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Arkansas Politics
Anarchists at the gate: the rising Republicans of Arkansas
I've written before this week about the notion by Sen. David Sanders and Rep. John Burris and others that the bare majority of Arkansas Republican legislators is sufficient to override constitutional governance and allow them to tell executive agencies not to do business with people they don't like.
If David Sanders may declare Planned Parenthood off-limits for state contract work, who will he come for next? Baptists? Jews? The NAACP? Liberal newspapers?
I erupt again this morning at another bit of evidence of the disdain with which such ideological zealots view three-branch government in which a representative assembly is but one part. (And in a three-branch government, the legislative, it should go without saying, should only be able to act by majority vote of its members, not through backroom pressure and demagoguery from self-appointed dictators such as Sanders and Burris.)
I saw this Twitter post this morning by Republican Rep. Justin Harris. And if you can't believe this God-fearing young man, I don't know who you can believe:
State Constitution?Ouch!“@vnbien: 2night @kenyangAR said as State Auditor he would refuse 2 sign a check if he disagreed w law passed.”
Might Justin Harris actually be suggesting that Republican auditor candidate Ken Yang has gone too far? It would be a nice switch for Harris, who doesn't recognize the U.S. constitutional prohibition against state establishment of religion in publicly funded activities such as his pre-school.
But my real interest is the report that a candidate for statewide office has been quoted as saying he'd decide which legal obligations of the state he would pay based on his personal approval of the law. A court would quickly set him right on this, of course, at great expense to the state. Then what? Maybe he'd defy the court? That's for another day and Yang isn't likely to prevail in even the Republican primary.
Still.
Maybe Yang has been misquoted. But there's very little difference in the reported remark and what Sanders and Burris propose on deciding who does and doesn't get state Obamcare money. Only those with their seal of approval need apply. Applaud these bullies if you will, but don't call it constitutional.
Arkansas Politics
Finger-pointing continues on parolee murder suspect
Gov. Mike Beebe seems to indicate a somewhat nuanced picture is emerging as facts are being gathered on how an Arkansas parolee, now a murder suspect, failed to be held behind bars despite repeat criminal charges and failure to appear for parole meetings. The Democrat-Gazette reports here on Beebe's efforts in the matter of Darrell Dennis, accused in the slaying of Forrest Abrams.
Fox 16 also has a report that might indicate where the Department of Community Corrections aims to take the review of its actions — blaming the Pulaski County sheriff's office, specifically the jail, for releasing him. It claims it removed a hold on Dennis at the request of the jail.
Sheriff Holladay says Dennis was able to go free because D.C.C. faxed the jail a "speed letter" asking for his release."If they didn't want him released, they shouldn't have sent us this order to release him," Holladay said, pounding his finger down on the document.
We've been down this muddled road before — remember the probationer who killed police officers in Washington state.
So far, this case is repeating that one in a significant aspect. Apart from limited responses from departmental spokeswoman Rhonda Sharp, the probation and parole agency will NOT send its top officials out to talk to the press. I can't think of another state agency that so successfully resists accountability. Beebe says blame will be laid when the process is completed. If that doesn't include a public accountability session for the leaders of the agency, that won't be good enough. Trust Beebe though the public might, that isn't sufficient verification.
Finally, I've been meaning to add this to the discussion.
Parolees commit crimes. Sad but true. Each act of recidivism is not proof of the failure of the parole system. Nor is it justification for throw-away-the-key sentencing. I fear that the important process of reviewing parole procedures for failings might lead to knee-jerk reactions — such as a return to the thinking that the best way to deal with the pathology of drug use and addiction is longer prison sentences for criminals driven by drugs.
Rock Candy
What's going on
Thursday: Companion, Shining Rae and more
Juanita's has some buzz-y indie rock, with Brooklyn pop outfit Companion and psychedelic Oklahomans The Evangelicals. Locals Ten Sentences open the show, 9 p.m., and hey, it's $3!
It's going to be a "'90s Throwback Concert" at The Joint, with Rodney Block & The Real Music Lovers, 8:30 p.m., $10-$15.
Pop singer/songwriter Shining Rae is back in town for an all-ages show. She'll be showcasing new material, Downtown Music Hall, 7 p.m., $11.
Singer/songwriter Daniel Amedee might be from New Orleans, but his sound is "more King Crimson than King Oliver, more Mars Volta than Mardi Gras." Also on the bill: Gold Beneath the Highway and James Rose, Maxine's, 8 p.m., free.
TV
June 19 episode of SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters' set in Little Rock
"Whoa! What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That! Do you hear it? It sounds like... An episode of SyFy's hit series "Ghost Hunters."
"You mean, here in Little Rock?"
"Exactly, I'm getting a reading that tells me the upcoming new episode on Wednesday, June 19 will include a ghost-hunting expedition to a home once owned by prominent early 20th century banker Edward Cornish."
"Whoa."
"Yes, it airs at 8 p.m. and it's called "Ghost Friends Forever."
"Spooky. What else can you tell me?"
"Well, here goes...
On this episode of Ghost Hunters, TAPS is called to Little Rock, Arkansas where a family has inherited a bungalow next door to their home that they believe to be cursed. The bungalow has a tragic history of death, robberies and murder dating back to the 1800s. Paranormal activity has been terrifying their bungalow tenants for years and now activity seems to have spread over to the family’s main house. Have the bungalow spirits traveled next door to the family’s home? Are the family’s deceased close friends, who willed the bungalow to them, to blame for this activity? TAPS is being brought in to get answers for this family in desperate need of answers.
"So where can I watch a very brief preview for this episode?"
"After the jump!"
What's going on
Monday: Bob Dorough at The Afterthought
Jazz legend and "Schoolhouse Rock!" composer Bob Dorough will perform at The Afterthought, 8 p.m., $5.
Cover Story
Exploring Big Island, where three rivers meet
Event Calendar
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Re: Finger-pointing continues on parolee murder suspect
Thanks Max, finally some common sense with the parole system and the legal system, not…
- on June 19, 2013
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Re: Anarchists at the gate: the rising Republicans of Arkansas
Yang needs to have his ying spanked!
- on June 19, 2013
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Re: Finger-pointing continues on parolee murder suspect
You might wish to to re-explore Rene Dubos's So Human an Animal. The full accountability…
- on June 19, 2013
Arkansas Reporter
Ark. Republicans spar with Planned Parenthood over healthcare guides
Editorials
Huck beats Rick
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What's there, what's coming.
Fox16 Local News and Weather
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DCC Blames Pulaski Jail for Release of Darrell Dennis
June 18, 2013Blame is flying back and forth over the release of a parolee accused of killing a young man in Little Rock. fox16.com /more/ -
300,000 Miles on One Patrol Car has Police Chief Asking for New Vehicles
June 18, 2013A central Arkansas police chief has asked his city for new patrol cars. It's been a long time coming as he claims over 300,000 miles on one car is too... fox16.com /more/
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