Between Editions

Today marks the anniversary of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, who died after a Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Sirhan, shot him three times on June 5, 1968, inside the kitchen of the old Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

MSNBC.com offers today an expansive piece on the assassination, including a chilling photo of a near-lifeless Kennedy lying on the floor cradled in the arms of a busboy. The piece also details what became of the assassin and the key players around Kennedy before, during and after he was killed. Click here for access.

A very interesting new article on Bill Clinton that will be featured in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair has been posted on the VF website.

Very interesting indeed. See it here.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe will speak at 10 a.m. Thursday at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Tetra Technologies plant, 295 Old Feed Mill Road, Parkers Chapel.

In case of inclement weather, the event will start at approximately 10:30 a.m.

The plant is being built on land purchased from and adjacent to Chemtura’s Central Bromine Plant and will produce liquid and flake calcium chloride. Tetra is not affiliated with Chemtura.

Other guests speakers will include Jim Tidwell, manager of Tetra’s South Arkansas operations, Ray Symens, vice president of Tetra, as well as Union County Judge Bobby Edmonds and El Dorado Mayor Mike Dumas.

Lunch will be served after the program.

A mushroom cloud billows up over Nagasaki, Japan, after the dropping of the “Fat Man” atomic bomb on August 9, 1945. Image credit: KRT.

Here’s a scary thought: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said in a recent interview that if Iran should attack Israel with nuclear weapons then she would support attacking Iran with a massive nuclear strike.

Something to think about at the voting booths. Click here for more.

The Junction City Development Corp. will give voters the opportunity to meet and visit with area candidates running in the May election by sponsoring a “Meet the Candidates” forum. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on April 21 in the multi-purpose room at the high school in Junction City.

Candidates running for the offices of sheriff, circuit clerk, county clerk, district judge, and state representative have already committed to attending. Each candidate will be given a 5 minute time in which to speak to the voters and then light refreshments will be served afterwards giving everyone the opportunity to speak with the candidates personally.

Junction City Mayor Larry Carter will make the introductions.

Some of our readers have asked that we add information to the blog about who is running for what around Union County. Look to the upper right portion of our blog page and click on “Local election info” to see a breakdown of candidates and ballot positions for the May 20 primary election. Or you can just click here.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee leads — very scarcely — a new Gallop poll that asked Republicans who they’d favor for vice president. Click here for more.

Newsweek magazine has a fascinating article this week about Barack Obama. It examines the woman known only as “his mother from Kansas.” The piece describes how free spirited Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro was and how that wanderlust rubbed off on her young son. Click here for more. The above photo shows Barack with his mother in Hawaii.

By John Worthen
For Between Editions
A recently commissioned poll by the University of Central Arkansas in Conway says that the majority of Arkansans support the proposed lottery amendment to fund education.

From UCA: “A random sample of 500 statewide respondents was interviewed by telephone from March 6 through March 11, and the sample was equally distributed among the state’s four congressional districts, with a margin of error of ±4.5 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. A more detailed explanation of the methodology is included in the survey report.

“Asked if they would vote for a state constitutional amendment that would establish a lottery to fund college scholarships for Arkansas citizens, 64 percent said they would vote to approve it, 29 percent would vote against it, and 7 percent were undecided.”

What do you think? Is this a good idea for Arkansas?

Vladimir Putin

By John Worthen
For Between Editions
I’ve been studying Russian President Vladimir Putin for the past couple of years. Something about the man just fascinates me — and not necessarily in a good way. You see, Putin is an old KGB man who remembers well the days of the Iron Curtain and the Cold War with the United States.

Some say he’s returning Russia to a country more in line with the Cold War than 21st century democracy; others say that’s exactly how he wants it.

It’s true that Putin has run Russia with a secret fist that’s been known to quash resistance and silence those who speak out against the government. So when the New York Times published a piece this weekend detailing this very thing, I took special note to read it.

An excerpt from the article:
“Over the past eight years, in the name of reviving Russia after the tumult of the 1990s, Mr. Putin has waged an unforgiving campaign to clamp down on democracy and extend control over the government and large swaths of the economy.

“He has suppressed the independent news media, nationalized important industries, smothered the political opposition and readily deployed the security services to carry out the Kremlin’s wishes.”

It’s a very sobering read. Click here for more.

By John Worthen
For Between Editions
It was said in Thursday’s Union County Finance Committee meeting: “Thank God we aren’t Ouachita County.”

I live in Ouachita County, and there’s reason why the committee member made this statement. Poverty abounds there — many hundreds are on welfare, jobless and hopeless; drugs are rampant; and you can’t even see a movie without driving to El Dorado.

Folks in Ouachita County, specifically Camden, see little hope for the future. You can catch a glimpse of this in Camden native Tom Drew’s documentary “Divided We Fall.” The film chronicles the life of hardcore Democrats and is set just before the election in 2004. It’s definitely worth watching.

To view the part about Camden, fast forward to just past the 18 minute mark. Click here for the video, courtesy of Freespeech TV.

***NOTE*** There is some adult language in this film. Parental discretion advised.

Presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is being asked to stop using the song “More Than a Feeling” from the popular 1970s and 80s hair-band BOSTON. He’s played it several times during the campaign with his band Capital Offense.

Tom Scholz, former band member and owner of the trademark band name, fired off a letter yesterday to Huckabee asking the Republican to stop using the song.

Scholz is a strong Obama supporter.

Here’s an excerpt from Scholz’s cease and desist letter to Huck:

“BOSTON has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything BOSTON stands for. In fact, although I’m impressed you learned my bass guitar part on More Than a Feeling, I am an Obama supporter…. .

“…By using my song, and my band’s name BOSTON, you have taken something of mine and used it to promote ideas to which I am opposed. In other words, I think I’ve been ripped off, dude!”

Click here for more from Rolling Stone.

“Hardball” host Chris Matthews said recently that Barack Obama’s speeches have made him “tear up” and that hearing Obama talk sends a “thrill up his leg.” Hmm. We like Obama, too, but maybe not that much.

Click here for more.

By John Worthen
For Between Editions
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has virtually no chance to secure the Republican nomination for president, pundits say. So why then is he still in the race? Perhaps it’s an ego thing. Or maybe he really does still have a chance.

If Texas evangelicals have their way, Huckabee may take the Texas primary on March 4, giving him a healthy dose of delegates.

“When you look between Huckabee and McCain, the conservative choice is stark,” said Kelly Shackelford, head of the Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute and a longtime Huckabee supporter, in an interview in Wednesday’s Dallas Morning News.

But Mr. Shackelford was quick to add that most conservatives would willingly help Mr. McCain over the Democratic alternative if he wins.

For now, Mr. Shackelford said, social conservatives in Texas are “100 percent Huckabee. I don’t know anybody who’s not.”

Click here for more on the Huck train in Texas.

Barack Obama had a very strong showing yesterday in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. He’s now leading the delegate race, along with Republican John McCain.