And here we go...

Welcome back, kids.  

It's been a long, trippy journey thus far and here we are.  So far I have survived a transplant, COVID, and a presidential election.  Frankly, not sure there is so much for which to be thankful, I can hardly contain myself.  But still...there are a lot of things that seem completely out of sane and needing discussed and I am sad to admit, there aren't many people left with the audacity and spinal integrity to do so.  

Well...I'm back.

In this blog mess I plan to talk politics again, pop culture, state and local government, federal government, and yes...some will be offended and be forced to hide in their "safe place."  Which, apparently, is a thing now.  Safe place...what the hell has happened to us?

There is also a lot of good going on these days that isn't covered by the news and to be honest, the Internet and other blogs like this will be the only place you hear about it all.  Why?  Because media today is bought and sold to the highest bidder and the highest bidder is to whom the media pays the most attention.  But we can't really blame them, can we?  Gotta pay the bills just like everyone else, right?  I think that is how we have to consume the mainstream and even not-so-mainstream media.  We go into it knowing that the stories are often skewed from a perspective that the bills have to be paid.

I recall a time when I was on WKY when there was what most would consider to be a pretty significant news story, but we were told not to cover it because it happened to involve the family of a major advertiser.  So, yes.  It happens even in local talk radio (a long since extinct creature itself).

So, be prepared, kids.  I will give you some news and obviously slanted news with my creative thought processes to go along with the mess.  You get to decide how much is from my big mouth and how much is actually hard news.

Let's do this, shall we?

What A Week!

It's been a fun, exciting, and challenging week and I thought I would take a few moments to share some of the excitement with you!

First, Signal 8 Band (my band) is starting to really come together with the new members.  We are pumped up and looking forward to our maiden voyage at the Blowout Club in Guthrie, July 15.  We have an intense set list, great entertainment, and a group of guys who are chomping at the bit to perform for you.  If you can clear your schedule, you're invited to come out and watch us jam the night away with classic rock, contemporary country, and even some pop tunes by folks like the Gin Blossoms.  

Second, you have no doubt seen the Fox 25 report about the County Clerk's race wherein the incumbent Carolynn Caudill had former Governor Frank Keating on a mailer endorsing her.  The truth of the matter is that she did not, in fact, have Governor Keating's endorsement or anything like it.  She also listed endorsements from a couple folks who are actually deceased.  Of course, this isn't the first time that she's run into trouble; she was arrested for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident and had most recently tried to get the record expunged.  In my not-so-humble opinion, she has become the poster child for everything that is wrong with politics.  This is not an ad hominem attack, but rather stating the facts.  One can only hope that the taxpayers and voters of Oklahoma County realize that it's time for a change and will vote for someone with private sector and public sector experience who won't be an embarrassment to Oklahoma County.  Which is why I support Charlie Phillips whole heartedly.  She is the real deal and I don't toss that kind of a statement around.  There is more to the story about some of Caudill's shenanigans and will be reported on Monday on Fox 25.  Phil Cross is the only television reporter with the stones to report this stuff.

Third, floods on the east coast have cost people their lives and then, the news of the Duncan boy with autism came out that his body was recovered and that he is deceased.  It's tragic and horrifying and to hear of a young child losing his life is nothing short of heartbreaking.  Seeing his picture on the news brought forth images of grieving parents, friends, and supporters and it makes one wonder just what in the heck is happening to us as a nation and as human beings.  We can only hope that the boy is now with the Father and that his parents will somehow find a way scratch and claw their way back.

Fourth, I don't know if you know about this cool little place by downtown where there is music on the weekends, food trucks and a light atmosphere.  We saw a friend perform some folk music there and it was absolutely amazing.  It's located just north/behind the OKC Farmer's Market and it is most assuredly a family-friendly environment; some people even brought their dogs.  Highly recommend it to you and the family.   These types of places are popping up all over Central Oklahoma and in my estimation, it is a good thing for the City.  There is an added element of culture that one comes to expect from much larger metropolitan areas.

Lastly, do yourself a favor and shake the hand of a veteran and tell him or her thank you.  We have so much hero worship in this country and have a disgusting propensity to forget the ones who lay down their lives for our freedoms.  There are a lot of idiots in politics, but it's because of our veterans that we can even have idiots in politics.

These are just my opinions and I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt it.

Ron "Gorilla" Black

Carolyn Caudill Makes DUI Laws Look Silly

In Oklahoma, if you get a DUI, you're pretty much screwed for a while.  You're going to pay a hefty fine, you're going to probably spend the night in jail, you're going to fight to keep your license (which is unlikely), and it will be on your criminal record for a very, very long time.

