Lynch at Large

A week ago, I wrote a column in the Democrat-Gazette suggesting that the time is right for Senator Hillary Clinton to seek the presidency. My thinking was that she possesses the necessary name recognition, is a proven fundraiser, and has the free services of her husband, the Political Elvis, former President Bill Clinton.

Now, everybody will not agree with me on this, and that is just one of the things that makes America. I am, however, darned sure that, if this great nation can survive eight years of George W. Bush, we can make it through just about anything. There is a Texas tycoon pushing the newest political group called, “Stop Her Now.” Isn’t this a wonderful country?

Ask yourself this. Exactly what makes Mrs. Clinton’s politics any worse than most of the other potential candidates? The stark fact is that, on military matters, she may be a real hawk and exactly what the country needs.

After the radical lunatic attacks launched during the Clinton presidency, she and her spouse are now just about immune from the kind of nutty character assassination we endured for most of the 90’s. This does not mean that candidate Clinton gets a free pass. It means that she gets a fair hearing.

My home page now features a number of links for weather and road information. While this entire "event" will blow over in a day or so, you still might find it handy. If you can think of any links I should add, drop me a line: lyncho@lyncho.com.

While I know that most of you are not in the habit of posting, I am turning OFF the "moderation," so you can just have at it! What's going on with you? How are the TV stations doing with the storm coverage? Are you all stocked up? We are over here, so let's make the most of it!

UPDATE: Blow over in a day or so? Some great storm, huh? Have a super day and let's cheer on the Hogs this weekend. Monday's column is about Lake View and the high court keeping the case open. Moderation is still "off." Feel free to leave your comments.

FURTHER UPDATE: Next time we have a REAL winter story, the home page will be all fired up with great links to useful information.

The State of Arkansas, through its’ Attorney General Mike Beebe, has responded to the school districts which are asking the Supreme Court to keep jurisdiction in the Lake View case.

The argument, I think, can be summed up in three parts. The first is that districts have waited too long to file, a technicality. The things that lay folks like us might call technicalities are actually important and often deserve consideration. Maybe the time has passed to petition. Who knows? The second matter has to do with the supposed mismanagement of the Rogers district, which the General’s office accused of wasting taxpayer money on luxury skyboxes and club seating for a high school football stadium. That allegation is untrue, and a careful reading to the news accounts proves it. The Democrat-Gazette covered this exhaustively. The state also argues that the high court should not become a permanent board of review. Amen to that.

So, what should the Supremes do? It is a close call but it would be all right with me if the court kept jurisdiction until after this upcoming legislative session. Let us make sure that the appropriations for facilities are made and that the General Assembly follows its’ own laws. Has the legislature met its’ own deadline? That will be a very important technicality that could evolve into an enormous reality. Bet on the court to take a wait and see approach.

(Broadcast November 29, 2006)

Weyerhaeuser Co., with no advance notice, permanently closed its Mountain Pine veneer and plywood plant Wednesday, eliminating about 340 hourly and salaried positions For the first time in 78 years, the town of 772 in the wooded hills west of Hot Springs has no mill.

Three investor groups are vying to acquire Raytheon Aircraft Co., which employs 645 workers in a plant near Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field, according to a recently published report.

Discount retailer Dollar General Corp. said Wednesday that it plans to close 400 stores next year and open about 300 new locations to improve profitability.

Nearly half of Arkansas college professors who teach freshman-level courses are not satisfied with the work their first-year students are doing, according to survey results. The survey, conducted by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and state Department of Education, found that 82 percent of the professors questioned said their freshmen students are "somewhat prepared" or "not very prepared" for college.

Rogers school administrators are polling teacher support for a federally supported merit-pay program that rewards educators with bonuses for improving students’ test scores.

Workers have installed a 26-foot Christmas tree, to be decorated with hand-painted ornaments, in the state Capitol rotunda

Even though some of Pine Bluff’s commissions and departments are exempt from the city’s new living wage ordinance, Mayor Carl Redus Jr. said Tuesday all city employees should be brought up to the minimum levels imposed by the new law, which voters approved at the Nov. 7 general election.

Seventy-four years of free parking at Arkansas Travelers games will all but end next year under a proposal made by North Little Rock, the team’s new landlord. Fans would pay $3 per vehicle to park in 533 spaces on a lot adjacent to the city’s new Dickey-Stephens Park.

Several jurors gasped upon seeing video images of Arkansas State Police Trooper Mark Carthron being struck by another trooper’s car, during testimony Wednesday in the capital-murder trial of a West Memphis man accused of causing Carthron’s death.

The scheduled jury trial of a Dover man accused of raping and attempting to murder an 87-year-old woman is being reset because only half the jury pool showed up for court. “I’ve never had this happen before,” 5th Judicial District Prosecutor David Gibbons said Tuesday. “Twenty-six jurors showed up. There should have been at least 50 here.”

Jackson, Ms. Police Department Internal Affairs is investigating an officer after a video-recording surfaced that shows the officer, in uniform, making derogatory remarks about Mayor Frank Melton and making a reference to marijuana while smoking. Robert Wilkins, the attorney for officer Javin Walker, said Wednesday night that Walker made the video of himself using his own cellular phone, which was later stolen.

Brooks Leach was a breath away from winning over $260,000 on the prime time "Deal or No Deal" show. He and his friend, Ronnie Fewell, traveled to Hollywood. Today, they told the story in an EPIC TWO-HOUR BLOCKBUSTER interview on Pat Classic. You can hear it FREE by surfing over to my home page, lyncho.com. You will laugh and laugh! These guys are amazing.

Home sales in Arkansas sank almost 20 percent in October compared with October 2005, the Arkansas Realtors Association said Tuesday. It was the ninth straight month that the number of home sales in Arkansas declined compared with the same month last year.

Rules that force phone companies to keep at least one pay phone in each exchange they serve in Arkansas stand to be relaxed if changes proposed by state utility officials come to pass.

A group that advocates road improvements launched a highway needs awareness campaign Tuesday and said it would seek a new highway construction bond program in the upcoming legislative session. The Arkansas Good Roads Transportation Council said it would use radio public service announcements, billboards and a statewide tour to raise awareness of highway needs in advance of the 2007 session, which convenes Jan. 8.

A bill pre-filed Jonesboro Rep. Chris Thayer for the 2007 legislative session would require the driver of a vehicle involved in a wreck to remain at the scene for at least 30 minutes.

Gov. Mike Huckabee has named gunner DeLay, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general, Sebastian County prosecutor.

Steve Patterson, longtime chief of staff to Arkansas’ Sen. Blanche Lincoln, said Tuesday that he is resigning to head Lincoln’s political-action committee.

A judge denied a defense motion to show a manufacturer’s video illustrating the proper way to deploy a spike strip during the first day of testimony Tuesday in the capital-murder trial of a West Memphis man accused of causing the death of an Arkansas state trooper.

A Blytheville teenager accused of shooting a Jonesboro police officer last week will be formally charged as an adult once he is released from the hospital.

John Ayers, a Baxter County justice of the peace and former Mountain Home mayor, will avoid jail time on a second-offense driving-while-intoxicated conviction if he completes a 30-day residential treatment program for substance abuse, a judge ruled Tuesday

Saline County authorities have broken a massive identity theft operation after the search of an automobile and a storage unit containing thousands of stolen documents. There may be up to 20 suspects in the ongoing investigation.

Pine Bluff police say they believe two liquor-store robberies and a home invasion are linked.

A University of Arkansas at Fort Smith basketball player shot during a Halloween party has recovered enough to go home.

Bolivar County, Mississippi officials are investigating the Monday morning explosion that destroyed the Paul and Dene Cox family home on the outskirts of Cleveland. A 2 year-old and the mother were transported to a hospital and later released. Sheriff investigators are checking the propane heating system and the possibility of a sewage backup.

Investigators think a malfunction in a natural gas-fired furnace - not an arsonist - caused a fire that killed 10 people at an Anderson, Mo., group home, the city’s mayor and a police spokesman said Tuesday.

Arkansas schools that choose not to apply for discounts for telecommunications and Internet services are missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in available federal aid, a state official told lawmakers Tuesday. The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Administrative Company has approved $7.4 million in discounts for Arkansas schools in the current school year, but 22 school districts did not apply for discounts.

A Springdale School District bus driver has been reprimanded for dropping off two 14-year-old girls at Wal-Mart instead of at school. School district officials say the unidentified driver made an error in judgment. The mother of one of the girls blames the school district for employing a driver who could act so irresponsibly.

there are so very cool audio offerings. Meet Bobby Martino who is part of the Rep cast for "The King and I." He is part of a seasoned all-star cast for the holiday musical. This is a fine segment.

Attorney General Mike Beebe gets LYNCHED!

The interviews with sleep specialist Dr. Greg Krulin and Max Brantley from Arkansas Times are still available as well.

Keep up with the show on lyncho.com.

Football legend Keith Jackson spoke to Little Rock Touchdown Club Monday. He got all choked up talking about his son, and Keith Jackson is a fine man. You may have heard that he closed his remarks by scolding Razorback fans for our habitual self-criticism, negative posts to internet sites, and critical callers to talk shows.

I very seriously doubt if Hog fans are any nastier than say, for example, folks who cheer for the Crimson Tide, or Texas Longhorns. As the parent of a star player, Jackson has every right to speak out, certainly as much as any riled up caller to some radio show. Roll the tape back one year and young Arkansas quarterback Robert Johnson was crucified by angry fans. It was personal and ugly.

