A Funny Thing Happened at the GOP Convention

The entertainment level at the GOP Convention in Cleveland may take the title of "greatest show on earth" soon because the hits and misses just keep coming.  Whether it be the Colorado delegates stomping their feet and marching out of the Conventional Hall like a bunch of dope-smoking weenies, you have the doggone POTUS candidate's wife using Michelle Obama's speech!  What a bloody train wreck it has been and we've only just begun!  It is hilarious and tragically sad at the same time.  

It's insanity.  It's as thought the whole of the convention has been turned over to the children who are busy playing with their crayons and wetting their pants.

There is even a contingent who are staying away from the convention, headed up by the ever-pathetic John Kasich from Ohio who is by far the most liberal Republican to come of out the Republican Party in the last two decades.  Key Senators are avoiding the convention and it simply makes them look like petulant children who can't stand the heat and only proves that the people did the right thing by not voting for them at the polls (particularly Kasich).

And speaking of foot-stomping points of interest...

State Senator wanna-be Paul Blair, who happens to also be the pastor of one of Edmond's more active Baptist churches had a meeting/press conference where announced that his opponent had slandered him because of a photoshopped picture of the Pastor Blair.  Well, first, he's a public figure and as a result is open to be lampooned predicated on the 1st Amendment of the Constitution that he claims to have read and so vehemently supports.  Second, It is highly doubtful that his opponent has the ability to use Photoshop itself but rather an opponent of the former football player turned pastor turned candidate for State Senator.  

From the Oklahoman: 

Blair said Pugh’s supporters have also posted on social media that he has ties to Kansas’ Westboro Baptist Church.  

“These kind of baseless vile accusations can destroy a man’s reputation forever. And can destroy the reputation of a church forever,” Blair said Monday afternoon from the fourth floor press room inside the Oklahoma state Capitol. 

Pastor Blair had for himself quite the all-star lineup backing him; he had Congressman Steve Russell, term-limited House Rep Kevin Calvey, and other supporters by his side when he proclaimed that his opponent had slandered him.  The Scripture is clear about issues between brothers that they are supposed to take issues to one another in private and then if it isn't resolved, kick it up a notch.  Seems to me that Blair ignored the very Scriptures he preaches from.  

But I could be wrong.  One of the "tricks" in talk radio is to have someone known to the host call in to the show to disagree and to so with tenacity.  The aggregate result is that the loyal listeners circle the wagons and call in to support the talk show host.   Blair would never do that with his campaign, would he?  I don't think so.  

Blair doth protest too much, methinks.  You have to ask yourself why a former football player who heard the "call from God" to be in ministry now thinks the time has come to move to the realm of elected office.  From what I recall about the New Testament, Matthew 23 was pretty clear about what Jesus thought of the religious/political leaders of his day.  Thought the role of the Church was to make disciples, care for the sick, the elderly, the poor, the widows...not push for voters.  And he's talking about "slander?"  What?  He wants to be a State Senator but the pastor seems to have thinner skin than when he played football.

But what do I know?

On another local runoff front, things have been pretty quiet in the Oklahoma County Clerk race.  The embattled incumbent of about a hundred years, Carolynn Caudill, will  be facing trumpet-player and musician to the elected elite, David B. Hooten.  Hooten ran for the State Senate a couple years back and lost and now he found himself in a runoff with seasoned campaigner, Carolynn Caudill.  If Hooten thinks that she's just going to lay down and do nothing, he has a few things to learn about the incumbent County Clerk and her supporters who are already elected down at the County.  This is not going to be a walk in the park for the newcomer, but the talk is that he has former Speaker of the House Lance Cargill running his campaign.  This one has the potential to be an awesome race or fizzle and be a dud.  Wooten tends to be a bit soft-spoken, but giving credit where credit is due, the musician has gained the endorsements of former Governor Frank Keating and Governor Mary Fallin which means he must be pretty tough.  Hooten has the chance to blow Caudill out of the water, but he is going to have to start sounding his horn (see what I did there?).care 

Of course, my opinions don't really amount to much these days and I've been horribly wrong in the past.

The whole political climate right now is very sad and frightening for the GOP; or at least it should be.  The future of the party depends on its ability to be more inclusive, to recruit more women to run for office, and to have more people of color run and actually receive the support of their respective party offices.  So far, we're coming off like a bunch of xenophobic, redneck, racist dingleberries who are completely out of touch with culture.  Something has to be done and it isn't going to come from plagiarism nor will it come from pastors who are jumping the pulpit to run for public office.  

These are just my opinions and I could be wrong, but, in this case it is highly unlikely.

Ron "Gorilla" Black

Solutions to Wad Panties

State revenue is down which means that state agencies will be feeling a pinch.  It's what happens.  The liberals are blaming Republicans for tax breaks for the state's bread-and-butter industries; oil and gas.  The Republicans are blaming "100 years of mismanagement" rather than taking responsibility for the fact that the mess we're in is an equal opportunity destroyer and that politicians of every breed are to blame.  Republicans and Democrats alike are culpable for the place we're in right now because for both parties, the only solution is to raise taxes.  

