Sanders on Beebe---For Once, I Have to Disagree

David Sanders' latest column leads me to disagree with him for the first time in a while.

Entitled "Beebe Shootin' Straight", it covers 3 issues on which David contends Beebe hasn't tried to ride the fence. The problem isn't that Beebe rides the fence on all issues, just on the controversial issues.

The 3 issues David covers are the grocery tax, the severance tax, and illegal immigration. What he says is that on these issues Beebe took or has taken clear positions. I'll take them one at a time. In all of the issues, he takes a position which is easy to take, because his position is either popular or not as controversial or his position doesn't really affect policy.

The grocery tax: it's true that he took a clear position on it, but his position was a gimme because cutting the grocery tax is something everyone could get behind. We had a surplus, so it wasn't like libs in the Ledge could trot in poor, single mothers whose program would be cut. On the contrary, it helped poor, single mothers and rich, married mothers, pretty much everybody who buys groceries, which is pretty much everybody. It's the first tax cut in history where I didn't have to argue with the readers of the Arkansas Times blog. That should tell you something.

The severance tax: I have spoken with many friend about this lately who think this is an easy position for Beebe, too, because how many of you own or know somebody who owns a shale oil lease or mineral rights on land with natural gas? Probably not many of you. One of my friends called it the divide and conquer method of taxation. They come for us one at a time. Notice that when a tax is cut it affects us all, which maximizes the political gain for Beebe, but when one is raised it, quite by design, affects a small, "wealthy" group that almost nobody knows, which minimizes the political loss for Beebe. And it's a group with no lobby, or at least a very limited lobby, at the Capitol, since shale oil and natural gas have only recently become profitable enough ventures in Arkansas. This is a highly sophisticated issue where the only people other than the land owners and the drillers who oppose it will be fiscal conservatives who are paying attention, like me, and that's not very many people.

Illegal immigration: If you read what Beebe said, he actually didn't say anything that will affect a change in policy. In fact, he said the opposite. So, on one hand, Beebe gave lip service to what the average Arkansan thinks, while, on the other, he stated that he's not going to do anything about it. The governor was pretty clever with this one. He said, "what are we doing on the state level? Absolutely nothing, because it would violate federal law, or at least it would open the state up to paying monies that we could never afford with regard to illegal immigrants." Then he threw us some red meat by saying, "if it is illegal, it means it's illegal." He essentially advocates the same fallacious legal argument that the "Arkansas Friendship Coalition" propogates.

In all three cases, the positions he has taken were pretty easy. His risk profile is very low on all three. The grocery tax was something everybody benefits from, while the severance tax increase is something that only affects some obscure group of greedy oil barons (In actuality, it mostly affects people who have owned relatively valueless land for generations, but most people don't own more than a quarter acre with no mineral rights, so who cares, right?) . His position on illegal aliens is perhaps his most tortured, but it doesn't affect existing policy while telling us what we want to hear. Of all the issues the immigration issue will prove the hardest position to maintain, but it's his best possible position because he gets to look like he cares while telling us that he can't do anything about it. I wouldn't be surprised if the "Arkansas Friendship Coalition" wasn't organized for that exact purpose, to give cover for politicians who don't have the guts to take a position one way or another. Blame it on their stupid, fallacious legal argument that, 'hey, I'd like to do something, but I just can't, legally."

Watch and see.

On all of these issues, Governor Beebe has calculated for himself the best possible position, with the least downside. So, as much as I hate to disagree with you, David, he has actually proven himself to be more risk-averse and not less. Please keep in mind that David Sanders is probably the best political columnist in the state. I just happen to disagree with him, today.

Here's the link to Sanders' column.

Huckabee's Willie Horton---The Ghost of Wayne Dumond

Huckabee strongly advocated the release of convicted rapist, Wayne Dumond. His involvement is vast and well-documented. Now he's trying to blame the parole board.

“I signed the [parole] papers because the governor wanted Dumond paroled. I was thinking the governor was working for the best interests of the state.”—Ermer Pondexter, ex-member of the board of pardons and paroles

This from a special in the Arkansas Times from 2005.

The story goes on to document that the parole board at first denied parole to Dumond after Huckabee had made overtures that he wanted Dumond to be paroled. The vote of 4-1 came on August 29, 1996.

On September 20, 1996, Huckabee, who now blames the parole board and claims no responsibility, "announced his intention to commute Wayne Dumond’s sentence to time served."

Huckabee waited until 4 days before his period for consideration of Dumond's clemency was to expire. On that day, the parole board did something unprecedented. Responding to pressure from the governor's office, they held a vote on Dumond's case nearly 7 months before his next parole hearing should have been. This time they voted in favor of parole.

