MOST EVERYONE WE KNOW wants to help with the Hurricane Relief efforts. We've heard of a couple worthy organizations doing their part. We want to encourage readers to help, and we've brought you this link, which will allow you to get involved in KNWA-TV's "Arkansas Neighbors In Need" -- the station will take donations at the NWA Mall from 5:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday) -- the donations go to the American Red Cross of Northwest Arkansas, and 20 percent of your donation stays in the area. If you donate at Arvest Bank branches to the "Arkansas Neighbors Need Hurricane Relief" fund (ask for accounty by name) your money will go to Second Harvest, which will provide food and water for relief efforts on the Gulf Coast. Truly a worthwhile effort that crosses any political boundaries, and we encouarge you to help out. Conservative or Liberal, show some compassion.

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WE LOVE CROOKSANDLIARS.COM...the site always has fantastic video of all things news and/or politics. We have to give them credit for this one...as a weatherman I call a friend told me a moment ago..."there are some real nutjobs anchoring on cable television."

Here is the .wmv video link (click to play, right click, "save as" to download"

Hurricane Katrina is certainly causing a lot of crazy TV.

He screams: "Let me talk Carol!"

Chad then throws his "papers" down. I think he needs a time out.

Again, a big "thank-you" to Crooksandliars.com for all the fantastic work.

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YEAH, WAL-MART GOT BACK! The world's largest retailer announces a deal with Black Entertainment Television...wonder if they'll stock any of those videos from the late night vid program that plays after midnight! This, courtesy of Arkansas Business...

Viacom subsidiary BET said Tuesday that it has partnered with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville to sell DVDs with exclusive BET content at Wal-Mart stores.

Under the alliance, the DVDs will be packaged with the featured releases and sold as "BET Official"-branded two-packs in BET-branded retail sections and other merchandising displays throughout Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores.

The first BET-branded DVD will be a special CD/DVD two-pack of rapper/producer Kanye West's new album, "Late Registration." The pack will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores.

"This marketing and promotion alliance with Wal-Mart pairs BET's powerful brand and stellar content with trend-setting, urban-oriented music and movies to enhance Wal-Mart's appeal in urban entertainment product," said BET President and CEO Debra L. Lee. "Over the years, we've sought creative ways to deliver more BET programming content through retail channels. And what better way than combining the ultimate retailer with the greatest black consumer brand on the planet."

WE VERY MUCH ENJOYED this piece, from the Christian-agenda drive agape press, sent to us courtesy of everyone's favorite activist, Debbie Pelley of Jonesboro, who a) loves our man Jim Holt, and b) hates books that talk about that nasty thing Grady Jim mentioned in the morning paper (starts with and "s" ends with an "x" -- we don't want to get banned, do we?) Seems Debbie has again poignantly illustrated what some have described as a mythical division between Governor Huckabee and the people he desribed as "Shiite" Republicans in the North...more book ban info, and yes, thank you Debbie for the note...we'll take your contributions pro or anti-book any day...

Debbie Pelley is a retired teacher who runs www.wpaag.org, a website that alerts parents to the content of controversial books like these that are being made available to impressionable school children. The educator-turned-activist believes such books may actually violate state law. "For instance," she says, "one of the codes in Arkansas says no person shall knowingly exhibit, display, or receive for the purpose of sale or distribution any visual or print medium depicting a child participating or engaging in sexually explicit conduct."

The office of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has declined to comment publicly on the books in question. Meanwhile, Pelley has responded to the governor's silence with criticism. She says a Southern Baptist minister and a man who claims to be concerned about children's health should have no problem addressing this matter.

The retired teacher suspects she knows why Huckabee may be hesitant to weigh in on the school library porn issue. "I think that it's something he knows will be controversial," she says, "and it's something that doesn't fit into his plan right now as he's running for president."

Pelley says Huckabee seems to have time to fly to California to appear on HBO, campaign in New Hampshire, sponsor a "socialized" medical program called Kids First, and back a program giving illegal aliens prenatal care. However, she says the governor apparently has no time to speak out on destructive pornographic school library books and the health problems they will generate.

Although the Arkansas Governor's Office has put forth no official statement on the library book porn problem, State Senator Jim Holt has asked Attorney General Mike Beebe to issue an opinion on the legality of the library materials. Meanwhile, Laurie Taylor, a parent who is challenging the obscene library books in Fayetteville is urging concerned citizens to sign an online petition opposing the materials.

HE FINALLY DID IT, George W. Bush finally gave in and says he'll open up the nation's strategic oil supplies, hoping to begin driving down the price of gas and oil products. Some yesterday saw the start of a run on gas stations, some stations in NWA actually ran out of fuel. Here's what the NY Times says today...the quotes, from Energy Sec'y Sam Bodman on CNBC yesteray...

''In a word. It is going to be done,'' Bodman said. ''Last evening it was approved and I think you'll be seeing an announcement about it later in the day. So we are doing everything we can to be responsive.''

He said the reserve was contained in five sites, four of which are operative. The site in New Orleans is not.

Bodman said it was too early to say how much oil would be released.

He said his department was dealing with inquiries from three companies about getting oil from the reserve. On Monday, Citgo Petroleum Corp. asked for 250,000 to 500,000 barrels to ensure that its Lake Charles, La., refinery doesn't run out.

