Paula Hall's Murder Conviction Overturned For Second Time:

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Paula Hall (mug shot MODOC)

The judge who presided over Paula Hall's murder trial has ruled that her rights were violated when the Christian County Prosecutor’s Office failed to provide her defense lawyer with correct information regarding a state’s witness.

Wright County Judge John Moody, who was the judge who heard the case in Taney County on a change of venue, heard evidence last week in Christian County during a hearing for 43-year-old Paula Hall of Sparta.

This is the second time Moody has overturned Hall's conviction.  In his latest ruling, Moody wrote, “Had ( Rita Sanders- Hall's attorney) known of the sentence, she could have sought further discovery regarding any agreements between the Christian County Prosecuting Attorney’s office and Ms. Bonham.”

Attorney Rita Sanders

“There is no question the information could have been useful in impeaching witness Lisa Bonham by demonstrating motive to lie,”  he wrote.

A jury convicted Hall in 2009 for the November 2003 murder of sixty eight year-old Freda Heyn and she was sentenced to twenty years in prison.

Moody allowed both sides to present evidence on September 21st  during a post-conviction hearing.
Sanders argued that the conviction should be overturned because errors by the prosecutor violated Hill’s due process rights when they did not provide her the correct information on one of the witnesses, Lisa Bonham. Prosecutors say the errors did not affect the outcome of the trial.

Bonham, who served time in lockup with Hall, told the jury she overheard Hall tell fellow inmates in the Christian County jail that she killed Heyn.

Sanders says prosecutor’s gave her discovery on another person named Lisa Bonahm and failed to tell her that the Lisa Bonham that was to testify had been convicted of passing bad checks, forgery and a probation violation in Christian County and had pending charges in Greene County at the time of Hall’s trial.
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She says prosecutors in Christian County entered into a deal with Bonaham and asked Greene County prosecutors to go easy Bonaham because she testified for the state in Hall’s trial.  Sanders also questioned why Bonham’s Christian County sentence of five years probation was amended in April 2009, just two months after Hall’s conviction, to 120 days already served.

Chrisitan County prosecutor Amy Fite

Christian County prosecutor Amy Fite, who was not in office at the time of Hall's trial, said last week that the state now concedes that there was a discovery violation when they provided criminal information on another person named Lisa Bonahm to defense counsel.  "How did I get the wrong information...they use social security numbers to run things through NCIC and MULES," said Sanders.

Murder charges connected to Heyn's that were filed against Hall's former brother-in-law, Billy Wayne Hall, who has been in and out of prison several times over the last few years, were dismissed without prejudice in June so "investigator's can continue to gather potential evidence," according to Christian County chief assistant prosecutor Donovan Dobbs.  "We only get one shot.....we want to make sure it's a good one if we proceed to trial."

Billy Wayne Hall (mug shot CCSO)

Sanders has filed a motion with the court asking that the murder charges that were dismissed WITHOUT prejudice against Billy Wayne Hall (meaning the state can refile) be dismissed WITH prejudice because the state violated his right to a speedy trial.  "They needed to have him tried by July 29th and they've missed that date."

Another troubling aspect of the case for Sanders is that a man named Tommy Pettit, who allegedly admitted to his wife and others, that he Clint Ward and David Epperson beat Mrs. Heyn to death and then dismembered her body, fed it to hogs and tossed her skull into the Mark Twain National Forest has never been charged with anything in connection to Heyn's murder, "Why aren't the news media and Mrs. Heyn's family members asking prosecutors in Christian County why no charges have ever been brought against Pettit,?" said Sanders.

Fite will have 30 days to appeal the judge’s decision, which would then send the post-conviction relief to the Missouri Court of Appeals. Fite could also decide to skip the appeal and retry Hall or not retry the case against Hall at all.

Sanders says she will ask Moody to order Hall to be released on her own recognizance. "They can release her or go ahead and waste tax payers money again or go after the real people who murdered Mrs. Heyn," says Sanders.

Game On: Highly Subsidized US Solar Panel Industry Preps Anti-Subsidy Case Against China

I wish I could say that this development is in any way surprising, but, well, that's just not true (emphasis mine):

Solar manufacturers including the U.S. unit of SolarWorld AG (SWV) are preparing a trade complaint against imports from China, as they seek help from President Barack Obama to counter subsidies to their competitors, according to people familiar with the matter.

The case, which would be filed at the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, would be one of the largest targeting China, with political implications as both nations race to develop clean- energy technologies.

The companies argue that China’s subsidies to solar companies violate global trade rules and provide those manufacturers with an unfair advantage, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no complaint has yet been filed....

In the first seven months of this year, China shipped $1.4 billion of solar panels to the U.S., more than the $1.2 billion of panels it sent in all of 2010, according to U.S. International Trade Commission data. Imports from South Korea, the Philippines and India also jumped.

The collapse this month of Solyndra LLC, a California maker of solar panels that had $535 million in U.S. loan guarantees, has renewed demands from lawmakers and union leaders that the Obama administration pursue unfair-trade complaints against China for out-sized subsidies to its clean-energy companies.

“The American solar industry is facing unparalleled challenges, and without the leadership of your administration this industry may disappear,” Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said in a Sept. 8 letter urging Obama to initiate a countervailing duty case against imports from China or to file a case at the World Trade Organization.

China provided $30 billion in credit to its biggest solar manufacturers last year, about 20 times the U.S. effort, Jonathan Silver, executive director of the Energy Department’s loan program, told a congressional panel Sept. 14...

There are two obvious reasons why this news is anything but shocking for anyone who reads this blog:

• First, because many world governments, including the US and China, have spent tons of taxpayer money"invested" heavily in green technology manufacturers and banked on exports as part of their economic recovery strategies, I've long predicted  - and subsequently reported on - an inevitable spike of domestic and multilateral (WTO) trade disputes over illegal subsidies to "green energy" companies.

• Second, a trade dispute was particularly inevitable in the case of solar panels because of (i) the very public struggles of not just the scandal-plagued Solyndra, but also several other domestic solar technology manufacturers and (ii) the very public blame for these failures that domestic unions, manufacturers and the Obama administration have placed on China.  Heck, I (incorrectly) predicted such a dispute just last week.  (Guess I was just a little too psychic... or something.)

