It might not be entirely fair to identify the Top Entrecard Droppers for October as the All Arkie Army has only been on Entrecard Since Oct. 19.

Regardless, it's always good to step back, take a minute and thank Enterecard users for visiting. So, I've gone ahead and put together a list of the Top 10 droppers for October.

And, by the way, get an Entrecard account if you're in need of more traffic to your blog. Don't ask why. Just do it and watch those readers flock to your blog.

So, here are the top Entrecard-enabled visitors for October:

1. EZGreatLife.Com. It's worth mentioning that the #1 slot is actually held by The Natural State Hawg, but listing it as a top dropper isn't exactly fair, it it? After all, I handle the Entrecard accounts for both the All Arkie Army and The Natural State Hawg. So...

2. The Path to the Pegasus Letter

3. Big Boys Have Toys Too

4. Room 237 Origins

5. Contest Prep

6. The Power of Three

7. Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars

8. Urutora No Hi

9. Margie and Edna's Basement

10. Unique You

Visit them all, huh?

The Hawg opens the floor for nominations

I figure we ought to name some great bloggers honorary Captains of the All Arkie Army every month or so. We chose the initial batch of them back in October and you can read all about that by clicking right here.

So, I call on my fellow members of the All Arkie Army to nominate some more. Let's take nominations until, say, Wednesday, vote on Thursday and Friday and announce the winners on Saturday.

Handing out awards is a lot of fun, after all, so we ought to do it at least monthly. So, let's get cracking and honor some fantastic bloggers, huh?

Should you have a nomination, just leave it in the comments section. We'll vote there, too, unless y'all want to do it all James-Bond-secret like.

The Army is always recruiting

We've got some great members of the All Arkie Army who contribute regularly, yet there's always room for more. If you're an Arkansan or have ties to this state, we'd be honored if you chose to join us.

Interested? Click right here to find out what you're getting yourself into, send me an e-mail by clicking the "Contact" link at the top of this page and ask to join. You even get a stylish badge to put on your page. It's a hell of a deal, kids!

A Perfect Storm

The least qualified candidate in American history — at one of the most dangerous points in history.

Some elections are routine, some are important, and some are historic. If Senator John McCain wins this election, it will probably go down in history as routine. But if Senator Barack Obama wins, it is more likely to be historic — and catastrophic.

Once the election is over, the glittering generalities of rhetoric and style will mean nothing. Everything will depend on performance in facing huge challenges, domestic and foreign.

Performance is where Barack Obama has nothing to show for his political career, either in Illinois or in Washington.

Policies that he proposes under the banner of “change” are almost all policies that have been tried repeatedly in other countries — and failed repeatedly in other countries.

Politicians telling businesses how to operate? That’s been tried in countries around the world, especially during the second half of the 20th century. It has failed so often and so badly that even socialist and communist governments were freeing up their markets by the end of the century.

The economies of China and India began their take-off into high rates of growth when they got rid of precisely the kinds of policies that Obama is advocating for the United States under the magic mantra of “change.”

Putting restrictions on international trade in order to save jobs at home? That was tried here with the Hawley-Smoot tariff during the Great Depression.

Unemployment was 9 percent when that tariff was passed to save jobs, but unemployment went up instead of down, and reached 25 percent before the decade was over.

Higher taxes to “spread the wealth around,” as Obama puts it? The idea of redistributing wealth has turned into the reality of redistributing poverty, in countries where wealth has fled and the production of new wealth has been stifled by a lack of incentives.

Economic disasters, however, may pale by comparison with the catastrophe of Iran with nuclear weapons. Glib rhetoric about Iran being “a small country,” as Obama called it, will be a bitter irony for Americans who will have to live in the shadow of a nuclear threat that cannot be deterred, as that of the Soviet Union could be, by the threat of a nuclear counter-attack.

