Oklahoma's College Saving Plan

You've probably read about the college savings plans that most states have now. They are called 529 plans. Oklahoma has one too and according to consumer advocate Clark Howard, Oklahoma's plan is in the top 11 plans in the nation. Clark evaluated each state plan and came up with a list of those that charge no commission and very low management fees. You can see Oklahoma's 529 plan at www.ok4saving.com

He said, She said Diplomacy

Now that North Korea has admitted that they have already developed nuclear weapons in violation of the agreement of 1994 President Bush must decide how to handle two ends of the Axis of Evil simultaneously. The Administration is mulling over strategies to take on North Korea diplomatically while attacking Iraq with a "vast coalition" that they are cobbling together. I'm surprised the obvious hasn't occurred to them. This is actually a splendid opportunity and should be handled the way any high schooler would. Colin Powell should surprise everyone and make a trip to Baghdad to meet Saddam. After having lunch with the Iraqi dictator he should proceed on to Pyongyang to have dinner with Kim Jong-il, the alien life form that rules North Korea. While at dinner Powell should whisper in Kim's ear that Saddam thinks Kim's hair is positively the goofiest he's ever seen. And besides that, Saddam is telling all the other dictators that Kim can't keep any of his kidnapped Scandinavian hos satisfied. Powell should get Kim really pissed off before shuttling back to Baghdad to tell Saddam that Kim said that his lips were fat like a camel's and show him Kim's Little Red Book of Saddam Jokes that the CIA created in their fake documents lab. Powell should keep this up until Iraq and North Korea attack and annihilate each other. We won't have to fire a missile.

Christmas Driving

I've done almost all of my Christmas shopping but today I had to do a little last minute shopping. What is it with people behind wheels at this time of year? A minority, a very noticable minority, of them go crazy just before Christmas. They become rude, aggressive, monsters that will risk lives to get a parking place. Even in Oklahoma, where most drivers will stop to let pedestrians cross a street (try that in Dallas!), the normal civility is hard to find at these times.

BBB to the Rescue?


I recently had a need to enlist the aid of the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma. I had been ripped off by an auto repair shop in a small town near Oklahoma City and they were refusing to even deal with me. I didn't want to go to the expense of suing the shop so I contacted the BBB on their national website, filled out their online complaint form and waited. The BBB in Oklahoma City was pretty quick about writing the auto shop and asking for their side of the story. The crooks at the auto shop wrote back and denied any responsibility even though I had written statements from a car dealership saying the little shop caused hundreds of dollars of additional damage to my car in their bungled attempt to fix a small problem.

Here's where I thought the BBB would either whip the crooks into shape or at least force them to settle with me - or maybe just humor me a bit. Instead, the BBB did nothing. They did not reply to my letter stating my dissatisfaction with the auto shops refusal to consider a remedy and with the BBB's lack of aggressiveness in the matter. Apparently, the BBB can't do a thing about businesses that rip customers off. The most the BBB does is keep a record of complaints. And that is not reliable. Months after I filed my complaint it still hasn't shown up in the BBB online database on that auto shop. All their database tells one about the company is that it is a member of the BBB! Hmmmm?

If you have a complaint against a business that rips customers off and doesn't care - don't waste your time with the BBB of Central Oklahoma. Where do you go to file a complaint against the BBB?

The Dangers of Staffing by Patronage

Brad Henry has charged his transition team with reviewing the various state agencies he will take nominal charge of on January 13th. I say nominal, because boards and commissions control so many of the state's agencies that the Governor does not have has much control as the public would expect. In many cases, agencies are overseen by appointed commissions whose membership he has not appointed. Nevertheless, the transition team has been broken up into three or four-member committees that are interviewing the leadership of the state agencies now. Word is that their recommendations are due next week.

Brad Henry has taken a bipartisan approach thus far - appointing both Democrats and Republicans to the transition team. Preliminary signs are that he is not going to politicize the agencies he controls. Politicization, replacing everyone in state agencies with partisan cronies and friends-of-cronies, is destructive in the short and long-terms. In Texas, even the secretaries in the agencies get replaced if they aren't of the "right" party. It's one reason Texas' state government is as ineffective as it is. Their agencies have no institutional memory. Everyone that knows what mistakes not to repeat, get thrown out everytime the Governor changes. Texas' state government is so politicized that there is constant political struggling in every section of every state agency. It's hard to get the peoples' work done if everyone from agency head to secretary and mail room clerk owes their position to political patronage. That has, to a large degree, not been the case in Oklahoma. Let's hope it stays that way.

U.S. versus The World

I try to focus OkiePundit on matters related to Oklahoma but it is undeniable that we are not isolated, that what happens in Bali or Buenos Aires also often affects Oklahomans. It's with this global scope in mind that I want to draw your attention to just how out of step our foreign policy is with that of most other countries. I wouldn't argue that the U.S. needs to compromise our principles or allow others to determine a foreign policy for us that is not in our best interests. But I would argue that a principle-centered foreign policy would be in our best interest and that such a standard often eludes us.

The examples below illustrate the isolationist voting of the United States on important selected issues over a two-decade period at the United Nations:

U.S. Voting Record

Ending the US embargo against Cuba 155 countries voted Yes 2 countries voted No
Abolition of land mines treaty 133 countries voted Yes Only the U.S, voted NO
UN Convention on rights of children 180 countries voted YES Only the U.S. and Somalia voted NO
Condemnation of Israel for human rights abuse 121 countries voted YES Only the US voted NO

Can so many other nations be wrong? Why do we so often find ourselves totally alone in our stance? What does this tell us?

Brad Henry a bi-partisan leader?

Brad Henry is talking bi-partisanship and his transition team tends to confirm his desire to be a governor for ALL of Oklahoma. There are a lot of Republicans on that transition team. Even Governor Keating's former chief-of-staff, Ken Lackey, is on the team. That's a good start. Let's hope it's not window-dressing.

Robert Butkin is weilding big influence with Governor-elect Henry - that's good news for anyone interested in honest, crony-free government. Butkin, widely respected by Democrats, Republicans and independents, is said to be in charge of vetting cabinet postings. Let's hope he searches out the best candidates for the cabinet. Invariably, the best candidates are those who don't put themselves forward for the posts. The really good ones have to be sought out and asked in the name of public service.

If they want it so much to ask for it or demand it, please don't give it to them Mr. Henry.

Henry Cabinet?

Among the names being tossed around for Governor-elect Brad Henry's cabinet include former Tulsa mayor Rodger Randle, or Senate staff director Connie Irby as Henry's pick for Secretary of Commerce. Former state senator Brooks Douglas for Secretary of Tourism. Former state senator Paul Muegge for Secretary of Agriculture. Former Keating chief-of-staff Ken Lackey as Henry's chief-of-staff. Former OU football coach Barry Switzer can have any slot he wants.

Black Friday and Divorce Court

Did you go shopping on Black Friday? I was determined to avoid the insanity at the shopping malls on this, the busiest shopping day of the year. I did, for reasons I won't go into, did end up having to go to an electronics store in search of an emergency item. The store, of course, didn't have what I needed. But then I spotted a couple of CDs on sale. I picked them up and headed for the checkout area where I spotted a long line with a befuddled-looking teenage cashier trying to cope with the job. I laid the CDs down and left the building. Argh! The traffic was bad but the drivers were worse. The lack of civility in society is a peeve of mine and so being exposed to rude drivers tends to shorten my life with toxins pumped into my system. I try to be Buddha-like and go with the flow but when jerks in autos do their jerk things I just want to strangle them. But all I succeed in doing is making myself upset because roadways are not conducive to chasing down jerks and strangling them.

That's why I keep an Enya cassette tape handy for calming on days like Black Friday. So today, as I idled in line watching jerks speed down a closed lane and nose into line ahead of those of us who get in lines I was glad I had Enya there with me. Oh, happy holidays.

Then I stopped in SuperCuts for a haircut. I was third in line and there was nothing to read while I waited. The women who were cutting hair had a TV blaring with a program I later learned was called Divorce Court. A series of the most irritating, inarticulate people were screaming and crying on this horrid show. The "judge" hearing their cases was almost as irritating as the fools that had placed themselves on national television to air their most embarrassing problems. I couldn't shut it out, the TV was turned up high. The women in the shop were eating it up. The men who were waiting were rolling their eyes or tightening their jaws. I contemplated leaving without my haircut but I stuck this one out. I vowed that next time I'd bring my portable cassette player and Enya cassette with me to the barbershop.

Dogfighting in Creek County

The day before Thankgiving, in Creek County, county sheriff deputies arrested four "people" for engaging in dogfighting. The deputies took possession of 53 dogs, many of them in terrible condition. According to the Sapulpa Herald there were three dogfighting arenas west of Sapulpa, one inside a barn. "The indoor arena's sideboards were caked with blood," said Creek County investigator Cpl. Terry Burton. "What we found was just disgusting, just disgusting," he said. "To think there were people who would put two dogs together to fight is just disgusting."

The deputies also found drugs and firearms on the property. Humane groups and law enforcement officers have tied dogfighting and cockfighting to drugs and other crimes but this may be the most recent confirmation of the claim. According to the Oklahoman, those arrested were James Fiarris, 55, Jamme A. Fiarris, 54, both of Sapulpa, Roger M. Scott, 50, of Tulsa, and Steven King, also know as "DJ Spinmaster," of Broken Arrow. Scott reportedly works for the City of Tulsa and had driven to the areanas in a city truck.
An investigator said fights were held on Sundays at the areanas and that at least 30 vehicles were seen to be parked there.

