Fayetteville City Council Forces “Nondiscrimination” Ordinance in Single Meeting

Taking a page from the Eureka Springs City Council’s book, the Fayetteville City Council voted last night to suspend the rules and run a so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance through in a single meeting.

City ordinances typically are read and discussed over the course of at least three meetings to give citizens and council members ample time for review and debate; suspending the rules and running an ordinance in a single meeting is a way governing bodies can quickly pass noncontroversial measures or address emergency situations.

However, the Fayetteville ordinance is anything but noncontroversial, and proponents of the ordinance have failed to demonstrate that the ordinance is even necessary, let alone that it somehow addresses an emergency.

Here is a breakdown of the ordinance passed in Fayetteville last night:

Is This Ordinance Different From Those Passed in Other Cities in Arkansas?

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Lottery Scholarship Proceeds Slip to 15% as Revenue Increases in May

The Arkansas Lottery has released its financial summary for the month of May. The report shows lottery revenue increased by more than $1.8 million from April to May.

Despite this increase in revenue, scholarship proceeds dropped by nearly $472,000–falling to $5.4 million or 15% of the Lottery’s revenue for the month.

All told, the Arkansas Lottery has taken in $375,419,115.97 since July 1, 2014, but it has only paid out $64,171,317.48 in scholarship money–17% of the Lottery’s overall revenue for the year.

The Arkansas Lottery’s fiscal year closes at the end of this month. Looking at the numbers, it appears the Arkansas Lottery likely will pay out between $70 and $76 million in scholarships this fiscal year–about 17% – 18% of its gross revenue.

Below is a breakdown of the Lottery’s revenue and scholarship payments this fiscal year.

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July  $               30,925,067.43  $              5,928,447.99 19%
August                   31,571,412.10                  5,296,965.80 17%
September                   30,710,493.31                  4,317,227.10 14%
October                   32,959,739.29                  5,939,625.59 18%
November                   30,617,278.28                  5,577,035.16 18%
December                   34,507,731.54                  5,474,318.77 16%
January, 2015                   35,433,619.67                  7,287,773.28 21%
February                   41,770,314.46                  6,161,343.01 15%
March                   37,367,453.25                  6,898,524.35 18%
April                   33,866,970.54                  5,881,005.95 17%
May                   35,689,036.10                   5,409,050.48 15%
Total  $                375,419,115.97  $              64,171,317.48 17%

The Magna Carta and Religious Liberty

Today is the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta–considered by many to be the founding document of the concept of the rule of law. But an important aspect of the document’s history is being overlooked: The role the church played in its drafting.

Writing at Breakpoint, Eric Metaxas says,

“With the disagreement threatening to turn into a civil war, the Archbishop of Canterbury, working as an intermediary between the King [of England] and the barons, helped to draft a proposed charter that would settle the dispute. . . .

“Since then, virtually every opponent of despotism and tyranny in the English-speaking world has drawn inspiration from the Magna Carta, which declared, ‘To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay, right or justice.’ When the Founding Fathers complained about ‘taxation without representation,’ they were appealing to the Magna Carta.”

Listen to Metaxas’ full commentary below to learn more about this document and what it has to do with liberty today.

[audio:http://www.breakpoint.org/images/content/breakpoint/audio/2015/061515_BP.mp3]