COURTESY OF THE CURRENT CHAMPION OF STATE BLOGS, The Arkansas Times, this little tidbit from Capitol Hill Blue about more propaganda. Apologies if you've read this already, but it sure sounds true from personal experience working in military public affairs some number of years ago. We used to do things like this on a regular basis. Not an order, mind you, but everyone knew they'd get a pat on head if they could come back and show us they'd helped...

In interviews with a number of reservists home for the holidays, a pattern emerges on the Pentagon's propaganda effort. Soldiers are encouraged to contact their local news media outlets to offer interviews about the war. A detailed set of talking points encourages them to:

--Admit initial doubts about the war but claim conversion to a belief in the American mission;

--Praise military leadership in Iraq and throw in a few words of support for the Bush administration;

--Claim the mission to turn security of the country over to the Iraqis is working;

--Reiterate that America must not abandon its mission and must stay until the "job is finished."

--Talk about how "things are better" now in Iraq.

Again, refer to CBS' "The Selling of the Pentagon" and the one-time (still applicable?) prohibition on the Armed Forces publicly advocating or trying to further American Foreign policy.

-- Don Elkins
-- "In Focus" Column, Fri. Dec. 30, 2005
-- Northwest Arkansas Times

OK, last column of 2005 (for me) here. As always, if one writes something around the holidays, one feels nearly compelled to write something holiday-related. Seeing as we're staring head-on into an apparently fireworks-less New Year's celebration this year (burn ban, you know) it would only seem appropriate to make a couple of resolutions, right?

I'll take a half-hearted stab at it, so bear with me. Instead of making my own (which I never, ever keep) this year I'll make some for the president. Who knows, maybe he doesn't do much better with resolutions either. Don't worry, he won't listen to the advice, and we know he never reads the newspapers (or at least this one) so we can hardly think he'll stumble across them. With any luck, others with a wider audience will make some of these recommendations on their own.

Mr. Bush, are you ready? Here's your first New Year's resolution - Numero Uno - Learn to admit having made a mistake. Believe me, you'll end up having an easier time with the media, your approval polls could start inching up, and you'll get comfortable with that all too human characteristic with which you have so little present familiarity - humility. Like many of us, you have plenty over which to feel humbled.

Second - and this is in line with the first "resolution" - Vow to initiate no more illegal and unconstitutional wiretaps. Spending federal funding to eavesdrop on Ma and Pa doesn't make anyone happy, not even your own party, and we're not buying the "I had to ignore the laws enacted by the people to fight al-Qaeda" excuse this time. Combining resolutions number one and number two could ease the concerns of those who say you once referred to the Constitution as "just a blankety-blank piece of paper."

Third - No more torture. Along with that comes "no more making excuses" for overzealous members of the armed forces and intelligence community who have a penchant for abuse and digital cameras. The entire Abu Ghraib scandal didn't do any of us any good, and you know how tough it was to deal with former Hanoi Hilton resident John McCain this year. The rest of us will most likely see the rest of the pictures and videos from that notorious prison before too long, and you need to get this behind you if you want to move on. Learn to live by the rules, and quite trying to look for the loopholes (or looking to make some where none exist.

Fourth - No more paying journalists, for anything. You've not made any friends among the rest of us, and when we learned you'd paid some columnists to push your policies, your trustworthiness evaporated. Also, tell the military to knock off the paid television stuff in Iraq. We thought you really meant what you said about teaching the Iraqis the meaning of "representative democracy" - not just your version of it. Save the money and do something positive and constructive with it - like use it for this next resolution.

Fifth - Listen to the weatherman. You could start by taking that extra journalism bribery cash to buy a weather radio to listen for incoming hurricanes. The rest you could give to the now-stalled relief efforts on the Gulf Coast. Don't give any of it Halliburton - that would be a no-no, and fail to help your increasingly tarnished public image.

Sixth - Learn to let sleeping dogs lie. Just two words for you on this one; Social Security. Another one? Medicare. How about student loans? You seem possessed of homespun wisdom and regular-guy smarts, so maybe the cliché "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" will resonate with you more. You should have known that the AARP and Congress wouldn't follow you down the primrose path with your plan for private accounts. Not the smartest way to spend that hard-earned "political capital" you felt so proud of after your re-election.

Seventh - Don't give your loyalty to others "willy nilly." Remember that oft-repeated quote about former FEMA boss Mike Brown having done such a good job in New Orleans? "Brownie, blah blah blah, good job!" - unless someone truly deserves your loyalty, you don't need to always stand by them. You've received several black eyes for being too trusting. It may seem Reaganesque to you, but to the rest of us, it signals a lack of judgment. Karl Rove and Scooter Libby may have been, and may continue to be, poker buddies and colleagues, but unconditional support for them when it appears they've contravened the laws of both good sense and the courts makes you look like a follower and not a leader. Remember, your father (earthly version) fired Rove for snarky comments he once made to columnist Bob Novak.

Eighth - Show some independence of thought and action. Leaders don't always govern by polls, and they don't always "take the temperature" of the base before acting. You don't always need to pander to the wishes of the American Family Association or Focus on the Family. I'm not saying you should ignore them, but we'll respect you for making principled stands on important issues without worrying what the yahoos and special interests will think about it. After all, you have hit "lame duck" status, and don't have to run for re-election. You could actually get some good work done in the next three years without worrying about Jerry Falwell and the Christmas War brigade doing you that much political harm.

