Usually, I don't endorse the idea of boycotts, as I'm usually anti-anything that is anti-anything-else, however...

This coming Sunday, as a show of support for our Constitutionally guaranteed Freedom of Speech, a unique idea has surfaced which, if acted upon, has the potential to make a profound statement endorsing the American Public's "right to know" the opinion of various groups of their fellow citizens, via the purchase of paid advertising. The deal is this:

Because the CBS TV Network flatly refuses to run a legitimate commercial during the Sunday's Superbowl halftime ("too controversial" they've said), viewers who wish to demonstrate their disgust with this unconscionable denial of marketplace access are encouraged to exercise their rights to make a stand for outspoken freedom by switching over to CNN during the Super Bowl half time show, at 7:10 and 7:35pm CST, to watch the ad CBS won't air.

For more info on this vital issue, click here.

If you've been "waiting" for an opportunity to "do something" that really makes a difference... this is your big chance.

Good News / Bad News...
The good news is that I had a wonderful week visiting with kinfolk I hadn't seen in 25 years....

Above, left to right (standing): Christine, Shawna, Daniel, Ron, (seated) Ruth, Joyce, Donna.

Who are these people? Well, I'm Christine and Daniel is my hubby. Shawna is our youngest child. Ruth is Ron's and Joyce's mom and Donna is Ron's spouse. The photo, taken in our living room in Shirley, Arkansas, marked the grand occasion of me getting to visit with Ruth and Joyce for the first time in nearly a quarter-century, and wow... what a treat.

The bad news is that political spin-doctoring driven by focus groups and deep-pocket (mega-multinational) donors, clamors unabated, bent on making us (aka: "we the people") believe that unless we adhere to a distorted and counter-productive prescription for patriotism, that "we" are "the problem."

Examples? Sure. There are too many of them. I could fill up this page (and in fact this entire website) with a list, but I'll share just three that are clawing at my consciousness now:

The Federal Budget: Thanks to the folks at True Majority, you can view this entertaining, educational, simple and straightforward audio/video to get a real sense of where and how our tax dollars are actually spent. To check it out, click here. Then take a look at this MUST READ article.

Freedom of Speech: As first brought to your attention last month, our Constitutionally guaranteed freedom to "peaceably assemble" and "petition for redress" via PAID ADVERTISING in various PUBLIC venues is being VIOLATED by our own dear lawmakers. Now, adding insult to injury, during this year's Super Bowl, you'll see televised ads streaming across our PUBLIC AIRWAVES which are sponsored by beer companies, tobacco companies, and the Bush White House, but you won't see the ad which won the MoveOn.org "Bush in 30 Seconds" ad contest because CBS refuses to air it. However, if you want to view it, just click here.

Liberty & Justice: On September 13, 2003, Larry “Nikki” Hill was stopped by police for allegedly driving while intoxicated in Nashville, Arkansas. Reportedly, Mr. Hill was taken into custody after a struggle, during which one officer broke a bone in his hand.  Mr. Hill was sprayed with “pepper foam,” which irritates the eyes and can interfere with breathing.  He was taken to the police department and soon after he was dead, adding to the disproportionately high body count of African-Americans who have died while in police custody in Howard County, Arkansas. For more info on this, attend the Press Conference scheduled for 11:00 am, Monday, January 26, at the Arkansas State Medical Examiner's Office, #3 Natural Resource Drive in Little Rock, to hear the results of an independent autopsy report on Mr. Hill's cause of death.

Want to do something about all this crap...??? Check out these links and GET INVOLVED:

• Rainforest Action Network

• Utne Reader

• Womens Action for New Directions

• Global Exchange

• Rock the Vote

• National Council of La Raza

• Service Employees International Union

• Sojourners

• Peace Action

• The Interfaith Alliance

• Physicians for Social Responsibility

• United for a Fair Economy

Who's the real hoodlum....????
A bomb found on December 19, 2003, on the front steps of an office building housing the law firm of Hall & Hieatt in San Luis Obispo County, California, has an Arkansas man wondering. Like the police detectives investigating the case, Michael Kelley would like to know who the bomb was meant for. However, he has his suspicions.

Charged with counterfeiting and drug dealing in 1994, Kelley was ultimately acquitted of some charges and alternately plead guilty to others. But his sentence to probation and community service proved insignificant in light of other resulting circumstances, which included the ransacking of his home, the theft of all his worldly possessions, and an unknown fate for his beloved dog.

