You can hear it all...Thru the GRAPEVINE!

LESS Goverment ~ not LESS Representation!

2011-09-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Blogger and 4th District Chairman Steve Fair, makes several excellent points in his latest op/ed available at his blog, 'Fair and Biased'.

http://www.stevefair.blogspot.com/

Don't miss it for rounded perspective on this 'current' issue.

2011-03-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

When in Rome.....

2010-07-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Conservative View

by Russell Turner

I have often heard the old expression, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. I believe that statement to be one of respect. When I visit someone and observe how they conduct their business, I often remind myself that how they do things is their business and not mine. Unless asked, I don’t try to convert them to fit into my personal belief system. Most countries would take a very dim view at someone from another country protesting and carrying the flag of another country within their borders.

We Americans are a tolerant people to other people’s values and beliefs. I recently read some comments from our founding fathers concerning the allowing of other people from different cultures into our country.

In 1820 Alexander Hamilton wrote, "The United States have already felt the evils of incorporating a large number of foreigners into their national mass; by promoting in different classes different predilections in favor of particular foreign nations, and antipathies against others, it has served very much to divide the community and to distract our councils. It has been often likely to compromise the interests of our own country in favor of another. The permanent effect of such a policy will be, that in times of great public danger there will be always a numerous body of men, of whom there may be just grounds of distrust; the suspicion alone will weaken the strength of the nation, but their force may be actually employed in assisting an invader."

While we Americans can be tolerant, we need to remember that the values our country was founded upon are just as important as those of any other country. It is strange that no other country in the world is as tolerant to other people’s beliefs to the extent that it degrades our own heritage.

If the people in Rome were so tolerant of other cultures and allowed their values to be replaced, their city would no longer be Rome. Whenever you hear of blanket amnesty we need to remember the words of Alexander Hamilton,
"To admit foreigners indiscriminately to the rights of citizens the moment they put foot in our country would be nothing less than to admit the Grecian horse into the citadel of our liberty and sovereignty."

Over the past weeks the state of Arizona has taken much abuse for merely wanting to know who is coming into their house, maybe the current administration needs to read the words of the men who actually founded this country.

Russell Turner lives in Stillwell, OK and for years has writen a weekly article for several area newspapers under by-line...The Conservative View.

FILING OPENED TODAY!

2010-06-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

Filing to run for office opened today across Oklahoma for all elective offices. It will continue until 5:00pm on Wednesday June 9.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their city ~ county ~ state ~ Nation! Throw YOUR hat in the ring!

Property Owners want to VOTE! NO 5% annual increase!

2010-04-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

One of the hottest issues with voters is the automatic 5% property tax increase Oklahoma property owners face each year! Sen. Jim Reynolds held a press conference on Tuesday, April 27, and is asking for HELP from voters to gain a floor vote on Senate Joint Resolution 5, the property tax cap that he has pressed in recent years! [reduction from 5% to 3%]. The State Senate has approved this bill and Reynolds has ask that House Speaker, Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, let the bill be heard by the House of Representatives. Benge has not agreed to let this bill be heard.

The Grapevine would encourage all who have interest/concern in this bill to contact Speaker Benge, Senator Reynolds, along with your area Legislator. Voters need to read a copy of the bill. Voters want ALL properties included as in original State Question, not just applying to a homestead [only].

Now, the Legislature could place this question [directly] on ballot [state question] for the people to vote with no signature required by the Governor; OR..... it could be passed through the Legislature and appears any veto by the Governor could be over ridden by the Legislature. Seems problem is.....Legislature (House) doesn't want to address this issue. Why? No doubt the teachers union lobbies hard against any reduction in this tax.

It's an election year. Voters need to ask the candidates where they stand on this issue. Property owners need relief NOW!

Senator Jim Reynolds: (405) 521-5522; reynolds@oksenate.gov
Speaker Chris Benge: (405) 557-7340; chrisbenge@okhouse.gov

PLAY as you PAY!

2010-04-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

TAXES and VOTING
Walter E. Williams

According to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., research organization, nearly half of U.S. households will pay no federal income taxes for 2009. That's up from the Tax Foundation's 2006 estimate that 41 percent of the American population, or 121 million Americans, were completely outside the federal income tax system. These Americans pay no federal income tax either because their incomes are too low or they have higher income but credits, deductions and exemptions that relieve them of tax liability. This lack of income tax liability stands in stark contrast to the top 10 percent of earners, those households earning an average of $366,400 in 2006, who paid about 73 percent of federal income taxes. The top 25 percent paid 86 percent. The bottom 50 percent of taxpayers paid less than 4 percent of federal income taxes collected.

Let's not dwell on the fairness of such an arrangement for financing the activities of the federal government. Instead, let's ask what kind of incentives and results such an arrangement produces and ask ourselves whether these results are good for our country. That's a question to be asked whether or not one has federal income tax liabilities. Having 121 million Americans completely outside the federal income tax system, it's like throwing chum to political sharks. These Americans become a natural spending constituency for big-spending politicians. After all, if you have no income tax liability, how much do you care about deficits, how much Congress spends and the level of taxation?

Political calls for tax cuts and spending restraints have little appeal. Survey polls revealed this. According to The Harris Poll taken in June 2003, 51 percent of Democrats thought the tax cuts enacted by Congress were a bad thing while 16 percent of Republicans thought so. Among Democrats, 67 percent thought the tax cuts were unfair while 32 percent of Republicans thought so. When asked whether the $350-billion tax cut package will help your family finances, 59 percent of those surveyed said no and 35 percent said yes. Tax cuts to many Americans mean just one thing: They pose a threat to the federal handouts they receive.

Here's my perhaps politically incorrect question: If one has no financial stake in our country, how much of a say-so should he have in its management? Let's put it another way: I do not own stock, and hence have no financial stake, in Ford Motor Company. Do you think I should have voting rights or any say-so in the management of the company? I'm guessing that the average sane person's answer is no.

You say, "Williams, just where are you heading with this?" I'm not proposing that we take voting rights away from those who do not pay taxes. What I'm suggesting is that every American gets one vote in every federal election, plus another vote for each $20,000 he pays in federal taxes. With such a system, there'd be a modicum of linkage between one's financial stake in our country and his decision-making right. Of course, unequal voting power could be reduced by legislating lower taxes.

This is not a far-out idea. The founders worried about it. James Madison's concern about class warfare between the rich and the poor led him to favor the House of Representatives being elected by the people at large and the Senate elected by property owners. He said, "It is nevertheless certain, that there are various ways in which the rich may oppress the poor; in which property may oppress liberty; and that the world is filled with examples. It is necessary that the poor should have a defense against the danger. On the other hand, the danger to the holders of property cannot be disguised, if they be undefended against a majority without property."

"I Thought"...... vs Reality

2010-04-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

People who expected change from President O. had this in mind.....one in every garage!

As 'big brother', set-us-back-100 years, policy takes shape this is what the President and Congress have in mind for you. Enjoy, it gets great milage, few green house emmissions! And, if push comes to shove....you can eat it! Can Mercedes do that?

"..longest wet kiss....".

2010-03-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

"I mean, since this thing (Obamacare) passed last weekend, we have seen the longest wet kiss in political history given to the Obama administration by the liberal media elite, and every day that goes by, it gets sloppier."

~ Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour

'WE' Know What Works....

2010-03-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

A crowd of 6,000+ were in Tulsa to hear Glen Beck and Sarah Palin on March 13.

"The funny thing is that Washington wants all of us to think this (healthcare reform package) is just way over our heads and all of this is just way too complicated for all of us to understand. But everyday Americans know better.
And we’re not taking it anymore.
We’re not believing everything the ‘lamestream’ media is spewing at us, and that the White House wants to twist and pivot around … We know better, because we know real history, and we know what works.”
~ Sarah Palin

STOP SQ 744

2010-03-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

Oklahomans For Responsible Government has taken its fight against State Question 744 up a notch with the purchase of an ad on The McCarville Report Online and Mark Shannon.com seeking petition signers.

Those who click on the ad are taken to www.STOP744.com an online resource to help defeat State Question 744 on the Oklahoma ballot this November! (scroll down, link on right of this page).

SQ 744 is a proposal by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) that would force the state to spend nearly a billion dollars more on education by cutting all other state agencies or raise your taxes by the same amount.

SQ 744 will be on the November 2010 ballot.

The MOTHER of All Bail-outs To Come!

2010-03-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

The Mother of All Bail-outs To Come!
Opinion/editorial by J.C. Watts Jr.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal - 2/28/10

I'm all for bipartisan agreements that make sense. However, when I look at what is unfolding in Congress in the name of bipartisanship on banking reform, it makes me extremely nervous.

Here we go again. Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., are working on bipartisan legislation to revamp the regulatory structure of the financial services industry. The House passed Rep. Barney Frank's version Dec. 11. The bill from Frank, D-Mass., would create a controversial Consumer Financial Protection Agency and codify a permanent bailout authority for the federal government.

The big question for Americans who hate bailouts is whether the Senate will follow the House's lead and grant the Federal Reserve the statutory authority to bail out individuals, partnerships or corporations to the tune of $4 trillion.

On Page 506 of the House-passed bill, which is titled the "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act" is the following language: The amounts made available under this subsection shall not exceed $4,000,000,000,000.
This so-called "reform" and "consumer protection" legislation authorizes a $4 trillion bailout fund for Wall Street. That is more money than President Obama's 2011 budget ($3.8 trillion), the gross domestic product of Germany ($3.7 trillion), and between five and six times the amount of the Troubled Assets Relief Program. A majority of House members actually voted for a bill containing $4 trillion in new bailout authority. You just can't make this stuff up. It is really in the bill.

David Reilly, a columnist for Bloomberg News, said the bill "authorizes Federal Reserve banks to provide as much as $4 trillion in emergency funding the next time Wall Street crashes. So much for 'no-more-bailouts' talk. That is more than twice what the Federal Reserve pumped into markets last year. The size of the fund makes the deal-making in the Senate's health care bill look minuscule."

Current law allows the Federal Reserve to open the lending window in "unusual and exigent circumstances." According to the Congressional Research Service, this authority had been used in the past to authorize entities created by the Federal Reserve's Bear Stearns merger and bailout of AIG. Nowhere near $4 trillion has been committed under existing authority.An explicit authority would be created under the Frank approach to financial services reform to allow the Federal Reserve to make $4 trillion in commitments in unusual and exigent circumstances.

This provides the Federal Reserve with more authority to bail out failing industries without the need for getting the prior consent of Congress. The words "unusual" and "exigent" are vague and ambiguous enough to give the Federal Reserve sweeping new bailout authorities to dispense massive commitments to private and public entities.

