The Edge of Reason

Primary reasons

2006-08-27T23:26:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma Republicans seem to have gotten it half right in last week's primaries. While, Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin is spineless, she at least has some experience outside of city hall.
Mick Cornett, a former broadcast journalist turned councilman turned Mayor was too inexperienced politically to play with the big boys in D.C. And he got whooped in the primary, to put it politely.
The candidate that would have likely done Oklahoma the most good in the job was Denise Bode -- not exactly the paragon of civility most days, but the woman has experience in Washington. But Bode came in third to Mick.
I hope we hear more substance from Fallin in the general election campaign. Her "Faith, Family and Freedom" slogan sounds trite and doesn't get to the heart of issues that impact Oklahomans.
Not that there's much concern that she'll win. "Dr." Hunter's too busy with his practice to get his buns to a local political talk show that airs on Sunday mornings. If he's too busy to "run" for the office, how does he expect to do the job once elected to the 5th Congressional District. I don't even know what the man looks like! Do you?

In the Todd Hiett and Scott Pruitt race, GOP voters might as well have shot themselves in the foot, or maybe that's the head.
Seriously, Hiett? The man proved to be nothing more than a puppet once he took over as Speaker of the House with so many hands up his backside, he had one puppeteer talking for him and another moving his head.
He talked a good game before he became Speaker, and once there it all fell apart.
I doubt seriously if he'd be much different in the Lt. Gov.'s office.
Pruitt had a much more solid chance of beating Democrat Jari Askins in the general election. And the GOP might do well not to underestimate Askins. Don't let the matronly, school-marm look fool you, she's an intelligent, astute politician.

It's definitely going to be an interesting election season in Oklahoma. The Gov.'s already got his feel good commercials on the air, and if Istook comes out criticizing Oklahoma...well, he's just gonna make folks feel bad.

By the way, has anyone noticed that Brad Henry looks a lot like Glenn Beck?

Full of gas

2006-04-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know it's been a while. But sometimes things happen and I just can't keep the old mouth shut.

Dubya's pulled a fast one. Gas is going up. So what does he do? Well, hell. We're not gonna punish those oil companies that are having record profits now are we?

Heck no. We're gonna be nice to 'em. Gonna relax environmental standards so that they don't have to work so hard to get that oil out of the ground.

I smell bull dung, and lots of it.

Istook and "dirty money"

2006-01-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Anybody in Oklahoma notice how the state's largest newspaper has brushed over Istook's connection to the Jack Abramoff scandal?

Hmmm...you think maybe they are already planning to endorse him for Governor? Nah, that couldn't be...it's an "unbiased" newspaper. Wait, I hear someone at CJR saying something about "worst newspaper in America."

That explains it.

Resolutions for those who need 'em

2006-01-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

Because they won't and should, I'm making the following resolutions:

George W. Bush:

Tell the truth.

Tom DeLay:

Tell the truth, and resign, or at least have the decency not to run again.

Texas candidate for governor: Kinky Friedman:

Take this campaign seriously.

OK Speaker of the House: Todd Hiett:

Cut the puppet strings, and act like a true representative of the people.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt:

Quit screwing the residents -- young and old -- of Missouri over, and quit lining the pockets of my corporate buddies.

Democrats:

Move to the center, and represent what the people of the party really think. (See below regarding Carville and Dean.)

Republicans:

Quit acting like we're crazy fanatics, and shut the likes of Hannity and Coulter up as representatives of this party.

There's so many more, but this will have to do for now.

Spy on me

2005-12-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

"So did you say you wanted a black or gold jersey?"

"I think black. Sometimes the gold looks too yellow."

"Ok, so I'll mail it in a few days. What are you doing for Christmas?"

"I think we're going to go to London sightseeing..."

Pretty boring, huh? That was basically the extent of my last overseas conversation. Do you think Dubyah thinks I'm a terrorist?

Let's drill at Yellowstone too

2005-12-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

Today, "House lawmakers opened the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and approved $29 billion for hurricane relief during an all-night session Monday bringing their legislative year to a close."

It was a bit hard for a lot of lawmakers to vote against this measure. Attaching it to a major defense spending bill that included the hurricane relief amendment was pure political genius. Is it any wonder the GOP took over government a few years ago?

Vote against it, and during your next campaign your opponents can say you voted against the war -- it will be done, just watch. Vote against it and your opponents can say you voted against hurricane relief.

Again, the Dems were asleep at the wheel and America and future generations lose.

What is Patty thinking?

2005-12-11T21:59:00.000-08:00

Let me first say, I'm likely going to vote for Patricia Presley for the 5th Congressional seat. Why? Because I want a woman to win. A woman has not served in Congress from Oklahoma since Alice M. Robertson of Muskogee, a Republican, was elected in 1920. She was the country's second congresswoman and the first to preside over a session of the U.S. House.

I personally like Mary Fallin, she a nice lady. But she doesn't have enough substance and enough of a backbone to stand up to the men in her own party in this state, and she'll never be a powerhouse in Washington. Denise Bode -- well, she's just not an option for any office -- mean, vindictive, self-serving. So Patty it is.

