Tyranny on doorstep
I’ve never been afraid of my government before, but I and many others are right now. The Constitution and the ground rules of our democracy are being bent and abused as in no other time in our history.
The balance of power is being obliterated by the Trump administration. The legislative and judicial branches have cowardly surrendered their authority out of fear of retribution by the president.
My fellow citizens, we must stand up now; tyranny is standing on our doorstep.
JO LAUER
Little Rock
On children’s hour
I listened to some of the No Kings protests on TV. Definitely a children’s hour. It goes along with the Democratic Party government shutdown. It has been a long time since so much phony rage has been on display. It seems the Democrats allowed tens of millions of unvetted immigrants into the country with no thought of the cost. For those people who rely on government largesse, with a government that is $37 trillion in debt, there’s only so much money to go around. The Democrats, with the cynical apparent plan to expand their voter base, have devalued American citizenship. The demonstrations against ICE are bizarre. The mission of ICE now is to arrest criminal illegal aliens.
Almost every city has a quality-of-life issue related to high crime levels. So why oppose ICE unless you are loyal to a strange ideology?
In the meantime, going unnoticed to the Dems who shut down the government over health-insurance issues, the Trump administration is lowering the cost of pharmaceuticals with deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, fertility drugs, and tariffs to bring down the cost of weight-loss drugs. When the final deal on health insurance is reached, lowering drug costs will be a huge plus. So why not celebrate it? Well, it could get in the way of the commotion of a demonstration devised to create rage but not solutions.
CHARLES VERMONT
Bentonville
Misleading editorial
Your editorial advocating windmill energy is erroneous and misleading on several fronts. How do windmills generate electricity on still days? Wind and solar simply aren’t reliable 24/7 power sources. Natural gas, nuclear and coal-fired plants are the only reliable ones we currently have. You admit the windmill lifespan is 30-35 years. The disposal costs are $500,000 per windmill, in today’s dollars (Google it). Who pays these costs? Many states and countries that use large amounts of “renewable” electricity have seen their energy bills rise astronomically. Arkansans who don’t permit windmills in their counties have the right idea–let’s keep it that way.
ROBERT GLOVER
Marianna
United by their love
Speaker Mike Johnson, before the No Kings Day protest, you described the event as the “Hate America rally.” You said this was more accurate and hard to rebut. Neither was correct.
With the event now behind us, with evidence now available, let me explain what I saw: a peaceful act of people power. There were a few signs about government policies like abortion, ICE and immigration, and more than a few Pride rainbows. There were many American flags and most of the other signs were about our American values and constitutional rights, which the Trump administration, the Congress, and Supreme Court are signaling they no longer defend, frequently weaken, and increasingly reverse.
I was specifically looking for hints that the groups you expected to see actually showed up. Only anti-fascists revealed themselves. I confess my sympathy for them. I learned my values from my father and his friends who were veterans of World War II. To my knowledge, they never mentioned Antifa, but they were proud to have served, some in combat in Europe, leading America’s fight against fascists in Italy and Nazis in Germany. To me, they were, and remain, heroes.
Some signs were irreverent, some sassy, others funny and satirical. Almost all were handmade. Consider a few examples. “When cruelty becomes normal, compassion looks radical.” “IKEA has a better Cabinet.” “All It Takes Is 3.5 percent.” “No one is being paid to be here. We dislike the Trump administration for free!” A common theme was “We love America.”
I was especially moved by the crowd’s reciting the pledge of allegiance and chanting, “This is what democracy looks like … we are what democracy looks like.” The people in the crowd had their own motivations to be there, but they were united by their love of America.
JOHN AHLEN
Maumelle
Thousands attended
You missed an opportunity on Page 1A with the Oct. 19 article “Hundreds flock to LR to join No Kings rally.” The article continued on Page 10A, in which it included an estimate of “10,000” in attendance, albeit by one of the protest’s organizers.
I was there. Participation was clearly in the thousands. Intentional or not, we subscribers deserve better. I write because I value local journalism.
RICK SHELTON
Little Rock
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