Ninth - Bring home the troops this year and catch Osama. This entire Iraq thing started with flawed intelligence and we've lost more than 2,000 American service members. The Iraqis have a constitution, a parliament and a government now. Perhaps ideas about democratic self-determination might dictate we allow them to make of that what they will, and let members of the National Guard resume life with family here in America. Mission accomplished! Now, go back to Afghanistan and catch bin Laden. Might be the best thing you could do - the team could use a symbolic victory right about now, and you'd manage to effectively shut-up Democrats and critics for a long time. Those 9/11 families would also feel some closure, and although you wouldn't end al-Qaeda, you'd deal them a brutal moral defeat.

Tenth - Lose some weight. OK, that's not for the president, he's in pretty good shape. It's for me. If he can do those nine things, perhaps I can drop a few pounds, and stop pretending to be a presidential advisor. Who knows, maybe we'll both succeed.

AN UPDATE ON MICHAEL FORTINO, FOR THOSE OF YOU in Pittsburgh angry enough to think about it. Mr. Fortino has bigger problems now...this, from the front page of today's NWA Times...

A nationally known motivational speaker from Pittsburgh who was arrested Nov. 30 by Fayetteville police for possessing and viewing child pornography will not be prosecuted locally, said Washington County District Prosecutor Terry Jones on Thursday.

Jones said the U.S. Attorney's Office will take over the case against Michael V. Fortino, 45, who was arrested after taking his computer to a store in Fayetteville for repair. Fortino also reportedly admitted to police that he videotaped several young girls while they were changing their clothes on his boat.

Fortino is president and founder of The Center for Lifestyle Management, which has offices in Pittsburgh and San Francisco. He is said to be an expert in time, stress, balance and lifestyle management.

He had faced three counts of viewing and possessing sexually explicit material involving a child, but Jones said the federal penalties are greater than those in the Arkansas laws.

The type of charge Fortino faced is a Class C felony in Arkansas. "And that doesn't get us very much," Jones said.

A Class C felony in Arkansas is punishable by three to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Jones said it was uncertain what federal charges would be filed. U.S. attorneys in Arkansas could not be reached for comment Thursday about potential charges.

Fayetteville police said they found child pornography on a laptop computer Fortino had taken to Best Buy in Fayetteville for repairs. Employees reportedly discovered several images on his laptop computer depicting children engaged in sexual acts. Fortino reportedly was in Fayetteville on business when his computer malfunctioned.

SILENCE...THEN WE HEAR IT...CHANTING (KEITH...KEITH...KEITH...KEITH!)...the champion enters the ring, facing his bloviating former colleague from Fox. The bell sounds, he pulls back his mighty arm, swings at Gibson (POW!) -- it's all over! The champion retains the belt...OK, a little dramatic, but this was interesting last night on MSNBC's "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann. Enjoy. (Yes, we agree Gibson ought to turn in his credentials -- his performance on the Janet-Jaw-Fest was terrible. How can he face other people with whom he does not agree?) -- BAM! JG, in yer face! (this is better than football!)

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OUR MAN GENE LYONS HAS an outstanding column in this morning's DemGaz. He hits it right on the head, and the argument does bear asking conservatives for an answer. Read the selection below, and answer it for yourselves...what happened to the "get the government off our backs" attitude of traditional conservatives? Something ain't right...

From the rise of Barry Goldwater onward, all we've heard from the American right is how we need to get government off our backs; how the scariest words in the language are "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you"; and how we need to wean ourselves from the government tit and strive to be rugged individualists like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, currently under indictment, once called agents of the Environmental Protection Agency the "Gestapo of government" and "a bunch of jack-booted thugs." Then came 9/11, and what happened? My man Digby (digbysblog.blogspot.com) may have put it best: "Suddenly the he-men of Wal-Mart and the NRA leaped into Big Brother's arms and shrieked 'save me, save me! Do whatever you have to do, they're trying to kill us all !' They now look to Daddy Government... to check under the bed for them every night, reassure them that the boogeyman won't hurt them and then read them a nice bedtime story about spreading freedom and democracy. It turns out that underneath all this swaggering bravado, the Republicans aren't the Daddy party -they're the baby party." Constitution? We don't need no stinkin' constitution. Our dear leader, George W. Bush - the same guy who went fishing after somebody read him a Daily Briefing titled "bin Laden Determined to Strike in U. S." - is the only guarantee we need to protect our freedoms. Just this morning, I had an e-mail from a Bush supporter who assured me that if I have nothing to hide, I have nothing to fear. Thanks, comrade. Now I feel much better.

Indeed, of all people, it would seem tradtional conservatives would be the ones to object to the abrogation of constitutional rights and the law by the Bush administration in this entire wiretapping story. The piece also goes into the historic background of the "war on Christmas" -- if you read Gene's take on things, it has its genesis in the 1930s, and anti-semitism. What a way to go.

OUR FAVORITE WEBSITE, CROOKS AND LIARS is doing its rundown of the best video and stories of the year, and has been churning up various clips of interest. This one grabbed our attention. Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog visits Washington, D.C. for a little one-on-one with junior members of the House.

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

ANOTHER VOICE IN THE RISING CHORUS accusing Mr. Bush of violating the law over those wiretaps. John Brummett paints a pretty good sized bullseye on this one. So, that's at least two of us who think the Prez messed this up.

Americans should be made to choose, fear or principle, then to live by the decision in good times and bad. But the strange thing is that the current situation should not force such a choice.

We have a law dating to 1978 allowing our government to go to a secret court to get probable cause warrants to wiretap domestic subjects for purposes of gathering foreign intelligence. These Bush people won't even abide by that.

Instead, we've seen the kind of thing that was fully and sadly predictable. Shortly after 9-11, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft relaxed rules by which the FBI could engage in domestic spying. So, according to documents gathered by the ACLU, the FBI went out and opened files on a sect of people who only eat vegetables, on a group that protests cruelty to animals and on a Catholic workers' group that struck the FBI, according to one of these documents, as kind of communistic in its thinking.

