NOAH'S ARKANSTAR

War is Peace

2007-06-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

"WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH"

And now the Roberts court adds "Integration is Discrimination." Rolling back the famous Brown v. Board of Education ruling while purporting to uphold and quote it is, well, Orwellian. Justice Alito as well as Justice Roberts were both confirmed by the Senate, in no small measure, due to their testimony that they were firm believers in stare decisis(following prior precedent). Now, just months after claiming to be true conservatives and strict constructionists, Alito and Roberts lead the way in basically nullifying the famous Brown ruling. This blatant judicial activism will go unmentioned by the cable news 24 hour cycle. In decision after decision, the Roberts court has reversed course on important issues that have already been decided. Most of these decisions have been 5-4 rulings, with no principled reason for ruling counter to the previous ruling. Justice Ginsberg noted in one of her dissents, that the only thing that has changed has been Alito for O'Connor. Most recently, Roberts had the gall to cite Brown in saying that the government cannot assign whites and blacks to the same school in order to integrate them (The Brown decision had said that the government could not assign whites and blacks to different schools in order to segregate them.)

Thus, "Integration is Discrimination" Orwell would be so proud of Roberts and his newspeak.

DICK cheney claims he is untouchable

2007-06-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

As recently as early 2007, DICK cheney has asserted that he does not have to turn over "working papers" under any circumstances because he and his office claim they have executive privilege and therefore cannot be forced to turn over these working papers even for a felony investigation (See Scooter Libby).
Let's just give old Darth the benefit of the doubt, just for the sake of argument. Let's say that he enjoys all the perks of the executive branch including the fabricated executive privilege. If a person or a vice-president is executive enough to be covered by executive privilege, shouldn't they be governed by the same laws as the president and everyone else that works in the executive branch of government? Well, not according to DICK. You see, there is a little known group of bureaucrats called the National Archives' Information Security Oversight Office. These men and women are part of the National Archives and are charged with making sure that each office that handles state secrets and classified information, keeps that information secret. They also do spot checks to see if these officials have systems in place that safeguard this classified information.
Mr. Executive Privilege, DICK "Darth" cheney, for some time now has been blocking what amounts to a Presidential order because (this is where it gets good) he claims he is not a full member of the executive branch. His argument is that he is president of the Senate so why should he have to bow to oversight of the executive branch.

In case you didn't catch it, DICK claims he and his office don't fall under the executive OR the legislative branches of government so, as some of us already knew, he is free to operate outside the law. Yes, DICK has created his own branch of government where he makes the rules and the rest of you can just fuck off if you don't like it! Apparently, this cocksucker even tried to get the office that does the oversight abolished. Hey, I have to applaud DICK for the huge set of brass balls he must have for even trying this shit. I know what he was thinking because most people aren't paying attention anyway so I could see where he might get the idea that he can do anything he wants without repercussions.
So far this miserable excuse for a man has gotten away with everything he has wanted. Maybe it's about time Congress cut him down to size. In steps Rham Emanuel, who is trying to cut executive branch funding for the vice-president's office. Emanuel is trying to force the vice-president to either let the Archives do the spot checks OR release all documents that have thus far been shielded under the dark shadows of executive privilege.

The Congress has a great case here but if I were going to venture a guess I would say that the democrats (lower case until spine replacement surgery) will fold. Why, you ask? Because they always fold. Our Congress is filled to the brim with Chickenhawks on the right and Chickenshits on the left. Dick Cheney will get his way because the aggressor always wins. Any poker player will tell you that but Harry Reid is too stupid to figure it out, and he is FROM Nevada.

Fucking Idiots

2007-03-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

I have been silent of late for many reasons too plentiful to list but including laziness and complacency(we did win, or did we?). Not to break the silence on a sour note but I noticed over the last couple of days that a growing contingency of anti-war protestors are actually protesting against the troops. What the fuck are these people thinking? It is one thing to burn an effigy of George W. Bush in protest but quite another to burn a fake Army Ranger. I take personal offense to this stupidity, as my father was a Ranger/Green Beret in the Vietnam war. I am personally against this occupation of Iraq because there is nothing left for us to gain but to try and soil the reputation of our fighting men and women is stepping over the line as far as I am concerned. Where does one get the balls or lack thereof to criticize the volunteer army that we have put together?

I understand the right to free expression and I celebrate its rough character but dragging a fake corpse of a soldier behind you is just plain devicive and makes all liberals look like assholes while undermining the entire credibility of the anti-war movement. Good, free thinking liberals like myself cringe when presented images like the one above. I am not telling you to quit marching, I'm just saying quit looking like a bunch of pansy ass pacifists while doing it!

Enough of the burning of soldier effigies you fucking assholes!

George Bush and Houston Nutt long lost brothers?

