Arkansas Blog

I wonder if William Blake had bloggers in mind when he wrote the following:

He's a Blockhead who wants a proof of what he Can't Perceive
And he's a Fool who tries to make such a Blockhead believe.
William Blake (1757-1827), Notebooks, 1793

A Truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the Lies you can invent
William Blake, Auguries of Innocence, 53

I really think these fellows had the bloggers pegged, Jake.

"Every absurdity has a champion to defend it." - - Goldsmith

"When ignorance gets started, it knows no bounds." - - Will Rogers

"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear to be stupid than to open it and remove all doubt." - - Mark Twain

Who has the best looking website and who has the best message?

1. markforlittlerock.com
(best looking...good message)
2.  www.masonformayor.com 
(decent looking, lacks specifics)
3.  www.billwalkerformayor.com (worst looking...ok message)
4.  www.barbaragravesformayor.com (boring...I like here panty website
better)
 

Spirit, what's the schedule of events in Pocahontas for this weekend?

Spirit, what's the schedule of events in Pocahontas for this weekend?

The rain starts promptly at 7:15 am followed by life threatening lightening and thunder at 8 am. The golf ball sized hail starts a little before 9 and the killer tornadoes will make their appearance about the time Calling All Pets starts on NPR. Over and out.

Made a trip into LIttle Rock today and was happy to see that a Pei Wei is going into a new mall on University. Pei Wei is owned by the same people that own P.F. Changs. It is more casual, less expensive and in my opinion the food is better.

Theres a good review of the sites and the Mayor's race in general at Little Rock 2006.

The link is http://silasdogoodjr.wordpress.com/

Would it be inappropriate to point out to KARN radio that their on new air personality (Dana B.) needs to brush up on her pronunciation - use "ask" instead of "ax" and "especially" instead of "expecially"? At least she hasn't imitated some of the other new, imported folks and pronounced Rodney Parham Road as Rodney Par-Ham or Cantrell as Can-trell . . . yet.

We love Pei Wei Herman at my house. We have all his morning shows on DVD and I think we have all his movies on VHS. We excuse him for being a little pervert cause he's just Pei Wei.

Glad to hear he's coming to LR...hope he makes it over to FS soon! Go Pei Wei!

I have the same level of expectation from voice talent on the radio as I do for accuracy in print. Today on my beloved KUAR I was shocked when one of the regular guys said "McGee-Hee".

Brand new (to the LR tv market) weather persons are always fun to listen to on their first broadcasts.

Say-leen County, El Do-RAH-do, Ne-VAH-da County, La-FAY-ette County, MontiCHello, etc. Of course, it's not their fault. They haven't learned Arkansaw yet.

Halter's Lies Refuted
In His Press Release on So Called Holt Whoppers!

by Iris Stevens, teacher in Arkansas for 30 years

Halter sent out a press release (see below) which is pasted on Arkansas Times blog calling Senator Jim Halt the "King of the Whoppers" and listed so called "Six Whoppers from Jim Holt."

It just so happens that Halter himself told five lies in one of his whoppers (number 2 below) about the Women's Action Group and a Teacher Survey. I have first hand experience and was an integral party in both of these issues and have documentation to prove Halter is lying. (See Below)

Of course, everyone in Arkansas knows that honesty is a characteristic of Senator Jim Holt. Even the media that violently oppose him call him honest and have said he is too honest for his own good. Halter knows it is really hard for Holt to combat his lies because he is a millionaire and can put out all kinds of advertisements and the media won't call his hand on it because he is a Democrat.

Three lies from Halter press release: "Holt cites a bogus study conducted by the Women's Prayer and Action Group." That partisan group apparently only received 30 comments to a teacher survey they sent out six years ago."

Truth 1: The cover letter sent out with the survey that Halter calls bogus was signed by former Senator Peggy Jeffries, who served on the Senate Education Committee and later was appointed as a member of the State Board of Education by Governor Huckabee and was sent to 711 teachers from a number of schools in the state varying in size.

See WPAAG website at .org and click Educational Issues tab and then under Topic Teachers, Superintendents, And Educational Reforms: and choose Cover letter for Teacher Surveys for this letter by Jeffries.

Truth 2: There were 30 pages of teacher comments, not 30 comments, as Halter said, with 90% of them negative toward the educational reforms. 80% of the answers on the survey were negative but 90% of the comments were. There were so many comments they had to be listed in three sections on the web. Follow instructions above and choose Teacher Comments on the Survey - 90% were negative toward reforms.

Truth 3: The teacher survey was conducted six years ago. The Women's Prayer and Action Group (WPAAG) was not even begun until 2004 as verified in the "About Us" information on WPAAG website (see above for more details) which has been posted there since the inception of the organization saying the organization began in 2004. I was in on the creation of the organization and attended the first meeting in 2004. The teacher survey was conducted six years ago according to Halter himself. See link on WPAAG (see above for more details) to the survey and choose About Us. I was one of the teachers who helped write the survey and my school was one of the schools that participated in the survey.