So now Huckabee is blaming the parole board, as if he had no involvement. He sounds like Sergeant Schultz from Hogan's Heroes---"I know nuthink. I see nuthink..."

This is the same thing he's trying to do with the 1999 Highway Tax---blame it on someone else. We should just ignore the fact that it was his idea.

Huckabee denied Dumond a pardon, fearing a public backlash, in the exact same manner that he avoided pushing a tax increase that he would have to sign in favor of pushing it in a ballot initiative, so that the people of Arkansas would be responsible, not the governor who wanted the tax increase to begin with.

To drive the point home that it doesn't matter whether Dumond's parole was due to Huckabee or not, he wanted Dumond released. The following is a portion of a letter by Huckabee to Dumond denying his request for a pardon. Note that Huckabee clearly states that he wants Dumond set free.

“Dear Wayne,” Huckabee wrote, “I have reviewed your applications for executive clemency, specifically a commutation and/or pardon. ... My desire is that you be released from prison. I feel now that parole is the best way for your reintegration into society. ... Therefore, after careful consideration ... I have denied your applications.”

Huckabee stated the following in a statement released after Dumond's parole. He emphasized that he was glad that Dumond had been released.

"I concur with the board’s action and hope the lives of all those involved can move forward. The action of the board accomplishes what I sought to do in considering an earlier request for commutation ...In light of the action of the board, my original intent to commute the sentence to time served is no longer relevant."

One thing is for sure. If Dumond hadn't had the support of the governor, he wouldn't have had a special parole hearing only 5 months after his last vote. It would have been 7 months later at the earliest, as is standard procedure for the parole board.

Here's the link to the new AP story about Huck trying to distance himself from Dumond.

Here's the link to the Arkansas Times story. Some of the text is covered by ads because of a format change.

I Almost Forgot, Happy Halloween

Here's a scary thought.

PRESIDENT HILLARY CLINTON!!!

We have one year and four days to keep that from happening.

Stretched Too Thin?

Came across this interesting article from Rob Moritz at Arkansas News the other day.

It looks at all the projects Family Council is taking on. The question is whether they can handle all of it. Frankly, having seen them operate and knowing them for years, I thinks it's kind of a funny question. Like some other grassroots conservative organizations, they seem to thrive on a shoe string operation.

Here's the link.

Another Hillyer Response

Here's another response by Quin Hillyer to Huckabee, written since Fund's column. Sorry this is coming so late, but it's well worth reading.

Here's the link.

Pardoned, On and Off Ex-Con Archie Schaffer Leads Motley "Arkansas Friendship Coalition" to Save Illegal Aliens with ACLU and Big Business at His Side

Speaking of illegal aliens.

Andrew DeMillo accurately describes the motley gang that makes up the "Arkansas Friendship Coalition" (AFC) as an "unlikely alliance". That's putting it very mildly. The group includes Stephens, Inc., Alltel, Tyson, the ACLU, Judge Wendell Griffen, and various churches.
Their purpose?

To oppose any effort to deal with the illegal alien problem in Arkansas.

They are falsely claiming that only Congress can deal with illegal aliens, as if giving welfare to illegal aliens has anything to do with literal immigration policy. This is a tired gambit used by the Rita Sklar, regularly.

The problem with this ploy is, at least, two-fold. First, it's a deliberate attempt to confuse people into thinking they can't do anything, even though there has never been a successful case against a state for making such policy. Second, it is completely fallacious. As I stated earlier, denying taxpayer funded benefits to illegal aliens does not amount to literal immigration policy, which is the purview of Congress, such as establishing limits on and qualifications for legal entry into the country.

The group has already admitted that their opposition extends to the use of the state police, trained by ICE, to help enforce federal interdiction of illegal aliens, which by the AFC's own definition is an activity authorized by the United States Congress.

This just further illustrates the disengenuous nature of this gang. They drape themselves in a psuedo-legal argument, when their true intention is simply to keep the people of Arkansas from doing anything about this epidemic of illegal aliens.

It's obvious what the motivations of most of parties are. Tyson, obviously, employs a large number of Mexicans, many of whom, it is alleged, are illegal aliens. Stephens, no doubt, has significant investments to consider, in companies that depend on a cheap labor force. Alltel is somewhat of a mystery. As I asked yesterday, if these big businesses are so interested in a cheap labor force, why don't they foot the bill for all the benefits they want us to pay for?