Let's thank the Creek County Sheriff's office and detective Cpl. Terry Burton for investigating and arresting those alledged to be involved in this most barbaric of cruelties. Let's also urge maximum prosecution. Thank you calls should go to:

Creek County Sheriff's Office
P.O. Box 927
Sapulpa, Oklahoma 74067

Phone: (918) 224-4964

Brad Henry's Transition Team

Governor-Elect Henry announced his transition team on Friday and everyone is scratching their heads to understand why there are so many academics on the lightweight, but bi-partisan team. Not that there's anything wrong with university professors and administrators but where are his cronies? There's a lot of term-limited State Senators fresh out of jobs and wanting to know where their cushy jobs are. The most likely scenario is that the real powers are behind the scene and the transition team will not be selecting a cabinet for the Governor-elect. None of the expected cabinet members are on the transition team. Senators Dave Herbert, Kelly Haney, Brooks Douglas, etc are not on the transition team. Dave Herbert and Kelly Haney would be good choices but lets hope Brad Henry does not load his agencies with friends and cronies from the State Senate. That would be an early kiss of death for his administration.

Another kiss of death to success is a Governor that surrounds himself with young neophytes in the Governor's office. It's cursed many a Governor and is hard to recover from. The Governor-elect would be wise to hire just a few pragmatic and experienced Oklahomans rather than a bevy of fresh recruits from the Young Democrats. Hopefully he won't make the mistake of hiring out-of-state political hacks for chief-of-staff (like Lt Gov Mary Fallin has). If the Lt Governor wants to ever become Governor she needs to stop hiring chiefs-of-staff who insult and irritate her allies and constituents.

Oklahoma's Tax Credits for Child Care program a failure

Quoting a report by the National Women's Law Center report the Washington Post points out in a November 18th article that the tax-credit system launched by nearly two dozen states, including Oklahoma, to boost corporate investment in child care has been a failure. The Post says that some public money was diverted from child-care programs, according to a report by the National Women's Law Center.

In the report, "The Little Engine That Hasn't: The Poor Performance of Employer Tax Credits for Child Care," researchers reviewed employer tax-credit use in 20 states and found that in 16 of them five or fewer corporations had ever applied for the credits. In five states -- Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -- not a single corporation had claimed the credits.

More on Senator Frank Shurden

A couple of years ago when Senator Shurden was doing everything he could to stop the people of Oklahoma from having a chance to vote on cockfighting he came up with the brilliant idea of Legislation (HB 1375) that would stop the anti-cockfighting group from bypassing the Legislature and going straight to the people. Shurden would have the Legislature put a vote on the ballot that would change the Oklahoma Constitution to require double the number of signatures required on initiative petitions if the issue had something to do with animals. If the people passed his ballot initiative he figured the anti-cockfighters would never be able to reach such a high requirement. Instead of about 70,000 signatures they would have to get about 150,000. Shurden thought this would be a way to get the hunters and fishermen to siddle up to his cockfighter buddies. They could pitch it as a measure to stop the "animal rights" people from targeting the hunters and fishermen after they dispatched the cockfighters. Shurden succeeded in getting our Legislature to go along with this crafty but undemocratic idea to establish an unequal system for voter initiatives.

But Shurden was counting on the cockfighting initiative that was currently underway to be killed in the courts by the cockfighter's attorney. Well, he bet wrong and Shurden's bill (SQ 698) AND the anti-cockfighting vote (SQ 687) showed up on the same ballot in November 2002. SQ 687 was on the ballot because over 100,000 Oklahomans signed an initiative petition within a three-month period to get it to a vote. Shurden's bill was on the ballot because he had enough fellow Legislators backward enough to buy in or trade votes in backroom deals. When the two state questions appeared on the ballot this month, Senator Shurden and his ilk were roundly defeated on both statewide votes.

Now it is instructive to return to Senator Shurden's statements of just over a year ago when he was attacking State Representative Russ Roach for trying to stop Shurden's bill to put the two-tier initiative petition idea on the ballot. According to the Oklahoma Rifle Association "The Henryetta legislator challenged Rep. Roach to "trust the people" on HB 1375, pointing out that the measure would put the question to a statewide vote. 'I don't understand why Rep Roach is afraid to trust the people on this question-Let's put the bull aside and let the people decide," said Sen. Shurden."

Fast forward to November 2002. The people have decided, Senator Shurden. They have spoken in no uncertain terms. Cockfighting was overwhelming defeated and your attempt to keep animal-related issues off the ballot has been soundly defeated. Now lets see who trusts the people.

A Majestic Symbol of Progress for Oklahoma

Today, 16,000 people watched the dedication of the 155-foot-tall dome that finally completed the 85-year-old Oklahoma Capitol building. Anyone who has visited the pre-dome Capitol and seen the new domed Capitol can appreciate what a difference there is. The dome gives the seat of our state government a majesty that can serve to raise our expectations of what our state can be. We owe our appreciation to Governor Frank Keating for leading the effort to raise the private money to fund the dome. We also owe appreciation to all the donors that made it a reality. All but $1.8 million of the $21 million cost came from private citizens and corporations. For decades our Legislature didn't have the backbone or vision to fund the completion of the Capitol. So, again, someone else had to do what the Legislature should have done.

We can't blame the decades of waiting entirely on the Legislature however. There's been a plentiful supply of crabby, vision-less citizens that frothed at the mouth every time someone talked of finishing the Capitol with a dome. It's these vociferous nay-sayers that Legislators run from. I was having a conversation with one such woman recently when the topic of the Capitol building came up. She suddenly launched into an epitaph-laden explosion of spitting emotion over the use of tax monies to build a dome. How dare the Governor spend money on "his dome" instead of on schools. She wasn't interested in the facts about private funding I tried to tell her about. She cared nothing about the kind of symbolism that lifts a people to a higher level, gives them a point on which to hang their pride, and shows the world that we are proud of who we are.

The Dome is that.

State Agriculture Commissioner Helping Cockfighters to Thwart Citizens' Will

This cockfighting war in Oklahoma just keeps getting more and more bizarre. The Daily Oklahoman reports today that Dennis Howard, the Commissioner of Agriculture in Oklahoma, announced he was considering becoming involved in the cockfighters attempt to weaken the anti-cockfighting law that was overwhelmingly passed by the electorate last week. According to the article, Howard is considering using the legal staff at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture to try to help the cockfighters overturn the new law by joining in the effort to get a Little Dixie judge to declare the law unconstitutional. A few days after the law passed in a statewide vote cockfighters succeeded in getting District Judge Willard Driesel of Idabel to issue an injunction against enforcement of the ban pending consideration of whether it was unconstitutional. Some have speculated that cockfighters are taking this action in far southeast Oklahoma where their base is strongest in an effort to remove the contest from media view as much as possible.

Dennis Howard was an early opponent of the anti-cockfighting campaign. According to the Tulsa World, Howard, a state employee, traveled to cockfighter meetings in 1999 to advise them on how to stop the Oklahoma Coalition Against Cockfighting's initiative petition drive. In an October 10, 1999 Tulsa World article Dennis Howard was quoted as saying:

"I gave them a lesson in Politics 101," Dennis Howard said, describing his presentation to cockfighters at the Oklahoma Gamefowl Breeders Association's annual meeting in McAlester. "I told them, `You need to pick an election date when you can win.' "

The World said that Howard advised the cockfighters to do everything they could to challenge the signature process and postpone the cockfighting measure to an election date other than the presidential election of 2000. Howard said that the bigger the election turnout by voters the worse their chances of winning were.

After the cockfighters failed in their attempt to have enough signatures disqualified from the initiative petition Howard put his state agency to work to assist the cockfighters. In a letter on state stationery dated September 7, 2000, and widely used by the cockfighters, Burke L. Healey, DVM and director of Howard's Animal Industry Services Division said:

"The gamefowl industry is significant to Oklahoma's economy. There are millions of dollars pumped into the state through the retail sales of gamefowl out of our state to other states and other countries... Understand that I promote agriculture commerce and the gamefowl industry is a large part of our economy. I truely hope it will continue in the future."

During the cockfighter's campaign to defeat State Question 687 (that banned cockfighting) they sited estimates from Howard's Department of Agriculture that the "gamefowl" (cockfighting) industry "pumps $105 million into Oklahoma". Proponents of SQ 687 demanded the substantiating data for the supposed Agriculture study but the Department of Agriculture was not forthcoming. The state's media were also unable to obtain any information to support the Department of Agriculture's reported figures.

The cockfighters took the Ag chief's advice and through court challenges were able to delay the vote until November 2002. The people of Oklahoma finally got their chance to tell the politicians what they wanted. By a margin of well over 100,000 votes Oklahomans let Dennis Howard and the Legislature know that they wanted cockfighting banned and they wanted it to be a felony to engage in cockfighting. After three-years of support of the secretive cockfighter/gambling network Howard is trying to step in in the guise of an objective state official.

Citizens may rightly be asking if Dennis Howard (e-mail at: dennis.howard@gov.state.ok.us) has used state funds to support the much-disdained cockfighters' association in their efforts to keep Oklahomans from voting on the controversial issue and to distribute misleading information designed to support the cockfighting side. The media should now be asking why Howard wants to use the state's resources to try to overturn a resounding vote of the people to ban this third-world bloodsport in Oklahoma. Perhaps its time for the State Auditor and Inspector to look into whether Howard has inappropriately utilized state resources?

Thanks to J. Casey for contributing the above.

Partisans Take Over TV

I can't stand to turn on any of the news programs because all they talk about is what the President and Republicans did right and what the Democrats did wrong and who is in control. Party politics are the bane of democracy. There is hope however. More and more Americans are becoming independents and are voting for individuals and their stands on issues rather than for parties. This is generally good news. I qualify my statement with Gary Richardson in mind.

