Citizens' Daily Lobby

Yesterday we encountered a Secure Arkansas petitioner at the Rodney Parham Kroger.  He was trying to get signatures for the group’s meanspritied and unnecessary ballot initiative.   Mexican immigrants don’t want our jobs, according to this guy.  They just want welfare.  That explains why I see them working everywhere…   I don’t think this is an issue Kroger wants to be mixed up in, and I hope they kicked him off their property shortly after I complained.  For those who don’t know, the ballot initiative is to keep any undocumented person over the age of 14 from receiving government benefits.  It turns out that’s already Federal law, but, hey, who’s counting?

The “grassroots” group has never published its sponsors, as previously advertised on their website.  They even removed the “sponsors” link.

I have been waiting to see how the rhetoric from Progressive bloggers would swing now that it’s Blanche vs. Boozman in the Senate race.   I cynically predicted that there would be a softening towards the incumbent and a move to make amends.  I was wrong, at least on some counts.  ArDem of BlueArkansas had this to say on the topic:

As recently as yesterday I was discussing the possibility of helping Lincoln out if just to try to keep her from becoming a serious drag on the ticket. Some people have already urged me to make that push. After reading this [refers to Blanche Lincoln's apparent concessions for Walton-backed Arvest Bank] today, I realize that that’s not going to happen. …

We are not going to sit down and keep our mouths shut just because she managed to squeek out of the primary. Wrong is wrong, and when she’s wrong we’ll call her and everyone else on it. And if Senator Lincoln really wants to fight a two front war going into the general, then that choice is hers.

I couldn’t agree more.

Overheard at a local eatery this afternoon was a discussion on the merits of the MLK day holiday.  (When the people at the next table are virtually shouting, I think that the rules against eavesdropping must be applied leniently, at best).   As most of my readers know, there are still schools in Arkansas that do not recognize the holiday, and the appropriateness of this omission was under consideration.  One man suggested that it’s not a very good holiday because “the post-office is closed, the libraries are closed, and the banks are closed.”  I suppose the reasoning is that a holiday is no good if you can’t cash a check, mail a package, or get a book.  By this reckoning, Christmas must be the worst holiday of the year, because even some Wal-Marts are closed on Christmas.    Another diner suggested that the day is just not important to “us” (presumptively the good white folk of Arkansas).  In a state that officially recognizes MLK day as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee’s Birthdays (Observed), this type of attitude should come as no surprise.  Some state agencies actually put a sign on the door stating that the agency will be closed in observance of MKL and REL’s birthdays.   Where is the outcry over recognition of Robert E. Lee?   If my knowledge of American history serves me, General REL was not an Arkansan. If our state really wants to attract businesses from more progressive regions of the country, it probably should downplay the rampant racism among its populace. Celebrating Robert E. Lee day is not helping our image.