From the web

In response to “Arkansas residents discover they can’t stop pipeline from crossing their land” (April 17) about the Diamond Project plan to dig for a pipeline through Arkansas:

The proposed Diamond pipeline transporting Bakken Shale oil from Cushing, Okla., to Memphis, Tenn., spans three natural faults in eastern Oklahoma. These faults had been inactive for hundreds of years until that state started fracking. They have since become active and their seismic activity has increased, as documented on a Rachel Maddow show on Feb. 20 of this year.

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A rupture anywhere along this proposed pipeline would spell disaster for our state. It would make the Mayflower spill look like a walk in the park. The list of additives in this oil is unbelievably toxic to any environment outside the pipeline itself or its storage tanks. As far as I can tell, the only methods used by oil companies to clean up land spills are backhoes and paper towels. In other words, they have no state-of-the-art technology.

I strongly urge anyone reading this article to contact Governor Beebe and ask him to review this proposed pipeline. In using our state to transport this oil, we assume all the risks and the oil companies make all the profits.

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Brad Bailey

In response to “Pearls about Swine: Mystified by Dykes selection” (April 3) on UA Athletic Director Jeff Long’s hiring of Jimmy Dykes to coach women’s basketball:

It’s inexplicable from the outside. And such a shame. Just reflect on a side issue with Petrino and Jessica Dorrell: One of the biggest regrets was that the incident set back the progress of women, legitimate women, finding positions in football operations departments.

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Now UAF hires an unqualified male to coach women’s basketball when there are so many truly qualified women that they could have hired.

There are certainly some great women’s basketball coaches who are men. Gary Blair, once at UAF and now at Texas A&M, immediately comes to mind. (Wonder why UAF couldn’t keep him if they just have to have a male?) But I think it’s time that a male has to demonstrate exceptional skills, experience, and credentials in order to be hired ahead of a woman to coach women.

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Would UAF have hired an unqualified woman to coach men’s basketball?

I think this decision has boosterism written all over it. What a shame … I wish Jimmy Dykes well, but they should have hired a woman.

Perplexed

In response to the blog post on the new Razorback “secondary logo” showing a hog face-on:

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I suppose a secondary logo is appropriate for a secondary program, which Arkansas is right now. The front view does look like it came out of the same bag as the Red Wolf, and it also looks a bit like the Disney warthog. It’s unfortunate that so much time and money is being spent on how the teams look or where they practice when most of them are underperforming so badly. I say fix the teams, then worry about how fashionable they look.

Terry G. Hawkins

In response to a blog post on the fatal shooting of Bernard Sherrod on April 21:

6 homicides in 7 days.

Something’s wrong with the world today.

I blame “Stuff”.

“Stuff” is too important. 

“Stuff” is taking over. 

“Stuff” is causing everyone to value it over life.

People need BIG houses with BIG mortgages just to hold all their “Stuff.”

People are working themselves silly in order to afford more “Stuff.”

When the family breaks down and divorce occurs they fight over “Stuff.”

People are dying over “Stuff.”

People that don’t have any “Stuff” are mad at the world and killing other people and don’t even think about it because they got no “Stuff” to lose.

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My new goal in life is to get rid of stuff. A good day is when I have less stuff at the end of the day than I did that morning.

People, stuff ain’t worth it.

Citizen1

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