Oklahoma Hard Right GOP Governor, Mustang Public Schools, and Oral Roberts University have Lost All Common Sense

You could say that most the elected Republicans in Oklahoma along with the State GOP have officially gone over the edge of the cliff and you would be right.  When your Governor gets the #1 ALEC award last spring, you know that things are about to get worse.  It has as Gov Fallin instead of providing benefits for same sex couples in the Oklahoma National Guard who wanted to sign up locally, she made sure that all members of the Guard who wanted to sign for spousal benefits had to travel to Federal installations to do the sign up which meant some had to travel hours.  Denying gay couples their rights hurt everyone.  She didn't seem to care either.

Think I am finally figuring out that she only cares about people if there is a disaster and she get on the national airwaves showing what a caring Governor she is but in everyday life not so much as everyone is beginning to see.  If you don't fit in the wealthy hole or are hard right, you might as well take a flying leap as she and the rest of OK GOP could care less IMO.

How she was ever elected head of the Governor's Association shows IMO Republicans pushed her because she will do what she is told which is what we are seeing in Oklahoma.  When she first ran for Congress, I worked for her opponent and have never regretted that for a minute because she was honest and have had my doubts about Fallin for a longtime going back to all the rumors.  I didn't think the Democrats did a good job of picking someone to oppose her in 2010, but this year Democrat Rep Joe Dorman is someone I can get behind 100%.  She is in for a shock in 2014 with Dorman IMHO after they got Randy Brogdan to pull out of the Governor's race to run for a Senate seat to clear the way for Fallin.  Still shocked at Fallin's comments over and over again that show someone out of touch with every day Oklahomans.  Her over the top anti-gay and ACA is just too much.

The very fact that she refused to take federal dollars to set up an exchange as they didn't want the Federal Government telling Oklahoma what to do makes her look like the biggest hypocrite as she now wants to tell local entities what they can and cannot do.  She has become a dictator in Oklahoma where only her ideas count.  Her good friend State School Superintendent Janet Barrisi is the same way. Those two women need sent to the unemployment line in November 2014.

Gov. Mary Fallin signs minimum wage hike ban in Oklahoma

Posted: Monday, April 14, 2014 4:40 pm | Updated: 5:39 pm, Mon Apr 14, 2014.Associated Press | 

OKLAHOMA CITY — Cities in Oklahoma are prohibited from establishing mandatory minimum wage or vacation and sick-day requirements under a bill that has been signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin. 

Fallin signed the bill Monday that supporters say would prevent a hodgepodge of minimum wages in different parts of the state that could potentially harm the business community. 

Opponents say those decisions should be left up to individual communities. They complain the bill specifically targets Oklahoma City, where an initiative is underway to a establish a citywide minimum wage higher than the current federal minimum wage.
Fallin signed three other bills Monday dealing with tax credits for banking institutions, public investments, and membership of the Alarm and Locksmith Industry Committee.

Hard right Representative Michelle Bachmann who is under investigation in Iowa by the Federal Government for her campaign plus may be one of the meaner GOP women when she speaks has been chosen to be the commencement speaker at Oral Roberts University.  Confirms what I thought of ORU which is not very much.  The Founder's son had to be removed for spending too much unauthorized money.  Don't have the same impression of St Gregory and Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee or Oklahoma Christian in OKC as I do ORU which was founded by Oral Roberts who was a televangelist.  Always seemed to be about preying on the elderly for money.  Just call me a skeptic when I hear or see televangelist begging for dollars.  Those other three Christian universities mentioned are on the up and up and students can get a good education at any of them.

ORU grad Michelle Bachmann to give commencement address

From Staff Reports | Minnesota Congresswoman and former presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann will give the commencement address at Oral Roberts University next month. 

A long-time favorite of the Tea Party movement, Bachmann in 2006 became the first Republican woman elected to the House of Representatives from Minnesota. 

She is a graduate of the former O.W. Coburn School of Law at ORU and served in the Minnesota State Senate from 2000 through 2006. 

She was listed in Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2011. 

Bachmann has announced she will not seek re-election this fall. 

More than 700 ORU students will graduate at the commencement service at 1 p.m. May 3 in the Mabee Center. 

Little background on OW Coburn School of Law which was closed, with its 190,000 volume law library, as well as 5 professors and 23 students, moving to CBN University (now Regent University) which was not accredited at the time.  What is with these these religious schools that believe they can teach whatever and have no regard for rules and regulations.  The very idea they want religious freedom but want to deny the rest of us what we believe which may be different is offensive is to me. 

Never forget going with my daughter who is a journalist when she had to do an interview at Oral Roberts and driving through the entrance and seeing those huge prayer hands and the prayer tower which looked like a spaceship.  Must admit it made me uncomfortable and was happy when she was finished and we could leave.  

Stayed in the car and watched very closely the students and it had a much different vibe then if you are on the OU campus in Norman.  Hard to put your finger on but at OU you always see kids joking around and smiling -- saw few smiles at ORU as they went from class to class.  It was strange.

Then you find out Bachmann went to Law School at ORU with such a small number of faculty and students.  That's just strange.  Were acceptance standards lower to be admitted then a long time accredited law school?  