After all, what is our country without the Constitution?

AH, WHEREFORE A FREE PRESS...Anyone familiar with the case of Dr. Stanton and "The Selling of the Pentagon?" You should be...more and more, the stuff coming out about media and propaganda efforts reads like the junk we saw during the Vietnam war, including this little bon mot from today's Washington Post, which examines the relationship of the "war effort" to both bloggers and money...

"The American media seems to be either unaware or unconcerned that when it carries video of an [improvised bomb attack], it is running terrorist video and thus doing their work for them," Kuehl said.

On the other hand, one could say the media is simply showing the American people what is happening. The government had the same arguments about media coverage during Vietnam, with some high-up blaming the media for "losing" the war...

HERE'S ONE OF THOSE incredilby enjoyable David Shuster (sp?) pieces on Hardball, looking at all the available video on Mr. Bush's extra-legal activities. Enjoy.

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

JUST FINISHED WATCHING Jack Cafferty on CNN. Boy, we're becoming very, very big fans of the ol' curmudgeon. He made a very good point -- he wondered by the President and Congress both agreed to give pay raises to government employees (Yes, Congress, the VP, everyone but Bush) just a day after they voted to cut $40 billion dollars worth of funding from public programs, including Medicare and student loans....Cafferty said he could barely say it with a straight face (we don't blame him) and that he was looking forward to the hearings into the President's screw-up on domestic spying when they start in January.

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-- Don Elkins
-- "In Focus" Column, Fri. Dec. 23, 2005
-- Northwest Arkansas Times

Who do you trust? Can you trust the people in Washington these days? Can you trust the media? Have we entered some timewarp that sent us back to the early 1970s? All good questions, without encouraging answers.

If you've followed this past week's story about wiretaps and eavesdropping authorized by the White House - authorized above and beyond a legally mandated secret court which whips up warrants when required - you've heard quite a bit of obfuscation coming from Condi Rice, Vice President Cheney and the President himself. They've had backup from the usual echo chamber at Fox News and talk radio.

The storyline? The President has to do anything possible to defend "homeland security" - even, it would seem, at the expense of the law. Condi Company says Mr. Bush has the authority to bypass the FISA court because of a resolution authorizing the use of force in Afghanistan. Some members of Congress did some public head scratching after people like Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez went on national television to forward that defense of the administration's actions.

The echo chamber quickly cooked up a story about Presidents Clinton and Carter also claiming the same authority. Add to that word the New York Times knew about the wiretaps, but sat on the story for year - claiming it had to review whether publication would affect national security - and you'll only have half the story.

The President has yet to answer a very important question about this story. The current secret court allows him a considerable amount of wiggle room on how the executive branch handles secret wiretaps. If he needs to, Mr. Bush can set up a wiretap, and then has 72 hours to file papers for a retroactive warrant from the court. He can do it without permission, but he has to justify his actions (as all Presidents should (at least Thomas Jefferson once said so) later to a panel of judges. So, he's always had the power to do what he wants in that regard - even against American citizens. What does he have to hide, and where in any authorization does he truly find a legal precedent for bypassing a federal court? Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican from South Carolina has the same question, and says he doesn't find any legal grounds for the President's actions. Taken even farther, former Nixon counsel John Dean this week said he'd never heard a president actually admit committing a felony - and Dean worked for (of all people) Richard Nixon, who never admitted anything.

The story gets even more deceptive.

The administration (Ms. Rice) told reporters that the program only kept track of communications between American citizens conversing with people overseas. The day after that comment, NSA admitted the program had actually also monitored dozens of domestic (American to American) conversations.

Lie or simple oversight?

So it goes - the administration also said the 'spying' only focused on people with suspected ties to Al-Qaeda and terrorist organizations. At the same time, reports in national newspapers explained how the Pentagon has conducted surveillance on Greenpeace, PETA and a series of gay and lesbian groups consisting of law school students - all described as possible 'domestic terror' organizations. And, to top things off, national television news shows picked up a video clip of Mr. Bush explaining "roving wiretaps" to the press, saying that he still had get a court order, that nothing had changed, and that he had no plans to change that state of affairs. The story about the wiretaps told us something that directly contradicted that public statement. Believing the administration has become nearly impossible for many people, especially in the media.

But, the media didn't come out of it unscathed, either, especially the now damaged and bruised New York Times. The Times sat on the story for a year, telling a tale of woe - "we had to wait, make sure the story was accurate, and that it wouldn't damage national security!" Critics say the paper held back for a couple of reasons that don't jibe with that explanation. First, the paper may have held the story because releasing it during a national election could have effected the outcome of the ballot, and the Times didn't want to face accusations of that. Also, word came out that the reporter who broke the story also has a book deal, and plans to release his new tome shortly.

So, do you believe the "paper of record" had high ethical ideals to protect, or did it just want to cover its own hind end and throw some money at the reporter who came up with the story?

In the 1970s, after Mr. Nixon became the first President to step down from office before the expiration of his term, distrust became the buzzword of our national conversation. The people didn't trust the government, the media didn't trust the government, the profile of journalists declined, and no one knew who to trust anymore. Have we turned full circle now? We have a war, we have a two term Republican President, we have people asking questions about whether that Chief Executive broke federal law, and we have a lot of distrust.

What next - the rebirth of disco?

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Editor's note: This is "just for the heck of it" -- hey, if preaching during the holiday is good for Fox's John Gibson and O'Lielly...well, you get the point.