This is, of course, unless you are an elected County official who works in a building just across the alley from where the judge who handles your case will be hanging out.

According to a shocking story on NewsOk.com, Carolyn Caudill's attorney W. Shawn Jefferson (wonder what the "W" stands for and from his Facebook page, you can see something about the running of the bulls) filed a motion to have Caudill's records of her DUI arrest sealed, expunged, cast into the sea of forgetfulness just in time for her to run again for Oklahoma County Clerk.  This election would giver her a sixth term.  A sixth term.  That's right, a sixth term in  office.  Take a look at this little morsel from NewsOk.com and see if it doesn't

make your blood boil:

In a petition to the Oklahoma County District Court "for expungement and sealing of records," attorney W. Shawn Jefferson states she is eligible under state law to ask that the case records be removed from public view and sealed.

Jefferson wrote that the harm to Caudill's "privacy and/or the dangers of unwarranted adverse consequences … outweigh the public interest in retaining the records."

Jefferson is asking that the Oklahoma City Municipal Court and departments including the Oklahoma City police be directed to seal records related to the incident.

In the petition, he also requests an order "mandating that the subject official actions shall be deemed never to have occurred."

You need to check out her lawyer here and here. 

No, it isn't a clipping from a Lost Ogle satire, but it is real and what the attorney is asking.  Caudill could be in danger?  Danger?  The only danger would be her getting busted again and being beaten in the primary by Charlie Phillips.

Adverse consequences?  Wait...should would have to pay like every other citizen?  Heaven forbid.  The real adverse issue I am sure that she's worried about is having her rear-end handed to her in the primary by Charlie Phillips.

The people are once again being boondoggled, bamboozled, blinded, and fooled with the ultimate in trickery bred from the loins of long-term, career politicians.  Caudill should be ashamed of herself and just retire with some sense of dignity left.  If you haven't decided whom you will vote for in this GOP primary, I suggest you vote for a real Republican who understands (and can spell) transparency; Charlie Phillips.  

My support is behind Charlie Phillips and for good reasons; she is a small business owner, she has ten years of experience in the Clerk's office, and she has been nothing but candid with me.  It's refreshing to talk to someone running for office who isn't a narcissistic, egomaniac with the personality of a Barbie or Ken doll.  Charlie is the real deal for Oklahoma County Clerk.  

Of course, this is just my opinion and I could be wrong, but a intensely doubt it.

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

What's Good for President Bush is Good for President Obama

There is a solid argument for mandatory military service in this country and it is evidenced by the hatred and anger about our President.  Military service would show these miscreants how disrespecting the office of the POTUS is, and always will be, uncalled for and our children are learning from us that it's okay.  

Future generations are learning right here and right now that virtually every form of authority is a bad thing and should be defied and defamed.  It used to be an issue of the far left and some of the borderline anarchist views of life.  But then, America elected a President named "Obama," and it was like an open invitation to be asses.  

Think about this...

Law enforcement is questioned at every turn about their tactics and efforts to stop the bad guys from doing bad things.  There are always going to be a handful of jackasses on the force who do not play by the rules and they should be (and are) dealt with decisively.  Now, children from families on both sided of the aisle have a disdain for the men and women who awaken every day, willing to kill or be killed to make our communities safe.  They do a job that 90% of the population would piss their pants even attempting.  

Teachers are another segment of our population that is disrespected and their authority questioned.  Our children's teachers are the first leaders they experience in a social environment.  The extreme right believes that teachers are overpaid and the rest of the universe feel as though they should be paid a hell of a lot more than they are right now.  After all, they are overseeing the education of a generation of self-important, spoiled, entitled, and petulant little brats on a daily basis.  The kids active up in class are doing so because parents are too bloody lazy to be proactive.  

POTUS.  When "W" was president, the conservatives gnashed their teeth and ran around in sackcloth and ashes when anyone spoke ill of the president; going so far as to call people "unpatriotic" who didn't support the most expensive "war" ever waged by the United States.  When liberals brow beat former president Bush, conservatives and neoconservatives alike lost their damned minds.   Now that we have an African-American, Democrat president, the same hypocrites who bitched about the criticism of President Bush are ripping President Obama to shreds.  Glenn Beck, the talk show host who is most likely certifiably insane, has said that the President was "delusional" or the "dumbest sonofabitch on the planet."  His blatant disrespect of the president of the United States is deplorable and anyone who approves of that kind of rhetoric should not listened to under any circumstance.  As a man who stood a post, I am offended by the people who are offended by the fact our president is black, and liberal.