Suicidal fanatics cannot be deterred. If they are willing to die and we are not, then we are at their mercy — and they have no mercy. Moreover, once they get nuclear weapons, that is a situation which cannot be reversed, either in this generation or in generations to come.

Is this the legacy we wish to leave our children and grandchildren, by voting on the basis of style and symbolism, rather than substance?

If Barack Obama thinks that such a catastrophe can be avoided by sitting down and talking with the leaders of Iran, then he is repeating a fallacy that helped bring on World War II.

In a nuclear age, one country does not have to send troops to occupy another country in order to conquer it. A country is conquered if another country can dictate who rules it, as the Mongols once did with Russia, and as Osama bin Laden tried to do when he threatened retaliation against places in the United States that voted for George W. Bush. But he didn’t have nuclear weapons to back up that threat — yet.

America has never been a conquered country, so it may be very hard for most Americans even to conceive what that can mean. After France was conquered in 1940, it was reduced to turning over some of its own innocent citizens to the Nazis to kill, just because those citizens were Jewish.

Do you think our leaders wouldn’t do that? Not even if the alternative was to see New York and Los Angeles go up in mushroom clouds? If I were Jewish, I wouldn’t bet my life on that.

What the Middle East fanatics want is not just our resources or even our lives, but our humiliation first, in whatever sadistic ways they can think of. Their lust for humiliation has already been repeatedly demonstrated in their videotaped beheadings that find such an eager market in the Middle East.

None of this can be prevented by glib talk, but only by character, courage and decisive actions — none of which Barack Obama has ever demonstrated.

—Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

A friend at work sent this to me the other day. Funny stuff!

So my dog, Mattie Moo, has this very annoying habit of pulling the pillow out from under my head while I'm sleeping at night. I've tried everything to get her to stop doing it. She even has her own pillow but she wants mine. I saw this on The Soccer Mom's blog.

IT'S PERFECT! YEAH! UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP! WOW! RESTFUL NIGHTS!!!!!

Um, wait a minute. I bet this would be a deal breaker with the Editor if I wore this thing to bed.Nevermind. Um, can I have an IPOD instead, please.

Twas the night before elections
And all through the town
Tempers were flaring
Emotions all up and down!

I, in my bathrobe
With a cat in my lap
Had cut off the TV
Tired of political crap.

When all of a sudden
There arose such a noise
I peered out of my window
Saw Obama and his boys

They had come for my wallet
They wanted my pay
To give to the others
Who had not worked a day!

He snatched up my money
And quick as a wink
Jumped back on his bandwagon
As I gagged from the stink

He then rallied his henchmen
Who were pulling his cart
I could tell they were out
To tear my country apart!

On Fannie, on Freddie,
On Biden and Ayers!
On Acorn, On Pelosi
He screamed at the pairs!

They took off for his cause
And as he flew out of sight
I heard him laugh at the nation
Who wouldn't stand up and fight!

So I leave you to think
On this one final note
If you don't want socialism
Then get out and vote!

Make sure to turn up the volume loud enough so you can hear the music in the bathroom.

The story surrounding the beating death of Anne Pressly, an anchor on Little Rock's KATV, is getting stranger by the day.

Her case has been picked up by Fox's America's Most Wanted and it appears that she may have been the victim of a stalker. You can get the latest update on this story by clicking right here and reading the America's Most Wanted article about it.

Hopefully, we'll see someone brought to justice for this before long. Of course, I'd love to see all violent crimes in Little Rock solved quickly.

To Barack Hussein Obama,

The New York Times carried a story on Saturday, October 4, 2008 , that proved you had a significantly closer relationship with Bill Ayers than what you previously admitted. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it.

The Chicago Sun reported on May 8, 2008 , that FBI records showed that you had a significantly closer relationship with Tony Rezko than what you previously admitted. In the interview, you said that you only saw Mr. Rezko a couple of times a year. The FBI files showed that you saw him weekly. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it.

