The Legislature convenes -- Updated

Update: Here's video of the governor's address to the Legislature this afternoon:


Here's audio (click play on the console below):

Severance tax bill clears committee

With little fanfare, the House Revenue & Tax Committee passed HB1004, the severance tax legislation. Rep. Beverly Pyle (R-Cedarville) asked a couple of questions regarding the bill's constitutionality, including the Amendment 19 emergency requirement discussed a few posts below. It passed with two or three audible "no" votes. Elsewhere, House Judiciary passed the repeal of the 2007 changes to the minimum age to marry law unanimously, and House Education passed HB1003. The House will convene to vote on these measures at 10:00 a.m.

Legislation filed today -- Update II

• HB1001 was filed this morning, which authorizes payment for the special session in the amount of $50,000.

• Update: HB1004: Increasing the severance tax. This bill was just filed. It does contain an emergency clause.

• Update II: HB1005: This is a second bill dealing with the repeal of changes to the minimum age to marry act. We'll actually run this bill rather than HB1002 below. This bill will revise the law back to the way it was prior to the last session, including all changes made by the Code Revision Commission.

• SB1: This is the Senate version of the severance tax bill.

Resolutions:
• SR1: COMMENDING DR. CHARLES D. DUNN FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.

Already on file for consideration during the special session:
• HB1002: Repealing changes to the 2007 minimum age to marry law;
• HB1003: Extending a deadline in the desegregation litigation; and
• Additionally, the Senate will be confirming gubernatorial appointments during the special session, and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee may convene at some point this week to make recommendations in the election matter it heard last week.

Monday in Arkansas: Day 1 of the special session

Time	Committee	Room	Agenda
12:00 p.m.	House convenes	Chamber	N/A
12:30 p.m.	Address by the governor	Chamber	N/A
Upon adjournment	House Judiciary	149	Click here
Call of the Chair	House Revenue & Tax	151	Click here
Call of the Chair	House Education	138	Click here
Call of the Chair	Senate Judiciary	171	Click here
Call of the Chair	Senate Revenue & Tax	OSC	Click here

Time	Event	Place
12:30 p.m.	Governor addresses the Legislature	House Chamber
3:00 p.m.	Meeting w/ FEMA Administrator David Paulison	Capitol

Time	Place	Event
10:00 a.m.	Capitol (OSC)	MADD Press conference: Saving Lives
11:45 a.m.	LR Hilton	Lt. Gov. Halter addresses Midtown Rotary

Washington Post: States Are Hit Hard by Economic Downturn
New York Times: McCain Faces Test in Wooing Elite Donors
Wall Street Journal: HUD Secretary Expected to Quit
Los Angeles Times: Bill Clinton tells superdelegates to 'chill'
Houston Chronicle: Obama gains more ground in Texas
Chicago Tribune: Clinton has blue-collar appeal
Reuters: Bush seeks to salvage legacy at NATO and Putin summits

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Gas-tax special session a rerun
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Mineral-rights holders say safeguards lacking
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: FEMA director in state today
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: School-mergers study finds several positives
Associated Press: Few surprises expected as special session begins
Associated Press: Northeast Arkansans cleaning up as water recedes
Associated Press: New study finds pluses, minuses in combining districts

NWA Morning News: Politicians Answer To The People
John Brummett: Hillary Clinton misspoke
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Message from a cave
Pat Lynch: Sermons lack key ingredient
Vic Harville cartoon

Under the Dome makes the Washington Post's best blog list

Click here for Best of the State Politics Blogs

Boots on the ground

While the vast majority of the Legislature will assemble at the Capitol at Noon tomorrow for a special session called by the governor, Rep. Jeff Wood (D-Sherwood) is currently serving in the Middle East. Pursuant to the House Rules, leave will be requested and granted each day after the roll call, and he'll be entitled to cast a vote on the severance tax via a "paired" vote.