Here's how it would work: The Fed would have to make a written determination that a "liquidity event exists that could destabilize the financial system" with a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Financial Oversight Council. The next step would be to secure the written consent of the secretary of the treasury as another condition to the commitment of monies, and the president would have to certify that an emergency exists. The Fed then would authorize a Federal Reserve bank to make a commitment in consideration for "notes, drafts, and bills of exchange" consistent with the order from the Fed, Treasury and the president. The House and Senate would be notified of the action by the Fed. There is a requirement that the secretary of the treasury believes that the funds will be paid back.

I remind you these are all the same entities who were asleep at the wheel in oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, allowing them to run amok. There is a provision for a joint resolution of congressional disapproval, but the commencing of any resolution would not happen until after the commitment of funds had already been made. It is unlikely that members of Congress would be able to unravel any action.

The Senate has the power to run away from this new bailout authority or to embrace it when senators debate financial services reform legislation. The direction that Dodd and Corker take in negotiations on this important issue will have severe ramifications for government policy on the proper role of the Federal Reserve to prop up failing companies in times of crisis.

If this bill passes the Senate with bailout authority intact and gets one step closer to the president's desk, then voters will be mad at yet another abuse of the taxpayers' dollars. The idea of a small and limited government is inconsistent with the idea that the Federal Reserve should have $4 trillion more in bailout authority.
-posted Fair and Biased

Phone Gall!

2010-02-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

For once 'we' agree with TW:

Editorial - Tulsa World
February 24, 2010
World Editorial writers

Phone Gall!
When the Corporation Commission started out on plans to make all long-distance phone calls inside the state of Oklahoma toll-free, we were dubious. Someone, somewhere would end up paying the bill, we said.

Forgive us for pointing out that we were right.

The commission's staff has come up with a plan to pay for the "free" calls and has revised it, upping the ante. Sure enough, the plan amounts to a cost shift. Instead of people paying for their own calls, the plan would have everyone who uses a phone — including cell phone customers who already have toll-free long distance — pick up the costs.

The current scheme is to add more than $3 to the monthly phone bill of every telephone user in the state — that's more than 7 million phones, including land-lines and cell phones.

And exactly what is the benefit?
Not very much if you live in Tulsa, which already has one of the largest toll-free calling areas in the nation.

The primary beneficiary would be land-line telephone users in the remote parts of the state. They would be able to call friends and business associates in Oklahoma City and Tulsa or anywhere else for free.

Strike that. It's not free, it's just that everyone else would end up paying for it.

The toll-free calling scheme is a waste of time for the commission and a bad deal for most telephone users in Oklahoma. Someone disconnect this line before it goes any farther.

Copyright © 2010, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved

If you would like to 'reach out and touch' the Commissioners on this new tax:

Jeff Cloud, Commissioner (405) 521-2264
Bob Anthony, Commissioner (405) 521-2261
Dana Murphy, Commissioner (405) 521-2267

Coakley 'croaks' as Republican Scott Brown streaks to Victory!

2010-01-19T20:37:00.000-08:00

Republican Scott Brown Wins BIG in Massachusetts!

Like the shot heard round the world,* and once again from the cradle of Liberty....today, Americans fired a 'vote' that will, like that shot of old, be heard round the world.
Today Americans started a Revolution that this time will not be won at Concord or Bunker Hill, but will be won at the ballot box.

Voters today in Massachusetts started 'for real' the taking back of America! It wasn't this party against that party; it was the coming together of Americans who used their precious vote to make it clear they are fed up. In just a short few months, 'change' that was touted during campaigns turned out to be NOT change for the better, but change for the worse!

Voters today issued a referendum on the current direction our country is being dragged. Voters stated loud and clear they do not like, nor want, government takeover of every facet of their life; no government intrusion into their personal medical problems - government deciding if and when medications and treatment can be administered; their hard earned tax dollars being used for bribes and sweetheart deals for the 'buddies' and 'privileged few'; massive trillions of dollars of debt that will be impossible to pay; debt and creeping socialist policies that will stifle business, deteriorate the fabric of society and the way of life for hard working Americans; crippling tax increases that will prevent Americans from being able to adequately provide for their families and their futures. Today, voters said NO...this is NOT the American way!

Massachusetts has fired the first 'shot' in the battle that will bring Americans out in droves across our Nation to join the battle this November and next. Other Americans will use their vote to echo Massachusetts in that we will not allow our blood bought liberties, our freedoms, our way of life to be taken away by those who have become greedy with power, arrogant, self-serving, turning a deaf ear to the electorate they swore an oath to represent!

Follow Massachusetts America! They have just reminded us.......It IS government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

gjw aka Grapevine

*Opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's 'Concord Hymn', written 1837, and came to refer to the beginning of the American Revolution!

Global Warming ~ Global Freezing! HOAX!

2010-01-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

Jan. 10, 2010

To the Editor:

The past few days here in Oklahoma has felt like sitting on a glacier edge on the north side of Nome. Not to mention the Christmas eve blizzard. Citizens of the US have been told that ‘global warming’ is their fault. We are told that we need to quit using freon, hair dryers, combustible engines, letting cows fart, and 1000's of other products and resources. We need to change our habits, our activities, and our life styles, to stave off global warming and it’s catastrophic effects!

Now, I need these same ‘greenies’, the environmental ‘experts’, to tell me/us what to do to stave off this ‘global freezing’. If we can influence global warming, obviously we can do something about the freezing too!

Appears the 'experts' need to start with Alaska and Canada as that seems to be where this frigid air is originating! Those areas must be using products and living lifestyles that are horribly wrong!

I need answers asap as I am almost out of gas, wood, coal, and other heat producing products needed to keep me from freezing to death!
Oh, btw…all those items are on the government’s hit list too!

gjw aka Grapevine
printed w/slight editing - Oklahoman Jan. 13.

Meanwhile:

Rolling Stone lived up to its liberal reputation in the current issue, which features a cover story on global warming titled "You Idiots!" and names Senator Jim Inhofe as one of the "planet's worst enemies.''

Inhofe's response: "My first response was I should have been No. 1, not No. 7," said Inhofe, the most vocal global-warming skeptic in Congress who has generated worldwide news coverage of his views. "I am serious about that. I have spent now literally years on this thing, and it has been a long, involved thing.''

Although the magazine did not actually rank its "Climate Killers" by number, it does appear Warren Buffett, the legendary investor from Nebraska who is one of the richest people in the nation, took the top spot.

PLUS - Don't miss syndicated columnist Walter Williams latest article: 'Global Warming is a Religion'.Read at: www.townhall.com

Charisma NO Match for Fear! America Weak!

2010-01-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

America hasn't been this weak since the Carter years. President Obama's freshman-year foreign policy was the worst in living memory. At the dawn of 2010, the United States finds itself noticeably weaker in international affairs than it was when Mr. Obama took office, and there are no signs of improvement in the year ahead.

Mr. Obama was elected with almost no national security experience, but he counted on two principle sources of leverage on the world stage: his personal charisma and the fact that he was not George W. Bush.

The year began with much swagger and self-assurance, but the result was a foreign policy with the naive enthusiasm of someone who once may have taken a graduate seminar in international relations...

The world is a tough neighborhood. Mr. Bush was not loved, but he was feared, which Machiavelli advises is a more durable position. Mr. Obama has sought only to be loved, but in the process has disappointed America's allies and encouraged our adversaries.

The world has the measure of the man in the White House, and he doesn't measure up to the task at hand. Unless he shows a stronger hand, Mr. Obama will continue to increasingly follow global events rather than lead them.

-Editorial, The Washington Times via ElephantPride

ENOUGH! 5% Increase needs to be Re-VOTED!

2010-01-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

Citizens want to VOTE.....again!

Oklahoma property owners are running out of money and becoming increasingly irked at an unfair annual 5% property tax increase. Talk among voters is escalating and support is forming to pursue an initiative petition to repeal or roll-back the law if the Legislature refuses to address the problem.

The bill (State Question 676) - written by and for, the school establishment - was not well understood when citizens voted on it in 1996. Because the people voted for this, people will have to vote again to make changes.

While the bill was intended to have 5% as a 'cap', most counties now use it as 'mandate' to make the 5% increase in your property tax bill each year. Counties were also encouraged by an opinion from the AG's office.
(Have you noticed, when it's an AG opinion the money-takers like, they use it...if they don't like, it's out! It is after all....just an opinion - no weight of law!)
Another 'problem' with this current law is that not all counties administer the bill the same!

In Oklahoma’s two largest counties, property taxes are up over 35% in just five years. "This (property tax) is the fastest-growing tax in the state," said State Representative Russ Roach, (D- Tulsa). Roach said the law is intended to allow growth counties to raise property taxes up to 5 percent a year instead of a mandated 5 percent. "What was intended to be a tax increase ceiling has instead become an annual tax increase floor," Roach said.

Contact YOUR Legislator to see where they stand on this annual tax INCREASE and tell them you want to VOTE....again! The Legislature CAN put this on ballot for the people to vote! The Govs signature NOT required!
Even with budget 'shortfall'....NEVER a wrong time to do the right thing!

btw....we want to vote on relief for ALL properties - just like original SQ - not just homestead!

A 'bright'side in OBamaCare!

2009-12-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

Oklahoman Off base in Jones Lawsuit.

2009-12-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-04T19:46:00.001-08:00

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

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-23T20:28:00.001-08:00

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$t$.

2009-11-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

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....

2009-09-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-07-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

[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!

2009-07-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday America! God Bless America!

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

Who's on First!

2009-05-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

A Time Saving Idea! Voter ID

2009-04-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Voter ID Protects Democracy!

2009-04-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

Gun Grabbers Already Busy!

2009-02-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-25T11:48:00.000-08:00

New Sheriff in Town!

2009-01-24T11:13:00.000-08:00

How Bad is It..........?

2008-12-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says that the budget crisis is so bad in California they may have to start selling Senate seats." ~ Jay Leno

2008-12-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

Get Packin', Rod Blagojevich

by John McHugh

(to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen")

Get packin', Rob Blagojevich

The state's in disarray.The Tribune wants you unemployed,

At least by Christmas Day.The TV pundits want your head,

Could there by pay to play? Oh, tidings, of comfort and joy.

Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings, of comfort and joy.

Good riddance Rod Blagojevich,Your Elvis look's inane.

The Senate's mad, so's Lisa's dad, You drive us all insane.

Our transit's broke, the state's a joke, The Tollway's one big pain.

Oh, tidings, of comfort and joy. Save Illinois!

Oh, tidings, of comfort and joy.

Good luck old Rod Blagojevich, The feds have quite a place..

Fitzegerald's poked his nose around, And if he has a case,

George Ryan's moving stuff around, Creating extra space.

Oh, tidings, of comfort and joy. Save Illinois!

Oh, tidings, of comfort and joy

Courtesy our good friend Don O'Nesky aka ElephantPride

Aunt Bill's Brown Candy ~ Oklahoma Tradition!

