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Democrats go after Cotton for trying to criminalize family relationship

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:53:00 -0500

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is going after expected Republican Senate candidate Tom Cotton over some wacky legislating yesterday.

Will extremism hunt in an Arkansas election? The DSCC is rolling it out in support of Sen. Mark Pryor, typically knocked for his mushy middlist approach.

Extreme Ideologue Tom Cotton Tries to Eliminate Due Process For Family Members Of Accused

Tom Cotton is clearly wasting no time trying to push his extreme right wing agenda through Congress. Yesterday, Cotton introduced an amendment to “automatically” institute severe penalties on extended families, including nieces, nephews, and great grandchildren, of people accused of violating U.S. sanctions against the Iranian government.

Cotton’s legislation would completely disregard American citizens’ due process rights guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment. In the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Cotton said, “there would be no investigation,” before inflicting harsh punishments of up to 20 year prison sentences upon "parents, children, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, grandparents, great grandparents, grandkids, great grandkids" of those accused of violating sanctions against Iran.

“To call Tom Cotton an extreme ideologue is not overstating anything,” said Justin Barasky, a spokesman at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “He is proposing legislation that would eliminate the constitutional right to due process for grandchildren, nieces and nephews of Americans accused of a crime.”

Polls show that a majority of Americans view the Republican party as extreme, but the legislation was even too far right for Cotton’s House Republican colleagues, who ultimately forced him to withdraw the amendmen

It ain't just politics if it's true.

Republicans just aren't so hot on constitutional protections except those they find, without limit, in Amendment Two.

Also today, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus was quoted as saying innocent people don't plead the Fifth Amendment. This the very amendment Cotton proposed to stomp on with his guilty-by-relationship idea.

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ZZ Top to Fayetteville

Robert Bell — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:43:06 -0500

Get out your cheap sunglasses, 'cause "that little ol' band from Texas" is headed to Fayetteville's Arkansas Music Pavilion for an Oct. 4 concert. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 30 and they're gonna run you $37-$102. Here's where to go to get 'em. Or you could call 479-443-5600.

The 'Top recently got the Rick Rubin treatment with last year's "La Futura," a gettin'-back-to-their-roots collection with real drums and a gritty, mean guitar tone.

After the jump, one of my favorite ZZ Top tunes, from 1973's "Tres Hombres." No, not "La Grange" (though that one is totally the jam).

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Who needs tort reform? Arkansas matches Texas already

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:37:00 -0500

If you can't truth the American Legislative Exchange Council, who can you trust, particularly when the subject is what's good for business?

ALEC is the Koch- and big business-funded lobby that cranks out cookie cutter state legislation to advance the interests of big business. It functions as an ideological bureau of legislative research for Arkansas Republican lawmakers.

ALEC produces rankings of the states on economic performance and outlook.

Here's the latest report on Arkansas. We're fair-to-middling. Ranked at 22 on performance, an improvement from 25 a year ago. The Republican majority legislature didn't do all it could do, unfortunately, to prepare Arkanas for the future. After having a top quintile ranking (11 to 13) in economic outlook for the last five years under Democratic control, Arkansas plummeted to 24 this year based on 15 variables. Drawbacks include too many public employees and too big a sales tax burden by ALEC's standards, not to mention an income tax system that lacks progressivity and has too high a top marginal rate (the chart doesn't reflect a small coming cut in the top rate.)

Texas is No. 1 in performance and No. 12 in outlook.

So what's the point? Check out one of the key variables in the comparisons — State Liability System Survey. This is "tort litigation treatment, judicial impartiality, etc." If you follow this issue, you know that Texas is viewed as a wasteland for trial lawyers. Republicans have taken over the bench there and the legislature has done all it can to make it hard to sue corporations for damages in Texas. To hear the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce tell it, runaway judges and juries in Arkansas are a threat to economic survival. Thus it may try to amend the Constitution to be more like Texas and also to campaign to stock the appellate bench in Arkansas with business-friendlier judges.

So how do Arkansas and Texas compare on this vital tort ranking? It's a dead heat. Both states score 35 with ALEC.

As good (or bad) as Texas? What's not to like? Who needs an amendment?

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Friday: American Guild of Organists benefit recital, Wes Jeans at Denton's and more

Robert Bell — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:56 -0500

If you're looking for something not quite so Riverest-y to do Friday night, The American Guild of Organists presents a recital to benefit the Pediatric Injury Prevention Program at Arkansas Children's Hospital, Christ Episcopal Church, 8 p.m., free, donations accepted.

Texas-based blues-blaster Wes Jeans brings the 12-bar tube-amp jams to Denton's Trotline, 9 p.m., $10.

The Sideshow Tragedy and Damn Arkansan offer an evening of Americana/roots rock at Maxine's, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door.

Up in Fayetteville, A Concert for Campers has performances by John Henry & Friends, Brick Fields, Houston Hughes, Dividend and Joey Largent, with proceeds helping to send children to Camp Quest Oklahoma, Nightbird Books, 7 p.m., donations accepted.

If you want to keep the good times going after things wind down at Riverfest, check out Lawler and Ewell's 5th Annual Bday Bash with Raydar and Shaolin, Joe C, Noodles and JDawg, Revolution, 9 p.m., $5 adv., $10 day of.

The Center for Artistic Revolution's Rainbow Camp is a sure bet for LGBTQ and ally youth, Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center, Friday-Monday. More info here.

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Federal spending cuts to cost Arkansas $18.5 million in education money

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:58:00 -0500

The federal sequestration spending cuts that took effect March 1 will cost Arkansas $18.5 million in 2013, says a release from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

A bit more than half the money will be cut from Title I programs for disadvantaged students. Early childhood education such as Head Start also has taken a hit.

More details follow.

NEWS RELEASE

Arkansas is starting to feel the effects of the sequester, or sequestration; cuts in federal spending that went into effect on March 1. According to new figures from the United States Department of Education, cuts to education programs in Arkansas will total $18.5 million in 2013. Other estimates are almost $1 million higher. What’s worse is that most of the programs being cut are those designed to help low-income students.

Title 1 funding — money aimed at improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged students — will be the hardest hit, taking a cut of more than $9.6 million. Other programs like education for homeless youth, language acquisition grants, and special education will see significant reductions as well.

These federal cuts come at a time when per-student funding for state programs that help low-income students, also known as NSLA funding, did not increase at all in the last legislative session, even though the need has grown. When programs are flat-funded in this way, they are actually falling behind. This is because program expenses increase with the cost of living, but funding does not. Legislators did not provide a cost of living increase for state NSLA funds for next year because of concerns about how the funds are being used by school districts and the failure to reduce the achievement gap between low-income students and their peers.

“It really is sad to see these cuts go into effect,” says Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF). “A lot of these programs benefit children from lower-income families and they really need more funding, not less. A budget is a set of priorities, and we need to prioritize the education of our children.”

Jerri Derlikowski, AACF’s director of education policy and finance, says the use of state funding for programs to reduce the achievement gap between poor students and their more affluent counterparts is more critical now than ever.

“We need to narrow the use of NSLA funds to programs that are evidence-based,” she says, “programs that target the academic needs of low-income students. With these cuts to our federal education dollars, it is even more important to assure the most effective and efficient use of state NSLA funding.”

The early childhood education program Head Start has also had to make cutbacks after a reduction in federal funding. Some programs have decided to close early for the summer. That means families will have to find other ways to care for and feed their children during those days. Other programs are reducing enrollment, instituting staff furloughs, or only making emergency purchases. Nationwide, 70,000 fewer children will be able to attend Head Start programs as a result of the cuts.

