A 'bright'side in OBamaCare!

Oklahoman Off base in Jones Lawsuit.

Steve Fair, southwestern Oklahoma Republican Party official, blogger and columnist for several newspapers, writes that The Oklahoman was off base in its recent criticism of GOP Chairman Gary Jones' lawsuit against those he claim stole the 2002 and 2006 auditor and inspector elections from him.

Read Fair's column/remarks at www.stevefair.blogspot.com

Limit Politicians!

Limit all US politicians to two terms.
One in office, One in prison
Illinois already does this!

Happy Thanksgiving!

In America we still have much to be Thankful for...the Grapevine extends warmest wishes to you and your family for a blessed holiday.
May God bless our great Nation.

Insanity!

In the string of amazing decisions made during the first year of the Obama administration, nothing seems more like sheer insanity than the decision to try foreign terrorists, who have committed acts of war against the United States, in federal court, as if they were American citizens accused of crimes."

Thomas Sowell

The Future Co$t$.

The Conservative View
'The Future Costs.'
by Russell Turner

A couple of nights ago I watched the History Channel documentary about World War 2. Most of the people today do not appreciate the sacrifice that our parents and grandparents made to protect this nation and our way of life. Our way of life was paid for with the blood of that generation. With hard work and good fiscal policies the United States became the dominate power on the earth militarily and economically.
It is sad that today many Americans do not understand the meaning of sacrifice and the duty that we adults of today have for future generations. We Americans had better start to wake up and see that our stature as a nation is shifting away from us because of our poor, or lack of, spending discipline.

We're in hock as a nation like never before. Neither the current administration nor Congress has any viable plan to change that fact. And both the actual and hidden costs of our debt are rising every day. Our public debt can boggle the mind, currently it is over 12 trillion dollars. In 2009 alone we have added an additional 1.4 trillion debt. Even with the cheap interest rates we have now, the interest on the debt is 202 billion dollars. If that 202 billion was divided up to the entire population of the United States, every man, woman and child would receive a check of $656.00.

While there are some people who are obsessed with the health care legislation, they need to realize that if we don’t get a handle on our spending problem all of the taxes we pay will go just to pay the interest on the debt. In a very short period of time we can forget about defense, health care, Social Security or anything else. We will experience the biggest shift of the balance of power that the world has ever seen.

Today we have an unhealthy reliance upon the nation of China; already they are the largest owner of U.S. debt. If the Chinese ceased to buy any more of our debt it would send our economy into a tailspin. We won the cold war with the former Soviet Union, but I have found that the bigger enemy can be the country that controls the purse strings.
If we don’t learn some spending discipline the legacy that we leave future generations will be a nation that has lost its world influence not because of losses on the battlefield but because of poor finances.

Russell Turner is from Stillwell area and writes a weekly column for several area newspapers.

GOP must find NEW Faces!

Below is a very important post by veteran newsman Mike McCarville via his news blog http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/
Mike says what has needed to be said for some time.....time to quit recycling candidates at ALL levels and look for (must find) NEW faces capable of bringing all the attributes of the once great GOP BACK to the table and the voters! Especially for the highest office in our land!

Time For A New Face: The list of those Republicans now considered possible candidates for president in 2012 is depressing. While Sarah Palin was once a fresh face (just a year ago), she now is the face we see almost every day and the bloom is off. The tawdry, sophomoric actions of the father of her daughter's child is unseemly and, as unfair as it is, diminishes her as well.
Forget John McCain.
Newt Gingrich has too many scars.
Mike Huckabee is yesterday (God love him).
Mitt Romney can't win.
Barack Obama will be a formidable foe in 2012; the mainstream media will ensure that.

The challenge facing the GOP is monumental; finding a fresh face to meet the challenge will be a grueling, laborious process, but it's the only way the GOP stands a chance three years hence.

State Dims Move (farther) to Left with Choice....

In a decided lurch to the left side of the political spectrum, the Senate Democratic caucus has chosen Andrew Rice as leader designate for the 2011-2012 legislative session.
The current Democratic Leader, Senator Charlie Laster (D-Shawnee) will continue serving as leader for the upcoming session slated to commence in February 2010, but will step down as leader after the Nov. 2010 elections. Laster has served as Democratic Floor Leader since January of 2007.

Rice, the Oklahoma Cityan who lost a U. S. Senate bid against incumbent Republican Jim Inhofe in 2008, is noted for his social activism and votes for liberal issues, including votes in favor of abortion and against tort reform.

-posted: McCarville

Why Do 'WE' Have to Pay?