2007-01-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

With the plight of the free world on the line, supposedly, G.W. takes a play out of Houston Nutt's playbook. We're looking at 4th down and 20 to go, so we obviously call for a tunnel screen, don't we? G.W. has decided, as the decider generally does, and the rest of us are supposed to just follow along as if he has never done us wrong before. 20,000 new troops, spread out over the course of six months, does not constitute a SURGE, more like a drivel.
Had we dropped 400,000-500,000 men into Iraq in the first place, we would all be having lattes conversing about how we could not believe that we had won our last four wars while losing a combined 1,000 men. Instead, we let the retarded cousin of Houston Nutt, complete with his two page playbook, run the show. Now, he has fucked this thing up so badly that even the triumverate of Eisenhower, Patton, and Jesus Christ couldn't come up with a winning strategy. Normally I know the answer to most questions, but with the quandry that the Idiot in Chief has put us in, even I can't answer "What should we do next?"

Pat Tillman's brother speaks out

2006-10-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

Posted on Oct 19, 2006
Courtesy of the Tillman Family

By Kevin Tillman
Editor’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.
It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:
Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military. Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.
Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.
Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.
Somehow this is tolerated.
Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.

Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman

Republicans throwing themselves an anvil

2006-10-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

With new scandals popping up each day, it's hard to keep track of them but let's try anyway. The wheels are coming off the bus over at the GOP headquarters and with the midterm election only 22 days away, it is hard to tell whether the Republicans will even have any Senators or Congressmen (no offense to the ladies) left to run. With Bob Ney's recent guilty plea, the total number of Republican "leaders" to resign in shame over the last few months now stands at four (if you include the already convicted Ney who has yet to resign), with another four under investigation.
Oh, where to begin? How about at the top? Tom Delay has been indicted in Texas for money laundering and election fixing. Bob Ney, of Jack Abramoff fame, was just convicted of conspiracy and improper gifting. Randall "Duke" Cunningham was convicted of accepting bribes to steer defense contracts. Mark Foley, of course, was outed as a part time pedophile. The ongoing investigations include but are not limited to: Senate majority leader, Bill Frist is under investigation by the SEC for insider trading, Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House and Senator Conrad Burns, are under investigation for their part in the scheme to defraud Indian tribes by lobbyist, Jack Abramoff. Jerry Lewis is under investigation for using earmarks to benefit one of his lobbyist friends, Bill Lowery.
On the soon to be under indictment list are the fellows in Congress that knew about the predator in the House, Mark Foley, they are as follows: House majority leader, John Boehner, Rep. Eric Cantor, Rep. Tom Davis, Rep. Tom Reynolds, Rep. John Smuckus, and the list goes on and on and on.
If the Republican majority can't even be trusted around children and money then why should we trust them to prosecute a war on "terror" or to protect our borders (see Asa Hutchinson)? These miserable fucks are only interested in two things, money and power. The quicker we relinquish them of the latter, we can take the former.
Once the Democrats have taken power in a few short weeks, the first order of business should be a rendering of all these thugs, including the President, V.P. and all their staffs to an undisclosed location in the Eastern bloc of the former Soviet Union for a little taste of their own medicine. These men are traitors to their country and terrorists to the rest of the world. Maybe we can get all these illegal immigrants started building a new Hague for all of the war criminals we have in our midst.

20 most corrupt members of Congress

2006-09-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

I thought you might enjoy this site which lists the twenty most corrupt legislators and five dishonorable mentions.

http://www.beyonddelay.org/

Debate Report

2006-09-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

I have the transcript of the mock debate that was put on earlier this evening in beautiful East Jonesboro:

Asa: Beebe sucks!

Beebe: Asa sucks worse!

Asa: I'll cut all taxes to 0%

Beebe: I have a vision for Arkansas

Asa: Your record in the Senate tells us you suck.

Beebe: Your record at Homeland Security tells us you suck even more.

Asa: God, Guns, Gays

Beebe: Pass

Asa: You're a douche

Beebe: You, sir, are a douche bag

Asa: My wife had to pinch pennies when we first got married (audible laughs).

Beebe: I grew up poor too!

Beebe: How about a lottery?

Asa: Jesus says no!

Beebe: We are going to stop meth!

Asa: No, WE are going to stop meth! (audible laughs at both)

Beebe: Thank you Diana Davis, for being so buxom.

Asa: Diana, I wish you weren't so buxom.

Debate tonight

2006-09-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

The first of the Arkansas goobernatorial "debates" is tonight at 7:00. I use the term loosely since General Beebe and lobbyist Hutchinson have paid off the network to not include the other two candidates (Jim Lendall and Rod Bryan). This is a travesty for real democracy. Both candidates for the two major parties should be drawn and quartered in a public setting for this transgression.

More flip-floppery from the Asa? camp

2006-09-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Asa changes his mind about black people, since it is politically expedient at present:

On the Asa for Governor site, I found something that made me almost fall out of my chair with laughter. This picture was next to the link for joining one of Asa's "coalitions." This particular one was called "African-Americans for Asa." What really surprised me was that they were actually able to fit a picture of the entire coalition into one photo. It is amazing what staffers can do when they have some initiative, isn't it? http://www.asaforgovernor.org/join/coalition/

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Asa go to college at Bob Jones University, the unaccredited college for bigots over in South Carolina?

