Fayetteville Budget Cuts, Telecom Board

The Fayetteville city council did not pass a recommended property tax increase of .9 mills. The painful process of making cuts to the budget is beginning. On November 13th, Mayor Coody issued a memo that had a proposed list of budget reductions. These are only the Mayor's proposed cuts. The city council will be meeting several times to decide which of these they may agree to cut or come up with some themselves.
Now, I understand many people will not happy to see some favorite activity or division get eliminated or reduced. I, however, don't think that derogatory remarks need to be made, especially by sitting board members. From NWA News

Board member Jon Zimmer, like Drake, did not like the idea of the city losing its cable administrator.
" So far as I’m concerned, this is by far the most misguided proposal I can imagine, " he said. " How much money is being spent right now putting up Christmas lights ? The whole Square, for the last two weeks, has been occupied by monstrous machines and highly paid, I’m sure, rednecks, climbing up and down to put up all these lights. I think the cable channel is infinitely more important."

Mayor Coody and the city council need to make a statement that such comments are not to be made. If some one is unhappy about a cut they can say so without insulting people, especially those who have no input in the process. If an activity or division is that important it is far better to expend energy in finding funds for it instead of putting down people. I truly hope that Jon Zimmer fully intends to apologize for his insult.

Scratching Table

I've recently made a pause table to add to agility equipment in the back yard. The paint on the table top is mixed with sand to give Casey traction when he jumps on it. Bows discovered that she can get a good scritch going if she rolls around on it. It also has the added benefit of not getting dirty as one would if they rolled in the dirt.


More cats at Friday Ark

Gene Long, Candidate for District 89, Arkansas

At the Washington County Republican Committee meeting, Gene Long introduced himself as a candidate for the seat currently held by Representative House. Gene and his wife Cheryl own their own insurance business. Gene has served in the Navy 6 years, 3 years in the Reserve. Gene said it was the right time in his life to run for the office. He is able to leave his business at times now,several of his children work with him, and he wanted to serve his state. He remarked that he knew how to campaign since several of his family members in Louisiana have been elected to offices.
Gene spoke mostly on the budget. He commented on how fast the current legislature got rid of the budget surplus. He noted that the state is not going to see that big of a surplus again and wouldn't be surprised that it might start running a deficient. He said that leadership was needed to plan for the future and as a business owner he knew how to balance a budget.
Gene was very well spoken, he answered questions without hesitation and he seemed very knowledgeable about how he was going to run his campaign. A lot of people talked with him after the meeting and I believe that many are going to be willing to help him get elected.

Casey at White Rock

Is it my imagination or has the time change made the whole day shorter? I don't seem to have time any more to get on the computer. I did make time this past weekend to go to White Rock to see the fall foliage before it faded out. It was simply beautiful!

More dogs at Friday Ark

Christmas, Heave-ho the Ho,Ho,Ho

The PC madness continues to run amok. From Australia

THERE'LL be no ho, ho, ho this Christmas. Aspiring Santas have been told not to use the term "ho" because it could be seen as derogatory to women.

Quick, go to the garden centers and get rid of those hoes! Think of all those women we've been offending!

Titillating News

What a laugh I had this morning! I wonder if the print version had the same error. You must admit the headline really grabs your attention.

Fruitcake Alert

Calling all Fruitcakes. Oh jeez, not you, Ron Paul. I've notice that there was no restrictions on how old the cake can be. Maybe have a special award for the oldest cake. Drag out that cake you've stored in the freezer!

Eli, Interrupting Work

"I want up there! Pick me up!" I don't really want to because I'm trying to get some work done and he just wants to be hugged and petted.

More cats at Friday Ark

Iraq, Bad News, For Democrats

They are at it again. In the face of obvious success in Iraq, the Democrats absolutely insist that America must lose the war on terrorism.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives will try again to end U.S. combat in Iraq when it debates legislation this week tying new war funds to troop withdrawals, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday.
As they have done in the past, House Democrats will try to attach conditions requiring the Pentagon to immediately begin withdrawing some of the 169,000 troops in Iraq, with the goal of completing the withdrawal by December 2008.

In the meantime, Michael Yon continues to report wonderful news from Iraq.

Thanks and Praise: I photographed men and women, both Christians and Muslims, placing a cross atop the St. John’s Church in Baghdad. They had taken the cross from storage and a man washed it before carrying it up to the dome.

A cross lifted up for hope, love and peace for the Iraqi people.

Arkansas Politicians as Bad Farmers

A couple of Arkansas legislators have been lining their pockets at the expense of taxpayers.

When the bill that would extend farm subsidies for five years goes to the Senate floor this week, eight senators will have special reason to pay close attention: They or their relatives collected about $3 million in federal payments from 1995 to 2005, according to government records compiled by a non-partisan environmental group. Records show Lincoln and her family members collected $715,000 from 1995-2005, the most recent year complete data are available. She said she personally received less than $10,000 a year, and the subsidies ended in 2005 when her land was sold. Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., says the system works well. He and his family's farming interests received almost $2.4 million in federal payments from 1995-2005, records show. His net worth in 2005 was $1.7 million to $6.6 million, according to his financial disclosure statement. "He has firsthand experience of how this really benefits farmers," said his spokeswoman, Angela Guyadeen

Yeah, I imagine he does and I getting firsthand experience paying multi-millionaire politicians to be lousy farmers.

Pat Robertson's Endorsing Rudy Giuliani

Christmas may have come a little early for Guiliani. Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. That's one endorsement I didn’t expect Rudy Giuliani to get.

Robertson on Wednesday said Giuliani is the best candidate to handle the War on Terror. He said Giuliani understands the need for a conservative judiciary, and that he is a "true fiscal conservative" who is tough on crime. "The overriding issue before the American people, is the defense of our population against the bloodlust of Islamic terrorists," Robertson told the National Press Club audience. "Our world faces deadly peril...and we need a leader with a bold vision who is not afraid to tackle the challenges ahead."

The question will be whether other Christians follow Robertson’s lead. I've been really concerned that many Christians will go for a third party candidate that would just concentrate on abortion and gay marriage. I'm glad to see some one like Robertson step out and remind Christians that there are other issues to be concerned about. Keeping us safe here at home trumps gay marriage and abortion. It'll be interesting to see if Robertson’s endorsement at least loosens the reins on Christian voters to examine all issues and make decisions based upon a broader range of concerns. I’m not a fan of Robertson and have often had a world-class "cringe" at his statements. Today, I applaud his stand in supporting Giuliani.

Ron Paul Enthusiasts Win

Although I'm not sure they'd be please to what contest they won. According to a WIRED comparison, they have wrenched the title of being the Nuttiest from Apple Fanatics.
Congratulations People!

Hollywood Writers

I wonder if the Hollywood's writer strike is going to affect people all that much this time around. I certainly am not watching TV all that much anymore. I spend most of my time on the computer rather than watching TV. I haven't seen it much in the news which may mean that people are all that concern about it. If my TV went out I could care less, but if I lose my Internet connection, Horrors!

Biofuels, Starving People

It's official, biofuels are causing starvation and called by Jean Ziegler, the UN's special rapporteur, as "a crime against humanity".

