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Friday, October 31, 2008 - 22:12:08
The NY Times Alessandra Stanley reviews Mike Huckabee's new show on Fox and D.J. Hughley's on CNN, both generally light-hearted efforts to capitalize on current interest in politics.
Huck, says Stanley: "more earnest than funny;" "points for collegiality"; a show "so basic" it looks like "public access" television; "counter-intuitive" programming this Saturday with guests that include Bill Maher (his earlier, intuitive choices were pretty dull); and where have we heard the likes of this: "Mr Huckabee has a pleasant, even gentle manner, but some of his ideas are way off the mark."
Stanley suggests the election Tuesday could decide the future for the two new shows.
I had an informal chat with Attorney General Dustin McDaniel today. He mentioned to men what he had mentioned at an earlier public appearance.
Most expect the lottery to be approved. (McDaniel voted for it.) But no state agency has budgeted the significant sum that it will take to set up a lottery bureaucracy, buy machines, open offices, etc. No lottery money comes in until tickets are sold.
Can the state afford the setup cost? Will it be dealing with lottery vendors hoping to front the money to get the business? How many legislators will quaff how many bottles of wine and eat how many steaks while that dickering gets done?
Costs go beyond the obvious. Some state legal experts, probably in McDaniel's office, will be required for oversight. The Department of Finance and Administration will have to prepare for financial oversight. Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, creator of this wealth transfer from the poor to college-bound, has said he'll leave the little details to the legislature. That's reassuring.
Weird that this significant expenditure has been all but overlooked.
Take it away all.
PS TO B: Medical story won't happen today. Official sources are buttoned up, but there's little doubt that your story is true. Prying eyes and loose lips can get you in trouble.
PPS: On the jump, the early vote update from secretary of state.
Too rich. Sarah Palin says her First Amendment rights have been abridged by press criticism. So, to protect Caribou Barbie's right to spew nonsense at will, the media will henceforth shut up.
In fairness, given my earlier post: Lawrence Eagleburger retracts. Somebody in the GOP apparently took him to the woodshed for speaking the truth -- Palin is an unqualified joke.
Jeffrey Ubben, who once led a $3 billion buyout of Acxiom and wound up with a seat on the company's Board and a huge paper loss in his stock for his troubles, has resigned from the LR-based company's board, Arkansas Business reports.
It's on. The first ever official Arkansas Blog Election Watch Party will commence at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, in the restaurant at Rumba and run until ....
There will be drink and food specials, I've been promised. (I'm lobbying for $1 Heilemann Old Style or something suitably Chicagoan.)
We'll have at least three TVs for multi-taskers. And, if all goes well, we'll do some live blogging and put the blog up on a monitor so you can watch it unfold. Photos might be taken and shared with the universe.
Others are getting election parties on, too. Some Democratically inclined types, our former associate editor Warwick Sabin among them, are setting up a party at the nearby Copper Grill and talking about having Chris Denny and band on hand. The Young Black Professionals and the Black Law Students Association at the UALR Law School will be partying at Juanita's, $5 cover, with a buck off if you bring a canned good.
The Republican Party has invited all comers to their party at the Holiday Inn Presidential. Maybe we can all roll in on them late in the evening.
On the jump, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families applauds the idea Mike Beebe mentioned on the radio today -- that he supports creation of a state "rainy day fund" to guard against economic downturns.
More interesting -- because the rainy day fund is worth a full discussion on the value of a graduated revenue stabilization act rather than a rain day fund, the philosophical argument of cutting taxes rather than piling up surpluses for whatever purpose, etc. -- is Beebe's statement that he hasn't made his mind up yet on the state lottery.