Strange Irony Part Two

Our new Governor has me going back and forth. Just when I think I have decided to classify him one way or another, he does something to shatter my efforts to pidgeon-hole him. Sure he spends too much, and if the ERA passes generations hence will curse his name, but he is standing his ground on the grocery tax cut. And in a way that might surprise you too.

At the NWA chamber of commerce meeting the other day his boast that the grocery tax cut was moving forward got only scattered applause- most of the businessmen there were for tax cuts targeted to business. Beebe did not let the low applause pass, he confronted them on it. Beebe told them, "For those of you who are tepid in your clapping, and for those of you who didn’t clap at all, let me harken back to what I said earlier: We are in this together. It may not help you as much as it helps somebody else, but to the extent that it helps the least of us, it ultimately helps all of us.”

Wow. That sounds like a scriptural allusion (Matthew 25), and has been reported as such. At the very least, it reflects bibical thinking, no matter where ever he got it.

What makes this stunning is that this is the group of men that in large part made Beebe Governor. That is to say, the difference in the recent election is that NWA business interests decided to "switch sides" and support the Democrats this cycle with money and votes. It is widely believed that at least some of the reason is that many businessmen with a secular worldview felt uncomfortable with the strong religious background of Asa Hutchinson and the GOP ticket. They did not want to waste energy on "social issues", they just wanted to "get down to business"- which seems to mean using government to tilt the laws in their favor.

Wow if I have it right. They threw Hutchinson et al overboard because they were uncomfortable with his religious conservative leanings, and now less than one month in office Beebe is all but quoting scripture at them!

Strange Irony Part One

Left: Spectre "President not the only decider". Right: Pat Toomey, former Congressman and Club for Growth President.

It seems to be a week of irony politically, both state and nationally. Senator Arlen Specter, the pro-abortion Republican from Pennslyvania, told President Bush this week that he is "not the only decider" in Iraq. Bush is down, and Spectre just delivered a stout kick. Maybe somebody needed to say it, but Spectre is an odd choice. Two years ago, Spectre was in the primary battle of his career against a pro-life conservative congressman named Pat Toomey. Toomey was also strong on economic issues- he is currently president of the "Club for Growth".

President Bush, the White House, and the Republican party, all jumped in with both feet in the Republican primary to save the pro-abortion liberal Spectre and block the pro-life conservative Toomey. Bush even went so far as to make a phone message that was "robo-called" to Penn. Republican voters. It was enough for Spectre to eek out a 1.7 percent margin of victory.

How ironic it is that Spectre repays Bush's treachery to the pro-life conservatives who elected him, by turning on the man (Bush) to whom he owes his current electoral victory. Who would have ever guessed that a man who thinks it is OK to kill innocent babies in the womb would be so ungrateful, hmmmmm?

Opponents of ERA were right in the 70's; ERA has been used to force public funding for abortion and gay marriage

ERA – A wolf in sheep's clothing

Representative Lindsley Smith has filed a Equal Rights Amendment bill in Arkansas, HJR1002. This should be of great concern to anyone who opposes abortion or homosexual marriage.

The following excerpts from an article entitled, "Marriage Must Be Protected from the Judges," is proof that the opponents of Equal Rights Amendment (that nice sounding law supposedly designed to prevent discrimination against women) did not exaggerate the negative consequences of the ERA Amendment as ERA supporters vehemently claimed. This entire article can be found at this link: http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2003/dec03/psrdec03.html

"The concurring opinion in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health cited the Massachusetts state Equal Rights Amendment as authority to legalize same-sex marriages. The state ERA was added to Article 1 of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1976. It provides: "Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed or national origin."

"Judge Cordy's dissent (joined by both other dissenting judges) reminded the court that just before the 1976 election when the voters adopted the state ERA, the official Massachusetts commission, which was charged with the duty of advising the voters what ERA's effect would be, issued this statement: "An equal rights amendment will have no effect upon the allowance or denial of homosexual marriages. The equal rights amendment is not concerned with the relationship of two persons of the same sex; it only addresses those laws or public-related actions which treat persons of opposite sexes differently."

"Boston newspapers echoed this disclaimer, labeling claims that the ERA would be the basis for same-sex marriage as "exaggerated" and "unfounded." Editorializing for ERA, the Boston Globe noted that "those urging a no vote . . . argue that the amendment would . . . legitimize marriage between people of the same sex. In reality, the proposed amendment would require none of these things."

"The Goodridge decision did use the Massachusetts ERA to legalize marriage between people of the same sex. This caused UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh to post on his website: "Phyllis Schlafly said it would be like this." He cited typical examples from the liberal press ridiculing the opponents of ERA for "canards," "scare tactics," and "hysterics" in predicting that ERA would require same-sex marriage.

"U.S. News & World Report (4-28-75): "Opponents, for example, suggested passage of ERA would mean abortion on demand, legalization of homosexual marriages, sex-integrated prisons and reform schools -- all claims that were hotly denied by ERA supporters."

"New York Times (7-5-81): "Discussion of [the ERA] bogged down in hysterical claims that the amendment would eliminate privacy in bathrooms, encourage homosexual marriage, put women in the trenches and deprive housewives of their husbands' support."
Washington Post (2-19-82): "The vote in Virginia [against the ERA] came after proponents argued on behalf of civil rights for women and opponents trotted out the old canards about homosexual marriages and unisex restrooms."

"Volokh concluded: "So the Massachusetts ERA did contribute to constitutional protection for homosexual marriage — as the opponents of the ERA predicted, and as the supporters of the ERA vehemently denied."

Only "The Brotherhood" Can Save Us Now

"The Brotherhood" is a name coined by either the Senators themselves or as a perjorative term by liberal newspapermen to describe the majority of Senators in our state legislature. They first got together to block a smaller group- which had escaped any lables but I'll call them the "Old Guard"- of more liberal senators who controlled the General Improvement Fund (gif)money. Most of these were from South and East Arkansas. These men ladeled on the gif money for their own districts while giving the majority of senators relatively trifling amounts. As term limits weakened the hand of the Old Guard, and as the gif money accumulated as a tempting target, the revolution came at last. The Brotherhood insisted that GIF money be divided evenly among all districts- which if there has to be any pork at all seems only fair.

Since many of the Old Guard were doctrinaire liberals, the view of The Brotherhood making it to the papers is decidedly negative. The truth is that though their record is mixed, the ominously named "Brotherhood" has done some good things, and nothing really that terrible considering the business they are in. The real issue is that "The Brotherhood" is a combination of conservative democrats and conservative Republicans (these days members of both parties need at least one qualifier). The conservative Democrats have, for Senate operational purposes, made their own party with most of the Republicans. They shook loose from the control of the very liberal Democratic Old Guard. Is that a bad thing?

It is if you are Governor Mike Beebe. He's an Old Guard man himself. And with the help of some uber-liberals in the House, he is trying to push some uber-liberal stuff through. The so-called "Equal Rights Amendment" was stopped in the 1970s once people figured out it would destroy business with it's potential for lawsuits, and shift even more power over to federal judges. Homosexual activists are pinning their hopes on the measure to get Homosexual marriage and adoption in through the back door.

Expect to see "The Brotherhood" unfairly villified by the liberal press if they try to put the breaks on this mad rush to the left. The truth is, with Beebe, the press, and some of the most influential members of the House pushing the agenda, the lower chamber cannot be counted on to stop any bad bills. They will pass anything with a positive-sounding name on it because the more sensible members of the body are running scared. The Brotherhood is the only political force in this state right now that has the power to stop the crazy-left part of Beebe's agenda. Will they do it? For the sake of the Republic, I hope so.

