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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - In a predominantly black church in a city known for its past racial strife, Bishop Robert Smith is taking sides. His targets: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and federal restrictions barring Smith's endorsement of Republican John McCain. At the end of a recent sermon, Smith told about 50 worshippers at his Word of Outreach Christian Center: "I will be voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin." Smith, who is black, said neighbors and friends have questioned why he isn't backing Obama, the first black presidential nominee from a major party. "I just tell them it's not...

During the primaries, National Review Magazine led the charge against Mike Huckabee. In fact, they were so scared of Huckabee that they wrote a cover story putting him as an unacceptable VP due to his being an economic liberal. In the recent bailout debate, Huckabee and the majority of National Review's posters on the Corner blog once again were on opposite sides. One defended the fundamental basis of our market economy and insisted that we couldn't insist that if we lose, we needed to call in government to "take away the pain." While the other prattled on about the need...

To try and place the amazing Sarah Palin phenomenon, gurus have been reaching for historical analogues: she "embodies the most basic American myth-- Jefferson's yeoman farmer" (Joe Klein); no, she's "the next Ronald Reagan" (Richard Viguerie); no, "she's our Obama" (Jay Nordlinger). But what about Bill Clinton? The fitness-obsessed, policy-lite, skirt-wearing conservative from Alaska would not, on the face of it, seem to have much in common with the Big Mac- scarfing, policy-relishing, skirt-chasing Democrat from Arkansas. And yet, before Palin, what other youthful and relatively inexperienced governor from a backwater state burst onto the Washington scene, chased by an...

If the headline on a recent Associated Press dispatch failed to alarm you, you can’t have been paying attention. “Bush confident sweeping measure will stabilize economy,” it read. That was scant hours before the House rejected Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s Wall Street rescue plan, thrashed out over a long weekend of intense congressional negotiations. As a rule, the more confidence that George W. Bush expresses, the worse things are. How and why the administration allowed what even cautious commentators describe as “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression” to worsen until stopgap emergency measures couldn’t wait would appear something...

Add your name to our pen Letter to Sarah Palin. We're taking your message of opposition to meet her in St. Louis, Missouri, for the vice-presidential debate. Dear When I first heard that John McCain had selected Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, I thought, "That MUST be a mistake." It was hard to believe that McCain had actually found someone more anti-choice, more extreme, and more out of touch than he is on issues that matter to women. And now, I'm deeply concerned about what lies ahead if McCain and Palin are elected — disappearing reproductive health rights,...

When: September 30, 2008 Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM Where: UALR Campus - Donaghey Student Union - Room C The debate will feature 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats, with one Young Republican and one Young Democrat on each side. Questions may be submitted by students and guests. The debate will focus on the main issues of the 2008 Presidential Election. I will be asking both parties about illegal immigration. Please invite as many people to the event as possible!

NOT ONE PENNY FOR ACORNLindsey Graham: "And this deal that’s on the table now is not a very good deal. Twenty percent of the money that should go to retire debt that will be created to solve this problem winds up in a housing organization called ACORN that is an absolute ill-run enterprise, and I can’t believe we would take money away from debt retirement to put it in a housing program that doesn’t work." READ: Inside Obama's ACORN WRITE/PHONE/FAX NOW ACORN VOTE FRAUD MAP: ACORN Suspected of Voter Fraud State Year Details AR 1998 A contractor with ACORN-affiliated...

For many months now we have been treated to Bill Clinton’s intermittent displeasure with Barack Obama. Sometimes it has been overt, sometimes covert. Most recently, while being fawned over by the ladies at The View, he allowed as how Hillary did not really want the vice-presidential nomination after all. (This makes sense to me, by the way.) At the Democratic Convention, he delivered a far better speech than the candidate, showing up the less experienced Illinois Senator without really doing anything for his presidential campaign. In fact, he seems to speak more postively of McCain–especially off the cuff–only the other...

