MORE VIDEO OF AL FRANKEN, this time on the Sundance Channel, berating Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on her little perjury mistake. This one is a little long, and comes to us courtesy of overspun.com. Ah, must-see TV.

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Listen to this week's (Oct 22) program (mp3 2 hr)
Listen to another week's (Oct 15) program! (mp3 2 hr)

OK, THOUGHT WE'D HAVE A LITTLE FUN THIS MORNING in terms of video. I've become a little lazy on the video blogging thing. I'll get more of that out this week, but it takes some time to set up the studio for it. This is essentially a dig on Harriet Miers, courtesy of SNL (reading Live from New York by Tom Shales this week...pretty good, but a little long for the topic). Our thanks to crooksandliars.

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AH, THE SWEET SMELL OF VICTORY...the Huckster (and Janet) both ran the Marine Corps. marathon, a 26-plus mile torture run in Washington, D.C. this weekend. The Huck managed to improve on his time from the first marathon he ran, and Janet walked this one in more than 7 hours time. The very best part? The AP photo that ran in the DemGaz this morning. I know hes proud, and I dont want to say anything negative -- I mean, the guys in great shape, and I sure know I couldnt do what he did -- but the picture struck me as funny, in a Dukakis sort of way...youll have to make up your mind about that. Anyway, congratulations Gov! As they used to say in the Virginia Slims ads, Youve come a long way, baby!

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Listen to this week's (Oct 22) program (mp3 2 hr)
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FITZMAS CAME, FITZMAS WENT (OR GOT PROLONGED) and this is the video for you of ol' St. Pat's announcement of the indictment of Scooterkins Libby. At least you can see it for yourself. Again, tonight's show is a re-run of the October 22nd program. Also, the same show is now available below in .wmv format and available through the podcast link to the left. Enjoy.

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Listen to this week's (Oct 22) program (mp3 2 hr)

SEEMS THIS LITTLE DITTY has made the rounds this morning in the radio world, and finally came to rest upon my desk. I share it with you in the spirit of the holiday season -- both Fitzmas and Halloween. This is "Monster Hash" featuring the Chief Executive. Best line? (no pun intended) -- "I'm a jointer, not a divider..." Enjoy. (mp3 file)


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COMING UP THIS WEEK ON THE PROGRAM...sorry, a repeat of last week's show. Yours truly has to do a charitable event Saturday night in Rogers, so we'll re-heat some old stuff. However, coming next Saturday, we'll have a very full agenda. First, we'll hear from Bill Adams and others opposed to a 10% sales tax hike in Benton County to pay for the roads -- will that tax really hurt 67% of consumers in the county? Also, we expect to be joined by Jim Bob Duggar for more talk about his army, er....newly expanding family. After that, we'll be joined by one of the editors at perhaps the nation's fastest growing "blog" or news site, rawstory.com who will talk about something called "Beyond Treason." Expect a visit from Democrat bomb-throwing, blog-visiting-and-writing Lt. Governor candidate Drew Pritt who officially entered the race today. We'll also check in with Girl Arkansas of Arkansasmedia.com to catch up on the nefarious doings of our statewide newspaper columnists. Again, join us for the program, Saturday, November 5th between 6 and 8 p.m. CST. Your calls at 479-521-5329.

HAD A VISIT LAST NIGHT from our man in Hollywood, CA. Shelton Jacobs graduated from the U of A's Documentary Film program some time ago, and has produced some fantastic films, with a couple more on the way.

In the meantime, he's worked as an editor for a number of projects you may have seen on the History Channel. He has family in these h'yar parts and drops by from time to time.

This time, he brought me my certificate from the 2005 Telly Awards. "A Dam Story" made it into the finals -- which brings a trophy with it. Yours truly did the voice over on this little gem, which has shown on AETN and the U of A television channel.

I include the link to the film here -- note: it is a .mov file, so you'll need quicktime to view it. Also, if you have a chance, visit Shel's website, www.jacobsfilm.com for more about his background and more about his film "Return to Beirut" which is still in production.