As for the ACLU, Griffen, and the gaggle of churches, which includes the usual suspects of do-gooder, liberal churches, are motivated by typical liberal gobbledegook. The Catholic churches serve the Mexican community and are probably the only party in the fold motivated by purely altruistic, if misguided, motives.

The AFC gang is led by Tyson Exec. and nephew of Dale Bumpers Archie Schaffer. Pardoned by Bill Clinton after being convicted for attempting to bribe Clinton Sec. of Agriculture Mike Espy, Schaffer's conviction was subsequently overturned, a literally unprecedented occurrence. Schaffer's uncle, Dale Bumpers, raised money for Clinton's library, which might be called a conflict of interest, but Clinton's associates have always been thick as theives.

This is a bad, bad development for Arkansas. Like any group which has to name itself something so ridiculous, this gang is very dangerous to the interests of the Arkansas taxpayer.

Here's the link to DeMillo's story for the AP.
Here's the link to Doug Thompson's story from the Arkansas News Bureau.
Here's the link to Max's sycophantic review.

P.S. I highly recommend the AP and Arkansas News stories because it appears that we have legislator with some guts who's sticking up for us.

UPDATE: Scoop---Fund Column Fallout---Huck Called Hagan After Fund Column

QUESTION: Since Mike Huckabee called Betsy Hagan on Friday to try to smooth things over with her, why didn't he do that years ago when he didn't need her?

ANSWER: He didn't do that precisely because he only cares about making things right with people when he needs their help.

---

As far as I know, I am the first to bring this to you.

I have it on good authority from several sources that Mike Huckabee personally called Betsy Hagan of Eagle Forum of Arkansas on Friday. The call lasted about an hour. Huckabee was apparently trying to smooth over relations with Eagle Forum, which have been strained for years as a result of his liberal governance. Perhaps it was an attempt to charm Hagan into changing her tune, but I'm told that, though the call was cordial, she saw no reason to do anything other than tell the truth about his record.

I don't have any word on whether he called Randy Minton. The two have never had good relations, given Minton's staunch opposition to Huckabee's liberal agenda.

The Huckabee campaign has been in damage control mode ever since the Fund column hit on Friday. It couldn't have come at a worse time. The latest polls were just showing him entering range of the top tier candidates, when columns from Fund, Quin Hillyer, and David Sanders broadsided him.

A minister should know this...be sure your sins will find you out. It was just a matter of time before Huckabee's liberal record would come to haunt him. Like Banquo's ghost, Mike can expect his record to follow him around until Republican primary voters the country over know that there's more to Mike Huckabee than the smooth talking charmer they see on TV.

Also, there are some interesting comments on Lucas Roebuck's "rebuttal" post, if you care to wade through the muck. Here's the link.

Robert Goulet: 1933-2007

Hi, Guy, indeed. Now, it's goodbye, Guy.

I just saw that crooner Robert Goulet passed away, today, at the age of 73.

I leave you with this prehumous tribute from Will Ferrell. Here's the link.

Returning the Favor

Just wanted to say thanks for the recommendation, Steve, and return the favor.

"Rep. Bubba Powers responds to rumors that SWEPCO paid him to attend PSC hearings. Also, if you're looking for another site to frequent, try Arkansas Journal."

That was from Steve Harrelson's clearinghouse of a blog, UndertheDome.com, which is a great source for almost everything that's newsworthy in Arkansas. He also has much better graphics than I do.

Here's the link.

How Appropriate: Clooney to Play Blue Helmet Version of GI Joe

It's very appropriate that a guy who only wants us to fight wars where we have no national interest is slated to play Duke in the new GI Joe movie, where the Joes are no longer Real American Heroes, but blue helmet wearing, UN-type commie punks.

Here's the link.

More Thoughts on Hillyer on Huck

Quin Hillyer, formerly of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, had an excellent article in the American Spectator earlier this week chronicling Huckabee's missteps and foibles, such as his run-ins with the state Ethics Commission and use of taxpayer money to buy food for personal use. Being reminded of that gem brings a smile to my face. At one point one of his sons, John Mark or David, obviously, was asked by a reporter about a receipt from Taco Bell for $7 (I think) that had been listed as a Governor's Mansion expense, to which he responded, "there's not a Huckabee alive who could eat at Taco Bell for $7.

Here's Hillyer's original article, again.

Here's a typical Huckabee apologist response, which, I note, much like Roebuck's, cries foul about inaccuracies and then proceeds to change the subject rather than address the inaccuracies. The response is from Huckabee's campaign manager, Chip Saltsman.

