Thursday, April 30, 2009

"I'm Telling You What He Meant To Say."

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs elicited laughter from the usually pro-administration White House press corps, by uttering the words "I'm telling you what he meant to say."

What who meant to say, you ask? Why the human gaffe machine Joe Biden, aka the Vice-President.

Representatives of the travel industry were aghast when Biden said on Thursday's Today Show on NBC that he wouldn't travel in enclosed spaces like airplanes and subways. Listen for yourself what Biden said, and determine for yourself what you think he meant to say.


Seems pretty clear to me that the Veep has been telling friends and family to not travel while the H1N1 virus is lurking about. If you're an executive for American Airlines (Tulsa's #1 employer) you can't be very happy hearing this from "Oh That's Just Joe."

You can even hear at the end of the CNN report the male anchor suggest that they will await a "clarification" from the administration. No kidding?

So now listen to the inept spin doctor stylings of Robert Gibbs as he takes questions from ABC's Jake Tapper.


Instead of trying pitifully to explain what Biden "meant to say," why doesn't Obama just send Gibbs onto Today so that he can tell the entire nation "what the Vice-President would say, if the President let him come out to play."

David Souter's Retirement the Left's Strategy?

Supreme Court justice David Souter, one of the committed liberals on the nation's highest court is stepping down. No illness, just a growing distaste for D.C., is the apparent reason. At only 69 years of age, Souter's retirement is coming at a very young age. So could there be a more tactical reason for his departure?

There are four reliable votes on the left and Souter is one of them. But history and polling trends may have the so-called progressives wondering if they're going to maintain control of the White House for more than one term. Gallup recently reported that President Obama's popularity at the 100 day mark of his term is the second lowest for an American President over the past 40 years. Only Bill Clinton, fresh off of his "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for gays in the military was lower, by just one point.

So, could Souter's exit be the start of an exodus into retirement for the other liberals on the high court? Ruth Bader Ginsberg is reported quite ill and might be force by her health to step down. That would leave Stevens and Breyer as liberal members on the court.

Souter's announcement, coupled with the surprise defection of Sen. Arlen Specter from the Republicans to the Democrats early this week, leads the pessimist in me to see a not so subtle pattern here. Specter sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee. His defection also all but strips the Republicans in the Senate of any ability to hold up judiciary nominations, including that of Souter's and possibly Ginsberg's replacements. So what better time would there be than the next two years to stack the high court with young, committed liberals?

Clearing the aging progressives from the court and replacing them with jurists that can hold their spots on the bench for decades gives the left a very good chance of retaking control of the Supreme Court, should one of the conservatives have to step down in the next few years. Even if the GOP retakes control of the White House in 2012, it is unlikely that the GOP will get solid control of the Senate for several election cycles, meaning that the Democrats could force the appointment of a more moderate jurist by any new Republican president.

Only time will tell if Souter's early departure is about a growing distaste for Beltway politics, or a calculated attempt to wrest control of the court back to the left.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Louis Caldera: White House Scapegoat


Now that the MSM is more interested in discussing Arlen Specter's jump back to the Democrat party than they are Air Force One buzzing the people of lower Manhattan, it's time to put our thinking caps on. Do you really think that Louis Caldera, the low-level apparatchik in the Obama White House is the highest ranking official to have signed off on this wasteful and insensitive stunt?

Give it some thought.

1] This guy, Caldera, has the stroke to order Air Force officials to spend $300,000 of tax payer money to send one of the president's highly protected personal jets, worth tens of millions of dollars, to fly to NYC for a photo op?

2] If Caldera does have the stroke, he caused one Hell of a stir. He panicked people on both sides of the Hudson River, causing people to run in the streets, scream in fear and even evacuate office towers in both New York and New Jersey. How much productivity was lost? What is the economic impact of all of the time lost on the job by the thousands who took note or took action when Air Force One came by to buzz them? Given the monetary and psychological cost of this stunt, why has Caldera only been privately reprimanded? If this isn't a fireable offense in the Obama White House, what is?

It is the fact that Caldera hasn't been fired that makes anyone with a scintilla of sense smell a rat. Caldera is falling on his sword on this one, probably at the behest of his superiors, who want to maintain the illusion that Obama, or anyone close to Obama, knew nothing about this. Sure the buck stops in the oval office, but Obama was supposed to the the sensitivity president. How could someone who was going to raise politics to a level that transcended partisanship and divides have anything to do with something so callous and thoughtless.