Maybe you remember the young man from Alabama who missed all the kicks earlier this year. He took a lot of undeserved grief. These are student athletes and we should show some respect. It is never acceptable to boo your own team.

On the other hand, Coach Houston Nutt has a package totaling nearly one million dollars. Gus Malzahn and Reggie Herring are also highly compensated. They better be able to handle the criticism, and the same thing goes for sportscasters, Keith.

(Broadcast November 28, 2006)

Runoffs in local races will be decided in elections across Arkansas today.

Attorney General and Governor-elect Mike Beebe has told the state Supreme Court that school districts waited too long to petition for more court supervision in the long-running Lake View school funding lawsuit. He also questioned financial concerns of districts, contending that the Rogers district planned to spend taxpayer dollars on “club seating” at high school football stadiums. Rogers attorney David Matthews contends that Rogers never planned to spend public money on luxury seating and that such misinformation underscores why a thorough study of school-funding legislation is needed before the court relinquishes control of the lawsuit

Clarksville High School is one of 14 schools in Arkansas that has significantly narrowed the achievement gap between higher- and lower-performing student groups during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years, according to a report by Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission contends in a lawsuit that the agency is exempt from the state pay scale and should be allowed to pay its employees whatever it wants.

Natural gas companies are ramping up production in the Fayetteville Shale formation. As of mid-October, Southwestern Energy Co. had 14 drilling rigs operating in the formation, extracting about 70 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The company said it will have 19 rigs operating by the end of the year.

The average North Little Rock homeowner will pay 38 percent more on his monthly electric bills next year to help the city pay twice its current cost to buy that power, according to a proposal presented to the City Council on Monday.

With the state’s prison population approaching an all-time high of 14,000, the state Board of Corrections authorized the release of 687 inmates Monday.

Authorities report that as many as 50 counterfeit tickets to the Arkansas-LSU game were discovered at War Memorial Stadium Friday.

Police have arrested Brandon Gail Stringer of Texarkana on warrants charging him with two counts of capital murder in the Sunday deaths of a Texarkana man and woman. The bodies were discovered in a burning home

Crossett police have arrested a man in a shooting at a party last week that left seven people injured. Myron Anderson of Malvern was arrested on charges of first-degree battery, aggravated assault and committing a terroristic act,

Benton Rollins, a former Ouachita County deputy prosecutor and Camden city attorney, faces two counts of manslaughter in the March 22 traffic deaths of a Yell County couple.

A former Pulaski County sheriff ’s deputy has pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree sexual assault involving three women he was guarding at the Pulaski County jail. Larry James Lambert Jr. was sentenced to 90 days in jail, five years probation, a fine of $750 and ordered to register as a sex offender. Lambert will be allowed to serve his time on the weekends.

Jury selection is underway in the trial of a West Memphis man who is blamed for the death of an Arkansas State Trooper who died after he was struck by another trooper’s police car. Attorneys questioned several potential jurors Monday morning and seated two in the opening day of the trial being held in St. Francis County Circuit Court. Prosecutors are trying to get a capital murder conviction.

A former tax preparer for H&R Block of Little Rock pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Little Rock to a felony charge of assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return, admitting that she inflated deductions and credits to create a larger refund for a client. Tina Hampton faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A new judge could be named today to oversee the trial of Jackson, Mississipi Mayor Frank Melton and his two former bodyguards. Judge Tomie Green stepped down from presiding over the case, citing "improper and inappropriate contact with the trial judge and members of her family." In her order, Green said she could become "a potential witness in subsequent proceedings" involving the mayor and his ex-bodyguards.

Robert Lockwood Jr., a pioneering Mississippi Delta blues guitarist and singer who was born in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, has died. He was 91.

79 year-old Cleo Perry has been playing golf for 65 years. Sunday, at Forrest City Country Club, Perry hit his second ever hole-in-one. Perry, using a 7-wood, aced the par 3 No. 5 hole.

Today is November 22. I never really understood how members of the “greatest generation” felt about December 7, until some years later and a generation of younger folks who just have no idea came along.

On this fateful day in 1963, a nation woke up with a youthful, seemingly energetic, forward-looking chief executive. We went to bed with a crude veteran of Texas machine politics in charge. It was a shattering experience and, if you were not alive, you just have no idea.

It has been very difficult to accept that a single gunman is responsible for this horrible injustice, but the years have made me a little more accepting. After the dog park shooting earlier this year, at which Marie and I were nearby, I now personally understand that eyewitnesses can make mistakes and miscount the number of shots fired. I am not completely off the conspiracy bandwagon.

It seems as if the land of liberty was handed over to soulless corporate masters on that day. We thought President Kennedy was a fine family man too. How wrong we can be.

You just never know what is coming next. That day, 43 years ago today, has made an entire generation very untrusting. Some of us will be sad today about the loss of our leader, and our innocence.

Since we have all been away for the past few days, this is a good time to clear our desktops.

Great game. The Hogs were in it till the end. LSU has an amazing defense and may prove tougher than Florida. As long as there is a BCS system, Arkansas will not be in the running for a national title. If we continue to play competitively, we will get respect that goes with it. That is what matters

I still can not figure out why it’s against the law to sell a commodity for what it is worth. Oh, that’s right. The moral high-grounders arrested eight capitalists at the Stadium Friday instead of investigating Little Rock’s record number of murders. Nice work.

Our Convention and Visitor’s bureau shows a shocking lack of good judgment in its’ lovely $25, 000 parting gift for retiring director Barry Travis.

On another matter, if people come to your front door claiming to be selling magazine to win a trip to Mexico, do not open the door. Marie had a go-round with this bunch and they are bad people. Period.

The highway department is doing a lot of work on Highway 65, especially north of Marshall. That is going to be so cool when it is finished. The Mexican restaurant on 65 in Marshall is good.

After the long (and delightful) weekend, I am working away! The show is on STAN 9 to 11 weekdays. Beca Gardner from the Arkansas Reparatory Theatre is in Tuesday morning hyping the Christmas musical, The King and I. Gene Lyons is ready for Thursday morning. The network will be adding a very cool station in the next few days.

My column is in today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. You can see that one, and my recent archive at NWAnews.com.

There is plenty of great commentary and interview material on lyncho.com, including interviews with Max Brantley and sleep disorder doctor Greg Krulin.

The federal government is seeking the return of a $128,676 income-tax refund that former state Sen. Nick Wilson and his wife, Susan, received as a result of information they included on their 2003 income-tax return - while he was still in federal prison. Wilson currently resides in Little Rock.

Little Rock police cited eight people for ticket scalping in the hours before Friday’s game at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the LSU Tigers, the largest number issued before a game in at least three years. The going price for a ticket was around $400.00 on a face value admission of $35.

Wal-Mart had a disappointing start to the holiday shopping season, despite an aggressive discount campaign. It now expects to report November same-store sales were below its already lackluster forecast. The world's largest retailer says that it expects to report a 0.1 percent decline November sales in stores opened at least a year, compared to the year-ago.

Attorney General Mike Beebe, the governor-elect, announced Wednesday his first Cabinet appointments, and they are familiar faces. Beebe will keep four current top officials in Gov. Mike Huckabee’s administration: Finance and Administration Director Richard Weiss, Education Commissioner Ken James, Arkansas State Police Director Col. Steve Dozier, and Workforce Services Director Artee Williams.

Attorney General Mike Beebe has issued a formal opinion that he sees no likely constitutional problem if the state enacts a law allowing people to kill criminals who intrude into homes and automobiles.

State Senator Bobby Gluver of Carlisle has offered two competing bills to eliminate most of the state’s six-cent tax on groceries, adding to what’s expected to be a growing list of proposals on eliminating the tax. The state is projected to have an $843 million surplus by the end of this fiscal year, and eliminating the state sales tax on groceries became an issue in the recent political campaigns.

The Arkansas State Police is assisting state auditors with an investigation into money missing from the White County sheriff’s office. While conducting a routine audit of county finances, the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit discovered some “irregularities” with the bookkeeping department at the sheriff’s office involving a former employee.

Two legislative committees ordered auditors Wednesday to dig into the finances of the Fayetteville Veterans Home because some lawmakers say they’re worried that the project is going to cost additional state funds.

Helena-West Helena City Council members Joe St. Columbia, Jay Hollowell and Larry Wilson placed their names on a Freedom of Information request seeking written and recorded copies of all the minutes for the entire year and all monthly and quarterly financial reports. According to St. Columbia, the request was not fulfilled.

Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped for the third consecutive month, down one-tenth of a percent in October to 5.1 percent. Despite the slight drop, the state's jobless rate is still two-tenths of a percent higher than it was a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Philander Smith College in Little Rock will receive a grant of more than $2.9 million over the next five years from the National Science Foundation.

Seven people were shot and wounded early Thanksgiving Day after a fight broke out at a private party in Crossett. Four of the injured underwent surgery. Three others were released from the hospital after being treated for their wounds.

The White County coroner has identified the boy who was fatally shot Wednesday afternoon during a basketball game outside a home in Judsonia as Ryan Grothe, 13, of Batesville. Grothe was shot by another teenager using a 9mm handgum.

Jonesboro police shot a 16-year-old boy suspected of rape Friday morning after the youth, found hiding in an attic, opened fire on an officer with a handgun, authorities said. The boy fired one 9 mm round, which struck Officer Chris Walker in the chest, she said. Walker was wearing a protective vest and was released from the hospital.