Jeff will be spending the next couple of weeks at Camp Buehring, Kuwait (about 20 miles from Iraq) before moving into Baghdad. Camp Buehring is dedicated to LTC Chad Buehring, who was killed in action on October 26, 2003.

The 'emergency' in Amendment 19

Legislators have been receiving some e-mail over the past week regarding the special session and a phrase in Amendment 19 to the Arkansas Constitution. Specifically, some are raising the concern that an emergency is required to raise the severance tax, and that no emergency currently exists. Here's the relevant part of Amendment 19:

None of the rates for property, excise, privilege or personal taxes, now levied shall be increased by the General Assembly except after the approval of the qualified electors voting thereon at an election, or in case of emergency, by the votes of three-fourths of the members elected to each House of the General Assembly. (emphasis added)

This emergency requirement has been taken up and considered by the Arkansas Supreme Court in a couple of different cases. In ACW, Inc. v. Weiss, a 1997 case regarding the imposition of the corporate income tax in Arkansas, the Court held that the legislation giving rise to the suit did contain an emergency clause sufficient to meet the requirements of Amendment 19 to the Arkansas Constitution, although it was ultimately not required in that specific case (see the opinion by clicking the comments section below). The court held that it will give great deference to legislative determination whether an emergency exists. Emergency clauses are routinely attached to general legislation, mainly to make the legislation effective as of the governor's signature rather than 90 days after the adjournment of the session.

Bill needs an emergency clause

In the event the Legislature's passage of the severance tax is challenged, it is my belief that an emergency clause should be added to the legislation to give the court a set of reasons that include the need for the legislation and the intent of the Act. Otherwise, neither a trial court nor the Arkansas Supreme Court will have any basis on which to judge whether an emergency exists. The governor's Proclamation won't satisfy a court as to the legislative intent for increasing the severance tax. Here's a link to the initial draft of the severance tax legislation, and here's a copy of the 1933 Act, which was adopted by Arkansas voters in 1934 by a vote of 99,223 for and 25,496 against, thereby becoming Amendment 19 to the Arkansas Constitution.

Sunday morning Ark-La-Tex roundup

Arkansas News Bureau: Legislative leaders see quick work on tax hike Hoyt Purvis: The tax play: It’s a political natural NWA Morning News Editorial: Tax Proposal Needs Review Before Approval John Brummett: More about those hog people John Brummett (national column): Hillary simply "misspoke" Andrew DeMillo: Hearings put Ark. elections in harsh spotlight Steve Barnes: Documenting The War Texarkana Gazette Editorial: Jailhouse blues Benton County Daily Record: Working to put issues before voters Mike Masterson: Dodging the facts Meredith Oakley: Remembered in ‘Death’ Arkansas Democrat Gazette Editorial: Benton County hoedown Arkansas Democrat Gazette: One certainty: Meat plant fire costly calamity Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Flooded towns keeping an eye on rain clouds Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Ceremony honors state's war dead Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Senate to sponsor Rockefeller statue at Capitol

Austin American-Statesman: Obama campaign says he won Texas Lubbock Avalanche: Loyal alumni pay off for Tech in Legislature Abilene Reporter-News: Bob Bullock, the last of the Texas political gunslingers Amarillo Globe-News: Police: Rethink drug reforms Dallas Morning News Editorial: PUC should encourage solar power Associated Press: Judge Strikes Down Texas Strip Club Fee Austin American-Statesman: Second Texas Dem caucuses bring more chaos

Shreveport Times: La. lawmakers to face host of issues during regular session Shreveport Times Editorial: Legislative game plan: Regular Session New Orleans Times Picayune Editorial: Keep on path of reform Baton Rouge Advocate: Jindal donor got first contract Baton Rouge Advocate: Legislators setting their own agendas Opelousas Daily World: Work force, capital outlay reforms needed Opelousas Daily World: Nearly 2,000 bills await legislators New Orleans Times Picayune: Briefing book WWL New Orleans: South La lawmakers seek rate cut for Citizens policyholders

Women for the Arts

I felt compelled to buy these hand-made Arkansas cufflinks at tonight's Ninth Annual Party with Picassos auction and event here in Texarkana. The auction benefits the Women for the Arts, and the artworks are created by local "celebrities" with the help of a local artist as a coach. These sterling cufflinks were the work of Chamber Economic Development Director Jerry Sparks with the help of jeweler Danny Gray. Here's a link to my entry last year -- a mosaic-tiled Arkansas flag table.