Believe me, they don't want any of this to stick on "the Big O."

If Caldera truly acted alone, he should be fired. But I'm of the opinion that they will never fire Caldera, because he knows the truth and is willing to take the hit for the administration.

Look for him to get a big promotion of some kind, in or out of government. Maybe as an air traffic dispatcher.

2000: Chris Medlock--Protester


Found some interesting video when cleaning out my dying computer's hard drive and decided to use it as my first foray into uploading video to YouTube.

It is from a KOTV Channel 6 report on a spontaneous rally that occurred in November, 2000, just as the Florida Recount in the presidential election of that year was hitting the fan. There was no Twitter, no Facebook and no blogging at that time. The only talk radio in town was KRMG, and since this was a Sunday, they couldn't play a role in organizing such a rally, even if John Erling had been so inclined. As such, there was only e-mail, and yet it managed to get a small, if not boisterous crowd assembled on the downtown Civic Center Plaza for a one hour protest. Imagine how many would have been there with today's technology.

There were lots of "Sore/Loserman" signs in the crowd, of course mimicking the Gore/Lieberman yard signs that had been used by the Democrats during the campaign. State Chairman Steve Edwards is interviewed in the KOTV story, and I remember Tulsa County Chairman Rich Gradel being present, too.

If you look in the background when the lady in the red sweatshirt is seen chanting, you can see me and my wife Cheryl (she's wearing sunglasses). We had no plans on doing any protesting that day, but when doing yard work (I think we might have been putting out Christmas lights) my neighbor Don Onesky, who was the former State GOP Vice-Chair and I got to talking and decided to head on down to join the fun. In fact, Don and I ended up doing a lot of the organizing of the chants. Were you there? Comment if you were.

At the end of the story, you can see video of the lone Gore supporter, a homeless guy who seemed to have been ignoring the Lord's desire not to be imbibing in the 'holy spirits" on the Sabbath. At one point in the demonstration, as this guy was hollering back at the Bush supporters from across Denver Ave., some of the crowd crossed the street to shout him down. It was actually a bit ugly and I was surprised KOTV didn't show the incident. Nobody threatened the guy, but it made him look sympathetic.

Attendees of this month's Downtown Tulsa Tea Party will recognize the location of the protest. It is on the very ground from which the Tea Party speakers addressed the crowd on April 15th. It is also the very site from which the Gang of Four on the Tulsa City Council held a counter State-of-the-City rally in 2004.

At the time of the protest, I was two years away from being elected to the City Council and would never have dreamed that I would have had a talk radio show. I love the fact that the CG on the screen refers to me as "Chris Medlock--Protester." Oh well, once an activist, always an activist?

Enjoy the video. Or not, if you voted for Gore.


Viewing the interview with me, I'm left with the feeling that I need to work harder at the gym and give up Pizza Night.

Both KOTV and KTUL showed up to cover the event. I thought I also had a copy of the KTUL piece and will look to post it if I can find it.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Sometimes Your Best Friend Lets You Down

Everyone is finally talking about Barack Obama's inability to speak without a teleprompter...well...everyone on the right...but definitely not the MSM. In fact, early on I took to calling Obama's teleprompter "the 'Bama Binky," because just like a small child's security blanket, the Prez goes nowhere without his binky.

But it seemed to have let him down recently. Take a gander at the video link below.



Even you best friends let you down on occassion.

Henry Vetoes Liberty


Governor Brad Henry, as expected, vetoed HJR 1003. Also known as the "Tenth Amendment Bill," HJR 1003 would establish it as Oklahoma's official position that the Federal Government is limited by the Constitution as to its authority and control over the states.

Henry, a Democrat and Obama supporter, was expected by many on the right to veto the measure, which would have been perceived as a black eye to the new administration and its desire to considerably expand the role of a centralized and more powerful federal government. The governor of Oklahoma's neighbor to the south, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), has recently been very vocal in his support for a similar initiative in that state.

Owasso State Senator Randy Brogdon, one of the principal sponsors of HJR 1003 and a recently announced candidate for Governor, released a statement to the media after Henry's veto.
"At the end of the workweek, when everyone else had left the Capitol, Brad Henry used his veto power to reject the Constitution he swore to uphold," said Brogdon. "With the stroke of the pen, the Governor decided to let President Obama and Congress continue to erode our Constitutional rights."