Even the International Monetary Fund, always ready to immolate the poor on the altar of business, now warns that using food to produce biofuels "might further strain already tight supplies of arable land and water all over the world, thereby pushing food prices up even further". This week, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation will announce the lowest global food reserves in 25 years, threatening what it calls "a very serious crisis". Even when the price of food was low, 850 million people went hungry because they could not afford to buy it. With every increment in the price of flour or grain, several million more are pushed below the breadline.

When are people ever going to learn? Those environmental wackos do more harm than good when they try to meddle. For us here in the U.S., the ethanol disaster is only hurting us a little bit with higher energy and food costs. In third world countries, people just starve to death. But, hey, these liberals shouldn't be judged because of the damaged they did. After all "it’s the thought that counts”.

Fayetteville, Budget Cuts

At the Parks and Recreation meeting last night, Connie Edmonston, P&R Director discussed the memo she sent to the Mayor and City Council. Parks and Recreation have to reduce their budget about $160,000. Most of the recommendations were the discontinuance of some activities we enjoy, Lights of the Ozarks, Gulley Park Concerts, July 4th Fireworks and Movies in the Parks. While the suggestion is to discontinue these, hopefully City Council can reduce the scope of these events instead of entirely eliminating them. There could also be a reduction of hours at the Wilson Park Pool and Yvonne Richardson Center. One idea that is very workable is not to mow some of the smaller parks as frequently. This could eliminate some part-time summer workers.
At the Council Meeting where the proposed tax increase was voted down, one Alderman made the comment that we may need to stop being so generous with taxpayer's money. I heartily agree with that idea. The Boys and Girl's Club receives $250,000 from the city while the Council on Aging receives $50,000. I see no reason why these organizations get city money when they can work a little bit harder to get more donations. I'd really like a good portion of the budget reduction come from these 2 items. If people really value these organizations they'll step up with some donations.
One thing is for sure, a lot of people aren't going to be happy. I think this slimming down is good for the city. It's time that people stop planning a city budget as if it was going to get a raise every year. The city has gotten use to spending more and more money every year. It's time to stop thinking that every year the city is going to get more money to spend.

It Feels Like Autumn

Autumn has come to NW Arkansas. Last night I gathered up all the peppers and green tomatoes left in the garden. Tonight I'll be putting towels over the rosemary on the porch and I've brought the fern inside the house. Saturday, I hiked around White Rock. The trees' colors had started to peak. It should be really great this weekend. I really like going to White Rock. Not only is the view magnificent, the hike around the rim is easy. The drive out to White Rock can be a bit of an adventure. In order to get to White Rock you have to drive on dirt roads, which can be steep and narrow. My favorite road is the one out of Combs. I'm going to try to get out there again this weekend.

The Dreaded Collar

I had no choice. Eli's allergy was irritating him so much that he was licking himself raw in a couple of places. It is a bit funny watching him try to maneuver around in it.


More cats at Friday Ark

The Pumpkin Tax

The Iowa Department of Revenue officials attempt to tax pumpkins got squashed.

The statement didn't say why the department changed its policy, but the controversy apparently spooked Gov. Chet Culver. He issued his own statement after administrators went public with their reversal. "It has come to my attention that a policy change made in December of 2006 - before I took office - is resulting in this ridiculous pumpkin tax," Culver said. "I have directed the Department of Revenue to do the common-sense thing and suspend collection of this tax and offer refunds to consumers or retailers who have been affected."

Hey, that'll teach them to mess with our holiday fruits and vegetables.

Hillary Clinton Whines

Oh you poor, poor thing! I feel so sorry for you Hillary. All those mean men ganging up on you!

Hillary Clinton’s top advisers charge that the presidential candidate was unfairly targeted by moderator Tim Russert during Tuesday night’s Democratic debate in Philadelphia. Russert asked Clinton a number of tough questions during the MSNBC-sponsored debate, including one on Social Security and another on the release of documents from the Bill Clinton administration, as she sought to fend off attacks from her Democratic rivals.

There, there little girl. Don't cry! Maybe you should reconsider running for President. Espcially if those men are going to play nasty. Maybe you should just go back home to your husband and little girl. You can go back and learn how cook, do some cleaning, redecorate the house and maybe get involved in some charity work. Hillary, honey, you should go back home and take care of your husband because, honey, he's been running around with a lot of women. You might consider staying home and making him happy. You might want to check his supplies of cigars. I think he might be using way too many of them. Just forget about all stuff about running for President. Because from all the complaining and whining you're doing about that last debate, I don't think your strong enough to take on the men.

The Flap About Flour

I know I should really treat this seriously, but I would be really embarrassed about reporting plain baking flour as a suspicious substance.

In the end, it was plain white baking flour, leftover trail markers placed by a local group of runners. "We have determined that these were clues left by organizers of a race to help runners know they were following the correct trail," said Dick O'Connell, U.S. Marshal for western Arkansas. "In what's called a 'hash run,' runners follow markers of things like flour or shaving cream to navigate."

Maybe I'm a bit naive but I really don't think terrorists are going to hit Fayetteville. Instead of hauling out all the emergency personnel I would have gone up and figured out for myself what it was. Yeah, people are telling the officers they did a good thing by calling out hazmet, but I know that a lot of people are snickering behind their backs.

No criminal charges are likely because there was no malice or mischief involved, Gabbard said. "We did suggest that future routes avoid federal properties, and they've said that authorities will get a heads-up next time they're setting up a course," he said.

I might also suggest that people get a grip and don't over-react.

Take That Tax Man!

It's amazing to what lengths the government will go to get taxes from people.

A new department policy this year has made Halloween jack-o'-lanterns subject to the state sales tax, and many Iowa pumpkin growers are feeling tricked.

Guess they’ll next be taxing popcorn and cranberry garlands at Christmas. Then there's those gingerbread houses and sugar cookie decorations. What about that imaginary jolly man’s milk and cookies that are left out on the mantle? And the apples left on the porch for his reindeer?

Fayetteville, No Increased Property Tax

The Fayetteville City Council voted no on raising the property taxes. At the Ward 4 meeting last night we discussed the tax. Shirley Lucus and Lioneld Jordan said that most of the calls they've received were against it. A quick show of hands also indicated that most of us weren't in favor of it either. Lioneld said that they haven't even seen the budget yet and that there might be things they could eliminate. He mentioned $10,000 for a city council retreat. Yeah, that really needs to go. Also mentioned was that Fayetteville was going through an adjustment right now and the sales tax from Sam's Club and the Malco Theater could make up the difference next year. If they raised the tax and the sales taxes went up the city wouldn't reduce the property tax. The city would get use to the increased tax money and continue to spend at that level. If the city council makes some adjustments to the budget and watches it carefully next year I think they can get people to approve a tax increase if it's needed. They are just going to have to work to keep people informed on what's happening to it.

Forest Hills Development on Wedington Drive

A new development is going in on Wedington Drive. I guess the place to build developments is on Wedington. The developers presented their project at the Ward 4 meeting last night. This development will have retail stores on Wedington itself with condominiums, townhomes and single family homes south of the retail stores. Wal-Mart is planning to put in a Neighborhood Market as the major store in the development. I've been hoping for a Neighborhood Market, so that'll be really nice. Of course, most of the concerns about the development is about the traffic, or the flow of traffic in and around the development. Wedington is going to be really, really congested.

Morning Alarm

I've always wondered where I get those vicious bruises.

Diaper Donors

If there is any way to get money from people, politicians are going to find it. With all due respect to Senator McCain, it is darn near impossible to stop improper campaign contributions. People are going exploit any loophole they find effectively and enthusiastically.

