Lesson

One would think that the Arkansas Times, if it truly wanted to represent a cross-section of opinion in the Natural State, would rely less on its small cadre of paying internet customers and more on those who write from outside such a narrow base in publishing its letters to the editor.

Perhaps you feel that Little Rock is the last bastion of liberal thinking. I certainly understand such a sentiment. And to an extent, you may be right. I certainly admire the many courageous stands you’ve taken on the LGBT community, for minority communities, for those in the foster care and penal systems, for the poor and those without a voice.

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But in the last election, your man Gene Lyons penned a McCarthy-like hit piece on Bernie Sanders, the only candidate who truly cared about all these issues and who, remarkably, was the only candidate who wouldn’t accept donations from corporate interests. What further testimony to his dedication to truth and justice than this?

In publishing Lyons’ article, you showed the Democratic Party to be just as ruthless and partisan as the Republicans.

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There’s a lesson to be learned here. And if the Democratic Party doesn’t learn it, the Donald Trumps of the world will continue to dominate Arkansas politics, to the detriment of Arkansans.

Brad Bailey Fayetteville

From the web

In response to the Oct. 27 Arkansas Blog post, “Jason Rapert v. the Friendly Atheist,” about an interaction between Sen. Rapert and a blogger who asked Rapert how he was spending the $81,000 he raised on GoFundMe and the $25,000 the makers of the “God’s Not Dead” movie series sent him to replace the $26,000 Ten Commandments monument that was destroyed less than 24 hours after it was erected:

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Since I no longer work at the Bureau of Legislative Research, I can make this obvious statement: Stanley Rapert is a thin-skinned, small-minded asshat, and his stupid rock is going to cost the state a lot more than $100,000.

Christopher Diaz

Rapert and his faux Christianity continue to deteriorate in values, decency and honesty. Shame on you, Jason. You are the best instrument in the devil’s toolbox. No one debases Christianity more than you.

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Jake da Snake

Rapert was a lot more polite with the jerk than most would have been.

Razorblade

The Friendly Atheist should just inform the local IRS office that there may be a lot of unreported income raised by Rapert hiding in his usual guise as a “church.”

If he was smart, all that money raised has been documented by an independent auditor and the extra monies either returned to the giver or the use documented that it was spent in a charitable manner.

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couldn’t be better

I have asked Mr. Rapert to justify his positions in the past. I’ve found that he does what many on the Religious Right do when confronted about their bigotry and hypocrisy. He simply accuses his questioner of being a nonbeliever.

Richard Hutson

In response to an Oct. 27 Arkansas Blog post, “Dear Little Rock, Amazon DOES matter”:

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Whatever chance, and it wasn’t much, that Little Rock Metro had, the General Assembly, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and to a lesser extent the Little Rock chamber killed long ago by hating on many things that Amazon espouses for its workers. The Little Rock Tech Park is a start. Amazon is the goal. It ain’t happenin’ in our lifetimes. Now, look for something bite size. If it’s between Austin and Little Rock, where you think they’re going to go? Austin itself makes up for the rest of Texas. Little Rock isn’t there yet for Arkansas.

TuckerMax

I’ve spent some time in Austin, Texas, recently. Aside from the housing prices and traffic, Austin is a model for what a modern, 21st century city ought to be.

Incredible music scene, food, nightlife (and even day life). Very family-friendly. You feel safe everywhere you go. There’s a healthy balance of honoring the past vs. embracing the present. Little to no racial tensions. Discussion of ideas rather than worshiping at the altar of the Razorbacks (sports). Most everything is new or being rebuilt. Fabulous mass transit. Imagine Hillcrest or the Heights with West Little Rock new construction money, and you’ll get an idea.

Little Rock does have a lot of nice things going for it, don’t get me wrong. But if the choice was between Austin or Little Rock for Amazon, well, the joke’s on Little Rock for sure.

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Weatherninja

In response to an Oct. 24 Arkansas Blog post, “27 layoffs announced at Democrat-Gazette, 86 at WEHCO newspapers”:

Printed newspapers are dead and the internet is the box in which they’re going to bury them.

C152Driver

Last time I was in the New York subway, I noticed virtually no one was reading a paper. Not too long ago, the News, the Post were everywhere on the trains. With free Wi-Fi, everyone was on their phones — a sign of the print apocalypse.

Casper

None of my eight grandkids, all teenagers, read newspapers. I hate to see it.

Cato1

I don’t know how I could make it every morning without the newspaper to get me started. When I worked as an assistant news editor at the Arkansas Gazette back in the 1960s, we would have 56-page daily newspapers, with a 50 to 60 percent news hole. Now, the Democrat Gazette may run 32 to 50 pages, with a 70 or 80 per cent news hole. That represents the loss of a lot of advertising. I have long wondered how the Democrat-Gazette makes it with the paucity of advertising. Sometimes, a page will only have 10 to 20 column inches of advertising. If it weren’t for the inserts, and the special sections, the paper would be in a much worse condition, if it had to depend on the traditional ads.

plainjim

I live in Memphis and have watched Gannett destroy the state’s newspapers like our Commercial Appeal, The Tennessean, the Knoxville News-Sentinel and the Jackson Sun. How bad it is? I would love for WEHCO to buy the Commercial Appeal, as they also own the Chattanooga paper, the closest thing we have to independent media in all of Tennessee.

sjs1959

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette needs to offer a consistent discount rate for seniors. It is difficult for those on a fixed income to plan finances with seesaw rates. This might stop bleeding in one vital area: readership. As to young adult readers, the key is education. Always has been. Always will be.

Robert K Widding

In response to an Oct. 31 Arkansas Blog post reporting that the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport will begin offering direct flights to Washington, D.C.:

Nearer, my Trump, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

Een though it be a Russian

That raiseth me.

Still all my song shall be

Nearer, my Trump, to thee,

Nearer, my Trump, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

DeathByInches

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