2008-12-02T07:55:00.000-08:00

Aunt Bill's Brown Candy: Cooking Light columnist Molly Wizenberg shares her holiday baking ritual: the old-timey Aunt Bill's Brown Candy, a cross between praline and fudge from her homestate of Oklahoma. This soft, nutty, and somewhat crumbly southern delight is the ideal holiday treat. Makes 30 pieces

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar, divided
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)

Preparation:

Butter 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine 2 cups sugar and half and half in heavy large saucepan. Stir occasionally over low heat until sugar dissolves. Set aside.

Bring remaining 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; continue boiling without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, brushing sides of pan with wet brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes.

Immediately pour caramel syrup into half and half mixture in large saucepan (mixture will bubble). Stir constantly over medium-low heat until caramel dissolves. Attach candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium. Continue cooking and stirring until mixture registers 244°F, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir in baking soda (mixture will foam slightly). Add butter and stir to melt. Let stand without stirring until mixture cools to 160°F, about 20 minutes. Mix in vanilla.

Using large wooden spoon, stir constantly until candy begins to thicken and loses its gloss, 4 to 5 minutes. (usually takes two people to beat). Mix in nuts (candy will be very stiff). Scrape candy into prepared pan. Using wet fingertips, press candy firmly into pan. Cool completely, then cut into 30 squares.
December issue Bon Appetit magazine

A Real 'Trick' on US all.....Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T04:48:00.000-07:00

2008-10-31T04:42:00.000-07:00

How the Bail-Out Works!

2008-10-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

How the bail out works: Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a Donkey from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver theDonkey the next day.
The next day he drove up and said, 'Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.' Chuck replied, 'Well, then just give me my money back.'

The farmer said, 'Can't do that. I went and spent it already.'
Chuck said, 'Ok, then, just bring me the dead donkey.'

The farmer asked, 'What ya gonna do with him?
Chuck said, 'I'm going to rafflehim off.'
The farmer said You can't raffle off a dead donkey!'
Chuck said, 'Sure I can Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead.'

A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, 'What happened with that dead donkey?'
Chuck said, 'I raffled him off.
I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $998.'
The farmer said, 'Didn't anyone complain?'
Chuck said, 'Just the guy who won. So I gave him his twodollars back.'
Chuck now works for Goldman Sachs.

A must read...."Liquidating the Empire!"

2008-10-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Liquidating the Empire
By Pat Buchanan

"Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate the farmers."

So Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon advised Herbert Hoover in the Great Crash of '29. Hoover did.
And the nation liquidated him -- and the Republicans.

In the Crash of 2008, 40 percent of stock value has vanished, almost $9 trillion. Some $5 trillion in real estate value has disappeared. A recession looms with sweeping layoffs, unemployment compensation surging, and social welfare benefits soaring.
America's first trillion-dollar deficit is at hand.

In Fiscal Year 2008 the deficit was $438 billion. With tax revenue sinking, we will add to this year's deficit the $200 to $300 billion needed to wipe the rotten paper off the books of Fannie and Freddie, the $700 billion (plus the $100 billion in add-ons and pork) for the Wall Street bailout, the $85 billion to bail out AIG, and $37 billion more now needed, the $25 billion for GM, Chrysler and Ford, and the hundreds of billions Hank Paulson will need to buy corporate paper and bail out banks to stop the panic.

As Americans save nothing, where are the feds going to get the money? Is the Fed going to print it and destroy the dollar and credit rating of the United States?

Because the nations whose vaults are full of dollars and U.S. debt -- China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Arabs -- are reluctant to lend us more.
Sovereign wealth funds that plunged billions into U.S. banks have already been burned.
Uncle Sam's VISA card is about to be stamped "Canceled."
The budget is going to have to go under the knife. But what gets cut?

Social Security and Medicare are surely exempt. Seniors have already taken a huge hit in their 401(k)s. And as the Democrats are crafting another $150 billion stimulus package for the working poor and middle class, Medicaid and food stamps are untouchable. Interest on the debt cannot be cut. It is going up. Will a Democratic Congress slash unemployment benefits, welfare, education, student loans, veterans benefits -- in a recession?
No way.

Yet, that is almost the entire U.S. budget -- except for defense, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and foreign aid. And this is where the axe will eventually fall.
It is the American Empire that is going to be liquidated.

Retrenchment has begun with Bush's backing away from confrontations with Axis-of-Evil charter members Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs, and will likely continue with a negotiated peace in Afghanistan. Gen. Petraeus and Secretary Gates are already talking "reconciliation" with the Taliban.

We no longer live in Eisenhower or Reagan's America. Even the post-Cold War world of George H. W. Bush, where America was a global hegemon, is history. In both relative and real terms, the U.S.A. is a diminished power.

Where Ike spent 9 percent of GDP on defense, Reagan 6 percent, we spend 4 percent. Yet we have two wars bleeding us and many more nations to defend, with commitments in the Baltic, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans we did not have in the Cold War.

As U.S. weapons systems are many times more expensive today, we have fewer strategic aircraft and Navy ships than Ike or Reagan commanded. Our active-duty Army and Marine Corps consist of 700,000 troops, 15 percent women, and a far higher percentage of them support rather than combat troops.

With so few legions, we cannot police the world, and we cannot afford more. Yet, we have a host of newly hostile nations we did not have in 1989.

U.S. interests in Latin America are being challenged not only by Cuba, but Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Honduras. Brazil, Argentina and Chile go their own way.
Russia is reasserting hegemony in the Caucasus, testing new ICBMs, running bomber probes up to U.S. air space. China, growing at 10 percent as we head into recession, is bristling over U.S. military sales to Taiwan. Iran remains defiant. Pakistan is rife with anti-Americanism and al-Qaida sentiment.

The American Empire has become a vast extravagance.

With U.S. markets crashing and wealth vanishing, what are we doing with 750 bases and troops in over 100 countries?
With a recession of unknown depth and duration looming, why keep borrowing billions from rich Arabs to defend rich Europeans, or billions from China and Japan to hand out in Millennium Challenge Grants to Tanzania and Burkina Faso?
America needs a bottom-up review of all strategic commitments dating to a Cold War now over for 20 years.

Is it essential to keep 30,000 troops in a South Korea with twice the population and 40 times the wealth of the North? Why are McCain and Obama offering NATO memberships, i.e., war guarantees against Russia, to a Georgia run by a hothead like Mikheil Saakashvili, and a Ukraine, millions of whose people prefer their kinship to Russia to an alliance with us?

We must put "country first," says John McCain.
Right you are, Senator. Time to look out for America first.

Mr. Buchanan is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World, "The Death of the West,", "The Great Betrayal," "A Republic, Not an Empire" and "Where the Right Went Wrong."

Ballot Box Compromise!

2008-10-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

Americans should be very alarmed at recent stories of voter fraud. Ballot boxes compromised! One more move toward a 'third world nation' status! One writer sums it up nicely.....

"Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud threatens our Democracy" by John Fund of the Wall Street Journal.

At bookstores everywhere!

Taxpayers should be OUTRAGED!

2008-09-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is an unbelievable outrage and totally unacceptable. The Grapevine has sent a letter to our Congressman/women! ACORN is replete with voting/voter fraud and is currently under investigation!........

“One of the sticking points in resolving the crisis was a poison pill in the Dodd/Paulson compromise that would move 20% of profits from the bailout into the Housing Trust Fund, a slush fund for political action groups such as ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and the National Council of La Raza.”
- Investors Business Daily, 9/26/08

#13 - Unlucky for Voters!

2008-09-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

Voters: Keep in mind....Democrat candidate Obama is the #1 MOST LIBERAL member of the US Senate. His running mate - Joe Biden - is #3 MOST LIBERAL!

Add those together, you get the universally known BAD LUCK #13!

To KNOW the candidate(s) is to NO the candidate(s)!

Gingrich: The Happiest Convention!

2008-09-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

The Happiest Convention!

by Newt Gingrich

This was the happiest convention I have attended.

In seven conventions going back to 1984, I have never seen delegates as happy.

I have seen them eager, energized, committed, determined but the underlying mood last night was sheer joy.

There was joy that Senator McCain had had the courage to pick Governor Palin.
There was joy that she and her family had come through the week of attacks smiling and eager to campaign.
There was joy that Governor Palin's Wednesday night speech completely vindicated Senator McCain's choice.
There was joy that 37 million Americans had seen her speech. That is almost as many as watched Senator Obama's acceptance speech (39 million).

There was deep inspiration from Cindy McCains story of adopting a child from Bangladesh and her commitment to the poor and the weak around the world.

There was awe at the film about Senator McCain's service to country and inspiration from the personal parts of his speech.

There was joy at Roberta McCain saying "he's a momma's boy" and admiration for her energy and enthusiasm at 96 (sort of knocks down the age issue).

Finally there was joy that we had nominated two real people of great authenticity to take on the poseurs on the other ticket.

It was appropriate in St. Paul, the city of F. Scott Fitzgerald, that the modern Great Gatsby found himself facing a ticket with a real war hero and a real governor.

Obama's long voyage of self discovery and posturing may be about to collide with a team that can't be intimidated and is not afraid to tell the truth.
Now that is a cause for joy.

Obama wants YOUR Gun(s)!

2008-08-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

On the Second Amendment, Don't Believe Obama!...

The NRA Facts Prove it!

< http://www.nraila.org/obama/>

It is now time for gun owners to take a careful look at just where apparent nominee Barack Obama stands on issues related to the Second Amendment.

During the primaries, Obama tried to hide behind vague statements of support for "sportsmen" or unfounded claims of general support for the right to keep and bear arms. But his real record, based on votes taken, political associations, and long standing positions, shows that Barack Obama is a serious threat to Second Amendment liberties.

Don't listen to his campaign rhetoric! Look instead to what he has said and done during his entire political career.

FACT: Barack Obama voted against the confirmation of 2 of the 5 Justices that affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.

FACT: Barack Obama wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Gun Ban.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.

FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition.

FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership.

FACT: Barack Obama supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people who use firearms in self-defense.

FACT: Barack Obama supports gun owner licensing and gun registration.

FACT: Barack Obama refused to sign a friend-of-the-court Brief in support of individual Second Amendment rights in the Heller case.

FACT: Barack Obama opposes Right to Carry laws.

FACT: Barack Obama was a member of the Board of Directors of the Joyce Foundation, the leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and "research."

FACT: Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America.

FACT: Barack Obama voted not to notify gun owners when the state of Illinois did records searches on them.

FACT: Barack Obama voted against a measure to lower the Firearms Owners Identification card age minimum from 21 to 18, a measure designed to assist young people in the military.

FACT: Barack Obama favors a ban on standard capacity magazines.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory micro-stamping.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory waiting periods.

FACT: Barack Obama supports repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits information on gun traces collected by the BATFE from being used in reckless lawsuits against firearm dealers and manufacturers.

FACT: Barack Obama supports one-gun-a-month handgun purchase restrictions.

FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on inexpensive handguns.

FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on the resale of police issued firearms, even if the money is going to police departments for replacement equipment.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory firearm training requirements for all gun owners and a ban on gun ownership for persons under the age of 21.

Please forward to your family and friends who care about our Second Amendment Rights!

Buchanan: Democracy and Hitler!

2008-08-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

In his 1937 "Great Contemporaries," Winston Churchill wrote, "Whatever else may be thought about (Hitler's) exploits, they are among the most remarkable in the whole history of the world."

Don't miss Pat Buchanan's.......'Democracy: A Flickering Star?'
<http://www.humanevents.com/search.php?author_name=Patrick%20J.%20Buchanan>

Tort Reform; Ethics; Replacing Appointments!

2008-07-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

The Grapevine reccommends Steve Fairs latest "Tort Reform Needed in Oklahoma" at: < http://www.stevefair.blogspot.com/>

Please check the Ethics reports for legislative candidates in your district. The Trial Lawyer lobby is not going gentle into that good night. They are contributing large amounts to candidates who if elected will work to stop tort reform! To check the candidates in your area, click on link:
< http://www.state.ok.us/~ethics/>

This election cycle will also be a good opportunity for the replacing (voting-out) of Henry appointments to various postitions in state government. ie: Treasurer, Corporation Commissioner...etc. The people need to make these 'appointments' at the ballot box!

Sen. Coburn having medical tests...

2008-07-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

From The Hill and OKC news line.......Sen. Tom Coburn of Muskogee has been tested for an irregular heartbeat.
Spokesman John Hart says Coburn was tested Friday at a Washington area hospital but has not been admitted.

The Oklahoman reported from its Washington bureau that Hart said the Republican senator is being tested for common arrhythmia and expects to return to the Senate Saturday.
The 60-year-old Coburn had a benign tumor removed from his pituitary gland last summer. He had colon cancer in 2003 and a malignant melanoma in 1975.

[ed] We certainly all wish the Senator well.

OK's Coburn driving 'Dirty' Harry Reid Nuts!

2008-07-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

"Majority Leader Harry Reid has had it up to here with [Oklahoma Senator] Tom Coburn, the Senate's scourge of excessive spending and pork-barrel earmarks. Mr. Reid is telling reporters he will no longer tolerate the Oklahoma Republican blocking about 100 bills using the power Senate rules give individual member to stop legislation from coming to a floor vote.
Mr. Coburn objects to many of the bills because he says they would enrich special interests and private developers at the expense of taxpayers.

"So Mr. Reid is taking the unusual step of assembling a package of bills that Mr. Coburn has stopped, forming an omnibus bill and ramming them through the Senate before it leaves for its August break. 'For those of you who may not know this, you cannot negotiate with Coburn,' Mr. Reid told reporters. 'It's something that you learn over the years, that it's a waste of time.'

"Mr. Reid's decision now puts added pressure on Mr. Coburn's fellow Republican senators. An omnibus bill can proceed to a floor vote if 60 Senators agree to cut off debate. With many GOP Senators having inserted provisions into the bills Mr. Coburn is blocking, they will be torn between supporting their colleague in his fight against excessive spending or risking losing projects for their state. Mr. Reid's move is a clever way to force Republicans to choose between their self-proclaimed principles and pork. It will be interesting to see just how many side with Democrats in their effort to roll over Mr. Coburn."

- John Fund, Political Diary, 7/15/08

.."do it for America".....

2008-07-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

"Americans want to go back to the 'can do, get it done, cut through the red tape' style of our parents and grandparents in World War II to bring down high energy prices. Americans want American energy resources developed to bring down prices. Americans want American technology and know how used to increase conservation and create alternative fuels. Americans want to do it all, do it now, and do it for America."
- Newt Gingrich

OPUBCO Launches ElectOK!

2008-06-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.electok.com/about about

ElectOK is Oklahoma's most comprehensive source for information related to the Oklahoma State Elections. ElectOK connects undecided voters with the local candidates, providing the information they need to make informed decisions on Election Day.

Visit a candidate's profile page to discover that candidate's background, experience and most importantly where they stand on the issues that matter to you. Let your voice be heard by contributing to a candidate's blog. You can even stay up-to-date with latest news articles, events, videos, podcasts, press clipping and more. ElectOK allows you to carefully compare candidates to make an informed decision. As an informed voter, you can have a powerful influence on the future of our state. ElectOK is gives you the tools you need to make the voting decisions that are right for you.

Find the following on ElectOK:
*Candidate profiles, platforms, positions and experience
*State questions listing and analysis
*Latest public opinion polls
*News related to Oklahoma candidates
*Related media including articles, videos, podcasts, photos, blogs, press clipping and more.

Have a question or a comment? Tell us at electok@opubco.com
ElectOK is a product of OPUBCO Communications Group, a division of The Oklahoma Publishing Company, a 104-year-old privately held corporation based in Oklahoma City.

The Grapevine joins Newt......

2008-06-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Join Newt and the Grapevine at:

DRILL HERE + DRILL NOW = PAY LESS!

<http://www.americansolutions.com/>

Abstract Requirement Rip-Off of Oklahomans!

2008-06-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

Special Report via Tulsa World

The Grapevine has repeatedly called for the elimination of abstracts to convey real property in Oklahoma.(ie: real estate: your home, business, vacant lot) Goes without saying that abstractors and abstract offices would follow!
Some in the Legislature tried this last session, unfortunately without success.
Article mentions [indicted Auditor] McMahans help in killing the bill.

Oklahoma is one of only 2 states that still use this archaic system which amounts to nothing more than a glorified copying service. BUT, it does keep a lot of lawyers in business and provides a 'bird-nest' on the ground for the select few who have the clout to be able to open an abstractors office. Or as the article below states a "very lucrative" business.
Think anyone with a desk and a copy machine can open one? Give it a try!

Former Sen. Gene Stipe has kept the abstract business pretty well sewn up in eastern Oklahoma and some other areas of the state for many, many, years. State law requires an abstract and abstract offices, again as the article below states, can charge what ever they want.

Removing abstractors/abstract offices from under the Auditor and Inspector to a new agency - the newly formed Oklahoma Abstractors Board - has done NOTHING to clean up the corruption (read below - new chair already under investigation), nor does it address the fact that in todays business climate, abstracts are no longer needed.
There is a better, almost - if not entirely - cost-free way to transfer real property! It is past time for Oklahoma to eliminate this antiquated system that amounts to a rip-off of property owners and as the following article will show, abstracting is also a system open to corruption and manipulation.

by: SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer6/8/2008

Testimony indicates corruption and complaints were rife in the abstract industry.
MUSKOGEE',~The underbelly of the state's abstract system was exposed in testimony last week in the trial of State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, whose office once regulated the industry.

McMahan and his wife Lori McMahan of Tecumseh are accused of accepting bribes and illegal contributions from Kiowa millionaire businessman Steve Phipps, who owned a number of abstract offices throughout southeastern Oklahoma in partnership with former state Sen. Gene Stipe, D-McAlester.

Witnesses described a culture of illegally bankrolling the campaigns of Democratic candidates through the use of lower-paid abstract employees who were reimbursed by Phipps in exchange for political favors that protected the abstract industry.

By his own account, Phipps admitted to organizing illegal fundraising events and straw donations for numerous Democrats for nearly a decade. Some of them, like McMahan and former state auditor Clifton Scott, knew about it and others didn't, Phipps said. Scott denies being aware of straw donations.

Ex-auditor employee Tim Arbaugh claimed in testimony that Tulsa abstract owner Randy Dittmann also came through for McMahan in his 2006 campaign by providing straw donors. Dittmann, president of Buffalo Land Abstract Co., is under investigation but has not been charged. He could not be reached for comment but said in January that the allegations are not accurate.

The Legislature removed regulation of the abstracting industry from the auditor's office when allegations against McMahan surfaced last year. Gov. Brad Henry appointed Dittmann as chairman of the new Oklahoma Abstractors Board earlier this year to provide oversight of the abstract industry. Dittmann then stepped down after it was reported that he was named by an unidentified witness in an FBI affidavit as being a straw donor in McMahan's 2002 and 2006 campaigns.

Through the course of the trial, it's been said that Oklahoma is just one of two states that requires home buyers to pay for an abstract, which is a record of all the public documents on file related to the title of a property.
The new Oklahoma Abstractors Board puts it this way: "Oklahoma is one of two states that require the highest standards for the title evidence and the title examination." The more title history a property has, the more pages are in the abstract and the higher the cost. Sometimes the cost can be astronomical, $15,000", according to Rep. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant.

Ellis testified about his efforts to write a bill that would have eliminated the abstract industry after receiving numerous complaints about Southern Abstract in Idabel, which was then owned by Phipps and Stipe. He said his constituents were upset about the price and the time it took to process an abstract, which was causing some to lose their loans.

"It was just holding up business is what it was doing," Ellis said. There were also complaints that the employees were mean. "They weren't terribly concerned about what the customers thought because they couldn't get (abstracts) anywhere else," Arbaugh testified. Arbaugh and Phipps have testified that McMahan helped Phipps by successfully thwarting the bill.

In the end, an agreement was set up in which the Idabel company would charge no more than $850 for an abstract and they would take no longer than 30 days to process a "normal" abstract, Ellis said. Ellis said McMahan assured him that the Idabel company would follow the agreement, which applied only to the Idabel office and no other abstract company in the state. Southern Abstract is the only abstract company in McCurtain County.

When John Callaham, a Broken Bow banker, put in an application to start an abstract business, Arbaugh said he was instructed by McMahan to do everything he could to slow down the process so Phipps wouldn't have a competitor.

Abstract companies are allowed to set up their own fees. The new abstractor's board is supposed to review the fees to ensure they are not excessive. Members of the new board include six people from the abstract and title business, an attorney, banker and real estate broker. [Fox and Hen House]

Phipps has testified that the abstract business is very lucrative. As co-owner of about seven abstract offices, Phipps said he earned $200,000 to $400,000 a month. Contacted Friday, Ellis said that about half the counties in the state operate with just one abstract company.

The Grapevine urges you to contact your Representative, your Senator. Abstracts need to be eliminated as a requirement (rip-off) of Oklahomans transferring real estate.

Taxpayers Burden continues.....

2008-06-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

The people of Oklahoma should be outraged that they will continue to support former Sen. Gene Stipe!
Disgraced former Senator Gene Stipe, now a convicted felon, gets to keep his $7,042 monthly state retirement checks and recoup some $344,000 back pay......the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled this week. [this amount is ridiculous].

The court upheld a district judge's ruling that Stipe is entitled to the sum, his full retirement benefit based on his years of service in the Legislature. The board of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System had appealed an Oklahoma County judge's decision reinstating Stipe's full benefits.
The OPERS had reduced Stipe's pension to about $1,600 a month after he pleaded guilty to illegally funneling money into a 1998 congressional campaign. Stipe argued his pension should not have been cut because his plea did not relate to his duties as a legislator.
[What an insult to anyones intelligence - only one justice (Winchester) agreed].

