Yearly Archives: 2011

Ronald Wilson Reagan Part 72

April 6, 2011 – 4:28 pm

Picture of Nancy and Ronald Reagan sitting on couches, eating on TV trays in the White House.
(Picture from the Ronald Reagan Library, courtesy of the National Archives)

Picture of the Reagans eating on TV trays in the White House residence. (November 6, 1981)

I am posting a great March Madness Moment from the article by A. J. Foss called Ultimate March Madness: The 20 Greatest Moments in NCAA Tournament History

19. 1990 Connecticut-Clemson
With exactly one second left, Uconn guard Tate George catches a full-court pass from Scott Burrell, lands, then squares up to shoots a jumper that goes in the basket at the buzzer to give the Huskies a miraculous 71-70 win over the Clemson Tigers and send Connecticut to their first ever Elite Eight.

The Arkansas State Government is still battling over the Congressional Districts. Maybe it will be resolved soon. You never know with Arkansas politics though. You will notice below a mention of Hot Springs and Lucky Luciano. Back then Luciano was able to take advantage of the crooked politicians running Hot Springs. Politics may get dirty sometimes but hopefully not as bad as it was back then in Hot Springs. 

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1980 Presidential Debate Reagan v Carter

GOVERNOR REAGAN

Well, that just isn’t true. It has, as I said, delayed the actuarial imbalance falling on us for just a few years with that increase in taxes. And I don’t believe we can go on increasing the tax, because the problem for the young people today is that they’re paying in far more than they can ever expect to get out.

Now, again this statement that somehow I wanted to destroy it. and I just changed my tune, that I am for voluntary social security, which would mean the ruin of it. Mr. President, the voluntary thing that I suggested many years ago was that a young man, orphaned and raised by an aunt who died, his aunt was ineligible for social security insurance, because she was not his mother. And I suggested that if this is an insurance program, certainly the person who’s paying in should be able to name his own beneficiaries. And that’s the closest I’ve ever come to anything voluntary with social security. I, too, am pledged to a social security program that will reassure these senior citizens of ours they’re going to continue to get their money.

There are some changes I’d like to make. I would like to make a change that discriminates in the regulations against a wife who works and finds that she then is faced with a choice between her husband’s benefits, if he dies first, or what she has paid in; but it does not recognize that she has also been paying in herself, and she is entitled to more than she presently can get. I’d like to change that.

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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

1. Spend a night at the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs and the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs. (I have had the opportunity to do both.

File:Picturesque Hot Springs Central Avenue 1924 Arlington.jpg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:Picturesque Hot Springs Central Avenue 1924 Arlington.jpg

This picture is believed to be Al Capone and an unidentified friend at Happy Hollow in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

(Photo and info. courtesy of the Garland County Historical Society)

Our most famous visitor down through the ages…. must have been Al Capone. During the prohibition era, Capone came from Chicago to strike deals with bootleggers in Hot Springs to stock his clubs in Chicago with alcohol. Not only is Hot Springs a remote town located in the middle of the Ouachita mountains, but the pine trees provide “cover” for the moonshine stills year round. Capone would ship his bootleg liquor in tanker railroad cars, and for protection, he had the words “Mountain Valley Water” painted on the side of the railcars!

In Chicago, Detroit, New York – when the heat was on because of a robbery or murder, the overlords knew where to come to relax in safety. Hot Springs was a sanctuary from prosecution and enemies. Gangsters could enjoy the entertainment of gambling, and be pampered with the hot mineral baths and massages.

At one time, Capone and his entourage occupied the 4th floor of the Arlington Hotel. (Legend has it that Capone always stayed in room 442, and that the Arlington Hotel has locked that room up and will not rent it to anyone to this day) Capone’s arch enemy Bugs Moran and his gang were checked in at the Majestic Hotel, just one block away. There was no conflict, and no violence – both gangsters were on vacation!

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Lucky Luciano in Arkansas

In the early 1930s, Luciano lived in a penthouse suite at New York’s Waldorf Towers, where he was registered as Charles Ross. In March 1936, Luciano fled New York after being alerted by a friendly desk clerk that two men who looked like detectives were on their way up to see him. He drove to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, changed cars, and borrowed $25,000 from friends. He then drove to Cleveland, Ohio, where he took the train to Hot Springs, which at the time was a gambling sanctuary run by fellow gangster Owen “Owney the Killer” Madden.

New York special prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey proclaimed Luciano “Public Enemy Number One” and started a nationwide manhunt to arrest Luciano and return him to New York to face indictment for allegedly running a $12 million prostitution syndicate. Luciano was originally charged with ninety counts of compulsory prostitution, later reduced to sixty-two.

New York detective John J. Brennan went to Hot Springs on an unrelated case and, on April 1, 1936, saw Luciano strolling along Bathhouse Row with Hot Springs’ chief of detectives. Brennan approached Luciano and invited the gangster to return with him to New York. Luciano declined, saying that he was having a good time in Hot Springs.

New York authorities asked Hot Springs and Arkansas officials to extradite Luciano to New York, and he was arrested on April 1, 1936. However, a local judge released Luciano after setting a $5,000 bond. An enraged Dewey contacted Governor J. Marion Futrell and state attorney general Carl E. Bailey, demanding action. Futrell ordered Hot Springs officials to re-capture Luciano, but Hot Springs officials were reluctant to begin extradition hearings. Bailey issued a fugitive warrant on April 3 and ordered Luciano transported to Little Rock (Pulaski County), sending twenty state troopers to Hot Springs to collect Luciano. They removed him from the Hot Springs jail at midnight and rushed him to Little Rock.

A man claiming to be an associate of Madden’s allegedly approached Bailey and offered him $50,000 (ten times his yearly salary) to make sure the extradition was denied. As the extradition hearing was being held in the governor’s conference room on April 6, Bailey made the bribery attempt public, saying Arkansas was not for sale: “Every time a major criminal of this country wants asylum, he heads for Hot Springs. We must show that Arkansas cannot be made an asylum for them.” Bailey’s revelation led to Futrell’s upholding the extradition warrant. Within days, Luciano was returned from Arkansas to New York to stand trial.

