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VOTER-ED ASSEMBLY: “GREAT!”
EDITORIAL & NEWS RELEASE
By Christine Weiss,
editor@gozarks.com
October 26, 2002
 I
was tremendously heartened by the Ozark Liberty Alliance (OLA) voter
education meeting, held Thursday, October 24, 6pm, in the Community Room
of Petit Jean Electric Cooperative in Clinton, Arkansas.
[PHOTO ABOVE:
"Speakers in Waiting" (L-R)
Claude "Tubby" Smith, Vice President, Arkansas Cattlemen's Association,
Dr. Harry Ward, head of Arkansans to Protect Police, Libraries, Education
and Service (APPLES), Robert Reed, Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party
of Arkansas, and Linda Blackburn, Pro Bono Attorney with Citizens for a
Humane Arkansas.]
The speakers were engaging and the voters were
engaged, vocally, emotionally and intellectually. In a casually polite,
openly friendly, warm, upbeat, proactive, IQ-lifting, mentally
stimulating, and (dare I say it) spiritually invigorating sort of way. It
was, as one of those present attested, 'democracy in action'.
There was little about which the speakers agreed and
each held staunchly to his or her grounded position. They did this, as I
saw it, with tenacity, forthright language, mutual respect, good humor,
gusto, and joie de vivre.
Regarding the Axe the Tax
issue, about which everyone knows by now that the Arkansas Supreme Court
did, on this same meeting date, announce their legal decision that the
issue was, after gaining over 100,000 petitioner signatures and being
certified by the Arkansas Secretary of State as legitimate to appear on
the November ballot, and then being challenged before the High Court on
the grounds that the ballot initiative language was, to the eyes of
APPLES, unclear and destined to be misunderstood.... the "Arkansas
Supremes" (as a friend of mine calls them), did their duty to upholding
every citizen's right to due process and the petitioning for the redress
of government, nixed the lawsuit and kept the issue alive.
“Axe the Tax is like an
Arkansas version of the Boston Tea Party,” one of the attendees commented.
This kind and quality of interactive stimulation put
a vibrant spark in the sentiment of pro/con speakers, Dr. Harry Ward, head
of APPLES, who spoke against passage, and Robert Reed, Vice Chairman of
the Arkansas Libertarian Party, who spoke in support of the proposed
constitutional amendment.
On the issue of instituting tougher (“felony level”)
penalties as a deterrent to the criminal abuse of animals, feelings also
ran vigorously strong. Claude “Tubby” Smith (who is NOT at all “tubby”),
Vice President of the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association, put tenacious
effort into driving home the reasons that his group and a long list of
others have come out in opposition to this proposed act. On the other side
of the fence, Linda Blackburn, a Little Rock attorney who volunteers Pro
Bono services to the state-wide Citizens for a Human Arkansas group, spoke
determinedly about the reasoning behind her constituency’s support of the
proposed legalese.
In short, all of this made the evening’s
conversation tremendously "real."
"I
think the meeting was very well planned, well organized and quite
informative -- in a left-handed way," said Lula Holeman of Formosa. "I am
pleased with the number of people who attended, even though the number was
small. Those there seemed to have real concerns about the effect of the
bills on the populace.
"Some of the speakers appeared to be very well
informed on their issues,” Holeman continued, “but I felt that others came
with no more to offer than what was available through the media, and their
personal opinions - or desires.
“For me, the best and most thorough information came
through the questions that were asked,” Holeman asserted. “Many of which
the speakers were not prepared to answer, so resorted to 'ifs ---' none of
which were likely to happen.
“I heard one person say they were more confused
after the meeting than before, but I found enough information -- which
could not be explained away -- to give me an opinion on both issues,” she
concluded. Then added:
“Thanks for all the good eats. I came without
supper, and it really hit the spot.”
 Over the course of the three-hour confab, discussion
stayed predominantly between the lines of the meeting’s proposed purpose,
thanks to the abiding patience of Don Richardson, the program’s moderator
and emcee. Owing to Richardson’s formidable leadership skill, even the
digressions from topic remained constant to the central themes,
engendering a more comprehensive awareness about the economic policies and
legislated jurus prudence of our cities, counties and state.
[At left: Don
Richardson, emcee and moderator of the OLA-sponsored "voter education"
assembly, kept the evening's agenda flowing smoothly. THANKS DON!!!]
“I think a lot of people missed a great opportunity
to hear views of both sides of the arguments for/against 'tax the ax' and
'stop extreme forms of animal cruelty act',” said Alice Chambers, of
Clinton. “And to hear the opinions of others. Not only did I think
it was very informative but also appreciated the speakers themselves for
having the courage to stand for what they believe in and, for the most
part, remaining dignified and respectful of the others position,” Chambers
said.
