State GOP Chairman Doyle Webb Calls for 3rd Party Candidate to Run Agianst McDaniel

According to a tweet (about 2:30PM on April 30th) by the esteemed blogger Jason Tolbert, the chairman of the state Republican Party has called on a third party to get on the ballot and run somebody against Democrat Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. Webb was on the Dave Elswick show at about that time, so I would guess that this is where he made the comment.

The Republicans failed to find an opponent for McDaniel, and it is too late for an independent to seek ballot access for the post. Unless a new party qualifies for the ballot, McDaniel will get off unchallenged. As it turns out, the Constitution Party of Arkansas has a petition drive underway from now until July 5th. You can download a petition yourself and help them out right here. After all, if the state chairman of the GOP says this is what ought to be done, it must be OK for Republicans to sign, and even gather signatures for, these petitions.

Constitution Party of Arkansas Chairman Tom Mayfield has said that the party does not intend to field candidates for federal offices. The state Republican party has fielded plenty of (some would say too many) candidates for those positions.

POW Net Radio: Jim Bob Dugger vs. Chamber of Commerce

On this program:


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*Jim Bob Duggar vs. the Chamber of Commerce
*Deconstructing Boozman's TV Ad
*Judicial Supremacy, the enormity of the threat and what we should do about it.


********UPDATE****************

Here is the article I was referring to, which unmasks the Chamber of Commerce as being anti-free market and for using the government to force people to subsidize their projects. The free market members of Congress actually get a low rating from them, because they won't support the use of government intervention to prop up favored industries.

Link Between Autism Rise and Vaccines that Use Aborted Fetal Cells

I reported on this story before, but this report comes with a graph that is really shocking. Each time they introduced a new injection of a vaccine which used products from stem lines harvested from aborted fetal tissue, the rate of autism increased. Autism is almost unknown in communities like the Amish, which eschew vaccinations.

Abortion is surely a curse on this nation which punishes the innocent in more ways than the initial injustice of taking the unborn life.

Media Tries to Silence Jim Holt's Message

Looks like someone had some fun with this one, but the message in the Press Release is deadly serious. I understand a supporter furnished the vehicle and worked a lot on it.

JIM HOLT FOR U.S. SENATE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 28th, 2010CONTACT: Dwayne Andregg (479) 790-7743 dwaynea@jimholt2010.com

Senator Holt Responds to Allegations from Opposition Regarding Campaign Ambulance Flashing Lights

Arkansas U.S. Senate Republican frontrunner Jim Holt is responding to opposition about an alleged violation of a law regarding his campaign's latest symbol of conservative expression. Holt met with press on Monday at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock to unveil what he has dubbed as, "America's Ambulance."

Holt introduced the 2004 Ford F450 former emergency ambulance that several Holt supporters and volunteers have modified to read "ObamaCare Repeal Unit" in bold print on the face along with phrases like "Stop The Barackracy" and "The Cure for Obama's Hope & Change." In addition, America's Ambulance touts a caricature of President Obama with a Soviet hammer & sickle insignia affixed to his lapel while the other side displays a cartoon sketch of Sen. Lincoln posing alongside Sen. Harry Reid & Rep. Nancy Pelosi next to the words "Revive America: Vote Jim Holt for U.S. Senate."

The controversy arose from a Liberal Democratic group online article that alleged that Holt may be in violation of an Arkansas statute regarding the use of flashing lights. Holt commented today, "The clash with opposition on this ambulance is not the use of flashing lights, it is the fact that we are bringing to light the corrupt and unconstitutional behaviors of Washington, and they are trying to silence us. Holt continued, "They have usurped the will of the people to enact radical legislation like National Healthcare and Government Bailouts."

Holt stated that campaign volunteers inquired of local law enforcement regarding the use of lights previously and were informed that they were legal when not used on roadways or to impersonate emergency officials. Holt also mentioned that the vehicle lights have clear lenses and in no way can they be construed to appear like an official emergency vehicle. Holt stated, "I have the utmost respect for the men and women that serve across the Nation everyday in emergency medical services and law enforcement. Our goal with America's Ambulance is correlating the emergency situation of our Nation - we are in a crisis and we need to elect true conservative leaders that will respond to the scene in Washington."

Holt stated that he is having an attorney look into the statute to see whether the lighting may be a concern, and until then the lights will remain on the vehicle, and as always, not in use while driving.

"We know what their opposition is really about. It's sad. The Liberals a.k.a. as Socialists, are pretending to be worried about a code when they are the ones who need to be put into question and arrested for putting our Constitution on life support!" Holt said. "As stated previously, but was not reported, "we haven't transgressed anyone's rights or liberties."

On December 16, 1773, our Founding Fathers took tea that wasn't theirs and threw it overboard in the Boston Tea Party, and we dub them heroes. The liberals are trying to make it look as if we're criminals when they are the traitors to our Country and our freedoms." Holt passionately stated, "They should be ashamed, and the people of this state and Nation must reclaim our liberties and refound our Country once again."

Holt was a former National Security Agency Watch Officer under Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and served as a Russian Linguist during the fall of the Soviet Union. Holt stated that working in the NSA provided him with a clear view of the mistakes that Socialist leaders imposed on the people of Russia. He stated, "The current administration is cramming their liberal agenda down the throats of the people in much the same way - with no thought for the American public." Holt also said, When you attack the leader of the most Socialist minded progressive agenda our nation has ever seen, it is bound to cause quite a stir.

Holt continues, "We are speaking out and representing Americans who have not had a voice in Washington that represents them. With recent attacks on freedom and liberty, citizens need a leader - someone who will fight to defend their Constitutional rights." Supporters have said they are rallying behind Holt in the race to the U.S. Senate because of his impeccable record and integrity. Holt reiterated, "The illustration in America's Ambulance harnesses the momentum we need to drive us through to victory in November. Then we will head for the ER — Economic Recovery."

P.S. – "Whether someone put nails in our tires Monday night or not, we don't know; however, we got them fixed… we're on the road!" – Jim Holt

Pictures of America's Ambulance are available at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103348157959&s=41&e=001g63fZajgjBcT0pqSy_HgNmpo10k7lKuMpq_GoQEU6voim0rmgQDFMFHtnA3wh4kXNgNVTgfSj_calJvueJJCeyk2xKpMBurAn16AZJiNguk=

Join The Tax Revolt - Vote for Jim Holt

Speech for Jim Holt at Lincoln Day Dinner in Jonesboro, April 24, 2010, by Debbie Pelley
(If the first few paragraphs sound familiar, they have been posted before but the rest of the speech is different).