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Chew on this: Cuban burrito from Baja Grill

Daniel Walker — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:57:07 -0500

When it comes to Mexican food, I’m all for authenticity, but I’m in no way averse to mixing things up a bit and creating tacos and burritos that incorporate ingredients that one would never dream of finding in such vessels south of the border. You might think of this as “Americanizing” the flavors of Mexico, you might consider this some sort of “fusion” vaguery, but when flavors sing as sweetly as they do at Benton’s bravest food truck, Baja Grill it’s really not that important what you call it, what matters is that it tastes good. This may or may not be the first time you’ve heard the virtues of Baja Grill expounded upon, and I certainly hope this won’t be the last. After months of salivating over their Twitter feed, I was finally able to make it down to Military Road to see what all the fuss is about. I’ll just say this, there’s probably not enough fuss about this place—if you haven’t made it down to Baja’s corner of the world, reconsider your priorities and get thyself a mouthful of some of the finest tacos and burritos this side of the Rio Grande.

If you were to sample but one of their menu’s many tantalizing items—a decision which proves to be extraordinarily difficult—please make it the Cuban burrito. The Cuban also comes in taco form, a very worthy option as well if you are leaning in that direction, but you can opt for the burrito option if you so desire. Standard to both the burrito and taco is the spectacular shredded Cuban pork—sweet, spicy, and tender, it forms the base of these spectacular items. The burrito then distinguishes itself by taking a soft, grilled flour tortilla, stuffing it full of the pork, fluffy seasoned rice, and black beans, and tops it with a sour orange red cabbage-jicama slaw. The slaw may be the most inspired component of this entire culinary equation—the zest of citrus, mildly sweet, with a slight crunch from the freshly chopped jicama. They dredge the entire thing in their housemade queso, a creamy, cool, rich concoction the puts the whole thing over the top. I’ve had my fair share of pitiful cheese toppings—some half-hearted, melted Velvetta and Rotel abomination which would never be fit to top this blessed burrito. Baja’s queso is no such broth—it’s clearly made with care, flavorful, and a beautiful addition to an already spectacular dish. Each bite of this burrito is bittersweet—your mouth rejoices, but deep within, your brain dreads the moment this burrito is gone.

If you got in your car right now, I bet you could make it to Baja Grill in under half an hour. Okay, probably not the case for everyone, but regardless of the time commitment required to park yourself at the feet of Baja Grill, it will be well worth your effort. Take a seat on their ample outdoor seating while the weather is still permissive, and bask in the glow of burrito brilliance.

(Baja Grill is located at 1130 Military Rd, Benton. 501-617-1002)

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University of Arkansas Board votes to keep guns off campuses

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:50:00 -0500

Flash from David Goins at Fox 16:

The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees voted to opt out of Republican Rep. Charlie Collins' new law to allow college and university staff to carry concealed weapons on campus. The vote was unanimous and applies to all 11 UA campuses. Evie Blad of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette tweeted that campus leaders at the meeting applauded the vote.

Awaiting word on Arkansas State University Board today on same issue.

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Mississippi aims to jail women for stillbirths, miscarriages

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:38:00 -0500

As a result of what Dr. Joycelyn Elders once memorably called a "love affair with the fetus," Mississippi has embarked on a path to prosecute some women in cases of stillbirth or miscarriage. The perverse effect — if the state is successful — would be to encourage more women to seek legal abortions.

The point — though not supported by medical authorities — is to punish women for using drugs while pregnant. What's next, a judge and critics have asked. Cigarettes? Unpasteurized milk? Obesity?

Mother Jones reports. Mississippi's effort is seen as a backdoor way to achieve "personhood" for even a fertilized egg. The article notes that laws nominally passed to allow prosecution of others for harming a woman's fetus have often been used against the pregnant woman.

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Friday To-Do: Mad Nomad

Robert Bell — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:47:58 -0500

MAD NOMAD
9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern.

Mad Nomad is one of the newer entries on the Little Rock musicscape, having formed in September. But they're not exactly taking the leisurely route, having already finished up their first full-length, the nine-song "Black Out," available at this album-release show.

The group plays an amped-up sort of indie rock that's informed by the classics (Replacements, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr.) and unabashedly guitar-centric. They remind me a bit of the Springsteen-gone-punk sounds of Against Me! circa "New Wave." Most of the tunes are of the fist-pumping, triumphant sort, but they slow down the pace a bit on the Southern-rock-riffing "Me Tarzan, You Jane" and they break out the acoustic guitars on the wistful "When You Were Here."

The band includes Joe Holland, Jacob Mahan, Jesse Bell, Adam Hogg and Chris Honea. Hogg's piano playing adds some nice texture to the guitar squall. The album, good on its own merits for sure, is also a promising indicator of things to come. Good-time party-rockers Booyah! Dad and The Bootheel of Springfield, Mo., will open the show.

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Long-dead body on list of complaints about LR apartment building

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:17:00 -0500

A gruesome report from Channel 4 about resident complaints concerning the Plaza Towers apartment building on West Markham Street (next door to the Chick-fil-A across from Park Plaza.)

Complaints include the belated discovery of the death of an elderly resident, an estimated two weeks after his death and long after decomposition made it clear to residents something was amiss.

Little Rock police confirm an elderly man died from natural causes in his room on the 5th floor, but it took two weeks to notice and by then, residents say the smell greeted them getting off the elevator.

Other resident complaints include street people sleeping in stairwells, unrepaired fire damage and multiple police calls.

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Intruder arrested on Governor's Mansion grounds

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:02:35 -0500

From the State Police:

Arkansas State Troopers assigned to the Executive Protection detail arrested an individual on the grounds of the Arkansas Governor’s residence this morning.

About 5:30 AM the man climbed over a fence and was quickly apprehended. He did not resist arrest.

State Police CID agents are currently questioning the man who will later be transported to the Pulaski County Jail.

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Tom Cotton's attack on the Constitution

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:48:00 -0500

Several people sent links this morning to yet another odd performance by U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, already distinguished by his opposition to replenishing the country's disaster aid money unless it can be taken out of some other recipient's hide.

His no-aid-for-storm-victims stance was plain old greed and obedience to the Club for Growth masters who elected him and plan to pay for his campaign against U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor.

But this latest is weirder still, so weird that even fellow Republicans suggested he back off, which he eventually did. From Huffington Post:

Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would "automatically" punish family members of people who violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, levying sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

The provision was introduced as an amendment to the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013, which lays out strong penalties for people who violate human rights, engage in censorship, or commit other abuses associated with the Iranian government.

Cotton also seeks to punish any family member of those people, "to include a spouse and any relative to the third degree," including, "parents, children, aunts, uncles, nephews nieces, grandparents, great grandparents, grandkids, great grandkids," Cotton said.

"There would be no investigation," Cotton said during Wednesday's markup hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "If the prime malefactor of the family is identified as on the list for sanctions, then everyone within their family would automatically come within the sanctions regime as well. It'd be very hard to demonstrate and investigate to conclusive proof."

Another congressman likened the measure to visiting the sins of an uncle on a nephew. Weird stuff. Cotton — a Harvard educated lawyer — proposed it even though the Constitution explicitly prohibits "corruption of blood" in treason cases and even though the Fifth Amendment prevents deprivation of liberty or property without due process of law. (Republicans tend to sneer at people who invoke the 5th Amendment, holding it less valuable than the 2nd Amendment.)

PS — Facebook commenter raises a question. Given the Republican view on personhood — the minute an egg is fertilized — would Cotton automatically criminalize in utero nephews, too?

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Mineral Springs schools — fiscal distress, but heckuva football field

Max Brantley — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:47:00 -0500

Thanks to Clinton vet Ben Mays, a former member of the state Board of Education and a long-time critic of Arkansas school districts that spend execessively on athletics, for this nugget.

You may remember that the state of Arkansas last week took over management of the Mineral Springs School District because of persistent budget problems.

He digs up this item from summer 2011. It's an article from arkansasvarsity.comabout how the tiny school district had splurged on a big-time artificial turf football field.

When a school transitions from a traditional field to an all turf playing surface, the switch is usually a costly and labor intensive one. Rarely does a school make it out of the move for less than $700-800,000.