That said, the (possible) case is still pretty astonishing for one reason: its blatant chutzpah.  As alluded to above, the US solar industry, including the aforementioned Solyndra, has received BILLIONS of their own subsidies from the US government.  Under the Department of Energy Loan Program alone (which has dispersed a total of $38.6 billion and counting in subsidies), the following solar companies have received buckets of taxpayer money:

• 1366 Technologies, Inc. - Solar Manufacturing - $150 million
• Abengoa Solar, Inc. (Mojave Solar) - Solar Generation - $1.2 billion 
• Abengoa Solar, Inc. (Solana) Solar Generation $1.446 billion
• Abound Solar - Solar Manufacturing - $400 million 
• Agua Caliente - Solar Generation - $967 million 
• BrightSource Energy, Inc. - Solar Generation - $1.6 billion
• Cogentrix of Alamosa, LLC  - Solar Generation - $90.6 million 
• First Solar, Inc. (Antelope)- Solar Generation - $680 million 
• First Solar, Inc. (Desert Sunlight) - Solar Generation - partial guarantee of $1.88 billion 
• First Solar, Inc. (Topaz) - Solar Generation - partial guarantee of $1.93 billion
• Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, Inc. - Solar Generation - partial guarantee of $45.6 million
• Mesquite Solar 1, LLC (Sempra Mesquite) - Solar Generation - $337 million
• NextEra Energy Resources, LLC (Genesis Solar) - Solar Generation - partial guarantee of $852 million
• Prologis (Project Amp) - Solar Generation - partial guarantee of $1.4 billion
• SolarCity Corporation (SolarStrong) - Solar Generation - partial guarantee of $344 million 
• SolarReserve, LLC (Crescent Dunes) - Solar Generation - $737 million 
• SoloPower - Solar Manufacturing - $197 million 
• Solyndra Inc. - Solar Manufacturing - $535 million 
• SunPower Corporation, Systems (California Valley Solar Ranch) - Solar Generation - $1.187 billion

By my (admittedly lawyer-esque) math, that's about $16 billion in total or partial loan guarantees (read: subsidies) to the solar industry as part of the DOE loan program alone.  I'm not sure where Mr. Silver's getting his numbers, but they definitely seem low (shocking, I know).  And those DOE loans are definitely not the only subsidies out there: according to the United Steelworkers Union's 2010 "Section 301" petition requesting a WTO complaint against China's solar industry subsidies, the United States government had doled out more than $100 billion in subsidies to the US solar industry.  And that was back in 2010, so the number's certainly even higher now.

So, for the direct and indirect recipients of all of this sweet, sweet government cash to turn around and complain about their competitors receiving - yep - sweet, sweet government cash is pretty much the height of hypocrisy.  Or, as I stated back in 2010 regarding the USW complaint:

Obvious translation [of the union complaint]: Sure American manufacturers received $100 billion worth of green subsidies in order to crush their foreign competitors, but China's producers received lots more, and theirs have been far more effective! No fair! In essence, the USW is openly complaining that the Chinese are better cheaters than we are, and the union thus wants the US government to call in the WTO's referees in order to stop China's cheating.  Talk about chutzpah.  

Exit question: if USTR ends up filing a WTO dispute on the USW's grounds, does that mean we'll have our first ever official case of "subsidy envy"?

The answer to that cheesy question was clearly "yes," and the solar industry's, ahem, green envy obviously  hasn't subsided since then (nor has my cheesy sense of humor).  And, as the DOE's recent statements make clear, the industry's Blame China strategy appears to have very vocal and eager supporters in certain parts of the Obama administration.  Perfect.

Furthermore, and as if this all weren't sketchy enough, the Bloomberg article points other things that should cause us all to question the solar industry's little ol' Blame China plan.  Most importantly, the article shows that solar imports from other countries are also on the rise, so even if the US industry's new anti-subsidy petition against Chinese is successful, the most likely result - along with, obviously, higher solar panel prices for US consumers - isn't the resurgence of US solar manufacturers but instead the very common "trade diversion" (i.e., a simple shift in imports from China to these other low-cost suppliers).  So we'll all pay more, and no new net jobs will be created.  Sweet.

In a similar vein, the fact that a German-owned company with plants all over the world (and which has just cut 200 jobs in California) is leading the US anti-subsidy charge against only Chinese imports should definitely give us pause.  As Cato's Dan Ikenson has explained repeatedly, US-based companies with major foreign operations have often used US trade remedies actions to cripple their foreign competition and bolster their own import sources, rather than to increase domestic output and employment.  I have no idea if that's what SolarWorld or any other members of the US industry are up to, but it's definitely something to keep in mind.

So to recap: the highly-subsidized and seriously-struggling US solar panel industry - led by a German-owned manufacturer with global sourcing operations - is targeting highly-subsidized Chinese solar panel imports which, along with imports from several other non-targeted countries, have surged in the last few years.

Welcome to the Green Subsidy Game, folks.  Be sure to grab a good seat; the show's just getting started.

Man In Custody For Questioning After OD Deaths In Stone County Now Charged Wtih Distribution of Controlled Substance:

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Dennis Horn has been charged with distribution of a controlled substance

Authorities in Stone County are treating the overdose deaths of two men found in a home near Kimberling City as homicides.

Stone County Sheriff's Captain Tim Gideon says Robert Murray, 45, of Kimberling City and Mark Marshal, 46, of Sparta, were found dead in a house at 97 Terrace Crest Lane in Reeds Spring after they allegedly bought Fentanyl patches from Dennis Horn, 50, of Reeds Spring. 

According to the probable cause statement, Todd Rogers told Sgt. Matt Maggard that he had taken Marshal and Murray to 18 Aire Lane on Monday September 26th to purchase 10 Lorcet tablets from Horn for $40.00.  Rogers says Murray and Marshal returned to Horn's residence about 8:45 the next morning and purchased two Fentanyl patches.

Rogers told Maggard that he witnessed Murray and Marshal "cook" the Fentanyl with apple juice on the stove and then found them unresponsive about 9:45 a.m.

A life flight helicopter was called to the scene but Murray and Marshall were already dead

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Gideon says Murray and Marshall extracted the Fentanyl with a needle and then injected it causing their deaths.

