Clinton Waxes Huckabee

Although not on the same ballot, Hillary Clinton led Mike Huckabee in Washington County voting yesterday by a decisive blowout of 12,028 - 8,724. She got more votes here than Huckabee and McCain combined. Even if you throw Benton County into the mix to give the Huckster some help, Clinton led the two-county contest with the preacher politician by 20,434 - 18, 887. She took the 3rd Congressional District by 44,295 - 38,394 over Huckabee.

I have no idea what this means in any real sense, but I'm sure the political scientists among us will offer up some analysis soon, fascinated as they are and so sure that only numbers can tell the story. Those of us just climbing down from the turnip truck will look forward to understanding the significance of factoids such as (1) Washington County giving Clinton her second highest vote total of any county in the state, (2) Obama beating McCain 5,019 -3,152 in Washington County, (3) Hillary beating Huckabee in Sebastian County by 7,024 - 5,858, and (4) how the Greens polled only 66 votes in funky Washington County compared with 63 in staid Benton County.

Make up your own weird questions for them by taking a gander at the county by county results here.

Sheriff Helder Admits Costly Mistake

Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder has now been forced to ask the county Personnel Committee for four more deputies to replace those he transfered to the department’s 287(g) program to do the work of the inadequate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Quorum Court previously set aside $140, 000 in the 2008 budget to cover these personnel expenses. Looks now that it will cost more.

Sheriff Helder and the Washington County Quorum Court should mind their own business and let the federal government do its job. Just because the Bush Administration has failed to secure our borders, as it has flunked every other task, foreign and domestic, does not mean that immigration enforcement should be the first responsibility of our local taxpayers.

Washington County should first spend money to repair our roads and the four unsafe bridges that present an immediate threat to the lives and safety of our citizens. If there is money left over after that, and the massive expansion of the county jail that Sheriff Helder also wants and the new Courts building that Judge Hunton says we need, then they can consider taking up the slack and doing the jobs of the inept federal government.

It is a matter of priorities, unless the tax-and-spend Quorum Court plans to raise our taxes by millions to pay for it all.

Go Vote, Nerd!

The polls are open until 7:30 tonight, so get thee to the ballot box. A large turnout will scare the bejeebers out of the professional politicians, the party bosses, and their corporate sponsors who like a low and predictable number of voters that they can target, fool, and control.

Stop reading this blog, shut down your computer, and go do something radical to subvert the dominant paradigm. Vote. Vote like you mean it. Vote with a vengeance., for or against, whichever makes you feel good.

Lie Down with Dogs, and You'll Get Cooties

On the City Council agenda Tuesday night is Mayor Coody’s request for a Resolution approving a consulting contract for $84,000 plus expenses with Van Scoyoc Associates, a bigtime Washington lobbyist group. Coody has said we wouldn’t receive any earmarked federal funds without the work of this bunch. He wants them to get $9 million for the Chamber’s top priority of road improvements out by the mall, $3.6 million for improvements at the corporate jetport at Drake Field, and others that are do overs or not yet figured out that total $23.1 million. This is very unrealistic, considering the firm delivered zero in FY 2007 and less than $2 million this year, for which Congressman Boozman also claimed credit.

Who are these Beltway Bandits we're getting ready to bless with our tax dollars and push their fees above $400,000? They are a huge firm with over 90 staff members and 300 clients, including Anheuser-Busch, Alcoa, Bechtel, General Motors, Peoplesoft, NASDAQ, DuPont, Duke Energy, FedEx, Union Pacific, Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, Lockheed Martin, and the US Chamber of Commerce. You know that our $84,000 will command top priority when their lobbying income was $11.95 million last year. Joe Martyak, vice president of communications for Van Scoyoc Associates, previously told a Northwest Arkansas Times reporter that he had no knowledge of the firm’s relationship with Fayetteville, but said the firm can provide a wide variety of services to a municipality. That's reassuring.

