Thursday, September 30, 2010

O'Brien, Arkansas Times, Have it Wrong on Martin

"Ark Times has it wrong", like "Dog Bites Man", is not really news.
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The Arkansas Times website has joined Democrat Secretary of State Candidate Patrick O'Brien in launching a series of accusations against Republican Secretary of State Candidate Mark Martin. At the risk of never becoming a "content partner" with Max and Company, I have personal knowledge of this situation and can report to you that Ark Times and O'Brien are full of baloney on this one.

Besides erroneously reporting that what Martin was complaining about had already been corrected (it has not, because Martin was complaining about the cover-up and Obrien's claim of "flawless" administration of over 30 elections, not simply the original crime), the non-journalists at the reality-challenged lefty Ark Times questioned whether or not Martin was being honest when he reported a business and a campaign office at an address off of Wagon Wheel road that houses Kimbal Plumbing.

Here are some questions Mr. O'Brien has that I can clear up for him...

On Wednesday, Rep. Martin for the first time declared that he has a separate business address. He listed this address as 9310 E. Wagon Wheel Road, Springdale, Arkansas. Records show this building is occupied by Kimbel Mechanical Systems. Kimbel Mechanical Systems donated $500.00 to the Martin campaign on July 26, 2010.

“Why did this mysterious business office suddenly appear on the same day that media sources were questioning Rep. Martin’s use of taxpayer funds for his campaign for Secretary of State,” said O’Brien, “Is this really his business office? When did it become his business office? Mark needs to answer these questions.” According to an Associated Press report, Rep. Martin claims that the Wagon Wheel address has been his business office for four years. However, when asked for an address by the reporter he had to look up the address because he did not know it offhand.


Answers: Yes, it really is his business office and has been for years. Several years ago, when I took a job with a now-defunct building and home supply company, I visited him in his office at the Kimbal facility. We each went over what we did in an effort to decide if we could help each other. It turns out that we could not, but he explained to me that Kimball needed services like his from time to time, just not often enough to justify a full time employee to do it. What they did instead was cut him a deal on running his business from an office in their business. That way they could use him when needed, but he could also seek out other clients.

By the way, he did legislative businees out of that office too. That was where my sister and I visited him about an idea that later became HB 1665, sponsored by Martin.

So Mr. O'Brien can rest easy on that one. I can testify that Martin has done business, both building and legislative, out of the Kimball office for years.

Patriots On Watch Net Radio


Your Host, The Southern Avenger, and Paul Craig Roberts all seem to agree that America
is headed toward a police state. We have socialists who think they are progressives, and fascists who think they are conservatives. Here's how to tell the difference.

Pray for Barack Obama

The scripture commands us to "pray for kings and all those in authority" in 1st Timothy. I confess I have had a hard time working up any enthusiasm for following that precept while Barack Obama was riding high in the President's office. Now comes reports that he is suffering from severe depression.

I believe the reports. Even I can get depressed when I understand where this nation is heading, and I won't be the one held responsible for it. Perhaps at one time he thought that soaring rhetoric would be enough. That illusion has been shattered. It is often so that people who live by lies suffer depression when reality hits them. I feel that he is to be pitied. He's going down, in a spectacular way, and there is nothing he can do about it. He can only hang around two more years in an increasingly dysfunctional administration while things unravel.

Even though he has done wicked things, and one might say he is getting his just and inevitable desserts it is still proper to regret this outcome for him. It may be necessary for those who do wrong to suffer, but the righteous should not celebrate their destruction overmuch. This may be the time that God uses to really get ahold of him and change him into the man God wants him to be.

I still don't believe he is really the President, but he is still a human being made in the image of God. As to the harm he has done, he has mostly been a figurehead for larger dark forces. For the first time since he took office, I believe I can follow the scriptural command with passion, and I invite you to join me.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Antidote for Razorback's Ground Game Woes


Broderick Green, AP Photo.

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Sure my focus is public policy, but like every guy, I also like to think I know a little bit about football. Many people are scratching their heads over the Hogs lack of a ground game. I believe I have the answer. Broderick Green needs less playing time, or to be more exact, fewer carries relative to the other backs. The other running backs, Knile Davis, Dennis Johnson, and Ronnie Wingo, need more.

I hate to say this, because I have nothing against Green as a person, and not even anything against him as a back. He just has the wrong style for the "go to" runner in the spread offense. He can pick up blitzing linebackers well, and he has good hands. He might make it in the NFL, but not as a runner, especially in an offense like the Hogs run. He is just not good enough at making people miss, and that's what you have to do in an offense which spreads out, rather than flattens, the defense.

Look at the rushing stats so far (this will change as the Razorbacks play more games). As it stands on the date of this post, Green has as many carries as the other three put together. Yet in spite of getting as many carries as the trio, he has less than half of their yards rushing. He is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry, and many of those carries have come against weaker opponents. Johnson is averaging over nine yards a carry, why not let him get a few more opportunities? Davis and Wingo are just over and just under six yards a carry, also very respectable averages. Those others are shifty and do have the ability to make people miss. They don't just have speed, but sudden acceleration, where as Green takes a while to get his powerful body built up to a full head of steam.

It is true that Green had a fairly good average per carry last year (4.3 yards), but 99 of his 434 yards came on one play. Toss that play out and his average per carry for last year would be 3.3 yards. In other words, close to what it is now. Compare that to Wingo and Johnson, who both averaged over six yards a carry. Davis was close to five yards a carry in his limited action last year.