But I have to wonder what the heck possessed her to do this? I certainly hope she's not been charmed by the Democrats (who indeed charmed her enough to get her to switch parties recently) into thinking that this is going to be a cake walk.

It's going to get ugly. Presley has run mostly unopposed, particularly in 2004, despite the "bail-bond scandal" in her department. Just because she skated there, surely she knows that's going to be a campaign issue -- a big issue -- in the upcoming race. She'll win the primary and nomination for the Democrats. But the GOP is gonna be gunning for her because (gasp here) she dared to change parties.

If Bode gets the GOP nomination, I'm not sure Presley has what it takes to fight against her. Bode fights like an alley cat. Just ask Drew Edmondson, who won, but limped away with more than just a few scratches on him after his last go round with Bode.

And then there's the money. Presley's gonna need a lot of it. So here's hoping the Democrats dig deep, otherwise she won't have a chance.

FCC

2005-12-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

Crap. Some smart ass in Washington seems to think the FCC should extend to satellite radio. I beg to differ. If we don't censor cable television because people PAY for it, the same should apply to satellite radio.

Censorship continues in the land of the free -- make that semi-free.

Send a lotto ticket

2005-12-05T14:40:00.000-08:00

State Rep. Randy Terrill, a Republican, who's been working on finding a new job ever since he was elected to this one, says he was offended by the use of discarded lottery tickets to decorate one of the small Christmas trees that line the hallways of the Capitol every year.

School children decorate the trees, each class choosing a different design. The "Oklahoma EDUCATION Lottery" had been studied in the class, so the teacher hit on the idea of the lotto tree -- a gift of education.

Terrill, who opposed the lottery, demanded the tree be removed and then likened the decorations to using beer cans or pornography.

That's a new low for state lawmakers. Cissy at North of the Red River> has a great idea, let's send him a gift: Send all your used lottery tickets to Terrill at his office:

2300 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Room 337
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
or call him and tell him what you think: (405) 557-7346

Democratic victories

2005-11-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. Do you think that voters are trying to tell the GOP something? I can't think of too many victories from the GOP candidates losing the governor's race in Virginia and New Jersey to Arnie-supported measures failing miserably.

But before the Democrats start patting themselves on the back and talking about how great they are (someone please shut Howard Dean up) let's not forget that voters are probably sick of them too.

Now if we could just find an independent candidate that's worth voting for...

Good for Oklahomans

2005-10-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

A report from the Research Institute for Economic Development recently lauded several Oklahoma lawmakers for their votes and called them "good for business." Among the issues -- workers' compensation reform, lawsuit reform and matching funds for health care in rural areas.

Since business is dependent on consumers, I still haven't quite figured out why business doesn't believe that what's good for consumers is ultimately good for them.

Sen. Cal Hobson, who got a failing score of 43 said, "Thank Goodness. I was concerend with the 700,000 uninsured Oklahomans or building a cancer treatment center. Those are pro-business issues. I doubt any of those got plus points or even made their list."

Rep. Opio Toure, D-Oklahoma City, also consistently votes his conscious and what's best for his constituency. Bottom of the list.

So, why does no one compile a list of those lawmakers who are just plain good for Oklahomans?

No need, to answer that was a rhetorical question. I know why.

Moonlighting

2005-10-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Get ready. It's starting already. The mud-slinging tactics of the Oklahoma Republican and Oklahoma Democratic parties are gearing up.

Democrat Chairman Lisa Pryor says Istook can't possibly do his job in Washington while running for governor. Oklahomans will suffer. She declined to say why they didn't suffer when Brad Carson was running for Senate while neglecting his duties in Congress.

Republican Chairman Gary Jones says Gov. Brad Henry takes too much time off and is always late for meetings. Hmmm, Gary I think you can find a lot more to criticize the governor about than just being late. How about tobacco taxes? Of course, Gary and the Repubs didn't want to talk about Keating's travels to other states and beyond when he was in office. Nor Fallin's continuous use of the state plane just to jount over to Ada, etc.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a campaign season with NO lies, NO accusations and NO smoke being blown up our rear ends? A campaign where candidates talked about why they were qualified for the job?

Think about it. You go to a job interview, the first thing you do is tell the boss why you are the best choice for the job. You don't spend time telling him/her why the other candidates are wrong for the job.

I think I'll vote for the guy -- or gal -- who has the integrity to run a campaign like it should be run.

DUBYAH

2005-10-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

It must be a sign of the apocalypse, but President Bush is actually making some sense when he talks (on domestic affairs) these days.

In his interview this morning with the Today Show, Bush discussed what went wrong with the response to Katrina. He didn't shrug off blame, but he also pointed out that it's the job of local and state officials to have emergency plans in place. Additionally, he pointed out that it's up to officials in Louisiana and New Orleans to decide when and how they should rebuild -- not the federal government's.

