Inchoate Lack of Logic on Smoking Ban

Let me get this straight, Asa is running for Governor based on both Property Rights and continuing the programs of Governor Huckabee. Governor Huckabee is calling a special session where his pet legislation is ordering private property owners to forbid people from smoking on their property. What happened to private property rights? Isn't a business owner allowed to set policy for the use of legal substances on his own property? Hey, you don't like smoke at a restaurant, DON'T GO THERE!

It really is about freedom, and this bill sets a terrible precedent. Someone, anyone, please give me a principled defense of this bill in light of Asa's commitment to private property rights.

School Consolidation: 144 Mile Bus Rides

45 Campuses Closed Since Administrative Consolidation Act 60 Passed
20 Of Those Campuses Are Elementary Campuses

Elaine Students Will Now Have 14-hour school days: 5:00 a.m. to 7:00-144 mile bus route

(click "Thursday" below and scroll down for story and list of campuses closed down, or if sent directy to this page just scroll down.)

Duggar to Run for State Senate

Doug Thompson gives us his report. Jim Bob has already filed for the Springdale-area senate seat.

Huckabee Pushes for Cave-In to Courts

In his push for a Special Session of Spending, Governor Huckabee made a series of statements that have me perplexed. Let's go down the list...

"I know several legislators are frustrated because they feel public education in Arkansas is funded adequately. I understand and share their frustration, but we cannot allow that frustration to limit our actions. We argued our position, we lost, and we must now take the bull by the horns and attempt to satisfy the Supreme Court. "

Excuse me, but wouldn't "taking the bull by the horns" mean standing up to the courts and helping the legislature reassert its traditional role of having the power of the purse strings? How does letting the courts set funding levels "take the bull by the horns"? It sounds more like letting go of the bull's horns so that the bull can gouge the taxpayers in their already sore derierre's.

(click "wednesday" below for rest of article, or if sent directly here just scroll down)

Banks Supports Amnesty for Illegal Aliens?

Trial Lawyer Chuck Banks, a candidate for the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor, answered some questions at a forum in Jonesboro yesterday. Like his opponent Senator Jim Holt, Banks opposes using taxpayer funds for college scholarships for illegal aliens. A third candidate in the race, state Rep. Doug Matayo, strongly supports taxpayer funded scholarships for persons who are here illegally. Holt and Banks differ on the issue of amnesty for illegal aliens. Here is the account:

Following are the exact words that Lt. Governor candidate Chuck Banks had to say recently when he spoke at a Republican meeting in answer to a question on illegal aliens.

Question: One of your Republican opponents, Senator Holt, strongly opposes scholarships for illegal aliens and your other opponent, Matayo, strongly supports it. Where do you stand on it?

(click "Wednesday" below for rest of article or if sent directly here just scroll down)

Lincoln, Pryor Back Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

In a move certain to increase the flow of illegal aliens across our border, our Arkansas senators announced their support for the amnesty bill now working its way through Washington. Although the measure does address border security, their is no assurance that the enforcement provisions of the bill will ever get done. I am outraged, but not surprised. They represent the big companies who want cheap labor, not us.

Article here...

Tom Formicola Enters Race Against Vic Snyder.

Maumelle businessman Tom Formicola has entered the race for Congress. Andy Mayberry has already announced. Who is the best person for this job? What will it take for them to unseat Snyder, the honest liberal who is honestly wrong?

I don't have time for commentary right now, but I thought I'd leave a place for you guys to place some.

Senate Divided on Special Session

Aaron Sadler wrote a piece about the proposed special session. It seems the Senate is very divided on it. Sadler contacted 28 senators. Here is a key quote, "Eighteen voters are required to pass most legislation in the Senate. On Monday, 15 senators said they opposed at least part of the education committees' package. Eight others supported the package, five said they were undecided and six others did not return telephone calls to their homes or offices seeking comment. One Senate seat is vacant following the recent death of Sen. Jerry Bookout, D-Jonesboro."

Got that? The majority contacted are against it. If we are lucky, they will stay that way.

Here is the other interesting aspect of the article. They quoted eight senators in an article on the fact that the Senate is split on having a special session and somehow managed to NOT QUOTE the most outspoken senate opponent of the special session, that being Senator Jim Holt of Springdale.

Did Holt just miss the calls or is this yet another issue where the liberal media knows that if they give Holt's position a fair hearing it will get traction with the people? Better to report around him, so that the liberal spending can continue! Inquiring minds want to know.

Memory Lane: Charlie Daniels and Nick Wilson Part II

This is part II on our series on the career of Secretary of State Charlie Daniels. His ties to disgraced former State Senator Nick Wilson were to lengthy to detail in only one column, so they are continued here.

Daniels, a Democrat, is running for re-election. He is opposed by Republican Jim LaGrone.

So let's talk about Wislon/Daniels history.....

For details on this story, click "Monday" below or if sent directly here just scroll down.

