MedBlogged

Election Night WTH? Moment

2009-09-10T11:25:00.001-07:00

At our watch party, my supporters and I were glued to the television awaiting each change in the polling numbers. We had two televisions going in different rooms; one on KJRH Channel 2 and the other on KOTV Channel 6. At one point, around 8:15 in the evening, KOTV locked up with about 55% of the vote counted. Same for KJRH.

We went to the radio in my office and tuned into KRMG, on which Michael Bates and Dan Potter were commenting on the election. They were reporting me with 37% of the vote, with a chance to still win the race if the numbers that the TV stations were reporting didn't include west, east and north Tulsa. Suddenly, you could hear Dan Potter seem a little perplexed as my percentage dropped to 30%. It was about this time that we thought, that's it, we've lost. Within five minutes, KRMG had called the race for Bartlett and I called Dewey to concede just after that.

Wednesday night, my wife and I decided to watch Tuesday's episode of America's Got Talent, which she had recorded on our DVR. While watching the show, the numbers from the previous night's election were scrolling along the bottom of the screen. I was suddenly struck by an odd feeling about one of the sets of figures. I provide a screen capture of those numbers below.

As you can see, it shows that with 54% of the vote in,

I was receiving 6,665 votes to Bartlett's 9,072. I officially received a total of 7,004 votes on the night. That would mean, that in the remaining 46% of the precincts, I would only receive another 339 votes, to Bartlett's more than 3,000! I stopped dead in my tracks and paused the DVR. "In what part of the city would I only get less than 10% of the vote," I asked?

KJRH stayed locked in at 55% for some time after this was reported. Then it jumped to 69%. I froze the picture and took a second screen capture. (See below).

As you can see, I dropped from 37% of the vote, to 31%. That isn't too unbelievable with the passage of an additional 14 percent of returns coming in. But check out the vote totals.

I went from 6,665 votes with 54% reporting, to 5,269 votes with 69% reporting. That is a DROP of 1,396 votes!

I will be contacting KJRH to see if anyone can explain to me what happened. Stay tuned for breaking developments.

Bartlett Finds Republican Supporters

2009-07-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'm very happy that Dewey Bartlett, Jr. has found some Republican support for this candidacy for mayor. I was getting a little worried for him.

At a press conference called Tuesday night, Bartlett, Jr. announced the support of Todd Hiett, Fred Jordan, Mike Mazzei, Brian Bingman, Dan Sullivan, Ron Peters, Terry Simonson and Don Burdick.

This "unprecedented" action, which happens all the time, deserves very little time, but it does deserve a quick analysis. So let's take a look at who stood by him.

Four of the endorsers, Hiett, Jordan, Mazzei and Bingman don't even live in Tulsa and can't vote for Dewey.
Sullivan and Peters are the two Mid-Town Tulsa state reps. It would be political suicide to not support the candidate from Dewey's source of votes.
Former county chairman Terry Simonson now works for the County Commissioners. I'm out there calling for the voters not to renew the Vision 2025 tax when it comes back up for a vote. Vision 2025 is a county tax, so no surprise there.
Then there's Don Burdick (aka Little Donny Downtown), a man who lives downtown, moved Republican headquarters downtown for two years and moved the Tulsa Republican Men's Club to the Summit Club downtown.

Throw in that Mazzei represents Bixby, Jordan represents Jenks and Bingman represents Sapulpa, and you get a pretty good idea who they think will support the regionalism that helps the suburbs to the detriment of Tulsa.

There is statewide conservative group that gives Republican legislators ratings on their voting records. To give you some perspective, Owasso State Senator Randy Brogdon scored a 90 rating from this past session. Mazzei scored a 32, while Bingman and Peters rated a much more impressive 40!

But all in all, it's good Dewey has found some friends.

Burying Great Plains

2009-07-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

The Tulsa World buried my campaign’ press released story about Dewey Bartlett's enthusiastic vote, while a member of the Airport Board, for Kathy Taylor's $7.1 million giveaway of Tulsan's property taxes to Bank of Oklahoma.

The settlement, voted on in a "Emergency Meeting" on June 26, 2008, was payment of the principal in full for the debt the Airport Board owed to Tulsa Industrial Authority, which in turn owed the money to BOk. The City of Tulsa was in no way a party to that lawsuit, but the mayor chose to make Tulsa a defendant so that she could legally dip into Tulsa's sinking fund, which is paid for by city property taxes.

The World hates to report on anything regarding Great Plains Airlines, so they buried the story. But hey, at least they covered it! We have been unable to find any record that the World reported on the emergency meeting, or Bartlett's vote. Here is the full text from Sunday's story:

Medlock questions Bartlett: Republican mayoral candidate Chris Medlock is questioning why fellow GOP mayoral opponent Dewey Bartlett Jr., as a Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust member, voted for Mayor Kathy Taylor's $7.1 million lawsuit settlement regarding Great Plains Airlines.

"Dewey Bartlett is claiming to be a conservative Republican," Medlock said in a pres

s release, "but he supported a Democrat mayor in one of the single biggest giveaways of taxpayer money in this city's history. Bartlett needs to explain his wasteful actions to the voters.

"This was $7.1 million of city property taxes that Tulsa didn't owe," Medlock said, "but which Kathy Taylor paid in full, to the Bank of Oklahoma."

Taylor, whom Bartlett endorsed, appointed him to TAIT. He just resigned from the board to run for mayor.

Bartlett called Medlock's press release "political rhetoric" and declined to comment further.

Let’s see if we have this straight. Dewey Bartlett is saying that a Republican opponent asking why he joined a Democrat mayor is giving away millions of taxpayer dollars is “political rhetoric?" How interesting.

He isn’t denying that he voted for the proposal as we havevideo of him doing just that on YouTube. He isn’t denying that he praised the mayor for her actions, because the video tape clearly shows he did!

So rather than just answering the question and addressing why he did it, he chose to listen to his campaign handlers and came back with the classic “non-responsive response.”

Dewey Bartlett (R) was named to the Airport Board by Kathy Taylor (D). Kathy Taylor thennames former airport Marketing Director Mary Smith (R) to the Airport Board to replace Carl Clay (R) who was an outspoken critic of the Great Plains/BOk settlement. Mary Smith was part of the team that sold Great Plains Airlines to the public, when they went after and secured $30 million in state tax credits. Mary Smith is now Bartlett's Campaign Treasurer!

Please understand, that what Dewey did was to help the current Democrat mayor (Kathy Taylor) brush under the table the single biggest scandal of the previous Democrat mayor (Susan Savage). The Bartlett campaign team made up two-fifths of the vote that needlessly gave away our property taxes to the tune of $28 for every man, woman and child in the city, and he won't even respond to the Tulsa World, who will do everything to put his response in the most positive of lights? Don't you think it's time for KRMG and KFAQ to invite Bartlett back on the air to respond to this action in this giveaway, as well as his support of Kathy Taylor's re-election before the Republicans had selected a candidate?

Don’t we expect more candor from someone who wants to be our next mayor? If he won't answer for his actions as a mayoral appointee, how can we trust that he'll answer for his actions as our mayor?

Separating Oneself From the Pack

2009-07-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

With nineteen candidates declaring for the Mayor's race, it's going to be harder and harder to get the kind of attention that can separate one candidate from the others.

The funny thing is, I kept thinking I was getting into the race quite late. We purposely chose to announce late, to make sure I wasn't jumping into a crowded field. Who knew that by announcing my intentions to run a full week before the end of filing, that I would end up being the second of eleven candidates. That's right, nine candidates filed in the last week.

Oh well...can't imagine there being another nine Urban Tulsa Weekly profiles, so I guess I didn't wait too long.

Many thanks to UTW writer Mike Easterling, who very faithfully and accurately recreated our hour long conversation. I think it does a very good job of capturing why I am running and I hope you'll take a few minutes to read it.

Everyman's Candidate?

Dewey Liked Rudy 2000 Times!

2009-07-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

With all of the controversy about Dewey Bartlett, Jr endorsing Democrat Kathy Taylor before the Republicans chose a candidate to run against her, it is refreshing to find that Mr. Bartlett also endorses Republicans. In 2007, he gave a $2,000 donation to pro-choice presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.

While I greatly respect what Mayor Giuliani did in liberal New York City as a mayor, I and many Tulsans were less than enthusiastic about having him as our president.

It does indicate one thing that seems clear. While stating that he is pro-life, Bartlett sure does support a lot of pro-abortion candidates.

Calling a Press Conference

2009-07-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Press Conference

Tulsa, Oklahoma [Tuesday, July 07, 2009]--Former Tulsa city councilor and radio talk show host Chris Medlock will hold a press conference on Wednesday, to announce his intentions regarding the upcoming Tulsa mayoral race.

Time: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 10:00 AM

Location: Tulsa Press Club
415 S. Boston Avenue (Lobby)

Medlock will make a brief statement and then take questions from the press.

###

Is Bill Christiansen Out of the Mayor's Race?

2009-07-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

I just got a confirmation from a second reliable source that District 8 Tulsa city councilor Bill Christiansen will not be entering the race for mayor. If this proves true, it is likely that the detailed polling that he conducted over the weekend didn't come back as very promising to his chances.

Stay tuned for more specifics.

Bartlett Evades Campbell's Question About Mayor

2009-06-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

Dewey Bartlett is now running for mayor of the City of Tulsa. As such, he made an appearance on 1170 KFAQ's Pat Campbell Show on Monday. Bartlett promised Campbell that unlike Kathy Taylor, if elected he would come on Campbell's show and answer tough questions. I have a suggestion for a follow up question Campbell can ask Bartlett the next time he's on his show.

Here is an exchange that occurred between Campbell and Bartlett from the twenty minute interview. To hear the audio, click here.

Campbell: Now during your announcement the other day, you mentioned—and I want you to explain this too—if Kathy Taylor had not dropped out of the race, you wouldn’t have thrown your hat into the ring. Now why is that? Is that because she had such deep pockets, or was it because you were satisfied with the job she was doing?

