LETTERS
Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/210672/
Nutt’s exit heightened ridicule
Several years ago, a friend and I were engaged in a somewhat heated discourse on the future of Razorback football. While we disagreed on a number of fine points, the discussion invariably came around to the coaching talents (or lack thereof ) of our now dearly departed Houston Nutt.
Monikers such as “great motivator,” and “good ole boy” crept into the debate more than once, along with “straight shooter” and “stand-up guy.” Our polite conversation culminated in the inevitable He’s going / He’s staying exchange because even then it was becoming increasingly evident that he, sadly, wasn’t the man for the job. Despite our differences on the foregoing subjects, our admiration of that man continued unabated until he recently slithered (yes, slithered ) off to Oxford with the gleeful assistance of those equally unworthy co-conspirators, Chancellor John “Just Gimme a Program to Destroy” White and Frank “Don’t Blame Me, I’m Just a Lame-Duck Ath-a-let-ic Director” Broyles. The retreat (or advance, depending on one’s perspective ) was not only shameful from the administration’s standpoint, but stamped the state and the football program [with ] more ridicule on a national scale perhaps rivaled only by The Nolan’s departure a few years back. Why try to soften the blow with an orchestrated display more befitting of Jerry Springer ? Simply ’fess up to it for what it was—another Houdini-esque sleightof-hand brought to you courtesy of the Razorback Foundation and White & Co., Purveyors of Fine Mixed Bags of Tricks for All Occasions.
JIM MAINARD
Ozark
Revenge is motivation
Letter writer O. C. Reed doesn’t know anything about me. What I wrote before was true. The administration of that slick Baptist minister, Mike Huckabee, did destroy the computer hard drives, and he depleted a $ 500, 000 emergency account.
I’m 75 and went through hell in my younger years. I still remember the way the sirens sounded when the bombers came. I spent so many hours in the cellar and couldn’t go to school very often. The coldest winter, in 1944, a bomb dropped close to our house. All the windows broke and there was no heat. I could write a whole book about what I’ve been through. I try to forget about it. I just get upset about what’s going on. We have a war because George W. Bush wanted revenge, and it gets so many soldiers and civilians killed and crippled for life. So many children lose their dads, I don’t know how this president can sleep at night. What he has done is unforgivable. I have to stop before my blood pressure goes up.
ILSE D. SMITH
Pottsville
Brand of politics divisive
Republicans have long practiced a sort of “with us or agin us,” faith-based politics that divide Americans into people who agree with what the Republican base says faith is and people who don’t.
It casts out into the wilderness a good many moral and decent citizens who sit in a different pew on Sundays, or Saturdays, or not at all, and labels them suspect. After the primary, of course, the Republican nominee invites everyone back into the tent and tries to smooth the ruffled feathers.
Now it seems the Republicans have gotten so good at the politics of division that they’ve managed to divide their own party. Mitt Romney, a perfectly competent and moral candidate, if a bit more than mercurial, finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to explain, in essence, that he hates secularists just as much as any evangelical, his Mormon faith notwithstanding. He’s finding out that this Republican base is indeed an exclusive club—so exclusive that it might be willing to cut off its nose to spite its face by splitting the vote among a handful of candidates each trying to out-God the other. The irony is that such a lack of unity could ensure that in the next election a godless Democrat will become president.
ROBERT C. MARTIN
Midway
Cut Petrino some slack
While Bobby Petrino is being abused, called names, with boohooing by Arthur Blank and team, something has been lost. Dan Reeves should be interviewed about his being fired with three games remaining on the schedule after Blank purchased the Falcons. Reeves had managed the Falcons’ only NFC championship and Super Bowl appearance in their history.
As far as the Falcons’ family values are concerned, is this any different ?
I lived in the area and I was a Falcons fan, but being from Camden, I’m a bigger Hog fan. None of this washes with me. The Falcons organization has deep pockets while the University of Arkansas does not. Boohoo. How can I feel sorry for people who do unto others and usually do it first ? Atlanta was not going to add anything good to Petrino’s résumé. The NFL, as all pro sports, is a bidding war. The best teams that money can buy will win the hardware. If I were D-Mac and Felix the Cat, I would stay and enjoy my senior year before jumping into the pros. The higher you are picked, the harder the struggle is to get to the big games. ESPN should fire its name-callers. Worse than Michael Vick ? I could not believe that was said. Give the man a break.
ORLAND FERGUSON
Hot Springs
Son shocked into sanity
My teen-age son wore his pants at half-mast in the mid-1950 s. One day I was wearing a plaid print skirt gathered at the waist. I unbuttoned the skirt, slipped it down to half-mast and asked my very intelligent future president of the senior class, “How do I look ?” He said, “Fat.” And I said, “That is the way you look.” My handsome son hoisted his pants up and that ended that problem. I often wished that fathers would have lowered their pants as they left for work just to shock the sons back to sanity. I am 88 and wish the women would do something to that straight, stringy hair.
