Gov. Mike Huckabee today released $1 million in general improvement funds toward a new cancer research center at UAMS that will be named in honor of the late Win Rockefeller and $1 million to diabetes and obesity research to the UAMS doctor, Dr. Philip Kern, who helped Huckabee in his weight loss.

UPDATE: The Democrat-Gazette today quotes top state finance officials as saying Huckabee didn’t have the power to shuffle general improvement money around as he seems to have done here. There is, for example, no specific authorization of an endowed chair for the obesity researcher. The article reminds us that the cancer research center is the project where a legislature flush with money decided to issue bonds to contribute $40 million to the cost of the project. The long-term debt will triple the cost, when te legislature could have simply paid the amount out of cash. Oh, and, surprise. The project is going to cost more than expected.

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Speaking of The Huckster: If Paul Weyrich be for you, who can be against you? Answer: lots of folks.

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