Bartlett: Well…she…I think the main reason was that she has a strong support in the community. I think her election was pretty much a done deal. And I think….

Campbell: If she had run for re-election?

Bartlett: If she had run for re-election…yes. And I think it would have been very, very difficult for anybody to have a good campaign against her. She has extremely deep pockets and exhibited that in the first time that she ran for office. So I…anyway…that was the reason.

Now compare Bartlett's statement on KFAQ with the quote from Mayor Taylor's re-election campaign web site, which just hours after Bartlett's appearance on The Pat Campbell Show, has been pulled from www.taylorfortulsa.com. The link to the page is still on Michael Bates' story on Bartlett on his Batesline.com, but it now leads to an "error page." Click on the photo above to see Bartlett's glowing endorsement of Taylor, which I captured before his KFAQ performance.

Bartlett says,

"Tulsa has always had a history of great leadership from the business community. Kathy's tireless, visionary style is yet another example of non-partisan leadership that focuses on the future of Tulsa. I am proud to support her re-election efforts." Dewey Bartlett Jr., President Keener Oil and Gas Company

Can we infer from the fact that this page has been pulled from Kathy Taylor's campaign site that Dewey is no longer proud of his support for her re-election? Can we infer that Kathy Taylor is okay with his change of heart?

But the most important question now that Bartlett is announced for mayor, why is he trying convince conservative voters that he would've run against Kathy Taylor, as a republican, if she didn't have such deep pockets, when it is clear that he so enthusiastically supported her re-election?

I'll leave that for you to decide.

Are Dewey's and Kathy's Campaigns One and the Same?

2009-06-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

Silly question that title, right?

Well Bartlett is praising Taylor and saying he hopes to continue to run things as she has done. But the same campaign? Get serious!

Well, take a look at the composite photo I created of yard signs from the two campaigns. Taylor's and Bartlett's signs are different color schemes, but check out the little graphical element in the upper-left corner. Pretty much the exact same thing!

Earth shattering? No. Intriguing? I think so.

So did Mayor Taylor merely hand over the baton?

New Show: TCMS for June 16, 2009

2009-06-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

NEW SHOW: The latest installment of The Chris Medlock Show is in the can and ready for listening. Chris spends the entire show discussing the upcoming mayor's race in the City of Tulsa, including where he is on whether or not he'll run. Also discussed is who is officially in, who is out and who still has not made up their mind.

To download, click here.

Or listen directly using the app below:

Randy Brogdon To Appear On Bill O'Reilly

2009-06-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

Owasso State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Randy Brogdon will be on tonight's O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, tonight at 7 PM and 10 PM. Brogdon will discuss steps he hopes to take in the case of a McAlister judge and D. A. that gave a convicted child rapist only a one year sentence for the rape of a 5 year old girl.

I will have audio on Tuesday's The Chris Medlock Show.

Hudson, Florida Calling Mr. Medlock

2009-06-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Took a political phone poll today out of Florida this afternoon. First question I was asked was did I know when the Mayoral primary would be held? Second question was, "are you aware of the name, Chris Medlock?" Third question was, "Would you say you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of Chris Medlock?"

I said I knew who he was and had a VERY favorable opinion of him!

They asked about me, then about in order, Dewey Bartlett, Howard Barnett, Bill Christiansen, John Smaligo and Jim Williamson. No mention of Rick Westcott, Clay Clark or Bill LaFortune.

I'm torn between thinking this might be a poll by Bartlett and/or Barnett, or that it is one of the candidates not mentioned doing the polling to determine who is the strongest potential opposition.

Smaligo's name was a bit of a surprise, as I haven't heard his name mentioned in connection with the race until this poll.

If you see a phone call from Hudson, Florida, take it. It's a poll.

Flattering Results From Two On-Line Polls

2009-06-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Some interesting and flattering results from the very non-scientific Internet polls conducted by the two talk radio stations. Both stations put a listener poll up on Monday morning and I waited at least 48 hours before commenting, but the numbers have remained pretty consistent for the past 24 hours or so.

Obviously I'm as aware as anyone that these are fuzzy snapshots that indicate a percentage of avid supporters and not the more passive voter that isn't a talk radio listener. The numbers can also be skewed by campaigns that actively try to drive supporters to the site to vote. But one can argue that such networking is also an early indicator of a candidate's ability to get out the vote on election day.

I'm not surprised that I am leading in the KFAQ poll. After all, I was on the air on the station relatively consistently for the past five years. However, I must admit to a bit of a happy surprise that I'm doing so well on KRMG, which was my competitor station for two years. I guess it goes to show that a conservative is a conservative, regardless of which station they prefer.

My favorite, non-scientific number from the KRMG poll is derived from adding the numbers for Bill Christiansen, GT Bynum, Rick Westcott, Bill Martinson, all current city councilors. Their combined support in the poll adds up to 18%, six percentage points behind my numbers. Again, worth nothing really, more than just a smile.

Word is that GT Bynum has been meeting with some of Bill LaFortune's people to discuss a run. Most speculated that Bynum, because of age and experience, would hold off for another four years before making a run for the Mayor's office. But Kathy Taylor's departure has obviously caused him to re-look at a race this year, fearing that the winner this time might be a fellow Republican who could prevent him from running from eight or more years.

This rumor about Bynum makes his "deciding" vote to support the money interests behind the downtown baseball stadium look even more disappointing to the cynics out there.

It's going to be interesting to see how the next few weeks shake out with regard to who gets out and who stays in. For my part, I've been actively making calls as time allows and am giving a lot of thought and prayer toward whether or not I should enter the race.

The numbers from these listener polls are encouraging, though.

TCMS: Susan Savage and St. Sen. Randy Brogdon

2009-06-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

The newest edition of The Chris Medlock Show is now available. Is former Tulsa mayor Susan Savage spouting Kathy Taylor's talking points? Audio from an interview with Joe Kelley on KRMG suggests she is.

Is the Tulsa Chamber wanting to change more than just the strength of the mayor, in Tulsa's form of government? Is all the chatter coming out of Mayor Taylor's camp indicative of an attempt to do away with partisan elections in the city? If you can't beat the Republicans, fix it so no one knows the candidates running are Democrats.

All this, plus a half hour with State Senator Randy Brogdon, who is running for governor. He talks about the race, the past legislative session and Governor Henry's vetoes.

To Download, CLICK HERE.

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TCMS: Friday, June 5, 2009

2009-06-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

The latest edition of TCMS is available with an extensive discussion of Thursday's announcement that Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor will not be seeking re-election. Why is she not running? What if anything does she have up her sleeve? Will she challenge John Sullivan? Who will be running for mayor now that she isn't.

Plus discussion of Thursday's vote by the City Council on the downtown ballpark assessment district and who lost a great opportunity to prove his conservative chops.

Also, if you listen to the show before the next Tulsa World comes out tomorrow, or perhaps on Sunday, you can hear whether I will or will not be considering a run for mayor.

To download, Click Here.

Kathy Taylor Bows Out

2009-06-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

KOTV the News On Six is reporting that Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor will not seek re-election. The station's website reports that Taylor will be making an official statement in a television spot to begin Friday. In it, she states that she is "a business person not a mayor."

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that Taylor was interviewed in Tulsa by representatives of the Obama administration for a position in the Commerce Department. Taylor had served as Oklahoma's Secretary of Commerce in the Brad Henry administration prior to running for mayor. In fact, it is something that I had publicly speculated upon as far back as two years ago, that she might be seeking such a post, should a Democrat win the seat.

Obviously, this takes what was considered to be a tight race with few GOP candidates eager to take on Taylor's money, to a race that could draw several Republicans seeking the nomination.

Rep. John Sullivan Checks Into Betty Ford Clinic

2009-05-29T20:53:00.001-07:00

First District Congressman John Sullivan has checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic to treat his "addiction to alcohol." The announcement was made in a relatively brief email statement that went out from Sullivan's campaign address, not from his congressional office.

The statement and corresponding press release went out shortly before 5 pm on Friday. It is a common Washington D.C. practice to release bad or damaging news just before the close of business on the last day of the week, in order to shorten the press cycle.

The statement stat

es that Sullivan will be taking a leave of absence from Congress, but does not state for how long. It merely states that Sullivan looks "forward to returning to serve and work for [his constituents] in the House of Representatives as soon as possible."

It remains to be seen what kind of impact this action will have on Sullivan's political career. Checking into a clinic for rehab never helps, but is far less damaging than if he had been arrested for an alcohol relat

ed offense. Voters are generally very forgiving of those who recognize a problem and seek help.

However, this development will likely have some of the sharks in the Democratic Party pool swimming a little more aggressively, now that they can smell Sullivan's blood in the water. The next few months will be critical ones for Sullivan. First he must successfully complete treatment. Then, he'll have to go about the process of getting before supporters to explain the situation. If he fails to be contrite, it is likely he will lose the lion's share of support he might have from the conservative base of the local party.

Sullivan was already in damage control mode of late, due to his affirmative vote on the first round of stimulus money last fall.

The following text is the complete statement sent out by the Sullivan campaign to supporters:

A Message to the Constituents of the First District of Oklahoma

Today, Congressman John Sullivan released the following statement:

"Last night, I checked myself in to the Betty Ford Center in California to treat my addiction to alcohol.

To ensure my success in this fight, I’ve decided to take a temporary leave of absence from Congress. I value my relationship with the citizens of Oklahoma’s First Congressional District, whom I am privileged and honored to have served for the past eight years. So, I wanted to be open and honest on this tough situation.

I ask for your continued support and prayers as I face the challenges that lay ahead. I look forward to returning to serve and work for you in the House of Representatives as soon as possible.

My family is going through a difficult time right now and I ask that you respect their privacy and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. With God’s help and strength, I will get through this most challenging time in my life."