A soggy Governor Conway Days

Just back from downtown Bradley, where the weather kept a few people away from the annual Governor Conway Days in Lafayette County. The parade took place at 2:00 and included Rep. Bruce Maloch and circuit judges Joe Griffin and Kirk Johnson. The festival is held annually in honor of the state's first governor. The Conway Cemetery State Park is located near Bradley on grounds that were once part of Conway's cotton plantation. Here's a link to the city's blog.

NW Ark. legislative candidate forum

Candidates in state House districts 87 and 89 appeared at a forum yesterday sponsored by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. They were asked their position on a couple of issues, including the severance tax and animal cruelty legislation. HD87 incumbent Mark Martin (R-Prairie Grove) is against the severance tax, and his opponent, Earl Hunton (D-Prairie Grove) is for it. In HD89, incumbent Jim House (D-Fayetteville) is a co-sponsor of the severance tax bill, and his opponent, Gene Long (R-Springdale) is against it. Here's more from the Northwest Arkansas Times.

Miller County town hall meeting

Jo Ann Warren fields a question at last night's town hall meeting on underage drinking and alcohol abuse at Arkansas High. Warren is the DHS Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Program Manager. The town hall meeting was one of 1,200 being convened around the country.

State jobless rate drops to 5.0%

The unemployment rate in Arkansas fell 0.6% in February to 5.0% from 5.6% in January -- that's a pretty steep drop over one month. The U.S. unemployment rate fell from 4.9% to 4.8%. Here's more from Arkansas Business.

Here's a map showing the unemployment rate by county in Arkansas -- these are January '08 figures:

HB1003 of the special session: Extending a deadline in the desegregation litigation

HB1003 was filed this afternoon, and it extends a deadline involving the Pulaski schools' desegregation litigation from June to December. Specifically, Act 395 of 2007 required school districts to meet a reimbursement benchmark by being declared unitary or at least partially unitary by Judge Bill Wilson's federal district court no later than June 14, 2008 (see text beginning on p. 4, line 15 of Act 395). That date is no longer feasible, and we'll extend that to December 31. It has been assigned to the Education committee.

Governor's weekly radio address

Weathering the storm
Click play on the console below:

Public MI pensions seek injunction to stop fire sale

Two public Michigan pension funds are asking a Delaware court to issue a TRO in order to block the sale of 95 million newly issued Bear Stearns shares to JPMorgan. The filing refers to the $10-a-share sweetened offer for Bear Stearns from JPMorgan "grossly inadequate."

Here in Arkansas, there have been no reports that any public pensions will be affected by this particular transaction. A report from Arkansas Teacher Retirement System CEO Paul Doane states that while that system has been impacted by weakness in the equity markets and the portfolio has pulled back from the nearly $12 billion level in October, the system has accumulated a significant amount of reserve gains that will serve retired teachers well in the event this becomes a prolonged market downturn. The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System has 27,453 retired members for a total salary of $524,798,073. There are 84,430 total active members with a combined salary of $2,190,143,279. The vast majority of retirees remain here in Arkansas after employment. Here are a couple of helpful maps from the ATRS showing the membership by county and congressional district (albeit an older congressional map).

Louisiana to convene for regular session Monday

Louisiana will begin its regular 2008 session on Monday, and 1,700 bills are already in the hopper. They have filing "curbs" down there, meaning that each legislator can only file five more bills.

