Advice for Tea Party

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After reading your article on the Tea Party and other political activists Feb. 16 “Bringing the Crazy,” I have a bit of advice for its members.  Instead of immediately tackling the whack-o fringe aspect of your movement like getting the mind control drugs out of our water supply, perhaps you should start with something a little bit more mainstream.  Something that can get the masses behind you.  I think a good start would be an initiative that would support the rights of property owners AND lower taxes at the same time.  Perhaps getting rid of the real estate property tax. This would give an incentive to businesses to relocate here as well as give average citizens a much needed tax break. If I work 30 years of my life to pay off a mortgage in order to live the American Dream, I shouldn’t have to continue to make kickback payments to the government to keep my house and property.  If I don’t pay my personal property taxes the government doesn’t come and take my car away from me, why should they be able to take my home away from me? This would be a simple way to help your fellow Americans and gain needed support for your movement.  It seems like a better way than tearing up all the bike paths under the guise of socialism or removing the mind-controlling fluorine from our tap water. Just a friendly suggestion from a registered Democrat who voted for Obama and will again in 2012.

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Garrett Brown

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North Little Rock



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Tiresome

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It gets so incredibly tiresome to hear many Americans described as intolerant by your editorials and some readers. I read with interest the results of a recent poll of Egyptians, our dear friends and allies in the Middle East (actually, Africa, but let’s not be technical). Strong majorities favor the imposition of sharia law, death for apostasy (converting from Islam to another religion) and adultery (with stoning being the preferred method), are in favor of suicide bombings (even if innocent civilians are killed or injured), honor killings and strict segregation of the sexes. As for homosexuality, they feel that gays should have their hands cut off. None of these findings are ever mentioned in your columns. In your opinion, to even discuss them is in poor taste.  

 We are a freedom-loving country with proud traditions of equality, separation of church and state, and political and religious pluralism. To paraphrase the former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, I fully support the rights of such persons to practice their religion and follow its dictates: somewhere else.  

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Michael J. Emerson

Little Rock



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Hate

Why is there so much hate in the world?

I hate you because you are green, yellow, red, white, black, purple, blue and all shades of gray and that is only your skin color.

I hate you because you are Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, atheist, gay, transvestite, fat, ugly, skinny, etc. It goes on forever.

Soooo. Live in your little box and hate the world and never come out except to hate. Guess what? If you did you might discover a new way of thinking outside of that box. Your brain might expand and encompass something called love.

I do not have time for “box people.” They make the world a hateful place.

Beverly A. Clary

Little Rock


From the Arkansas Blog

More comments from our Arkansas Blog at www.arktimes.com, including the screen names the commenters used.

On an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling upholding visitation for the former same-sex partner of a child’s biological mother:

Justice Karen Baker [who dissented] sounds like she’s an out-of-the-mainstream kookoo lander. She can fight rights of same sex couples and other minorities all she wants but time is on their side. — ButWhoCares

From my lay perspective this decision appears to be both eminently fair and common sense (at least, common sense for everyone but bigots). The Supremes, at least 5 of them, boiled it down to this: ” … the best interest of the child, which is the polestar consideration in a case such as this one.” — Sound Policy

This isn’t really about gay/straight/grandparent legal rights. In my mind the rights and best interest of the child are paramount and should be the single determining factor. A child doesn’t consider sexual orientation when bonding to caretakers so why should the court? — lobotomygal

I was the attorney for the biological mother at trial. Even though I lost the case and visitation was granted over my client’s wishes I’m glad the Supreme Court recognized that a family can be created and recognized even though Arkansas has no recognition of gay marriage. The court also ordered the non-biological mother to pay child support making this case no different than the typical divorce. Needless to say this is the first time I have ever heard of this being done in Arkansas. The court had to stretch the law to look out for the best interests of the child since our legislature is too afraid to pass legislation dealing with domestic partnerships and all that flow from them. Judges should not be forced to create laws but when legislatures bury their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge reality, the courts are required to deal with cases that come before them even if unpopular or controversial. I was very impressed with Judge [Vann] Smith’s willingness to look at the best interests of the child when making his decision and not focusing on the fact the parents are gay or the fact the Arkansas legislature refuses to acknowledge that gay families are families too. — Josh Drake

On the defeat of legislation to change Arkansas’s nickname to the Land of Opportunity:

I would like someone, anyone, in Arkansas government to list the opportunities that exist here compared to other states. Unless it’s an opportunity to work for half what you’d earn somewhere else in a racist environment filled with people whose education consists of a PhD in Beckology. — Run Socialist Cockroaches Run!

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