NYC Expo

I'm just a few hours out from hopping on the bus and heading over to Staten Island to battle 40,000 other runners for the start of tomorrow's race. The rain cleared out tonight, and the temperatures should be perfect. I'm here at the Millenium Broadway with Arkansan Luther Lowe just above Times Square, and we've about given up on sleep for the night. We carbloaded at Tavern on the Green in Central Park then Carmine's here in Manhattan before joining in the NYC Alumni Chapter of the UofA to watch the Razorbacks tonight (I flew the Atlanta-Laguardia leg next to a guy wearing Ole Miss gear from head to toe, so I had to put up with that for a couple of hours). I'll check back in at the start in the morning with a picture.

Storm damage

Need assistance after storms? Local Red Cross for Texarkana/SWArk is 903-793-5602. Taylor/Emerson schools are closed, and although we took a lot of damage here, reports are that we dodged a bullet. Reports of brief power outages and downed trees were reported throughout southwest Arkansas. A tree blocked Tennessee Road in Miller County, and a tornado was issued for Miller County at one point.

Appointment

I'm appointing Rep. Tracy Pennartz (D-Fort Smith) to the current vacancy on the District Court Resource Assessment Board (Word document). This slot is to be appointed by the House Judiciary Chairman.

De Queen, Nashville Husqvarna plants to consolidate

By next October, all positions at the DeQueen Husqvarna plant will be consolidated with the Nashville, Ark. operations of the company. About 600 workers at the De Queen facility will be affected, and the De Queen plant will remain open as a warehouse for raw and finished products. Joe Wilson, director of human relations at Husqvarna, said that the De Queen employees will be offered the opportunity to transfer to the Nashville plant first if they’re able to commute. "For those who can’t, we’ll do everything we can to get them help," said Wilson. Here's more from today's Texarkana Gazette.

Tuesday afternoon politics

If you're in central Arkansas, stop by the home of Graham Catlett on the 17th floor of the Tower Bldg in downtown Little Rock after work today. We're having a campaign meet and greet there and will have plenty of food, drink, and Arkansas politics.

Update: Great event last night. Thanks to the Catletts for being such great hosts. Here I am with Jordan Johnson, John Baker, and Nate Coulter.

-- Post From My iPhone

Public option escape hatch?

State public option opt-out proceeds in U.S. Senate

The health insurance reform debate could very well move to the Arkansas Capitol if the U.S. Senate's new version of the health reform bill becomes law. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the new provision will allow states to opt out and reject participation in any policy that includes a national public option.

The chart to the right shows the states with the highest and lowest rate of uninsured residents (Arkansas ranks 40th). Here are some early specifics about how the opt-out would work, should it make the final bill signed into law. In his press conference, Reid said that states could not opt out before 2014.

2011-2012: National insurance exchange is phased in; consumer reforms begin taking effect.
2013: Public Option goes into effect. Americans are mandated to have insurance coverage.
2014: States can opt out with the exact process to be determined. Apparently, the opt-out will require a 2/3 vote of the state legislature, with the governor able to veto an opt-out. I don't have a link to this timeline -- it's simply what I'm being fed from people in the know.

Under this scenario, Arkansas residents would participate in the public option (if they qualify) in 2013. The legislature would then have to vote to opt out of the plan the next year. What is also apparent is that regardless of the opt-out provision, states CANNOT opt out of any reforms that prevent rescission or the denial of coverage for a pre-existing condition pursuant to the legislation.

One interesting aspect of this scenario if it happens -- we'll be able to see tangible results as to whether a public option works between the states who opt-out vs. the states who remain in the system. Will physicians flock to the states who opt-out to avoid a potential decline in reimbursement rates? Will insurance premiums be more competitive in the states who remain in the system? How will the quality of health care vary between these states? Do the states who opt-out still share in the burden of funding a national public option? Can state legislatures preempt such legislation by enacting pro-active legislation before 2014?

My head's in Mississippi

For the second time in 48 hours, I'll be flying to Mississippi in the morning. I have a trial in Vidalia, Louisiana, which is just across the Mississippi River from the Natchez airport. Because of a campaign function here in Texarkana tomorrow night, I'm not chancing driving and missing it. I'll be away from the blog until Monday evening.

Oxford, Miss.

