King was Right About Prisons, Is He Also Right About County Funding?

 When almost everyone in his party was on board with the Franklin County Prison plan, State Senator Bryan King (R for now) of Green Forrest was giving one fact-based reason after another as to why it was a bad plan. He suggested decentralizing and adding on to existing prisons instead. And people started listening. Minds started changing once they realized his arguments were as solid as oak roots. After the administration's attempts to dismiss him as an obstructionist and then bulldoze over him failed, the state has recently backed off. They now want to look at some options similar to what he had been suggesting all along. 

Bryan King has often had to stand alone. At least at first. Now he is raising the alarm on another issue- funding for counties. With his track record, it would be unwise not to at least hear him out. 

The way government money works in Arkansas is that locally collected taxes are shipped off to Little Rock, and Little Rock then "turns back" some of that money to entities like counties. The problem is they are turning back less and less. The County's share of the turnback money used to be 5%. Now it is 3.4%. That may seem like a small difference, but it means today's turnback fund percentage is only 68% of what it was just five years ago. 

Suppose your salary went to 68% of what it was? Maybe your spouse has a salary or you have a side hustle, but it would still be a major budgetary problem. It was recently pointed out to me that Social Security is in danger and if current projections continue, they will have to cut those benefits by about the same amount, so many Americas may be about to feel the fiscal pain that counties are already experiencing. It is outrageous that a government that spends as much money as ours spends somehow can't find the money to meet its obligations to its citizens. Much like the counties, citizens sent in money to the government all their lives, thinking they would get it a "turnback" of sorts. Now its all in danger. 

There isn't much King can do as a state legislator about Social Security, but he can do something about county turnback money. That is, if anyone else up there is interested in helping him do so. The fact is that counties are still expected to fund a jail, and a Sheriff's office. And maintain roads and bridges. One could argue that the county's share of the population is shrinking as more and more people move to the cities, but counties maintained these facilities even when overall populations were much lower. They could do so because the turnback funds were at a level which permitted it. Now, maybe they aren't. 

I don't know the details of King's plan, but I believe he wants to guarantee each county a minimum of two million dollars in turnback funding, and stop the reductions in turnback percentages on top of that. Much like our federal legislature is divided up into a house where the representation is determined strictly by population and a Senate where all states get two, he wants the funding to have two components. One is the minimum to allow the county to perform all the functions that a county is obligated to perform and the other component based on population. 

It is great that we have a number of growing cities in Arkansas, but we can't have zones in between them that lack the basic services of civilization like a police force and a place to lock up criminals. And that is the way it could be headed if the low populated counties, which honestly is the majority of them, don't get a funding baseline that permits these services to continue. 

Look, the state was all keen to get a 3,000 bed prison because they are all for locking people up. The same need is occurring at the county level. Fifty counties each need places to maybe lock 10-20 people up. That would be 1,000 new beds and some of the state overflow could be housed there, probably for less than it would cost to house them in a fancy new state prison. 

King is very much into decentralized solutions and local control. Almost as much as I am. When a system gets too centralized, those at the top get the idea that they can do all of the thinking and deciding for the rest of us. Advancement in such a system is more a matter of being a "yes man" than finding workable solutions. The natural anti-dote to such a disease is found in contrarians like Senator Bryan King. Maybe we should listen to him- again. 

A Lesson in Why You Should Quit Letting Politicians Pick Your Politicians

Austin McCollum, a state representative from Benton County and the only person on the ballot for Benton County Judge in the election to be held in 94 days, is being charged with domestic violence. We do not know the details, but the rumor is that his wife suffered some broken fingers and he threatened her with a gun. I will link to a report on the situation in the comments, but there is larger lesson to be learned here.

McCollum won the primary in May against Justice of the Peace Carrie Smith the way many Republicans who will be taking office won theirs- he benefited from other politicians piling on with endorsements. Though they are doubtless scrubbing the internet now, Collum was endorsed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Attorney General Tim Griffin, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton as well as some local politicians who joined the pile. Cotton in particular is from the River Valley, a federal office-holder who lives in the DC area and has no business endorsing anyone in a Benton County Judge's race.

The truth is none of them did. None of them knew Austin McCollum well enough to endorse him on his merits. And there used to be a time when politicians had the humility to acknowledge that and refrained from endorsing in a party primary. That kind of restraint and respect for the intelligence of the voters is gone now. It is all about building coalitions and gaining power through favors. That is why those three politicians and others, as a group, endorsed a whole slew of other candidates in the most recent primary.