1. Although it admitted Asians and other minorities from its inception, BJU refused to enroll black students until 1971, eight years after the University of South Carolina and Clemson University had been integrated by court order. From 1971 to 1975, BJU admitted only married blacks, although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had already determined in 1970 that "private schools with racially discriminatory admissions policies" were not entitled to federal tax exemption. Late in 1971, BJU filed suit to prevent the IRS from taking its tax exemption, but in 1974, in Bob Jones University v. Simon, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the University did not have standing to sue until the IRS actually assessed taxes. Four months later, on May 29, 1975, the University Board of Trustees authorized a change in policy to admit "students of any race," a move which occurred shortly before the announcement of the Supreme Court decision in Runyon v. McCrary (427 U.S. 160 [1976]), which prohibited racial exclusion in private schools. The university did not admit unmarried blacks until 1975.

2. The University, and I use that term loosely, did not reverse its NO interracial dating policy until the year 2000, just a short 135 years after Lincoln freed the slaves, supposedly.

I guess somewhere between his college years at Bob Jones and now, Asa has softened on black folks, at least enough to be photographed with them. Knowing his type though, I would bet that Hutchinson would pose for a photo op with Osama Bin Laden if he thought there was some campaign cash in it for him.

Asa? the flip flopper

2006-09-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

Our country has a rich history of whimsical politicians who will do and say whatever they think will get them elected and in that fine tradition, I give you Asa? Hutchinson.

Illegal immigration: Just two years ago Asa's stance on illegal immigration was from what I can tell, so what. For months, Hutchinson worked feverishly to get illegals to buy into the Bush plan of amnesty for upwards of 12 million illegals. On September 9th of 2004 Hutchinson said: "We've outlined a number of incentives to encourage aliens to support the plan including provisions freeing them from arrest and deportation, giving them access to tax-deferred savings accounts and Social Security credits and allowing them unrestricted travel to and from their home countries. We're trying to bring 8 million illegals out of the shadows and give them legal status."

Now in 2006, with a super majority of Americans, and more importantly, a super majority of Arkansans firmly against any type of amnesty plan, Hutchinson has changed his position dramatically. He has offered up a weak plan to bring state forces to bear against the scurge of illegal immigration. From the Hutchinson for Governor website:

Springdale, Ark. – Asa Hutchinson, the 2006 Republican candidate for Arkansas Governor, today laid out a four-point plan he would implement as Governor to fight illegal immigration in the state.
In a news conference at the Springdale Police Department, Hutchinson said state and local government can – and should – play a vital role in combating illegal immigration.
“There are still too many who say that immigration is a federal matter only, and that states have no role in enforcing our laws. That’s an old way of thinking, and one that simply isn’t acceptable anymore,” Hutchinson said. “In a post-9/11 world, we must acknowledge that border security does not stop in El Paso or New York City. Illegal immigration impacts states like Arkansas by straining state resources and undermining the rule of law.”
Hutchinson emphasized the importance of immigrants to the history, culture and success of America and insisted that the United States must remain an open and welcoming nation even as we step up efforts to secure our borders.
“Those who come to the United States and Arkansas legally, who have respected our laws and have worked to achieve the American dream, they represent many of the very success stories that have made our country great,” Hutchinson said. “But we need to send a clear message to those who do not respect our laws, who have cheated others who have followed the rules, that they will not be rewarded for their behavior. We must also send a message that those who facilitate illegal activity will also be held accountable.”
Noting the explosive growth of illegal immigrants in Arkansas in recent years, Hutchinson said that Arkansas taxpayers were the ones shouldering the costs of such illegal activity. “When Arkansas taxpayers are footing the bill, when our state’s law-abiding employers are left uncertain of the status of their workers – clearly, this is a state problem,” he said. “As Governor, I’ll work with our law enforcement agencies to give them the tools they need to partner with federal immigration authorities and to fight illegal immigration here in Arkansas.”

What is most sickening about this particular brand of flip floppery is that the problem would not be nearly as bad as it is now had Asa actually done the job he was hired for at Homeland Security. It was on his watch, that a large chunk of these illegals crossed the border he was supposed to be securing. How are we supposed to believe that he can get the illegal immigrant problem under wraps as the governor of Arkansas when he couldn't even do it at the federal level when the problem was actually in his title, "Undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security."

I couldn't make this shit up if I tried, it just goes to show you that the truth IS stranger than fiction.

Bush Lies

2006-09-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

President Bush and his right wing spin machine at Faux News do a wonderful job of distorting the facts to meld with whatever opinion they have for the day but I found a wonderful website that straightens out much of the Bush lies, half truths, distortions, and weasels. This site has the top 22 Bush lies and their corresponding truths. Check it out for yourself! http://bushlies.net