Again, gas prices set to go up again today at the pump.

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AH YES, THERE IS JUSTICE IN THE WORLD and we know, because it seems the most vile woman in the world, as voted by Keith Olberman on MSNBC. This comes to us from the venerated Arkansas Times Blog...

Ann Coulter, the incendiary right-wing columnist, seems to be wearing out her welcome. She was dropped from an Arizona newspaper the other day. And now, Harding University has withdrawn its invitation to her to appear in its lecture series. She'd been scheduled to appear in April. (Though she's still on the schedule for a speech at Philander Smith in January, this note circulated at Harding today):

The administration has re-evaluated its decision to include Ms. Ann Coulter in the 2005-2006 American Studies Distinguished Lecture Series. In lieu of Ms. Coulter's presentation, the university has extended an invitation to Jose Maria Aznar, the former president of Spain. He has accepted our invitation, and his presentation will be Feb. 14.

NEW! A little added Coulter fun here -- this is an audio file of Coulter getting her butt kicked by a caller on the O'Reilly radio show..courtesy of Crooksandliars.com

Coulter gets smacked down -- .wav file

Har-de-har-har! She's really suffering, downhill all the way.

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We've always been big fans of Grady Jim Robinson...his column in the NWA Times this morning puts a "down-home" spin on the book-ban debate...we're sure you'll appreciate his common sense approach to the ongoing debate...here's a sample...

The problem may be that the '50s generation of "Leave It To Beaver" and "I Love Lucy" still can't discuss sex openly. We did a good job of suppressing in those days. We figured oral sex was whispering naughty words at recess. When we did learn from an older kid what it was, we didn't say it out loud for 30 years.

This whole rip-roaring controversy about books is not about censorship at all. It's about s-e-x. We just can’'t stand the thought of open talk about certain ways of having sex. We can talk a little bit about normal sex, but, puh-lease don't start talking about them weird ways.

Parents, do you really want your children to learn about sex the way our generation did? The books described are made to appear extreme. But when you hear the chapter titles you have to admit young girls should be informed about the "Mystery in their Panties." And the chapter called "The Boob Files" is a goofy title, but haven't most of you mothers had a talk with your daughters about their breasts? Some young girls don't have a mother who will discuss it. Maybe a book in the library is exactly what that child needs. I know, you're saying, it's not about something as simple as breasts. It's about this modern, weird stuff that's going around. We boys could have used that chapter called, "What's up Down There?" Most of us were totally bewildered at a very young age about our body parts. I asked my mother a few questions and she mumbled a few words and fled to the kitchen. We're a male generation who taught each other about sex at Scout camp and now we are Viagrapopping old goats searching the Internet for news about erectile dysfunction and penile extensions. (Did you hear about the guy who misspelled penile as p-e-n-a-l and guaranteed an extension for everyone who would send money for his formula. I've got kin in the penal system and I can tell you they don't want an extension.)

Got it now? Don't know how to make it any clearer than this.

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OK, SO THE BOOK THING JUST WON'T DIE...and we'll keep following it. Today, our sources in the field submit this to you, dear reader. Seems the students facing "book banning" don't consider it a good idea to trundle off a couple of crates of books to the dark corners of the library because a few parents have problems with sex-ed...here's what the kids think...

Dear Editor,

These are the words of Fayetteville High School students.

"This attempt at censorship is insulting our intelligence. Just because a book mentions drug use, sex, or something else considered "inappropriate" does NOT mean it is promoting these activities and behavior. In fact, it is probably sharing knowledge that could help a young person avoid or deal with a threatening or dangerous situation."

"I believe that we are young adults and we need to be exposed to the real world."

"Taking away access to the books will cause greater interest in them, i.e. abolition movement caused more drinking problems as opposed to preventing it."

"One group of outspoken individuals should not be allowed to take away the choices of other individuals."

"It's not fair to have kids exposed to this in everyday life, but not be able to read about it."

"No one is being forced to read them."

"If a parent doesn't want their children to read certain books, they can stop them, but they don't have to prohibit everybody."

"If it is against your religion, don't read it."

"Controversial subjects can be used to educate."

"The people that read books are the kind of people that can handle the topics."

"Did this group actually read them, or did they just type in "sex, cussing, and homosexuality" into the subject line and take that list?" There are other issues of importance in Fayetteville that can be covered rather than wasting time on books that we're mature enough to read."

"A High School is supposed to teach its students as much as possible to prepare them for the real world. Its goal is not to prepare its student for a sheltered real world."

"Restricting public access to books mainly affects students in lower-income families."

"Some of the authors listed, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Toni Morrison, have written award-winning books (i.e. Beloved, One Hundred Years of Solitude) and to ban these books means keeping a part of modern, acclaimed literature from students."

"If you really do want to keep children away from offensive material, why aren't you calling the TV networks?"

"These issues are in every day talk/life; if parents don't think these books should be allowed, and they don't want their children to experience them, then they shouldn't be in a public school."

"I believe restricting books is taking away knowledge from kids they may need."

"If we are sheltered, then how are we going to adapt in the real world. We can't be sheltered forever."

"God forbid people should learn about different things! Parents are sheltering their kids to the point where the minds are narrowing and the imagination is dying."

"These books help kids through tough times."

"I think that these books shouldn't be restricted because these things in the books are really happening. Libraries are for LEARNING."