Jesse Ventura turned out better than I anticipated. It was refreshing to hear him say things that other politicians are too dishonest to say. It was great to see him walk out of the memorial service for Senator Wellstone when some of the Democrats turned it into a crass political rally. The Democrats paid for their base behavior when a Republican won the Senate race in Minnesota.

Now the Republican right controls the presidency, the Senate and the House. We will pay for this I'm sure.

Anyone want to guess how much we paid to get Russia, China and France to sign on to the United Nations' resolution on Iraq? I would guess a minimum of $10 billion - most of it to Russia.

Who's in the Cabinet?

The Daily Oklahoman today says that State Senator Dave Herbert and Senator Brooks Douglass are rumored to be in the running for the state Secretary of Commerce slot on Gov-elect Henry's cabinet. A radio station in Oklahoma City also said Steve Largent was under consideration as Commerce Secretary. Let's hope Brad Henry chooses wisely and does not surround himself with neophytes and political hacks. Many a governor has injured his standing because he did not seek out relevant experience for these jobs. Many a well-meaning and well-scrubbed 20 or 30-something political groupie have led their governor into a political morass. Just because one has been a state senator does not mean he/she has the relevant experience to manage a large state agency. Former Senator Brooks Douglas would be a poor choice for any position of responsibility in the Henry Cabinet or at any state agency. The Senator has a reputation at the Capitol for irresponsibility and a penchant for skipping important meetings at a whim. Largent would be a dramatic demonstration of inclusiveness by the Governor-elect.

I sense that someone is writing a $500,000 check


Sunday night I was skimming the cable channels when I happened across TBN, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, a Christian TV network. An attractive woman was gesticulating wildly at the camera and telling me that she knew I had $84 ready to give to the Lord and all I had to do was walk to the phone and call. Her style was mesmerizing. She rocked forwards and backwards into the camera lens, her long-nailed fingers wrapped around a large mike. Her arms moved with the smooth flow and rhythm of a Balinese dancer. Tall, thin and blond she was unlike any TV evangelist I had ever seen. Words flowed from between her lips in a non-stop stream begging me to give to the Lord via TBN. She promised that I'd realize a ten-fold increase as a result of my giving. In the background a couple of young men, one black, one white, mouthed inaudible words - of praise I assume.

Then I noticed another lady in the background. She had the biggest hair I've ever seen on a head. To know what that means you've got to know that I've been to a Jehovah's Witnesses convention AND to an Andy Williams performance. This lady still had the biggest hair I've ever seen. And more dark eye shadow than Tammy Faye Baker. I'd seen her on TV before. I think she is a co-founder of TBN. Five minutes of this was interesting but I moved on to other things.

A half-hour later I surf back to TBN and the tall blonde is still going non-stop. She's telling me that she senses that someone listening is going to give $500,000 today. Well now I'm sure she's not talking to me. Wait! Now she says she senses someone who is going to give $5,000. She's headed downmarket. I switch it off before we make a connection. This is dangerous stuff. She's good.

Brad Henry's Picks and State Chamber woes

The Capitol is abuzz with rumors of who will be in Governor-Elect Henry's cabinet. The most often heard version is that Senators Kelly Haney, Dave Herbert, and Brooks Douglas will be on the cabinet. Some say that Kelly Haney, who ran against Brad Henry for the Democrat nomination for Governor, will be Secretary of Commerce. Given Haney's experience in financing that would be a good move. Haney impressed many with his positive campaign.

The State Chamber is running scared. It was no secret that the State Chamber was close to Largent and fearful of trial lawyer-supported Henry. The State Chamber was a leader in the successful effort to bring Right-to-Work to Oklahoma earlier this year. The unions, which supported Henry, have it out for the State Chamber now and are expecting Henry to put the State Chamber in the doghouse. Relations between the State Chamber and Legislative Democrats was already so bad that most Democrat candidates refused to respond to the Chambers' voter surveys this fall.

Frank Shurden, Cockfighters and Castration

Just two days after the people of Oklahoma overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to ban cockfighting Senator Frank Shurden Democrat of Henryetta told the Daily Oklahoman that he would introduce legislation next session to weaken the law the citizenry passed. Shurden said his objective was to reduce the penalties for the new law from a felony to a misdemeanor with no chance of jail time for cockfighters. Shurden was reported to have stated, erroneously, that the new law would make it illegal just to own gamefowl. Voters on Tuesday passed the question, 565,967 votes, or 56.2 percent, to 441,220, or 43.8 percent. A hefty margin in light of a campaign of disinformation by cockfighters whose advertising had tried to convince voters that the cockfighting ban would threaten hunting, rodeos and even raising chickens.

So who is this State Senator with so little regard for the voters of Oklahoma? He's the same Senator who tried every trick in the book to keep the vote on cockfighting off the ballot and then when those efforts failed, to put another question on the ballot to double the number of voters' needed to get any animal-related issue on the state ballot. The citizens of Oklahoma roundly defeated that attempt at creating two classes of voters when they defeated SQ 698 this week also. Among many others, the Daily Oklahoman and the Tulsa World had voiced their opposition to Shurden's attempt to make animal-related initiative petitions nearly impossible to get on a ballot. The Daily Oklahoman called the measure "the cockfighters' revenge" because it was introduced by Senator Shurden in an attempt to keep the cockfighting vote off the ballot. The Daily Oklahoman, a very conservative newspaper, had this to say about Shurden's bill:

Last spring the Legislature, not in one of its finest moments, placed the measure on the Nov. 5 ballot at the behest of Sen. Frank Shurden. The Henryetta Democrat was highly critical of the anti-cockfighting petition that circulated statewide, as an effort to outlaw cockfighting once and for all.

Shurden is also the Senator that introduced legislation last session to chemically castrate first offense rapists and sex offenders. When Governor Keating vetoed the bill because it clearly was a potential violation of the U.S. Constitution's 8th Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment Shurden called the Governor a "liar" and an "arrogant smart aleck". Keating responded:

"What would you do if Frank Shurden came up to you and said, 'Are you going to sign my castration bill?' You'd probably laugh and say, 'Oh sure, I'll sign your castration bill.' I mean it was considered by most (as) silly season then and it's silly season now," To have a castration law that could apply to a person who is found innocent years later "is reckless and not progressive criminal justice policy," the governor said.

Shurden had tried for several years to pass a castration bill but they had never reached the House floor until the 2002 Legislature finally passed his bill.

So, the question to Henryetta, Oklahoma is this: is Frank Shurden representative of Henryetta? I hope not.

America's Most Liberal Newspaper Right Here in River City?

The "Friends of Jim Inhofe" took out a full-page ad in the Tulsa World today to run a copy of the Daily Oklahoman's editorial endorsing Jim Inhofe for US Senate. The Tulsa World, endorsed former Governor David Walters for the Senate race. The Jim Inhofe ad reproduces the Daily Oklahoman editorial and takes a swipe at the Tulsa World by calling it "one of the most liberal newspapers in America" and refering to the Daily Oklahoman as "the largest newspaper in Oklahoma". Amazing that the World would even run such an ad, but it's admirable. It's something I cannot see the Daily Oklahoman doing.

Perhaps if you were a rightwing conservative like Jim Inhofe and his friends, and viewing the world from that extreme vantage point, you could call the Tulsa World "one of the most liberal newspapers in America". But not if you are a reasonable person. A look at the list of candidates that the World endorsed would put the lie to the Jim Inhofe ad. The World endorsed almost equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans this election cycle. They endorsed Republican Steve Largent for Governor, Democrat David Walters for US Senate, Republican John Sullivan for Congress, and Democrat Ed Edmondson for Attorney General. The Daily Oklahoman, in contrast, endorses Republicans straight down the line. Now tell me who is predictable? Who is more balanced?

Since being called "America's Worst Newspaper" by the Columbia Review of Journalism a couple of years ago, the Daily Oklahoman does seem to have improved a bit. They were ruthless in their attacks on Oklahoma Coalition Against Cockfighting founder Janet Halliburton a couple of years ago but the DO has since called for the banning of cockfighting and the defeat of SQ 698, the cockfighters attempt to change our constitution to their benefit. That editorial position could not have been expected a few years ago.

The Tulsa World, while still maintaining a moderate editorial position, does seem to have become a little more conservative lately. Let's hope for more pragmatic, independent moderation from both paper's editorial boards. Let's hope Jim Inhofe comes to moderation soon.

It's getting deep

As we wind up to the day of election the campaign ads are getting more negative. Jim Inhofe has a new one out that features a Bill Clinton lookalike that is pictured teaching a David Walters lookalike how to lie. It's pretty outrageous and childish - but it probably works with the nitwit portion of the audience. And Jim Inhofe is a devout Christian? Hey, I'm not surprised.

The cockfighters are beyond bad, they have begun to lie to the public with newspaper inserts that claim on the one hand that SQ 687 won't really ban cockfighting but on the otherhand it is somehow threatening hunting and fishing. Come on guys, you can't have it both ways. But of course, your strategy is to so confuse the public that they won't know what they are voting for or against. That's your only hope.

Cockfighter TV Ads

I just saw the first pro-cockfighting TV commercial! Of course the huckster in the ad doesn't even mention cockfighting - he says State Question 687 is really a ploy by "California radicals" to attack hunting, fishing and rodeos. Why are these miscreants lying like that? Because they have no case. The Oklahoma Gamefowl Breeders (cockfighters) strategy is to try to confuse the voters and hope the confusion will go their way in the election. Their strategy and tactics are an insult to Oklahomans. We aren't nearly as stupid as they treat us. Can we have a lottery on who gets to personally kick these idiots out of Oklahoma all the way to Louisiana?