THE POLITICS OF FEAR AND SMEAR

2006-09-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

George w. Bush and the rest of the neocons are at it again, trying to sell a war that is already more than 3 years old. The hard sell from Bush and the echo-chamber of neoconservative think tanks has begun in earnest this week with the short term goal of keeping Republicans off the endangered species list. The latest, in a seemingly endless stream of reasons to continue the occupation of Iraq, is that islamofascists are trying to take over the world, much like the third reich during the middle years of the twentieth century. Now, this line of reasoning from the 4th reich is not entirely new but the following is: The new twist is that the Bush administration (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush, and Snow, among others) is now saying that anyone disagreeing with his policy and his bogus war on terror in Iraq are basically appeasers of the terrorist movement. He says the press and most Americans are just like the Europeans that appeased the Nazis. To liken close to 70% of the American populous (the number that feels we should not be in Iraq) to terrorist sympathizers is not only foolish from a political standpoint but also dangerous to the democracy that we have enjoyed for the last two centuries. This new master plan is obviously hatched by the White House's hatchet man, Karl "my daddy was gay" Rove. This is a classic move from Rove: Whatever you are doing that is illegal or wrong just accuse your enemy of the same crime. Some of you may recognize the layman's version of this move, which is most commonly used by a cheating spouse or significant other (blame them before they accuse you). This man never met a page in Joseph Goebbels playbook that he didn't try to use at some point or another. Goebbels once said:

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." -- Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945

Another one of Karl's favorite plays from the Nazi playbook:

"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." - Herman Goering

Well, Karl, the latter might have worked from the outset but the American people are a resilient bunch and they have figured you and our puppet president out. The economic and military consequences cannot be shielded from the public much longer, my dastardly little lawn jockey. The wheels of the economy are coming off for real working people and the middle class is in an all out fight for its right to even exist. Soon the bell will toll for you and the rest of the Christofascists running our government and I can only hope that your deaths will not be as peaceful as Goebbels, who took the chickenshit way out with cyanide.

I humbly ask, Who is the real Nazi among us Mr. President?

George Allen: Racist or Dullard?

2006-09-04T13:28:00.000-07:00

With Allen reeling from the macaca incident where he called out a citizen of Virginia by welcoming him to America and to Virginia with an ethnic slur, he is now having to explain a photograph taken in 1996 of him with the leadership of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC). The CCC is a white supremacist hate group, as if the picture didn't give it away. The CCC is known in all white power circles as part of the movement despite their level of secrecy. The CCC is not the hooded racists of the past, as they have tried to retain some level of respect and legitimacy in the public's eye. The past ten years have seen a rise in the profile of the CCC among the white supremacist movement because of their button up approach to racism and the progress they have made in helping get like minded people like George Allen get elected to public office. So is George Allen a bonafide racist of the Strom Thurmond variety or is he just stupid? In either case he does not belong on the floor of the United States Senate. Here is a link to the CCC's blog site: http://www.cofcc.org . If you don't believe me, just read for yourself.

New poll shows Democrats set to sweep in Arkansas

2006-09-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

The latest poll from Constituent Dynamics shows Dems set for landslide victories in all but one race. The Lt Gov race was the lone exception with Halter leading Holt 44% to 40%, respectively. The other results are as follows:

Governor

Mike Beebe-48%
Asa Hutchinson-34%
Jim Lendall-1%

Attorney General

Dustin McDaniel-51%
Gunner Delay-37%

The methodology of this poll should not be questioned as with other similar polls because Northwest Arkansas was well represented in this poll of 1004 likely voters. From the polling company:

About our Constituent Dynamics poll:
Constituent Dynamics polled 1,004 likely Arkansas voters over the course of three nights this past Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening, August 29-31. Here’s a breakdown of the composite of our voter sample: Female/Male: 51% to 49% Our age groups break down as follows: 27% between the ages of 18 & 44; 44% ages 45-64; 15% 65-74; and 14% 75+. Party affiliation: 30% of our 1,004 likely voters declared themselves Republican. 40% say they are Democrats and 30% claim they are Independents. By race, 79% of our likely voters were white. 15% African-American and 6% claimed a different racial background. By congressional district, our poll is weighted as follows: 24% of these numbers are from the 1st Congressional District; 26% from the 2nd district. 25% from the 3rd district and 25% from the 4th district. Because of our large sample size, Constituent Dynamics predicts the margin of error in this poll at +/- 3.09%. Note: We also asked the questions in random order so as to mix up which names were asked first, either Republican or Democrat. And, we included the titles of each candidate, if they had one - such as State Senator Jim Holt or Attorney General Mike Beebe - because that is how they will appear on the ballot to the voter.

I'm sorry, Jim

2006-08-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have been shunned by the Jim Holt for Lt Gov campaign once again. I have received the run around from the Holt camp over repeated requests for a phone or e-mail interview and I think I know why. I may or may not have referred to Senator Holt as "Jesus Jim" on a hastily written and venomous, to be sure, blog comment on some other site. I am pretty sure, that is the reason for the repeated non answers from the Holt camp regarding my interview and I just want to say I'm sorry, Jim. Can't we just be friends? I do think you are crazy but that describes half my friends, so what do you say?