Texarkana police are investigating a double homicide, discovered Sunday morning when investigators found two bodies inside the remains of a house that had just been destroyed by fire.

A 7-year-old girl has died from injuries suffered when she was struck in a church parking lot by a car driven by an 88-year-old woman. The driver, Martha Garrison, was cited after the accident with careless and prohibited driving. Police said Garrison told them she accidentally shifted into reverse instead of drive, then accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.

The Arkansas Board of Parole has recommended clemency for a 67 year-old man who killed a liquor store owner more than four decades ago over $14.80. The board recommended clemency for Samuel Billingsley, who was convicted of first-degree murder and burglary in Ouachita County.

Franklin County investigators are trying to determine whether John Gonterman of North Little Rock was hanged or if he hung himself in woods north of Mulberry on November 14.

Fans returning to Oaklawn Park Jam 19 won’t be able to smoke in the grandstand while watching the horse races next year. Smoking also will not be allowed in the track’s private club and much of its instant racing and gambling room. Smoking areas will be available near some wager counters and outside the grandstand building.

Benton County diners will soon discover new Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants in Rogers.

This evening around 7:55, someone tried to forcibly gain entry to our residence. When I heard the noise at our front door, I asked who was outside. The answer I got was the old selling magazines for "points" to win a trip to a Mexican resort.

After TWO calls to the Little Rock police, who were generally helpful, my advice is this. Keep your doors locked and do not open them to anybody who can not clearly identify themselves. Do not let strangers inside (we didn't, thank God).

The Reader's Digest version of the outcome is this. These are very bad people. Be most careful. You've been warned.

Another item of right-wing zanieness came to my attention today. Here is the naughty and nice list of corporate America. Which companies stand up against the gay agenda? Can you believe MEN'S WAREHOUSE (ROFL!!!) and BEN AND JERRY'S (conservative doper's favorite lefty whipping boys. And, if you can believe it, the big companies that have bent given in to tasteful interior decorating and low-fat dining include Coors brewing, Northrop Grumman (maker of fancy weapons to whip the godless hordes), and Wells Fargo. Toss out your Apple because they are signed on to the "gay agenda". Opps, that might not be such a good idea, IBM and Microsoft are part of the massive conspiracy too. Anyway. here is the complete low-down - some light after lunch Thanksgiving reading.

Homosexual Advocates Give 138 Corporations 100% Rating
for Cooperating With Their Agenda

The report by the Human Rights Campaign (advocates for homosexual issues) for 2006 was released in September. A top rating of 100 percent was given to 138 major U.S. corporations. Last year there were 101 who earned the 100 percent rating. The report said the total companies reaching the top score was up by 10 times in just four years.

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the largest national homosexual political organization and lobbies Congress for privileges for "gay lesbian bisexual and transgender" Americans. They rate American businesses on how they are treating gay lesbian bisexual and transgender employees consumers and investors.

The HRC purposely uses the corporate list to coerce other businesses to cooperate with the homosexual agenda. But HRC has also done the work for Christian conservatives by providing a list that will allow them to avoid doing business with these companies that have the 100% rating and give their business to those who resist the homosexual intimidation. (See list below)

AFA announced a one-year boycott of Ford last year after they reneged on a promise to remain neutral on social issues like homosexuality and announced that they intended to value all people regardless of sexual orientation. Many conservative and Christian organizations joined AFA and just recently Ford announced some plants were being closed and they did not expect to see a profit for several years.

Christians can make a difference. There are far more of us than there are homosexuals. In 2004 CNN reported that 4% of voters identified themselves as gay lesbian or bisexual. The homosexuals are just working in the political process at least 10 to 100 times harder than the Christians. A much higher percentage of homosexual vote than do conservative Christians.

Some of the corporations need to be rewarded for standing up to the homosexual pressure. The following three obtained a zero score because they do not offer the same benefits to employees choosing an alternative lifestyle as those with traditional lifestyles.
ExxonMobil
Meijer Inc.
Perot Systems


Other companies given lower scores for their unwillingness to sign onto the "gay" agenda include:
Reebok
Northwest Airlines
The Men's Wearhouse
J.C. Penney
Abercrombie & Fitch
Nissan
Dun & Bradstreet
Gallup
Ben & Jerry's
Kroger
Progressive
Ball Corp.
Cooper Tire
Dow Jones
Circuit City
Radio Shack
Toys 'R' Us.

Below are the companies cooperating with homosexual agenda that received 100% rating by homosexual advocates

Adobe Systems
Aetna
Agere Systems
Agilent Technologies
Allianz Life Insurance
Alston & Bird
American Express
AMR Corp. (American Airlines)
Anheuser-Busch
Apple Computer
Arnold & Porter
AT&T
Avaya
Bain & Company
Bank of America
Bausch & Lomb
Bell South
Best Buy
Boeing
BP America
Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Bristol-Myers Squibb
California State Automobile Association
Capital One Financial
Cargill
Carlson Companies
Charles Schwab
Chevron
ChoicePoint
Chubb
CIGNA
Cisco Systems
Citigroup
Clear Channel Communications
Clorox
CMP Media
CNA Insurance
Coca-Cola Company
Consolidated Edison
Coors Brewing
Corning
Credit Suisse First Boston
Cummins
Daimler Chrysler
Dell
Deloitte & Touche USA
Deutsche Bank
Dorsey & Whitney
Dow Chemical
DuPont
Eastman Kodak
Eli Lilly & Co.
Ernst & Young
Estee Lauder Companies
Faegre & Benson
Fannie Mae
Ford Motor Co.
Freescale Semiconductor
Gap Inc.
General Mills
General Motors
Glaxo Smith Kline
Global Hyatt
Goldman Sachs Group
Google
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Heller Ehrman
Hewitt Associates
Hewlett-Packard
Honeywell International
Hospira
ING North America Insurance
Intel
IBM
Intuit
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Jenner & Block
Johnson & Johnson
Kaiser Permanente
Keyspan
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group
KPMG
Kraft Foods
Lehman Brothers Holdings
Levi Strauss & Co.
Lexmark International
Liz Claiborne
Lucent Technologies
McDermott Will & Emery
McKinsey & Co.
Mellon Financial
Merck & Co.
Merrill Lynch
MetLife
Microsoft
Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
Morgan Stanley
Morrison & Foerster
Motorola
Nationwide
NCR Corp.
New York Times Co.
Nike
Nixon Peabody
Nordstrom
Northrop Grumman
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Owens Corning
Pepsico
Pfizer
PG&E
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Powell Goldstein
Price Waterhouse Coopers
Prudential Financial
Raytheon
Replacements
SC Johnson & Son
Schering-Plough
Sears Holdings Corporation
Sempra Energy
Sprint Nextel
Starcom MediaVest
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
State Street
Sun Microsystems
SunTrust Banks
Tech Data Corp.
The Olivia Companies
US Airways
Viacom
Visa International
Volkswagen of America
Wachovia
Walgreens
Wells Fargo
Whirlpool
Xerox





Bob Hester
Arkansas Family Coaltion
blhester@m34u.net

Of all the nutty stuff that comes acorss my desk, this one is just prime fruitcake nonsense. In all of this hysteria, she fails to mention that Mount St. Mary's Academy uses the same program. Maybe there is a REASON that not one member of the Arkansas Legislature voted against it. The best high schools in America use this resource.

Here is the latest from Debie Pelley. Pop some popcorn and sit down for this one.

IBO – A Controversial UN Global Education Program That Conflicts With Judeo-Christian Values
Has Been Established In Arkansas by SB1054 of 2005

It was slipped through the legislature with not one legislator voting against it.
It is being implemented in Jonesboro, Arkansas as an elementary magnet school
It has already been implemented at Springdale, Hot Springs, and North Little Rock

So What is IBO? IBO stands for International Baccalaureate Organization. " School board members in a Minnesota district call it anti-American and anti-Christian. In New Jersey, members of one school board argue it's a waste of money. Now, a suburban Pittsburgh school district is abolishing it over questions of politics and cost" 1 Critics argue that IB's multicultural themes promote values that conflict with traditional Judeo-Christian values. One teachers objects to the program because of IBO's endorsement of the Earth Charter which calls for sustainability of the Earth through,, among other things, responsible reproduction and wealth distribution. Many opponents have called it Marxist. 2.