"All books are a form of art or information, and that information shouldn't be shielded from growing teenagers who are desperate for knowledge."

Maybe parents should listen to the kids.

Somehow, I'm not so sure these students have the parents who've "found Jesus" over this issue.

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WORD ON THE GRAPEVINE says Fayetteville's School District will hold a special townhall meeting to address the book banning issue on Tuesday, September 13th at 6:30 p.m. in the High School gym. Further details remain unclear, but some have suggested an even number of people will get something like ten minutes to argue both sides of the issue. A special school board meeting will take place September 22nd, same date and place as the regular meeting, but with an agenda dedicated to the book issue. It'll be interested to see how many who show up at the meeting to support censorship will actually come from outside the district and even from outside the city, perhaps where the most support for banning actually has any support. Word also has it that there's a groundswell of support staring to come from high school students against any move to ban or restrict books in the school libraries. Developing...

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OUR MAN in the big Bella Vista has decided to give us the information we required on the rogue gas station where the price can change AS YOU FILL your tank. Not certain if that applies at every station, but I know none of us has ever seen it before...still sounds a little strange to us.

Our source writes...

Grand Central station, corner of Ar 340 and 279 - near the highlands gate here in Bella Vista.

Called them tonight and the woman I talked to said they would know after 9am tomorrow what the new price would be, but to expect a 5-7 cent increase....

Hope no one is filling up then.

No, probably not a good idea...maybe, if you fill up there, you'll need to go in to the clerk and find out how to time your fill-up. Maybe you'll have a window of opportunity to get today's high prices before they magically change in mid-fill-up.

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NOTE TO THE TV DEPARTMENT....this note from a KNWA viewer today just has me scratching my head, bewildered...can they do that to you?

FYI: While one of my employees was filling up the company truck this morning - at $2.59.... By the time he finished, the price changed to $2.77 Personally, I think it was ridiculous that I had to pay the higher amount even though he began fueling before the change was made..... "Oh well"

Bella Vista

Quick note on another controversial issue for the Fayetteville Public Schools...this time, Jefferson School...here's the latest, with a tip o' the hat to Alan Wilbourn...

Jefferson Task Force Sets Public Input Sessions

(FAYETTEVILLE, Ark)--The Jefferson Task Force announces a pair of meetings to gather public input regarding the future use of the Jefferson Elementary School and property, according to task force chairman Dr. Tim Kring. Jefferson Elementary School will close at the end of the 2005-06 academic year, and the task force was formed to gather public input and develop a recommendation(s) to the Fayetteville Board of Education for the future use.

The committee members include representatives of neighborhood associations, school district staff and city personnel, among others. The members of the committee include Carolyn Bradford, Lance Fisher, Mike Gray, Patricia Lopez, Dr. Will Miller, Karen Minkel, Elizabeth Mitchell, Ralph Nesson, Alan Ostner, and Kathy Spigarelli.

The task force will hold identical patron input sessions on Wednesday, September 21 at 7:00 pm and on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 3:00 pm in the Jefferson cafeteria. Paired meetings were selected in order to provide an opportunity for the working public to be able to attend one of the sessions.

These meetings will be designed to allow the public to bring any and all ideas to the table for consideration,said Kring. The meeting will focus on getting the essence of each idea communicated and grouping similar ideas together for future discussion. The meeting will not be used to discuss any of the ideas in detail, nor will the committee or the public be asked to discuss the advantages or disadvantages of any idea. Therefore, the task force asks all members of the public with ideas to attend one of the meetings and think about how to best describe their proposed use in a concise way.

The meeting will be run by professional meeting facilitators trained in gathering wide-ranging input in a format which can later be considered in logical progression. The next step in the process will be to begin more detailed discussions of specific ideas (or groups of ideas).

Alan T. Wilbourn Director of School & Community Relations Fayetteville Public Schools

Here's something interesting in Fayetteville. A local reporter tells us that this was a mass e-mail sent out by a local business leader. Apparently the "incident" happened last Saturday when a man and woman got into a fight This emailer says police arrested a the black woman, but not the white man. Fayetteville Chief Frank Johnson tells our erstwhile reporter the Department will look into what happened...a member of LULAC says the organization plans to meet with the chief...here's the e-mail...

Today my brother and I decided to spend some time together and made our first stop at the Northwest Arkansas mall. With the health fair going on and getting there at about noon, you can only imagine the traffic and the parking lot headaches.

We were fortunate to have found a spot right outside the food court entrance. As I get out of my car I notice a car that is being driven by an African American lady waiting for the spot right next to mine. As I am getting my three year old out of the car, a notice a mini van coming, it passes the now open spot and starts reversing like a bat of out hell as the driver wants that spot. One of the African American passengers notices this and gets out the car and stands in front of the open spot, not caring one bit about anything the driver of the mini van tries to run the African American lady over. Not once but three different times. The African American lady decided to move after the third time as the driver of the mini van was not joking. The driver gets out and is an Anglo gentleman and tells the African American lady to get her "Black Ass Away from him." This of course made the lady very upset and a verbal argument stated to the point that this gentleman elbow butted the lady three different times. Of course, there was a crowd watching and if it would not have been for my brother and I this man which is a threat to society would have punched this lady.

