(Yeah right!)

Now, don't laugh -- the struggling Arkansas Razorbacks may yet remain bowl eligible.

Yes, the Hogs have been terrible this year, but here's the deal -- if the Razorbacks win two of their next three games, the team will be bowl eligible at 6-6. Yeah, so what if the Hogs will only have a 3-4 record in the SEC if the team manages to win two of it's next three games?

The chances are good they'll go bowling and, in this state, that's often good enough. Should they make it to a bowl, then fans will love new head coach Bobby Petrino. For awhile, at least.

There's no guarantee that this team will capture those two wins, of course, but that goal is not out of reach. Remaining on the Hogs' schedule are South Carolina (6-3 overall, 3-3 in the SEC), Mississippi State (3-6, 1-4) and LSU (6-2, 3-2). The Hogs, of course, are currently 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the SEC.

Of those three games, Mississippi State and South Carolina are away games and LSU comes to Little Rock to play the Hogs on the day after Thanksgiving. Arkansas should be able to beat Mississippi State, has a shot against South Carolina and will likely struggle against LSU.

Now, there's been a lot of talk about the Hogs' victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes on Saturday. After all, the team was ranked #19 in the nation, thanks to offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's hot rod offense that has propelled the team to 8 straight wins.

Here's something to keep in mind, however -- Tulsa isn't in a BCS conference. Yes, Tulsa led the country in total offense and points scored, but the team did that by beating the tar out of the likes of North Texas, Central Arkansas, Rice and New Mexico. Those teams aren't exactly powerhouses, kids.

That's not to take a thing away from Tulsa, of course. The team has done extremely well this year, but it hasn't really been tested this year. The first truly major test for Tulsa came against Arkansas, an SEC team, and the Golden Hurricanes failed.

Still, Arkansas fans have reason to be encouraged. Tulsa was favored in that game and the Hogs defied expectations. Also, they beat a team with an offense coordinated by Gus Malzahn. We're familiar here in Arkansas -- Malzahn was brought in a couple of years ago to retool the Arkansas offense and was largely shut down by former head coach Houston Nutt.

We have a lot of respect for Malzahn here in Arkansas. Beating a team with his whiz-bang offense in place is something to like, indeed.

Also, this is the first game this year in which running back Michael Smith wasn't the focus of the offense. Smith was held to a mere 67 yards rushing while much maligned quarterback Casey Dick passed for an impressive 385 yards.

Furthermore, Alex Tejada has struggled all year, but he hit for three field goals on Saturday. Maybe his slump was over (I shouldn't say that because it may just jinx him -- oh well). The special teams looked pretty good on Saturday, too, resulting in Dennis Johnson's 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

The defense was still awful, sadly, allowing 528 yards in offense and missing tackles regularly. Well, they're young yet and will (hopefully) improve by next year.

At the end of the day, Arkansas won 30-23 and got one step closer to appearing in a bowl game. For now, that's good enough.

Meanwhile, here in Benton...

My beloved Benton Panthers still stink. They went to El Dorado and got stomped, 19-57. The defense is still terrible and the offense is anemic at best and completely incompetent at worst. The defense, just last week, gave up all kinds of yards and big plays this season to J.A. Fair, a team that hasn't won a game all year.

The loss to El Dorado dropped Benton to 1-5 in the 6A South and 2-7 overall. Fortunately, 3-6 Watson Chapel comes to Benton for the Panthers' final home game. Benton may win that one and my dad and I are heading out on Thursday (yes, Thursday instead of Friday this week -- not sure why) to watch that one.

Benton has a shot to win against Watson Chapel, not that it matters. There's still an outside chance for Benton to get in the playoffs because 6 of the 8 teams on the 6A South will head to the playoffs.

J.A. Fair is dead last in the conference, and Benton could move up from 7th place and enter the playoffs. I won't go through all the scenarios that would allow for that as I doubt anyone cares. Besides, the Panthers are so rotten this year that they don't deserve to go to the playoffs (don't yell at me -- the Panthers' quarterback was on television saying as much just the other day). It's been a long season for the players and they deserve the reach the merciful end of it.

I absolutely hate daylight savings time.

Fortunately, we went back to standard time just this morning. That's a good thing as I've always had trouble adjusting to that daylight savings time junk.