A Dam Story details the history of the dam and its subsequent impact on the surrounding region, the state, and the nation. From what the land was like before the building of the dam to how the area has changed since the dam and reservoir were complete, this film helps to show just how important Greers Ferry Dam has been and continues to be. Interviews with people who had a hand in the building of the dam, including William Carl Garner, as well as historical perspectives provided by author Evalena Berry (Time and the River) and Michael Barnett of the Cleburne County Historical Society inform the narrative. Rare archival video from the 1963 dedication ceremony where President John F. Kennedy first remarked on the importance of this structure (courtesy of KATV Channel 7, Little Rock) and a wealth of images from Heber Springs' past bring this film to life. Jacobs includes archival pictures from the Cleburne County Historical Society, US Army Corps of Engineers, Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery, Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Evalena Berry.

Yessir, homegrown talent at its best.

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Listen to this week's (Oct 10) program (mp3 2 hr)

DIDN'T YOU KNOW IT WOULD HAPPEN? HARRIET MEIRS THIS MORNING HAS WITHDRAWN her nomination to become a member of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Mr. Bush says he has "reluctantly" accepted that decision. Time for the analysis to begin. What will Jim Dobson say now?

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A COUPLE OF PIECES OF BUSINESS this morning (Fitzmas morning?)...first, thanks for the positive comments on the experiemental "vlog." For those of you who asked, I've used the beta version of "vlog it" from Serious Magic -- however, the company hasn't released it yet for sale, and it only lets you record about a minute of air, so I'm limited by that for now. I'm also curious how it works in terms of that self-launching flash player, which is kind of a different thing for this website. Would it be easier if the thing was at the top of the page? maybe we'll do that so it's easier to see it and shut it off. Also, apologies for the slow pace of the news stories, because we've been working on setting up the television side of our studios, which is a pain in the posterior.

Anywhoooo....here's something that crossed the AP wire this morning...not sure which paper (probably all of 'em) carried it...oh, there's Paul Harvey yapping about it...

A prominent Republican says the political influence of evangelical Christians is hurting the Republican Party and dividing the country. Former U-S Senator John Danforth of Missouri made the comment yesterday on a visit to Little Rock. (visiting Clinton Library)

Actually, Danforth has become an Episcopal priest.

Also, a question for the fine folks at the Arkansas Family Coalition -- you say that Governor Huckabee pulled strings to get that campaign finance complaint against Jimmie Lou Fisher and Rep. Snyder pulled. Yes, I appreciate the link. But, can you tell us more? I want facts, dammit, facts! Let us know, we'll run with it. Is it just a suspicion, or do you have proof. Man, you guys really hate the Gov!

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Listen to this week's (Oct 10) program (mp3 2 hr)

A WHOLE LOTTA WAL-MART HEATING UP THIS WEEK..if you've paid any attention the past couple of day, you've noticed Wal-Mart revving up it's public image campaign. Think they've done that because the weather has changed and they felt like they need a makeover for fall? Not a chance...they've started turning up the sound ahead of Walmartwatch.com's planned public attack on the WLR, and ahead of the full release of Bob Greenwald's new documentary about Wal-Mart. And, looking at these initiatives, it seems like the company means serious business...however, courtesy of the New York Times front page this morning, Wal-Mart may already face some trouble on the healthcare front...

An internal memo sent to Wal-Mart's board of directors proposes numerous ways to hold down spending on health care and other benefits while seeking to minimize damage to the retailer's reputation. Among the recommendations are hiring more part-time workers and discouraging unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart.

In the memorandum, M. Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart's executive vice president for benefits, also recommends reducing 401(k) contributions and wooing younger, and presumably healthier, workers by offering education benefits. The memo voices concern that workers with seven years' seniority earn more than workers with one year's seniority, but are no more productive.

To discourage unhealthy job applicants, Ms. Chambers suggests that Wal-Mart arrange for "all jobs to include some physical activity (e.g., all cashiers do some cart-gathering)."

Wonder what the cashiers will think of the mandatory exercise. Here are the latest AP pieces on the newest moves from the company, including (GASP!) Lee Scott calling for an increase in the minimum wage, which just got shot down by the Senate.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Wal-Mart has unveiled an environmental plan to boost energy efficiency, cut down on waste and reduce greenhouse gases. The changes are part of a wider effort by the company to emerge from the defensive and regain leadership on issues where it has been pummeled by critics.

Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott says the company wants to be a "good steward for the environment" and ultimately use only renewable energy sources and produce zero waste.

The company wants to increase fuel efficiency in its truck fleet by 25 percent over three years and double it within ten years. The company plans to invest 500 (m) million dollars annually in efficient energy technologies at stores. And it plans to cut solid waste from U-S stores and Sam's Clubs by 25 percent in three years.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Wal-Mart chief executive Lee Scott says Congress should raise the minimum wage. Scott says Wal-Mart's wages are competitive, even though the company's critics say the world's largest retailer should offer higher pay and better benefits.