In May 1981, the American Bar Association (ABA), which provides accreditation for US law schools, denied Coburn's initial application for provisional accreditation. Oral Roberts University's requirement that students must take an oath of religious faith was considered to be contrary to ABA's Standard 211, which states: 

A law school shall foster and maintain equality of opportunity in legal education, including employment of faculty and staff, without discrimination or segregation on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender or sexual orientation, age or disability. 

The school sued the ABA, claiming that the denial was a violation of their First Amendment rights. A judge enjoined the ABA from denying provisional accreditation, ruling that the ABA's role in accreditation is equivalent to a "state action," and that Standard 211 denied a private institution's right to freedom of religion without any restrictions by the state. 

After a "spirited debate," the ABA's House of Delegates in August 1981 voted 147 to 127 to amend Standard 211 to add a clause including the phrase: 

Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a law school from having a religious affiliation and purpose and adopting policies of admission and employment that directly relate to such affiliation and purpose so long as notice of such policies has been provided to applicants, students, faculty and employees. 

Coburn was then granted provisional accreditation 

If that was not enough in Oklahoma, Mustang PUBLIC Schools are going to be teaching a book in an elective history course from the head of Hobby Lobby Green.  My tax dollars are now going to support his agenda in a public school?  What is Mustang School Board thinking?  Somehow it doesn't shock me this would happen there based on my experiences when our football team played at Mustang.  You could say that Norman, OK, and Mustang, OK, are about as far apart philosophically as you can get in Oklahoma. Norman is progressive and Mustang very conservative.  Was recently told there are only two progressive cities in Oklahoma -- Norman and Muskogee which I found interesting.  Glad to call Norman home!   Hobby Lobby's owner, Green, seems to be everywhere pushing his version of the Bible at the rest of us.  I, for one, will NEVER shop Hobby Lobby or Mardel book store again.

Sometimes in Oklahoma all you can do is shake your head.  Been saying it was too politically hard right when we were transferred to Oklahoma and over time I can now tell people "I Told You So" because they are proving it more and more.  Democrats get a clue and fight hard to start taking back the state to common sense.

Oklahoma school district OKs ‘Bible curriculum’ created by Hobby Lobby president (via Raw Story )

According to the Religious News Service, the “Museum of the Bible Curriculum” created by Hobby Lobby’s President Steve Green (pictured above) will be beta-tested in Oklahoma’s Mustang Public School district beginning in the Fall of 2014. Green…

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Russian Aircraft Buzzes USS Cook in Black Sea 12 Times

"The Donald Cook is more than capable of defending itself against two Su-24s," Colonel Warren

That statement is probably the understatement of the year.  Does President Putin think this saber rattling is going to influence the US into giving in?  If he does, then he must be watching Fox News and listening to the Republicans in Congress who keep dissing President Obama over Ukraine and siding with the Russians time and time again which makes no sense.   What do the Koch Bros have to gain with the GOP siding in many cases with the Russians?  Becoming more obvious by the day that the Koch Bros are pulling the puppet strings of the GOP who are doing their bidding.

Then you have former AR Governor Mike Huckabee talking about North Korea is more free then US which is mind boggling.  Offered today to set up a PAC to help him move, willing to help pack him up, and even throw in some boxes from previous moves.  The man is a lunatic.  From the Daily Mail United Kingdom:

Fox News personality and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee stunned a New Hampshire crowd on Saturday by likening the federal government's treatment of airport passengers to the totalitarian regime of Kim Jong-un. 

'My gosh, I'm beginning to think that there's more freedom in North Korea sometimes than there is in the United States,' he told a partisan crowd at the inaugural New Hampshire Freedom Summit. 

'When I go to the airport, I have to get into the surrender position, people put hands all over me, and I have to provide photo ID in a couple of different forms to prove that I'm not going to terrorize the airplane,' he deadpanned. 

In a speech filled with jokes, Huckabee seemed deadly serious.

Would  Huckabee rather have no security and let terrorists fly on our planes.  Guess he figures N. Korea has no security for their flights.  Is the man even sane to make the comparison?  Yet he is running for the Presidential nomination as a Republican.

When I received this email from American Forces News Service which covers the Pentagon, I wasn't really shocked.  Been waiting for something like this to happen.  Does Putin know how stupid Russia looks buzzing a guided missile destroyer of the US.  Bet the Russians are the butt of some jokes on the destroyer.  Has Putin totally lost it because it is hard to see what Russia can gain from this:

Russian Aircraft Flies Near U.S. Navy Ship in Black Sea

04/14/2014 01:03 PM CDT
By Jim Garamone 

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2014 - A Russian attack aircraft repeatedly flew near the USS Donald Cook in international waters in the Black Sea on April 12, a Pentagon spokesman said today.

USS 

Donald Cook is the first of four Arleigh Burke-class

 guided-missile destroyers to be stationed in Rota.

The USS Cook was patrolling in the western Black Sea when an unarmed Russian Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft repeatedly flew near the Navy ship, Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters.

"The aircraft did not respond to multiple queries and warnings from Donald Cook, and the event ended without incident after approximately 90 minutes," Warren said. "This provocative and unprofessional Russian action is inconsistent with international protocols and previous agreements on the professional interaction between our militaries."

Two Russian aircraft were present, but only one took part in the provocative actions, Warren said. The aircraft flew from near sea level to a couple of thousand feet, he added, but never overflew the U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer." 