The coaches are trying to make Green the "go to" runner, but there are other young men on campus whose skills are more fitting for that role. Green is a talented athlete who deserves lots of playing time, but his role in the rushing game should be shifted to lead blocker, IMHO.

Martin Goes After O'Brien on Military Ballots

Tolbert has the story. The Secretary of State race just got a lot harder. Martin has accused O'Brien of a violation of the voting rights act and attempting to cover it up.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Things Getting Out of Control in Local Politics

You have probably heard about the dust-up between Harris and Hunton in the District 87 State Rep. race. I have heard rumors of something worse going down between two city council members in Centerton. One council member alleges that another member went to their home, assaulted, and pulled a gun on them. Can anyone flesh this story out?

The Police State Picks Up Steam

New CyberSecurity Bill would give Obama the power to shut down companies who do not comply with Federal orders to spy on customers or shut down "subversive" sites.

Meanwhile, Paul Craig Roberts says its official, the US has become a police state, after anti-war activists in five states are raided by the FBI because of suspected "links to terrorists." Political dissent is quickly becoming a crime. Dissent enough, and the Executive Branch now claims power to assassinate American Citizens without a trial or any judicial review of its actions.

Murphy's Should Have Made More Donations to Democrats


Murphy Oil Company, the El Dorado based oil producer, refiner, and retailer, has been hit with heavy fines and expensive demands to upgrade pollution control equipment at two of its refineries. Neither of those facilities are in-state. This disclosure adds some context to the rumors that Murphy was looking to sell its US refineries. Apparently it is too expensive to operate refineries in the United States in this environment.

Murphy Oil is perhaps best known for its "El Dorado Promise" program, whereby they provide college scholarships to virtually every graduate of El Dorado High School. The family is also well known for being big-time Republican donors. Call me a cynic, but I can't help but wonder if their company was not subjected to more intense scrutiny because of their donations.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Inexplicable Poll Results (College Football)

Can anybody tell me how the Razorbacks drop from #10 to #15 on the basis of barely losing to #1? Alabama has crushed people, yet they had to come from behind with two minutes left to win.

I guess if the Hogs had beaten 'Bama the pollsters would have only dropped us two spots instead of 5???

Two Things We Can Do to Reduce Autism Risk

Autism spectrum disorders now occur in about one of every 100 children born. It’s a dreadful condition, and I have become convinced, a preventable one. I think there are specific steps we can take to reduce the incidence of autism back down to where it was in the 1960s- so rare that no one even knew what it was. This is probably the most important column I have ever written for you. Ever parent of a newborn child should know what I have written here.

First of all, there are two vaccines mandated for infants in the U.S. which are made using cells derived from the tissue of aborted fetuses. They use cultures from aborted babies to “grow” the weakened viruses that they put in the vaccine. That genetic material then winds up in the babies when they get vaccinated. According to Dr. Theresa Deisher of Soundchoice.org, some genetic material from the aborted fetal tissue is picked up by the viruses during replication. It is already known that such “improperly integrated therapeutic DNA” can cause cancer in children. There is now evidence to suggest that it contributes to autism as well.

For the first time ever, the specially set up “vaccine courts” have ruled that the MMR vaccine “resulted in” the autism of a young girl named Hannah Poling. “Vaccine Courts” are special courts set up in the 1980s separate from our regular judicial system that were established for the specific purpose of limiting the liability of vaccine makers. If any of this sounds unbelievable to you, I invite you to Google it on the internet for yourself. The facts are out there, but there is no entity with a financial interest in providing you with those facts.

In the Polling case the courts ruled that Hannah had an underlying genetic disorder which when combined with the vaccines resulted in the autism. While in theory this would limit the risk of the vaccines, in practice there is simply no easy way to know whether or not your child has a genetic predisposition to autism which is triggered by vaccines whose viruses were derived from aborted fetal tissue. The two vaccines commonly administered to young children in the United States which contain products derived from aborted fetal tissue are the MMR and the Chicken Pox vaccines.

A graph I saw taken from data from the California department of health showed autism at a low and nearly level rate for years. After the first MMR II dose was put into the vaccine list, the rate went up some. When the second dose was added years later, the rate climbed again. Then when the Chicken Pox vaccine was added, it really took off. Correlation does not necessarily mean causation, but it can indicate causation.

Many people thought that a compound that contains mercury that was once used as a preservative in some vaccines was causing autism. That has been debunked, but not the fetal-tissue vaccine link. The two studies that are cited as evidence that the MMR does not contribute to autism (from Yokohama and Sweden) are flawed.

The other factor appears to be vitamin D issues. Pregnant women are told to stay out of the sun, but sunshine is the primary source of vitamin D, which is necessary for a fetus to develop a healthy nervous system. I advise pregnant women to get plenty of vitamin D, and don’t give babies the MMR II or Chicken Pox vaccines until they offer versions which don’t contain genetic material from aborted fetuses. Arkansas law allows for religious exemptions from vaccinations for school purposes.

Obama "Justice" Department: Assassination of US Citizens Without Courts

The "Justice" Department has actually argued that the President should have the power to assassinate American citizens without court oversight.

Since the US citizen to be assassinated is a Muslim who the government (without presenting any proof) says is associated with terrorists, some fascists who think they are conservatives might think this is OK. It's not OK. Conservatives are supposed to have a natural mistrust of unbridled and unlimited government power. Fascists and socialists may want to use government power for different things, but they both like a state with vast powers. I would suggest that if you think you are a "conservative", but also think an executive branch with the power to kill US citizens without court oversight is OK, then you are in error about the correct label to describe your politics. You aren't conservative on this one, you're a fascist.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Patriots On Watch Net Radio


32 minute audio here.