Scott says the national minimum wage of five-dollars-15-cents per hour -- which hasn't been increased in nearly a decade -- is too low. Scott says he can see first-hand that many Wal-Mart customers are struggling to make ends meet.

Looks like quite a public relations battle shaping up for early November. Get out yer boxin' gloves, everyone.

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AS PER THE REGULAR SCHEDULE, tune in this morning to hear us live doing "The Morning Report" on Newstalk 1030 KFAY-AM. Click the link, you'll get the website with live streaming audio (both PC and Mac)...news, sports, wx, business, Paul Harvey, David Letterman, and way too much Chuck B. Give it a listen -- on this morning between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. CDT. Cheers.

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WHAT CAN I SAY? (vid courtesy KNWA-TV) My old dv-cam is starting to wear out, or the quality on this would have been better. As it stands, I had to transfer this to VHS, which makes it pretty nasty. Regardless, this is what I was telling members of the Fayetteville Chamber leadership seminar about the night before last.

Here's what happened. I sent a photographer out over the past week to grab the candidates and ask them some pretty basic questions. Numbers one and two consisted of; What will you do about rising unemployment statewide, and secondly, what will you do the education mess. To their credit, at least they answered...I just wasn't happy with what I heard.

So, here goes. Thought I'd share with you. Enjoy.

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THE WASHINGTON NOTE TODAY HAS more on Fitzmas. TWN says your wait has just about ended, and that Fitzmas will take place tomorrow, with the roast-beast set to be carved on Thursday. Here's wishing you the best of the holiday.

An uber-insider source has just reported the following to TWN:

1. 1-5 indictments are being issued. The source feels that it will be towards the higher end.

2. The targets of indictment have already received their letters.

3. The indictments will be sealed indictments and "filed" tomorrow.

4. A press conference is being scheduled for Thursday.

OK, SO YES, MAYBE WE'RE GETTING A LITTLE out-of-hand with the video thing, but we're still honing it and trying to make it work the right way. This little selection is the Daily Show interview with neo-con guru Bill Kristol -- at best, an interesting dialogue about the war in Iraq. Enjoy.

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WE SAW A HUGE PASSING IN THE WORLD OF CIVIL RIGHTS yesterday, and learned that we still have a long way to go. Rosa Parks died yesterday at the age of 82. This, from CNN...

Rosa Parks, who helped trigger the civil rights movement in the 1950s, has died, her longtime friends told CNN. She was 92. Parks inspired the movement when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1955.Her arrest triggered a boycott of the bus system by blacks that was organized by a 26-year-old Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

That happened the same day I read this...

The city has given permission of the Ku Klux Klan to hold a rally on Saturday, November 5. The group says they want to have a pro-family values rally in front of City Hall that afternoon to get voters to vote against gay marriage.

The city has reserved the Austin City Hall's south plaza on Lavaca and Cesar Chavez from 1-3 pm on Saturday, November 5.

In an e-mail to the city for permission, a representative for the American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan wrote: "Our speech will not be inflammatory, but we all know the reputation of the name of the KKK, so we expect anti-Klan demonstrators to be there who may become violent. We certainly don't want any of our people hurt nor any city officials. We just want to come and encourage people to vote for Christian Family Values and against legalized homosexual marriage in the state of Texas.

SO, ARREST US FOR USING THE SEAL! Seems the White House has got itself in an uproar over the satirical newspaper "The Onion" using the presidential seal in its parodies. You'd think BushCo. would have better things to worry about. Hey, Mr. Dixton -- bite us! Here's the story courtesy The Poor Man Institute...next thing ya know, we'll have a constitutional amendment protecting the seal...wanna bet?

"It has come to my attention that The Onion is using the presidential seal on its Web site," Grant M. Dixton, associate counsel to the president, wrote to The Onion on Sept. 28. (At the time, Mr. Dixton's office was also helping Mr. Bush find a Supreme Court nominee; days later his boss, Harriet E. Miers, was nominated.)

Citing the United States Code, Mr. Dixton wrote that the seal "is not to be used in connection with commercial ventures or products in any way that suggests presidential support or endorsement." Exceptions may be made, he noted, but The Onion had never applied for such an exception.