Vacuum Cleaner Huckster

Ouch! The Claremore Progress newspaper doesn't mince words when evaluating candidate Gary Richardson:

Independent Gary Richardson is straight out of the good ol’ boys club, exhibiting the salesmanship of a vacuum cleaner huckster. If he weren’t such a successful lawyer, he would probably be a tent revival preacher performing miracles and leading repentant sinners away from perdition.

When the election is over, Richardson will return to his lucrative law practice in Tulsa and will continue to pay tolls when driving the Turner Turnpike to Oklahoma City.

They go on to endorse Steve Largent.

Oklahoman Victim in Moscow

Very sadly, an Oklahoman was the American hostage killed in the Moscow theatre when Russian troops tried to rescue hostages held by Chechens. The family of Sandy Booker was notified this morning that his body was identified as one of the more than 100 killed in the siege. The Daily Oklahoman reports that Sandy Booker had gone to Moscow to see his Russian-Kazakh fiance and her child and was in the theatre when Chechen terrorists took it over and demanded that Russian troops leave the breakaway region of Chechnya. Wire reports indicate most of the hostages died from a powerful mysterious gas used during Saturday morning's raid of the theater. Russian troops have been criticized for using a gas that they refused to identify to doctors who needed to treat the hostages felled by the gas.

Mr. Booker worked for 18 years as an electrician at the General Motors Plant in Oklahoma City. The Daily Oklahoman reports that workers at the Oklahoma City plant continued Monday to wear red, white and blue ribbons in support of Sandy Booker and his family.

118 innocent hostages died in the tragedy. 50 of 54 terrorists were killed by the Russian troops. The Russian troops may or may not be found to have made serious errors in their attempt to end the hostage situation but the Chechen terrorists who organized and instigated the hostage taking are the ones who bear direct responsibility for the heinous crime against innocent people. If they were planning on world sympathy for their cause they failed miserably.

My heart goes out to the family of Sandy Booker and to all the others who lost loved ones in this senseless crime.

What's going on?

Yulia Latynina, a Russian journalist, has an interesting viewpoint on how the Moscow tragedy fits into a bigger picture:

President Vladimir Putin kept his word and wasted the terrorists. Not in the outhouse as promised, it's true, but in the orchestra pit. The West expressed its support. The reason for this support was the West's unexpected discovery that it is waging a third world war against Islamic extremism. In that war, just as in World War II, wild and rather uncivilized Russia turns out to be an ally. I have no intention of indiscriminately knocking Islam, but for some reason we haven't seen Shintoist terrorists. The snipers captured in Washington had accepted Islam, not Buddhism.

Sullivan Gets Personal, Dodd Upset

Candidate for Congress, Doug Dodd, held a press conference today to call on his opponent, John Sullivan, to stop criticizing Dodd's children. Later, on KRMG radio in Tulsa Dodd claimed that Sullivan had been telling donors in telephone calls critical things about the Dodd children. In an interview on KRMG later, John Sullivan stopped short of a complete denial of Dodd's allegations. Dodd also complained that Sullivan had misrepresented Dodd's stand on guns to a crowd in Wagoner County. Dodd claimed to be just a cozy with the NRA as is Sullivan and blasted Sullivan for telling voters that Dodd was anti-gun. It's a shame neither of these candidates stands up against the NRA but it's also a shame that candidates bring their opponents children into the mud-slinging. It's reprehensible.

John Sullivan's tactics during the Republican primary contest with Oklahoma First Lady Cathy Keating last year were reportedly so underhanded that many of the Keating supporters couldn't support Sullivan in the general election. Many of them were rooting for Dodd when he faced off against Sullivan the first time to fill Congressman Steve Largent's vacated seat.

Years ago, when Inhofe was running against Jim Jones for Congress I went to a fundraiser for Inhofe. During Inhofe's talk I remember him telling mean-spirited jokes about Jim Jones' wife. I was so shocked at his mean-spiritedness that I not only didn't support Inhofe anymore, I've never voted for him since. We should punish this kind of candidate rather than reward them.

Despite Dodd's support of the NRA I will be voting for Doug Dodd this time.

Cockfighters State Their Case

A contact sent me a photo of a card some cockfighters left on his relative's car in an Owasso, Oklahoma parking lot this weekend. The anti-cockfighting group doesn't need to say anything. If they leave it up to the cockfighters to promote their "sport" the cockfighters will convince Oklahomans to not only ban their bloodsport but possibly go one step further and ban the cockfighters themselves.

Daily Oklahoman Wins Two Darts from CJR

As Dustbury points out, the Daily Oklahoman newspaper of Oklahoma City is awarded two of seven Darts from the Columbia Journalism Review. Seems that the Daily Oklahoman doesn't like to disclose when their owner has a financial interest in subjects they write and editorialize about.

Attacking candidate's families

Shame on JOHN M. WYLIE II who is publisher of the Oologah Lake Leader LLC. On a website for Oklahoma Democrats, Mr. Wylie posts a story with allegations against the children of governor candidate Steve Largent. I won't even go into the allegations for to do so would only play into Mr. Wylie's hands. The point to be made here is that such efforts to smear the children of candidates is reprehensible in the extreme. It's unethical, unfair and destructive of the public good. Many good people are either getting out of public service or refusing to enter public service because their families and children have become "fair game" for ruthless political hacks who will stoop very low to win at any cost - to others

You can criticize others for their beliefs, policies, and actions but don't tear down their families, especially their children - just for being related.

People With Big Brains Can't be Fooled

Further on in Mr. Wylie's post he attacks David Simpson of the Tulsa World for his political cartoon described in my October 18th post. In the cartoon Mr. Simpson shows Largent, Henry and Richardson supporters with small brains of varying sizes. Simpson's point in drawing small brains is that the supporters are not too bright (relatively speaking). However, in Mr. Wylie's post he accuses Simpson's cartoon of "stigmatizing mental illness and brain disease". This is no doubt because Mr. Wylie's candidate is shown with a smaller brain than Mr. Largent's. Any nitwit with half a brain can see that the cartoon has nothing at all to do with stigmatizing mental illness. This is an example of how partisan hacks try to tag their opponents with exagerated offenses, knowing full well that they are twisting their opponents meaning. It's a form of lying, nothing less and nothing more. Folks with Big Brains will see through it.

Tech Center Director Leaving?

Word on the street is that Dr. Randy Goldsmith, president of the state's Tech Center, is leaving the position in November. Goldsmith was a real find for Oklahoma and it's our loss that he is leaving. The street also says that the Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence and the Tech Center, both funded by the Oklahoma Center for Science and Technology (OCAST), will be combined into one organization. A group of economic developers are pushing for Greg Main, former Secretary of Commerce under David Walters and currently a venture capital leader, to take over the combined organizations.

Gary Richardson's Bad Ideas

Gary Richardson, independent candidate for governor, seems to be getting increasingly desperate as his poll numbers dip from 16% to 13% in recent days. His television ads in recent days have focused on attacking his opponents, Brad Henry and Steve Largent. Richardson's anti-Largent ad was in particularly poor taste as he sought to attack the Congressman for being on a hunting trip in Idaho on 9-11. The ad in question showed the twin towers ablaze and used music he had failed to get the musicians' permission to use. Richardson had to pull the ad when the artist threatened action. The point Richardson tries to make, that Largent should have stayed in DC for 9-11 is as nonsensical as the rest of his agenda. Was Largent supposed to put the upcoming 9-11 tragedy on his calendar?

Richardson has also called for drastic cuts in funding for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the state agency that is responsible for recruiting new business to come to Oklahoma. The 150-person department also operates a wide range of programs designed to assist Oklahoma businesses to grow, to export, and to stay in Oklahoma. The agency also oversees the funneling of federal money into communities in Oklahoma for infrastructure development. It's actually one of the better run agencies in the state and is widely reported to be doing a good job of growing the economy. What does Richardson want to do? For unknown reasons he wants to hand over the funding to chambers of commerce around the state. Richardson doesn't understand the different roles the Department of Commerce and chambers of commerce have. Chambers of commerce represent the interests of the businesses that are members while the Department of Commerce mission is to work for the economic development of the entire state, its communities and businesses. Sometimes their missions converge but sometimes they don't. Not infrequently, what's good for a small number of businesses is not necessarily good for the wider community. Existing businesses, for example, often don't want new competitors recruited to come into the state. Ironically, Richardson the populist, would hand over economic development to a minority of business interests. This is another of Richardson's plans that he has not thought through. That should be cause for concern for voters. Leaders need to be able to think through to unintended consequences.

The idea of an independent as governor is appealing and I hope someday we get a good independent non-partisan governor. Richardson isn't the right one. He would be a disaster for Oklahoma with his poorly researched ideas and shoot-from-the-hip policies.

He said, She said Diplomacy

Now that North Korea has admitted that they have already developed nuclear weapons in violation of the agreement of 1994 President Bush must decide how to handle two ends of the Axis of Evil simultaneously. The Administration is mulling over strategies to take on North Korea diplomatically while attacking Iraq with a "vast coalition" that they are cobbling together. I'm surprised the obvious hasn't occurred to them. This is actually a splendid opportunity and should be handled the way any high schooler would. Colin Powell should surprise everyone and make a trip to Baghdad to meet Saddam. After having lunch with the Iraqi dictator he should proceed on to Pyongyang to have dinner with Kim Jong-il, the alien life form that rules North Korea. While at dinner Powell should whisper in Kim's ear that Saddam thinks Kim's hair is positively the goofiest he's ever seen. And besides that, Saddam is telling all the other dictators that Kim can't keep any of his kidnapped Scandinavian hos satisfied. Powell should get Kim really pissed off before shuttling back to Baghdad to tell Saddam that Kim said that his lips were fat like a camel's and show him Kim's Little Red Book of Saddam Jokes that the CIA created in their fake documents lab. Powell should keep this up until Iraq and North Korea attack and annihilate each other. We won't have to fire a missile.

