Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Arkansas newspapers:
Texarkana Gazette. Dec. 10, 2018.
Christmas came a few weeks early this year.
At least that is the assessment of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, who said those words in a press release last week announcing the discovery of the nation’s largest continuous oil and natural-gas reserves.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a portion of Texas and New Mexico’s Permian Basin contains a staggering 46.3 billion barrels of oil and 281 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
“American strength flows from American energy, and as it turns out, we have a lot of American energy. Before this assessment came down, I was bullish on oil and gas production in the United States. Now, I know for a fact that American energy dominance is within our grasp as a nation,” Zinke continued.
It sure looks like that’s true. The estimate effectively doubles U.S. onshore oil and gas reserves. But we have to remember all of this is an estimate of potential recoverable reserves. The stuff isn’t out of the ground yet.
And while new technology such as fracking allows the oil industry to get at deposits previously unreachable, the reality is that oil prices must justify all that expense of production. So don’t think a glut of this new oil is suddenly going to drop gas prices down into the single digits.
Still, the prospect of an energy-independent America for generations to come is something we should all welcome.
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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Dec. 11, 2018.
Social media has a dark side (been on Twitter lately?) but sometimes it’s all cat videos and birthday wishes. The other day, the Facebook story was all about a fight that didn’t happen in Arkansas, and a bunch of donations that did.
Northwest Arkansas has had more than a few laughs on Facebook as spoof pages for different cities have popped up over the last few weeks. It started with fake pages for the City of Bentonville and City of Fayetteville popping up to post silly jokes and trash talk one another. It didn’t take long before other fake city pages popped up to join in, with Springdale, Rogers, Avoca and many more all poking fun at each other.
Things really got going when the fake City of Bentonville page challenged the fake City of Rogers page to a Fight at the Water Tower. A Facebook event page was made, and before long, hundreds and even thousands of folks were promising to show up. The “fight” ended up being turned into a charity event for donated toys and canned goods.
Local television stations picked up the story of a social media prank gone viral - and being turned into a charitable event. This only attracted more attention, and the event ended up with more than 6,000 people saying they’d show up.
On Friday at noon, the fight kicked off, with Team Rogers and Team Bentonville each racing to collect the most items to show which was superior. People struggled to find enough parking at the old water tower on Northwest 2nd Street by R.E. Baker Elementary School. By the time we found parking across the street at the First United Methodist Church, a taco truck, doughnut stand, box truck for donations and more had all been set up for the event. Team Bentonville had the box truck, and Team Rogers had a couple of pickups.
We watched as several hundred people gathered around, taking pictures, cracking jokes and generally having a good time on a rather cold afternoon. There were some truly silly characters there, with some girls chanting “fight, fight, fight,” a few people in T-Rex costumes, some apparent wrestling champions with their belts, and more. It was a spectacle to behold.
A few Bentonville police officers were in line to get tacos, so we went over to talk with them and get their thoughts on the event. They were clearly cold but appeared amused with everything going on. One told us the location was probably chosen because the old water tower used to be a popular spot for Bentonville high schoolers to have fights after class.
The officers said they’d kept an eye on the Facebook pages but didn’t expect anything bad to happen. It turns out they were right, with everyone just showing up to donate.
Trucks for both teams filled up as the fight continued throughout the day, and in the end charities like Samaritan Community Center and the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Center benefited. It doesn’t matter if all this good will came about as a result of online silliness. We’re always happy to see peace and good will on Earth, especially this time of the year.
Speaking of social media, as the old society columnists used to write, a good time was had by all.
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Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Dec. 11, 2018.
It is possible to oppose a thing without opposing the intention behind it.
For example, thousands of French men and women may be angry about high taxes or the need to express their anger to the nation’s political leaders, but many would oppose the violence that has affected Paris and other cities for weeks now.
One might oppose President Trump’s shrug of the shoulders in relation to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even while recognizing a need to preserve strong strategic relations with the Saudi Arabia government.
Which brings us to Sen. Tom Cotton and his legislative partner, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The other day, the two senators found a way to be two-peas-in-a-pod-ish. Emphasis on “-ish.” The pair offered this: Introduction of the National POW/MIA Flag Act.
The measure would require the POW/MIA Flag to be displayed whenever the American flag is displayed on prominent federal properties, including the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, every national cemetery, the buildings containing the official offices of the secretaries of state, defense, and veterans affairs, the office of the director of the Selective Service System, each major military installation (as designated by the Secretary of Defense), each Department of Veterans Affairs medical center, and each United States Postal Service post office.
Now, this is the point at which we applaud the stated intent, which is to honor the more than 82,000 Americans who are listed as prisoners of war, missing in action or otherwise unaccounted for from the nation’s past wars and conflicts.
“It is my hope that this small gesture reminds Americans to honor those who left our shores and never returned,” Cotton said.
POW/MIA advocates have cheered, and who can blame them? This nation needs to be ever mindful of the sacrifices made by those in our military services and the families affected when loved ones do not come home.
This, however, strikes us as blatant campaigning through legislation, as reaching for an issue that will certainly look good on the next batch of campaign material.
We think mandatory display of the flag that represents the country these members of our military fought for is the strongest statement of their patriotism any federal installation can fly. The U.S. flag belongs in a category unto itself, above any other symbol. Congress has every reason to mandate Old Glory should fly at federal institutions because it represents everything that makes the nation great and its aspirations to be greater still.
Do with have a problem with the POW/MIA cause or its flag? Not at all. But Congress’ only mandate should focus on the U.S. flag, the symbol of our nation. Encourage and applaud the flying of the POW/MIA flag, but do not mandate it, especially in a cynical nod toward bipartisanship when these two senators can hardly see eye to eye on anything else about solving the challenges of the nation.
Let’s remember our POWs and those missing in action. Let’s say a prayer for their families.
But let the old Red, White and Blue stand far above all others.
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