While that sum isn't an insurmountable obstacle for a big school, it's a fairly shocking one for one of the smallest schools in the state, which is precisely what Mineral Springs (Ark.) High is. Despite those size constraints, the Hornets will play their first quasi-competitive game on their new field turf football stadium on Thursday, when Mineral Springs hosts fellow Arkansas Class 2A squad Poyen.

"Man, I have never been this excited for an upcoming season," Mineral Springs head coach Vince Perrin told GeoSurfaces.com, the web site for the Field Turf company which installed the school's new turf. "We have made incredible strides in this program and this is just icing on the cake. I can't wait to get started."

The fact that Mineral Springs chose to install the new turf while other districts around the country are slashing any and all discretionary funding from prospective school budgets makes the new field all the more surprising.

Mays commented in an e-mail to current state board members:

Just a little nagging reminder of how school districts suddenly run out of money. I guess they'll just have to cut back on all those over-paid teachers now—all but the coaching staff that is.

The district website shows the school has a football coach/athletic director and six assistant football coaches. The team went 10-4 last season, a good bit better showing than the accounting department.

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More aliens!

Sam Eifling — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

New 'Star Trek' needs more space travel, but is otherwise a blast. by Sam Eifling

Director J.J. Abrams has never, to my knowledge, made any bones about channeling his matinee-popcorn hero, Steven Spielberg — and in the opening moments of "Star Trek: Into Darkness," the protege manages to snare a couple of Spielberg classics in one scene. The crew of the Enterprise is distracting a primitive people on a faraway (and blissfully color-saturated) world while Spock (Zachary Quinto) sneaks into a volcano with a device that will prevent its eruption and spare the alien species. The natives' chase of Kirk (Chris Pine) and Bones (Karl Urban) is straight out of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," spears and all. When the crew defies the prime directive to steer the Enterprise out of the ocean and over the volcano to rescue Spock, and the natives begin reverently sketching the ship in the soil, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" feels its ears burning.

That juxtaposition may not be Abrams announcing that he's killing his idol, quite. But it helps to frame this sequel to his thrilling 2009 "Star Trek" reboot as somewhere in the happy nook between Indiana Jones and the wonder of deep space. When it finds that groove, "Into Darkness" brings all the adventure and panache of its predecessor. On balance, though, for as sparkly and gripping as it is, "Into Darkness" over-steers into a military-style revenge procedural. Too much of its dialogue belongs to humans. It sounds strange to say, maybe, but it stars too few planets.

Kirk and Spock get disciplined for the volcano stunt, and just as Kirk is coming to grips with a demotion, a suicide bomber attacks a Federation building. The mastermind flees to Kronos, a Klingon stronghold — setting up a situation Kirk and his superior, Adm. Marcus (Peter Weller), diagnose as perilously tetchy. The Klingons have been itching for confrontation, and their so much as detecting the Enterprise could ignite conflict. The ship's mission has always been one of exploration and ambassadorship — new worlds, new civilizations, all that — so when Kirk accepts a payload of experimental torpedoes to drop on an uninhabited slab of an alien world, we recognize this peace-loving people (us!) has been shoved toward war by a terrorist who flees to a forgotten corner of the map.

The allegory isn't hard to find here, and is only underscored when the final credits begin with a dedication to "9/11 veterans." The original "Star Trek" series famously engaged the cultural milieu of its day (feminism, race relations, the Cold War) and in this, "Into Darkness" upholds the tradition. As the supervillain in question (giving you his name might spoil a little thrill), Benedict Cumberbatch, of the BBC's "Sherlock," radiates a savage menace; if the Federation is going to be creeping up to forbidden borders to rain missiles on the future's equivalent of Waziristan, it might as well be to vaporize this fiend.

Ignoring those pretensions, this is still a candy-coated space romp. Every shot inside the Enterprise glistens with psychedelic lens-flares, as though it were filmed inside a Christmas tree, through a frosted windowpane. The visual effects are bold and seamless. The action is reckless and innovative. This series could benefit from some more aliens already. Until that day (in 2016, when the next sequel arrives), these humans will tide us over.

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Say goodbye

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

It's kind of piling on, admittedly, but we feel compelled to join the call for state Treasurer Martha Shoffner to resign. Awkwardly compelled, that is. She has not yet been convicted of the criminal charges filed against her, and that's an important point. The presumption of innocence has not been repealed.

It's kind of piling on, admittedly, but we feel compelled to join the call for state Treasurer Martha Shoffner to resign (UPDATE: she did, late Tuesday, after we went to press). Awkwardly compelled, that is. She has not yet been convicted of the criminal charges filed against her, and that's an important point. The presumption of innocence has not been repealed. (Though the current Arkansas legislature is apt to try.) Gov. Mike Beebe, a lawyer himself, addressed the point persuasively in a statement:

"I think Martha Shoffner should resign, and I think she should resign immediately. While everyone is presumed innocent until legal proceedings are complete, it would be very hard for the treasurer's office to function properly under her continued leadership. When you are elected to any public office, your conduct is held to a higher level of expectations to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. These alleged actions are far worse than that."

And the allegations against her are directly related to the duties of the treasurer's office. It's hard to see how the treasurer could effectively manage state investments while she's facing criminal charges of mismanagement of state investments.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel confronted the issue well, also:

"If proven to be true, these actions are a betrayal of her oath to our constitution and to our people. Although Ms. Shoffner is presumed innocent, I believe that she should resign immediately to allow the work of the treasurer's office to continue." Both Beebe and McDaniel are Democrats, as is Shoffner, as are many of the officials calling for her resignation. Even the state chairman of the Democratic Party, Will Bonds, wants her to go. (In or out of office, she'll be a heavy load for the Democrats to carry in next year's elections.) Republicans, of course, are united in demanding her removal, one way or another. If nothing else, she's brought us together.

Even her own lawyer has said she should resign. She may have done so by the time this sees print.

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Syrian war: Iraq redux

Ernest Dumas — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

Americans are instinctively wiser than their leaders when it comes to foreign policy, at least until their emotions are manipulated to support mindless war. by Ernest Dumas

Americans are instinctively wiser than their leaders when it comes to foreign policy, at least until their emotions are manipulated to support mindless war.

A poll early this month showed that only 5 percent of Americans support sending troops to overthrow the Syrian government, 12 percent want to arm the rebels and only 16 percent favor air strikes on Syrian installations. All the rest have had enough of Middle East war and they sense, if only vaguely, that 60 years of intervention in the bitter rivalries of the Muslim world have not served us well. They have changed America irretrievably for the worse.

But the neocons who told us that Saddam Hussein had and was about to use weapons of mass destruction are beating the drums for the United States to take a bigger role in ousting Bashar al-Assad, including arms for the rebels, air support and ground troops if necessary.

Republican hawks in Congress, including Sen. John McCain, are disingenuously pushing President Obama to get tough to demonstrate American "credibility" while deftly saying they aren't advocating that the United States go to war.

The big guns are shrewd enough to mount the pressure while keeping their powder dry with vague assertions about credibility, but they sent to "Meet the Press" young Tom Cotton, the Arkansas congressman who has shown that he will say anything for the cause, notwithstanding truth, logic or history. Cotton said the U.S. should arm the rebels and take over Syria's skies to speed Assad's fall.

Liberals have joined the cause. Obama's former foreign policy planning director wrote a piece for the Washington Post recalling Bill Clinton's shame for not acting to stop the genocide in Rwanda and warning Obama that he would earn censure, too, if he failed to throw in with the revolutionaries decisively. Other voices followed.

Obama has played the crisis with a balance of support, caution and diplomacy, except for last year's foolish warning that the deployment of chemical weapons would be a "game changer," but the critics are pushing him perceptibly toward the cliff. If he yields, that — not Benghazi — will be the shame of his presidency.