JONESBORO, Ark. - A man who has spent nearly 15 years in prison after being convicted of killing three suburban Memphis boys took the stand for the first time Thursday, insisting that he was innocent and that his lawyers ignored his alibis.

Bill Clinton opened his Global Initiative’s annual meeting in New York on Thursday with high praise for Republican presidential nominee John McCain as well as his rival Barack Obama. Introducing McCain at the gathering, Clinton pointed out that his wife Hillary and McCain took a congressional delegation on a climate change fact-finding mission to Alaska. “I want to say one thing in particular about John McCain in bringing him out here,” Clinton said. “When most people in his party were thinking that global warming was overstated … he decided to look into it. “He and the junior senator from New...

Excerpt - Thursday afternoon, the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office says there could be as many as 15 victims in what they're describing as a "very sensitive" investigation in its early stages. This comes on the heels of Wednesday's discovery of human remains in Industrial Park in Jacksonville. ~ snip ~

A new television ad will begin airing in Colorado this week focusing on Sen. Barack Obama's recent slur against Sen. John McCain and disabled war veterans in a political advertisement. Citizens for Open and Responsive Government (CORG) will begin airing the ad, featuring Lt. Colonel Mike Fairhead of Rogers, AR a retired U.S. Army officer, this week. Fairhead is a disabled Vietnam War veteran and a Purple Heart recipient. The new CORG ad -- titled "Wounded Veterans" -- is a response to an ad that Obama ran last week mocking McCain for not using a computer. (Text of the CORG...

Bill Clinton said Monday the Democratic ticket should steer clear of launching personal attacks on Sarah Palin over her relatively thin resume, and instead acknowledge she was a "good choice" for the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket. "Why say, ever, anything bad about a person? Why don't we like them and celebrate them and be happy for her elevation to the ticket? And just say that she was a good choice for him and we disagree with them?" said Clinton, who faced repeated charges during the primary season he was overly negative toward Obama on the campaign trail....

Federal and state police raided an evangelist's compound in Arkansas late Saturday to investigate whether any children have been physically or sexually abused, officials said. Arkansas State Police troopers monitor the situation at Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in Fouke, Arkansas. The raid is part of a two-year investigation into a compound near Texarkana owned by Tony Alamo Christian Ministries near Texarkana, Arkansas, said Bill Sadler of the Arkansas State Police. About 100 agents were on the 10- to 15-acre site late Saturday and met with no resistance, he said.

Nathan G. Gordon, a Navy pilot who received the Medal of Honor for rescuing other aviators in World War II, and who later became Arkansas's longest-serving lieutenant governor, died Sept. 8 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock. He was 92 and had pneumonia and other ailments.

It runs on water -- Jeff Falk demonstrates his hydrogen powered generator. It uses an electrolyzer to break the water down into hydrogen and oxygen, then burns the hydrogen for fuel. It produces zero carbon emissions and is "very safe." Falk's goal is to get off the grid completely. Photo By Don Lee EUREKA SPRINGS -- Are the high prices of fuel getting to you? Do you cringe whenever you pull up to the pumps, or when the electric bill arrives in the mail? If the answer is yes, it's a safe bet most Americans share your concern. But Jeff...

Excerpt - EAST CAMDEN, Ark. (AP) - A rocket motor at the Aerojet plant in south Arkansas exploded and caught fire today, and one worker was missing. Company spokesman Glenn Mahone says workers were involved in routine work at the 1,200-acre company compound when a large motor caught fire. He said the company was investigating, but did not know what caused the explosion. ~ snip ~

Receipt in stolen Jeep leads to motive in Otter Creek murder Reported by: Sandra Kirk Email: skirk@fox16.com Last Update: 8:56 am 23-year-old Marquel Morgan (photo at link) remains in jail Thursday on half a million dollar bond. Police arrested him Wednesday night for shooting and killing Amy Hancock at the Otter Creek Clubhouse. The apparent motive has many people shaking their heads in disbelief. According to prosecutors the apparent motive was to pay his cell phone bill. A $20 cell phone bill. That theory came to light in court and not even the judge could believe it. Judge says: "He...