All other states that border Arkansas are currently in session except Texas. Some of the major themes expected to be legislated in Louisiana include a restructuring of the Labor Department and an overhaul of sexual predator crimes. They've already held two special sessions there this year -- one focusing on ethics and the other on taxes. Here's a preview of their legislative session from the Shreveport Times.

Requiring DNA samples: Helping to solve crimes or high-tech profiling?

Arkansas is the only state in the region that hasn't considered legislation requiring police to take DNA samples from those arrested (but not necessarily convicted) of crimes. Proponents say this measure would provide law enforcement with a database of evidence that could solve open cases across the country. Opponents believe this is a big brother move that would make a suspect out of anyone arrested for a serious crime, even if that person later is found innocent. It doesn't seem any more intrusive to me than fingerprinting an arrestee. Congress and 12 states have enacted legislation that would require DNA sampling, and 22 others have taken this issue up in 2008. Here's more from stateline.org.

HB1002 of the special session: The marriage law

Here's a copy of HB1002, which has been filed for consideration in next week's special session. It repeals all 2007 revisions made to the minimum age to marry law, and if any changes are to be made to equalize the law to both genders, it'll take place in 2009. There is some debate on whether the minimum age should be 16, 17, or 18, and whether parental consent should be included at any age, so rather than debating the issue and potentially prolonging the session, the law will just revert to the way it was prior to the last session.

Friday in Arkansas

The state Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs is going to consider all the testimony presented in the 2006 election dispute it heard earlier this week over the weekend. They'll reconvene next week to discuss a recommendation, which will be sent to the full Senate. There are no legislative meetings today, and the governor has no official events scheduled. A reception honoring "Champions of Rural Arkansas" will be held at 6:00 p.m. with Mike Ross this evening at the Arkansas Activities Association building in North Little Rock. Here locally, we'll cut the ribbon at the new Waste Management facility at 10:00 a.m. on West Seventh. Lawmakers are preparing to spend most of next week in special session.

New York Times: Parties Differ on Whom Economic Aid Should Help
Wall Street Journal: Spending Weak; Inflation Muted
Washington Post: Obama Rewriting Rules for Raising Campaign Money Online
Los Angeles Times: Three candidates, three approaches to the economy
Houston Chronicle: Consumer spending hits lowest point in 17 months
Chicago Tribune: US Jets Drop Bombs in Basra
Reuters: U.S. forces drawn deeper into Iraq crackdown

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: UA campuses seek increase in tuition, fees
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: 35 counties declared U.S. disaster areas
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Panel deliberates vote-contest case
Ark. News Bureau: Senators recess deliberations in election dispute case
Ark. News Bureau: IRS to hold workshops on economic stimulus payments
Ark. News Bureau: Special session to include Beebe address
Associated Press: Trustees consider 5% tuition hike for UA
Associated Press: Hearings over disputed election could spur law changes
Associated Press: Magistrate grants 45-day extension to AG in poultry case
Associated Press: Potlatch closes Prescott mill

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Some reformer
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Closing time (McDaniel/payday lenders)
Texarkana Gazette: Sending a Message
Arkansas Leader: We’re bullish on natural gas
Arkansas Leader: Hanky-panky at the polls
Jeff Hankins: Severance Tax Debate
Brenda Blagg: Many Mourn Loss
Meredith Oakley: Cycle still unbroken
Vic Harville cartoon

Halter promotes the lottery

Lt. Governor Bill Halter spoke to the Magnolia Rotarians for lunch today. This was the latest stop on his statewide tour to pitch the proposed Scholarship Lottery Amendment. A couple of questions raised concerns on whether the Legislature could divert revenue from the lottery for other purposes, and one person questioned whether southern Arkansas would lose its best students to "Jonesboro and Fayetteville" with the resulting scholarships.