Stephen Colbert should put Jon Stewart On Notice

2006-08-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a great piece on Colbert, thought you might like it!

http://hinessight.blogs.com/hinessight/2006/08/stephen_colbert.html

Asa's Hit and Run with Bush

2006-08-30T16:15:00.001-07:00

By the grace of God, Boeing, and all that is holy, we got a visit from the sitting President of the United States today. Why, you ask, is he in beautiful West Little Rock today? Is he here to tell someone what to do with all those fucking trailers? Is he here to tell us that he is going to reinstate the funding he took from higher education? I know you'll be baffled to find out that neither is the case. He is here to raise campaign cash for the soon to be strapped Asa Hutchinson. With Bush's approval rating of 35% here in the state of Arkansas, the event was as closed door as possible with the main event going down in the huge mansion of former Razorback and NBA great, Joe Kleine. $500.00 per plate barbecue is not how I like to spend my afternoons but at least a few people did just that today. I am sure that all the ails of the world were best put on hold today so former NARC and part time douche bag, Asa Hutchinson, could afford to sling mud at Mike Beebe. On a more sinister note, Karl Rove was with the president today. I knew I felt the force of the dark side today, around lunch time. I don't know about you but the sight of Karl Rove just makes me sick. Enough....

If this event doesn't generate more cash than the Clinton fundraiser, Asa's done. Already lagging far behind in the money department, Asa can't withstand being doubled or tripled up by the Clinton gig that is soon to follow. I know there have been some wacky polls lately on this race but if you cut out all the suspect polls and average the rest, Beebe is still ahead 8 points. It is getting down to crunch time in this race and I don't think Asa can afford to continue losing in the money department and not get crushed in the ad blitz that is sure to come. Mark my words, if this event gets doubled up by the Clinton fundraiser, this one is OVER.

ArkFam cries foul about censorship!?!

2006-08-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't already know, ArkFam is the Christofascist website hosted by non-Arkansans about Arkansas politics. Let me begin by saying that I am all for free speech and I want these folks to be able to spew all the propaganda they can muster. I must, however, call them on the hypocrisy of railing against the Arktimes site for censorship when ArkFam has the same vile practice in play. I have personal experience with this since my posts are deleted from the log on a regular basis over at ArkFam, even the ones with no colorful language.
One of my favorite tactics of the ArkFam site, of late, is their tendency to use half of a news story or to just outright trick it up. They are prone to misquote, defame, lie, and just plain misrepresent the facts. All of this is fair game of course but I must point out the hypocrisy of a propaganda site calling a news site (however skewed it may be, they do post actual news) censors. I must be bored to even be writing a story about a group of people that are this irrelevant but I felt that someone should take them to task. They have been in quite a frenzy here lately with their trumped up stories, mostly centering around the secret conspiracy of homosexuals to take over the world. Not one of the writers or regulars over there has been able to explain to me where all the hate comes from. Maybe they were beaten as children or ridiculed in gym class or something. We will probably never know...

HERE IS THE LINK TO THEIR SITE:
http://www.arkfam.com

Pryor whores himself out for the Republican Party

2006-08-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Once again, Mark Pryor is doing the bidding of the Republican Party. This time around he is selling out the Democratic Party by supporting the loser of the Democratic primary in Connecticut instead of the rightful winner. I know that he and Joe Lieberman have been beltway buds for a few years but instead of doing the right thing, he is toeing the Republican party line with his unwavering support of Joe. Now Pryor has never been one of my favorite politicians because he has sold out the people of Arkansas on many occasions. Pryor was instrumental in allowing the most vile of big business conservatives, Sam Alito, to be elevated to the Supreme Court, he caved to Republicans on the bankruptcy bill that was written by and for the big credit card companies, and in the Terri Schaivo nonsense I will let Senator Pryor speak for himself "I support Congressional action taken over the weekend that allowed a federal judge to review the case of Terri Schiavo. The legislation offers an opportunity to gain additional perspective on the right way to proceed and ensures that every option was explored in coming to a final decision." Yes he actually supported a special session involving one person's right to die decision and a review of the case that had already been reviewed and re-reviewed. It is well known in the beltway that Pryor votes with the Republicans and more importantly with the president way too often to be considered an actual Democrat but what really irks me about this product of nepotism is his assertion that this is compromise. Compromise is when both sides give a little, capitulation is when you just cave in like Mark Pryor is so prone to do. Mark Pryor is a dangerous politician mostly because he is a stealth Republican. Bad for Arkansas and bad for America. Enjoy the next two years, Mark, because they will be your last.

Is Senator Pryor setting HIMSELF up for defeat?

2006-08-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

I believe the answer is yes. It is obvious that the war in Iraq could easily drag on for another 10 years and with Senator Pryor's next election coming up in 2 years and a strong majority of the public already doubting our occupation of Iraq, the anti-war sentiment will be even stronger in '08 than it is now. The enablers of the failed Bush policy will start falling like a house of cards this fall and the voters will cast out the rest of these cronies in '08, after 5 years of getting nowhere in Iraq. This morning Senator Pryor cast his lot with Joe Lieberman (I) and the rest of the Bush enablers in Congress and has forever tied himself to the undying support of a war that has been mishandled from the outset. I believe Pryor's fate will be similar to that of Lieberman. I am currently prepping a list of potential Democratic candidates to take down Pryor in the Democratic primary of '08. Look out Mark, you might want to save that war chest for your own problems here in Arkansas. It is really a shame that Mark didn't turn out to be half the man that his father was. What a disappointment.