On June 18, 1936, Luciano was sentenced to thirty to fifty years at the maximum security Dannemora Prison in New York. It was the longest sentence ever handed down in New York for compulsory prostitution.

He served his time quietly, determined to be a model prisoner. During World War II, Luciano allegedly helped the government by forging ties and collecting intelligence in Sicily prior to the Allied invasion of Italy. He also claimed that he helped prevent maritime sabotage by the enemy in the United States through his connections on the waterfront. In 1946, his sentence was commuted, and Luciano was deported to Italy, as he had never become an American citizen. The U.S. government blocked his attempts to return to the Americas, including Cuba, and he lived the rest of his days in Italy.

While he had several long-term mistresses in the United States and Italy, he never married and claimed no children. Luciano died of a heart attack on January 26, 1962, at Capodichino Airport in Naples, Italy, where he had gone to meet a Hollywood movie producer. Though Luciano was denied entry into the United States during his lifetime, he was buried at St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery in Queens, New York.

For additional information:
Buchanan, Edna. “Lucky Luciano.” Time. December 7, 1998, pp. 131–32.

Gosch, Martin, and Richard Hammer. The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1974.

Ledbetter, Calvin Jr. “Carl Bailey: A Pragmatic Reformer.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 57 (Summer 1998): 134–159.

McMath, Sid. Promises Kept. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2003.

Reppetto, Thomas. American Mafia: A History of its Rise to Power. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2004.


 

 The Crescent Hotel was built in 1886 in Eureka Springs (Carroll County) by the Eureka Springs Investment Company, the president of which was former governor Powell Clayton.

Baker Hospital (now the Crescent Hotel) in Eureka Springs (Carroll County); circa early 1940s

 

The hotel boasted every modern convenience, from electricity to elevators, and was well known for its location near the springs that supposedly held healing waters. The cost for this hotel, declared America’s most opulent resort, was $294,000. The hotel opened its doors to the public on May 1, 1886, with an open house two weeks later. On May 20, a banquet was held for guest of honor James G. Blaine, the 1884 Republican presidential nominee. A gala ball was held for the 400 attendants, with Harry Barton’s orchestra entertaining, followed by a speech from Blaine.

The Crescent enjoyed great success for many years, but as the economy worsened in the 1900s, the hotel opened for business only during the summer months.

The Crescent fell into disrepair for six years, and not until 1946 was the property purchased again and renovated to its original look, reopening on July 4, 1946, as “A Castle in the Air High Atop the Ozarks.”

The hotel has enjoyed a long period of success, despite a fire on the fourth floor in 1967, which damaged some of the building. In 1973, restorations began, and the hotel was again open to the public by May of that year. Renovations came again in 1980 to restore the original luxury to the hotel, and improvements continued to be made until 2002. The hotel remains open as of 2010, with the addition of the New Moon Spa to the basement level, which reflects the original purpose of the hotel as a destination for relaxation and healing. It is also a member of the National Trust Historic Hotels of America and has been featured on the Discovery Channel for its historic Victorian beauty and many reported ghost sightings.


By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Ronald Reagan | Comments (0)

Brummett: We need to tax rich more like we did in the past. (Real Cause of Deficit Pt 4)

April 6, 2011 – 8:55 am

My sons Wilson and Hunter got to go to Yosemite with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. March 21 to March 27.

Picture of Hunter below:

John Brummett asserts that liberals are right about the cause of the deficit. He asserts in his article “Harry let us down,” Arkansas News Bureau, April 4, 2011:

He is right that the actual deficit is caused by direct government spending exceeding income, an imbalance mostly caused, he will tell you with some justification, by the fact that we don’t tax rich people as much as we did in happier and more prosperous times.

The Heritage Foundation’s Brian Riedl discusses the explosion of earmarks and number budget gimmicks included in the fiscal 2008 omnibus spending bill.

Brian Riedl is the author of the article “The Three Biggest Myths About Tax Cuts and the Budget Deficit,” (Heritage Foundation, June 21, 2010), and the next few days I will be sharing portions of his article.

Before coming to Heritage in 2001, Riedl worked for then-Gov. Tommy Thompson, former Rep. Mark Green (R-WI)., and the Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly. Riedl holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin, and a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University.

The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts accounted for just 14 percent of the swing from surplus to deficit. Even if these tax cuts had never been enacted, spending and economic factors would have guaranteed more than $4 trillion in deficits over the decade, and kept the budget in deficit every year except 2007.[5]

President Bush’s spending increases played a much larger role in the budget deficits. However, this does not mean that the Democrats, who criticized President Bush for not increasing spending enough, would have been any more responsible. They responded to President Bush’s $400 billion Medicare prescription drug bill with their own $800 billion proposal. They demanded even larger spending hikes than the President’s historic budget increases for education, health research, and veteran benefits. Finally, the largest supplemental appropriations for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were provided after the Democrats won control of Congress.[6]

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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

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1. Drive across the dike at DeGray Lake just as the sun is setting.

2. Visit the Museum of Automobiles atop Petit Jean Mountain before heading over to the state park to hike. Back in 2003 my son was the quarterback for the Arkansas Baptist Eagle football team and we traveled to Danville, Arkansas to take on the Danville Little Johns. I wondered at the time how did they come up with a name like “Little Johns” and now I know. (See Legend of Petit Jean)

Legend of Petit Jean and French Exploration:

The Legend of Petit Jean, and how the mountain received its name, begins in the 1700’s with the story of a young French Nobleman, Chavet, who lived during the period of the French exploration of the New World. He requested permission to explore a part of the Louisiana Territory, and for a grant to claim part of the land. The King granted Chavet’s approval.

Chavet was engaged to be married to a beautiful young girl form Paris, Adrienne Dumont. When told of his plans, she asked that they be married right away so she could accompany him. Thinking of the hardship and danger on the journey, Chavet refused her request, telling her upon his return if the country was good and safe, they would be married and go to the New World.