"This is not an isolated case," said Brogdon. He then referred to Governor Henry's veto on legislation that would have banned embryonic stem cell research. "In less than one week's time, Brad Henry has vetoed life and liberty."
Supporters of the bill are trying to rally support to contact legislators to override Henry's veto.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

The One That Got Away

Perhaps one of the biggest bullets the GOP dodged in its efforts to successfully serve as the loyal opposition to the Obama Administration was for New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, a Republican, to come to his senses and politely decline the President’s offer to become Commerce Secretary. Having originally accepted the position, Gregg dallied with the idea of joining Obama’s cabinet, before opting to remain in the Senate.

The change of heart severely hurt Obama’s ability to couch his move towards a Socialistic model of bigger, more centralized government as bipartisan. Having a respected Republican from a Blue State would have gone a long way in aiding the new administration in spinning such changes as bipartisan and centrist, thus stymieing the inevitable calls from the Red States and the right that the nation was on a course toward Socialism.

“…Mr. Gregg doesn't pull any punches in his criticism of the new president. He may be ‘a charismatic person’ with "a very strong understanding of who he is and what he wants to do," but when it comes to the substance of what Mr. Obama seeks to accomplish, Mr. Gregg is less charitable. ‘They have a goal,’ the senator says, ‘and he's very open about it. They are going to grow this government.’”
Such a statement can be construed as quite damning coming from a man who Obama ostensibly wanted to head up Commerce in his administration, and it get’s worse. Gregg alleges that for all the talk that the Democrats and the Obama Administration are not going to seek a “single payer” national health care initiative, such an anti-competitive plan is exactly what you would find if they’d let you look up both sleeves.
When it comes to health insurance, Mr. Gregg expects more of the same. "That's the scenario that you're going to see if you have a public plan for insurance that competes with the private plans. That's the game plan" -- call it competition at first, but tighten the screws until the private insurers leave the market or get forced out. But with health-care spending representing 17% of GDP and climbing, the stakes are much, much larger. "Everyone in this country is affected by these policies."
I highly recommend that you read WSJ’s article. It is one of our first chances to hear what may become a very important voice of opposition to socialized medicine and other rampant entitlement expansions over then next four years.

Important, because it is a voice Obama himself once hoped would be selling said expansion.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Thanks for Virtually Nothin'

Barack Obama wants us all to be impressed that he's asked the Cabinet to cut government spending in the executive branch by $100 million. To you and me, outside the beltway, this sounds like an impressive sum. However, when put into perspective by relative comparisons, it's not even a drop in a bucket. As such, it's a political ploy to make it sound like the most aggressive tax-and-spend President is fiscally responsible.

One comparison is as follows. Say you have a friend who makes $100,000 a year. You think he needs to cut back on his wild spending and you ask him to cut back as much on his annual budget,as a percentage of the whole, as Obama has the cabinet. So how much are you asking your friend to trim his spending? Grab ahold of something to keep from falling down.

A whopping $3!

If you're more visual like I am, take a look at the graphic below from the Heritage Foundation.

It shows clearly just how much a: the Obama Administration is spending or, b: just how ignorant they hope the American electorate can be.

"You Don't Love Me Like You Used To."

AIs the Obama honeymoon over? He's now got an Approval Index of only +3. How long before he drops into the minus category? The ranking subtracts those that strongly disapprove of his performance from those that strongly approveOne has to wonder what will happen with this index once Obama stops campaigning, if he ever does, and simply retires to the White House to run the country outside the media spotlight. These grand media junkets that he's been taking to Europe and South America, seem almost intended to fend off the inevitable dip into minus figures. Last week's Tea Party rallies can't be helping his overall popularity.

[Update] Rasmussen just released the April 21 Daily Tracking Poll and Obama has slipped one more point.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Found Out By Furries...

...and I didn't even know it.

Last month I wrote about our experience staying in a hotel that we shared with an interesting group known as "the Furry Fandom;" people that like to dress up like anthropomorphic animals.

Thanks to the individual that forwarded the blog entry from the Oklahoma Furs furry fandom website. Gosh...no wonder no furries ever took me up on my offer to come onto The Chris Medlock Show to discuss their...I don't know...hobby?