The argument kept getting heated the cops were called from my cell phone by one of the other African American passengers. The gentleman in the mini van had his wife, child, mother and another family. His wife and mother stayed there and the wife and mother kept arguing with the African American ladies and the mother even threw some punches at the African American ladies. And of course, the African American ladies were trying to defend themselves (mainly verbally). None of the African American ladies threw any punches except for one that did some hair pulling which is when four Fayetteville Police officers came and calmed the situation down. During their "so called investigation" all four officers interviewed all three African American ladies, the gentleman driving the minivan, is wife and mother. The other family that was with him was no where to be found. All four officers were told that my brother and I were the primary witnesses and that we had told the gentleman to cool off and relax. Out of the four officers, one came to speak to me and asked for my testimonial. After doing so he went through my testimonial with my brother. Let me also mention that this officer did not write anything I told him down but made it a point to write down both my and my brother's information on his hand. I then offered him one of my business cards as a sticky note. He then left the scene. The other three officers did not come to us or ask us any questions. It was obvious to me that they saw no use in the testimonials that these two Hispanic males had.

After about 45 minutes of this, the wonderful boys in blue arrested one of the African American ladies ( the one that was pulling the hair ) the other two were asked to leave and the threat to society, the scum back that thinks that it is right to try and run over a human being, ( a female ), the low life that thinks it’s his duty to elbow butt a female three times walks away with nothing but a hand shake from the wonderful boys in blue.

Why am I sharing this with you? I am sharing this because it goes to show that minorities no matter what the ethic background may be, are still being mistreated by local police departments. It is shameful at least in my point of view to see someone get away with a crime like this simply because he was 'anglo'.

Thank you,

NorthwestArkansasOnline.com

Alex Martinez, President & CEO

Telecommunications & Technology Services

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More here on the response to Katrina from the State of Arkansas...

ARKANSAS DISASTER MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TEAM DEPLOYED TO GULF STATES FOR HURRICANE KATRINA

WASHINGTON, DC - A team of medical specialists from Arkansas has been deployed to the Gulf Coast states to assist in the response effort to Hurricane Katrina. Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed the Arkansas-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) to be ready to assist communities in the area with emergency medical needs following Hurricane Katrina.

"FEMA is coordinating the mobilization of all available federal resources to help residents affected by this dangerous storm. DMAT teams play a critical role in the medical response to a disaster by assisting communities whose local resources may be overwhelmed," said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response.

The Arkansas DMAT joins similar teams from Washington, New Mexico, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Florida. The teams will deploy as needed into Hurricane Katrina-affected areas, and are part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), which is one of the resources brought to FEMA since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The team consists of members from throughout Arkansas and its 35 members include physicians, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and other medical specialists. The unit is designed to be self-sufficient for 72 hours with supplies including food and medicine, with a primary mission of supporting the medical needs in the areas heavily impacted disasters.

DMATs have responded to large-scale disasters including the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001, Hurricane Isabel in 2003, and the Bam, Iran Earthquake in December 2003. NDMS Teams were also deployed in 2004 to support the G8 Summit in Georgia, the National Democratic Convention in Boston and the Republican National Convention in New York.

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The scramble continues to fight flooding and to find out who survived Hurricane Katrina. On of our most loyal listeners/readers has her own stressful situation to deal with...I'm reprinting her letter here, in case anyone has information she could use...e-mail us here and we'll forward the information to her as soon as possible...

I am grasping at straws here but I am looking for places to get info on The Northshore of New Orleans, even thier 911 lines are down. Our family is down that way, I am about ready find a nearby flight and send my husband down to just go badger people around the road blocks. My husband's mother, brother in law and niece were taking shelter at Northshore Hospital where my mother in law was ordered to stay after being admitted b/c of the impending storm, it is about 5 miles from the twin span bridge across Lake Ponchartrain. Any ideas? Just have to try.

Thanks Jeannie and Mike Smith

OK...worked on this for a while last night, and I think I've finally got it. I'll start doing this on a regular basis. I'll post a link here to a full 2-hour episode of each show, and I'll even provide you with a detailed archive of the program. You can either simply click the link and let the show stream, or you can right-click, and "save target as" to download the file to your computer. Enjoy. Here's the link to last week's program...

Arkansas Tonight, Saturday, August 27, 2005 2 hours mp3

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Got a note from George Archibald, education writer for the Washington Times. He's given the Fayetteville Schools a deadline of noon today to respond or comment further on Dr. New's interview with me a couple of weeks back. Seems the paper will run a headline story about the book brouhaha in Fayetteville tomorrow. Here's a link to the Washington Times (warning -- super conservative!) -- it'll be interesting to see what Mr. Arnold comes up with. Thought I'd share with you at least part of what he wants comments on here. Also, if you look further down on this page, you can listen to my interview with Dr. New on this issue. Here's Mr. Archibald's inquiry...

Dear Fayetteville Board of Education Members,

The deadline for your input for the story about which I have previously emailed you is noon, Monday, August 29.

Do you have any comment or reaction to Superintendent Bobby C. New's stated views on the recent Don Elkins' KFAY-AM radio interview as follows:

- "This is nonsense about pornography and all that kind of information. We will really take issue and have an honest disagreement over that."

- "I will defend our librarians to the bitter end. They are professional trained, serious educators who totally, totally, have a process of reviewing everything that is ordered, to include reviewing critics, national critics, that have been identified by the American Library association as being credible."

