New Mayor, New Outlook

First, congratulations to former State Senator David Holt for his victory yesterday.  He is a young face who claims to have new ideas but also wants to ensure that the projects for the city that Mayor Mick started are seen through to fruition.  Basically, that means for the first couple years, he's going to be another Chamber lap dog.  But right now, there is a legitimate argument that it may not be a bad thing.  Sure, we are missing out on a lot of concerts to Tulsa because of the supposed "Thunder game conflict," but Holt may be the cat to change that.  He won with a significant percentage of the one (79%) and that is, to me, a mandate.  He has a lot of work ahead of him and while we all wish him the best, we'll still be watching.

While at the hospital yesterday going through the initial screening process for transplant eligibility, I had an interested political conversation with someone who was genuinely concerned for the immediate future of the country with a guy like Donald Trump as our POTUS.  I listened intently as I found myself agreeing with her on many levels.  First, I agree that the pro-Trump movement was just as much an anti-Hillary movement.  People in this country were terrified of what Hillary could have brought to the table and the Benghazi disaster still looms large in the minds of veterans and those who are currently serving in the armed forces.  Second, Hillary came off as shrill and cunning whereas Trump just comes across as arrogant and not intelligent enough to truly be cunning.  Lastly, the fear of Trump's ego is becoming a reality whether we want to believe it to be so or not.  He's a loose cannon and has pushed the envelope where international diplomacy is concerned.  He needs lessons on being a statesman, not a blowhard.

I began the process of transplant eligibility yesterday and while the meetings were long and informative, I felt a bit overwhelmed.  I'm not jumping the proverbial shark here, but I consider it to be a huge blessing to even be considered for transplant.  It's a long and strikingly action-packed process.  Liver transplants are particularly weird because you only have one and if your liver fails, everything shuts down.  The counselors at Baptist were kind, caring, and I am in good hands with them and with my wife as my primary caregiver.  It's going to be a long process, as I have said, and it could take weeks or even months to get on the list and with the amount of testing that is still left to be done, it's very possible I could be disqualified from the list.  One never knows, but I suppose this is where faith comes in handy.

I'll keep you posted.

Ron "Gorilla" Black

Make It Stop. Please.

Most everyone loves puppies.  They are cute and cuddly, and watching them grow borders on the miraculous; heck, we tolerate with great patience their "accidents" on the floor when they are little.  But there does come a time when they reach an age when they just know better.  If they have an accident as an adult dog, it is often a sign that something is terribly wrong.

The three amigos who want to be the Republican nominees for President have been pooping all over the process and We The People should recognize that something is terribly wrong.  There should have been a few indicators early on that caught our attention, but apparently we were too busy watching Netflix (at least I was) to notice.  Let's take a look at some of the warning signs that we should have noticed, and now should notice.

If a Presidential candidate has a reputation of being despised by his own party in the Senate, there's a good chance that something is terribly wrong.

If a Presidential candidate repeats himself like broken robot, there's a good chance that something is terribly wrong.

If a Presidential candidate sends out false information about an opponent "suspending his campaign," there is a good chance that something is terribly wrong.

If a Presidential candidate makes reference to his John Thomas during a debate, there is a very good chance that something is terribly wrong.

These candidates are pooping all over the place and we should know better.  Hell, they should know better but the way the process works is that you spew back to the electorate whatever tripe came out in polling.  In other words, they tell their gang what they want to hear and they don't care if the American people have to scoop the poop. 

When did We The People kiss farewell to our minds?  How in the hell did these three comedians become the Republican front runners?  I mean, really.  Is this the best we could do?  Why are so many people ga-ga over a a guy whose campaign has been anecdotal and at best, one-liners?  Trump is so NOT a legitimate candidate but here he is stirring up shite in the GOP because perhaps he really wants Hillary to win the election?  Maybe?

Trump in the race reminds me of Gary Richardson getting in the gubernatorial race because he didn't like Steve Largent which, by default, handed Brad Henry the governor's race.  

Stop for a moment and think about which of the candidates you would prefer to sit in a meeting with Vladimir Putin.  Surely, not Trump.  Ted Cruz would just want to argue with him.  Marco Rubio would be sitting in a puddle of his own pee!  Maybe it's just me but I long for the days when we had candidates on both sides of the aisle who could debate and carry on a conversation without hair-pulling and rock-throwing.  

We are so screwed.

Of course, this is just my opinion and I could be completely off-base and totally wrong; but I seriously doubt it.

Gorilla

 

POTUS Race Halftime Entertainment

It's February and the POTUS campaigns are in full swing and already some of the candidates most of us believed shouldn't be in the race to begin with have called it quits.  There are still a couple on the GOP side of things whose resolve has been bolstered because of a good showing in New Hampshire.  John Kasich pulled it off, but good heavens; he's not even remotely electable.  Governor Christie should be dropping out or "suspending his campaign" and Carly Fiorina, well, she didn't even stand a chance going into the race.  It's kind of sad because she seemed intelligent and ready to lead.

The two GOP candidates who are still legitimately in the running are Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz.  Read that again to yourself.  Trump (net worth in the billions), Rubio (owns a half million dollar house and his net worth is $976k), and Cruz (made over a million dollars last year).  That is the best and brightest that the GOP can come up with?  Can you imagine any of them actually getting elected? And we thought the Super Bowl halftime show was bad...

On the Democratic side it is pretty much a done deal.  Hillary will be the candidate.  Sanders is an interesting cat to be sure, but just, no.

About the Super Bowl...

As a Seattle Seahawk fan, I found it difficult to cheer for former division rival, Denver Broncos, but I abhor the Carolina Panthers even more. I thought it to be an interesting and entertaining game and then there was the halftime show.  

Perhaps it's my old age and my desire for simplicity is the driving force in my life, but I didn't get any of the halftime show.  Bruno Mars was good, I think.  Coldplay is Coldplay and you know what you're going to get with them, but it wasn't a good show at all.  Beyonce, once again, wore a skimpy outfit and showed off her hindquarters and her ability to rumble that backside.  The whole Black Panther thing?  It was silliness and the aggregate result is that she is getting plenty of attention as a result.  Her mission was accomplished on many levels.

Who would make an entertaining halftime show?  Bruce Springsteen?  Zakk Wylde and BLS?  U2?  Aerosmith?  Lady Gaga?  There really has to be someone or some group that would be better than a bunch of butt-shaking jibber jabber.  Or maybe not.

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

"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.