Adrienne refused to accept his answer, and disguised herself as a cabin boy and applied to the captain of Chavet’s ship for a position as a cabin boy, calling herself Jean. The girl must have been incredibly clever in her disguise, for it is said that not even Chavet recognized her. The sailors called her Petit Jean, which is French for Little John.

The ocean was crossed in early spring; the vessel ascended the Mississippi River to the Arkansas River, to the foot of the mountain. The Indians on the mountain came to the river and greeted Chavet and invited the sailors to spend time on the mountain. Chavet, Petit Jean, and the sailors spent the summer atop Petit Jean Mountain until fall approached and they began preparations for their voyage back to France. The ship was readied and boarded the evening before departure.

That night, Petit Jean became ill with a sickness that was strange to Chavet and his sailors. It was marked with fever, convulsions, delirium, and finally coma. Her condition was so grave at daylight that the departure was delayed. During the illness, Petit Jean’s identity was, of course, discovered. The girl confessed her deception to Chavet and begged his forgiveness. She requested that if she died, to be carried back to the mountaintop that she had spent her last days on, and be buried at a spot overlooking the river below. The Indians made a stretcher out of deerskins and bore her up the mountain. At sundown, she died.

Many years later a low mound of earth was found at the point we now call Petit Jean’s Grave. Her legend, her death, is said to give the mountain and the overlook an enchanting and delightful quality that draws visitors back again and again.

 

n-Profit Tax-Exempt Organization ~

 
Explore our Exhibit, browse our Gift Shop, review our History, research our Arkansas-Built
  Climber Automobile and check out our  Events Calendar.
 
 
 
Other items of interest are our Surplus Cars For Sale. You might just find the car of your dreams. Also, we collect more than Automobiles ! The Museum  has a Membership Program and a Trust Fund.   Click on links to learn more about the programs. We are a
Non-Profit Organization. 
 
 
 
We’re active in the Old Car Hobby, and serve as  Headquarters for The Mid-America Old Time Automobile Association,  MOTAA for short.  We hope you’ll come  visit. We are located in Central Arkansas near Petit Jean State Park. Look over our Hours & Rates and find us on the Locator Map. 
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Hunter is pictured above and below.
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Is Fayetteville Finger back on the table? (Part 14)(Lefty Frizzell, Famous Arkansan)

April 6, 2011 – 7:33 am

Talk Business reported yesterday:

Today, Sen. Robert Thompson (D-Paragould) advanced SB 871, a map that would reconfigure Arkansas’ 4 Congressional boundaries, through the Senate State Agencies Committee on a voice vote.  There were no audible dissenting votes.

The plan would split Pope and Searcy counties with Russellville moving to the Fourth District. Yell County moves from the Second to the Fourth. The eastern side of the map makes the Mississippi Delta counties fairly contiguous through the First District, with Ashley County added to the First, too.

Madison, Franklin and Johnson counties move from the Third to the Fourth, still leaving a “thick finger,” jutting through the heart of northwest Arkansas. That has been a major argument against a plan known as the “Fayetteville Finger,” or “Fayetteville to the Fourth,” which has passed the House but failed to make its way past the Senate panel, so far.

It is unclear if the Thompson plan has 18 votes to pass the Senate, but it does have some Democratic and Republican support – neither party unanimously. State Sen. Jimmy Jeffress (D-Crossett) is against Ashley County moving from the Fourth to the First District under the plan.

If it does, it’s passage in the House is cloudy. First District Democrats in the House object to Baxter and Lonoke counties both remaining in the First District. House Speaker Robert Moore has expressed dissatisfaction with the Senate plan.

The Senate convenes at 9 am on Wednesday to consider the bill. Also, the possibility remains that the “Fayetteville to the Fourth” map could also be drawn out of its Senate committee onto the Senate floor for debate.

Finally, at this juncture the two plans in the Senate end seem to be the only options on the table. Does a third path to resolving this issue through the legislative body exist? “Who knows?” says one Democratic confidante.

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Yesterday I posted about John Brummett’s praise concerning Gred Leding’s courage to vote in the house for the Fayetteville Finger even though 81% of the people he represented opposed his actions. I said that it was foolish of Leding to do that. Notice what the liberal Max Brantley said on his Arkansas Times Blog yesterday:

You have to feel sorry for Rep. Greg Leding of Fayetteville. He stood with his Democratic House colleagues for a plan many voters in his district opposed more on sentiment than reason. The plan has fallen, but his vote won’t be forgotten.

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Is the Fayetteville Finger back on the table.  I hope not, but there is always a chance. Max Brantley noted yesterday:

Nothing will surprise me. Including the House sending back its original bill to the Senate for concurrence.

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I have started a new series on famous Arkansans and today is Lefty Frizzell.

ONE OF THE GIANT OF REAL COUNTRY MUSIC IN A RARE TELEVISION SHOW I GUESS IN 1970

Lefty Frizzell

Inducted in 2005

 (1928-1975) – William Orville “Lefty” Frizzell was born on March 31, 1928 in Corsicana, Texas. His family moved shortly after his birth to El Dorado, Arkansas where they remained until the early 1940s. He was an American country music singer and songwriter of the 1950s and a leading exponent of the “honky tonk” style of country music. His relaxed style of singing was a major influence on such later stars as Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. His song “Saginaw, Michigan,” which was released in 1964, earned him a Grammy Award nomination. In 1972, Lefty Frizzell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. He was also the first country star to have his name enshrined on Hollywood’s “Walkway of the Stars.” His song “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time” earned him a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. www.rockabillyhall.com/LeftyFrizzell

 

 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Famous Arkansans | Comments (0)

Fayetteville Finger may be gone and replaced by new map (part 13)(Jerry Van Dyke, Famous Arkansan)

April 5, 2011 – 3:31 pm

 

Jason Tolbert just reported:

Sen. Steve Harrelson (D-Texarkana)  tweets this picture of what could be the new map that the Senate will consider.  He says this leaves Fayetteville, Fort Smith, and Russellville all in the third district.

