Under Gov Sarah Huckabee Sanders, nearly 220,000 #Arkansas residents have lost their health insurance coverage. Just since April 1.
Politico’s Megan Messerly:
Arkansas just released its June #Medicaid renewal data — which means we now have data for three of the 6 mos of its unwinding process. Nearly 220K Arkansans have lost coverage since April 1, nearly 150K of them for procedural reasons. #HealthCare#HuckaBS
Judd Legum and Rebecca Crosby report on the story of Alex Barnett, a student at Univ. of Central Arkansas sentenced to 10 days in jail for his role in a peaceful protest against anti-trans policies enacted by the local schoolboard.
The Conway, Arkansas, school board enacted anti-trans policies after having a public hearing at which one speaker called for LGBTQ people to be killed, since the bible commands this, he stated.
"Ultimately, when I'm fighting for trans rights, I'm also fighting for my own rights. If you don't show up for… people who are marginalized, the people who are facing the most severe oppression from the government, if you don't show up to help them, then you're screwed whenever they come for you."
The judge who sentenced Barnett, Chris Carnahan, is former executive director of the Arkansas Republican party.
"Arkansas is the state I know best, and it provides a clear example of the poisonous culture that develops among the state’s political leadership when the opposing party has no meaningful power to hold them to account."
"What concerns me about the continuing growth of single-party democracy across the country is the implication that certain states or places exist 'for' only some of their residents rather than all of them—and that belonging more fundamentally to a larger American political community is a wrecked ideal, and only competing factions remain. Single-party democracy in Arkansas gives a sense for the destination at the end of that road."
Fay is a 24 year old white trans woman in Arkansas who has been kicked out of her home by her family. She has no income or transportation. She needs our help getting to safety.
"Should we ultimately be surprised that the same 'family values' culture that filled our television screens with modestly dressed girls and boys following their chirpy mother like ducklings also gave us 'Trump Can Grab My Pussy' shirts?"
~ Guy Lancaster commenting on the story of the Duggar family told in the new series "Shiny Happy People"
"This is not hypocrisy. This is the nihilism of a theology of dominance which holds that the sons of God ultimately have a right to rape your daughters. It is the end result of a patriarchal system that gives the man everything and the woman whatever the man wants her to have."
I've been out here on the #westCoast for 18 years, and I have NEVER had #friedCatfish that was done right!
I don't understand why it's always SO BAD! It always tastes like a pool. They batter it with too much crunchy cornbread, and fry it too cold so its oily too.
I'm just gonna have to start a #foodTruck and show you yankees how #catfish is supposed to be cooked!
My theory is they are using the wrong kind of fish. The filets are always short and slimey, with a big ribbon of purple-brown fat. Back in #Arkansas we use #channelCats that are raised in a pond instead of a tank. The filets are cut lengthwise so they are thin. You just lightly coat in a fine corn meal, and get the oil SUPER HOT so it mostly drains off when you pull them out.
In #Arkansas, they passed legislation to deny gender affirming surgery. The Arkansas Attorney General attempts to defend this but crumbles under Jon Stewart's questioning.
The case had been closely watched as an important test of whether bans on transition care for minors, enacted by more than a dozen states, could withstand challenges.
My neighborhood #barbecue joint has a #catfish special on Fridays but I've yet to try it. I think today's the day. I feel like I should call and warn them that I'm coming and being that I'm from #Arkansas they'd better bring their A-game. #pdx#portland#food#bbq#fishfriday#fishfry
Arkansans must return Medicaid renewal packets to keep eligibility
Now that the pandemic Medicaid removal ban is over, More than 400,000 Arkansans could lose Medicaid coverage if they don't return a renewal packet within 90 days. #Arkansas started sending packets out in February. #Medicaid
Home to southern gothic, particularly #Evanescence.
An amazingly strong piece of gothic on "Imaginary". Amy is taken out of her bedroom, whisked away into the driving rain of the storm. The legless horsewoman will take our hero away, to find adventure and more amongst the mountain spirits.
Current obsession: this 3 piece band from Arkansas called Ten High I discovered yesterday on Bandcamp. No idea if they're still together, as they only have a Facebook aside from their stuff on Bandcamp, and they haven't put out an album since 2018.
But ALL FOUR of their albums on Bandcamp (https://tenhigh.bandcamp.com) are fuzzy, bluesy garage psych-punk MASTERPIECES, and I can't even choose a favorite. I was able to listen to all four yesterday all the way through chronologically (which is saying a lot, I'm picky, and it's rare for bands to write amazing full albums)-- and I'm doing the same today.
I'm just blown away. It's rare to find bands that are so cool and solid. Ten High put out some really rough, weird stuff with some rad, gnarly, often unintelligible lyrics along with catchy, fuzzy riffs. There's so much to dig about them, I hope they're still around.
It's nice watching #softball on TV. Played at the pace #baseball was once played at, batters get time to recover after being hit and pitchers get sufficient time between pitches to help avoid repetitive motion injuries that cut short careers. No fans leave or complain games are too long. They had a 40-minute top of the 5th in the #Oregon - #Arkansas game and not one person stomped their feet in disgust it wasn't completed in 10.
Right-wing activists have been working in recent years to remove what they say are objectionable #books from local #libraries -- but it turns out that a tiny number of them are responsible for most of the #BookBan requests.
Analysis conducted by the #WashingtonPost found that only 11 people were responsible for more than half of more than 1,000 different book challenges analyzed by the paper, with one power banner responsible for 92 challenges just by himself.
Flash Flood #Emergency: "...FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY FOR FOR STAMPS, BUCKNER AND EXTREME NORTHEAST LAFAYETTE COUNTY... At 606 AM CDT, emergency management reported thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 8 and 10 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is already occurring... This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION." #LAwx#Louisiana#FlashFlood#flood#ARwx#Arkansas
Sanders appoints state GOP chair to Arkansas Supreme Court (katv.com)
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday named state Republican Party chairman and former federal prosecutor Cody Hiland to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Judge Strikes Down Arkansas Law Banning Gender Transition Care for Minors (www.nytimes.com)
The case had been closely watched as an important test of whether bans on transition care for minors, enacted by more than a dozen states, could withstand challenges.
Arkansas ends fiscal year with a $1.161 billion tax surplus (talkbusiness.net)
Surplus driven in part by increased sales tax revenues. Anyone want to venture a guess as to how the surplus will be used?