AR Students' IB Tests Sent to Beijing, China for Grading - Description of IB by Worldwide IB Director

IB Described by Principal on the Jonesboro School District Website

and by the Worldwide IBO Director

On Jonesboro School District Website at this link

"INTERNATIONAL STUDIES at SAC - Arthur Jackson, Principal : Our curriculum will encourage students to be global minded as they explore how their world affects the bigger world in which we live. Students will participate in innovative and challenging hands-on experiences…. The curriculum will not be “textbook driven” but will focus on developing thinking and inquiring minds with opportunities for students to work in small groups and create projects. Students will frame all learning within a world perspective as they participate in in-depth studies of six units of inquiry. (To see the three versions of this description in three months time, the first one including the fact they were going to apply for International Baccalaureate Program as soon as possible, go to this link: )

IB described by the (worldwide) Director of the IBO, George Walker, at Stockholm. (See entire article at this link: )

International Baccalaureate Director George Walker (United Nations provided funding to create the International Baccalaureate Organization, a non-government organization, in Geneva, Switzerland) says there are three parts to the IB curriculum, the compulsory part, the extra curriculum part; and in his own words, the "hidden curriculum, the informal but influential rules, beliefs and attitudes that determine the transmission of norms and values.

IBO Director Walker explains what global education is and what it is not. First, global education is not what the average US citizen would think it is. It is not international awareness of other nationalities and their views, culture, and values; and it is not just an academic education that prepares the student for international employment.

Instead Walker explains that a global student education is one that changes the belief system of the student so that the student no longer believes in patriotism and nationalism or the religion passed down by his culture. And it produces a citizen, in Walker's own words again, with the "skill of persuading [other] people to compromise or change their minds" as well, a citizen with "both the ability and the attitude that wants to shift another person’s position as well as their own."

IBO Director Walker says, "How do we reconcile a spirit of inquiry with a patriarchal culture that values received wisdom and rote learning? How can a secular curriculum be adopted in a country where religious faith, rather than empirical observation, defines the limits of truth? Is it possible to be a free-thinking individual, perhaps perceived as amoral, in a culture where the rules and rituals are unconditionally accepted and rigorously adhered to?" [Note the reason for doing away with rote learning and textbooks – it is received wisdom]

The eleventh and twelfth grade students have to take the IB tests prepared by the United Nations sponsored IB to get their diploma. These tests are not even graded in the United States. (Some people believe this is a made up story, but according to a school official at Hot Springs, these tests are sent to various countries in the world to be graded. Some go to Beijing, China, some to Uganda, some to some to Venezuela, some to New Zealand and Wales and various other countries. The school official said their postage in high school last year for sending these tests to other countries for grading was eight thousand dollars ($8,000.)

Now, a suburban Pittsburgh school district is abolishing IBO over questions of politics and cost. School board members in a Minnesota district call it anti-American and anti-Christian. In New Jersey, members of one school board argue it's a waste of money. One teacher objects to the program because of IBO's endorsement of the Earth Charter which calls for sustainability of the Earth through,, among other things, responsible reproduction and wealth distribution. (See this link for this article)

Several schools in Arkansas are now considering this program without knowing the philosophy behind it. We hope you will ask you legislators to study this program and rescind the law that allows IB courses to take the place of Advanced Placement courses. To get a list of all legislators' addresses, phone numbers, and emails, go to this link.

See next post on this blog for information about the one school district in Arkansas who has implemented IB districtwide and how their graduation rate fell to 56% and remediation rate went up to 67%.

EDUCATION ALERT - The UN Ed program (IB) Results in 56% Graduation Rate in Arkansas School and Other Negative Scores

(Note: The documentation is in footnotes)

SB1054 of 2005 allows school districts in Arkansas to substitute the United Nations International Baccalaureate Organization courses (called IB or IBO), for Advanced Placement Classes. This is of great concern to many educators and citizens in Arkansas. We request that the legislators study this program and rescind this action. 1 (Note: Some schools and laws have changed the name and are just using International Studies in order to deceive the people and make them think this is not an IB program. ) To see how one school has done this, see this link:

The International Baccalaureate program has been implemented district wide at Hot Springs, Arkansas (one of three IBO Programs in Arkansas). Hot Springs had their first IB Diploma graduates last year after having the IB program in high school for four years and in the elementary schools for six years. 2

The 2005 Performance Record for Hot Springs (the latest on the ADE website in a form that can easily be accessed) record the negative consequences of this education program on achievement even though Hot Springs spends $8,688 per pupil while the state spends an average of $7,348 per pupil.. 3

Hot Springs has a graduation rate of 56.4%. State average is 81.3% In 2000, before Hot Springs began the IB program, the graduation rate was 83.5% 4

College remediation rate of 67. The state remediation rate is 51.6. In 2002-2003, the year Hot Springs officially started the IB program, their remediation rate was 53.0 5

ACT score in English 17.8 and Mathematics 18.1 (State average is 20.9 and 20.5). In 2002-2003, the year Hot Springs officially implemented High School IB, Hot Spring ACT score in math was 18.5 and English 20.3 6

End of Course Literacy (11th Grade EOC) score was 37 Proficient; state average score is 47 Proficient. Despite the IB program and above average per pupil spending, not even 1% of their students scored Advanced on this test 7.

Their 9th grade Reading score is 41st percentile on the nationally normed test, and the state average is 52. All Nationally normed test scores from 6th grade up are much lower than the state average. 8.

Hot Springs is not making NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and is in Year Two of School Improvement. See link at footnote 8.

Hot Springs does have one school (Park Magnet School) with very good scores; HOWEVER, there are only 12% of the Hot Springs elementary students in that school, and the ratio of whites and minorities is totally out of balance: 75% white and 18% black, or 25% minority and 75% white when you add in the other minorities. Langston Magnet School, the magnet school with the lowest scores has 71% minority and 29% white. The other two schools fall in between these ratios. The following scores in 4th grade benchmark scores are pretty typical of the four magnet schools. Park Magnet School is the designated IB School, also called PYP. 9

Park Magnet (244 students) 97 Proficient or above, State 52 Proficient or above
Gardner Magnet (596 students) 51 Proficient or above, 1 point below state average
Oaklawn Magnet (743 students) 40 Proficient or above, 12 pts below state average
Langston Magnet (457 students) 29 Proficient or above, 23 pts below state average
Link for documentation at Footnote 10

(Note: there are almost twice as many students in the school with score of 23 points below state average than in the school with highest score, Park Magnet School, and almost three times the number of students in the school 12 points below state average than in Park. These scores (representing abilities) and the ratio of minorities to whites would certainly reflect a social caste system. And where is the equitable and adequate education for all!

According to a Hot Springs school official, only 10 to 20% of high school candidates are candidates for their IB Diploma program, so their high school probably falls along similar patterns as the elementary schools. This school official said some of their IB classes were very small, 5 students I think for at least one class which is one of the factors that makes the IB program so expensive. Haven't the legislators said they wanted consolidation in order to cut costs by increasing class size?

For a description of IB, see next posted article. For documentation and this article on line see this link.

Crossbow Killer Out on the Street; Wayne Fincher Still Behind Bars

Justin Trammel is free today, out on bond awaiting trial for threatening his girlfriend and mother of his child. The woman alleges Trammel told her that if she did not come to California with him he would wait until she was asleep, then put a gun in her mouth and pull the trigger.

At age 15 Trammel murdered his father with a crossbow. He was recently arrested in the company of Mitchell Johnson, one of the shooters in the Jonesboro slayings. Trammel was hardly a model prisoner during his short incarceration- he was reportedly involved in a fight while in jail. Nevertheless, this man is out on the street breathing the free air on $25,000 bond.

Not so Hollis Wayne Fincher. Fincher was arrested for possessing a machine gun without a permit. Not that he ever hurt or threatened to hurt anyone with it. He lived 60 years without any criminal record. His only crime was in testing to see if our 2nd amendment rights still meant anything. It turns out they don't. Judge Jim Hendren refused to let Fincher use any of the constitutional defenses that could have set him free, and so he was convicted by a jury that was allowed to hear no defense whatsoever.