Not too long from now, millions will celebrate the arrival of the Prince of Peace. It may seem too obvious to make that observation, but impossible to do otherwise on this Friday. However, the mere thought of it jars painfully against the images on my television, and the words I hear spoken as I write this. Saddam Hussein, a former strongman, a former paragon of power over the powerless, a man who washed his hands in the blood of thousands, sits in the docket in Baghdad.

He slumps in his chair, looking as if he wants to make the judges think he at least cares in some small way (this is terrible! Who could have done these things?) about the testimony going into the record of that proceeding. The spoken words, regardless of the emotion they carry, can do little to convey the depths of the events described. Torture, rape, starvation, imprisonment, beatings, cruelty without end and cruelty which defies description make up the threads of the story told in that testimony, the speech of those who can no longer speak.

As I watch, it occurs I have become a witness to a story about that word of which we hear so much these days - a story about hubris. Perhaps we should describe it better as arrogance, certitude, even self-delusion, but it would mean the same thing, and it has become the prevailing storyline of the first decade of the new century. The spirit of justice deplores it, and as gravity rarely fails, so does justice rarely fail to bring the grandest of arrogance low - pride goeth before a fall.

Saddam wears the plain suit and tieless white shirt of a man who never thought "they" would bomb Baghdad - now gone, his old uniform, beret and gold braids - the costume of his days basking in hubris. The former Pontifex Maximus of the Ba'ath Party could serve as the poster boy for those human beings some describe as "riding for a fall."

Those on that ride often display a sense of unwarranted certainty, a tragic blindness to what will happen - in some small way, most of us have taken a taste of that bitter dish, and most have helped prepare and serve it. But the interplay of certainty and justice can take place in a confusing way.

Justice usually plays out with certainty, and too much arrogance will certainly result in justice. And, as symbolically represented by that famous (sometimes naked, sometimes not) statue at the Department of Justice - the spirit of fair play remains blind, unfeeling and not choosy about who gets comeuppance. Yes, sometimes the cowboys in the white hats also take it on the chin.

On this continent, arrogance and certainty have played havoc with our elected leaders this past week, our people who enjoy wearing their own brand of beret and gold braid. A handful felt so certain and so "right" about their anointed role as protectors of the nation that some may have felt empowered to act outside the law of the land, as enacted by Congress. Some felt the need to entirely bypass the constitution, courts and special rules to spy on fellow Americans, eavesdropping on both international communications and a handful of purely domestic conversations, the latter admittedly prohibited by those who didn't seem to have much regard for rules anyway. Blind justice deplores arrogance and unwarranted certitude, something of which we seem to have a surplus in Washington.

But, those with hubris to spare need to do a little math and consider blind justice will often take its due in direct proportion to the amount of arrogance displayed by those so very certain they know the right thing to do, those certain a kind and gentle God directs them in their course, certain they'll win the day and certain they can (of course) do no wrong in the service of a proper ideal - in short, the 'h' word.

Injustice - specifically abuses of privilege by those who take power, or those with it given them - creates an imbalance deplored by justice. Sooner or later, in a nation peopled by those who thirst for it, who work for it, justice will prevail over both those in the white hats and the black.

Perhaps all the players in this drama forgot something taught by that same celebrated Prince of Peace I mentioned at the start of this - in matters of life, death, right and wrong, it both matters if you win or lose, and how you play the game.

On this holiday, may all of you enjoy the goodwill of your fellows, and mostly - may you enjoy the peace of the season.

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-- CYBERMOUTH
-- December 20, 2005
-- Rick Baber

Can you hear it? Maybe not right now, but, if you'll go outside after the traffic has died down, maybe on a foggy night, when the sound will carry farther -- What is that? That scratching sound.

I know you're expecting to be told it's the sound of reindeer on your roofs, and receive a hearty "Merry Christmas" greeting, but while I do wish all of you a Merry Christmas - that ain't the sound you're hearing. That is the sound of the next-to-last Bush supporters scraping those "Bush/Cheney" bumper stickers off their SUVs. It seems that, with the latest scandal - the claims of illegal wiretapping against American citizens - that nearly non-existent group of folks on the short side of the President's approval ratings is getting smaller.

Politics doesn't sleep. Politics doesn't take holidays. So, while most everybody else is publishing feel-good holiday stories and cookie recipes, I have to be the one to keep just a little bit of your attention on this nasty subject. Suffer through it. It isn't that long.

Let's be clear. In a country where you are constitutionally protected against any legal action for burning a Bible, I have no problem with some military jailers flushing a Koran down a toilet. Seems to me like an expression of free speech. If the guy that owns it wants to file some "destruction of property" claim against them, that's his (or her) right. By the same token, if somebody wants to burn an American flag, they have the right to do that as an expression of speech - although, I believe somebody should be entitled to smack that guy in the mouth as an expression of his own free speech. And, if I'm about to get on an airplane, where I'm not very comfortable anyway, and some gung-ho security people think that middle easterner looks "suspicious" and pulls him aside to take a look under that thing covering his head (no disrespect meant, I just don't know what they're called), hey, more power to 'em! I know they're not all terrorists, but when I'm at 30,000 feet, looking down at the ground, thinking about how hard it is, truthfully, I could give a flying flip about "profiling." So, you see, I'm not the wild-eyed leftist radical that a lot of people accuse me of being. I'm just trying to use a little common sense here.

Ask anybody who's ever smuggled any contraband (yes, I grew up in the 60s and 70s, so I knew -I mean, "heard of" - a few) how smart it is to use the phone or the internet to conduct "business." Wire taps happen. That's a fact of life. It's a risk these businessmen and women take in pursuit of their own version of the American dream. Consequently, most won't do it that way. Consider how easy it would be for the cops if they could legally place bugs on people's phones any time they wanted. Consider how many murderers could be stopped before they committed their crimes. How many kidnappers. How many bank robbers and child pornographers and drug dealers and tax cheats and gunrunners and arsonists and just plain ol' nasty boogermen. So, to use a phrase those 19 remaining hard-core, never-say-die Bush defenders keep repeating "If you're not a terrorist, what have you got to worry about?" Why shouldn't the President be able to authorize electronic surveillance on American citizens without going through the proper channels?