It is a real honor to speak for Jim Holt tonight. He was very disappointed that a scheduling conflict kept him from being here. I am afraid our country is on the brink of disaster today because we voters have listened to what politicians say rather than watch what they do.

I have watched Jim Holt for 7 years now, and I don't have to support him based on what he says, nor on campaign promises or on what I hope he will do once elected. I can support Holt based on his actual voting record and past performance.

I spent many, many days at the Arkansas Capitol during the most expensive legislative sessions in history, when about $3.2 billion dollars were added to our tax burden, and much of our local control destroyed. I was appalled that many Republican legislators voted for all those taxes and government control but watched in awe as Jim Holt actually broke with his own party and voted against ALL those taxes, sometimes being the only senator to do so.

Holt even voted against his own legislative pay raise – Every Time. He took a lot of heat for all those No votes, and those votes have greatly hindered his ability to raise money. If you know anything about politics, you know what I mean.

I have found Jim Holt to not only be courageous, but also one of the hardest working, most spiritual, principled, sacrificial, men I have ever known. He did not want to run this race. He believed he had to.

Even though I have criticized Republicans many times, I greatly appreciate the Republican Party for many reasons. In most cases, the Republican party has fought very hard to preserve our freedom of religion, to prevent abortion, homosexual marriage, gun control, ERA, etc. Had it not been for the Republicans, we would have lost all those battles a loong time ago. And Holt was a leader in Arkansas on all those social issues.

But Republicans on the national and state level have failed miserably in the area of fiscal responsibility and government control. From 2000 to 2010 our national debt went from $5 trillion to $12 trillion. The Republican administration was in charge for eight of those years, and most of the Republican Congressmen, including the one now running for US Senator, voted for increased spending and bigger government time and time again.

And from 2000 to 2010 Arkansas became the 5th fastest government growing state in the nation according to a budget study by Americans for Prosperity. And I knew it was happening because I was watching. Two of our US Senate candidates were in the Arkansas legislature during those exact years, 2000 to 2010. I can find NO significant votes they made to counteract government growth and spending but know of several votes they made to increase taxes and grow government. Jim Holt was in the legislature six of those years - but knowing citizens were Taxed More Than Enough Already, he voted in every instance against growth of government and spending.

Almost 12 thousand new employees in education alone have been hired in Arkansas just since 2000. Through consolidation they got rid of about 60 superintendents but hired almost 12,000 new bureaucrats. That sounds like the government, doesn't it?

It takes a massive bureaucracy to control our schools;
*for teams of bureaucrats to develop the curriculum and all those thousands of tests;
* to come into the classroom to monitor teachers to make sure the state's curriculum is being taught in every school and every classroom;
*to make sure that every rule by the Department of Education is followed and that the schools are living up to ALL the government requirements.

These requirements are the result of the No Child Left Behind law – the law that was sponsored by none other than Ted Kennedy and supported by most Republicans, including all the ones now running for US Senate that have a voting record, except for Jim Holt. Since NCLB was implemented in Arkansas in 2003, educational costs have almost doubled.

The school situation is a good example of how the bureaucrats use our tax money to control us. And they couldn't do it without our tax money. That is why I am so opposed to taxes. I was a teacher for 27 years and saw all this unfold and how they used the money and deceit to do it.

No wonder that according to a recent Rasmussen poll, 74% of the people say our party’s representatives have lost touch with GOP voters.

And Jim Holt is the only candidate running for US senator that can truthfully claim he never voted for tax increases and growth in government.

If we don't reward those who hold to the true Republican platform like Jim Holt , by electing him to a higher office, then how are we going to ever pull our Republican Party back to true fiscal conservative principles? And if we continue to reward those who failed to hold the line on taxes and spending by promoting them to a higher office, how are we going to ever save our country?

The Holt campaign is truly a grass roots organization and run mostly by volunteers. It may surprise you to know that Jim Holt pulled more votes in 2006 with only $200 thousand dollars than our Republican nominee for Governor, Asa Hutchinson did with $4.5 million dollars.

The lobbyists, businesses, and the party establishments are financially supporting their candidates and are being represented. I think we could save our country if the churches and Tea Party activists would sacrificially support the candidates that have a proven conservative record and that represent their interest.

Holt needs your help, but YOU as a conservative need his help as much or more than he needs yours.

So I am asking you to not only Join the Tax Revolt and Vote for Holt but also to Join the Tax Revolt and Support Holt.

(Senator Gilbert Baker and Senator Kim Hendren are the two candidates for US Senate that were in the Arkansas legislature from 2000 to 2010. Congressman John Boozman is the Congressman that voted for government expansion and spending when our national debt went from $5 trillion to $12 trillion. Boozman has been in office for nine years now. He supports the No Child Left Behind law as well.)

POW Net Radio Talks About the State of the Primary Races

Analysis of the horse race aspects of government is not my favorite part of the field, but that does not mean that I am not good at it! Plus, its what a lot of you would rather listen to instead of my policy wonk stuff. Here is the 30 minute audio where I talk about the Senate primaries and the 3rd District Congressional primary.

Constitution Party Begins Ballot Petition Drive

The Constitution Party of Arkansas has begun a petition drive to get its candidates, including Mayor Frank Gilbert for Governor, on the ballot for the 2010 elections.

They do not intend to run candidates for federal offices. Their goal is my goal- fix Arkansas first. One of the main platform planks is to get Instant Runoff Voting in the state to eliminate forever the fear of "splitting the vote" pressuring people to continue to vote for a "lesser of two evils" candidate.

Last cycle 71% of state legislative races were unopposed in the general election.

You can help and it won't take much. They need 300 people to collect and mail in 40 signatures each before July 5th. Will you be one of Gideon's 300? Here is a link explaining where to mail the petitions and to the petitions themselves. Just print a couple off. Probably the best way is to go ask your friends and family to sign (registered voters) and if one of them expresses enthusiasm ask them to gather the signatures for that sheet and give it back to you when they are done. That way you just need to find 20, and they just need to find 20.

John Brummett Doesn't Know Jack

Here is where John Brummett gave five reasons he did not expect any fireworks at the Lincoln-Halter Debate. Here is where Jason Tolbert of the Tolbert Report documents the fireworks at that debate, with plenty of video evidence.

If John Brummett does not even know the Democratic Senate candidates, he doesn't know Jack. Why is it that the papers give him all that platform again?