You can either click on the link or read the entry from "Hozzman" below:
Please Read!!
Hello folks, I normally do not post very much of anything, but this is something very important I need to discuss.

Recently there was a very conservative talk show host from here in Tulsa that happened to be at the Dallas hotel Furry Fiesta was hosted at durring the convention. His name is Chris Medlock and he has a conservative oriented AM talk radio show from Tulsa. He is now balls-to-the-wall about the furries on his show. Recently he has been in contact with a few furries here in Oklahoma. Please be warned DO NOT TALK TO THIS INDIVIDUAL!! He is looking for ways to get furries to call him live durring his show. He will publicly humiliate you and twist your words around to make you look as "unappealing" as possible! Like most all conservative talk show hosts he will create lies about any group of people that do not fit into his narrow minded universe. This could be potentially bad for all of us! Please use caution when you discuss the fandom to these people.
Gee, that really wounds me. I don't think I was ever unfair to a guest on my show. Besides, I wouldn't have to twist words around to make these folks seem unappealing. Surely they know what they do is more than a bit odd, don't you think?

Rasmussen: Half of Americans Favor Tea Parties


Some very interesting poll numbers coming from Rasmussen regarding last week's Tea Parties. According to a recent survey conducted by the organization, 51 % of Americans have a favorable view of the Tea Party movement, as compared to 33% who hold an unfavorable view.

But if you're a member of the nation’s Political Class, you're likely to agree with Obama adviser David Axelrod, who told a national television audience on Sunday that the Tea Parties were "unhealthy." Just 13% of the nation's political class see the movement as even slightly positive. This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, given that the Tea Party is a political movement designed to protest the actions of the political class, regardless of party affiliation. It is one of the figures regarding political affiliation, in the survey, that I think is going to keep some of the Obama administration's strategists up at night.

Rasmussen reports the following:
While 83% of Republicans and a plurality (49%) of unaffiliated Americans have a favorable view of the tea party protests, only 28% of Democrats say the same.
Sure, 28% of Democrats is relatively small when compared to 83% of Republicans. But think about it for a second. What would happen if 28% of Democrats became so fed up by Obama tax and fiscal policy, that they sign onto a "throw the bums out" movement? Might this effect the 2010 elections for Congress? How about the 2012 elections for President?

The big question is, will Republican politicians just pander to the activists in the Tea Party movement, in the hope that they will garner their support in future elections? Or, will they truly embrace what the activists are trying to tell them, and fundamentally change what they're doing in office?

Pandering isn't going to get it done. A failure to take a strong stance and follow through with actual attempts to shut down the Obama plans for government expansion will result in making GOP elected officials just as big of a target as Obama's supporters.

Let's hope the GOP gets smart and doesn't subcribe to the rest of the Political Classes disdain for the Tea Party protests and the people that attended them.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Downtown Tulsa Tea Party Huge Success



Reasonable estimates for the event place the peak attendance at between 750 to 1000. It's always hard to pin a number of total attendance because you don't know how many came and went, but it's safe to say that the event dwarfed the inaugural Tulsa Tea Party that was held months back.

It will be interesting to how many show up at the Veteran's Park event from 5 PM to 7 PM, given that a lot of people said they were attending both. Throw in some of the estimated 1500 people at the LaFortune Park Tea Party and the Veteran's Park event could end up in the same range.

Provided are a few photos Cheryl and I took from today's event plus an aerial shot provided by KOTV. The top-left photo is Fox Radio's John Gibson whipping up the crowd. Of course, the upper-right photo is yours truly whipping up the crowd. There was a lot of crowd whipping going on at the Civic Center Plaza today.

It's Tea Party Time!

Don't forget to attend one of the Tax Payer Tea Parties in your area today. Oh yeah...don' t forget to file your taxes, too.

I'll be speaking at the Downtown Tea Party on the Civic Center Plaza near the Tulsa County Courthouse. I'm not sure when exactly I'll take the mic, but the event is scheduled from between 11 AM and 1 PM.

Later in the day, I'll be at the third tea party event of the day, at Veteran's Park from 5 PM to 7 PM. Guess that means I have to come up with two speeches. Good thing I can talk.

See you there.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Why Grassroots Are Protesting Obama's Spending, but Didn't Bush's

Or at least, one good reason why.