Your speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008 , about "race" contradicted your statement to Anderson Cooper on March 14 when you said that you never heard Reverend Wright make his negative statements about white America. While your attendance at Trinity Church for 20 years is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America on March 14.

In your 1st debate with John McCain, you said that you never said that you would meet with the leaders of Cuba , Venezuela, Iran, and North Korea without "preparations" at lower levels ... Joe Biden repeated your words in his debate with Sarah Palin ... while the video tape from your debate last February clearly shows that you answered "I would" to the question of meeting with those leaders within 12 months without "any" preconditions. While your judgment about meeting with enemies of the USA without pre-conditions is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America in the debate with McCain.

On July 14, 2008 , you said that you always knew that the surge would work while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you stated that the surge would not work. While your judgment about military strategy as a potential commander-in-chief is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America on July 14.

You now claim that your reason for voting against funding for the troops was because the bill did not include a time line for withdrawal, while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you voted against additional funding because you wanted our troops to be removed immediately ... not in 16 months after the 2008 election as you now claim. While your judgment about removing our troops unilaterally in 2007 is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about your previous position.

You claim to have a record of working with Republicans while the record shows that the only bill that you sponsored with a Republican was with Chuck Lugar ... and it failed. The record shows that you vote 97% in concert with the Democrat party and that you have the most liberal voting record in the Senate. You joined Republicans only 13% of the time in your votes and those 13% were only after agreement from the Democrat party. While it is of concern that you fail to include conservatives in your actions and that you are such a liberal, the greater concern is that you distorted the truth.

In the primary debates of last February, 2008, you claimed to have talked with a "Captain" of a platoon in Afghanistan "the other day" when in fact you had a discussion in 2003 with a Lieutenant who had just been deployed to Afghanistan. You lied in that debate.

In your debates last spring, you claimed to have been a "professor of Constitutional law" when in fact you have never been a professor of Constitutional law. In this last debate, you were careful to say that you "taught a law class" and never mentioned being a "professor of Constitutional law." You lied last spring.

You and Joe Biden both claimed that John McCain voted against additional funding for our troops when the actual records show the opposite. You distorted the truth.

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted against funding for alternate energy sources 20 times when the record shows that John McCain specifically voted against funding for bio fuels, especially corn ... and he was right .... corn is too expensive at producing ethanol, and using corn to make ethanol increased the price of corn from $2 a bushel to $6 a bushel for food. You distorted the truth.

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted like both of you for a tax increase on those making as little as $42,000 per year while the voting record clearly shows that John McCain did not vote as you and Joe Biden. You lied to America.

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted with George W. Bush 90% of the time when you know that Democrats also vote 90% of the time with the President (including Joe Biden) because the vast majority of the votes are procedural. You are one of the few who has not voted 90% of the time with the president because you have been missing from the Senate since the day you got elected. While your absence from your job in the Senate is of concern, the greater concern is that you spin the facts.

You did not take an active role in the rescue plan. You claimed that the Senate did not need you while the real reason that you abstained was because of your close relationships with the executives of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Countrywide, and Acorn ... who all helped cause the financial problems of today ... and they all made major contributions to your campaign. While your relationship with these executives and your protection of them for your brief 3 years in the Senate (along with Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters, and Chris Dodd) is of concern, the greater concern is that you are being deceitful.

You forgot to mention that you personally represented Tony Rezko and Acorn. Tony Rezko, an Arab and close friend to you, was convicted of fraud in Chicago real estate transactions that bilked millions of tax dollars from the Illinois government for renovation projects that you sponsored as a state senator ... and Acorn has been convicted of voter fraud, real estate sub prime loan intimidation, and illegal campaign contributions. Tony Rezko has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to your political campaigns. You personally used your political positions to steer money to both Tony Rezko and Acorn and you used Acorn to register thousands of phony voters for Democrats and you. While your relationships with Rezko and Acorn are of concern, the greater concern is that you omitted important facts about your relationships with them to America.

