The Edge of Reason

The problem with Democrats is that they are out-of-touch and disorganized. How is it that no party leader stepped up when the hoards of wanna-be presidential candidates came out of the woodwork and said "no, let's talk about this." The base that would likely have propelled someone into office was diluted because so many threw their hats into the national arena.

Collectively, imagine how much money one single candidate would have had to beat Dubyah -- my apologies to Molly Ivins. That name just fits him. But back to the Democrats. Here you have a president who has plunged the nation into a larger deficit than it's ever seen. Started a war for no apparent reason and with no exit strategy in mind. AND, completely forgotten about bringing down the terrorists who actually attacked this country. Yet, the Democrats couldn't beat him. Either Dubyah is a genius or the Democrats are just plain dumb.

Democrats need to be talking fiscal responsibility. God knows the GOP isn't these days.

Democrats need to realize that most Americans -- even those who consider themselves to be fairly liberal -- don't like partial-birth abortion. Good God, outlaw it and let women keep the few rights they do have.

But the really big kicker is that Democrats have simply let themselves be victimized. The GOP has cornered the market on being patriotic and being Christian. And the Democrats continue to stand by, wring their hands and say, "that's just not true." How about growing a pair and pointing out that nothing says patriot than defending someone's right to criticize their government or their president/leaders? Read your history books folks. How about pointing out that Christian also means taking care of those in need?

And now the Democrats have elected -- without debate -- Howard Dean as their elected representative. It was nice knowing ya, Democrats.

Some where, some how the jerks will get their due. It's karma, right? At least the majority of us have to cling to that hope that a higher power will come bump the jerk (or fill in other expletive here) on the head.

The newsroom at The Oklahoman, formerly The Daily Oklahoman, also known as "the worst newspaper in America" is a fine example of the jerks being in charge.

Since the patriarch of the Gaylord family died, daughter Christy Gaylord has been in charge. Well, sort of. She had grand plans for change, and to be fair she started out fine. From a major redesign of the paper to the addition of a diversity reporter who brought a different dimension of the community into the daily paper. But she handed off daily responsibility off the paper to Ed Kelley.

Kelley is by all accounts a fine person and a good newsman. Here's where the water gets murky. Kelley has released the reins of newsroom control to well let's just call this person "the worst editor in America."

This editor -- and we use the name lightly -- calls the shots in the newsroom. He manages to fire any staffer who even remotely shows a backbone. "I know where the weak link in this newsroom is, but no one wants to talk about why he's still here," says one reporter who fears this editor's wrath.

The editor, who once ran unsuccessfully for office as a Republican, seems to lack journalistic integrity. He assigns a story with an angle in mind and if a reporter doesn't write it that way, well, there's hell to pay come the next evaluation if the reporter makes it that far. That angle usually has something to do with promoting the Republican agenda.

A recent survey of The Oklahoman newsroom shows more than 60 percent of reporters are looking for another job. Half of those reported that they are taking some sort of medication or seeing a doctor because of work-related stress and depression.

This editor is notorious for moving reporters from a beat they've developed to another part of the newsroom for no apparent reason, other than to promote some underling who has their lips firmly planted to aforementioned editor's backside. Among the casualties of a so-called change for the better recently were several seasoned reporters. In fact, newsroom treatment of veteran reporters -- assigning them to entry level cops or general assignment beats -- borders on age discrimination. Closer inspection also shows minority reporters, those with disabilities or reporters who are gay either consistently are placed in a "part-time" status with few if little benefits and lower pay.

So where are the other editors and why is no one stopping the jerk who seems to be in charge at this paper?

Let's hope Christy Gaylord has some of the gumption her daddy had and fires this jerk before he sucks the life right out of the paper she's tried to revive.

President George W. Bush is on a public relations campaign. He's playing nice on the national stage, and of course other countries are going to play with him. This is the United States, of course.

The most disturbing thing about the whole charade seems to be W's message that Iraq was just a "passing misunderstanding." Let's move on.

Easy for you to say, Mr. President. How many children, nieces, nephews, husbands, wives or loved ones do you have in Iraq or Afghanistan right now?

