Opinion

First District

by Rick Crawford President Biden’s Address This week, President Biden stood at the birthplace of our country’s independence and proclaimed that the biggest threat to our nation is the half or more of Americans who disagree with him. It is shameful that instead of addressing a plan to tackle the inflation he unleashed, reduce the violent crime raging in Democrat cities, and end his open border policies, our President decided instead to pit neighbors against each other and broadcast his hatred for millions of American families who work hard and play by the rules.
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State Capitol Week in Review

Little Rock – At first glance, arts and technology would appear to be opposites in how they are taught and how they affect economic development. However, a bipartisan group of legislators has been working since 2018 to build the case that there is a crucial intersection where the arts and technology meet.
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Pin the tail on reason and logic . . .

One of my favorite lines in the movie, “American President” is spoken by the character President Andrew Shepard played by Michael Douglas. During his campaign he gives a passionate speech and in part says, “America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, ‘cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say, “You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.” I think about that speech a lot these days.
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BEYOND REASON

Due to the overwhelming response (glad you liked it, Mom) to a recent column about nautical terminology, this is a kind of follow-up. Thus, I give you boat names.
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LOWE DOWN

Pam Lowe, CherryRoad Columnist showing up. It’s said that people never forget how people make them feel.
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Arkansas’ First District

This week, President Biden signed an executive order to cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt per recipient and up to $20,000 for those who received the Pell Grant. There is no such thing as canceling or “forgiving” student loan debt.
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Capitol Discussion

Many federal agencies continue to fight backlogs as they dig out from pandemic shutdowns and two years of limited staffing. Having agencies like the Social Security Administration open in person again is welcome and I am pleased to see progress being made on getting caught up, however, I continue to hear the frustration of Arkansans every day who are working through bureaucratic processes that, unfortunately, are taking longer to resolve than in prior years.
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