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"

 

Guns & Borders

The talk radio legend, Mike McCarville, put together an interesting analysis of the situation Speaker-elect Kris Steele has found himself.  In the analysis, he quotes the Oklahoman and Steele himself and the picture it paints is not good for Steele.  Any time the media is allowed to be dismissive about Constitutional issues like immigration and guns, there is trouble in River City.

Mike asks the question, "Who is picking this fight and why?"  Excellent question, but the answer is not easily identified.  As for my involvement, I've never been a fan of Steele and it goes back to the Briggs death and if you look Steele in the eye and do a little research, you will probably come to the same conclusion I did about how Kelsey's Law came into play.  Steele is not a conservative and simply does not represent the thoughts and passion of Oklahomans who voted strongly Republican in this last election cycle.

And then we turn to the puppeteer himself, Fred Morgan.  Let's take a look at his commentary very closely.  Mike has this quote from Fred Morgan, the head cheese whiz at the State Chamber of Commerce:

Steele said many business groups in the past have opposed such hot-button issues. 'Where it negatively impacts business, we will speak up,' said Fred Morgan, president of The State Chamber. 'We'll try to educate legislators on how something that while well intended might have some negative consequences to the business climate.'"

Fred Morgan ran for Congress and lest we forget, his claim to fame was a "frivolous" bill to control video games in Oklahoma that was later found unconstitutional.  And that was his calling card during the whole campaign - the fact that his wife is/was a judge, the fact that he tried desperately to make himself look conservative and the reality that Fred Morgan now wants to "educate legislators" is ridiculously offensive.  The Oklahoman and Fred Morgan forget that the issue of illegal immigration and firearms are Constitutional - these are not feel-good social legislative issues.  Unlike Fred Morgan's silly video game law that was ruled unconstitutional, the people of Oklahoma voted for Republicans to accomplish what they promised.

And remember, Fred Morgan was once on the list of nominees for OCPAC's RINO (Republican In Name Only) Award.

Treat, Morgan's Boy

Fred Morgan probably wouldn't know the difference between Constitutional and "social" if the two jumped up and bit him on the ass.  And he has proven that fact by his record in the State House and as the overpaid legal counsel under Glen Coffee in the Senate.  Unfortunately, Greg Treat may be one of the casualties of this RINO gathering because Greg Treat was Fred Morgan's campaign manager and political insider, responsible for part of the messaging for the GOP.  Did the GOP lie to the voters of Oklahoma by saying there would be a conservative agenda?  Or is there a conspiracy that Greg Treat knew exactly what his former boss would be doing with the legislature?  Did the GOP and Greg Treat pull a little "bait and switch?"  Looking at Treat's bio on his campaign it's clear that he is just another political hack, desirous of another political, taxpayer-funded paycheck.

The goal of Steele, the Oklahoman, Fred Morgan and perhaps even the former Victory director, Greg Treat, has apparently been to make Oklahoma voters believe that the right thing to do was to vote Republican because they would get the whole package - conservative governance, a pro-business agenda and maybe, just maybe the hot issues Mary Fallin ran on such as illegal immigration and the 2nd Amendment would get some attention and the legislature would begin to turn to the Constitution for guidance.

Bamboozled, friends.  We have been lied to.

There was a time when Republicans and conservatives from both parties said what they meant and meant what they said about the Constitution.  Today, it's used as campaign fodder and cute little slogans for bumper stickers. 

Fortunately, November 2012 Steele is term-limited and we can get rid of some of his lackeys and prepare for the big fight in 2014.  That, my friends, is when things get very, very interesting.