Although campaign finance laws set a limit of $2,300 per donor per campaign, they do not explicitly bar donors based on age. And young donors abound in the fundraising reports filed by presidential contenders this year.

I'm waiting for these families to start using their pets as donors. Heck, if they get caught the politicians just return the money.

Under the Weather

I've been a bit swamped at work this week. There's a lot I trying to catch up with. I've been dragging some of my work home. So, instead of blogging I've been working on quality improvement reports. Tigger wasn't feeling all that well Tuesday. He didn't eat at all that day and just slept. He's usually trying to get outside or getting me to give him a treat. Anyway, he's better now, just a 24 hr bug. Wednesday morning he jump on the bed trying to get me up to get him his breakfast.

California Fires

I've gotten a e-mail from my uncle who lives in San Diego.

We are quite safe at 20 to 30 miles from any of the fire fronts and most of that is urbanized area with lots of fire hydrants along the streets. I don’t feel any potential threat at all. Our worst problem is that some of the power lines that feed the city are down and they say we are to cut back on use to prevent overloading the remaining lines.
I’m sure that the media is in the usual hyper mode of broadcasting, looking for any small bit of sensationalism to expand into headlines. But no, not all of San Diego is in flames. This is not to minimize the size of the fire and the horror for those who are living trough it. The fire of ’03 was said to be the biggest to ever hit the state and 200 homes were lost. So far, on Tuesday morning, they say that this fire has claimed 1000 homes. The 100,000 acres of fire is big, but it is less than 4% of the area of the county, and much of it is hillside brush land. Consider that some of the homes lost were on “Twisted Ranch Road”. Some people chose to live out in the ‘boonies’ hidden back in the hills. The evacuation of 300,000 people is a huge effort, although I’m not certain that all who were directed to go, have really done so. The evacuation areas comprise about 4 times the size of the actual fire areas. The concerted effort of evacuation is somewhat an over reaction to the failures during the ’03 fire where they ignored the danger in its early stages. But some of the people who stayed behind in ’03 to try and save their homes were the ones who died. 16 died in the ’03 fire, 1 has died this year.
We are safe and secure with our worst issue is the smoke in the air that they say is unhealthy for too much exercise so we rest for a few days.

I've lived in L.A. for 8 years and there were always a fire danger. One year one of the fires was close to where I lived. I watched the fire from my balcony. I've hiked those hills and canyons many times. They are very steep and covered with trees, bushes, and grass. It was almost always really dry. Even the hills I hiked by the coast were dry. When you get those Santa Ana winds whipping through those canyons it's darn near impossible to stop any fires.
Definitely need to pray for the protection for those fighting the fires and those supporting them and that those darn Santa Ana winds would subside.

Bill Clinton, Force Poor People to Contribute

President Clinton, in a speech this weekend, bemoaned the fact that people with little money in their pockets aren't giving enough of it away.

More people without deep pockets need to give to charity, former President Bill Clinton said Monday to a group of people who donated the most money in the nation last year. "I think it's important for us to keep trying to find ways to get more people involved in this kind of work in an intelligent way," Clinton said in an address to the Slate 60 conference held at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.

Yeah, he really wants us to donate to his own charitable foundation. I wonder how much money he pays himself for running that foundation. Yup, us little people with less money really need to feel like our donations also could make a difference in the pockets of people like Clinton who run these foundations. Give us a break! We know that our money mostly ends up paying for administrative costs rather than any one that actually needs it.
Not only are we suppose to put on money in Clinton's pocket but he wants to turn schools into child labor camps. Yeah, force those kids to work on government and private projects.

Clinton suggested that middle school students be required to participate in community service projects and that each American high school form its own non-governmental organization and pick its own project, whether its in the neighborhood or across the globe.

I really think it's the parents job to teach their kids about giving and volunteering their gifts and talents for the benefit of others. The government has no business forcing kids to work on local community projects. Giving or volunteering needs to been done freely without coercion.

Harry Reid/Rush Limbaugh Smear Letter

Ok, I admit it. I've been watching Rush's letter on E-Bay for the past hour. Like everyone else I've been entranced by how high the bidding has gone. Rush's comments about how serious bidders work makes me think he's done some E-Bay shopping too.
The bidding is over! Amazing! I never thought that the bidding would go so high. This auction was an absolutely brilliant idea. Rush has taken on the Senate's abuse of power and has turn it to a positive. Harry Reid and the other 40 Senators have been thoroughly embarrassed. Heh! Reid even tried to horn in at the last hour. He still hasn't the decency to apologize to Rush!
I don't expect our own Senator Blanche Lincoln to match the bid but the least she could do is to make a donation to the The Marine Corp - Law Enforcement Foundation. I've made my donation.

Eli, Treed!

Um, could some one get me down?


More cats at Friday Ark

The Expanded S-CHIP, Dead

Thank God, the attempt by the Democrat Party to override the President's veto died. Hopefully this sends the message to the Democrat Party that we don't want socialized national health care. Yeah, Nancy Pelosi let the cat out of the bag on the Democrat's true intent. She argued today that we should follow every other industrialized nation in providing government coverage for all children, thus revealing the real agenda behind this S-CHIP expansion.

The Republicans are actually planning to do something about saving the children’s health care program. They are introducing an alternative to the Democrat's S-CHIP. It will be based on the on proposed by the Heritage Foundation. It calls for the re-authorization of the S-CHIP for uninsured children in families with incomes at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Second, it calls for child health care tax credit for families with incomes between 200 percent and 300 percent of the FPL. Lastly, adopt a "federalism" health care initiative, helping the states find more efficient ways of using existing federal and state funds to increase insurance coverage.

Hopefully the Democrats won't bring any more national health care legislation at least until the Presidential election is over. I hope the Republicans get their act together so we don't have to face Clinton in the White House again.

TB Infected Illegal

I think this may be part of the the terrorists plot. Just keep sending illegals across the border infected with a highly contagious, drug resistant disease. You can kill hundreds or thousands of Americans.
I believe I know where this guy could be hiding. He could be in one of these safe houses designed for illegals crossing the border.

Inside the small solar-powered structure migrants can find water, some food and a touch screen. Drawing upon traveler graffiti, pictograms, and the Mexican tradition of ex-voto painting, migrants are invited to use the interface and share something about themselves and their journey with the homeowner and anyone who's interested. Migrants can either draw, write messages, or make a pictogram from ready-made graphical icons.

The only thing that's missing is the vending machine for the fake drivers license, social security cards and birth certificates.

Up Again!

Somehow I didn't receive the brand new, up and running notice from these guys.

OneUps, Playing the Music of Games

One of our local bands is getting some national coverage.

On the first night of this year’s Penny Arcade Show in Seattle, scores of gamers gathered to hear the OneUps. Not many in the audience had ever heard of the seven-piece video-game cover band from Fayetteville, Ark.

Yeah, I didn't know there was such a music genre. The things you learn.

It was a particularly sweet moment for OneUps founder Mustin, who also plays bass and keyboards. He had been working a long time to get the band — and video game music — the respect he thought it deserved. But until that night, their gigs hadn’t really drawn much of a crowd.

Congratulations guys, hope you have a long run of success. Here's a sample of their music, playing at Scarpino's.