Some of the best stuff includes his contention that Huckabee turned down "2/3" of all pardon requests, which means that he approved 1/3! 1/3, can you believe that? Talk about a lack of faith in Arkansas' criminal justice system. If he had said something like Huckabee turned down 1/20 of all pardon requests, and it had been true, that would have been something, but I wouldn't have even brought it up if he approved 1/3.

Saltsman also complains that Huckabee couldn't cut spending except in the 10% area that wasn't important. Well...why didn't he? As for the notion that he couldn't cut other spending, that's a joke. I've seen how our state government functions and it's worse than a sausage factory. It's just like any other bureaucracy. Profits are not a good thing, because that means you're going to get your budget cut. So, naturally, department heads spent everything they had and then asked for a budget increase. All except for one, Bruce Campbell, who was head of Rural Services. Campbell, somehow, was able to turn in budget requests less than previous years and spend less money. How could that be? Because he ran his department like a business and was more interested in doing the right thing than getting a budget increase. Campbell, you might have guessed, was not a Clinton holdover and wasn't asked to stay on by our new democrat governor.

As for gifts...I don't know if he ever accepted any "illegal" gifts, but it's a fact that he tried to keep furniture donated to the Governor's Mansion, that they opened a "wedding registry" decades after they were married to stock their new house, and that he received thousands and thousands of dollars in gifts from various people, most notably Little Rock's own Jennings Osborne, who kept Huckabee in high style for years. Whether any of those publicly known gifts were illegal doesn't really matter. There's no difference between that and handing him piles of unmarked, non-sequential bills. Just because Arkansas's ethics requirements aren't higher doesn't mean that it isn't wrong.

Here's the link to the Saltsman response and, even better, Hillyer's response to the response. There's lots of fun stuff to dig through.

Beebe on Illegal Aliens

Gov. Mike Beebe last week spoke to students at UCA, stating, "if it is illegal, it means illegal," in reference to illegal aliens. Apparently, he opposes paying for scholarships and giving illegal aliens in state tuition. That sounds good.

Now it's time to pursue that further and see how far he's willing to go. I'd bet that this is a calculated position. Since no Republican is going to force his hand on that issue since it's already illegal in Arkansas he doesn't have to do anything about that anyway. But when it comes to things we might try to make illegal, that's when the rubber meets the road. I'm really interested to see what he'll do when he is presented with legislation to make it illegal to give all other state benefits to illegal aliens. If previous reaction is any indicator, he'll be on the wrong side of that exchange.

The governor has a very tortured position on many things. To maintain his image as a moderate, he has to give lip service to some things and take positions on others. But he'd much rather avoid taking a position at all any controversial position. This is his greatest weakness. It's the greatest weakness of anyone who is moderate by design. If we are ever to succeed against democrats who triangulate, we have to force the debate on pivotal issues.

Here's a link to the AP article about the governor's comments.

The Problem with Diplomacy

First of all, the President has been doing a diplomatic full court press for the last several years with North Korea and Iran. Look where that's gotten us, about as far as the UN got with Saddam. If they don't know that we're serious, they don't have any reason to negotiate.

The worst thing about the aggrandizement of diplomacy by liberals is that they're such miserable failures at it. Think about it. If diplomacy is the solution to international terrorism and murderous dictators, with whom the average American, including liberals, has almost nothing in common, then why doesn't it work with conservative Americans, with whom liberals have a lot more in common?

Honestly, how can they expect people who want to kill us to be reasoned with if they can't persuade conservatives and all we want is lower taxes (and a few other things)? They talk about diplomacy like they are God's gift to persuasion. Heaven help us that so many people buy the stupidity these people are selling.

The Many Faces of Mike Huckabee

I see that our former governor is being shown for who he really is. This time it's in the American Spectator where the Huckster's true nature is outed.

I don't know how I missed this one, too. But the DemGaz apparently did an analysis of Huckabee's tax record and concluded with the following, Mike Huckabee left Arkansas with a "net tax increase of $505 million, a figure adjusted for inflation and economic growth, according to the [Arkansas] Department of Finance and Administration."

That from a story in the Washington Times that Max was kind enough to link to. It also quotes Randy Minton, who is quickly becoming a home town foe for Huckabee on the national scene.

Here's the link to the Spectator story and the link to the Washington Times story.

And here's another link to Brantley who links to a story in the US News and World Report.

Karen Ray Winning Republican Races---UPDATE

UPDATE:
More information about Karen Ray's foray into Louisiana politics: Ray had, apparently, called a meeting of state Republican leaders and missed it to go to Louisiana. Word is that she upset a number of these leaders by not showing up to her own meeting.
---
Unfortunately, it was in Louisiana. Our own Karen Ray was recently in Louisiana helping Governor-elect Bobby Jindal campaign.