According to an investigative report from the Center for Responsive Politics, our costs are the same as they charge Baltimore but twice what they charge Seattle for lobbying. Still, that's cheaper than the $600,000 plus a year that the U.S. Justice Department's report on Foreign Agents revealed they were paid for their services by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Stu Van Scoyoc, Chief Executive Officer, has BS degree in chemical engineering, but he has never worked on Capitol Hill or in the executive branch. He makes up for it by hiring experienced insiders who know how to play the game, like Vice President Jennifer Kate LaTourette nee Laptook, 36, who used to be chief of staff to Ohio Congressman Steve LaTourette, 53, member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, before she went through the Revolving Door to big bucks. Much like our own Tim Hutchinson, Congressman LaTourette had an 84% favorable rating from the Christian Coalition and he voted to impeach President Clinton; he then divorced his wife to marry his staffer Laptook, but at least Randi didn't lobby Tim's committees for money. Of course, there is no rule or federal law against lobbying by spouses, but Jennifer and her step-daughter both got exposed by the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Jennifer LaTourette knows how to get things done by developing relationships with influential members of Congress. Attending their wedding was disgraced Republican Congressman Bob Ney, now serving 30 months in federal prison for actions taken on behalf of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's clients in exchange for bribes. She also gave a large campaign contribution to Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis, called by Rolling Stone the "King of Payoffs." Former Chairman and now Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, Lewis has a 93% rating by the Chamber of Commerce but Zero ratings from the National Education Association and the League of Conservation Voters. He also has mounting legal bills from a continuing federal investigation of his relationship with lobbyists and award of federal grants.

Jennifer LaTourette will not return phone calls to people who want to know more about her special talents, and her husband recently complained to the Cleveland Plain Dealer and got a liberal blogger fired from their staff. Nice folks that we are counting on to lead our nation and lobby for deficit building pork projects in our nation's capitol. That's the price of pleasing the Cowbirds and the Corporate Jet Set.

Anyway, that's the high powered Washington lobbyist firm that Mayor Coody wants to hire with our tax dollars to play the game of getting pork in bloated budget bills. He said last year that a Resolution passed by a unanimous vote of the City Council wasn't worth the paper it was written on. That's about what I think of the ethical value of the Resolution that Coody is pushing to grease the sweaty palms of Van Scoyoc Associates with $84,000 of our local sales tax dollars.

The More Things Change . . .

"Locally, it's a sure thing that among the biggest stories of 2008 will be the gradual replacement of multiple longtime leaders in Northwest Arkansas," said one of our prescient local editors. Elections will give voters an opportunity to decide who some of those replacements will be. In other instances, the voice of the people will make no difference. The names and faces will change, but that is about all.

The selection of the new Chancellor at the University of Arkansas is a good example of what I mean. David Gearhart might be wonderful, and both The Morning News and the Northwest Arkansas Times have given their editorial blessings to his anointment. Yet, the process by which B. Alan Sugg alone chose Gearhart was terribly flawed. The position was not advertised, there was no national search, and the faculty and students were not involved other than as inert props when Sugg declared his decision. So much for the UA's false claim of being committed to diversity and affirmative action, betrayed when White Boy Sugg tagged White Boy Gearhart.

The University of Arkansas has never had a woman president or chancellor in the 137 years since it was founded, and there has never been more than one token woman on the 10-member Board of Trustees. More than 120 women are currently serving as president of a leading college or university in the United States, so it is not like women cannot do the job. Drew Gilpin Faust of Harvard, Amy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania, Arkansas native Nannerl Overholser Keohane of Duke, Susan Hockfield of MIT, Mary Sue Coleman of the University of Michigan, Sally Clausen of the University of Louisiana System, and Caroline Whitson of Columbia College put the lie to that myth, but they weren't even considered.

One recent study of 136 college executives indicated that women presidents had "a wider definition of entrepreneurial leadership than their male counterparts" and were more likely to "include new ventures and risk taking in curriculum, student social programs and living arrangements, community involvement, and faculty appointment, promotion and tenure. Their attitudes, values and actions portray broader notions of how one can inspire institutional change and improvement." Not here. Same goes any potential minority candidates, who were also ignored by President Sugg, a native of Helena.

Then there is the upcoming replacement for School Superintendent Bobby New, which is likely to continue the unbroken line of white male supers in the district. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 72% of all K-12 educators in this country are women, but only 17% of 13,000 superintendents are women. Whether that is because school boards won't hire women or because few of them have been head coaches, we don't know. Sandy Garrett has been State Superintendent of Public Instruction in Oklahoma since 1991, and Dr. Janie Darr, Superintendent at Rogers who is neither retired military nor a former football coach, shows that women can do the job quite well. The percentages for minority superintendents are even worse, about 5.1% and mostly in majority black districts, according to American Association of School Administrators President Eugene White, who is not white. Chances are that the Fayetteville School District's next hire will be a white guy and that patrons will have no real voice and little influence on the decision.