It just feels "off" for it to be light outside until about 8:30 p.m. in the summer and I hate waking up and getting ready to go to work when it's still dark.

And, yes, I'm well aware that daylight savings time is supposed to cut down on energy use and give people more sun for leisure activities. Frankly, I don't give a damn about any of that. All I know is that I feel like I'm in the twilight zone for about a month after we switch to daylight savings time and don't care for that feeling one bit.

And, of course, we've got George W. Bush to blame for the moronic idea of extending daylight savings time by four weeks every year. Thanks Bush.

Now, I don't blame Bush for the struggling housing market (the foolish lending practices the government, uh, "encouraged" banks to put in place started with Jimmy Carter way on back in 1977) or the awful economy we're stuck with now.

I'll even go so far to say that Bush, as rotten as he is, was still a better choice than Al Gore (he's bordering on insane if not already a permanent resident of CrazyTown) or John Kerry (who views the nation as being made up of the Northeast, the West Coast and a bunch of knuckle-dragging morons in between).

Still, Bush has managed to irritate most people here in the U.S. in the past eight years. Extending daylight savings time was enough to annoy me.

That and the bankruptcy reform nonsense that was bought and paid for by the credit card companies. Bush signed that awful bit of legislation without blinking.

At any rate, I need to find out if there's a movement to put an end to daylight savings time. If such a thing exists, I'll gladly join it.

A Reminder

Yes, we at the All Arkie Army are taking nominations in hopes of honoring some great bloggers out there by naming them captains of the All Arkie Army. Read all about it by clicking right here.

Remember -- you don't have to be an Arkansan to be named an honorary captain of this fine blog. We just choose to honor some bloggers out there we like.

So I call on my fellow All Arkie Army members to send in some nominations by clicking the above link and mentioning some quality bloggers in the comment section.

Want more nonsense? Visit The Natural State Hawg!

The number of Faulkner County residents who have early voted in the November 4th national election has far surpassed any previous early voting record, according to County Clerk Melinda Reynolds.

Reynolds said said as of Saturday, 18,231 Faulkner County residents had voted early. She said the previous record for early votong was 9,200 in the 2004 presidential election. More than 37,000 voters voted in that election, she said.

The last day of early voting will be Monday, November 3rd, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

On Election Day, the polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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.

Mr. Obama, in a democracy, we get what we deserve. And God help America if we deserve you.

Michael Master
McLean , Virginia

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.

Go see the rest of the Wordless Wednesday participants by clicking right here.

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.

Classes today are cancelled, interim UCA President Tom Courtway announced.

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!

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: With the presidential election upon us, many people are also focused on the economy. However, we know from history that we will be able to correct our economic problem even if it takes longer than our American tendency to want instant solutions for everything. However, because of the economic crisis, many voters are ignoring the most significant issue that our next president is directly responsible to address. That issue is the very real global threat to America's very survival. Since confronting this threat every day is not part of our personal daily routine and responsibilities (until it is too late), we tend to be myopic and look at the "me things."

If inexperienced or burdened down with domestic and economic cares, voters may not comprehend or may even forget the bigger picture -- surviving the very "real" foreign enemies that literally hate our culture, democracy, traditions, freedoms, religions, materialism, and way of living. In fact, they hate us (i.e., you). In our daily bickering over small things, we tend to ignore the big dangers because we can we do nothing about them individually.

To put "just one" of the threats into perspective, consider an article in the October issue of Imprimis published by Hillsdale College that addresses Iran. The article was adapted from a speech by Michael Ledeen. Michael Ledeen is the Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a contributing editor at National Review Online. Previously, he served in the White House as a national security advisor and in the Departments of Defense and State. He is author of more than 20 books, including The Iranian Time Bomb. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the American Spectator, International Economy, Commentary, and the Washington Times.