I'm glad he won, but I hope she's working as hard for us.

Big Business Loves Illegal Aliens

Tyson, Alltel, and Stephens, Inc. have formed an alliance with churches and the ACLU. They announced, today, that they will oppose any legislative efforts that target illegal aliens. I can only assume that this includes efforts to limit taxpayer funded benefits for illegal aliens.

I have an idea...if these big businesses like giveaways for illegal aliens, maybe they would like to foot the bill.

There were apparently press conferences in Little Rock and Springdale. Tyson executive Archie Shaffer held the press conference at the Springdale Chamber of Commerce.

Is this the same Archie Shaffer who was sentenced to a year in federal prison for attempting to use illegal means to influence Clinton Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy?

More to come on this one, folks. You can bet these businesses are in this for themselves, not out of concern for poor illegal aliens. Tyson? Seriously? We all know that Tyson depends on a cheap labor supply. Why would they be worried about illegal aliens if none worked for them?

In the meantime, here's the link to the AP story.

Speaking of Marines

They've been kicking so much butt in Iraq, they're running out of butts to kick.

Here's some very encouraging news from Anbar. It makes me so proud to be an American to read about the fine job our Marines Corps is doing, and the rest of our Armed Forces, as well.

If this was World War II, we'd see a hundred movies about it, but the American fighting man isn't good enough for Hollywood anymore. They don't want to make movies about us winning.

Here's the link.

"Assassination" of Huckabee? Is that Really a Fair Word for an Accurate Criticism?

I know I mentioned this the other day, but is the use of the word "assassin- ation" by Lucas Roebuck in regard to John Fund's column criticizing Mike Huckabee's fiscal record really appropriate? Kennedy was assassinated. Lincoln was assassinated... But a calmly written, factual column an assassination?

Having read John Fund's column for Opinion Journal, and much of his other work, I have to say "assassination" is a highly inflammatory and ludicrously inaccurate description.

Having read some of Lucas Roebuck's other work, I'd also have to say it's a little out of character.

So what motivated such a poor choice of words?

Fund's column certainly wasn't a character assassination. He was very even handed with Huckabee, pointing out that he is socially conservative, a fact with which Roebuck chooses to argue as if Fund had said otherwise. Fund merely reported what a lot of us in Arkansas, who have known Huckabee for a long time, could have told you.

Huckabee is a populist/liberal on most fiscal issues. He ran the state a lot like Bill Clinton did. It's remarkable to talk to current legislators who marvel that our new democrat governor has behaved more like a conservative in the short time he's been in office than Huckabee did. Governor Beebe cut the grocery tax in half straight out of the gate, something Huckabee had vociferously declined to do for years.

That leads to my next point. Roebuck harps on the necessity of raising taxes in response to the Lakeview decision but then notes that Huckabee left office with a billion dollar surplus (actually about $800 million, but who's counting?). Seeing that surplus, did Huckabee ask the legislature to cut taxes? Nope. He offered no sign that he was interested in giving the people of Arkansas a budget increase, only the government.

Apology Needed

Back to the use of "assassination", I'd appreciate it if Roebuck would retract that and apologize to Mr. Fund. That was bush league, Lucas. You're better than that.

While you're at it, you might also admit that Fund's treatment of Huckabee, though not to your liking, was based on facts. It's one thing to say what Fund said may be true, but Huckabee did thus and so, but your response purports to address his column and then just changes the subject. I'll be surprised if you do the latter, but the former is more than a fair request.

Here's a link to Fund's column one more time and here's a link to Roebuck's "rebuttal".

Hillary a Hog Fan? Well She's Apparently Coming to the South Carolina Game

Let's see, Hillary's a Cubs fan, a Yankees fan... Why not a Hog fan, too?

If the rumors are true, Hillary will be attending the South Carolina game in Fayetteville this coming Saturday... I'm dying to see the reaction from the crowd if she does come. I have a feeling she won't like it.

No word yet on when her broom touches down.

Here's the link to the rumor on WooPig.net.

Sanders' Portends Huckabee's Ascendance, But Can Huckabee Survive His Record

David Sanders proves himself to be a prophet having presaged Mike Huckabee's rise to prominence all the way back in 2004. A lot of us have known or thought for a while that Huckabee had such grand ambitions, but few of us thought he could get very far.

His problem now is that having just barely reached the top tier his record is now coming to the fore. It's been a hard week for Huckabee. I'm not sure he can survive his record once people around the country get to know who he is based on his actions not based on his slick persona.