During a search of Horn's residence a box of Duragesic patches was found with seven patches still inside the box.  Horn, who filled the prescription for ten patches on September 26th, was wearing one of the patches when investigators arrived at the house.  According to the directions on the prescription, a patch was to be replaced every 72 hours.

Southern Stone County Fire Protection District crews, St.Johns EMS, St. Johns Lifeline, and Stone County  responded to the incident near State Highway OO near Kimberling City about 9:45 a.m. First responders began CPR and continued life saving measures for nearly an hour.  Despite their efforts, both patients were pronounced dead at the scene by Stone County Coroner Rick Stumpff.

Southwest Missouri Forensics will conduct autopsies on Murray and Marshal tomorrow in Springfield.

Stone County prosecutor Matt Selby has charged Horn, who is being held on $100,000 bond, with two counts of distribution of a controlled substance.  "There's just not enough evidence to charge Mr. Horn with anything else at this time," said Selby.

******

Fentanyl (aka  Durogesic, Duragesic patches,) is a potent synthetic narcotic analgesic with a rapid onset and short duration of action. It is a strong against at the u-opioid receptors. Historically it has been used to treat breakthrough pain and is commonly used in pre-procedures as a pain reliever as well as an anesthetic in combination with a benzodiazepine.

Fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine.

Man With Head Injury Responsible For School Lockdown In Hurley:

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Stone County Chief Deputy Rich Anderson

A man who suffered a traumatic head injury was responsible for the lock down status at the school in Hurley today (09-27-11.)

Chief deputy Rich Anderson says he first received a call about a man attempting to break into a vehicle on State Highway 413 about 7:30 a.m. - Anderson says when he responded to the call he could not locate the suspect.

About 9:35 a.m. a man went to the school in Hurley to take his kids out and alert staffers that a man he had given a ride told him to get his kids out of the town because he was going to blow the school and the town up.  Staffers called 9-1-1 and placed the school on lock down.

A short time later authorities received a phone call from the same person who had called earlier about the attempted vehicle break in telling them that the man, who was carrying a bible, was back and again attempting to steal the vehicle. 

"The man had a visible wound to the temple and said he had been injured a few days ago, but didn't remember how it happened.  He said God told him he needed to go to St. Louis.  We transported him to Cox hospital for treatment," said Anderson

UPDWoman Dies After Being Shot In Springfield Hotel, Suspect Charged With First Degree Murder:

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Terry D. Morrison has been charged with first-degree murder (mug shot (GCSO)

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A case detectives had been investigating as an assault has turned into a murder investigation after a woman who was shot at a Springfield hotel last Friday died from her injuries.

Details are sketchy, but police were called to the HomeStay Inn at 2611 N. Glenstone about 11 p.m. where they found the woman suffering from a gunshot wound.



HomeStay Inn (courtesy KY3)



Prestina Tyner, of Springfield, whose organs were donated, died after being taken off of life support.

Greene County prosecutors filed first-degree murder and armed criminal action charges against Terry D. Morrison, 49, today.

Death Of Woman Found Dead Inside Burning House "Does Not Appear To Be A Homicide":

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Kelly Barr Lawler-Ackfeld

The Greene County medical examiner's office says it was a gunshot wound to the abdomen that killed a woman found inside a burning house in Greene County over the weekend.

Thrity seven year-old Kelly Barr Lawler-Ackfeld was found dead inside the house at 2236 W. Nottingham after neighbors who were setting up for a garage sale around 7 a.m. alerted firefighters when they saw smoke coming from the house on Saturday (09-24-11).



House on Nottingham where Lawler-Ackfeld's body was found (courtesy Springfield News Leader)

 Lawler-Ackfeld and a man she had been living with were in court as recently as last week seeking protection orders against each other.  Lawler-Ackfeld said the man had broken her nose, pushed her down the stairs, knocked her out and had verbally threatened her.  In his filing, the man alleged Lawler-Ackfeld who was physically abusive and stalked him.

On Friday, a judge ordered Lawler-Ackfeld, (who had several wage garnishments filed against her in the last several months according to online court records,) to move out of the home, which the boyfriend owned, by noon Saturday.

Captain Jim Farrell of the Greene County Sheriff's office said in a news release, "Based upon the preliminary investigation the death of Kelly Lawler-Ackfeld does NOT appear to be a homicide."

Greene County deputy medical examiner Tom Van De Berg says the autopsy could not determine if the gunshot wound, which was fired from close range, was self-inflicted.  It will take about six weeks for toxicology reports to come back.

Visitation services for Lawler-Ackfeld will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Herman Lohmeyer funeral home.  Funeral services will be held on Friday September 30, 2011 at St. Agnes Cathedral.

ITC: Eliminating Import Barriers = $2.6B in GDP and $9B in New Exports

Last night I alluded to a new ITC study on import barriers and global supply chains, but I didn't mention the report's headline finding.  The study, which is an update of a periodic report that I last discussed in 2009, found that the simple, unilateral elimination of existing US trade barriers would benefit the US economy to the tune of billions of dollars:

The U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) estimates that U.S. economic welfare, as defined by total public and private consumption, would increase by about $2.6 billion annually by 2015 if the United States unilaterally ended (“liberalized”) all significant restraints quantified in this report. Exports would expand by $9.0 billion and imports by $11.5 billion. These changes would result from removing import barriers in the following sectors: sugar, ethanol, canned tuna, dairy products, tobacco, textiles and apparel, and other high-tariff manufacturing sectors.

Now, a few billion dollars here and there is certainly not going to save the $15 trillion US economy, but it still isn't chump change and, unlike other government "stimulus" unilateral liberalization involves no new government spending (and thus no new Solyndras!).  Moreover, there is simply no justification for the artificially high prices on basic manufacturing inputs and consumer necessities (especially food, clothing and footwear) that American businesses and families must pay in order to subsidize the well-connected American industries that produce these artificially expensive products.  None.