I want all of you to remember this: A politician rarely endorses another politician because they think the politician will be good for you. It is because they think they will be good for them.

If you want an office holder to listen to you and put your interests first, then vote for the one who DOES NOT get the political endorsements. It is almost certain that they've already sold you out, or they would not have them. Austin McCollum would have followed orders. He would have defended the machine's interest no matter what the people he was supposed to serve wanted. Perhaps with callous brutality if his current status is any indication.

Unfortunately, party people tend to be herd-thinkers. When the establishment office-holders jump into other races, and even local primaries, with both feet, it usually works. All this does is strengthen an establishment that is already too powerful. Power corrupts and one-party rule has always ended in disaster throughout human history. It isn't going to be different this time.

I don't even know if there is time to switch out to another candidate. He was the only one on the ballot. That is just how hurtful to the Republic this practice of politicians ganging up and endorsing one side has become. Unless you have their favor, you might as well not even try to run.

The voters have to do better. I don't think the Republican primary voters have it in them. I'd like to be wrong, but what I have seen is they will just make any excuse for their leaders, just like the Democrats did for Bill Clinton. It is the exact same partisan spirit that looks for any excuse to defend their team and any excuse to avoid the responsibilities of a citizen and fairly consider alternatives. People who refuse to repent and rise above that will not long stay free and frankly don't even deserve to.

Honestly, the Democrats have ruined their brand so badly that they are not much of a deterrent. Their candidates are awful. I am glad there are Libertarians to vote for in the case of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Colt Shelby) and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (Jeff Wadlin). Griffin gets a free pass, and it is too late for Benton County Judge. The system failed. If you are tired of them trying to saddle you with men like McCollum, and make all your choices for you, I urge you to stand up for yourselves, your family, and your country, and vote for someone else. Details on the story

Director of Little Rock Airport Shot Dead By ATF in Commando-Style Raid. He Dared to Trade Guns Without a Federal License

 His name was Bryan Malinowski. He was the Executive Director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton International Airport in Little Rock Arkansas. He is now dead after ATF officials conducted a commando-style raid on his home. His suspected "crime"? Apparently he was a gun collector and was buying and selling guns without a permit to deal in guns from the Federal Government. 

Former Director of the Little Rock Airport Bryan Malinowski

Dead From Gunshot Wound Inflicted in His Home

During Commando-style ATF Raid 

Tom Cotton Demands War With Iran

Sen. Tom Cotton (R) Arkansas, has demanded the United States start a war with Iran in response to US Forces in Syria being hit by Iranian-backed proxies, resulting in the death of three US soldiers and about twenty-five wounded. The incident is the latest in a series of back-and-forth attacks between US forces and militant groups in Syria, though the first time that US forces have gotten the worst of it.

Tom Cotton said "The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran's terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East," said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a longtime supporter of war with Iran. "Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief."

So the Senator is calling Biden a coward if he doesn't start the war that Arkansas-born general Wesley Clark has claimed the neo-cons in Washington have been after for decades.

My question is, what are US forces even doing in Syria, besides stealing oil that does not belong to us? President Trump ordered US troops out of Syria, and two of the neo-cons he surrounded himself with resigned rather than carry out the order and the rest simply lied to him about US troop levels in Syria and never carried out the order. 

Did Congress ever authorize US troops to invade Syria and take over the oil-rich section of the country? No. They filtered in without congressional approval and stayed despite Trump giving the order to pull them out. The Deep State has its own agenda and war is on that agenda. The neo-cons (from both major parties) like Cotton are dragging us into a war they have tried to engineer for decades. They have finally got the dead US servicemen they need to drag us into this thing, but the servicemen should have never been there in the first place. It isn't worth the life of one Delta farm boy. We have our own oil, and besides that as Trump said of the place "there is nothing there but sand and death."

Breakthrough: Autism Studies Point to a Treatment

Excess neuronal N2O is what causes most of the symptoms of autism, that is the conclusion of several studies. 

This recent astonishing study (summary) showed that mice genetically engineered to have autism were successfully treated by an application of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) inhibitor, 7-nitroindazole (7-NI or S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamine), for 10 consecutive days. They tested two types of mice with different autism-inducing mutations. In one type treatment reversed autism symptoms in both sexes, the other reversed them in males.