The End of the "Wasted Vote"

The Tea Party movement brings more than energy to the political process. It brings a willingness to "think outside the box." The Washington County Tea Party decided to poll their members on the House and Senate race online. Not only online voting, but INSTANT RUNOFF online voting. This is an idea that is a system changer. Voters rank the candidates. This allows them to vote their conscience because if their first choice winds up at the bottom of the pile then their vote is assigned to their second choice. The process is continued until someone gets a majority of the vote.

Many candidates did not fill out their survey, and were thus ineligible, and they had a "favorite son" candidate which impacted the results, but their attempts to improve our process is what excites me. The old "first past the post" method of determining election winners has not served us well.

Steyn Pans Clinton's Attempt to Tie Tea Party to Terror

Mark Steyn is magnificent in this piece, which mocks Bill Clinton's attempts to make the Tea Party the next front in the "War on Terror." He also has some zingers for media types who cave to threats of Muslim violence but pretend they are brave by standing up to the non-existent "threats" from the Tea Party movement.

When Majority Rule is Illegal (Brummett Deconstructed)

At various times and places in history, majority rule has been illegal. John Brummett argues for the same here at home in a recent column.
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John Brummett recently wrote a column entitled "When Majority Rule is Illegal." The concept he defends in the column can fairly be defined as "judicial supremacy". It is most pithily expressed in a quote by former Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes who, in a speech in 1907, said “we are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the judges say it is...”

Judicial supremacy undermines the rule of law, for it removes any fixed basis for law. "The Law" then becomes whatever the judges say it is today, and new judges can arbitrarily decide to change it the following year. This shows itself apparent in cases like Lawrence v. Texas, where the Supreme Court overruled itself from only 17 years before and told the states that in the intervening space of time they discovered that states had no right to make sodomy illegal.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with making sodomy illegal, the plain fact is that there is no prohibition in the US Constitution against any state making any sex act illegal. Clearly then, it falls under the ninth and tenth amendments where all powers not explicitly given to the federal government are retained by the states, or by the people.

Without a fixed basis for law, various interest groups are motivated to litigate and re-litigate their causes. Each one hopes that the judges of today will rule more favorably for them than the judges of yesterday. No one knows for sure what the rules are, because there is no fixed basis for law. Lawyers, and wearing a black dress does not make a judge any less a lawyer, love this system because it keeps the rest of us going back to the courts again and again.

The original intent of the lawmakers is the traditional fixed standard of law. Viewing the Constitution as a "living document" negates this traditional fixed standard. The Founders provided a process by which the document may be amended, and it requires the approval of the people. If the meaning of the constitution must be altered, let it be by legal means- the process of amendment. These other methods of claiming altered meanings for the constitution represent a judicial coup d'etat against the constitution they all swore to uphold.

Concepts like "Judicial Review" (of anything that is not expressly prohibited by the Constitution) and "living documents" along with expanded and altered definitions of words like "equal protection" and "due process" are all usurpations. The judges awarded themselves these extraordinary powers, they were not conferred on them by the people or their elected representatives. Each advance of the doctrine of judicial supremacy, in whatever form, represents a mini coup d'etat against the Constitution.

The doctrine of judicial supremacy also raises the judiciary above the constitution itself, which is the very document which gives them any authority at all. To give any one subset of America a monopoly power on interpreting the Constitution is to raise them above the Constitution's control. It is the responsibility of every holder of public office and every voter to determine when public officials act outside the purview of the Constitution. That's the only way it can serve its function to protect our liberties and check excesses of the federal government.

What I am describing here is a system of checks and balances. The essential doctrine of checks and balances is undermined from its foundations with the doctrine of judicial supremacy. The Founders set up our government with divided powers precisely because they knew that power corrupts. I believe it was Daniel Webster who said the the very definition of tyranny was when all power is gathered together in one place. Now we find ourselves in a position where for all practical purposes all power has been gathered into one place, and the judiciary is that place. The other branches provide an elaborate facade of cover for the illusion that the people still govern themselves, while the judiciary intervenes to advance statism.

As originally conceived, the branches of the federal government were to balance each other, and the states were to balance the feds. Even the people were to be balanced by a cumbersome process of checks that reduced the ability of the passions of the day from threatening the legitimate rights of some minority group. A legitimate part of that check was, in proper measure, the judiciary. But today's judiciary has squandered their credibility with the people regarding their legitimate powers by means of their continual illegitimate exercise of assumed powers.

These checks and balances have been lost, and as a result we see our liberties rapidly being lost. I call for electing executives who will refuse to enforce extra-constitutional rulings by the courts, and legislators who will reign in the authority of the courts and impeach judges who usurp powers not given them under the constitution.

POW Net Radio: Judicial Tyranny in the Natural State

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An audio where I discuss the Piazza ruling where he threw out Initiated Act One, with a little on the Senate race thrown in for good measure.

Link Between Autism Rise and Vaccines that Use Aborted Fetal Cells

Correlation is not causation, but there is a correlation between the use of vaccines that use cell lines from aborted fetuses and the rise in autism. That would be, for two, the MMR and some of the chicken pox vaccines.

Are You a Suspected "Enemy Belligerent?"

"War" on Terror Nazi- No constitution for you!
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If so, no trial for you under the proposed McCain-Lieberman bill. America's "choice" in 2008 was a socialist and a fascist (which is a type of socialist) both of whom were owned by the big banks.

Under this bill you can be locked up without trial just for being "suspected" of being, not a combatant, but a "belligerent." One category of persons up for such treatment is defined as one providing material support for “Such other matters as the President considers appropriate.” Do you feel safer yet?

I'm Just Say'n

For you to play back to back.

Morris: Bill Clinton Personally Orchestrated Waco Tragedy

Morris pushes back at Bill Clinton's attempt to demonize the Tea Party by comparing them to Tim McVeigh. He says Clinton, not Janet Reno, orchestrated the massacre at Waco and that she threatened to go public with the truth if he did not reappoint her. McVeigh, since executed for his crime, cited the Waco massacre as a motive for his bombing of a government building in Oklahoma.

video here

Voter Guide Online

I have it pulled up to the Senate race, but you can find your house race too.

Judicial Tyranny at its Most Incoherent (Piazza and Act One)

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Christopher Piazza threw out Arkansas Initiated Act 1 on the grounds that it violated the Arkansas Constitution, Article Two sections 2 and 29. The act prohibited co-habiting couples from adopting children that they were not related to in the state of Arkansas. The act was approved by 57% of the people in the last election. The act itself was a response to a previous judicial order overturning the policy of the Child Welfare department banning practicing homosexuals from adopting children.