The Russian plane made a total of 12 passes," he said. 

The wingman stayed at a considerably higher altitude, Warren said. 

Officials later said the aircraft approached within about 1,000 yards of the ship. The USS Cook was never in danger, Warren said. 

"The Donald Cook is more than capable of defending itself against two Su-24s," the colonel said. 

Warren said he does not think this is an example of a young pilot joyriding. "I would have difficulty believing that two Russian pilots, on their own, would chose to take such an action," he said. "We've seen the Russians conduct themselves unprofessionally and in violation of international norms in Ukraine for several months, and these continued acts of provocation and unprofessionalism do nothing to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, which we called on the Russians to do." 

The Cook arrived in the Black Sea on April 10. The ship is now making a port call in Constanta, Romania.

We have all this going on and our illustrious Congress is not in town -- time for another vacation when they just came back from a week off.  Yet Rep Moran (D-VA) thinks they are underpaid in comparison to CEO's. Think they are overpaid for time worked.   

Monday, Apr 28, 2014 2:00 p.m.: Convene and begin a period of morning business.
5:30 p.m.: Proceed to executive session to consider nominations.

Previous Meeting Friday, Apr 11, 2014 The Senate convened at 4:00 p.m. and adjourned at 4:14 p.m. No record votes were taken.

We have the Russians who invaded Crimea in the Ukraine, hold a phony referendum, take back Crimea, and Republicans are either siding with the Russians or calling the President weak in his policy. Here are some headlines:

GOP skewers Obama’s ‘weak’ response in Ukraine 

"feckless" Foreign Policy for Ukraine Crises by none other then Sen McCain who still has a lot to answer for over the years but now he is the expert.  Seems he has never gotten over his loss in 2008 to President Obama.

Ukraine Crisis:  Republicans say Weak Obama Policy Caused Russians to Invade (CBS)

The GOP Just Screwed Ukraine Out of Billions to Hurt Obama (Michael Tomasky) (excerpts)

Agreeing to IMF reforms would have helped him. So now Republicans’ mission to weaken the president is spilling over into foreign policy, too.You know those people who carry on all the time about how the United States looks weak to the world, and how we have to do everything we possibly can to help poor Ukraine stand up to the evil Vladimir Putin? Well, guess what they just did? They just made the United States look weak to the world—and they actually just reduced (yes, reduced) the amount of global aid that can flow to Ukraine to help it stand up to the evil Vladimir Putin.

And so it happens that the people who caterwaul about America being weak in the world become the very people who make it weaker. What does the world think as it watches this? Maybe some think merely that Obama is weak. But I’d wager most don’t. I’d wager most Europeans and others reach the right and reasonable conclusion: That American partisan dysfunction, driven far more by Republicans than by Democrats, now weakens not just our ability to carry out domestic politics but our foreign-policy aims as well. 

The more the Republicans ran to the microphones and Sunday shows, you realized that they had the same narrative -- some went as far as to defend what Putin had done and side with Russia which they had been doing since last fall.

Therefore, when Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an op-ed for the New York Times, many on the right rallied around the former KGB agent and asked that Obama follow Putin’s lead. In his column, Putin asked that the United States respect the United Nations and follow the advice of the Security Council (which Russia is a part of) and practice caution on any action related to Syria. Putin also stated that peaceful dialogue and diplomacy should be utilized first and foremost and that military action should only occur with a consensus of other nations. 

At that time, you had members of the right-wing in this country go ga-ga over Putin. Pundits like Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, Erick Erickson and Sean Hannity were praising the Russian President for his stance. Other Republicans like Pat Buchanan and Ralph Peters claimed that Putin was providing the type of leadership that the US apparently lacked at that moment. Basically, if you tuned into Fox News or talk radio during that time, you got a whole lot of Putin hero-worshiping.

What we have is a Republican Party who would rather weaken President Obama then do the right thing not only domestically but in our foreign policy but yet want re-elected.  Time to tell the Republican candidates for the most part to take it and shove.  Let them find out what the unemployment line is like except they probably will become lobbyist and make more money.   What the Republican Party has done by selling out this Country to wealthy donors like the Kochs and Adelson should be  crime especially now that it has gone over into foreign policy.

Never could figure out the love affair that some conservatives had with Putin except he is white and Obama is black.  These people supported a former? KGB agent like he was a hero which shocked me at the time.  Frankly it still does and Huckabee is carrying on tradition bragging about North Korea and yet some of these people want to be President -- give me a break.

JUST NO TO Republicans running for Congress!

Hard Right Republican Oklahoma Attorney General Wants Four More Years

Hasn't AG Scott Pruitt wasted enough of Oklahoma tax dollars on his boondoggles against the Federal Government?  His hatred for the Federal Government and misreading of states rights continue to have him file lawsuits against the Federal Government which lose.  That doesn't even account for laws he signs off on from the Legislature that fail the Oklahoma Constitution test.

Don't know who is running against him, but they have my vote.  I will never vote for another hard right person in my life who seem to do only one thing really well -- waste taxpayers dollars -- make that two things -- be as irritating as can be with some of the dumbest statements that placate the hard right so they will support their reelection.  If he truly believes all these lawsuits that have wasted our tax dollars are legit, then he needs to go back to Law School and take a course in Constitutional Law because he is way over his head.  