During this time, Judge Hendren set Fincher's bond at $250,000. Ten times the amount of the Crossbow Killer. Not only that, he required Fincher to put up his family farm as collateral in a complicated deal with the government that may have allowed the feds to take the farm. Wayne Fincher stayed behind bars then, and he is behind bars now. You can feel safe and secure that Wayne Fincher is no longer possessing a machine gun without a permit from the Federal government. You are protected from the man who never hurt anyone in 60 years of honest living, but keeping men like Trammel locked up does not seem to be as big a priority for our justice system.

The Bible says to honor rulers and those in authority. That is what we intend to do, even when it is difficult. We want to respect those who run our judicial system, but they sure do make it hard sometimes.

Trapped in a Mental Prison: Evolutionists Again Unable to See What the Evidence is Screaming At Them

In the middle ages and beyond, men thought the Sun and all planets revolved around the Earth. This view of the universe was picked up from the Greeks and seemed to make sense. After all, it was clear to them that the Earth stood still, so it was the Sun and the planets that had to be moving. For fourteen centuries this view of the world fit all known observations, though near the end things got messier and messier. More and more little pointless little circles of movement had to be worked into the model to make it fit with increasingly accurate observations.

Unfortunately the Roman Catholic Church adopted that Greek model, even though it was one of their own monks, Copernicus, who hit apon the truth. When Galileo invented the telescope he turned their view of the universe upside down, and the church persecuted him for it. Not for saying something against what the Bible said, but against the ideas of the Greek philosophers which the church had adopted.

Today the shoe is on the other foot. The "church" is the high faith of Natrualism, which says that the natural universe as we now know it is all that exists. No element that we would now consider "supernatural" can be contemplated, regardless of the evidence. It is a view that has hijacked science, and is now suffocating it. It does so because it refuses to allow scientists to ask the right questions in order to find explanations for observed phenomenea.

The subject is macro-evolution. And like the learned men of the day who could not free themselves from the idea of an earth-centered universe, modern naturalists posing as scientists cannot free themselves from the confines of evolutionary thinking. The latest example (I can't keep up with them all) is from this study which looked for common ancestral larval genes in two diverse groups.

(continued- click FRIDAY below and scroll down for rest of article, or if sent straight here just scroll down.)

Most Secular and Liberal Dem Ticket in History Begins to Prove it

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We did all in our power to warn people about the state Democratic ticket in 06, saying it was the "most secular and liberal" state-wide ticket the Democratic party had ever offered to Arkansas voters. Though the phrase was repeated often by many others, the warnings fell on deaf ears. The general electorate was angry, and the Republican candidates had a mill-stone around their neck in the person of President George W. Bush. It didn't help that the top of the ticket heartily embraced the mill-stone that would sink them all straight to the bottom.

Our warning is quickly proving to be all too accurate, and Democratic legislators must now decide whether or not to embrace what could wind up to be their own mill-stones in elections to come.

(continued- click THURSDAY below and scroll down for rest of story, or if sent straight here just scroll down)

Advocates for PreK Release Study Showing PreK Is Good

Gov. Beebe and Lt. Governor Halter are citing a study released today on the effects of the "Arkansas Better Choice" (ABC) pre-K program. The results of the study can be found here. Both men have called for an expansion of pre-K funding.

I was impressed with the measures that they took to ensure their control group and their test group differed only in their exposure to the program. I was not impressed by their citing of the Perry Preschool Project Study as an example of the long term benefits of Pre-K. Perhaps they did that because there is no other study that has concluded that- the Perry results have so far been unrepeatable. The Perry study did not take adequate measures to ensure their control and test groups were otherwise similar- quite the reverse. There were many other problems with the way they conducted the study and the way they calculated the results. For a brief list of the problems with the Perry School Study, go here and scroll down to about page 12.

On the slender thread of one poorly done study that only tested retarded children Beebe and Halter would take us down the road to institutionalizing three and four year old children state-wide at great taxpayer expense. This is good for neither children, nor taxpayers, but only lovers of and believers in, government.

(continued, click THURSDAY below and scroll down for rest of article, or if sent straight here just scroll down)

States Decide to Oppose Federal ID Cards

State lawmakers in Montana have introduced legislation that would reject the federal Real ID Act of 2005. Sponsors say the act was an attempt by the federal government to usurp power from individual state governments and threatened an individual’s right to privacy.

State legislatures in Georgia, Massachusetts and Washington have similar bills pending, and more states are likely to follow suit, according to Matt Sundeen of the National Council of State Legislatures. An effort to pass a similar law in New Hampshire failed during its last legislative hearing.

"Our purpose here, members of the committee, is to lead other state legislatures and other governors in a similar effort," said Rep. Brad Wiseman, a sponsor of legislation that would repeal the Real ID Act.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer signaled he would support such legislation.

"I'd like to say thanks to the last congress, but no thanks," said the governor's policy adviser, Hal Harper. "No thanks, please."

So-Called "Equal Rights Amendment" Again Threatens

Representative Lindsley Smith of Fayetteville tried to pass a measure which would have made "discrimination" against homosexuals a civil rights issue in her first term. That effort failed, but this time she may get it in through the backdoor. She is dusting off the old "Equal Rights Amendment" from the 1970s, which was obstensibly to protect women. And it appears she has persuaded, somehow, even normally sane legislators into co-sponsoring it along with her.

The ERA amendment was ratified in the 1970s in most states before people could even realize the ramifications of what they were voting for. Once the magnificent Phyliss Schafley (who founded the Eagle Forum for this purpose) exposed the real problems that would come from amending the U.S. Constitution with this trojan horse the so-called ERA lost its momentum.

It is now 30 years later, and radical feminists, those who want to expand federal power and control over our lives, fans of judicial activism, and homosexual activists, are hoping that people have forgotten the debate and the facts. They say that since the states that ratified it never un-ratified it, if they can get a few more states to do so then it goes in the Constitition since there is no mention of time limits for ratifying an amendment.

Leave it to lawyers to find a loophole. That's why we have to stop it now. Perhaps later this week I will write an article spelling out some of why this would be a disaster if ratified. In the meantime, I want to give the names of your legislators in the House who are co-sponsoring this bill. If one of them is yours, let them know what they are really voting for. Some of them may be thinking that this is just about "rights" and they co-sponsored it because the name sounded good, not because they understood the true implications.

Co-sponsors include: Abernathy, Allen, T. Baker, Berry, Blount, T. Bradford, E. Brown. J. Brown, Burris, Cash, Cheatham, Chesterfield, Cook, Cooper, Cornwell, L. Cowling, Davenport, Davis, S. Dobbins, Dunn, Edwards, Everett, Flowers, Gaskill, George, Hall, Hardy, Harrelson, Hawkins, House, Hoyt, Hyde, D. Johnson, Kidd, W. Lewellen, Lovell, Maxwell, Moore, Overbey, Pate, Patterson, Pennartz, Pickett, Pierce, Powers, S. Prater, Rainey, Reep, Reynolds, J. Roebuck, Rogers, Sample, Saunders, Shelby, Stewart, Sullivan, Sumpter, Thyer, Wagner, Webb, Wills, Wood, Wyatt,

and Senators Madison, Argue, Brown, Bryles, Capps, Crumbly, Faris, Salmon, T. Smith, Wilkins

HB 1024 (Illegal Alien Bill) Reversal of Fortune

Rep. Rick Green's bill to prohibit the state from contracting with businesses who employ illegal aliens not only passed out of committee, but overwhelmingly passed the House as well. This was after the bill failed to clear committee on the first try.

There could be several factors to explain this dramatic reversal of fortune. One could be the work of Eagle Forum Arkansas and Debbie Pelley to raise public awareness of the issue. Reports were that several of the legislators have said they received many calls and messages from people who favored the bill.

The second factor might be that liberal legislators realized that 1) labor unions were for the bill, since they don't like losing jobs to cheaters who employ illegals, and 2) illegals get employment two ways, the use ID fraud and get paid over the table or they just get paid under the table. In the first case someone's credit could be destroyed by illegal who stole their ID, and in the second case employers skip out on paying the state millions of dollars in worker's comp and unemployment monies. That may be what swayed more liberal legislators like Majority Leader Steve Harrelson.