The judge in that case said that such a ruling could not be made by the department on its own authority, there would have to be a law authorizing that. But the judge hinted that if such a law was in existence, he might have to throw it out anyway. The sponsors of the act, Arkansas Family Council, decided to make the adoption ban apply to all co-habiting couples so as to avoid singling out banning homosexuals who co-habit. This broadening was done in part to appease the leftist judges who would rule on the case.

At the time, I objected to such appeasement, and thought the initiated act should have been a straight-out ban against practicing homosexuals using the power of the state to obtain access to other people’s children. My fears were confirmed. Attempts to appease judicial tyrants do not work any better than appeasement works to mollify the tyranny of any other class of tyrant. Rather, it only emboldens them to further acts of contempt for the populace. Piazza threw the law out anyway.

I know that examining questions of law can be tedious, but the details of his two page ruling are worth looking into. The most amazing thing about the ruling once one examines it is that it becomes obvious that Chris Piazza has a dangerous misunderstanding of what elementary legal concepts like “due process” and “equal protection” mean. Further, the sections of the Arkansas Constitution that he claims as support for his decision, Article Two sections 2 & 29, either don’t apply to the case (section two) or actually destroy his claims (section 29). My point here is that Piazza is both outrageously arrogant and appallingly ignorant. It is my guess that his ignorance is of the willful type rather than the sort that is correctable simply by an exposure to knowledge. In short, he could know better, but he chooses not to. Repentance, not education, is the only hope for those types and I believe that this is what we should pray for concerning Judge Piazza.

These are grave charges I have laid at the feet of the judge, and charges so serious should not be made against an authority unless one is willing to lay out in some detail as to why those claims are true. Please indulge me as I do so here. Since he ruled that there were no federal matters at stake in the case the Constitution he refers to is that of the state of....

(deconstruction of the ruling continued on the jump....)

Candidate Forums Televised

Matt Turner and KNWA put together what I thought was a stellar event today. They asked candidates tough questions, and even had a format that encouraged some back-and-forth among the candidates. Let me go farther, this was a rare instance of the mainstream media vetting candidates extremely well. It's the kind of intelligent scrutiny that the Tea Parties should be doing, but only some are.

Here is the Senate debate. I don't know who won, but John Boozman lost. It was pathetic watching him justify all of his big-spending, government interventionist votes as conservative. His claim that more jobs would be lost in Arkansas if the bailout had not passed is laughable. Taking money from all over the country, including Arkansas, and sending it to a handful of bankers in New York is not going to save Arkansas' jobs. Not in the long run. Its only going to lead to exactly what we see: the banksters are already giving themselves multi-million dollar bonuses while the rest of the country staggers under debt.

The televised congressional forum for the 3rd district is here. This was a better debate than the Senate one. I thought Skoch did well. If he really has not done any lobbying work he might have won it. Gunner DeLay helped himself by landing blows on Womack while slipping several attempts at punches on himself. Doug Matayo also scored some points, as did Mike Moore.

Violence at Political Rally

But the Tea Party was not involved on either side, so you likely won't hear about it from the MSM. White supremacists neo-nazis decided to hold a rally in Los Angeles. They left under a hail of thrown projectiles. Gee, the neo-Nazis were actually less violent than their protesters. Idiots have free speech rights too. Can't we all just get along?

Mexican Government Targets Oklahoma

Maybe Oklahoma needs that militia they were talking about organizing after all.

Tea Party Straw Poll Results

The Tea Parties in Little Rock, Jonesboro, and Saline County all had straw polls at their events and through Secure Arkansas they collaborated on the results to give totals. View those results here.

Big Debate Saturday

Big debate Saturday at the Convention Center in Springdale. All 8 congressional candidates debate at 11:00, and all 8 U.S. Senate candidates debate at 2:00.

Polling Data, Plus Morris Could Throw Race into Chaos

Roby Brock at Business Talk took a poll on several primary races. While there have been some stones thrown at the poll methodology, I don't see anything in there that would throw it much outside the margin of error. In the Senate primary on the Democratic side, that means Halter is in striking range of Lincoln, and that a run-off is quite likely. My gut tells me at the end of the day, Lincoln is still the nominee. Democrats are even more "tribal" than Republicans. They rally round the party choice in the end.

On the Republican side, the situation is more complicated. Here are the raw numbers....

John Boozman 46%
Gilbert Baker 14%
Jim Holt 8%
Curtis Coleman 5%
Conrad Reynolds 3%
Kim Hendren 3%
Randy Alexander 3%
Fred Ramey 1%
Undecided 17%

So there is a chance that Boozman will win the nomination without a run-off. My instinct here is that that last four percent is going to be hard for Boozman to get, especially since Baker has raised quite a bit of money and is not afraid to use it to remind people that Boozman voted for TARP. I rate Boozman's chance of evading a runoff as about 1 in 4.

His odds get better if the Holt and Baker camps don't quit going after each other. It makes no sense to attack one another when the guy with the most undeserved votes is Boozman. When I say a vote is "undeserved" I mean that there is a number of voters who are going with Boozman based on an image they have of him that does not match the actual record. Holt and Baker don't seem to care for each other much, but the data is clear- the only rational choice they have is to declare a truce and unite in denouncing "Bailout Boozman."

That necessary step may be a hard one, because they are battling each other for a run-off spot. Baker has a slim lead in this poll, and likely more money to enhance his position. On the other hand, Holt has a history of doing better on election day than he polls. Fact is, if they don't dent Boozman's numbers a little bit then it will not matter which of them gets in the run-off. Boozman won't get many of the votes from the minor candidates, but he will get enough to put him over unless Holt and Baker join forces and land a few punches on Boozman.

Holt may prove me wrong tomorrow, but I don't anticipate a good fundraising report for him. Baker raised about 200K. Holt does not have to raise that much, but he can't get away with being outraised 10-1. 3 or perhaps 4 to one maybe, because he runs a much leaner organization, but not 10-1. We will see.

Boozman, and to some extent Baker, were establishment choices. The anti-establishment vote is split six ways. That kept any of them from getting real traction. That may mean that the run-off is between two men who would not even be the second or third choice of about half of the voters. Instant Runoff Voting could have solved this problem, but apparently it makes too much sense to implement.