(note: a source who asked to remain anonymous, alleges, Stipe to have siphoned-off at least $10 million of YOUR taxpayer dollars!)

Read Paul Jacobs thoughts on this OK (not) decision at:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/PaulJacob/2008/06/01/another_ok_court_decision

Getting to Know John McCain

2008-05-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

by Karl Rove

Wall Street Journal ~ April 30, 2008

It came to me while I was having dinner with Doris Day. No, not that Doris Day. The Doris Day who is married to Col. Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, fighter pilot, Vietnam POW and roommate of John McCain at the Hanoi Hilton.

As we ate near the Days' home in Florida recently, I heard things about Sen. McCain that were deeply moving and politically troubling. Moving because they told me things about him the American people need to know. And troubling because it is clear that Mr. McCain is one of the most private individuals to run for president in history. When it comes to choosing a president, the American people want to know more about a candidate than policy positions. They want to know about character, the values ingrained in his heart. For Mr. McCain, that means they will want to know more about him personally than he has been willing to reveal.

Mr. Day relayed to me one of the stories Americans should hear. It involves what happened to him after escaping from a North Vietnamese prison during the war. When he was recaptured, a Vietnamese captor broke his arm and said, "I told you I would make you a cripple."The break was designed to shatter Mr. Day's will. He had survived in prison on the hope that one day he would return to the United States and be able to fly again. To kill that hope, the Vietnamese left part of a bone sticking out of his arm, and put him in a misshapen cast. This was done so that the arm would heal at "a goofy angle," as Mr. Day explained. Had it done so, he never would have flown again. But it didn't heal that way because of John McCain. Risking severe punishment, Messrs. McCain and Day collected pieces of bamboo in the prison courtyard to use as a splint. Mr. McCain put Mr. Day on the floor of their cell and, using his foot, jerked the broken bone into place. Then, using strips from the bandage on his own wounded leg and the bamboo, he put Mr. Day's splint in place.
Years later, Air Force surgeons examined Mr. Day and complemented the treatment he'd gotten from his captors. Mr. Day corrected them. It was Dr. McCain who deserved the credit. Mr. Day went on to fly again.

Another story I heard over dinner with the Days involved Mr. McCain serving as one of the three chaplains for his fellow prisoners. At one point, after being shuttled among different prisons, Mr. Day had found himself as the most senior officer at the Hanoi Hilton. So he tapped Mr. McCain to help administer religious services to the other prisoners.

Today, Mr. Day, a very active 83, still vividly recalls Mr. McCain's sermons. "He remembered the Episcopal liturgy," Mr. Day says, "and sounded like a bona fide preacher." One of Mr. McCain's first sermons took as its text Luke 20:25 and Matthew 22:21, "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's." Mr. McCain said he and his fellow prisoners shouldn't ask God to free them, but to help them become the best people they could be while serving as POWs. It was Caesar who put them in prison and Caesar who would get them out. Their task was to act with honor.

Another McCain story, somewhat better known, is about the Vietnamese practice of torturing him by tying his head between his ankles with his arms behind him, and then leaving him for hours. The torture so badly busted up his shoulders that to this day Mr. McCain can't raise his arms over his head.
One night, a Vietnamese guard loosened his bonds, returning at the end of his watch to tighten them again so no one would notice. Shortly after, on Christmas Day, the same guard stood beside Mr. McCain in the prison yard and drew a cross in the sand before erasing it. Mr. McCain later said that when he returned to Vietnam for the first time after the war, the only person he really wanted to meet was that guard.

Mr. Day recalls with pride Mr. McCain stubbornly refusing to accept special treatment or curry favor to be released early, even when gravely ill. Mr. McCain knew the Vietnamese wanted the propaganda victory of the son and grandson of Navy admirals accepting special treatment. "He wasn't corruptible then," Mr. Day says, "and he's not corruptible today."

The stories told to me by the Days involve more than wartime valor. For example, in 1991 Cindy McCain was visiting Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh when a dying infant was thrust into her hands. The orphanage could not provide the medical care needed to save her life, so Mrs. McCain brought the child home to America with her. She was met at the airport by her husband, who asked what all this was about. Mrs. McCain replied that the child desperately needed surgery and years of rehabilitation. "I hope she can stay with us," she told her husband. Mr. McCain agreed.

Today that child is their teenage daughter Bridget. I was aware of this story. What I did not know, and what I learned from Doris, is that there was a second infant Mrs. McCain brought back. She ended up being adopted by a young McCain aide and his wife. "We were called at midnight by Cindy," Wes Gullett remembers, and "five days later we met our new daughter Nicki at the L.A. airport wearing the only clothing Cindy could find on the trip back, a 7-Up T-shirt she bought in the Bangkok airport." Today, Nicki is a high school sophomore. Mr. Gullett told me, "I never saw a hospital bill" for her care.

A few, but not many, of the stories told to me by the Days have been written about, such as in Robert Timberg's 1996 book "A Nightingale's Song." But Mr. McCain rarely refers to them on the campaign trail.

There is something admirable in his reticence, but he needs to overcome it. Private people like Mr. McCain are rare in politics for a reason. Candidates who are uncomfortable sharing their interior lives limit their appeal. But if Mr. McCain is to win the election this fall, he has to open up.

Americans need to know about his vision for the nation's future, especially his policy positions and domestic reforms. They also need to learn about the moments in his life that shaped him. Mr. McCain cannot make this a biography-only campaign - but he can't afford to make it a biography-free campaign either. Unless he opens up more, many voters will never know the experiences of his life that show his character, integrity and essential decency.

These qualities mattered in America's first president and will matter as Americans decide on their 44th president.

Mr. Rove is the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush

Paul Supporters Fail in Attempt to ram-rod GOP Convention!

2008-05-04T11:39:00.001-07:00

Attempts by the Ron Paul supporters to alter the face of the State Republican Convention in Tulsa on Saturday and elect an alternate slate of delegates to the National Convention, failed! New National CommitteeMan and Woman elected. Read about the Convention happenings at:
http://www.batesline.com/
and http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/

Presidential Preference Reflects Democrat Values!

2008-04-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

GOP CHAIRMAN CALLS ON DEMOCRATS TO DISCLOSE THEIR ALLEGIANCES!

Presidential Preference Reflects What They Really Stand For!

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 23, 2008) State GOP Chair Gary Jones called upon Democrat Senators to follow Governor Henry’s lead today in making public their preferences for President of the United States.

“Governor Henry continues to show his true liberal stripes,” said Jones. “He claims to be a bi-partisan governor but vetoes bipartisan legislation, including reasonable pro-life legislation and sensible tort reform measures on more than one occasion. Gambling has proliferated under his watch and the “education governor” continues to lead the decline in Oklahoma’s national education rankings.

“He is clearly bucking for an administration position when his days on the Oklahoma payroll are over, and presenting his liberal bona fides to the Beltway crowd.

“I regret he didn’t show Oklahomans his true self when he ran for office.”

Jones then turned his attention to incumbent Senators and candidates.

“Brad Henry is about to be history in Oklahoma,” he continued. “Oklahoma voters deserve to know who their Democrat Senators and aspiring Senators will support.

“Does Nancy Riley support Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton?

“Will Charlie Lassiter follow the lead of his friend from Shawnee and throw his support to Obama?

“Who can the voters of southeastern Oklahoma expect Richard Lerblance to support?” Jones asked. “I hardly believe either Clinton or Obama reflects the conservative, pro-family, pro-Second Amendment values of that region. Who will it be, Senator Lerblance?”

“We already know that Senator Tom Adelson supports Obama. He was way out in front on that one, months ago,” he continued.

“Who can the voters in Lawton and southwest Oklahoma look to for leadership? Who will Keith Erwin or Rick Wolfe support for president?

“These are legitimate questions, because their presidential preferences are a window into how they would govern in the Senate.

“Hillary or Obama? Either choice is bad for Oklahoma,” Jones said.

“It makes no difference. Hillary or Obama will mean higher taxes, greater regulation and intrusion into our personal lives, the breakdown of the traditional family and a weakened national defense.

“Is this the kind of leadership Nancy Riley, Charlie Lassiter, Richard Lerblance, Tom Adelson and aspiring Democrat Senators would emulate?” he asked.

“Oklahoma voters deserve to know, stand up and be counted.” Jones concluded. (END)

UP in SMOKE!

2008-02-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

by Russell Turner

It seems to me that we Americans as a whole have a love affair with socialism. Far too many Americans are content to let the government have more and more control of our lives. Our founding fathers were men who knew the importance of and responsibilities of freedom. When someone understands personal responsibility in a free society, it forces us to be more educated and to use good judgment. It was Thomas Jefferson that was quoted as saying, “the government that governs best governs least.” It wasn’t that long ago that the state legislature voted to ban smoking in public buildings and privately owned buildings unless they had a designated smoking area with special ventilation equipment. There were many restaurants that invested thousands of dollars to comply with that law, now there is a bill before the state legislature that would prohibit smoking even in those areas.

Senate Bill 1875 passed the Senate Business and Labor Committee, and will move to the Senate. The businesses that invested in the smoking areas were catering to a need of people who smoke, it was simply a business decision to keep or gain new customers. Some may say that smoking is a bad habit and it should be eliminated. I have never smoked and I agree that it is not good for our health, but there are other bad habits out here such as overeating, gambling, etc. I have noticed that it doesn’t bother our state government to promote the sale of lottery tickets.

I have always supported the ban of smoking in public buildings such as schools and court houses, all of us have to enter those buildings at one time or the other. In the case of the private businesses, no one is twisting my arm to enter those establishments. If those businesses are catering to someone I don’t agree with I can take my money elsewhere. That is what the free enterprise system is all about. People in the business community must continually weigh the consequences of their decisions.

I am an American; I cherish my freedom that our founding fathers entrusted in us. I believe in the right of self-determination. Free people can make good or bad decisions and I want that freedom to choose for myself. If we don’t start seeing through all of this feel good legislation our freedoms will go up in smoke.

Russell Turner is currently a County Commissioner in Adair County. Russell says he understands the need to protect our freedom at all levels of government. Russell also shares the sentiments of our founding fathers who felt that whenever we as a people are ready to trade our freedoms for security we will have have neither and deserve neither. Russell writes a weekly column that appears in several newspapers in the Stratford, OK area.

Reagan makes Decision!

2008-02-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

Each voter will have several choices to make this November. To vote or not to vote? Which candidate? It will not help the overall Republican 'position' to 'sit-it-out' or neglect to vote. Here is one persons comment and his decision:

"Let me say this. There has been plenty of battling in the primaries, and I've been in the middle of the battle, but until now haven't committed myself to any candidate, waiting until we had a nominee. That's over.