RUBY WYBRANT
Lakeview
History misunderstood
Mitt Romney, in a recent speech, continued to reinforce the revisionist myth that our Founding Fathers created a Christian country. He was, of course, appealing to the Christian evangelicals in Iowa.
If he understood history, he would know that the Founding Fathers who had the greatest impact on the beginning of these United States meant just the opposite. Consider that George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were either atheists or deists. These men led our revolution, wrote the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Federalist Papers. If you read our Constitution, you will find the only reference to religion in Article VI’s “but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” The only possible Christian in our first five presidents was John Adams. He signed a treaty with Tripoli that stated that the United States was not a Christian nation. Some may argue that the Founding Fathers used “God” or “Creator” on occasion. Their God was the deist god best expressed by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence: “the laws of nature and of nature’s God.” This is a secular country.
BOB WATERS
Hot Springs Village
Shift away from rumors
I thought Wally Hall’s Thanksgiving column was strange, but his Dec. 2 column reached new heights of weirdness.
In the Thanksgiving column, he advised us to be thankful for our strong governors, for certain University of Arkansas trustees and that the Democrat-Gazette is not a campus newspaper. Not worthy of thankfulness were the Razorback athletics program and Frank Broyles.
In the Dec. 2 column, he suggested that retired coaches from Northwest Arkansas should take the place of assistant coaches following Houston Nutt to Mississippi as the Razorbacks prepare for the Cotton Bowl. This is absolute foolishness and reveals a sort of malicious ignorance that characterizes the sports editor’s writings about Razorback football.
Hall then proceeded to state that Chancellor John White sabotaged the hiring of Dana Altman and wants to fracture the football program, or at best deemphasize it. Hall also implored the trustees and UA System President B. Alan Sugg to step in and save the program, and if they don’t, all is lost. Does anyone really believe this hogwash ?
The sorry episode surrounding Razorback football for the past few years has been made possible by Internet knownothings, assorted Nutt haters, sports-talk radio and the sports editor of the Democrat-Gazette. Now that Nutt has moved to greener pastures across the Mississippi state line, we need to fully support the team and new coaching staff. Then we can focus on the games and not vicious rumors.
DAVID L. SUENRAM
Bull Shoals
Hillary walks the walk
Hillary Clinton doesn’t wear her religion on her sleeve like Mike Huckabee does, but she has a strong faith. I lived two blocks from the Governor’s Mansion when the Clintons were there. Hillary never had to tell me she was a Christian. I just knew. I would rather see someone live her faith, not just talk about it. We say that we believe in separation of church and state, yet in this campaign it seems that the deciding factor is who is the most religious. They are not running for pope. The president is president of all the people, believers and non-believers. I don’t understand why lots of people seem to think that Huckabee is so religious. He left the ministry and went into politics. He was called to preach or he wasn’t. If he wasn’t, he had a lot of Baptists fooled. The Bible says no man, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Remember when Republicans were going to put this great Christian leader in the White House, George W. Bush ? We have been misled from day one. We heard that there was no doubt that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Sure, Hillary voted to support the president. You expect the president to tell you the truth. We later found out it was all a big lie.FLO CATO
Little Rock
Efforts not appreciated
Arkansas has not finished in the top 10 since 1982 under Coach Lou Holtz. Arkansas has only won six bowl games since Frank Broyles retired. Holtz won three. Kenny Hatfield won one. Houston Nutt won two. Wally Hall often references the great Hatfield. This guy was a great coach when we were playing Rice and TCU, but he got crushed when he played good teams like Texas, Tennessee, UCLA and Miami. With Houston, at least we knew we always had a chance. So Mississippi snatched up Nutt. I think the banner fliers, the Springdale moms and Wally got what they wanted. Now let’s see what Houston’s replacement does. Four years from now, let us remember to ask the question, “Are we better off now than we were four years ago ?” Only then will Houston’s efforts be appreciated.
TERU STRICKLAND
Little Rock
Dancing also a sport
What makes something a sport and others not ? I dance competitively and attend class and practice approximately 10 hours a week. I also dance on our school’s dance team, which is another five hours a week in addition to the cheering and dancing at one or two ball games a week. I do all this year-round. So when asked if I participate in any sports and I answer that I’m a dancer, why do so many people say, “No, I mean do you play a sport” ? What makes football, basketball and softball, for example, sports and not tap, jazz, ballet or hiphop dancing ? Dancers are just as athletic and, in some cases, more so than people who only participate in seasonal activities.
MORGAN CRANMER
North Little Rock
Watch out for others
Re the “Watch out for Pakistan” letter: Sure, Iran and Pakistan have atomic weapons, but what other country does that we don’t know about ? From what I know of 9 / 11, the U. S. was surprised that we were even attacked. What’s to say that some other country doesn’t try an attack on us for some reason that has no point ? In my opinion, we don’t only need to watch out for Pakistan or Iran, but for every other country that has access to atomic weapons.
TANNER JANSSEN
Jacksonville