This Program: Specific example of the nanny state rant. Plus, 'the marginal utility of agnosticism'. Also, the Ruling Class is trying to revise history
about the bailouts. Don't believe them.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Pledge to America Unveiled

Lucy Van Pelt, shortly after once again pledging to Charlie Brown that she will not move the football.
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The national Republicans have unveiled their "Pledge to America." Color me cynical that any bottom-line difference will occur.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Arkansas Termite Laws: Can't Inspect Unless You Spray


The anti-liberty bias of our nanny-state legislature here in Arkansas consistently amazes me. Here we are in one of the most "pro-gun" states in the union, and it is illegal for a law-abiding citizen to open-carry a firearm- never mind what the state constitution says.

I am also frustrated at the tendency of our legislature to let industries write the laws that concern them, to the detriment of consumers. An example of this is our law on termite inspections. The law says that termite inspectors must guarantee that there will be no termites on the premises for one year after the date of inspection. Obviously, nobody can do that without laying down some heavy, and expensive, toxins.

While an inspection could typically be done for less than $100, the application of the poison brings the cost to triple or even quadruple that amount. I am sure the industry loves the law- it mandates that consumers have to buy the full package from them. One pest control guy told me that to his knowledge Arkansas was the only state in the union which took the choice away from the consumer as to whether they wanted only an inspection or the whole enchilada.

In my case, I am attempting to refinance my house. My house is made of cedar, which termites don't like. I have a young child who plays around the house. I don't want the toxins. I don't need the toxins, and I can't afford the toxins. I just want to certify to the bank that my house is not infested. Some legislators in Little Rock at some point decided that they, not me, should micromanage this area of my life, presumably on the idea that they from Little Rock know so much better than me what decisions I should make about pest control of my own property. Thanks, you nanny-state losers.

58% Say New Party Needed


According to Gallup, this is equal to the highest level ever. It's not a result of the Tea Party- those positive toward the Tea Party have about the same level of support for a new party (high) as those neutral towards the Tea Party. It's not a left-right thing, although conservatives lag a little bit (54-61) in the percentage who say we need a new party. That's probably because they are so, well, conservative.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Signs Against Millage Increase Reported Stolen?

David Keller of the Washington County Tea Party is reporting that a number of signs along Highway 265 in Fayetteville have come up missing. The signs notified people that there is a millage election in Fayetteville this Tuesday and urging people to vote against the tax increase.

The tax was voted down in a previous election, but those favoring a new Fayetteville High School more opulent than Springdale's uber-opulent Har-Ber have decided that the people get to "choose again." As an added bonus, they want it kept very quiet that a choice is even going to be made! Yep, hold the election at an off time, keep it on the Q-T, but tell all of those who will benefit from the tax increase about the election. On the other hand, don't burden the general public with the knowledge that there is going to be a tax vote! And if anyone does try to tell the public, pull their signs!

The Marginal Utility of Agnosticism




Many young people today are ingrained agnostics. That is, they don’t have faith in anybody, or any thing, or any belief system. To them, all authorities are questionable and should be questioned. They are trained to be this way by an education system and culture that holds that all values are equal, and that any values you select should just be because it’s what those around you have arbitrarily chosen. Ironically, they also hold to the adage “knowledge is power.” Here I present my answering letter to a former student who thanked me for steering him away, not from agnosticism, but agnosticism for its own sake. I did this in the context of a discourse by renowned Atheist astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking, in order to preserve his atheist beliefs, was constrained by emerging scientific evidence to advance increasingly unlikely scenarios in order to find a model where our universe could pop into being without the need of a Creator.

“Well have you written that "knowledge is power." That's a truth right there, and a truth that is going to smack headlong into the other idea that you have been toying with- the idea that deep down nothing is true, that one can stay "agnostic" about all truth claims. Either some of those claims are true and you must follow those claims to find the power that this knowledge brings, or nothing is true and therefore there is no power in knowledge.

For those who have spent years following the largest questions of the natural universe, such as Dr. Hawking and to a much lesser extent myself, knowledge narrows down the reasonable choices. In other words, when one knows little one can consider thousands of possibilities and they can all seem about equally probable or improbable. You can believe, or disbelieve, anything. But once one knows enough then only one thing, the truth, is fit to be believed.

What I am saying with all that is that agnosticism is only a virtuous position for a limited time in limited circumstances, to whit- to prevent one from selecting a wrong path too early and on too little evidence. Agnosticism is a temporary virtue in the degree that it allows one to more carefully select a right path. When made a permanent philosophy it acts as a barrier which prevents embarkation upon any path at all. As a life-time goal it is a vice more than a virtue, since it leaves one ever seeking but never coming to a knowledge of the truth.

You cannot find the power that comes from any belief system (and even false belief systems do have power, as you have noted) until you embrace one. I advise you use your questioning to choose wisely, not let the Devil flatter you into thinking you are so above it all that it is somehow beneath you to ever choose anything or anyone to believe in. Should your pride be used to trick you in that manner, the day will come when you are old and gray having lived without the power and the blessings that belief systems which are largely lined up with moral reality can bring.

But I don't say that power should be the highest goal. It far too often leads to the corruption of its possessors. Perhaps a more noble man should prefer truth to power. The study of the acquisition of power is the study of how to use people and systems rather than how to be of use. At least one system of thought I hope you would consider on its truth claims, Christianity, values love and service more than power.

