GOOD morning, Mr. and Mrs. Arkansas, from Texarkana to West Memphis, from Fort Smith to Helena, and all the boats on Greers Ferry Lake. Let's go to press . . . . Of course, of course, of course the so-called Commie Cadet had to be drummed out of the service. Service in the United States military is an honor, but it's not a right. This guy was featured in all the papers two summers ago after he posted messages and pictures of his political beliefs. Such as, "Communism will win." And this doozie: "I consider myself a revolutionary socialist. I would encourage all soldiers who have a conscience to lay down their arms and join me and so many others who are willing to stop serving the agents of imperialism and join us in a revolutionary movement." Not exactly something an officer and a gentleman would think, much less say, much-much-much less put on social media. Somebody wanting to serve in the officer corps, or any other part of the United States military, can't go around encouraging all soldiers to lay down their arms. Call it national security, which is a good reason. The Army dumped him, giving him something called an other-than-honorable discharge. Last heard from, the Commie Cadet was going to give a speech at a socialism conference in Chicago, where surely he'll be a hit. Give all the speeches you want, pal, but stay out of this man's Army . . . . At long last, after years of debate, it looks as though the feds will allow We the People to band together to buy health insurance in these Association Health Plans. The president signed an order last week that would allow those plans to skirt many of the requirements of Obamacare, including the so-called Essential Health Benefits, which aren't essential and may not benefit everyone. In order to make their numbers work, the framers of Obamacare had to make people buy certain kinds of insurance. Including such things as pregnancy and newborn insurance--even if you're a 55-year-old man more worried about grandkids than about children of your own. Why require folks to pay for services they know they'll never need? The simple answer may be this: Government always thinks it knows best. The folks running the show in the early Obama administration, who wrote the book, or at least the regs, on Obamacare, could be forgiven thinking they could cure everything with another sub-paragraph in the (un)Affordable Care Act. They were social engineers. They were from the government, and they were here to help. And they were going to help you too, whether you liked it or not. So buy health insurance, you clod, or we're going to fine you until you do. Now there's a new president, and as these things happen in a democracy, a new way to think about health care. What a country! . . . . A Pine Bluff, Ark., man was in the papers the other day, and not for the best reasons. He was arrested. For trying to pay for a meal with a stolen credit card. What made the news national was that he tried to pay a waitress with her own card, which was stolen along with her Social Security card and driver's license a few days earlier only a few blocks away. When the perp tried to pay, she recognized her own card and name, and promptly called the police, "having no desire to pay for the fellow's meal," according to records. The cops are said to find the whole thing rather funny, as does Gentle Reader, no doubt. But we hope the perp thinks otherwise behind those bars . . . . It's an age of euphemism. Republican and Democratic politicians are fighting it out (again), this time over the Steve Womack budget. Well, it's not so much a budget as a pipe dream for conservative budget hawks, may their tribe increase. Rep. Womack (R-Rogers) is the chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee. He put out what the papers call a "blueprint" the other day, which he says will get the nation close to a balanced budget in 10 years. Now, when you're trying to balance the books on a $21 trillion budget, nothing is easy. But his proposal has so many cuts that the plan is drawing heat from all sides. The committee's director of budget review told the press that many of the proposed cuts in the budget were simple "illustrative policy options." If not for euphemism, things might get ugly in Washington. Or at least get aesthetically challenged . . . . The congressman from northeastern Arkansas, Rick Crawford, may be the only politician outside the White House who thinks tariffs are good for the American economy. Last week he put out a statement (on Twitter, of course) noting that soybean exports are up. He said, "because of tariffs!" But the story he referenced said soybeans that were inspected for export were up 21 percent the week of June 14 compared to the previous week. What happens when the Chinese slap their own tariffs on soybeans by the planned-on date, which is July 6? Tariffs good for the Arkansas farmer? Talk to us later in the summer, Mr. Congressman. . . . And now for a word from our sponsor . . . .
Editorial on 06/25/2018