Supermarket Reading and Halloween Grocery Sacks

Who decides what magazines go on the racks at supermarkets? I want to know who this person or persons (it must be a conspiracy of at least a few) is/are. Whoever it is, they must be sex-crazed gun and auto nuts that are into planning weddings. Tonight at the Reasor's I had forgotten what I was looking for (happens often) when I found myself standing in front of the magazine racks. Well, while I'm here I might as well see if they have the latest issue of Scientific American. Ummm. Well, they have Guns & Ammo and American Metal over there. There's Rod and Steel, Soldier of Fortune, Heavy Metal, and Maxim there. No, it wouldn't be there. Up here are the women's magazines, Redbook, Home & Garden, Sixteen, etc, etc. Every one of them had a big headline about how to have super sex and satisfy their man. Who are these women who are obsessed with sex? Where are they? I know where they aren't - anywhere within sight. There must be over 100 publications before my eyes and not a one of them is the least bit cerebral in nature. Every magazine is designed to appeal to testosterone, homemaking, or the most mindless of pastimes. Forget Scientific American, they don't even carry Popular Science. Do college graduates not shop for groceries? Is there a secret food supply for the thinking part of society that I don't know about?

I was awakened from my fog by loud voices from the checkout stand. A portly lady in a sweatsuit was refusing to have her groceries bagged in a paper sack adorned with Halloween bats and ghosts. It was "unholy" she was telling the checkout lady. "God doesn't like Halloween!", she squealed. The checkout lady accommodated her with a plain, blank sack. How appropriate I thought.

David Walters for cockfighting?


An Associated Press report on Saturday claims that U.S. Senate candidate David Walters is against the ban on cockfighting that Oklahomans will vote on in November. According to the AP story Walters says he is against the ban on the blood sport because it will impact poor people. Walters apparently doesn't address the matter of the gambling that is an integral part of all cockfighting. The poor generally suffer the most in gambling situations but Walters does not apparently address the matter. Dismayed Democrats are wondering why an otherwise intelligent politician such as Walters would align himself with cockfighters. Polls in Oklahoma consistently show cockfighting going down to defeat by a wide margin in Oklahoma. It calls into question the wisdom and ethical character of a politician that would support cockfighting in any way.

Simpson of the Tulsa World

In today's Tulsa World the editorial cartoon by Simpson featured three people in silhouette. One was identified as a supporter of Steve Largent, another a Brad Henry supporter, the third as a Gary Richardson supporter. In each figure we could see the brain cavity of the person, and their brain. None of the cavities were completely full but the Largent supporter had the most grey matter. The Richardson supporter had so little it was hardly visible. Brad Henry's supporter was half-full, or was it half-empty? I cringed when I saw the cartoon. Simpson is almost always good - better than most of the nationally syndicated political cartoonists - but I thought this one might go over the line a bit. If, however, he was trying to make the point that we don't really have any one candidate that a non-partisan voter with any brains can support wholeheartedly - then he was right on target.

Who is Denise Bode?


So who is Denise Bode? She is running against incumbent Edmondson for the Attorney General of Oklahoma. Here and there I had heard a few people say she was the Christian conservatives' hope to put one of their kind in this crucial job. I've met her. She seemed like a nice person. Now I hear that the National Rifle Association has given GOP attorney general candidate Denise Bode an A rating for her conservative stance on gun issues. Well, that's nothing for Bode to brag about. I thought I better look a bit deeper into this race.

According to the Daily Oklahoman Ms. Bode has been a Democrat most of her life. She worked for David Boren when he was Governor and U.S. Senator. She received a law degree from George Mason University and a masters from Georgetown. After Clinton was elected she switched to Republican and then Governor Keating (a fellow Georgetown grad) appointed her to fill a vacant Corporation Commission seat in 1997. Bode's husband, a longtime Republican, worked for President Reagan's administration. She was elected to the position in 1998.

In reading through newspaper reports in both the Tulsa World and the Daily Oklahoman it would seem that Bode has chosen the old "God, guns and gays" strategy to unseat Drew Edmondson. She has criticized Edmondson's friend of the court brief in a case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court that pitted the Boy Scouts of America against a gay scout leader. Bode says the brief advocated big government against individual rights. Edmondson sez, and the three deans of Oklahoma's law schools agree, that the amicus brief actually defended states' rights . Bode seems to have made several accusations against Edmondson that would indicate a lack of knowledge about what the job of the attorney general is. As the Tulsa World editorialized in today's paper, Denise Bode has focused on criticizing Edmondson for not doing things that the AG's office is not supposed to do. She has criticized him for not getting into law enforcement and legislation - both areas that an AG is not supposed to get into. If she doesn't know what the job really is, do we want her in that job? I don't think so. She might be a great friend to the NRA, homophobes, and religious fundamentalists but not to Oklahoma taxpayers. Her apparent ideological agenda would make Oklahoma a laughing stock and the target of lawsuits and Supreme Court challenges.

I listened to Edmondson the other day on KRMG radio. He seemed levelheaded, reasonable, articulate. He may be a Democrat (I don't care) but he seemed grounded in law and didn't seem to care about partisan politics or ideological agendas. I like that.

Too busy rounding up the pigs to build the fence

During the last two weeks as the murderer/sniper that has terrorized the Washington DC area has killed one innocent person after another, no one seems to be asking why there are so many weapons floating around and why its so easy to get such guns in America. Sure, the main reason this is happening is because there is an evil person willing to do it. But it wouldn't be possible if it wasn't so easy to obtain weapons in our country. And it wouldn't be so easy for the murderer to escape capture if the police had no idea where to begin searching because we are awash in weaponry. There is no reason why we should accept this deplorable situation. Is it more important thay gun enthusiasts have their toys or is it more important that we be free of fear of being offed by irate drivers, angry spouses, or insane terrorists?

Here again, we Oklahomans and Americans are not treating the root causes. We rightfully try to catch Al Quida but we do not address the causes of the terrorist problem (blind support of all that Israel does, tyranny in Islamic countries, + misinformation about America). We try to catch murderers at home but we fail to address root causes (free-flowing guns, hate, and lots of people unable to handle anger).

Allah the taste, Allah the time

Many Muslims in the Middle East are calling for a boycott of American products and Coke, Pepsi, McDonalds, Nike, and Starbucks are taking the brunt of the boycott.

The Raven notes: "The big deal, naturally, is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, whereat sales of bottled water and yoghurt drinks are astronomical—and Coke and Pepsi have traditionally been big players in the market. Zam Zam has done so well, in fact, that other entrants are scrambling to get into the picture, with French Muslim entrepeneur Tawfiq Mathlouthi leading the herd with his Mecca Cola that promises to give "10 per cent of the profits" to a Palestinian children's charity. Hard to compete with that."

On BBC radio tonight Mathlouthi was interviewed spewing his anti-American advertising and calling on everyone to boycott American products - and buy his lousy immitation of the real thing. Of course, this French citizen stands to become rich taking advantage of the Arab boycott of Coke and Pepsi. He is targeting the millions travelling to Mecca for the annual Ramadam pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian city that bars all non-Muslims. If there is a hell there must surely be a corner of it reserved for those humans, who like Mathlouthi, use religion, faith and their God to make a buck or get votes by stirring up or playing off hatred.

Jim Inhofe Promises Christian Conservatives Rewards from the Lord

The Christian Coalition's annual Road to Victory conference in Washington DC gave both President Bush and Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe top billing. According to the Associated Press, Senator Inhofe exhorted the crowd to vote liberals out of office. "If you don't do it, it ain't gonna be done," he said. "You will be doing the Lord's work, and he will richly bless you for it." Note: This is not a parody, he really said that. That we have a US Senator that says and believes this is sad. Is the Lord taking sides? Is the Lord political? I guess our junior Senator thinks so. Or could it be that he is using the Lord as a political tool? Wouldn't the Lord be really pissed about being used to manipulate voters?

Senator Inhofe will also appear in Tulsa tomorrow at the Victory Church to lecture on the Christian marketplace. I guess David Walters, candidate for Inhofe's seat, doesn't make the grade as far as Victory Church is concerned. Sure, he's a devout Catholic but he's a moderate. To garner the Christian fundamentalist's support you can't just dedicate your life to Christ, you also have to be politically conservative.

To see how outrageous Senator Inhofe's and the Christian Coalition's position of linking faith and politics is look at the Senator's statement above and read it as if it were a Muslim cleric calling for tossing liberals (eg. infidels) out and promising them that Allah will reward them for it. Shouldn't we be disgusted? Perhaps Senator Inhofe will soon start promising conservative Christian voters 72 virgins when they get to Heaven.

Speaking of disgusting. Goobernatorial candidate Gary Richardson attended the Gamefowl Breeders Association (the cockfighters and gamblers) meeting in Oklahoma City today. As mentioned in earlier postings Richardson is opposed to banning cockfighting statewide. Wouldn't it be great to have him out there recruiting businesses to Oklahoma? Gheez.

Bush Issues "Regrets" after U.S. Attack On Oklahoma

WASHINGTON DC - In the wee hours of Sunday morning President Bush held a press conference to issue a statement of regret about the invasion of Oklahoma by U.S. troops. Just hours after crack Black Division units had been withdrawn from positions around Norman, Oklahoma the unusual midnight press conference was carried on WB and UPN. U.S. troops had begun the invasion within two hours after the University of Oklahoma's Sooners had defeated the Texas Longhorns for the third straight year. At 6:49 P.M. Eastern Time wire stories alerted a shocked nation that the Bush Administration had placed Oklahoma on the "Axis of Evil" list with Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

"I was just kidding," said Bush. "Okay, I lost my temper and made a few statements I shouldn't have but an over-anxious aide took me more serious (sic) than I had meant it to be taken." Unnamed sources at the White House identified the over-anxious aide as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The Secretary was reportedly at an "undisclosed location" and was not available for comment.