Hawking wants badly to be an atheist, but he knows too much to imagine a thousand ways the universe could just pop up without a God. The knowledge he has obtained is power all right, it is the power to force him to a conclusion that he does not wish to accept. And he won't accept it. He will turn all his brilliance to finding some straw to grasp at, such as his latest speculations. That's because one's ultimate choice on belief systems is not determined on their knowledge of facts, but rather the condition of their heart. It is a question of the will, rather than the intellect. Your answer to these questions ultimately says more about you than it does about the available knowledge to answer them.”

Ryan Mallett for Governor

AP photo Beth Hall

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Readers of this site have surely noted a quantitative drop in political coverage from me, especially considering the season. I find Arkansas politics this year to be dreadful, and boring. There are plenty of people to vote against, but few on the horizon that a limited-government conservative can vote FOR with a clean conscience.

Certainly Blanche Lincoln is a loathesome sore on the hindquarters of our body politic. She is re-affirming that even now with her support of the so-called DREAM act. At a time when the nation is bankrupt, this bill would make illegal aliens eligible for taxpayer scholarships and in-state tuition subsidies. This is about like giving Arkansas voters the finger on camera. I can only conclude that she knows she is going to lose, and wants to please the big corporations who support illegal immigration one last time before she moves on to a highly-paid position as a lobbyist. Pryor may want another term enough so that he does not join her in her DREAM/madness act. We will see.

As wretched as she is, I simply cannot work up the needed energy to delude myself into thinking that John Boozman is anything but an insider who is of the crowd that got us into this mess. He voted for whatever massive spending bill Karl Rove told him to, including the bailouts which we were screaming at him not to vote for. A fax from a hack like Rove seems to carry more weight with him than the views of 99% of his constituents. Not somebody one can get enthusiastic about. I am also curious as to how the subdivision he is a partner in out on Beaver Lake got to do so much developing so close to the water. It's my understanding that the Corp of Engineers is very fussy about what they let developers do there. At least those developers who don't have a Congressman as their partner.

Blanche Lincoln must be stopped, but there is no need to indulge in any fantastical delusions about what we are getting in her place.

For Congress, I intend to vote for Steve Womack with no need to get fired up about it, because he is going to cruise to a win. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the job. Our best chance is that he takes a dis-liking to the town and reads them the riot act. He is one of the few that I am able to be at least mildly hopeful about. We don't need to send back-slapping go-along grinners to DC. We are not happy with them and we need to send guys who will communicate that displeasure. I guess I am saying that its nice that he isn't too nice.

In the First District, I hear they may have something to be fired up about. I am glad for it, but writing about that one is probably best left to our east-Arkansas correspondent Debbie Pelley.

In the 2nd District, the GOP voters nominated another Rovian. For some reason, they seem to think if they have heard the name before, then they must be the right person, even if they have "heard the name" because of scandal. In this case, Rove wanted Griffin in because of a belief that Bud Cummings, who he replaced, might not politicize the office enough for Rove's liking. Establishment guy all the way. Why the GOP primary voters choose people who will represent DC rather than them is beyond me. At any rate, he is running against a far-left crazy who will not represent either the voters, or DC, but rather the ghosts of Mao and Che. So it probably is a smaller version of the Lincoln-Boozman race in the sense that Elliot is too far left (of reality) to risk in the seat. When your choices are insanity or corruption, vote corruption.

Down in the 4th, Ross may not deserve to win, but he's gonna, just like Womack will win up here. Hopefully, God loves Beth Ann Rankin too much to send her to DC just before the whole phony thing implodes.

That would bring us to state offices, but I don't have the stomach to go on. There is no contest for Governor, hence the title of this article, and really no contest for Attorney General. On the state level, only Mark Martin is enough of an original thinker to give me even a glimmer of hope that somebody might get up there who has some kind of clue how to get us out of the mess both D's and R's have given us. Of course, even if he does, he can't do much about it from the Sec. of State's office. I may be voting "Green" some more, not because their candidates are right on policy, far from it, but rather to send a message to the big two to that I am not going to keep eating whatever $*!+ they serve up.

Some would claim I am unduly pessimistic in my opins. If so, it's the only area of life I am pessimistic in. I'm an optimist when the facts permit it, but lack the gift of selective delusion so prevalent in political people these days. We will never get a better set of facts until we are willing to face the ones we've got.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

ISO- Have We Broken the Code on Autism?

So important was the previous webcast that I decided to isolate on the topic of what may be behind the explosion of autism. I did not want my political views to get in the way of anyone acting on the information about autism, so I did a program that took my political views out of it. Unlike other programs, where I cover a variety of topics and stories, this one covers in-depth the evidence on what is provoking the explosion of autism, and that is all it covers. That, and exactly what parents can do to minimize their risks.

Here is the link. I advise you to send it to anyone you know with newborn children or who are about to have children.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Have We Broken the Code on Autism?


32 minute audio here.

Autism effects about 1 of every 100 children currently born. We may have found out the reason for the explosion in autism, and what parents can do to stop it, but too many powerful interests are involved for the most likely reason to get a fair hearing. Find out what every parent of a newborn needs to know to protect your child from autism. Plus the usual array of political topics....

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Court Rules MMR Vaccine Contributed to Autism



The MMR (and Chicken Pox) vaccines use viral products that are derived from aborted fetal tissue. I have long suspected this plays a role in triggering autism spectrum disorder in a certain percentage of children. I advise against administering these vaccines to your young children until an acceptable substitute is found.