Jeanne Geiger, an outspoken critic of the program in Reston, Va., wrote to a local newspaper: "Administrators do not tell you that the current IB program for ages 3 through grade 12 promotes socialism, disarmament, radical environmentalism and moral relativism, while attempting to undermine Christian religious values and national sovereignty." 3

IBO is a very expensive controversial educational program. One organization has estimated that it "costs taxpayers about $200,000 per year over regular school expenses to have the IB program in a school. 4 It is often substituted for advanced placement courses that one critic describes this way: "No longer are children learning the difference between capitalism and socialism. No longer are children being taught why the United States became the most powerful economic engine the world has ever known. Instead, they are being taught that with less than 5 percent of the world's population, the U.S. uses 25 percent of the world's resources and produces 25 percent of the world's pollution. 5

"They are being taught that the U.S. is the No. 1 terrorist nation. They are being taught that the rest of the world is mired in poverty because of the greedy capitalists in the United States." IBO is also referred to as social engineering." 6

International Baccalaureate Organization (also known as IB, IBO, IBP, MYP, ISM - MYP) is a United Nations educational program located in Geneva, Switzerland. IBO "has endorsed the Earth Charter – an earth-centered collection of global principles which honor global political-ethical-moral and spiritual unification. Some, such as Mikhail Gorbachev, have gone so far as to compare the Earth Charter with 'those 10 or 15 Commandments which we all know about...those famous testaments...'" 7

United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) provided the funding to create the IBO program. "In one of its first efforts in 1949, the UNESCO textbook, titled 'Toward World Understanding,' used to teach teachers what to teach, said: 'As long as the child breathes the poisoned air of nationalism, education in world-mindedness can produce only rather precarious results. As we have pointed out, it is frequently the family that infects the child with extreme nationalism.'" 8

" In the 1960s, Dr. Robert Muller, United Nations deputy secretary-general, prepared a 'World Core Curriculum.' Its first goal: 'Assisting the child in becoming an integrated individual who can deal with personal experience while seeing himself as a part of 'the greater whole.' In other words, promote growth of the group idea, so that group good, group understanding, group interrelations and group goodwill replace all limited, self-centered objectives, leading to group consciousness.'" Every totalitarian government has also promoted these ideals." 9

"In addition to all the above concerns, PABBIS receives a greatly disproportionate number of complaints about books from parents of children in the IB program. Some parents have not entered or have withdrawn from the IB program just to avoid running the gauntlet of controversial IB program books that use extremely vulgar sexual themes. 10

The IBO is now providing the curriculum for 33,000 teachers in nearly 1,500 schools around the world, 55 of which are middle schools in the Washington D.C. area. 11

The International Baccalaureate Program is being implemented in Arkansas at this time. It is mentioned about 20 times in the ADE's "Rules and Regulations Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma Incentive Program, October 05," The rules are based on a law passed during the 2005 session, SB1054 sponsored by Senator Salmon and now Act 2152. 12

Not one legislator voted against the bill. It was slipped through as a type of advanced placement program that would require the students to study harder. Some legislators who voted said it made them sick when they realized they had voted for something like this. They thought it was just a program that would make the students study harder. Probably no more than 10% of the legislators even know it is being implemented. 35. Arkansas Dept of Education Rules for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma Incentive Program 13

Since its beginning, the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been trying to impose an international curriculum to prepare students for world government. More than 500 U.S. schools are now using the International Baccalaureate program, and the Department of Education has just awarded a $1.2 million grant to expand the program in middle schools in Arizona, Massachusetts and New York. 14

One legislator who attended a seminar on IBO educational program in Washington said the 100 hours of Theory of Knowledge (TOK) required by IB Diploma would create a belief system that would cause the students to reject the gospel. This TOK is described as "a key element in encouraging students to appreciate other cultural perspectives." 15

The three IB programs offered are: Primary Years Program (PYP) ages 3 to 12, a Middle Years Program (MYP) ages 11 to 16, and a Diploma Program (DP) for children ages 16 to 19 (All of the programs come with tests administered by the IBO)

"Swiss law governs the Rules and all other documentation related to the authorization for teaching an IB program… Parents with little information would not realize that a foreign body maintains "a list of students" where there is no guarantee of security. ..the governing law is not that of the state, but of Swiss law." 16

According to Allen Quist is Professor of Political Science and author of five books, the most "IB tests are sent to Geneva for scoring. Concerns about privacy and security involve the fact that "personal, values-laden data on individual American students" is being collected and stored in a foreign database." (Edwatch, 11-10-2005 17

The IBO program contains all the elements of the Outcome Based Education law (Act 236) that was passed in 1991 in Arkansas that was so controversial that most of the law was repealed. That law had four outcomes and three of the four dealt with values rather than curriculum. The law was repealed but they have implemented most of it piece by piece through other legislation and policies. This IBO program was where they where were headed all along. It has all the elements of the Outcome Based Education law - .
multiculturalism, diversity (homosexuality) all religions are equal, lessened emphasis on textbooks, social engineering, and brainwashing, and books with filthy language, with very little emphasis on educational facts and actual curriculum.

Arkansas implemented a state curriculum in the Omnibus Bill in 2003. All schools have to teach the curriculum the state demands. IBO is now included in that curriculum in the law passed in 2005 noted above. 18

Will the people stand up and save our children or will we surrender and watch as they them make one of two choices: go the world's way and lose their souls or take a stand and be persecuted. Either choice is horrific so how can we stand by and do nothing?

Jonesboro School District is making one of its magnet schools an International Baccalaureate Program. They will be making "world citizens" of young children who have not yet learned what it is to be an American citizen and why America has been so blessed among nations. The IBP program equalizes all cultures, including those cultures that abase women, discriminate against certain religions and ethnic groups, teach young children to hate and become suicide bombers. Shouldn't our youngest children first be taught what it means to be a member of a democratic republic before trying to make "global citizens" out of them?

Quote from Jonesboro School District website: INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (INTERNATIONAL BACCUALAREATE): The International Studies program will provide students with the background and skills for future career opportunities in the global community…….The school will apply for International Baccalaureate status as soon as possible. 19

Documentation:
1. "International Curriculum in Pa. Spotlight," CBS News, March 6, 2006 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/06/ap/national/mainD8G64M8O0.shtml
2.."We Don't Need No Education" by Brett Stursa, May 111, 2005
http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1275/article13267.asp
3. U. N. influence in U.S. schools by Henry Lamb, Posted January 24, http://www.unwatch.com/hl012604.shtml
4. "IB Loads Costs on the Taxpayers, December 05" http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/2005/dec05/taxpayers.html
5. See number 3 above.
6. See number 3 above.
7. Social Engineering for Global Change By Carl Teichrib - September, 2004 http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/teichrib-engineering-social-change.htm
8. See number 3 above
9. See number 3 above
10. Ed Watch International Baccalaureate Alert, PABBIS Press Release."
http://www.edwatch.org/updates05/111005-iba.htm
11. See number 3 above
12 Arkansas Dept of Education Rules for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma Incentive Program, October 05
http://arkedu.state.ar.us/rules/pdf/current_rules/ade_229_ap_and_ib_courses.pdf
13 Senate Bill 1054 authorizing International Baccalaureate Program in Arkansas
ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/bills/2005/public/SB1054.pdf
14 See number 3 above
15 Social Change and IB World Schools, Education Reporter, http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/2005/dec05/IB-schools.html
16. IB Schools in U.S. Under U.N. Law http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/2006/may06/IBSchools.html
17. See number 4 above
18. Omnibus Bill prescribing Arkansas curriculum and standards ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/acts/2003/public/Act1467.pdf
19. Jonesboro authorizes International Baccalaureate program as an elementary magnet school. ehttp://www.jps.k12.ar.us/magnet_school_themes.htm

Debbie Pelley, Retired Teacher
dpelley@cox-internet.com














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Travelers across Arkansas will see an increased police presence from members of the Arkansas State Police during the Thanksgiving holiday period which is set to officially begin at 6 p.m. today.

A legislative committee on has tentatively rejected budget increases requested by the state Supreme Court, with one legislator citing the court’s mandates for more public school funding. Rep. Chris Thyer, of Jonesboro, made the motion. “At the risk of being disbarred, this court has been very interested in how this body has treated K-12 education in the past,” Thyer, a lawyer, said. “We sent [public schools] out at base, so I would say let’s treat [the Supreme Court] the exact same way and send them out at base.”

The growth of non-farm jobs in Arkansas slowed slightly in October as the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

Arkansas should offer an earned income tax credit to help families make ends meet, members of a community activist group said Monday. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, announced plans to push for several measures at the state and federal levels, including a state earned income tax credit similar to the tax credit offered by the federal government.

More than 60 percent of Arkansas voters support reduced penalties for marijuana offenses, according a poll, conducted by Zogby International, found that 61 percent of respondents support reducing penalties for marijuana convictions.

Arkansas’ prison and parole agencies will keep a bigger slice of the estimated $4 million generated by calls between inmates and their families under a tentative deal approved Tuesday by the state Board of Corrections.

Virginia-based G4S Youth Services agreed Tuesday to enter into contract negotiations with Arkansas to take over the Alexander Youth Services Center - at least temporarily.

A third death from West Nile virus has been confirmed in Arkansas, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday.

A law firm hired by the Little Rock School District to investigate claims of misconduct against high-ranking school district officials regarding desegregation obligations turned in a report Tuesday describing the “significant disagreements” among staff but leaving the School Board to draw its own conclusions about who was right and wrong. The claims all have implications in the district’s efforts to show a federal judge that it is in compliance with a 2004 court order to evaluate its programs for their effectiveness in raising the achievement levels of black students.

The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission is leaning toward severing its ties with Mayor-elect Mark Stodola’s law firm and voted Tuesday to seek more information before it formally acts, perhaps as soon as next month.

Saline County Sheriff Phil Mask, who recently won reelection, now acknowledges that his office illegally sold firearms and improperly kept evidence and contraband, and declined to comment on a prosecutor’s allegation that he has operated an illegal “slush fund.”

Former Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau chief Barry Travis has paid the agency $1,500 to cover part of the cost of a 2005 Malibu given to him for his February retirement. Still unresolved is $9,000 in payments made toward the car from the agency’s budget, most of which is generated by the city’s hotel and restaurant tax.

Following the completion of investigations by the state Legislative Audit Committee and the Pope County Sheriff's Office, a former Dover Middle School secretary is facing charges of misusing more than $5,000 of the school's money. Tina Lewis, who served as secretary for about six years, is with felony theft in Pope County Circuit Court and faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Daily World reports that the City of Helena-West Helena is not supplying payroll tax information despite a request under the state FOI law. The Internal Revenue Service has filed a tax lein which shows the former city of West Helena owe over $37,000 in federal withholding taxes.

