Monday, February 08, 2010 - 17:14:41
Place your weather bets and other commentary here.
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 17:08:55
Even as
President Obama pays an undeniable political cost for the mere fact of his race,
he's paying a cost with many blacks for not doing enough for blacks. Black members of Congress want programs tailored specifically for blacks; academics are looking for more leadership on race. It just isn't Obama's style, as this New York Times article explains in some detail.
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 16:46:11
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the constitutionality of Arkansas's lethal injection procedure. Here's the opinion.
It says that the injection protocol "does not subject inmates to a substantial risk of serious harm." Unless you count death, of course.
More seriously, the case summary says the court finds that the protocol, among others, "contains sufficient safeguards to ensure inmate is fully unconscious before pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride are administered. and any risk that the procedure will not work as designated is merely a risk of accident."
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 16:21:41
A soldier in Washington is accused of waterboarding his 4-year-old daughter for failure to know her ABCs.
Dick Cheney would call it an advanced enhanced educational technique.
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 14:51:43
The state Board of Education didn't let a little snow deter it today from important business.
It rejected -- there wasn't a single aye vote -- the proposal that the Weiner and Delight school districts, which are 200 miles apart, be allowed to consolidate administratively to avoid being combined with nearby school districts because both are below the 350-student minimum enrollment.
Weiner's a winner and Delight is delightful, but the proposal nonetheless made a mockery of the law. And it would have prompted a slew of copycats. Cross-state travel by district delegations to plan for the pitch to the state Board were for naught.
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 14:39:32
A temporary solution has been found to stop the flow of sewage from Marble Falls into a tributary of the Buffalo River. This news was reported Friday.
Today, U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln issued a news release taking credit. She's a real green, see.
Sewage has been flowing since January 2009. In November, the state Department of Environmental Quality said the residents better do something about it.
Continue Reading »
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 14:25:10
I must say the state House of Representatives has made great communications strides with on-line broadcasts of the House sessions and select committee meetings (today, the brief Rules Committee). New staffer Amanda Manatt is busy ginning out news releases, too. A sample for your perusal and comment:
Continue Reading »
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 14:02:27
So help me.
Normally we go to press Tuesday. We're trying to move the paper out one day early -- today -- for fear of worse road conditions tomorrow. At some point this afternoon, we're going to have to get our crew home to points west in Little Rock -- Hillcrest, Pine Valley, Hall High, etc. We have four-wheel drive.
What's the outlook?
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 13:19:15
The snow apparently lent some urgency to the opening day of the legislature's first budget session. Gov. Beebe spoke briefly and, according to Rep. Steve Harrelson, emphasized concerns about Medicaid expenses.
Harrelson also said the great hubbub about raising campaign cash during the session was to be settled by the Rules Committee with a clarification that a rule against contributions during sessions applied regardless of the office being sought by a legislator.
You'll remember that some, including House Speaker Robbie Wills, who's running for Congress, had said the rule only prohibited contributions to state House campaigns. Republicans, none facing May primary challenges, made hay out of this, forcing Wills to forego contributions during the session. Now the rule will be clear. For the House. The Senate has no rule. The senators can raise money or not as they choose and some choose, including Sen. Joyce Elliott, also a Democratic congressional candidate.
Chairman Robert Moore of the Rules Committee said he'd polled members and they agreed that the rule says "exactly what it says" -- it's a violation to accept a campaign contribution during a session regardless of the office sought. There was no discussion. On a motion by Rep. Greg Reep, the committee endorsed that interpretation without dissent.
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 12:01:40
-- Brian Chilson photo
About the snow. It seems to be at variance with the forecast, doesn't it?
Anyway.
There's a CAT bus stuck at this minute, 12:01 p.m., on Third Street, unable to make the hill eastbound from Victory Street (Cotham's). You have been warned.
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 11:51:43
Republican Rep. Paul Ryan is touted as one of the party's great thinkers. You betcha he is. And boy does he have a budget plan.
He would cut Social Security and Medicare and privatize them, bringing the wonders of private insurance to one of the most successful retirement/health care programs in the world.
Yes, please, let's let everyone in Congress have a vote on this. Soon.
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 06:50:22
The New York Times reports that Sen. Blanche Lincoln will soon introduce federal legislation to ban candy and sugared soft drinks from school vending machines to combat childhood obesity.
Kids won't like it. School officials who dote on the revenue won't like it. Article says Republican support is uncertain.
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 06:36:52
Republican Steve Womack will delay his planned announcement for Third District today on account of the snow .... Democrat John Adams has started a Facebook page for a Second District candidacy ... Democrat Tim Wooldridge has filed federal paperwork for his First District candidacy. ... Democrat David Whitaker, who announced for Third District weeks ago, sneers at Womack's entry into the race after incumbent Rep. John Boozman's decision to run for Senate:
“It’s not too surprising to see such sudden interest now that the incumbent has left the race. I think we can expect any number of other ambitious career politicians to jump at the chance with the seat being open. It’s just a shame these folks lacked the courage to step forward earlier. If they really cared about the future of the district, you’d think we would have heard from them before now.”