Delaware GOP Establishment Goes After Tea Party Candidate

Kind of reminds me of some of the things that went on here. Come to think of it, its going on all over the country as the ruling class tries to put down a serf uprising. Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint have endorsed the outsider.

Obstacles to Dialogue

As usual I got myself in trouble over the weekend with my tendency to share my opinions too frankly. Sure this tendency has cost me plenty over the years, but since it may be the most Christ-like thing about me, I am loathe to give it up!

What really gets me in trouble is that I arrive at these opinions independently rather than simply taking my cues from one global media corporation or the other who are trying to divide us into two warring camps. This means I get to be misunderstood by angry people on both sides- and that’s just from friends and family! That’s why I love typing things out on the internet. When people filter what they think you said and try to put you in one box or the other you can go back and point out to them what you actually said. It is always nice the times that this works. In many cases though, even when it is in writing they can’t reach the place where they comprehend what you actually wrote. Their brain insists on reading what their filters think you must have written rather than what you have written.

I started with my statement that although I don’t want a mosque built in my town I’d rather live with a mosque in my town that with a government which had the power to ban them. Such powers will eventually be used to shut down Bible Believing churches who appose immorality favored by the ruling elites, such as abortion, homosexual marriage, fiat money, and even the idea that man evolved by chance rather than being created in the image of God. “Churches” which play along with the government will be permitted to continue only if they forsake the prophetic role of speaking unwelcome truth to power.

I made the one club mad when I said that abortion costs us another 9/11 everyday since 1973, and that it was a bigger threat to America than radical Muslims. I asked conservatives why they are letting the media re-arrange their priorities and forgetting all about the greater and more recent bloodshed. That got one side stirred up, now all I had to do was stir up the liberals and I’d unfortunately have all of my bases covered. My negative description of Muslims as a whole and Islam as a religion took care of that.

A former student represented the liberal side. She claimed that the reason we can’t have a dialogue in this country (the example she gave was about race since she is black) is because people use hurtful terms- like “enemy” to describe Muslims and “backward” to describe Islam. Apparently, the use of pejorative adjectives is a “no-no” in the liberal’s conception of a dialogue. Except of course for the ones they want to use such as “racist”, “sexist” “homophobic” et cetera.

My position is that it is our hesitancy to speak frankly and openly to one another, along with hyper-sensitive feelings, that are the largest obstacles to a meaningful dialogue. The left says they want a dialog, but you have a whole list of banned terms that you are not permitted to use lest you offend their feelings. The logical conclusion then is that it is their feelings that are in the way of dialogue, not my words. And if the words I use are not accurate descriptors, then let them show how. Make it clear that I have a problem in my perceptions. But if those words are accurate descriptors, then perhaps it is they who have a problem in their behavior.

NRA Again Shows they have Sold Out Gun Owners

This time in Nevada. They are not endorsing anyone in the Senate race, even though outsider challenger Sharon Angle out scores incumbent Harry Reid. Add to it, Reid is the one who gets their money, not Angle!

My conclusion is that they have become Washington insiders.

Friday, September 10, 2010


30 minute audio here.

Dr. Hawking's latest speculations on creation without a Creator provide a valuable lesson. More on the relative threat of Islam. Also, the government moves to force you away from gold and silver and back into a rigged game.

Arkansas Officer Draws Grigg's Attention

Will Grigg is a radical libertarian who often writes for Lew Rockwell. He is too anti-authoritarian even for me, almost an anarchist. A favorite topic of his is the police officer who abuses his authority. Unfortunately, an Arkansas officer made the latest column. His behavior certainly gave Grigg plenty of ammo.

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

So Who Should Get Your Late Money Contributions?

We are in the home stretch for political season. Who should get your final round of donations if you are a limited-government conservative in the state of Arkansas? Here are the right questions to ask....

1. Is the candidate within the "rational give" window? That is to say, the polls show they have a good chance to win, but they are not so far ahead that they don't really need your help. If a candidate is so far behind that your contribution can't help them win, then it makes no sense to give to them. If they are so far ahead that they are going to win whether you give or not then it makes no sense to give to them. Use your precious dollars where they will make a difference- "in the window".

2. Will the candidate attempt to make the kind of changes that you want made if elected? Some people give just because they want to beat the candidate's opponent, not because the candidate shares their view of government. Why give to someone who, even if they win, won't do what you want done?

3. Is the office the candidate running for one that is in position to effect the changes that I want to see? If your top issue is foreign policy, then obviously you would be inclined toward giving to a federal candidate. If your top issue is government spending, then either federal or state is fine. Still, I remind you that tomorrow's candidates for federal office are often drawn from today's state candidates.

I can't speak to local offices, because you all live in various localities. Local races are often more important that the average citizen realizes, especially if you have a local candidate with the gumption to tell Washington "no." I do think some of your contribution dollars should go to good local candidates, but I can advise you on who because the situation will be different in every location.

As far as state and federal races go, to me there are two clear possibilities. Your late contributions should go to either A) State Representative Mark Martin for Secretary of State or B) 1st District Congressional Candidate Rick Crawford. The reason is simple, they are the only two on the ballot who can reasonably be said to pass all three of the metrics for contributions outlined above.

Martin gets better marks on metric #1, the last poll showed him winning by a single point over his opponent, Barack Obama's campaign manager in Arkansas Pat O'Brien. Crawford seems to have a solid lead and pretty good cash on hand.