After viewing this video of workers getting crippled up and sent away as emptyhanded as the state treasury by employers who cheat, it is easy to see why this one crosses "left/right" bounds.

The third reason that it may have passed is an unfortunate one in my view. The bill may have needed a little adjustment, but it got an amputation. The bill could have been fixed without weakening it.

(continued- click WEDNESDAY below and scroll down for rest of article)

This is the Colbert Report on "Exact Words"

For video of the funniest Colbert segment I've ever seen, squeeze here. The subject is the not so funny view of AG Alberto Gonzales on the civil right of habeus corpus.

NWA Turning into Trash Dump at Contractor Sites

Area contractors should try using a few more of these. Has anyone else noticed the increasing amount of unsightly trash strewn along our highways recently? It is especially bad on I 540 from Springdale to Bentonville. Our highway is strewn with trash throughout that stretch, but it is particularly bad near construction sites. Any other areas you can think of that are looking 3rd world? What do you think we should do about it?

Vote on "Cyber-Bullying" Bill Goes Beyond Left and Right

HB 1072 would make it a "crime" to express opinions on blogs that school administrators didn't like. The bill does not say that outright, but those of us who are used to legalese can read between the lines. If there is a distuption in school, discipline the disruptor, don't extend the state's control into cyber-space.

Unfortunately the bill just passed the state House 91-7. The house passing a bad bill is not news. What is news is the composition of the "Magnificent Seven" who opposed it. They run the gamut from left to right on the political spectrum. And the fact they do highlights why we must no longer think only in terms of left and right, liberal or conservative. That is linear, one dimensional thinking that is inadequate to describe political reality. We must also consider up and down, that is Individual Freedom vs. Statism. I first addressed this some time ago in more depth with this article called "Beyond Left and Right".

On this bill, the "Liberal" Arkansas Times blog and this "Conservative" blog are in agreement- we were against it. The seven legislators who voted against it were Aaron Burkes, a conservative Republican from Rogers; Rep. Ed Garner, a moderate Republican from Little Rock, along with Dan Greenberg; Liberal Democrat Steve Harrelson (House Majority Leader) from Texarkana; Republican Micheal Lamoureux of Russellville (which surprises me); and the biggest uber-liberal in the chamber, Lindsley Smith of Fayetteville, and the Republican legislator who is sitting in a seat once held by Jim Bob Duggar and Jim Holt, Jon Woods.

You don't vote against 91% of your colleagues unless you are really taking a stand on principle. These seven are spread across the spectrum in terms of left and right, but this bill was not about left or right. It was about up or down. Up towards the maximum amount of individual freedom possible in an orderly society or down towards big brother regulating every aspect of our lives.

It does not matter so much if your goals are leftist goals (tolerance-relativism) or rightest goals (virtue-conformity to the moral order). What matters is the willingness to use disproportionate and centralized government force to mandate whatever your desired outcome is. That is what makes you a fascist or a freedom lover. It does not matter whether you use the state to force bible classes on the unwilling or gay sensitivity training on the unwilling. The desired outcome is irrelevant on the up-down scale. Leftwing statists are called socialists and rightwing statists are called facists, but they are both statists.

I say that the expression of opinions, even opinions that ridicule someone, in a local school is not a matter for central state interference. If someone was being hurt or killed, then of course the use of government interference would be proportional to the act. But there is a right to life, not a right to be protected from complaints or insults.

Congratulations to the Magnificent Seven who understand that our own freedom of speech is worth the trouble it takes to allow the other fellow his freedom too.

GOP Congressman Has Harsh Words for Bush

Nine term California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher had some harsh comments about President Bush, as recorded in this article in the Pitt Tribune-Review.

Among the more shocking quotes:
"The nastiness in his personality had been in check until now," he says about President Bush. "Exposing it to the public is pretty disgusting. He has a callous disregard for those who place their lives on the line for us."

"No one in the White House is a firm believer of defending America's borders," he says. "It's a monstrous betrayal, as it has been for the last six years. (Bush) has a hidden agenda that is not accepted by the people. He is trying to implement an open-border policy without debate. We will find out in the future that part of his game plan was to make it a fait accompli."

Right to Life Sunday

18 weeks from conception.
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I don't want to let it pass without mention that today was Right to Life Sunday, our protest on the "anniversery" of Roe v. Wade, that raw exercise of judicial power that has cost us 47 million American lives and counting. Each one of them leaves a hole in our national life that will never be filled.

Even here in Arkansas we have two abortuaries. One in Little Rock, and one in Fayetteville. The one in Fayetteville is a one man show, but he alone ends an estimated six lives each work day. He is getting up there in years and hopefully it won't be too long before he puts away the scalpel.

I have determined that I will never again vote for a "pro-choice" candidate. If that results in the election of another "pro-choice" candidate then too bad. Give me someone to vote for I can trust. Anyone who is willing to trade away the rights of the least of us will trade away the rights of any of us when they think they can get away with it. I won't legitimize such a person with my vote.

Beebe's Budget: Worse Than I Thought

Your tax cut is ready.
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Thanks to House Majority Leader Steve Harrelson's blog, Under the Dome, I have a clearer picture of Governor Mike Beebe's proposed new budget. It is not a pretty picture if you love freedom.

On January 18th I put up a post "Cutting Through the Fog on Beebe's Budget". Unfortunately, I still had some fog to cut through it seems because based on what I thought then I gave it mixed reviews. I am afraid I'd like to amend that and give it poor reviews.

I evaluate the budget in terms of 1) How much of our $821 million overpayment of taxes do we get back and 2) How much of the $200 million plus yearly overpayment of taxes do we get back and 3) Does government grow faster than our earnings under this budget?

(continued- click "Sunday" below and scroll down for rest of article, or if sent straight here just scroll down.)

An Acorn is a Nut

I find ignorance frightening. Especially in people who make it their goal to help set the rules for the rest of us. I figure people have a right to be ignorant, as long as they take the blows that reality will deal them for it manfully. Unfortunately, when such people start influencing the rules for the rest of us, we ALL take the punishment that reality so plentifully dishes out to the stiff-necked, and unaware.

That is why I was distressed to hear the ACORN spokespeople calling for "immigration reform" that would reward lawbreaking, among other things. I was even more distressed to read this snippet...

"Asked about a bill by Rep. Rick Green, R-Van Buren, that would prohibit state contracts from being awarded to companies that employ illegal immigrants, Sealy said he did not believe it would be the best way to ensure that state tax dollars are used to fund good jobs in Arkansas.

"I think a better way to do that would be requiring contractors to pay a living wage, to provide benefits to all employees and to have a union neutrality clause," he said."

Sure. Just let in millions of illegal workers so that the laws of economics dictate that non-skilled wages will drop to the floor. But hey, pass a man-made law that says wages and benefits have to be high, that will fix everything, right?

Some people seem to think that prices exist merely to keep us from having things. There is no recognition that they reflect an underlying reality that trumps even government intervention. You can't let in more workers and expect wages to stay high. If you set the wage too high by "law", employers will quit buying (hiring) and the person will be worse off than they were before when they at least had some wage. The other thing that will happen is that employers will be more tempted to cheat and hire workers off the books for below-law wages or demand kick-backs. In other words, the same people that are driving our illegal alien cheater-economy will be at it again- and the same illegal aliens we "legalized" will be playing along with them.

Illegal aliens lower wages and benefits for law abiding citizens.

Bush, McCain Appeal Ruling that Would Let Pro-Lifers Speak

McCain- joined Bush administration in appealing a court ruling that favored state right-to-life group.
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When George Bush campaigned for President in 2000 two of the things that got me to vote, and campaign, for him was that 1) My Republican friends assured me that he was pro-life (even though he himself never seem to make any committments) and 2) He said that he felt the free speech restrictions in the McCain-Feingold so-called campaign "reform" bill were unconstitutional. That bill included provisions that organizations like Wisconson Right to Life can't run ads for or against the election of any candidate for 90 days prior to an election! I call it the "Incumbancy Protection/Free Speech Exclusion Act".