Oklahoma Attorney General looking for another term 

Posted on: 9:14 pm, April 9, 2014, by Dallas Franklin and KFOR-TV 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Attorney General is looking for another term in office.
Attorney General Scott Pruitt filed for re-election today at the Oklahoma Capitol. 

He promises to continue his fight against federal overreach and to protect the rights and interests of Oklahomans. 

He released a stating saying:

“Oklahomans are concerned with what they see in Washington and the direction our country is headed. The president and his administration are undermining the rule of law through their actions to expand federal authority, and the situation is unlikely to improve soon,” Pruitt said. “Oklahomans elected me attorney general to fight to restore the proper balance between the state and federal governments. Whether it’s our challenge against the Affordable Care Act, our efforts to stand up to the EPA, or our lawsuit to unravel the unconstitutional Dodd-Frank law, I am fighting each day to protect Oklahomans and fight for the rule of law and the preservation of our constitutional system. The fight is not over; there is much work to do. The next four years will be critical, and it’s my hope the people of Oklahoma give me the chance to continue to fight for them and the restoration of the principles of our founding.”

According to reports, during his time in office, Pruitt established the first federalism unit to combat unwarranted regulation and overreach by the federal government.

He also reportedly filed the first lawsuit in the nation against the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Oklahomans need to wake up to what the Koch Bros ALEC Agenda is doing to Oklahoma before its economy is totally destroyed along with the public schools in favor of charter schools of hedge funds and GOP donors.  Vote out the GOP and return some sanity to Oklahoma!   For Profit Business is not a Church organization just because the owner is religious.  Shame the Attorney General cannot see the difference in what the Constitution is all about but then we have some SCOTUS who believe a business is a person so what can I say except the Koch Bros Conservatives have gone over the edge and time to vote them out of office.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Visits Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning

Sitting here reading this and thinking how the world has changed when you have an American Secretary of Defense touring a Chinese Aircraft Carrier while Russia is saber rattling in the Ukraine.  If you had told me that five years ago, I would have laughed and thought you were nuts.  Years ago when I worked for the Air Force one of the Lt Colonel's in our office was an Advance Agent for President Nixon who went to China and then later to Russia in advance of the President's visit to both countries. In those days, the military supplied a lot of advance agents.

Can still remember him talking about being spied on in Moscow when you corner of the ceiling.  We kidded him about being watched all the time in the room and how did it feel when he changed clothes -- said he kept looking up in the corners of the ceiling wanting to put a towel over the cameras.

Today's visit to the Chinese Aircraft Carrier, Liaoning, is such a step forward in our relations with China that it is hard to put into words.  Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel continues to impress and definitely was the right person for the position.

There is no way that I would have ever guessed that a US Secretary of Defense would be in China and tour their prized carrier.  This email from DoD says it all:

Hagel Visits Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning

04/07/2014 03:54 PM CDT

Hagel Visits Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning By Cheryl Pellerin American Forces Press Service QINGDAO, China, April 7, 2014 - On Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's first official visit to China, the Peoples' Liberation Army allowed him, in response to a request made in January, to become the first foreign visitor to tour the sleek refitted Russian aircraft carrier -- the PLA's first -- called Liaoning. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, is greeted by U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark W. Gillette, right, U.S. defense attaché to China, and Chinese military officers in Qingdao, China, April 7, 2014. Hagel visited the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning while in Qingdao, the first foreigner to do so. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo  China is Hagel's third stop after multiday meetings in Hawaii and Japan on his fourth trip to the Asia-Pacific region since becoming defense secretary. After a day of meetings here tomorrow, Hagel will stop in Mongolia to meet with government and military leaders there before starting home April 10. Liaoning is moored at Yuchi Naval Base in its home port of Qingdao in east China's Shandong province. "The secretary was very pleased with his visit today aboard the carrier Liaoning," Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement. Hagel understood the significance of the PLA's granting of his request for the tour, Kirby added, and the secretary was impressed by the professionalism of the ship's officers and crew. "He hopes today's visit is a harbinger of other opportunities to improve our military-to-military dialogue and transparency," the press secretary said. A defense official traveling with the secretary described the ship's tour as lasting about two hours, beginning with a briefing about the ship, its capabilities and operating schedule conducted by the two-star strike carrier group commander and the ship's commanding officer, Capt. Zhang Zheng. The briefers were good, and they invited and encouraged questions, the official said. Hagel and his guest, U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus, and others on the tour all asked questions, the official added. "The briefing lasted about 30 minutes, and then we saw medical facilities on the ship, some of the living quarters, the flight control station where they control flight operations, the pilot house, and the bridge, where they drive the ship," the defense official said. The secretary and his group also took a walking tour of the flight deck and saw launch stations and helicopter recovery stations as well arresting cables, "and got a briefing on how what we call in the U.S. Navy the 'landing signals officers' guide the aircraft in for an arrested landing on the flight deck," the official explained. He said the ship was extraordinarily clean, and the crew was sharp and informative. "Every sailor at every station where Hagel [stopped] for the tour knew exactly what their job was, and how important their job was, and exactly how to explain it to the secretary," the official said. Hagel had a lot of give-and-take discussions with the crew throughout the tour, and talked to them just as he talks to U.S. troops when he goes out to visit them, the defense official added. "The tour ended with a stop in the officers' dining area, where Hagel had a chance to sit down with junior officers, have some refreshments and just talk to them," the official said. "We all did. I sat down at a table with two junior female officers, and everybody did the same thing." The crew members were very impressive and very dedicated, he observed. "It's a new capability they're trying to develop, and I think they all appreciate the importance of it to the PLA, but also the difficulty of it," the official said. "On more than one occasion, the officers who were with us said quite frankly they know they have a long way to go in naval aviation. It is a difficult military capability to develop and to perfect, ... and they expressed that they believe they can still learn much from us in terms of how to get better at it." The ship has three launching stations for jet aircraft, four arresting wires, a complement of about 1,500 sailors, one sixth of whom are officers, and there were 90 women in the crew, both officers and enlisted service members, the defense official said. Liaoning has been out on sea trials almost 20 times, and officials know they still have to do more, he added. Compared with U.S. aircraft carriers, Laioning isn't as big or fast, and it doesn't carry as many aircraft or as many types of aircraft, the official said, but it's a real aircraft carrier, capable of launching and recovering jet combat aircraft. "We asked them when they would have an operational naval air wing on the ship, and the captain said there's no timeline for that right now," the official said. "They aren't at the state where they're declaring that sort of operational readiness." The defense official said the opportunity for Hagel and his group to tour the aircraft carrier today was a significant step in China's attempts to be transparent and open. "I would say that as this trip to Beijing begins for the secretary, today was a good first step in terms of trying to develop more openness and transparency," the defense official said.

