Our Neighbors in New Mexico Move Against Cockfighting

It looks like the New Mexico Legislature has the fortitude to move towards banning cockfighting themselves!! I wish our Legislature had the same degree of courage.


Election Fraud and Cockfight Proponents


Speaking of our Legislature, as we mentioned yesterday, Walt Roberts, a former state Legislator and candidate for Congress pleaded guilty to election violations. Walt was one of the defenders of cockfighting during his days in our state Legislature. The following from Animal People gives an idea of how Walt operated:

"Alleged cockfighting violence even spilled into the Oklahoma state legislature in January, when according to representative Charles Gray (D-Oklahoma City), Oklahoma Game Breeders Association member Walt Roberts “told me that if I filed a bill to ban cockfighting, he’d have 4,000 to 5,000 people come to the state capitol and work me over. I don’t take kindly to being threatened,” Gray explained to Mick Hinton of the Daily Oklahoman. “Roberts is still mad because some of us didn’t support him enough” in an unsuccessful race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1998. “So I included in the bill some other things that Roberts likes, like rodeos and hunting, and I like them too,” Gray continued.

Roberts denied threatening Gray––and got what he wanted, when the breadth of the Gray bill convinced Oklahoma house criminal justice committee chair Bill Paulk to table it without consideration. Cockfighting has been legal in Oklahoma since 1963, but a Daily Oklahoman poll of 750 residents found in early January that 54% were unaware it is legal, 65% would vote to outlaw it, 30% would favor it, and only 6% would actually attend a cockfight. "

Walt's pro-cockfighting buddy, Senator Gene Stipe, is also in trouble in the election fraud scandal. Is that a surprise?

The Little Quonset Hut on the Prairie

As I think of some of our most colorful Legislators I am reminded of one such fellow that for years, like more than a few fellow Legislators, kept a mistress in Oklahoma City for entertainment Monday - Thursday. This particular Senator bought his mistress a Quonset Hut-style building on Lincoln Blvd near the State Capitol and proceeded to "persuade" state agencies to rent office space in her building. For years and years her building was 100% occupied by state agencies. The time came to sell the building. A prospective buyer took a look at the record of many years of 100% occupancy and paid a high price for the old tin building. As soon as the Senator's mistress sold the building all of the agencies moved out. I wonder if the hapless buyer ever figured out what he did wrong?

Has Gene Stipe finally Slipped Up?

Dustbury shares the opinion of a lot of Oklahomans that Senator Gene Stipe has gotten away with too much for way too long.

It probably wasn't any big surprise that failed Congressional candidate Walt Roberts entered a guilty plea to various
counts of conspiracy; many of us have been wondering just where this good ol' boy was finding all this campaign financing.

Dustbury points us to a cagey article in the Daily Oklahoman that dances around the "McAlester lawyer" that has apparently been implicated in the investigation of Walt Roberts. Could they possibly mean Senator Gene Stipe??!!!

Gene Stipe has wiggled his way out of so many run-ins with the law that you have to admire his intelligence - while hating the way he has abused his power, controlled the Legislature for decades, and generally behaved in an above-the-law sort of way. I remember the times he has been reported to have been stopped speeding or "allegedly" driving drunk and managed to get out of it. He may be the fellow that got a law passed years ago that allows our Legislators to legally break the speed limit if they are going to or from the Legislature.

Senator Stipe hides a sharp mind behind a good ol' boy charisma. You can't help but like him when you are in his company - until you think about all the bad things he has done. His latest bout of underhandedness has him working with the cockfighters to overturn the vote on cockfighting by lowering the penalties to a point that the law is useless. That's just the latest reason to loath what this man has done to Oklahoma.

Very few people are completely without good however and Gene Stipe has probably done good too. He did give over $1 million to put a dome on our Capitol and his name, even if he ends up in a prison, will forever be emblazoned in large letters on the inside lip of the Capitol dome. He might want to take a picture of it.