UPDATE: An official announcement by John Adams, who's an assistant attorney general, is on the jump.
UPDATE II: As we indicated earlier, Asa Hutchinson won't make the 3rd District race, an acceptable Republican having surfaced to succeed Boozman.
Continue Reading »
Monday, February 08, 2010 - 06:33:17
I thought the snow was coming tonight.
Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 16:42:36
Talk about "Lanterns on the Levee." The old South Louisiana custom of building massive bonfires on levees at Christmas time and for other occasions is in vogue for tonight's game. I hope they light this one and many others like it in victory, not as funeral pyres. (CORRECTION: I found out this picture was mislabeled. It is a tribute to the Saints -- by the Gramercy fire department -- but it was burned Christmas Eve.)
Meanwhile, I'm off to watch. The line is open. (The spirit possessed churchgoers this morning, too.)
Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 16:13:04
Roby Brock updates the Democratic race to succeed
U.S. Rep. Marion Berry. Rep.
Keith Ingram is out. Sen.
Steve Bryles may be in, along with former legislator
Tim Wooldridge and
Chad Causey (Berry's former chief of staff). Republicans have a three-way so far -- Rick Crawford, Johnny Key and Princella Smith.
Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 12:21:14
Sarah Palin says she'd consider a run for president in 2012.
Question: Will she 1) still make fun of people using teleprompters as she did in her earlier speech in reference to Obama; 2) use a telepromter herself, or 3) continue to use her hand as a cheat sheet?
Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 12:13:33
Mass casualties reported in the explosion of a power plant under construction in Connecticut. (It's a gas-fired plant.)
Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 07:53:51
Frank Rich thinks the noise has been noticeably muted to military leadership's endorsement of the end of discrimination against gay people in the service. He takes heart. He says polls show the majority of American people are comfortable with the switch, critical independents moreso than Republicans.
I need not be reminded that the homophobia of the majority of Arkansas members of Congress and their would-be successors -- or at least their terror at being revealed as supporters of equal rights -- remains too fully on display. I can hope Rich is right, but the New Yorker is undoubtedly ahead of the Arkansas curve. (A story is coming about unbridled evil at work on this issue by a Republican member of the Arkansas legislature rousing opposition to accepting money for a program aimed at stemming AIDS on account of sexual politics.) Writes Rich:
A Scott Brown Republican isn’t a Boehner or Hatch Republican. In his interview with Barbara Walters last weekend, he distanced himself from Sarah Palin, said he was undecided on “don’t ask” and declared same-sex marriage a “settled” issue in his state, Massachusetts, where it is legal.
It’s in this political context that we can see that there may have been some method to Obama’s troublesome tardiness on gay issues after all. But as we learned about this White House and the Democratic Congress in the health care debacle, they are perfectly capable of dropping the ball at any moment. Let’s hope they don’t this time. Should they actually press forward on “don’t ask” in an election year with Mullen and Gates on board — and with even McCain’s buddy, Joe Lieberman, calling for action “as soon as possible” — they could further the goal and raise the political price for those who stand in the way. Recalcitrant Congressional Republicans will have to explain why their perennial knee-jerk deference to “whatever the commanders want” extends to Gen. David Petraeus and Gen. Stanley McChrystal on troop surges but not to Mullen, who outranks them, on civil rights.
The more bigotry pushed out of the closet for all voters to see, the more likely it is that Americans will be moved to grant overdue full citizenship to gay Americans.
Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 07:29:22
Our cover story this week by Mara Leveritt was about "Peace by Piece," a conference on a contemporary interpretation of Christian love originally scheduled at Harding University, but moved off-campus over some doctrinal issues at the college. To oversimplify, it's about building community, serving the needy and working for justice.
The conference concludes Sunday. I note that it's the subject of a growing string of commentary on Twitter #pbpc. If you liked the story, you'll be interested in the comments.
Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 07:20:26
Seth Blomeley's preview in the Democrat-Gazette (sub. reqd.) of the next week's legislative session mentioned the exploding Medicaid budget and the likelihood of cuts in coming years.
No kidding. I think it may be the next big story about tough times and state government, sooner rather than later.
A caller here late Friday said Medicaid contractors had been told in meetings last week that the state was facing $100 million in cuts to its contribution to Medicaid in fiscal 2011, which begins July 1. That means a $400 million cut overall, counting the roughly 3-1 federal match.
I got a brief e-mail response Saturday from Julie Munsell of the Department of Human Services to my inquiry about this. She said:
It's what's needed to keep FY11 spending level with FY10. The Medicaid director met with providers last week to solicit input on where they thought this size of a reduction should occur. He asked that they give feedback by March 1.