Anyway, Bush may have thought it was "unconstitutional", but then he immediately signed it into law anyway. And his administration is now fighting hard to expand the application of the provisions against Right to Life groups and others. Even when they run ads that are not in violation of the act because they do not say anything about electing anyone, team Bush still looks on this excessive display of free speech with disfavor. They prosecuted Wisc. Right to Life for the ads. The judge ruled that the ads did not violate the act. The Bush administration, joined by McCain, Chris Shays, and two democrats, have chosen to appeal that ruling.

Of course, Pelosi's latest attempt to shut up grassroots organizations was even worse than McCain-Feingold. Thank God, literally, that the most offending provision, section 220, was defeated. That was no thanks to our Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, who voted to keep section 220 so that they would not have to be bothered by hearing from useless little people like you who complain about things but don't write them big checks.

Anybody see any solutions out there? Anyone to vote for for anything?

Breaking: Huckabee Spent Beebe's Emergency Funds

******UPDATE: THE PAPERS ARE ON IT *******

Rumours are swirling around the Capitol that former Governor Mike Huckabee was somehow allow to expend a significant amount of money from the Governor's emergency fund that rightfully should be available to new Governor Mike Beebe. The sums involved are significant- at least six figures.

We will update this story as details become available. In the meantime, if anyone has any enlightening details, please let us know.

Cutting Through the Fog on Beebe's Budget

When you have $821 million accumulated dollars to spend, and an expectation of around $200 million a year more income than was budgeted in the past, and you have a couple of bulging trust funds to dip into, you are in position to make lots of people happy. Governor Beebe has certainly done that with his proposed budget. My numbers here are rough.

Yes, I am happy about the proposed reduction in grocery taxes that would lower my food tax from 9 cents to 6 cents on the dollar. I am even happy about the 1 cent reduction on utilities used for manufacturing. So much for the full half of the glass.

If you cut through the fog, what we have here is a situation where we the taxpayers overpaid somewhat more than $200 million a year for the last four years, with expectations of continuing to overpay that amount in the future. I evaluate the budget in terms of 1) How much of our $821 million overpayment do we get back and 2) How much of the $200 million plus yearly overpayment we get back and 3) Does government grow faster than our earnings under this budget?

continued- click THURSDAY below and scroll down for rest of story, or if sent straight here just scroll down.

Attempt to Simulate Evolution on Computers Fails and is Shut Down

The Golem project was an attempt to simulate evolution of computer generated "life forms". When I first heard about it, I thought to myself that is was going to be a rigged experiment whose results would be used for propaganda purposes. That is, I thought they would write the code so that the "life forms" would continue to "evolve", and then use the results to imply that the same thing happened in nature by chance.

It now appears that either they played it straight, allowing the program to only use mechanisms that were comparable in power to their real life counterparts of mutation and selection, or that even if they tried to rig the game, they were not able to pull it off. After months or even years of adding more processing power they have announced, "After accumulating several Million CPU hours on this project and reviewing many evolved creatures we have concluded that merely more CPU is not sufficient to evolve complexity: The evolutionary process appears to be hitting a complexity barrier that is not traversable using direct mutation-selection processes, due to the exponential nature of the problem. We are now developing new theories about additional mechanisms that are necessary for the synthetic evolution of complex life forms."

Just like real life "evolution", they found that only a limited number of combinations kept appearing and reappearing. There were limits to how far evolution could go. Still, they are stuck asking the wrong questions. All they can do is re-write the code to give evolution more power than it has in real observable life. If they keep going, all they will prove is that if you are INTELLIGENT enough, you can DESIGN an algorythm that can develop complexity. That experiment would prove intelligent design, not naturalistic evolution, but don't look for anyone to admit that.

Naturalism is a philosophy that nothing exists outside of space, time, matter and energy. That the natural universe is all there is. The idea can't be proven by science, but it has hijacked science. Naturalism is holding back scientific progress because it won't allow us to ask the right questions. Instead of asking "what evolutionary mechanisms did we miss", they should be asking, "what does this experiment teach about the limits of evolutionary possiblity." They don't dare ask that though, because they are not allowed to ask questions outside a naturalistic framework. Evolution HAD to be responsible for all biologic diversity, because the only other possibility is Intelligent Design by a Creator, and they have refused in advanced to consider that answer. So no matter what the computer results of their own study shows, they trudge on.

Gnat-brained Excuses on Illegal Immigration

The Common Gnat- useful for making excuses as to why no bill to combat illegal immigration is ever the right bill. Apparently a consultant to several members of our state legislature.
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Let me start off by saying that I am not about to claim that the State Representatives who were against the bill have tiny brains, nor even that they are necessarily unintelligent. But their stated reasons in this Jon Lyon article for opposing Rep. Rick Green's HB 1024 were unintelligent. Sometimes when an otherwise smart person gives a stupid reason for their position, it does not mean they are stupid, it just means that they are not giving you their real reason.

(continued, click WEDNESDAY below and scroll down for article or if sent straight here just scroll down)

Petition for Redress Now Redefined as "Lobbying" By Senate Bill

Now is the time to write your senators about a bill, if you are ever going to. Politicians are tired of hearing from their constituents. That is what Senate bill S1 is about. It is about keeping you in the dark so you will shut up and let them continue to ruin the country. The only people they want to hear from are the ones that write them checks.

click TUESDAY below for a long but powerful report on S1 by Gary North

Respected Republican on State GOP Convention: "They Tried to Railroad Us"

After a month of silence, a respected Republican who was at the state Republican convention on December 16th has decided to speak out. This comes on the heels of a grassroots effort to prevent the election of President Bush's pick Mel Martinez as the new National Chairman. The National Convention is Jan. 20th.

For the Respected Republican's (RR) report, click TUESDAY below and scroll down, or if sent straight here just scroll down.

Audio: The Lesser of Two Evils

15 Minute Audio examines the concept of voting for the "lesser of two evils", including the best defense, the historical results, defining a "wasted vote", and more.

Brummett, Blogging, and the Governor's Con Sign

Elements of this article have been festering in my head for three days. Even then, it is normally too difficult for me to write anything in John Brummett's defense, but there is something about Sundays and the words of Jesus to "love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to them who despitefully use you.".

If I'm not good enough of a man to actually do that, at least I can be moved to the point where I am willing to stick up for them on the rare occassion where they did something right and got unfair heat for it.

Fortunately for my more earthy side, Brummett said some things in his column today that are going to make it easier to "balance out" this blogpost. Even on Sunday, I am not going to indulge Brummett's delusions of unprightness- of course when done in love, confronting someone on their delusions is a loving thing to do. In this case I am not prepared to ascribe to myself such pure motives....

Continued- click SUNDAY below and scroll down for article

House Majority Leader Harrelson "New Kid on the Blog"

It looks like State House Majority Leader Steve Harrelson has started his own blog, "Under the Dome" (I could not find a suitable image from my search for "Thunderdome", but use your imagination).

The Representatvie from Texarkana is a frequent blogger commenter, including occassional stops on this site. It is likely to be on our "visit frequently" list, especially while the ledge is in session.

School Scores Too Good to be True, and Likely Are.

The Morning News is reporting that school test scores are way up, in one case even passing the "national average" even though the "national average" itself keeps going up every year. The test is administered to fourth and eighth graders.

Happy lawmakers still had too much sense to believe that their recently enacted teacher pay raise or also-recently enacted pre-K were responsible for Arkansas' accelerated climb. They could only guess as to what the real cause would be.

I might as well throw my "guess" in there, although it is a highly educated one since I taught for 13 years and still have family in the business who tell me what is actually going on.

Legislators should check the number of students labled "special ed" and "504" from 2002 to 2006. If the 2006 number is much higher, the answer is clear- Arkansas' schools are doing a better job than the nation of keeping low-performing students from taking the test by classifying them as some sort of "Special Ed". This would not represent a better effort at educating children, but more akin to "increasing average height" by excluding more short children from the measurements.

