Left out

I was disappointed to see I was not included in the “Visionary” issue [Aug. 28]. I think I should have gotten in on the merit of my idea for Little Rock to sponsor the first-ever Cold War Re-enactment. As you recall, the events were to include:

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1.) John and Jackie Kennedy look-a-like contests.

2.) A good old-fashion McCarthy era book burning and weinie roast along with a fallout shelter cook-off (everything must be made from year-old canned goods).

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3.) Musical desks (like musical chairs but with children ducking under old school desks when the air-raid siren sounds).

4.) Bay of Pigs BBQ cook off.

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5.) Fallout shelter sports competition to include solitaire marathon, recreational sleeping and competitive hair loss.

6.) Whittaker Chambers pumpkin-carving contest.

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The celebration will end with the Berlin Wall Ball. Half the hall will be brightly decorated and abundantly supplied with food and drink while the other half will be in black-and-white and serve only vodka and cabbage. On the black-and-white side, careful notations will be taken of who talks to whom and who does not eat the cabbage. Entertainment will be supplied by the percussion stylings of the Nikita Khrushchev Shoe Band, U2 and a Vaughn Meader impersonator.

David Rose

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Hot Springs

Long gone

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It is now official: The old Southern concept of sportsmanship and fair play is now officially dead at the University of Arkansas. The announcement appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Sept. 2) when it was reported that the head football coach encourages his players to “go after” injured opponents. He is referring to boys just out of their teens. Many will carry their football injuries with them the rest of their lives. No doubt that tactic has always been part of the game, but to hear the coach who represents our state openly promote it was stunning and sad.

Steve Scott

Maumelle

From the web

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In response to an Arkansas Blog item about a convicted murderer posting a photograph of himself on Facebook from the Varner Unit:

The Department of Correction is inept and it is a wonder worse has not happened. They are still looking for the murderer who escaped from a Pine Bluff unit, and the rumor is he was having a consensual affair with the daughter of the high prison official where he was the “houseboy.” The father found out and the felon mysteriously escaped, then disappeared. They usually surface in a few weeks after robbing a place, but not this one.

LaTasha DeShay

In response to an item on the Arkansas Blog about Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s advertisements of his office on Razorback radio broadcasts and the Razorback website:

That’s an interesting racket. I guess the attorney general’s office has got money to burn. It would be interesting to see the Google Analytics reports from gotyourbackarkansas.org, especially the referrer stats, and calculate the cost per consumer complaint filed via the ads. It might be comparable to the old SAWER program from back in the ’70s, when the state was spending $5,750 per cord of wood.

Radical centrist

In response to the Arkansas Blog’s report that Rep. Tom Cotton has reversed his position and now supported an increase in the minimum wage:

Tom Cotton is something else. He currently has an ad with his mother on the air where he tells a bald-face lie about how he never has or never would do anything to harm Medicare or Social Security. I guess he is too ashamed to tell his mother about his votes in Congress that run just the opposite to everything he said in his latest ad. Really folks, if he will lie to his own mama, he will lie to all of us!  And his poor mother! I am sure she is a fine woman, but here Tom goes and drags her into yet another ad, in an effort to use her and make her an accomplice in the perpetration of his own lies. He should be ashamed of himself for using his mother to help spread his lies. How many more ads is he going to roll his parents out in? It’s probably because they are so much more likable than him, he will continue to do so. I guess it is true that parents will do just about anything for their kids.

Poison Apple

Seeks support for Huntington’s parity act

I am writing to strongly urge my U.S. representative to cosponsor the Huntington’s Disease Parity Act of 2013 (H.R. 1015) and to ask my senators to co-sponsor the Senate companion, S. 723. If passed, the Huntington’s Disease Parity Act would make it easier for people with HD to receive Social Security Disability and Medicare benefits.

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a hereditary, degenerative brain disorder for which there is, at present, no effective treatment or cure. HD slowly diminishes an individual’s ability to walk, talk and reason. Eventually, every person with HD becomes totally dependent upon others for his or her care. HD profoundly affects the lives of entire families — emotionally, socially and economically.

By co-sponsoring the Huntington’s Disease Parity Act of 2013, members of Congress can show their support not only for this family, but the nearly 1 million Americans who are touched by this terrible disease.

Misty Sullivan

Warren