Halter discussed Georgia's Hope Scholarship Program, and he's now armed with UCA poll numbers showing 64% of Arkansans in favor of the measure. Elsewhere, the Associated Press is reporting concerns by Oklahoma lottery officials this week that an Arkansas lottery could cost that state $10 million annually.

HCR1001 filed today

House Management filed HCR1001 this afternoon to convene a joint session of the Legislature at 12:30 p.m. on Monday for the purpose of hearing an address by the governor. Here's the resolution.

After the governor's address, the three bills will be read across the desk and assigned to committee. The severance bill is expected, of course, to go through Revenue & Tax. The marriage bill was sent to City County & Local in the House and Judiciary in the Senate during the 2007 session. The deseg bill was previously sent to Education.

On tap

I'm on my way down to the Bossier Parish Courthouse in Benton, La. and will be away from the blog for most of the day. If I can get loose in time, I'll drive to Magnolia for Bill Halter's lottery discussion with the local Rotary there at noon. In Monticello this afternoon, Congressman Mike Ross will hold a biofuel conference in conjunction with the state House panel on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development. The governor will be named Easter Seals Arkansan of the Year tonight at the Statehouse Convention Center, and down the road at Cotham's, Congressman Vic Snyder will attend a campaign kickoff for his bid at a seventh term.

The governor issued the call for the special session to begin Monday, and in addition to the increase of the severance tax, it includes the repeal of 2007 changes to the minimum age to marry law, an extension to a deadline involving the Pulaski schools' desegregation litigation, and the confirmation of some gubernatorial appointments. Here's a copy of the governor's call.

The art of the possible

Ernie Dumas takes a look at how the consensus on the severance tax came to be and contrasts Governor Beebe's methods of building the consensus versus Faubus's.

Mike Beebe's ultimate virtue is pragmatism. He calculated what could actually be done in the name of highways. The public welfare will finally extract a small price for the exploitation of the state's limited bounty. Purists also can rationalize it this way: The highway lobby was gearing up to siphon sales taxes on vehicle-related services and goods. If the new severance tax were not diverted to highways, the legislature almost surely would reach into the school and general funds for highways in another year or two. It's better this way.

Thursday in Arkansas

Time	Committee	Place	Agenda
9:00 a.m.	Senate hearings: Willis v. Crumbly	OSC	Click here
1:00 p.m.	Agriculture, Forestry & Econ. Dev.	UAM	Click here

Time	Event	Place
6:00 p.m.	Governor honored as the Easter Seals Arkansas Arkansan of the Year	Statehouse Convention Center

Court	Oral Arguments	Today's Opinions
Supreme Court	No hearings today	Click here (after 11:00 a.m.)
Ct of Appeals	No hearings today	No opinions released today

Time	Place	Event
12:00 p.m.	Magnolia	Lt. Gov. Bill Halter addresses Magnolia Rotary
1:00 p.m.	UAM	Arkansas Biofuels Conference w/ Mike Ross
3:30 p.m.	Ft. Smith	State Chamber Board Meeting
5:00 .m.	Cotham's	Campaign kickoff for Congressman Vic Snyder
5:00 p.m.	Little Rock	Campaign reception for Sen. Irma Hunter Brown
6:00 p.m.	Statehouse CC	Easter Seals dinner: Beebe Arkansan of the Year
7:00 p.m.	ASU	How Tech. & Internet Are Changing Our Media World

Time	Place	Event
8:00 a.m.	Williams Memorial	7 Habits of Highly Effective People
8:00 a.m.	TXK Regional Airport	Airport Finance Committee meeting
4:30 p.m.	3101 Kennedy Lane	Ribbon cutting: Central Wireless
5:00 p.m.	Admin Bldg.	TASD School Board meeting
6:00 p.m.	Iron Mountain	YouthBuild Texarkana Project

Four more counties declared disaster areas

Governor Beebe declared Cross, Monroe, Perry, and Prairie Counties (see counties in red) state disaster areas today due to damage caused by heavy rains and flooding that began on March 18. This brings the total number of declared counties to 39. The highest water continues moving south toward the Mississippi River, and state and federal response teams have begun more thorough damage assessments in areas of north Arkansas.