Large and dangerous Hurricane Ike approaching the Upper Texas coast. Mandatory evacuations began in earnest Thursday as an estimated one million coastal residents headed inland. There were widespread reports of gas stations running out of fuel. The National Weather Service posted dire storm surge predictions of 20-25 ft storm surge along the coast and bay heads. Hurricane warnings covered a 400 mile swath of the Gulf of Mexico. Wholesale gasoline prices spiked 30 percent Thursday, or nearly $1 a gallon, out of fear of what Ike might do. Public Advisory Updated every 3 hours Discussion Updated every 6 hours Buoy...

We cannot post the left wing AP stories, but if you search the AP has a story on this

Sarah Huckabee on whether Palin is neglecting her family: "I think it's a disgrace that the question is even being asked." "I think it's time the media stops asking the question and follows the rest of America's lead in moving forward and seeing that women are capable to lead this country." "...I never felt like my dad was any less of a parent because he was a governor. If anything I felt like he was a better parent and more involved, because he was a governor -- because he was doing more for my future and more for my every...

ABC News' Ursula Fahy reports: At breakfast with Texas delegation at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, at least one Republican took off his 'America' hat and struck a partisan tone. Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, spent a couple of minutes Tuesday defending John McCain's vice presidential pick Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, chastising the media for focusing on her Monday statement about her pregnant 17 year old daughter, and taking a shot at Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

TEXARKANA — The company selected to design Interstate 69 has revealed plans to also implement the world’s first air rail freight system in the corridor, possibly starting in Texarkana, Texas. “You [Texarkana ] have railroads here, you already have an interstate, bringing I-69 is another interstate, you’ve got Oklahoma, you’ve got I-49,” said Gary Kuhn, senior project manager for Zachary American Infrastructure. “This is what the logistics world likes to see — that opportunity to go from one mode to another very efficiently.” In a presentation to the Wilbur Smith Rotary Club, Kuhn said the freight shuttle is a new...

(AP) A proposal aimed at effectively banning gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents was cleared Monday to appear on this fall's ballot in Arkansas. The measure would prohibit unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children, and Arkansas doesn't allow gays to marry or recognize gay marriages conducted elsewhere. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels certified the proposed initiated act for the Nov. 4 ballot after verifying that the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee had submitted 85,389 valid signatures of registered voters. Supporters needed to turn in at least 61,974 valid signatures. "Arkansas needs to affirm the...

A ban against unmarried couples becoming foster or adoptive parents is scheduled to appear on Arkansas ballots this fall – and some say the measure is geared at denying homosexuals the chance to raise children. The Arkansas Family Council Action Committee submitted 85,389 of the required 61,974 voter's signatures to place the proposal on the Nov. 4 ballot, according to Associated Press reports. Family Council President Jerry Cox said getting the proposed act on the ballot is a significant step for families. "Arkansas needs to affirm the importance of married mothers and fathers," he said. "We need to publicly affirm...

A proposal aimed at effectively banning gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents was cleared Monday to appear on this fall's ballot in Arkansas. The measure would prohibit unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children....

Because the Obama camp has announced the theme for Wednesday night will be "securing America's future," and that the VP nominee will speak on that night, many have openly pondered about the VP being General Wesley Clark. How would Clark rate as the VP nominee? A few days ago, I posted a column on the Obama campaign's choice to thematically tie the Vice Presidential nominee to their Wednesday night agenda on national security and foreign affairs. Obama's people have titled Wednesday night as "Securing America's Future." Coincidentally, or perhaps not, this slogan also happens to be the mantra of WesPac,...

The man who shot and killed the chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party had a Post-It note at home with the victim’s last name and phone number along with 14 guns, antidepressants and a last will and testament, according to court documents. But local police said they still have no indication that the shooter knew Bill Gwatney, the 48-year-old former state senator who was gunned down inside his party’s headquarters on Wednesday. [Snip] Investigators have yet to identify a motive, but said Johnson recently left a job at a Target in Conway, Ark., after writing graffiti on one of the...