The article is too long to quote here so I encourage you to visit and the read the article online. However, below are Lendeen's closing words which highlight just one of the many countries whose government leaders hate America and who wish our demise as the principle leader of the 'free world":

"The bottom line is that Iran is our principal enemy in the Middle East, and perhaps in the entire world. It is also a terribly vulnerable regime, and it knows that—which is why it makes up stories about airplanes and missiles that it doesn’t have. As for the question of nuclear weapons, it seems hard to imagine that Iran does not already have them. Iranians are not stupid, and they have been at this for a minimum of 20 years in a world where almost every major component needed for a nuclear weapon—not to mention old nuclear weapons—are for sale. A lot of these components are for sale nearby in Pakistan. And if the Iranians do have a weapon, it is impossible to imagine that, at a moment of crisis, they will not use it. The point is, we have an implacable enemy which has no intention of negotiating a settlement with us. They want us dead or dominated, just as our enemies did in the 1930s and ’40s. You can’t make deals with a regime like that.

Our choices with regard to Iran are to challenge them directly and win this war now, to do so only after they kill a lot more of us in some kind of attack, or to surrender. There is no painless way out, and the longer we wait, the greater the pain is going to be."

So, who is best to challenge Iran and other enemies of our Nation - Obama or McCain? The most critical and therefore, important issue is not "change" but survival -- how will America continue to physically exist as a country and a democracy with guaranteed individual freedoms and rights. Who will be the best president to protect us from our foreign enemies (even while we continue our internal domestic bickering over almost everything)?

Do we pick Obama - a younger inexperienced (i.e., non-experienced) smooth talking candidate who is an anti-traditional family values advocate and unfortunately already has a past full of bad choices and savory associations? Following the mantra of "Change" is not the answer because the issue is then "change from what and to what" and importantly, the consequences of the "change." Change can mean a lot of things. We have recently experienced a lot of negative economic change which can be directly associated with Obama's associates in and out of Congress. And how can a person who voted "present" verses "yes or no" on a majority of his votes in the Illinois and US Senates be prepared to address the most important issues of our time? Voting present is not good enough when dealing with threats to America. Obama promises talk and compromise and appears willing to concede ground to our enemies (i.e., using an appeasement approach).

Or, do we pick McCain -- an older but scarred and proven warrior who is the straight talking man who is called a maverick for taking consistent stands and speaking the truth even within his own party? An experienced candidate who understands the threats to our country from outside our borders. A man who served his country in war and understands the pain and suffering. A man who while addressing the enemy understands compassion and forgiveness towards those who even tortured him. McCain is willing and able to clearly detail to our enemies (those who wish us harm and / or even destroy us) the limits of our tolerance and a clear understanding of the consequences for pursuing further aggressive acts, actions that threaten America.

The American people have voiced poll after poll their continued negative opinion of the present Congress lead by Democrats and have given the Democrat leadership the lowest ratings in history. It is from this pool of Democrats that a junior inexperienced member has come forth to be their candidate for president. Not a person who stood on principles against his own failing political party leadership but instead pandered for items he wished and voted absent or present on the other issues. If Obama were to become president, he will be again supporting these same failing "tax and spend" liberal leaders: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. And then who will save us from our enemies?

Folks, I've got some sad news to report tonight -- according to this story from CNN, 26-year-old Anne Pressly died on Saturday.

Pressly was an anchor for KATV, an ABC affiliate in Little Rock. She was attacked on Monday during an apparent burglary in her home, which is in the upscale Heights area in Little Rock. She sustained the injuries that led to her death during that attack.

This news is depressing, to say the least. I'm a PR guy and, as such, had met Pressly.

She was a genuinely nice person and an absolute professional. Her death is more evidence that Little Rock is going to the dogs. If you're not safe in the Heights in Little Rock, where are you safe? This whole affair is absolutely pitiful and depressing -- it underlines what a cesspool our capitol city has become.

I'm glad I live in Benton and wish that Pressly had chosen to live in nearby Benton, Bryant, Conway, Lonoke -- anywhere but Little Rock -- and had commuted to work every morning. They've got a crime problem in Little Rock that's growing more destructive by the day. They need to get it under control before everyone with a lick of sense moves out of there.

Ah, it was a glorious night at C.W. Lewis Stadium in Benton.

Why? The Benton Panthers won their first conference game of the season against Little Rock's J.A. Fair War Eagles, a team that is actually worse than Benton.

Yes, Benton won 34-26, and they did it for homecoming, too.

Regardless, that was a display of some of the worst high school football I've ever seen. Benton, once a force in central Arkansas football, has been inconsistent (to say the least) since the early 1980s and this current team is one of the worst Benton clubs I've seen take the field.