First lady Janet Huckabee underwent knee replacement surgery on both knees at Baptist Health Medical Center. Janet Huckabee suffered for several years from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, caused by the breakdown or loss of joint-protecting cartilage, the governor’s office said.

Recreational vehicles are already arriving for Friday’s sold-out game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Louisiana State University Tigers at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.

From Conway’s Log Cabin Democrat, this advice. Grease is the word - in the kitchen year-round, and especially on Thanksgiving, Fire Marshall Randy Freeman says, "One main danger to watch out for around Thanksgiving, if you're deep frying a turkey, is unattended grease left on the stove or the fryer," According to Freeman "Residents come in and put a pan of grease on the stove or in the burner, cook their turkey or french fries, and if the that grease is unattended, and it gets to a certain temperature, it ignites."

The annual state Capitol Christmas lighting ceremony will take place Dec. 2, Secretary of State Charlie Daniels said Tuesday. It will follow the Big Jingle Jubilee Downtown Holiday Parade in Little Rock. The parade begins at 3 p.m. and ends at the Capitol. Around dusk 300,000 white lights on the Capitol will be turned on.

Democrat-Gazette columnist Gene Lyons is on the Wednesday Pat Lynch show at 10 on the Super Talk Arkansas Network. I am all over the state and world scene.

My many thanks to Carole and Grant for taking care of things while I went to Oklahoma to attend to the death of my brother, John Mark Lynch.

I will be back on the air Wednesday morning at 9 on the Super Talk Arkansas Network. Our stations are listed in the right hand column. Tune in or log on to WAI-Radio.com.

Since many or you will be traveling during the peak Holiday period, I thought I would have one of my sporadic rants on Amtrak. Now, just so you understand, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation handles about 10,000 passengers a year in Arkansas. I am sure Southwest Airlines does something like ten times that number, but that is a matter for another day.

The reason I even bring this up is that the country desperately needs a balanced transportation system. Airlines and trucking companies have fought Amtrak in congress since day one, which was 35 years ago. As a result, the passenger train company has always been in a life and death struggle. As a result, Amtrak has no sensible business plan and will always be vulnerable.

Things are about to get a lot worse. The new bunch of corporate suits is systematically destroying on board meal service on the long distance trains, such as the Eagle that serves Arkansas. The plan is to further decimate ridership by taking the lounge care off all long distance trains and drastically changing the dining car services. This is an anti-passenger tactic that goes back to the 1960’s when railroad companies were trying to shed inconvenient and unprofitable services. Our representatives should be asking some serious questions.

(Broadcast November 21, 2006)

It is a little bit ominous that several school districts are urging the Arkansas Supreme Court to retain jurisdiction in the Lake View case. This is a very close call, and I am not completely clear on what the right outcome should be.

There are several downsides to keeping this case in the Supreme Court, which would probably kick it back to the very capable and fair-minded special masters. By the way, I am not jesting about that. They have, so far, done a fine job. The first problem is that the high court will be edging toward making itself into a lawmaking branch of government, instead of its’ proper judicial role. There is the uncertainty of not knowing what must be done to provide a constitutional education. Keeping the case will take time and money, in addition to the quarter-bill part of the surplus that is bound to be spent on much needed facilities. The lawyers are bound to make more money out of an extension of court supervision, but they could probably make more by starting a new lawsuit from scratch.

The upside is that the legislature will be held strictly accountable a little bit longer. Say what you will about the Supremes, not much was happening on school reform until the court made the general assembly obey its’ own laws. It is a very close call but I say the Arkansas Supreme Court should retain jurisdiction until it can see what has been done in the session.

(Broadcast November 20, 2006)

On a brighter note, let’s discuss the latest news about Orenthal James Simpson. You may remember form an eternity ago that he was accused and acquitted in the murders of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.

Later, Goldman’s family sued Simpson and gained a civil judgment against the former NFL star. Of course, the juice has hardly paid a dime, and has always claimed he is searching for the “real killers.” If it were not such a barbaric crime, all of this would be funny. Simpson has written a book titled, “If I really did it.”

The publisher says the work amounts to a confession, but something tells me to doubt that. Amazon.com says that it has already reached 54 on the top sellers list, even before the publication date. Fred Goldman, father of the murdered young man, is calling for a boycott. Fox TV is planning a big special just in time for sweeps.

O. J. has been found not guilty and may not be tried again, even if he should confess. He and the publishers are entitled to make a dime, and so is Fox. America is a great county, and I am proud to live in a land where I can chose not to read or watch things that tear down society. Simpson’s opportunistic stunt is almost as harmful and odious as the murders.

(Broadcast November 17, 2006)

The latest development in the delusions of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is not pretty. In the newest episode, which we will call china-gate, the Governor’s Mansion Association has pledged a lovely parting gift to Mrs. Huciabee. Total value appears to be somewhere between seven and ten thousand dollars.

Arkansas Times Blog reported on this and correctly observed that donors to the Mansion’s foundation might be surprised to know that their gifts went to a single individual. This revelation comes on the heels of the Huckabee’s housewarming registry, again seeking gifts.

This is probably all legal but unseemly for a man that makes $80,000 a year in one of America’s poorest states and is moving into what amounts to a private mansion in North Little Rock at the end of his term. The problem is always in the cover-up, and the governor’s paranoid, bordering on weird, reaction to reporter’s questions will soon be picked up by the national media. Our governor sounds stranger than Richard Nixon.

Mike Huckabee bitterly complains that Arkansas Times is always against him, which is just plain untrue. He conveniently forgets that his own office cut that same publication off from official press releases. Even the Democrat-Gazette managing editor, Griffin Smith, says the registry story has legs.

Doesn’t Mike Huckabee know that a soft answer turns away wrath?

(Broadcast November 16, 2006)

I am away from the radio for a couple of days, so Grant and Carole will be taking care of things. David Sanders is set for this (Monday) morning along with the AARP folks. Tuesday is anybody's guess. I am back in the saddle Wednesday morning.

The segment with Zoo Director Mike Blakeley is now on the home page. Max Brantley's excellent interview from yesterday about the Huckabee gift registry and other aspects of Arkansas politics is also online. All the selections are nicely edited for your convenience.

Also available is the complete "day after election" set with Blanche Lincoln, Vic Snyder, Bill Halter, Mark Stodola and consultant Bud Jackson.

Load up your iPod. It's FREE!

Benton County election commissioners found two electronic files Wednesday containing ballots that had never been counted. Those ballots, left in bags in the back room of the Election Commission's office, have changed the outcome of one close race. The election commission released a fourth set of results for two races Thursday, but stopped short of a recount.

The Arkansas Supreme Court declined on Thursday to make a decision on whether the law permitting “payday lending” violates the state constitution, instead sending the case back to Pulaski County Circuit Court.

Morris S. Arnold of Little Rock is hospitalized in St. Louis, where he is a judge on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, after having a heart attack.

Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday that the 2008 presidential race is still “a wide-open opportunity” despite a potential Republican rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, kicking off a campaign with the creation of an exploratory committee on Thursday.

As the personal bankruptcy cases of former U.S. Rep. Tommy Robinson and his wife continued their journey through the courts, Robinson announced Thursday that he was preparing to improve his liquidity by leaving for Africa to work as a lobbyist. Robinson testified that he was preparing to leave for Africa, where he expected to be employed by the recently elected president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and earn $10,000 to $12,000 a month.

Today’s Democrat=Gazette reports when longtime Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau chief Barry Travis retired in February, he drove off with a $25,500 retirement gift, a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu, bought in large part at taxpayer expense. The car was purchased outside normal bid procedures and was paid for through a combination of trade-in of a public vehicle, revenue from Little Rock’s 2 percent hotel and restaurant tax, and private contributions from donors, including firms that do business with the Convention and Visitors Bureau or benefit from its tax-supported activities.

A bill filed for the forthcoming state legislative session would by Pine Bluff Senator Jerry Taylor remove a person’s duty to retreat under certain circumstances before using deadly force in self-defense.

A bill pre-filed Thursday for the 2007 legislative session would make Arkansas eligible to participate in a federal program to create personal health care accounts for some people on public assistance.

Lawmakers studying the Public School Fund budget proposal are wondering about Gov. Mike Huckabee’s recommendation to keep the additional sales tax on beer. The tax is to end June 30, 2007 and brings in $6.9 million a year for preschool programs. It was passed in 2001 when the state was experiencing a budget crunch.

Authorities say a man who arranged over the Internet to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex took a taxi to an agreed-upon address Wednesday, only to find it was the Shannon Hills police station. Corey Miller of Little Rock was arrested as part of an ongoing sting operation aimed at online stalkers by the Shannon Hills Police Department and the Saline County sheriff’s office.

Pulaski County prosecutors will seek the death penalty against three men accused of fatally shooting two teens and wounding a third in what police describe as a drug related incident at the parking lot of North Little 1 Rock’s McCain Mall in July.

A former University of Arkansas graduate student will serve 15 months in prison for lying to obtain naturalization status and using someone else’s Social Security number to get credit. U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren revoked the citizenship of Arwah Jaber of Fayetteville, who was acquitted in June on a charge of aiding a terrorist group. Defense attorneys told Hendren that they are seeking a reinstatement of citizenship in an appeal of Jaber’s sentence.