The liberal Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times Blog:

 A Senate committee will meet at 4 p.m. today on what may be a compromise redistricting plan. Rep. Steve Harrelson has distributed the map above and says it or something like it will be under consideration. It still features a “finger” that juts up into Washington and Madison Counties and also takes a part of Sebastian County, but the cities of Fort Smith and Fayetteville and Russellville in Pope County remain in the 3rd District. The map is pretty much a screw job to 2nd District Democrats, adding Hot Springs Village, part of Pope and the Republican end of Lonoke County while giving up Democratic Yell County. The 1st District is a true Delta district, thought to be friendlier to Democrats, but that could prove wishful thinking. In all, the Republican howling — aided by unhappy Fayetteville Democrats — has produced a map much friendlier for Republicans. But, as I’ve said repeatedly, Democrats may have been chasing ghost voters long gone anyway. I’ll leave what I wrote earlier, because I think I was on the mark in predicting the outcome. 

We will have to wait and see if this will fly or not.

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I know that Jerry Van Dyke is a frequent vistor to Arkansas. I found this unique video of him on youtube from a  1963 Tonight Show visit.

Jerry Van Dyke might have been more famous than his older brother, Dick, had he taken the role as Gilligan on Gilligan’s Island he was offered. Instead, he turned this role down citing that the series was one of the worst things he ever read and started the series My Mother the Car. This show, about a man who discovers his talking 1928 Porter Flivver is his dead mother reincarnate, only ran for one season and has become known as one of the worst shows in television history. I think it’s a playful bit of television kitsch.

Another role he turned down was the role of George Utley on Newhart. This role was written for him but eventually went to Tom Poston. The show would have taken a whole new direction had Van Dyke taken the role.

Jerry Van Dyke was born in Danville, Illinois. He began performing in High School and soon moved on to stand up. It was his brother who gave him his big television break with a guest appearance on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1962). He was soon hired to host Picture This (1963) and as comic relief on the Judy Garland Show (1963).

He was cast for various other film and television projects until he got his next “big break” playing Luther Van Dam on Coach, the role he is probably most remembered for. Luther was the lovable, cranky, but hilariously funny assistant coach to Hayden Fox, played by Craig T. Nelson.

More recently he was found again guest starring on his brother’s show, Diagnosis Murder. This time, he also got to guest star with his nephew, Barry Van Dyke. Television is a family activity for the Van Dykes.

So, why the heck is he a famous Arkansas local? He and his wife, Shirley, once owned and operated a 500-acre ranch in Saline County. He also owned an entire block in Benton which housed “Jerry Van Dyke’s Soda Shoppe & Royal Theater,” a candy shop and an antique store. I’ve been informed that the soda shop has been closed down and the Royal Theater is now under new management but you can still see the block that was once Van Dyke heaven! If you were a Van Dyke fan (any of them) you could see all sorts of photos of Jerry and his famous relatives in the Soda Shoppe. It also housed Coach memorabilia and other cute items. The menu featured items named after some of his characters and great prices. It’s just a fun place to eat and get a great soda. Formerly located at 117 S. Market.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Famous Arkansans, Jason Tolbert | Comments (0)

Has Fayetteville Finger been withdrawn? (part 12)

April 5, 2011 – 12:51 pm

My sons Hunter and Wilson (on right) went to Yosemite with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. (on left) from March 21 to March 27th.

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 State Rep Clark Hall is questioned by Senator Gilbert Baker concerning the Fayetteville Finger. (From Jason Tolbert)

John Brummett in his article “Legislators have their ups and downs,” Arkansas News Bureau, April 5, 2011 stated:

arrowupsmallState Rep. Clark Hall — This old-style East Arkansas Democratic politician did actually handle the gerrymander bill in the House, so he deserves an arrow, too.

arrowupsmall State Rep. Greg Leding of Fayetteville — Yes, up, for the simple reason that he went against his local chamber of commerce and his local commentariat to support the Pig Trail Gerrymander, and, I figure, will survive to get re-elected, or at least renominated.

At the time Brummett wrote this article it looked like the gerrymander would go through with the 18 votes the Democrats thought they had in the Senate. Brummett was praising Greg Lading for standing up to Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. However, I think it is rather stupid to fight for something that  81% of the people in your district oppose and that is exactly what he did when he voted for the Fayetteville Finger!!!

Max Brantley reported a few minutes ago in the Arkansas Times Blog:

The state Senate recessed immediately after reconvening this morning so closed-door negotiations could continue on a congressional redistricting map.

Likely outcome: 1st District somewhat more hopeful for Democrats; 2nd District stronger for the Republican; 3rd District as usual; 4th District, without Fayetteville friendlier to Republicans, particularly when DINO Mike Ross leaves the seat open to run for governor.

Let the angry Democrats of Fayetteville cheer if the plan keeps them under Boss Womack’s wing. But let them also know that Republicans are chortling. They’ve been handed a political tool that they’re swinging gleefully and either alternative is acceptable to them. They make hay if the original Democratic plan prevails. If the Republican/Fayetteville opposition prevails, they will have made it harder to elect a Democrat in the 4th in the post-Ross future. No need to worry about a candidate from a population center like Fayetteville.

Jason Tolbert notes:

Apparently there are lots of state legislative huddles going on.  Will they emerge with a new map and how long with that take? It’s anybody’s guess at this point.

Noted – No map has been released/leaked but glimpses seen by roaming reporter’s eyes show one with smoother edges and no fingers

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One can only hope that the politicians have moved on from considering the Fayetteville Finger. What was first considered a joke to Max Brantley quickly became wise Democratic politics to split 7 counties in order to get as many Democrats out of the 3rd District as possible. I hope this is the last of the dozen posts have I have to cover on this.

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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

 1. Search for the Gurdon Light late one night.

Wikipedia reports:
The Gurdon Light is an unexplained light, said to be of supernatural origin, found in modern day Gurdon, Arkansas folklore. It is a series of unknown phenomena which occur in a wooded area by railroad tracks, appears to observers as a light or lights hovering in the air. The light has been featured on local media and on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries. The location is still in use by the railroad and is one of the most popular Halloween attractions in the area.[1][2][3][4][4]The light has been ascribed various colors, ranging from blue, green or white, to orange, and has been described as bobbing around as if being from a cord. Its location varies within a select geographic area and witnesses have described it appearing at various times of the day or night.

