I would like to ask for your help in making it as Arkansas specific as possible by informing me of any stories that have to do with government transparency, fiscal issues, or over reaching. Hopefully we will build over the next several months a network of citizens across this state that are contributing to let others know what is happening to Arkansans everywhere.
If you know additional sources that regularly post on Arkansas issues please let me know.
Be sure and check out the twitter feeds at the bottom and I strongly encourage you to jump on board the social media train... don't be afraid, if they want to find you they already have everything they need to know, lol.
Fayetteville getting “Greener”
Let me clear, I truly believe we need to be good stewards of our environment. I believe littering and polluting is wrong. I am a proponent of recycling, composting and making efforts to live in harmony with our environment. I am strictly against gads of government intervention and programs that do more harm than good, spending enormous amounts of money, and shackling Americans with tremendous regulation.
Fayetteville is on the forefront of continually circumventing the circle of life. Leaders here constantly orchestrate and employ, at the cost of the tax payer, programs to lead their subjects in the direction they wish us to go.
They are currently in the process of employing a streamside protection ordinance. If you do not know what that is I encourage you to read this fact sheet put out by the University of Arkansas Public Policy Center (this is a wonderful source for information)
This proposed regulation will affect citizen property rights, restrict property owners of activities on their own land, eminent domain seizures, increased tax burden and other financial liabilities.
There is a meeting tomorrow, Thursday, January 6th at 1pm at the Washington County Farm Bureau office, located at 1165 N. Meadowland Drive (just off Wedington, just west of 540), I hope to see you there~
Fish, Birds,…now Hogs…?
The Hogs were just 18 yards from winning after an AMAZING blocked punt with less than a minute to go in last night Sugar Bowl. But two plays later, an incomplete pass and the epic interception that is to scar Ryan Mallett’s record for ever, sealed the fate of our beloved Razorbacks. The game ended with The Ohio State winning 31-26… arggggg.
As far as the fish and the birds dying all over the state, seems that Arkansas is not the only one. I ran across a story from KAIT reporting that in Labarre, La some 500 birds peppered over a quarter-mile in their community.
Mike, my husband, was telling me that there were several stories around the nation of dead fish and birds in the past few weeks, has this happened before? Or is this something new?
Tons of speculation is swirling in our close knit state from fireworks, to sonic booms, H1N1, upper atmosphere hail to chemical warfare (?) Governor Beebe made an astute and comforting comment on Tuesday proclaiming “I never seen anything like it. It's weird," …
Well this may well turn out like that funky smell that hit New York City many months ago, we will just never know.
To Seat or Not to Seat?
That is the question that will be before our Arkansas House of Representatives on Thursday. Progressive Arkansas, a state blog, informed us that “it is possible that the House will also deal with whether to seat Rep.-elect Leslee Milam Post (D-Ozark).”
You may recall that on December 30th on Morning Roll Call there was a question of residency requirements and Mr. Smith had been charged with theft of property of nearly $30,000.00 of taxpayer money.
Here’s what else Progressive Arkansas says they learned from an undisclosed source:
The House will meet in the House chamber at 1:30 pm on Thursday "to consider what action the Members deem appropriate on the matter of Fred Smith and any other matters relating to the seating of a member based on 'qualifications, returns and elections,'" according to a House e-mail.
A House source tells us that "any other matters relating to the seating of a member" may refer to Post. She has been implicated, though not proven guilty, in the illegal obtaining of private documents relating to her former opponent, Tom Fite (R-Alma), who was disqualified for election due to a conviction for Medicare fraud.
This story is developing. We will post updates as new stories on the website, not as edits of this article.
This should be an interesting Arkansas saga to follow…
UPDATE~
UPDATE~
LAST ONE FOR TODAY~
Arkansas Inmates Get/Make a Break
There’s a new blog in town, IndependentArkansas.com, and they have an interesting story concerning our prison system. Evidently “the state’s prison population has doubled in the past 20 years, and costs are rising even faster – from $45 million then to $349 million today. That will only get bigger as the state adds more than 100 people to the prison system each month.”
There has been a “Working Group” established to take a look at the problem and offer recommendations which then our legislators will take a look at and determine which route to take.
In their post, IndependentArkansas.com has an interview on YouTube of Governor Beebe’s statement, it goes like this:
“This is (pause) … People want honesty? People want transparency? People want their government not to lie to them? … This is the honest, laydown truth. You can like it or you can not like it, but it’s the truth. If you don’t like these solutions, you’d better have different ones because if you don’t, someone’s going to have one for you. I’m not taking any money away from education to pay for this prison stuff. I’m not kicking anybody out of a nursing home with my vote to pay for this stuff. All this rhetoric, well we’ve got fraud and abuse and we can save money. You bet. If you show it to me, we’ll save it. You find me some fraud, let’s arrest them. You want to save $100 million with abuse, show it to me where it is, let’s take it and put it wherever it needs to be. But let’s be honest and be specific.”
You know what?... I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE GOVERNOR!! This government~ Of, By and For the People, can be really painstaking effort, and WE need to take it. And Gov. Beebe is right on the mark when he says “You can like it or you can not like it, but it’s the truth. If you don’t like these solutions, you’d better have different ones because if you don’t, someone’s going to have one for you.”
Isn’t this what WE THE PEOPLE say we want, for our legislators and leaders to listen to us? Well then we need to start talking.
That also requires us to know what the heck is going on, which would require us to take the time to pick a subject, a legislative body, a level of government from the state down and become involved.
Friends we can rally in the streets all day long, protest till our faces turn blue and we pass out, but the ONLY thing that is going to change what is going on in our government is it’s people, and that is YOU and I.
Please consider to resolve this year to help by becoming more informed, engaged and empowered. If you need ideas on how to do that please contact me and I will help by giving you several options.
FEED
@ArkansasOnline
Blytheville aircraft firm announces new jobs: A Blytheville-based aircraft repair and maintenance firm formally ... http://bit.ly/ewUTIh
Dozens of birds found dead in Sweden: Officials say about 50 birds have been found dead on a street in Sweden. http://bit.ly/g1MPF8
Multifaceted fowl: If you’re hoping to stretch your grocery dollars in the new year, look to foods that can pull... http://bit.ly/ft5nK6
@KATVNews
3 police officers charged in LR armored car caperhttp://bit.ly/fat46G
Mallett's INT ends otherwise spectacular seasonhttp://bit.ly/hh0VEj
@Region8News
AR editors to hear from governor, legislatorshttp://bit.ly/eEBM2R
Some looting of storm victims' homeshttp://bit.ly/gqC9Jt
@RobyBrock
Aviation Repair Technologies expanding in Blytheville. $10M, 300 new jobs.
Pryor says sacred cow programs (Medicare and Soc. Sec.) must be re-examined to control fed. budget.http://bit.ly/hTLpDu
Metro unemployment conditions worsening by and large in Ark. http://bit.ly/gDafSj