Construction crews are still on site, but a new stage will be completed in time for next week's 71st Annual Wings Over the Prairie Festival and World's Championship Duck Calling Contest in Stuttgart.

As hunting season approaches, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks reports the number of licensed resident deer hunters has fallen about 36 percent since it peaked in the 1986-87 season at about 200,000. Only 128,000 resident license holders participated in the 2003-04 season, the most recent period for which numbers were available.

Our old friend, Steve Nawojczyk, was up in Springfield, Missouri the other day and a television report of his visit fell into my hands. I know that many local business leaders have been uncomfortable with Steve for committing the unpardonable sin of telling the truth. He has helped countless young folks and it is good to see his still going strong. It is also sad that he still needs to be going strong. Here's the link.

This morning's interview with the master manipulator of all Arkansas media, Max Brantley, has been posted on lyncho.com and is available for listening and free download. Of course, we discuss the Huck, Asa, Republicans, Blanche, Mark, and the deeper meaning of life.

There is a new target to be LYNCHED! Rep. John Paul Wells of Paris has pre-filed two drug-crime bills One will allow prosecuting attorneys to seize the home of anyone who uses the home in violation of state drug laws. The second would add an extra 10 years to the sentence of people convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine if there are elderly or mentally incompetent people in the home or building. You will want to hear my opinion snapshot.

The Arkansas Governor’s Mansion Association has gifted the first lady 20 sets of three-piece crystal place settings, costing about $2,000. Also, a gift to Janet Huckabee of china place settings costing about $4,500 was announced Oct. 8 during the dedication of the Janet M. Huckabee Grand Hall at the mansion.

Gov.-elect Mike Beebe and his wife, Ginger, are to share a flight with first lady Janet Huckabee this weekend to a West Virginia retreat for newly elected governors - on a state police airplane.

Lt. Gov.-elect Bill Halter said Wednesday that former state Democratic Party Chairman Ron Oliver will be his chief of staff when Halter assumes office Jan. 9.

Attorneys representing black students in the Little Rock School District have asked federal judge Bill Wilson to continue federal oversight of the district, in part, because of recent allegations that the local school board has been receiving inaccurate information concerning the district’s performance.

Bentonville Republican Rep. Horace Hardwick has filed the first bill of the 2007 session of the General Assembly. If enacted, the bill will reduce the state sales tax on food to 1.5 percent by 2011, from 6 percent currently.

Rep. John Paul Wells of Paris has pre-filed two drug-crime bills:
One will allow prosecuting attorneys to seize the home of anyone who uses the home in violation of state drug laws. The second would add an extra 10 years to the sentence of people convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine if there are elderly or mentally incompetent people in the home or building. Wells also filed another bill which would designate the Diana Fritillary as the state’s official butterfly.

State Agriculture Secretary Richard Bell is asking lawmakers to authorize nine new positions paid $464,000 a year to the department’s budget in the next biennium to help promote Arkansas’ agriculture industry.

Officials from the state’s two largest airports caucused with state lawmakers Wednesday night in an effort to find a way to tap state revenues to help finance $500 million in capital projects between the two.

A lawyer for Deltic Timber Corp. said Wednesday that the company will not take its land battle with Central Arkansas Water back to the state Legislature.

A federal drug distribution trial under way in Little Rock for Newport Alderman Pinkey McFarlin has been scheduled to resume Friday morning, a day after the defendant is expected to be released from a Little Rock hospital. McFarlin went to the hospital complaining of chest pains.

Of the 57 arrests for delivery or intent to deliver drugs in Rogers since the first of 2005, 43 were Hispanic and 25 were illegal immigrants, according to statistics gathered by Mayor Steve Womack. Since first announcing plans to come up with some kind of local process for dealing with illegal immigrants, Womack has maintained many of the drug cases city officers handle concern illegal immigrants.

Although arrests were made in at least 79 felony cases, the Helena-West Helena Police Department has forwarded just 15 felony cases this year to the prosecuting attorney’s office for review and charging decisions, according to a letter from a deputy prosecutor to the city’s police chief.

Bull Shoals police suspect a sewer saboteur has been vandalizing equipment at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, while also shutting down some of the pumping stations that send sewage its way.

Baptist Health reported an 8 percent increase in revenue for 2005 compared with 2004 even as the hospital system saw its inpatient count fall by 11 percent, according to a filing with the Internal Revenue Service this week.

Most Arkansas landowners in the Fayetteville Shale natural gas area are out of luck if they are waiting to sign a contract and get a fat check for their mineral rights, a Houston energy consultant said Wednesday.

Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company, will enter into partnerships with three Arkansas school districts to provide health awareness and screening services. Harrison, Paragould and Dollarway will each receive $1 million in services as part of a nationwide program.

The Walton family poured $415 million into their charitable foundation last year, climbing to 37th among America’s wealthiest private foundations.

Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott returned to the Senate’s top ranks Wednesday as minority whip, four years after he was driven from the Republican leadership for comments praising Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1948 segregationist run for president.

After a plea agreement, Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Frank Melton entered a “no contest” plea to misdameanor charges of carrying a gun on a school campus and will remain in office. The mayor still faces several felony charges related to his alleged role in an Aug. 26 incident in which he and his police bodyguards are accused of using sledgehammers to damage a duplex the mayor claims was a drug house.

You have, no doubt, heard the old saying, “Be careful what you pray for.” Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln must be thinking that as she and the Democrats advance in seniority, and will control the agenda of the United States Senate.

Lincoln beats the drum for agriculture and the elderly, but her enhanced position on the Finance Committee must come with its’ own target. This is the bunch that has first shot at fixing the Medicare Part D Drug Program. Small business health insurance is one of her areas of interest, and I am sure everybody, especially the uninsured, wishes her well. A former Arkansas first lady, Senator Hillary Clinton, has been promising to get busy on health care reform again, and that is good news. It is also politically dangerous.

I predict that, before long, Blanche Lincoln will be juggling political hand grenades. The Finance Committee also deals with taxes and there is plenty of discussion about raising taxes. A good place to begin is the inheritance taxes, which have been shamelessly reduced on behalf of the ultra-greedy top two percent. You better also get ready for the push to tax medical benefits as regular income.

Blanche Lincoln had best enjoy the post election glow. It won’t last.

(Broadcast November 15, 2006)

Write this down. Keep a copy. Today is a turning point in the political life of Arkansas Governor, and would be presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee. Today, it all ended. This is the day the music died.

Max and the gang at the Arkansas Times Blog have hit a gold mine of greed and silliness. This stuff about the Mansion Association giving Mrs. Huckabee a gift of around $10,000 in value is simply outrageous. Max has it nailed. It's about deceiving all the people who somehow thought their contributions were going to the Arkansas Governor's Mansion.

It's no cause for celebration that Mike Huckabee is starting to sound like Nixon. Huckabee had good instincts on many social issues including immigration and school reform. Everybody is NOT against Huckabee and, frankly, he really comes off kinda' nutty when he starts carrying on like Jack Nicholson.

Max and Warwick are actually a lot nicer than those meanies at the New York Times.

Max Brantley is the first guest on tomorrow's Pat Lynch Show. According to Gov. Huckabee, all of us media types are Max's tolls. Max MADE US report on the perfectly innocent bridal registry to which His Hufffiness and Sugar Button has been enrolled. Shame on us!

David Sanders is on at 10 to bemoan the condition of the state Republican party.

Friday morning will have a visit from Zoo Director Michael Blakeley.

Gene Lyons is on next week and so are the good folks from AARP, who are urging people on Medicare to see if they like the Part D drug program in which they are taking part.

Gov. Mike Huckabee, frequently mentioned as a candidate for President, has ripped news reporters for writing about gift registries in his and his wife’s names for a housewarming party for their recently purchased half million-dollar home in North Little Rock. The governor accused news media of being “tools” for Arkansas Times Editor Max Brantley, who runs a blog that discussed the registries and who has been a longtime critic of Huckabee.

The director of the state Department of Correction told lawmakers Tuesday that he hopes the department will open about 1,400 new prison beds in the next few years to keep up with the growing number of prison inmates.

The Blue Dog Coalition, a fiscally conservative group of 44 House Democrats, elected Arkansas’ Rep. Mike Ross cochairman in a private meeting Tuesday evening.

The Democratic Party of Arkansas will file a petition to ask for a recount of ballots in Benton County's District 2 justice of the peace race. The deadline to file a recount is today. The Election Commission released a third set of results for the Nov. 7 general election on Monday.

Paul Bridges, the candidate elected as Bella Vista's city attorney says he has committed to another job and does not plan to take office. Bridges was originally announced as the winner, but a recount showed he lost. The third, and most recent, tally has Bridges leading, but the candidate says he wants “closure” and has withdrawn.

In an attempt to dispel rumors of impropriety surrounding the Nov. 7 vote and recount, members of the Crawford County Election Commission have begun another recount of the 1,700 paper ballots cast in the general election.

A Franklin County judge has ruled the winner of the Nov. 7 mayoral election in Altus is a convicted felon and ineligible to serve.

Newport alderman Pinkey McFarlin was admitted to a Little Rock hospital Monday night, prompting a pause in his federal trial on charges of distributing Xanax and crack cocaine.

Two Little Rock teenagers were sentenced to five years’ probation, fined $500 and ordered to get their high school diplomas for their roles in a December 2005 murder of another teenager.