Seeking relief from these injustices, Kelley filed suit and, representing himself, his history with Hall & Hieatt began.

“I lost the suit and I lost it because Clayton Hall defended these felons and used his tremendous clout in the SLO court system,” Kelley alleges. “The case was a travesty and the sinister manipulations of Clayton Stonewall Hall were to be seen everywhere.”

Counterfeiter-gone-straight, turned dishwasher, turned editor & publisher of ArmchairHoodlum.com, Kelley sees himself as a whistleblower with a mission. Determined to bring accountability to a justice system which Kelley sees as “more corrupt than the criminals,” Kelley regards Hall as “a lawyer of ruthless disregard for legal ethics and the law itself.”

The firm of Hall & Hieatt, described in various legal directories as “A full service litigation law firm, which specializes in insurance casualty, insurance coverage and bad faith defense,” represents a number of high-profile national and regional clients, including Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Bank of America, Tenet HealthCare Corp., San Luis Obispo County and all but one of its cities.

“My own experiences with Hall & Hieatt date to 1995," Kelley elaborated. "The case was fixed pure and simple. What happened proved to me that Clayton Hall is a secretive man with close and powerful connections to SLO County, City politics and the money that goes along with that. It is my conclusion these SLO officials are in collusion with Clayton ‘Stonewall’ Hall. You know they don’t call him Stonewall for nothing. And it is my conclusion that Stonewall Hall has done this sort of thing before with the connivance of the local bureaucracy.”

Kelley’s intense and deeply personal experiences with Hall, the inner workings of the justice system, and the sting of injustice from a law and order system which he finds morally corrupt, are detailed and documented in “Wanted By The Sheriff,” published online at his ArmchairHoodlum website. Since its debut a year ago, the site has been visited by over 15,000 readers and has expanded to include Kelley’s editorial commentary on a burgeoning collection of news clips which, according to Kelley, substantiate his beliefs.

“Clayton Hall denied me Due Process,” Kelley asserts. “But no one in power seems to care. So when a reader of ArmchairHoodlum sent me an email about Clayton U. Hall finding an explosive device upon his office doorstep, I took notice. It is no secret that I had in the past a very unpleasant and rancorous legal exchange with Hall & Hieatt, but let me be clear, I abhor this sort of violence and though I am admittedly not particularly fond of Mr. Hall, I am glad he was not blown to pieces.

“Still it is hardly surprising such a thing has happened," Kelley asserts. "My views about Hall are well corroborated and may shed light on why someone might want to bring harm to Mr. Hall, and I want the whole story to come out.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

What to do on New Year's Day to get this year started on the right foot...??? Here are a couple of clues:

Bone-up on the nature of Search Engines, because I'm telling you that these babies are eventually going to run our lives... which could be a good thing, or not. An interesting article on the subject is here.

Do your homework on Spyware... you know, that nefarious stuff that covertly worms its way into the guts of your system so that  "big brother" can track your every keystroke. This website has some very useful information and an excellent (freeware) download called Spybot Search & Destroy -- which I have personally run on my Windows XP system with nary a hitch and excellent results!!!

Then, no matter whether you do either of these first to or not (although if you intend to continue surfing the Web, I heartily encourage you to start getting smart about it), the next to-do item for a bright New Year's day is to sit down and THINK about who you want to vote for...

I mean really, think it through. Research it, study it, jump into it up to your ears. Because November is right around the corner and our choosing must be done long before then.

And maybe if we really want to make wise decisions, a very good place to start would be with a bit of self-learning about our U.S. Constitution, speaking of which you could, right this very moment, quiz your own knowledge on this subject with our handy-dandy Constitution Test.

Finally, at least for this moment in time, there is one more thing to keep us from boredom as we peer headlong at another year... but I'm not going to tell you what it is, so if you wanna know you'll have to click here to find out!!!

Anyway, Happy New Year....!!! As always, I'm wishing all of us a life worth living, filled with all those things we prefer, desire, wholeheartedly celebrate and richly deserve to enjoy.

Christine Weiss
editor@gozarks.com

Hey! Come visit us at SassafrasWilds!!!

TAXES IN ARKANSAS
find out what's in store
CLICK HERE
PDF / HTML download

LEARN MORE FACTS ABOUT GOVERNMENT IN ARKANSAS
CLICK HERE
And make sure to visit the Arkansas Legislation Information Page

SPECIAL THANKS
to Robert Reed, Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas!!!!

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