EDITORIALS : Back to school

Northwest Arkansas Community College just finished hosting the three-day Arkansas Association of Two Year Colleges Conference. To those nearly 800 representatives of the state’s 22 community colleges who came to Benton County for this event, thank you for visiting; we hope you enjoyed your stay. - Wednesday, October 15, 2008

LETTERS

Time to vote ’em out Now that the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed the bailout bill, we know for sure that Congress does not listen to the majority of us. Time will tell how we, the taxpayers, will benefit. - Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The New York Times : Caution: Big government ahead

DAVID BROOKS

We’re in the middle of a financial crisis, but most economists say there is a broader economic crisis still to come. The unemployment rate will shoot upward. Companies will go bankrupt. Commercial real estate values will decline. Credit card defaults will rise. The nonprofit sector will be hammered. - Wednesday, October 15, 2008

OTHER OPINIONS : So much for that investigation

It was with guarded optimism that victims’ families heard FBI Director Robert Mueller announce in February 2007 an initiative to redouble efforts to investigate unsolved murders from the civil rights era. - Wednesday, October 15, 2008

EDITORIALS : Not a bad ‘hobby’

If you remember former NBA star Latrell Sprewell, you might recall the way he scoffed at a three-year, $21 million contract extension offered to him by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004. - Tuesday, October 14, 2008

LETTERS

Demand payback for bailouts The fallout of the subprime lending scandal is huge and involves both U.S. and foreign companies. - Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Liberties : Are we Rome? Tu betchus!

MAUREEN DOWD

With modernity crumbling, our thoughts turn to antiquity. - Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Four more years?

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has reached an interesting conclusion about his tenure as the leader of the nation’s largest city: He is indispensable. - Tuesday, October 14, 2008

EDITORIALS : New life at St. Mary’s

There’s good news out of Rogers: The Jones Trust of Springdale is taking over the old St. Mary’s Hospital. - Monday, October 13, 2008

A necessary evil

It’s not pretty and it is certainly not perfect, but the $700 billion economic rescue package approved by the House on Oct. 3 is a necessary evil to keep the economy moving. - Monday, October 13, 2008

Clearing the Ayers

GAIL COLLINS The New York Times

John McCain traces the rancorous tone of the presidential campaign back to last summer when he invited Barack Obama to have lots and lots of town-hall meetings with him all around the country. When Obama turned him down, obviously McCain had no choice but to start depicting his opponent as a terrorist-loving advocate of talking dirty to kindergartners. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

EDITORIALS : A life of crime Mitchell Johnson continues down the wrong path

It probably shouldn’t surprise us that the boy who shot and killed classmates and teachers when he was 13 hasn’t learned the difference between right and wrong a decade later. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

The class war before Palin

DAVID BROOKS The New York Times

Modern conservatism began as a movement of dissident intellectuals. Richard Weaver wrote a book called, “Ideas Have Consequences.” Russell Kirk placed Edmund Burke in an American context. William F. Buckley famously said he’d rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the faculty of Harvard. But he didn’t believe those were the only two options. His entire life was a celebration of urbane values, sophistication and the rigorous and constant application of intellect. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

Recapturing lost visas

Every year Congress authorizes a certain number of permanent-resident visas, or green cards, for immigrants to come to work in the United States or to rejoin their families. And every year bureaucratic delays prevent a certain portion of those visas from being claimed. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

Never mind the noise and static

BILL MILLER

As the 2008 presidential campaign enters its final weeks and as the verbal exchanges reach fever pitch, the voting public should heed the advice of John McCain at the Republican convention: “Don’t be diverted by the noise and static.” Of course, he was referring to hecklers who tried to interrupt the convention, but his advice could just as well apply to the campaign in general. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

The Rundown : The toughest job interview ever

DAVE PEROZEK

I once had a job interview at a large newspaper. It was a daylong event. Upon arrival, I was given a schedule of my day. I met individually with about eight different editors, with each meeting lasting about 30 minutes. At noon I went out to lunch with several reporters, and while that outing was pleasant enough, it naturally felt just as much a part of the interview as the rest of the day. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

Right Turn : Ask what we can do for ourselves

CAL THOMAS

The audience at the second presidential debate/town hall meeting was, supposedly, made up of “undecided” voters. Anyone who is undecided less than a month before the election hasn’t been paying attention and ought to be disqualified from voting at all. The questions were terrible, the answers worse. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

Hating The New York Times, Part 573

MONA CHAREN

In honor of the Jewish New Year, which reaches its culmination on Yom Kippur, a solemn day of fasting and repentance that fell this year on Thursday, I’d like to take a moment to recognize the open Jew-baiting that is enthusiastically enjoyed by our nation’s leading newspaper. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Iceland for sale Iceland’s wealth has long been a mystery. For centuries the volcanic, windswept island clung to the edge of Europe, scraping a hard living from the barren land and the cold seas. - Sunday, October 12, 2008

TALL HUMBS

Appearing each Saturday, “All Thumbs” is The Benton County Daily Record’s take on the people, events and issues deserving a “thumbs up” for a noteworthy accomplishment or good deed or a “thumbs down” for magnificent failure or just general stupidity. Thumbs up to the family of the late William F. “Bill” Payer for establishing a memorial fund in his honor that will pay for a carbon-monoxide monitor and alarm for the Bella Vista Fire Department. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

The likelihood of victory

PAT BUCHANAN

“Once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

LETTERS

A thank you note from the band A big “thank you” is in order to all those who helped make the past season of concerts by the Bella Vista Community Concert Band one of the most successful in our 23-year history. - Saturday, October 11, 2008

EDITORIALS : Sign of the times If it's election season, it's sign-nabbing season

Informed that 16 of his campaign signs had been pilfered overnight earlier this week, Bill Williams, the Democratic candidate for county judge, decided to have a little fun. - Friday, October 10, 2008

OTHER OPINIONS : Know where your food started

Federal legislation prompted by a spate of food-safety scares, some of them deadly, took effect recently. … It will require labels identifying the country of origin of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, meats and frozen produce. Seafood origin has been labeled since 2005. … While this law is a good beginning, more can be done. - Friday, October 10, 2008

America, raise your expectations

BARBARA WARNER

In this last column before the presidential election, I challenge voters to raise their expectations. - Friday, October 10, 2008

LETTERS

Not fond of Frank Rich I did not appreciate the almost full-page story in the opinion pages of Sunday’s paper. “McCain’s suspension bridge to nowhere” was very biased. Frank Rich, who writes for The New York Times, was very opinionated one way. That is not my way, and I wish you would not have him in your paper. - Friday, October 10, 2008

EDITORIALS : It’s good to be frugal

You gotta look before you leap, and Gov. Mike Beebe is doing just that as he weighs whether to restore some of the budget cuts he ordered earlier this year. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

LETTERS

Bailout is unconstitutional As a U.S. citizen, I am not in favor of an economic bailout plan. It is unconstitutional for the government to make decisions for the American people, especially of this magnitude. I would like to inform you that putting Americans into debt is tantamount to slavery — both are against our constitutional rights. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Pica Pole : Kid does bad thing, then the right thing

KENT MARTS

Reading about a granite decorative cannonball from Bentonville’s Confederate statue ending up in the fountain around it, I was shocked to learn that the young man who did the deed didn’t flee the scene. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008

OTHER OPINIONS : Quality counts

Among all the bills leaders of Washington County government may consider asking area representatives in the state Legislature to propose during next year’s upcoming session, perhaps one of them should be a request for more assistance in footing the bill for the quality public defenders our justice system so heavily depends on. - Wednesday, October 8, 2008