The President refused however to back down on his demand for regime change in the coaching staff at OU. "Bob Stoops is an evil man." Bush went on to warn the OU coach ,"and others of his ilk", that if he did not allow UN inspectors to come to OU to search his play books, then the USA would resort to military actions against the ruling regime in Norman. “We want to know if he is creating plays of mass destruction or not. He claims he is not; let the world know about it,” Bush said. Bush went on to predict that "the wind will blow away foreign threats as the noise of an evil covetous tyrant, the enemy of Bevo will eventually be cast to the winds in the mother of all battles".

While troops had been withdrawn Saturday night, Dan Mahoney, Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating's press director reported that a bombing campaign apparently aimed at removing the coach from power was continuing. "Apparently, the President has not heeded our calls to cease the air assault," Mahoney said. "This marks the first military action taken against Oklahoma since 1908."

"This is a confusing policy," said Todd Furman of the Cato Institute. "Bush issues a statement of regret but then continues bombing the Sooners. Just who is in control of our military strategy?" "Strange though it seems, these dueling positions actually make sense when you consider the two competing priorities of Bush's policy ever since he was elected president. One priority is protecting Texas, about which the president and many administration officials have spoken warmly. The other priority is prosecuting America's own war on terrorism. In the fall, that meant recruiting Middle Eastern members for the coalition against the Sooners; today, it means finding Arab support for the unexpected war against Bob Stoops. In either case, Texas is the loser."

A salad state?

The English have a long tradition as accomplished travel writers. So it was with some eagerness that I discovered a book by Peter Biddlecombe (don't you just love those English names?) entitled "The United Burger States of America". As I wandered the bookstore my eye landed on the cover of this paperback. It featured a cartoon cow in the shape of the USA and sliced up into states. Oklahoma was in the center.

I was familiar with this writer. He is the English version of Jay Cronley. The back cover said:

"The United States is many things to many people: to Peter Biddlecombe it's food. America, he argues, is nothing less than a Great United Bumper Burger: from the meat state of Connecticut, where the hamburger was invented in a New Haven car park .... to the french-fry state of Texas, where potato-head politicians as "Is our children learning?"

Texas the french fry state? Connecticut the meat state? Ok, so Biddlecombe doesn't seem to have in-depth knowledge of America or our food. That naivete is what makes travel writing so much fun to read. I bought it for 6 quid.

Once home I couldn't wait to read the part about Biddlecombe's travels through Oklahoma. The author had divided his book into sections based on food types: the burger states, bun states, cheese states, bacon states, salad states, french fry states, relish, ketchup, salt, fruity (yes, California), and finally, the drink states. Silly? Yes. The classification system was contrived and meaningless. Oklahoma was a "salad state", along with New Mexico, Hawaii, and North Dakota. Go figure.

On page 199 Biddlecombe gets around to Oklahoma: "And finally, of course, there is Oklahoma. Poor, innocent Oklahoma. I defy anyone to read, see or hear anything about the famous Trail of Tears and not shed a tear for the poor Indians and their families." Then in three short paragraphs Biddlecomb dispenses with poor, innocent Oklahoma by saying that we are famous for the worst race riot in American history (1921) and Timothy McVeigh and the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City (1995). That is all there is to Oklahoma according to this Englishman who obviously didn't set foot in our state. Did that stop him from slandering our 3.3 million inhabitants? Of course not. Like so many, the author probably spent 5 minutes on the internet and 2 minutes writing about his indepth research on Oklahoma.

It's lamentable that those who have never been to Oklahoma dismiss it with outdated generalities. To be dismissed is bad enough. To be dismissed out of ignorance is doubly hurtful. To have that ignorance published and distributed worldwide is literary criminality.

Insane over Hussein

The Congress on Thursday authorized war-making powers for President Bush, giving him the extra muscle he needs is his determination to free America and the world from what he says is the growing threat of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe that my country is thinking of attacking a country without certain knowledge that they intend to harm us directly. Saddam is an evil man for certain, but there are a lot of evil leaders in the world today. Are we going to attack North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, and Zimbabwe next? China might be in the sights as well. Can we start attacking countries whose leaders are cruel despots? I don't think we can. We are powerful but if we try to take on all the world's bad guys by ourselves we will destroy our economy and abandon the moral highground.

The idea of us being so cocksure of ourselves and in such a rush to unilaterally attack Iraq in order to obtain "regime change" makes me wonder if the saying that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" can apply to the good old USA? Bush's advisors, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, seem determined to apply their extreme ideology to US foreign policy at all costs. Bush is in need of some level-headed advice. Hopefully, Powell will stay in there to fight for a pragmatic and principled approach to foreign policy and the Iraq matter.

I considered writing to Senators Nickles and Inhofe to let them know how unwise Bush's strategy (if he has one) is but why waste two stamps? Our two Senators are so party-loyal and right wing that I can't even think of them listening to the voices of moderation. They'd never dream of going against President Bush's position, no matter how flawed it is.

Dinosaurs & Bagels
I had a look at the new Natural History Museum at the University of Oklahoma today. It is first rate in every respect. The dinosaur and fossil exhibits are at least the equal of any museum in the country. The exhibits on Native American culture and environmental habitats in Oklahoma are excellent. It costs just $4 for adults. Unfortunately, the signage getting to the museum is inadequate. Although the museum is only about three miles from I-35 I could find no sign on I-35 to tell me which exit to take. Going south from Oklahoma City towards Dallas you take the fourth Norman exit. The museum is a jewel for Oklahoma and OU.

After the tour of the museum I stopped in at the NY Bagel cafe at Campus Corner for a bagel sandwich. This is one of the few bagel eateries left after the bagel boom of the late 90s. A couple of years ago most of the bagel places went out of business. One chain called the New York Bagel was headquartered in Stillwater but had shops all over Oklahoma and beyond. The chain became involved with a burrito chain, started phasing their shops from bagels to burritos and then to no bagels. What a loss to civilization that was. Those of us who learned to like bagels had to turn to the grocery stores for the packaged variety. $2.70 for four lousy bagels? New York Bagels please come back.

Mr. Richardson. Goodbye.

I was looking for clues to Gary Richardson's thinking and decision-making processes. As I mentioned yesterday, Richardson said he could not support a ban on cockfighting on a statewide basis. Richardson said he would handle it on a county-option basis because he did not think it right for the urban areas to tell rural counties what to do. If we carry this thinking to its "logical" conclusion we would have to ask Mr. Richardson if he believes it fair that the urban areas subsidize education in rural areas - as is currently the case. What if we extend this flawed line of thinking to the other issues the State Legislature and the Governor must deal with? Will abortion, gambling, speed laws, etc all be handled on a county option basis? Why not just abdicate all state law-making matters to the county level? Why would we need a Governor or a State Legislature at all?

Of course, anyone with the slightest sense sees Richardson's position on cockfighting as a cop-out as well as a lack of moral fiber. What do we need with such a candidate for Governor? Mr. Richardson, you are the weakest link. Goodbye.

Brad Henry, the Democrat candidate for Governor, says he can't support the ban on cockfighting because the penelties are too harsh. Of course, the penelties for dogfighting are exactly the same as the proposed penalties for cockfighting. Is Brad Henry also against the ban on dogfighting? Anyone with sense also sees Henry's position against the ban on cockfighting as a disingenuous cop-out. We don't need a Governor that can't manage enough spine to take a real position or one that is so loathsome as to cuddle with cockfighters.

As uncomfortable as I am with Steve Largent's extreme social conservatism, his love of the NRA, and his desire to put his religion in policy, I have to admire his principle-led decisions and his clear positions. I'm impressed with his clear opposition to the cockfighters.

My computer is back in order and we can continue our blog. It's been a week since I could get online.

The Tulsa World reports today that of the three candidates for Governor in Oklahoma only Steve Largent supports the ban on cockfighting that Oklahomans will vote on in November. Brad Henry and Gary Richardson did not support the ban. That's all I needed to know about Richardson, Henry and Largent. There is no way in the world I'd vote for Richardson or Henry now. Any "statesman" that supports cockfighting is an embarrassment to Oklahoma and to humanity.

State Rep Caught on Tape
Chad Stites, a state representative from Tulsa, has apologized for threatening and swearing at Tulsa city/county officials who ordered him to repair a burned duplex owned by his company. Representative Stites got caught when his threatening outbursts were recorded by the city workers he was trying to bully. Someone released the audiotapes to the media and Stites, who had denied he made any threats, had to "fess up". The taped conversations recorded Stites using profanity, threatening to retaliate against the workers with legislation and claiming his legislative post made him immune from code enforcement violations.

Stites', whose wife is a minister, later told the media he had not really denied making the threats, just that he had told reporters he "didn't recall making the statements. I never said I didn't make them," he said. Oklahomans may just wonder exactly what the Representative takes them for. We will see. Stites is running for re-election in his district. On November 5th the citizens have a chance to let him know if they think it is ok to abuse one's position as elected representative. The state Republican Party chairman has stated they will support Stites nonetheless.

What the citizenry doesn't know however, is just how common this type of behavior is from elected representatives. Anyone who knows a government employee knows how common it is for State Senators and Representatives and others to lean on or threaten state workers to bend or break the rules for them. The honorable bureaucrats who take their mission seriously and refuse to give in to the Legislators heavy-handed behavior are never recognized or rewarded for their integrity. Usually, they just lose their jobs.