Senator Holt won his first office in 2000 so he could not have had anything to do with the survey.

Another lie vs. Truth: Halter picks one quote out of the 90% that are negative toward educational reforms saying, "Ironically, one of the first teacher comments to the survey said: 'Quality teachers can not be kept or hired unless Arkansas teachers receive a large pay raise.'" Read the teacher comments on WPAAG website for yourself and you will see that when money is mentioned in the comments by the teachers, it is most often in reference to the money wasted by the educational reforms.

Another Lie vs. Truth: Halter says, "Women Prayer and Action Group which is headed up by Holt campaign volunteer Debbie Pelley." There is no way for Halter to know who is heading up the Women's Prayer and Action Group because there are no designated offices in the organization, and several different women take responsibilities and sign articles.

If Halter tells this many lies in one section of his whopper accusations against Holt, how many others has he told in the other five sections? See his full press release below.

Iris Stevens, Teacher in Arkansas for 30 years

istevens@inet-direct.com

P.S. Senator Holt is supported by teachers all over the state of Arkansas. Just so Halter can't say I am a bogus teacher, there was a story in Jonesboro Sun September 24,04 about an American Stars of Teaching award given to me, Iris Stevens, for increasing eighth grade scores by 22 percent in language. It was presented to me by a representative from the USDOE who flew in from Washington. This award is given to only one or two teachers in a state yearly. Again this is just to verify for Mr. Halter and the readers that I am a real teacher and not for the purpose of boasting. Name of article in Jonesboro Sun is "Teachers star at MacArthur" by Sherry Pruitt, Sept. 24, 04.

Anyone catch The Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Sticky's? I did not...want to know if they marched off the stage and onto the floor...

"Of course, everyone in Arkansas knows that honesty is a characteristic of Senator Jim Holt."

And we also know he's bat-shit crazy, so X's on Mr. Holt's eyes. He's outta here!

"America"--New Lyrics for a New Dark Age

My country 'tis of thee
Once known for liberty, for thee I weep.
Land where our fathers died,
Now prisoners won't be tried,
Torture and spies abide, while we all sleep.

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free, no longer so;
Presidents now make war,
Don't even say what for;
While Congress hides behind closed doors, and won't say no.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees, sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let us our silence break, and right this wrong.

Our Founders now to thee,
Authors of liberty, we make this vow:
No more will tyrants vain
Our Constitution stain
We will our rights regain. That's starting now!

Sometimes it's too good to be true

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/
"For Florida political junkies, consider this: In all or part of eight
Florida counties
on Nov. 7, the general election ballot will feature Katherine Harris atop the
Republican ballot followed by Mark Foley. (How's that for a winning ticket?)
It is too late for Republicans to put a new candidate on the ballot (see Fla.
Statute 100.111 (4) a.
Posted by Steve Bousquet at 9:25:52 PM on September 29, 2006

Pritt (aka roaming gnome, aka silasdogoodjr) how many blogs have you started now? 10? 20? give it up...you've got more blogs than the republican party....only you would give walker's crappy site a B+ what a joke

Those are some seriously good lyrics.

Since it IS an open thread and everything, this is just for fun:

"President Clinton('s) Last Days in Office"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN1OCrRrgVw

Great music performed by Frank Sinatra and Djano Reinhardt/Stephane Grappelli

(Confidential to widj...are you reminded of anything here?)

I read DonKey's post and thought of the one I heard yesterday and then HugeMan brought it up the, MaGeeHee one. I heard it and it was a local guy and It reminded me of the B Movies that used to be advertised on TV.

Isn't it odd that those gaffs make more of an impact than whatever was being spoken about.

I remember MaGeeHee but not what was being talked about.

The alleged kidnapper/killer in the news was from McGehee.

Iris Stevens, my dear, when you have to blow your own horn so loudly to announce to the whole world what a great teacher you were/are, we get a littlle bored...just like we do when people rave on and on over what a great man Jim Holt is.

Between you, Bobby Hester, Debbie Pelly, Holt, and his wife, you might stir up half a dozen people who believe your crap. Don't get on this Blog, though, and try to peddle it to the rest of us. It just won't sell.

"La-FAY-ette"

What's it supposed to be, Hugh? I once lived in Lafayette County and that's how they pronounced it.

You're right, Cato. That is how they say it there. Some places say lah-fee-ETTE. I hate it when I make a mistake while being a wise-guy.

My mom's side of the family is from Atkins, but they all say Adkins.

I once lived on lah-fee-ETTE street in Fayetteville.

Spirit, what's the schedule of events in Pocahontas for this weekend?
Posted by: BlueRidge

I was in a "the Pocahontas story" play last night, so didn't see this till Sat. a.m.