But follow the link to Sanders' column. It's remarkable to observe his prescience.

EXPELLED: Intelligent Design Goes to the Movies

Hosted by Ben Stein, this film promises to be a very interesting look into how evolutionists are trying to stifle debate about intelligent design.

You can check out the trailer and more interesting information on the link.

Problems with Roebuck's "Rebuttal"

First, he doesn't rebut, anything. He excuses a few things, but that doesn't amount to a rebuttal. With Festivus just around the corner, I would describe it more as an Airing of Grievances. I'm looking forward to the Feats of Strength.

Roebuck's post describes Fund's column as an "assassination" and then proceeds to do everything but address the column. It responds with a lengthy pretense of refutation which actually refutes nothing that Fund said. Roebuck vigorously defends Huckabee as a social conservative when, in reality, Fund admits that Huckabee is a social conservative.

Fund quotes Betsy Hagan, who gladly admits that Huckabee is pro-life and pro-2nd Amendment. Roebuck responds by ignoring what she and the others say, instead choosing to impugn their motives. Roebuck demostrates the shallow depth of his understanding of the differences between Huckabee and Eagle Forum and other conservatives in Arkansas. He was a tax and spend Republican who used intimidation and scorched earth as standard operating tactics to motivate and punish people who disagreed with him.

Now for a few of Roebuck's attempts to excuse Huckabee's fiscal record. In 1999, Huckabee led the charge for the highway tax. That's hardly the same as what Roebuck described as if Huckabee was an innocent bystander. He took an active role in raising the tax, a tax with no sunset provision, by the way. That's significant because it means that we'll get the usual budget treatment later on, with a shell game where the state will shift revenue and spending around later so we have to raise the tax more. If he had only wanted to fill the need then, he would have put a sunset provision in it to avoid this huge pitfall.

As for the Lakeview decision, he ignored advice in the mid '90s that would have prevented it. Mississippi and a number of other states foresaw the potential of this problem and preempted it. When Huckabee was advised of the danger of a Lakeview-type decision he ignored it. The solution, of course, was to amend the state constitution to say that the definition of an "adequate" education is a political matter to be determined by the legislature. That would have precluded the Lakeview decision and we never would have had to raise any taxes.

The fact of the matter, though, is that Huckabee, as a typical liberal, only saw a tax increase as the solution to a spending "need". A fiscal conservative would have said it's time to tighten the belt elsewhere in state government. Instead, he did what a tax and spend liberal does. He told the people of Arkansas to tighten our belts, because the state's budget is more important than the household budgets of average Arkansans.

Finally, for a post that complains about unfounded reasoning, I find it remarkable to describe Fund's column as an "assassination". I can't fathom the use of that word for the very even handed and conscientious column in question. Fund, pictured above, was very fair to Huckabee, but that doesn't mean that he shouldn't be allowed make a reasonable criticism. If anything was assassinated in all this, it was reason in Roebuck's pitiful "rebuttal".

Again, here's a link to Roebuck's ever expanding "rebuttal".

McCain on Hillary

This from the Washington Post:

"The Arizona senator's ad, which begins running tomorrow in New Hampshire, moves quickly to its real point: making fun of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for seeking $1 million for a Woodstock Concert museum in an appropriations bill on Capitol Hill.

" 'Now my friends, I wasn't there,' McCain says in the ad, which is produced using video from the last Republican debate. As the ad cuts to scenes of hippies at Woodstock, McCain says: 'I'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. I was, I was tied up at the time.' "

Now, admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of McCain's candidacy, but I'm a big admirer of his service to our country and this is one of the funniest things I've read in a while.

Here's the link.

Unconventional Wisdom---Elliott Running for Congress

I just caught Unconventional Wisdom. David Sanders had Sylvester Smith, State Director of the NFIB, and Sen. Hank Wilkins, D-Pine Bluff, on to talk about the black vote in Arkansas.

The discussion about the black vote was pretty interesting, but the most interesting thing was when Sanders played footage from a previous episode in which former State Rep. Joyce Elliott promised to run for Vic Snyder's seat when he decides to step down.

This led to Sen. Wilkins suggesting that he would run for Mike Ross's seat when he steps down.

Pitiful Rebuttal of Fund's Huckabee Column

Lucas Roebuck has a pitiful rebuttal of John Fund's column. He starts by arguing with something that Fund doesn't say.

"-- Huckabee’s social conservative track record is unrivaled by the GOP frontrunners"

Thanks, that's pretty much what Fund said, too. The rest is the most pitiful spinning I've seen in a long time. Yeah, Lucas, Huckabee is a fiscal conservative. How stupid of us.