If I hear that Hotty Toddy chant once more in the next 15 years, it'll be too soon. Outside of Rep. Clark Hall, who was sitting two rows above me, I was surrounded by the Ole Miss faithful. I was hoping this would be the first in a string of five wins, but we were about a touchdown away from spending the rest of the second half in the grove. Here we are tailgating with the Days (Ole Miss alums from Texarkana). We made it back for our Texarkana events last night.

Garland, Arkansas mayor resigns, pleads guilty to theft -- UPDATE

Yvonne Dockery, the mayor of Garland City, pleaded guilty to felony theft this morning and agreed to resign her position as mayor. She was sentenced to two years probation by Miller County Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson and must pay $5,600 in restitution for money she received in excess of her salary and $3,000 to reimburse the state for the audit performed to locate the missing funds. Here's more in an interim story posted on the Texarkana Gazette website.

Update (Tuesday): Dockery is now attempting to rescind her resignation and withdraw her guilty plea. More from the Texarkana Gazette.

Texarkana requests federal stimulus funds

The City of Texarkana, Arkansas has applied for $24.5 million for frontage roads along I-30 and I-49 and other connectors in the area. Other cities to apply for these funds are Bella Vista and West Memphis. Here's more from today's Democrat-Gazette.

Campaign season is upon us

Most candidates are out gathering support for their campaign, and I'm no exception. I have three events lined up in six days, and I'll spend one of them out of the district in central Arkansas next week, thanks to Vic Snyder, Robbie Wills, Graham Catlett, and 28 others. I anticipate a rule change that will prohibit the raising of funds during the fiscal session (begins Feb. 8), which is during the primary campaign season, and I'll support that change.

Lunch in Magnolia with the Area Agency on Aging

I made it down a soggy road to Magnolia in time to hear Senator Larry Teague address the Southwest Arkansas Area Agency on Aging at its annual meeting. About 120 showed for the luncheon, and topics of interest included the recent budget cuts and the upcoming annual fiscal session.

-- Post From My iPhone

Arkansas Community Development Society Annual Conference

I'm speaking on technology and community development here this morning at the annual ACDS economic forum at UALR's Jack Stephens Center and will use the blog as my platform to project my presentation. Lt. Governor Bill Halter is speaking at lunch on the lottery and community development.

Little Rock twice

This was one of those days where I had to make the trek up I-30 to Little Rock twice. I'm just arriving from Texarkana for the second time and am first on the agenda in the morning at the Arkansas Community Development Society's 2009 conference. I'll blog the event as I'm able.

AT&T Strengthens 3G Wireless Coverage in Texarkana

AT&T announced a substantial upgrade of its 3G mobile broadband network in Texarkana today with the deployment of additional wireless spectrum in the 850 MHz band. As a result of this upgrade, we ought to experience better 3G wireless connectivity, performance and enhanced in-building wireless coverage. The enhancement also increases network capacity, and the investment here is also intended to support the skyrocketing demand for 3G mobile broadband service. Continued investment in technology like this is a sign that the our region of the state has a strong economic future. Here's more from AT&T.

Lunch with Archie Manning

It's an unusual week to have Archie Manning address an Arkansas crowd in light of Ole Miss being on the Razorbacks' schedule this Saturday, but he gave a great address today at the Statehouse Convention Center as part of the Anne Hickman Lectureship series for Arkansas Children's Hospital. Several hundred were in attendance, including David Pryor, Beebe Chief of Staff Morril Harriman, and a handful of legislators. The Manning story is a great one, and one of the toughest battles Archie and his family faced included the diagnosis of Cooper Manning (the eldest son) with a spinal condition called stenosis when he was a senior in high school. He also focused on teaching children to develop an attitude of leadership, enabling them to take the lead in motivating themselves and their peers.

Tribute to Parker Westbrook

People from Howard County and around Arkansas gathered last night in Nashville, Arkansas to pay tribute to Parker Westbrook, one of the state's great historians. Parker worked for my grandfather in DC, and we serve on the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation together. I spoke, as did AG Dustin McDaniel, David Pryor, Jimmie Lou Fisher, Donna Kay Yeargan, Rep. Steve Cole, and Woody Futrell. Sen. Larry Teague ran the program, and most candidates to appear on the 2010 ballot across the state were in attendance.

Beebe cuts $100M from budget

After some recent speculation, the governor's office says the state will officially cut the budget by $100 million after seeing a drop in state revenue. We've seen reductions in revenue on all fronts, not just sales tax collections. Who'll see the largest cuts? The departments of Correction, Community Correction, Health and State Police will take the biggest hits. Here's more from the Associated Press.