Finding the Right Shoes

I have been on a quest to find some shoes. As I'm growing older my feet are getting flatter and it's getting hard to find shoes that fit. It's also very hard to find a really nice looking professional shoe that isn't a high heel. I managed to find some Merrells that fit the bill, except they were a little tight. I took them to the College Shoe Repair and got them stretched to fit. Duane was really nice taking them back a couple of times until I was satisfied. Then, he didn't charge me for them. Thanks Duane!

President Bush, Rogers, Arkansas

I was fortunate enough to be one of the people invited to hear President Bush at the John Q. Hammons Center. He started by announcing 49 months of consecutive job growth. He spoke about putting policies in place to help small business and that running up taxes was the worse thing to do for small businesses. Congress, he said, was planning to add a $205 billion increase to the budget and in order to pay for it they would have to raise taxes. He complained that Congress has yet to send him an appropriation bill to sign. He said that there was going to be a "Fiscal Showdown" in Washington.
The rest of the time President Bush took questions from the audience. He defended his veto of the S-CHIP saying it "sounds like nationalized medicine". He said the program should provide for the poor children that the current S-CHIP isn't providing for instead of expanding free health care to the upper middle class. He believes that people should be offer a private insurance they can afford.

One question came from a dairy farmer who complained about the cost of corn and about the enforcement of illegal immigration laws. President Bush said that he agreed with people that we should enforce our immigration laws and protect the border. He sounded very angry that the comprehensive "amnesty" bill was defeated. It sounded like he was very sympathetic to the farmer because he wanted to cut costs by hiring the cheap illegals to work his farm. One of the last questions came from our very own Mayor Dan Coody. Yes! He was there! Well, you expect him to be invited but you don't actually believe that he'd show up. Anyway, he ask a question about his favorite subject, economic sustainability. President Bush said that we needed to grow our economy and still have a sound environmental policy. He said we needed to focus on new technology to help. He said we can't be a good steward of the environment if we're broke.
President Bush does really well at this type of venue. While I don't always agree with him, I did enjoy hearing him speak.

Catherine Forsythe, Prayers

My thoughts and prayers go out to Chris Muir and his family. I am so sorry that Catherine has lost her battle with cancer. May God extended an over abundance of mercy and grace to your family as you go through this difficult time.

Nobel Peace Prize, The True Winners

Oh, well said! Bravo! I couldn't have come up with a better list of people better deserving of the Noble Peace Prize instead of Al Gore. I can't think of anyone less deserving of the Prize than that man.

These men and women put their own lives and livelihoods at risk by working to rid the world of violence and oppression. Let us hope they survive the coming year so that the Nobel Prize Committee might consider them for the 2008 award.

Here! Here!

The Fall Weather is Here

At last, the Autumn temperatures are here. No more warm and muggy afternoons. Eli loves to sleep the afternoon away on the front porch. That way he can take a little snooze and still watch out for that cat across the street.

Tigger joins Eli on the front porch taking the other chair. He's a little more distracted by the traffic in the street.

More cats at Friday Ark

Fayetteville, Taxes Slam

So, we have the city of Fayetteville, the Fayetteville School District and Washington County all considering increasing the property tax millage. I just wonder what these politicians are thinking? Do they really think people are going to want to pay a triple slam in property tax increases. People aren't going to be particularly happy with more taxes especially after just receiving an assessment change from the County Assessor. Mayor Coody may be complaining now about the current reduction in sales tax revenues, just wait until people start paying these taxes. The sales tax revenues could dip even lower.

Al Gore Chasing the Medal, Inconvenient Untruths

Well, it appears that Al Gore is probably going to get the Nobel Peace Prize. The Prize Committee continues it's new tradition of selecting people who have done more to bring misery to the people of the world.
I wonder what Al's speech is going to be like. "Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen, for this Award which I so richly deserve. The film "An Inconvenient Truth" will hopefully kill more poor than either Jimmy Carter or Yasser Arafat have. I am please at the news that already food shortages have hit places like Mexico, France, England and even the U.S. I am especially please with the shortage of food grains, countries will be sending less food to poverty stricken people in Africa and Asia. Who knows how many millions more people will starve to death. I am not at all worried about that stupid English Judge who caught on to my lies. I'll still be able to infiltrate the system and spread my lies to the little children."

Yawn! Another Debate

O God! Another debate! The big news, Fred Thompson debuts. Most people were hoping that Chris Matthews would act like an ass. Some one must have told him to act civil. Too bad he didn't, it would have liven up the debate. I scrolled through some sites live blogging. I like that better than actually watching it. Live Blogging comments here and here

One Billion Bulbs

I was reminded by Glenn's boasting that I needed to add a few more bulbs. One thing I have discovered about these bulbs is that they take about 30 secs to brighten to their fullest. If you have a room that you need instant bright light don't put change to one of these lights. I tried to put one in my bathroom and found I was fumbling around in dim light.

S-CHIP And America's New Poor

You know, I thought that I was doing fairly well financially until I read the financial status of the Frosts. We were introduced to the Frost family by way of the Democrat's Saturday morning radio address. The Frost's son, Graeme, was pulling on the heartstrings of us heartless Republicans for not supporting the expanded S-CHIP. He and his sister were severely injured in a car accident and were financial supported from S-CHIP.
Well, the story could have ended there except a Freeper started investigating the Frost family. icwhatudo found that the Fosters weren't as financially distress as the Democrats presented them. Which led "icwhatudo" to question

One has to wonder that if time and money can be found to remodel a home, send kids to exclusive private schools, purchase commercial property and run your own business... maybe money can be found for other things...maybe Dad should drop his woodworking hobby and get a real job that offers health insurance rather than making people like me (also with 4 kids in a 600sf smaller house and tuition $16,000 less per kid and no commercial property ownership) pay for it in my taxes.

I am definitely less well off than the Frosts. They are sure living a lot higher on the hog than me, yet the Democrat Party expects me to pay for their health care costs. It is absolutely absurd to expand the S-CHIP to cover families in the upper middle class. The Frosts lack of insurance is not because of the lack of opportunity or resources but because the Frosts refuse to pay for it. They prefer some one else do it, while they enjoy life's luxuries.
This is the biggest problem with the S-CHIP. The new bill will cover more than 9 million kids at a cost of $60 billion. It will be paid for with a 61-cent hike in the tobacco tax. That tax will hit the poor hardest, they are the ones that can't afford the new tax. Since they can't afford it they will have to quit smoking, if they can. So, the expected revenue to cover the expanded S-CHIP program doesn't materialize. The program goes into the red and where do you think Congress is going to look for that money?
In addition, those it helps aren't poor. Under the new bill, families earning $83,000 a year could be eligible. If this bill were targeted at just the poor, President Bush and the Republicans wouldn't oppose it. But it isn't. It's a new, massively expanded middle-class entitlement that I am going to have to pay for.

Governor Beebe's Arkansas Global Warming Lie

John Anderson at The Citizen's Journal picked up a little untruth uttered by Governor Beebe on his weekly radio address. Beebe was spewing the global warming swill and John points out this quote

This was Arkansas’s hottest summer on record, and the evidence that our Earth is warming cannot be ignored.

John goes out to the National Weather Service and discovers

The Weather Service Reports that 2007 was the 12th hottest summer on record since 1880 and August was the hottest August since 1954 but not in terms of average temps, in contrast July was the coolest July since 2004.