The United States has no stake in whether the Sunnis or the Shias rule Syria, regardless of whether Assad is a thug. Whoever is the more brutal, Assad or the insurgents, it is a matter of degree. Whatever the outcome of that increasingly sectarian war, it will yield far worse consequences for Syrians, all their neighbors, Israel and the United States than even the brutal Assad could inflict before the uprising. The product will be either a radical Sunni government, hostile to the United States and Israel, or else ceaseless sectarian and tribal anarchy — or both.

Hezbollah, the Shiite guerrilla army from neighboring Lebanon, has joined the war to maintain Syrian dominance over the Sunni majority. Our Shiite government in Iraq is quietly sympathetic to Assad. Shiite Iran is helping him. The Sunni regimes in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere want us to get more involved against the Shias in Syria and Iran because they fear doing it themselves.

What have we ever gained by these interventions? In 1953, President Eisenhower acceded to the British, who were mad that Iran's democratically elected president, Mohammed Mossadegh, and parliament had nationalized the British petroleum cartel. The CIA overthrew the secularist Mossadegh, had him kept under house arrest for the rest of his life, and installed the corrupt and ruthless shah. The Iranians have never forgotten. Twenty-five years later, they drove the dictator out, put the radical Islamists in charge, held 52 Americans hostage for 144 days, and brought on an endless series of U.S. diplomatic disasters.

President Reagan's dispatch of Marines to Lebanon in 1983 to cover his failure to discourage Israel in the slaughter of Palestinians in two refugee camps ended with the deaths of 241 Marines, a humiliating retreat and loss of U.S. face.

President George H.W. Bush's successful dislodging of Saddam Hussein from Kuwait in 1991 and the subsequent maintenance of forces in Arabia led to two attacks on the World Trade Center, in 1993 and 2001, with all the terrible consequences for America's liberty and sense of security.

President Reagan's decision to arm the Mujahideen to fight the Russians and the communist regime in Afghanistan doubtlessly helped the Russians decide to go home, but it put a radical branch of the Mujahideen — the Taliban — in control, which gave al Qaeda safe haven in the Afghan wilds. After 9/11, President George W. Bush paid the tribal warlords to help and sent American troops to dislodge our old Taliban allies so that we could then go after al Qaeda. Our old arms were turned against us.

Told by his vice president that America had to establish a friendly beachhead in Islam, preferably in Iraq, to spread American influence, President Bush engineered the WMD sham and invaded Iraq. There is no need to list all the horrors that flowed from that, in blood, treasure, self-esteem, international prestige and the perpetual threat of retaliation from Islamists at home and abroad. The Shiite government we helped install is getting increasingly nasty cracking down on the restless Sunni minority. And we should want to give it one more shot, in Syria, the one spot where we might ignite war across the whole region?

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It was a good week for a woman's right to an abortion

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

Also a good week for adjournment sine die, the Republican Party, attention to a hog farm permit in the Buffalo River Watershed. It was a bad week for Treasurer Martha Shoffner.

It was a good week for ...

A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO AN ABORTION. Federal Judge Susan Webber Wright granted an injunction against enforcement of Act 301, which would make most abortions illegal after 12 weeks, saying the state law's ban was likely unconstitutional.

ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE. The General Assembly convened briefly to adjourn, which meant that Gov. Mike Beebe's vetoes of three election-related bills by Sen. Bryan King stand.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. The state GOP, which has been calling for state Treasurer Martha Shoffner, a Democrat, to resign in light of her handling of state investments, got to witness her arrest on Saturday by the FBI.

ATTENTION TO A HOG FARM PERMIT IN THE BUFFALO WATERSHED. State legislators were to visit the C&H Hog Farm at Mount Judea, which will house 6,500 pigs near Big Creek, a tributary of the Buffalo River. The National Parks Conservation Association has added its opposition to the process by which the farm was permitted to objections by the National Park Service and Arkansans who want the Buffalo to stay clear of pig excrement. A protest was called for Wednesday at the Ozark Cafe in Jasper during the legislators' luncheon there.

It was a bad week for ...

STATE TREASURER MARTHA SHOFFNER. Shoffner was arrested at her home Saturday by the FBI on charges she took cash in return for official favors after she accepted a pie box filled with $6,000 from a source who was wired. The source, who has been granted immunity and who other sources say is Steele Stephens of the St. Bernard Financial Services firm in Russellville, told the FBI he had paid Shoffner a total of $36,000 in six payments every six months, plus almost $5,000 in cash for a campaign event, in return for an increasing share of the state bond business. The charges will be turned over to a grand jury to decide whether to indict. If convicted, Shoffner faces not more than 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

HEEDING CALLS TO RESIGN. As of Tuesday, Shoffner had not heeded calls for her resignation by Gov. Mike Beebe, Attorney Gen. Dustin McDaniel and the Arkansas Republican Party and the Arkansas Democratic Party. She told reporters after a hearing in federal court Monday that she was not resigning. She did not go into the office Tuesday. Update: She ultimately did tender her resignation late Tuesday.

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Clinton School partners with school to heal Uganda's wounds

Lindsey Millar — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

Students work with former child soldier Okello Sam at his school and community outreach project Hope North. by Lindsey Millar

When he was 16 and living in his native northern Uganda, Okello Sam was abducted into a rebel army, where he was tortured and made to fight. Two years later, he escaped during the chaos of battle only to find that his family had been dispersed to parts unknown by other rebels. So he made his way south to the capital, Kampala, where he not only survived, but thrived, continuing his education and beginning a career in music and theater.

By 1996 — 10 years after he was abducted — he was married, had a child and was an emerging star in the Ugandan arts scene. But tragedy once again changed his life's trajectory. His teen-aged brother and 50 other young people were abducted from a boarding school in northern Uganda by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the rebel group notorious for filling its forces with kidnapped child soldiers. The LRA later killed Sam's brother.

Sam's reaction was to purchase 40 acres in northern Uganda, protected from the fighting by the Nile River, and start a boarding school, Hope North, to shelter children from further horrors of war. The school has since supported more than 3,000 children.

Sam's story of survival and service resonated with Clinton School of Public Service administrators and students when Sam came to the school to deliver a lecture last September, ultimately leading to a long-term partnership between the Clinton School and Hope North. One Clinton School student recently returned to Little Rock after spending four months at the school. Four more students just left to take his place.

"Hope North started as an emotional reaction: There was a problem in the north I needed to deal with," Sam, 43, said in early May at the Clinton School for Public Service. He was in Little Rock for two days to meet with Clinton School students amid weeks of conducting dance and theater workshops in schools in Wisconsin to raise money for Hope North and spread the school's story. "But over the years my vision has been growing, and I've always been asking the question of [how we can achieve] sustainability."

That goal dovetails nicely with the Clinton School's philosophy, said Dr. Ellen Fitzpatrick, director of international programs at the school. "It's a great partnership for the Clinton School because it provides us with an opportunity for the students to practice some of the skills they learn on projects that Okello has identified as needs. We're not going to come in and tell you what you're going to do as the Great White Hope."

Hope North not only provides children and teens with educational and vocational training, it works in surrounding communities on matters of health, agriculture and conflict resolution. There's not been any military conflict in Uganda for several years (though Kony infamously remains at large), but peace is hardly a cure-all, Sam said.

"What we are dealing with is the aftermath of a rebellion that took over 25 years. We have a generation of children whose parents were captured and they were born in the rebellion either in the Sudan or Congo — a lot of them say they don't belong to any country. You also have people beginning to return to villages and struggling with issues like land. You don't know which land used to belong to your people. You're also dealing with a community that was living in an IDP [internally displaced person] camp for over 20 years surviving on handouts from NGOs," non-governmental organizations. Now, he said, the NGOs "are saying, 'Look the war is not there, so survive,' and people are finding it very difficult. They have never been working, so it's absolutely a new philosophy to them to be able to work and feed [themselves].

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"Also, you have a whole community that for years was traumatized and never got any counseling. There's a lot of violence. Families breaking up. Lots of killings. Basically, it's a system breakdown."

In a country full of thorny problems, reintegrating former child soldiers into society is perhaps the thorniest. Kony's diabolical method for enlisting child soldiers haunts Uganda, Sam said.