For those of you familiar with the Revenue Stabilization Act, the FY2010 funding level will be reduced by 2.2% ($99.9M), and 98% of the A category is expected to be funded ($4,408.8M). Existing fund balances will ensure continued adequacy for public education and other priorities within the A category.

Genetics

When I was a kid, I came home after drawing my name, but my parents sorta looked at it and laughed, because of the way I made my E's. I'd forgotten about that until Camille (also age 4) started showing me last night how she could write letters. She does the same thing to her E's.

Catching up on a few items

Public hearing on proposed SWEPCO rate increase

Public Service Commissioners Paul Suskie and Butch Reeves came down to Hope last Thursday to conduct a hearing on the proposed SWEPCO rate increase. Not many agin-ers showed -- eleven people spoke, all saying they were in favor of the increase. The proposal would increase base rates for residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by $3.84 per month beginning Nov. 25. A final evidentiary hearing on the proposed rate increase will be conducted Nov. 2 in Little Rock at the PSC office.

Heller & The Second Amendment Moving Forward

I moderated a program on gun rights on Friday, which turned out to be one of the most interesting programs I've seen on the subject. I sat between Vandy Law Professor/trial lawyer David Smith and pro-gun attorney Alan Gura, and the discussion did become heated at times. Gura opined on several issues, including the guns in church legislation that was debated earlier this year in the Arkansas General Assembly. He declared that guns in church goes back to colonial times and that it shouldn't be a controversial matter. Smith, on the other hand, described some of the issues being debated as "bizarre."

81st State Chamber of Commerce/AIA Annual Meeting

The State Chamber/AIA is holding its annual meeting today at the Doubletree Hotel in Little Rock. Sen. Blanche Lincoln gave the keynote, and others speaking include Congressmen Ross and Snyder and Governor Beebe.

Slow Monday

Slow day, so here's a video passed along from a friend from St. Francis Co. that shows Arkansas Bluesman Lucious Spiller playing Rainy Night in Georgia last weekend in front of the Cat Head Delta Blues Store in Clarksdale, Miss. He does justice for Brook Benton, and if you like this one, here's Cummins Prison Blues.

For those of you headed to Ole Miss this weekend through Clarksdale, don't miss Abe's Barbecue. Abe’s sits at the crossroads of highways 61 and 49, the famous intersection where bluesman Robert Johnson, as the legend goes, sold his soul to the devil in order to play the blues. Find me a better location for a barbecue joint.

Glad that day's over

I posted a slowpoke 23:30 at yesterday's Race for the Cure 5K, and I let a few folks beat me, all of whom are having a lotta fun with it. My running partner David posted a 20:11, which was just 8 seconds off his personal record. My problem was that I followed him out on a fast start. We hit mile 1 at 6:16, and about a half mile later, I was sucking wind. Razorback Billy passed me at mile 2, but I did get a chuckle as I watched him flash the 'horns down sign at the Texas High cheering squad.

Everyone in the country outside of Gainesville seemed to be pulling for Arkansas yesterday, and that was a heartbreaker. Texarkana standouts Ryan Mallett and Dennis Johnson both had good games, and Texarkana frosh Cobi Hamilton got the start at Wide Receiver. I think we have the opportunity to reel in five wins in a row beginning at Oxford on Saturday. It'd be nice to go into Baton Rouge sitting at 8-3.

Update: SEC officials admit the personal foul against Malcolm Sheppard halfway through the 4th quarter was incorrect. Still, we had plenty of opportunities to close the deal.

400 jobs headed to Fort Smith

Mitsubishi is locating a wind manufacturing plant in Sebastian County.

Sunday on 60 Minutes

The CBS program 60 Minutes will air a segment on treatment of the H1N1 virus, and Arkansas Children's Hospital is likely to be involved/shown. CBS has been taping on the ACH campus for two weeks, constructing material for the 15-minute story this Sunday. It's scheduled for 6 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 18 – or after the ballgame if the game runs past 6 o’clock.

Repost: New York Marathon

I'm 16 days out from the New York Marathon. I'm running this particular marathon on November 1 with "Fred's Team" in an effort to raise awareness (and money) for prostate cancer. Fred's Team is named for Fred Lebow, running legend and creator of the New York City Marathon, who died of cancer.

