Arkansas Blog

Who is Jame Boulder? Has he worked for Huckabee in state government or is he just a fan?

Welcome back, James Boulder! We've missed you! Have you been out at the airport waitin' on Zell Miller all this time?

I want to speak to a subject of great concern. the impact of this war on our economy. but first a little bit of history.

WWII was actually profitable for the US...

yes, we gave a lot of shit away to the russians and others, but we also sold a lot to the British (who just a few years ago actually paid off the debt)...

but, it was the reconstruction of Europe where the US made the big money, and yes, again we gave a lot of shit away...

but an awful lot was traded in exchange for gold... before the war we had probably a 1/3 of the worlds gold... but after the reconstruction???

65% of the world's gold.

Korea was a community effort and while not a money maker... it did not cost us as dearly as Vietnam.

Vietnam was a huge money loser... it drained US gold reserves to below 50% of the world's total... taxes were not raised to pay for the war, it was paid for out of our treasury...

but the drain in gold reserves was alarming and the debt was mounting...

Nixon took us off the gold standard (which was the established international medium of exchange) in 1972 (i think)... which meant the US essentially defaulted on it's debt...

but...

the US had a clever idea... deal with OPEC and get them to accept US Dollars as payment for oil... so now we can save our gold and pay for oil with paper which can be redeemed for goods, services, or US property (like real estate or stock in US companies). hence the term "petro-dollars" from the 1970's.

this triggered a huge rise in the cost of oil and resulted in a period of extreme inflation in the US which lasted into the early 80's.

the 1st Iraq war was paid for by donations from Japan, Germany, and others. without the US having to give up much in exchange. but we still endured a brief recession that lasted about two years.

now we have the 2nd Iraq war. virtually no donations from allies (hell, virtually no allies). in fact we bribed many of the allies we do have in order to get them to participate.

there is no money to be made from reconstruction that is not being paid for by US taxdollars. and to make matters worse, taxes were not raised to pay for this war. in fact the US is borrowing money primarily from China and Japan.
the net effect of this follows:

the USD has plummeted against the Euro. when Bush took office the exchange rate about 1 Euro = $.80, now it is 1 Euro = $1.31

gold is at $619 per ounce, when Bush took office it was less than $300.

Oil was selling for less than $30 in 2000, now it fluctuates between $60 - $80 a barrel..

What does all of this mean???

We're in big trouble.

Look for a deep recession and as much as 50% inflation over the next 5 years.
Peter Hollman

Rev Mojo,

How did Huckabee cause any of the above?

This thread is about Huckabee's skirting rules.

Huckabuck accomplished many great deeds (repave interstates, school standards minimums, ARKids first) but it will all be overshadowed by the appearance of ethics offenses.

Huckabee could have been held in high esteem just as Govenor Rockefeller was. But his grabby gift shenanigans will over shadow his legacy just as Clinton's womanizing will be what is remembered.

Those two could have acheived reverence but one will be remembered as a Grabber and the other as a Groper.

Bacon and Books Rule Arkansas
He's lost 110 pounds, written the book on middle-age healthcare, and even teamed with old foe Bill Clinton to urge kids off Coke and Big Macs, but the truth is bacon still rules outgoing Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's life. The proof is in the pudding, or at least the casserole. It's right there in full living color on his "Farewell Arkansas" card we got in the mail, probably one of the neatest political cards we've ever received. It unfolds to show the state capitol, a family portrait, a message from the guv, and his wife's recipe for green bean bundles: two cans of green beans, one pound of bacon, one cup of brown sugar, a quarter cup of butter, and three teaspoons of garlic salt. From his picture, it's clear the guv sticks to the beans but, um, his boys apparently haven't gotten the message of Huckabee's book, Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork: A 12-Step Program to End Bad Habits and Begin a Healthy Lifestyle.
But enough snarking. The likely 2008 GOP presidential candidate also did something nice to one of our own this week, U.S. News contributor Suzi Parker, who's based in Little Rock. Her dad is ailing, and the guv phoned her. "He called me to see how my dad was," she says. "Arkansas is a small state." And while he was on the phone he even dropped a newsy nugget: Since his high school days, he has accumulated hundreds and hundreds of books, including an extensive theological library from his college and seminary days and many years as a pastor. "Since becoming governor, I have also collected a number of books, on subjects ranging from current events to health to theology," he told her. But instead of donating them to a library as he leaves the governor's mansion after 11 years, he's giving most to the Arkansas Department of Corrections for inmate libraries. "I'm still in the process of boxing and sorting, and will hopefully complete the task shortly after Christmas but before the New Year," he says.

USNews.com: Washington Whispers
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/washingtonwhispers/

In my opinion, the hardest working man in spin is our own Deathbyinches, who cranks out a mini-novel for each post. It's like if Steven King discovered political blogs, and was a real ass to boot.

Sorry for the off topic post there Citizen1, no open thread and nowhere else to park it.

I'm new around here and thought it needed to be seen.

Much like this "Brief History of Saddam Hussein" from Bushflash.

Click on Mojo.

http://www.bushflash.com/thanks.html

Hey Prouster........ever heard of the old saying "if ya can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen" kinda seems right for your post on DBI.

People like Prouster think asking for honest government and equal rights for all is spin. Go figure.