"It is inconceivable that anyone would think that, by using the seal, The Onion intends to 'convey' sponsorship or approval by the president," wrote Rochelle H. Klaskin, the paper's lawyer, who went on to note that a headline in the current issue made the point: "Bush to Appoint Someone to Be in Charge of Country."

Moreover, she wrote, The Onion and its Web site are free, so the seal is not being used for commercial purposes. That said, The Onion asked that its letter be considered a formal application to use the seal.

Read The Onion today. Kill a seal.

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FOR THOSE OF YOU ON THE FITZMAS WATCH, seems Jolly Old St. Pat may visit you either today, or early tomorrow morning (can you see it, the snow glistening on the lawn, a fire burning warmly beside you...twinkling television screens everywhere)...this is the Washington Post's prediction...

Fitzgerald is expected to give final notice to officials facing charges as early as Monday and may convene the grand jury on Tuesday, a day earlier than usual, to deliver a summary of the case and ask for approval of the possible indictments, legal sources said. The grand jury is to expire on Friday unless Fitzgerald extends it.

And, of course, a musical interlude...

I'll have a blue Fitzmas without you;
I'll be so blue thinking about you.
An indictiment or three
on a green Fitzmas tree
Won't mean a thing if
you're not here with me.

I'll have a blue Fitzmas, that's certain;
And when that blue heartache starts hurting,
You'll be doing all right
as Pat starts to indict,
But I'll have a blue, blue Fitzmas.

Just a little something for the season...as you wait for jolly ol' St. Pat. Ah, Fitzmas in October...

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SO, LEE SCOTT, YOU CLEVER DEVIL, it looks like you've come up with a way to answer the critics, if not fully, when they whack you on the healthcare issue. What about wages now? Not sure if this plan is as good as it reads...

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated is launching a plan to lower health insurance premiums for workers.

The company has been under criticism for not offering health coverage to enough workers and for high costs to employees for the insurance. Wal-Mart's critics have worked to demonstrate that some company workers have had to rely on government-funded programs to pay for health care.

Compared to its current plan, monthly premiums would require workers to pay between 40 percent and 60 percent less. The plan would have a one-thousand-dollar deductible but would allow individuals three doctor visits before having to pay the deductible. An individual would be able to buy coverage for about 25 dollars a month. Some coverage would cost as little as eleven dollars per month. The company says a person with a family to insure would pay 65-dollar monthly premiums.

Critics say the plan favors young, healthy people and does not address the needs of the majority of Wal-Mart workers.

TEMPER, TEMPER, MR. PRESIDENT...no need to beat on the hired help. You may have to ask them for a job someday, and they may all decide to write negative books about you. You can't afford to annoy them this way...courtesy of NY Daily News...seems the President is miffed.

Bush usually reserves his celebrated temper for senior aides because he knows they can take it. Lately, however, some junior staffers have also faced the boss' wrath.

"This is not some manager at McDonald's chewing out the help," said a source with close ties to the White House when told about these outbursts. "This is the President of the United States, and it's not a pleasant sight."

The specter of losing Rove, his only truly irreplaceable assistant, lies at the heart of Bush's distress. But a string of political reversals, including growing opposition to the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina's aftermath and Harriet Miers' bungled Supreme Court nomination, have also exacted a personal toll.

OH, THIS CAN'T MAKE MANY PEOPLE in D.C. too happy. An excerpt from the New Yorker, courtesy of the Huffington Post...seems Brent Scowcroft disagrees with the rat-pack in the Capitol. Here's a taste...

The neoconservatives - the Republicans who argued most fervently for the second Gulf war - believe in the export of democracy, by violence if that is required, Scowcroft said. "How do the neocons bring democracy to Iraq? You invade, you threaten and pressure, you evangelize." And now, Scowcroft said, America is suffering from the consequences of that brand of revolutionary utopianism. "This was said to be part of the war on terror, but Iraq feeds terrorism," he said.

Scowcroft was Richard Nixon's military assistant in the last years of the Vietnam War, and he says, "Vietnam was visceral in the American people. That was a really bitter period, and it turned us against foreign-policy adventures deeply, and it was not until the Gulf War that we were able to come out of that. This is not that deep." But, he said, "we're moving in that direction."