Lieberman bitch slapped by constituents

2006-08-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

In a race that probably foreshadows events to come, Joe Lieberman, 18 year incumbent senator from CT, was defeated in his primary by Ned Lamont, a man who was virtually unknown just a few short months ago. Does this defeat have any ramifications for Arkansas' two ultra conservative Democratic Senators? I am sure Pryor and Lincoln will have to at least take stock of some of the waffling they have done over the last few years and Pryor might be re-thinking his position of supporting Lieberman as an independent. I have a feeling that many incumbents will take their rightful places in the HISTORY of politics this November.

Let's talk about sex

2006-08-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

"Let's talk about sex" should be the theme for the christian right ( I used lower case to emphasize that these people are neither Christian nor correct) because they are obsessed with it. With all the problems in the state of Arkansas, all the so called conservatives want to talk about is gay sex and the harm it does to them and to children. We have not one but two wars that we are in the process of losing, I paid $3.60 for diesel the other day, Arkansas is hemorrhaging good jobs, Real dollar salaries are at a 50 year low for the state, we are at or near the bottom in most measurable education standards, civil liberties are fast becoming a thing of the past, we have a congress that does nothing for real working people and a president that can't even spell work, yet all these fearmongers want to talk about is how gay couples adopting unwanted children is threatening the very fabric of our society! Who really cares about this issue? Except maybe the unwanted kids that are going to be screwed once again by the religious zealots. If these people really cared about these kids they would be lined up right now trying to adopt several of them. Instead, what they are doing for these kids is using them as political pawns for their own selfish and greedy power play. I am sick and tired of the self riotousness of these so-called Christians and I am daring to put it down in print. I am saying come after me and come after my party because when the real history is written, these folks will be on the wrong side just like they were in the 60's. I keep hearing the argument that the repubs in Arkansas are consistent on the issues. If I have learned anything in this world it is that consistency doesn't mean shit if you are consistently WRONG. I really would like to know where the hatred comes from in these people because this issue of gay couples adopting children does not affect them in the least. As I have stated, they DON'T CARE about these kids all they care about is gay bashing, in whatever arena they can. These Christofacists should keep in mind that history never smiles on bigotry. For all of you people that are on the fence just remember, the man that waves the flag the hardest is usually the traitor....

New contributors

2006-08-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

I am looking to add new contributors to this site with diverse opinions and excellent writing skills.

Contact me through: robsarkanstar@hotmail.com

thanks,

rob_star

Republican Party hijacked by morons

2006-08-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Anyone with any common sense and even a rudimentary understanding of economics knows that the economy needs to be tweaked occasionally by raising or lowering taxes. The Republican Party has been hijacked by extremists in the social arena but more importantly by economists of the crazy variety. It doesn't matter to these people what the question is, the answer is always the same: Lower taxes, lower taxes, lower taxes. With the minimum wage at a 50 year low in Real dollars the Republican Party tried last week to hijack the paltry raise in the minimum wage (that would not have brought it up to the 1955 Real dollar rate) by adding an amendment to give the wealthiest .1 % of Americans in the investor class (i.e. don't work) a huge tax break. They like to talk about redistribution of wealth quite a bit so let me tell you something. If these people aren't helping to pay the bill then you and I will end up paying it and since we are borrowing all this money we will have to pay it back with interest. It borders on treason to give tax breaks by borrowing money from the communists so we can line the pockets of the ultra wealthy and their worthless children. Here in Arkansas we have a man running for governor that has taken advantage of every tax break that his buddy in the White House has given him and always advocates more tax breaks. Asa Hutchinson and company will continue to take my state and my nation on a collision course with bankruptcy if we don't stop them now. The Bush Administration has taken his party and the country so far to the right that Republicans from twenty years ago would never recognize their party. If anyone in their midst even thinks about looking at both sides of an argument they are forever branded a liberal in today's GOP. Ronald Reagan raised the FICA tax, George Bush the first raised taxes, and I will finish this thought with a quote from Richard M. Nixon from the first Nixon-Kennedy debate. The question was asked, and I am paraphrasing, how to balance the federal budget after the previous four years of unheard of deficits (a couple billion dollars-ha ha).Nixon's response:MR. NIXON. Yes. I think what Mr. Novins was referring to was not one of Senator Kennedy's speeches, but the Democratic platform, which did mention cutting the national debt.I think, too, that it should be pointed out that, of course, it is not possible, particularly under the proposals that Senator Kennedy has advocated either to cut the national debt or to reduce taxes. As a matter of fact, it will be necessary to raise taxes. Now, with that being said by Dick, I think my point has been proven for me. Nixon and the rest of the aforementioned conservatives would be labeled as liberals in today's Republican Party. If I had time I could go in to all sorts of wacky liberal ideas that Nixon had, like more funding for social programs, gasp! Taxes need to be lowered sometimes and they need to be raised sometimes. We are currently living in a period of record deficits and a national debt approaching $9,000,000,000,000 while we are in the middle of two wars and about to start another one. Let me ask you this, is there any circumstance under which these folks WOULD advocate a tax raise? I seriously doubt it. Is it going to take the complete collapse of the dollar or possibly another depression, I'd like to know. We can't pay for the stuff we are buying so we borrow money from the Red Chinese communists and the despotic dictatorship of Saudi Arabia yet the people over at ArkFam.facism are calling Mike Huckabee a liberal and at the same time advocating what amounts to welfare for the richest Americans. How VERY un-American of them to do so. We aren't giving these people tax refunds, what we are really doing is borrowing money from our children to give it to already wealthy Americans, if I can even call them Americans, so they can sock it away in trust funds for their children who will never have to work and probably never will. Maybe they will see the error of their judgment in the bread line or at the soup kitchen but of course it will be too late then. We have to stop these clowns before they ruin what is left of our democracy.