Why would Governor Beebe state such an obvious error? Did he deliberately lie to scare people to agreeing to the proposals that his commission are going to come up with. They are undoubtedly going to make you give up something or cost you money (taxes). He could be just repeating information some one fed to him, in which case that person needs to be fired because he/she is totally incompetent. Of course, they could be relying on NASA for their data, but NASA has been having problems with Hansen's Y2K bug. Or else they could have been using those temperature reading devices that have been improperly located or badly constructed.
In any case, Governor Beebe is just vomiting up the global warming crap without any regard to the truth. It's amazing how blatantly they just make up with this alarmist claptrap and expect people to believe it.

Catnip High

I added more dried catnip to the scratching box. Tigger loves catnip! He had a really good time rolling all over the box, in between a couple of really good sniffs.

More cats at Friday Ark

The Saga of Red Oak Park Continues

Solving the erosion problem at Red Oak Park has been put on hold again. The Fayetteville City Council wants to hear more possible solutions to the erosion beside eliminating some trees. Dale Evans of the Game and Fish Commission has modified his solution to the erosion. It saves additional trees but a fair number will still come down. Carole Jone, Park Planner, said that of the proposed trees to be removed, 47% are already compromised and consider unsavable. The idea of having a retention pond at the south end was brought up but there isn't enough room for one and the erosion problem still needs to be addressed.
Aubrey brought up the idea of having the residents of all the neighborhoods put in a rain garden so that there would be little water draining into the park. It's a nice idea, but you can't force people to put in a rain garden. You have to get them to volunteer. That isn't going to be easy. It's hard enough to get people to mow their lawns. I can't imagine the problem of trying to maintain a rain garden. Another problem is the high number of rentals in the neighborhoods. The owners are not going to put in something that requires maintenance. The actually number of residents volunteering to put in a rain garden is going to be too few to solve the problem. However, it is worth it to help those residents who are interested in a rain garden. Any little bit helps.

Woodstock Community, Approved

Last night the Fayetteville City Council approved the Woodstock Community off of Wedington Ave. I would image construction will start fairly soon. Yuck! Hank Broyles did make some changes to accommodate neighborhood concerns. Building heights were changed on those directly facing Wedington and 46th street. Actually only half of the building heights were change, but it was the ones facing houses across the street that were reduced. There are a number of changes for 46th street. There are going to be 2 speed tables installed (really smart idea) and an extended sidewalk on one side. I really appreciate the changes Hank has made. I'm still going to save money to move. I still think I'm going to have a hard time living next a commercial, high density community. By the time I've saved enough money I'll know for sure.

Fayetteville, Raising Taxes

Fayetteville is considering raising taxes, again. The City Council met Saturday to discuss the budget. What the NWA News reported on Sunday really ticked me off. More specifically what Mayor Coody is reported to have said ticked me off.

Allen said people see the city is "trying to clean up the sewer debacle, " and just passed 1 cent sales tax for transportation projects, so many think city officials simply can’t manage money.
Coody took offense to Allen’s use of the word debacle when speaking about the $ 186 million Wastewater System Improvement Project, which was originally scheduled to cost $ 120 million and be finished in September 2005. Coody described being more than $ 70 million over budget and three years behind schedule as the project’s " only hiccup."

Mayor Coody may consider the excessive costs of the project as "only hiccup"; however, Fayetteville citizens consider the $70 million over budget as another bite out of their wallets. Then then was this utterly ridiculous statement,

Of course, residents also have a certain level of culpability, Coody said. " If they would just shop in Fayetteville we would’t have to have these discussions, " he said.

Good Lord! Was there a ordinance passed that said Fayetteville residents could only shop in Fayetteville? We have less spending money in our pockets. Our budgets are being hammered with increased gas and food costs. I received my letter from the Assessor and I know that I am going to be hit with higher property taxes in the next couple of years. In addition, the city is discussing how high to raise the water and sewer rates. I am not going to have a whole lot less money to spend.
It was expected as shopping opportunities opened up in other cities those residents would shop in their city rather than drive to Fayetteville. The Mayor and the City Council knew this, they've discussed it. While they knew they were going to lose some revenue to other cities they were anticipating to generate some revenue from the new Sam's Club and Malco Theater. I think it is utterly ridiculous to expect Fayetteville residents to pick up the deficient left by people shopping elsewhere, particularly with less money available to spend.

Justice Clarence Thomas

I watched the 60 Minutes special on Justice Clarence Thomas. I haven't watched 60 Minutes in years, but I was really curious about Justice Thomas. CBS did a great job, they actually just let the man speak for himself. I was pleased that they didn't try to discredit him or put some one on that would smear him. I found Justice Thomas fascinating and inspiring. I can't wait to get his book.

Video 60 Minutes Part 1 and Part 2

Hillary Clinton's Baby Bonds

Whew! What a relief! These poll numbers on the Ms Clinton's "Baby Bond" proposal (60-27 against) are comforting. I was wondering if people were really interested in getting more "free" money from the Government without wondering how the Government got the money.

"I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time so that when that young person turns 18, if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college, or maybe they will be able to put a down payment on their first home, or go into business."

What I don't understand is why she thinks everyone is entitle to have this money given to them. I worked my way through college. While I had some scholarships, grants and loans, I also worked. One year I had 3 part-time jobs. When I finally got a real salary I started saving my money. It took me 7 years but I had my down payment for my house. I thought working hard to get through college and saving your money for a house was what a person was suppose to do. There is no way that I'm going to let these kids be given a college education or a house on my hard work. Let them work for it themselves, just like everyone else has.

Eli and Tigger, Where's the Food?

Oh man! It's no fun putting the cats on a diet. Every time I walk into the kitchen the cats come running looking for food. It's really hard to resist their pleading little eyes.

"Let go sneak over to Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats and beg for food."

Fayetteville, Walker Park Neighborhood Master Plan

What you are looking at is the compilation of a week long charrette of Walker Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. Karen Minkel, long range planner from the City of Fayetteville presented the ideas from the groups that met. The master plan calls for more streets and sidewalks so that residents had better access to the park and downtown Fayetteville. People wanted Jefferson School to remain a center point in the neighbor, something like the Square in downtown Fayetteville. There were a lot of ideas for Walker Park itself. It's amazing how little of the park is utilized. Residents asked for a dog park, an amphitheater, a splash pad, more walking trails, community gardens and a children's park on the north side. The residents and city employees have really done a great job. The plan looked really great. Too bad it's going to take years to produce.

Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, Grand Opening

Finally, after a lot of hard work, the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks are going to be officially open. They will be celebrating from Saturday, Sept 29th through Sunday, Oct. 7th. There will be lots of activities to enjoy. Go here for the full schedule.

French Wine and Cheese

I think it's time to start buying French wine and cheese again. There has been a change in France's attitude towards Iran.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy piled pressure on Iran at the United Nations Tuesday, saying it would be unacceptable for the Islamic republic to get hold of nuclear weapons.
"Iran has the right to nuclear energy," Sarkozy told world leaders at the General Assembly's 62nd session here. "But allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons would mean an unacceptable risk for regional and world stability."

Hopefully Europe wakes up to the danger of a nuclear Iran. They are the ones that will be suffering the most if Iran decides to use it on Israel.

