higher prices on food, gas, utilities, etc. The natural disasters are never-ending and we face the threat of a nuclear World War III.

So, in a word, hope, for a better future. Listen to survivors of war, of the Great Depression, and of all disasters. We must all have hope through the hard times and remember all of the good and simple things in your life.

I believe it will get better.

I have hope.

Paula Woodman

Hot Springs

Read more here:
Letters to the editor - Hot Springs Sentinel

I treat children rather than adults, because kids dont generally bring their maladies upon themselves. When they do cause their own injuries, its through failure to fly or some other age-appropriate misjudgment. Even the teens who injure themselves through drugs, (alcohol), reckless driving or TikToK challenges all get a pass the first time or two. I laugh, tease and hopefully instill some insight during that momentary opportunity for reflection that a recoverable injury offers. Kids offer hope through their smiles, jokes, laughter, growth, resilience and healing power. But dead is dead.

A critically injured child survived a severe car crash, a prolonged extraction and transport and the emergency department where we placed multiple IVs, a breathing tube, a chest tube (and performed) a blood transfusion and CT exams. She had life-threatening injuries to her brain, lungs, heart, liver, spleen and intestines. She came to the emergency department pale and blue, but through our interventions she was heading to the operating room, pink and perfused with a chance of survival.

Leaving her resuscitation, I heard the news of another school shooting. Three kids dead. No opportunity to help. Dead. Not alive. No hope, no laughter, no smiles. Dead.

Sometimes children die in the emergency department. Typically they arrive dead or dying and in spite of our interventions do not recover. Telling parents this heart-wrenching news is painful, poignant and best done when they are present during the resuscitation. We explain that the nurses, docs and paramedics in the room are breathing for the child and pumping the blood for them, as their loved ones body can no longer perform these basic functions. But when we stop, in spite of everything weve done, their child will likely die. We stop, and this child dies with parents present holding them, giving love and respect for a life cut short.

Dead. Shot to death. No parent, no family, no tears. No nurses or doctors giving CPR, putting in breathing tubes or chest tubes, no CTs, no miraculous saves is the emergency room, operating room or pediatric ICU. Dead. Sprawled on cheap linoleum school floors. Mangled brains, chests and abdomens. Shredded by military assault weapons. Dead. Alone.

When are adults going to take responsibility for our kids being slaughtered? Why does the Second Amendment trump our childrens right to live? Guns dont kill people, they just give humans with poor impulse control a really easy way to ruin everyone elses life. We need more good people with guns. No, we dont. Trained police have a difficult time intervening, and a group of well-intentioned amateurs shooting up the scene doesnt increase anyones safety. Its simple math.

If you have weapons you are more likely to use them to kill yourself, your loved ones or someone elses loved ones. Its not that hard; take something that can deliver unbelievable harm and misery, and get it off our streets and out of our homes. Open carry, assault weapons, ginormous magazines all weaponize the petty fears of an insecure minority who have no right to kill our children. We must refuse this framed as a Second Amendment debate and remember that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness stops when you are dead. Its better to be woke than asleep at the wheel, impaired at the trigger, or dead.

Here is the original post:
Adults need to take the responsibility for child slaughter - Albuquerque Journal

Yesterday, the House voted 35-24 (with 1 excused), along party lines,to pass House Bill 2005 B, the anti-gun package requested by Governor Tina Kotek and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum that got combined into one omnibus bill. It now goes directlyto the Senate, which has scheduled the first reading on the floor for today. Please contact your state senator and ask them to OPPOSE HB 2005 B.

House Bill 2005 B is the amended version of House Bill 2005 that also includes the provisions of House Bills 2006 and 2007. It goes above and beyond existing federal laws and regulations in restricting private individuals from making their own firearms for personal use, denies Second Amendment rights to young adults aged 18-20 by prohibiting them from possessing commonly ownedsemi-automatic firearms, and further degrades Oregons preemption law by permitting the governing body of a city, county, districtor any otherentity that falls within the definition of municipal corporation,to prohibit the otherwise lawful and licensedconcealed carry in public buildings and on their "adjacent"grounds.

Most Republican representativesrose on the House floor to express their opposition to HB 2005 in defense of law-abiding gun owners and NRA members' right to keep and bear arms in Oregon. Following the party-line vote on the bill, the NRA joined House Republican members in Salemas they pledged $25,000 for a lawsuit against the bill, should it pass the Senate.

The majority party procedurally positioned the bill to deny any opportunity for public comment in the second chamber. HB 2005 will go directly to the Senate floor and it is critical that you contact everysenator ASAP, to urge their opposition to the bill.

Again, please contact your state senator ASAPand ask them to OPPOSE HB 2005 B.

Read the original:
Oregon: Anti-Gun Omnibus Bill Heads Directly to the Second ... - NRA ILA

Americas gun problem has something in common with pornography: it may be hard to define, but Americans know it when they see it.

Its a complex topic many wish to solve with simple solutions. Assault weapon bans are currently popular. Who can blame anybody for wanting to rid the country of a soulless, inanimate object they hold responsible for so much death and grief?

The increase in mass shootings is why public opinion polls show a dramatic uptick in support for gun control measures. Yet there is no actual definition of a mass shooting (whenever a news item quotes statistics, ask what definition is in use), or of an assault weapon, for that matter.

READ MORE Andy Bloom: American tragedies how does this mess end?

Congress wrestled with that question in 1994 when it passed the ten-year Federal Assault Weapon Ban. The debate included charts, Venn diagrams, statistical analyses, personal anecdotes, authentic weapons, and toy copies.