If John McCain is the nominee of the party, this Reagan will happily campaign with him. The alternative is unthinkable to anyone who loves this nation.”
- Talk-show host Michael Reagan

State GOP Chairman Comments on Cargill Resignation.

2008-01-28T14:50:00.000-08:00

Republican State Chairman Gary Jones said this afternoon the resignation of Republican House Speaker Lance Cargill was "the right thing to do."
Jones' comments came on Mark Shannon's show on Oklahoma City radio station KTOK.

Jones said there should be no comparison to Cargill's recent publicized shortcomings and the case of Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, Democrat, facing a federal indictment alleging corruption and campaign finance violations. Jones was McMahan's opponent in 2002 and 2006.

Jones said Cargill did "the honorable thing" in stepping aside. He said doing so removes Democrat criticism of Cargill as a roadblock to GOP legislative goals.

Speaker Cargill Resigns!

2008-01-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

House Speaker Lance Cargill resigned that post today just a week before the 2008 Legislature convenes. Cargill, at 36 the youngest House speaker in the nation, took the action following another embarrassing revelation, this one that he failed to pay taxes on his Harrah law firm in timely fashion. That followed an earlier revelation that he had failed to file his personal income taxes in timely fashion.

House Speaker Pro Tem Gus Blackwell of Goodwell will take over until a new election for speaker is held, sources said. A leading candidate, they added, is Rep. Susan Winchester of Chickasha.

For more and the complete text of Cargills statement:
< http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/>

McMAHAN to RESIGN?

2008-01-25T20:07:00.000-08:00

After appearing in federal court on Friday morning, Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan announced Friday afternoon that he will turn over the day-to-day operations of the office to Assistant Auditor Michelle Day. McMahan and his wife, Lori, entered pleas of "not guilty" to accusations contained in a 9-count federal grand jury indictment.

And later this afternoon [Friday] Tony Thornton of the Oklahoman is reporting that McMahan is considering resigning in the wake of a federal indictment accusing him of corruption, his attorney said Friday. “We expect to make an announcement in the near future,” defense attorney Rand C. Eddy said.

Thornton also reports that Republican State Chairman Gary Jones, twice defeated by McMahan, sat in the back of the courtroom at today's proceeding.
-McCarville

Considerable pressure to resign or step aside has been brought to bear on McMahan from the Governor, the AG, and now the Legislature looking at impeachment legislation.

"Day of Reckoning".......

2008-01-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Book review by Dennie Hall:

Patrick J. Buchanan, often termed America’s leading populist conservative, has never been know for his optimism.

However, his latest book, “Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Ideology, and Greed are Tearing America Apart”, spews warnings that are especially chilling.

Buchanan ran for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1992 and 1996 and was the Reform Party’s candidate in 2000. The author of several books, he is perhaps best known for “The Death of the West: Where the Right Went Wrong.”

Here’s the gist of Buchanan’s new book: US foreign policy is bankrupt. Armed forces are too small to meet the nation’s commitments. We’ve run five record trade deficits. US manufacturing is going abroad. The dollar is sinking to record lows. Aliens threaten to swamp the ethno-cultural core of the nation. A fiscal crisis looms because of the unfounded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare.

Buchanan writes that President Bush’s Iraq invasion was “the greatest strategic blunder in US history…a product of messianic ideology.”

It is no surprise that he attacks Bush; he did the same to his father. He tried to wrest the Republican nomination from George HW Bush in 1992 when Bush was seeking a second term as President.

Of free trade, Buchanan said it “is hollowing out US industry, shipping American jobs, factories, and technology to China, driving the dollar down to record lows, and plunging the United States into permanent dependency an un-payable debt.”

Offering some suggestions for strengthening the country, Buchanan would have us bring the soldiers home, impose some tariffs, police our borders, quit trying to impose our will on other countries, balance the budget, and, we might say tongue-in-cheek, elect him President.

Before being too critical of Buchanan, I must stop to think that his dire warnings remind me of Winston Churchill’s harping throughout the 1930’s that Adolph Hitler had designs on the world. It turned out that Churchill was right all along and his warnings should have been heeded.
Buchanan thinks the sky is falling. Could it be?

Excerpt from review by Dennie Hall. “Day of Reckoning” available through Thomas Dunne, $25.95
(emphasis added)

The Need for Change - Reform is Obvious!

2008-01-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

The law assumes innocence until proven guilty. In the case of the indicted State Auditor Jeff McMahan & his wife, lets assume the feds have their facts and figures right!

This latest mess involving an elected official is the 'poster child' for change and reform in several areas of our state system/laws:

1) Prime example of need to expand term limits to ALL elected officials.

2) Prime example of need to revamp top to bottom the lucrative taxpayer funded retirement and benefit 'system' for elected officials, including Legislators.

3) Re-vamp laws and criteria to make sure those proven guilty of any corruption in office will forfeit all taxpayer funded retirement & benefits immediately, including Legislators.

4) Elimination of the redundant and costly abstract system to transfer real property in Oklahoma. This archaic system is nothing more than a glorified copying service. Oklahoma is one of only 1-2 states that still hold to this outdated system while the others have gone on to a much less complicated and almost no cost system of conveying real estate.
Recent news stories clearly show why Oklahoma is still in the 'dark ages' in this area. Its been a ca$h cow for a select few. It's past time to move Oklahoma forward to a co$t friendly and more efficient system like other states enjoy.
-opinion, Grapevine

'THE PEOPLE' Have Every Right to Expect.....

2008-01-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

The PEOPLE should have 'zero tolerance' for corruption of any kind from those whose salaries they pay (ie: elected officials.)
The PEOPLE have every right to demand that any corruption be dealt with swiftly and thoroughly and reflect those same feelings of 'zero tolerance' when they go to the ballot box!

The PEOPLE also have the right to expect free, honest, and fair elections! Again, the PEOPLE should demand prosecution of person or persons who violate those rights and are found guilty of manipulating or influencing - by any means - the election(s) and voting system for their own personal greed and gain!

The PEOPLE of Oklahoma should not be burdened with retirement or benefits for ANY elected official found guilty of any type corruption while in office. The PEOPLE need to demand that the Legislators - who work for US - make sure hard working Oklahomans don't have to pay twice for corruption!

APPOINT JONES AUDITOR!

2008-01-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

......Sour Grapes......

The people of Oklahoma should demand that former candidate for the State Auditor & Inspector office, Gary Jones, be appointed to fill the position.
Jones lost by a mere handful of votes in 2002.

McMahan was the heir apparent, hand picked by former A & I Clifton Scott, when Scott 'retired'. Jones and others had information on the [now publicly alleged in federal indictments] corruption that was going on with McMahan. Various officials in elected positions, supposed to be protecting Oklahomans from this type activity, closed their eyes & turned a deaf ear in 2002 and years following. Straw donors and monies that were not reported (according to reports) allowed McMahan to pour tons of [illegal] money into this race. Be interesting to see what activity the feds turn up from the 2006 election cycle.

Jones is well qualified to be A & I, with a degree in accounting (licensed CPA) as well as a licensed fraud investigator. The only degree McMahan had is a degree in PE (physical ed). Guess that could come in handy now in the prison exercise yard!

This 'case' is far from over. Some 4 dozen blank subpoenas are in circulation with the closely related Stipegate!

RICO Rules! McMahan and Wife Indicted!

2008-01-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

A federal grand jury indicted state Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan and his wife today, accusing them of accepting improper cash and gifts from a southeast Oklahoma businessman.

The nine-count indictment alleges Jeff and Lori McMahan received jewelry, trips and excessive contributions to Jeff McMahan's first campaign in 2002.

In return, the auditor granted special favors to former abstract company owner Steve Phipps, [a Stipe partner] according to the indictment. McMahan's office regulated the abstract industry until Jan. 1.
The Legislature last year created a separate agency for that purpose amid reports of McMahan's ties to Phipps.

The charges against both Jeff McMahan, 47, and Lori McMahan include racketeering, conspiracy and fraud.
Tony Thornton, Oklahoman.

Read all the article at http://newsok.com/article/3194419/1200680777.

Now......who will Henry appoint? 'They' have someone warming-up in the bullpen as 'they' have know for some time this indictment was inevitable.

MY Kind of Man!

2008-01-16T23:10:00.000-08:00

“I need a man. A man who can say ‘No.’ A man who rejects Big Nanny government. A man who thinks being president doesn't mean playing Santa Claus. A man who won't panic in the face of economic pain. A man who won't succumb to media-driven sob stories.

A man who can look voters, the media and the Chicken Littles in Congress in the eye and say the three words no one wants to hear in Washington: Suck. It. Up.”

- Columnist Michelle Malkin

Oklahoma considered 'small potatos' - Candidates bypass State!

2008-01-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

Tulsa World:

Oklahomans' growing interest in the state's Feb. 5 presidential primary is not likely to be matched by the candidates themselves, political insiders say.
"When you have 20-something states (voting) on one day, everybody is trying to figure out how to maximize their schedules," said state Republican Chairman Gary Jones.

State parties allocate their delegates to their respective national conventions through a series of primaries, caucuses and state conventions. Oklahoma is among 22 states with Democratic primaries or state caucuses and 19 with Republican voting on Feb. 5.

Almost half of both parties' national delegates will be in play on that day.
New York and California will hold their primaries on Feb. 5. So will Illinois, Georgia and New Jersey. Those five states account for about a quarter of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention and about 20 percent of Republican delegates.

Compared to them, Oklahoma doesn't amount to much. It's 47 Democratic delegates (out of a total of 4,049) and 41 Republican delegates (out of a total of 2,380) are only about 1% and just under 2% respectively of delegates at the two parties national conventions.

Just look at the map," said state Democratic Chairman Ivan Holmes. "North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma -- those are states you'd like to have, but they're not top tier in terms of delegates. It's hard to get (candidates) through here."

Jones said he expects Mike Huckabee, John McCain and possibly Fred Thompson to put some resources into Oklahoma. Democrat Barack Obama's campaign was expected to send two full-time staffers into the state Monday. The campaigns of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, the top two Democrats in the state according to most polls, are also likely to step up their activities in the state.

But money, not votes, has been Oklahoma's main attraction for presidential candidates. All the front-runners in both parties have made fundraising stops in the state.

Personal appearances in the next month are considered unlikely -- but not entirely out of the question. Reports that Obama's wife, Michelle, might visit Tulsa next week were quickly quashed, but speculation continues that she or Obama himself might pass through the state before the primary.

Huckabee was the leading choice of Oklahoma Republicans in an Oklahoma Poll conducted in mid-December, with 29 percent of GOP voters favoring him. John McCain was second at 17 percent with 22 percent undecided.
Clinton had the support of 34 percent of Democrats, with Edwards at 25 percent. Twenty percent were undecided.