Today a Candidate has to Earn My Support and Vote -- Voting for the Candidate Not the Party!

From this day forward I am supporting candidates that I trust which leaves out about 98% of Republicans and all of their candidates for President.   I have a few local Republicans I will support because I know they are people of integrity, but that's it.

From now on a candidate has to earn my support and not automatically expect it because they belong to a political party -- I am voting for the candidate not the party.  It is never happening again where I support a candidate because of the political party they belong.  If a candidate wants my support and my vote, they have to earn it.  Two very good candidates in Oklahoma have already done just that:

Democrat Joe Dorman is running for Oklahoma Governor who is a voice for all the people not just wealthy donors.  He also doesn't think it is a dirty word to work across the aisle. He believes in funding education to give all our students a first class education. 

Democrat Matt Silverstein is running against Senator Inhofe for the Oklahoma Senate seat. Inhofe has been in office way too long -- he is not representing Oklahoma well today and should not be running for re-election IMHO.  Senator Inhofe is the king of pork barrel spending who has clashed with Senator Coburn for years who was against wasteful spending.

When I worked countless hours for elections of Republicans to Congress in the 2000s, I did so willingly but expected them to uphold their oath of office to work for the betterment of all of their constituents not just the wealthy.  How stupid and naive do you think a lot of of us feel today.  We bought into GOP rhetoric that our ideas meant something when the only thing that means anything to Republicans today is the big money people headed by the Koch Bros.

Thank you Senator Reid for pointing out the facts about the Kochs that many of us already knew but now the whole Country is finding out they want to buy our Country.

Republicans in Congress are wasting our tax dollars on their salaries for the few number of days worked as they have become obstructionist where compromise is a dirty word even when it benefits everyone.  They prefer to kiss the rings and do the bidding of GOP wealthy donors who call the shots.   Want proof?   Look no further then at Sen Moran from Kansas who read a Koch editorial on the floor of the Senate today.  Talk about a slap in the face to the American people -- the Koch duo who has spent millions to take over the Country now have a real bought and paid for Senator Moran, R-KS, to read their op-ed into the Congressional record on the floor of the Senate.  

That took nerve to read that editorial that appeared in the Rupert Murdoch Wall Street Journal.  This summed it up quite nicely:

Most senators, even the dumbest blowhards, choose to insert such BS into the Congressional Record without forcing their audience, small as it might be on any particular day, to actually listen. Moran's real audience, of course, wasn't whatever handful of Kansans or senators might have been tuned in. But is Moran's Thursday kowtow an omen that future salutes to hoi oligoi will be equally pathetic? Can't he and the rest of our purchased politicians not smear our noses in it?

Was driving through Kansas on my way to Denver when I saw my first sign for Moran running the first time for Senate -- thought his name was Moron as my brain didn't register the A -- several months later I was sent information on him when he won the primary and it was Moran.  Personally after his stint in the Senate as the lapdog of Koch's, I think my original thought was correct.  The man doesn't make a move without Charles Koch's okay.  Koch Industries is his largest contributor by far but then we have to remember that a business is also people too.  What a bunch of bunk.

Now the Ryan budget comes out and the House wants to cut the top income tax rate to 25% which grinds most Americans to no end -- why so they can give the GOP more campaign dollars?  

I totally oppose dark money -- no matter what SCOTUS says a business is not a person.  So nice to know even the five conservative members of SCOTUS appear to be bought and paid for especially two of them by the Koch's.  How anyone can think that Thomas and Scalia should be ruling on campaign finance reform when they attend Koch functions is beyond me.  What happened to integrity on the right.  There is none left when you no longer care about the poor, children, or unemployed preferring to reward your donors and the wealthy with huge tax cuts in exchange for unlimited resources to run for office that the Koch's and other wealthy donors love giving to GOP candidates.