Columbia University, President Bollinger, Ahmadinejad

Well, they did it. The Left have given Ahmadinejad his platform to promote his propaganda. They gave him a world stage to spew his evil. President Bollinger gave Ahmadinejad a microphone and a prestigious stage. He legitimized Ahmadinejad's fanatic rantings and ravings. Since when has the pros and cons of terrorism and genocide been legitimate subjects to debate?
I don't care what scathing introduction Bollinger gave. It sounded contrived, for the benefit of his critics. He described Iran as the enemy and yet he gave American's enemy the stage, audience, prestige and credentials.
What was worse was the student's reactions and applause for Ahmadinejad in the background. That appalled and scared me the worst. The student's approved his hatred of the Jews and America, his hatred of freedom, his use of terrorism and the killings of women and gays. These students should have been taught not to embrace and support tyrants like Ahmadinejad. They should have been taught to fight and oppose tyrants like him everywhere.

Karen Ray, "Be Careful"

Karen Ray, the Arkansas Republican Party's executive director really stepped in it last week. Some of our Republican state legislators have been looking into the illegal immigration costs to our state government.

In recent weeks, state agency heads appeared before legislative committees detailing what they had found. To those Republicans, it appeared they were making progress by bringing attention to an aspect of illegal immigration that hadn't been considered.

This isn't sitting well with Karen Ray or the rest of the National Republican leadership. The intellectual elites of the Republican Party don't want to upset the big businesses who profit from illegal immigration, nor do they want to upset any illegals who could in the future vote Republican.

In one e-mail to Ray, Woods related that he'd talked to Tyson's Archie Schaffer, who apparently didn't like all the attention on illegal immigration. Woods said in the e-mail that Schaffer had told him he would oppose bills dealing with immigration.
That evoked a response from Ray, in which she began lecturing the lawmaker:
"I understand that fighting hard for your constituents' wants is very important. But I think as an elected official, it is more important that you fight for what they need, not necessarily what they want." "I'm going to side with the businesses on this one. Be careful!!" she warned.

Naughty, naughty Jon, you're not suppose to work for the wants of the people, you suppose to work for the needs of the Republican Party leadership. Karen Ray has make it quite clear that the Republican's leadership in more concerned with the state's special interests than the legitimate concerns ordinary citizens have on an increasingly important issue.

From David Sanders
More comments here

Rita's Bad Week

Rita has had a particularly bad week. Go send prayers and good thoughts her way.

NW Arkansas, POW/MIA Tribute Ride and Drive

Last week, President Bush declared Sept. 21, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Friday, September 21, 2007, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the United States to join me in honoring and remembering all former American prisoners of war and those missing in action who valiantly served our great country.

Saturday, a group of riders turned out for the 1st Annual Greater NW Arkansas, POW/MIA Tribute Ride and Drive. The Ride started at the NWA Mall and ended at the Rogers VFW Post 3031. The Ride was sponsored by the National Ghost Rider Association.

Co-founder James Bailey said "We have not forgotten, they will not be forgotten. Because of their service to our country we can be free." James said "The riders and drivers purpose today is to be a living memorial to those who gave all."

A special group of patriots: those who have been prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action. We are forever in their debt. Their courage, sacrifice and dedication has preserved our freedom.

Quiz, How Smart is Your Dog?

I took this quiz. Casey scored a 90. I knew he was a smart cookie, which he is asking for since he's such a good boy. Now if only he can tell me what he's allergic to. I had to take him to the vet Friday. He's been stinking really bad lately and nothing I've done has gotten rid of it. He got a steroid shot, antibiotics, fish oil capsules and a shampoo. I got the shampoo for free, the vet is testing it out on Casey. It's been a couple of days and while Casey hasn't stopped completely stinking, it is much more tolerable.

Eli Doesn't Play With Dogs

This is Zeus, the neighbor's dog. Zeus really wants to play with Eli, but Eli considers him a irritating little rodent. Zeus keeps barking at him until finally Eli gets mad and tries to chase him off. Which is exactly what Zeus wants, some one to chase him.

More cats and dogs at Friday Ark

Immigration Reform, Federal or State

States being over run by illegal immigrants are trying to cope with the criminal and financial problems they create. Arkansas has more than its share of illegals and a group of legislators are studying the effects of illegal immigration on the state. However not every one thinks the state should get involved in something that is the Federal government's responsibility. State GOP chairman Dennis Milligan

"The party's position on immigration, coming from me, the chairman, is that is a federal issue that has got to be determined by the president and Congress," Milligan said. "They've got to come to a meeting of the minds. Anything that's done internally statewide (through) legislation is probably going to have a difficult time ... trumping federal law."

Yes, it is the Federal government's responsibility. However, Congress and the President(s) have done little to enforce immigration laws. They have decided to hand out citizenship as if it were candy and leave our borders unprotected. State Rep. Rick Green, R-Van Buren

said it is too soon to say what kind of legislation, if any, may result from the interim study, but he said in the absence of immigration reform at the federal level, the Legislature has a responsibility at least to study the issue.

What are states like Arkansas to do? We can't afford to keep letting illegal immigration get out of hand.

But with both the executive director and the chairman of the state Republican Party speaking against immigration reform at the state level, the party leadership appears to be at odds with Green and other Republican lawmakers who say the state may need to act on immigration.

The whole Republican leadership from the national to the state level are out of step with local Republican legislators. The Democrat and Republican leadership are looking at the illegal immigrants as potential voters. That's not how we in the local towns and cities see them. We see them as criminals, deadbeats on the government dole, reducing salaries, taking our jobs, crowding our hospitals, taking our children's education, and insulting our laws. I think it time the Republican leadership remove their lips from the illegal's rear and return to taking care of the American citizen's concerns.

Blew steam off this.

The Truck Died

I had a meeting tonight at work except I didn't make it. I had left work at the usual time and went home so that I could get everyone fed and get some chores out of the way so I wouldn't have to do them later after the meeting. So, time to get back to work for the meeting, I turn the key and nothing. The truck wouldn't even turn over. Sighhh! I think and hope it's the battery. At least I was home and not stuck somewhere else. I'll have to call AAA for a jump (if it's the battery) or a tow. Tomorrow morning is going to be an adventure.

Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time, Stopped

Fantasy author Robert Jordan has died of a chronic illness. He was one of my most favorite fantasy authors. He was the author of the "Wheel of Time" series. It has always been hard waiting for his next book to come out. When it did, I usually re-read the previous book to remind myself what was happening. Jordan was working on a 12th volume of the series at the time of his death. Since he knew he was dying he left plenty of notes and told his family how it was to end so his fans will have the ending to his story. Millions of fans will be chomping at the bit to read the conclusion to his epic fantasy series. That will be a bittersweet day. I hope they do something special to remember him.

Moveon.org's Ad, Bad for Democrats

The Moveon.org's utterly disgusting ad in the New York Times, may not have been all that good for the Democrat Party. The refusal of any of the Democrat leaders to condemn the ad has put them firmly on the far left side of the party. They have widen the gap between them and the average Democrat voter. Hillary Clinton will have the most to lose by not condemning Moveon. She needs to be more centrist during the General Election. She needs to show that she supports the troops and is willing to protect the country. By not condemning Moveon she has in effect approved what they said. Heck, she actually told General Petraeus that he was a liar. She said "The reports that you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelieve." The Democrats have shown that they are enslaved to the far left wing of their party. If the Democrats get control of the White House and Congress, the U.S. is so royally screwed. We will be hit with every socialistic program they can dredge from the cesspool of Marxism.