While neither Jones nor Holmes thought moving the state's primary up to early February has enhanced its national importance, they both said the campaign has stirred up interest among Oklahoma voters.

The state election board reports voter registrations increased by about 10,000 during the last two months of 2007. The Tulsa County Election Board received 1,600 voter registration forms, many of them changing independents to Republicans or Democrats to vote in the primary, in just three days last week.
Friday was the last day to register or change party affiliations for the Feb. 5 vote.

"We're finding the citizens very much engaged," Jones said. "But things are going to happen so fast and furious in the next few weeks, it's going to be hard for the average person to keep up."

"We've had quite a bit of interest in the last six months," Holmes said, adding that he hopes the Democratic nomination is not decided on Feb. 5.
"If the candidates would continue to battle it out for the next six months, it would be good for the party at the grass-roots level," he said.

Oklahoma goes to polls 'Super Tuesday', February 5. Sample ballots are now available at your local election board.

Tag Agency 'policy' a Rip-Off?

2008-01-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

I just returned from the Noble Tag agency where I paid for my car tag renewals for our family car. I normally purchase my tag from LaNoy’s Tag agency or on occasions with Fuson Tag agency, in Norman.
However, today I was in Noble, so I decided to stop and get our tag. My mistake.

I had written my check for $82.50 for the tag renewal. The card from the Tax Commission states that the cost of a new tag was $83.50 which includes a $1 mailing fee. In all of my previous experiences with Fuson and LaNoy’s Tag Agency in Norman, they have always been $1.00 less than mailing it into the State. That should have been the case today.

The representative who was assisting said I owed $83.50 so I questioned her why it was not $82.50 she then showed me my copy from the State tag renewal that showed $83.50. I stated yes, it shows $83.50 but that includes mailing it back to me, since I am here it is not necessary to mail it so the actual cost is only $82.50. She replied “we don't do that" we mail you your copy. I told her that my Norman agency always process es my tag while I wait.
She replied that “we wait and process all the tags at once so you do not have to wait .” She then said, "Well, we are really backlogged and it would take a long time for you to wait to process your tag."

I've been to LaNoy’s and Fuson Tag Agency many times when it was much busier than the Noble agency was at 9:00am today and I've never had to wait more than a couple of minutes. The agent did go ahead and process my tag which took all of 30 seconds. I might also say she was very polite. It's only $1. However, it’s the principle of the matter that I find offensive.

After a few calls I have found that numerous tag agencies across Oklahoma are using this kind of tactic to increase their profits.
According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, 2,801,369 non-commercial tags (automobile registrations) were issued between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.

Basically, over a period of a year, this equates to over two million dollars that we the taxpayers of Oklahoma are being over charged. There are approximately 300 tag agencies in the state.

Respectfully,
Bobby Cleveland - Norman

Iowa Caucus Today!

2008-01-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

Some 300,000 are expected as surverys show one in four has NOT made up their mind! The Nation waits with some interest for evening results!

A New Year Begins......

2007-12-31T23:05:00.001-08:00

The Grapevine extends warmest wishes to you and your family for a New Year that is healthy, safe from adversity, and blest with the love of family and friends along with a growing knowledge of the Good Lord who so richly provides us with life's bounty.

Happy New Year in 2008!

The 'good 'ol boys' score again in stolen trailer case!

2007-12-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

From the Pottowatmie Online Countywide News......http://www.countywidenews.com/calendar/

(Gary Jones stolen campaign trailer) The good 'ol boys score another travesty of justice!

The case of the stolen campaign trailer was laid to rest Tuesday when a City of Tecumseh employee pleaded 'no contest' to a charge of concealing stolen property and was given a deferred sentence.

The charge against Justin Lewis of Macomb will be dismissed if he successfully completes the five-year deferred sentence, including two years of supervised probation, $1,808 in restitution, 100 hours of community service and some court costs.

District Judge Doug Combs went against the recommendation of District Attorney Richard Smothermon in granting the deferred sentence. Smothermon, who handled Tuesday's appearance himself, said he had, "from day one, recommended a three-year suspended sentence if he would disclose who actually did it."

The trailer was stolen from the Branson-McKiddy parking lot the night before the 2006 Frontier Days parade. Decorated to look like a covered wagon, it was a well-known part of the campaign by Gary Jones, who ran against Tecumseh's Jeff McMahan for State Auditor & Inspector last year. McMahan defeated Jones, who is now chairman of the state Republican Party.

Tecumseh Police Detective J.R. Kidney and a sheriff's deputy found the trailer on property belonging to Lewis on Nov. 2, six weeks after it disappeared. In an August preliminary hearing, Kidney testified that "Lewis wouldn't say who brought the trailer to his property but commented that Kidney was smart and could figure it out."

Lewis later told Deputy Jim Patten that he "wasn't saying anything else and would take whatever happens to me." Shawnee attorney and Tecumseh native Allan Grubb represented Lewis. Grubb said he was pleased the judge rejected Smothermon's recommendation and said the DA "wouldn't negotiate" because of the "political ramifications of the case."

December Dates in History!

2007-12-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

December 7, 1941, Japan attack the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor killing 2300 Americans. This event brought the United States into WWll.

In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 15 to be Bill of Rights Day, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

The Boston Tea Party was an act of direct action by the American colonists against Great Britain in which they destroyed many crates of tea bricks on ships in Boston Harbor. The incident, which took place on Thursday, December 16, 1773, help to spark the American Revolution.

Oklahoma AG and Courts Play Favorites?

2007-12-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

It seems Oklahoma's legal system is easily influenced by out-of-state groups. When an Oklahoma Supreme Court judge's wife and a few other powerful animal rights advocates in Oklahoma wanted cockfighting made illegal, out-of-state (Humane Society) petitioners were allowed to gather signatures. Then, the Oklahoma Supreme Court allowed the signatures.

The laws controlling the petition process haven't changed. However, the state district attorney's office recently arrested three people, two from out of state, for illegally gathering signatures on an initiative petition. They've been charged with defrauding the citizens of the state. This was the same thing that cockfighters appealed to Oklahoma's Supreme Court: that the Humane Society brought people into the state who illegally gathered signatures.

The referee the Supreme Court appointed to verify the signatures (Gregory Albert) found this to be true. He rejected the petition in his recommendation to the court, but was overturned by the state Supreme Court based largely on the same Supreme Court judges' insistence. It was the first time in Oklahoma history that the Oklahoma Supreme Court went against the findings of its own referee.

The court ignored the laws of the petition process and allowed a very illegal campaign and illegally written bill to proceed to the polls.
In one case the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Attorney General stated it was legal for the out-of-state people (Humane Society) to gather signatures and influence Oklahoma laws; in the other they arrested the people (with TABOR) doing the same thing.

It's sad the leadership in the Oklahoma legal system chooses when to enforce a law by weighing how much will be taken out of their pocket, who will make the biggest donation to their re-election or what a wife demands.

B.L. Cozad Jr., Indiahoma
Letter to the Editor, originally printed in the Lawton Constitution
Emphasis added

Dims don't play by rules!

2007-11-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

Someone running for office should know the rules or maybe thought he could slip one by......

A fundraising golf tournament for Democratic State Senate candidate Rick Wolfe at Fort Sill's golf course has been cancelled after Republican State Chairman Gary Jones alerted Fort Sill officials about the political nature of the planned event.

Jones confirmed today that he made the call to Fort Sill officials when he learned about Wolfe's planned political event on federal property through a newspaper advertisement Wolfe placed.

The advertisement announced the December 3rd event and the site and said players would be charged $100 per person, proceeds to Wolfe's campaign for the Democratic nomination in the district.

Wolfe seeks to unseat Republican Senator Don Barrington, elected to the District 31 seat in 2004.

Jones said he was told that the course was reserved for the Wolfe tournament by a woman who gave few details and did not mention it was for a political candidate or involved raising money for his campaign.
-McCarville

MONOPOLY - a real life saving 'game'!

2007-11-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

The board game Monopoly served allied prisoners as a real-life tool to get of jail during WWll, says Brian McMahon in Mental Floss, a magazine of farflung trivia.

In 1941 the British secret service asked the game's British licensee John Waddington Ltd. to add secret 'extras' to some sets, which the Red Cross delivered to prisoners of war.
These included a metal file, compass, and silk maps of safe houses (silk, because it folds into small spaces and unfolds silently). Even better, real French, German, and Italian currency was hidden under the game's fake money. Soldiers and pilots were told that if they were captured they should look out for the 'special editions' identified by a large red dot in the game's "Free Parking" space.

Of the 35,000 prisoners of war who escaped prison camps, "more than a few certainly owe their breakout to the classic board game," says McMahon.
via USA Today

Dims support "directionless secular views".....

2007-11-13T07:20:00.000-08:00

The choices for America have never been clearer. On almost every issue, Democrats and the left are promoting more government ownership and control, pushing America closer to a welfare state.

All of the Democratic Presidential hopefuls are running on a decidedly collectivist and socialistic leaning platform.

The Democrats want socialized medicine and more federal control of our schools. They are committed to raising taxes and expanding federal government programs. They will increase the burden of regulations and taxes on the American people, cost American jobs, and reduce America's competitiveness around the world.

Democrats will once again weaken our nation's defenses and intelligence systems, while continuing to hold Americans hostage to foreign oil. They will seek citizenship, government benefits, and voting rights for illegal aliens. And Democrats will appoint liberal judges who will replace America's traditional values with government's directionless secular views.?
- Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ)

Being Misled? Duh!

2007-11-13T07:03:00.000-08:00

Suggestion of the week...from a 'newsletter' the Grapevine receives, thanks 'CM':

This past week, Representative Jabar Shumate (D-Tulsa) announced he could introduce legislation to penalize petition circulators who misrepresent the content of a petition, thus seducing some poor victim into signing the petition.
Right on Jabar, you want those brilliant light bulbs known as John Q Public, many of whom can't even fill out their information correctly, to testify that a circulator misled them?
I have an idea, why doesn't Jabar author legislation penalizing politicians running for office who mislead the voters when they are asking them for their votes? Talk about the need for clarity and honesty, start with people such as yourself Jabar.

Hear! Hear!

VETERANS DAY ~ 2007

2007-11-12T16:36:00.000-08:00

The Grapeine hopes you will join in us in prayer as we remember our veterans and those currently serving in our Armed Forces. Heros All.
May God bless the USA!

"Move not Classy" - followup!

2007-11-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

Prosecutors still are considering whether to file theft charges against representatives from the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University who seized college-themed merchandise from several vendors at an Oklahoma City crafts show, the Associated Press reports.

Last week more than 15 vendors from An Affair of the Heart filed complaints of theft against Suzanne Staley, OU's director of brand development, and Judy Barnard, OSU's director of trademarks and licensing, after the two women seized their merchandise. The women alleged the items infringed on the university's trademarks.

Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland said prosecutors have decided not to prosecute any of the vendors and will not seek forfeiture of the items.