Let's try to answer that question with some more questions.

Why shouldn't the military be allowed to torture suspects in order to get information that might save some American lives?

Why does some guy that everybody knows is guilty still get a trial?

Why shouldn't there be some agency who monitors every conversation any of us have on the telephone?

Why shouldn't they be allowed to open our mail and read it, before delivering it to the recipient?

Why shouldn't they be allowed to place cameras in our bedrooms to make sure we're behaving legally there?

Why shouldn't our cars have devices installed on them that will send an electronic signal to some computer that will automatically mail us a ticket whenever we drive over the speed limit?

Why shouldn't there be a "thought police"?

Geez, people. We're at WAR here! Just allow that short list of things to happen, and understand how much stress and pressure that will take off the authorities and free them up to pay closer attention to the important stuff, like, you know, protecting us from terrorists. And, don't you people realize that every time you question any action, or inaction, of the President, you are aiding and abetting the enemy? You shouldn't distract him like that, because he needs to focus all of his energy and attention on protecting us, his children. So, just for argument's sake, if he were to, say, get caught in some tryst with a young intern, and you make a fuss about it, you are committing what is tantamount to treason. Because (did I mention?) we are at war!

So, take a lesson from me. I've learned mine. This Christmas (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, FestivusForTheRestOfUs), let's give the President a present he really needs and deserves. A free hand. A blank check. Unbridled power. Put those stickers back on your cars. You'll be glad you did. And you'll feel like a real American Patriot.

And, just before you go to sleep tonight, give a little wink and a nod to the camera - just so we'll know you're with us.

Merry Christmas to all. And to all, a good night.

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OK, LET'S MAKE THINGS just a little more frightening. I'm sitting here doing the news, and this little note drops into my e-mail...

"Hi my name is (deleted) from fayetteville i would just like to say that the people that are appose to the president doing what ever he has to do to make american safe either have something to hide or are not real American's.maybe the president should do a little back ground check on these people.i hope you read this on the news maybe it will give some people something to think about."

Huh? Wow, seriously messed up thought processes going on here. Again, I understand the concern over keeping Americans safe, but does it help when the highest office in a land of laws breaks the law? Maybe the President should run a background check on this individual...ooops, maybe he already has! 'Cause, it's still secret! Maybe this person is a "domestic terrorist" (read: dissident, zealot, activist, someone using his/her first amendent rights)...be careful what you ask for, my friend (actually the commentor is a pretty nice guy)...ah,yes, also just goes to show you 30 percent of Americans would support the President even he trie to abolish the constitution. Simply insane.

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WAL-MART GETS SMART (sorry about pun, but I think we have a "spy" motif going this morning) and decides the best way to fight grass roots activists is to buy its own -- a time tested and true method used by American conservative groups in the 1970s to get a piece of the media action. This comes courtesy of the Miami Herald this morning...

With backing from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a group of community leaders - from clergy to Latino activists to businesswomen - announced the formation Tuesday of a national group to speak up for the world's largest retailer and launch counter-attacks when they sense criticism is unfair.

The steering committee of 16 people, partially funded by Wal-Mart, organized Working Families for Wal-Mart, whose job will be to talk about what they see as Wal-Mart's positive contributions.

"I know Wal-Mart is good for working families, because I know men and women in my congregation who work at Wal-Mart, shop at Wal-Mart, and whose lives are touched by the compassion and commitment of this company every day," steering committee member Bishop Ira Combs, Jr. said in a statement. Combs is the founder & pastor of the Greater Bible Way Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith in Jackson, Mich.

Ah, the company partially pays for it -- just like the unions partially pay for wakeupwalmart and others. Wow, what a fight. Wouldn't it cost less money just to improve the pay and benefits of workers, or to let the unions into the company so workers could collectively negotiate pay and benefits? Wal-Mart should take a lesson from GM and Ford, which both eventually got their way with workers on both issues as an economic and corporate health issue. Does anyone know if the "war room" advisors from Edelman have thought of suggesting that?

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

ALLRIGHT, PRITT! YOU'VE BITCHED ENOUGH, I'LL UPDATE...must be the old "week before the holiday" syndrome because I just plan ran out of steam. Yes, Matt (and others) I've still got the MP3s from the last two weeks to put online, so you can hear our programs.

This week -- we'll have a "best of" program Saturday night because of Xmas eve. Still not certain if we'll do a live program on New Year's Eve. I guess if you people want it, you'll write me and ask for it. Who knows.

I'm dumbfounded by the President, still, after two or three days. I was reading an editorial in yesterday's edition of the NY Times about it. It alternately sickens and frightens me. The Attorney General made some exceedlingly lame excuse, saying Mr. Bush has the right to wiretap Americans without any court approval, because Congress let him do it. Congress (for the most part) denies it ever implied that when it approved the use of force in Afghanistan. The thing that clinches it is this -- why did he do it this way, the imperial way, when he could have used the FISA court? He could even get wiretaps, and then get a retroactive warrant for them -- this way, he just IGNORES a more than 20 year old law and decides he doesn't have to tell anyone what he's doing. Sure sounds like he has something to hide. On top of that, you can stack this week's news that ACLU FOIA requests show the FBI has been spying on Greenpeace and PETA and a Catholic Workers' group, with the pretext agents need to keep an eye on those because they could be "domestic terrorists."