During your campaign, you said: "typical white person." "They cling to their guns and religion." "They will say that I am black." You played the race card. You tried to label any criticism about you as racist. You divide America.

You claim that you will reduce taxes for 95% of America, but you forgot to tell America that those reductions are after you remove the Bush tax reductions. You have requested close to $1 billion in earmarks and several million for Acorn. Your social programs will cost America $1 trillion per year and you claim that a reduction in military spending ($100 billion for Iraq ) can pay for it. While your economic plan of adding 30% to the size of our federal government is of concern, the greater concern is that you are deceiving America.

The drain to America's economy by foreign supplied oil is $700 billion per year (5% of GDP) while the war in Iraq is $100 billion (less than 1% of GDP). You voted against any increases to oil exploration for the last 3 years and any expansion of nuclear facilities. Yet today, you say that you have always been for more oil and more nuclear. You are lying to America.

Mr. Obama, you claimed that you "changed" your mind about public financing for your campaign because of the money spent by Republican PACs in 2004. The truth is that the Democrat PACs in 2004, 2006, and 2008 spent twice as much as the Republican PACs (especially George Soros and MoveOn.org). You are lying to America.

Mr. Obama, you have done nothing to stop the actions of the teachers union and college professors in the USA. They eliminated religion from our history. They teach pro gay agendas and discuss sex with students as young as first grade. They bring their personal politics into the classrooms. They disparage conservatives. They brainwash our children. They are in it for themselves..... not America. Are you reluctant to condemn their actions because teachers/professors and the NEA contribute 25% of all money donated to Democrats and none to Republicans? You are deceiving America.

Oh, Mr. Obama, Teddy Roosevelt said about a hundred years ago that we Americans should first look at the character of our leaders before anything else. Your character looks horrible. While you make good speeches, motivating speeches, your character does not match your rhetoric. You talk the talk, but do not walk the walk.

1. You lied to America. You lied many times. You distorted facts. You parsed your answers like a lawyer.

2. You distorted the record of John McCain in your words and in your advertisements.

3. You had associations with some very bad people for your personal political gains and then lied about those associations.

4. You divide America about race and about class.

Now let me compare your record of lies, distortions, race baiting, and associations to John McCain: War hero. Annapolis graduate with "Country First." Operational leadership experience like all 43 previously elected presidents of the USA as a Navy officer for 22 years. 26 years in the Senate. Straight talk. Maverick. 54% of the time participated on bills with Democrats. Never asked for an earmark. The only blemish on his record is his part in the Keating 5 debacle about 25 years ago.

Mr. Obama, at Harvard Law School , you learned that the end does not justify the means. You learned that perjury, false witness, dishonesty, distortion of truth are never tolerated. Yet, your dishonesty is overwhelming. Your dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty that caused the impeachment and disbarment of Bill Clinton. Your dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty of Scooter Libby. You should be ashamed.

Mr. Obama, it is time for us Americans to put aside our differences on political issues and vote against you because of your dishonest character. It is time for all of us Americans to put aside our political issues and vote for America first. It is time for America to vote for honesty.

Any people who vote for you after understanding that you are dishonest should be ashamed of themselves for making their personal political issues more important than character. Would these same people vote for the anti-Christ if the anti-Christ promised them riches? Would they make a golden calf while Moses was up the mountain? Would they hire someone for a job if that someone lied in an interview? Of course not. So why do some of these people justify their votes for you even though they know you are dishonest? Why do they excuse your dishonesty? Because some of these people are frightened about the future, the economy, and their financial security .... and you are preying on their fears with empty promises ... and because some (especially our young people) are consumed by your wonderful style and promises for "change" like the Germans who voted for Adolf Hitler in 1932. The greed/envy by Germans in 1932 kept them from recognizing Hitler for who he was. They loved his style. Greed and envy are keeping many Americans from recognizing you ... your style has camouflaged your dishonesty .... but many of us see you for who you really are ... and we will not stop exposing who you are every day, forever if it is necessary.