It seems that President Bush came out swinging on Israel's destruction of Arafat's compound today. After the destruction was over the President told Sharon his actions "were not helpful". That, no doubt, will make Sharon shake in his boots. The Israeli military, great sports that they are, sent Arafat some clean underwear as a token of their esteem.

I actually spotted Steve Largent today, tooling around in his black SUV. He's working the powers hard. He needs to work the people harder. No one seems to know him.

Is there a full moon in Palestine tonight?

It's a beautiful full-moon evening in Oklahoma. The sky is clear, the temperature perfect, it's quiet. I can see the "man in the moon" from my window as I type out my thoughts. A fat spider crosses the moon man's face as it weaves a web across my window. What a perfect place to be.

It's not so perfect in many places around the world tonight. One of those places is at Palestinian leader Arafat's compound, or what's left of it. Israeli forces have been methodically blasting the compound into rubble this weekend. The Israeli press releases say they are looking for 20 wanted men that are supposedly in the compound but Israeli military leaders admit openly that the real objective is to force Arafat into exile. This is Ariel Sharon's stated wish as well. The Israelis cut off water to the compound and were even taking the air conditioners off of the one remaining building today. It's hard to feel too sorry for Arafat however. When he turned down Barak's offer to give the Palestinians 90% of what they wanted he assured Sharon's election a couple of years ago. Arafat's stupidity aside, what the Israelis are doing is nothing less than outrageous. As a democratic people they should be ashamed, not only of their leader's dishonesty, but what they have done to the Palestinian people in making them second-class citizens in their own homeland. Are they surprised that the Palestinians hate them so much? Here's one American that is pretty fed up with the cruelty and stupidity of both sides.

Ariel Sharon has been waiting for a call from President Bush, Colin Powell or Condi Rice - telling him to stop the transparent attempt to force Arafat into exile by making him homeless. No call has come. Sharon proceeds with the understanding that the Bush Administration condones his actions. President Bush may condone it but many, many people in America do not.

Muskogee Educators Crack Down on Finger Pointing and Saying "Kapow!"

As reported by the Tulsa World and Channel 6 News, a 12-year-old Creek Elementary School student was first expelled and then placed in school detention for 5 days for pointing his finger at other students and saying "kapow!" The child's mother complained to the school principal that her son's punishment was out of proportion with the crime. Muskogee school authorities defended their actions by explaining that they will not tolerate such indiscriminate "finger-play" in their schools. "You can't be too careful these days," said Bernice Hopley, a teacher at the school." "First they start pointing fingers and going "pow, pow" and the next thing you know they are mass murderers."

Idiotorial: The radioshow shockjocks are roasting the Muskogee authorities over the fire for overreacting to what some call innocent horseplay. What these "journalists" scoff at is America's serious need to secure the homeland. What the liberal media types aren't telling the public is that research has shown that what they consider mild horseplay often leads to bigger problems. Here are the facts:

Fact #1 Over 70 million people have tried pointing their fingers and saying "kapow!". Most finger pointers soon escalate to jabbing and use of the "evil eye". Indeed, for the vast majority of people, finger pointing is the first threatening act they try, a "gateway" to other threatening acts.

Fact #2 Finger pointing is the most popular threatening act in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular forms of violence such as actually shooting people with real guns or stabbing people with real live knives, are likely to have first tried finger pointing.

Fact #3: Finger pointers have lower achievement, more acceptance of deviant behavior, more aggression and poorer relationships with their parents. Finger pointing and saying "kapow!" correlates with higher rates of delinquency, arrests and failure in school. Dr. Gabriel Nemo of Columbia University states that throughout history, finger pointing has been associated with mental disturbances ranging from distorted perception to schizophrenia. According to Dr. Akira Watanabe, a specialist in violent behavior, "I have never found any other gesture, including the "OK" sign, which came close to the psychic damage caused by pointing and saying kapow". Babies born to mothers who used finger pointing during pregnancy developed health problems similar to drug users.

We at OkiePundit believe the Muskogee school authorities did the right thing by severely punishing the deviant elementary school thug and snipping the finger pointing in the bud before something even more serious happened.

New Religion Founded ... Just in Time
I've just created a new religion which I am tentatively calling biboism. It is based on the revealed thought of Burns Hargis. The name is tentative because I want to have a contest to see who can come up with the best name for the new religion. If this is going to be a religion to last a thousand years it's got to have a good name. There is a reason, after all, that the Christian religion has stood the test of time and Zoroastrianism didn't. I want it to be convincing as the objective is to qualify for some of the faith-based initiative grants that the Bush Administration is showering churches with.

We have to hurry though because the GOP's giving frenzy will hit a peak before the November elections. It may be another two years before we have a chance to rake in more free money. I'm thinking we can set up a recovery center for term-limited State Senators - probably in McAlester - and qualify for tons of the public's money under the Bush faith-based program. Sure, it was designed to help Christian and Jewish groups but they really can't deny those of us on the fringe. To deny us would put their whole program in jeopardy. The Evangelicals would rather toss a little our way than to risk losing their cash cow. The way I see it, when the Senators show up at our Recovery Center we can introduce them to the Word as they receive our help. Chances are they'll see that Bibo (the spirit name for Burns Hargis) is the way to salvation and our flock will soon be both cash rich and growing - all at taxpayers expense! So send in your suggestions for a name for our religion: Send to thehoot@keromail.com

Talk among businessmen in Oklahoma these days is about how former Congressman Steve Largent is taking his election for granted. Supporters of Largent are perplexed and frustrated with Largent's lack of visibility around the state. One supporter of Largent was overheard saying that the Largent campaign had told him not to worry, that they had plenty of money to buy up TV for his ads. They plan on winning the election with overwhelming media presence. The Largent campaign seems to be cocksure of their winning position but their supporters are nervous.

Meanwhile, everyone is dumfounded that Brad Henry won the Democratic nomination to run against Largent. The expectation was that Orza was going to win, partly because Orza had been 14% points ahead of Henry in the primary in August. Henry mounted an amazing come from behind effort and closed in the last few days. The last polls had not captured his move into the lead. Henry had attacked Orza for being in favor of right-to-work and against union issues. It seemed to work with the Democratic faithful but it is likely to backfire in the general election. Right-to-work, after all was passed by popular vote in an election earlier in 2002. He may have won the primary but lost the general election.

Of course this was the plan of the Daily Oklahoman, which endorsed Brad Henry. Anyone the least familiar with the Daily Oklahoman knows it is extremely Republican and anti-union. Talk among the knowing is that the Daily Oklahoman endorsed Henry over Orza because Gaylord (owner) expected that Henry would be much less likely to beat Largent than would Orza. Orza was pro-business, wealthy, moderate, and appealed even to Republicans (which he used to be). Such a man could beat Largent and the Daily Oklahoman wasn't going to let that happen. Largent has already met with and been blessed by Gaylord. Of course, for a newspaper to endorse a candidate because it believes he can be beat by your preference is unethical. Ethical concerns such as this have rarely troubled the fervently Christian power brokers at the Daily Oklahoman
however.

The campaign ads for a number of candidates in the primaries reached extreme depths of dirt in the last few days. Orza and Henry, candidates for the Democratic nomination for Governor, both engaged in last minute mud slinging. Walters and Boettcher, Democratic candidates for US Senate also slung a lot of mud. But the worst so far was a computerized telephone call from an unidentified male making accusations against a candidate named Cloud. The message on my voice mail said claimed that Cloud had been evicted from Little League games a couple of times in recent years. The caller concluded that Cloud would not be a good statesman because he can't control his temper. If this accusation is true it might be something worth discussing but to make such accusations the day before an election is reprehensible. Who did it?

In a very unusual journalistic move, the Tulsa World on September 14th actually named the Daily Oklahoman in one of its editorials. The editorial, "Mudslinging", was a criticism of candidate Brad Henry for "smearing" candidate Vince Orza. Both are Democrats battling for their party's nomination for Governor. The World points out in their editorial that the "dirt" on Orza was actually dredged up by the Daily Oklahoman which had endorsed Brad Henry. The Daily Oklahoman is Oklahoma City's daily newspaper but its banner touts it as the "State's Newspaper". The Daily Oklahoman is much, much more conservative than the Tulsa World which tends toward moderation. Normally, the World refers to the Daily Oklahoman as the "newspaper down the turnpike" but this time the World named names.

Americans get beat up a lot in the foreign media so it's a relief when someone comes to our defense. A Leftist Briton has some kind words in this article in The Spectator.

It is a mild evening in Oklahoma. The weather has changed in the last couple of days. Rain and cooler temperatures, and autumn, have arrived. This is the best time of year in Oklahoma. To all of you Oklahoma expats around the world - wish you could see your home now.

No, the Cubans I discussed in yesterday's post were not caught yet. At least Fox News hasn't reported on their detention yet. I watched the news until 2 am last night but either Castro gave the Highway Patrol the slip or Homeland Security is keeping their arrest a secret. Wouldn't that be weird if "my" Cubans ended up detained at Guantanimo on Cuba?

I went to a diner near Route 66 today to watch and listen for scheming Middle Eastern types. If Eunice Stone can catch a virtual bevy of wrong-thinking Middle East-types in Georgia/Florida I figure if I hang out near an Interstate I could too! I want to heed the call of Attorney General Ashcroft to be the eyes and ears of the anti-terrorist police. I want to do something other than watch football games on TV. Afterall, the University of Oklahoma's game is not on free TV today. The turquoise and pink sign in front of the diner said "God Bless America!" I entered and asked the waitress to seat me in the non-smoking Arab section. "We don't have an Ay-rab section honey", she said as if she were weary of the question. "Do you have any dark people with mustaches I could sit near", I countered.