WE'RE LIVE TONIGHT on Newstalk 1030 KFAY-AM, and if you can't listen there, you can still hear the show by visiting www.kfayam.com and catching the live stream of the program. It's very easy to do and works on Macs and PC. Again, we're live tonight between 6 and 8 p.m. CDT. Call in numbers are 479-521-5329 or toll free at 1-888-521-5729. Or, you can visit the website, and send us e-mail there as well. Tonight, more about the Meirs nomination fiasco, Judy Miller, local media follies, etc. Talk to you at 6 p.m.

- Don Elkins
- "In Focus" Column, Friday, October 21, 2005
- Northwest Arkansas Times

I wasn't born yesterday. You may disagree with that in terms of my evident knowledge of news, but chronologically, it's fact. If you've paid any attention to the news over the past twenty-or-so years, you've noticed how bad one particular national battle has become.

It has become such an intense fight that many have probably tuned it out. Polls of local television viewers in our neck o' the woods a few years ago showed quite a few complaints from viewers about this particular topic.

They seemed to think the issue had somehow become stereotyped.

They said they didn't want to hear about it, didn't need local television reminding them of the problem. It became the punchline to jokes; the element of surprise vanished from it. Who knows, you may read a single sentence of this and tell yourself, "oh, not another story about that!" "It" destroys lives, families, children, homes, and businesses. It controls its victims with an iron fist not easily loosened. It may have silently crept into your life, or the lives of those close to you. We legislated against it, we've treated it, we've fought it and we continue to spend money to defend ourselves against it.

Sound like something you might want to hear? As sinister as biological warfare agents, as deadly as the (perhaps) impending avian flu, as sneaky as Al Qaeda with less conscience, it could pluck you out of your life, steal your children, kill your spouse, and destroy your home and property.

But again, many of us in Northwest Arkansas think we know all about this, think it can't happen to us, think we may not have any way to ever stop what seems like a force of nature.

No duct tape on the window will stop if from coming in, no guns will prevent it from possessing a loved one, and ignorance and complacency only help it to grow strong. This problem only happens to "those people." You know who they are, right?

We still have a problem.
We still have human lives blotted out by this.
We still need to learn more, educate our families and ourselves, and educate our communities.


We still haven't shaken the curse of methamphetamine use and abuse.

I'm not trying to preach to you. I don't think you don't really care about it. I do think you may be like myself, and feel battered by the subject from every side and feel numbed by it.

And that's not necessarily a negative thing, until everyone stops caring. But it could get worse until more of us really and truly start to listen and start to understand the problem, because too often it sneaks up on a person, striking close to home, affecting a relative or a co-worker.

I'd call it the moonshine of the 21st century, but that doesn't accurately convey the societal and economic damage it does us.

Earlier this week, I had an unusual chance to take part in a townhall meeting hosted by the Methamphetamine Awareness Committee. The meeting played to a packed house, many of which had experienced the power of this dark shadow personally.

I valued the chance to have someone remind me again about a very big problem that remains unsolved. U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe took the podium and laid out the damage, both in legal and human terms, which some may consider separate. Also present, Kathy Deck from the University of Arkansas, who laid out the economic costs of the problem. Fayetteville police played their part as did forensic nursing whiz Charla Jamerson (a personal favorite, and someone who could convince a fish to buy water, to the betterment of the fish), State Representative Bill Pritchard (who has lost family to this curse), and Larry Goodall of Superior Industries (who has to deal with the economic damage.)

The real high point though came from Washington County drug court Judge Mary Ann Gunn.

I have rarely encountered a person of her zeal and personal charm, and rarely have I encountered another human being so truly dedicated to healing this particular wound.

This was the first time I've met her, though we've shared the same city for several years now.

She's been busy doing things that truly matter.

So, I will confess to being a Johnny-come-lately on at least this - she truly and really cares about the welfare of the human beings in her care. I almost feel she's more of a doctor or a counselor or just a soft shoulder to cry on than the personal representative of our drug laws and of punishment for the violation thereof.

She personifies compassion, and that matters.

What's more, she doesn't need my compliments because she received the highest compliments possible from human beings present that night who have, and continue to benefit from the Drug Court program she runs. All one had to do it ask them - they spoke up and expressed their thanks for the help they received in the program, but hadn't had success with in any other place.

The Meth Awareness Committee has it right - the solution, if one ever really shows up, deserves more attention and is worthy of greater education efforts in all our communities.

Judge Gunn has it right. Her program (and her personal compassion) is a successful model for what "activist" government ought to do for the people.

