Will voters take into account Bryan Norris’s ‘salty language’?

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How important is a candidate’s use of online “salty language”? The question arose last week regarding past messages posted on the X social media platform by Bryan Norris, candidate for secretary of state.

Norris placed first in a three-person race in the Republican primary March 3. He faces state Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, who finished a close second, in the March 31 runoff. The runoff is necessary because no candidate won a majority.

The secretary of state’s most noteworthy duty is being in charge of elections at the state level. The officeholder also maintains and secures the State Capitol and administers business filings. 

Norris’ posts came to light on social media last week. In one, he spelled out “f- you” in all caps in a comment directed at Sen. Tom Cotton. Several other posts also are not publishable in a family newspaper.

There was another where he said President Lyndon Johnson, the CIA and Israel assassinated President John F. Kennedy. He told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he was “probably halfway asleep when I wrote that, if I did.” Continue reading →

Sanders: Run for president has crossed her mind

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When Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders makes an honest statement when asked about someday maybe running for president (“Certainly, you know, things cross your mind”), it’s worth a mention. 

Sanders made the comment in response to a direct question by Politico national reporter Jonathan Martin. She was the first interview subject in his new “On the Road with Jonathan Martin” series, where he is traveling the country talking to political types while enjoying local cuisine. They did the 40-minute interview at Wright’s Barbecue in Little Rock with a tempting plate of food sitting on the table in front of them.

Martin referenced a comment by one of Sanders’ friends that a Democrat probably will be elected president in 2028, but that Sanders will be out of office after the 2030 elections and her children will be grown. (“Almost,” she corrected.) In 2032, could she be a candidate?

In response, Sanders said, “I think in any job, especially one like that I have right now in public service, your goal, your focus has to be to do a really good job in the role that you have, and see what happens from there. So my focus is Arkansas and helping us move to the top and take it from that point.”

When Martin rephrased the question, Sanders replied, “Certainly, you know, things cross your mind,” but she added that she had never thought she would be the White House press secretary or even the governor despite growing up in a political family.  Continue reading →

Hogs Coach Silverfield seeks players; legislators seek answers

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NFL, Ryan SilverfieldNew University of Arkansas Head Football Coach Ryan Silverfield told the Rotary Club of Little Rock March 3 that his former University of Memphis team beat Southeastern Conference schools despite having a talent disadvantage.

He may have to try to continue doing that at Arkansas, now that a quarterback can cost $5 million. 

Meanwhile, some legislators, including House Education Committee Vice-Chair Rep. Brit McKenzie, R-Rogers, are asking questions about recent financial and football decisions made by the university’s Board of Trustees. 

We’ll start with the coach. In his speech before the Rotarians, Silverfield said the program’s philosophy centers around the acronym “All In.” It stands for “attitude,” “little things,” “love,” “intelligence” and “now,” meaning having a sense of urgency. He said he wanted Arkansas to have the SEC’s highest graduation rate and the highest grade point average in program history.

Silverfield said players and the program itself will be disciplined. He already knows what players will be doing at 9:17 a.m. on October 14. Continue reading →

Gov. Sanders not-great, not-terrible night

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vote, Mark Moore, 16-year-olds, Arkansas, primaries, Goodson, photo ID, Sarah Huckabee SandersThere is a lot to cover as we review Tuesday’s primary elections. We’ll start with what happened with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and three Republican state Senate races.

Sanders’ political action committee, Team SHS PAC, donated $7,000 each to two candidates who challenged Senate incumbents who had voted against her planned 3,000-bed Franklin County prison. 

The incumbents nevertheless won easily. In District 28, Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, defeated Bobby Ballinger with 60% of the vote. Meanwhile in District 10, Sen. Ronald Caldwell, R-Wynne, won with 70% over challenger Trey Bohannan.

Caldwell is seeking to be the next Senate president pro tempore when senators vote in the next couple of months.

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Arkansas250 playing part in America’s 250th birthday party

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Arkansas250The United States is celebrating its America250 semiquincentennial, and Arkansas is joining the party through its Arkansas250 efforts.

The semiquincentennial (pronounced simee-quin-centennial) marks 250 years since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 

It’s the second major national milestone during my lifetime. The country’s 200-year Bicentennial in 1976 was a huge deal. An American Freedom Train featuring historical artifacts rolled past our house in Wynne. I went to school one day dressed as Abraham Lincoln with a stovetop paper hat that Mom painstakingly had made, and which I ditched in favor of some flimsy headgear I glued together in class.

Now it’s 50 years later, and another party is in the works.  Continue reading →