Thanks to Adam Doverspike for bringing this chart to my attention. Lot's of people who are trying to make light of the Tea Party movement question why conservatives are protesting Obama, but didn't protest Bush. Aside from the obvious fact that Bush's spending last Fall sparked a smoldering fire of discontent, it wasn't until Obama got in with his liberal spending agenda that the fires of discontent were stoked to a flaming inferno.

Here is a chart to make that point.

While Bush's emergency spending, whether you believe it to have been necessary to stimulate the economy, or saw it as a craven attempt to try to not lose a presidential election, this chart shows that Obama's spending plans make Bush's look...well...bush league.

Those red and pink bars are why we're protesting on April 15.

[MORE] I had a comment asking for the source of the graph. You can read the entire story relative to the graph at the Heritage Foundation' s site by clicking here. Apparently the graphic was originally created by the Washington Post, not exactly a right-wing publication.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Katie Couric: Obama Needs a Learner's Permit?


CBS news anchor Katie Couric, who is going to be receiving a major award for journalism for her character assassination of Sara Palin, has made a major gaffe.

In a piece designed to be critical of former Vice-President Dick Cheyney, Couric finishes by intimating that all those critics of Barack Obama back during the election, who said we didn't need a President who required on-the-job training, were right. Couric said:
We should never shy away from insightful criticism. And in the white hot spotlight of the presidency a fair amount of back seat driving simply comes with the territory.

But it's fair to give the new kids on the block a chance to get their learner's permits first.
I attempted to embed the video at the bottom of the page, but it looks like CBS may have turned the share function off. Are they possibly trying to keep this from going viral?

You can listen to the last part of her remarks in audio, by clicking here.

Just wish she would've shared this opinion with the voters before the election.

Brogdon to Announce For Governor at GOP Convention

Could a Brogdon-Pruitt Team Be in the Works?

It is virtually a sure thing that State Senator Randy Brogdon, (R) Owasso, will use Saturday's State GOP Convention in Oklahoma City to announce he will run for Governor. Very popular with the grassroots activists of the party, what better forum could one find for such an announcement than a statewide convention of grassroots activists?

Also expected to announce for Governor at the event, is former Corporation Commissioner and U.S. Congressman J. C. Watts. With current Congressman Tom Cole saying he won't pursue the position, it opens the way for Watts to go head-to-head with Congresswoman Mary Fallin for the front runner status, during the early part of the election. With their national connections, and both having won statewide elections in the past, Watts and Fallin will dominate all early polling, making the hill Brogdon must climb seemingly insurmountable.

However, don't sell Brogdon short. He is charming, his personality will play very well with rural voters, and he has a very strong following in Northeast Oklahoma.

The biggest threat to Brogdon's candidacy doesn't come from the center-right of the party. In fact, one can argue that Watts and Fallin will negate each other with that faction of the state party, giving Brogdon the chance to "out conservative" the two better known candidates. With a strong base of volunteers to spread the word, Brogdon could easily find himself in a runoff, which is likely part of his team's strategy. The only thing that could spoil this strategy would be for another conservative to enter the race. Word is, former State Senator Scott Pruitt is mulling a run for the office, too.

A conservative could win in a three-way race, but a four-way race would be disastrous. Pruitt and Brogdon would battle each other for the same voters and volunteers, almost assuring that Fallin or Watts would win outright, or face each other in a runoff.

There is talk that conservatives are trying to convince Pruitt to run for the Lt. Governor's office, a seat he sought in 2006. In this way, Brogdon and Pruitt could run for the two respective seats as a de facto team, sharing volunteers and allowing conservatives to unite. Pruitt, who is younger than Brogdon, could then run for the Governor's office after two Brogdon terms, advisers are arguing.

The interesting possibility of such a scenario is, would it allow Oklahoma's maverick, conservative junior Senator, Tom Coburn, to support the team? Coburn is fond of both Pruitt and Brogdon, and would surely stay out of any primary race that featured the two in competition for the same seat.

Liberal journalists like Randy Krehbiel are working hard to label Brogdon as "extremist," as exemplified in his "Political Notebook" piece in Sunday's Tulsa World shows. Krehbiel wrote;
"The faction pushing the idea is more or less the same one trying to unseat state Chairman Gary Jones. It includes some of Oklahoma's more extreme conservatives, including national committeeman James Dunn; state Sen. Randy Brogdon of Owasso..."
"Extreme" is not an adjective that someone on the right would use to describe the right wing of the Republican party. The word "staunch" would be far more fitting, and far less pejorative. Look for the mainstream media in the state to do their part in trying to marginalize all of the state's conservative candidates, favoring those candidates who tow the Chamber of Commerce line, within the Oklahoma GOP. Krehbiel and the World have already tried to erroneously tie Brogdon to Ron Paul, even though Brogdon was an open supporter of Mike Huckabee during last year's GOP Presidential Primary, as was Pruitt.