Re. Laurie Taylor's complaints about sexually-explicit books:

- "I said to her, we would consider the first book she's challenged ["It's Perfectly Normal"]. We are going to work that process. We are going to make sure it is a quality decision. And we will notify her of that. Once that process is finished, we will take up any other issues that she might have ["It's So Amazing," "The Teenage Guy's Survival Guide," and 50 other identified books].

Re. parent complaints about a growing number of sexually-oriented books:

- "It is almost a cancer that grows within the total body of our school district What we try to do is work through that issue."

Re. school division's reaction and response to the concerns: "We take Mrs. Taylor's problem and challenge very seriously, but we don't stop flying the airplane because we have a parent that is not satisfied, or parents that have issues with us. We are going to continue to move in this school year - I understand the concerns. We're going to take those seriously, but we have a process... This issue is not time sensitive. It's quality driven" "

Re. Heightening controversy:

- "This has risen, Don, to an emotional level, and when it becomes emotional, it is difficult to take the analytical approach."

Thank you. Please respond by noon Monday, Aug. 29 for a story I must write on deadline for Tuesday's newspaper.

George Archibald Senior National Education Reporter The Washington Times

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AS PROMISED, here are the mp3 files of this weekend's show. First, you'll find our interview with Arkansas Democrat Gazette Columnist Mike Masterson. You'll then find our interview with the women (Kat, Janet, Marsha) opposed to "book banning" in the public school libraries, in two parts. All files are about 4.5 mb, in mono, and all you have to do is click the files and they'll pop up in whatever media player you have that plays mp3's.

You can also save time by right clicking the links, and choosing "save target as" and that'll smack these puppies on your computer. Again, our thanks to everyone to took part, especially everyone who called in, agree or disagree, you made it a fantastic evening and I very much enjoyed the conversation. Here are the files...

Mike Masterson interview (20:00) 4.62 mb mp3

No-ban interview one (17:00) 4.05 mb mp3

No-ban interview two (18:00) 4.24 mb mp3

We would be remiss if we didn't post something here about Katrina. Here are a couple of stories running on the wires this morning about the storm...

REFUGEES FROM HURRICANE KATRINA HAVE TRAVELED AS FAR NORTH AS LITTLE ROCK TO FIND HOTEL ROOMS IN WHICH TO WAIT OUT THE STORM. HOTELS IN SOUTH ARKANSAS REPORTED NO VACANCIES SATURDAY NIGHT AND YESTERDAY LITTLE ROCK OFFICIALS SAID LOUISIANANS HAD STARTED TO ARRIVE.

ARKANSAS VOLUNTEERS WILL GET READY TO HELP WHEN HURRICANE KATRINA FINALLY LEAVES. THE AMERICAN RED CROSS SAYS IT WILL USE LITTLE ROCK AS ONE OF ITS STAGING. AND ENTERGY ARKANSAS SAYS IT HAS SENT ABOUT 250 LINEMEN AND WORKERS TO STAGING AREAS AS WELL.

GRAND ISLE, LA. (AP) - THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER SAYS KATRINA HAS JUST COME ASHORE EAST OF GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA, AND IS HEADED FOR NEW ORLEANS. KATRINA IS A STRONG CATEGORY FOUR STORM, WITH 150 MILE-PER-HOUR WINDS. A FORECASTER DAYS "NEW ORLEANS MAY NEVER BE THE SAME."

Patrick Cooper, Bob Swanson and more members of the USATODAY.com news and weather teams will be blogging the latest from Hurricane Katrina on Monday. Check back often for updates.

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This "guest column" ran in today's NW edition of the DemGaz. Courtesy of ACLU attorney Grif Stockley...here's some of what it says...

In Fayetteville, a review committee of seven professionals was appointed to review three books challenged by Taylor. One need only review the documents produced by the committee to realize how thoroughly they performed their duties.

The courts appreciate community discretion in the selection of library books. In 1982, the Supreme Court said, "Local school boards must be permitted "to establish and apply their curriculum ... to transmit community values," and that "there is a legitimate and substantial community interest in promoting respect for authority and traditional values be they social, moral, or political."

But the court also was concerned about book censorship: It said, "[W] e think that the First Amendment rights of students may be directly and sharply implicated by the removal of books from [school library shelves]," and it ruled that "local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and [thus seek] to "prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion." The ACLU of Arkansas urges that choices of Arkansas library books remain within the province of the librarians and the review committees, which are not intimidated by those who want to "prescribe what shall be orthodox." To ensure that a child's school completely reflects one's values, there are always private schools.

Again, later today, I'll post some of what we talked about on this weekend's edition of the program as mp3 files, right here.

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SHOW UPDATE...again, Saturday's program (which was a barn-burner) mostly focused on book banning (ok, I know some of you don't call it that, but for expediency, let's leave it there) and protest in America will air tonight on WAIradio.com between 6 - 8 p.m. (at least that's what they tell me) and I'll post portions of the program here this afternoon.

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OK, OK already! Yeah, we know the Live365.com broadcast didn't work tonight...we understand they've had another one of their incredible service outages!

I know, it drives us nuts too, they do happen from time to time, but you have to hear tonight's show! It was amazing!

We've got some pics coming soon of our guests, and the phone lines were jammed throughout the night.

