FEATURED SERIES: THE WAR ON DRUGS

THE CASE FOR HEMP A Special "Reality Check" Report by Gozarks, initially compiled and published pre-Gozarks, circa 1990, this report debuted online shortly after Gozarks first publication in April of 2000 and is updated through 2005.

Arkansas Army National Guard visits Shirley Schools This interview was done in February, 2004, by then-apprentice editor of Gozarks and eldest at-home daughter of mine, Shalom. Considering she was 15 at the time, we find it quite a work of art.

It's OUR $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$: The War on Drugs Co-authored by ArmchairHoodlum editor/publisher Michael C. Kelly and myself (Christine Beems, editor emeritus & publisher of Gozarks), this critical analysis of the cost effectiveness of pot eradication is an eye-opener on the efficacy of military-style interdiction.

A country of contradictions and vast waste Another in our series of 'myth-buster' looks at the preposterous state of affairs surrounding our national war on drugs and how it is making casualties of every law-abiding man, woman and child.

THE ARREST OF MICHAEL C. KELLEY: In absolute terms, the United States currently has the largest inmate population in the world. More than 2 million of our American bedfellows are in prison and jails even though violent crime and property crimes have been, according to the Federal Bureau of Justice, declining since the 1990s.

DUE PROCESS: The docket for Monday, May 7, 2007, was not an anomaly in the courtroom of the Honorable Michael A. Maggio. As a judge of the Arkansas 20^th Judicial Circuit, the number of cases to routinely come before his bench was staggering. Sometimes 80 or 90 each day, with about 5% being ‘new’ cases and the remaining 95% compiled of ongoing civil and criminal matters pending resolution.

WAR ON DRUGS IS A ‘CORRUPT DISASTER’ LAWMAN SAYS: According to Tony Ryan, 36-year veteran of the Denver Police, "The 'War on Drugs' is a disaster for law enforcement." Ryan addressed members and guests of Rotary at the Indian Hills Country Club in Fairfield Bay, Wednesday, July 11, 2007.

BATTLELINES DRAWN OVER POLICE INFORMANT: "This whole thing was orchestrated by the jilted boyfriend of my landlady’s daughter," Kelley asserted, referencing Shalom Weiss, 18, also of Shirley.

THE COMMITTEE FOR HONEST LAW ENFORCEMENT: "Over the past five years and with greater regularity of late, rumors, circumstances and events have come to my attention alleging suspicious conduct and illegal drug-related activity on the part of certain officials in our county..."

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Paying reverent homage to the eighteen women murdered this year in Arkansas by someone once trusted and loved, in addition to commemorating these victims of domestic abuse the Dove House Silent Witness Candle Light Vigil aimed to focus public attention on the depth and breadth of this ‘invisible’ crime wave.

KELLEY POT-CASE SET FOR TRIAL: As this case has unfolded over the months, the initial allegation which resulted in Kelley's arrest last March was cited by Murray as an anonymous 'concerned citizen.' In a following motion to the court however, prosecutor Hawks acknowledged that this was incorrect; that the initial allegation actually came by way of a Confidential Informant (CI) in the hire of VBC law enforcement. In the amended complaint filed in September, Hawks named the informer as Daniel Watts of Shirley.

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THOT PROVOKING FAVORITES (random order)

TRADITION (PDF) The role model that mainstream academic education immerses students in today relies on the authority of
‘certified experts’ to make all the tough decisions for us. This practice is called ‘teaching to the test’ and it commands that students, in order to gain acceptance, must memorize and recite information that was
learned by someone long removed from the present place, time or circumstance.

NET NEUTRALITY (June 2006) "The nation's largest telephone and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually everything we do online."

A REAL EDUCATION (Gozarks October 2006 front page editorial) My thots and comments on why parents must reclaim and exercise their imbued rights to be the sole primary teachers and mentors of their own children.

MEDIA, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, POLITICS & PRAGMATISM The following comments originated as private emails and  I encourage you to turn your preferred candidates on to this page.

SODA BOTTLE$ & AUTOMOBILE$ Americans consume 25 percent of world energy while holding just 5 percent of its energy resources, however Americans enjoy a lifestyle roughly ten times as energy intensive as the global average. In a sustainable economy, nothing is wasted. This is why recycling is more important than ever before.

Watch what they do, not what they say ~Karl Rove On the way coming home from the keynote speech delivered by Karl Rove during the Lincoln's Day Dinner sponsored by the Republicans of Faulkner County at the University of Central Arkansas Student Center Ballroom in Conway, Arkansas, February 16, 2006, we passed a church with a large marquee that read "God is not afraid of your questions." I thought, "Right. God's not, but Karl Rove is."

Juistice Stephen Breyer: "What's the alternative?" The one point Justice Stephen Breyer, sitting jurist of the United States Supreme Court, made redundantly clear during the open forum held in the Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, on March 7, 2006, was that for the democratic principles codified by the U.S. Constitution to ‘work’ citizens must be ‘involved.’ And I’m getting ahead of myself.

Property Values impact every resident of Van Buren County, June 2006

Music, music, music... "Songs For Sale Billboard" Are you a potential Agent? Join Gozarks "American Agent Contest" and win BIG... or just simply enjoy the original tunes.