Thursday, April 09, 2009

Bow, Then Scrape, Then Spin

It's just three little letters, put together, that can have so many different meanings. "B-O-W" can be the front of a ship, a flexible strip of wood, or something pretty made with ribbon. Or it can mean:
–verb (used with object)
4: to bend or incline (the knee, body, or head) in worship, submission, respect, civility, agreement, etc.: "He bowed his head to the crowd," or "He bowed at the waist to the King of Saudi Arabia."
The question as to whether or not President Barack Obama bowed to foreign prince and/or potentate is becoming a laughable topic of discussion, made such by the even more laughable assertion by the White House that the Commander-In-Chief didn't really bow. One spokesperson said "It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he's taller than King Abdullah."

What? It wasn't a bow? Have you seen the video? If you haven't, take a gander at the video below. Forgive the Spanish, but it happens about 52 seconds in. Keep an eye on the President's left hand. You can't see it until he begins to rise (after bowing...or not). Then it quickly appears as the President (having just shown worship, submission, respect, civility and agreement to a foreign prince and/or potentate...or not) seeks to give the King the old "Chicago double-pump."


Now to be fair, the White House denial cited above came from an aide on the condition of anonymity. To my knowledge, there has yet to be any "official" statement by the White House's "official" Department of Damage Control. Perhaps this is because they generally control damage by ignoring the President's gaffes, knowing that the national and international media will pretty much ignore them, too. Pretty effective, when you think about it.

But for anyone to try to spin that what the Prez did (yes...he DID something) wasn't a bow is in many ways more offensive than the bow itself. Newt Gingrich, on the O'Reilly Factor, raised the question, "How stupid do they think we are?"

Well Mr. Speaker, they don't think "we" are stupid. They know "you," the former Speaker, and "me" an opinionated conservative aren't going to buy any of this. They don't care what we think, because in their world, we're just a bunch of...ugh...conservatives. But they do care what that wafer thin 2.5% of the electorate which changed from Bush and the Republicans to Obama and the Democrats during the last election, thinks. You see, that 2.5% constitutes the Chosen One's mandate. They're very hopeful that the 2.5% are just adoring enough that they'll lap up the spin and not see it as an affront to centuries of tradition that held that the American President "don't bow to no royalty."

For those of us that are onto Obama, who know that he's in way over his head, it was clearly a bow. But for those who would gladly bow down before the Annoited King of the Culture of Cool, we can call it an act of kindness to a vertically challenged head-of-state, 'cause you know why?

That's kinda cool.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Of Tea Parties and Radio Wars

Jai Blevins, the primary organizer of the Tea Party movement in Tulsa, has an interesting blog posting. Seems he's getting a bit of an introduction into politics of radio, as well as the politics of politics.

Plans are for there to be three Tax Day Tea Parties in our fair city on April, 15. Two of the events, the rally on the Civic Center Mall from 11 AM to 1PM and the Veterans Park event from 5 to 7 PM will have a decidedly KFAQ feel, with Pat Campbell emceeing the morning event and Elvis Polo broadcasting his show from the evening event. Word is that Fox Radio personality John Gibson will be on hand for the morning event, too. Blevins has also asked me to speak at both of the events that he is planning and I have accepted.

But apparently, KRMG, who supplied the PA system for the first event in February, doesn't want to play with KFAQ, so Joe Kelly will be hosting the South Tulsa Tea Party at LaFortune Stadium from Noon to 2 PM. Blevin's reports that KRMG doesn't, "want to work with KFAQ on this. Why should we let KFAQ talk to our audience?"

Please understand, I no longer have a dog in this hunt. I don't work for either station. But I will say that having attended the first Tea Party at Veteran's Park, that at least two-thirds of the crowd were KFAQ listeners, so it seems that turn-abouts would be fair play.