In case you missed it, this letter to Editor printed in the Oklahoman makes an excellent point. And, might 'we' suggest...how about politicians running for office being required to be bonded or required to carry errors and omission insurance - with them paying for it out of their pocket - to cover any judgements or situations such as we read below. And if wrongdoing causes them to lose coverage, well, then they also lose their job! A lot of other 'workers' in Oklahoma are required to carry insurance.

Letter to Editor...
Regarding "Labor Dept. paid $200,000 settlement over ex-workers dismissal; Alleged reprisal costs agency" (news story in Oklahoman July 3);Why must taxpayers fund huge settlements when politicians are caught in a wrongdoing?

Democrat State Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields was [recently]caught in a partisan and illegal employee termination and the taxpayers must shell out $200,000 to cover Fields wrongdoing.

And this is one of many cases in which wrongdoing/crimes by Democrats have cost Oklahoma taxpayers big time. David Hall, David Walters, Gene Stipe, Mike Mass, Carroll Fisher, and now Fields have cost taxpayers huge amounts of money.

The law should be changed to force any politician caught in wrongdoing to pay for it themselves. This would mean the guilty politicians would pay any settlement out of their own pockets. And they should immediately lose their job.

Allen Hill, OKC

Good for the Gander OR our goose is Cooked!

[OK] Senator Tom Coburn is a physician who until recently still went home to Oklahoma to deliver babies. He believes Congress should weigh the dangers of a nationalized health system much more seriously than it has.

In the tradition of someone using a 2x4 to win the attention of a mule, yesterday he successfully pressed the Senate Health Committee to approve his idea of requiring Members of Congress themselves to enroll in whatever "public plan" is passed to compete with private insurance companies.
"Let's demonstrate leadership -- and confidence in the system -- by requiring that every member of Congress go into it," Mr. Coburn told his colleagues as they were marking up the health care proposal championed by Senator Ted Kennedy.

His idea wasn't exactly greeted warmly by many public plan supporters. Senator Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, responded: "I don't know why we should require ourselves to participate in a plan that no one else needs to participate in. This bill goes to great lengths to show that the choice is there for everybody."

But Mr. Coburn disagreed, saying his reading of the 1,000-page health care bill convinced him that everyone would end up being forced into the public plan as private insurance carriers were squeezed out of the market by mandates and regulations. Therefore, if Congress decides a government-run health plan is good enough for the American people, it should be willing to put itself under its care umbrella.

By a 12 to 11 margin, the Senate Health Committee agreed.
Senator Chris Dodd, the committee's acting chairman, and Senator Kennedy were absent from the committee but sent in proxy votes in favor.
Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski was the only other Democrat to back the measure. Every Republican save for New Hampshire's Judd Gregg voted in favor of the Coburn mandate.

Obviously, many members of Congress -- who are used to a generous and flexible set of health benefits -- have no intention of letting the Coburn mandate become law.

They will undoubtedly try to strip it from the bill at some point, in a conference committee between the two houses if necessary. But for now it is embedded in the bill and any overt attempt to remove it would be met with howls of public outrage.
--John Fund, WSJ

Be interesting to know how many hours Hillary Clinton sat in an ER waiting room to get her broken elbow tended!

America - 1776 ~ 2009!

Happy Birthday America! God Bless America!

Statue of Liberty Crown opens TODAY for first time since September 11 attacks!

Who's on First!

JC OUT, Mary Fallin, IN! Randy Brogdon, IN! Players for the Governors chair are changing and settling in on the Republican side of the aisle.

The Dems have Jari Askins IN and Edmondson a possibility?
Recent polls show a return of a Republican to the Guvs office is favored.

Possibly more musical chairs as voters await US Sen. Tom Coburns' decision on seeking re-election, which is supposed to be forthcoming. Some are saying he's NOT running which would open the door for return of 1). Former Gov. Frank Keating; 2). Possibly JC Watts, but not probable!; 3). Who knows.

And, several mentioned/announced for Lt. Gov.....1). Todd Lamb, IN; 2). John Wright, IN; 3). Colby Schwartz, IN.

On the Dems side...1). Ken Corn.

There are other names floating around but we'll let them 'float' until they stick a bit.

The political landscape does change and FAST!
Stay tuned.!

This Memorial Day, let us remember those gave in any way along with those who made the ultimate sacrifice to make our election process free and secure.

This item also posted: http://comanchecountyrepublicanparty.blogspot.com/

VOTERS will 'have it their way' in 2010!

Oklahoma voters will have a chance to 'have it their way' when the 2010 ballot comes out. Thanks to Republicans in the State Legislator, numerous State Questions will be decided by voters after some vetos by Dim Gov. Henry.