# # #

[More] Congressman Sullivan's communication's director, John Tidwell, sent me a copy of the press release that was sent out to the media. The text of the document is identical to that sent to supporters and constituents. The media release was sent out by the congressman's D.C. office. As noted above, the notice to supporters was sent via a campaign account.

Friday, May 29th Edition of TCMS

2009-05-29T20:39:00.001-07:00

NEW PODCAST: Listen to my lengthy interview with Charlie Biggs, editor and publisher of the Tulsa Beacon newspaper. We discuss the 2009 Oklahoma Legislative Session and statewide politics. Plus my take on the mayoral polling that is going on in Tulsa. Click the link below or iTunes to hear the latest show.

Click Here:

Mayoral Polling Going On

2009-05-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

I got a call this afternoon from a DC area code. Usually I don't pick up such calls from outside area codes, because they almost always end up being irradiating telemarketer calls. But I had a feeling this time it would be political in nature and I was right.

It was a poll.

The call asked if I had a positive, negative or neutral opinion of four of the six Republican Tulsa city councilors; Martinson, Christiansen, Eagleton and Westcott. I was then asked if each of the four were the GOP nominee against Kathy Taylor in the general election, would I vote for the councilor in question, or Mayor Taylor.

I had received word that Rick Westcott was doing polling and would wait for the results to determine if he would run for Mayor this year. It is unlikely that Westcott would be conducting a poll on his own that also tested the electability of three other GOP councilors. So, it appears to me that the four councilors might be pooling resources to see which of the four would be the best candidate to take on Taylor.

I have placed calls to both the Tulsa County Republican chair, Sally Bell, and state chair Gary Jones to find out if either or both organizations are behind the polling. Jones said my call was the first he'd heard of the polling. He also said something intriguing. "You mean those guys still haven't figured out which one of them they're going to run?" Jones asked?

I would very much doubt that the local party would conduct such a poll, since they already spent more a substantial sum on a poll earlier in the year, which is currently a controversial topic inside the county GOP, since no one knows for sure who authorized the expenditure. That poll included the same four councilors as today's polling, with the addition of South Tulsa Citizen's Coalition spokesperson Michael Covey.

The fact that only the councilors are included in this poll, without any other possible candidates, surely indicates that those elements of the local GOP who are happy with the current council's "mamby-pamby," no public disagreement approach. Looking at the four, there isn't a single reformer in the bunch.

Color me skeptical about the whole lot of them.

TCMS: Wednesday, May 27

2009-05-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hear the latest edition of The Chris Medlock Show...fresh off the uh...the uh...microphone. Topics include the Wall Street Journal implying Oklahoma AG Drew Edminson is involved in a racket, and the growing scandal around the downtown baseball park. Click on the link below to listen.

Click here.

Is Tom Coburn Not Going to Seek Re-Election?

2009-05-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

There's been much speculation as to whether or not Oklahoma's junior senator, Tom Coburn, will seek to run for his seat again this year. The one term senator, who also spent six years in the House, has been surprisingly mum about his plans. An announcement made earlier this week, indicated that Coburn would declare his intentions some time in the next couple of weeks.

However, there are interesting indications from other politicos that makes it look like Coburn might return to his medical practice. Word is out today, that J.C. Watts is considering a run for Coburn's senate seat, rather than making a run for Governor as speculated. Also, former governor Frank Keating is said to be eyeing a run for Coburn's seat, as well.

This begs the obvious question. Why would either high profile Republican be considering a run for the Senate, if they believed Coburn was going to seek re-election? As such, it is obvious that rumors that Coburn won't run have reached a level where prospective candidates now feel comfortable letting their interest in a senatorial run leak out to the public.

I for one, will be very disappointed if Coburn doesn't run again. Color me a big fan.

"DJ Jazzy Clay" Clark Is Running for Mayor

2009-05-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not putting a picture that I photoshopped of Tulsa mayoral candidate Clay Clark, in order to make him look foolish. The photo to the left is one that Clark himself posted as part of a web site touting his vision for the City of Tulsa. And this isn't one of the more unusual photos Clark's campaign is using to get attention for their candidate.

I met Clark Tuesday night at the meeting of the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly. He seemed like a very likable, if not overly caffeinated young

man, very eager to please and to be seen as a viable and serious candidate for mayor.

Every mayor's race seems to draw the eccentric, with names in the past such as Paul Tay and Accountability "Boss Einstein" Burns ( a candidate with two eccentric names). Currently, the announced field for mayor on the GOP slate is pretty bare. Joining Clark are Dave ("and Chris Medlock's out there running his fat mouth" O'Connor and Kevin Boggs. It remains to be seen if Clark falls into the category of eccentric, out-of-his-league, over reaching, or serious contender.

O'Connor, you might remember led the effort during the recall effort against Councilor Jim Mautino and myself, to recall Mayor LaFortune and the city councilors who were seemingly in support of recall, despite my protestations that such an effort was doomed and would draw resources away from the defense of the two councilors O'Connor purported to support.

Boggs ran unsuccessfully for the District 6 city council seat, with the support and assistance of Mautino. Word I got from those close to the campaign was that Boggs was a less than enthusiastic campaigner who didn't like door knocking and the type of retail campaigning necessary to win a local election. So what better way to top off a failed run for city council than to seek the Mayor's office?

My point is that there is a chasm of difference between running for and winning a city council seat and that of the office of Mayor. In Tulsa's "strong mayor" form of government, the mayor's office replaces the city manager of, say Oklahoma City's governmental structure, as the chief operating entity of the city. While smaller municipalities like Muskogee and Stillwater can get by successfully with teen aged to twenty-something mayor's with little practical or life experience, such an experiment given the power and responsibility of Tulsa's mayor, could prove very dangerous to the well being of a city that is down.

I am well documented as being in favor of a change in our form of government. We should've started years ago the process necessary to change the charter to shift to a Weak Mayor/Strong Council/City Manager style of government like OKC's. But the next mayoral election will put someone into a "strong mayor's" office, and who we elect must be viewed through the prism of that reality. We can't afford to support trendy candidates.

So back to Clay Clark. He certainly seems, if you can get past the schmaltz of his web site, to have credentials that might belie a life experience beyond his tender years (he is, I believe, in his late twenties). But the problem any serious young candidate of such an age has is, well, being taken seriously. When I spoke with Clark on Tuesday, he assured me that he is a serious candidate who believe he can win. Words are cheap. They need to be backed up by actions, and the only public actions Clay Clark has taken to date, indicate he is anything but serious.

Take a look at his web site. It is well constructed by someone who technically knows what they're doing. Technically in the technological sense of the term, not in the political. Does the picture to the right, taken from Clark's mayoral web site, leave you with the impression that the candidate is asking you, "Can I be your next mayor," or "Would you like paper or plastic?" When I see candidates stooping to such a sophomoric level, I find myself wondering if he has a UPC code tattooed on his keester, rather than whether or not we might agree on infill development or police department staffing levels.

Obviously, Clark's site is more fitting for candidate seeking to be student body president, rather than mayor of a city facing one of its worst financial crises in decades. I am left with the impression that Clark and his friends, in an Andy Hardy moment of exuberance suddenly shouted out, "Hey kids, let's run for mayor! Wouldn't that be a gasser?"

The last thing this city needs is someone to come along and try to hijack the electoral process to advance his motivational speaking business. I'm sure adding a bullet item of "former candidate for mayor of Tulsa" might be a great career move on Clark's current career track, but people I know are seriously considering supporting the guy! This morning, KFAQ's Pat Campbell announced Clark as an obviously "serious candidate." Such is the woeful state of the field Tulsa's GOP has to choose from.

Please note the unscientific poll I'm taking in the green inset box on the right of this blog.

Obviously, my five minute conversation with Clark isn't enough for me to truly judge whether or not he could make a good mayor. I offered to spend an hour or so with him, sharing my concerns and advising him on how best to move forward. In that regard, let me suggest the following.

"Pull this web site down NOW! If you're a serious candidate, show that you're willing to run as a serious candidate. Marketing strategies like you're employing at http://www.visionwithoutataxincrease.com/ might be a great way to sell DJ services (a great small business, by the way), but insult the voter and kill any chance you have to be taken seriously. If you're going to run for such an important office, then you have to recognize that your youth requires you to go the extra mile to show the serious side of your nature, not juvenile whimsy."

Until that site is gone and replaced with one more fitting for the endeavor you purport to be on, I will find it impossible to tell people they can trust you with their vote.

____________________________________

More: Is Clay Clark running for Mayor, or running a restaurant? I've heard of "selling the sizzle and not the steak," but the YouTube link below goes too far. More indication that Clark needs advisers that know what they're doing, if he is to be the GOP standard bearer in the Fall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUwmSEpYhCY

Temporary Blog Look

2009-05-20T15:06:00.001-07:00

Recently, I have been having some trouble with template that I've been using for this site. There have been unexplained inconsistancies with fonts and font sizes, as well as difficulty adding functionality that allows me to take donations, or post my podcast links. As such, I've opted to upgrade to Blogger's new layout tool, which will allow me much more freedom to add and edit page elements and gadgets.

So for the time being, those of you that have been frequenting my site will notice a substantially different look to Medblogged. Just pretend you're visiting one of your favorite stores or restaurants where you are greeted by a sign that reads...

"...forgive the mess, we're redecorating."

Jim Mautino To Run For City Council

2009-05-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Former District 6 Tulsa City Councilor Jim Mautino told the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly on Tuesday night that he will challenge Councilor Dennis Troyer for the seat Mautino held for two years.

Mautino, who was defeated by Troyer in a close election in 2006, sat out the 2008 election cycle, choosing instead to try to help get Kevin Boggs elected to the post. An unenthusiastic campaigner, Boggs was easily defeated by Troyer, who won his second term on the council.

Boggs announced at the same meeting that despite losing his race for city council, he was going to seek the Mayor's office this year.