Beebe may seek voter approval for highway bond program

Governor Beebe announced today that he'll likely ask voters in 2010 to approve another bond program to pay for interstate improvements. In the 86th General Assembly, we approved legislation (Act 511 of 2007) granting the Highway Commission the power, with voter approval, to issue up to $575 million in bonds.

The governor differentiated the '07 Act from the failed 2005 proposal in that the new law calls for the Arkansas Highway Commission's bond authority to expire at the end of 2013. One of the primary objections to the proposal put before voters in 2005 is that the bonding authority would've been ongoing without voter approval. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department Director Dan Flowers has estimated the state has about $19 billion in highway needs. Here's the AP article.

Wednesday report from the Arkansas Senate hearings

Testimony continued this morning in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the Arkansas Capitol where a Senate committee is being asked to recommend a resolution to a disputed election. A trial court recently ruled that the Senate, not the court system, is responsible for determining the seat's proper occupant. Testimony today centered around missing unused ballots, a box of ballot stubs that were found in a janitor's closet of a voting precinct, and allegations of absentee ballots being carried off on election night while poll workers were still counting them. Here's more from the Associated Press.

Former Rep. Arnell Willis is challenging the results of the SD16 2006 Democratic primary, in which he appeared to have won the runoff when the initial vote count showed him ahead by 28 votes. A recount put Jack Crumbly ahead by 74 votes after an error was discovered by the county election commission surrounding the Forrest City Ward 1 box. A second recount confirmed Crumbly as the winner, and Crumbly served in the Senate for the 2007 legislative session.

TASD board fills vacancy

The Texarkana Arkansas School Board appointed Carol Dalby to fill the vacancy left by Ray Nelson. Dalby is currently the attorney for Bowie County, Texas and previously served as a special justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court for the long-running Lake View case. We serve on the Opportunities, Inc. Board together, and she's also my Sunday School teacher. Here's the Texarkana Gazette article.

Helping seniors vote

With a record nationwide turnout likely in November, some are turning their attention to the largest voting bloc -- seniors. Stateline.org is running a feature profiling state laws that prevent some seniors from being able to vote, especially those who've been deemed mentally incapable of managing routine affairs.

In Arkansas, people that experience some degree of mental impairment can vote. The only requirement under our state constitution regarding mental capacity is that the voter "not be presently adjudged as mentally incompetent as to the ability to vote by a court of competent jurisdiction." Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-311 even provides a requirement that the county board of election commissioners provide reasonable and adequate methods whereby voters with a mental disability can execute their ballots.

13 states have no prohibition of voting by those with compromised mental capacities, and according to a Duke University study, one in three seniors older than 70 has some form of cognitive impairment. While many states like Arkansas prevent those adjudged to be incompetent and under a guardianship from voting, others take the position that disenfranchising people with mental impairments violates their civil rights. This raises an interesting debate as what happens when the person trying to vote can't adequately cast a vote on their own or can't adequately convey to a poll worker which way they want to vote. Seems to me that you have to know who you're casting a vote for, but that's a tricky standard and one that shouldn't be vigorously enforced at the whim of a poll worker.

Another question many people have is whether it is legal in Arkansas for a campaign volunteer to drive a person to the poll, such as an elderly person who lives alone without transportation. According to Ark. Code Ann. § 7-1-104(4), it is okay so long as they are not offered any money, goods, wares or merchandise for the purpose of influencing the person's vote.

The Speaker-designate

Rep. Robbie Wills (D-Conway) helped the Clark County Democratic Central Committee open their new headquarters in Arkadelphia last night. Wills discussed the upcoming special session and issues facing Arkansans leading up to the 87th General Assembly. Other legislators in attendance included Reps. Johnnie Roebuck (D-Arkadelphia) and Janet Johnson (D-Bryant) (pictured right).