"Kony would come to a village and abduct children. First thing they do is threaten them with horror. They say to a child, 'OK, you kill that person, one of your friends.' If you refuse, then they ask your friend to kill you. So the children are frightened immediately. They do it in public when everyone is around. Then they take you for a week or so, train you, then bring you back to your village where you were abducted from and ask you to kill people. The kid then fears to come back to the village where he was abducted because he has committed a crime. The community is angry, and the kid is scared."

Sam said that other groups who work with former child soldiers only aid them for a matter of weeks before sending them back to their community. Hope North partners with NGO health workers, pairing them with former child soldiers returning to their home communities. "So this kid becomes an important link for development and health," Sam said. "He's not seen now as the criminal who came and killed people, but as a savior."

Hope North currently has 285 students. Sam divides his time running the school and fundraising. "It's very challenging to run a not-for-profit company in a country like Uganda because you're always looking for money," he said. Actors like Mary Louise Parker, Susan Sarandon and Forrest Whitaker help fund the school. (Sam, who acts, dances and plays music, appeared in "The Last King of Scotland" with Whitaker.) Other funds come from the proceeds from Sam's speaking engagements and workshops like those he recently presented in Wisconsin. But Sam wants to see Hope North grow to become self-sufficient. Stan Luker, the second-year Clinton School student who just spent four months at Hope North as part of his Capstone Final Project, worked with Sam on strategic planning to that end.

"Hope North has a lot of big ideas and a lot of people it can help, but it has very limited resources. What we tried to do was develop a plan with specifics, so Hope North can use its limited resources as best as it can," Luker said.

The school operates a small farm, a bakery that sells to students and the surrounding community and is planning on starting a soap-making project, which would allow it to market outside of the area. Expanding sales of artwork — like necklaces and paintings —is another goal.

The four Clinton School students who just left for Uganda — Kathleen Brophy, Sarah Chapman, Alex Handfinger and Nate Kennedy — will try to expand those projects. Brophy and Handfinger will focus on food and water sustainability. Chapman will work on a feasibility study for the creation of a guest lodge at Hope North (it borders Kabarega National Park). Kennedy will develop arts curriculum.

The idea, the Clinton School's Fitzpatrick said, is for the school to provide a continuous presence. "Working together we can have a real sustainable impact."

At the same time, Brophy said the goal is to make the partnership unnecessary.

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"Our projects are all about working ourselves out of a job, making Hope North self-sufficient so they no longer rely on external funding."

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Misquoted

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

There's embarrassment in the young gubernatorial campaign of state Rep. Debra Hobbs of Rogers. Announcing her candidacy last week, Representative Hobbs said "I feel like this is what God wants me to do." But sources close to God say that He gave her no encouragement and was at most indifferent to her campaign. "He's not actively opposed, but He's a little miffed that she's dragging Him into her race," said a reliable source who would speak only on condition of anonymity. "Especially since she's running in a Republican primary. He's always kept His distance from those." The Hobbs camp has admitted to faulty research, but as yet there's no indication that failure to win God's support will cause Hobbs to drop out of the race. An observer predicted she'll now seek endorsement from Jason Rapert. "He's the next closest thing."

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GOP's new ideas

Tommy Durham — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

by Tommy Durham

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Ready for Riverfest

Robert Bell — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

Good times start rolling Friday. by Robert Bell

By the time this is published, the stages will be going up, streets will be blocked off, vendors will be arranging their wares, PA systems will be going live and the River Market district will be a buzzing hive of activity, all in preparation for the 36th annual Riverfest and the thousands of people it will bring downtown.

As with most events of its age, Riverfest has changed over the years, growing from an event with mostly classical music into a three-day affair with multiple stages, food and clothing vendors, carnival rides and games, wiener dog races, a Baggo tournament and a bunch of other activities.

The music is still the central component of the festival, though. Lineup kvetching has become something of an annual tradition, with a seeming bevy of Facebook detractors bemoaning the headlining acts. Most complaints run along the lines of "Worst lineup ever. Gawd. Why didn't they get Daft Punk and Kanye West? Wah."

But, as has been pointed out many a time, booking a couple of the biggest of big-name acts would take up most if not all of the music budget. The organization this year spent about what it did last year on entertainment, said DeAnna Korte, executive director. That was $650,000-$700,000.

Obviously, Riverfest isn't aiming to be a Coachella or Austin City Limits Festival. It's run by a nonprofit organization that is supposed to put on an event with broad appeal and something for most everyone in a small-ish Southern state, while maintaining an affordable ticket price. Yes, Hangout Music Fest had a great lineup this year. It was also $230 for a three-day pass. That said, tickets to Riverfest have been purchased in 35 states total, so the appeal is not strictly local or even regional.

Early discounted tickets for Riverfest started at $10 for a three-day pass and went up to $17.50. If there are even one or two bands you'd like to see, that is indisputably a bargain. Even the full gate price of $35 is a deal. And there are also plenty of free activities for families in the KidZone and Family Zone areas.

But have the organizers ever considered doubling or tripling the ticket price, and therefore the music budget?

"We reevaluate every year and those conversations have come up," Korte said. "I think at some point what it comes back to is, we want to offer something for everybody. I think once you raise that ticket price, you become strictly a music festival." And Riverfest is more than just music.

For instance, if you haven't checked out the Super Retriever Series, you are missing out. It's like a long-jump for dogs but with a huge tank of water instead of sand, and it's awesome. The Baggo tournament should be a good time as well. There are teams from as far away as Sacramento, Calif., coming in to compete.

New this year: The Museum of Discovery will be open during Riverfest for the first time in years, with discounted admission. Also, The Stickyz Music Tent is now the Stickyz Music Stage (read more about it on page 26).

"It is going to be located between the amphitheater stage and the Bud Light stage down in what I call the grassy knolls at the Clinton Center, close to the Bill Clark wetlands," Korte said. "It'll be a really nice atmosphere; you can throw a blanket down. We've got some really great music on that stage."

The full music lineup is available on page 20. The schedule for other activities is available at riverfestarkansas.com.

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FRIDAY 5/24

DAUGHTRY
9:45 p.m., Bud Light Stage
(Clinton Presidential Center)

Arkansas loves us some Chris Daughtry. The former "American Idol" contestant has played here in The Natural State several times in the last couple of years. And while he's not drawing quite the crowds he was a few years ago (Verizon Arena in 2009, Robinson Center in 2012), Daughtry seems to have settled into a comfortable space in the contemporary rock landscape: not as popular as whatever the flavor-of-the-month might be, but with an enduring fan base that very much digs his earnest brand of stadium-ready alt-rock bombast. So take that, Taylor Hicks. Daughtry and crew have been on a multi-leg tour this year with Mississippi bubble-grunge stalwarts 3 Doors Down.

RODNEY ATKINS
8 p.m., Miller Lite Stage
(First Security Amphitheatre)

Rodney Atkins has paid his music biz dues and then some. The Tennessee native signed his first record deal in 1997, but only really broke through seven years later in 2004, with "Honesty (Write Me a List)," which hit No. 4 on the country singles chart. The title track from his 2011 album, "Take a Back Road," went to No. 1. The singer mined familiar country music territory for "Back Road": relationships ("She's a Girl," "She'd Rather Fight"), small-town living (the title track, "Growing Up Like That"), family ("Family," "He's Mine") and so forth. Atkins' tunes are mostly of the pop/Southern rock hybrid that's more or less dominated Nashville for the last several years.

DARIUS RUCKER
9:30 p.m., Miller Lite Stage
(First Security Amphitheatre)

Talk about your unlikely careers: Darius Rucker fronted '90s alt-rock lite megastars Hootie & The Blowfish, whose biggest record, "Cracked Rear View," sold 16 million copies, then he went solo with a mostly well-received R&B album, then he was like, "I'm going country," and that caused some head-scratching on the part of nearly everyone. But then lo and behold, Rucker's like a bona fide big-name country artist now. He signed to Capitol Nashville. His song "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" hit No. 1, and in October, Rucker joined the Grand Ole Opry. Rucker's newest record, "True Believers," is out this week. Expect to hear some fresh tunes off the new album.

