OFF THE CUFF: 'I wish I were a little mouse'

You’ve probably heard, or perhaps you have used, the old expression: “I wish I were a little mouse...?” That’s what I thought.

The words may have come out differently, but the idea surely was the same as you wished you could secretly be at a certain place to hear what was going on.

Oh, the juicy bits that were probably being discussed by you-know-who! Or perhaps they were plans being plotted by the folks who are “in the loop” and ... well, you know what I mean. There’s nothing quite like getting in on the scoop before everyone in town knows about it.

Reminds me of the saying that describes those political shenanigans that used to go on in “smoke filled rooms” where those who “pulled the strings” managed to wiggle things around to get things done. And, well, things did get done; sometimes not to everyone’s liking.

Aren’t we lucky in these enlightened “days of transparency” where everything is out in the open? There are no secret deals; the facts are all, and I mean all, laid out on the table so there can be no surprises - now, or ever. Sure!

Arkansas is fortunate to have its “Freedom of Information” Act which gives us much protection; but it can never be perfect. And it’s constantly under attack by those who wish to weaken it.

And at the national level? We’re so lucky to live in this time when nobody, no one, not a single person can explain the complexities that stretch ahead of us in the thousands of pages and hundreds of thousands of words explaining that monstrosity House Speaker Pelosi said we had to pass “so we can find out what’s in it.”

Now we’re finding out and will be for years to come as those little “transparent” gremlins called rules and regulations show their faces.

I didn’t mean to get political in this “Cuff.” It started out to be about a nail. That’s right, a nail. Since I have rambled on and have run out of space I’ll save the nail for next time. Stay tuned. No, make it check the “Cuff” in a future issue of the Eagle Observer.

Dodie Evans is the editor emeritus of the Westside Eagle Observer and may be contacted by email at [email protected].