In past years, every student, including all Special Ed and 504 students, had to take the test. 2006 was the first year that a percentage of them could be exempted- and suddenly Arkansas' schools found they have a lot more children with "disablities". In my little town we went from maybe having 10% of the children classified like that in 8th grade to having (if my source is correct) an absolute majority of the students in the 8th grade labled as having some "disability".

My guess is that there has been an explosion of labeling children as "special ed" and "504" by many schools in the state so that the schools can exclude more low performers from taking the test. Now you may be asking, "Isn't it kinda sick to decide to tell parents (and child) that their child has a "disability" just so school administrators can keep their test scores up?" Yes. Next question.

I hope I am wrong and that real academic progress has occurred here over and above the fact that the whole nation is learning how to "teach to the test" to the detriment of all other academic content. But like the ledge, I have my doubts. My fear is that Arkansas school administrators are simply more ruthless than their counterparts in other states, both in their willingness to sacrifice non-tested academic content and in slapping a label on a child who doesn't really rate it. This of course waters down the help and attention that the system can give to those children who truly are disabled, but hey, look at our test scores!

Judge Griffen And Expectations of Justice

Judge Wendell Griffen is up before the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission on charges he violated court rules by speaking critically of the Bush administration, including the war in Iraq, and other issues. Griffen wants the hearings to be open to the public. The commission wants it closed. Griffen maintains that he has a constitutional right to speak out on issues, so long as he does not discuss issues before his court.

Griffen gives an eloquent defence of his right to speak out, and right to an open hearing in this KUAR interview.

Though I often disagree with Griffen on what defines a "moral" position on issues, I cannot help but agree with his premise that judges have a constitutional right to speak out on issues, just like any other American. In fact, voters might have a better idea of what they were getting if judicial candidates did tell us how they felt about things. The way we do it now, we choose judges in elections, but it is not an informed choice because the "code of conduct" forbids them from comment on public issues.

Griffen expects to get justice in his case, and he argues his case from a perspective of what the constitution says about the law. In other words, he is getting preferential treatment compared to one Hollis Wayne Fincher.

Fincher is a sixty year old man with no criminal history who is about to be sent to federal prison because Judge Jimm Hendren will not allow Fincher to present any constitutional defense that matters to the jury in his "possession" of an automatic weapon case. Apparently, only when Judges themselves face court can they expect to have the protections "guaranteed" in our Constitution as a defense. The rest of us are at the mercy of a federal judge to decide if his employer acted within its Constitutional limits.

My Fear Button is Broken

In between sniffles, I've been watching the GOP presidential nomination taking shape. I am far from believing that the GOP are our last, or best hope, but I am curious: how many of you will vote for someone you personally disagree with because he's "the lesser of two evils"?

Right now, the media is working hard to assure conservatives that their choice is between a few "moderates". Me, I don't believe everything the media tells me. But I am more and more convinced that Christians and conservatives are NOT, I repeat, NOT the same group. Some Christians are conservative. Some conservatives are Christian. So there is some overlap between the two groups. But I think too many Christians think that conservatives naturally agree with them on most issues.

continued- click day below and scroll down for rest of story

First Impressions on Governor Beebe

In an effort to be gracious in defeat, I choose to hold off on any evaluations of Governor Mike Beebe and the Democratic team until now.

Why is it OK now? I figure that with Democratic House Speaker Benny Petrus appearing to stand opposed to some of Beebe's plans, it is now within the bounds of decorum to do so myself. I stilled my keyboard in the days immediately after he was elected by my fellow citizens, but if the speaker from his own party can be critical of some of his programs, surely the time has come where I can do the same without giving an accusation of "sour grapes" merit.

So now that the way is clear, some may expect me to begin blasting with both barrels. Well, I did too. But a funny thing happened on the first day of hostilities. I find myself relieved at the way Beebe handles himself after a decade of Mike Huckabee. Remember when I said that the Speaker of the House was stirring up opposition to some of Beebe's ideas? Notice how our new Governor handles those issues in this Warwick Sabin video from YouTube.

Beebe focused on what they agreed on, made a logical defense for his positions, respected Petrus's right to his own view, and stressed that they could work it out because of a virtue his opponent possessed. Can anyone remember, or even imagine, Mike Huckabee handling a similar situation with such maturity and grace? Whenever a conservative Republican legislator expressed oppositon to any of Huckabee's ideas, the thin-skinned one sprouted more bristles than a bag of porcupines and made quotes like "he doesn't drink the same kind of Jesus-juice that I drink". Huckabee tended to make disagreement with him personal. Beebe brings in a very different style.

I still may agree more with Petrus than Beebe on the specifics of the issues. I am still sorting through the substance. Nevertheless, Beebe seems to understand how to comport himself with style in the office.

Pelosi Plans New Shackles for Free Speech

So you say you want to be a lobbyist? Well, new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to pass a law that may well make you into one, just for speaking out on public issues.

Of course, certain really established lobbyists, the ones with the big checkbooks, would not face any extra restrictions. Instead, you could be slapped with restrictions just for having the nerve of being part of a group who writes letters to your congressman!

For the Mark Taproot story, click WEDNESDAY below....

Criminals Among Us

Fayettevillians should feel safe. While they're sleeping at night, that infamous menace to society, Wayne Fincher, is locked securely away in a federal prison down in Fort Smith. Well, okay, Fincher doesn't have a criminal history. But after an 8-month investigation by the US Treasury Department, in which it was determined that Fincher failed to obtain permits for a couple of weapons he had made, the federal government thuggishly arrested him, rescuing his community from the possibility that Fincher would continue abiding among them in much the same way he lived his first 60 years in their midst: without a problem. He's not yet been found guilty, but don't worry- neither is he out on bond due to the steep terms insisted on by the federal government and agreed to by the fearful magistrate: $250,000, the deed to his family farm, banishment from said premises while remaining under house arrest at his daughter's abode, and no contact with his friends in the Washington county militia. Smelling a rat, Fincher balked at the "offer." So the people of Northwest Arkansas can all sleep peacefully knowing he's rotting in jail.

But wait. I forgot to mention...

Only the Illusion of a Constitutional Defense is Allowed

All Cozy like: Judge Hendren, with Congressman John Boozeman.
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In the machinegun "possession" case of Wayne Fincher Judge Hendren ruled yesterday that the defense would be able to use constitutional defenses to the jury. That part was good. Or was it? While he said they could use a "constitutional defense", he did not mean any constitutional defense. He did not mean the constitutional defense that the defense itself wanted to use. No, he would only allow the comparatively irrelevent constitutional defenses that he, the judge, decided to let the defense use.

I am not sure which is the larger travesty, preventing a defendent from using constitutional defenses in his jury trial, or creating the illusion that he enjoys the protections of that document by allowing him to only use those constitutional defenses that won't help him in the case.

Let me explain...(continued, click WEDNESDAY below and scroll down for article or if sent straight here just scroll down)

This is a Blog

This is a semi-blog on drugs (Brummett's new thing).

Any questions?

Well if you do, too bad for you! You will have to post your comments for Brummett here, because Brummett's "blog" does not allow for comments! I think a lot of us feel that without the ability to comment on the articles, it's not really a blog. It is no different from a short series of articles posted online- just like his paper does now.

The dinosaur media is having a very hard time with the idea that "just anybody" should be able to respond to their screeds. They are having a hard time letting go of the idea that they should win debates only because they have the biggest microphone and regardless of their ability to defend their positions intellectually. Those are the ones that will diminish.

It is evolution at work. Survival of the fittest. The environment is changing all around them. No longer is technology used soley to put out information en mass. It can now be used to allow for a real-time ebb and flow of information and ideas that can be viewed en mass. If we are virtueous enough, we can have an electronic version of the classical Greek society where they sat around the ampitheatre and held great debates and discussed lofty issues. Or we can use it strictly to exchange childish personal insults. That depends on our virtue and choices.

