From the web:

In response to Ernest Dumas’ May 19 column, “Even Trump for restroom rights”:

This whole thing, from left to right, is farce. The idea that, somehow, being allowed to go into a bathroom of choosing is a right is an insult to all those who fought and died for such important rights as the right to vote, the right to work, the right to marry, the right to bear arms, the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

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Compared to these rights, the fight to be allowed to go into bathrooms, one way or the other, is silly, goofy and just a waste of time and oxygen. Like so many “rights” that have been created in the last few decades, this is more about getting people to accept the ludicrous as rational than it is about actually helping people. 

In point of fact, this hurts the people it is intended to hurt. Then again, this is part of the intent. Those that are active — the government wonks that exploit these silly debates — they want to divide people away from the rational, and to embrace the myriad silly, that anything is acceptable, and nothing is beyond question or up for debate. 

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That is why folks like Dumas couch bathroom rights with discrimination. True, the right has done a terrible job at debating this, trying to tie it to sexual predators, but the simply fact is that transgender people have been using whatever bathroom is comfortable with no issue. For decades. 

Few actual rights exist in the world. 

If you are a guy in a dress, you do not have a right to be accepted as a woman. You have a right to be free from being denied services, or work, or the vote or the ability to defend yourself. You have a right to seek a redress of grievance for crimes against you, but you do not have a right to be liked, or to have your disorder nurtured. 

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Schools, especially, should not damage kids by letting them believe that they can be what they are not. They should be encouraged to think, to seek facts, not defy facts.

Steven E

In response to the May 21 Arkansas Blog item, “Stop talking about ‘surpluses.’ Asa has raided general revenue for highways.”:

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Some or most of the Connecting Arkansas Program projects around the state forego the 80/20 federal match completely. Has anyone ever received an adequate explanation as to why? For example, 30 Crossing’s $631 million price tag includes $450 million in state funds, an amount that would normally leverage close to $2 billion in federal dollars. It seems like there’re plenty of nickels and dimes in AHTD’s budget already to maximize federal spending if they wanted to, without raiding the General Fund.

Also, where were all the nominally small-government conservatives this week who usually take it upon themselves to oppose any state action that will increase federal spending? I’m picturing the rabid opposition to Obamacare in general and Medicaid expansion in particular. And speaking of opposition to the ACA, the level of socialized, centrally planned, big government market manipulation involved in a highway expansion far exceeds that found in any component of Obamacare. Where’s the logical consistency in your convictions, people?!

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Timbo

This just proves that all of that “budgeting” is just a shell game with department heads and the legislature playing a game. Go to $0 base budgeting and defend your way up or use what they spend this year as their MAX for next year, not their base.

couldn’t be better

So how many more years does Asa think there’s gonna be a surplus to play Three-Card Monte with?

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Vanessa

In response to the May 20 Arkansas Blog item, “A belated happy anniversary to marriage equality”:

Oh yes, I would LOVE to see a list of all the evangelicals (and other haters) whose marriages have been “ruined” by the existence of marriage equality!

Kate

Reporting in from Conway, my marriage is still sound. Who would’ve guessed?

Conwegian

In response to the May 19 Arkansas Bog item, “Justice reform? Don’t tell it to Tough Talking Tom Cotton”:

You know, a man that mean and nasty often has a way of ending up on the other side of those bars. He should stop and think about that.

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spunkrat

Under-incarcerated??? There’s a novel concept. Why don’t we jack up the mandatory minimums, double down on the War on Drugs, and make the states pay to house the additional prisoners in privatized prisons! What’s not to like about that?

Black Panthers for Open Carry

“The United States is under-incarcerated,” says Tommy Boy. As of 2015, the United States has 5 percent of the world’s population yet 25 percent of the total number of people incarcerated worldwide are located in the United States.

Who wouldn’t be locked up if Tommy Boy were in charge? I think we know. You, me and the rest of those on the left side of the American political scene.

Arkanzin

In response to the May 19 Arkansas Bog item, “Toilet terrorism bill not filed”:

You wonder what the Republican politicians’ parents did to them to make them so terribly sexually insecure.

Silverback66

Some of these people act as if the transgender population is a new development with which government must deal. It hasn’t been an issue since day one, but the transgender people have always been with us, and I’m fairly certain they’ve been using public restroom facilities all along. So this is an issue now because … ?

Holy Guano

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