There's no "conservative" or "liberal" ideology connected with this at all - it's a human issue, and a good model for those in elected office to follow as they try to fulfill the expectations of the rest of us.

We need more education about this problem, and more people like those on this panel to get us where we need to go.

OBVIOUSLY, I DIDN'T MANAGE TO GET TO THOSE vids last night. Had a plumbing problem that took some time to handle, so, I'll attempt to get back at them again sometime today. The political interviews are fairly long, so hand on tight.

WE'VE GOT A MESS OF VIDEO to put up here tonight, but it may not come until after 11 p.m. cdt. Tonight's vid includes interviews with Bill Halter (courtesy of Roby Brock and Talk Business) Atty. Gen. Mike Beebe today, Green Party gubernatorial candidate Jim Lendall today, blues legend Robert Cray from Tuesday night, Doug Krile's regular 5:30 Report and a little bit from a disgruntled Wal-Mart manager courtesy of film wizard Bob Greenwald. That's later tonight.

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Listen to this week's (Oct 10) program (mp3 2 hr)

WE UNDERSTAND THE DISCOVERY HEALTH CHANNEL is re-airing it's program about the Duggar family. So, without further adieu, for those of you roaming the net, we present our complete video of the birth of the Duggar's 16th child (again, thanks to Discovery for the vid)...

Duggar 16th birth VIDEO (.wmv zippy vid post)

AH YES, WE KNOW A DAY without your Krile is a day without breath, but his laptop kicked him in the shins, drawing blood, curses, and a promise to ascend Mt. Doom to return the vile thing back to the pit from whence it sprang. OK, he says his tech team had a backup...a stronger laptop, one laptop to rule them all....alrighty, I'll shut the hell up and you can watch tonight's Doug Krile 5:30 Report...enjoy.

Doug Krile VIDEO Oct. 18, 2005 (.wmv 1:00 3.5 mb)

Rock on, Doug.

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Listen to this week's (Oct 10) program (mp3 2 hr)

US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT this afternoon ran this little piece, about speculation the Vice President may resign his position because of the impending decision by Special Prosecutor Pat Fitzgerald (you go, Chicago boy!)...not sure from reading it about the credibility of the rumors themselves, but they are apparently circulating on the Hill today.

Sparked by today's Washington Post story that suggests Vice President Cheney's office is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the vice president might step aside and that President Bush would elevate Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"It's certainly an interesting but I still think highly doubtful scenario," said a Bush insider. "And if that should happen," added the official, "there will undoubtedly be those who believe the whole thing was orchestrated - another brilliant Machiavellian move by the VP."

OOOOOH, JUDITH MILLER HAS REALLY DONE IT NOW...seems I wasn't the only one who waded through 20 pages of Miller-related material in the Times on Sunday only to come away scratching my head and wondering how and why Miller had a security clearance, something she says prohibited her from imparting information to her editors. Last night on Hardball, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now nailed that down pretty tight. She was outraged, and essentially said it put Miller in place as an employee or agent of the Bush administration, working the propaganda magic within the newsroom of the NY Times. Again, the administration has come up with some amazing ways to work the media during it's time in Washington. Now, this, from Rawstory.com, which says Rumsfeld had to sign off on the "super-double-secret" clearance for Judykins. Now, John Conyers and another member of Congress want Rummy to let the cat out of the bag -- how many other journalists have security clearances? This comes from the posting today, citing an article about what happened, and if you push ink, a mic or a pen for a living, you should appreciate just how much a nightmare Ms. Miller had become with this kind of imprimature from Bushco.

A New York Times editor confirmed "Miller had helped negotiate her own embedding agreement with the Pentagon - an agreement so sensitive that, according to one Times editor, Rumsfeld himself signed off on it. Although she never fully acknowledged the specific terms of that arrangement in her articles, they were as stringent as any conditions imposed on any reporter in Iraq. "Any articles going out had to be, well, censored," Pomeroy told me. "The mission contained some highly classified elements and people, what we dubbed the 'Secret Squirrels,' and their 'sources and methods' had to be protected and a war was about to start." Before she filed her copy, it would be censored by a colonel who often read the article in his sleeping bag, clutching a small flashlight between his teeth. (When reporters attended tactical meetings with battlefield commanders, they faced similar restrictions.)