Here's the link.

Karen Ray Winning Republican Races

Unfortunately, it was in Louisiana. Our own Karen Ray was recently in Louisiana helping Governor-elect Bobby Jindal campaign.

I'm glad he won, but I hope she's working as hard for us.

NEWSFLASH: Prominent Arkansas Conservatives Quoted in John Fund's Opinion Journal Column about Huckabee's Liberal Record

"He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party a shambles." That's from Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly in John Fund's latest Opinion Journal column. It's probably the most direct and accurate assessment of the aftermath of our former governor.

Fund also spoke with some prominent Arkansas conservatives who were happy to let the world know what a destructive force Huckabee was to conservatism in Arkansas.

Betsy Hagan, president of Eagle Forum of Arkansas, is quoted as saying, "He was pro-life and pro-gun, but otherwise a liberal. Just like Bill Clinton he will charm you, but don't be surprised if he takes a completely different turn in office."

Former Rep. Randy Minton is also quoted, citing Huckabee's demand that he break his no-tax pledge in 1999, an ironic demand from a presidential candidate who brags about making a no-tax pledge.

This is well worth the read, especially for the input from Arkansans. I know dozens and dozens of people who could go on for hours about their personal experiences with Huckabee's liberal record, but it's nice to see Huckabee's chickens coming home to roost in the national media.

Here's the link.

Originally Posted at: 12:43 a.m. 26 October, 2007

HR 3685---Look Out Scouts

...and business owners and private associations (such as the Scouts and churches). It would add sexual orientation to the list of things that constitute a protected class.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is just one of the many side effects of democrats controlling congress. Of course, the president will veto this if it passes. But it's imperative that we let our congressmen know that this is a terrible assault on free association.

The American Family Association has the scoop on the link.

Dream Act---More Like Nightmare Act---Lincoln and Pryor Do Their Alternating Position Routine

Amnesty is back again.

Sen. Harry Reid tried to bring it to the senate floor this week in the form of the so-called Dream Act.

This bill would allow illegal aliens who claim that they have been in the U.S. since before they were 16 years old to apply for permanent status (read-AMNESTY!!!) in the U.S. Worse yet, it would allow them to bring their "family" who aren't already here. I say "family" in quotes because there isn't a requirement to prove familial relationship other than possibly documents which illegals have proven themselves adept at counterfeiting.

It would also prohibit them from being deported, which isn't even true of immigrants who come to America legally.

The Dream Act lost a cloture vote, but it can be brought up at any time, without warning. I will try to keep y'all up to date about its status. In the meantime, read what the Heritage Foundation has to say about it and keep your eyes peeled for any news regarding it.

Here's the link.

Pryor and Lincoln's Alternating Position Routine

Oh, and I note that our esteemed senior senator, Blanch Lincoln, thinks this is a great idea, while our junior senator, Mark Pryor, is opposed with little comment. This is one more example of how these two take turns being on opposite sides of controversial issues. I bet this happens 90% of the time. They always look moderate because they take turns being conservative and liberal. You just watch. On almost every controversial issue, they will take opposite sides, alternating between conservative and liberal.

Here's a link to the AP story about the two.

Up to Date List of House Candidates

It's been a while since I mentioned this, so here it is. Steve Harrelson's got it for you on the link.

Lottery Shell Game

I've said this a hundred times. Lotteries that pay for education don't necessarily increase overall education spending, because it's all a shell game. Revenue shifting is a favorite tactic of politicians, bunco artists that they are. As I pointed out earlier, a lottery is just a tax on stupidity. Like any tax that will supposedly fund some much needed project, they almost always just free up the revenue that was previously paying for this necessary expenditure.

John Brummett's latest column does a pretty good job of explaining this shell game. Here's the link.

Karen Ray? Must Be a Bad Picture

I found this on a website called ZoomInfo.com, which purports to provide information about people on the internet. It describes Karen correctly as working as ED for the RPA and lists other biographical information correctly. This picture appears to be at our Capitol, but I don't think that's Karen Ray.

Here's the link.

This is the Democrat Base

Code Pink kooks assaulted Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice this week, waving hands red with paint, as if with blood, in her face. This is the base of the national democrat party. This is the group of kooks who are behind DailyK0(ok)s and MoveOn, to whom democrat leaders and presidential candidates are trying to appeal. What does it say about a party if this is their base?

The New York Post has the story. Here's the link, complete with a link to the video.