I figure a tie on metric #2. Some would say Crawford gets the edge on metric #3 because D.C. is where all the action is. I disagree. When it comes to telling D.C. "NO", which is what is going to have to happen, state officials are going to be a crucial part of it. And many of D.C.s designs require a state legislature willing to go along with them. Not only will the Secretary of State have a hand in drawing new district lines after the 2010 census, and conduct elections with an eye to combating election fraud, but they control facilities on the capital grounds. State legislators who want to do the right thing face enough obstacles exercising their independence. Nice to know that they would not have to worry about getting the worst office in the place if they try it....

How Gov.Beebe and Obama Are Weaning Us Off Cars

(See link below to picture of City of the Future where rail transportation runs through the city as streets instead of cars. Note that everything is documented.)

"Last week, Hickenlooper [Democrat Colorado gubernatorial candidate] upset some auto dealers on the eve of a fundraiser when he lauded the city's B-Cycle bike- sharing program at an event and asked: 'How do we wean ourselves off automobiles?'" This quote was taken from article in the Denver Post entitled, "Bike agenda spins cities toward U.N. control." 1

Believe it or not this topic ties in with Governor Beebe's Global Warming Commission and Senator Broadway's supporting legislation on sustainable building design that I wrote about recently. I also wrote two articles last year entitled: "Leftists Push Society Without Cars" and "AR Brummett Says Amen To A World Without Cars." Links to these four articles are at end of this email in footnote 2. Keep in mind that Sustainable Development proponents speak of three stages - "the present state, the transition state, and the future state. 3 To understand the present stage, one has to know what the future stages involve.

Beebe's Global Warming Commission recommended 54 specific policies
Beebe's Global Warming Commission (Beebe appointed 17 of the 21 members) recommended 54 specific policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 4 The ordinary person would not understand these policies without background information on them because old words have new meanings. Just 39 of the recommendations would cost Arkansas $3.7 BILLION; and critics say that amount is far, far lower than the real costs. To put that figure in perspective Arkansas' state budget for 2010 is $4.4 billion. 5

Three of the policy recommendations that received a unanimous vote by all members definitely deal with the reduction of cars - with bicycles and mass transit being used in place of cars, discussed later in this email. For the list of these three policies see footnote 6.

The following quote on cars is found on the Arkansas Chapter of the U. S. Green Building Council. "How do transit routes effect development? What is more important, to get people in and out of downtown quickly and orderly or to get people and municipalities to affect change in our behavior i.e. transportation and housing? Will CAT's plan for Arkansas curtail sprawl? Does the plan reduce the automobile culture that exists today?" 7 (CAT is a acronym for Central Arkansas Transit Authority)

Beebe's Coordinator with the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation's Climate Change Initiative, Martha Jane Murray, was the founder of this US Green Building Council in Arkansas where the above quote is found as discussion topics at a meeting in Little Rock of the CAT. 8

Beebe's Coordinator a featured speaker along with Obama's Green Jobs Czar Van Jones
(Martha Jane Murray was also a featured speaker along with Obama's Green Jobs Czar Van Jones [who was forced out of office] and was part of the lobbying effort for the US House Cap and Trade Bill that even Senator Lincoln publicly opposed.) 9

"Speaking of the U.S. Green Building Council, its internationally popular LEED rating system now involves not only green buildings, but also green neighborhoods." 10 Green neighborhoods are sustainable neighborhoods that are planned and managed, regimented communities designed by "Smart Growth" to save the earth. Cars will not be welcome in future green neighborhoods. In their own words, "New smart growth is more town-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented." 11

In minutes of the Legislative Task Force on Sustainable Building Design, Representative Kathy Webb presented the ten priorities of the Global Warming Commission. Under the first priority this point is listed: "Promotion and Incentives for Improved Design and Construction, e.g. LEED, green buildings." 12

Future Stages and Absurdities of Sustainable Development and Cities of the Future
The leftists have already unbelievably progressed toward "smart growth" of cities that concentrate everyone into small geographic areas where rail transit and bikes will take the place of cars. They have done this with grant money with severe strings attached, and using old words with new meanings to deceive the people. If you don't believe it, keep reading and researching. These environmentalists actually tout "a vertical garden - a farm within a skyscraper, growing food without producing those nasty CO2 emissions that come from fertilizers and soil disturbance." 13

See this picture at this link http://vimeo.com/4360553 (Imagine KC) and then click on the picture and watch the video of their proposed plan for Kansas City where rail transportation runs through the city as streets instead of cars. 14

The video talks about
� "Walkable urban neighborhoods; where people "walk to school and work;
� Pictures of bikers on the streets and asks the question, "What would like be like in 2020 if we had alternate forms of transit," saying, "Transit draws new developments together.
� "The average resident spends six weeks a year in a car, and "What if you could spend some of that time doing other things."
� The video mentions excess surface parking of cars and infers that light rail transportation could eliminate wasted land use.
� Shows pictures of green roofs with gardens growing on them.
� The caption under the main picture reads, "Most people do not know that Light Rail is a land use issue � and not just about transport. This video shows how pedestrian friendly developments are created around station locations, making light rail a catalyst for positive change in the community."

The following quotes from article mentioned in first paragraph offers more explanation on the "reduction in cars" plan. 15

Maes [the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Colorado) said in a later interview that he once thought the mayor's efforts to promote cycling and other environmental initiatives were harmless and well-meaning. Now he realizes "that's exactly the attitude they want you to have."
"This is bigger than it looks like on the surface, and it could threaten our personal freedoms," Maes said.
He added: "These aren't just warm, fuzzy ideas from the mayor. These are very specific strategies that are dictated to us by this United Nations program that mayors have signed on to."
Maes said in a later interview that he was referring to Denver's membership in the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives [ICLEI], an international association that promotes sustainable development and has attracted the membership of more than 1,200 communities, 600 of which are in the United States.