None of this is right, none of this is my America. It really brought to mind the fall of the Roman Republic, when the world's greatest democracy of the time decided democracy was just too dangerous and messy, deciding instead to become a dictatorship.

Can it happen here? Someone needs to clamp the lid on this guy's nonsense -- better yet, he should stop lying to everyone, and start obeying the law.

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

-- Don Elkins
-- "In Focus" Column, Friday, Dec. 16, 2005
-- Northwest Arkansas Times

Sometimes playing a game of political connect-the-dots can provide a little entertaining distraction. Sometimes it'll just drive you nuts. If you tried to follow all the players in this week's special bond election, you may have found yourself in need of a chalkboard to chart all the action. Now that it's ended (disastrously for Gov. Mike Huckabee and anyone who supported either of the bond issues) you may find yourself really wondering what went on in this particular political "horserace."

Ah, yes, we did indeed experience "Peyton Place" with this one.

First, you have a Republican lame-duck governor considering a run for the Oval Office fighting weak results from the federal highways bill and fighting a state Supreme Court ready to take him and lawmakers to the woodshed over school funding.

Sound like a movie-of-the-week or a "West Wing" episode in the offing?

Huckabee put a lot of what some call "political capital" to work trying to get the $575 million dollar highway bond issue passed. He also tried to get that $250 million dollar higher education bond passed.

It may seem like an armchair quarterback thing to write, but he made mistakes. Anyone following the public debate - and anyone clubbed over the head by anti-bond issue radio ads - probably realized the governor failed to build any kind of consensus on either issue among his traditional constituency. He took flack from the state trucker's association, found the UA trustees less than willing to endorse the road bond (until the Friday before the ballot, and after begging for support in a letter) and didn't get any kind of resounding endorsement from either the Farm Bureau or the Arkansas Republican Party. The situation in that party didn’t really give many clues about what happened; short of to serve as long-range radar forecast on the probable outcome of the balloting.

We’ve long heard of a regional split in that party, between those who support the governor, and those party members who live in Northwest Arkansas and who might consider Huckabee less than truly conservative. Newspaper columnists have written quite a bit about that split, which party members publicly deny, but which seems to exist nonetheless.

A subdivision of the party (the so-called "Republican Wing of the Republican Party") publicly opposed the measure. Those same people loudly support gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson’s campaign — but that candidate publicly supported the bond issue.

Across the aisle, Democrat Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Mike Beebe also supported the bonds. But, within the Democratic Party, we also saw splits. Candidate-in-waiting Bill Halter publicly opposed the measure, as did under-the-radar Lt. Governor Candidate Drew Pritt.

We saw divisions all over on this one — neither party had any kind of uniform response to the issues.

Local media outlets that feature editorials seemed to do the boosterish thing by also jumping on the bandwagon.

So what happened? Why did the voters shoot down two issues intended to fix decaying roads and improve our institutions of higher learning?

Call it a result of out-and-out fiscal fatigue on the part of the electorate. Voters did not feel in any kind of mood to give anyone a blank check, which many felt these bonds would have given state lawmakers. It adds up — and the attitude may continue to get worse. After all, how many of us took a whoopin’ at the gas pumps this summer after the hurricanes? How many of us gave until it hurt to help the evacuees get settled in? How many of us feel frustrated while holiday shopping? How many of us truly" see red" when we open those heating bills? And yes, it seems like every other week, lawmakers saddle us with another election, asking for either an extension of sales taxes, or asking us to approve new ones. Jam the millage increases down the public’s throat and people start to weary of it.

Just look at that proposed tax in Benton County not too long ago, which some referred to as another "grocery tax." It would have ostensibly gone to generate funding to fix county roads, but no one bought it.

Voters sent that one sailing back to the people who drafted it. So, did it really come as a surprise to anyone in Little Rock that most voters hesitated to give the legislature further free reign to raise more money? It shouldn’t have. The governor seems to have had a very bad case of timing with this election.

He says he won’t bring it up again for his remaining 13 months in office. However, state lawmakers apparently don’t feel as put off by the angry mood of the electorate. State Senate leader Jim Argue, long a supporter of Huckabee’s fiscal proposals, says the true believers haven’t given up on the concept just yet. He says lawmakers have plans to resurrect the highway bond sometime in 2008. In the end, we voters felt less than inclined to say "yes" to yet another set of bills, and more financial commitment during a time of decreasing fiscal conservatism. And, we may have also taken a look at Mr. Huckabee’s personal sales job for the bonds, and his timing, and his high-profile visits to places like Iowa, and wondered if he put the bond issue to a ballot for his own selfish reasons — maybe to bail himself out of some tough situations, things he should have foreseen and taken care of earlier in his tenure.

Maybe the voters just have a hard time these days believing anyone who holds elected office.

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHLY WARRANTED OPTIMISM -- Joy -- "Our Girl Arkansas" has relented, and has decided to re-open her blog, in some limited fashion for now. She also says she'll join a group blog in the NY area called Yesbutnobutyes (or something along those lines.) Joy, good to see you've shaken off that case of the heebie-jeebies and listened to the demands of your loyal audience.

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

DEPARTMENT OF UNWARRANTED OPTIMISM -- will the elections in Iraq actually mean anything to anyone in the U.S? Does that mean American forces can come home now? Some think it means you can walk around today with purple crap on your finger...

Fayetteville (December 14, 2005)- The Arkansas Federation of Republican Women has been nationally recognized for their participation in the non-partisan Purple Finger for Freedom Campaign. On Thursday, December 15 at 11 am at the Little Rock Country Club, 4200 Country Club Blvd., AFRW President Anne Britton will speak to the Pulaski Co. Republican Women’s Christmas luncheon. Republican women will be supporting the Iraqi vote as they for the third time this year go to the polls to vote for their Parliament members. They will all ink their right index fingers purple in a show of solidarity with the Iraqi people and a show of support for the troops. Pulaski Co. Republican Women President Ginny Garner will preside over the event.