This study shows not only that oxidative stress from N2O contributes to autism pathology, but that there is another compound (NDGA) which helps the body convert N2O into the non-deleterious form also effectively treats autistic symptoms.  

Here is yet a third study that shows yet another N2O inhibitor (catechin hydrate)(or convertor to another form) successfully treats autistic symptoms in rodents.

Indeed, even curcumin seems to have some positive effect, though I suspect it is mopping up the damage after the excess N2O is created rather than cutting of the problem at its core. Also, the study was done on rats where autism-like symptoms were artificially induced whereas the other studies also used rodents genetically modified to have autism. Just as in the Revesterol study, which also had positive results for the same reason. I don’t say these two will be effective as they are general, not nervous-system targeted, and deal with mopping up the damaging excess N2O after it has been present.

You may say “but that was with rodents”. It turns out they have understood the connection for years. Here is a human study from 2013 where children were given a compound (sapropterin) that was more broadly targeted but also impacted N2O. It is an anti-fungal too I believe, so it may be promising for more than one reason. It showed significant improvement on some but not all of the spectrum. And they suspected even then that it was the effect on NO that was making the difference. They also did a human study with the closely related Tetrahydrobiopterin and found that it did not improve everything but did improve social awareness, autism mannerisms, hyperactivity, and inappropriate speech. This was ten years ago. 

I suspect that if their brain had years to heal and repair, they would see improvements in the other areas too. Take a brain that has been battered by long-term immune response, just because you remove the source of the abuse doesn't mean the brain heals right away. 

The epilepsy/bipolar drug I had noticed before was effective if the cause of autism is a mutation in a particular gene, but the N2O theory of autism would apply to a wide variety of stem issues. There are lots of ways the N2O balance could be off, and restoring the balance would treat a wide variety of things that could lead to the same issue.

The body needs N2O. So using a general inhibitor over a long time without monitoring would be too risky. Inhibition interventions are best when targeted and there is monitoring of levels from time to time. But leaving the nervous system with all of this excess is a known problem.

Ediacaran Forms Don't Explain Cambrian Forms

I want to preserve this snippet of an online debate I had for re-use. People seem to think that the presence of Ediacaran forms somehow means they were ancestors or relatives of the Cambrian forms. Despite some inevitable superficial similarities, every time they look at ideas like this in detail they find out the connection cannot be supported by the evidence. Here I answer a post where they tried that, along with the usual "they existed we just don't have fossils". 

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

I don't see how any position could be less reasonable than what you are suggesting. Any proposed natural explanation must be accepted over a Divine explanation, even one that fits with the evidence. Why, because we are doing science here? No we are not. We are debating whether something beyond nature, and thus not detectable by science, was involved. Yet here you are, still attempting to impose philosophical naturalism on the terms of the discourse. Nothing seems possible if you a priori refuse to consider it.

Differences in fossilization rates may be a field of study, but we have fossils, even tiny trace fossils, from before. We have fossils of hard stuff and fossils of soft stuff. There was nothing about the earth which prevented fossilization. The obvious conclusion is that fossils were rare before the Cambrian because animals were rare. The Cambrian is thick with fossils. Instead of accepting the evidence you are coming up with hypothesis which contradict all known evidence to explain the absence of the evidence you need to be there. The sample size is the earth. If there are a tiny amount of fossils from the period in question, the obvious conclusion is it wasn't there. Indeed my link provided evidence for the position that the putative ancestors of sponges weren't there, and I can provide similar peer-reviewed studies that make the case for other forms. I doubt it would move you though as your mind appears closed to evidence with dogma predominant.

//The scientific explanations are things that are known to exist and have known properties. If the supernatural were known to exist then maybe, based on the demonstrated properties of the supernatural, we could include it in the conversation too//

The supernatural is known to exist, it just can't be verified by science because science by definition is blind to it even if it does exist. So demanding scientific evidence for the supernatural makes as much sense as demanding supernatural evidence that nature is all that there is. You have stated the truth- you are not willing to include the supernatural in the conversation. I am saying you should open your mind to it.

//You think you have a "gotcha" because scientists are debating whether spriggina was an arthropod or just similar to an arthropod. //

It didn't even have bi-lateral symmetry. We don't even known if it would be classified as an animal, much less an arthropod. It is not a credible arthropod ancestor so talking about superficial similarities is irrelevant.