Moms Encourage Terrorism

Sorry Sally, but there are a lot of moms who have actively encouraged their children to war.

Parents are also portrayed in Palestinian society as supporting their children's death. "Al-Ayyam" newspaper quotes a mother who encouraged her sons to sacrifice themselves for Palestinian beliefs:
"The danger of injury to the boy Tzabar Ashkaram, 18, paralysis and permanent disability, just added to his mother's determination to encourage her sons to participate in the intifada riots... the fact of his injury by a live bullet did not cause her to mourn. She said she had previously lost her older son, Iyyad." (Nov. 1, 2000)
Another Palestinian mother was quoted in the London Times: "I am happy that [my 13-year-old son] has been martyred. I will sacrifice all my [12] sons and daughters to Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem."
BBC broadcast a video of a proud Palestinian mother embracing her son and sends him proudly on his way to kill Jews. "God willing you will succeed," she says. "May every bullet hit its target, and may God give you martyrdom. This is the best day of my life."

Sally Fields, another brilliant example of the total intellectual and moral vacuum of Hollywood.

Sunday Morning Catch-up

Boy, I have been so busy that I haven't had time to really keep up with what's happening in the world. I sat all Sunday morning reading. It was really quite enjoyable. The morning was perfect to sit on the patio with a cup of coffee and a stack of stuff to read. Eli and Bows made sure that none of the papers would fly off the table.

Eli, A Cappella

Any one have any requests? Whadda ya mean I sound awful! I sound like a screeching what? Some people just don't know anything about music!


More cats at Friday Ark

Fayetteville, Sam's Club Opening

I managed to pop in on the ribbon cutting of the new Sam's Club in Fayetteville. As you can imagine most of Fayetteville's leadership was on hand to welcome the opening. Sam's Club will be generating a lot of revenue for Fayetteville. I popped in later for lunch to check out the store. It's pretty much laid out like the one in Bentonville. I think it's a bit smaller. It does have the deli which has a few prepared meals, very nice. It has the gas station and the gas appears to be the cheapest in Fayetteville, but I think it's still cheaper up north. Well, it close to work and home, so I may be shopping at this store instead of the one in Bentonville.
This store is a bit unique. It sits next to a ecologically sensitive area, Clabber Creek. Sam's Club has work with the Audubon Society and Sierra Club to protect the land and a few endangered species. This retention pond cleans water coming off Sam's Club before it is dumped back into the creek. A lot of the cleansing is done by plants specifically planted for that purpose. It looks a bit disturbed now but within a year it should look gorgeous and be a beautiful site for bird watching.

Start 'Plaining Governor Huckabee

The Club for Growth have been hounding Mike Huckabee on his tax and spend record in Arkansas. They have now set up a web site outlining his economic policies while Governor of Arkansas.

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has taken to calling himself a “fiscal conservative,” but who ever heard of a fiscal conservative who raised taxes and spending through the roof while governor of Arkansas? Mike Huckabee is also calling himself “a different kind of Republican,” but that’s just a codeword for a big-government Republican who wants to cover up his tax-and-spend record with folksy talking points and one-liners. Sorry Tax Hike Mike. No dice.

It might make the more conservative Republicans back off of Mike. At some point Mike is going to have to explain his tax increase record while Governor of Arkansas.

I Still Cry, Remembering 9/11

I still cry when I still pictures or videos of the towers. I still feel sorrow for those who needlessly died. I cry particularly for those who perished knowing that they were trapped and the terror they must have felt. I can never forget the images of people leaping from the buildings.
I cry tears of rage for the ones who would plan such acts, those who wrap themselves around their god. This was a very evil act and a religion which approves of such acts owes their allegiance to Satan.
I cry tears of frustration at the politicians who think this is just one event that we as a nation need to deal with. They are only looking at their current political career. They aren't concerned with the generations to come. They lack the understanding that this is but one battle in a war. A war that has been going on for thousands of years. They are willing to give in to evil and are even willing to work with evil.
I have wept tears of grief because over the past 6 years I have seen the Nation begin to lose it's soul and character. The Nation is slowly being led by people who have forgotten how to fight for freedom and security. They want to forget, to go back to the way things were before 9/11. The enemy isn't forgetting, they aren't giving up. They are plotting the next 9/11. I wonder, if another attack comes will we eventually forget that too?

Fayetteville Parks & Recreation, 2008 Budget

I came in late last night. Boy, was I exhausted. The Parks and Recreation meeting ran longer than usual. We went over the 2008 Operational budget. It's really amazing how much work the staff at P&R get accomplished. Anyway, they are planning for the next couple of years to be slim for the City of Fayetteville. Heck, I understand that, I'm finding ways to cut back in my own budget.
The Parks and Recreation have seen an increase in their workload. The City of Fayetteville has added a number of parks and trails and they need to be maintained and/or developed. Yeah, they have to do this without an increase in personnel. I didn't realized how many part-time people they employ. They commented they have difficulty in hiring and retaining employees. Parks and Recreation staff have decided to consolidate some of their part-time positions into full time positions. This will have some added costs because the full time positions will get benefits. Staff have figured out if they increase the cost of recreational programs (sport leagues, youth camps) by $10 they will cover the additional costs of the new full time employees.
One of the biggest concerns the staff had was that the amount of work would eventually overwhelm the current staff. This would force the staff to consider limiting the number of times they may groom the parks. The parks could start looking a little scraggly. Well, if this happens and people start complaining I'm going to make sure to direct their complaints to the Mayor and City Council.

Present From the Cats

I stepped out on the porch to putze around the backyard. I slipped into my shoes which I keep handily placed by the door. Huh, there was something in my shoe! I took it off and shook it out. A Mouse! It had taken refuge in my shoe. I guess the cats had been hunting it earlier. I was lucky it didn't bite me.

Bows, Smelling the Flowers

Saturday was my big weeding day around the house. Bows rolled around in all the dirt I was generating on the sidewalk. She did show her appreciation for my work by dutifully sniffing the flowers. I think she approves.

More cats at Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats

Protecting The Children

Michelle Malkin has a story which makes it imperative that the proposal to ban unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children gets put on the ballet. While Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel rejected the current wording, Jerry Cox, the Family Council president hopes to be able to make the needed changes to get it certified.

Members of his organization and its supporters, who helped campaign for the state’s ban on gay marriage in 2004, have been looking for a way to keep homosexuals from adopting or becoming foster parents. The group failed to push through the General Assembly this spring a bill that would have banned all homosexuals and cohabiting couples from adopting or becoming foster parents.

While there is a desperate need for foster parents, we shouldn't have to send children into a worse situation then what they've escaped. What we particularly don't need is case workers to be so politically correct that they fail to protect the children they're responsible for.

"The sexual orientation of the men was a significant cause of people not ‘thinking the unthinkable’.
"It was clear that a number of staff were afraid of being thought homophobic.
"The fear of being discriminatory led them to fail to discriminate between the appropriate and the abusive."

These case workers shouldn't have been bullied or frightened into not performing their duties because they might offend a citizen minority which labels anyone who questions anything about their lifestyle as being discriminatory.

The Clintons, Blocking "The Path to 9/11"?