Ah, yes, a "non-partisan" purple finger event...hmmmmmm. That's why Republicans will host it, created it, flogged it. Oh, yes, I've been bombed with e-mail on this lately, and at least one note said people should make sure they don't "purple" the wrong finger...which finger is that? Ah, how about we walk around with red ink on our fingers to symbolize the blood of our troops...ok, too much "John Ford" there...

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

MORE ON THAT CAL THOMAS COLUMN about Christmas. Again, very funny stuff from the man who at one time was the second-in-command at the Moral Majority. Occasionally, Mr. Thomas displays minor glints of some civilized upbringing. In this case, he calls BS on the morons making all the noise about "Happy Holidays" (Gibson, O'Lielly, we're looking at you...). Here's a little bit from "Not so Silent Night"...

The effort by some cable TV hosts and ministers to force commercial establishments into wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas" might be more objectionable to the One who is the reason for the season than the "Happy Holidays" mantra required by some store managers.

I have never understood why so many Christians feel the need to see and hear "Merry Christmas" proclaimed to them at stores by people who may not believe its central message. While TV personalities, junk mail letters and some of the ordained bemoan the increasing secularization of culture; perhaps some teaching might be helpful from the One in whose behalf they claim to speak.

Jesus - the real one, not the Republican-conservative-Democrat-liberal one made in the image of today's fractured political culture - said His kingdom is not of this world. Why, then, are so many who claim to speak for Him demanding that this earthly kingdom celebrate Him and His Kingdom?

I'M JONESIN' THIS MORNING BECAUSE I don't have the regular Girl Arkansas summary of the insanity we know as the DemGaz editorial pages. Agree with her or not, her work was endlessly entertaining, and we know the newspaper read the blog each day. So did we. Often, we'd have no idea what even happened on the pages without her analysis. Hey, only have so many hours in day, and often end up spending that at the NY Times and the Post. We wouldn't have even heard about Uncle Mike's "Christmas Apostasy" column this past week without Joy's keen eye. She's closed down the Armedia blog, but we think we can convince her to bring it back. Send her a note, tell her your want your MTV...

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

OK, THIS IS PURE AND PATENT NONSENSE BY BOTH THE CANDIDATES for the Gov's office. Mr. Hutchinson, who ostensibly is for property rights, lower taxes, "family values" and other things doesn't think the state should adopt a measure to raise the minimum wage. He doesn't think it would be competitive. So much for giving a hoot about the little guy. And, the answer given here make not a whit of sense -- do he or don't he?

"We would be at risk in Arkansas in terms of competition and growth if we isolated ourselves and gave us a higher state minimum wage that the federal minimum wage," he said. "I would be concerned that we're putting ourselves at risk in terms of the economy."

From the Arkansas Times, the response by Mr. Beebe -- not a good sign either. So, who actually cares about working people having a hard time making ends meet? What about that bloody report that came out about the "housing wage" that says you have to earn at least $10 an hour in Arkansas to afford to rent a small, two-bedroom apartment? Where would the well-to-do politicians have everyone live, beneath the nearest overpass? Wow -- time for the pols to wake up and start caring about the forgotten majority -- working Americans. Hey, Republicans -- remember when Nixon managed to mobilize that "silent majority" in the 70s? Hey, evangelicals, remember when Falwell and Dobson and Graham mobilized you in before the 1980 general election? Watch out fellas, someone's going to get smart, whack the Wal-Marts for the way they treat workers, wake up those who live paycheck to paycheck but still have to pay ridiculous bills for home heating and who can't afford to take their kids to the doctor for a check up...gonna be hell to pay when that happens. Here's what Arktimes says about Beebe's response...

Mike Beebe remains fuzzy. Generally supportive of paying folks more, but unable to comment on specifics, you see, on account of his elected position as attorney general, which reviews ballot titles. This is known as having it both ways.

What ever happened to populist politics in a small state?

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EARS TUESDAY...not that I'm a Tony Snow fan (I'm not...the man is off his rocker) but I do occasionally listen to a few minutes of his ranting each day. Much to my surprise, I heard Snow agreeing with conservative wingnut columnist Cal Thomas that the "war on Christmas" is indeed a large pile of fertilizer. If I recall, he asked his listeners something like "haven't we all had enough of this?" That snow we kind of missed here? It must be falling in Hell....here is the Daily Show's continuing coverage of the fake war on Christmas. Happy Kwanza.

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

A COUPLE OF QUICK UPDATES FOR YOU THIS AFTERNOON, first and foremost, yes, we've gone to moderated comments. Look, I really don't mind the juvenile, personal-attack websites. I mean, c'mon -- sometimes, as embarrassing as they might be, and as much as we publicly revile them, they ARE a little funny. However, this isn't the place to advertise them. If you want to advertise, troll, whatever, contact us and BUY ad space. The comments sections are for comments, and' we will unceremoniously boot yer bottom of the site if you decide you've found an easy place to advertise. I don't mind truly recommending a site with some content, but I've no time for irrelevant material -- and yes, it's my blog and I pay for it, SO THERE!

Joy at Arkansas Media has deactivated her website at last word. Not sure why. She sure had a good thing going. Perhaps she just needs a break. It can get to be pretty heavy in terms of workload (hence, my own couple of days off from posting this week.) We're still big fans, and if she wants to post here, she's always welcome.

