Stuff From Around Arkansas, March 26

March 26, 2009

Smoked Out: Upset by $14 million revenue shortfall in tobacco tax projections, lawmakers feel confused and betrayed by Gov. Mike Beebe. Will they ever learn to love again? (Arkansas News Bureau)

Unconcealed: Beebe says he’d rather keep concealed carry listings public. Will lawmakers defy the wishes of their sun god? (AP)

Just Stop: Kinkade prediction! In, oh, let’s say three years or so, all this breathless enthusiasm for Twitter is going to seem very very very embarrassing to everyone involved. (KARK)

Toy Story: House committee OKs restrictions on toy guns. But they can never take away my laser pistol! Pew pew pew pew pew! (AP)

Pyle On: Rep. Beverly Pyle moves to crack down on “improper conduct” between massage therapists and clients. In a related story, Rep. Beverly Pyle just became my least favorite legislator ever. (Capsearch Insider)

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Gov. Mike Beebe

Central Arkansas Refresh Group Meets Tuesday

March 26, 2009

The next meetup of the Central Arkansas Refresh Group, a discussion/networking/education group for all you nerdy technology and new media enthusiast types, is set for Tuesday, March 31, from 6-8 p.m. at the Starbucks at 9401 N. Rodney Parham Rd. in Little Rock.

About 15-20 people showed for the inaugural meeting last month, a mix of bloggers, programmers and assorted code jockeys, marketing and advertising wizards, media mavens and more. In the meantime, group membership on our Facebook page has ballooned to 53. (Mastermind Cotton Rohrscheib and I have talked about the probable need to move to a different venue to better accommodate a larger group, which will likely be a matter for discussion Tuesday).

In related news, Cotton launched a starter website for the group a few weeks ago. He’s also been extremely busy lining up sponsors who are making free stuff available, which is really a lot more than I’ve done, which is write this blog post, so I’m starting to feel a little guilty for being such a layabout. A little. No, wait, it just passed. Whew.

Anyway, join us Tuesday night for good times. You can join up via the Facebook page, or if you’re a FB holdout, just show up.

Filed Under: Arkansas Media Tagged With:

Stuff From Around Arkansas, March 25

March 25, 2009

Stalking Tall: Bill to expand the criminal definition of stalking fails in committee, which is bad news for that girl down the street who I like to spy on from the bushes outside her window. (AP)

Numbers Racket: Arkansas finance honcho says state budget numbers will look much less rosy going forward. (Arkansas News Bureau)

Up in Smoke: Oh, and that $86 million windfall the state was gonna see from Beebe’s big tax hike on cigarettes? Uh, yeah, about that…could you spot us $14 million till payday? (Talk Business)

In-tuition: Geez, that in-state tuition for kids of illegal immigrants bill, it just keeps coming back, like some kind of legislative zombie. (AP)

Twitterola: Slate blogger Mickey Kaus wonders, Is all this Twitter media hype the result of a paid mentioning campaign? Maybe this explains Blake Rutherford and Lance Turner’s ceaseless flacking of the service! Now…how do I get in on this? (Kausfiles)

I asked Blake for a comment on Kaus’s Twitterola allegation above, but all I got in response was this:

Blake Hearts Twitter
Glitter Graphics

Man, that guy is goofy for Twitter!

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Media

Those Lincoln Numbers

March 25, 2009

By now you’ve likely seen those rather weak poll numbers that show Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln…well, kinda sucking. The liberal leaning firm that conducted the survey, Public Policy Polling, notes in their news release that Lincoln’s 45 percent approval rating is “tepid.” She shows leads over potential GOP challengers Gilbert Baker and Tim Griffin, but still polls below 50 percent in the head-to-head match-ups.

Says PPP boss Dean Denham:

“These numbers don’t exactly indicate that Lincoln is in big trouble, but they are somewhat weak for an incumbent,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “You would usually expect someone who’s been in statewide office for more than a decade to hold a double digit lead over a couple of potential opponents with minimal name recognition.”

Will Baker get in the race? Ask him Thursday at the lunch meeting of the Central Arkansas Republican Club, where he’s the guest speaker (11:30 a.m. at the Little Rock Club in downtown Little Rock).

Will Griffin quit teasing us through his Twitter account and make a move? I’m on pins and needles!

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics Tagged With: , ,

More Arkansas Tea Party Protests Coming Your Way

March 25, 2009

There was a lot of interest in the Arkansas Tea Party Protest posts a couple of weeks back. If you missed it, about 200 Arkansans attended a “No More Bailouts” demonstration that coincided with Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Little Rock to raise money for Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

If you couldn’t make that big wingding, it looks like you’ll have another shot. Several local groups are looking to set up a chain of Tea Party protests on April 15 in cities around the state. This site has what appears to be a running list and a contact person. (Most of them also have Facebook group pages to facilitate organization.)

I see that, in northwest Arkansas, there are three events planned in Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale. Is it just me or does it seem like one big event in a reasonably central location would be more effective? It would certainly be preferable in terms of media coverage, and it seems like it would simplify the planning process.

Speaking of which, I’ll point event organizers to some tips from Instapundit.com.

Also, I’ve gotten several e-mails from people who read about the previous event on the Arkansas Project and want me to help them get involved with the next demonstration. But, hey, I’m just the messenger here, not the organizer. If you want more information on the events themselves or how they can be involved, again, check out this site.