Holt Opposes "Special Session of Spending"

Senator Jim Holt of Springdale has come out against holding a special session April 3rd to spend at least $380,000,000 of the taxpayer's money. That amount is about equal to a 1 cent sales tax increase, and there is no assurance that even that amount would satisfy a runaway court.

Here is the excerpt from his newsletter.

"Hold onto your wallets. A prospective education special session to pour over three hundred million more of your tax dollars into the education machine has been proposed for April 3rd. The money is an attempt to placate the courts who have said that the schools are "grossly underfunded". It is doubtful if even that amount of money will satisfy the State Supreme Court, as the legislature's own study said there was an immediate need for $2.3 billion more dollars to meet the court's orders. We are grateful to Chief Justice Jim Hannah and Justice Jim Gunter for dissenting in this case. They correctly ruled that the courts were exceeding their authority. Let's pray for the other judges to come to understand their wisdom.

We must stop this special session in order to save our pocketbooks! A special session can only be put off if there is no "consensus" among legislators that your wallet should be emptied in an effort to please the judges. For the record, Jim is against spending the money, and is considering sponsoring a resolution taking this issue to the people. The case is good that the courts have exceeded their authority and everyone knows it is the legislature, not the courts, who are supposed to have the power of the purse strings in our American System of Separation of Powers. Jim is working to stop the spending frenzy, but he can't do it alone. Abraham Lincoln said, "with public opinion behind me I can do everything, without it I can do nothing." We need your help. Contact your legislators and tell them NO to the special session. Arkansans already have the 8th highest tax burden.

Fourth Issue: Great new audio of Senator Holt in this 13 minute radio interview."

for the Holt Campaign- this is Mark Moore reporting.

Help Stop the Special Session of Spending

How Much More Tax Burden can the People Stand?

ALL That WE ALLOW! Take Action!

Gov. Mike Huckabee said Monday that he supported a set of proposed changes in state education law that includes $ 309 million in increased school funding, and told state lawmakers to tentatively prepare for a special session starting on April 3. I was told my legislators today that they are going to try to ram these increases through without giving legislators time to work on alternatives.

(Citizens of Arkansas must take action. I hope you will be as frustrated as I am when you read the following information and will contact the Governor and your legislators by email, phone, and letter and send them the information in this email. Contact Information is pasted at end of this email. "Stovall said he would know by mid-week next week whether he had 51 out of 100 House members to support the education committees' recommendations [$309 million]" … “If the two chambers have consensus, April 3 is the target date,” Argue said. “We’re working hard on that. … Those who led the committees that crafted the proposals say that, if lawmakers like what they hear, the special session will go forward early next month." We must make sure the legislators don't like what they hear. Please send this email on to everyone you know.

(click "Saturday" below for rest of article, or if you were sent directly here, just scroll down).

John Brummett Goes to Pluto

Let's talk about mixed emotions. When Brummett belittles good people I am ashamed that I am relieved of feeling guilty for dishing out some of John Brummett's own vile medicine to him in this space. Why am I ashamed? Because in combating his distorted invective, I have at times come too close to stooping to his level of nastiness. That is not good for the soul, nor is it what the Maker of us both wants from us.

What really threw me for a loop is that I thought John Brummett was beginning to realize it as well. Here is what he wrote about Senator Jim Holt less than a month ago....

"Please understand that Holt is not a bad man and he's not a dumb man. A lot of what you read and hear about him is a caricature. He is a sincere man and a competent man. "

Then in his "Springdale and Pluto" column he writes the following....

(click Wednesday below for rest, or if you have been sent straight to this column just scroll down)

*************************************

BTW, a good audio file of Holt (so that you can judge for yourself instead of through the filter of a secular extremist) is here.

Arkansans Have 8th Highest Tax Burden

This is from the American Family Association of Arkansas, Bob Hester Chairman.

"Governor Mike Huckabee said Monday that he supported a set of proposed changes in state education law that include $309 million in increased school funding." Some additional government employees would be added. As legislators and Arkansans consider this information to determine their position on this issue, the following information should be considered.

• The number of government employees in the state grew by 10% from 1997 to 2004 and salaries for government employees increased 74% from 1997 to 2004. ¹ These figures do not include public school teachers and administrators.
• Arkansas ranks #49 among the states in per capita income. ²
• BUT Arkansas ranks 8th in the nation in the percent of income paid in total taxes. In other words, Arkansans pay a larger portion of their income in all taxes combined than do 42 other states in the nation. ³
• Arkansas pays more in local and state revenue as a percentage of income than does Massachusetts. ⁴
• Arkansas ranks #1 in the nation in the amount allowed for state and local sales tax (up to 11.5 cents.) ⁵
• Arkansas ranked 9th in state tax revenue growth compared to income growth from 1992 to 2002. In 2001-2002 Arkansas ranked 5th in the nation. That was before the big tax increase in education in 2003. ⁶
• Arkansas was one of the three states in the country that raised taxes by more than 5% in 2004 according to the study by the National Conference of State Legislatures. ⁷
• A two-parent family of four living at the poverty line paid $406 in Arkansas state income tax in 2005, the third-highest in the nation. ⁸
• The state of AR is the largest employer in Arkansas with over 50,000 employees. ⁹
• 
  

See documentation on our site:

Contact Person:

Bobby L. Hester

American Family Association of Arkansas

P. O. Box 9076

Jonesboro, Arkansas 72401

Phone 870-932-5065 Cell 870-243-5612

Charlie Daniels' Ties to Nick Wilson go Deep

There has been a lot of talk about how democratic candidate for Governor Attorney General Mike Bebee was tied to disgraced former State Senator Nick Wilson. Wilson is the one who was convicted of funneling millions of taxpayer dollars ment for disadvantaged children to his insider cronies. It is the kind of crime that makes you want to reconsider the Constitution's prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment".