//They debate whether something they found is a pre-cambrian sponge or some kind of mineral formation or some kind of sponge-like-but-not-exactly-a-sponge kind of organism.//

And I presented a long study that showed in detail why they were mineral formations and their is no good evidence for sponges until the Cambrian. You are acting like these are small differences. One conclusion supports my case strongly and the other yours. I show you studies explaining why a close look at the evidence supports my conclusion and you just go right back to the could-bes as if I had not made my case.

// Kimberella is a candidate for a pre-cambrian chordate ancestor//

No, it isn't. 15 years ago they thought so, but they tested the hypothesis and found it wanting. Here is how WIki puts it..

"These traces, named Radulichnus and Kimberichnus, have been interpreted as circumstantial evidence for the presence of a radula. In conjunction with the univalve shell, this has been taken to indicate Kimberella was a mollusc or very closely related to molluscs.[8] In 2001 and 2007 Fedonkin suggested that the feeding mechanism might be a retractable proboscis with hook-like organs at its end.[11] Kimberella′s feeding apparatus appears to differ significantly from the typical mollusc radula, and this demonstrates that Kimberella is at best a stem-group mollusc.[19] Notably, the scratch marks indicate that the 'teeth' were dragged towards the organism, not pushed away as in molluscs, and that the maximum impact on the sediment was when the mouthpart was furthest from the organism.[20] The direction of grazing is also backwards, as opposed to forwards as in molluscs.[20] Furthermore, the constant width of grooves implies stereoglossy – a trait that is very derived in molluscs.[21] It has been argued that the shape of the feeding traces is incompatible with a radula, and that despite the molluscan body form, the lack of a radula places Kimberella well outside the molluscan crown group.[10] Butterfield points out that plenty of other groups of organisms bear structures capable of making similar marks.[3][22]

Taken together, sceptics doubt that the available evidence is enough to reliably identify Kimberella as a mollusc or near-mollusc, and suggest that it is presumptuous to call it anything more than a "possible" mollusc,[7] or even just a "probable bilaterian".[3]"

//Arkarua is a candidate for a pre-cambrian echinoderm ancestor.//

Again, not a good one. Again, you don't have to go any further than Wiki to know why....

"This identification remains suspect, as the fossils do not appear to have either madreporites, or plates of stereom, a unique crystalline form of calcium carbonate from which echinoderm skeletons are built. These two features are diagnostic of all other echinoderms, as all extinct and extant echinoderms have either one, the other, or both features present.[2]"

//but for you to imply that nothing is known and no fossils have been found and scientists are totally in the dark is purely dishonest.//

Me being dishonest? I didn't imply "nothing is known", my point is that a great deal is known and it all directs to the same conclusion- the Cambrian biota show up suddenly, with great diversity, and no good candidates for their ancestral forms. All pointing to more than nature at work. You keep grasping one straw after another of outdated hypotheses to try and show some way that the evidence points in a different direction and I keep giving one specific fact after another to show why these speculations are incorrect and won't help you.

The Biggest Disgrace of the Legislative Session Happens Every Session

 Nick Horton of Opportunity Arkansas thinks the biggest disgrace of the session is suspending the rules of transparency and accountability to ram through a bunch of bills at the last minute. The legislators don't even have a chance to read them, and can no longer ask for a study of how much they would cost! I agree with him. This makes a farce of the legislative process.

The man excuse seems to be "this happens every time". Yes, and it is a disgrace every time and no one will do anything to fix it. Senator Bryan King tried. He pushed for a change in the rules that would limit the number and timing of bills that Senators could introduce. They shrugged him off. The system is broken and a farce, and very few of them seem willing to do anything about it. 

Cotton, Boozman, Safely Re-elected, vote for Omnibus Bill with Many Gun Control Provisions

  Gun owners of America gave a few of the worst examples of anti-2nd Amendment provisions in the Omnibus Act......

🚩Massive 14.1% ATF budget increase to facilitate Biden’s Pistol ban 

🚩50% increase for the ATF part of the budget that maintains the illegal near-billion record gun registry 
🚩$700+ million in funding available to bribe states to pass “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation Laws 
🚩 Money for anti-gun CDC research while the agency suppresses self-defense statistics 

Eighteen Republican Senators joined the Democrats to pass this measure. Two of them were Tom Cotton and John Boozman. Tom Cotton talks a good game, but when the chips are down supports the establishment. This was also recently shown by his support for Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader. McConnell was another one of the 18 Republican votes for the measure, along with the usual suspects like Romney and Susan Collins. 