Somewhere the GOP went wrong and unfortunately it looks to be the day Reagan/Bush took office after Reagan placated the religious right in order to win the primary and then brought them into his administration.  Lot of what we are seeing today goes back to that group of hard right who surrounded Reagan.  They full advantage of everything the Government had to offer them and set out to take the Country hard right which they are doing today or attempting to do today.  It is time Americans to speak out more, get involved in campaigns of honest people, and elect people to office who are not bought and paid for but want what is best for all Americans -- Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren come to mind.

GOP members of Congress didn't mind spending our tax dollars on anything proposed for eight years under Bush-Cheney running up a huge deficit, but now today they don't even want to take care of the less fortunate but they want to make sure Big Defense keeps rolling in the money.  Big farmers are rewarded while cutting SNAP benefits and some of those farmers are members of Congress.  Why are the American taxpayers subsidizing big farms?  Would bet the Koch's love getting their subsidies as they bought up farm land throughout the Country.

It has become so obvious with the statements out of GOP elected officials, candidates, and leaders that the Republican Party is the party of the wealthy who is bought lock, stock and barrel by the Koch's and other wealthy donors.  I am tired of slick mailings and dark money so we don't know who pays for something -- I am not alone. Sometimes you can push too far and lose a lot of votes from people who care about this Country from both parties.  All of the shenanigans of today's Republican Party and their donors have managed to leave many of us long time Republicans without a home.   They made sure that most states had closed primaries so if you became an Independent, you couldn't vote in a primary.

Tired of being told by the hard right women have no rights and have to do what their husband tells them.  No one needs to ever tell me after the last 30 years that as a woman I shouldn't have the right to vote and needs to submit to what white male husband says.  That is exactly what we are seeing out of the GOP today.  Or as one of the House colleagues from Maine, Lockman said:

 "If a woman has (the right to an abortion), why shouldn’t a man be free to use his superior strength to force himself on a woman?” Lockman said. “At least the rapist’s pursuit of sexual freedom doesn’t (in most cases) result in anyone’s death.”

Took him 18 years to apologize and only now doing so in a half hearted way because he is seeking reelection but he never should have been elected:

He refused to pay his taxes, uses hate speech, and is a proud bigot.  He has a decades-long history of saying stupid and very offensive comments, which would have been useful if compiled before his recent election in 2012.  

He is a sitting member of Congress with a vote and refused to pay his taxes?  How low can the GOP go in backing candidates.  When are they going to say, if ever, don't vote for this candidate because he is bad for the Country.  Hope Maine sends him packing.  

How dumb does the GOP think we are?  No contraceptives because it is a form of abortion,  No abortion for any reason including life of the mother.  After the baby is born no WIC or SNAP program to help the poor support their baby.  Now no Planned Parenthood in some red states where poor could go to get their contraceptives so they wouldn't get pregnant.

There is something really wrong with a Party that by the words and actions of their elected officials and candidates believes women are inferior to men and should stay home, have children, raise a family, and if you are not going to pro-create then you shouldn't get married.

Unfortunately, I come from a State with a Governor, who in order to deny same sex National Guard spousal benefits, denied use of any state facility to sign up for the benefits to ALL National Guard so some had to travel five hours to sign up.  We had a bill submitted into the Oklahoma Legislature to do away with all marriage to keep gay marriage out of the state.  We have Hobby Lobby who believes as a profit corporation they deserve the same status as a church on contraceptives -- same company that is heavily invested in retirement accounts with pharmaceutical companies who make contraceptives.  But then they were already hypocrites when they buy the items for sale in their stores mostly from China, the #1 abortion country in the world.  That's okay because it is their bottom line which counts.

The hypocrisy on the hard right of the Republican Party knows no bounds -- they have fully taken over the Republican Party with the support of the Koch Bros who want to be free to pollute at will and run the Country from their fiefdoms in Kansas and New York City to make the Middle Class part of the poor to be their servants and told what to do and think.

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't work for the election of one Republican member of Congress in the 2000's after what I have been witnessing out of the obstructionists party of today's Republicans where finding anyone with honesty is a difficult task.   Can only speak for myself but I wouldn't vote for a Republican for Congress if they were the last people standing.  It is over, I am through with the Republican Party and vast majority of their elected officials and candidates.

Oklahoma needs to move into the 21st century and that means leaving the Neanderthal Republicans behind.

Paul Ryan's FY15 Budget for the Rich and Against the Poor is DOA in Senate and White House

Since this came out on April Fool's Day, you might think this was a joke but leave it to Republicans to make sure it is no joke.  In Ryan's budget, the Republicans want to cut the high tax rate to 25% and cut the safety net of those who are not wealthy.  Will someone please explain to me why anyone on social security would vote for today's Republican Party.  The GOP's abject worship of the wealthy is almost creepy it is so far over the top.  It is like the wealthy are the only people who count in this Country and the rest of us are here to do their bidding.  Words that could be used to describe the Ryan budget -- mean, cruel, inhuman, discriminatory, hateful, ignorant, unrealistic, unChristian and I am sure there are a lot more.

For a party who declares themselves to be Christian, they sure don't act it.  They would welcome the money changers to the temple and refuse to feed the poor and hungry the opposite of Jesus.  Or is their way the Mormon way?  Maybe someone can explain to me how making children and families go hungry is Christian.  What am I missing?