SATURDAY 5/25

SUGAR RAY
6 p.m., Bud Light Stage
(Clinton Presidential Center)

As far as the award for "Band Most Likely to Have Throngs of Riverfest-ers Waving Their Hands in the Air and Singing Along to the Chorus" goes, the smart money is on reggae/funk/pop veterans Sugar Ray performing their breezy 1997 hit "Fly." It's the sort of indelible, powerfully mindless pop tune that has soundtracked millions of laid-back frat boy bro-downs and Smirnoff Ice-fueled girls-nights-out over the years. Not that one should expect a huge degree of sophistication from a band whose first album was called "Lemonade and Brownies" and whose most recent collection bears the title "Music for Cougars." Singer Mark McGrath is, of course, ultracharming and hunky in a bleached-blonde So-Cal kind of way. He's also probably logged more hours on VH-1's "I Love the Whatevers" than anyone short of Michael Musto.

BLACK STONE CHERRY
7:45 p.m., Bud Light Stage
(Clinton Presidential Center)

Kentucky's Black Stone Cherry proves that some sounds will never, ever, ever die, namely, classic rock. That's the framework to which the band adds Pantera-esque groove, post-grunge yowling, Skynyrd-style swagger, a bit of hair-metal balladry and just a touch of mainstream country. The band's latest album, "Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea" (2011), embodies the Black Stone Cherry ethos. You've got your strutting riff-monster opening track ("White Trash Millionaire"), your breakup anthem ("In My Blood"), your baby-please-don't-go ballad ("Stay"), your small-town family tribute ("Like I Roll"). And you've got two tracks ("Blame it on the Boom Boom" and "Let Me See You Shake") that, without question, should absolutely be on the playlist of any self-respecting Southern strip-club DJ.

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BUSH
9:30 p.m., Bud Light Stage
(Clinton Presidential Center)

Bush is the rare British band that was enormously popular in the U.S., but only moderately successful in the U.K. It also provided a cautionary example of the often profound differences that exist between U.S. and U.K. slang, but everybody over here pretty much got over that. The group was often derided as one of the many "Nirvanabes" that sprouted up in the wake of the grunge titan's success. And for sure, the similarities between the two bands were hard to ignore, but Bush soldiered on longer — and sold many more albums — than most of its contemporaries. Its debut, "Sixteen Stone," sold more than 6 million copies on the strength of hits like "Glycerine" and "Comedown." Heck, remix album "Deconstructed" (1997) went gold. The band called it quits back in aught-two, but studly frontman (and husband of Gwen Stefani) Gavin Rossdale reformed the band with mostly new members in 2010, releasing the Bob Rock-produced "The Sea of Memories" in 2011.

KELLY ROWLAND
8:30 p.m., Miller Lite Stage
(First Security Amphitheatre)

How awesome was Kelly Rowland's speech last week inducting the great Donna Summer into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Rowland positively gushed, exuding adoration for the late disco queen and for the abiding power of music in general. It was clear from her speech that Summer was an enormous influence on the former Destiny's Child member. That inspiration is also apparent from listening to Rowland's 2011 album, "Here I Am," which boasts several of the type of dance-floor-diva tracks Summer pioneered. Rowland recently released a single from her forthcoming album "Talk a Good Game," out June 18. The sparse, spare "Dirty Laundry" dishes candidly on Rowland's feelings of envy over her own solo career not reaching the stratospheric heights of Beyonce. If this song is any indication of how good the new album will be, Rowland might not have any reason to lament being in her friend and bandmate's shadow anymore. She's also just signed a deal to become a judge on the U.S. version of "The X Factor," a role she handled in the U.K. series in 2011.

LUPE FIASCO
10 p.m., Miller Lite Stage
(First Security Amphitheatre)

Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco broke out back in 2006 with "Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor," getting props from heavyweights such as Jay Z, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. The record was a hit with critics, who praised its expansive style and piercing rhymes, and in terms of sales, reaching No. 2 on the R&B Albums chart and netting three Grammy nods. Fiasco's follow-up, "The Cool," went gold and earned four Grammy nominations. Despite label wrangling over its supposed lack of commercial tracks (its release was delayed more than two years), 2011's "Lasers" hit No. 1 on several charts, including R&B albums and the Billboard 200 and the single "The Show Goes On" hit No. 1 on the Hot 100. It took a fan-driven petition to Atlantic Records to get that record released, and in the interim, Fiasco had recorded another album, last year's "Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1."

SUNDAY 5/26

FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE
7:45 p.m., Bud Light Stage
(Clinton Presidential Center)

Florida Georgia Line — a twosome made up of a dude from Florida (Brian Kelley) and another from Georgia (Tyler Hubbard) — plays the sort of goodtime pop-country that was engineered specifically for going muddin', swimming in the crik with a 30-pack of Keystone Light on the tailgate, driving over to pick up your gal for a date (and hoping she wears them real short cutoffs), doing shots with your best buds at The Electric Cowboy and so forth. It might be light on substance, but it's heavy on rural-type party vibes and even has a bit of rapping ("It'z Just What We Do") and autotune ("Dayum Baby").

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DIERKS BENTLEY
9:45 p.m., Bud Light Stage
(Clinton Presidential Center)

Dierks Bentley is no stranger to these shores, having performed in Arkansas a couple-three times in recent years. The Arizona native's career caught on in 2003 with bluegrass-tinged country-rocker "What Was I Thinkin'," which went to No. 1 on the country chart and had enough crossover appeal to reach No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bentley embodies the comfy, pop-savvy middle ground of contemporary country music. He's not as rock-informed as Jason Aldean nor as self-consciously "outlaw" as Eric Church, but he's nowhere near as milquetoast-pop as Rascal Flatts. Bentley is to country in 2013 what Bon Jovi was to hard rock in 1987.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
7:30 p.m., Miller Lite Stage
(First Security Amphitheatre)

There are probably more than a few people who'll come to Riverfest solely on account of the fact that Drive-By Truckers are playing. That could be said of other acts on the lineup as well. But the Truckers have earned what's got to be one of the more dedicated followings of any currently operational rock outfit, on the strength and consistent high quality of their huge back catalog. "Literate" is one of those descriptors that gets applied to the Truckers pretty regularly, which seems like a bit of a lazy way of saying that the band writes songs that are rich with a storyteller's detail and inhabited by a mid-size city's worth of fully formed characters who experience the full spectrum of emotions. Another great thing about the band: The guitars sound purely awesome. One thing is for sure: The Truckers' audience will be one of the most raucous and singing-along-with-every-word-est crowds of the whole festival.

PETER FRAMPTON
9:30 p.m., Miller Lite Stage
(First Security Amphitheatre)

For music lovers of a certain vintage, Peter Frampton's "Frampton Comes Alive" was simply inescapable. Though he'd been playing for some time (notably with Humble Pie), Frampton hadn't quite hit the bigtime until that 1976 double LP sold 6 million copies in the U.S. alone and became the biggest-selling live album of all time, a distinction it held for a decade, until it was eclipsed by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's live box set "Live/1975-85." Shortly after his Riverfest concert, Frampton will depart on "Frampton's Guitar Circus Tour," a two-month excursion in which the classic rocker will share the stage with a ton of other guitar greats, including Robert Cray, Steve Cropper, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the Chairman of the Board himself, B.B. King.

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Mary Gauthier at White Water Tavern

Robert Bell — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

Also, Flowing on the River at the River Market Pavilions, Mad Nomad at White Water Tavern, 7th Street Underground Festival, Collective Soul at the Timberwood Amphitheater and 'Clockwork Orange' at Vino's. by Robert Bell

THURSDAY 5/23

MARY GAUTHIER

9 p.m. White Water Tavern. $20.