According to Lauren folklore, the light originates from a lantern of a railroad worker who was killed when he fell into the path of a train. The legend states that the man’s head was separated from his body and was never found, and that the light that people see comes from his lantern as he searches for it. Other variations state that the light is a lantern carried by railway foreman William McClain, who was killed in the vicinity during a confrontation with one of his workers at the time of the great depression. The lights are believed by some to be from passing cars on the highway off in the distance which looks like small floating lights that flash off in the distance. However, this highway opened in 1974. The light has been reported seen and spoken of since the Great Depression. .[1][2][3][4]

My sons Hunter (on left) and Wilson (on right) went to Yosemite with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr.  from March 21 to March 27th

 
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Jason Tolbert | Comments (0)

Brummett: Social Security is fine (part 3)

April 5, 2011 – 6:57 am

My sons Wilson and Hunter (on left) visited Yosemite National Park with Sherwood Haisty Jr.  (on right) March 21 to March 27th.

 

In his article “Harry let us down,” (Arkansas News Bureau, April 4, 2011) John Brummett observes:

The liberal is correct when he says Social Security is a separate insurance program that is solvent. Alas, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid let us down in this regard the other day.

He spoke the truth that Social Security is fine. Then he declared with the liberal’s harmfully stubborn polarization that he wanted Social Security left alone in the ongoing debt and deficit discussions and that he would worry about it in a couple of decades (when he would be in his 90s.)

Is the Social Security System fine? The most glaring problem I see with that statement is that most young people in this country do not see a good future for their investments in this program. Take a look at the observations made by Congressman Paul Ryan:

I’m 40 years old. I’ll get about a one percent return on my payroll taxes. If Social Security could pay me my benefit, which of course it can’t, my children who are five, seven and eight years old will get a negative one percent rate of return on their money. And I would argue that Social Security is probably one of the most successful programs ever created, and it’s popular because multiple generations value it. If my kids are going to get a negative one percent rate of return on 13 percent of their payroll taxes basically, do you think they’re going to continue to support the program?We should provide future seniors with the choice of having a personal account, like I have as a Federal employee, as a Member of Congress. It’s not privatized. It’s managed by the government in safe index funds. It harnesses the power of compound interest so they grow their money at five or six percent a year instead of negative one percent a year. They get better benefits. It’s a nest egg they own and control. It is their property.

My dad died when I was a kid. My mom got his Social Security benefits. She had to forego all those taxes she paid when she worked as a lab technician in Milwaukee. She lost that because it went back to the government. So there are inequities in the system right now and I think that can be fixed with personal accounts. If you don’t like them and you don’t want them, then don’t have it. I just think it ought to be an additional voluntary option, but it is not necessary to actuarially solve this problem. I personally think it’s preferential for younger people to have the option so they get a better deal, so they get a better benefit, so that we don’t consign them to a miserable rate of return.



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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

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1.  Sit in a deer stand on a frosty November morning in the middle of the pine woods of Dallas County. Afterward, go to lunch at Klappenbach Bakery in Fordyce.

2.Try to eat a full tamale spread at McClard’s in Hot Springs. (I love the BBQ at McClard’s but I have heard a lot about their tamales and will try them next time.)

My sons Wilson and Hunter visited Yosemite National Park with Sherwood Haisty Jr. March 21 to March 27th.

This is the inside of a tree below. Wilson on left. 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Social Security | Comments (0)

Paul Ryan on Social Security Reform (Part 1)

April 5, 2011 – 6:34 am

 

My sons Wilson  and Hunter  (on left) went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. (Sherwood on right) They were there from March 21 to March 27. Here you can see all the snow they had to deal with.

In his article “Harry let us down,” (Arkansas News Bureau, April 4, 2011) John Brummett observes:

The liberal is correct when he says Social Security is a separate insurance program that is solvent.

How can Brummett make that statement in light of the facts below?

Below are some details about Congressman Ryan’s views on Social Security Reform:

Congressman Paul Ryan continues his efforts to advance an adult conversation on the urgent need to protect Social Security for current and future generations. Ryan’s efforts were met — again — with false attacks earlier today on CNN’s Situation Room in a spirited exchange with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. By pushing desperate demagoguery and no solutions, leading Democrats threaten to shred the critical social safety net as our crushing burden of debt explodes and our critical health and retirement security programs collapse.

Facts on Social Security and Ryan’s Roadmap

Should politicians continue to cling to the unsustainable status quo, Social Security will not be able to meet its promise to our seniors, imposing painful benefit cuts on those most reliant on this critical program. The Social Security Administration continues to warn of across-the-board 22% benefit cuts for seniors in the heart of their retirement when the Trust Fund is exhausted. Social Security continues to run annual cash deficits, with over $5 trillion in unfunded liabilities.

To meet this challenge, Congressman Paul Ryan offered an invitation for solutions — putting forward a specific plan the Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security Administration’s Chief Actuaries confirmed would save Social Security, making it sustainably solvent for current and future generations. Ryan’s legislative proposal — H.R. 4529, A Roadmap for America’s Future — makes no changes to Social Security for those 55 and older, while offering future seniors the same health and retirement security options enjoyed by Members of Congress.

– Ryan’s reforms make no changes in the program for Americans 55 and older, while strengthening Social Security so it will be there for future generations.
– Ryan’s Roadmap secures the social safety net where it is most needed — providing an increased benefit for low-income individuals, while making modest adjustments in the continued growth of benefits for wealthier seniors.
– At the center of the false attacks are Ryan’s proposal to offer future seniors (those now 54 and younger) the option of guaranteed, personal accounts to help fulfill the mission of retirement security.
– Under Ryan’s Roadmap, future beneficiaries would remain in the traditional government-run system, unless they choose to direct a portion of their payroll taxes to guaranteed personal accounts, owned by the individual, managed by the Social Security Administration, and guaranteed by the Federal government. Neither the traditional system or optional accounts system would be privatized.
– In the personal-accounts system, the accounts are managed and overseen by Social Security Administration – not a stockbroker or private investment firm. Those choosing the personal-accounts option would select from a handful of low-risk, government-regulated options — just as Members of Congress and Federal employees do with the Thrift Savings Plan.
– Ryan’s Roadmap includes a fully-financed, government-backed guarantee so that individuals would get back, at minimum, every dime contributed to the optional, Social Security-managed accounts offered to those now 54 and younger.

