Checking the mail

“What was the point of this?” asked one reader. “Not in the best of taste,” commented another. “This is a family newspaper, or I thought it was,” sniffed a third. A couple others were in the same vein.

The offended, bless their hearts, were outnumbered.

“Hilarious!” exclaimed more than one reader. “Need more stories like this, so keep them coming,” urged a Jonesboro woman who described herself as “usually conservative (in some things).” “Glad to know there’s hope for us geezers,” enthused a Watson Chapel subscriber, who allowed that “there’s more of us every day.”

Feedback, the above, to a column a few weeks ago that detailed the amorous episode of a couple — our confidential source, an on-scene airline agent, led us to believe they were from Arkansas — whose friskiness at 30,000 feet offended some of their fellow passengers and compelled the flight crew to request police greet the plane upon landing. On-board eroticism is hardly unprecedented although it presumably is decidedly unusual among passengers who are, as were the man and woman in mention, 81 and 79, respectively.

And that begins our quarterly check of the mailbag, snail and cyber, to include a text message or three. Always there’s a mix of complaints and compliments and proposed corrections. And simple observations and opinions, sharp or subdued. Take, as examples, the several communiques regarding former Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s presidential campaign. Essentially all declared the effort futile, and a few questioned the rationale behind it.

“Exactly what avenue does (Hutchinson) see in a (GOP presidential) primary calendar that Trump dominates in every state?” wondered William of Fort Smith, a “convert to the Republican Party” who “can’t stomach” the former president but who is “resigned” to seeing him at the top of the 2024 Republican ticket. There were, unsurprisingly, several pointed assertions that Hutchinson and others of his more moderate mindset were RINOs — Republicans in Name Only — and thus worthy of disdain unto contempt. “If Asa’s a conservative I’m from San Francisco,” said S.G. of El Dorado, which has never been confused with San Francisco. To Hutchinson’s announced goal of pulling his party toward the center, George of Rogers demanded to know “what the center ever did for us,” presumably meaning conservatives. C.C. of Fayetteville (it would appear) dismissed Hutchinson’s call for a return to civility by insisting that “all civility has got us is a $33 trillion national debt and a bunch of foreign wars that go bad.”

In lamenting the failure of her party to thus far embrace Hutchinson’s brand of Republicanism, “Deena of the Delta” acknowledged she was an outlier. Trump’s “stupid” trade wars had hurt Hutchinson’s economic development program, she wrote, and the inflation she sees on the shelves of the Walmart in Forrest City (“towels and toilet paper, everything we need”) didn’t begin with the Biden presidency.

Several correspondents took aim at the attempt, partially successful, by Hutchinson’s successor as governor to weaken the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). “I voted for her and so did everybody else around here that I know but we didn’t vote for this,” said J.C. of Fort Smith, who vowed to assist in the just-launched campaign to restore and also toughen the FOIA. Elevating it from statutory to constitutional standing, as its supporters advocate, would “protect it from all those (expletive deleted) who say they want to ‘strengthen’ the law when plain as day what they really want to do is gut it.”

“Where do I sign?” asks Richard of Jacksonville, referring to the FOIA petition campaign about to begin.

There were some kind words for the incumbent governor: Mark of Jonesboro, L.W. of Little Rock and Judy of Conway were delighted that Ms. Sanders, as one of them put it, “won’t make us and our kids walk around looking like we’re about to rob a liquor store.” If you hadn’t guessed, they were referring to the governor’s declaration that COVID masking mandates were a thing of the past. There were some comments in opposition to the governor’s stance, most of them caustic and a few unprintable.

Some readers were watching television as the kook wing of the House Republican conference ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy, whereupon it fell to Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas, serving as acting speaker, to formally declare the office vacant. If Womack’s dismay wasn’t evident on his face, and it very much was, his words in the hours that followed, condemnations of the House GOP rebels, did the trick.

“Maybe (Womack’s) finest hour,” emailed Bill of Springdale. The half-dozen other readers who sent their thoughts this way were of the same opinion.

Your thoughts always welcome here. Thanks, as always, for reading!