Ok, this will be the thread for my live tweet of the Senate Committee of the Whole meeting to consider ethics violations by Sen. Alan Clark.
Live stream here: sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00284/Harmony/… Sen. Garner motioning to recess since Sen. Clark is not there. Sen. Hickey says no. Now Garner speaking on behalf of recess. Saying Clark is on vacation.

The Senate Committee of the Whole will meet at 10 today to decide whether or not to find that Sen. Alan Clark filed frivolous ethics charges against Sen. Stephanie Flowers. And if he is guilty what those penalties should be. The Senate Ethics Committee is recommending that he be found in violation and be suspended from the Senate for the rest of the year - which given that much will basically just mean that he doesn’t get per diem or to go on a trip to Hawaii on the taxpayers' dime later this year.

The Senate has convened. All are present, with Sen. Flowers appearing remotely. Religious Freedom Day and Stand Your Ground are on the docket.

Here's a link to view live:
sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00284/Harmony/… Sen. Rapert is up to talk about Religious Freedom Day, which has already passed the House. It will be Jan. 14 each year. Good time to note that it's still illegal for atheists to hold any public office in Arkansas.
Adopted unanimously.

Update on the Stand Your Ground bill that passed the Sen Judiciary Committee this a.m.

Sen. Ballinger attempted to ram the amendment to the bill through for a vote by the full Senate this afternoon so as not to, as he said, deal with phone calls and emails over the weekend. Just a bit of background: While the cmte approved the amendment this morning, it still has to be approved by the full Senate. The rules require 18 hours notice for the action to be put on the calendar, but Ballinger attempted to suspend the rules and vote immediately in full Sen.

Senate Judiciary Committee: A thread

Sen. Ballinger is introducing an amendment to the Deadly Physical Force bill, which the Senators had not seen until now and which isn't available to the public. Sen. Flowers asks if the Arkansas Prosecutor Attorney's Assn agrees to the amendment. She also points out that neither she nor the public has had a chance to view the amendment. #arpx #arleg

Full text of Trent Garner response:
"“I’m seeing some legislators worried about safety at the Arkansas State Capitol next week. Buck up and stop cowering. It’s more dangerous in downtown Little Rock on a random day than it is at the Capitol during this made-up “insurgency.” "I didn’t see this kind of fear in the months when the Capitol was vandalized and buildings were being destroyed all around it. Do the job the people hired you to do, show some backbone, and carry a weapon if you want to feel safe.”

Preface: I'm fine.
Tweet: I spent yesterday in the Covid ER at Washington Regional. What I saw was a well-oiled machine. My nurse and ER doc were amazing despite: Almost constant arrival of ambulances. Frequent calls about transfers. ER rooms full. But total calm.

https://twitter.com/ADHPIO/status/1322640114535878659

No one wants to be in a Covid ER. I balked until my doc very strongly insisted. I envisioned a scene like Italy. People on the floors, in the hallways. It was nothing like that.

Immediate triage and room placement. I didn't see another patient until I was leaving.

Ok, so I did a deep dive in to the early vote data from @TargetSmart. Disclaimer: I didn't collect this data - I'm just analyzing it.

My big takeaway compared to this point in 2016:
- Turnout from voters under 30 is up 77% in Benton Co., up 48% in Washington Co. I made a couple of visualizations. This one shows % increase for youth turnout for counties with an increase, sorted from most to least:

public.tableau.com/views/Arkansas…