This whole hurricane episode brings to light a very real problem with American voters. We like to point to Washington and blame them for everything. But the real truth is that local and state officials and lawmakers' actions have a greater impact on our lives than anything that happens in Washington on a daily basis.

Yet, American voters are much more willing to not cast a vote in their local and state elections -- just look at the turnout for the last election in Oklahoma. And voters are much more apt to let their local guys and gals get by with a whole lot more than they would their congressman or president.

It's time to start looking in our own backyards for someone to shoulder resonsibility. It starts with us.

Catching up

2005-10-09T05:51:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't blogged in a while: Here's the catch-up

FEMA: What a bunch of whiny babies. Take some of the blame, Brown and admit that you were not qualified for the job. So you WERE the assistant city manager in Edmond -- a small city. Not a big city, not a state. How do you figure that qualifies you to run the emergency management agency for the ENTIRE country? You were in over your head.

BUSH: Too little too late. Trying to sound like Harry Truman "The buck stops here," Bush should have admitted that he also failed way before he did.

Naigen: Have some decency and resign. You failed to take appropriate evacuation measures. I mean, what the hell were you thinking sending people to the superdome when there was NO water or food. Geez, even Brown might have done a better job.

Blanco: If she doesn't get rid of that "deer in the headlights" look, Louisianans should impeach her. She failed too.

Roberts: Not a bad choice. A conservative, but some how I have this idealistic belief that once on the court those there (with the exemption of Thomas) might actually do the right thing for the country.

Miers: Again, not qualified. A judgeship elsewhere maybe. The Supreme Court with no experience. Give me a break.

Texas vs. Oklahoma: Go Longhorns! And for God's sakes Oklahoma, insist on "home" advantage sometimes. As much as I love Texas, I love Oklahoma too and you folks are just being taken advantage of -- not just on the football field with home turf advantage, but taxes and spending. The businesses in Oklahoma City and Norman would love a piece of that pie. And that my friends, is the only time I'll ever agree with E.Z. Million.

Supreme Court

2005-06-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

The Supremes are at center court again today. So far, we don't mind a little religion in our courtrooms and government buildings, we just don't want a lot of religion. Hollywood wins again.

The real question is whether the White House is going to try to knock out one or two of the Supremes so they can name a new Supreme. Think of the scary possibilities: John Ashcroft for one.

And we thought "War of the Worlds" was scary. Keep watching, the show is just beginning.

Blogs

2005-06-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

Being gung-ho about a blog lasted about a nano-second. However, I have vowed to write more often and keep the world apprised of my opinion -- whether the world wants to hear it or not.

Which brings me to...Kelly Ogle's "Two Cents." Those of you who live and watch news in Oklahoma know to whom I refer. Ogle -- one of several news clones in this area with that name -- likes to pretend he's a journalist. But then every so often, once a week I think, he offers his "two cents," in other words his opinion, about a news event.

Walter Cronkite was soundly criticized in the 1960s for the catch in his voice when he announced that President John F. Kennedy had died. Yet, today, in the era of Fox "News," we have anchors even on the local level offering their opinion. Enough already. The line between journalism and commentary has been muddied beyond repair.

If I wanted your "two cents" Mr. Ogle, I'd read your blog.

Feeding tubes

2005-03-24T20:15:00.000-08:00

The end to a life. Let us hope that we've all learned something and are prepared to handle "tragedies" such as that of Terry Shiavo.

'nuff said.

The Problem with Republicans

2005-03-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

Republicans remind one of the Pharisees mentioned in the New Testament. They've set themselves up on a pedestal, and they truly believe they are holier than everyone else. They judge. They're mean. They like to talk about Christian values, but somewhere along the way they've forgotten exactly what that means.

Of course, that's not every Republican. Some sanity still remains within the party, and if one of the sane ones doesn't take charge it's quite likely this political party that's won so many victories in the past few years will surely self destruct.

The problem with Republicans is:

1. They are self-serving.
2. They've forgotten or misunderstood the basic tenets that founded this country -- remember elementary history class when we talked about the Pilgrams coming to the new world for RELIGIOUS FREEDOM? Yep. It does seem as if you were absent that day.
3. They make rules that don't apply to them.
4. They are downright mean. Mean.

Makes one wonder which party Jesus Christ would have belonged to. Somehow, I don't think he would be a Republican. Probably a Liberatarian...

Everyone's gay and why should we care?

2005-03-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

Most people don't want to know what their "straight" friends, colleagues or elected officials do behind closed doors. So why is everyone obsessed about gays?

Really, why should what two consenting adults do privately define who they are in society. That's ludricous. What next? Are we going to classify people by those who like the missionary position versus those who are more limber?

So my advice to those elected officials and the morality police, is "Let it go. Let people live their lives and live yours."

The Problem with Democrats

2005-02-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

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.

Who put the jerk in charge?

2005-02-28T11:41:00.000-08:00

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.

The War

2005-02-26T06:59:00.000-08:00

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.

Sen. Frank Shurden

2005-02-24T07:17:00.000-08:00

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.

Contemplating and Waiting

2005-02-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

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..."