The First Demo for Prez in Okieland

On February 23rd, US Senator John Edwards visited Tulsa and spoke to early supporters at the Tulsa Garden Club. The promoter of the event was State Senator Kevin Easley of East Tulsa and Wagoner County. Senator Easley has made an early move to be Edwards' key man in Oklahoma. Will it pay off?

The Principality of Gaffalot is an idealistic new micronation that was formed by a group of disgrunteled cockfighters, sick and tired of the disgusting acts of their government. Gaffalot has been an interesting new experiment so far, it is moving towards become one of the worlds only participatory monarchy and the present ruler, Prince Frank Shurdum (who doesn't usually write about himself in third person) has passed a number of controversial laws including the legalization of cockfighting and bull fighting. 'Gaffalot will be what we make it, and with our best efforts it can be a micronational utopia'.

Finding Your Legislator in Oklahoma

You can either look for your state senator or representative Monday through Thursday noon at the State Capitol or you can find them online at the following website sponsored by AU. Even if you don't agree with the mission of the AU feel free to use their site to locate your State Legislator with your zip code. If you can't find them at either of these places you should look at the Faculty Club on Lincoln Blvd at lunch hours, in the hotel bars along Lincoln Blvd. after 5 pm, or at the many breakfasts, lunches, dinners and receptions that lobby groups host for the Legislators. These are hard to find though because they aren't advertised.

If you are looking for Senator Frank Shurden or Representative Randall Irwin you should look for them where you hear that democracy is under attack.

The Gaylords of Oklahoma City - An Article that won't be seen in Oklahoma.

The Dallasnews.com has an interesting look at the Daily Oklahoman Gaylord Empire in Oklahoma City. As the article points out, the newspaper conglomerate is in transition. Many welcome any opening up of this tightly-controlled family newspaper that has ruled Oklahoma City for a hundred years. The shame is that this article would never appear in Oklahoma, not even in the Tulsa World. Everyone (well, almost everyone) is afraid of crossing the Gaylords.

Church muscle fights right to vote

Whether or not one thinks Governor Henry's proposed lottery for education is a good idea or not I can see no reasonable argument against letting the people vote on the lottery question. Yet tax-exempt churches and faith-based (all Christian) organizations have suddenly turned on the squeeze and frightened many Legislators to back away from supporting a bill that would put the matter to a public vote. As reported in a KOTV story the churches are determined to not let the people get a chance to decide. While many of us are ambivalent on the lottery issue we cannot be ambivalent about the citizens right to vote on an issue. The churches are acting in an undemocratic fashion and should be ashamed of their attempt to deny us the right to vote.

Sure, this matter should be decided by our Legislators we elected to represent us but like on many controversial issues, the Legislature wants to punt to the public. Given that, let's do their job for them but lets not let the Baptist Church do it for us.

Tulsa World's Janet Pearson Focuses Attention on Legislature

Janet Pearson, the tireless editorial writer at the Tulsa World, continues to focus attention on the cockfighters' buddies at the Oklahoma Legislature. In the Sunday World she again reveals the underhanded good ol' boy network that has keep the cockfighting issue from being settled. She points out that several urban Senators are voting the cockfighters way, presumably because they are trading their votes on this issue to garner votes on their pet issues. Trouble is, they aren't representing their constituents - which is, after all, what they were elected to do. Citizens are understandably tired of the games Legislators play at the Capitol. Fed-up voters voted in term limits as a result of their disgust. More and more people just don't vote anymore because they have become so disgusted with these Capitol games. The only thing left to do is focus in on the game players like Senators Jerry Smith and Ford of Tulsa with laser-like attention and make them pay at the voting booth.

An Oklahoman's Thoughts on War

I had the pleasure of hearing the Rev. Marlin Lavanhar of All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa talk on the subject of whether a upcoming war in Iraq will cost America its soul. The Rev., neither a hawk or a pacifist, made some of the most salient observations I've heard on the subject. Certainly he made more sense than any of the cable TV pundits I've suffered through in recent months. He expressed great concern for both the Allied troops and the Iraqi people who will all suffer but he also asked us to think about what engaging in this particular war will do to the soul of our nation. The Reverend believes war is sometimes a necessary evil but he does not believe this particular war is a just war. I hope he will soon place his discussion on the web. In the meantime, check out his other work.