Did His Part!

2007-11-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

I did my part Halloween night for the future education of our kids. I gave out one pack of cigarettes and a lottery ticket to every child age 3 and up.
I realized it's never too early to prepare our children.
The children must get started early or the funding won't be there for education and the cancer center. After all, it's for the kids.
Jeff Jones, Harrah
Letter to the Editor - Oklahoman

BOO! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2007-10-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

The Grapevine wishes you lots of treats and NO tricks this Halloween. Please keep an eye out for the "little intruders" as they canvass house to house in search of goodies.

OU - OSU: "MOVE LESS THAN CLASSY"

2007-10-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

In what's being described as a "less than classy move," employees of the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University confiscated materials from vendors at last weekend's "Affair Of The Heart" crafts show in Oklahoma City and now face possible larceny charges.

Vendors at the show said the OU and OSU representatives, identified as Suzanne Staley, OU director of brand development, and Judy Barnard, director of trademarks and licensing at OSU, were accompanied by an off-duty police office as they worked the show, confiscating items.

At least 15 vendors have filed complaints against the women. The women [Staley and Barnard] face larceny of merchandise complaints following their actions at the show, one of the country's largest arts and crafts shows. They also may face civil lawsuits by those seeking damages due to lost or reduced merchandise sales. Read more at < http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/>

Rush Senate Letter brings BIG Buck$!

2007-10-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Rush Limbaugh 'US Senate Memento' offered by Rush for auction on eBay, today brought over $2 million dollars! The Senate letter - which dished Rush - was signed by 4 top Dims including (Dirty) Harry Reid and it brought a whopping $2,100,100.00!! Betty Casey, a DC resident and a trustee of the Eugene B. Casey Foundation, is said to have purchased the letter.
Rush had pledged from the git-go to match the selling price and is now calling on the Dims who signed the letter to do the same. The money goes to the Marine Corp Law Enforcement Foundation.
Cha-ching!

NO 'Packin at Workplace!

2007-10-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

According to theTulsa World, a Tulsa federal judge has ruled against the state in its attempt to make sure employees can take guns onto their employers' property.
U.S. District Judge Terence Kern issued a permanent injunction against an Oklahoma law that would have kept employers from banning firearms at the workplace under certain conditions.

Kern decided in a 93-page written order issued Thursday that the amendments to the Oklahoma Firearms Act and the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, which were to go into effect in 2004, conflict with a federal law meant to protect employees at their jobs.
More at <www.tulsaworld.com> or <http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com>

Republican Women Straw Vote: Giuliani!

2007-10-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

At the 34th Biennial NFRW Convention this past week-end in Palm Springs, CA, a majority of delegates threw their support behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the organization’s Republican Presidential Straw Poll.

Giuliani received 50.21% of the 765 votes cast. Other top vote-getters were former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, 20.94%; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 14.42%; and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 6.66%. Those four candidates accounted for more than 90% of the vote. The straw poll also featured US Senators Sam Brownback (.28%) and John McCain (1.8%) and Congressmen Duncan Hunter (4.02%), Ron Paul (.42%) and Tom Tancredo (1.25%).
(Please note: the NFRW does not make endorsements during the Republican primaries, but supports all Republican nominees during the general elections.)

In other NFRW (National Federation of Republican Women) business, Oklahoma's own Jeannine Long of Guthrie was elected as one of the women who will help lead the Federation in 2008 - 2009. Jeannine was elected Secretary of the National organization. Jeannine has long been active in NFRW as well as the OklahomaFRW.

GOP Consultant Speaks Out.....

2007-10-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

Republican consultant Jessica Caswell, profiled in a KWTV-Channel 9 report on the GOP ethics controversy Tuesday night in which a former candidate questioned her abilities, on Wednesday released a statement with information she claims was left out of channel 9's report.
Read Caswell's statement at
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com

As this 'controversy' continues to heat up, read Steve Fair's take on 'political consultants' at http://www.stevefair.blogspot.com

TV Coverage Lacking in Credibility!

2007-10-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

To: Blaise Labbe, News Director, Channel 9 TV - OKC

I am appalled at your channel's handling of the Oklahoma Republican House
Victory campaign story. I am not a journalist, but it's common knowledge to
everyone that you must cite your sources in order to have any credibility.
And certainly where there is an ongoing Ethics Commission investigation, you
all are being grossly unfair to Lance Cargill by only naming him when you
know that as a respondent, he cannot break the confidentiality that is in
place with this or any ethics matter!

How in the world can you claim to be any kind of credible media organization when you continue to cite, "unnamed sources" and conceal the identity of the person you interview? You are acting more like a partisan blog than a TV news station!

As for concealing the identity of the man you interviewed last night, what possible reason do you have to justify concealing his identity?
How could this silhouetted person call on Lance Cargill to "come clean" when he himself is hiding behind the curtain of anonymity? Clearly, there is no physical threat to him - this isn't some New York City mafia scenario. We are dealing with public servants, not Sammy the Bull or John Gotti.

Channel 9 has lost all credibility now and I urge you to respect the ethics laws and the standards of journalism before you sink even lower.
Bobby Cleveland, Norman

Raises Need Taxpayer Oversight - Approval!

2007-09-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Glenn says it best.....

"When will the citizens of Oklahoma County get smart and stop this charade of permitting elected county officials to vote themselves a raise or two annually?Top county officials will get $123,553 annually, including benefits.
Raises are based on a formula that factors in population and land assessment values.
Guess why we get an automatic 5% annual increase in our ad valorem taxes, even if no improvements are made to your property? When will demand that our Legislature cut this raise to a maximum of 1%?

Or better yet, let the citizens of Oklahoma vote when to raise property taxes. Perhaps we need a petition drive to change the way property tax rates are raised.

County officials are banking on two things: citizens have short memories and school lobbyists will defeat our desires on this subject.
If we let this practice continue, the sky's the limit for county spending.We could find good candidates for these offices for at least 10% less than we're paying."
"Glenn Pollard, Midwest City, letter to Editor, Oklahoman - 9/26

(Gpvn:) Glenns letter, although targeting Oklahoma County in particular, pertains to all counties. It's time for those who pay the tab (taxpayers) to demand an examination of the laws governing pay and retirement/benefits for all elected officials from the Governor to the dog catcher! Many factors have changed over the years!

"It may seem like a major transgression,

In the midst of a growing recession,

But we have the yeas To enact our raise,

And can weather the bad impression."

-Politickles by F.R. DuPlantier

What's YOUR IQ?

2007-09-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

A man walked into a very high-tech restaurant in a fancy hotel. As he waited to be seated, he noticed that the Maitre D' was a robot.
The robot clicked to attention and said, 'Sir, there is a one hour wait.
And I am programmed to talk with you until a table is ready.
'Intrigued, the man said, 'OK. 'The robot then asked, Sir, what is your IQ?'
The man answered, 'Oh, about 164.'

The robot proceeded to discuss the theory of relativity, interstellar space travel, the latest medical breakthroughs, etc.The man was most impressed. The next day he returned, But thought he would try a different tack. The robot again asked, 'What is your IQ, sir?' This time the man answered, 'Oh, about 100'.
The robot started discussing NASCAR racing, the latest basketball scores, and what to expect the Red Sox to do this weekend.

The guy had to try it one more time. So the next day he returned.Again the robot asked the question, 'What is your IQ?' This time the man drawled out, 'Uh.....'bout 50. 'The robot clicked, then leaned close and very slowly asked,
'A-r-e y-o-u-r p-e-o-p-l-e g-o-i-n-g t-o
r-e-a-l-l-y n-o-m-i-n-a-t-e H-i-l-l-a-r-y?'

With thanks to longtime friend 'Ed'.

Henry's Lottery Falling Flat!

2007-09-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma's lottery is falling on its face and the Lottery Commission plans to cut costs and may have to cut its staff. The Commission's finance and audit committee's dreary budget forecasts for fiscal year 2008 prompted the plans.

In addition, it appears there will be an attempt to amend out a requirement that the Lottery Commission post a 35-percent profit in their third year of operations. This new estimate is 14.8 percent below the estimate upon which the Fiscal Year 2008 appropriations were made, and 8 percent below the June estimate.

The Commission said it is doing all it can to trim operating costs without cutting current staff and advertising expenditures, including moving offices upstairs in their current building and turning the first floor into rental space, and opting not to refill four vacant staff positions.

"I hate to say this with staff in the room but we might have to reduce staff. Any way you look at it, it's not a pretty picture". Executive Director James Scroggins said in explanation of the finance committee's predictions that ticket revenues will remain stagnant through fiscal year 2010 at about $208.2 million.
-McCarville

Shhhhhhh...listen.....yes, it's Vince Orza saying "I told you so."

Investigation of OK County GOP + 2 GOP Legislators?

2007-09-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

Jerry Bohnen - NewsRadio 1000 KTOK - reports that it is believed the Oklahoma Ethics Commission has launched an investigation into a 2004 fundraising effort by two officials of the legislature at the time, and the Oklahoma County Republican Party.

It's also believed that notices from the Ethics Commission have been delivered to the Capitol offices of two top State House Republicans.

A source confirms the report in the Oklahoma Political News Service that the Ethics Commission had started looking into alleged campaign donation irregularities.

KTOK has learned the irregularities might have involved tens of thousands of dollars in contributions that had been sought by two highly placed Republicans in the State House in 2004. The money, according to the contact, eventually ended up in the hands of the Oklahoma County Republican party which at the time was chaired by Oklahoma City private investment consultant Al Mertens who has yet to return an inquiry from KTOK News.

At the heart of the controversy, said the source, is whether the money ended up being used as a "directed campaign contribution." Such "directed campaign contributions," under State Ethics rules, are considered to be a violation.

When asked about the investigation, Gary Jones, Oklahoma State Republican party chairman, told KTOK's Reid Mullins on First News today that he knew nothing of the probe.

By law, Ethics Commission officials cannot confirm the existence of any such investigation. And in early stages of the Ethics investigations, only those who were allegedly and directly involved in the matter being questioned would get official notifications. Stay tuned!
-McCarville and others

All Aboard for the Cotton Bowl!

2007-09-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

The Heartland Flyer will make a special run to the Cotton Bowl in Texas for the annual Oklahoma Sooners vs Texas Longhorns football rivalry.

A $24. round trip ticket is valid regardless of boarding location between OKC and Dallas. The Flyer will depart OKC Santa Fe Station at 8:25am on Friday Oct. 5, arriving at downtown Dallas Union Station at 2:10pm. The train will make regularly scheduled stops along the way at Norman, Purcell, Pauls Valley, Ardmore, Gainsville, TX, and Ft. Worth.

On return, the Flyer will leave Dallas at 2:30pm Sunday, Oct. 7 and arrive OKC at 9:39pm.

For reservations call (800) 872-7245 and ask for special fare code X237. All aboard!