And let's not forget about that sweet, sweet $9 billion in new exports.  As we all know, the Obama administration is desperately trying to push export expansion as part of its US economic recovery plan.  For example, just yesterday on ABC's "This Week" Austan Goolsbee, the former chair of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said that the United States needs to "refocus" its economic strategy by looking to exports and investment.  So, considering the ITC's repeated findings, I guess the White House is busily readying legislation to eliminate existing US import taxes on sugar, ethanol, canned tuna, dairy products, tobacco, textiles and apparel, ball bearings and other manufacturing sectors, right?

Unfortunately, no.  In fact, they've repeatedly pursued the exact opposite approach, erecting, rather than eliminating, US obstacles to imports.  Off the top of my head, they've raised tariffs on things like tires and chicken; they've proposed new trade remedies rules (twice) that would almost invariably lead to increased duties on a wide range of imports; they still haven't allowed Mexican trucks on US roads; they've repeatedly embraced "Buy American" procurement policies; and they've even negotiated higher tariffs on cars and trucks as part of the US-Korea FTA.  So the next time you hear an administration official talk about increasing US exports, be sure to remember that $9 billion worth of exports (and the American jobs that go with them) voluntarily sitting on the sidelines.

And then tell that official to call the ITC asap.

BREAKING NEWS: Jacky Wong Pleads Guilty To 2009 Laclede County Triple Murder:

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Jacky Wong (mug shot LCSO)

A young man from Springfield pleaded guilty to amended charges of second-degree murder for a heinous triple murder in the fall 2009 that stunned southwest Missouri.

Jacky Wong, 23, of Springfield, was originally charged with first-degree murder for the October 2009 deaths of Jeff and Glenda Smith and Zack Porter in Laclede County.

Jeffry and Glenda Smith (facebook)

Joshua Antonio Reyes, 25, was the ringleader in the triple murders of his former girlfriend Miranda Smith's 51 year-old father and 48 year-old stepmother and her boyfriend at the time, 25 year-old Porter.  According to court records, there were supposed to be additional victims but the perps got lost trying to find their houses.

Zack Porter (family photo)

Reyes pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in May of 2010 and was sentenced to life without the possibility parole. 

Josh Reyes (l); Steven Pyykola (m) and Jacky Wong

At the time of the murders, Laclede County Sheriff Richard Wrinkle said the motive was robbery and, "Jealousy......she took everything he loved away from him (Reyes), so he was going to take everything she loved away from her."

Benjamin Stidham (mug shot LCSO)

Two other young men still face charges connected to the Smith - Porter murders.  Benjamin Stidham, 19, of Springfield, is scheduled to stand trial in Camden County in December and Steven Pyykola', 20, also of Springfield, case is set for trial in September of 2012 in Morgan County where the case was moved on a change of venue.

Wong faces from 10 years to life in prison (which is 30 years in Missouri) when he is sentenced on December 5th.  The only sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Missouri is life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. is scheduled to be sentenced December 5th in Laclede County.

Bentonville Man Charged In Storage Unit Murder:

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Brian Clapper (mug shot McCSO)

A man from Bentonville, Arkansas has been charged with second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action in connection to a deadly shooting Friday (09-23-11) night near Washburn.

According to the probable cause statement used as the basis for the charges, Brian Clapper, 31, was helping a friend, Karis Cunigan, move some things from a storage facility when the shooting happened.

Sergeant Jeffery Berryhill writes, Cunigan and thirty four year-old John Bevill, of Washburn, had been in a relationship that ended three months ago and Cunigan was transferring some of her belonging from Bevill's house to the storage facility and her new home in Bentonville.

Around 9 p.m. Cunigan and Clapper were loading things from the storage unit when Bevill and a friend of his, Kendrick Long, 22, of Rogers, Arkansas, drove past the facility and then circled back and blocked Clapper's truck with the Bevill's vehicle.

Bevill then allegedly got out of his vehicle, grabbed Cunigan by the neck and held a knife to her throat.  Court documents say Clapper reached in his truck, grabbed a shotgun and told Bevill to let go of Cunigan and drop the knife or he would shoot him. 

After refusing to let Cunigan go, Clapper fired one round that hit Bevill in the arm.  Once Cuningan was able to break free it is alleged that Clapper fired another round that struck Bevill in the groin and that he turned around and fired two shots at Long that hit him in the arm and elbow.

Clapper, who is also facing charges of first-degree assault with a firearm, is being held in the McDonald County jail on a $50,000 cash only bond.

Senators Blindly Promising to "Get Tough" on China's Currency

The US Senate is poised to take up the issue of China's currency policies, and nothing - certainly not some measly little facts that totally undermine the issue's relevance - is going to slow the legislation down.  You see, in today's Senate - one that hasn't passed a budget in almost 900 days - politics trumps reality.  Every single time.

Last Thursday, a bi-partisan group of Senators, led by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced their much-anticipated legislation targeting China's currency policies:

Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, both Democrats, urged support for legislation pushing China to raise the value of its currency as a way to stem U.S. job losses.

China’s currency policies cost more than 2.8 million U.S. jobs since 2001, the lawmakers said today at a Washington news conference. The legislation would let U.S. companies seek duties on imports from China to compensate for the effect of a weak yuan, which lawmakers said gives Chinese companies an unfair advantage against U.S. manufacturers.

“They get away with economic murder,” Schumer told reporters. “We are fed up; we are not going to take it anymore.” 

Schumer proposed similar measures in each of the past six years. None has received a Senate vote. The bill also is supported by Democratic Senators Robert Casey of Pennsylvania and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

So to recap the Senators' argument: China's undervalued currency has eliminated 2.8 million US jobs, and these brave Senators want to empower US companies to seek new tariffs on Chinese imports in order to force China's hand.  Sounds almost plausible, but there's one big problem: every single "fact" in that previous sentence is dubious.

At best.

First, the employment study that the Senators cited - by the union-run and union-funded Economic Policy Institute - is total economic bunk.  I've already been over this fact several times, citing to myriad economists who have explained that EPI's methodology, which simply ties the US trade deficit to American job losses, is utter poppycock.  Cato's Dan Ikenson elaborated on this little fact last week, showing how EPI's so-called "findings" fly in the face of both economic theory and reality:

As the chart below (which is based on easily verifiable figures published in the Economic Report of the President) reveals, the trade deficit and job creation appear to be positively correlated. When the deficit rises, employment increases; when the deficit shrinks, employment declines. So, right off the bat, a central premise of [EPI's Robert] Scott’s analysis is in doubt.... 