Greg Main named to head Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center

Again, OkiePundit was half-right! On October 22, 2002 this blog said former Secretary of Commerce, Greg Main, was being promoted as new leader of the OTCC. Yesterday, the OTCC announced his selection. There was talk at the time of combining the OTCC and the Oklahoma Manufacturers' Alliance. That may yet happen, but for the time being we'll take 50%. Greg Main is an excellent selection. He has years of economic development and venture capital experience.

Cockfighting Could be Culprit in Spread of Exotic Newcastle disease

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) today called on Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to crack down on the organized cockfighting industry, which operates illegally throughout the United States and which now appears responsible for bringing a highly infectious poultry disease, known as Exotic Newcastle disease (END), to California, Arizona, and Nevada and causing an outbreak that has already cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Oddly enough, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, Dennis Howard, has been an outspoken advocate of cockfighting. The webpage of his own agency currently has an alert displayed warning Oklahoma farmers of the threat of Exotic Newcastle disease. Ironically, the alert warns the "gamefowl industry", the euphemism for the underground cockfighting network, to guard against the spread of END.

Howard is currently under fire from agriculture groups in Oklahoma and many have asked Governor Brad Henry to remove Howard from his new cabinet.

Senators vote to rewrite an initiative adopted by voters in November by a margin of 124,000 votes.

Following up on our story on the Oklahoma Senate Appropriations Committee vote to rewrite and weaken the anti-cockfighting bill passed by the citizens last November we have some information on the vote. The Committee approved a bill by Senator Shurden that would decrease the penalty for cockfighting from a felony to a misdemeanor.

The Senators in the Committee did not take a roll call vote but passed the weakening bill out of Committee by voice vote. Observors at the Committee vote do report that the following Senators voted in favor of the bill to weaken the anti-cockfighting law: Charles Ford of Tulsa, Maxine Horner of Tulsa, Mike Johnson of Kingfisher/Oklahoma City, Jerry Smith of Tulsa, and Daisy Lawler of Comanche.

Voting in favor of honoring the law (and the people) as passed by a statewide vote in November were Senators: Mike Morgan D-Stillwater, Cliff Branan R-OKC, Randy Brogden R-Owasso, Jim Williamson R-Tulsa, Monson D-OKC, Jonathan Nichols R-Norman, Nancy Riley R-Tulsa, Mark Snyder R-Edmond, and Cliff Aldridge R- Wagoner. Sen. Mark Snyder, said the public knew what they voted on in November. "The majority has spoken. We have a responsibility to the public to accept their will," Snyder said.

The cockfighters friend, Senator Shurden, said rural Oklahoma had been victimized by a smear campaign by animal rights activists pushing the cockfighting ban. He said the ban passed only because of a heavy vote for it in the metropolitan areas. I suppose he means urban voters either should refrain from voting in statewide elections or their votes should count less than rural votes. Urban voters should take note that several of their Senators voted for Shurden's bill and thus apparently agree with Shurden's odd "logic" of democracy. Urban Legislators that vote in favor of the cockfighters position should be targets for defeat at the polls in the next election.

Shurden's bills can still be defeated on the floor of the Senate and House. Make your calls.

Oklahoma Senate Appropriations Committee Shames Itself


The Senate Appropriations Committee today voted to pass Senator Shurden's bill to overturn the vote of the people on cockfighting. This outrageous bill now goes to the entire Senate for a vote. The sheer arrogance of the Senators that voted to ignore the vote of the people is amazing, even by Oklahoma Legislature "standards". We will have a list of those Senators who voted in favor of Shurden's bill here as soon as it is available. In the meantime, call your Senator at 405-524-0126 and let him/her know how outraged we are that they would even consider re-writing and weakening a law that the people just passed through the initiative petition process. We should also call Governor Brad Henry at 405-523-4232 and ask him to publicly say he will veto any bill sent to him that seeks to overturn the will of the people as expressed in their overwhelming vote to ban cockfighting a few months ago.