Now to the 3rd District race. There was a poll on that one a week or so back, but it may mean less now than you would think. That is because the leader in that poll, Rogers Mayor Steve Womack, got attacked by Dick Morris in front of huge conservative crowds at Tea Parties in Fayetteville, Fort Smith, and Little Rock.

Womack was slow to sign the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" you see. Morris blasted, and Womack signed- hinting that he was going to all along he just wanted to wait until tax day to do so. Much of the damage is done though. My guess is that the race will be returned to a temporary state of flux and possibly provide an opportunity for an outsider who has the resources to strike hard.

I don't believe for one second that Morris did this as an off-hand remark. He came to town gunning for Womack. The Arkansas chapter of Americans for Prosperity brought Morris in, but were they in on it? Was it a sign of Washington support for some other candidate, such as Cecile Bledsoe? Or is it simply a case of ATF punishing a candidate who was slow to jump on their program? Stay tuned folks.

Yours Truly To Speak at Rogers Tea Party

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Elements of the Benton County Tea Party will have a Tea Party of their own tomorrow. The event will be held from 4-6PM at the Frisco Stage in downtown Rogers. This is by the railroad tracks on First street, right in the heart of old down town. Of course I know that many of you will head down to the lunch time Tea Party in the Fayetteville town square. That one has Dick Morris as the headline speaker. This one just has little ole me. Still, I will try to make it worth your trip. I am slated to speak from around the 5:15-5:45 time frame.

I hope to see you there.

Rasmussen Poll: Obama 42%, Ron Paul 41%

Texas Congressman Ron Paul scored a statistical dead heat with Resident Barack Obama in a poll by Rasmussen. While Democrats backed Obama to a greater degree than Republicans backed Paul, independents chose Paul over Obama by a wide margin to keep the race nearly even.

This was the sharpest divide yet between what Rasmussen calls the "Political Class" and "Mainstream Voters." 58% of mainstream voters picked Paul in the matchup, but the political class went 95% for Obama.

And oh yeah, there was some kind of little poll by Roby Brock at business talk showing the Democratic Senate primary is close and probably headed for a run-off.

Third District TV Ads

Mayor Steve Womack

Councilman Kurt Maddox


Anybody seen a TV ad for the others let me know and I will add them to the list. Let us know what you think.

Did Gilbert Baker Lie To Constituent in Email?

In 2003 Senator Gilbert Baker Told Constituents No school K-8 Would Be Closed

By March, 2006, 45 School Campuses Closed, 20 of them Elementary

Almost 12,000 New Education Jobs Have Been Added Since 2000
(See Baker's original email below)

From: Baker Gilbert [mailto:BakerG@arkleg.state.ar.us]
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 7:51 AM
To: C L Steplock III
Subject: RE: Long Bus Rides in Arkansas

Any plan that would realign districts would always, I repeat, always keep K-8 schools intact.


Gilbert

These are the types of things that turn people off Republican establishment candidates. Was Baker just lying to his constituents or had he read the law to which he was referring in his email? All those fighting consolidation and who sent thousands and thousands of emails and came to the capitol by the bus loads knew what it meant.

And guess what! The bill never used the word "consolidation" in the text of the bill, just like the global warming SRC12 that Baker co-sponsored did not use the words "cap and trade." Baker also denied vehemently that the Resolution he co-sponsored is not a "cap and trade" resolution. But if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, then it's a duck.

Surely Baker knew what the consolidation bill meant because later he voted for every consolidation bill that went through the Senate and actually co-sponsored the failed SB758 to consolidate schools under 1500. He voted for closing isolated districts (which put many kids on the bus for 3 1/2 hours a day after voting for a bill the year before that passed on the basis they would not close isolated districts.

Baker also voted for countywide school districts, SB132 of 2005 (supposedly administrative only but the wording in the bill clearly gives authority for countywide school districts - this bill did not get out of the House committee but will be back around). Baker also voted for the Omnibus bill that implemented No Child Left Behind in Arkansas that took over the school curriculum and used the word consolidation i 31 times. They are still using this Omnibus bill to close down schools every year. (By the way, the Omnibus bill never mentioned the words NCLB either, but ADE Director Ray Simon introduced it to the State Board as the law that implemented No Child Left Behind in Arkansas.

The consolidation bill was sold as a way of saving money by cutting out some administrators like superintendents and by eliminating some teachers who had extremely small classes in the smaller schools.

Now we know the real results. According to Democrat Gazette Article, 4/11/2010, "Also, the state said, there has been an increase in public school employees, who do not show up in the total number of people employed by the state. Thanks in part to the state spending heavily on public schools, payrolls - teachers, district staff and co-op employees - increased from 58,227 jobs in 2000 to 70,051 in 2009, up about 20 percent, Leathers and Terry said."

So they cut out about 60 superintendents and added almost 12,000 other new education employees. That sounds like the government, doesn't it? http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/apr/11/activist-group-blasts-growth-states-hires-20100411/ Link to Dem Gaz article.

Why do they need so many new positions in education? It takes a lot of bureaucrats to control the school systems. It takes numerous employees to check on the teachers' lesson plan books across the state, on all the courses schools are offering, and see that every rule of the Arkansas Department of Education is followed - so they can close the school down if a school fails to meet one of the government requirements. And how much do you think it cost the state when the state government takes over a school?

Furthermore, in the same session Baker and others voted to consolidate schools under 350 and tried to consolidate schools under 1500, they voted to give $107 million dollars to Arkansas Department Education for 32 new employees, etc. The legislature supposedly consolidated the schools to save money by hiring fewer superintendents. $22 million paid the salary for every superintendent in the state in 2003, but this $107 million gift to ADE would pay for 1,070 superintendents at $100,000 for a year.

For a list of all the schools that have been closed, see this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Consolidation%20-%20List%20of%20campus%20closing%202006.html

Tongiht POW Net Radio: The Tea Party One Year Later

Where it is, and where it ought to go. 9-10PM tonight or catch it on archives later.

This Tax Day, Find a Tea Party Near You

APRIL 15 (These are all on Thursday, April 15, 2010)

Fayetteville, 11:00 AM, at the Fayetteville Town Square. Dick Morris will be the guest speaker!

Fort Smith, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM, Pendergraft Park, 200 Garrison Avenue. Dick Morris will be the guest speaker!

El Dorado, 12:00 noon, east side of Union County Courthouse in downtown El Dorado.

Little Rock, 5:00 PM, State Capitol Building. Dick Morris will be the guest speaker!

Jonesboro, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Craighead County Courthouse in Jonesboro.