A couple of new blogs from the left out there -- the Arkansas Democratic Party has one and someone has decided to put "Sid McMath" online. Both worthy of a read, and yes, both include comment sections -- something Matt Drachenburg of Overtaken by Events and I agree on wholeheartedly.

I'll post more later -- some interesting things happening today, not the least of which is the statewide bond election.

OUR THANKS TO LAST NIGHT'S GUESTS...to the left, you can see Matt Drachenburg of Overtaken by Events with yours truly, below, Mark Moore of Arkansas Watch -- not pictured, show regular Girl Arkansas from Arkansas Media. They'll all be back to continue our dialogue about blogs. All you other bloggers are welcome as well...we'd love to have you as guest, and we plan to do this as a regular part of the program, so - come on, come all. I also understand there may be some trouble with the KFAY-AM stream for some of you, so we'll re-start our Live365 stream this week, with 24-7 broadcast of all our programs, and live simulcast Saturday nights.

Visit Matt's site to take a look at the results of his live blog of the program, and also our thanks to Matt for the pics -- our digital camera had a nervous breakdown with all the bloggers in the studio.

I'll try to put up the .mp3 and podcast of the show Monday. Now, all we have to do is get Joy up to the studio for a real photograph.

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Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

WE ARE LIVE TONIGHT after our hiatus. We'll be talking about some big events today, and we'll also talk about the blogs. If you're in the neighborhood, come to the Radisson Hotel on the Square between 6:30 and 8 p.m. to KFAY-AM and we'll try to squeeze you in. You can also call in at 479-521-5329. Listen live on Newstalk 1030 KFAY-AM, or with live streaming windows media (yes, Mac users, you'll have to go to Microsoft's website and download the media player) at http://www.kfayam.com.

WE MENTIONED THIS EARLIER ON THE "BLOG" -- wakeupwalmart.com, a project of the UCFW union has unveiled its new ad campaign -- this one came out this morning...it's in Quicktime, so I haven't watched it yet, but here it is...perhaps it's the one that goes with this...

UNDATED (AP) - W-W-J-S. Where would Jesus shop? Some union-backed critics of Wal-Mart Stores say -- not at the world's largest retailer. The group Wake-Up Wal-Mart has unveiled a religious-themed campaign asking shoppers whether God wants them to buy things from the Bentonville-based company. The group, funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, launched a T-V ad and released a letter signed by 65 clergy members and religious figures. The 30-second T-V spot begins tomorrow in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas. The group says Wal-Mart's policy over wages, health benefits and other issues harm families and communities. Wal-Mart is accusing the group of using union dues to exploit religion. Chief Executive Lee Scott responded with his own letter saying the company saves working families money, proves jobs and supports charities. If you want windows media to see this, click here.

OK - this will get nastier.Need low-cost, high-quality news for your online or commercial broadcast? Simply visit RNS Radio News today! Have a news tip, but want to stay in the shadows, keep your ID secret? Drop us a line at anonymous news tips.

Listen to this week's (Nov 20) program (mp3 2 hr)

OF INTEREST TO WORD-SMITHS EVERYWHERE, and especially to journalists, who so often indulge in cliche -- this year's list of banned words and phrases (they've outstayed their welcome) for 2005, as we approach year's end. Here's the list, but the fun comes when you visit the article and read the reasons why these things need to be burned...my own favorite is "enemy combatant" -- yeah, would you have an "allied combatant" or some such equivalent phrase? Also notice "blog" turns up this year. Enjoy...

1. BLUE STATES/RED STATES
2. FLIP FLOP/FLIP FLOPPER/FLIP FLOPPING
3. BATTLEGROUND STATE
4. AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE
5. POCKETS OF RESISTANCE
6. IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
7. ENEMY COMBATANT
8. CARB
9. YOU'RE FIRED!
10. ÜBER
11. 'IZZLE' SPEAK
12. WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
13. BLOG
14. WEBINAR
15. ZERO PERCENT APR FINANCING
16. SAFE AND EFFECTIVE
17. ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
18. JOURNEY
19. BODY WASH
20. SALE EVENT
21. ALL NEW
22. AND MORE!

-- Don Elkins
-- "In Focus" Column, Friday, Dec. 9, 2005
-- Northwest Arkansas Times

So, my snow day probably didn't turn out as nice as yours. I didn't get to stay home, but the kids had the day off. I didn't go shopping, but I'm pretty certain someone else at home may have had that opportunity. Perhaps that dusting of snow has left my brain a little more scrambled than usual. I'm wracking my pathetic excuse for gray matter trying to figure out the trouble that seems to have spread like wildfire through the rural parts of Washington County. Let me recount how the story unfolded for me, and perhaps you'll have a different version, and maybe those of you who like to write letters as a hobby will take the liberty of taking me to school on this topic.

First, I read about the "PARA" task force, which ostensibly has the task of examining the rural part of the county with an eye toward coming up with policies intended to manage rapid growth. After all, how many subdivisions do we have outside Fayetteville, and for that matter, outside Bentonville farther north? I can't pick up a paper without reading more about the annexation battles between Centerton and Bentonville, without reading more about usage fees and lagging water and sewer services. It barely drew a yawn from me when I first heard about it because the story seemed so matter-of-fact. Of course, who would disagree with managed growth and policies aimed at providing basic services to those who live in the hinterland?

Ah, but not so fast - next thing I know, local gadfly Don Bright has paid a local television station a visit to talk about why he decided to whip up his very own "cease and desist" order aimed at that task force and the Quorum Court. Seems Bright and others consider the PARA idea a threat to the very concept of property ownership in America, or so he told a television news crew.

Generally, when I hear of people whipping up their very own court orders or making citizens arrests or claiming they have the legal power to avoid paying the IRS anything, I run for the hills (or rural areas) because in my