A republic is only more desirable than a democracy if the representatives are actually unprejudiced and educated on the will of the people. The Arkansas House of Representatives is failing our state in a big way. Representatives like Repesentative Jim Dobson of District 93 (Bentonville), have placed on priority on issues like:

HB1329 which reduces the fee to obtain a Concealed Carry License.
SB2 Voter ID laws (a problem that is nonexistent in Arkansas).
HB1408 an Open Carry Bill
HB1243 which allows trained faculty to carry a handgun on a college campus.
SB71 the “Church Carry” act.
SB 134 the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act which is now the strictest in the nation.

Now, some of these might seem like issues worth supporting. The problem I run into is trying to justify the precedence of these issues before several others that plague Arkansans every day. Issues such as:

Hunger Relief.
18.8% of Arkansans live below the poverty line and can't afford enough food to eat. Arkansas' childhood poverty rate is 27.6% compared to the national average of 21.6% - ACS Survey. 18.6% of households in Arkansas are Food Insecure – USDA survey

Education.
The state received a ranking of a “C” and a ranking of 26th for school finance; a C-minus and a ranking of 42nd for students’ chance of success in life; and a D and a ranking of 34th for K-12 student achievement. –ALEC

Health.
United Health Foundation ranks Arkansas 48th in overall health. The health study found Arkansans had a high rate of smoking, children in poverty and obesity and sedentary lifestyle.

Childless adults, no matter how poor, are not currently eligible for Medicaid in the state. If you're an individual without kids and no income, or make less than $11,000, there will be no coverage if the state turns down expansion. – part of a great article in The Arkansas Times discussing our dire healthcare problems that can be found at http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/arkansass-working-poor-are-hoping-the-state-says-yes-to-expansion/Content?oid=2731753

Poverty.
More than 25,000 children are suffering from poverty in Benton and Washington counties. In Washington County the child poverty rate is now higher than the state average. More than 28 percent of children in Washington County live in poverty. There are more kids who live in poverty in Benton County than any county in the Arkansas delta. - AACF

Happiness.
Arkansas is one of five states that have ranked at the bottom of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index since 2008.

For the "pro-life" champions that  are pleased with the path the new state legislature is taking, I offer you some statistics. According to The Arkansas Democrat Gazette the new 12 week ban will help eliminate 1 in 5 abortions that are conducted in Arkansas. If you truly want to see a dramatic reduction in these numbers we need to invest in sex education.

The Netherlands, where sex education begins in preschool and is integrated into all levels and subjects of schooling, boasts one of the lowest teen birthrates in the world — 5.3 per 1,000 women aged 15–19 — a rate six and a half times lower than that of the U.S. (Berne & Huberman, 1999; United Nations, 2011).  Likewise, the Dutch teenage abortion rate is three times lower than that of the U.S., and its HIV prevalence
rate is three times lower (Ferguson et al., 2008; UNAIDS, 2011).
In Germany, where sex education is comprehensive and targeted to meet the reading and developmental needs of the students, the teenage birthrate is three and a half times times lower than that of the U.S.; its teenage abortion rate is about five times lower; and its HIV prevalence rate is six times lower (Destatis, 2009; UNAIDS, 2011; United Nations, 2011).

But don't expect our state legislature to advocate sex education as Representative Jason Rapert plans to cut the funding for such education. Until our state is above the slut shaming/abstinence only rhetoric that has been outdated since 1850 when Hawthorne published "The Scarlet Letter", don't expect to see much improvement.

I urge you to contact your representative using this link (http://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/G6/Viewer.html) and help our state republic become something that actually represents the people. Be warned though, if your representative is anything like Jim Dotson, don’t expect them to be thrilled to hear your opinion or a prompt/non-generic response.

Bobby Petrino

The Razorbacks should hire Pope Benedict as coach, and see how many games we win then...


Many Arkansans are inordinately disgruntled with Petrino's ethical decisions, but these same people need to take a long gander in the mirror. I have heard/read far too many people who cast many stones from their glass house. How do you neglect to notice the infinite amount of corrupt people gallivanting our proud state day by day? Take the time to open your eyes and ears, and be perceptive to the moral shortcomings around you on a daily basis. In my opinion BP's moral compass is no worse than the average Arkansan. Look at your neighbors and family, how many of them have committed equally or exceedingly worse moral blunders? Did you publicly slander and defame them, or encourage and forgive them?

Many people claim to be "shocked" and "disappointed" at the publicity this scandal has delivered to our state. Have you read a national paper lately? Arkansas is not winning any popularity contest. Check our state criminal records, as well as our education standards. In fact the severe stigma surrounding our state was well earned long before Bobby Petrino came to town. Our deep seeded racism, lackluster education, and embracement of the redneck persona, have all blemished Arkansas far worse than BP could do in 100 lifetimes. So take the step down from your high horse and you will see, we have plenty of quandaries, the least of which is Petrino.

The man was brought here because our fans told Jeff Long our highest priority in a coach was to win football games. He has done an exceptional job at that. Move on...

Northern Lights in Arkansas?

So last night in the Ozarks the northern lights were very active. While I lay in my bed asleep many Arkansans were out viewing what I have been trying to view for several years. Early in the evening I did notice that it was a very clear night and went out and viewed some stars, but little did I know the show that was in store just a few hours away.

Arkansas photographer Brian Emfinger was alerted to the northern lights by SpaceWeather.com's aurora alert. "I ran out and put my camera out and immediately saw reddish aurora," he wrote. "I ran out into the field, and within a few minutes the aurora went crazy!"

Topping my bucket list is viewing the northern lights. Above the Super Bowl, BCS Championship, meeting Halle Berry. To miss something like this in my own backyard is pretty disheartening. Maybe next time…

Here are some pics I found on the web:

BCS Rankings

How is it possible that Arkansas a one loss team, is behind two other schools each also with one loss? Arkansas lost one the road at Alabama (BCS #2). Oregon is somewhat justified as they lost to LSU (BCS #1) at a “neutral site”. However, Oklahoma losing at home to a Texas Tech team with 2 losses should be enough to push them towards the bottom of 1 loss teams in the BCS standings. Not cool…

Entitlement

As a society we need to vastly improve our ability to educate ourselves as well as those among us. Yesterday approximately 50 exotic animals were murdered because some zealot is permitted to enslave these animals for his personal entertainment. When he decides that he has had enough he simply lets these beautiful animals out into an environment where the authorities have no choice but to put them down. Perhaps if we got off our couch, or turned off the latest episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashian’s, and decide to go see a documentary or read a book, conceivably then you would realize there is more to our world than just your personal perspective. The sooner we realize that animals are not here for our amusement the better the planet will be for all of us. We have no entitlement, I am not sure how we developed this viewpoint that we are somehow better than all the other creatures. That is simply false. Go watch Disney’s African Cats and witness firsthand the everyday struggle these animals endure simply for survival! Maybe that will help us appreciate that there are constantly significant things going on outside of our bubble. Instead of enjoying and appreciating animals we have come to the conclusion that we are better off hunting and exploiting them. On that I will leave you with this note.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left."  - Albert Einstein

On the other hand if humans went extinct the animal kingdom would flourish.