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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

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1. Wait in line for a seat at the Venesian Inn in Tontitown following a Razorback football game.
2. Visit the Lakeport Plantation near Lake Village and then have supper at the Cow Pen just before driving over the new Mississippi River bridge. (I have always been amazed at the structure of the bridges going over the lower Mississippi River. Did you know that the first bridge built over the lower Mississippi River is still in use in Memphis. It was built in 1892 and at the time it was used for horse and buggy and pedestrians and when a train would come by then the people and the horses would get off and make way for the train to go over. )
3. Head to Wye Mountain west of Little Rock when the jonquils are in bloom. (One of the prettiest sites I have ever seen.)

 

Japanese authorities have established a temporary radiation cleaning shelter in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. Japan’s Emperor Akihito has delivereda rare address to a jittery nation in dread of nuclear catastrophe as millions struggled in desperate conditions after quake and tsunami disasters.

Japanese emperor addresses nation

My sons Wilson  and Hunter  (on right) went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. (Sherwood on left) They were there from March 21 to March 27. 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Social Security | Comments (1)

Ronald Wilson Reagan Part 71

April 4, 2011 – 7:06 pm

Picture of Nancy and Ronald Reagan standing in the Blue Room for their official portrait.
(Picture from the Ronald Reagan Library)

President and Mrs. Reagan pose in the Blue Room for their official portrait. (March 4, 1981)

I am posting a great March Madness Moment from the article by A. J. Foss called Ultimate March Madness: The 20 Greatest Moments in NCAA Tournament History

20. 1998 Valparaiso-Ole Miss
With 2.5 seconds left and trailing 69-67, Valpo’s Jaime Skyes throws a 60-foot pass down the length of the court that is caught by Bill Jenkins, who then passes it over to Bryce Drew (the head coach’s son), who then proceeds to drill a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give #13 seed Valparaiso an improbable 70-69 victory over the #4 seed Ole Miss Rebels in their first round game.

Liberals like John Brummett always say that conservatives want to pollute the water and air and if there is any movement to cut down on industry they are for it.

1980 Presidential Debate Reagan v Carter

Governor Reagan, you have the last word on this question.

GOVERNOR REAGAN

Yes. If it is a well-known fact that I opposed air pollution laws in California, the only thing I can possibly think of is that the President must be suggesting the law that the Federal Government tried to impose on the State of California — not a law, regulations that would have made it impossible to drive an automobile within the city limits of any California city, or have a place to put it if you did drive it against their regulations. It would have destroyed the economy of California, and, I must say, we had the support of Congress when we pointed out how ridiculous this attempt was by the Environmental Protection Agency. We still have the strictest air control or air pollution laws in the country.

As for offshore oiling, only 2 percent now is so leased and is producing oil. The rest, as to whether the lands are going to be opened in the next 5 years or so — we’re already 5 years behind in what we should be doing. There is more oil now in the wells that have been drilled than has been taken out in the 121 years that they’ve been drilled.

MR. SMITH

Thank you, Governor.

Thank you, Mr. President.

The next question goes to Governor Reagan from William Hilliard.

MR. HILLIARD

Governor Reagan, wage earners in this country — especially the young — are supporting a social security system that continues to affect their income drastically. The system is fostering a struggle between the young and the old, and is drifting the country toward a polarization of these two groups. How much longer can the young wage earner expect to bear the ever-increasing burden of the social security system?

GOVERNOR REAGAN

The social security system was based on a false premise, with regard to how fast the number of workers would increase and how fast the number of retirees would increase. It is actuarially out of balance, and this first became evident about 16 years ago, and some of us were voicing warnings then. Now, it is trillions of dollars out of balance, and the only answer that has come so far is the biggest single tax increase in our Nation’s history, the payroll tax increase for social security, which will only put a Band-aid on this and postpone the day of reckoning by a few years at most.

What is needed is a study that I have proposed by a task force of experts to look into this entire problem as to how it can be reformed and made actuarially sound, but with the premise that no one presently dependent on social security is going to have the rug pulled out from under them and not get their check. We cannot frighten, as we have with the threats and the campaign rhetoric that has gone on in this campaign, our senior citizens, leave them thinking that in some way they’re endangered and they would have no place to turn. They must continue to get those checks, and I believe that the system can be put on a sound actuarial basis. But it’s going to take some study and some work, and not just passing a tax increase to let the roof fall in on the next administration.

MR. SMITH

Volunteer firefighters (L) pour hot soup into foam bowls for a volunteer woman (R) to hand them out to evacuees at an evacuation center in coastal city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, 19 March 2011. The number of estimated dead and missing persons kept rising on 19 March, adding another fear to evacuees who have already been spending their days in dire conditions as they hopelessly wait for a good news on their loved ones whereabouts since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on 11 March 2011. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA
Volunteer firefighters (L) pour hot soup into foam bowls for a volunteer woman (R) to hand them out to evacuees at an evacuation center in coastal city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, 19 March 2011. The number of estimated dead and missing persons kept rising on 19 March, adding another fear to evacuees who have already been spending their days in dire conditions as they hopelessly wait for a good news on their loved ones whereabouts since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on 11 March 2011. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA

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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

1.Take part in a tailgate party prior to an Arkansas-LSU football game at War Memorial Stadium. Then, attend the duck gumbo cookoff that same weekend in Stuttgart. (I have been to many Arkansas-LSU games at War Memorial Stadium. I have had Little Rock Razorback Football Season Tickets since 1984. This year’s game was outstanding because it is one of only two razorback games I can remember where the complete crowd stood the whole game. The same game in 2006 was the only other game where that occurred. I would love for Razorback fans to correct me on that. Is there a third game that the whole crowd stood the whole game?)
2.Hike to the top of Pinnacle Mountain. (My late uncle Harold Hatcher told me about his habit of hiking up Pinnacle in 1983 and he first took me up the mountain. Shortly after that my girlfriend, Jill Sawyer and I went up the mountain together. Two and a half years later when Jill and I were married, Jill’s mother Sandra told me that she knew it was true love when Jill had actually gone up the mountain with me. Jill had actually acted excited at the time with my suggestion but little did I know that would be the most athletic thing she had ever done her whole life!!!)
3. Have an all-you-can-eat dinner of catfish straight from the lower White River at the Georgetown One Stop. Watch the sun rise from a duck blind on the Grand Prairie.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Ronald Reagan | Comments (0)

Brummett:Social Security is solvent (part 2)

April 4, 2011 – 1:57 pm

Senator John Boozman campaigning at Grady Fish Fry in August of 201o. Here seen with Sherwood Haisty Jr.