Last month, the U.S. International Trade Commission published its seventh update to the “The Economic Effects of Significant U.S. Import Restraints” study, which contains a special section on global supply chains. On page xv of the executive summary is a table that not only raises more serious doubts about EPI’s methodology, but should put to rest once and for all the hyperbole employed and anxiety caused by alarmist public relations campaigns and the politicians they serve.

Table ES.4 of that study indicates that there is more U.S. valued added (U.S. labor, material, and overhead) in U.S. imports than there is Chinese valued added in U.S. imports. Specifically, 8.3 percent of the value of U.S. imports (about $160 billion last year) is U.S. value, while 7.7 percent of the value of U.S. imports is Chinese value added. EPI’s methodology does not account for the U.S. jobs associated with the U.S. value added in U.S. imports.

Furthermore, that same table reveals that U.S. value added accounts for 89 percent of total U.S. consumption (a figure that confirms the findings in a recent San Francisco Federal Reserve study), which means that foreign value-added accounts for just 11 percent of U.S. consumption, making the United States a fairly closed economy—or at least, a relatively non-integrated economy. And China? Well, China only accounts for a measly 0.9 percent of the goods and services consumed in the United States. So, if 2.8 million U.S. jobs were lost to a country that produces less than one percent of what Americans consume, I say its about time we shed those highly inefficient jobs that have been a drag on the U.S. economy. The fact is, however, that 2.8 million is a fiction....

Yes, the 2.8 million job loss figure is a fiction, concocted to support political talking points and a narrow agenda that distract the public from the real problems that ail our economy. Some Chinese government policies are genuine causes for concern, worthy of efforts to resolve, but we limit our capacity to address the real problems effectively when every last gripe becomes a call to arms.

In short, the EPI study is totally worthless for anything other than shameless political demagoguery.  Fortunately for EPI, that just happens to be a certain New York Senator's specialty!  Unfortunately for the rest of us, most reporters hired to cover that Senator's currency shenanigans don't do their homework and instead treat the "study" cited by Schumer (and others) as gospel.

Shame on them.

The second problem with the Senator's argument is that most US companies aren't begging for relief from China's currency policies.  Indeed, a lot of them are literally begging the Senate to back off the currency issue and focus on other, real bilateral trade issues.  For example, just last week over 50 trade associations, representing hundreds (if not more) US companies, sent a letter to Senate leaders asking them to drop the tough currency talk.  The full letter is available online and definitely worth reading, but here are some key excerpts:

We agree with many in Congress and the Administration that China needs a yuan exchange rate that responds to trade flows and that China should move steadily towards a market-determined exchange rate.

However, unilateral legislation on this issue would be counterproductive not only to the goals related to China’s exchange rate that we all share, but also to our nation’s broader objectives of addressing the many and growing challenges that we face in China.

Legislation that would increase tariffs on imports from China is unlikely to create any incentive for China to move expeditiously to modify its exchange policies. Rather, it would likely have the opposite effect and result in retaliation against U.S. exports into China – currently the fastest-growing market for U.S. exports.

We urge you to oppose currency legislation and instead work with and vigorously call on the Administration to develop a robust bilateral and multilateral approach to achieve tangible results, not only on China’s exchange-rate policies, but also on other Chinese policies that are harming American economic interests.

The business group letter also highlights the third problem with Schumer's plan: unilateral US action (i.e., tariffs) against China are unlikely to convince the Chinese government to do anything except resist further Yuan appreciation and retaliate against US exports and companies.  As I said earlier this month about Mitt Romney's misguided plan to aggressively target China's currency via Executive Order:

The idea that the Chinese government would just roll over and concede "defeat" in the face of President Trump[Romney]'s big, macho tariff is absurd.  First, Trump[Romney] fails to grasp that the Chinese government would never, ever do anything that makes it appear weak in the face of American aggression.  Instead, retaliation, not concession, is the far more likely reaction (just as China did when President Obama imposed those tire tariffs), and such sinophobic chest-thumping would likely retard, not quicken, the gradual appreciation of the yuan that China needs to undertake.  Second, China's not nearly as dependent on the US market as Trump[Romney] seems to think.  The EU is now China's biggest export market, and Chinese exports to the US represent under 30% of China's exports to its top 10 export destinations.  So while the US market is big and important, China has other options.  Third, China couldn't rapidly and dramatically appreciate its currency even if it wanted to because any such move would implode the Chinese - and by extension, global - economy.

So the tariffs probably won't change China's behavior, and they definitely will harm US companies and consumers.  Thanks for nothing, Senators.

Finally, it's far from clear that the Yuan remains significantly undervalued against the US dollar.  I've already discussed this inconvenient truth repeatedly, and news last Friday about a massive selloff of Yuan further undermines the conventional wisdom regarding China's currency:

A rush for safe investment havens led to an unexpected drop in the value of the Chinese yuan traded outside the mainland, as global investors eschewed a bet on a currency widely seen as undervalued for the comfort of the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. The move will have little effect on yuan as a whole because Beijing still tightly controls the currency. But it offers an example of the uncertainties China could face as it moves in fits and starts to loosen its restrictions on the yuan and give it a more central global role.

The drop took place mostly in Hong Kong, a Chinese city that operates under its own set of laws and the only place where the yuan can be traded outside the Chinese mainland. Chinese officials over the past year have transformed the city into a laboratory for yuan liberalization, allowing everything from the issuance of yuan-denominated bonds to yuan-trade settlement to yuan accounts for individual investors.

Until this week, the Hong Kong-traded yuan had remained broadly in line with the official yuan trading range. But market turmoil Thursday and Friday prompted the Hong Kong price to slump at one point to a discount of as much as 2.5% to the mainland yuan, the biggest gap since China began relaxing its currency restrictions about a year ago. The yuan on the mainland trades in a tight band because of Beijing's restrictions on its currency.

The discrepancy between Hong Kong-traded yuan and mainland yuan, known as of offshore market and the onshore market, respectively, later narrowed somewhat but remained high by historical standards, and late Friday traded at 6.49 yuan to the dollar in Hong Kong, compared with 6.39 yuan in the mainland. The moves fly in the face of currency-market conventional wisdom, which holds that the yuan is set to rise against the U.S. dollar as China soaks up capital and trade flows.