Los Angeles Times editorial nails Paul Ryan starting with the title of the editorial.  

Paul Ryan the anti-Robin Hood: Robbing the poor to help the rich

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) answers a question at a town hall meeting March 18 in Franklin, Wis. (M.L. Johnson / Associated Press / March 18, 2014)

By Paul Whitefield
April 1, 2014, 1:37 p.m. 

No, Paul Ryan isn’t Ebenezer Scrooge. But give him time; he’s young. And he shows such promise. 

On Tuesday, Ryan, the Republican tax-hatchet-man from Wisconsin, unveiled a new spending blueprint. Got a catchy title too: “The Path to Prosperity.” Its modest goal? To balance the budget in 10 years. 

Wow, you say, that must be hard to do. 

No, not really. Not if you’re as smart — and coldhearted — as Ryan. 

But look, I know you’re busy. It’s a Twitter world. So rather than make you slog through the pages and pages of Ryan’s plan, I’ve boiled it down. It really has just two basic premises:

1. Screw all the poor people.

1. Help rich people get richer.

Welcome to Ryan’s America. If you know your history, you might recognize it. It’s the Roaring '20s, redux. Or “The Great Gatsby” meets “Wall Street.” Because in Ryan’s America, greed really is good. 

How so? Well, in a nutshell, here’s Ryan and the Republicans’ vision, per my colleague, Lisa Mascaro: 

“House Republicans will return to the core ideas from Ryan, the Budget Committee chairman, that have come to define the party’s approach: Cut federal spending on Medicare, Medicaid and other programs that make up the federal safety net, while reducing top individual and corporate tax rates to 25%, which Republicans argue will spur economic growth.”

Holy Ronald Reagan! The Gipper may be gone, but his trickle-down economic notions are alive and well. 

As is his love of guns but not butter: Ryan’s budget will target the poor but not the military; it proposes to cut food stamps but beef up the Pentagon’s budget. (Geez, do Republicans all own stock in defense contractors?) 

(snip)

You see, in the Republicans’ world, the poor — affectionately known as “takers” or, to Mitt Romney, the 47% who rely on the government and so didn’t have the good sense to vote for him because he was a nice guy even though no, he didn’t have any use for them but still would’ve been happy and proud to be their president — should either get busy working or get busy dying. 

(snip) 

But, well, uh, doesn’t this whole concept seem just a little bit, oh, what’s the word: cruel?
I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. But if the road to a balanced budget means building a new freeway to the poor house for many Americans; if it means a bigger military but more hungry kids; if it means chopping healthcare so Sheldon Adelson can keep more of his millions, so he can spend those millions to buy more politicians — well, that just doesn’t seem like a road worth taking. 

If that’s America’s Path to Prosperity, then stop the car, I want to get out.

Excerpt from Editorial at the LA Times 

Excerpt from Think Progress has this today on the Ryan budget:

The budget blueprint that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) released on Tuesday rehashes several of the same economic policy ideas from his past two “Path to Prosperity” budgets, despite drastic improvement in the nation’s fiscal outlook in the intervening years. 

The format, structure, and style of the budget documents have changed slightly each year, and the Fiscal Year 2015 version includes specific numbers more often than the FY2013 and FY2014 editions. But a review of the past three editions of Ryan’s Path to Prosperity shows 11 separate instances of repetition in the newly released budget document, including more than half a dozen taken straight from the version voters rejected in 2012:

Each of these ideas would have a negative impact on the economy, in ways ThinkProgress and the Center for American Progress have detailed repeatedly in the past. 

They also fail to account for big improvements in the country’s budget outlook over the years since Ryan first began releasing the documents. Deficits have collapsed in recent years thanks in part to the $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction Congress and the White House have enacted over the years since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. The deficit fell faster last year than at any time since the end of World War II. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is much more optimistic about the country’s long-term deficit and debt projections than when Ryan first debuted his budget.

Read more at Think Progress

Without a doubt this Paul Ryan House of Representatives FY15 budget is DOA in the Senate and the White House.  I want to see these Republican members of the House go into their districts and defend this budget that hurts the poor and gives to the wealthy as the LA Times writer says the opposite of Robin Hood.

Want to see every last Republican stand behind this Ryan budget bill and take credit for a bill that is mean and cruel to those less fortunate in this Country.  They kept Ryan as the Budget Chair and now they own the budget.  Don't need to ask for my vote for any Republican for federal office because it is not for sale as I actually believe in helping those who need the most help.  How anyone can be so cruel as Ryan was when he talks about the school lunch program is a symptom of the Republican Party and why Americans are starting to tell the party of the white male to shove it.

Then there was Paul Ryan at CPAC who repeated a story about the school lunch program which was bogus.  Since he heard it from a fellow Republican, why am I not surprised?

In his vacuous, sloganeering speech today at CPAC, Paul Ryan argued that "the left" — the term he used to describe not the actual left, but the Obama administration — offers Americans "a full stomach — and an empty soul." What soul-emptying ways is "the left" filling people's stomachs? Ryan has a story from his fellow Republican, Eloise Anderson.

Turns out the story he recited is phony which sounded strange when I heard but the very fact that Ryan said the school lunch program offers students "a full stomach -- and an empty soul" makes me shudder. You cannot have kids going hungry.