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My sons Wilson (on right) and Hunter   went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. (Sherwood on left) They were there from March 21 to March 27.

In his article “Harry let us down,” (Arkansas News Bureau, April 4, 2011) John Brummett observes:

If you want to start an argument between a liberal and a conservative, you need only open for discussion the question of whether Social Security is part of our federal deficit and debt.

I have been in the median on this issue and can tell you there is danger there from flying debris.

The heck of it is that both sides are absolutely right. Social Security is not part of our debt and deficit problem. And it is.

The liberal is correct when he says Social Security is a separate insurance program that is solvent. Alas, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid let us down in this regard the other day.

He spoke the truth that Social Security is fine. Then he declared with the liberal’s harmfully stubborn polarization that he wanted Social Security left alone in the ongoing debt and deficit discussions and that he would worry about it in a couple of decades (when he would be in his 90s.)

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I have to differ with Brummett concerning the condition of Social Security right now. Everything is not “fine.”

David John of the Heritage Foundation in his article “Guaranteed 22 Percent Benefit Cuts If Social Security is Taken off the Table,” clarifies the real world situation that Social Security is in:

Groups such as Social Security Works and MoveOn.org claim that Social Security is “fully funded.” But MoveOn.org then notes that “after 2037, it’ll still be able to pay out 75% of scheduled benefits—and again without any changes”[3] without noting the real implications of its argument. Moreover, their numbers are wrong—the Social Security Administration says that after 2037, the program will be able to pay 78 percent of promised benefits. Social Security Works makes the same argument[4] (and also uses the wrong numbers). However, the truth is that, while Social Security may have a legal claim on assets in the trust fund to pay full benefits until 2037, after that come the inevitable across-the-board benefit cuts.

And “fully funded” is an interesting phrase. For instance, MoveOn.org claims that “the Social Security Trust Fund isn’t full of IOUs, it’s full of U.S. Treasury Bonds. And those bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.”[5]

Technically, that is correct, but as Bill Clinton’s Office of Management and Budget noted back in 2000, “These balances are available to finance future benefit payments … only in a bookkeeping sense. They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits, or other expenditures.”[6]

In short, the excess Social Security money was spent years ago on everything from schools to aircraft carriers to bureaucrats’ salaries, and it is now gone.[7] There is no huge warehouse full of dollar bills just waiting for Social Security to start sending out bundles of cash to future retirees. Those bonds will be paid back, but as Bill Clinton’s OMB noted, the money will come from raising taxes, cutting spending of some sort, or borrowing yet more money.

This repayment mechanism also shows that MoveOn.org’s contention that “by law, Social Security funds are separate from the budget, and it must pay its own way … [meaning] that Social Security can’t add one penny to the deficit”[8] is less than fully accurate. It is true that Social Security has its own funding (at least until 2037), but that funding relies on the government repaying the bonds in the trust fund—an action that will require hundreds of billions of dollars of additional taxes or borrowing each year.

If those bonds are repaid by borrowing, that action would increase the deficit. Unfortunately, those payments have already started: Social Security is expected to run a $41 billion deficit in 2010, a smaller deficit next year, and permanent annual deficits starting in 2015.

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Grady Fish Fry

_____________________________________________

Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

1. Make it a point to be in the Hardin pecan grove on the third Thursday in August for the Grady Fish Fry. Dance to the prison band.

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I had the opportunity for the first time in my life to attend the Grady Fish Fry for the first time. I saw Rex Nelson there and introduced him to my good friend Sherwood Haisty. The article below was written as a result.

Mr. Haisty’s son Sherwood Jr. has known our family since 1984 when he moved from Grady, Arkansas to Little Rock after graduating from high school. In 1996 Sherwood moved to Memphis to finish his college education and to get a degree from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Currently he is working on his Masters Degree at the Masters Seminary in the LA area.(Below you can see Sherwood during the Question and Answer time with a former muslim who is now an atheist.)

Sherwood joined the First Baptist Church in Little Rock and we have been good friends ever since. Now Sherwood is street preaching at the Santa Monica Promenade every week.

Back to Grady (and other Arkansas favorites)

At the first of every year, I mark the annual Grady Lions Club Catfish Supper on my calendar.

It’s always the third Thursday in August. Always.

It’s always in the Ned Hardin pecan grove.

And it’s almost always hot.

Commonly known as the Grady Fish Fry, it’s among my favorite annual events. I’ve written about it before.

In an election year, the politicians flock to Grady. Among congressional and statewide officeholders and candidates, I saw Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Sen. Mark Pryor, Rep. John Boozman, Jim Keet, Shane Broadway, Mark Darr and Beth Anne Rankin there last night.

There likely were others who left before I arrived or maybe I just just missed seeing them. The event begins at 4 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. As I said in a post at this time last year, the Grady Fish Fry marks the unofficial end of summer for me. Bring on football season.

I also mentioned last year (but must mention again) what is perhaps the most fascinating contraption in the state — the famed Grady hushpuppy machine, constructed decades ago from pieces of equipment found on area farms. One after another, the huspuppies come out of the machine and are put into the hot grease. If they ever stop using it, it should be donated to the Smithsonian as an example of American ingenuity.

I had a great visit last night with Sherwood Haisty, 85, a Lions Club member who has been a part of 40 of the 55 fish fries. He told me how the members of the Lions Club once worked for days in the hot sun setting up tables, bringing in the products, etc.