The selling pressure overwhelmed a facility set up by China to sell yuan at the mainland rate, which on Friday was offering investors more dollars for their yuan. Late in the day, Bank of China Ltd.'s Hong Kong arm, the designated clearing bank for the Hong Kong market, said it would temporarily stop buying yuan used for trade settlement as its quarterly quota for such transactions was full....

Market turmoil also roiled the market for yuan nondeliverable forwards, which are offshore derivatives that track the value of the yuan but can't be exchanged for the currency. The dollar one-year forward on Friday was bid as high as 6.47 yuan against the domestic spot rate of 6.39 yuan, implying expectations of a 1.3% yuan fall over the coming months.

Until now, global investors have largely adopted a strategy of shorting the dollar for the yuan on expectations that Beijing would continue to allow its currency to rise. In fact, desire for yuan offshore has caused the Chinese currency traded in Hong Kong to boast a premium over its mainland counterpart at most times.

Now, worries of an economic recession around the globe and a Greek debt default are driving investors back into the relatively safety of the U.S. dollar, leading many investors to sell yuan and other currencies for dollars.

For those of you (like me) who aren't currency experts, investors don't typically flee an "undervalued" Yuan for an "overvalued" Dollar.

So to summarize: the Senators are using a debunked economic study to justify their targeting a problem that might not even exist with a strategy that will never work on behalf of a constituency that doesn't want their help.

But other than that....

Man Found Dead In Tub With Former TV Weatherman Died Of Asphyxia And Acute Drug Intoxication:

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Dexter Williams


A medical examiner in Arkansas says twenty four year-old Dexter Williams, the man who was with former KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins when he was found dead, died from asphyxia and acute combined drug intoxication.

Maumelle Police Department Press Release:

"Regarding Maumelle Police Department case #11-4587-OF documenting the sudden death of Dexter Williams, Associate Medical Examiner Frank J. Peretti, M.D. has officially listed the manner of death as undetermined. Dr. Peretti noted the cause of death as Asphyxia along with significant findings of Acute Combined Methamphetamine and Amphetamine Intoxication. There was no finding of strangulation listed on the Cause of Death report.

Once it is completed, the Maumelle Police Department will turn over the investigative file to the Pulaski County Prosecutors Office who will determine what, if any, charges can/should be filed."

According to the police report, Christopher "John" Barbour found Williams and Cummins, 33, in a whirlpool tub in his home at 16 Village Way about 8 a.m. on Labor Day morning. Officer Greg Roussie says he discovered Williams' body in a fetal position on the floor of the waterless tub that had a ring of blood around it.  Roussie noted that Williams had a chain around his neck that appeared to be a dog collar.

According to the incident report, Barbour told police he, Williams and Cummins were drinking and snorting illegal drugs and later got in the tub together. Barbour told police he slept on a couch in the living room and awoke the next morning to loud snoring coming from the bathroom. When he entered the bathroom to retrieve some glasses he and Cummins noticed that Williams, who was behind Cummins, was not breathing and his color was off. 

Former KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins

Cummins bolted from the bathroom and vomited in the living room before leaving the scene.  He voluntarily returned and provided police with a statement.  A pill bottle was recovered from the master bedroom adjacent to the bathroom where Williams was found dead, according to the report.

Williams family says he was "easily influenced" and they "are confident authorities will fully investigate this tragic event."

Brett Cummins resigned from KARK on Friday September 9, 2011.  His attorney Mark Hampton, of Little Rock, says his client has not been charged with any crime connected to Williams death, and he is innocent.

Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley says it's too early in the investigation to say whether or not any charges connected to Williams' death will be filed.

Will Paula Hall Get A New Trial; Judge Will Announce Decision Soon:

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Paula Hall (mug shot MODOC)



A judge is once again considering whether to overturn the 2009 murder conviction of a southwest Missouri woman for the death of an elderly woman from Oldfield.

Wright County Judge John Moody, who was the judge who heard the case in Taney County on a change of venue, heard evidence Wednesday in Christian County during a hearing for 43-year-old Paula Hall of Sparta.

Freda Heyn (family photo)

A jury convicted Hall for the November 2003 murder of sixty eight year-old Freda Heyn and she was sentenced to twenty years in prison.

Hall's attorney, Rita Sanders, argued that the conviction should be overturned because errors by the prosecutor violated Hill's due process rights. Prosecutors say the errors did not affect the outcome of the trial.

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Attorney Rita Sanders

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Moody allowed both sides to present evidence on Wednesday during a post-conviction hearing.

The witness that concerns Sanders most is Lisa Bonham, who served time in lockup with Hall.  She told the jury she overheard Hall tell fellow inmates in the Christian County jail that she killed Heyn. 

Sanders says prosecutor's failed to tell her that Bonham had been convicted of passing bad checks, forgery and a probation violation in Christian County and had pending charges in Greene County at the time of Hall's trial. She says prosecutors in Christian County entered into a deal with Bonaham and asked Greene County prosecutors to go easy Bonaham because she testified for the state in Hall's trial. 

Sanders also questioned why Bonham's Christian County sentence of five years probation was amended in April 2009, just two months after Hall's conviction, to 120 days already served.

Christian County Prosecutor Amy Fite

Christian County Prosecutor Amy Fite, who was not in office at the time of Hall's trial, argued that regardless of Bonham's criminal history, the jury believed her when she told them that Hall told her she killed Heyn while they were both behind bars Christian County.  Fite also says a clerical error in docketing contributed to the confusion.

Fite says the state now concedes that there was a discovery violation when they provided criminal information on another person named Lisa Bonahm to defense counsel.  "How did I get the wrong information...they use social security numbers to run things through NCIC and MULES."

Moody's decision should be announced within a few weeks, according to Sanders.  "It's very clear they violated the Brady Law and when they did that they violated Paula's right to due process and a fair trial.  If we don't get a new trial I will take it to the Court of Appeals."