I've chosen for my funds to be focused primarily on prostate cancer research since I serve on the board of directors of the Arkansas Prostate Foundation Board. If you can pitch in a donation, I'd be much appreciative. You can donate online, and it will help me reach my goal prior to the November 1 race.

Today is the last day that I can raise money.

Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association Justice Award

I was proud to receive the Justice Award last night at the Little Rock Doubletree from the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association. Prosecutor Marcus Vaden received the Prosecutor of the Year award. Other legislative awardees included Sen. Steve Faris and Reps. Davy Carter, Nathan George, Bubba Powers, and John Paul Wells.

The governor addressed the group and discussed some of the accomplishments regarding law and justice in his first two terms. The banquet was co-hosted by the Henderson State Sidney McMath Institute of Pre-Law and Government, and HSU President Chuck Welch spoke and recognized Phillip McMath. All elected prosecutors were in attendance, including my local Prosecutor Brent Haltom (pictured right).

Parks & Tourism Commission meets in Texarkana

It's not quite Chamber of Commerce weather down here, but the Parks & Tourism Commission is meeting here today. Commissioner Debbie Haak is chairing the meeting currently taking place here at the fairgrounds, and we'll go on a tour of downtown Texarkana at 11:30.

7th Annual Arkansas Law Enforcement Summit

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel will host approximately 350 officers and criminal-justice personnel from across Arkansas in a meeting today at the Clear Channel Metroplex in Little Rock to discuss crimes against children, with an emphasis on Internet crimes. Here's the agenda:

8:25 a.m.: Welcome; 1st Program: Cyberbullying
10:00 a.m.: Operation Fairplay
11:50 a.m.: AG's 2009 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Awards Luncheon
1:00 p.m.: Case Study: Morgan Nick and Morgan Nick Amber Alert
2:25 p.m.: Morgan Nick Amber Alert and Operation Hope
3:20 p.m.: Search and Rescue Dog Alliance of Arkansas
4:00 p.m.: Meeting adjournment

$100K scratchoff winner

Rep. Rick Green passes along word that the scholarship lottery will pay off its first $100,000 scratchoff winner. It was sold at a Van Buren convenience store.

Fixed (I think)

I've had a couple of problems with posts/comments disappearing and reappearing, but apparently all blogs using this service have had the same problem. It looks to be fixed.

Weekend on the trail

After some legislative work this morning, I checked out and started the weekend campaigning early down here.

I'm off for some high school football tonight, and the Quadrangle Festival will take place in downtown Texarkana tomorrow. Our office is right in the middle of it, and I'll broadcast the Razorbacks on the big screen here for any of you who are coming out for the festival. Kickoff is 11:00 a.m.

General Aviation in Arkansas

I was the speaker at tonight's local flying club at the Texarkana Regional Airport. The pilots here are mostly concerned about a safe atmosphere along with improved airports to serve general aviators across the state. During this past legislative session, the we authorized an appropriation increase from $8.5 million to $15.0 million for the grant program to serve the 93 public owned/public use airports. The Texarkana Regional Airport took advantage of that aid program to use $94,000 of it for state matching funds for a federal grant for a resurfacing project to maintain FAA compliance. American Airlines and the flying club planes comprise about 80% of the air traffic at TXK.

I was a private pilot back when I had disposable time to spend on the hobby. It doesn't take long to lose proficiency when you're not constantly in the cockpit, but being out there and sitting in the club planes makes it hard not to want to book one of them for the Arkansas-Auburn game this weekend.

Arkansas law enforcement to receive almost $10M in stimulus funding

The DF&A is distributing $9.6 million in stimulus funds to criminal-justice programs throughout the state, the Arkansas Recovery Office announced today. The funding will come through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant, which is the primary source of federal criminal-justice funding for state and local jurisdictions. It typically only receives about $3 million in funding every year for Arkansas programs.

What will it be spent on? $3.5M will buy a new Arkansas State Police helicopter, which will be equipped with a hoist capable of deploying rescuers into remote areas not accessible by other means. The State Crime Lab is also purchasing new equipment to improve the efficiency of processing forensic evidence, and the DIS office will expand and upgrade the Arkansas Wireless Information Network with its additional grant money.

Arkansas Committee on Foreign Relations

Next week, AEDC Director Maria Haley will discuss Governor Beebe's visit to Europe at the Arkansas Committee on Foreign Relations meeting next Tuesday at lunch at the Capital Hotel in Little Rock. Haley is currently in Europe as part of the governor's delegation. The economic-development mission is taking place in London, Paris and Hamburg. Interesting in attending/joining? Send an e-mail here.

