The line is open. Finishing up:
* BET ON IT: Here's one of several reports recently on the purchase of land near the Little Rock Port by the Oklahoma-based Quapaw tribe. Preservation of ancient burial grounds and potential economic development are mentioned as reasons for the purchase. The tribe's operation of a casino in Oklahoma is also mentioned. Sooner rather than later an Indian tribe is going to claim the right to run a casino in Arkansas, just like Oaklawn and Southland do. That's the law, though it would take some time for any tribe to be certfied to move ahead. The banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock's largest city would, it occurs to me, be a better spot for a casino than, say, Sallisaw.
* STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: Mike Huckabee, Iranian leader see eye-to-eye on school shooting. More here on Huckabee, from a writer who says Huckabee's recent utterances may be his most grotesque yet, with their oblique implication that acceptance of homosexuality is part of the explanation for mass homicides.
* SCORSESE ON CLINTON: Martin Scorsese plans a documentary on Bill Clinton for HBO. The former president is cooperating.
“A towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues, President Clinton continues to shape the political dialogue both here and around the world,” Scorsese said. “Through intimate conversations, I hope to provide greater insight into this transcendent figure.”
* GUNS AND NEWTOWN, CT.: Before the school slaughter, feelings already ran high in the city over firearms. Interesting report on conflicts over sport shooting and resistance to any sort of curbs from the gun industry.
UPDATE
* LR COP SUSPENDED Statement from Sgt. Cassandra Davis this evening:
Officer James Youngblood who joined the Little Rock Police Department in January of 2009 was arrested in Saline County on December 16th on a charge of Domestic Battery 3rd. Officer Youngblood was arrested and bonded out of jail on today’s date. He has been relieved of duty (with pay) by the Little Rock Police Department and an Internal Affairs Investigation has been initiated. The appropriate Administrative action will be conducted at the conclusion of the investigation. Arrest information (police report) can be obtained by contacting the Saline County Sheriffs Office.