My point is that regardless of what we do with it, the technology will ensure the debate goes forward. The dinosaur media will progressively lose its ability to "shout down" the common man who is right and is able to explain why he is right. If Brummett has a steady stream of insider nuggets, people may stop off there briefly to learn about it, but then they are going to come to places like this one or the Arktimes to discuss what it means. Eventually, the insider nuggets will by-pass the middle man in this process.

Congratulations To New Office Holders

Congratulations are in order to those sworn in today to minister in state government. Governor Mike Beebe gave a gracious speech that was inspiring to many and offensive to none. This is not a day to dispute policy, but to congratulate the new state officers from top to bottom as the torch of self-government is peacefully passed. We are blessed to live in a great country. Our prayers will be for and with the new leaders of our state government.

With Liberty and Justice for Some

Fincher- outside the main stream and not a fashion-plate.
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Hollis Wayne Fincher will go on federal trial today for the "crime" of possessing two homemade machine guns. Fincher is 60 years old and has never been convicted of anything more serious than a traffic violation. The federal law he is being prosecuted for breaking hinges on the feds constitutional authority to regulate "interstate commerce", which is ridiculous in this case.

Also, as Jason Sheppard points out with very compelling logic in the previous post, it was long ago ruled that the rights of one entity should not be taxed by another, for "the power to tax is the power to destroy". If "B" can tax "A" for exercising their right, then "A's" right is at the practical mercy of "B". The same reasoning can be applied to why courts threw out the modest "poll tax". As a practical matter it put an undue burden on the poor, which hinders them in exercising a right.

Crazy judges who hallucinated the "right to an abortion" in the constitution have frequently rejected even modest measures like a 24 hour waiting period on the grounds that the "time tax" if you will, puts an "undue burden" on a person who desires to exercise this imaginary "right". Yet somehow no judge to date has made the obvious connection as regards to the EXPLICIT right to bear arms and the federal government mandating costly "permits" before we can legally exercise that right. Fincher could contend that paying $400 or more a year to the federal government to exercise a "right" that "the people" are explicitly granted in the constitution is an "undue burden".

So the just thing to do is obvious here. The principles and precendents are obvious. Logic, reason, and a clear reading of the Constitution of the United States makes the just thing to do obvious. But the longer this case goes on in the court of public opinion, the less I see those who want Fincher sent to prison argue the law. Instead, I see a different and dangerous tactic in the war for public opinion.

(continued- click TUESDAY below and scroll down for article, or if sent straight here just scroll down)

That Which Cannot Be Taxed

Benjamin Franklin once said that nothing was certain but death and taxes. We've all rolled our eyes upon hearing a crazy tax scheme cooked up by some freshman legislator. "What won't they tax?" is a comment likely to originate from a face behind a newspaper folded open to the poltical section. But let me ask you a serious question of civics: is anything 'sacred' when it comes to taxes? Can you name one thing that is truly off-limits to the tax man?

The year was 1819; the states were still adjusting to their relationship with the fledgling federal government. James Madison was president. The US Constitution had been in effect only 30 years now, yet turf battles were already being waged between the state and federal governments. This year, Maryland would demonstrate to the other states the ability of the US Congress to act in ways not explicitly authorized by the Constitution...
{Full Story}

Presidential Candidate Who Married His Cousin is from NY City, NOT Arkansas

Guiliani (in drag)- does his family tree look too much like a telephone pole?
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Arkansas has been unfairly stereotyped as backwards and inbred by east coast elitists. Now we are in first stages of the GOP Presidential primary, and there is a candidate who actually was once married to his own cousin. But it is not the Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee. Rather, we now learn that the Mayor of New York, Rudy Guliani, was once married to his 2nd cousin Regina. That marriage ended, as did his next marriage after some very public cheating. Guliani's escapades threaten to end his presidential hopes, according to a report put out by his own campaign that was leaked to the media.

My, I should hope so. If all that doesn't disqualify him, his leftist politics should. The man is supposed to be a "top tier" candidate! Is that the best they can do? There is not a keeper in the the three major choices that the media is trying to pick for us: Guiliani, John McCain, and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. Of course, I don't let the liberal media pick my candidates for me- maybe I lose a lot like that, but at least I don't vote for guys who were married to their cousins! So far darkhorse Congressman Duncan Hunter looks like the best of the bunch.

The North American Union - "They're Creating an Orwellian World," Lou Dobbs Says

Excerpts from
PREMEDITATED MERGER - North American Union
How leaders are stealthily transforming USA into North American Union dated January 2, 07.

"Just recently, for example, confirmation surfaced that the U.S. government is indeed planning on providing full Social Security benefits to Mexicans – which critics predict will bankrupt the already-shaky system. And a report by the powerful Council on Foreign Relations, regarded by many as something of a "shadow government," has called for a massive transfer of wealth from the U.S. to Mexico and the establishment of a "security perimeter" around North America – rather than securing America's borders with Mexico and Canada.

"So, while many dismiss plans to integrate the three North American countries as wild Internet "conspiracy theories," the January edition of WND's acclaimed Whistleblower magazine – titled "PREMEDITATED MERGER" – boldly lays out the disturbing evidence for all to see.

"Veteran newsman Lou Dobbs described the merger controversy this way in a recent CNN broadcast: "For any American to think that it is acceptable for the president of the United States and … our government, to proceed without the approval of Congress or a dialogue and a debate and a public voice from the people of this country is absolutely unconscionable. … What they're doing is creating a brave new world, an Orwellian world, in which the will of the people is absolutely irrelevant." (Entire transcript of his program included below)

"So take a deep breath, and then fasten your seat belt for this guided tour of what the U.S., Mexican and Canadian governments, as well as behind-the-scenes power brokers, have planned for America. Your Whistleblower "tour guides" will be Joseph Farah, Jerome Corsi Ph.D., Lou Dobbs, Rep. Tom Tancredo, Rep. Ron Paul, Patrick Buchanan, Joe Kovacs and David Kupelian."
Highlights of "PREMEDITATED MERGER" include: (Article lists several aspects of this plan to create the merger of US, Mexico, and Canada)

For rest of this story see this link:
For entire transcript of Lou Dobbs on CNN see this link:

"Free Wayne" Signs Popping Up All Over: Get Yours Today

Demo-Zette columnist Mike Masterson has reported that "Free Wayne" signs are popping up all over NWA. They refer to Wayne Fincher, the 60 year old Washington County man who has mananged to go all his life without being a criminal, and who the feds would now like to turn into one. His "crime" was that he manufactured and possessed a "machine gun". That is, he took a perfectly legal gun that fires once each time you pull the trigger and made it into one that will keep firing as long as you hold the trigger down.

There is nothing illegal about that either, lot's of people have such guns, but the Feds say you must buy a license (from the Treasury Department) to possess such a weapon. Fincher's team maintains that since the feds used their Constituional right to regulate "interstate commerce" to make the law saying a federal license is required, a gun manufactured and posessed in a single state does not fall under the law, and is instead protected by the Constitution's 2nd amendment. Any laws regulating possession of firearms made and held in-state would have to be state laws.

Outrageously, the feds are trying to exclude the use of the Constitution as a defense at the trial. We had a long debate on this thread over the propriety of that effort, and of whether or not Judges should (as they claim now) be the sole determiner of questions of law. I stand by the position that every defendent should be able to make Constitutional defenses to a jury in a trial. I understand that today's lawyers have been indoctrinated to the opposite belief, but I hope many of them have shaken off that brainwashing. To any that haven't: you don't want to debate me on that issue.

There are some reports that Mr. Fincher is not doing well in custody, that they are not allowing him to see his lawyer, and that their have been inordinate delays in getting him medication at the Sebastian County Jail (they are contracted with the feds to hold prisioners, unless they are illegal aliens I guess, because we always here stories about how the feds say there is "no room" to detain illegals arrested by local authorities). I am "dismayed" by such reports, to put it non-profanely.

The government wants to make an example of this case. It is getting to where I do too. I think I will get a "Free Wayne" sign for our yard. I will update this report when I find out how to get one in case you want one too.