Mr. Obama, you are dishonest. Anyone who votes for you is enabling dishonesty.

Mr. Obama , America cannot trust that you will put America first in your decisions about the future.

I'm about sick to death of our election here in the U.S. For a (hopefully) welcome change of pace, here's a little something from Australia. You've got to love that incredibly dry wit, huh?

Capital Murder Charges Filed Against Shooting Suspects


The four young men police have been questioning after Sunday night's fatal shooting at the University of Central Arkansas have all been arrested charged with offenses including two counts of capital murder each.

Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney Marcus Vaden announced the charges at a press conference Tuesday afternoon on the UCA campus, and the identities of the suspects, three of whom have Conway addresses according to a Faulkner County Sheriff's Office jail intake report, were also released.

The suspects, according to information provided at the press conference, are Kelcey Sharay Perry, 19, 170 South Ash St., Conway; Kawin Jerod Brockman Jr., 19, 1310 Clifton St., Conway; Brandon R. Wade, 20, 30 Foxrun Lane, Bigelow and Mario LaVelle Toney, 20, 1901 Tyler St., Conway.

All four were transferred from the university police station to the Faulkner County Detention Facility's Unit II at about 10:30 Monday night.

Police are still not revealing any information as to a motive for the shooting that killed two UCA students, Ryan Henderson, 18, of Little Rock and Chavares Block, 19, of Dermott and injured Martrevis Norman of Blytheville. Norman was released from Conway Regional Medical Center on Sunday night after being treated for a wound to his lower thigh.

In addition to the pair of capitol murder charges, each also faces, one count of attempted capital murder, one count of possession of firearms by certain persons, one count of discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, one count of possession of handgun on public school property and eight counts of committing a terroristic act.

These charges "could be ammended ... as the evidence dictates," Vaden said.

Det. Preston Grumbles of the University of Central Arkansas again told the assembled members of the press that authorities do not believe the shooting to be "a random act," though he cautioned that this statement should not be interpreted as one implying that the two killed were the targets of the shooter or shooters.

"I'm by no means saying that the students struck were targets," he said. "They may well have been innocent bystanders."

Police also could not confirm or deny speculation that the shooting was connected to shooting incidents in Pine Bluff earlier Sunday.

It was Toney who was located on Dave Ward Drive by UCAPD in a vehicle on Dave Ward Drive and brought in for questioning three minutes after the shooting, campus police public information officer Rhonda Swindle said. Toney has not been arrested in the past year, according to Lt. Danny Moody of the Conway Police Department, though a police report lists him as the alleged victim in a January terroristic threatening involving a firearm and at least one shot apparently fired by the alleged perpetrator, 19-year-old Leon Britton.

In the hours following Toney's arrest, Wade and Brockman turned themselves in. Brockman was contacted by a CPD officer after a Conway resident said he had reason to believe Brockman had stolen a Springfield Armory .45 caliber Model 1911 semi-automatic pistol. Brockman denied involvement in the theft and refused to be interviewed. According to a report of the incident, Brockman is known by the alias "Lil' Forty."

Wade and Perry, who at about 10:15 p.m. Monday was the fourth and last suspect to turn himself in, were each charged in 2005 with two counts each aggravated robbery and theft of property and one count of possession of a controlled substance. These charges were later dropped and the case dismissed.

Vaden said that he remembered these charges only vaguely, though he believed the charges were dropped after the alleged victims did not cooperate with investigators.

Perry was also arrested by the Conway Police Department on Thursday on charges of fleeing on foot and driving on a revoked or suspended license, but had obviously been released as of Sunday night.

Vaden said that all have prior felony convictions, "hence the possession of a firearm by certain person charges against all four," though he could not recall the exact nature of the convictions.