A second trial relating to sexual-offense charges against Deanna Bobo, a former Greenwood teacher, has been continued until next year on the court’s motion due to a heavy docket.

A racially balanced jury of eight women and four men will hear opening arguments and testimony today in the trial of Jackson, Ms. Mayor Frank Melton.

A former employee of Farmington settled a lawsuit against the city for $285,000 after a day of mediation Tuesday. Laura Smith sued the city, mayor, police chief and a police sergeant last year for conducting what she alleges was an illegal, warrantless search of her home, questioning her juvenile children without consent and firing her because she complained.

Corporations, alumni groups and others who want to kick back in climate-controlled comfort to watch Mounties or War Eagles football games can pay for skyboxes.

Rogers School officials will not use taxpayer money to construct skyboxes at Gates Stadium or a new stadium to be built at the high school on Dixieland Road. The Gates Stadium press box will include 1,500 square feet of climate-controlled space for the press and visiting officials from opposing teams. Gates Stadium also will include 300 chair-back seats in what officials describe as a "club seating" level.

Laura P. Nichols of Scott has posthumously given the Little Rock Zoo the gift of $750,000. $300,000 will complete the fundraising effort for the zoo’s planned penguin exhibit, which will be called the Laura P. Nichols Penguin Exhibit.

The state Plant Board’s seed committee voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the sale for commercial production of a controversial rice variety that has rocked that U.S. industry.

With enrollment in the Medicare drug benefit beginning again today, advocates for the elderly are urging people to examine their options and make sure they’re still satisfied with their coverage. In Arkansas, more than 267,000 of the state’s 480,000 Medicare recipients are signed up for the benefit, which began covering prescriptions on Jan. 1.

With Democrats about to take over control of Congress in the New Year, our representatives (except John Boozman) will go from the role of well-paid observers to statesmen and leaders. There are several areas that need immediate consideration and the most obvious is Iraq.

There is a lot of discussion of setting a timetable for starting a pullback. You would think that intelligent people would figure out that this is not a good idea. In fact, letting insurgents know your plans is dangerous. The president is still commander-in-chief. The senate has a legitamate role to advise and congress controls the budget. That is oversight and that is how Democrats should deal with Iraq and they should not forget the Iran wild card. Things could head south there in a hurry.

Senator Clinton has promised to get moving on some sort of health care reform and that is long overdue. Congress will work to repeal laws that permitted torture. That is just plainly un-American. Democrats are bound to be more sensitive to good farm policy. Senator Lincoln and Congressman Berry will work on that.

If Nancy Pelosi does well as Speaker, she will do much to clear the way for a Hillary Clinton presidential bid. Stay tuned. Things are about to get interesting

(Broadcast November 14, 2006)

The home page has been updated in the Audio Highlights section with Jerry Mitchell's fine interview about the Emmett Till case. It is spine tingling.

Former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, Ted Haggard, has been LYNCHED again!

A third accounting of votes in Benton County shows a third, and completely new, set of results. The numbers released Monday changed the outcome of three tight races for the second time. Candidates in two runoff elections also changed. It was not a record turnout of over 63% either, but around 51%, according to the latest reports.

Seth Blomeley reports in today’s Democrat-Gazette that reactions at the state Capitol are not favorable to news that Gov. Mike Huckabee and first lady Janet Huckabee have gift registries at Target and Dillard’s for a “housewarming” party for their recently purchased half-million dollar home. “I don’t think it would play too good in the country,” said House Speaker-designate Benny Petrus, a Democrat from Stuttgart.

Seven out of every 10 Arkansas home-schooled students in grades three through nine took at least a part of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills last spring as required by state law. That leaves more than 2,000 test-eligible students unaccounted for in state records and potentially truant.

A planned mass flu vaccination exercise involving 26 health clinics across the state is scheduled for later this week Department of Health and Human spokeswoman Ann Wright says the purpose of the exercise, which is to run Wednesday through Friday, is to immunize as many people as possible from the flu, and to test the state's ability to distribute medication in a short time frame to a large number of people in the event of an influenza pandemic. The flu shots are free to those who participate in the vaccination exercise.

The executive director for the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System said Monday that he expects the system’s actuary to recommend next month that the trustees either increase the rate that the system charges school districts or reduce future retirement benefits.

The U. S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to study possible expansion of the national "Trail of Tears" system to include two trails through Arkansas and Tennessee.

As the federal drug-distribution trial of Newport Alderman Pinkey McFarlin entered its second week, a pharmacist testified about a frightening encounter she had with McFarlin after refusing to refill his prescription for pain medication early. Summer Washam, working that day at Fred’s Pharmacy in Newport, testified that after McFarlin threatened her, she closed early, called the police for an escort out of the building, and asked Fred’s corporate office to never assign her there again or she would sue them.

Two Rogers youths accused in approximately $350,000 of vandalism pleaded guilty Monday to 16 counts each of felony and misdemeanor criminal mischief, commercial and residential burglary and breaking and entry. The boys, then ages 13 and 14, admitted sneaking out of their homes late at night on eight occasions during the summer of 2005. They were sentenced to probation.

The Craighead County Quorum Court is considering a proposed increase in jail fees assessed to municipalities and other counties, over objections from Jonesboro Police Chief Mike Yates. The ordinance would raise fees from $30 to $45 per day for male and female inmates starting Jan. 1. If enacted it would represent the first hike in 16 years.

Jermain Taylor says his Dec. 9 title defense against Kassim Ouma will be his last as a middleweight and that he plans to begin campaigning in the 168-pound class in 2007. Taylor, who weighs around 180 when not in training, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that making the 160-pound middleweight limit has become more and more of a chore. Taylor went on to say that he plans to quit fighting at the age of 30. His 30th birthday is Aug. 11, 2008.

After losing his congressional bid, Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh will need a new job Jan. 1, and he says he’s looking for one that pays a little more than he is accustomed to earning. Stumbaugh told the North Pulaski Leader he isn’t ruling out anything, he said, with the exception of returning to the Little Rock Police Department, where he worked before he was elected mayor, but he says there are other opportunities for people with his background and experience.

CNN founder Ted Turner told a crowd of some of the nation’s most generous philanthropists gathered Monday in Little Rock that the key to benevolence is to tap into basic, human sensibilities.

Some of my buds, particularly my liberal friends, are getting upset over the Huckabee’s latest shameless hustle. As something of an old lefty myself, I wish to state here and now that I only wish Marie and I had been smart enough to register for gifts back on our happy day.

If you have not heard, Mike and Janet Huckabee, who must soon vacate the governor’s mansion, have registered at Target and Dillard’s for cool gifts. The Huckabees have been married once officially and then they participated in a ceremony that had something to do with covenant marriage. I don’t understand that so well, but maybe Bill Gwatney can explain it.

Usually, it’s the newly weds who get the gifts but I guess that, since Mike and Sugar Button will be setting up housekeeping on their onw in this nice large house over in North Little Rock, it might be a nice gesture to send some flatware or a toaster. When I tied the noose with the first Mrs. Lynch, we were registered at Dillard’s, and you can get some great gifts.

I am not picking on the governor, honest. In fact, I have made an executive decision that, before Marie and I celebrate our lovely fifth anniversary on Valentine’s Day next year, we will also accept suitable offerings. Of course, we will take cash.

November 13, 2006

Arkansas’ 31-17 victory over Tennessee combined with Texas, Auburn and California losing on Saturday and Louisville losing on Thursday, catapulted the Razorbacks into seventh place in the BCS standings, fifth in the AP poll and sixth in the USA Today polls after being 11th in all three rankings last week.

Unprecedented voter turnout in Benton County has again called into question the results of Tuesday's general election. After the Election Commission reviewed the votes, the turnout jumped from 49 percent to 83 percent. One precinct in Rogers reported a voter turnout of more than 100%. In Gateway, a town of 122 people, 199 votes were cast in an uncontested mayoral race. In Pea Ridge, the number of mayoral votes cast exceeded the local population by 600.

A state audit has questioned the propriety of the Camden Fairview School District spending more than $25,000 of its funds to purchase letter jackets, blankets, rings and other items over a two-year period to recognize student athletes for their accomplishments.

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Camden mayor did not have legislative immunity when he ordered the seizure of a former political rival’s bass boat. Richard D. Percefull sued Mayor Chris Claybaker, claiming that the city of Camden’s seizure of Percefull’s bass boat in 2003 violated Percefull’s constitutional rights, namely protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Attorney General Mike Beebe who becomes Arkansas governor in January says he's already working on how quickly the state will be able to phase out its 6-cent tax on groceries, one of the Democrat's key proposals during his campaign.

"Wedding" registries in the names of Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet, have been set up at two department store chains in advance of the Huckabees' move out of the Governor's Mansion into a private home.

A bid by Rep. Mike Ross to move into the House leadership was ended pretty much before it began when Democrats cut a deal to seat another lawmaker. The deal that found a post for Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois effectively shut out Ross from trying to become vice chairman of the Democratic caucus.

The pilot of a single-engine plane reported flames aboard the aircraft shortly before it crashed Nov. 4 near Danville in Yell County, but a preliminary investigation has revealed no evidence of an in-flight fire, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting a horse in North Little Rock on Oct. 26.

Little Rock school officials plan to meet with the city to discuss security at Central High School football games after a student was assaulted by a group of people Friday night.