Newly Settled Constitutional Law

Heller & The Second Amendment Moving Forward

I'll be moderating a legal program on the 2nd Amendment next week at the Bowen School of Law in Little Rock. We'll have varying viewpoints, but one of the panelists will be Alan Gura (pictured right), lead attorney for the citizens challenging the 30-year gun ban in Washington, DC. He successfully argued that portions of D.C.'s Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 violate the individual right to keep and bear arms protected by the Constitution.

Gura is now lead counsel in McDonald v. Chicago, a case that seeks to incorporate the Second Amendment against state and local governments. This case, which also seeks to overturn the Slaughter-House Cases and incorporate the Second Amendment via the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, was granted certiorari last week on September 30. I'll post some additional comments next week.

Protecting Arkansas Seniors

The AARP and representatives from the Attorney General's office, the Arkansas Securities Department, the Arkansas State Bank Department, DHS, and the Arkansas Insurance Department held a town hall meeting down here today. Even with the weather, around 100 showed to ask questions and to learn about consumer alerts, securities fraud, medicare and insurance issues, and a discussion on "making good financial decisions." Most of the questions I fielded were on concerns of Medicare/Medicaid cuts and the grocery tax.

National Night Out

There were 15 neighborhood meetings here in Texarkana last night in conjunction with National Night Out. I hit a few of them, as did members of the Texarkana Arkansas Fire and Police Departments. Also yesterday, Domestic Violence Prevention, Inc. held its annual awareness luncheon, where several brave victims of domestic violence stood up and shared their stories. Here's Texarkana, Arkansas Mayor Horace Shipp reading a joint proclamation by both Texarkanas (right).

Also last night, members of the Arkansas Public Service Commission came down to hold a public hearing on the proposed new area code in this area (and everywhere else in the 870). Here's a fuzzy iPhone picture of PSC Chairman Paul Suskie (right) explaining the six proposals. The most likely appears to be an overlay, which is what the Texas-side recently did with the 430 area code. The upside to an overlay is that no one would have to change signage, letterhead, etc. The downside? You'd have to dial 10 digits, even for local calls. This is already done for many numbers here in Texarkana. You can still call Arkansas-side numbers using seven digits, but calling across State Line Avenue requires 10 digits, even though it's a local call. Texas-side phones require 10 digit dialing regardless if it's a local call to Texas or Arkansas.

Cooper Tire increases plant production, will hire 200 more workers

Cooper Tire-Texarkana will increase its plant production and will move to a 24-hour, seven-day production schedule "in response to growing market demand." 200 new employees will also be hired to support the increased volume. This is a welcome boost to Texarkana and southwest Arkansas. At capacity, the Texarkana factory can build 24,000 passenger and 8,000 light truck tires per day. I'm headed over to KTAL-6 for an interview for the 6:00 news on the subject.

On the trail

I spent the afternoon visiting with workers at Domtar in Ashdown before getting some positive news that another local plant, Cooper Tire in Texarkana, officially announced that it is expanding operations and hiring another 200 workers.

Pink houses

Made it back home in time for some onion rings and Sunday night football last night. I knew I was home when my alarm went off this morning playing John Cougar Mellencamp. Even though my body is here, my sleeping patterns are all over the place, but I did make it out to be dragged around on a 7-miler this morning. David wouldn't come off his 7:30 pace, and I had to keep up to answer all his questions about China, traveling in a communist country, and to catch up on the Razorback game from Saturday night. Plus, I'm less than four weeks out from the New York Marathon and have some catching up to do in that department.

I'll be catching up at the office and on the campaign trail today -- I'm working a plant gate shift change this afternoon to visit with some local workers. I did forget to post about the maglev train in Shanghai, which traveled at about 190 mph there in the urban areas. It was nice, but that type of high speed rail is pretty much cost-prohibitive. Even in that megalopolis of 20 million +, it's hemorrhaging money. Even though the cost of a ticket is just $6 from downtown to the suburban airport, that's highly expensive in China.

China: Getting a local Arkansas perspective

Our final meeting was held yesterday at the Shainghai Institute of International Studies, where we continued discussions on the US-China trade imbalance and its unsustainable path, greenhouse gas emissions, tariffs, specific examples of the potential for investment opportunities in Arkansas and the South, and the protection of proprietary and intellectual property interests. In the past two years, Arkansas has become very aggressive in trying to attract Chinese investment, and I've now seen the economic importance and endless opportunities (and the difficulty) of this effort.