Finally, the Chamber of Cowbirds will be looking to replace President and CEO Bill Ramsey. Can you remember the last time the Chamber chose a woman or a person of color to lead their efforts? Didn't think so. The American Chamber of Commerce Executives sells a guide to Chief Executive Succession Planning, authored by Nancy R. Axelrod, but what are the chances that a woman will be selected here? Kathy Snyder has served as President and CEO of the Maryland State Chamber of Commerce since 1999; Barbara A. McNees has served as the president of the Greater Pittsburgh (PA) Chamber of Commerce since 1997; and Debi Durham, president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, was one of the consultants hired by Mayor Dan Coody to shape our local economic development efforts. They are smart and capable, but they lack one tiny thing.

The local Cowbirds seem to think that all leaders must be white businessmen and that women, minorities, and workers cannot contribute more than their looks or their labor. The Fayetteville Economic Development Council Executive Board President and all 11 members are white businessmen. To keep others from playing with the big boys, there is a separate Women's Chamber of Commerce, a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and a segregated African-American Chamber of Commerce. Don't look for the Cowbird's next President to come from them.

Yes, big changes are coming to Fayetteville in 2008, and that will be among the biggest news stories.

Super Bowl and Super Tuesday

Maybe you like football; maybe you like politics. You can get a good dose of both tomorrow if you stop by George's Majestic Lounge to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow afternoon. Doors open at 4:00, and kick-off is at 5:18 or so. I'll be there, and so will Chelsea Clinton.

Stop by for a beverage and watch Super Bowl 42 with the daughter of POTUS 42. No chance of a wardrobe malfunction, but there is money to be made betting on the Patriots.

John Boozman: Corrupt or Incompetent?

Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody says that the city had to spend over $318,000 to hire a bigtime Washington lobbyist to get a dime in federal funds for local economic development, transportation, housing and public safety projects during the last four years. "They would not have happened without this,” said Coody of the payments to the lobbyists, indicating that he doesn't think much of Congressman Boozman's performance. He now wants the City Council to approve another contract this year with Van Scoyoc Associates for $84,000 plus expenses.

Does this mean that Congressman John Boozman doesn't know or care enough about our local needs to read a letter from our city leaders requesting federal funding and respond by trying to help? Does this mean Boozman is so incompetent that he needs a lobbying firm to identify what's in the federal budget? Does this mean that Boozman is so corrupt that he won't lift a finger or deliver a little local pork unless some hired lobbyist takes him to dinner and makes the pitch for us? Wouldn't Boozman have been as responsive as Coody was in getting funds for the Chamber's priority CMN Business Park road project without our hiring a lobbyiist for them? Do we really need to spend $400,000 in city funds to get federal pork that won't even cover the cost over runs at the new sewer plant?

Maybe so. You'll remember that six weeks ago Congressman Boozman tried to claim personal credit for getting millions in earmarked pork projects for Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas, after he had voted against the Omnibus Budget Bill containing those funds. Either he was stupid or assumed that we were. Maybe Mayor Coody should ask our lobbyist to get Boozman to vote for these projects instead of flip-flopping around with his votes and hogging credit for the porkfest of spending federal funds. Otherwise, we're just wasting local tax dollars so Coody can go on trips to DC and have a good time with the Cowbirds. Why don't the Cowbirds hire their own lobbyist, you ask? Why would they when they can get the city taxpayers to do it for them?

I was glad to read in today's paper that the proposed boondoggle had been pulled from the "consent agenda" and will now be discussed at next Tuesday's council meeting. Before the City spends another $84,000 on a Washington lobbyist, we need some answers. Mayhaps Congressman Boozman will show up and explain why he needs us to hire a fancy Washington lobbyist to get him to do his job.

Quote of the Day

"In the case of the local school board’s decision about Fayetteville High School’s future, the blinders went on early. The citizens’ group appointed to make a recommendation to the school board was told to consider only the questions of one school versus two schools, whether the present school should be retained and rearrangements of the grade structure. The committee was designed to be blind to the critical question of where a new high school would be located even though this question is entangled with the other questions, because a single school in the most likely new location — the northwest corner of town out beyond I-540 — would create a sprawling land-rush that would be exactly opposite to what citizens envisioned in City Plan 2025.