Regretably I'd Now Vote to Impeach the President

In the 2000 election I worked harder than most to get G.W. Bush elected President. I was in charge of Arkansas Right to Life's Union County effort to distrubute 5,000 voter guides to people which highlighted Bush's position on abortion with Al Gore's. I have made a sad journey from that place to the place where I am now- if I were in Congress and properly worded articles of impeachment were before me, I'd almost certainly vote to impeach him.

The man has exhibited no respect whatsoever for Constitutional limits on the power of his own office. The fourth amendment says that the people shall be secure in their effects from unreasonable search and seizure, nor shall any search be conducted without obtaining a warrant. Bush may not be watching the borders, but he is doing everything he can to watch the citizens of this country, probable cause or no. That warrant part is real important. It means the executive has a check and balance on its power. It has to go to another co-equal branch of government, the judiciary, to get permission to search.

They normally don't take long to get- judges issue them in the middle of the night in their pajamas. In certain emergency situations there is even a provision to get the warrants 48 hours after the search has been conducted. I'm not OK with that, but even that seems to be too restrictive for our Police-state President. What he wants is a blank check to monitor the communications of all Americans all the time with no outside scrutiny.

First we learn that his phone monitoring, despite his claims that they were only being used against Al-Quida suspects, are actually being used in mass against millions of ordinary Americans most of whom are not suspected of any crime. Because I speak out on public issues, my guess is that they have the phone numbers of everyone who called me or I called since this sorry business began. That can have a chilling effect on associating with those who critisize the government.

Now we learn that he wants to get in your mail without bothering to get a warrant. With the electronic communications one could at least argue that it lends itself to mass-monitoring so that a warrant for each case would be difficult and that the speed of electronic communications necessitates time-dependent analysis. What even inadequate excuse could be offered for this latest violation of the Constitution?

What makes his actions even more apalling is that they were done in a quiet "signing statement" after a bill was passed by Congress that specifically strengthened privacy protections for mail. If he had a problem with that, he should have vetoed it. Instead, he signed it and then quietly signed a memo saying that his "understanding" of the law basically meant that it did not apply to him whenever he felt like it shouldn't! Why even have a Congress when the executive can ignore their laws at will? Why have a judiciary if citizen's effects can be rifled without warrant and men imprisoned without trial?

I hope my fellow citizens realize the seriousness of these abuses before they grow so common and pervasive that all our freedoms are endangered.

What Kind of Person Should Fill the Opening on The Board that Disciplines Judges?

James Badami, the executive director of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, said today he is retiring from the panel in June, KUAR reports. Mr. Badami should be congratulated on a long and scandal-free career of public service.

The nine-member commission investigates and disciplines judges for judicial misconduct. The commission was created by a constitutional amendment in 1988. Various members of the state government get a turn at appointing members, including the Governor, the Lt. Governor, and I believe the Speaker of the House.

What sort of person should the executive or legislative branch pick to fill the position? If it were me, I'd pick a hard one- particularly in one metaphorical part of the anatomy. One that would be for updating the rules of judicial misconduct to include usurpation of the other branches of government's authority.

After all, if a judge got caught with a hooker, I'd expect the commission to give that judge the boot. Violating the Constitution's seperation of powers is just as serious a menance to our liberties, and they are doing that all the time. If you don't believe me, just ask Chief Justice Jim Hannah, who wrote of his colleagues' actions in the latest Lakeview ruling, "the majority is again retaining jurisdiction of this case and continuing to monitor the Legislature's actions. I simply cannot support or condone such a blatant violation of this court's constitutional role."

(continued- click WEDNESDAY below and scroll down for rest of article, or if sent straight here just scroll down.)

AR Anti-Christian Ed Program Will Promote Complete Disarmament

In November I posted an article on this blog entitled IBO - Anti-Christian Education Program Implemented in Arkansas by SB1054 of 2005 at this link: I noted these things about the law: The IBO is a United Nations global educational program designed to produce global citizens. IBO stands for International Baccalaureate Organization. The IBO program was slipped through the legislature with not one legislator voting against it. It is being implemented in Jonesboro, Arkansas as an elementary magnet school. It has already been implemented at Springdale, Hot Springs, and North Little Rock.

I included in that article this quote: According to parents of students in IBO, "No longer are children learning the difference between capitalism and socialism. No longer are children being taught why the United States became the most powerful economic engine the world has ever known. Instead, they are being taught that with less than 5 percent of the world's population, the U.S. uses 25 percent of the world's resources and produces 25 percent of the world's pollution.... "They are being taught that the U.S. is the No. 1 terrorist nation. They are being taught that the rest of the world is mired in poverty because of the greedy capitalists in the United States."

This is Part II of that article:

Following are some quotes from an article by International Baccalaureate Director General Ian Hill who is the IB0 Deputy Director General. (May be former director general by now) and International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The article is entitled Curriculum Development and Ethics in International Education"

IBO Promotes Complete Disarmament

In one of its documents IBO heralds the UN International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World 2001-2010. Following is a quote from that document. "Culture of Peace in Promoting international peace and security through action such as the promotion of general and complete disarmament. (1)

Following quote is from International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Deputy Director Ian Hill

"The French scientific philosopher Michel Serres laments international relations which are based on dominance, power and competition. He remarks wisely that the winners will change over time as they always have throughout history. The irony is that dominance is the most shared thing in the world (over time). The tragedy is that the struggle for dominance multiplies human misery. … It appears that Costa Rica alone—the only country without an army—has understood. (2)

But IBO Praises Islam (Reminds one of Koffie Annan's tactics)

Following quote is from International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Deputy Director Ian Hill

"The IB diploma philosophy course promotes skills of conceptual analysis, rational argument and sensitivity to other points of view... This course aims to show that Islam is one of the great world religions, that it has fundamental values rooted in respect for others and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and that Islam has many followers in addition to the Arab world." (3)

Perhaps the IB educational program was where the required courses in California on Islam religion originated. Several California schools now are requiring that students attend an intensive three-week course on Islam. There are 82 IB schools in California. The following quote describes the course being taught in California. "The course mandates that seventh-graders learn the tenets of Islam, study the important figures of the faith, wear a robe, adopt a Muslim name and stage their own jihad. Adding to this apparent hypocrisy, reports ANS, students must memorize many verses in the Koran, are taught to pray "in the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful" and are instructed to chant, "Praise to Allah, Lord of Creation." (4)

IBO More Concerned With Values Than With Academics

Whose values will they promote? All values these days are controversial even in US, much less worldwide.

Following quote is from International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Deputy Director Ian Hill

For rest of this article see this link:
http://www.wpaag.org/IBO%20-%20Promotes%20Complete%20Disarmament%20&%20Tolerance.htm

Calling the Copts

Ethiopian troops on the march.
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The establishment media seems loathe to report the good news in the war on terror- for all the politically incorrect reasons. Still, there is news to report, and since they don't want to the job is left to us. The government of Ethiopia has sent in troops to help the secular goverment in Somalia drive out Al-Quida linked Islamofacsists who were backed financially by Saudis. It worked. The last islamofacist stronghold fell yesterday to the cheers of the population.

This should be a lesson to all of us as to how and where to fight islamofacsism. The Ethiopians are largely Coptic Christians. They acted WITH the army of the secular government of the Somalia and were seen as friends rather than as invaders come to take over. It is also my guess that they did not wage PC warfare with the Islamofascists, nor were any court martialed for acts in the field.

Predictions of Big Battles Over Budget Surplus

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Interest Groups Prepare To Pounce on Budget Surplus
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With the legislative session about to begin, predictions loom that a big fight will ensue over who will get how much of the $843 million dollar budget surplus. Individual legislators licking their chops over the prospect of bringing home the pork have been stymied by a court ruling that at least one such bill was unconstitutional. That tilts the scales over to groups with state-wide interests, such as education. Governor-elect Beebe stands firm on grocery tax phase-out. Should that not happen, the one group left out of the feasting will be the people that originally earned the money being divided up- the taxpayers.