New York Magazine continues: "As Miller covered MET Alpha, it became increasingly clear that she had ceased to respect the boundaries between being an observer and a participant. And as an embedded reporter she went even further, several sources say. While traveling with MET Alpha, according to Pomeroy and one other witness, she wore a military uniform."

The magazine adds "Miller guarded her exclusive access with ferocity. When the Washington Post's Barton Gellman overlapped in the unit for a day, Miller instructed its members that they couldn't talk with him. According to Pomeroy, "She told people that she had clearance to be there and Bart didn't." (One other witness confirms this account.)

Wonder when or if this will become part of the Journalism ethics material studied at the college level...

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Listen to this week's (Oct 10) program (mp3 2 hr)

SOME ODDS AND ENDS HERE...our man out and about tells us his wife travelled the far reaches yonder and arrived in the city of Dallas, whereupon she says she saw the now world-famous Laurie Taylor (yes, that Laurie Taylor of the book nastiness and whatnot) interviewed on a local network affiliate station. We're doing what we can to track down that video and bring it your way. If you know where it is, either drop us a comment or note, or e-mail us a link to the vid -- we'd like to see it.

Doug Krile has a night off with his video update here because of tech problems. We hope to have him back again tomorrow. In the meantime, exercise your brain muscle and visit his 5:30 Report Blog.

Also, we wanted to welcome a new blog/website to the morning read-in. Some of you will like this, some will freak out -- just remember, we list the masters of the gay-bash Arkansas Family Coalition, so it's only fair we list Little Rock's new Pride website as well. Let's keep it balanced, if not fair.

And, yes, for those of you who requested that Democratic radio ad taking the sledgehammer to Rep. Boozman over oil (and you dont' have to consider this a response or comment to it -- that'll come) we've posted it here so you can at least do the homework to follow the story.

DEM Radio Ad AUDIO (mp3 932kb :59)

For my anonymous poster, who tried to post his comment, but found it eaten by blogger, here it is...

Don, how about some state politics today?

Since your name was tossed around as a potential candidate, what do you think of whats going on with Arkansas Democrats raising money from oil company executives and then doing what they're doing to Boozman right now on the radio?

http://arkansasfamilycoalition.blogspot.com/2005/10/hypocrisy-of-democratic-party-of.html

I'm interested in your take on ths one.

Not so fast -- I'm doing a couple of other errands now, but I'll get to it. Enjoy first, then discuss, and we'll hop aboard. Let the gnashing of teeth begin! (Oh, yes, Republicans and Democrats both, and yes, Greens, send us your Radio and Television ads, and we'll proudly put there here for all to laugh at! Seriously, we'll put them up for conversation and debate.)

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Listen to this week's (Oct 10) program (mp3 2 hr)

UM, IS THIS FOR REAL? We guess so. Could work, might be pretty interesting, and would have a built-in fan base right here in Arkansas...guess they'll also show how many times John hurts his hand before a tournament...

LOS ANGELES - REALITY TV GOES TO THE JOHN: ESPN2 reports The Golf Channel is planning a reality show around John Daly.

The 11-episode show, called "The Daly Planet," will somehow try to capture Daly's trainwreck of a life. The program will begin airing on January 18.

With the news, I'm assuming The Golf Channel will be quick to cash in on an orgy of product-placements, including Earplugs, Otis Spunkmeyer, Colt 45, Marlboro, Zig-Zag rolling papers and Diet Coke.

And while I'm not a big fan of reality shows, I must admit The Golf Channel made the right choice in picking Daly - and steering clear of Vijay Singh.

OUR RADIO COLLEAGUE GIRL ARKANSAS has a biting critique this morning of the DemGaz and the way the paper treated playwright Harold Pinter after news he won the Nobel Prize. She says it with profanity, as she should, and you ought to read this...

You are so smug so much of the time that I'm not always certain what you're intent is.

Harold Pinter won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The man is 75 years old--that means, just to help you with the math, that he was born in 1930. He was a Jew who, as a child, had to flee the Nazi's. His first play was produced in 1957.

I bet you know quite a lot more about him. About his political poems and speeches, his protests, his thoughtful movements to free humans from the opression of one another. Yet you are so disrespectful, so blindly committed to an administration that is destroying the world, that you would reduce this artist to a LIBERAL BLOWHARD and you fail to speak directly about or critique specifically even one of his works because, God forbid, he hates George Bush and he hates Tony Blair.

Girl provides honesty with a whip-crack of a wet towel on a bare leg. Yaggoddit -- it stings!

