Happy New Year in 2008!
Monday, December 31, 2007
A New Year Begins......
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.
Friday, December 21, 2007
The 'good 'ol boys' score again in stolen trailer case!
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."
Sunday, December 16, 2007
December Dates in History!
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.
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.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Oklahoma AG and Courts Play Favorites?
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
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
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Dims don't play by rules!
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
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
Monday, November 26, 2007
MONOPOLY - a real life saving 'game'!
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
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
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Dims support "directionless secular views".....
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)
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)
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