McDaniel takes heat

2006-08-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

As I suspected, the smear machine has already started churning out garbage. Arkansas Attorney General candidate, Gunner Delay (R), has posted all 58 pages of a lawsuit that his opponent, Dustin McDaniel, was involved with in the late 90's. The suit was filed by McDaniel's law firm, which was headed by his father, suing Remington Arms after the Jonesboro, AR school shootings. Although the paperwork posted on Delay's site has several signatures of Dustin McDaniel, it is not clear yet as to the extent the AG candidate was involved in the litigation. McDaniel contends that he performed limited work on the case and was later completely removed from the litigation at his own behest. Even though Delay and his ilk have implied that this lawsuit is tantamount to McDaniel wanting to go door to door and take everyone's guns away, I will withhold judgment until the entire picture is clear. I have spoken with several people who have hunted with McDaniel so I am certain he is not anti-gun and I doubt very seriously that he is wanting to water down the second amendment to our glorious Constitution. I really hope that the good people of Arkansas have the intelligence to see this for what it really is: A smear campaign on the reputation of Rep. McDaniel designed to close the 15 point hole that Delay finds himself in. This is only the beginning of the onslaught and I for one am curious as to what the next attack will be. Maybe Delay will release a statement sometime next week to the tune of "according to sources inside the Jonesboro Police Department, where McDaniel was employed for a time, he was on several occasions caught being civil to known homosexuals."

Scientific Interference Continues

2006-08-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

In a long overdue concession to science, the
Food and Drug Administration could finally, grudgingly, be ready to allow an emergency contraceptive to be sold without a doctor's prescription.
Scientists long ago concluded that the "morning-after pill," marketed as Plan B, is both effective and safe enough to be sold over the counter without restriction. Seventy leading medical and public health groups have told the agency so for years. The pill lowers the risk of pregnancy by nearly 90% when taken within 72 hours of sex and could cut in half the nation's 3 million unintended pregnancies each year.
But rather than follow the medical evidence, as it is mandated to do, FDA has catered to groups that believe, without convincing evidence, that Plan B promotes teen promiscuity and causes abortions. Even some ardent abortion foes reject the latter claim.
Now the rules might be about to change. FDA announced Monday that it's willing to consider making Plan B available over the counter, on request, to women 18 and older.
The reason for the shift is no mystery. Acting FDA chief Andrew von Eschenbach is up for Senate confirmation, and an FDA spokesman acknowledged that von Eschenbach didn't want to spend Tuesday's hearing defending FDA's prior actions.

In related matters, the new HPV vaccine for women was recently approved by the FDA after much opposition by the religious right. Opponents of the vaccine argued, similarly to the morning after pill, that it would promote promiscuity in teens. So they would rather continue teaching abstinence instead of letting science better the lives of young women and save thousands of lives each year. For more on the vaccine and how it works, click on the link to The National Cancer Institute's press release.

http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/HPVStatement

Is Howard Dean really the man to lead the charge?

2006-08-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Howard Dean: Bold visionary or crazy, run at the mouth trot line sinker for the Democratic Party? As a rally the troops kind of guy who can solidify the fervor of the left, Howard Dean found his calling but as leader of the Democratic Party he is hindering more than he is helping, as my father would say. The way the electorate in this country is split, especially in the electoral college, there is not much room for error in the political climate of late. Democrats cannot win national elections without winning some of the southern states and Dean is what we would call here in Arkansas, a damned Yankee. Ideas aside, Dean just rubs southerners the wrong way sometimes (well all the time) and that is not an attribute that the Dems can or should accept as they try to take back the House and Senate this fall. Forget about the White House in '08 if this guy plays a major role in the campaign process.

Arkansans lulled by artificial economic outlook

2006-08-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

The Bush economy, while obviously stagnant to working Americans, is actually much worse than it looks. The economy is being bolstered, somewhat, by artificially holding down inflation with the Fed. Once the interest rates are corrected inflation will take over and we will see just how far into a recession we have really sunk. It's hard for ordinary Americans to understand the workings of macroeconomics (hell, most economists don't fully understand it) but when your average working man realizes that his dollar doesn't buy nearly what it did the year before he WILL understand that. Soon, we will see double digit inflation along with $5.00 per gallon gasoline. I am just wondering, at what point the average "joes" will wake up and start paying attention? Does anyone remember the 70's? If you don't, get ready to see a repeat with stagflation and gas lines. I don't mean to sound grim but the truth is very disturbing and if we don't take a stand now I see this recession we are in turning ugly. Arkansans cannot afford to lose more family farms and homes to the banks but I guess maybe that will start waking folks up.