Grumbles said that investigators were still questioning witnesses Tuesday afternoon, and that the investigation, which has already resulted in all four identified suspects being in custody withing 24 hours, is only beginning.

Vaden said it is too early to determine whether his office will seek the death penalty, though the capital murder charges put the option "on the table."

The four are also considered to have been engaging in what is described in Arkansas Code as "violent criminal group activity," which increases the set penalty range for all charges, according to court documents.

(Staff writer Joe Lamb can be reached by e-mail at joe.lamb@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1238. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)

Yes, here are four fellows who truly knew how to keep Halloween all year long.

So it was a busy weekend for The Editor and me. Sunday was the Argenta Block Party and The Editor was the Benevolent Dictator of the party. Sunday morning I headed out from The Editor’s house to pick up some last minute things that we needed from the store for the party. As I turned into the busy intersection which is at the end of The Editor’s street, I saw the neighbor’s Siamese cat in the middle of the road....dead. I started to tear up.......went around the block.......stopped in front of The Editor’s house and went in. I told him about the cat and I said we needed to go next door and tell the neighbors. He said, "well, let’s go outside and get the cat and we’ll take it next door and explain." So we headed outside, walked down his street, and then started walking into the intersection towards the cat. As we got closer, The Editor said, "well.........here’s where Kelly learns the difference between a Siamese cat and a possum. Let’s start with the tail." Alrighty then.

As I headed off towards the store, in the rearview mirror, I could see The Editor standing in the road taking a picture of the dead possum. Yeah, that’s gonna end up on a blog.

Oh, lord.

Third victim treated, released from hospital

Two University of Central Arkansas students were killed Sunday night in a campus shooting. Lt. Rhonda Swindle, UCA Police Department public information officer, said the victims' identities were being protected until police are confident that their families have been notified. Another man, who Swindle confirmed was not a UCA student, was also injured, but has been released from Conway Regional Medical Center according to a Conway Regional spokesperson.

Campus police responded to a report of shots fired outside Arkansas Hall at 9:19 p.m. and found one man dead at the scene. MEMS responded to the scene at 9:28 p.m. and transported the other two men to Conway Regional, where one later died, Swindle said.

Police are seeking four suspects in the shooting, and one person of interest was being questioned early this morning. A joint UCAPD/Conway Police Department investigation is ongoing.

Swindle did confirm that the two deceased men were UCA students. The third victim, who sustained minor injuries, was not a UCA student, she said. A joint CPD-UCAPD investigation is underway.

"We've had a lot of leads coming in and we are acting on them very quickly," Swindle said at a press conference early this morning. Reports came in of shots fired at two apartment complexes near the university, but these did not seem to be related to the campus shooting, she said.

Counselors and chaplains were called in after the shooting to help grieving students and family members of the victims.

"It's just an awful tragedy," Courtway said. "It's the worst thing that can happen on a college campus."

Courtway said that in coming days the university will "have to start looking at everything: access points to campus, different types of notification systems, security cameras ... everything will be examined."

Though the campus was not "locked down" after the shooting, Swindle said, most vehicle entrances were blocked and those remaining were manned for several hours by police officers who restricted traffic into and out of the campus to emergency workers and members of the press. Dormitories and the Student Center were likewise sealed for several hours following the shooting.

Police could confirm few details of the shooting. The act did take place outside of Arkansas Hall at and around a driveway between the dorm and the Snow Fine Arts building, Swindle said. She also said she could not comment on where or how the person of interest was located.

Witnesses were sought by police and interviewed in the hours after the shooting, she said, but no possible motive has been released. Swindle could not comment as to what type of firearm was used in the shooting, nor could she confirm one witness report that the gunman was inside Arkansas Hall before the shooting.

Witness accounts of the event varied, with some students saying that the gunman got into a light-colored vehicle after the shooting and was driven away by other possible accomplices. Some said the vehicle was a Chevrolet SUV, while others said they saw a large sedan. Others said they never saw a vehicle at all.