Billy Wayne Hall (mug shot CCSO)



Murder charges connected to Heyn's that were filed against Hall's former brother-in-law, Billy Wayne Hall, who has been in and out of prison several times over the last few years, were dismissed without prejudice in June so "investigator's can continue to gather potential evidence," according to Christian County chief assistant prosecutor Donovan Dobbs.  "We only get one shot.....we want to make sure it's a good one if we proceed to trial."

Sanders says she will file a motion with the court next week asking that the murder charges that were dismissed WITHOUT prejudice against Billy Wayne Hall (meaning the state can refile) be dismissed WITH prejudice because the state violated his right to a speedy trial.  "They needed to have him tried by July 29th and they've missed that date."

What troubles Sanders the most with this case is that there is a man named Tommy Pettit, who allegedly admitted to his wife and others, that he Clint Ward and David Epperson beat Mrs. Heyn to death and then dismembered her body, fed it to hogs and tossed her skull into the Mark Twain National Forest.  "Why aren't the news media and Mrs. Heyn's family members asking prosecutors in Christian County why no charges have ever been brought against Petit?"

Springfield K9 Passes Away After Eight Years Of Service:

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A K9 officer responsible for several large drug busts in southwest Missouri has died.

"Buddy" was assigned to the narcotics unit at the Springfield police department in June of 2003 to work with officer Kent Shipley, who is a 17 year veteran of the SPD.  Buddy helped with the DEA’s Highway Drug Interdiction Team, primarily working on I-44 and was responsible for discovering 894 pounds of pot, 7 pounds of cocaine, 11 pounds of meth, and $6,521,938 in cash recovered. 
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Buddy was buried at the Police Service Dog memorial on Lone Pine south.

The department currently has six K9 officers and is looking for a replacement for Buddy, which will bring the total number of service dogs to seven.

Texas County Prosecutor Ordered To Pay $1 Million To Court Clerk In Malicious Prosecution Lawsuit:

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A Texas County court clerk has been awarded $1 Million dollars from a sitting county prosecutor who accused her of being involved in running a swinger sex ring out of the county courthouse.

A civil jury in Webster County, where the case was moved on a change of venue, awarded Mildred "Millie" S. Williams $500,000 in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive damages in her case against Texas County prosecutor Michael "Mike" Anderson.

Williams brought the lawsuit against Anderson after he began a smear campaign to defame her after she allegedly witnessed him sexually harassing an employee of his office.  She claims Anderson attempted to keep her from testifying against him by intimidation or coercion.

Texas County prosecutor Mike Anderson

Anderson filed a lawsuit in 2006 against Williams and Monica Daniel-Hutchison claiming the women used their positions to do favors for friends, were involved in running a swingers sex ring out of the Texas County court house and were involved in a conspiracy to deprive him of serving in public office.  Anderson dropped the lawsuit about six weeks later, but not before he had alerted local media outlets to the pending litigation via press, and settled out of court with Hutchison for an undisclosed amount of money.

Williams attorney, David Steelman, says, "It was important to her [Williams] to clear her name in connection to running a sex ring out of the courthouse.  Now that this very, very difficult situation has been resolved it is Ms. Williams hope that they can all put this behind them and work in a positive direction."

Texas County Presiding Commissioner Fred Stenger says the county was removed as part of the lawsuit several months ago and is not liable in any way for the monetary judgment. 

It would take action from the attorney general or the governor to remove Anderson from office since he is an elected official.  He is up for re-election in 2014.  "I don't see the AG or the Governor interceding at all.  This was a personal lawsuit. Mr. Anderson serves his constituents in Texas County very well," said Warren Harris who represented Anderson in the case. 

Harris has thirty days to decide whether he will file an appeal in the case, "There was no evidence presented at trial that anyone thought less of Ms. Williams as a result of the lawsuit being filed.  Obviously the monetary judgment is higher than we thought it would be," Harris said. "We'll have to consider our options on appeal and see what's available. While I think the judge did a fine job in the case I do think there's potential of some error in the case."

Brother Claims Self-Defense In Monday Night Stabbing In Aurora:

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Dale A. Knight, Jr. (mug shot APD)

A fight between step-brothers in Aurora on Monday night ended with one brother suffering life threatening injuries.

Lawrence County Prosecutor Don Trotter has filed charges of first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action against 26 year-old year-old Dale A Knight, Jr., yesterday (09-20-11.)

Lawrence County Prosecutor Don Trotter

Authorities say the brother's had been drinking before Knight stabbed Robert Elam, 32, and fled the scene after the assault. Elam suffered a collapsed lung and a laceration to his right hand, according to the probable cause statement.

Knight told investigators the fight began when Elam accused him of stealing something from him and began punching him and ended when he stabbed Elam with a box cutter claiming he was "in fear for my life," because Elam had beaten him up several times.

According to court records, Elam told investigators that he told Knight, "they need to stop fighting all the time because they are brothers and he feels bad because every time they fight Mr. Knight gets hurt."  When told that Knight was claiming self defense Elam responded, "he does not see how it was self-defense with a knife."

Knight is being held on $55,000 bond in the Aurora city jail.

America's Competitiveness Slide, Ctd.

Last week, the World Economic Forum weighed in on the United States' continuing slide down their annual "global competitiveness" rankings.  Today, the Fraser Institute released its annual Economic Freedom of the World Report, and the results are even more troubling:

The United States experienced one of the largest drops in economic freedom, falling to 10th place overall from sixth in 2010. Much of this decline is a result of higher spending and borrowing on the part of the U.S. government, and lower scores for legal structure and property rights.

Hong Kong again topped the rankings of 141 countries, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Australia.

Research shows that people living in countries with high levels of economic freedom not only enjoy higher levels of prosperity and greater individual freedoms, but also longer life spans....

The annual peer-reviewed economic freedom report uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking of 141 countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of private property. Economic freedom is measured in five different areas: (1) size of government, (2) legal structure and security of property rights, (3) access to sound money, (4) freedom to trade internationally, and (5) regulation of credit, labor, and business....

Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 9.01 out of 10. The other top scorers are Singapore (8.68), New Zealand (8.20), Switzerland (8.03), Australia (7.98), Canada (7.81), Chile (7.77), the United Kingdom (7.71), Mauritius (7.67), and the United States (7.60).