Ah, but this game was important. Why? It was a battle for dead last in the 6A South -- Benton was o-4 in the division (1-6) going on into the game whereas J.A. Fair was 0-4 (0-7 overall). Having watched these two miserable teams take the field, its no wonder they're both at the bottom of the eight-team division.

Both teams were sloppy and wholly unprepared to play worth a damn. Penalty flags simply rained down all night long, turning a contest that should have been a little over two hours long into a three-hour contest.

A lot of the penalties were stupid, too. J.A. Fair got called for the idiotic sin of not having enough players on the line of scrimmage on offense. The War Eagles also managed to get called for having an ineligible receiver down field and making an illegal substitution. Benton, meanwhile, roughed J.A. Fair's punter well after the fellow made his kick -- a move that gave J.A. Fair a first down, and they capitalized on it, too, by scoring a touchdown.

Benton also managed to throw interceptions to J.A. Fair three times. Two of those turned into touchdowns.

So, Benton essentially handed the ball to J.A. Fair four times. How bad is J.A. Fair, even with all those gifts from the Panthers, the War Eagles managed to lose. Hell, Benton's run defense was so bad that J.A. Fair converted on third and long quite a bit by simply handing the ball to a back and having him run straight up the middle.

You can use your running game to abuse the opposing team when your opponent's defense is absolutely horrible. Benton's plan to stop most of those runs seemed to involve players hurling themselves at backs and hoping that would be enough to knock them down. Benton missed tackles all night long and looked truly horrible.

And J.A. Fair still managed to lose. It was truly a frustrating evening.

Ah, but there were some great things about the evening. First and foremost, I always have a lot of fun going to Benton's home games with my dad. We both graduated from Benton High School and love to see our hometown team play. Besides, those gamest represent about the only times that my dad and I can simply sit down and visit without any interference.

Also, Cliff Lee was at the game. Cliff Lee, a Benton boy, is a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He played high school baseball for Benton and he attended a ceremony at the game in which his number was retired.

Plus, those outdoor P.A. speakers at high school stadiums are a constant source of amusement. You had what was supposed to be a roaring panther -- a racket that actually sounded like the noise a bobcat with a sore throat might make -- every time Benton scored. Also, I did appreciate the opening minutes of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" playing through the P.A. system once -- it sounded scratchy and distorted through those speakers, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Obviously, Benton isn't getting anywhere near the playoffs this year, what with a 1-4 conference market and only two games left in the season. Even the most optimistic fan figures the team will reach 2-5 in the conference (3-7 overall).

I'm sure things will be back to normal next week when the Panthers head south to play El Dorado, a solid team with a 4-1 conference record (6-2 overall).

Hey, the Panthers did win tonight and that's good enough for now.

The Arkansas Razorbacks lose again. Read all about it right here.

ARRA News Service - From the heart of the Ozarks, a Letter to Editor by Fred Polich of Bull Shoals, Arkansas: These are hard economic times for many. The mainstream media and other liberal influences, like Hollywood, want the public to believe it is all the fault of the Bush Administration. However, it was the Carter and Clinton administrations and policies that pushed for easier lending guidelines for home buyers who couldn't afford to make a down payment and their mortgage payments. It was Democrats in Congress that pushed legislation that promoted the lending to buyers who should not have received mortgages. However, the failed housing market, collapsed lending institutions, and the recent Wall Street tumble and economic downturn has turned the polls to favor the Democrats. At this point in the election campaign, should the focus be only on the economy?

I am a conservative with mainstream values who is very concerned with the ultimate outcome of the 2008 election. Protecting the unborn; the right to bear arms; marriage being only between a man and a woman; keeping "In God We Trust" on our currency and the pledge of allegiance with the words "under God" in it; and honoring our flag are some of my core beliefs. It is these core values and beliefs that a Democrat victory would be a seriously threaten. I am concerned that if Barack Obama were elected with both the Senate and House remaining under the control of Democrats, the consequences will be devastating.