Obviously both stations want to own the issue and the event. The opportunity to get face to face time with listeners in a positive event that goes right to the heart of conservative talk radio is too delicious to pass up. The fact that KFAQ (the upstart) continues to survive and chip away audience from KRMG (the Big Dog) has to be a continued irritant to the folks over at Cox Radio. If I were to define the differences between the two stations, given my two years in tulsa talk radio, I would say KRMG is the "status quo, chamber of commerce" station, while KFAQ has been the voice of the 'grassroots, no new taxes" activists. How many of KRMG's employees and on-airs do you think voted against the River Tax? Compare that to how many of KFAQ's you think voted for the river tax.

Obviously, KRMG wants to improve its gravitas with the grassroots. If it can do it using a national issue that is unlikely to bother its friends at the Tulsa Chamber, then all the better. The National Tea Party movement is a perfect opportunity to do just that.

So what are you to do if you're Jai Blevins or Cris Kurtz (the organizer of the South Tulsa Tea Party)? Obviously, you grab for any publicity and audience that you can get, hold your respective tea parties and then hold your respective noses when each of the stations rush to claim the movement as their own. In fact, having two competing radio stations in competition to out Tea Party the other guy should be viewed as a blessing in disguise.

How's that you ask? Well, by bringing in one of their national hosts for a Tulsa event, KFAQ is obviously raising the bar on KRMG. Will we soon be seeing an announcement that Neal Boortz or Clark Howard, who have shows that emanate from Cox Radio's Atlanta affiliate WSB, will be showing up at LaFortune Stadium?

Obviously, it would be best for the movement to have the two stations covering a single, mammoth event. You would get all the coverage you wanted, and have all the citizens in a single location at a single time. But let's remember part of what it is we're fighting for. We want a free market system based on capitalism and free of oppressive taxes. The free market is based on open and fair competition, and that's exactly what you're getting between Tulsa's two talk radio stations.

Ain't America grand?

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Where's the Big East?


After a season full of talk about the dominance of the Big East Conference, the final is set for the NCAA Basketball Championship and there is not a single Big East team playing. I have no doubt that the Big East was fat with talent this year. However, I do think it was ridiculous east coast media bias that got the conference it's unprecedented three #1 seeds.

In fact, if total conference wins and losses in the Big Dance are considered, then the Big East fared slightly better than any other conference. The Big East had a combined record in the tournament of 16 wins and 8 losses, for a winning percentage of (.667). This record clinches the best overall tournament record, no matter which team (Michigan State (Big Ten) or North Carolina (ACC)) wins the final game.

But the Big East didn't dominate the tournament like many of the pundits predicted. In fact, a case could be made that it was, in reality, merely the second best tournament conference behind the Big XII. While the Big XII failed to get any teams into the Final Four, it had a combined record of 11-6 (.647) and saw all six of its entrants make it to the Round of 32.

The Big East got six of its eight teams into the Round of 32, the PAC 10 all five teams, the Big 10 four of its seven teams, the ACC three of six, and the SEC none of its two.

All the experts were talking was how this was a down year in the Big XII, which I believe was a misconception that led to many of the conferences members being under-seeded. Mizzou stunned many with its deep run into the Elite-8. Kansas, with it's Freshman heavy lineup, went much further than many thought possible at the beginning of the season. In fact, Kansas' surprising strength led to Bill Self winning the award as National Coach of the Year.

And then there is Oklahoma State. A team which upset Oklahoma in the Big XII tournament and scared the bejeebers out of #1 seeded Pittsburgh in the second round. Throw in the fifth most difficult schedule of any Division 1 program, coupled with the fact that seven of their eleven losses on the year came against teams that made it to this year's Sweet 16, and a very compelling case can be made that the Cowboys were vastly underseeded.

In fact, the entire Big XII was underseeded. Even Baylor, which was sent to the NIT despite making it to the finals of the Big XII tournament, made a run to the NIT Finals despite having to play two of it's first three games on the road due to poor seeding. Baylor defied the odds and won away from home to make it to Madison Square Garden.

It is a pretty powerful statement of fact to say that the best way to advance in the tournament is to get seeded high. Sure upsets happen in every round, but it is far easier to win coming in as the favorite. It's far easier to beat a team that you are slightly better than, than to beat a team that is equally as good as you are. That's the purpose of seeding in the first place.

How much better might the Big XII have done if it hadn't run into the misconception (fed by East Coast bias) that it was down this year.?