Hot Springs 5:00 PM, Hot Springs Airport

Mountain Home, 5:30 PM, Mountain Home Town Square.

Benton,4:00 PM, Benton Post Office

Rogers, 4:00 PM at Frisco Station (Downtown Rogers)

White Hall 4:00 PM White Hall Post Office

Paris 5:00 PM former Dodge Dealership.

Harrison 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Boone County Courthouse Square

Hope 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM Hempstead County Courthouse

Bella Vista 12:00 Noon to 6:00 PM Sugar Creek Center by the theater

Lafayette County 12:00 Noon to 2:00 PM Lafayette County Courthouse

Russellville 12:00 Noon to 2:00 PM Russelville Depot

Batesville 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM Corner of Harrison and 20th

Bentonville 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Bentonville Square

Conway 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM Simon Park

Baxter County 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM Baxter County Fairgrounds

Caulksville 5:30 PM to 8:00 pm. Highway 22 just east of the Hwy 22/Hwy 23 junction

Monticello (Time To Be Announced) Monticello Town Square

Paragould (Time to Be Announced) Green County Courthouse, 320 West Court Street, Paragould

Brought to You By Goldman Sachs and Company

See what nice, heart-warming ads you can afford to buy telling people that you are not a sellout, when you sell out.

Yours Truly To Speak at Rogers Tea Party

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April 15th there will be Tea Parties around the state. Some are being pushed by big national groups who get money from the D.C. area. Others are local. One of the ones that is local will be held from 4-6PM at the stage in old downtown Rogers. It's by the railroad tracks on first street. I am due to speak around 5:15 or so. If you have not heard enough of me from reading my wild rants here, I invite you to come hear me in person. Thanks.

How to Deal With Census Takers

Video demonstration by the magnificent Christopher Walken.

Romney Edges Paul By One Vote in SRLC Straw Poll

Results of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference Poll....

Newt Gingrich 18% (321)
Mike Huckabee 4%
Gary Johnson 1%
Sarah Palin 18% (330)
Ron Paul 24% (438)
Tim Pawlenty 3%
Mike Pence 3%
Mitt Romney 24% (439)
Rick Santorum 2%

Obama Asserts Right to Kill American Citizens Without Trial

While it is true that the American Citizen he is starting with is a bad guy, a dangerous and constitution-trashing principle has been set. The citizen marked for death without trial is Anwar Al-Awlaki, who was born in New Mexico but is now based in Yemen. He has been linked to Maj. Nidal Hassan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in November.

This establishes the principle that the Executive Branch alone can execute any citizen it deems a "terrorist" without judicial oversight and without a trial by jury. Can't he at least be convicted in abstentia? It appears even that option, convicting a person in a trial where they are not there to defend themselves, is too limiting for the administration, since someone else gets a say in not only guilt or innocence, but in sentencing. The Empire is not big on the concept of separation of powers.

One of the scarier quotes from the piece is "U.S. officials assert that international law permits the use of lethal force against individuals and groups who pose an imminent threat," International law may provide that option, but we are supposed to be governed by the US Constitution, and it does not.

Rassmussen Poll: Most Voters Closer to Tea Party Than Obama

With April 15th Tax day protests coming up again, Rasmussen took a poll asking voters if they considered their own views closer to that of President Barack Hussein Obama or to the Tea Party. By a 48-44% margin, the voters said the Tea Party was more closely aligned with their views.

Naturally Republicans made up a good chunk of those siding with the Tea Party, and the Democrats made up a "gooder" chunk of those who lined up behind Obama, but Independents choose the Tea Party by a margin of 50-38%. Not bad considering I heard that the major corporate media has been working hard trying to portray the Tea Party movement as a pack of hateful, violent bigots. Maybe nobody listens to them anymore. I know I don't.

Though Obama's numbers are not good, he fared much better than the poll last week where the same question was asked relative to Congress. The Tea Party beat Congress by a whopping 48-26% margin in that one.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the poll was how it broke out among voters who tested as "mainstreet" vs. "political class". 87% of the political class, regardless of whether they were Republicans or Democrats, said that their views were closer to Obama's than the Tea Party's. 63% of Main Street Americans sided with the Tea Party. Here is how Rasmussen determined who feel into each group....

"The questions used to calculate the Index are:

-- Generally speaking, when it comes to important national issues, whose judgment do you trust more - the American people or America’s political leaders?

-- Some people believe that the federal government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for its own interests. Has the federal government become a special interest group?

-- Do government and big business often work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors? "

"Yes" was Mainstream, "No" was political class.

Candidate Congressman John Boozman's Voting Record On Controversial Issues

With a national debt of $10 trillion, Boozman, candidate for Arkansas US Senate, voted for the $700 billion Bailout.

Bailout Bill – Stabilization Act of 2008, H.R. 1424 authorized the Treasury Department to use $700 billion of taxpayer money to purchase troubled mortgage-related securities from banks and other financial-related institutions, on terms set by the Treasury Secretary, who now has authority to manage and sell those assets. This bill establishes an unconstitutional merger of government with banks and businesses. Stabilization Act of 2008 (H.R. 1424) passed 263-171 (Roll Call 681) on October 3, 2008. 171 other Representatives voted more conservatively than did Boozman on this bill.

Boozman voted against protecting taxpayers from bailing out banks in 2005.A representative offered an amendment to “eliminate the ability of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to borrow from the Treasury." Rep Ron Paul stated on the floor, “I hope my colleagues join me in protecting taxpayers from having to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when the housing bubble bursts.” The House rejected the amendment on October 26, 2005, by a vote of 47-371 (Roll Call 544).

With a national debt of $6 trillion, Boozman voted for the Prescription Drug Plan.
Prescription Drug Plan H.R. 4954 – Ten Year Cost: $350 Billion. Uses taxpayer money to subsidize costs of prescription drugs for those on Medicare. This was another step in the direction of socialized medicine. Passed June 28, 2002 by 221-208.

Boozman voted to increase the national budget and debt ceiling year after year.Budget Resolution - House Concurrent Resolution 95 authorized federal spending for 2004 of $1,861 billion dollars with a deficit of $558 billion and an increase in the public debt ceiling of $984 billion, for a total of $7.4 trillion This dwarfs the previous record federal deficit of $290 billion in 1992. Adopted April 11, 2003 by a vote of 216 to 211 (Roll Call 141) 211 Representatives voted more conservatively than Boozman. During his nine years in office Boozman kept voting for increased budgets and spending bills, big and small for nine years, even when our national debt had reached $9 and $10 trillion, and stopped doing so only when Obama became President.