Our thanks to everyone who participated...we had a lot of help, and a lot of opinion got thrown out there...a fantastic radio show.

On a personal note, I got a little bit hot under the collar, but I feel strongly about the issues of both literacy and freedom of thought and speech, so you'll forgive me.

Usually, I stay pretty calm. Again, remember to catch the program in its entirety on Monday night, 6-8 p.m. on WAIradio.com, and keep the good thoughts a comin'.

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The most recent AP/Ipsos poll shows some 90 percent of us approve of protesting the war. Yet, what percentage of the entire population will send me those nasty little love notes about the column I wrote in today's paper?

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Bush administration has conducted the war in Iraq? (IF APPROVE/DISAPPROVE, ASK:) Is that strongly or somewhat?

(Results from June 2005 in parentheses)

-Strongly approve, 20 percent (26)

-Somewhat approve, 16 percent (15)

-Somewhat disapprove, 13 percent (11)

-Strongly disapprove, 45 percent (45)

-Not sure, 5 percent (3)

TOTAL APPROVE - 37 percent (41)

TOTAL DISAPPROVE - 58 percent (56)

2. All in all, thinking about how things have gone in Iraq since the United States went to war there in March 2003, do you think the United States ...

(Results from June 2005 in parentheses)

-Made the right decision in going to war in Iraq, 43 percent (42)

-Made a mistake in going to war in Iraq, 53 percent (53)

-Not sure, 4 percent (5)

3. How likely is it that a stable, democratic government will be established in Iraq? Is it ...

(Results from February 2005 in parentheses)

-Very likely, 11 percent (10)

-Somewhat likely, 40 percent (41)

-Not too likely, 30 percent (31)

-Not at all likely, 16 percent (16)

-Not sure, 3 percent (2)

4. Has the military action in Iraq ...

(Results from April 2004 in parentheses)

-Increased the threat of terrorism in the world, 50 percent (47)

-Decreased the threat of terrorism in the world, 20 percent (25 percent)

-Had no effect on the threat of terrorism, 28 percent (25 percent)

-Not sure, 3 percent (3 percent)

5. Should the United States keep troops in Iraq until the situation has stabilized, or should the United States bring its troops home from Iraq immediately?

(Results from June 2005 in parentheses)

-Keep troops in Iraq until the situation has stabilized, 60 percent (59)

-Bring its troops home from Iraq immediately, 37 percent (37)

-Not sure, 3 percent (4)

6. Do you think it is OK for people who oppose the war in Iraq to express their opposition publicly, or not?

-Yes, 87 percent

-No, 12 percent

-Not sure, 1 percent

7. Do you have a friend, colleague or family member who has served in the military effort in Iraq at any time since March 2003?

-Yes, 54 percent

-No, 45 percent

-Not sure, 1 percent

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So, let's see...I've already been given the "drive-by" treatment by a reader in Elkins today who thinks he knows how to raise my kids better than I because he'd make sure they never see an NC-17 film when they become teens and because he'd make sure they never read "smut."

OK, if that wasn't enough, Jonesboro columnist/weenie Dana Kelley, with whom I rarely, if ever agree (almost as much as I agree with uber-fool Brad Gitz) has decided to weigh in on the book ban story. Here's a taste of his fine work...

Webster, like most of the Founders, would be appalled beyond words at educators defending obscene, indecent and immoral books.

Big Dana also says this...

We expect the loony fringe fanatics with their narrow agendas to want books that validate their perversions on mainstream shelves. Radical activists today have more "in your face" attitude about their precious causes then in times past. Perhaps part of the reason they do is because we indulge them more. Indeed, on what should be a no-brainer we've got brains galore almost tripping over each other to ensure a "balanced" discussion.

Ah, here we go. I'm truly disappointed in this. One would think and educated man with a talent for writing, with the capability to write a column in a statewide paper would have the native brain power not to do this. Mr. Kelley makes the same dishonest stab at this issue a lot of other people have. He assumes far too much. Here's the problem -- you read thh words -- obscene, indecent, immoral, perversions, radical and so on. Not one of those words is precise, not one is objective, not one is anything less than a complete moral judgement on works I'm nearly certain Mr. Kelley has never read. And, his attitude of moral superiority smacks of a certain born-again televangelist who cried into a camera, "I have sinned, I have sinned!" Who made Dana Kelley and people like him our moral compass? If you buy his, and other assessements of the works in the story as "porn" than sure, you might feel like you have to cede the argument. I have yet to hear any court in the land which has ruled anything written by Toni Morrison as "obscene, indecent, immoral, perverse, radical" or any such thing. Oddly enough, people have tried to label books including "Catcher in the Rye" and "Lolita" as such. Does it make them so? Not a chance. Does the use of those phrases, so eloquently deployed in a nice letter to the editor in today's Northwest Arkansas Times, actually tell me more about the superior and judgemental attitude (because it ain't anything else, folks) held by the people writing them? Bingo! Man, it makes me sick...last time I looked, Americans frowned on THAT sort of crap.