Swindle said that some outdoor campus security cameras were installed earlier in the year and that the footage they may have recorded will be reviewed. She could not comment as to whether shell casings were recovered, but did say the bodies of the two men killed will be transported to the State Crime Lab for examination.

In the hours after the shooting, several groups of students gathered near the crime scene seemed on edge, voicing fears that those responsible for the shooting could still be on campus. One group noticed a passer-by that none recognized as a student and alerted police, who briefly questioned the man, and searched him for weapons before releasing him.

Swindle said authorities were "certain the campus is safe" at a 3 a.m. press conference. By this time, security measures had been relaxed and students were free to leave their dorms.

An initiative announced last year in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre brought about new tactics and training for campus officers faced with an active shooter situation. Officers with UCAPD are now trained in basic S.W.A.T. tactics and the use of AR-15 military-style rifles donated to the university last year.

"The only thing we can't do is predict when and where it's going to happen," she said.

Another press conference was scheduled for 9 a.m. this morning at the university's Brewer-Hegeman conference center.

(Staff writer Joe Lamb can be reached by e-mail at joe.lamb@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1238. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)

At long last, my hometown of Benton, Ark., has a Best Buy.

That opened this weekend and we went over and had a look today. I have included a photo of my kids, 11-year-old Michael and 7-year-old Brenda as proof.

Yes, they're squinting because the sun was terrible. But I had to get a photo of the sign in the background, so I told them to suck it up, quit whining and hold still.

They did as they were told. Remember -- sacrifice is important. Particularly when I'm the one not having to sacrifice anything.

At any rate, you may be asking yourself, "Uh, what's so great about a Best Buy, The Hawg?"

Good question. A Best Buy in this town is a great thing for at least three reasons. First of all, there's the benefit to the tax base. The Best Buy is part of a rather large complex that opened last year. It includes stores such as Target (wonderful because I hate Wal-Mart), a PetCo, Moe's Southwest Grill (best burritos on the planet) a Chili's, a McAlister's and a host of other places.

That tax revenue is split between Benton and Bryant, so both cities have received the benefit of all that commerce going on over there.

By the way, McAlister's sucks. If you're starving and McAlister's Deli is the only restaurant within 10 hours, keep driving. That dump is the home of the NaSandwich® (Nasty Sandwich) and I had the pleasure of choking down an ice cold French dip on rock hard bread before going to Best Buy today. The citizens of both Benton and Bryant should get angry, rise up and shut down that dive. They should do it soon, too. We don't need that kind of crap in my town, right?

Anyway, the second benefit of Best Buy is that is underlines the fact that Benton and Bryant are growing. Saline County is just southwest of Little Rock and, as such, we get a lot of people moving here who have jobs in Little Rock but don't want to live there.

Third, there's less chance of getting hit with a stray bullet when shopping at the Best Buy in Benton than there is when you go to the one in Little Rock. I work in Little Rock, true, but I really hate all the crime that's gripped the city.

Just last week, KATV morning anchor Anne Pressly was savagely beaten in her home in the Heights Area of Little Rock and died from her injuries. Just last month, a couple of Waffle Houses in Little Rock were robbed by a gun-wielding crumb -- the robberies took place within five minutes of each other and the thug even stopped long enough to order a sandwich during the second robbery.

The less time I have to spend in Little Rock, the better. The new Best Buy gives me one less reason to hop in my car and head up there. Here's hoping we get a few more stores in Benton that are currently unique to Little Rock -- we could use the tax revenue, the convenience and the safer shopping experience.

Every now and again, I'll post something that isn't completely terrible on my primary blog, The Natural State Hawg.

My latest bit of almost decent comes in the form of changes to improve soccer that my brother and I thought up a couple of days ago. Here's Part 1 and here's Part 2.

Yes, we'll revolutionize soccer!