Boozman doesn't even talk a good game, except sometimes during the six weeks before the election. He's mostly silent and inert as the Republic collapses around our ears. I'll let you form your own opinion as to which approach is the worst. ...The guy who doesn't even pretend he is representing us or the guy who does when he's really on the establishment team. 

Cotton, Quoting Pro Wrestler Quoting FB Coach, Will Back McConnell

 When a unit under performs for a long time and the leader of that unit has sufficient authority and resources, it is almost always the fault of the leader. Especially when they use those resources in a way that undermines part of their own brand. Donald Trump has blamed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who controls a lot of campaign funds, for the poor performance of Republican senate candidates. There is discontent, and not a few have suggested that McConnell be replaced as Leader. 

When the chips are down, you can count on Senator Tom Cotton to let his true establishment colors show. Citing the wisdom off a pro wrestler citing a football coach, he is supporting McConnell. 

Lockdown and Vaxx Authoritarians Now Selectively Appeal to Single Christian Virtue- Forgiveness (for Them)

 "The Atlantic" has come under harsh criticism for suggesting that people should let bygones be bygones concerning the vast harmed caused by authoritarian lock-down and vaccination policies. Zerohhedge has an article citing numerous responses from angry people who lost loves ones, who have been disabled, or whose mothers had to die alone, due to useless authoritarian measures and under-tested vaccines that have been increasingly shown to be unsafe. Those who implemented these measures are now suggesting that "forgiveness" is in order. 

These are in large part the same people who reject God and take pains to expunge Christian values from all of society in exchange for the shifting sands of their own opinions. Yet when caught in monstrous crimes against their neighbors, they selectively appeal to the primary Christian virtue of forgiveness. Not for your sins against them, mind you. You are still to be held to full account for each and every perceived micro-aggression. They mean that you are to forgive them. Not due to their heart-felt repentance, but rather their desire to evade justice and accountability.

Well, scripture is something that I know a little bit about. I've a Youtube channel that is primarily devoted to the study of Genesis for example. And I've noticed that the same bible that says "love your enemies" and forgive them also says that government is supposed to be a minister of God to honor those who do good AND bring wrath on evil doers.

So yes, the Christian ideal is that we should forgive those who sin against us, and that civil government should punish them. It is a tension. There are two things that are true at once that seem in conflict in this world but the conflict is resolved in Christ.

So in practical terms, if you were to write an encouraging letter to a penitent Anthony Fauci as he serves his life sentence, you would be doing well. If you were to feed a hungry former doctor or bureaucrat who has been stripped of all of their possessions as partial compensation to their victims, then you would be doing a good thing. Unlike the woke mob, Christians do have mercy and do forgive. But this does not mean that we do not also pursue justice.

Democrat Candidate for Auditor of State Arrested

 The Democrats were careful to say that "we did not recruit her to run". Wow. Terroristic threatening of a Judge? This is not jaywalking! So they tossed her right under the bus. 

Arkansas Democrats, your party just gave you "permission" to vote for Libertarian Simeon Snow for Auditor of state. Not that you ever needed it. 

Libertarians Win Ballot Access Case (Again)

Federal Judge Kristine Baker ruled in favor of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas and against Secretary of State John Thurston on Friday, saying the states recent changes to ballot access law for new parties was unconstitutional on six counts. The party only had 2020 ballot access due to an injunction against enforcing the law until the constitutionality of the law was determined. That access is now assured.

Among the complaints, the state legislature had changed the number of voter signatures required for ballot access from 10,000 to 3% of the vote (over 26,000 at the last election), and that new parties should not have to file with the major parties 425 days before the election because new parties nominate by caucus and thus do not participate in the primary. Regarding the timing and the level of scrutiny the state should undergo, in 2019 I was plaintiff in a case that touched on the same issue for independents and my case was a primary cite for the court in determining those issues. 

Congratulations to the Libertarians for winning in court. The state legislature has a rather thuggish habit of waiting a decade or so until the judges are not looking and changing the law back again. This upcoming documentary will investigate that shameful record.