[BabyPeanut]

We are talking about Arkansas here. Don't expect fabulous news from brilliant journalists.

[CarlinsDarlin]

While my first response AS an Arkansan, was to yell a big BITE MY ASS, I thought instead, I'd show you the error of your ways, and provide you some education on the great minds, and writers, who have come from Arkansas. A small sampling of "brilliant journalists" follows. I should add, however, that I have left out many names of notable Arkansans who do not fit into this category - directors, musicians, actors, sports figures, statesmen, civil rights leaders, musicians, architects and more. So for your perusal, here are a few notable Arkansans.

Maya Angelou (b. 1928)- African-American poet, actress, and singer who was raised in Stamps. She was a National Book Award nominee for her autobiographical I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970), a Pulitzer Prize nominee for Just Give Me a Drink of Water Fore I Diiie (1972) and a Tony Award winner for her performance in "Look Away." She was the second poet in the country to be selected to present a presidential inauguration poem at President Clinton's 1993 ceremony.

Harry Scott Ashmore (b. 1916) - Editor and author who won a 1958 Pulitzer Prize for his editorial coverage in the Arkansas Gazette of the 1957 Little Rock Central High crisis. He wrote several books, including Hearts & Minds.

Dee Alexander Brown (b. 1908) - Historian & author of million-seller Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1971), which has been translated into more than 20 languages. Brown moved from Louisiana to Stephens, in Ouachita County, at age 5. He graduated from the Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway, and was, for many years, a librarian and full professor at the University of Illinois. Among his score of books is American Spa, a history of Hot Springs. Since retiring in 1972, Brown again calls Arkansas home.

Helen Gurley Brown (b. 1922) - Born in Green Forest and raised in Little Rock, this former ad copywriter hit it big in 1962 with her best-selling book Sex and the Single Girl. After becoming editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan in 1966, she transformed the failing magazine into the sleek, successful "bible of the unmarried woman" who became known as the "Cosmo Girl." Her latest book is Having It All (1982). She is married to David Brown, co-producer of "Jaws."

John Gould Fletcher (1886-1950) - Born in Little Rock, he was the first Southern poet to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1939 for Selected Poems. In the 1930s he was considered a literary peer of Pound and Eliot. He was also a respected critic and prose writer.

J. William Fulbright (1905-1995) - He moved to Fayetteville in 1906 and served as a U.S. Senator from 1945 to 1977. As Senator, he established the prestigious Fulbright fellowship program, which provided for the exchange of students and teachers between the United States and foreign countries. He also introduced the Fulbright Resolution which laid the groundwork for support of the formation of the UN. As longtime chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he became the first prominent congressional critic of the Vietnam War in 1966.

Ellen Gilchrist (b. 1935) - Noted author from Fayetteville. She did her postgraduate work at the University of Arkansas and worked as a freelance writer, journalist and commentator. Her books include The Land Surveyor's Daughter (1979), In the Land of Dreamy Dreams (1981), Victory over Japan (1984) and Falling Through Space (1987).

Fred Graham (b. 1931) - This Little Rock native served as a CBS News law correspondent from 1972-1985 and won three Emmy Awards for coverage of Watergate and the Agnew scandal. He also received a Peabody Award. Author of two books: The Self-Inflicted Wound, a study of the Supreme Court and The Alias Program, an expose of the Justice Department. This Little Rock native graduated from Yale and earned law degrees from Vanderbilt and Oxford.

John Grisham (b. 1955) - Lawyer and best-selling author of such books as The Firm, The Pelican Brief,The Client and The Chamber. He is the publisher of The Oxford American, which publishes articles and essays based on the South. Several of his books have been made into movies. Grisham was born in Jonesboro and has lived in various towns throughout Northeast Arkansas.

Donald Harington (b. 1934) - This noted novelist is the author of The Architecture of the Ozarks, Let Us Build Us a City and other works. He now teaches at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

John H. Johnson (1918 - 2005) - Arkansas City native and publisher who founded Negro Digest in 1942, followed by Ebony and Jet Magazines. He now heads the most powerful African-American publishing company in the United States. He was awarded the "Medal of Freedom" by President Clinton on September 9, 1996.

Douglas C. Jones (b. 1924) - This native of Winslow is a prize-winning author who wrote Court Martial of General Custer (1976), Arrest Sitting Bull (1977), Elkhorn Tavern (1980) and Roman (1986). He was also a decorated World War II Army veteran.

Nannerl Keohane (b. 1940) - Blytheville native who was named president of Wellesley College in 1981. Dr. Keohane is a political science professor who helped create the undergraduate feminist studies major.

Charles Portis (b. 1933) - A native of El Dorado, Portis graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He wrote for several major newspapers before becoming a novelist. He is perhaps best known for his 1968 novel True Grit, a portrayal of Arkansas culture in the late 1870s. The novel sold to Paramount for $300,000. In the 1969 movie version, John Wayne won an Oscar for his performance in the role of Rooster Cogburn.

C. Vann Woodward (b. 1908) - Born in Vanndale, this eminent historian of the American South was one of the first historians to recognize what has come to be called the Southern Literary Renaissance. He is the author of numerous books and essays, including Origins of the New South (1951) and The Burden of Southern History (1960). His edition of a Southern woman's war diary, Mary Chestnut's Civil War (1981), won a Pulitzer Prize in history.