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--Don Elkins

--In Focus Column, Friday, August 26, 2005 --Northwest Arkansas Times

Let's get this out of this straight up-front, OK? You may not like Cindy Sheehan, you may admire her or you may not care about her one way or the other. You should, however, respect her for the sacrifice made by her family in the form of her son Casey, who died in uniform. If you can't agree to that, maybe you should put down this paper. I don't want to talk about her politics; we can leave that for another time. As to her protest, that's another matter, and not the real thing I've spent time thinking about lately. You may not like the so-called "freepers" or members of the online-community "Free Republic" because of their sometimes-extreme views on politics, or you may wholeheartedly support them. You can't dismiss their counter protest in Crawford, Texas at the President's ranch either.

But, something has started to happen in the country that ought to make every American's blood (blue or red) run cold. I've read this, and it frightens me. It should frighten you as well. If you served in the Armed Forces, I don't care how many stars sat on your collar or how few stripes lined your sleeves; you need to start paying attention. Simply pick up a newspaper and read it. Use your mind, use your intellect, use those powers of perception you so finely honed during years of public school, or at your granddaddy's knee learning about things like "common sense."

Let's start with a refresher course, OK?

For those of you in the know, you'll recognize this short paragraph as one of the building blocks, the foundations of democratic society in the Western hemisphere.

Recognize it?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

If you guessed "The First Amendment to the Constitution" give yourself a pat on the back, because people allegedly smarter, wealthier, prettier and more powerful than you seem to have either never read it, or simply choose to ignore it.

President George W. Bush, who at least twice has publicly sworn an oath to defend and uphold the larger document containing that clause, seems to have conveniently overlooked it in his comments this week directed toward those who have decided to peaceably assemble to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, specifically the loss of loved ones in military action occurring in the mid-east, an action with which they, and an increasing number of Americans disagree if you follow the latest cookie-cutter poll numbers in the major newspapers.

In Idaho, the President said, "An immediate withdrawal of our troops in Iraq or the broader Middle East, as some have called for, would only embolden the terrorists and create a staging ground to launch more attacks against American and free nations." The President has essentially charged anti-war protestors with giving support and encouragement to America's enemies.

A couple of weeks back, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh told his several-million strong audience that he admired Great Britain's enactment of new rules that would very much violate the spirit of our First Amendment, threatening to deport anyone who spoke poorly of the Royal Government.

Mr. Limbaugh considered that a fantastic idea, something we should consider in this country, adding that a law like that here could lead to the deportation of people he called undesirables, including prominent Iraq War and Bush critic Michael Moore and "half the Democratic Party." Certainly, both men have a right to speak their minds.

Limbaugh plays a part on the radio, we don't worry about that. The President's words and thoughts carry quite a bit more weight.

And, as the debate over the war continues, the voices of veterans and military family members carry almost as much weight.

But, even some of those who fought under the flag, and wore the uniform of their country, who swore also to uphold and defend the same constitution, have conveniently forgotten what they once did in favor of politically expedient actions.

This came from the pages of Editor & Publisher, which reported this week that the 2.7 million strong American Legion called for an end to all "public protests" and "media events" against the war. The same report quotes the Legion's National Commander Thomas Cadmus as saying, "No one respects the right to protest more than one who has fought for it, but we hope that Americans will present their views in correspondence to their elected officials rather than by public media events guaranteed to be picked up and used as tools of encouragement by our enemies."

I can't imagine the entire 2-plus million membership agrees with that illogical assessment. How many times do you hear people preaching about exercising the right to vote? How many times do you hear people say, "use it or lose it" when referring to civil rights? How could such a patriotic group, to which America owes so much, get it so very very wrong?

One has to wonder if Commander Cadmus would behave as sanguinely if someone suggested Americans ignore and practice self-restraint when it comes to other rights, like the vote for women, or limited terms for an American President, or the entire freedom of the press and freedom of religion thing.

The excuse floated by those who consider themselves patriotic for asking the rest of us to ignore our First Amendment rights doesn't pass muster -- heck, it's not even as good as "loose lips sink ships!"

You - and they - may not agree with Cindy Sheehan and the rising number of neighbors who don't appreciate the direction in which the war has grown, but surely no one can honestly ask them to deny their right to peaceably assemble for redress.

Those screaming "un-American!" at the loudest possible levels need some introspection - in doing say, they may have started to become that which they profess to so hate.

###30###

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OK, so I've had someone identifying themselves as the National Education Reporter for that fine old newspaper The Washington Times write here, asking (and smarmily I might add) why Dr. Bobby New didn't respond to questions submitted about the Big Book Ban story. Here's the note:

Can anyone explain why Superintendent Bobby New of the Fayetteville, Ark., public schools has refused to respond to these questions sent twice by The Washington Times about a controversy that has been under way in the Fayetteville community for many months:
-- What has been the reaction of you and the school board to the discovery by parents of sexually-explicit books in your school libraries?
-- For a story on this subject, can you say how books such as the following got into school libraries to begin with, and what action has been taken in response to the concerns expressed by worried parents and residents of Fayetteville?
-- "The Homo Handbook: Getting in Touch with your Inner Homo," by Judy Carter.
-- "The Other Woamn," by Eric Jerome Dickey.
-- "Rainbow Boys," by Alex Sanchez.
-- "Doing it," by Melvin Burgess.
-- "Choke," by Chuck Palahniuk.
-- "GLBTO: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens," by Kelly Huegel."

This reporter also told Superintendent New: "Any other comment you might care to make about this controversy would be most appreciated." He was given a deadline but ignored the request and questions entirely. If anyone wants to comment on Superintendent New's refusal to respond to inquiries and silence to these questions, or any aspect of the way that the Fayetteville public schools system has responded to citizen concerns and this controversy generally, please email Washington Times national education reporter George Archibald at g_archi@yahoo.com.