Then somebody had the bright idea of asking the Arkansas Department of Correction for help. For years now, it has been a mutually beneficial relationship.

For the Lions Club members, there’s a captive workforce, if you will.

For those who work at the nearby state prisons, there’s a carrot they can dangle in front of inmates – in exchange for good behavior, you can get out for one night and receive a great meal in the process.

Those men from around Arkansas in their white prison garb who are handing out slices of watermelon, filling glasses of iced tea and cleaning off the tables are now just as much a part of the event as the giant pecan trees in the Hardin grove. And the prison band sounded better than ever last night. The lead vocalist has true talent.

Think about it. There are politicians shaking hands. Inmates wearing white and guards wearing blue. A pecan orchard. People cooling themselves with the funeral home-style fans handed out by the politicians. Catfish. Hushpuppies. Watermelon. It just doesn’t get more Southern. It’s like something out of a movie.

Sadly, as the population of rural southeast Arkansas grows older and smaller, we lose members of the Lions Club each year. Rev. Clyde Venable passed away in 2009. Earlier this year, charter members Bill Blankenship and R.C. Johnson died.

Hopefully, there’s some young blood in the area to keep this landmark event going.

A lot of people help out. Hardin Farms supplies the watermelons. Simmons First supplies the plates. St. Michaels Farms supplies catfish. I could go on and on.

Money raised from this annual event (it’s $12 each for all you can eat) allows the Grady Lions Club to provide college scholarships, pay for eye exams and pay for glasses for those who could not otherwise afford them.

The fact that I’ve attended the Grady Fish Fry for almost 20 consecutive years got me to thinking about favorite places and activities in our state, many of which I’ve written about on this blog before.

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Grady Fish Fry August 2010

I got a chance this year to eat with Mark Darr who had lost about 80 lbs before the Fish Fry this year. I commented to him about all that weight he lost and he said he did it in order to enjoy this fish!!

All the politicans come by your table while you are eating and they tell you that they hate to stop you while you are enjoying that good meal but they wanted to just say hi.

It is always a good time.

My sons Wilson (on left) and Hunter   (on right) went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr.  They were there from March 21 to March 27.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Social Security | Comments (0)

Senate committee discusses Fayetteville Finger this afternoon (part 11)

April 4, 2011 – 1:24 pm

My sons Wilson (on left) and Hunter (on right) went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. March 21-27.

Fayetteville Responds to the State Democratic Party’s Partisan Pig Trail Gerrymander in radio ad.

Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times at 11:27 am this morning reported:

All eyes are first on the Senate this afternoon as the legislature reconvenes for purposes of attempting to complete action on a congressional redistricting plan.

The Democratic plan — Fayetteville to the 4th and the rest — can pass if 18 senators vote to pull it out of committee and then vote to approve it (though they’ll have to wait until Wednesday or so to do it). Democrats can lose up to three senators. Sounds to me like four are in play.

Jason Tolbert noted:

It will be interesting to see how this plays out but it is doubtful the bill will be passed out of the committee unchanged. 

The committee is split four Republicans and four Democrats and is chaired by Democratic Sen. Sue Madison from Fayetteville.  It is possible the current map could be amended in such a way as to satisfy at least five members of the committee (either four Republicans and one Democrats or four Democrats and one Republican or some other odd combination) but most likely the stalemate will continue at four to four.

If this is the case, the question will become does the full Senate have the 18 votes to pull the bill out of committee.   At least two Democratic south Arkansas Senators – Teague and Taylor – have publicly expressed opposition to doing this and several more Senators are rumored to be on the fence.

If 18 votes can be found, the final vote could be delayed until likely Thursday unless 24 Senators allow for an earlier vote by suspending the rules.

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Jason may be right concerning possible changes to the Fayetteville Finger because of Senators like Larry Teague of Nashville, Arkansas. Read below.

Roby Brock reported:

One has a pivotal legislative vote, the other will defend it in court.

Two key Democrats say they are struggling with the controversial “Fayetteville to the Fourth” Congressional redistricting plan.

Senate President Pro Temp-elect Larry Teague (D-Nashville) said he’s “not comfortable” with the map, but doesn’t have an alternative that would satisfy everyone.

“I’ve not been able to get comfortable with it, Roby. I continue to believe that we ought to build upon a plan that nobody loves, but everybody can kind of live with. I don’t know that the Fayetteville plan is it.  I hope that we will have some reasonable minds sit down this week and see if we can’t do something better,” Teague told Talk Business on Sunday.

Democratic Attorney General Dustin McDaniel spoke to a group of Arkansas broadcasters over the weekend. He was asked a question on the topic of Congressional redistricting, which spawned a Talk Business follow-up.

McDaniel said he’s not sold on the “Fayetteville to the Fourth” plan politically.

“I was asked what I thought about the effort to move Fayetteville to the Fourth [District] and I simply said: if I were doing it, I wouldn’t do it that way. From everything I’ve heard from my friends in Pine Bluff and El Dorado and Texarkana, they’re opposed to it because they feel like its going to dilute their voice,” he said.

McDaniel said Fayetteville is “adamantly opposed” to the plan because they feel it extracts them from their northwest Arkansas economic, geographic, and cultural corridor.

 

The House Republican Caucus held a press conference this afternoon to talk about the session, the influence they were able to have on legislative outcomes and plans for the next session.

Video from Jason Tolbert

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Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried. com.

Rex Nelson wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on April 2, 2011 a great article called “Arkansas Bucket List.” The readers of his blog http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com came up with a list of things you must do at least once in your life to be considered a well-rounded Arkansan. Nelson asked others to add their suggestions at his website. I am going through the list slowly.

1.Walk through a cotton field in Mississippi County when the cotton is ready to pick. (It is a beautiful site from the road with all the white fields everywhere.)

2. Listen to live music one Friday night at George’s Majestic Lounge on Dickson Street in Fayetteville.My sons Wilson (on let) and Hunter (on right) went to California and visited Yosemite National Park with our friend Sherwood Haisty Jr. March 21-27.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Jason Tolbert | Comments (0)