The list will probably expand but currently ready to go to the people:

*Limiting the term of all state wide officials. Currently the Legislators and the Governor are only ones term limited. Term Limits are very popular with the people! If passed by the people, office of Auditor & Inspector, Attorney General, Lt. Governor, State Labor Commissioner and other state wide officials would be termed.
*Require voter ID at the polls. Also popular with the people!
*Re-organizing the state reapportionment commission.
*Raise per-pupil spending to the regional average. This was originated and petition circulated by teacher UNION.

We appreciate Republicans in the Legislature bypassing our lame duck Governor on several issues and presenting it to the people.
We hope they will press forward to do something about *abstracts - outdated and costly method used now ONLY in Oklahoma;
*5% annual property tax hike - a travesty and not even enforced uniformly across the state. Lt. Gov. Jari Askins prevented the people from voting on this issue last session;

AND, bills currently being considered that would make it easier for the people of Oklahoma to exercise their right to INITIATIVE PETITION. Bills currently making the rounds would extend amount of time to collect signatures; streamline the challenge process; reduce number of signatures required!

The people of Oklahoma are most fortunate that we have the right to circulate initiative petition. Not all states have this option. It serves as recourse when the State Legislature is NOT responsive to the citizens. As a veteran of two state-wide petition drives, I can tell you these changes are NEEDED!
The peoples right to petition should NOT BE HAMPERED by 'special interest' or the Legislature!

Join us in contacting your Legislator for passage of this bill(s).

btw....this early 'heads-up' gives voters plenty of time to get up-to-speed on these issues! Be an informed voter! Your quality of life depends on it!

GREAT LOSS!

A Time Saving Idea! Voter ID

by Russell Turner

Recently the governor of Oklahoma vetoed a bill that would have required voters to produce a photo ID when they went to vote. If the governor feels there is no need to produce an ID when voting, maybe he should use his influence and remove the requirement of a photo ID in other parts of our society.

Maybe we should tell banks to no longer require an ID when someone comes into the bank and wants to cash a check or take out a loan. I am sure that most banks would simply take the word of anyone who would come into their bank and ask for cash. Another good starting point would be to allow people who drive a car to simply tell the police officers who they are when they are stopped for a traffic violation. I am sure that the police officers would be glad to accept the word of anyone that they might stop on the roads. Another place to save some time would be in the local airport. Surely no one would ever think of doing anything improper while flying on an airplane.

The above scenarios in my opinion would be absurd. All of us want the protection of our banks checking the ID of someone that might assume our identity and clean out our bank account. We rely upon law enforcement to make our society safe; it is essential for the officers to check IDs while doing their job. Whenever I fly in an airplane, I want the people that provide security to know who is traveling on the same plane as I am. If you go to the local pharmacy you will have to show a photo ID just to buy some cold remedy. The list can go on and on. The point that I want to make is simple; some things are worth a little time and inconvenience.

The integrity of our election system is just as important as the other things I mentioned earlier. All of us should demand that the voters who put politicians into office are who they say they are. After the veto, the House passed Senate Bill 692, which will send the voter ID requirement to a vote of the people. I just hope that the people of Oklahoma will be willing to spend more time than our governor and insure honest elections for future generations.

Russell Turner is Chairman of the County Commissioners of Adair County and writes a weekly column for several area newspapers.

Shovel Ready!

Voter ID Protects Democracy!

Letter to the Editor - printed Tulsa World:

Gloria Caldwell's column on voter ID ("League of Women Voters opposes bill," Feb. 26) claims no less than seven times that Senate Bill 4 mandates use of photo IDs. Actually, voter registration cards would suffice under the bill ­ and every registered voter gets a voter card.

To be precise, "a voter identification card issued by the appropriate county election board" allows an alternative to presentation of a government (or tribal) photo ID. Caldwell says requiring voter ID would cause longer lines at the polls, but the Comanche County election secretary says identification would, "if anything," make the process "quicker." Through democratic choice and the rule of law Americans have steadily expanded the franchise.

Voices as diverse as former President Jimmy Carter and Wall Street Journal writer John Fund, author of "Stealing Elections," agree that honest elections require transparency and a widely shared confidence that those voting are in fact voters, i.e. individuals actually qualified under American law to cast their ballots. It is a cornerstone of representative government to enfranchise qualified voters and then assure that they, not cheaters, decide our political future.

There is too much evidence of fraud nationwide to assume it never will visit Oklahoma. Let's be prepared rather than perplexed. This debate is all about responsibility. The alternative to measured reforms is the theft of democracy.