Huckabee Caught Huckstering

No word yet on where National Review editor Rich Lowry got his information, but I'm guessing some dummie or dummies at Huckabee's campaign thought it would make him look good if he claimed to write all his material. I guess they didn't consider that someone from back home might have something to say about it.

David Sanders' latest column addresses the claim pretty thoroughly. I'll be interested to see the Huckabee campaign's response, as well as what Lowry has to say about being Huckstered.

Here's the link.

Hillary Raises More Money from Poor Chinese

What is it about the Clintons that makes the Chinese government think that giving them money is a good idea? Well, they looked the other way when we let nuclear secrets go to North Korea. Bill Clinton actually gave the Chinese top secret technology to help with their space/missile programs...

Starting to see a pattern here?

Poor Chinese immigrants working as busboys, waiters, dish washers, and street vendors somehow have the money and also feel compelled to make thousand and two thousand dollar contributions to Hillary. It was just a few weeks ago that we learned about Norman Hsu, whose fundraising ability was reminiscent of James Riady and Charlie Trie.

The LA Times has the story about the remarkable number of poor Chinese who somehow come up with thousands of dollars to donate to Hillary's campaign. They don't draw the parallels with Bill's Chinese connection, but it's not hard to do.

Here's the link.

My 2 Dads Ballot Proposal Updated

After Attorney General McDaniel had already approved the language and title of the proposal to prohibit cohabitating, non-married couples from adopting or foster parenting, Family Council decided to rewrite and rename it. I hope it passes muster and that the changes were really that important.

Here's a link to the AP story.

I'm Sure It Has Nothing to Do with Population and Academics

"What's so great about Pulaski County that we're not getting out in the rest of the state?"

Well, aside from population and academics, nothing, I'm sure. That was the proper response to the above question from Rep. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, in regard to the fact that 36 out of 160 students at UAMS medical school are from Pulaski county, while the rest of the state is apparently "under-represented". I might also add that the largest number of doctors' children also reside in Pulaski county given that it is the hub of medicine in Arkansas.

Her biggest beef, however, is that there aren't enough minority students, which, I assume, she thinks is because of discrimination. She suggested that UAMS look into hiring more minorities.

According to the Arkansas News Bureau article, the 2nd congressional district generates nearly twice as many applicants as all but one of the other districts, which means that they are being discriminated against, since state law requires equal representation from the four congressional districts.

I'm not sure where, if anywhere, Rep. Flowers intends to go with this line of questioning. Hopefully, she doesn't intend to respond with more discrimination against kids who are actually prepared and want to attend UAMS.

Here's a link to the Arkansas News story.

Lottery Alternative...

Here's a thought. Instead of a lottery, why not just raise taxes on everybody (or just poor and stupid people?) and give away "free" college tuition to everybody and let one person in every few thousand get out of paying the tax to make it a fun game?

More News You Won't Read at the Arkansas Times

Violence in Iraq is down, again.

What a surprise, the greatest military in the world can win a war. Who knew?

Reuters has the story. Max doesn't. Wonder why...

Chuck Norris Endorses Huckabee

Hey, it worked for Century Action Jeans. I'm wearing mine now, in case I get in a street fight...

But really, as much as I love Chuck Norris, this is just one more person who doesn't know Mike Huckabee like we do. He's not the Lone Wolf McQuade or Cordell Walker Norris thinks he is.

I have, on occasion, enjoyed Norris' columns for World Net Daily, as much for the fact that he has a column as for what he says, which is often good, too. This one, I think, is a stretch, though, like a pair of Action Jeans. But, somehow, Norris makes it look so effortless.

Fact: Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries. I bet Huckabee could get him to do it.

Here's the link.

Socialized Healthcare is for the Dogs---British Pull Own Teeth

Thanks to long lines, some British have resorted to pulling their own teeth. I'm sure Michael Moore thinks that's wonderful, though. Somehow this idea makes Hillary a genius.

Here's the link.

Max Makes Some Sense on the Lottery

I have to give Max some credit. His post from yesterday about the lottery made a lot of sense. With the introduction of lottery "machines", there is little difference between a lottery and slot machines.

Personally, if we're going to have gambling in Arkansas, I'd much rather avoid the boondoggle of it being a socialized system which would socialize college tuition or some other doodad giveaway. I'd prefer to see private businesses running it over the government. But I'd rather not see it at all, if I really had my way.

Max makes a good point about how the state could just set up a casino and call all the games "lottery", since they want to call a slot machine a lottery. Why not, they built a resort on top of Mount Magazine. Can you imagine the uproar if a private developer had tried to build a resort on top of our tallest mountain? So they might as well socialize gambling, too.

Here's a link to Max's post.