However, I would like to point out that Dr. New is right when he says the media have paid far too much (unbalanced) attention to only one side of this debate, with little or no attention paid to the side opposed to a book ban. We'll start to remedy that situation here, and also on our program this weekend. We've heard from Laurie Taylor, this Saturday night, we'll hear from an organized group of parents very opposed to censorship (as defined by the Democrat Gazette) and willing to speak up about it and take your phone calls. Again, our numbers this weekend are 479-521-5329 or toll free 1-888-521-5729.

Here are both parts of our interview with Fayetteville Schools Superintendant Dr. Bobby New

New Interview, Part One mp3 (about 1.3 mb)

New Interview, Part Two mp3 (about 1.3 mb)

Either click to play, or right click and "save target as" -- the audio quality isn't fantastic to save space on the server.

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From the anonymous news tips department..."the Shadow" writes with these questions about State Treasurer candidate Mac Campbell...

Why is a candidate for Arkansas Treasurer accepting so much OUT OF STATE money and hiding it from the voters?

Moreover, did Mac Campbell commit an ethics violation by taking a $100 contribution from a Circuit Judge???

Also, how ethical is it to take campaign contributions from Episcopal Priests??

Here's a link to campaign finance disclosure forms...

Again, we don't question the motives, we just listen to the questions.

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I found this column worth reading this morning. It's no secret Mike and I don't see eye-to-eye on this issue. As I told him, I'm a first-amendment "extremist" and have never understood any kind of censorship...especially when it comes to political and social content. However, with humor and grace, Mike interviews himself today in his column, lays out his thoughts on the "book ban" and also agrees (seems like to me) the DemGaz suggestion for ending the debate, to wit, using technology to let parents who don't want their kids reading Toni Morrison books, or any of the other "flagged" books notify librarians to prevent those kids from checking the books out, while leaving the rest of us parents to make our own decision for our own families on content...I liked it, and again, it seems to me we may actually come up with a way to reasonably solve the complaints of what I suspect would be a minority of parents in the district who, nonetheless, worry about their children...at least to me, here's the nut of the issue...

Q: In summary, you believe one set of concerned public school parents who object to their children reading sexually graphic shock-slop books without their knowledge should also have the right to have those books isolated in a section where every other child cannot enjoy the enriching pleasures of reading them in secret courtesy of our state?

A: No, can't say I agree with that. I simply believe that each parent, who must solely bear the dire consequences that could result from his child's exposure to morally de-sensitizing books, should be individually involved in saying whether his child is allowed to access potentially hazardous reading materials without the parent's knowledge. Hopefully, as a result of this nasty experience, which is occurring in schools across the nation, Fayetteville's school library system soon will arrive at a customized method for accomplishing just that goal.

Mike, again, my thanks for your column...again, we don't agree on definitions in this story like "morally de-sensitizing" -- I actually think some of these books could be considered the exact opposite of that, things that kids should read to become more aware, morally and in other ways, but I think we have some common ground and a possible solution to the seemingly unsolvable problem we've run up against in the District.

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On-air right now? The Morning Report with Don Elkins on Newstalk 1030, KFAY-AM. Click on the Live365.com link on the left side of the page to Listen!

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My apologies...I just had to put this up. I came in via the regular radio talk show guest booking service. I think you'll agree this one should make you both laugh and cringe...let me know if you've seen it, or if you have a copy...

HILLARY CLINTON: CARTOON VILLAIN

New Book: HELP Mom There Are Liberals Under My Bed

Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy are often the butt of conservative jokes, but now they're being portrayed as shrewish cartoon characters in an upcoming book meant for kids?!?

The book is called, "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!" (World Ahead Publishing; hardcover: $15.95; ISBN 0-9767269-0-4) by Katharine DeBrecht. The full-color picture book tells the story of two brothers who open a lemonade stand only to encounter a Kennedy-esque mayor determined to tax away their profits while a pants-suit clad Hillary outlaws sugary drinks and an ACLU lawyer confiscates their picture of Jesus.

"With left-wing books like 'Rainbow Fish' and 'King & King' flooding our nation's classrooms, 'Liberals Under My Bed' lets conservative parents share a story with their kids that reflects their values, while having fun doing it," says World Ahead president Eric M. Jackson. "Not only is it important to teach kids about the American Dream, they must also understand that there are people out there who don't believe in freedom and traditional values."

Author DeBrecht is available for Talk Show interviews to discuss her humorous book which is illustrated by Reuben Award winning artist Jim Hummel. She explains her inspiration for writing the unusual book came one day when her young son questioned why she was supporting George W. Bush in the 2000 election.

After a pregnant pause she quipped, "Because the harder Daddy works and the more money he makes, the more money liberals want to take out of his pocket," When her valiant son peered under his bed and asked "Where are these liberals, Mom?" the 'Help! Mom!' series was born.

Liberal pundit Alan Colmes has broad-brushed the book as blatant "brainwashing" on his radio show. The usually staid Wall Street Journal called it "politically abrasive children's literature." But book publisher Eric Jackson brushes off complaints that the picture book's politics are too brazen for the Barney set.

"Liberals have been indoc