News and Views on Politics, Policy and More
Last week, the campaign arm of the White House -- “Organizing For Action” -- sent out an email asking folks to “join Team Obamacare!” All you have to do is submit your personal information and they’ll send you a FREE bumper sticker! (Think of the information-submission part as a dry run for what lies ahead.) Assuming you can still afford to drive a car under Obamanomics, that’s a swell deal. Oh, and I forgot to mention that to join “Team Obamacare,” you have to sign a petition … [Read more...]
I'm out of town this week, so Dan took the wheel this week on the podcast. He sat down with Glenn Gallas, an Arkansas conservative activist who's leading the charge to repeal the 'private' option via referendum. This is great stuff -- you won't want to miss it. Enjoy the show and don't forget to subscribe in the iTunes Store if you haven't yet. Relevant news stories: Referendum petition receives approval from attorney general Surgeon General Joe Thompson's testimony before Congress … [Read more...]
My children will be adolescents in a few years; occasionally, when I recall the way I behaved towards my parents as a teenager, I react less in happy anticipation than in horror. Too often as a teenager, in an attempt to get my way, I said things to my parents that no serious person would ever say. For instance, I remember attempting to justify a report card that detailed my sub-par academic performance by explaining to my folks: “Look, grades don’t mean anything.” I guess it’s … [Read more...]
You’ll probably remember that the “private option” – the Medicaid expansion that our legislature approved at the end of the session – was sold to the public on the theory that it would save money through market competition. Now that Arkansas legislators have voted for one of the biggest expansions of our state government in history, the facts are starting to come out. “Private option” providers won’t be providing policies on the Obamacare exchange – instead, they’ll be … [Read more...]
During the recent legislative session, the legislature passed a law -- Act 226 -- to allow licensed and trained full-time faculty and staff to carry concealed weapons on college and university campuses. Well, sort of. At the last minute, the bill was amended to make the policy optional: the governing boards of schools in the state may vote to disallow licensed, trained carriers to carry concealed firearms on campus. The original idea behind the bill was to protect citizens on campus from … [Read more...]
On this week's podcast, we discuss the Shoffner scandal, Rep. Richard Womack's revelation that he was offered a bribe for his vote on the "private" option, new developments surrounding the private option's future, and an interview with Rep. Kim Hammer, candidate for Speaker of the Arkansas House. (AAI's Dan Greenberg had to call in by phone from out of state for this week's show. As a result, we had some technical difficulties to overcome and the audio quality suffered. But the content is … [Read more...]
A proposed amendment to the Arkansas Constitution would require legislative approval of rules passed by administrative agencies in Arkansas. The resolution, SJR7, has been championed by incoming Senate President Pro Tem Jonathan Dismang. It represents a dramatic shift in power in governance, away from unchecked regulatory authority towards democratic accountability. If ratified by the voters in next year’s general election, this proposed constitutional amendment would require a legislative … [Read more...]
We are proud to present to you the inaugural episode of The Arkansas Project Podcast. We are hoping to produce one show a week to keep you up-to-date on what's going on at the capitol. In the near future, the show will be available for download in the iTunes store, but for now, you can enjoy it here on the blog. For your reading pleasure, here are the stories we mention in the show today: Carter quote on "private" option opponents IRS allegedly seized 60 million medical … [Read more...]