Boozman received an average score of only 43% by the Club for Growth for 2006-2008 compared to true conservatives like Rep. Michelle Bachman’s 94% average and Senator Jim DeMint 100% average. Club for Growth’s goal is to cut taxes and treat taxpayers equally.

Boozman voted for NAIS (Animal ID) by refusing to vote for this Amendment:
Defunding the NAIS, also called Animal ID, in the 207 Agriculture Appropriations H.R.5384. A representative introduced this amendment to bar the use of funds in the bill to implement the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a government program supposedly for preventing the spread of disease. The House rejected this Amendment on May 23, 2006, by a vote of 34-389 (Roll Call 184). NAIS recommends, and some say mandates, attaching recommended tags with microchips for all animals that would allow the computerized recording of livestock movements from birth to the slaughterhouse. The extra cost of radio tags, scanners and filing reports when animals change premises would be crushing, some smaller producers say.

Boozman supports No Child Left Behind (NCLB), a national education program.
On his website, Boozman praises No Child Left Behind, saying, "Like many of my colleagues in Congress, I am eager for the reauthorization of NCLB." Despite the billions of state and federal dollars that Congress added to spending on education through NCLB, this year's National Assessment of Education Progress scores (the NAEP test that is referred to as the Nation's Report Card) show no improvement this year nor any significant improvement for the past several years.

Even worse, NCLB is the mechanism that has been used for the federal government to take over our educational systems and to basically control the curriculum in every state in the union. Through NCLB and with Stimulus money, Obama is now implementing national/international curriculum (UN curriculum) in our schools. Janet Napolitano was chair of the international benchmarking advisory group over these standards. Imagine our school curriculum being written by Napolitano. Napolitano is the one that sent out the DHS warning to law enforcement officials across the nation to be on alert for violent antigovernment groups like returning veterans, citizens opposing abortion, firearms restrictions, homosexuality, and out of control spending.

With a national debt of $9 trillion, Boozman voted for the lst stimulus bill in 2008:
Economic Stimulus of 2008. H.R. 5140. Provided about $150 billion in economic stimulus, including $101.1 billion in direct payments of rebate checks (typically $600) to most taxpayers in 2008 and temporary tax breaks for businesses. H.R. 5140 passed 385-35 on January 29, 2008, (Roll Call 25). Creating money out of thin air and then spending the newly created money cannot improve the economy, at least not in the long term. (If it could, why not create even more money for rebates and make every American a millionaire?)

Boozman supported mandatory program to combat global warming.
Global Climate Change. The House voted on an amendment to strike from the bill (H.R. 2643) a mandatory program to combat global warming. H.R. 2643 specifically says, "the sense of the Congress that there should be enacted a comprehensive and effective national program of mandatory, market-based limits and incentives” to reduce global greenhouse- gas emissions. An example of so called “market-based limits” would be a cap and trade system. The House (Boozman included) rejected the Barton amendment, and thereby kept the global warming language in the bill, by a vote of 153-274 (Roll Call 555) on June 26,2007.

Boozman voted for several so-called Free Trade Agreements:
These trade agreements have caused hundreds of US companies to move to foreign countries in order to take advantage of cheap labor, causing millions of job losses in the United States. NAFTA alone has cost more than one million US job opportunities.

The loss of sovereignty is another problem with trade agreements. In the Peru Free Trade Agreement legislation of November 8, 2007, the Committee on Ways and Means reported that "the Peru FTA has become the first U.S. free trade agreement to include, in its core test fully enforceable commitments by the Parties to adopt, maintain, and enforce basic international labor standards, as stated in the 1988 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work." The ILO, or International Labor Organization, is a UN agency. For a list of five free trade agreements for which Boozman voted see this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Boozman%20-%20Trade%20Agreements%20voted%20for.htm

Boozman voted to fund National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), HR5386
NEA received $129.41 million from this legislation. NEA has funded such works as "Piss Christ, with a crucifix submerged in the artist's urine," and other anti-Christian and pornographic works. HR 5386 also included $145.96 million for National Endowment of the Humanities and $7.56 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency. The title of this bill was "Interior Department FY 20007 Appropriations Bill." The total cost of the bill was $25.57 billion (Passed 5/18/2006 by 293-128 (Roll Call 172). Our national debt at this time was $8.3 trillion.)

To compare the way you would vote with the way Congressman John Boozman voted on many more bills, see this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Boozman%20Voting%20Record%202%20Compare%20Votes.htm

Womack Polls Strong in AR3 Race

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
Business Talk and The Tolbert Report have released their own poll on the race.

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The Womack campaign released a poll showing him the frontrunner with 31% of the vote. Bledsoe and DeLay scored 12% and 11%, no others were in double digits. It is surprising is that the undecideds were only 34% in this poll.

McDaniel Says "No" to Referendum Language

Secure Arkansas cannot seem to get past AG Dustin McDaniel in their efforts to get a rejection of Obamacare on the ballot. Nor are they apparently willing to do what it would take to stop McDaniel from kicking them around- support a third party challenge to McDaniel who would make every delaying tactic and false legal assertion an issue. Their preference, in violation of the most elementary investment advice that each one of them doubtless adheres to in their personal finances, is against diversification.

It appears their choice is to put all of their eggs in the Republican basket as it regards finding candidates to stand up for them and represent their interests. Sadly, the Republicans have failed to find anyone to oppose McDaniel in November-we are not sure they even tried. That is sticking with an investment that is guaranteed to fail in November. Bernie Madoff investors have a better chance of getting something back than SA does in getting an AG candidate who will go after, and possibly defeat, Dustin McDaniel from the Republicans. That's frustrating because I believe he is beatable. There are a lot of Democrats in south Arkansas who are not looking forward to eight years of Governor McDaniel.

McDaniel is apparently willing to do whatever it takes to stop Secure Arkansas, and they are not willing to do whatever it takes to stop him. I don't approve of the likely result, but who can't see it coming? Remember Proverbs 27:6.

McDaniel's reasoning is pretty weak. But you won't get that from the Morning News version of events. On the nit-picking side of things, McDaniel claims he can't defend the proposal in court because it does not define terms like "compel" and "participate". This is shades of Bill Clinton saying it "depends on what the definition of is is." Meaningful communication is impossible with bad intentioned people like Bill Clinton and Dustin McDaniel, because they don't use words as tools to find truth, but to impose their will. If every word longer than four letters was defined, doubtless McDaniel would reject the measure on the grounds that it is now too lengthy!