Patrick B. McGuigan, Oklahoma City

Tulsa Editor's Note: McGuigan is research fellow at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Gpve note: McGuigan is Managing Editor and Sports Editor for The City Sentinel in OKC.

This bill is on the Governor's desk! IF you WANT voter ID to become law......call Gov. Henry and ask him TO SIGN this bill.
Call now! (405) 521-2342.

'Honest Abe' has it RIGHT!

Gun Grabbers Already Busy!

With the Obama Administration now in power, it comes as no surprise that the gun-grabbers are beginning to flex their muscle.

Among the most cockamamie ideas to hit the Capitol is one that would prohibit the owning or selling of a firearm without a license issued by the office of the Attorney General of the United States....and the current attorney general is a gun-grabber who doesn't believe in the 2nd Amendment but who does believe in an unarmed, or disarmed, American citizenry.

Gee...one has to wonder if the goofball behind this idea has been studying how Hitler disarmed Germany's population in the 1930s.

Incorporated into this idea is yet another provision, one that would effectively bring gun control to all but a few American households...it would be illegal to keep a loaded, or unloaded, firearm and ammo anywhere there are children younger than 18.

In this proposal, we see again efforts to control firearms indirectly, sneaking in the back door, so to speak. Expect more proposals like this in the months to come.

The Obama Administration is peopled with those whose opposition to the 2nd Amendment is well known. It will be up to those in Congress who believe in the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms to erect a firewall to stop this kind of nonsense.

~ Mike McCarville - <http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/>

INHOFE Battles 'Hush Rush' Doctrine!

From Fox News ~ A political battle is brewing over control of the radio airwaves as Democrats consider pushing for the revival of the Fairness Doctrine, an FCC policy that requires broadcast stations to provide opposing views on controversial issues of public importance.

Democratic lawmakers who support the doctrine say it will help increase the number of liberal shows in a landscape dominated by conservative talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh.

"I absolutely think it's time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves," Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told liberal radio host Bill Press last week. She said she expects hearings soon on reviving the policy, which was introduced in 1949 and abolished in 1987. Stabenow's husband, Tom Athans, is and has been an executive at several liberal radio talk groups.
[note: lost several jobs due to NO interest in the liberal rhetoric, guess Debbies tired of him slepping around in his jammies all day]

But Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe said radio programming should be based on what brings in listeners and advertisers. "I can't think of anything worse than to have government in a position to dictate the content of information going over public radio," said Inhofe, a Republican.

"The whole idea is that it has to be market driven. We have a lot of progressive or liberal radio shows but nobody listens to them and every time one tries to get on, they are not successful." Inhofe and other critics believe those pushing to bring back the Fairness Doctrine -- nicknamed the Hush Rush Doctrine -- want to diminish the influence of Limbaugh and other conservative talk show hosts.

Supporters insist that's not the case. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, told Press Wednesday that the Fairness Doctrine is needed not to remove any conservative voices, but to ensure that there are a few liberal shows on the air. During the presidential campaign, a spokesman said Barack Obama did not favor reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. But his White House spokesman has since left the door open.
"I pledge to you to study up on the 'Fairness Doctrine' so that, one day, I might give you a more fulsome answer," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Inhofe says Democrats and liberal advocacy groups aren't going to let the matter drop. "They are committed to make this happen," he said. "We got to be ready." Inhofe introduced a bill this year to prevent reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, but he said he has not gotten a single Democrat to co-sponsor it.

Originally posted McCarville

INHOFE says bill packed with PORK!

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., says the nearly trillion-dollar stimulus package the House of Representatives is heaping on Americans is nothing more than a huge spending bill with projects in it for people the Democratic-led Congress wants to buy off.

Inhofe, who says the bill will do nothing to stimulate the economy, also tells Newsmax TV that the superfluous bill will provide tax refunds to people who don't pay any taxes, and would even give government checks of up to $1,000 to illegal aliens.

“You have a stimulus bill that's supposed to stimulate the economy,” Inhofe explains. “We know how to do that. We did it under John Kennedy; we did it under Ronald Reagan. We know what it does and what you have to do for capital gains and for all these things to open up the economy. But this [stimulus package] doesn't do any of that. There’s so many things in there that are just bad.”

Inhofe notes that a lot of the pork lies in projects that have nothing to do with stimulating the U.S. economy, including: $30 billion on federal government building improvements, $1.5 billion for homelessness prevention, $650 million for digital TV coupons, $650 million for wildlife management, $600 million for the federal government to buy new green cars, $570 million for climate change, and $75 million for smoking cessation activities.

http://www.newsmax.com/; www.tmrcom.blogspot.com

OBAMA: First 100 Minutes!

New Sheriff in Town!