“I believe this OLA meeting was very successful at doing what was set out
to do 'educate the public on voter issues'. Not only was it non-partisan,
it was comfortable - whatever side of issue you chose. The format was
workable and non-combative. On the issues (my opinions), regarding 'tax
the ax' - It is now my opinion that there should be a solid plan of action
to take up the slack where the sales tax on food was - BEFORE this issue
is on the ballot. Because I don't think most citizens want to see
education, Medicaid and other services that help children, elderly and
poverty level people cut without other means of
supplementing these and other programs that would be effected,” Chambers
continued.
“On the issue to 'stop extreme forms of animal cruelty act': It seemed
very clear to me
that the purpose of this act would make extreme forms of animal cruelty a
felony charge, and I formed a personal opinion about how I’m going to
vote. What concerns me the most is that there aren't more people
interested enough to come out and listen to both sides so that they could
make a decision based on a better understanding,” Chambers wrapped up.
Random topics -- including budget numbers, government spending, legal loopholes, scare tactics, distortion of the issues,
the "meddling in local politics by outsiders" and the failure of the
Arkansas State Legislature to address,
unravel, detangle, sort through, figure out, comprehend, strategize and
proactively engineer a comprehensive plan of action to smooth the bumps
and fill the pot-holes inherent to existing (and powerfully detrimental)
governmental procedures and processes, of all these ilks -- seemed to
bounce around the room like ping-pong balls, yet gravitated around a
central theme:
How to fix these badly bent (if not
completely broken) systems?
And there was little
agreement. But yet there was agreement. And I,
personally, found this fact to be a significantly interesting point.
 That
is, that there WAS agreement. That there were viable ideas which it
certainly seemed all those present understood and at least in the general
sense said yes to.
[At left:
Student-performers shout "Let's go!" during OLA welcome skit.]
And my understanding of that consensus is this:
ITEM #1: That sales tax in general and sales tax on groceries
specifically is a "regressive" tax. However, in all fairness I
must state that agreement on this point was not a perfect 100%. That is,
contrary to the way the "experts" add up the numbers (which seem to
mathematically prove that sales tax is "unfair" to folks
of lower incomes, effectively forcing them to pay a higher percentage of
their total income in taxes than wealthier folks do) some folks at the
meeting staunchly affirmed the position that sales tax is an "equitable"
tax which treats all people the same. However, all were in accord that tax money is
a necessary evil of having government services. Thus if one tax is cut,
the likelihood is that a new tax shall be added or an old tax shall be
raised to make-up for the decrease. And that the objective of all taxation
“should” be to have a system which divvies-up all necessary tax burdens in
an equitable and fair-minded way.
ITEM #2: That cruelty to and the abuse of animals is wrong. Period.
Everyone present condemned it and would like to find ways to eradicate it
from the face of the earth.
ITEM #3: That our justice system has not been doing everything in
its power
to enforce and adjudicate the crimes against animals that have been
committed. That is, that there are already 'misdemeanor' laws on the books
in Arkansas which permit for sentences of up to 1 year in jail and a $1000
fine for cruelty to
and abuse of animals. But that these laws have not been routinely enforced
and that on those seemingly rare occasions when a perpetrator has been
arrested and found guilty of such crime, the punishment inflicted has been
substantially less than the maximum and amounted to little more than a
slap
on the wrists.
ITEM #4: That if the Axe the Tax measure passes in November, all
branches of
state, county, and city government are going to have hell to pay. However,
about the name of this particular devil, there was absolutely no accord.
That is, both sides completely agreed that voter approval of this measure
will cut state revenues, however each side has its own set of numbers and
strongly oppositional opinions about just what effect those numbers will
have on the everyday quality of community life.
"I would add,
clearly and explicitly, the perspective that NONE OF US would need to be
at this meeting if 'The Ledge' (aka: The State of Arkansas Legislature)
did what they are elected and PAID to do," asserted Larry Williams of Bee
Branch. "And
the
meeting was outstanding. I learned much."
To learn more about the Ozark Liberty
Alliance (OLA) and/or plans for future "voter education" assemblies,
attend the
next general business meeting of
the group, which will look at possible “next step” projects and plans, set for 6pm, Thursday, November 14, 2002, in a meeting room at the Western Sizzlin' Steakhouse, 1468 U.S. Highway 65, on the south side of Clinton. All
voters are welcome and encouraged to attend. For more
information, visit
www.gozark.com/ola on the Internet or
contact Christine Weiss,
editor@gozarks.com , 501-723-4322, who is serving
as interim media liaison for the Ozark Liberty Alliance.
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