Liberals want to raise taxes on the rich.

Conservatives want to raise taxes on the poor.

The bovine fecal matter stacks up so high in the Oklahoma legislature that you need wings to rise above it and largely, it's the career politicians who are left holding the bag.  Their greed and desire for power has overruled any common sense they may have possessed at a time in the past and it will never return.

With all of that taken into consideration, I have some budgetary solutions that will work to more effectively use state tax dollars and to rein in the madness under the methane gas-filled dome.  These solutions are going to piss off some people and those are the people we should vote out of office with impunity.  They are the problem, not the solution.

1.  Reduce Legislative Pay:  Pay for all state legislators and their assistants, envoys, project managers and the like should all be cut in half.  If you don't think they are overpaid, consider these little positions for the State Senate alone:

Randy Dowell        Chief of Staff      $128,947   Been there since 1997

Jonathon Nichols    Legal Council     $120,138  Been there since 2000

Caroline Dennis      Dir. of Ops        $120,128  Been there since 1982

Trait Thompson       Capital Proj. Mgr.  $86,957.

Those are JUST a few.  You see very familiar names when you go through the list of Senate payroll recipients like; Trait Thompson, Jonathan Nichols, Sharon Veazey, Claire Mcatee, or Nancy Pellow.  You got to see this madness.  I mean it.   The State Senate and staff should take a 50% pay cut and the position should remain at that specific salary.  Period.  It's amazing how much money is being slung around to and for our elected legislators.  

Here are more for you to review.  Bring a barf bag.

Attorney General

Corporation Commission (Note the total salary number.)

Boll Weevil Eradication Organization  (Yes, it really exists.) 

Department of Corrections (Your butt will pucker.)

Department of Tourism (The salaries are completely out of control here.)

State Treasurer

Department of  Veterans Affairs

2.  County Official Pay Reduction:  Like the legislators and their staff, County elected officials should receive pay that is commensurate to the average median income of their respective counties.  Makes sense, doesn't it?  Their pay should NOT be based on how much money is in the county, but rather the average income of the citizens therein.  This alone will save millions of dollars a year and when you take into consideration the number of staff members they have, when the same formula is applied, the savings to the taxpayers within that county will be astronomical.

3.  Statewide Elected Officials:  This is really a no-brainer.  Take the average median income of the state of Oklahoma and that will be their base pay.  They would be entitled to travel pay when on state business throughout the state, but beyond that, their pay should be capped as should their staff members'.

You can see how these three suggestions/solutions would create a huge problem from some elected officials so I implore you to ask your elected officials whether or not they would support a proposal such as what I have here.  If they say no, they are NOT citizen/legislators but rather are bottom-feeding blood-suckers.

Spread the word.  People need to know.

"Gorilla"

 

Anheuser-Busch Shenanigans

Casually watching the news last evening, I saw a story on News 9 about Senator Clark Jolley's bill to bring the state into the 21st Century by allowing real adult beverages in convenience stores and grocery stores.  Jolley had his argument down solidly and the naysayers had to resort to the fear of "the loss of jobs" as a result of a bill.  

First, when an advocacy group opposes a bill that makes sense and is more progressive in nature and they start rending their clothing and dress in sack cloth and ashes, you can pretty much rest assured that they are full of crap.

Second, Anheuser-Busch responded on the same network of the story with their opposition advertisement.  They, of course, found a less than flattering photograph of Sen. Jolley and proceeded to completely twist what Jolley had said on the news report just seconds previously.  What does that tell you?  The ad was not, by any stretch of the imagination, straightforward and it was designed to simply scare the people of Oklahoma that there could be "job losses."  With Devon and other energy companies laying off people, AB knows that the people are terrified of more of the same.

They are playing to the lowest common denominator:  Fear.

Sadly, much of the media is playing up to that fear.  Lawton station KSWO opens their headline with:

"A provision to a bill looking to change Oklahoma's beer laws could force Anheuser-Busch out of the state."

This is a desperate act of a television station that is begging AB for some of those advertising dollars.  Absolutely pathetic.  It makes one want to say, "Get off your knees, KSWO, you're embarrassing us."

The story goes on to quote AB executives but fails to even mention the author of the bill or the number of the bill.  This is corporate propaganda being slung out there by a bleeding media who is clamoring for every single advertising dollar they can muster.  Gone are the days of legitimate, objective news reporting and these shenanigans prove that the media is not to be trusted and that it's always best to do much of your own homework.

I did my homework and the aggregate result was that my bovine fecal material detector went nuts as soon as the AB commercial appeared on the television.   We're so far through the looking glass on this issue that Alice is shaking her head at us.  We expect politicians to spin their news, but local media has been the last stronghold of true journalism and now, they are mouthpieces for advertisers.  Talk radio is a dismal failure, the newspaper hard copy sales are deplorable, and apparently television news is now taking the lead in propaganda pushing.

It's bloody pathetic.  Jolley's resolution is a good one and will no doubt get some tweaking.  Watch and mark your calendars because the fear tactics of AB will once again be proven unwarranted.

Of course, it's just my opinion and I could be wrong; but I seriously doubt it.

Your Gorilla