I packed lunches for my kids because they didn't like the food at the cafeteria a lot of the time. Walking in the school I understood why as it smelled bad plus did not look appetizing but then my kids were used to good meals at home.   My kids do the same thing with their kids.  Whether I packed their lunch or gave money for lunch made no difference.  Packing their lunch didn't mean I loved them more and I resent anyone saying that about any child.  No child deserves to go hungry in this Country no matter what.  That is cruel!

25,000 Oklahomans rally for Education at the State Capitol

Will Republican dominated State Legislature and State Government Listen?

My guess is no -- hope I am wrong.

Yesterday while Oklahomans were rallying for education at the State Capitol to protest Oklahoma being the #1 state in cutting education funding since 2008 and 49th in teacher salaries, our illustrious hard right legislature was passing this out of Committee:

A bill that would have school children reciting the pledge to the Oklahoma flag as well as the pledge to the U.S. flag at least once a week was advanced by a House committee. 

Went to the link at the Tulsa World and most people who commented couldn't believe such a bill was coming up for a vote.  Are some Oklahomans still fighting the Civil War even though Oklahoma was not a state?   Someone needs to tell this legislature that state's rights do not override the federal government no matter how much they want it to happen.  I, for one, will not recite a pledge to any state flag and if I still had children in school, neither would they.  The arrogance of some of the people in Oklahoma State Government astounds me.

So happy every day that I live in Norman and not other places in Oklahoma because I would never make it in some places.  I am not delusional enough to think I would.

A former Congressman Mickey Edwards from OKC who was very conservative while he was in Congress now says he would be considered a liberal by today's standards. Know how he feels.

It was great to see so many people turn out for the rally!  Still cannot believe they have cut so much from the education budget in Oklahoma but now want to give another tax cut.  Thought education was supposed to be funded first and fully not last and under funded but then I never lived in a state with so many hard right elected officials in the legislature and state government.  The lack of common sense out of a lot of the legislature is disgusting.  We have a shortfall of $188M and they want to reduce taxes because today's GOP cannot raise taxes no matter what.  They instead give more tax breaks or keep ones like for horizontal drilling that should have gone off years ago.

Not impressed with Republicans in charge of state government -- this group here is the worst I have seen in all the states we have lived and I thought New Hampshire was bad on education -- caused us to move down to MA but today they look good compared to Oklahoma where Republicans seem out to destroy public education in their support of charter schools owned by hedge funds and GOP donors. Are some Republicans in this state for sale to the highest bidder like ALEC and the Koch Bros/Rove? Draw your own conclusions but these Republicans have changed since being elected to state government with common sense going out the window.

Really appreciate the facts we get from Oklahoma Policy which is a non-partisan group.  Here is another example on education and the shortfall on the budget.

For Immediate Release from Oklahoma Policy Institute: 

March 31, 2014 

Oklahoma Policy Institute Executive Director David Blatt released the following statement in response to the rally for education funding today at the State Capitol: 

The tens of thousands who rallied at the Capitol today should be a wake-up call to legislators. Almost no one is clamoring for another tax cut, but Oklahomans do want to restore our state's investment in education. The popular support for education funding matches what economic experts and business leaders say is most important to boost the economy. 

Lawmakers are considering automatic tax cuts that would be triggered whenever revenue grows modestly. But we need a better trigger. How about no more income tax cuts until per pupil funding climbs back to where it was in 2008? How about no tax cut until our teacher salaries are no longer among the lowest? How about no tax cut until our students are no longer being taught from outdated textbooks? How about no tax cut until our college graduation rate reaches the national average? The message from Oklahomans is clear: "Don’t cut our taxes until you fund the services we need." 

In comments at the rally, Blatt emphasized that choices made by legislators to repeatedly cut taxes and let tax breaks expand have contributed to the state's current budget problems. "If we can start making the right choices, the money will be there to do the things that we know will strengthen our schools and ensure the next generation has even greater opportunities than this one," he said.  

A full transcript of Blatt's remarks at the rally is available here.

A recent OK Policy issue brief laying out options for filling the state's budget hole is available here.

We are extremely fortunate in Oklahoma to have the non-partisan Oklahoma Policy which gives us facts not spin on what is happening which gives all of us the opportunity to make up our own minds.  When my son recommended Oklahoma Policy he did me a huge favor and been a fan ever since.

Education has always been near and dear to my heart and have spent countless hours volunteering in various places we have lived and have to admit I have never seen such an anti-education legislature I have seen with the Republicans here in Oklahoma.  Took me a long time to admit even here in Norman that the people against the school levies were Republican when I ran into problems because I supported school levies and bond issues while fellow Republicans at the time did not.  

Our children's education should NOT be a partisan issue but every child should have the right to a very high quality education.  When we moved to Oklahoma, I checked out schools and Norman came out so far ahead of anyplace else there was never a doubt we were moving here -- no place else in Oklahoma. Our state legislature should ensure that every student is afforded a first class education and that our teachers do not rank 49th out of 50 in teacher pay.  Maybe if the legislature quit wasting our tax dollars on social issues trying to determine how we live, we would have more money for education -- just a thought.

Something needs to change on education funding in Oklahoma.  If it doesn't, then we need to change who runs the legislature and state government.