The rankings and scores of other large economies include: Germany, 21st (7.45); Japan, 22nd (7.44); France, 42nd (7.16); Italy, 70th (6.81); Mexico, 75th (6.74); Russia, 81st (6.55); China, 92nd (6.43); India, 94th (6.40); and Brazil, 102nd (6.19).

Zimbabwe maintains the lowest level of economic freedom among the 141 jurisdictions measured. Myanmar, Venezuela, Angola, and Democratic Republic of Congo round out the bottom five nations.

And that was in 2009. I just can't wait to see how far we fall for 2010 after the implementation of ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank and oodles of other statist adventures!

Sigh.

Taney County Burglary Suspect Apprehended In South Dakota:

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Danny Waggoner was captured in South Dakota (mug shot TCSO)

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The man authorities have been looking for after he walked away from a Springfield hospital where he was being treated for a gunshot wound he received in June when he allegedly attempted to break into a home in Powersite has been captured in Yankton, South Dakota.

Several states have charges pending against Danny Waggoner, 24, of Harrison, Arkansas who was arrested in South Dakota on suspicion of DWI.  When authorities in South Dakota ran Waggoner through NCIC they discovered he was wanted in Taney County.

Waggoner, was injured when the elderly female homeowner fired a shot through a door, was charged with burglary, armed criminal action and tampering with a motor vehicle while he was recovering in the hospital.  However, there was no deputy assigned to stay with him and he walked away from the hospital eight days later. 
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At the time Waggoner absconded, Russell said the hospital was supposed to notify him when Waggoner was discharged - the hospital says a staff member called and left a message for an investigator that Russell says was not received for several days, “A message was left on the Taney County investigator’s answering machine,” Taney County Sheriff Jimmie Russell said in July. “To my knowledge, this message was never received, and we believe it was a technical issue, because the hospital does have a record of the cell phone call from a phone bill. Our original request of hospital security was for them to contact the sheriff’s office through dispatch, our 24-hour phone line. It was at a later hospital visit that the sheriff’s investigator visiting the hospital gave a security guard his office number also. According to the hospital (chief operating officer), since the investigator’s number was the last one received, the cell phone call from a security guard to the investigator’s office answering machine was made immediately upon Mr. Waggoner leaving the hospital.”
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Russell says his office had received a tip that Waggoner was in South Dakota and that he's not sure how many other states are interested in Waggoner, but "we're gonna try and get him first.  We was never gonna give up on gettin' him, we knew sooner or later we'd come up with him," said Russell.

While he was on the lam, Waggoner was charged with theft by receiving, second-degree forgery, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstructing governmental operations and drinking in public.  Bond on those charges is $65,000.  He is also being held on a $1,120 cash only bond for driving while suspended and no proof of insurance.

Waggoner's time on the run almost ran out a little over a month ago in Yankton, South Dakota, where he was arrested and booked into the county jail.  However, he gave authorities a fake name and he was eventually released from custody.
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Courtney Simpson will be sentenced in November (mug shot TCSO)

Waggoner and his accomplice, Courtney Simpson, 21, also of Harrison stole a truck in Arkansas before the attempted burglary.  She pled guilty on September 8th to charges of burglary and tampering with a motor vehicle.  She is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17th in Taney County.

Blame China, ctd? (UPDATED)

Reuters reports that USTR circulated a very interesting pre-announcement this afternoon:

U.S. trade officials will announce a major trade enforcement action against China on Tuesday, according to an advisory from the U.S. Trade Representative's office.

The advisory, which was obtained from a business group, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk "will hold a press conference to announce a major trade enforcement action against China." It gave no other details.

I have no idea what this big "enforcement action" is about, but I have a few guesses and each relates to this recent analysis of what happens when massive government "investments" inevitably go sour:

At this point, we're clearly out of money and the House GOP isn't breaking out the credit card anytime soon, so DOE's implicit calls for more green energy subsidies are almost certainly going to go unheeded (thank goodness).  And with very-public failures like Solyndra putting a very-public spotlight on the Obama administration's green energy money pit, scapegoats are going to be needed.  On green technology, China has clearly become the President's first choice: indeed, the Energy Department has been left to implicitly deride Chinese subsidies instead of openly praising the significant proliferation in "cheap" solar power that's mentioned in its very own press release!  But one must wonder whether, if/when several other of President Obama's green poster children go belly up, will the "China blame game" be enough to salvage the President's political prospects? Or will protectionism - and an inevitable confrontation with one of America's largest trading partners - be the administration's next move?

I don't know the answer to these questions; nobody does. But last sentence of the DOE release [on Solyndra's bankruptcy] could be a warning as to which way the Obama administration is leaning: "While we are disappointed by this outcome, we continue to believe the clean energy jobs race is one that America can, must and will win."

Shudder to think how they'll try to rig the game to ensure that "victory."

Reuters has more speculation, most of it along the same lines as I laid out:

One possible action could target China's export restrictions on rare earths, which are crucial for global electronics production and the defense and renewable energy industries.

They are also used in a wide range of consumer products from iPhones to electric car motors. The United States, the European Union and Mexico recently won a case against China for similar restrictions on exports of raw materials used in steel and other industrial products. China appealed that decision and a final ruling is still months away.

In recent weeks, Democrats have raised alarm about Chinese solar panel subsidies that they said are driving U.S. producers out of business. They also hae pressed Kirk's office to investigate charges China is pressing GM to turn over technologies for its electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, in order for it to qualify for generous Chinese government subsidies to encourage consumers to buy it.

Many Democrats also have long complained about China's currency practices and have urged the U.S. Trade Representative's office to bring a case. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney recently criticized President Barack Obama for not doing more to push China to raise the value of its yuan against the dollar.

A currency case would be a major departure for the Obama administration after refusing to formally label China as a "currency manipulator" in a Treasury Department report.

So could the Obama administration's formal "Blame China" strategy be starting tomorrow morning?  (If it ends up being a currency case, all I can say is "Thanks, Mitt.")

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: They really needed a mysterious "pre-announcement" for this?  Really?

Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization today against anti-dumping duties imposed by China on chicken imports, according to a congressional aide and a second person familiar with the matter.

Now I feel silly for even mentioning it.  Sorry, folks.