http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2012/10/29/monday-madness-commences Comments On: Monday madness commences by Max Brantley en-us Copyright 2013 Arkansas Times. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Arkansas Times readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Arkansas Times. robert@arktimes.com (Arkansas Times Webmaster) Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:01 -0500 Sat, 18 May 2013 05:15:00 -0500 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Bill Simmons was a prince. He was as honest as the day is long, and even when he disagreed strongly with me about some issue he was never contentious. I met him when I was doing death penalty litigation around the State and he was representing, I guess, the AP. I remember one hearing in Morrilton when the defense attorneys tried to exclude the public during the jury selection process (I think that was it), and everyone was about to file out. Bill stood up and “read” from a card saying that he objected and wanted there to be time to get his attorneys in court to argue against closure. I have never known if he really had a card he was supposed to read, or if he just held a card in front of him and made the statement, but it had the desired effect. I was pretty sure there was no way to close a courtroom, but others on the defense team made the effort to close the court. It remained open.
From time to time issues would arise with FOI and before I would try to have them addressed legislatively, I would always talk with Bill (among others) for his input on thoughts. Of course, the idea of any expansion of FOI was anathema, but on occasion he was able to see the merits of the argument. When more information started being kept in a digital fashion, I talked with Bill about the unique new problems that created for local government, and how it really was not fair to have government absorb certain costs in order to maintain information. Considering comments from Bill and others, suggestions were made to the Governor’s office to create a task force to deal with the digital media and FOI, and that statute is now in place. I think it is fair; if a program can create the information in the format desired within two hours, then the cost is minimal; if it takes longer, the cost can include the hourly rate of the lowest paid individual competent to create the program.
I knew that Bill was a man of God. I knew he was honest. He had known my mother, his high school librarian, and would always ask how she was doing. When I read the paper today and learned that he died I though two things: (1) This is sad; (2) I cannot believe the last time I talked to him was the last time I would ever talk to him.
Practicing law in Arkansas is a treat in so many ways. While there are always issues that can get under one’s skin, the fact is that practicing law here is relatively congenial. People are willing to help others when they can. And, they always seem ready to listen. I suspect that practicing journalism, with Bill Simmons and others of his ilk, has been the same way. I will miss him in more ways than I can articulate, but particularly because he was such a good, decent, man.

-- Tom Carpenter
Posted by Max Brantley]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:55:28 -0500 Arkansas Times
Taxes at that time we're crazy socialist high. Depending on what year it was back in the 50's or 60's, the equivalent of $1.5 million to $3 million of income or higher was taxed at 70% to 90%. Just think what we could have accomplished if the executives salaries and the wealthy income wasn't beaten down by such oppressive tax rates on the wealthy.

What I don't understand, is the real wage growth for the average American was actually growing back then more than it ever has since they started reducing the tax rates on the wealthiest.

By the way, if you're voting for Romney, which Mitt or Romney are you voting for? http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/13/1…
Posted by imjustsaying]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:40:35 -0500 Arkansas Times >“Senator, socialism hasn’t worked in 6,000 years of recorded history,”

Socialism works just fine in Springdale. We enjoy socialized water and sewer system, a socialism pro baseball park, socialized police force, socialized courts, socialized school system, socialized streets and traffic control, socialized sidewalks, socialism city parks and more on the way, a socialized public library, the list could go on...animal control...

But there's hope, maybe hope, Saline Everette. We could privatize our socialism water/sewer department, sell it to the highest bidder and they can install a corporate manager, we will pay his $500,000 annual bonus plus, we can pay 4x as much for water and sewer service but......

WE'LL BE FREE! Free from a socialism that destroys each of us!

Put that on your dog-turd blog Hatcher.
Posted by eLwood]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:40:57 -0500 Arkansas Times

Above, Smith is not saying that the participants in free enterprise have virtuous intents, but that their actions become virtuous due to market forces. Similarly, in Federalist 51, Madison argues "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition", because when it does, government officials must compete in a contest of virtue. Even if their intentions are not virtuous, their actions become virtuous due to competition.

Thus, there are strong parallels in Smith's approach to commerce and that of Madison's approach to politics. Given Madison's familiarity with Smith's work, it is likely that Madison's perspective was influenced by the Scotsman.