Congress passed a ten-year ban on the manufacture, transfer, and possession of eighteen specific models of weapons and others with military-style features. Also prohibited in the assault weapon bans were high-capacity magazines that held more than ten bullets. The law included a grandfather clause for weapons already in the owners possession.

Analysis conducted after the ban expired in 2004 suggests it didnt have much impact. At best, the data is inconclusive.

A study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Texas A&M University in 2016 concluded that the 1994 assault weapons ban did not affect mass shootings. The study looked at all mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and 2012 and found that the number of mass shootings did not change significantly during the years that the ban was in effect. Other projects found similar results.

Proponents say mass shootings were lower during the ban, but they cant control other societal variables, which they usually say is the explanation for crime. Further, the sample size is too small to be significant. Some suggest the ban would be more effective if implemented longer.

Prohibition lasted thirteen years in the U.S. and wasnt becoming more effective by the time it ended because bans dont work.

The Controlled Substances Act was passed in 1970. The following year, Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs. The University of Pennsylvania estimates that by 2021 (the 50th anniversary of Nixons declaration), the U.S. had spent $1 trillion fighting that war. Hows that going?

What bans have worked? Prostitution, gambling, speeding? Why would anybody think assault weapon bans would be different?

That doesnt mean we shouldnt have laws. First, we have laws. Murder is pretty much illegal. Murderers can receive the death penalty from the federal government and in 27 states. However, governors have imposed moratoriums in three, including Pennsylvania (in February, Governor Josh Shapiro announced he would continue Tom Wolfs policy and sign reprieves). Second, we already have gun laws. Third, this involves a constitutional right.

Friends remind me that other countries ban firearms altogether and dont have gun crimes. These countries also dont have our Second Amendment which, at the same time, these friends tell me they dont want to infringe.

The place to start isnt by shredding the Bill of Rights. Not even if it makes some people feel better.

The Bill of Rights limits the federal governments power: It cant limit free speech, establish a state religion, stop assemblies, quarter troops in private residences, etc. The Second Amendment prevents the government from infringing on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was so important that the framers put it directly after freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. The Supreme Court has ruled that it is an individual right unconnected to militia service.

The Second Amendment isnt the only attribute that separates the United States from every other country on earth the years I spent working internationally taught me how unique we are.

As more heinous crimes committed by evil people happen, pressure will mount on Congress to take action any action. Theres a good chance Congress will pass a law banning assault weapons, however it defines it now.

Handguns are used to kill far more Americans than assault weapons. Further, it isnt difficult to convert many types of firearms into semi-automatic weapons.

Once the Second Amendment is malleable enough to ban one type of firearm, and gun deaths remain high, its not a reach to imagine the calls to ban more guns or Congress agreeing.

Gun control advocates like to use words like common sense. We should use common sense before resorting to yet another ineffective ban. Perhaps people against the ban can find room to compromise, such as:

Then maybe people inclined to ban weapons can agree on a couple of other common sense measures to try first, such as:

Assault weapon bans will have a short-term placebo effect and make some people feel better at the expense of constitutional rights. Ultimately, it wont make anybody safer, and giving up constitutional rights stands to make everybody less free.

Bad people do bad things. The human mind has an unlimited capacity for thinking of evil ways to hurt others. Whether its converting another gun into a semi-automatic weapon, using a vehicle for mass murder, a knife, sledgehammer, or ax, or turning a truck or an airplane into a lethal weapon, it will take more than banning one type of weapon from stopping mass murderers.

The place to start isnt by shredding the Bill of Rights. Not even if it makes some people feel better.

Andy Bloom is president of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT and WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc. and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio). He can be reached by email at andy@andybloom.com or you can follow him on Twitter @AndyBloomCom.

Read more:
Andy Bloom: Assault weapon bans won't make things better - Broad + Liberty

Letters to the Editor| The Columbus Dispatch

I read with interest the article April 27 article "GOP megadonor Richard Uihlein bankrolls push to make it harder to amend Ohio constitution."

I'm sure the out-of-state billionaire, who's generational wealth goes back to before the civil war, is "just" looking out for the best interest of Ohio's working people. Wink, wink.

More: GOP megadonor Richard Uihlein bankrolls push to make it harder to amend Ohio constitution

Douglas Berger, Toledo

Has anyone else had this problem? Given the pressure towards authoritarianism (former President Donald Trump) in America, I though it necessary to be more engaged in democracy.

Thus, I called my state representatives, Sen. Andrew Brenner, District 19, and Rep. Beth Lear, District 61, to ask for an executive summary of their activity. I received no response on two separate occasions.

Also tried Ohio Legislation website and received, let us say, the typical computer-generated response with no substance.

Is this how democracy is supposed to work?

Randall Holton, Westerville

I am going to make a radical suggesting concerning gun control: rescind the Second Amendment and replace it with a more reasonable Amendment that will allow law-abiding citizens to have access to some types of guns, restrict some problem citizens and some types of guns.

The intent of the Second Amendments was to allow for, A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,, We have taken the Amendment completely out of context in allowing me to keep and bear (any kind of) arms and also not be in a Militia.

At the time the Second Amendment was written, our firearms were rather primitive.T

oday they are high powered rifles or pistols with the capacity to quickly deliver several rounds of ammunitions.There is no need for these kinds of arms in the possession of our citizens.

Those arms are for making war and not for killing our own citizens.

Richard Riley, Dublin

This conversation, as you put it, has been going on for years, with no success in changing the course of gun violence across America.

From the editor: From the editor: Its time to talk about gun violence

To most of our ears, the conversation is nothing but rhetoric and white noise.

Ill be curious to see what you uncover, but more importantly, if your work effects change.

Tom Sussi, Columbus

See more here:
Letters: Silence is not how democracy is supposed to work - The Columbus Dispatch