I've listened to and loved plenty of sadly beautiful music in my time: Leonard Cohen, Cat Power, Nick Drake, Townes Van Zandt, Jackson C. Frank. All of those folks have made timeless records that have resonated on a deep emotional level. I have never been as emotionally wrecked as I was after listening to Mary Gauthier's 2007 album "Between Daylight and Dark." I fired the album up on the ol' Spotify, thinking, "OK, what's up next? Acclaimed folk singer/songwriter I've never listened to before. I'll check out some of her tunes, play a few of them from throughout her catalog and write up a To-Do. No biggie." What I heard stopped me from doing anything else other than listening and trying to keep my eyes from welling up, which had become a very tall order by the time the final strains of the last song, "Thanksgiving," were ringing out. I listened to the entire album start-to-finish. The playing is masterful, the instrumentation full and rich but never overshadowing Gauthier's extraordinary voice, which is smoky and smoldering one moment, clear and high the next. And of course, the songs are just devastating. I started to listen to Gauthier's 2010 album "The Foundling," which has to be her most personal work. But by the time I got to the second song, "Mama Here, Mama Gone," it was frankly just too much to take. It's not maudlin, it's neither self-pitying nor over-the-top nor anything else that might diminish its power and thus make it easier to withstand. It's a simple, beautiful, utterly devastating song that becomes truly wrenching if you know Gauthier's backstory, of her troubled upbringing and how she finally made contact with her birth mother later only to be denied a meeting. But Gauthier never wallows in misery. She faces down some of the most painful feelings imaginable with honesty and grace. A lot of very good singer/songwriters have come through in the last few years. Very few have been close to the stature of Mary Gauthier. I believe she deserves to be counted among the ranks of the great. This show is not to be missed. Winnipeg native Scott Nolan opens the all-ages show.

THURSDAY 5/23

FLOWING ON THE RIVER

5:30 p.m. River Market Pavilions. $35.

This looks to be a fine way to get yourself in the Riverfest spirit: A wine and craft beer tasting the night before things kick off. You can mill about the River Market Pavilions and sample from an array of beverages while experts, including Bruce Cochran of Custom Beverage, fill you in on all of the interesting tidbits and tasting notes of each beverage and their respective vintners and brewers. And what would a booze tasting be without some delectable nosh to accompany it? Providing hors d'oeuvres will be Blue Coast Burrito, Your Mama's Good Food, Bray Gourmet, Brenda J. Majors Catering, Palette Catering, Newk's Express Cafe, Boscos, Cabot Cafe and Cake Corner, Sufficient Grounds Cafe, Cheers in the Heights and J&M Foods. FreeVerse Duo provides the live musical entertainment. Also of note, this event is a fundraiser for Argenta Community Theater's upcoming ACTing Up Summer Camp, which will provide students in grades K-8 with the opportunity to learn about stagecraft, theater, film and filmmaking. There are a small number of scholarships available. Find out more at ArgentaCommunityTheater.com.

FRIDAY 5/24

MAD NOMAD

9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern.

Mad Nomad is one of the newer entries on the Little Rock musicscape, having formed in September. But they're not exactly taking the leisurely route, having already finished up their first full-length, the nine-song "Black Out," available at this album-release show. The group plays an amped-up sort of indie rock that's informed by the classics (Replacements, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr.) and unabashedly guitar-centric. They remind me a bit of the Springsteen-gone-punk sounds of Against Me! circa "New Wave." Most of the tunes are of the fist-pumping, triumphant sort, but they slow down the pace a bit on the Southern-rock-riffing "Me Tarzan, You Jane" and they break out the acoustic guitars on the wistful "When You Were Here." The band includes Joe Holland, Jacob Mahan, Jesse Bell, Adam Hogg and Chris Honea. Hogg's piano playing adds some nice texture to the guitar squall. The album, good on its own merits for sure, is also a promising indicator of things to come. Good-time party-rockers Booyah! Dad and The Bootheel of Springfield, Mo., will open the show.

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SATURDAY 5/25

7TH STREET UNDERGROUND FESTIVAL

1 p.m. 7th Street. $10.

Little Rock's 7th Street has long held a special place in the city's cultural landscape. Within a few blocks of each other, you've got The Weekend Theater, 7th Street Tattoos, Art Outfitters and Vino's, all of which qualify as institutions at this point. So what better way to celebrate the spirited artistic hub than with an annual festival featuring art, music, food, beer and more? An outdoor stage in the lot just east of 7th Street Tattoos will host a raft of bands and other entertainment, including magic tricks, sideshows, fire spinners, spoken word performances and music from Austin Jones and Smooth Spirit, Itinerant Locals, Go Fast!, Jab Jab Suckerpunch, Peckerwolf and This Holy House. Inside Vino's, they'll be screening episodes of "The Ren & Stimpy Show" and other cartoons from 5-9 p.m., followed by live music from Flameing Daeth Fearies, Sam Walker, Neon Skin and Flint Eastwood. There will be beer, margaritas and carnival food vendors in the lot next to 7th Street Tattoos and Vino's, naturally, will be serving up beer, wine, pizza, sandwiches and more.

SATURDAY 5/25

COLLECTIVE SOUL

8 p.m. Timberwood Amphitheater. $50-$60.

Magic Springs gets the live music rolling at Timberwood Amphitheater with a concert from erstwhile bubble-grunge megastars Collective Soul. The Georgia quartet has kept things rolling all these years. After splitting with Atlantic Records back in 2001, after several hits and millions of units sold, Collective Soul came back in 2004 with "Youth," which is a real head-scratcher for anybody who hadn't thought about the band since "Shine" was blasting out of car stereos all over the country long about 1994. No lie: it sounds a hell of a lot like Bowie singing for, say, Supergrass (for real, singer Ed Roland sounds eerily similar to the Thin White Duke at times — eerily similar). They dialed the power-pop/glam sound back a bit on subsequent albums, but Collective Soul is clearly a band that is much more than a one-hit-wonder grunge-lite nostalgia act. As with all the Timberwood concerts, the show is free with admission or $5-$10 for reserved seating. In other Magic Springs news: At 10 a.m., the park hosts a grand opening ceremony for its newest attraction, the four-story water complex Splash Island. Radio Disney star Tiffany Thornton will be there.

TUESDAY 5/28

VINO'S PICTURE SHOW: 'A CLOCKWORK ORANGE'

7:30 p.m. Vino's. Free.

Stanley Kubrick's 1971 classic "A Clockwork Orange" is one of those works that stands out among its contemporaries and even among its creator's massively influential oeuvre. The film left an indelible mark on the culture not only through the philosophical quandaries it raised, but also via the sinister otherworldliness of the characters, the stunning visual qualities of Kubrick's dystopian vision and the groundbreaking soundtrack by the pioneering electronic musician Wendy Carlos. Based on Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel, it provoked enormous controversy on release, on account of its brutal violence, which is still shocking more than four decades later. The film was censored in the U.S. and banned in the U.K. for decades. Though it was a hit with audiences and many critics, the film had notable detractors upon release (Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert among them) and does now as well. It's definitely not for everybody, but any film buffs who haven't watched "A Clockwork Orange" owe it to themselves to see it.

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Three non-scandals

Gene Lyons — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when every jackleg news organization in Washington — that is, virtually all of them — was feeding out of Kenneth Starr's soft little hand like a Shetland pony. by Gene Lyons

Having recently left the country for a few weeks of media deprivation therapy, I returned to find excited pundits comparing President Obama to Richard M. Nixon on the basis of three transparently bogus White House "scandals" that make Starr's fabled "Whitewater" investigation look like the crime of the century.

Once again, the word "impeachment" is in the air, as excited GOP congressmen dream of driving a Democratic president from office. Once again, the nation appears to be headed for a fun-filled summer of televised hearings, elaborately feigned indignation, and predictions of dramatic revelations that either never materialize or blow up in their sponsor's faces.

