On taking attendance
It appears the University of Arkansas athletic department is attempting to deceive the public into believing there are more people at Razorback football games than actually attend.
The "paid attendance" as released by the athletic department at the recent game with lowly Coastal Carolina was 61,476. More than one veteran sports writer estimated from 41,000 to 46,000 actually attended.
Attendance, according to the dictionary, means "those who attend." If there's anything the U of A needs at this time, it's complete honesty.
Why not install turnstiles for an actual count? If that's not possible, at least say there were 61,476 tickets sold but the official estimate of actual attendance was 46,000 or whatever it might be.
In my opinion, coming back to beat by one point a team Arkansas State trounced 51-17 is not a lot to brag about but, yes, it's better than a loss.
Let's face it. If the Razorbacks and ASU Red Wolves opened their season each year at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock there likely would be standing room only. The U of A ticket office then wouldn't have to worry about issuing an actual attendance figure.
I believe 85 percent of both U of A and ASU fans would back such a game. And that's a conservative estimate.
VERNON McDANIEL
Ozark
Tax cut won't help us
Two extremely important stories appeared in this paper on Nov. 8. The first revealed how the world's mega-rich use offshore tax havens to park hundreds of billions of dollars to avoid paying taxes. It should be noted that this is bipartisan greed. It has been asserted that there is nothing wrong or illegal about this practice. Nothing wrong with cheating the U.S. Treasury, and why is it not illegal to do so? If these taxes are not paid, guess who picks up the shortfall?
The second story is about the tax bill working its way through Congress. This bill is designed to mostly benefit the same mega-rich who are currently dodging their taxes in offshore accounts. Estimates are this tax giveaway will add $1.5 trillion to the nation's debt.
Why would we even consider going $1.5 trillion in debt to give additional tax breaks to wealthy tax cheats who already control some 70 percent of the nation's wealth? The answer is found in a quote from Rep. Chris Collins of New York: "My donors are basically saying get it [the tax bill] done or don't ever call me again."
It is time for those of us whose income comes from a paycheck to stand up and declare enough is enough. Get involved in stopping this scam before it is too late.
SAM ALBRIGHT
Hot Springs
Didn't keep promises
At this point, my family and I are very disappointed in the lack of success and achievement by our Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman, as well as our local congressman, Bruce Westerman.
When they campaigned, they promised significant tax cuts for the upper class, and for business owners, which could help increase profits. We not only donated to these campaigns, we strongly encouraged our workers to vote for them.
Our family owns numerous successful businesses, and these tax cuts were pledged to us by these three. Through our hard work, our employees are able to have jobs, and our family can profit at the same time.
Without these tax cuts, to continue the success of these businesses and employment, it cuts into our family's bottom line. We've worked too hard and been too successful to allow that to happen.
We have a Republican president, a majority in both parts of Congress, and Westerman, Boozman, and Cotton have been failures to get anything done--repealing Obamacare, stopping illegal immigration, cutting the deficit, stopping welfare and unemployment handouts, and now the tax cuts they promised.
In good conscience, we cannot continue to support these three. Promises are promises, and they have been broken.
As my grandfather once told me, a certain type of person runs for office: "They are insecure, need a title to feel important, and will say anything to get it."
ASHTON MILLER III
Hot Springs
Information warfare
This feels like an attack of war, not with tanks and guns but with words: This is information warfare and it's powerful. It took out our presidency. It can take our country, ruin us, even the whole civilized world, if we don't stop this.
Americans have got to learn when they're being conned. And the news that came through Twitter and Facebook was fake, it was a con.
We must apply thoughtfulness. We must think, not react from the gut level of base emotion. We cannot be a nation of people who have a knee-jerk reaction to everything we hear or think we hear. If we do, we are sheep, not fully human. And not just any ol' sheep: We are Putin's sheeple.
Ask yourself: Are you American or Putin's wannabe lapdog? People, pay close attention to your vote next time, 2018.
MARIANNE BEASLEY
Fayetteville
Russian interference
Like many people, I've grown tired of hearing about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
If Russian money paid for some political ads, so what? You'd think that they had been stuffing ballot boxes. How many times have we interfered in the elections of other countries?
If Hillary had won the election, would we even be talking about this?
JOE WHALEN
North Little Rock
Editorial on 11/14/2017