A former employee of Kohler Co., which manufactures stainless-steel sinks at its Searcy plant, asked to be reinstated to a job that a federal jury determined he was wrongly fired from in April 2004. A jury awarded Dewey Woodle $81,000 in lost wages, benefits and medical expenses; $200,000 for emotional distress; and $400,000 in punitive damages as a result of his termination on the basis of a disability, in violation of his civil rights.

Rev. Larry Benefield, A Little Rock minister and former banker will become the 13th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas, making him the first to rise to the post from within the diocese.

The 125 member Mountain Home Marching Band will participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. The local boosters club raised $125,000 for band members to make the trip.

Thomas Jefferson University plans to sell a prized 1875 painting for $68 million to the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded by the Wal-Mart heiress Alice L. Walton and under construction in Bentonville. That sum is a record for an artwork created in the United States before World War II. The university has given Philadelphia area museums and government institutions 45 days to match the offer.

After 18 dry months, Brewer Lake is beginning to fill back up to a normal level, according to Conway Corp. CEO Richard Arnold. The man-made lake, located north of Plumerville in Conway County, is the main water supply for Conway and the Conway County Regional Water Distribution District.

There is some real competition developing for the title of corruption capitol of Arkansas. Today's Morning News of Northwest Arkansas runs a horrifying story about voting miscounts in Tuesday's election.

A close analysis of Thursday's results show in two races, more people voted in a mayoral race than live in the town, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's July 2005 estimates. In Gateway, a town of 122 people, 199 votes were cast in an uncontested mayoral race. In the Pea Ridge, 3,997 votes were cast in a contested mayor'shttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif race for the city of 3,344 people.

Now, we get a better picture of how Republicans exercise total control of northwest Arkansas.

The star of "The Andy Griffith Show," who portrayed the sheriff of the fictional town of Mayberry, has sued a Wisconsin man who unsuccessfully ran for the Grant County post after legally changing his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith.
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It is reported in the Dallas Morning News.

This has been such a busy week that I am only now getting around to discussing the great speech former Arkansas quarterback Kevin Scanlon gave to the Little Rock Touchdown Club, which is quickly becoming one of the premiere organizations in the country with an outstanding lineup of guest speakers and 550 members.

Scanlon only called plays for one season. There was the junior year when he stepped in occasionally, but his tenure as sole quarterback was one season. Of course, he discussed the matter of Casey Dick getting the call over Mitch Mustain. Scanlon says it comes down to a coach’s gut feeling about winning games. Now, that sounds super simplistic, but it made a lot of sense when he explained it.

One particularly important event in Kevin’s college career came when coach Lou Holtz took him aside and explained that, if he would help win a few games, the people of Arkansas were wonderfully loyal people and would remember him forever. Now, I know one of the reasons parents go nuts for their sons to play football.

Scanlon had his time in the NFL, but he is a vice-president for Stephens Inc. these days. He says that the words of Lou Holtz have proven true again and again.

(Broadcast November 10, 2006)

The epic interview with political consultant Bud Jackson is now in the Audio Highlights section of my home page, lyncho.com.

LYNCHED! has a new segment (3 min.) on Wal Mart's decision to ditch "Happy Holidays" in favor of "Merry Christmas." It's all good clean fun, but bound to make somebody mad,

Revenue officials project that the state surplus will reach $843 million by June 30, up $122 million from the previous forecast four months ago.

The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday gave conditional approval to an Arkansas proposal to alter the state’s system of measuring school and student progress on the yearly Benchmark Exams.

The director of the Little Rock School District office that is responsible for getting the district into compliance with federal court desegregation orders says top-level administrators are undermining the work of her office and putting the School Board in jeopardy of violating court directives. The board will receive the results of an independent investigation at its’ next meeting.

The greyhound racetrack in West Memphis sports a new look, a new name and a new set of toys - more than 900 electronic gambling machines that patrons began playing Thursday evening.

Four northwest Arkansas counties report problems counting votes. In Benton County, new election results changed the outcomes in several races, including one Quorum Court race, seven aldermen contests and a city clerk election. Carroll, Newton and Johnson Counties experienced delays in getting results.

A convicted murderer who claims he killed his family on the orders of his former Boy Scout leader will be granted a clemency hearing, perhaps as early as January. Heath Stocks testified at the rape trial of former Boy Scout leader Charles “Jack” Walls III that Walls started sexually assaulting him when he was 10, and the abuse continued up until he killed his family.

Gov. Mike Huckabee has granted Keith Richards, famed lead guitarist for the Rolling Stones, a pardon for a 1975 reckless driving conviction in Fordyce, the governor’s office said Thursday.

Wal-Mart heir John Walton improperly installed equipment on his experimental aircraft, causing his fatal crash in 2005, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled in a report released Oct. 31.

Pine Bluff city officials must determine the legal impact of a living wage measure approved by voters Tuesday, Assistant City Attorney Joe Childers told the Pine Bluff Commercial. Mayor Carl Redus Jr. says he would try to find the best way to implement the living wage issue with a minimum of impact on the city’s budget.

Two Jackson, Mississippi City Council members are among the defense witnesses subpoenaed for Jackson Mayor Frank Melton's trials starting Tuesday. Melton will stand trial first on a felony charge that he violated state law by bringing a gun onto the campus of the Mississippi College School of Law.

Wal-Mart hopes to avoid the so-called “war on Christmas” during this year’s heaviest shopping season. The company intends to make widespread use of “Christmas,” rather than broader terms such as “holiday” or “season’s greetings,” in its television advertising and in-store displays.

Arkansas has the lowest recurring industrial costs among 12 southeastern states, according to a report from a prominent site-selection firm. That’s the most important monetary factor for businesses looking for a superproject site, observers say.

If you paid any attention to my election predictions, I can only say, “I told ya’ so.” That crystal ball is just plain busted and I should give up on it. Another thing I plan on doing a lot less of is getting into the strategic aspects of politics, unless I really know what is going on. There are guys and gals who do that stuff and make really good bucks.

But honestly, I thought the governor’s race was close. I had no idea it would be 14 percentage points of separation. I really thought Woody Anderson and Stubby Stumbaugh would be more potent. Wrong again. I was right about Halter and McDaniel, but that is just following the pack. In the race of the buddies,

I thought Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines was in for a nasty surprise. Color me stupid. If I did not mention it here, I thought the Little Rock Mayor’s raace would go to a runoff, but I don’t guess any of us expected Mark Stodola to put away a tidy victory in just one day’s work.

I certainly had no idea that Democrats would show the kind of strength they mustered in the national elections. In the future, I will restrict myself to weighty constitutional and theological questions, and advice for Houston Nutt. We spend too much time on the horse race, and I am among the guiltiest.

(Broadcast November 9, 2006)

Political consultant and media expert Bud Jackson stops by the Friday show at 10. He was involved in the Halter campaign and has some interesting national insights as well.

LYNCHED!goes off after a certain conservative radio icon and deals with immigration reform. You can listen on lyncho.com.

Utility regulators in Arkansas and Louisiana are aghast after comments by Entergy Corp.’s chief executive officer that it could sell its Arkansas and Texas operations - and perhaps divest or spin off its nuclear division as well. Arkansas Public Service Commission Chairman Sandra Hochstetter called Wayne Leonard’s statements “bizarre” and “nonsensical,” “disappointing” and “disturbing.”

Mike Beebe had a busy first day as governor-elect of Arkansas on Wednesday, stopping by an early morning legislative committee meeting, naming a transition team and announcing that poultry special interest lobbyist Morrill Harriman will be the new chief of staff.

State legislators took their first crack at the Department of Health and Human Services’ budget Wednesday, comparing the largest state agency’s requests with the scaled-back recommendations from Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office.

Arkansas has been awarded $6.5 million to build apartments for low-income elderly and disabled people, up slightly from $6.2 million last year.

The election isn't over for Benton County. Election coordinator Jim McCarthy said late Wednesday afternoon that a possible computer error with vendor Election Systems & Software will force election workers to examine every ballot again.

The new White County judge and whether the Searcy mayor keeps her job will be determined in runoffs later this month, but Tuesday’s election spelled defeat for Sheriff Pat Garrett, whom voters ousted in favor of his Republican opponent.

Saline County’s three circuit court judges on Wednesday reiterated that Sheriff Phil Mask has until Nov. 15 to file a written response to a prosecutor’s report accusing the sheriff of misdeeds and mismanagement.

An Altus couple is asking a judge to throw out votes cast Tuesday for mayor-elect Gary Zolliecoffer on the grounds he is a convicted felon.

59% of Marion County voters have approved the sale of alcohol in the formerly “dry” county.

Pine Bluff voters approved a living wage issue for employees of city hall and gave Mayor Carl Redus Jr. authority to hire and fire police and fire chiefs in Tuesday’s general election.

Now that Little Rock’s mayoral contest has been decided, the city’s lawyer said he expects to soon release a longawaited legal opinion about winner Mark Stodola’s business ties to the airport.

It’s not easy being the Green Party in Arkansas. The party failed to snag the 3 percent gubernatorial vote in Tuesday’s general election that state law requires for party certification, which would allow the party to nominate candidates for the next election without gathering voter signatures to put the party nominees on the ballot.

ittle Rock recorded its 54th homicide of the year early Wednesday when a 22-year-old man was shot in the head by a masked gunman

A high school student taken from his classroom has been placed into police custody on suspicion of shooting a Fort Smith man who is in critical condition. Misael Uribe was arrested at Northside High School on suspicion of first-degree battery in the shooting of Arturo Martinez.