Weather is perfect this weekend. Cool and sunny. Just perfect. We had a crowd of 400 for last night's local history play on the grounds of the courthouse. Also some great BBQ at the food stands.

I'll give a quick schedule rundown below, but the full deal is here:
http://randolphcomuseum.org/sesqui/events.htm

Saturday schedule (theme for this weekend is WWII era):
Main event for Saturday is the 6 p.m. Blues Festival featuring Guy Davis (son of Osie Davis and Ruby Dee) and CeDell Davis of Pine Bluff and the 8 p.m. big band/jazz concert. This will be an outdoor concert on the courthouse lawn.

Daytime events
> Historic walking tours of downtown
> Courtroom trial (the trial he never got) of a black man who was lynched in Pocahontas about 1900 for killing the town marshal
> Antique tractor and farm toys show
> Fly-in of WWII vintage airplanes at Nick Wilson Field
> Antique Car Show
> Buggy rides
> Lots of other stuff

And, if there is an appropriate native out there, how to you pronounce "Desha" as in Desha County?

Poor Iris. WPAAG slaps togethr a very biased survey, gives it to a limited number of schools, pastes in some good issues and some pseudo issues, and voila! She has become an expert on the issues.
Iris, sweetie, I can tell just from a glance through your survey questions how rigged the thing was, hoiw biased the statements were in the manner they were presented, and how badly your group misunderstands surveying, test design, data analysis, population reliability, and writing good test questions.
Most of what you wrote would be similar to the following:

Which do you think is the best way to bathe a child?
A. Take lye soap and scrub with a wire brush; air dry in a cold breeze.
B. Take a gentle soap, bathe in warm water, rinse
thoroughly, and towel off until clean.

Teachers of the Year ought to know better than to design such trash. You have an issue that is of concern; don't use disreputable and dishonest means to get your message across.

Hillary does a 180 on the fence!

Senate approves fence for border

"By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
September 30, 2006

The Senate last night gave final approval for construction of 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The bill passed on an 80-19 vote. One Republican, 17 Democrats and the chamber's lone independent voted against the measure.
The bill "will have a real impact on our homeland security now and is a vital step toward fixing the problem of illegal immigration," said Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, adding that Congress also has increased the number of Border Patrol agents and detention beds for apprehended illegal aliens.
"This legislation will take us much closer to the operational control of our border that our homeland security requires," he said.
Eight Democratic senators who supported the bill last night switched their position from the previous day, when they voted to block the fence. They are Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Thomas Carper of Delaware, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Barack Obama of Illinois and Charles E. Schumer of New York."

Shoot, I was busy last night, too, and missed all this fun.

a. I heard the KUAR guy say "DESH-a", but I have always understood it to be "de-SHAY".

b. Yes, hugh, it does (twice).

Obviously the way Hillary voted is representitive of the way all Democrats in Congress vote these days. Either they got one of them black 8 ball things you shake up and then look at the bottom for the answer. Or they're throwing darts at a giant YES or NO board. Rockefeller votes for Torture?

Putting up a 700 miles fence would be funny if it wasn't our damn tax money paying Halliburton to put it up. Putting up a 700 mile fence on a 2000 mile border is like locking 1 door to your house at night and leaving the rest of the doors and windows open. This is just a show for the old blue-hairs that always vote and always think there is a young Negra man outside their window each and every night.

I just ran to the store and passed a spanking new Mexican Tour bus. This is new. I'm guessing some enterprising person figured out there would be big money in hauling my new neighbors back down south for a visit a couple of times a year. Necessity appears to also be the mother of Mexican invention.

So will the new tour bus go thru the new 700 mile fence at a check point or will it just go around it. Remember it's OUR money they're spending on this farce. And remember even Hillary's rich backers want and need those Mexicans pouring over our border so they can have cheap abuse-able labor for their factories. Again....one hand held up for STOP while the other hand is waving them across. Our govenment hard at work....for Tyson, OK Foods ect.

I suggest we take a page from the Bush Torture Manual and attach wires to every member of Congress. Then when they spend our money stupidly or pretend Bush knows his arse from a hole in the ground we can reach over, press the red button on our desk and shock the living bejesus out of them. That is much kinder than car bombs used in the Middle East to show displeasure.

Please Allah...let me in on the secret. Why are Americans suddenly SO stupid?

PS Senators Pryor and Lincoln also voted to spend 38.4 BILLION of our tax payer dollars for this freakin fence. Once again...good show Senators from Arkansas...you're as dumb as dirt and as far up the Bush-Cheney colon as possible.

So, it's actually Halliburton that is going to build the fence?

Figures. That's what I was thinking - a pork barrel project that won't do a thing except funnel our tax dollars to the Republican cronies and friends, making us more poor and them more rich.