She seated me in a booth next to a man and woman who appeared, at least on the surface, to be Hispanic. I listened for some minutes but they were speaking in a foreign tongue - I think it was a Spanish-like language - perhaps Mexican or Cuban. Cuban! None of the pundits have thought of this angle yet. Not even Ashley Banfield has put her finger on the Castro - Osama connection yet. I had suspected the likelihood of a Cuba connection and had been chagrined when President Bush had omitted Havana from the Axis of Evil. Surely Jeb has filled him in? Now was my chance to close the loop by exposing Castro's involvement.

Peering over my menu and waving the meddlesome waitress away for the second time I spied what appeared to be a Cohiba-like tube protruding from the brown man's denim shirt pocket. He caught my eye. Whispering something in Cuban to the female agent accompanying him he shoved his fork into a slab of white gravy on his Melamar plate. She pulled a child agent in the booth closer to her and glanced nervously in my direction. They continued whispering to each other. By listening carefully I caught a few words. "...muy rara....bombachos.....terregosto...." "Bombachos!" I thought to myself. That sound like a bomb! I cursed myself for not taking a foreign language in highschool. As I leaned forward to try to hear better the child agent began to cry and point at me. "Darn!" "What am I gonna do now?", I thought. I bolted for the pay phone. "I've got to call the authorities before they get away." But before I could explain to the police operator the significance of the threat, I saw the Cuban agents scoot out the diner door. I hung up and followed them out. They got into a 1975 El Camino with a rust problem and drove off toward the East Coast. But not before I got their Texas license plate number and called the police back. Now I'm watching Fox News to see if they caught the Cubans on their way through Arkansas.

I met Gary Richardson for the first time this year and I'm still trying to figure him out. He is running for Oklahoma governor as an independent and, thanks to his ability to fund his on campaign startup with millions of his own, he has gotten further than any other independent in memory. But is he for real? Is he a cunning politician pulling at the populist heartstrings of Okies by playing to knee-jerk anti-authoritarians or his he an honest guy just telling the truth as he sees it? I don't know yet. When I met him my first impression was that he was practical but not an intellectual, concerned about Oklahoma but looking for the easy answers. He gave me his Plan to read, which I did. I'm still looking into the parts of his plan and will be reporting on what I find. Initially, I'm concerned that Richardson didn't do enough research before making decisions in his Plan. I see some sloppyness in his claims about the turnpikes and the state's economy. What I care about even more than what he believes in is how he arrives at his conclusions. Does he make snap decisions on important issues? Does he do his homework? Does he tell people what they want to hear? The worst type of Governor we could have is one that makes decisions without understanding the issues and the implications. I have no tolerance for sloppy research.

Gary Richardson, former Republican, started out with Paula Unruh, Republican consultant, as his campaign manager. That didn't last long before she had either quit or was dismissed. What happened?

Vince Orza (former Republican running as a Democrat for governor) has been aggressively bashing Governor Keating in his debate appearances. Orza has attacked Keating for poor management of the economy among other things. Keating has been consistently pro-business and has been more active in promoting the state and its business environment than any governor in memory. Orza won't win any points bashing Keating on economic development. Orza will need those Republican votes if he gets past the primary next week. Bad move Vince.

I tried the new hamburger at Burger King today. Not good. Tastes like chicken. Still, it's better than those greaselogs they serve at Carl's Jr.

j

On KRMG radio in Tulsa this morning Governor Keating was interviewed by John Erling about his work in straightening out the Catholic Church and their problems with priests who sexually abuse children. The Governor has come under attack by some of the leaders in the Catholic Church for his statements that Catholics who feel their local leaders are brushing these problems under the rug should "vote with their feet" and go to another parrish or diocese. If I'm getting the nomenclature wrong please understand that Catholicism is a mystery to me. I was impressed with Keating's common sense approach and his gutsy outspokenness about his church. By voting with their feet and giving their donations to another Catholic Church the believers are hitting the evil-doers where it hurts most, in their pocketbook. If there is a hell however, these evil priests will have more to worry about.

The Governor went on to quote Steve Emmerson, author of American Jihad, as an authority on radical Islamic terrorists. I wouldn't put much credibility in anything Mr. Emmerson says, Governor. I wasted money buying his book and getting his autograph at a talk Emmerson gave in Oklahoma earlier this year. Emmerson was not objective. He was rabidly anti-Arab and anti-Palistinian. I immediately suspected him of being on Israel's payroll. He criticized America for not supporting Israel's incursions into Palistinian areas and flatly stated that if America were to give in to Palistinian demands it would make absolutely no difference in the degree of Palistinian violence against Israel. I do not believe this for one minute. While the Palistinians are justified in their opposition to Israel's occupation of Palistine they are not justified in their terrorist attacks on civilians. Not only is that immoral, it's stupid. If Arafat were to use Ghandi's methods the world would be behind the Palistinians 98%. But the US has been very one-sided in our support of Israel and I can understand why Arabs are upset with this unbalanced treatment of the Middle East situation. If we were to be fair and evenhanded in our dealings with the Israelis and the Palistinians it would eventually change Arab views. It would, moreover, be the right thing to do.

The Arab and Islamic world has over-reacted however. Polls of Arab nations consistently show that the citizenry have quite bizarre views about America. It amazes me how a plurality of Arabs could actually say they believe that the 9-11 terror attacks were orchestrated by Israel to incite American hatred of Arabs. They actually believe the story widely circulated, that Jews knew about the impending attacks and stayed away from the World Trade Center on 9-11. How gullible can you be? Are the believers of this story really that insane? They are, but can you blame them that much when the Arab/Islamic media and religious leaders tell them to believe such nuttiness? The Arabs should question their leaders credibility and we should question Emmerson's credibility too.

The weekend looked like it was going to be a down until the OU football team pulled off a win over Alabama in the last couple of minutes of the game on Saturday. OU had let Alabama come back from 21 down to take a 1-point lead. It looked bad but with a minute or two to go OU piled on 10 points. This was good because when OU loses, there's a rash of shootings, domestic violence, and car crashes as disappointed Sooner fans work out their frustrations. Fortunately, OU hardly ever loses. I love Oklahoma and the OU football games are the only bigtime TV event where Oklahomans can see their team crush other states. Of course, the best of all times are those very frequent defeats of hapless Texas teams. They outlawed armed border skermishes so football's all we have.

Dropped in at St. Louis Bread Company today for soup. What odd folks they have at their 15th Street location in Tulsa! They took their sweet time about helping me. The manager asked me how my day was but then stood there behind the cash register and did nothing. After a minute he told a guy to mop the floor and the kid told him it wasn't his area. The manager did nothing. No wonder these people can't make a baguette that even remotely resembles the real French thing. Hey, SLBC! If you can't really make a baguette don't call it a baguette! Call it an "Oversized and Tasteless Bread Thingee that Hardens in 30-minutes".

The Tulsa World is after US Senate candidate Tom Boettcher now. The headline in the Tulsa World today was "Boettcher Admits Lawsuit!" "U.S. Senate candidate Tom Boettcher, who previously could not recall being involved in any lawsuits, acknowledged Thursday a $70,000 legal judgment against him and his company in 1980. When pressed about a handful of smaller civil suits filed in the mid-1990s against a second company he co-owned and ran in Maryland, Boettcher continued to insist he knew nothing of those financial problems." Ok, I bet the Walters campaign helped dig up this info but my question is, so what? A businessman's business goes under, lawsuits are filed, judgement is made, bills are paid. Is it a crime to fail in business? Is it a crime to forget what happened 22 years ago? I hope not because I'd sure be guilty. We all would. But you say, isn't this fair turnabout on Boettcher who has made his entire campaign about a small mistake the Walters campaign made with contributions 10 years ago? It's not fair to Boettcher. But Boettcher hasn't been fair to Walters either.

With today's complicated campaign contribution regs and laws do you know how easy it is to make an innocent mistake? As more and more of us are learning, it's hard to stay out of trouble these days. My drivers license expired a few months ago and I didn't realize it. After all, the Oklahoma Tax Commission stopped sending people a reminder when their license is up for renewal every few years. So I was driving illegally for months! I could have been tossed in the pokey (that's Okie for jail). So David Walters campaign goofed up and let some guy make a contribution over the $5,000 limit. Hey, it can happen to good people. Lawsuits and failed businesses happen to good people too. So, Tulsa World, you are trying to make a big issue out of next to nothing. Still, I agree with the World on one matter, Boettcher should drop out of the runoff and get behind Walters and beat Inhofe.

Got another flyer in the mail from a political candidate that tells me I should vote for her because she believes in "faith and family". So who is against families? When is the last time we elected someone running on an anti-family platform? The "faith" word is the code for "I'm a Christian. Vote for me." I take extreme offense at the insertion of religion into campaigns. To use religion to appeal for votes goes against the tenants of most religions. If it doesn't it should. If I were of a God-like nature I'd be ticked off at those trying to ride my coat tails into elective office. Of course, this ploy only pays off if the candidate is in the majority religion. While I bet we have elected agnostics to office in Oklahoma I don't think they let their true beliefs be known to the voters. Telling voters in Oklahoma that one leans toward Buddhism has never gotten anyone elected here. Best keep that kind of honesty close to the vest. Cause in Oklahoma 52% of the voters are Christian and 42% know they better pretend to be Christian. The other 6% are not yet Christians.

I go to church every week because my wife told me she'd divorce me and take the children if I didn't get saved. She believes in family values so much she's willing to destroy the family on principle. So, I pretended to be saved. I can pretend very well but even I couldn't quite make it to pretend to be "born again". After all, agnostics have some principles you know.