New Americans take the Oath of Allegiance in Little Rock.
By Steve Brawner
The next six months are going to tell us a lot about what kind of country this is, and whether the United States Congress is still capable of fulfilling its constitutional duties.
That’s because Congress now has a deadline, and unlike past deadlines, it’s not one that can just be postponed through a continuing resolution or legislative trick. This time, 800,000 young people depend on Congress acting. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner
The United States has been struck by arguably its worst natural disaster in its history. So far, the death toll is about 60 people.
For them and their loved ones, that’s everything, of course. But had Hurricane Harvey struck some parts of the world, the toll would be in the thousands. In India, Bangladesh and Nepal, flooding occurring at the same time has killed more than 1,200 people at last count. According to the online Quartz magazine, August floods and mudslides in Africa killed 1,240 people, more than 20 times Harvey’s toll. In Sierra Leone by itself, an August mudslide killed more than 1,000.
Harvey’s comparatively low death toll is notable but not shocking. Arkansans have long experience with tornadoes that cause tremendous property damage but little loss of life.
People can differ in their explanations for all this, but the nation’s wealth, freedoms and values clearly are a factor. The United States has poverty but not squalor – not teeming masses living in cardboard slums perched onto hillsides. Our structures usually are built on strong foundations using good material and away from flood-prone areas. That’s the result, partly, of those government regulations everyone is always complaining about. When a disaster does occur, we have the resources to rescue the victims and then care for them in churches, convention centers, sports venues, or wherever. If the local hospital is flooded, a hundred others can accept its patients. Because we live in a relatively uncorrupted society, we know that the mayor’s warnings can be trusted and that most offers to help will be legitimate. Because we decided long ago to be a United States and not merely a collection of feuding allied states, a disaster affecting a corner of the country becomes the concern of 300 million people who can pool their resources to help those in need.
The purpose of the preceding paragraph is not to inspire a rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” Nor is it to elevate mankind beyond its proper place. It’s to help us conduct an accurate SWOT analysis. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner
This column was going to argue that Hurricane Harvey federal recovery aid should be funded through spending cuts elsewhere or through a special tax rather than increased deficit spending. Then a Houston-based Facebook friend pleaded for a cease-fire to all Harvey-related political talk, particularly by those of us sitting high and dry.
Point taken. Harvey is the only story that matters right now, but this week that story is about rescue, relief and resilience.
So we’ll fill this space on the opinion page with something else until a discussion about how to fund the recovery is more appropriate.
President Trump Wednesday kicked off his legislative effort to reform the nation’s tax laws. In a speech at Springfield, Missouri, he outlined his goals broadly: a simpler, more competitive tax code; lower taxes for businesses and the middle class; and bringing corporate profits back from overseas.
Republicans know they must pass something big, considering voters have given them control over everything. When Democrats were similarly situated in 2009-10, they passed Obamacare. But Republicans have already whiffed on that.
By Steve Brawner
The Razorbacks are playing only one game at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium this year and next, while the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is considering starting its own team to play there. Meanwhile, in light of recent studies regarding football’s risks, some parents are wondering if they should let their children play football at all.
I guess the question for everybody is, are football’s benefits worth the costs?
The first Razorback game at War Memorial Stadium was played in 1948. Since then the relationship has strengthened the football program’s and the university’s ties with the rest of the state. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks have been the biggest draw for the aging stadium, now the responsibility of the Department of Parks and Tourism under Act 269 passed by the Legislature this year.
The Monument to Confederate Soldiers was dedicated in 1905.
By Steve Brawner
One thing about the past – it changes as much as the present.
That’s because the lenses through which we view the past are ever changing, which brings us to the Confederacy and the ways Arkansas memorializes it.
The State Capitol grounds are home to 15 monuments, and three of them relate to the Confederacy. The Monument to Confederate Soldiers, dedicated in 1905, and the Monument to Confederate Women, dedicated in 1913, are at the front corners of the Capitol and are the tallest statues on the grounds. A third monument, the War Prisoners’ Marker, would be easy to miss, as it’s basically a raised plaque near the spot where the 10 Commandments monument will be rebuilt.
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