Collectively, with the final still to play, the six "power conferences'" records in the tournament stack up as follows:

1: Big East 16 - 8 (.667)
2: Big XII 11 - 6 (.647)
3: ACC 8 - 5 (.615)
4: Big 10 (11) 9 - 6 (.600)
5: PAC 10 6 - 5 (.545)
6: SEC 1 - 2 (.333)

Should North Carolina win the final game, the ACC's overall winning percentage would move to .642, so mathematically the ACC can't do better than third. If Michigan State upsets UNC, then the Big 10 would move to .622, which would move the Big 10 past the ACC into third.

Finally, what do the computers have to say?

Mike Sagarin, who runs computer ranking models on many sports, including NCAA basketball, has added in the tournament games to his model which compares teams throughout the entire season, not just March. Here's how Sagarin ranks the conferences:

1: Big 10 (84.10)
2: Big 12 (83.71)
3: PAC 10 (83.68)
4: Big East (83.41)
5: ACC (83.27)
6: SEC (79.97)

In this model, the Big East and the ACC, the "two premier" conferences in college basketball according to the national press, are only fourth and fifth. Yet they received all four #1 seeds and the bulk of the top sixteen seeds in the tournament.

Just once, it would be interesting to let the computers, not a committee, seed the tournament and select the participants. Then let's see how the Big East and the ACC do.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

First Chris Medlock Show: May 5, 2008

It was Cinco de Mayo. Who else was I going to get to be the first ever guest on my new show other than State Rep. Randy Terrill? Randy ended up being the first guest and City Councilor G. T. Bynum was officially the last guest. Not sure who was luckier.

[Note: I originally included what I thought was the second hour of the first show, but it turned out to be from a later Tuesday show that I was calling "No Guest Tuesday." After that show, Bryan Gann basically told me, "Never do that again." So I deleted it from this post.}

Strange to listen to now. Brent and I working together for the first time. Audra talking some, which didn't happen much as time went on because she pretty much kept in the newsroom.

Then there's me, trying to figure out how to do an afternoon show, because I got more than a few hours of sleep and I'm wide awake. All in all, I don't think it was all that bad, having listened to the first hour today.

So for all of you asking for some posts from the archives, thanks and this is for you.

First Chris Medlock Show: Hour 1

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

"The Chris Medlock Show" Archives

One of the things that disappointed a lot of the listeners of KFAQ was how quickly the archived podcasts of my show were pulled after my layoff. They were gone by the next day. The station has posted the last four shows, but all the rest are gone from the site, leaving many to wonder if they've been erased.

I have been spending a great deal of my free time the last couple of days, finding, consolidating and organizing all of the archived copies of my show that I have on my various personal computers. On occasion, I would be informed by staff that they were running out of space on the KFAQ server and that they would be purging archived copies, so if I wanted them for posterity, I would need to download them to my personal computer.

This was a relatively tedious procedure, at least for an ADHD guy like myself, but I tried to save everything I could. Having taken stock of what I do have now, I'm pretty pleased with myself. I have, by my best count, exactly 400 hours of "The Chris Medlock Show" saved and now organized by month. I also have all of the "Show Notes" saved, so I should be able to catalog all of the shows, if I get the time and determination to do such a tedious thing.

By my best guesstimate, 400 hours is easily over 90% of the shows, if not more. Throw in my days off when Bruce Delay would sit in for me, coupled with those days where the "skimmer," (which automatically recorded the show so that my producer, Brent Smith, could post the shows on the Podcast Page, didn't work), and I think I have almost everything that was made available to the public.

I'm not sure what, if anything, I want to do with all these shows. In fact, I'm not really sure if I can legally do anything too comprehensive, even if I wanted to. The Fair Use Doctrine says that I can use portions of the show without fear of legal challenge, so maybe I'll put together some "Greatest Moments Of" links.

The problem with something like that is, it would require me to listen to hour after hour of old shows. To date, I've probably only listened to a grand total of a couple of hours of my show. Why you ask? Because, like many people, I'm uncomfortable listening to myself. Yes. You would think I would be past all of that, and maybe now I am. But it still isn't something I'm chomping at the bit to do.

So for now, for those of you that care, be content in the knowledge that I've got all of it, and should the need arise, well, you know.

Stay tuned, I'm thinking of at the very least making the first show available here at Medblogged.