2006-08-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Calling conditions in Iraq "an absolute replay of Vietnam," Sen. Chuck Hagel said Friday that the Pentagon is making a mistake by beefing up American forces in Iraq. U.S. soldiers have become "easy targets" in a country that has descended into "absolute anarchy," the Nebraska Republican and Vietnam combat veteran said in an interview with The World-Herald. Hagel previously has likened the war in Iraq to Vietnam, but Friday's comments drew a stronger connection. They followed a speech on the Middle East that Hagel delivered at the Brookings Institution. Folks, when Bush loses Chuck Hagel's support of the Iraqi occupation then who should he turn to? Maybe Barbara or Darth Cheney will keep steadfast support for his stay the course policy. 3 and 1/2 years of war is creeping closer to the entirety of the U.S. portion of WWII, which by the way, had a better plan than "stay the course." Not only are we bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq, but we are also slowly but surely losing all of the support amongst the civilian population of the aforementioned country (if you can even call it a country). We are destroying the fabric of our Army and Marine Corps by re-deploying combat troops for their 2nd, 3rd, and in some cases 4th tours of duty. What if North Korea, knowing our trigger pullers are stretched so thin, decides to test the paltry 37,000 troops we have stationed at the DMZ? I know George Bush doesn't have the answer to that question or any other as far as I have observed.

Paul Eells, the voice of the Razorbacks

2006-08-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

Paul, we will miss you and things will never be the same without you. I heard about the tragic death of Paul Eells this morning and it made me weep like a child. I never knew he meant so much until the very moment I found out he was gone. Every thrilling moment I have ever had as a Razorback football fan has come with Paul's authoritative, "Touchdown-Arkansas." There will be others to follow in his footsteps but no one will be able to fill his shoes. What a shitty way to start the season, with the only voice I have ever known, gone forever.

New allegations against Assa!

2006-07-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

With the newest allegations of impropriety from Asa Hutchinson, will we see the all out smear machine of the Republican Party kick into full throttle earlier than thought? Apparently Asa was awarded a seat on the board of directors for a company named Saflink. This same company was the recipient of a hugely wasteful contract that Asa helped steer their way while at the Department of Homeland Insecurity. I am betting the bait and switch routine will start early this election year with Asa trailing miserably in the polls, funding, and now possible ethics violations. Get ready for a full season of God, Gays, and Guns, if you weren't already.

Rich man's game

2006-07-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

I have recently become quite disillusioned with the entire political game even though I have spent most of my adult life following and playing in one form or another. It has been said throughout the ages that politics is a rich man's game but it has never been more true at present. In Arkansas, one of the poorest states in the union, it appears that gaining control of the governors office will run you about 4 maybe 5 million dollars. This is the same office that pays roughly $75,000 per year. You might ask yourself why a man would spend $5 million for a job that pays about the same amount that a good bartender makes. I have asked myself the same question and the answer might lie in between the lines somewhere. Our current governor, Mike Huckabee, came into office a man of relatively modest means after Jim Guy Tucker was sent to prison. In the ten years since his assention to the governor's mansion, Huckabee has somehow been able to accumulate what most in Arkansas would consider a fortune. How does this happen on a salary of $75,000 a year? I will tell you how it happens: Even rich folks stick to the adage that you should never use your own money to start a business or run for office. Since it takes $5,000,000 to get into the governor's mansion these days that means you owe a lot of people a lot of favors. Favors beget favors and money begets money. It's a viscous cycle that even the most honest are likely to fall into. Where you and I get screwed in all of this (statewide as well as nationally) is the sweetheart deals and no bid contracts that are used as payoffs for campaign help. Most of these "deals" are going to multinational corporations so we get the shaft on the front end by having to foot the inflated bill and on the back end because none of the money stays here and nobody pays taxes on the earnings. I know I will be branded a socialist, but the only way to solve this problem, I believe, is public funding of elections or at least some type of matching system. Not only would this allow real working people to run for office but the payoff system goes away or at least shrinks. Our state and our nation are going bankrupt right now because we have people who don't know how to solve problems running the show and sending all of our money to their campaign contributors.

First Day

2006-07-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

I have finally been badgered into creating my own blog for all to enjoy. What you can expect from me and my new team, as I add them, is insightful commentary on Arkansas and American politics. We will pull no punches when it comes to expressing our love or disgust for individual politicians whether they be Democrats, Republicans, Klingons, or Independents. Yes there are a few independents out there, however, I cannot see how anyone could be neutral on a moving train. I am working on a running section that will be added in a day or two that will be loved by some and hated by many. I am going to highlight one political figure each month or maybe each week under the working title of "Chicken-Hawk of the month." This is an exciting and strange time in the world of politics and I feel that I may have jumped in late, but better late than never. I look forward to bantering with the intelligent and humiliating the feeble-minded so without further adieu.......