After that meeting, Robbie and I ran out after packing our bags to meet with a local Cooper Tire advisor, who happens to be an old high school friend of mine. Bruce Ward began his career in the tire industry at the Cooper plant in Texarkana. He transferred to one of the Cooper Tire plants here in China two years ago to take on an advisory role at the Shandong plant. Bruce and I went to high school and college together, and true to his roots, his biggest project right now is to try and bust through the red tape here to ship his 12 gauge here to China for hunting one weekend this fall.

Bruce lives here in Shanghai and flies weekly to Rongcheng for work. His perspective on U.S investment in China, trade relations, the tire tariff, Chinese workplace environments, and life in China in general was invaluable. He has two kids in an international school here and commented on the difficulty of the curriculum and schedule. I've come away with a different perspective on the power of this emerging economy and the likelihood of its continued growth due to the work ethic and the simple desire to succeed by the people. The trade imbalance and the need to attract Chinese investment to the U.S. aside, the one thing that sticks out here is the appetite for success. It reminds me of the U.S. in the post World War II era. This was truly one of the biggest eye opening and awakening experiences I've had.

Lottery nets a million in three days

In three days of scratch off ticket sales (of four different varieties), the lottery has produced $3.9 million in gross sales and over a milllion in net proceeds. The first six million in net proceeds will cover the startup loan appropriated by the legislature.

Arkansas-China trade

Arkansas has a significant amount of international business activity -- 121 foreign-owned firms and 33,700 workers in the state are employed by foreign-owned firms. Still, we've yet to see a substantial Chinese capital investment. We opened our first office here less than a year ago to attract economic development to the state. Based on our meetings today and yesterday (and corroborated by AEDC research), our best opportunities to engage in trade in greenfield investments, agriculture and distribution partnerships. Our top exporters to China aren't too surprising: Tyson and Wal-Mart.

China is our 5th largest export market, and our exports here have grown 500% in the last decade. The only export markets to Arkansas larger than China are Canada, Mexico, France, and the United Kingdom. We all hear that China is the single largest holder of American debt (each Arkansan owes China approximately $1,728). We also hear that Americans are purchasing many of our consumer goods from China, only for China to lend their money back to us and charge interest on it. Besides the trade imbalance and protectionism, other topics of conversation covered here include the protection of intellectual property rights. With the fastest growing economy in the world, Americans should take notice of the opportunities available in these expanding markets, and Arkansas is working very hard to attract opportunities in our state. We'll see a portion of China's improved infrastructure in the morning via a Maglev high speed train in Pudong near Shanghai (also home to a Cooper Tire plant) before returning to the U.S. over the weekend. Here we are meeting with Hu Zhengyue, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for China:



It's very interesting to hear a candid and unfiltered perspective from Chinese officials on trade and governmental relations with the United States. I was awoken at 3:00 a.m. this morning by the sound of tanks rolling down the main thoroughfare towards Tiananmen Square. While I knew it was in preparation for today's celebratory events surrounding the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China, it was still quite a sight -- thousands of soldiers were also marching down the street in unison.

China and back

Sorry for the lack of posts -- I've been in China for the last couple of days with spotty Internet service. I have lots to catch up on now that I have found a connection (it's a little after midnight here in Beijing on Friday, October 2).

Robbie Wills and I here on the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China with a delegation of southern legislators made up of three Democrats and four Republicans representing the Southern Legislative Conference. Speakers from Louisiana, Alabama, and Missouri are here along with the Virginia Senate Pro-Tem and my counterpart in the Tennessee Senate, Leader Mark Norris. The trip is not taken at taxpayer expense.

We received a thorough briefing from the AEDC prior to our trip, and this mission is especially important and sensitive to Arkansas and Texarkana in particular because of the recent imposition of a tariff on Chinese tire imports to the United States. Of course, there's been lots of talk of potential tariffs from China on American poultry, which will cause some ears to perk up in Arkansas. Mr. Tung Chee Hwa (right with Robbie) told us during our meeting with him that these moves aren't good for either side. He's the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and he confided that many are disappointed in the action on Chinese tires. He mentioned protectionism several times during our conversation. Cooper Tire, by the way, opposed the tariff, but workers in the Texarkana plant, of course, supported the decision.