America is a country at war. It's a war that many Americans did not choose, and many more are coming to the realization that it's a war that the country likely should not be in. Now the commander-in-chief seems to be telling the world that he's going to place this on the back burner and move on.

W seems to have a way with placing unpleasant events, inconvenient memories and lapses in judgment on the back burner and moving on.

He's likely going to convince everyone that it's the thing to do. Never mind that hundreds of young men -- and women -- are dying every day in Iraq and Afghanistan. Never mind that Iraqis of all ages are dying every day in Iraq. It's time to talk about other things.

W is good, and he's like the good ol' boy who beat the crap out of you on the playground and then hugged you and made you one of the guys.

But it's dang hard to forget Mr. President when you watch one of your best friends hug a folded flag tightly to his chest,tears running down his face, quiet sobs racking his body, as he watches his son's coffin lowered into the ground. That image will never be on the back burner.

Maybe, Mr. President, you might want to attend the funeral of the next service member who comes home in a flag-draped coffin. Then we'll see if you can still tell that family and this country that it's time to move on.

Oklahoma politics doesn't make the national news usually. It does however, make the national joke circuit.

Last year we had a judge that was ousted from the bench because he was engaging in some extracurricular pumping activities during trials - and we're not talking gas. Then there was the U.S. Senate race that pitted crazy doc -- now U.S. Senator Tom Coburn -- U.S. Rep. Brad Carson -- a poor imitation of a televangelist -- and Sheila Bilyeu who claimed she had a tracking device in her head put there by the government or Martians or both. Coburn usually made headlines for his comments, such as the one about the rampant Lesbianism in rural southeastern Oklahoma schools. So bad, he said, that girls were only allowed to go to the bathroom one at a time.

This wasn't of course the first time he embarrassed the state. He made national news a few years back while in Congress for objecting to Schindler's List. Oklahoma voters, predictably, voted the man who made the state look like an oasis for idiots into office.

That brings me to state Sen. Frank Shurden, a Democrat from Henryetta. Maybe it's no coincidence that until a few years ago the Henryetta High School mascot was the "Hen," Starting out as a Henryetta Hen, Shurden now seems smitten with chickens. Fighting chickens that is.

Shurden vehemently opposed any plan to ban cock fighting in the state of Oklahoma. Ever since voters gave a nod to the ban in 2002, Shurden has been working to change the law to allow some sort of fighting. First he pointed out that the majority of OKlahoma counties had voted down the ban, which passed primarily due to those "city folk" in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas. True, those city folk do outnumber the country folk in Oklahoma despite the fact that the state really has only two cities of any size at all.

Now, Shurden has a plan to create a new sport. Cock boxing. Yep. He wants to bring those chickens out of retirement, strap boxing gloves on them and let 'em have fun.
It's in the name of economic development. Shurden says the cock fighting industry in Oklahoma is a boon to the state's economy.

His plan made national headlines and made Oklahoma once again the butt of national jokes. But one thing you have to say for Shurden -- at least he's honest about who he is. You have to admire that. He's likely promised his constituents that he would work to get cock fighting back in some form before he's term-limited out. Gotta admire an elected official who tells voters he's going to do something and then actually does it.

Now, don't think I'm getting all mushy and soft on a politician. I'm not. I still remember last session when Shurden gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor about the tobacco tax increase, then towed the party line and voted for the measure.

That's part of who he is too. He's a loyal Democrat -- and that's sort of rare in this state where you can't tell the difference between Democrats and Republicans too often.

Sen. Frank Shurden of Oklahoma is gonna be a tough act to follow.

As I sit here waiting, waiting, waiting for someone to return my calls, I wonder how much of my life I've spent waiting.
I can't guess. And, I probably don't want to guess. A year? Two or maybe even three in a lifetime.
There's probably some schmuck somewhere that's going to do a study, has done a study -- funded with tax dollars, of course, that will tell us just how much of our life we spend waiting.
If we all truly knew we'd probably cry for lost time -- life slipping away -- precious minutes that we could have better spent doing something else.
But then again, there's the stories of survivors who say things like "I would have been on that plane that crashed had I not been waiting in line..."