Above is from the link http://bpabbott.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-m…
Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 11:55:44 -0500 Arkansas Times
"Incorporated companies, with proper limitations and guards, may in particular cases be useful, but they are at best a necessary evil. Monopolies and perpetuities are objects of just abhorrence.
-- James Madison, to James K. Paulding, March 10, 1827.
Posted by the outlier]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 09:23:13 -0500 Arkansas Times

Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 08:05:45 -0500 Arkansas Times
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/10/30/op…
Posted by the outlier]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 08:03:51 -0500 Arkansas Times Posted by John A Arkansawyer]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 07:08:28 -0500 Arkansas Times
Hopefully our nation is waking up and will reject the socialist Obama and will put in Romney. If not then we will get 4 more years of trillion dollar deficits!!!!
Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 06:57:30 -0500 Arkansas Times
The only thing that improves the economy is people who have money to spend and the need to actually spend it and the rich didn't do their part after having screwed the rest of the country. Government incentatives to repair infrastructure which the "free economy" needs to stay in business (and which the "free market" doesn't do because there is no profit in it for them,, would create jobs for private businesses, create money for their employees to earn and spend and support the small businesses.

Giving money to rich people is the stupidest idea in the world. Tax the hell out of them and create jobs for the rest of the population that have to spend to survive.
Posted by couldn't be better]]> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 06:21:16 -0500 Arkansas Times
"Saying that you are going to cut taxes, increase military spending and reduce the deficit is like saying, "next semester, I am going to study less, party more and get better grades." Michael K. Rodda, Garfield

Says far more in only 32 words than many letters in the allotted 250!
Posted by Sound Policy]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:46:46 -0500 Arkansas Times Posted by Mean Gene]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:44:41 -0500 Arkansas Times Posted by NeverVoteRepublican]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:38:48 -0500 Arkansas Times
Cathy Frye
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Posted by Cathy Frye]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:34:03 -0500 Arkansas Times
http://thedailyhatch.org/2012/10/11/romney…
Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:33:59 -0500 Arkansas Times Posted by the outlier]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:26:45 -0500 Arkansas Times Posted by HardHeadedWoman]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:59:41 -0500 Arkansas Times
Change of topic-my brother, another teacher, and 10 kids are in Brooklyn riding out the storm after participating in the international debate tournament this week-end. Hope to be able to get out by Thursday. They are going to have some real memories of their high school days but probably would have rather been back in Little Rock. Their hotel is a city shelter so it has a generator and is serving as a service area for FEMA and other city services.
Posted by couldn't be better]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:55:05 -0500 Arkansas Times
1929 Stock prices collapsed on the New York Stock Exchange amid panic selling. Thousands of investors were wiped out

1940 The United States America began its first peacetime military draft.

1956 Israel invaded Egypt's Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal crisis [8 yrs after the formation of the State of Israel].

1956 "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" premiered as NBC's nightly TV newscast.

1967 The musical "Hair" opened off-Broadway.

2004 Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he had ordered the Sept. 11 attacks.

2004 European Union leaders signed the EU's first constitution.
Posted by eLwood]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:50:18 -0500 Arkansas Times Posted by radical centrist]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:42:09 -0500 Arkansas Times
A few years later, he and one of my colleagues drew the short straws to be the pool reporters for a sensational execution. They were the two admitted to witness the actual lethal injection and death of the condemned murderer. She said Mr. Simmons offered very humanely (and not in a sexist way) that they might hold hands during the death if either of them felt they would need to do that. I believe they did.

Back in those days, for you children who are reading, reporters had to drive out of the prison and find, somewhere in the hinterlands, a pay phone from which to file their stories.

I admired his professionalism and kindness and respected his work.
Posted by mag]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:38:19 -0500 Arkansas Times
"Romney used the tax-exempt status of a charity -- the Mormon Church, according to a 2007 filing -- to defer taxes for more than 15 years. At the same time he is benefitting, the trust will probably leave the church with less than what current law requires, according to tax returns obtained by Bloomberg this month through a Freedom of Information Act request."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-29/r…
Posted by cotterperson]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:34:59 -0500 Arkansas Times
The old Ark Gazette fellow who awed me was Leland Duvall. Think Ernie Dumas told me that Leland never finished high school but he wrote some brilliant economics and finance columns. One proff teaching Econ 101 made Leland's column's required reading. Leland had numerous sources on what was about to happen in Ark and nationally plus his own keen mind.
Posted by eLwood]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:32:46 -0500 Arkansas Times Posted by eLwood]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:26:59 -0500 Arkansas Times
http://tinyurl.com/9fdjgjz
Posted by Cato]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:18:51 -0500 Arkansas Times