Fayetteville Mayor Wins International Accolades for green "Smart Growth"
The former mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas has received international accolades in the sustainable development movement as illustrated in this quote: "[I]t's no wonder Mayor Coody has placed an emphasis on planning for responsible growth. His City Plan 2025 has won him international accolades for encouraging infill and alternative modes of transportation, while discouraging sprawl and auto-dependency. Mayor Coody developed the first public-sector sustainability department in Arkansas; belongs to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Sustainability Task Force; and was one of first to sign the Mayors Climate Agreement." Coody also hosted the ICLEI's Summer Workshop: The featured article on COODY concludes with this quote: "A Cool Quote - "You mayors in California have it easy being cool. If you really want a challenge try being cool in Arkansas." (ICLEI is the acronym for the "International Council for Local

Environmental Initiatives and was established at the United Nations in New York in September 1990. The name has already been changed to Local Governments for Sustainability, to not give away the United Nations involvement, I am sure. 16

$100 Billion of Stimulus Fund Earmarked for Energy Grants
The article that links to the picture of the city of the future in Kansas city also says, "But as more funds are available - for example, the $100 billion earmarked in the stimulus package for energy grants to states and localities, or the $6.3 billion targeted for clean energy grants, or the $17 billion for transit or part of the $40 billion for roads, bridges and other infrastructure a high priority should be to begin putting each city on the road to the future." 17

Obama, with the cooperation of governors like Beebe, will be spending more than $120 billion of Obama's $787 billion stimulus package for this exorbitantly expensive, Utopian, destructive global warming "green" agenda abased on unproven science while the leftists refuse to drill for oil or use clean coal for electricity or develop nuclear energy.

Sustainable Development Turns Communities Into Little Soviets
Sustainable Development covers every area of our life. Prince Charles is using his new green campaign to urge everyone in Britain to take shorter showers and to "snub the tub" 18 A UN document says cities should implement policies to reduce water consumption in amounts that would be 75% less than the U.S. Geological Survey says is needed to perform basic life functions. One of the recommendations of Beebe's Global Warming Commission is: "Improved Water Management and Use" (sounds so innocent, doesn't it � unless you know the background on it? ) Sustainable Development proponents themselves advocate "world citizenship" which "encompasses the constellation of principles, values, attitudes and behavior that people of the world must embrace if stainable development is to be realized." One of those values is "social and economic justice" with universal health care for all. 19 Another value is that "Nations should cooperate to promote an open international economic system that will lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries."

If you research far enough you find that the whole idea behind Sustainable Development is to redistribute the wealth among the nations. In 2008, as a Senator, Obama sponsored the "Global Poverty Act" (S.2433) committing a percentage of the GPD to foreign aid, and Joe Biden tried to rush it through his committee. Obama's bill defines the term Millennium Development Goals as the goals set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration General Assembly Resolution 55/2 (2000) that called for the eradication of poverty by �redistribution (of) wealth and land, cancellation of the debts of developing countries and a fair distribution of the earth's resources. 20

Tom DeWeese was right on when he made this statement, "Meanwhile, as thousands attend the TEA Parties and protest the Federal Reserve, taxes, and out of control federal government, inside their local city halls, international forces are busy turning the communities into little soviets." They are doing it with deceptive language where old words have new meanings. 21

The Senate Banking Committee passed the Livable Communities Act August 3, 2010, which would designate $4 billion to aid local governments in planning high-density, walkable neighborhoods. (It would not even be safe to walk in our world today.) 22

Following is a comment posted on the article about the Livable Communities Act in former paragraph:

" I visited Russia - St Petersburg to be precise, in 1996. There I saw the "vision" of what these people have for our future. It was hideous, Huge circles of 30 story buildings with tiny, 800 square foot apartments in them. Each "community housed roughly 50,000 people - each were "self-sustaining", meaning, there was never a need for you to travel outside your community - without government permission. . . The fact that they are even mentioning this is almost incomprehensible. Just how stupid are we as a country to let this go? " 23

If you really want to understand Sustainable Development and the extent of its influence, read the following three articles by Tom DeWeese. See footnote 24. And google , Smart Growth, ICLEI, Sustainable Development, Arkansas Global Warming Commission, and Green Neighborhoods. And look for the next posts on the specific destructive problems with the "green" movement.

For documents and footnotes see this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Beebe%20-%20how_obama_and_beebe_are_weaning%20us%20off%20cars.htm

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Newsweek pushes a global curriculum for your children. What's behind AP and IB courses. Also, trying to get a bill passed to help autistic children demonstrates what limited-government types are up against.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Obama Has Hit List of US Civilians to be Killed Without Trial



As the Salon guy points out, the media is not bothered much by civil rights outrages on either side. We have the Fascist Big Media and the Socialist Big Media, both of whom like big unrestrained government. We have no Big Libertarian or Big Constitutionalist Media. Ratigan is often an exception.

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Roger's Mayors Race Bomb Shells


Charming downtown Rogers, with a part of one of its brick streets.
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After Roger's Mayor Steve Womack won the Republican nomination for Congress, there was a sudden opening to fill his job in the Fall. For a time, it seemed that the only one who wanted to run for the job was Greg Hines. Hines worked for the Sheriff (editors note: I incorrectly reported earlier that Hines ran for Sheriff and lost), and ran for County Judge and lost. He managed to make lemonade out of that last loss though- his endorsement of eventual winner Dave Bisbee enabled Bisbee to later hire Hines to work for the county.