TCMS: Tuesday, May 19th Edition

2009-05-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

NEW SHOW: The Tuesday, May 19th edition of TCMS is now up. Very eventful day which is somewhat explained in the last segment kept the show from being out earlier. Topics include the Mayor's race, the OKC NRA employee who shot at an intruder, and the proof that the BOk Center will never pay for itself, no matter how much the Tulsa World spins that it will.

Click here to download show.

Podcast: An Interview with Michael Bates on Downtown Tulsa Issues and More

2009-05-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

The latest podcast is up and it includes my first interview. My guest Michael Bates and I talk about downtown Tulsa issues, including his article in Urban Tulsa Weekly on Downtown Tulsa Unlimited. Other topics include the governor's race and Kathy Taylor's "recusal" from any dealings with the new development proposed for across the street from the BOK Center.

To download the podcast click here.

To subscribe to the podcast use

http://medblogged.com/medlockshow.xml

The Second Edition of The Chris Medlock Show

2009-05-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

The second ever edition of The Chris Medlock Show is now available for download. Topics include the Governor's race, TPS dropping its law suit against charter schools, Bixby's city manager fight and the Tulsa World's take on all the vetoes Gov. Henry has been filing against GOP legislation.

To download click here.

Hot Rumor: State Rep to Announce for Light Gov.?

2009-05-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

The word I'm hearing is that Broken Arrow state representative John Wright(R) is about to drop his name into the race for Lt. Governor. Wright, who is considered by many to be one of the House's most conservative members is expected to make his announcement in the next week to ten days.

Can't wait to hear the Daily Fishwrap begin to refer to him as an "arch conservative."

Pop Quiz: Is the Duncanville, Texas Mayor a Fascist?

2009-05-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

Fascist is not a word I throw around lightly. In fact, Godwin's Law states that the first person in an argument to use the word Nazi, loses. But to have a city councilor dragged by the Sherrif from a council meeting while he is trying to discuss his reasons for voting against a project supported by the mayor, Duncanville's Mayor David Green crossed a disturbing line.

I don't care how big a pain in the butt this councilman, Paul Ford is. He is a duly elected official of the city and represents those that elected him. Those citizens that he represents deserve more respect than was shown by this small town tyrant, Mayor Green.

God knows there were a lot of people that would love to have seen me dragged from the City Council chambers during my three years on Tulsa's city council, but even with the famed dissent that our council had, it never came close to the shameful display put on in Duncanville, Texas.

Mayor Green, if you should ever read this, know there is at least one citizen in a neighboring state that believes your actions soil the dignity of our republic. This kind of thing should NEVER happen in America.

You sir, are in my opinion, a fascist.

Medblogged Down for Awhile

2009-05-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am going to be working on trying to transfer this blog from Blogger's server to that of my service provider for medblogged.com. As such, the site will be potentially down while I'm attempting the move. I've had some difficulty getting this to work, and may need to let the site remain down for several hours to see if it is successful in completing the transfer. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Chris

[Note for Geeks: Blogger appears to be having a well documented problem with its FTP publishing. Cynics would say that it is an attempt by Google to force Blogger users to store all of their content on Google's servers. They're even discussing discontinuing the FTP publishing service. For me, the major problem is I have paid for a website server with GoDaddy. Blogger isn't allowing the Internet to see files that I save on my server. As such, I can't store my podcast files on my own site.

Blogger suggests that I use a third party (one of their corporate buddies) to store my files. That effectively means that I would have to waste a year's worth of hosting fees to GoDaddy. Not going to happen.

So it looks like I've finally been given the impetus to make the switch from Blogger to WordPress, which of course is one more headache I have to work on that will keep me from podcasting and keep me from going to the gym.

So let me just say, for now, GOOGLE SUCKS!!!

Fox 23 Tulsa: Interviewed for Story on Illegal Immigration Process

2009-05-08T22:57:00.001-07:00

Kaci Christian of Fox 23 News interviewed me for a story on the process for deporting illegal immigrants convicted of other crimes. I'll leave it to you to watch the segment, but I am amused by our friend, the Rev. Victor Orta, who in one breath says, "the law is the law," and in another breath intimates that illegal aliens should be given amnesty. Do you think he realizes how foolish he sounds?

Iowa and New Hampshire Need to Go

2009-05-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Not from the Union, but as the "first in the nation" tests in the electoral process that leads to the selection of the Republican nominee for President.

Iowa just passed a law legalizing same sex marriage. New Hampshire's governor has a bill that passed the legislature on his desk. Even if Governor Lynch doesn't sign the bill, New Hampshire is a state with a legislature willing to legalize gay marriage. As such, it shows that both states are out of touch with the values of the "red states."

By definition, all of the Republican nominee's electoral votes, come from "red states." Since the goal of nominating a candidate for president is to get said nominee elected to the presidency, why would we want "blue states" that don't vote for Republicans getting to decide which candidates have all the momentum in the process, prior to that process getting to the red states?

Are you following me?

The problem is, the blue state republicans come from states with greater population, for the most part, than the red states. Their size allows them to throw their weight around whenever talk comes around about changing the system.

Such republicans trend more to the center than their compatriots in states that actually vote Republican. In fact, the blue state members of the Republican National Committee are for the most part the very republicans who are currently calling for the national party to move to the middle. They think their reality is the nation's reality. As such, they want the red states to get behind moderate candidates that red staters view as soft, so that we might have a chance to win in the blue states.

But the GOP will never carry New York, Massachusetts or even California. So why do the representatives to the RNC from these states holding ANY sway over the process. They should be deferring to the representatives from the red states, or at the very least, from the GOP representatives of swing states like Missouri, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio and Indiana.

As such, if we're looking for a candidate that can win in a national election, the states chosen to fire up the process and thus get the lion's share of the candidates' early attention should be those very swing states mentioned above. Come out of those states with the lead, and there is a good chance that the rest of the country will be happy to follow suit. Come out of Iowa and New Hampshire with a commanding lead, and thus the nomination, and you're pretty much guaranteeing those states that you count on most come election day, will be less than enthused.

In other words, Iowa and New Hampshire need to go.

Michael Savage Ban An Obama Strategy?

2009-05-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

The bizarre ban against radio talk show host Michael Savage which precludes Savage from being able to enter Great Britain, has got a lot of people scratching their heads. Why would a man who is admittedly opinionated and bombastic, be lumped into a category with racists, terrorists and killers?

To anyone who has ever listened to Savage's show, the announcement by the British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, that country's top homeland security official, that Savage's rhetoric exemplifies "the sort of things that mean you won't be welcome in this country," seems to indicate that Britain has fallen over a precipice of political correctness. Smith explained her actions by citing that entry into Great Britain is a privilege.

"Coming to this country is a privilege," she said. "If you can't live by the rules that we live by, the standards and the values that we live by, we should exclude you from this country and, what's more, now we will make public those people that we have excluded."

What is dangerous about Smith's inclusion of Savage is this talk of values, standards and rules, as a criteria for admission to a supposedly free nation. It is consistent with the move away from the rule of law toward the rule of arbitrary opinion that seems a favorite tactic of the left. For me, this decision is a major stain on my personal perception of a country I have always thought of as America's best friend in the world.

But what if it is more than political correctness gone mad? What if it is a well thought out tactical move in a game of cynical politics? What if the inclusion of Savage was based less on what Savage in particular has said, but rather on what conservative talk show hosts as a group have said, and will say in the future? Think about it for a second. It's not so far fetched.

Both the United States and Great Britain are currently governed by the left. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown seemed overly solicitous of Obama during the President's recent trip to England. Earlier snubs by Obama when Brown was in Washington, D.C., seemed to fan the desire of Brown to gain Obama's public acceptance.

But aside from the relationship of the two top guys, it is easy to conclude that the staffs of the two world leaders would have a lot of common ground to talk about. It isn't hard to imagine that the "political" types from each administration have put their heads together to discuss some of the strategies and tactics they might pursue to further the cause of progressivism throughout the world. If you don't think such talks occur, then you need to get out in the real world a bit more.

So imagine one meeting where in the spirit of quid pro quo, somebody from Obama's team asks somebody from Brown's team if they could get some help making the case for the re-imposition of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine."

"Gee, what could anyone in Britain do to aid in such an endeavor," they might be asked?

"Well, if you could determine that one of America's right-wing talk show hosts was too dangerous to enter your country because of the hate he spews," they might respond, "then I think it would go a long way in assisting us in convincing the independents and moderates of our country that what is being said on Talk Radio is dangerous in our country, too."

Of course, going after Limbaugh, Beck or Hannity would be too obvious. Better to target someone near, but not at the top of the radio world. Seems more credible that way, you know.

Who knows what the British liberals might want in return? Perhaps it could be something as simple as a better gift for the Brown's than a bunch of DVDs in the wrong format to be viewed across the pond. Who knows?

But this action by Brown's subordinate needs to be viewed with a very cynical eye, and should not be tolerated by the American public.

The Chris Medlock Show First Podcast

2009-05-05T13:02:00.001-07:00

Better late than never. Audacity rendered it as a huge stereo file and I had to compress it for size, but here it is, just a little over an hour late. But still within a year to when the first show on KFAQ was STILL ON THE AIR. My excuse and I'm sticking to it.

The Chris Medlock Show Inaugural episode. Download here.

A Slight Delay

2009-05-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have finished recording my INAUGURAL podcast edition of The Chris Medlock Show, and Audacity is now rendering the MP3 file. Much to my chagrin, Audacity has the audacity to be taking its sweet time in doing so. The rendering time is nearly as long as the show itself!

Obviously, I have yet another thing to learn with regard to being a podcast producer.

Long and short of it is, once the file is available, I will upload it so that everyone can download it. It's looking like it will be some time between 2:15 and 2:30, unless I encounter another life lesson in technology's limitations.

Thanks for your interest and your patience.