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics Tagged With:

Poll Position

March 24, 2009

Sooo, that Democratic phone poll I reported on last week? Max Brantley at the Arkansas Times has cracked the case. Turns out to be an outfit called Public Policy Polling out of North Carolina that surveys on behalf of Democrats. You can read their results here.

Barack Obama’s approval/disapprovals in Arkansas are 47/45 with 4 point margin of error. Democrats predictably love him, Republicans predictably hate him and he’s getting hammered by independents.

Others: Gov. Mike Beebe continues his reign as the sun god of Arkansas. Avert your gaze! Expect numbers on Sen. Blanche Lincoln tomorrow.

These guys also polled Rush Limbaugh’s popularity, for some reason, who cares, because they are apparently idiots who like to waste their time and energy asking completely irrelevant questions.

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics

Stuff From Around Arkansas, March 24

March 24, 2009
Arkansas Project publisher David Kinkade regales Young Republicans with tales of his adventures.

Arkansas Project publisher David Kinkade regales Young Republicans with tales of his adventures in a candid photo taken earlier today.

If you didn’t make it to the Central Arkansas Young Republicans lunch where I was speaking in Little Rock today, that’s probably for the best, because we just ended up talking about you and making fun of you behind your back. So if you’d been there it would have been really awkward.

Rubber Stamp: Sharp take on the “superfluous” Arkansas legislature from blogger Mark Moore: “There is no need to even have a legislature under their current operational philosophy.” (Arkansas Watch)

Painfully True: Fun post from Rep. Mark Martin on how to write a conservative activist e-mail. (Off the Marble)

Baker Watch: Eagle-eyed Capitol reporter Rob Moritz spies Sen. Gilbert Baker, a rumored U.S. Senate candidate, talking to former GOP executive director Clint Reed in a hallway. Sounds like Baker is in—that’s all the proof I need, because I am an idiot. (Politics in Arkansas)

Scholarly: Senate education committee deeps sixes in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants bill. (AP)

Card Check Watch: Pennsylvania’s Sen. Arlen Specter says ‘no way’ on card check bill. Blogger K. Ryan James wants to know, what will Blanche Lincoln do? (K. Ryan James Blog)

Why R: Now Jason Tolbert’s all over the race for the chairmanship of the Arkansas Young Republicans. Man, this guy. (The Tolbert Report)

Dave’s Twitter Hatred, Updated: Oh, look, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences announced their new chancellor on Twitter. Wow! What a remarkable technology! I mean, they already had the capability to broadcast this announcement, but now it can be done slightly faster! (Lance Turner Please Come Up With a Name for Your Stupid Blog Blog)

Never Mind: No more February primaries in Arkansas, because that idea turned out to be completely moronic. (AP)

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Media Tagged With: , ,

Catch The Arkansas Project at Young GOP Lunch Today

March 24, 2009

Quick reminder that I’ll be speaking to the Central Arkansas Young Republicans at noon at Loca Luna in Little Rock in what is being characterized by no one many as “THE Arkansas political event of March 2009.” Take that, Joe Biden and Blanche Lincoln!

Blogger Blake Rutherford is threatening to attend and, worse yet, threatening to Twitter throughout. Oh, sweet Jesus. (This is the part where I’m supposed to say, “Oh, go follow me on Twitter!” but to be honest I don’t really update that often and, to be even more honest, I kind of hate Twitter, because it’s the stupidest thing ever, so…. I don’t know. Just do whatever.)

Then I’ll get back to a little blogging this afternoon. See you shortly.

Filed Under: Arkansas Media, Arkansas Politics Tagged With: ,

Stuff From Around Arkansas, March 23

March 23, 2009

At Last: Lottery bill will finally go to Gov. Mike Beebe for his signature, hooray! Now let us not speak of it again until the inevitable graft and corruption stories spring up, which should be sometime within the next, what, six months or so? (AP)

Globetrotters: Why, look at all these state legislators who had to amend their financial reports to reflect all these sweet trips they got to take last year! (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

CSI: Greenberg: Here’s Rep. Dan Greenberg talking about his effort to make criminal background info on public officials more readily available. It’s in some Louisiana newspaper; I have no idea why. (The Town Talk)

The Name Rings a Bell: Sen. Blanche Lincoln: “Barack who? Sorry, never met him.” (AP)

Newsbabes: The Buzz’s David Bazzell launches his local news-babes bracket, and you can vote for your favorite Central Arkansas media lovelies at the Buzz home page. This is just terribly sexist, objectifying these professional women like that, and of course I’m absolutely furious that I didn’t think of it first. (The Buzz 103.7 FM)

Filed Under: Arkansas Media, Gov. Mike Beebe Tagged With:

Come See Me Run My Damn Mouth!

March 23, 2009

Got lunch plans on Tuesday? If not, why not swing by Loca Luna in Little Rock around, oh, let’s say, noon, where I’ll be speaking to the Central Arkansas Young Republicans. (Their planned speaker dropped out, and the guy they invited to take his place couldn’t make it, and then they asked some woman but she had another engagement, and then they asked these two other people but they were both going out of town, and then I was their FIRST CHOICE after all those guys!). We’ll talk about state and local politics, new media and the intersection thereof. It’ll be neat!

So tell your boss you’ll be heading out for lunch on Tuesday, because you do not want to miss this super special engagement. And if he gives you any static, then just tell him you quit. You didn’t need that stupid job anyway.

Filed Under: Arkansas Media, Arkansas Politics Tagged With: , ,
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