And why do you need budget cuts to keep spending "level"?
In addition to seeing more eligible Arkansans, medical expenses grow about 6-8 percent per year. So puting in no growth to the budget actually requires some cost containment measures.
This is a complicated topic in need of much more explanation, but I thought I'd reveal at least a tip of the proverbial looming iceberg.
Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 07:12:43
It takes some brass for a U.S. Senate candidate -- John Boozman -- to talk about the "costly" Democratic agenda after the profligate spending and tax cuts for the rich supported by Rep. Boozman under eight years of Bushonomics that got us in this mess.
Boozman also waved the ever-popular Repubican alarum against "European-style democracies." Yes, health care for all, wonderful mass transit, cradle-to-grave support of families, higher education achievement and all is terrible stuff. Just terrible.
Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 17:41:33
Commence firing.
Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 12:49:29
John Boozman formally announced his entry into the U.S. Senate race this morning. We may have some film on that later. His entry narrowed the Republican field. Another one of the lesser lights, Buddy Rogers, dropped out because he said the field now has a candidate with sufficient experience, etc.
The expected news naturally opens up the race for Third District Congress to replace Boozman. Democrat David Whitaker issued a statement saying the time is now right to end "business as usual" in Washington. A friend of Cecile Bledsoe, the Rogers state senator, said the Republican's announcement will come next weekend. Rogers Mayor Steve Womack, also a Republican and famous as the king of corporate welfare handouts and banging on immigrants, will get into the race Monday.
For a touch of irony, Republican Sen. Gilbert Baker, a candidate for U.S. Senate, welcomes Boozman's entry to his race with the same catch phrase Whitaker used to bid farewell to Boozman -- Baker vows to fight "Washington as usual" politics. In case you missed the point, Boozman has been in the big fat middle of accelerating deficits and partisan gridlock. Republican Curtis Coleman also says somebody from Washington isn't the place to look for "new ideas and solutions."
Boozman, by the way, said he didn't like what was happening in D.C. either, at least so far as the "Obama-Pelosi-Reid" agenda were concerned. But he DOES like agri subsidies, to judge by his newly announced campaign official Stanley Reed, Jim Lindsey's man in the Delta and himself a Senate candidate once for a few days.
Baker's new "no more bailouts" ad is, of course, a direct shot at Boozman. Lincoln response on jump.
Continue Reading »
Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 07:52:47
You do scroll on down the page regularly for Lindsey Millar's Rock Candy blog reports on music, movies and more don't you? Sure you do.
But just in case ...
He broke some news yesterday. Riverfest this year will essentially abandon its bicoastal format. All major, admission fee-required entertainment will be on the Little Rock side of the river. A hot air balloon race, a 5K run and a free stage with inspirational music will still find a home in North Little Rock. And fireworks watching on that side of the river will be free.
Thoughts?
Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 07:42:59
And still speaking of Blanche Lincoln:
Her name has been taken in vain at the Tea Party convention in Nashville (an event some have depicted as a moneymaking gimnick for the organizer):
Organizers of the convention announced on Friday that they were forming a political action committee to raise money and provide political consulting and campaign management for Tea Party-approved candidates. The PAC, an offshoot of a newly incorporated 501c4 called Ensuring Liberty, will seek to raise $10 million this year to spend in races in the 2010 Congressional elections.
To start, it will back conservative challengers in five races in the South. In the most highly visible, organizers want to run a candidate against Senator Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat who has been under fire for her votes on health care legislation. In the coming weeks, organizers said they would identify another 15 or so races for Tea Party-backed challengers.
This could end up meaning nothing. Or a lot. It also raises questions. Do the teabaggers identify a candidate during the Republican primary and become a force on the nominee selection? Or will they merely be a Republican Party adjunct to support whoever gets the nomination? I can think of nine or so people who'd like to know.
Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 07:31:31
Since the John Brummett column raises the issue of the state of the Blanche Lincoln campaign, it's a good time for an interesting report from Paul Barton in Washington.
Barton analyzes Lincoln's low poll numbers, particularly criticism of poll results produced by firms relying on robocalling. He also finds analysts who say it is too early to write off her re-election chances. As for Brummett's point about media spending, the Lincoln campaign was unwilling to talk about a specific question on the point. It all follows:
Continue Reading »
Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 07:19:40
John Brummett thinks it's time for Sen. Blanche Lincoln to spend some money on TV, but maybe past time for soft-focus biographical stuff. Instead, it's time to begin reversing the message of all the negative ads directed at her.
And that message needs to be that she’s been in Washington fighting for common-sense Arkansas values against all that partisan nonsense in Washington that the people so resent.
Friday, February 05, 2010 - 17:07:10
Readers take over.
Friday, February 05, 2010 - 16:24:17
Michael Steele's comment at UALR last night that $1 million isn't a lot of money is drawing some national attention.