Welcome to 2026
Kicking off our 250th birthday, the Governor's +3, using FOI, no SOL, and more
What a splendid way to kick off the year of America's 250th birthday! The Washington Monument is the backdrop for a 6-night illumination show running through January 5 that highlights our country’s rich history. This spectacular display sponsored by freedom250.org is just the start of a wonderful series of celebrations we can enjoy across our beloved country throughout this entire year:
Conway
Right follows wrong? Former Conway PD Major Lee Wood begins work as Mayflower Police Chief on January 5, appointed by new Mayor (and former Council member) Zach Jeffery who, in turn, just took the mayoral spot a little over a month ago after Mayflower’s mayor and two animal control officers resigned suddenly last October. Wood retired from Conway PD after the Conway PD’s witch hunt against former K9 officer Britney Byrd (a Faulkner County circuit court case is ongoing). The only member of the PD review board who voted not to fire Byrd after the fatal shooting episode at Conway’s Fifth Avenue Park back in April, Wood provided testimony as a witness in Byrd’s civil service hearings but it was disallowed/not heard. Wood was Byrd’s supervisor “multiple times,” and his wife also works with Byrd’s defense attorney.
Arkansas
Why now? Why, indeed? It’s sad that Congressman French Hill chose to give a golden fleece award to Customs and Border Protection “ for failing to fully carry out a clear directive from Congress to deploy effective inspection systems at land ports of entry to combat fentanyl trafficking:
Once in a while, a good thing: The Governor firmly stood up against the Freedom from Religion whackos when she gave state workers Friday off after Christmas by proudly proclaiming Christ’s birth as the reason for Christmas. She wrote
I will not apologize for or retract my Christmas proclamation giving state workers an extra day off. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our savior Jesus Christ, and if we are to honor Him properly, we should tell His miraculous, world-changing story properly, too.
Kudos on a job well done — but it’s not over: For the past 30+ years, Rose Mimms has been the face of Arkansas Right to Life (ARTL) and due largely to her efforts, our state has ranked as the most pro-life state in America for the past six years due to her unfailing devotion to the unborn. Although she’s retired as State Director on December 31, she’ll continue to travel to support and develop ARTL chapters across the state. Mimms says, “I have always considered this work as a mission from God.”
Incestuous or what? Following her usual trajectory, the Governor has filled the three vacant seats on the Arkansas Board of Corrections with insiders: We previously told you that Jamie Barker, Sanders' former deputy chief of staff, this month joins the Gilmore-Davis lobbying group (run by the brother of a state Republican lawmaker). New Corrections Board member Nathan Lee is chief legal counsel for Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester. Naming Boyce Hamlet, a special agent in Attorney General Tim Griffin's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, as Chair of the Post Prison Transfer Board gives him the third open seat on the Corrections Board. After all the fighting back and forth — let’s watch and see how that board’s gonna be now when it comes to that Franklin County prison the Governor wants so badly.
National
That jab! Getting the flu shot in 2024-2025 not only failed to protect you, but doing so likely increased your chances of getting the flu! A new Cleveland Clinic study tracked 53,402 of their employees during last year’s respiratory viral season and found that, with 82% being vaccinated for the flu, individuals had a 27% higher chance of getting the flu after vaccination than those who hadn’t been jabbed.
What about the IRI? Senator Cotton’s another 2026 primary candidate who isn’t campaigning in person. It’s time to examine Cotton more closely:
No more mandate: Speaking of jabs, whadaya say about this? Health Secretary RFK has stopped the mandated reporting by doctors of immunizations of their patients (including children and pregnant women), in lieu of “new measures that would ‘capture information about whether parents and families were informed about vaccine choices, vaccine safety and side effects, and alternative vaccine schedules.’”
“Lawless tyrant” obeys SCOTUS ruling: Despite the Left painting our President as a lawless tyrant, Trump is withdrawing National Guard troops from LA, Chicago, and Portland after the Supreme Court ruled against their deployment. “The government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court said (Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented).
What’s wrong with the GOP? Are voters powerless to stop the next government shutdown heading at us for January 30?
Free Tina! Colorado’s political prisoner from the stolen 2020 election, Tina Peters, posted a Christmas message from state prison, thanking President Trump for her pardon and saying (in part):
I’m here because I had to be punished and made an example of. They couldn’t scare me to retract what I said and forget what I saw.
I wouldn’t give in, back down, or give up. Even here and now, through you, I continue to speak out and call out those that do wrong. You must continue to stand strong. Now is the time….
God bless you all, treasure your family, protect liberty and freedom, live life on purpose. The time is short.
Everyone can do something. They can’t get us all.
Spies all around: Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was removed from SpaceX’s four-person Crew-12 mission about 10 weeks before launch for photographing sensitive SpaceX documentation, engines, and internal materials with his mobile phone and so violating International Traffic in Arms Regulations that restrict the sharing of defense-related technologies.
I fell for it (SOL):
Tech
A new year’s resolution: Take the time to study a bit on this excellent guide from Defender of the Republic on how to use FOIA to follow the money and suss out the details on government grants and funding (it’s simple and anyone can do this!)
Raging against AI slop: Mozilla is the latest tech company to bow to consumers who are increasingly rebelling against automatically including AI in everything online. After announcing December 16 that Mozilla’s Firefox browser "would become ‘a modern AI browser,’” the CEO was forced to clarify just two days later that “Firefox will have an option to completely disable all AI features” — in other words an AI kill switch. Whadaya say? Good enough?