Innugural Chris Medlock Show on the Internet

2009-05-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

Despite the loss of our dog early this morning, I'm still planning on uploading the first ever Chris Medlock Show podcast Tuesday, May 5th at 2 PM. The show will not stream, but will be in the form of an .mp3 file, which can be listened to on your MP3 player or on your computer.

I'm not sure at this time how long the show will be, but know it will be at least forty minutes, which will make it about the length of an hour of my old show on KFAQ. As I climb the learning curve and also address some technical issues with my hosting service, bandwidth restrictions, my blog provider and a myriad of other things, I will hopefully begin to do more and longer shows.

Hope you will take some time Tuesday, when you get the chance, to "tune in." I'm looking forward to it.

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

2009-04-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-04-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

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.

Louis Caldera: White House Scapegoat

2009-04-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

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.

Sometimes Your Best Friend Lets You Down

2009-04-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

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.

The One That Got Away

2009-04-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

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.

Gregg recently gave an interview to the editors at the Wall Street Journal and it is very interesting reading.

“…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.

Thanks for Virtually Nothin'

2009-04-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

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."

2009-04-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

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.

Found Out By Furries...

2009-04-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

...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

2009-04-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

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.

Downtown Tulsa Tea Party Huge Success

2009-04-15T12:47:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-04-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-04-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

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.

Katie Couric: Obama Needs a Learner's Permit?

2009-04-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-13T08:23:00.001-07:00

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.

Bow, Then Scrape, Then Spin

2009-04-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

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.

Of Tea Parties and Radio Wars

2009-04-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

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?

Where's the Big East?

2009-04-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

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.

First Chris Medlock Show: May 5, 2008

2009-04-02T09:32:00.001-07:00

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

"The Chris Medlock Show" Archives

2009-04-01T11:40:00.001-07:00

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.

Will KOTV Downsizing Lead to Troubling Trend?

2009-03-31T09:36:00.001-07:00

For those of us that love our hometown want to see it remain independent and thriving, the news yesterday from Griffin Communications is troubling. They are downsizing which isn't surprising, as media are doing that a great deal lately, which I know only all too personally.

However, KOTV has a twist. Regina Moon, the long time senior manager at the station has been laid off. With her departure, KOTV's operations will now answer to management in Oklahoma City. Griffin is assuring everyone that Tulsa will not get short shrift, or play second fiddle. But I think the very fact that the company chose OKC's operations to survive belies such assurances.

Will OKC now be determining what is important to Tulsa? What kind of effect, if any, will this have on content? Only time will tell. However, it's troubling enough to me that I think I'll be watching more of the competition when I look for news, weather and sports. Hopefully, if enough of us change the dial, Griffin will undo this travesty at the earliest possible time.

Lawyer Shopping Ashley Biden Snort Video Quits

2009-03-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

If it is truly the youngest daughter of Vice President Joe Biden that is seen on a hidden camera video snorting cocaine, then you know steps will be taken to suppress who sees the tape. There is no doubt that a video of the Veeps daughter, Ashley, blithely snorting coke will damage the Obama Administration and prove to be another major reason that "Oh...That's Just Joe" might not be invited for a second go on Obama's ticket in three years.

But what is very interesting is the fact that it now appears that the DC lawyer who has been shopping the embarrassing video to various mainstream and tabloid media has now dropped his client. How many phone calls did it take to make this happen?

Will the public ever see the video? Don't put money on it that we will. Economic times are tough and you need to hold onto every penny you can.

Furtive Furry Photo

2009-03-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

Well...maybe not furtive...but definitely furry!

My wife Cheryl loves to take pictures since she got a digital camera, but she's less than diligent in downloading them to her laptop. She got this picture while we were at a sales conference for our new business back in February.

On my show, I shared with the listeners about the bizarre group of people with whom we were sharing the hotel. Seems there was a Texas Furry Fiesta going on at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Addison at the same time we were trying to talk about frozen juice products.

The highlight for me, was when we were in the bar waiting for the final night's dinner together and a single gray wolf strolled in confidently...almost arrogantly...walked up to our group, stood between Cheryl and I as if we'd known him for years, and put his "hands" on both of our shoulders.

I just stared him down in disbelief and not a little bit of irritation until he got the message. It wasn't until two or three minutes later that I wished I'd simply had said, "Get your filthy paws off of me."

But I offer this photographic evidence as proof that I wasn't making my furry friends up for ratings.

AP Ignores Brady Gun Prez's Call For Mexican Gun Laws in US

2009-03-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

You would think it would be newsworthy when the head of the biggest control lobbying group calls for the U.S. to adopt Mexican gun laws in order to aid the Mexican government in its war on the drug cartels. However, even with an AP reporter in attendance, no mention of the remark has hit the MSM. See video below:

It's pretty obvious that a lot of people on the left would love to use the crisis on our southern border to spur on substantive gun control legislation. If we've learned nothing else about the Obama administration, they firmly believe that "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste."

It just befuddles me that nobody on the Left or in Mexico has struck on the idea of building a fence...a real humdinger of a fence...along the U.S./Mexico border, then patrolling the heck out of it. That way, Americans get to keep their 2nd Amendment rights and the Mexican's get to have drug cartels with less fire power.

In other words, a win/win for both nations. That is, of course, unless you're an American liberal gun grabber.

Pat Campbell Speaks Regarding My Layoff At KFAQ

2009-03-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

Several people told me about the kind things that Pat Campbell said on his morning show the Monday following my layoff. I finally got around to listening to it today and want to thank Pat for making an effort to get the word out, as much as he could, regarding the decision to end my show.

I've recorded the section of his show that deals with my layoff and you can hear it here.

[Photo: Pat, Mike Huckabee and I at the Governor's book signing in Tulsa last Fall]

While Pat and I rarely saw each other (he went home before I got there) I've enjoyed working with him and found our rare exchanges to be funny and pointed. He didn't have to take time from his show to set the record straight and I'm very grateful that he did.

One point that stood out from his remarks, though, was to say that this layoff could be a blessing in disguise. From where I'm standing right now, that's hard to see. Having come to radio from the local political scene, it is an easy assumption to make that I might be eager to return to politics. When callers to my show asked me if I was going to run for something, I always told them, "No...I'm having too much fun doing radio."

I meant it.

If someone came to me today saying I could either win an election or get back on the air, I'd choose getting back on the air. It was the most fun and most rewarding job I've ever had and I already miss it a lot.

I'll write more on this subject very soon, but for now, again, thanks to Pat.

Tulsa Fishwrap: Krehbiel Takes Cheap Shot at Brogdon

2009-03-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Tulsa World's political reporter Randy Krehbiel just can't help himself when it comes to conservatives running for office. He seems fixated on the John Birch Society and can't seem to write a story about Randy Brogdon or Sally Bell without over selling the two's involvement in the patriotic group. Krehbiel's gone so far, in past stories, as to cite JBS positions from the 1950's to try to maximize public concern about Brogdon or Bell's membership in the group.

But Moday's brief report by Krehbiel about Brogdon's formation of an exploratory committee to look into the Owasso Senator's potential bid for Governor sinks to a new low. In the final paragraph (which is where they like to drop their little stink bombs) Krehbiel writes,

"Brogdon has been active in the so-called taxpayers' bill of rights movement and is a national spokesman for the John Birch Society. He has also been outspoken in support of state sovereignty and in opposition to national identification cards and data gathering."

I spoke with Sen. Brogdon and confirmed that he has never gone out and spoken publicly on behalf of the JBS. Krehbiel's wording is an obvious attempt to make Brogdon seem like he is more than just a member of the group. "Gosh...honey...it looks like he's a recruiter and muckity-muck."

Brogdon has been asked to speak at a few JBS gatherings, but isn't anything more than a member of the group. Krehbiel also made several mistakes in his coverage of Brogdon from Sunday's paper in the Political Notebook section. He reports in the Sunday Fishwrap,

"State Rep. Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso, is becoming something of a national celebrity in certain circles. A member of the John Birch Society speakers bureau, Brogdon appeared in 10th Amendment rallies in Harrisburg, Pa., and Tulsa during the past week.

"Tenth Amendment legislation is one of the John Birch Society's leading causes. "

The highlighted sentence shows the rhetorical legerdemaine that Krehbiel is utilizing to attempt to paint Brogdon in a negative light. While it is true Brogdon is a member of the JBS speakers bureau [the phrase before the comma in the sentence], Brogdon appeared at the 10th Amendment rally in Harrisburg, Pa., at the behest of the Pennsylvania Legislature and not the JBS. No statement in the sentence is false, but Krehbiel clearly leads the reader to a false conclusion that Brogdon went to Pennsylvania to speak to the controversial group, rather than a much more flattering realilty that he was invited by fellow legislators.

This is the kind of media bias that needs to be exposed. Krehbiel surely isn't that much of a hack to have done this accidentally. It's clear his superiors at the Fishwrap are wanting to put the brakes on a Brogdon candidacy before it gets started.

Obama Bans Press From Press Award Ceremony

2009-03-20T22:42:00.001-07:00

How much longer will the Mainstream Media put up with Obama? His manic reliance on his teleprompter (which I lovingly call "the Bama Binky") is proving this guy is terrified of gaffes, horrified of being satirized and in way over his head. But don't take my word for it. Here's what the liberal LA Times is reporting on the most recent episode of "Obama: Believe it or Not!"

We are not making this up:

Barack Obama was elected commander in chief promising to run the most transparent presidential administration in American history.

This achievement and the overall promise of his historic administration caused the National Newspaper Publishers Assn. to name him "Newsmaker of the Year."

The president is to receive the award from the federation of black community newspapers in a White House ceremony this afternoon.

The Obama White House has closed the press award ceremony to the press.

From the president's official schedule:

"Later in the afternoon, the President and the First Lady will attend a reception with the National Newspaper Publisher Association in the State Dining Room, where they will be presented the Newsmaker of the Year award. This event is closed press."

Maybe they'll let the newspaper people pass the award through the fence.

