Archive for the ‘Arkansas’ Category
‘Phobes brewing up fresh pot of hate in Arkansas
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has given his okay to the Family Council’s drive to get a ban on gay people serving as foster parents and adopting on the ballot for the next election:
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has certified the Family Council’s revised initiated act to ban gay foster parenting and adoption for the ballot. This clears the way for their effort to gather signatures to qualify it for the 2008 ballot.
It’s Cotton Pickin’ Time
Many years ago when I, of course, was younger, my dad took my cousin and me to the farm of a friend of his and while my cousin got to ride in the cotton picker, I got to play on the module maker. At first, I thought that I’d gotten a raw deal but now I don’t. While my cousin was sitting next to the picker driver doing nothing, I got to build a cotton module. It was really fun.
A module maker has—well, had—three controls: one for moving the “stompers” along the cotton bin, one to move them side to side within the bin, and one to move them up and down in the bin. I call them “stompers” because when I was around six or seven, my uncle used to be a farmer and modules weren’t that prevalent in my area. The farm hands (and kids when we were allowed) would climb into the cotton trailers and pack the cotton down by stomping or jumping in it. It was really fun and had a practical use, too: it allowed the farmer to get more cotton into the trailer.
Well, back to the module. While my cousin was sitting in the cab of the cotton picker, I got to pound the cotton into a module and it was hella fun.
Cotton picking season is on us yet again. Earlier today I looked out the kitchen window and saw a spray rig spraying the cotton so that the boles would open up sooner. This will of course lead to allergy problems across half the region. Later, after picking starts, the module trucks will start speeding up and down the roads at crazy speeds. Cotton that falls off the trucks will start to litter lawns and old ladies like my grandmother will rant about it for weeks. The cotton gins will start spewing tons of dust and debris that gets kicked up during the course of ginning the cotton.
If you happen to live near a cotton gin, it’s a horrible time of year, but if you’re the kid who gets to run the module maker, it’s the bestest time ever.
On this day: AR Nat. Guard prevents Little Rock Nine from going to school
Unfortunately: On this day in 1957 Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to prevent 9 black students from entering Little Rock Central High School. He left the National Guard in place for 16 days until a federal judge ordered him to withdraw them.
On the Twenty-third, the students were snuck into the school and when the white parents who had been demonstrating outside heard of it there was a near riot. The students were quickly whisked from the school to ensure their safety.
On September 24, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborn Division to escort the black students into Little Rock Central High School and to ensure their safety. Eisenhower also federalized the Arkansas National Guard.
The 101st stayed at Central High until Thanksgiving when its guard duties were handed over to Task Force 153rd Infantry, a specialized unit of the Arkansas National Guard. Task Force 153rd Infantry stayed on guard duty at Central High until the end of the school year.
Arkansas Troops Bar Negro Pupils; Governor Defiant | New York Times’ On This Day
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