With luck we might even see something as funny as the day in 1995 when a partisan S&L regulator who'd planned to market Hillary Clinton-themed "Presidential BITCH" T-shirts from her government office fainted dead-away under cross-examination. The witness had to be carried from a Senate hearing room, never to be heard from again.

Deeply committed to Whitewater humbug, the New York Times, Washington Post and TV networks contrived not to notice.

The good news is that couldn't happen again. Today, the ill-fated L. Jean Lewis's swoon would be all over YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Sure, she'd get her own Fox News talk show, but rationally consequent citizens wouldn't have to watch. The Internet has lessened the ability of scandal entrepreneurs in the Washington media to control the flow of information to the rabble.

Sure, the Internet empowers crackpots. But it also enables in-house bloggers like Paul Krugman and Ezra Klein to bring facts and arguments into the online pages of the high-dollar press that could be censored out of the "mainstream" as recently as the Clinton administration.

So nobody's getting impeached on this tripartite nonsense, OK?

Anyway, let's take them one at a time:

One: Regarding IRS "targeting" of right-wingers, I'm planning to rename my little one-man cattle operation "Tea Party Patriot Farm." With that on my Schedule C, the IRS won't DARE to audit my tax returns. I'll be free to deduct not only feed bills and veterinary expenses, but pizzas, movie tickets, six-packs, whatever. My recent train ride across France? Studying French cattle husbandry techniques at 180 mph.

But see that's the thing. Contrary to a thousand indignant screeds and editorial cartoons, no aggrieved Tea Partiers got audited, fined, or jailed. Instead, they saw their applications to turn their political hobbies into tax-free scams — oops, charities — delayed for a few months, on the quite reasonable assumption (from an IRS functionary's point of view) that an organization named for a political party might actually be one. Boo hoo hoo.

The IRS was politically idiotic, no doubt. But until somebody tracks this to the White House, it's a big nothingburger.

Meanwhile, my man Charles Pierce quotes the Nixon White House tapes to remind us how a real crook uses the IRS: "Now here's the point, Bob: please get me the names of the Jews, you know, the big Jewish contributors of the Democrats," Nixon said. "Could we please investigate some of the cocksuckers [unprintables]?"

Two: Then there's the Great Benghazi Cover-up. As this column pointed out last December, it's largely a matter of selective quotation. Nobody at the CIA or State Department who had a hand in preparing Susan Rice's "talking points" on the Sunday shows knew with any certainty who organized the attack.

And it's worthwhile pointing out that THEY STILL DON'T KNOW.

However, if "extremists elements with heavy weapons" doesn't say "terrorist" to you, Rice got more specific on CBS's "Face the Nation," "Whether they were al Qaeda affiliates, whether they were Libyan-based extremists or al Qaeda itself," she said, "...is one of the things we'll have to determine."

In the interest of keeping this phony scandal alive, everybody's pretended for months that Rice never said that. Meanwhile, CBS News' Major Garrett has reported that partial CIA e-mails leaked to him by Republican sources turned out — after the originals were released — to have been doctored to cast suspicion upon the State Department and Hillary Clinton. He didn't identify the leakers.

But when people resort to faking documents it's a good clue that no real evidence of wrongdoing exists. The end.

Three: As for the Associated Press flap, the Los Angeles Times reports that its "disclosure of a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen last year compromised...an informant who had earned the trust of hardened terrorists."

If true, that's perilously close to treason. In which case the Justice Department had every reason to subpoena AP phone records after other means of finding the leaker's identity failed. Sorry, but journalists have no rights that trump those of ordinary citizens in a serious criminal investigation.

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Stickyz Stage moves to the east side

Robert Bell — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

After a couple of years of local and rising national acts playing in the Stickyz Music Tent underneath the Broadway Bridge, the venue-within-a-venue will make a move east this year from the tent to an outdoor stage near the Clinton Presidential Center. The Times recently caught up with Stickyz co-owner Chris King, who filled us in on what to expect from the new Stickyz Music Stage. Be sure to check out the full lineup of great local, regional and even international acts on page 20.

What prompted the move from the tent to the stage this year?

I think we just outgrew our old space where we've been the past couple of years. This is our third year to really work closely with Riverfest on our own production there. I guess with the things we were doing, typically there was a large gathering of people outside of the tent and they just decided it was time to find a bigger space for it.

It's going to be down by the Bill Clark Wetlands?

Yeah, it's going to be just east of the I-30 overpass there, right on the river. If you're familiar with the area, it kind of creates a natural amphitheater-type environment because it's sloped down to the river right there on two sides, and so the stage is going to be down at bottom. It's going to be pretty cool. It's going to be in a little pocket there between the two main stages and it's going to be a real high traffic area for it.

Are you excited?

Really excited. I think it's a great placement for it. I was excited when they told me that's where it was going to move, because I can't tell you how many times I've walked past that area and thought, "Oh, it'd be cool to do a little show down there sometime." So it just worked out and they get all the credit for having the idea.

What size stage are we talking? Will it be similar to what was in the tent?

Yes. The actual physical stage size itself won't be much larger than what it was in the tent. The difference is really going to be the sight lines, coming from a tent, where you really had to be inside to be able to see what was going on, to removing the lid and actually putting it there in more of an open-air space. It's really going to give a lot more exposure than we've had previously.

What about lineup this year? What are you excited about? I'll tell you, I'm really excited about Richie Spice coming in. I say that because this is the third year that I've been booking a lot of the acts with Riverfest, and I've tried to get an international reggae act every year and I'm so excited that it finally worked out. Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, another act I'm excited about, bringing in some jump blues from Chicago.

In addition to bringing in a lot of the strong locals that we've got onboard, we like to look for more niche-y type musical genres for the Stickyz Stage, maybe something that's not necessarily represented on the main stages. So we're able to pull off the reggae show, the blues show, we're bringing Ana Sia in for an electronic dance show. I'm really excited about the Ho Hum reunion. Those shows are too few and far between.

Is there anything else that's going to be different with your operation this year or any other things you're looking forward to?

You know, the fact that it's a larger stage setup, that's the real excitement that we've got for this year. That, coupled with the fact that it's going to be 15-20 degrees cooler than it was last year.

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Mexican streak

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0500

From "Kearny's March: The Epic Creation of the American West, 1846-1847" by Winston Groom.

From "Kearny's March: The Epic Creation of the American West, 1846-1847" by Winston Groom:

"As the Mexican guns began to fire the Americans noticed a curious phenomenon. Owing most probably to a combination of poor Mexican gunpowder and the rarefied mountain atmosphere, the enemy cannonballs left a blue streak behind them, often allowing Doniphan's men to dodge the danger. It struck the men as being so remarkable that afterward they began using the phrase 'blue streak' to describe anything that had great speed or intensity, thus introducing a new expression into the common lexicon."

I'd never heard this or any other explanation of blue streak before, though I've heard the term all my life. ("Mrs. Whatnot talks a blue streak ... The virus spread like a blue streak.") I hope this one is true. Random House offers no explanation of origin, but says blue streak is an Americanism that came into use in the 1820s, a couple of decades before the Mexican War. But I like the image of Uncle Sam's troops ducking enemy shells. Then charging like a blue streak before the cannoneers can reload.

Maybe even a little larmed:

"While searching the rental house, an officer 'opened the garage and was taken back by the strong chemical odor coming from the garage,' reports said."

Michael Klossner writes, "In addition to being taken back he was probably ghast."

An Arkansas Times reference to "a sneak preview at the next season of Downton Abbey" brought an email scolding: "You can sneak a look 'at', but you get a preview 'of'."

The misuse of prepositions has been on Stanley Johnson's mind too, particularly misuse by advertisers. He heard an actor/dentist on TV explain how dentures are "different to" real teeth, when "different from" would be correct. "And why does anyone countenance such clumsiness as 'different than'? One thing is not different than another. It is different from that other. If no one else will state it as a rule, I will."

Stand your ground, Mr. Johnson. We need more like you.

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