The defense of the office of the President should apply across the board no matter who is in the Oval Office.  The office itself commands the respect of the American people and I don't give a damn who holds the office.  Conservatives who are bitching about the president now were the same people who wanted to arrest and detain the left for "treasonous acts."  The hypocrisy climbs to such heights these days that even the Space Shuttle couldn't keep up.   

So, the next time you read commentary from someone spewing bile against the POTUS, ask them how they would feel if Reagan or Bush were insulted in the same manner.

We can disagree with a policy platform without being an ass about it.  We can dislike a president's viewpoints but never is it appropriate to disrespect the man personally because to do so is to defile the office itself.

We should know better; and before you accuse me of being a liberal or anything else for that matter because I am defending the office of the POTUS, go stand a post and get back to me. 

Just my opinion and I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt it.

"Gorilla"

These Truths...

Truth is truth and no matter how we try to mask it, cover it up, dress it up and put lipstick on it, we can't avoid that reality.  For me, there are some realities in politics that hold true and cannot ever be disputed.  The following is a compilation of truths that for me, cannot be argued nor will I ever be moved away from them.

Evil exists in all parties.  Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and Libertarians have both good and bad in their parties.  When we try to label someone predicated on their political party affiliation, we make ourselves out to be idiots.  I once had a zealot Republican tell me that no matter what, he would vote for a Republican over a Democrat.  To me, that's just plain stupid.  And you know what they say...you can't fix stupid.

Single-issue candidates will always cause more problems than they will solve.  As a pro-life individual who has come full circle on the issue of the death penalty, I see candidates whose only talking point is that of abortion.  Or guns.  Or immigration.  Or Obamacare.  These are people from whom we must keep a safe distance because they are usually completely ignorant on the other issues that impact us on a daily basis.  Like the tax code.

Political consultants are a big problem.  I say this because I have consulted on a number of successful campaigns, yet I have seen some exceptionally dark personalities permeate the fabric of the Oklahoma political scene.  It's all about cash flow for these bottom-feeding creatures who parade candidates out there, let them get shot at, meanwhile they hide behind the "I'm just a consultant" mantra.  Beware of these men and women.

Real world experience matters.  There was an independent candidate for Congress a few years back that represented everything I believe in for a political candidate.  A Navy SEAL, an inventor, a patent holder, a small business owner and a fiscal conservative.  He chose to run as an Independent because he saw the corruption in the GOP political apparatus and didn't want to be a part of it.  Sadly, he was convinced to drop out of the race before the public really got to know him.  He had real world experience that would have served Oklahoma well, but instead, well...you know the rest of the story.

The two party system in Oklahoma is ridiculous.  We have heard the arguments about the cost of opening up the election process to more than the two parties we have now, blah blah blah.  But every couple of years, we really don't get much of a choice and the arrogance of party leadership on either side of the aisle to exclude even Libertarians is appalling.  It's time to fix that.

So, there you have it.  A thumbnail sketch of my general thoughts on politics.  We are in the middle of one great big mess in this country as well as in this state.  We can fix it, we can solve these problems.  We just have to sack up and tell the status quo to kiss our collective asses.

Ron "Gorilla" Black

It's True...Time For Change

For two decades, I've been involved in or pontificating about the political processes and frankly, the words of Solomon ring true - "there is nothing new under the sun."  Politics has largely remained the same and it is what it is, both good and bad.  We have elected outstanding politicians and we have elected some bottom-feeding piles of human waste, but at the end of the day, we're still the greatest country on the planet and God willing, we'll continue to be as much.

Politics is, in many ways, a form of entertainment.  Every couple years, the cast of characters change, but the tunes remain the same, orchestrated and choreographed by recognizable names in the business.  But it is fun, it is entertaining, it is often painful, and it is always gratifying - even when our candidate loses. 

There is a lot more to life and I'm really starting to see and feel that.  Granted, it has taken me far too long and I can't recover the lost time, but I can redeem the time right now, right here.  I've lost some good friends over the years, friends who have gone to be with the Father and those losses have had a profound impact on me.   A trip last year to my home state of Washington was revelatory as well, learning more about my past, my childhood and my family than imaginable. 

This blog is going to change.  There will be a different, more diverse focus.  I'll be posting stories about music, about entertainment in Central Oklahoma, culture and yes, I'll still have the occasional post about politics - but I'll do my best to eliminate partisanship and just get to the heart of what's important. 

So, what is important to me?  My struggling faith, my family, music, culture and community.  Hopefully, you won't be too disappointed.