"Discussion participants complained from the start that the process was biased in favor of one new high school. The Northwest Arkansas Times reported in December 2006 that 'several participants... complained the overview by administrators seemed slanted in favor of one all-new high school. The same overview has been made at other meetings.'

"This tendency to tightly control the agenda continues today as crucial discussions are closed to the public and the press....

"But the prospect of getting rid of the existing school caused a ruckus: an outspoken public feedback session, a 6-1 vote by the Fayetteville City Council, a new organization called Build Smart, and a unanimous vote by the Council of Neighborhoods all supported the present central location. Thus, the board appointed another citizens’ group to further consider this matter....

"A recent Northwest Arkansas Times editorial complained that a middle ground in this debate has yet to develop. But one school on the existing property is the middle ground, the compromise between (1 ) two schools and (2 ) one school in the far reaches of town.

"A new high school for 1, 500, preferably more centrally located than the northwest corner, and renovation of the present high school for another 1, 500, would be best for students and best for Fayetteville. Second best would be one high school on the existing property. A single humongous high school far outside of town beyond I-540 would be absolutely the worst choice."

--Art Hobson, "The Saga Continues," Northwest Arkansas Times

Good News for Bonefish Grill Wait Staff

On Wednesday, the Iconoclast had a posting about Bonefish Grill in Rogers and how the corporate owners planned to start deducting 3% from employees' tips to cover the credit card processing fees. It seemed like a really bad idea.

The owners must have agreed. This afternoon I received an e-mail from Anna-Marie Zazzero, Media Relations Manager for corporate owners OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC in Tampa, Florida, announcing that they were "rescinding the policy."

Attached was a policy statement from Joseph J. Kadow, Executive Vice President of OSI acknowledging that the decision was "inconsistent with our Principles and Beliefs. Effective immediately, no server will be charged for credit card processing fees on their tips." In addition, in those areas where the policy has already been implemented they will be refunding any fees deducted to the servers

Thanks, Joe. And thanks to those local servers who alerted me to this issue and kept me informed. I love happy endings.

How the Cowbirds Get a Free Ride

Back in February 2004, Bill Ramsey, President of the Fayetteville Chamber of Cowbirds, said that improvements for businesses in and around the CMN Business Park are among the chamber’s top priorities. "We’re getting a lot of concern, not just from (current business owners) but from people looking at that area that it is not very easy to get to, particularly from Interstate 540," Ramsey said. "We are concerned about access to the mall area."

Facing a reelection campaign, Mayor Dan Coody got the message and said that several different "pots" of federal money might be available to help Fayetteville solve issues such as traffic congestion at the CMN Business Park, where traffic from Kohl's and other stores as well as the Northwest Arkansas Mall is constricted near the Fulbright Expressway. "Most of the money is drying up because of tax cuts and the war," Coody said, but in 2004 he proposed that the city spend $85,000 in our tax dollars to hire the Van Scoyoc Associates lobbying firm to help secure funds for the Chamber's priority of improved roads to CMN Business Park.

About a year later, the lobbying firm arranged an excursion to capitol hill for Mayor Coody, Phillip Stafford of the UA Technology Development Foundation and the Fayetteville Economic Development Council, and Dennis Hunt, past chairman of the Chamber of Cowbirds. The University of Arkansas also has a contract with Van Scoyoc to do the Washington work for their Vice Chancellor for Government Affairs, who is also a past Chairman of the Cowbirds, but the Fayetteville Chamber is not on the firm's client list. The Cowbirds got a free ride at taxpayer expense when the trio told our delegation that their top priority on the list was the Fayetteville Expressway Economic Development Corridor, which included $16.8 million in federal funds for improvements to 71B.

The Northwest Arkansas Times said that "if the schmoozing powers of all these folks combined return a good deal of money to our fair city, the effort will have been more than worth it. The pesky pessimist within us wonders what Coody expects to accomplish within a week, besides sightseeing. We wonder if a few days worth of glad-handing will make that big a difference. " At least the Chamber of Cowbirds got Coody to accept their choice of roads for Mallville as the city's top priority, to hire a bigtime Washington lobbyist to pursue that goal, and to include Chamber and FEDC officers on the trip without having to chip in for the lobbyist's expenses. Sweet.