New allegations against Assa!

With the newest allegations of impropriety from Asa Hutchinson, will we see the all out smear machine of the Republican Party kick into full throttle earlier than thought? Apparently Asa was awarded a seat on the board of directors for a company named Saflink. This same company was the recipient of a hugely wasteful contract that Asa helped steer their way while at the Department of Homeland Insecurity. I am betting the bait and switch routine will start early this election year with Asa trailing miserably in the polls, funding, and now possible ethics violations. Get ready for a full season of God, Gays, and Guns, if you weren't already.

Rich man's game

I have recently become quite disillusioned with the entire political game even though I have spent most of my adult life following and playing in one form or another. It has been said throughout the ages that politics is a rich man's game but it has never been more true at present. In Arkansas, one of the poorest states in the union, it appears that gaining control of the governors office will run you about 4 maybe 5 million dollars. This is the same office that pays roughly $75,000 per year. You might ask yourself why a man would spend $5 million for a job that pays about the same amount that a good bartender makes. I have asked myself the same question and the answer might lie in between the lines somewhere. Our current governor, Mike Huckabee, came into office a man of relatively modest means after Jim Guy Tucker was sent to prison. In the ten years since his assention to the governor's mansion, Huckabee has somehow been able to accumulate what most in Arkansas would consider a fortune. How does this happen on a salary of $75,000 a year? I will tell you how it happens: Even rich folks stick to the adage that you should never use your own money to start a business or run for office. Since it takes $5,000,000 to get into the governor's mansion these days that means you owe a lot of people a lot of favors. Favors beget favors and money begets money. It's a viscous cycle that even the most honest are likely to fall into. Where you and I get screwed in all of this (statewide as well as nationally) is the sweetheart deals and no bid contracts that are used as payoffs for campaign help. Most of these "deals" are going to multinational corporations so we get the shaft on the front end by having to foot the inflated bill and on the back end because none of the money stays here and nobody pays taxes on the earnings. I know I will be branded a socialist, but the only way to solve this problem, I believe, is public funding of elections or at least some type of matching system. Not only would this allow real working people to run for office but the payoff system goes away or at least shrinks. Our state and our nation are going bankrupt right now because we have people who don't know how to solve problems running the show and sending all of our money to their campaign contributors.

First Day

I have finally been badgered into creating my own blog for all to enjoy. What you can expect from me and my new team, as I add them, is insightful commentary on Arkansas and American politics. We will pull no punches when it comes to expressing our love or disgust for individual politicians whether they be Democrats, Republicans, Klingons, or Independents. Yes there are a few independents out there, however, I cannot see how anyone could be neutral on a moving train. I am working on a running section that will be added in a day or two that will be loved by some and hated by many. I am going to highlight one political figure each month or maybe each week under the working title of "Chicken-Hawk of the month." This is an exciting and strange time in the world of politics and I feel that I may have jumped in late, but better late than never. I look forward to bantering with the intelligent and humiliating the feeble-minded so without further adieu.......