Yep, w'ere all backwoods hicks. Guess I'd better go feed my chickens.
K

[basil_hayden]

This has always been my "canary in a mineshaft" for peak oil - the independent dealers of gasoline and oil. The mom and pops have been getting the crappy end of the stick for decades. Next, we'll see the petroleum marketers that have no refining capacity start to fold, such as Getty. Then the only stations left will be the branded corporate stations, the ones that have exploration, production, refining and marketing capabilities (i.e., ExxonMobil). Currently there are less than 10% braanded corporate stations, where X brand gas goes to X brand stations and X brand employees work the petroluem from cradle to grave. This ratio will be increasing while the indies ratio decreases. To me it's a sure sign the squeeze is on.

[jdmartin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('CarlinsDarlin', '.').. my first response AS an Arkansan, was to yell a big BITE MY ASS.

[eastbay]

What an unkind remark about people from Arkansas... quite surprising too. But after reading the article I can understand that because the article is so poorly written the credibility of the story is greatly weakened.

I suppose there's a lesson here for many of us, 'it's not what you say, it's how you say it that really matters.'

[Leanan]

Basil, what about those large chain stores that use gas as a loss leader? Wal-Mart, ShopRite, that sort of thing? They are the cheapest gas stations in most areas. At some Wal-Marts, people are waiting in line for hours in order to get those lower prices.

[Tyler_JC]

Did these gas stations learn nothing from the 1970's???

When you run out of supply while customers are still waiting in line...you ain't charging enough!

If I owned one of those gas stations, I'd be hiking my prices dramatically. If that causes me to lose customers, fine. Let them drive 30 miles to a Wal*Mart for cheaper prices.

There's a supply/demand point of equilibrium here. It's a pity that those gas stations owners were incapable of finding it.

[BabyPeanut]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('CarlinsDarlin', 'Y')ep, w'ere (sic)all backwoods hicks. Guess I'd better go feed my chickens.

[CarlinsDarlin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BabyPeanut', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('CarlinsDarlin', 'Y')ep, w'ere (sic)all backwoods hicks. Guess I'd better go feed my chickens.

[CarlinsDarlin]

I meant to add to the last post -
Leanan,
Someone in another thread mentioned that Murphy (Wal-Mart) was being sued in Oklahoma for selling gasoline at below cost - designed to put competitors out of business. This shouldn't surprise anyone, as it's been Wal-Mart's MO for years. Move into town, undercut local markets' prices, put them out of business, and then raise your prices when there's no competition.
K

[BabyPeanut]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('CarlinsDarlin', 'I')'ll agree - feeding chickens may indeed be futuristic. Hope you have some.

[I_Like_Plants]

Remember all the drive-offs that are happening too, with all signs pointing to more in the future or even, as prices continue to increase, some kind of violence. Gas station owners may decide to just sit it out for a while .......

[BabyPeanut]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'R')emember all the drive-offs that are happening too, with all signs pointing to more in the future or even, as prices continue to increase, some kind of violence. Gas station owners may decide to just sit it out for a while .......

[jawrat]

oddly enough, my wife called me earlier to tell me that when filling up the minivan, the pump stopped at $35 and would go no further. she had the kids in the car so she wasn't able to go inside and question the shop owner of the 'bp' station here in north miami beach, fl. hrmmm....

[jawrat]

not the first time at this neighborhood station, and things are usually different with a debit card. i might be wrong tho. certainly would have irked the heck out of me if it were me. i forgot to ask if there were others at the station experiencing similar nonsense.

[CarlinsDarlin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'R')emember all the drive-offs that are happening too, with all signs pointing to more in the future or even, as prices continue to increase, some kind of violence. Gas station owners may decide to just sit it out for a while .......

[Bushman]

Running out of gas in some small towns ,

Ohhh thats not good ,I see some you are paying up to $3.00 per gallon in some states up here in Alberta Canada we pay 1.00 per litre ,one US gallon = 3.78 litres
so its approx 3.20 per US gallon,and it is a rising ,

You have to ask yourself can we really handle much higher OIL/GAS prices,

[BabyPeanut]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')The Clark station raised rates to $2.78 in late afternoon after maintaining the $2.58-per-gallon price for about four hours, said Ram Raja, a station employee. Motorists waited in line to fill up at his station, and even fought for a place in line.

The Brighton area didn't fare much better.

The Shell station north of Interstate 96 on Grand River Avenue reached $2.79 per gallon of unleaded gasoline, and the Spencer Road Mobil station hit $2.73 per gallon. The Matthews BP station on Grand River Avenue was one of the area's lowest, station employees said, at $2.65 per gallon.

Two female customers got into a verbal argument about who cut in line for gas. The sight of dueling customers is par for the course when the lowered gas prices are offered, Raja said.

[Leanan]

CNN had a story last week about this. They showed video of a Wal-Mart gas station where people were waiting 2-3 hours in line to buy gas because it was cheaper than elsewhere. One guy who waited in line 2-1/2 hours said it was worth it, because he saved $6 filling up his tank.

[MonteQuest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'C')NN had a story last week about this. They showed video of a Wal-Mart gas station where people were waiting 2-3 hours in line to buy gas because it was cheaper than elsewhere. One guy who waited in line 2-1/2 hours said it was worth it, because he saved $6 filling up his tank.