Wacky Women In Cali Wants BHO To Ban Fats

2009-03-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sure "His Obamaness" came back with a pretty good line, but come on...is this woman nuts or what? The liberals are in full fledged social engineering mode and think we could end up like Europe if only BHO would pull the trigger on some things.

Gee...end up like Europe. Dozens of political parties, six week paid vacations (productivity be damned), over run by Muslim extremists, value added taxes at every turn, socialized medicine and dentistry with the health and teeth to go with them!

Yeah...Europe's cool

CNN Blaming Mexican Drug Wars on US Guns

2009-03-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

Instead of laying the blame on draconian Mexican gun laws that prevent the average citizen from owning a gun, or even the insatiable US demand for illegal drugs (which many in the elite media probably view as hip and cool), CNN has opted to blame US gun shows. Listen for yourself.
I've got a modest proposal, Mexico. How about building a big honkin' fence along your border with the US to keep those guns out? In fact, we might feel just a bit neighborly and pop for half the price if you promise not to complain if our dogs bark at night.

Coming Soon

2009-03-18T12:13:00.001-07:00

I am working on bringing Medblogged back very soon. I have registered the domain name "medblogged.com" and will be using this instead of chrismedlock.com. As long time readers familiar with my blog can tell, I'm experimenting with changing the look and updating my links and profile.

I hope to have everything up and running by the end of the weekend and plan to be more active in updating the content. Time will tell.

PJ's Propaganda?

2008-08-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

There is a story in today's Tulsa World dealing with Will Wilkins' claim of ethical violations by two members of the Tulsa Development Authority. Wilkins, of Novus Properties had his exclusive negotiating agreement prematurely ended by the TDA on August 8th, when the five member authority voted such, stating it was in the best interests of the City of Tulsa to do so.

The action has been polarizing and has contributed to damage the public's faith in city government at a time when the council is looking at putting a very large tax question before the voters.

What is interesting about Lassek's story, which is often the case with our daily paper's coverage of government in general and city government in particular, is the story's slant. It is decidedly pro TDA and anti-Wilkins.

So why would the news arm of the Tulsa World engage in what amounts to a PR exercise? Simple, if the three TDA board members [Shahadi, Bryant-Ellis and Clayman] that appear to have conflicts because of where they work had to recuse themselves from the August 8th vote, then they will have to recuse themselves on any subsequent votes regarding TDA controlled land that is in the cross hairs of the soon to be established public trust.

In other words, it will be harder to ensure the powers-that-be's desired result. In fact, there will be absolutely no way for the TDA to transfer those properties to the trust, without changing the composition of the TDA itself.

The first thing to note, if one wants to postulate that said slant is purposeful and is not the fruit of ignorance is the fact that Lassek wasn't the journalist that covered the meeting where the votes took place. The World's other city beat writer, Brian Barber was the personal observer of the story. How do I know? Well aside from his byline appearing on the story the following day, he sat two seats over from me the entire meeting. Lassek was nowhere near the place.

This allows Lassek to fudge some of the truth and then claim ignorance as to some of the facts that she misstates.

For instance, she writes:

Another authority member — Paula Bryant-Ellis, a Bank of Oklahoma employee — recused herself from the discussion and vote, also at Wilkins' request. He did not file a complaint against her.

Bryant-Ellis didn't recuse herself in any manner or fashion that I would recognize as recusal. In fact, Lassek and Barber have been to dozens of City Council meetings where councilors recused themselves, so both writers recognize that Bryant-Ellis didn't in fact recuse herself. What she did was say, when a vote was called for, that "I believe I need to recuse myself...," but stating such doesn't make it so.

In order to properly recuse herself, as is the consistent practice of the Council and other authorities, Bryant-Ellis should have made that statement when the agenda item first came up for discussion. Instead, she participated in portions of the discussion. What Bryant-Ellis really did was to "abstain," which in fact is the reason, coupled with the fact that this was her first meeting and she didn't know any better, that no one can really fault her for her actions.

For another example of Lassek's bias in this story, compare the following two paragraphs from her story:

Wilkins also charged that Clayman participated in discussions regarding Novus' negotiations at a July 8 meeting, but Clayman did not attend that meeting.

And,

Clayman said that, at Wilkins' request, he recused himself from an Aug. 7 meeting until he seconded a motion for a vote. He did not participate in that vote, however.

In the first citation, Lassek goes out of her way to identify a statement from Wilkins' allegations that isn't factually correct. However, she fails to do the same in the second citation. How does she do this? Well rather than citing what she easily could have learned by leaning over to Brian Barber at the desk next to her, she uses Clayman's statement as to what he allegedly did, which was to recuse up to the point of seconding the vote. First of all, seconding the vote means you didn't recuse at all. Recusal, as we've stated, requires that you leave the room entirely. He couldn't have even heard the motion that was made, so how could he have seconded it.

It must be reiterated. Lassek has been covering the city for years. She knows the difference between recusing and not recusing. And yet she chose to use a journalistic device to achieve her goal and not appear to be acting unethically herself. What she should have done is to remain consistent and to state for the reader the facts showing Clayman had not recused.

The World wants this ballpark built and it wants it done with a powerful trust in place to do the job without public interference. Further, the World doesn't want to see proper enforcement of the Ethics Ordinance that the city passed back in 2005. They like the practice of sending middle managers from the city's more powerful companies and law firms onto these boards, so that their bosses have de facto control of said boards.

The other glaring example of Lassek's propagandistic artistry isn't in what she tells the reader, but in what she neglects to tell the reader. She writes:

Clayman works for Fredrick Dorwart, a lawyer who is donating his services to the ballpark project. Dorwart drafted a public trust document for the creation of the Tulsa Stadium Trust to oversee the baseball stadium and redevelopment of surrounding land.

In a five-page letter to Mayor Kathy Taylor defending Clayman, Dorwart said, "Mr. Wilkins' insinuation that someone is profiting from this effort is insidious and you (Taylor) should immediately and unequivocally reject it."

What Lassek doesn't share with you is the more compelling fact that invalidated Clayman's ethical participation in the vote, which is the fact that Dorwart does a great deal of work for both George Kaiser and BOK, both of whom are major players in this venture. Kaiser's and BOk's involvement would be viewed in a much different light by the average citizen than the mere fact that Dorwart was doing some pro bono legal work on the deal.

The decision as to whether or not Clayman and Shahadi acted ethically should be decided by the Tulsa Ethics Commission, not the mayor's handpicked City Attorney, who serves at her will. If the Ethics Commission does it's job and ignores the inevitable mountain of political and social pressure that will be brought upon it, Tulsa will be a much better place to conduct business and live. If they do not do their job and cave to the pressure, then the Tulsa City Council should act to toughen and clarify the Ethics Ordinance to prevent such conflicts in the future.

Novus Homes Files Suit Against TDA

2008-08-14T14:46:00.001-07:00

Will Wilkins of Novus Homes texted me after my show today to tell me that he has filed suit against the Tulsa Development Authority for "Breach of Agreement - Contract"

You can view the particulars of the suit by clicking here.

Wilkins is alleging that the TDA tereminated the deal after the city moved the proposed downtown ballpark to a property across the street from the property he was negotiating to obtain.

More on this as it breaks.

Lesa Smaligo: Bank of Oklahoma Lobbyist

2008-08-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting note to ponder. One of the registered lobbyists for Bank of Oklahoma is none other than Lesa Smaligo, the wife of County Commissioner John Smaligo. Could this connection explain some of Commissioner Smaligo's reluctance to not tow the Republican Party's platform and come out against last year's River Tax?

After all, George Kaiser was offering millions to the County for river development if the tax had passed.

Kaiser and Margaret Erling-Frette

2008-08-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Was poking around in the Oklahoma Ethics Commission's website and found an interesting factoid in the section on lobbyists. Seems that the current principal lobbyist for the Kaiser Family Foundation is Margarette Erling-Frette. You remember her, the principal lobbyist for Great Plains Airlines? You remember George Kaiser, the guy that owns the bank that just got a $7.1 million settlement, thanks to our Mayor, for a bad loan centered on Great Plains Airlines?

Here is the text of the Ethics Commission entry:

The George Kaiser Family Foundation L080067 - Erling-Frette, Margaret
7020 S Yale #220
Tulsa, OK 74135

Apparently Kaiser isn't holding Erling-Frette responsible for the troubled loan.

[More] Appears she's also one of five lobbyists for the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce. You remember them? The group that first dreamed up Great Plains Airlines.

Tom Kivisto Resigns From BOk Board

2008-07-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Until last Friday, Tom Kivisto was the CEO of Semgroup Energy Partners, LP. Apparently, until last Wednesday, Kivisto was on the Board of Directors of Bank of Oklahoma. He now is out at both entities.

It was July 10th that Mayor Kathy Taylor sent her company's Learjet 31a [Mayor Force One] to pick up Tulsa City Councilor David Patrick in Colorado. Patrick was fetched because Taylor needed insurance votes to get the Business Improvement District past the City Council that would supply the public financing component of the new downtown ballpark for the Tulsa Drillers. Taylor was in one heck of a hurry, if she was willing to pop for $4,500 in jet fuel to get Patrick Back. BOk must've shared that imperative, if they were willing to send a very senior manager on the flight to bring Patrick back to the council and ready to vote "the right way."

It was Tom Kivisto that took Kathy Taylor's spot on the BOk Board when she resigned to run for Mayor of Tulsa. It was Pete Boylan, another BOk board member and Stan Lybarger, the BOk President that served as Taylor's chief salespeople on the new ballpark for the Tulsa Drillers.

In fact, 8 out of the 11 "Ballpark Players" as cited in a July 13th Tulsa World story by PJ Lassek had or have direct ties to BOk. They are Taylor, Lybarger, Boylan, attorney Fred Dorwart, attorney Margaret Kobos, Stacy Kymes [who fetched Patrick with Taylor's jet], Eric Kessler and Kivisto. Only City Councilor Eric Gomez, John-Kelly Warren of "The Channels" fame and Jim Adelson didn't have any "direct links" to BOk.