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Listen to this week's (Oct 10) program (mp3 2 hr)

SOUNDS LIKE BUSH'S BRAIN HAS DECIDED what to do if (or when) the Grand Jury indicts him in the Valerie Plame case. This tidbit comes via Rawstory.com and is slated to appear in this morning's new edition of Times magazine.

New York - Karl Rove has a plan, as always. Even before testifying last week for the fourth time before a grand jury probing the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, Rove-who as senior adviser and deputy chief of staff runs a vast swath of the West Wing-and others at the White House had concluded he would immediately resign or possibly go on unpaid leave if indicted, several legal and Administration sources familiar with the thinking tell TIME.

The same scenario would apply to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the Vice President's chief of s taff, who also faces a possible indictment. A former White House official says Rove's break with Bush would have to be clean-no "giving advice from the sidelines"-for the sake of the Administration, TIME's Viveca Novak and Mike Allen report in this week's issue of TIME (on newsstands Monday, Oct. 17).

OK, SO YES, HE IS RUNNING, NO MATTER WHAT HE TELLS ANYONE...and no, it won't matter when he does and it won't matter if he runs against Hillary Clinton. We like the Huck, but agree with Doug Thompson who says:

The Bush administration will leave limping. That will make the next presidential race more competitive. However, there is no reason yet to believe the GOP will gamble on a newcomer to the national stage from a small state - like Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.

Remember the last time an Arkansas governor from Hope became a major party's nominee for president. No heavyweights from his party would run. A contest against President George the First in 1992 appeared hopeless. Even then, Bill Clinton had to fight hard to become the supposedly sacrificial offering.

Better-known, better-financed candidates will not be scared off in 2008.

The Des Moines Register spent some quality time with (non)candidate this weekend...sure, he's not running, is he?

Huckabee makes visit No. 5 The Arkansas Republican says governors have big appeal for the 2008 presidential race.

Huckabee's visits to Iowa - all since July - have made him his party's most frequent caucus-state visitor and have boosted his mentions as a potential 2008 candidate.

He says it's too early to know whether he will be running in a little more than a year, when caucus campaigns begin to take shape.

But Huckabee says his experience as a governor re-elected in a typically Democratic state are among attributes he thinks would appeal to GOP activists in Iowa.

"Often it doesn't matter whether it's Democrat or Republican, whether it's Congress or the president, people still see that the innovative ideas and the idea of change is not going to come from those who spend their time in the Beltway," he added.

They're not getting annoyed with him, are they? The tone sounded funny in that piece...Ouachita, get ready for your newest professor!

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Listen to this week's (Oct 10) program (mp3 2 hr

WE CAN'T POSSIBLY SAY just how astounding this piece in the NY Times was yesterday. The paper finally came clean on the misbehavior of reporter and former inmate Judy Miller. It's been a long, strange ride for Miller. Among other things, the paper discloses how her status as a person who could operate without interference from management po'd the entire newsroom to the point some colleagues refused to work with her. More strange, she says the government granted her a security clearance while she worked in Iraq - a clearance that prohibited her from sharing information with her editors - a distinct no-no in the profession.

It sure looks like she was in bed with the government, and her earlier reporting (or some would say "shilling") on WMD's in Iraq brought her motives into question, making her a less than reliable source for information, and another kick-to-the head for the venerable Times. Her editor, Bill Keller, is also an all-American wiener of the highest quality. He was involved in helping upper management in the case to defend Miller's stint in jail for failing to reveal sources and testify to the grand jury in the Valerie Plame case.

The entire time, he knew the identity of the source, but could not reveal it to his staff, thus breaking any bond of honesty he shared with them, and influencing the flavor of the reporting in the paper and shackeling the reporting staff. He has very little to say in his defense in the 8 page long article the paper ran yesterday afternoon in an attempt to explain what had happened. One thing is painfully clear after reading those 8 pages, and the sidebar Miller wrote herself - reading between the lines, one sees that Miller herself has yet to come clean to either the readers, her management, colleagues, readers or the Special Prosecutor.

What she does say, taken along with testimony and interviews from Time Magazine's Matt Cooper paint a perfect picture of a political strategy at work to discredit Joe Wilson's opinion of the motives and techniques of the Administration in the run-up to the war, and also paint an accurate picture of her work as less-than-honest. She let herself get way too close to her sources in this story.