Why am I concerned? Because Obama said his first action would be signing the "Freedom of Choice Act." A law that would open all avenues to abortion and prohibit limitation or restrictions by the states. Also, I anticipate legislation that will threaten mainstream traditional core values, disregard the intent of our Founding Fathers, twist our Constitution, and violate our Bill of Rights. I fear that immigration problems and terrorism will become an even greater threat because of "softer" policies. I'm concerned that our military capabilities will be compromised. But, my number one fear is the life-time appointments of replacement Supreme Court judges and other federal judges. Most assuredly their judicial philosophies will mirror that of Barack Obama and the liberals in the Senate who confirm judicial appointments. Therefore, the decisions of these new justices and judges would most likely be extremely liberal, long lasting and likely devastating to people holding to traditional values.

It is a voter's patriotic duty before voting to know the voting record and core values of the candidates (presidential and congressional). Consider Barack Obama's associations with a terrorist (Bill Ayers) and with other outspoken critics of our Nation, such as his pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Also, consider his ties with ACORN, an organization under investigation in thirteen states for voter fraud. Obama has a vested interest in ACORN because he was a training instructor for their volunteers and a recipient of benefits. You can find out more about ACORN and the individuals previously mentioned by searching the Internet, reading sites like the ARRA News Service, the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, and listening to conservative talk radio and FOX NEWS. You will learn a LOT that the other main stream media doesn't tell you because of their liberal posturing.

Remember Sen. John McCain endured a lot of pain in the stockades and never compromised his Country or his values. My friends and fellow countrymen please don't "sell out" your values and God given rights to a hurting pocketbook during tough economic times. Please do your homework and vote wisely. [Fred Polich of Bull Shoals, Arkansas is a retired middle-school teacher.]

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Al Hundley, a Baxter County, Arkansas resident, asked me "where can I best make a difference supporting John McCain for President." As National Political Director, Let's Get This Right, I asked "are you willing to travel and pay your expenses." As we talked, I emailed him a list of swing state offices and phone numbers. He said "yes I'm going!" and now he is in Ohio! Cleveland's WKYC TV 3 reported last night on Al Hundley's and Bob Klitzkie's work for the John McCain campaign in Ohio:

BRECKSVILLE -- Al Hundley and Bob Klitzkie are both a long way from home helping John McCain try to put Ohio in the victory column. Both men are retired, both are dedicated McCain backers, and both are bankrolling the cost of their travel, hotel room and food out of their own pocket. Both men asked to be assigned someplace where their work could make a difference.

Both are working at McCain's Brecksville campaign office for free, doing everything they are asked. That could include making calls, dropping off signs, running errands and helping set up rallies.

Hundley says, "I'm here to help John McCain win the Presidency. Whatever I can to to turn the tide and carry the day." Bob Klitzkie is from Guam in the Pacific. That means he cannot vote for President. Al Hundley is from Arkansas. Both men plan to stay through the election and both predict they'll be celebrating the outcome in Ohio. "The Klitzkie poll says Ohio's going for John McCain," Klitzkie predicts. [Video available]

Want to Help: Would you like to join Al, Bob and others in sharing John McCain’s plans for a prosperous America with Democrats and Independents? Citizen's for McCain will be knocking on doors, walking precincts and making phone calls in preparation for election day. You can join them in this effort through one of the many field offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida:

PENNSYLVANIA Northeast PA 420 North Main Ave Scranton, PA 18504 (570) 951-9223 Southeast PA 420 Norristown Rd Blue Bell, PA 19322 (717) 222-9804 East PA 2285 Schoenersvillle Rd, Space 27 Bethlehem, PA 18017 (717) 644-8778 Southwest PA 23 North Maple St Greensburg, PA 15601 (724) 836-0570 Northwest PA 125 Hillvue Lane Pittsburgh, PA 15237 (414) 458-1562

OHIO Northeast OH Near Youngstown) 621 Boardman-Canfield Rd Boardman, OH (330) 629-70006 Northeast OH (Near Cleveland) 7630 Chippewa Rd Brecksville, OH 44141 (440) 792-4704 Western OH 102 West Main St Springfield, OH 45503 (937) 322-4223

FLORIDA Greater Orlando 234 South Semoran Blvd Orlando, FL 32807 (407) 277-0880 Southern FL 2021 Tyler S. Holywood, FL 33020 (954) 397-6369 Tampa – St. Petersburg 142 West Platt Tampa, FL 33606 (813) 451-3857 Jacksonville 4963 Beach Blvd Jacksonville, FL 33207 (904) 716-0107