But Adelson and his wife Ellen serve on the University of Tulsa Board of Trustees along with five members of the BOk Board. Those five are Sharon J. Bell, Chet Cadieux, Joseph W. Craft, III, Kivisto and Steven J. Malcolm.

Also on the TU Trustees with those five BOk Board members are Robert and Roxanna Lorton of World Publishing and Bill Lobeck, Mayor Taylor's husband and the other owner of that jet that fetched David Patrick. Another TU Trustee is Steve Turnbo, CEO of Schnake, Turnbo and Frank Public Relations.

Remember that World Publishing was the largest preferred stock holder and Turnbo was the largest common stock holder in the failed Great Plains Airlines. Remember also that it was Taylor and her City Attorney, Deidre Dexter [who used to work for Dorwart] that negotiated the Great Plains settlement.

During the July 10th City Council meeting, Taylor, Boylan and Lybarger repeatedly touted the fact that half of the ballpark's $60 million price tag would be supplied by private sources of funding. The Tulsa World reported in their Saturday edition that "Kivisto and SemGroup had discussed but not committed to a $7.5 million contribution and naming rights for the stadium, said Mayor Kathy Taylor."

Was this $7.5 million part of the $30 million sold to the Council? Kivisto left BOk effective July 16, just six days after the July 10 vote. Did Mayor Taylor or any of the BOk Board members selling the Business Improvement District and the ballpark and the need to rush a vote KNOW that all was not well at SemGroup and the money wouldn't be there? Pulling Kivisto's $7.5 million would have made the private contribution $22.5 million, which is less than the public contribution of $25 million.

According to Reuters:

Thomas Kivisto, who helped found SemGroup, had been on the board of directors of
BOK since 2006. Kivisto stepped down from the top job at SemGroup last week
after a cash crunch stemming from its oil hedging program forced it to consider
a bankruptcy filing.

BOK engaged in regular hedging transactions with
SemGroup, which trades over 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil. As of Dec. 31,
2007 SemGroup had hedged 21 million barrels of oil and some natural gas with
BOK, the bank said in its proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.

As of Dec. 31, 2007, the short value of these hedges with
SemGroup was $130 million, BOK said in its proxy filing.

BOk, Taylor, Boylan, Kivisto, Kaiser, Lybarger and a slew of other players were all very closely linked with four major stories of the past three weeks; the Great Plains settlement, the Drillers Ballpark, Taylor's use of "Mayor Force One" to fly her city council around the country and the financial troubles at SemGroup.

Coincidence? Get a life!

2008-07-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

Two people were the primary spokes people selling the new Drillers Ballpark. They were Bank of Oklahoma President Stan Lybarger, and Peter Boylan, formerly the President of TV Guide. I got curious about why Boylan was chosen, aside from his deep financial knowledge and negotiating skills. I also began wondering who took Kathy Taylor's place on the Bank of Oklahoma Board of Directors.

So I did a bit of research. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that follows Tulsa's oligarchical political scene that, lo and behold, Peter Boylan turned up on a list of BOk Directors. It should be noted with a tinge of sad irony, that it appears that Mayor Taylor's spot on the board was taken by Tom Kivisto, who was just this Friday, relieved of his duties as CEO of Semgroup here in Tulsa.

As you'll learn at any ballpark in America, when that cute young woman approaches you and asks you if you want to by a program, "You can't tell the players if you don't have a program."

Here is the list of the entire Board of Directors for BOk:

Sharon Bell	Age 56	Joined 1993	Director
Sharon J. Bell has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 1993. She is Attorney and Managing Partner, Rogers and Bell (Tulsa, Oklahoma); Trustee and General Counsel, Chapman-McFarlin Interests; formerly a Director and President of Red River Oil Company (oil and gas exploration and development).
William Durrett	77	1991	Director
William E. Durrett has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 1991. He is Senior Chairman of the Board and Director of American Fidelity Corporation (insurance holding company), and American Fidelity Assurance Company (a registered investment advisor).
V. Burns Hargis	62	1993	Director
V. Burns Hargis is President, Oklahoma State University since March, 2008. Prior to becoming OSU President, Mr. Hargis served as Vice Chairman, BOK Financial and BOk and Director of BOSC, Inc. since 1997; formerly Attorney and Shareholder of the law firm of McAfee & Taft (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma).
E. Carey Joullian	47	1995	Director
E. Carey Joullian, IV is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mustang Fuel Corporation and subsidiaries; President and Manager, Joullian & Co., L.L.C.; Manager, JCAP, L.L.C.
Robert LaFortune	81	1993	Director
Robert J. LaFortune has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 1993. He is Self-employed in the investment and management of personal financial holdings. Mr. LaFortune is also a director of Apco Argentina, Inc.
Peter Boylan	44	2005	Director
Peter C. Boylan, III has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 2005. He is CEO of Boylan Partners, LLC (investment management and advisory organization) since March 2002. From April 2002 through March 2004, Mr. Boylan served as Director, President and Chief Operating Officer of Liberty Broadband Interactive Television, Inc. (technology company providing software, services and products to cable and satellite television network operators worldwide), a company controlled by Liberty Media Corporation. Prior to April 2002, Mr. Boylan was Co-President, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Member of the Office of the Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. (media, entertainment, technology and communications company).
Steven Malcolm	59	2002	Director
Steven J. Malcolm has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 2002. He is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Williams Companies, Inc. (energy holding company); formerly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Williams Energy Services after serving as senior vice president and general manager of Midstream Gas and Liquids for Williams Energy Services.
Paula Marshall	54	2003	Director
Paula Marshall has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 2003. She is Chief Executive Officer, The Bama Companies, Inc. (manufacturer and marketer of food products); Ms. Marshall is also a director of Helmerich and Payne, Inc. (oil and gas drilling contractor) and American Fidelity Corporation (insurance holding company). She is also a former director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
David Griffin	42	2003	Director
David F. Griffin has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 2003. He is President, Griffin Communications, L.L.C. (owns and operates CBS affiliated television stations in Oklahoma); formerly President and General Manager, KWTV-9 (Oklahoma City). Griffin also owns Tulsa's KOTV-6 (Tulsa).
Gregory Allen	45	2005	Director
Gregory S. Allen has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 2005. He is President and CEO, Advance Food Company (manufacturer and marketer of value-added food products). Mr. Allen has served as President of Advance Food Company since 1998.
Chester Cadieux	41	2005	Director
Chester Cadieux, III has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., since 2005. He is President, CEO and Director of QuikTrip Corporation (a gasoline and retail convenience chain) since 2002. Prior to becoming President and CEO, Mr. Cadieux served as Vice President of Sales at QuikTrip Corporation.
Thomas Kivisto	56	2006	Director
Thomas L. Kivisto has been Director of BOK Financial Corporation., he has Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SemGroup, LP .(gathering, transporting, marketing and hedging services for energy industry).
Joseph Craft	57	2007	Director
Joseph W. Craft, III serves as Director of BOK Financial Corp since 2007. He is President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Alliance Resource Partners, LLP (a diversified coal producer and marketer) since 1999. Mr. Craft also serves as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. Previously, Mr. Craft served as President of MAPCO Coal Inc. since 1986.
John Gibson	--	2008	Director

Arkansas Policy on Private Jets

2008-07-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

So how much was Kathy Taylor's gift of a flight on her corporate jet worth? Well Arkansas has established a formula for determining just such a trip. The wording of the opinion below deals with lobbyists and not fellow elected officials, but the fact that Taylor had a lobbyist on the plane to meet Councilor Patrick and to work him on the flight back to Tulsa, makes it in my book, pretty relevant.

Here is an excerpt from the Arkansas opinion:

SUBSTITUTE OPINION NO. 97-EC-011
Issued August 21, 1997

ISSUE PRESENTED:

What is the fair market value of a ride on a private airplane provided by a lobbyist to a public official?

BRIEF RESPONSE:

The actual operating costs of the aircraft for the trip should be used (usually expressed in terms of a hourly rate to operate the aircraft multiplied by the number of hours) divided by the number of passengers on the plane. This figure should be disclosed by the lobbyist, the public official or both on the applicable reporting form.

The way I see it, Patrick should get hit for at least half the cost of the flight. At the very least, he should report this on his taxes next year and pay income tax on the value of that flight.

Maybe Kathy Taylor IS a Republilcan?

2008-07-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor apparently hates paying taxes so much, that she and her husband, Bill Lobeck, have established the holding company for their investments in the State of Nevada.

As postulated in the post below, 1132 Investment Co., which is the official owner of "Mayor Force One," is a Nevada company. The following is a screen capture and link from the Nevada Secretary of State's web site [which is a heck of a lot more citizen friendly and transparent than the joke of a site Susan Savage oversees].
1132 Investment Co. link.

I have heard it often speculated that Mayor Taylor doesn't take her salary for the Mayor's job, because if she did all of her income might be subject to Oklahoma income taxes. I'm not an accountant, so while this sounds logical to me, I can't be 100% sure it is true.

We also know that Taylor and her husband don't have two Homestead exemptions on their two mansions; one in Mid-Town Tulsa near the Lortons, and one in the Ft. Lauderdale area. What I don't know is which mansion has the exemption. I'm pretty sure the Florida abode is the winner on this one, though. Why?

To make an educated guess, let's ask the question, what states don't have a state income tax?

Answer: "Seven states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Two others, New Hampshire and Tennessee, tax only dividend and interest income."

Let's see...mansion in Florida which is your primary residence for income tax purposes...Nevada based investment corporation that owns one of your "his and hers" private jets. Sounds like a well thought out strategy to limit your taxes to me.

To which I say, Bravo!