I rarely watch an entire season of a show, even if it's one I like. I'm just not able to sit down and watch a show at the same time every week. I suppose I could TiVo it but I haven't really gotten into the TiVo thing. I've been renting the whole series from Netflix and watching the whole season at one time. No commercials!
I was looking forward to watching "The Path to 9/11". Well, it looks like that is not going to happen. A bunch of TV DVDs are slated for nationwide release this month and "The Path to 9/11" is not on the list nor is it expected to be released in the near future.

With no date for the release, questions are being raised about whether political pressure is behind its current status as a stalled or discarded DVD project. The reasons are murky, but the miniseries' writer, Cyrus Nowrasteh, believes it's crystal clear: Powerful forces are out to protect Bill Clinton's presidential legacy and shield Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) from any potential collateral damage in her bid for the White House.

Why am I not surprised. The entertainment and news media are going to do everything they can to make sure the Clintons get back to the White House. I'm sure they are going to do everything possible to make sure no one remembers just how badly the Clinton's Administration was. They are particularly going to make sure no one remembers how much the Clinton's administration was responsible for 9/11.

Springdale's Arvest Ballpark, Trashy Name

I've always thought that naming a city's sports center after a business was just plain tacky. I've always thought that such a major landmark within a city should be named after some one who had done something for the city, a hero or an outstanding citizen. It's just really pathetic to have a ballpark named just so a business can be advertised. Springdale and the Arvest Bank really should be ashamed of themselves. How about doing the right thing and give the park a name the city can be proud of.

Ron Paul, Fruitcake

The Ron Paul supporters had a booth at the Washington County Fair. The booth was a bit strange and I thought the people manning the booth was just as odd. I'm sort of listening to the GOP debate on Fox. Boy, Ron Paul has lost his mind. He just went off the deep end with the liberal talking points. I can't believe that he's a Republican. He's talking more like the Democrats. Do they have him on these debates just for comic relief?

Editors note: You'd think I'd learn to spell.

Hsu on the Lam Again

Oh Gee! You could have seen this coming a mile away. But the MSM seem to absolutely shocked that disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu failed to show up for his court date, again. This guy has spent 15 years on the lam from a felony theft conviction you think he's going to show up in court? Of course, no one asked him to turn over his passport. The judge and prosecutor are twits. Now, which country do you think he fled to?

Lake Fayetteville Trail Ribbon Cutting

This afternoon the City of Fayetteville held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly constructed extension of the Lake Fayetteville Trail. This is a asphalt multi-use trail. It's really nice for those who like to ride bikes on pavement and you can even get a motorized wheelchair on it. I myself still use the undeveloped trail, because I like the more natural feel. This trail will allow more people to enjoy more of Lake Fayetteville.

Cooling on Global Warming?

Dare I hope that people are actually realizing that the global warming freaks are frauds. Is a light bulb going off in people's mind that, "Hey! these guys are really nuts"? The BBC will be dumping Planet Relief, a big day-long TV special about Climate change.

Negative reaction to this summer’s flop Live Earth concert, promoted by Al Gore, was cited as a factor. Audience feedback found that viewers wanted serious, informed programmes about the planet’s future.

Then, reported by Roger Friedman, Leonardo DiCaprio's new film on global warming has bombed with moviegoers.

His environmental documentary, "The 11th Hour," has been a total bust at the box office. After 18 days in release, the film has grossed only $417,913 from ticket sales. The 90-minute snore-fest is playing on 111 screens this week, but that number is likely to be reduced this Friday.

People might be waking up to the fact that their predictions of imminent doom aren't occurring. It might also be that the real scientific facts on the planet's climate is starting to trickle into people's brains. Hopefully, the public's disillusion with the global warming alarmism will lead to stopping the politicians from enacting policies and programs based on global warming.

NWA Times, Snubbing NWA Citizens

George Arnold is taking up the case of poor Andres Chao, the Mexican consul. Poor, poor Andres has been snubbed by that dastard Steve Womack, mayor of Rogers. Doesn't Steve understand who Andres is? Doesn't he know what an important person he is? Why he represents thousands of illegal immigrants in NW Arkansas. Why even President Felipe Calderon declared on Sunday that "Mexico does not end at its borders" and "Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico." Why Steve is actually spitting on the representative of our glorious conquerer.
OK, enough of being sarcastic. Steve Womack is dealing with the problem of an increasing number of criminals within the illegal immigration community. He's trying to keep the citizens of Rogers safe from these often violent criminals. Apparently rounding up these criminals is more important to Steve than sucking up to the Mexican government. If Andres is just going to complain about Rogers actually enforcing our laws then I agree there is nothing to talk about.

You’d think Mayor Womack would want to hear other views, especially on a subject as touchy as this one.

Yes, this is a touchy subject. People what our laws enforced and they want to be safe in their homes and streets. George Arnold needs to remove his lips from Andres Chao's butt and actually pay attention to the concerns of the citizens of NW Arkansas.

Exploiting Illegals

The NWA Times has made a really shocking discovery.

Some employers in Northwest Arkansas may be finding a competitive advantage by exploiting immigrants.

Aren't you just well and truly shock that businesses would do such a thing? Is the NWA Times just now waking up to the fact that thousands of illegal immigrants are being abused? The problem with being illegal is that people can take advantage of one's fear of getting caught.

Townsend said that while immigrants are often working for lower wages, they are in better situations than if they did not come to the U.S. For many the risks of being an illegal immigrant are much more favorable than those of staying in their native land.

I guess that the choice one makes when they decide to come to the U.S. illegally. You run the risk of being ripped off. You can complain all you want about the unethical businesses exploiting illegals, but the fact remains illegals made their choice when they crossed the border.
None of this is going to change until the President's administration get serious about upholding our immigration laws. The President wasted too much time trying to get all these illegals citizenship when he should have been up scaling our immigration departments so they could worked in the U.S. legally.

Note: A link to the article was not available. I'll try to add it later.

War on Plastic Bottles

Bottled water is very, very bad, for the environment that is. The profusion of those bottles have led a number of mayors to prohibit those little suckers in city offices. So what happens when these eco-friendly "greenies" clash with the general public? Crapolicio.us has pictures. Why can't they just recycle? Over at Boing Boing
there is this comment.

Ironically, this aging high school football stadium has no functioning drinking fountains, no easily-accessible potable water, and even has warning signs on the restrooms that say "Do not drink water from the sinks."

Sigh! Why is it that these "greenies" act so stupidly?

Arkansas Senator Given Donations by Hsu

Another Democrat forced to give up the money they received from fugitive Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu.

(Mark)Pryor follows the lead of other politicans, including Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, in returning thousands of dollars from Hsu. A judge in San Mateo County Superior Court ordered Hsu handcuffed and held on $2 million bond Friday after Hsu turned himself in.

Well, I'm not suprised that the Clinton campaign is involved in shady money and characters. Mark Pryor is going to have to be careful not to get to close to the Clintons if he wants to look clean.

Labor Day Weekend

Oh my Goodness! What a great weekend! I don't think I've ever had a nicer weekend since living here. The temperatures have always been HOT! The weather was perfect. There morning were cool enough that I was able to work in the garden Saturday and hike around Lake Fayetteville Sunday. I wasn't baking went I went to the Clothesline Fair, Sunday afternoon. It was actually nice to stroll around. I am paying for all the activities. I am really sore, particularly my leg muscles. Well, I'm taking advantage of Labor Day by putzing around the house.