Several of us cried dirty pool over that move, as well as many other questionable practices of the Bisbee administration. Primary voters decided the issue by replacing Bisbee with Bob Clinard as the Republican nominee for County Judge. Come January, Bisbee will be out, Clinard will be in. The odds are good that means Hines will be out as well. Still, if Hines wins the Mayor's race, he can still stay on the public payroll.

A lot of the leading citizens of Rogers were not looking forward to Hines moving into the Mayor's office, believing that trading Womack for Hines was too big a step down in today's troubled economy. They tapped Rogers' businessman Kurt Maddox to enter the race. Maddox was one of the crowd who ran for Congress (with my support). Unlike the rest of the crowd, when it came to the run-off, Maddox endorsed Womack. Many would say that Maddox's endorsement was key to Womack securing the nomination in a tight race with State Senator Cecile Bledsoe. After being drafted by Rogers residents, Maddox agreed to jump in.

I was shocked to learn from a reliable source (Stefani Buhajla)that Greg Hines has hired the "Markham Group" to run his campaign. What an awful choice to run a Mayoral campaign for the solidly conservative and staunchly Republican Benton County city! Visit their web site. Their top three flash ads are for ONE.org, Mayor Bloomberg, and the American Federation of Teachers.

ONE.org is to the left even of Barack Obama. Their stated purpose is to pressure Obama to send 6 billion more of our tax dollars than he is otherwise inclined to send to help fight HIV infection in Africa. I use a high degree of understatement when I say that this is not going to resonate in the Rogers community. Mayor Micheal Bloomberg is notorious for his support of gun control. Again, this is a poor choice for someone who wants to run the city government of Rogers. The American Federation of Teachers is liberal like the National Education Association, but without the virtue of at least having a few members in the Rogers area. If a teacher is in a union around here, its the NEA, not the AFT.

But that is not all. I've been told that the incoming County Judge, Bob Clinard, is complaining that Hines has rarely come into the office at his county job since Hines decided to run for Mayor of Rogers. Clinard is reported to be unhappy that Hines continues to draw a salary from county coffers while spending his days running for Mayor rather than doing his job.

Looks like we will have a lively November up here in "the great Northwest", even on a local level.

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Report on the Legislative Committee Hearing in Fayetteville

Mark Martin, (R) Prairie Grove. Taking Care of Business.
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The Joint Education Committee of the Arkansas Legislature had a meeting yesterday on the campus of the University of Arkansas. It was attended by thirty or so legislators. One of the big questions going into this meeting was whether or not it was just a boondoggle to give the legislators a paid trip to a razorback game, or whether they were going to get some serious work done.

While they had plenty of fun and the Razorbacks were frequently mentioned, they also got a chance to hear from members of the public from our area, me being one of them. The answer to the "there for fun or there to work" question was "both."

The meeting started with introductions, and the legislators took the opportunity to lobby for roads in their area as they did so. If they were from NWA, they pointed out how difficult it was to get around up here, and wistfully hoped that road money could follow the cars. Those from other parts of the state, especially rural ones, joshed that they wished they had roads like these. "I noticed your roads are paved up here, we are lobbying for some gravel down in my district." one of them kidded.

After introduction and approval of the minutes, they heard from Dr. Tom Smith. He is the interim dean of the college of education at the U of A. He gave a brief report on what the University was doing in the way of training teachers, especially as regards dealing with children with autism. He cited 1 out of 100 as the proportion of young children now being diagnosed with the disorder. I happen to agree with his opinion that we are "missing something" in the environment that is leading to the tragic increase in this disorder (here is what that might be).

Several legislators asked him questions about teacher training. He actually started to walk away after his report on the assumption that there would be no questions and was called back.

There was another gentleman who gave a brief talk as well, but he actually noted that he was down in Little Rock frequently and so he did not want to take too much time at the meeting. I took that to mean that there was some sensitivity to the idea that they were there to hear from local people. There were a decent number of citizens there, enough so that they had to bring more chairs in to accommodate them.

That brings us to the heavy legislative lifting from this meeting, and the controversial part.

(continued on the jump)

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The Duggars, Environmental Terrorists, and the Discovery Channel Hostage Crisis. Also, Mark teams up with Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson to demonstrate that much of the history of the United States is a story of the struggle against central banking
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Military Judge Says Evidence Could "Embarrass Obama"



It is getting harder to avoid the conclusion that most of the ruling class knows Resident Obama is not Constitutionally Eligible to serve as President, even if he was born here. Why rock the boat if it is heading the direction you want? That's why most of the people willing to look at the evidence are "outsiders". The more comfortable a person is with the current system the more unwilling they are to look at facts indicating just how out of kilter things are.

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

The tactics and Psyche of Elites

This guy reminds me of me.

Sample: "The sense of nobility that elitists feel for themselves combined with the disdain they have for the intellectually inferior leads those individuals or groups that consider themselves to be elite to grant themselves extra privileges. Like nobility of old, they are above their proclamations. So when government elites tell you that paying taxes is patriotic, they exclude themselves from that obligation. When environmental elitists tell you to change your lifestyle, they do not need to do so themselves."

God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck

This is the one that many are talking about over at AFA. A few gems from the piece.....

"It's taken us a long time to get here, in this plummet from Francis Schaeffer to Glenn Beck. "

"Too often, and for too long, American "Christianity" has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it."

"It's sad to see so many Christians confusing Mormon politics or American nationalism with the gospel of Jesus Christ."