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« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 20:48:17
A slur by Huckabee supporter?
Surely not. Surely a good Christian wouldn't utter an anti-Catholic remark.
UPDATE: Huckabee's statement is on the jump.
Sherwood mayor
City Clerk Virginia Hillman thrashed Mayor Bill Harmon in the runoff for Sherwood mayor. Results here.Road trip!
The Young Republicans of Arkansas apparently have stumbled across my name on YR membership rolls in Virginia in 1968. (Alas, I cannot tell a lie. It's true. They promised weekly keg parties when I matriculated at W&L U.)
I"ve received an e-mail invite to join the "Huck-a-Bus," a group of young Arkansas volunteers who'll motor to Des Moines Aug. 9-12 to help persuade participants in the Iowa Straw Poll to vote for The Huckster. They'll all be carrying copies of Ernest Dumas' article on his record in Arkansas, not to mention his tireless work in behalf of freeing Wayne Dumond. Won't they?
Says the invite:
Years from now -- possibly in the middle of another Clinton presidency -- you may ask yourself, "What could I have done differently?" or "How could I have done anything?" Don't wait until then...ask yourself now, "Why not?" and get on board the YR Huck-a-Bus! Make a difference today--affect the future with your positive actions--join the YRs and many more next week and keep America in strong conservative hands.
It's BYOB and BYOFood. Celery sticks, apples and sparkling water, I presume, are preferred. I ain't boarding without a bag of Olde London cheese waffles, a six-pack of Rheingold chug-a-mugs and a bottle of Piney River Apple Wine.
Email Leslie Rutledge at info@afyr.org if you are interested. She promises: "The Huck-a-Bus will be a fun trip that you will remember for the rest of your life!"
Bond boondoggles
This particular cow has fled the barn and been roped, slaughtered and barbecued, but nonetheless it couldn't hurt for the Pulaski County Quorum Court to consider the boondoggle of a housing bond issue put out under the county's name by its laughingly named Public Facilities Board, not to mention bond issues for other dubious public purposes -- including building private schools and putting publicly subsidized cash in the hands of churches. JP Pat Dicker says a Quorum Court committee will hear from the chairman of the Facilities Board tonight. Since he's a municipal finance consultant, Ro Arrington has rarely met a bond issue he doesn't like. Still. Let's review and discuss.
If you want an explanation even a JP could understand of how the county has gone wrong in the bond business, you can get it right here in an editorial in the Arkansas Leader.
Oh and, what the heck. My column for this week is on the same topic. I've posted it early for any who might share an interest in the topic.
Running up the bill
Funny thing. Those who decry lawyers and their fees and their deleterious impact on the Little Rock School District save most of their bile for John Walker, who hasn't been paid a dime by the district in years for desegegregation litigation.
You want to see some legal bills, get a load of the $70,000 tab Master Jess Askew and his Gang of Six lawyers at Williams and Anderson are seeking -- so far -- from the Little Rock School District for some mixed representation of departing Superintendent Roy Brooks over the course of one month. They claim to have prevailed in a federal court suit. Funny, my recollection is that the judge dismissed the suit after Brooks lost the key point, an attempt to disqualify democratically elected school board members from having any authority over Brooks. He was able to turn a suspension hearing into a firing proceeding, however.
UPDATE: Make that $73,000. The boys from Dewey Gigham and Howe have submitted some more expense claims.
In any case, here's their petition. Here's their list of hours spent on the case. Here's the itemized billing, up to $350 an hour for senior partner Phil Anderson's "review" of sundry things and $260 an hour for Master Jess. $1,050 to review a letter? Good work if you can get it.
Point of curiosity: The billing seems to begin after activity in behalf of Brooks had already begun. Not, say, with a session with client Brooks for a preliminary discussion. The bills seem more in the vein of continuing work. Pro bono in the beginning? On someone else's bill?
This bill, it's worth noting, is roughly 75 percent more than the $40,000 the School Board's attorney, Chip Welch's firm, billed for defending the School Board in the same matter. Legal world turned upside down. Defense firm becomes a plaintiff's lawyer. Plaintiff's lawyer becomes defense lawyer. See result.
Also, I don't think we've seen the last of attempted Williams and Anderson billings in the Brooks matter.
So, yes, please. Get us out of court.
Following the lawyers' money
Bloomberg, checking contributions by major law firms to presidential candidates, finds a touch of irony -- Members of Special Persecutor Kenneth Starr's law firm have given more to Hillary Clinton than to Republican candidates combined. Presumably Starr himself doesn't turn up on Clinton's list of contributors.Eureka braces for Wild Ones II
You know about the motorcycle rumble in Eureka Springs last weekend? Well, hold on to your chapeau. Another motorcycle club plans mischief in the Victorian resort this weekend.
Our thanks to the Gay News Bureau for their article headlined:
Showdown at the Oh Gay! Corral:
Holy Rollers VS. Wholly Homos at Basin Park August 4
It seems that a Christian motorcycle group plans to roll into Eureka for the Summer Diversity Weekend, a quarterly event that attracts gay tourists from all over for Eureka's famously welcoming atmosphere. The bikers think Eureka has given in to Satan and plan a little protest and proselytizing session in Basin Park -- at the same time as a GLBT "kiss off."
Check out the article.