Michelle Malkin notes that unhinged Leftists are blaming her "hate" for the murder of the Arkansas Democratic Party chairman, and that this isn't the first time they have done this sort of thing. What does this have to do with jihad? Everything. Just as Leftists consistently try to portray conservatives as purveying "hate," so also do jihadists and their allies insist that any honest discussion of the jihad ideology and Islamic supremacism is "hateful." The advocates of the "Fairness Doctrine," which would restore the hegemony of the politically correct Left over the airwaves, are numerous. And so also are the...

Police and neighbors are struggling to explain why a man described as a loner drove more than 30 miles to Arkansas' Democratic Party headquarters and fatally shot its chairman hours after getting fired from his job. Police said Timothy Dale Johnson, 50, of Searcy, barged into Bill Gwatney's office on Wednesday and shot him multiple times. There were no signs that Gwatney and Johnson, who was later shot dead by officers, knew each other. A Target retail store in Conway had fired Johnson early Wednesday because he had written graffiti on a wall, police said. Before noon, Johnson was in...

See this link for the article - http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=70790&catid=2

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The seriousness Bill Gwatney brought to his political maneuvering was absent as he advertised his three car dealerships. He sometimes hoisted a giant inflatable dragon atop a showroom and dubbed it "Gwatzilla." The name followed him to the state Senate, where he built a reputation for being tough and outspoken, but also detailed and fiscally astute. "I'm abrupt," Gwatney once told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "I have a zero threshold for insignificant facts. I will cut people off if they don't answer my question." Gwatney, who served stints as an Arkansas state senator and chairman of the...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- A man barged into the Arkansas Democratic headquarters and opened fire Wednesday, fatally shooting the state party chairman before speeding off in his pickup. Police later shot and killed the suspect after a 30-mile chase. Police said they don't know the motive for the 51-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released. However, they said moments after the shooting, he pointed a handgun at the building manager at the nearby the Arkansas Baptist headquarters. He told the manager "I lost my job," said Dan Jordan, a Baptist convention official. Chairman Bill Gwatney died four hour...

(CNN) -- The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party died Wednesday, hours after a shooting at the party's headquarters, according to a statement from former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

prayers for this man, regardless of political affiliation.

The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party is in critical condition after being shot by a man who is now in police custody. Still developing...

Authorities say a gunman entered the Arkansas Democratic Party headquarters and shot the party chairman, Bill Gwatney, who is hospitalized in critical condition. Police say the gunman asked to speak to the party chairman and fired three shots.

Shortly before noon Wednesday, a possible shooting was reported at the State Democratic Party Headquarters in Little Rock. Dozens of police cars are on the scene at 1300 West Capitol, and at least one ambulance was seen leaving as KARK 4 crews arrived. MEMS ambulance officials confirm one person was transported to the hospital from the scene. Shortly after noon, police were reported to be in pursuit of a suspect in the incident on a Little Rock interstate. ~ snip ~

The city, created in 2006 after the rival cities of Helena and West Helena joined, is in one of the nation's poorest regions, trailing even parts of Appalachia in its standard of living. Phillips County lost a third of its population from 1970 to 2000 and, of the 24,107 people who remain, more than a quarter live in poverty.

Go home or go to jail! Those are the only two options for people living in one Mid-South neighborhood. The mayor of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas has issued a mandatory curfew. the curfew is in place for an area he refers to as a "hot spot" for crime. It applies to anyone, any age, and any time of day. According to Mayor James Valley, this move is in the best interest of the city. "This curfew is for all people...everyone is subject to be stopped - almost like marshal law. And that's exactly what some are calling it. The mayor has...