AGs in at least two other states are not so finicky as McDaniel on definitions. A very similar amendment to the one SA is proposing is already on the ballot.

"The proposal also contained no language informing voters that the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution would prevent it from having any affect on the federal law if the federal law is found to be constitutional" McDaniel said.

Why does it have to inform them of that? One of the main points is to get the thing to the Supreme Court, and SA wants Arkansans to be one of those defending liberty instead of being passive bystanders while other states manfully take up our slack. And the statement is not even true. The supremacy clause only applies to federal laws that are constitutional to begin with, which the health care legislation clearly is not. Google interpostion or nullification, or go to the 10th amendment center. That is a part of our nation's hidden history- hidden because statists want you to believe that all power to interpret the Constitution is centralized in nine persons and they decide for the other 300 million. That is against the spirit of checks and balances.

New Job

I start a new job tomorrow. In this climate, I was very blessed to find one so quickly after my former work place closed down. I will be selling office furniture- 90% of what I will sell is made in the USA. We also do office supplies. Its not my department, but I want to help my new employer any way I can. I "ride for the brand."

If any of you know a place in NWA that has a need for office furniture, from good solid middle of the line stuff to a custom made desk, please post the name of the business in the comments section. Thanks.

Plot to Suppress Price of Silver Uncovered

This video is a dry-toned overview of the story, but what it claims is explosive. J.P. Morgan is controlling the price of silver, and if you are privy to their "buying signals" you make money. If you are outside the loop, you probably lose. At one point last month, J.P. Morgan had 40% of all the sliver shorts on the New York exchange. A fellow named Andrew McGuire uncovered the plot, reported it to the CFTC- and they did nothing. Shortly after that someone accelerated into McGuire's car, with he and his family inside. The driver sped off but was eventually apprehended, but the police are not releasing any information about the case or the identity of the assailant.

A GATA figure named Bill Murphy had several media interviews lined up with big outlets in the American corporate media in order to break the story, and they all canceled within hours of each other. King World News, an independent outfit that has made a name for itself covering important stories that the corporate media won't cover, has an interview with McGuire, and then a round table talk with men from GATA about it. They claim that the futures market is no longer a true market at all because governments are intervening and using them to artificially hold down the price of numerous commodities. Of course, that strategy can conceal fundamental currency weakness, but not correct it. Expect a currency crash similar to the housing crash when it all unwinds.

From Cagle.com

Big Banks for Blanche- Applies Equally to Boozman

Ok, now these guys are funny. The Halter camp is getting very creative in their efforts to peel support off from Blanche Lincoln. The thing is, everything they are saying also applies to John Boozman. Should he win the GOP nomination and Halter the Dem. nomination, you can expect to see these two guys become "Bankers for Boozman."

Womack Distinguishes Himself According to ArkTimes

There is more news on the Republican race for Congress. The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce held a candidate forum. The Godfather of liberal journalists in this state, Max Brantley, thinks one Republican candidate in the field has scored a point. That would be Rogers Mayor Steve Womack. And how did Womack distinguish himself from the other seven candidates in the race? By refusing to rule out a tax increase to prop up Medicare. The other seven candidates all ruled out a tax increase to shore up the program.

There is no doubt Medicare is in financial difficulty. The payroll deductions for Medicare pay for only about half of the program. The rest of it is paid for by other sources, including general tax revenues. Current projections indicate that by 2050 Medicare alone will consume one of every two dollars of incoming federal revenues. It already consumes one in six dollars of federal revenue.

Woamck is clearly going for, one could even say pandering to, the senior vote. He previously touted the gym that Rogers built for seniors and suggested that the Federal government should help cities across the nation build one as well. Seniors who want the government to build them a gym might like it, but seniors with grandchildren might be a little more concerned about the massive government debt that a generation of overspending is leaving to those grandchildren.

Generally, only Democrats can get away with cutting Medicare. The recent health care legislation actually cut $400 million from the program. It did it by reducing funding for home health care and Medicare Advantage plans. In my view, those are exactly the wrong things to cut, because they offer seniors more choice while not necessarily driving up expenses. Those are two programs where there is actually an incentive for someone to monitor costs. In my view, the only way in which we are going to control expenses is to give the patient an incentive to help look for the best price. In other words, give them a cut of the savings.

The Democrats did not cut Medicare in order to preserve the solvency of the system. They cut it in order to spend more money elsewhere- Obamacare. We will see how that flies with older voters in November.

I like a couple of the candidates in this race, a couple I am leery of but could still feel good about, and a couple I have scratched off of my personal list. Of the two I feel best about, one has the same last name as I do, and the other has paid me to do occasional consulting for him. Reason for bias yes, but I hope I am using policy to decide my vote. The two I like are Boone County Judge Mike Moore and businessman (and Gravette City Councilman) Kurt Maddox. They share the same constitutional philosophy and are relative "outsiders" in the race.

At the event, Maddox related a story about how a friend of his questioned some Medicare billing on equipment rental. The supplier told her not to worry, Medicare was paying for it. She dug around and found out what they were charging to rent the stuff, then went out and bought it for a fraction of what they were going to charge Medicare to rent it to her. She did it because she is a patriot, but we need to change Medicare so that the patient can benefit if they find a way to save the system money. Right now there is no incentive for the patient to even ask for the cost.

Texas Officials to Border Farmers: "Arm Yourselves"

The Dallas Morning News reports that Texas officials are advising farmers who live along the Mexican border to "arm yourselves" after an escalation of violence that has resulted in the murder of at least one U.S. farm family. Much of the threat is from spillover violence as rival gangs battle it out for control of entire towns, blockade military bases they think are supporting another faction, and even fabricate IEDs.

Hayek Vs. Keynes Rapping

Okay, proof I am a policy geek, as if any more documentation was required. I think the rap video is hilarious. It features guys pretending to be the economists John M. Keynes and F.A. Hayek. Keynes won the debate among politicians- R's and D's both subscribe to his theory that it is all about spending and it does not matter what the spending is. Hayek countered that this may work in the short run, but it will lead to an exaggerated boom-bust cycle. The video portrays Keynes as a wild party guy and Hayek as a responsible nerd, albiet one who can rap.

Keynes was telling the politicians exactly what they wanted to hear- that their grandiose plans to spend OPM were good for the economy. That's why they have already committed to spend, what, the projected lifetime earnings of the next three generations? Hey, if those unborn babies didn't like us spending their money, they should have voted us out, right?