Mike Bebee was not involved in the crime, but it happened on his watch. There are many who think he knew, and Wilson himself said that though not every legislator knew about the scam, the ones that you would think knew about it did.

With all that swirling around it may interest you to know that there is another Democrat on the ballot with even closer ties to Wilson, and an even more sordid personal history. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels and Nick Wilson go way back- way into the shadows. The tale is so long in the telling, it will likely take three articles to tell it all......(see part one by clicking "Monday" below, or if you were sent directly to the article, by scrolling down)

NWA Sam's Club Liquor Still Being Challenged

It appears the fight will continue over the prospect of Sam’s Club operating a liquor store at its planned site in Fayetteville.

The Arkansas Beverage Retailers Association voted unanimously Tuesday to appeal Judge Ellen Brantley’s March 3 decision to dismiss the association’s challenge of an earlier decision by the Alcohol Beverage Control Board to approve the necessary license...

...The Alcohol Beverage Control Board voted 3-2 on July 20 to allow Wal-Mart Stores to transfer a liquor permit from a closed retail store to the site of the planned Sam’s Club at 3081 Arkansas 112...

Full Story (by Drew Terry w/NWARK Times)

Raise School Spending, Panels Advise

State lawmakers recommended Thursday that school spending be increased another $59.6 million for the current school year and $78.7 million the next.

The recommendations of the House and Senate education committees will go before the full House and Senate meeting as committees on Tuesday. Those meetings could determine when and if a special session on education will be called.

Deal Cut: Halter switches to Lt. Governor

Bill Halter announced today that he will file for Lt. Governor, not Governor. This move means Mike Bebee will not have a primary opponent and can hold onto his war chest. It also means the strong supporters of Wooldridge, Hathorn, and Martin have just seen their guy thrown under the Bebee Bus.

Share your thoughts on the impact this will have on the race. Will Clinton be more inclined to jump in and help the Democratic ticket? Will Halter win the demo primary?

Four Legislators Control Special Session?

Four Powerful Legislators Control Special Session Bills

Regarding the special session on education, "Senate President Pro Tempore Jim Argue, D-Little Rock, said the education committees are close to a consensus, but how the full Legislature might react to the committees’ ideas 'is a complete unknown.'"

If Senator Argue would share some of that consensus information with other legislators, perhaps some headway could be made. We have heard legislators complain (and many citizens share that complaint!) that Senator Argue, Senator Broadway, Senator Bisbee, and Representative Jodie Mahony write these education bills behind closed doors and then spring it on the rest of the legislators and ram them through without legislative members having time to study them or to formulate their own legislation. These bills are the ones legislators refer to as "the train having already left the station" by the time they get to the floor.

continued.....

Minimum Wage Amendment Potential Disaster

If the proposed consitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage, and also keep raising it automatically with inflation, ever becomes law the results for our economy will be disastrous.

If raising the minimum wage by a dollar an hour is good, then why not do even better and raise it by twenty dollars an hour? Why, it would be a socialist paradise with the least of us earning over $25 an hour!

Of course I am being a bit sarcastic, but I do it to illustrate a point. Everyone knows you can't raise the minimum wage that high- they know it would cost jobs and put companies out of business. They know this when the min. wage is raised high enough to make its effects obvious, but for some reason there are those who will not grasp the plain fact that the same thing occurs with a smaller wage increase. Less people are hurt, but they are hurt. Fewer businesses are sunk, but some are sunk.

A short refresher: Government cannot legislate around the laws of economics. Setting a higher minimum wage will invariably have undesirable consequences- to wit INCREASED UNEMPLOYMENT. Arkansas will lose jobs to surrounding states and other countries who understand economics better. And it won't be only the lower end jobs that are lost.....

click 'Friday' below for rest of article

My Take on Tax Structure

I have often maintained that of the two trials the greater problem is not taxes, but spending. When it comes to strangling the economy and limiting personal freedom, the manner in which revenues are collected is not so important as the sheer volume of collecting/spending.

Government spending cannot, as is now the case, continue to grow faster than our earnings. At some point it will cause a collaspe, like the slow-motion one we now seem to be in. I would advise that we make it illegal, with penalties, for our rulers to continue spending money at a rate greater than we earn it.

Still, the manner in which taxes are collected does matter.

(click day below for rest of article)