4 gunmen bust doors, yell ‘FBI,’ loot home BY JACOB QUINN SANDERS ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Two men kicked in the front door, splintering it near the bolt-lock. Two more kicked in a side door. All four had guns. It was 3 a.m. “FBI! FBI!” the men shouted, one pulling what looked like a badge out of his shirt before stuffing it back in. “Where’s your money?” Lloyd McCuien lay facedown on the living-room floor of his Pulaski County house — off Arkansas 365 outside Maumelle and within sight of Interstate 40 — surrounded by seven family members. “It took me about...

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. -- Some workers at a local plant will no longer to be able to take their Labor Day holiday because of religious reasons. Workers at the Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in Shelbyville will no longer have a paid day off on Labor Day but will instead be granted the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr. According to a news release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, a new five-year contract at the plant included the change to accommodate Muslim workers at the plant. Tyson's director of media relations Gary Mickelson said the contract includes eight paid holidays...

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Dennis Pflueger and his wife won a rent-free year in a nice new house in an expensive subdivision not far from the headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. As part of the prize, they then have the option to buy the four-bedroom home for $452,000. Mr. Pflueger, a telephone-cable installer who describes himself as an "old redneck," is in the middle of his free year. But the Pfluegers are a bit lonely. Just one other family lives in any of the 28 new or unfinished houses on Foxboro Court. ...Since real-estate tanked, many new planned communities across the...

It’s that time of year again as parents scramble to pick up the necessary supplies to send with their children as they are bussed off to the public school (I call them government indoctrination centers) across town. Unlike years ago, when our parents sent us to school with a notebook for each class, a couple of pencils and our lunch money, today’s child will lug clear or mesh backpacks filled with such necessities as liquid anti-bacterial hand soap, boxes of baby wipes and, in the case of Hermitage Elementary School in Hermitage, Arkansas, their first graders will supply two rolls...

Chris Hooten, 34, of Greers Ferry, is recovering from a gunshot wound to his abdomen after a scuffle around 10:15 p.m. Friday. He reportedly entered a home without permission, fought and choked the homeowner, and was shot in the process. Hooten, and James Gadberry, 26, of Greers Ferry, reportedly went to the home of Don Brown on Shaw Road earlier in the afternoon Friday and an argument ensued. "Brown was upset over how Hooten and Gadberry reportedly treated a female," said Detective Phil Burnham with the Cleburne County Sheriff's Department. "Brown told them both to leave and they did." Hooten...

A 41-hour manhunt ended Friday with the arrest of a man suspected of gunning down his cousin’s wife in her east Rogers home. Sergio Morales-Carrera, 23, was arrested in a vehicle in Fayetteville about 2: 10 p. m. by members of the Rogers Police Department’s criminal investigation division, said Lt. Mike Johnson, department spokesman. Morales-Carrera was arrested “without incident,” Johnson said. He was taken to the Rogers jail and later to the Benton County jail, Johnson said. A bond hearing is scheduled for 9 a. m. Monday, he said.Two other men also were arrested on charges of hindering apprehension: Ramiro...

Excerpt - LITTLE ROCK - Taking steps to keep one of its own out of the Legislature, the Democratic Party of Arkansas changed its rules Saturday and refused to certify former state Rep. Dwayne Dobbins for the November general election ballot. At their state convention, Democrats approved a rewrite of party rules to disqualify any person who has resigned from public office as a provision of a plea agreement to avoid felony prosecution from being certified for the ballot. Dobbins, of North Little Rock, was the only candidate to file this spring for the House seat he resigned in 2005...

The Presidential race in Arkansas has remained relatively steady over the past month. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Natural State finds John McCain leading Barack Obama 47% to 37%. When “leaners” are included, the GOP is ahead 52% to 39%.

HOPE — When it comes to energy problems, it’s not just crude-oil prices that have Americans worried these days. A projected decline in natural gas supplies — driven by its increased use for power generation in place of rejected coal-fired plants and coupled with proposed climate-change laws — threatens to send electricity prices skyward within a decade, according to an April report by the Energy Department. In turn, the resulting lack of coal plant construction and time it would take to build nuclear-fueled units could culminate in a national power shortage by 2030 where brownouts and blackouts are part of...