One pretty hot local race in Clark County is the race for circuit judge for the Ninth Judicial District East. Former Circuit Judge Robert McCallum is challenging incumbent Circuit Judge John Thomas.

Wednesday in Arkansas

Time	Committee	Room	Agenda
9:00 a.m.	Senate hearings: Willis v. Crumbly	OSC	Click here
10:00 a.m.	Task Force on Abused and Neglected Children	130	Click here

Time	Event	Place
11:00 a.m.	Governor meets with the Arkansas Policy Institute.	Peabody, LR

Court	Oral Arguments	Today's Opinions
Supreme Court	No hearings today	No opinions released today
Court of Appeals	No hearings today	Click here (after 11:00 a.m.)

Time	Place	Event
10:00 a.m.	Forrest City	ADFA Universal Design Workshops
11:30 a.m.	LR Club	The Right Hon. Henry McLeish, Fmr Minister of Scotland
1:00 p.m.	UALR	Employment Law: The Basics
8:00 p.m.	Robinson Ctr	The Masters: Joshua Bell at Ark Symphony Orchestra

Time	Place	Event
8:00 a.m.	Williams Memorial	7 Habits of Highly Effective People
5:00 p.m.	Regional Arts Center	Exhibition: Attempting Metamorphosis
7:00 p.m.	Fairgrounds	Rodney Carrington

New York Times: Cigarette Company Paid for Lung Cancer Study
Wall Street Journal: Motorola to Split Off Mobile Unit
Washington Post: China Protests Arms Shipment
Washington Post: Obama Tagged With the L-Word
Los Angeles Times: The politics of Social Security and Medicare
Houston Chronicle: Lowering property appraisals may be just a click away
Chicago Tribune: American cancels all MD-80 flights
Reuters: Big money in politics - sign of excess?

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Beebe gauging stances on issues
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: FEMA teams assessing flood damage in state
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Ex-lawmaker challenges 2006 Senate election loss
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Agreements in Benton Co candidate forum
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Less rigid court system in works for 2 Ark counties
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Flooding cuts barge traffic on river
Ark. News Bureau: Election challenger says runoff tricks 'un-American'
Ark. News Bureau: Beebe: Some levees not maintained
Ark. News Bureau: Beebe still undecided on expanding special session
Ark. News Bureau: Louisiana approves proposed SWEPCO plant in Arkansas
Stephens DC Bureau: Foundation seeks expert advice on Arkansas economic issues
Stephens DC Bureau: Meth cooks finding loopholes
Associated Press: Cargill working on assistance plan for idle plant workers
Associated Press: Volunteers hold back levee 'sand boils' from flooding
Associated Press: Ark. Senate panel opens hearing on disputed election
Associated Press: FEMA begins testing thousands of mobile homes in Hope

Paul Greenberg: I can identify
Brenda Blagg: Gas Tax Margin 'Enough'
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Oh, for a beer . . .
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: A blow to Booneville
Texarkana Gazette: International Issue (Supreme Court ruling)
David Sanders: Obama's profile in liberalism
Gene Lyons: Wright’s anger is part of the problem
Meredith Oakley: Plenty of experience
Vic Harville cartoon
Technorati Profile

Texarkana town hall meeting on energy with Mike Ross

About 45 showed for a town hall meeting on the American Made Energy Act of 2008 legislation sponsored by Congressman Ross here this afternoon. The congressman fielded questions on all sorts of issues, mainly on (1) energy policy, (2) the proposed coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County, and (3) our (in)ability to watch the Razorbacks here in the Shreveport media market. Having the ability to import TV station signals from adjacent DMAs (Nielsen Designated Market Areas) is big bizness down here. Although the discussion was geared towards energy, I was still surprised that there were no questions on illegal immigration, the economy, or the war.