Don't Miss the Super War II

In Borders bookstore tonight I noticed a Point of Sale display for a book called "Dessert Warfare" the coming war in Iraq. The cover said the book contained all the latest poop on the likely war strategies, the weaponry, the forces on each side, etc. With this book warphiles can closely follow the war as it unfolds and keep tabs on how many points each side scores. I can imagine these people sitting before the TV watching CNN and rapidly flipping through the book to find the likely weapons system or smart bomb that just blew up the building on the screen in front of them. It's all rather ghoulish isn't it? What does this kind of book say about us?

The Axis of Confused Principles

William Safire has a good point about the China-Russia-France-Germany Axis inconsistency in principle:

For the past year, the central message that Saddam's protectors have been sending to the United States is: Do not "go it alone." On the contrary, take the multilateral route. Seek the world's support through UN consensus.
.
But when it comes to the weaponry menace on the other side of the world, the message of Paris-Berlin-Moscow-Beijing is exactly the opposite.

Safire points out that the Axis is telling the US to handle the North Korea problem on its own while telling us not to handle Iraq on our own. Beijing and Moscow have been particularly unwilling to lift a finger to help with the nuclear madmen in North Korea, in their own backyard. Russia and China are too interested in business opportunities in North Korea and don't want to spoil their chances.

Senator Inhofe and John Erling and Church and State

John Erling of KRMG radio in Tulsa is in a spat with US Senator Jim Inhofe. In a recorded interview with Erling the Senator blasted Erling for criticizing him for his trips to Africa, for not calling in on time for scheduled interviews, etc. The Senator informed Erling he was canceling his periodic on-air discussions and taking his interviews to Erling's more conservative KRMG radio host, Wes Minter. It was an interesting exchange but Inhofe came off as a vindictive brat.

Several months ago I was in an audience when Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty of Tulsa told the audience that Senator Inhofe sets up meetings with African heads of state on the pretense of official discussions and then uses the meetings to proselytize his Christian beliefs and to "bring the Africans to Christ". Whether one believes in Christianity or not, it is certainly not ethical for our elected officials to arrange meetings on the pretense of official discussions and then to promote a certain religious viewpoint. That is a misuse of official standing and position. That is a role for missionaries, not elected officials. This kind of behavior is an illustration of the need for separation of church and state.

Republicans, Wes Watkins and Worms


The Daily Oklahoman reports today that the national Republican Party donated more than $500,000 to three Oklahoma organizations as part of an arrangement to get leftover campaign money from retired U.S. Rep. Wes Watkins.
The Republicans gave $275,000 to the Oklahoma State University Foundation; $140,000 to Rural Enterprises Inc. in Durant; and $100,000 to the Oklahoma Foundation for Career and Technology Education.

At the end of last year, Watkins still had almost $200,000 in his campaign account. He said he might use the money to establish a charitable organization that would donate fertilizer to poor countries where soil quality inhibits agricultural productivity. This is apparently related to Watkin's latest passion, vermiculture - or worm farming. Watkins wants to farm worms to create fertilizer and sell or give it to Africa. Watkins has made more than one trip to Nigeria in recent years.

Citizens Against Paper Napkins

The Nuthatch of Arkansas brings the following to our attention: an Oklahoma Legislator has actually introduced a bill to require barbecue restaurants to provide cloth napkins to diners. It's about time that the Oklahoma Legislature tackled this niggling itch of a problem that has festered far too long. Unscrupulous "bar-b-q" eateries began substituting paper napkins for the real thing in the 1970s and today it is a commonly held belief that cloth napkins at a barbecue are, shall we say, like a pinkie ring on a billy-bob.

Katherine Taylor

I was half right on the Secretary of Commerce slot - Brad Henry appointed Tulsan Katherine Taylor (not Cathy Taylor) to be his Secretary of Commerce and Tourism. Reports are that Ms. Taylor will be the Secretary for two agencies AND the executive director of Commerce. How one person can do this effectively remains to be seen. Ms. Taylor is very capable and intelligent but no one can do all those jobs and be good at it.

It seems that the Governor now has a cabinet full of attorneys. That can't be good.