As a Republican and admitted Randian Objectivist, I think such behavior is what makes our capitalistic system churn. Keep your dollars invested in states that don't squeeze you. Put aside your ambitions to be Governor of Oklahoma some day. There are other, less expensive ways to maximize your political potential, like...I don't know...like spending the money of taxpayers stupid enough to not place their assets in shelters.

Most Democrat politicos believe, "There is no joy greater than the spending of other people's money."

That is, unless it's is the joy of keeping other Democrat politicos from spending YOUR money!
-----------------------------------------
[MORE]
The Nevada Secretary of State lists Kathy Taylor and her husband as two of the three officers in 1132 Investment. The third is Joshua C. Miller of Nevada Holding Services. Miller and NHS are decent supporters of George W. Bush. See link here.

NHS provides services for Nevada subsidiary corporations, sometimes called "holding companies."

A cached web link says the following about the company which now operated under the name of The Key State Companies:

Nevada Holding Services, Inc.
Eliminate corporate taxes on income by maintaining a wholly owned Nevada Subsidary.
www.nevhold.com

I think that pretty much ices any speculation that the Mayor and the First Mister's Lear Jet is owned by a for profit tax shelter in another state.

Mrs. Susan J. Miller, also of NHS is a very solid GOP donor as well as a woman who likes to cover her bases. She gave the maximum $2,300 contribution to John McCain, Fred Thompson and Rudy Guilliani! Apparently she doesn't believe in covering her bases with the Democrats, though.

I guess Mayor Taylor likes working with Republicans when they can save her some cash. Never know when you're going to need a spare $4,500 for jet fuel to fetch a city councilor or two.

Is Taylor's Jet a Sub-Sonic Ethical Question?

2008-07-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Some time last week, Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor [as I expected she would] blocked the ability of the public to track her private jet, "Mayor Force One," on the Internet. Apparently, she has become concerned about the increased interest that I and other constituents have been showing in how she uses this rare asset to affect public policy.

I first had my interest piqued when I heard several councilors refer to trips they had taken with BOk President Stan Lybarger and others to visit ballparks in Memphis, Toledo and Indianapolis. They did this during the July 1o, 2008 City Council meeting during discussion regarding the proposed Business Improvement District [BID] for a new Tulsa Drillers baseball stadium. That measure passed the Council that night by a 6 to 3 vote.

I heard rumors last week that Kathy Taylor had used "her jet" to fly to Colorado to fetch her most loyal councilor, District 3's David Patrick. Seems, I was told, she thought she might need his vote to rush the BID resolution through to passage before opposition to the BID could mount. During my show on Friday, July 18, while talking about how Mayor Taylor had blocked the tracking of her plane, I purposely slipped in as one of the reasons she might have done so, her potential desire to send a plane up to Colorado to pick up David Patrick. [Hear the relevant audio here]. I like to do such things to see if it shakes anything up.

Lo and behold, the very next morning, the Tulsa World miraculously has a story on the occurrence of just such an event!

The story goes to great pains [not to be confused with Great Plains] to explain that the trip had been vetted for any legal and ethical questions that might have arisen. The more cynical among us could almost assume that the Tulsa World reported the story as part of Kathy Taylor's special "spin included" clause that comes with her premium subscription to her friends', the Lorton's, family newspaper.

But questions are still beginning to bubble to the surface. First, who owns the Lear Jet that fetched Patrick? The newspaper refers to it as Taylor's "private jet," which explains more who uses it than who owns it. If a reader somehow becomes confused by the reference so as to believe that Taylor is the sole, private owner, that can't be the World's fault.

The actual owner of the jet is 1132 Investment Co. As the graphic below shows, this is apparently not an Oklahoma corporation, but rather one from Nevada.

It remains to be seen if this is significant. I did some checking on the Oklahoma Secretary of State's website to see if 1132 Investment had any apparent registration with the State of Oklahoma. I could not find any. This isn't conclusive in itself, since the website, ultimately controlled by Mayor Taylor's good friend, former Tulsa Mayor Susan Savage, isn't exactly user friendly.

But let's assume that 1132 Investment isn't domesticated in Oklahoma, but is fully a Nevada corporation. Let us further assume that, as the name implies, the company is a for-profit venture. What then makes the use of this jet to fetch loyal councilors any different than if American Airlines had sent a jet up to get Patrick? In both instances, you would have a jet owned and operated by a out-of-state corporation, flying across state lines for the express purpose of bringing a vacationing elected official back home for a key vote.

I'm wondering if the State ethics experts were told about some of these wrinkles when they were asked their opinion. Or were they simply told that it was Kathy Taylor's "private jet?"

I further wonder if there are any federal ethical questions involved in this?

When I was a city councilor, we were not allowed to accept gifts in excess, if memory serves me right, of $50. By her own admission, Taylor gave Patrick something [a quick and timely trip home] that was far in excess of $50, unless you don't think $4,500 in jet fuel and hours on the road don't rate.

If 1132 Investment Co. is a for-profit corporation, can we assume that the corporate accountant will depreciate the Lear Jet 31a as a result of the trip? Doesn't that take tax payer dollars from the company's tax bill?

Patrick was not in Colorado on official business. He was there on a semi-vacation tending to private property he owns there. It cost him his own money to get to Colorado, so any expense saved in getting back from private activities is a net benefit to his personal wealth, hence a gift! Or are they telling us that Taylor then spent an additional $4,500 to fly him BACK to Colorado after the meeting?

I wonder if the IRS will have some interest in this matter?

One more thing troubles me about the Tulsa World's account of what happened. The paper writes:

Patrick said he and his grandson, who has never flown, traveled back in the jet with the pilot and Stacy Kymes.

Kymes, director of capital markets and mergers and acquisitions for the Bank of Oklahoma, is one of several people who has worked behind the scenes on a proposed downtown baseball stadium for the Tulsa Drillers, the city's Double A baseball team.

Why is a mergers and acquisitions specialist for Bank of Oklahoma made available for several hours to lobby a city councilor? Why is such a specialist working on a ballpark issue for the city and the Mayor, during the same period of time that the Mayor and Bank of Oklahoma were hammering out a $7.1 million settlement in the Great Plains Airlines debacle? Just two weeks prior to the ballpark vote, the Tulsa City Council had voted 5 to 2 to certify that money existed in the city's Sinking Fund, sufficient to pay the $7.1 million to none other than Bank of Oklahoma!

Oh yeah...before announcing her run for the position of Mayor of Tulsa, Kathy Taylor had been a member of the Board of Directors of Bank of Oklahoma!

George Kaiser, the principal shareholder of Bank of Oklahoma has been throwing a lot of money and weight behind much of what the Mayor has been involved in of late. If downtown property owners will benefit from the building of an new downtown ballpark, and if George Kaiser is the owner of downtown property [which he is] then can't we assume that Stacy Kymes, Mr. Kaiser's employee, will be advising Patrick more toward what is in BOk's best interest, rather than the City's? Or are you so naive as to delude yourself that what is good for BOk is also good for Tulsa?

I'm not sure what we can do with this, other than to begin to pressure a city council made up of city councilors who have been enjoying high roller treatment through the generosity of 1132 Investment Co, to change the Council's Ethics Ordinance to stop future activity of this nature. Not likely.

Maybe it's time to put together a petition to publicly censure the Mayor and her jet setting City Council?

Is Randi Miller the Only One Who Closed Bells?

2008-07-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

The simple answer is of course not.

Randi Miller was just one of five people who refused to put Bell's lease onto the Fair Board agenda. By refusing to consider a new Bell's lease, each board member cast a de facto vote. As Miller pointed out on Pat Campbell's show, there were four others who are for the most part, equally at fault.

The question Miller keeps postulating is, "Why am I being singled out?"

Let me answer this first by stating that three of the Fair Board members responsible are no longer on the board. Bob Dick, Wilbert Collins and Clark Brewster are no longer members. Dick chose not to run for re-election, perhaps seeing electoral inevitability on the proverbial wall. Collins lost his election to John Smaligo just days before the Fair Board made it clear (through a unanimous non-vote) that Bell's had to go and had to go fast. Brewster was not reappointed by the County Commissioners, thus keeping half of a campaign promise that both Perry and Smaligo had made before they were elected, which was to remove Democrat activists Brewster and Orbison from their seats.

Assuming that Perry and Smaligo will fulfill their entire campaign promise when Orbison comes up for re-appointment, that leaves Miller standing as the only one of the five with any potential long term future on the County Fair Board. Unlike Orbison, Miller's future does not lie in the hands of Smaligo and Perry, but rather in the hands of the voters of District 2. If she is going to be replaced, now is the time to do so.

Miller is also selling the myth that the only reason voters want her out of office is due to the Bell's situation. As Michael Bates pointed out last week in Urban Tulsa Weekly, there is a laundry list of issues that has Miller teetering on the edge of electoral defeat. In fact, Bates' list isn't even complete, but that's stuff for a future posting, perhaps.

Given all of this, Randi Miller is asking the wrong question. Rather than lamenting that she is being singled out as the only official being blamed for the Bell's debacle, she should be asking a far more accurate question.

Why should Randi Miller be the ONLY one of the five Fair Board members to NOT be asked to return to private life?

For those Republicans that believe the Bell family got a raw deal at the hands of the Fair Board, now is the only time they will get a chance to ensure [1] that all five members' service will come to an end, and [2] that the District 2 County Commission seat will not fall into the hands of Democrat Karen Keith.

It remains to be seen if Miller will be successful in selling her "why me?" defense.

My Taylor Sign Contri

2008-06-30T21:45:00.001-07:00

Qui Tam Booty?

2008-06-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

This is a photograph of Kathy Taylor's private jet [actually, it belongs to 1132 Investment Company, which is owned by Mr. Kathy Taylor, aka Bill Lobeck]. What do you think this Learjet 31a [serial number 28] would fetch should the citizens be successful in hitting the city in a tax payer's law suit, more appropriately known as a "Qui Tam," action?

This jet also serves as an iconic reminder that millionaire Mayor's have no problem with transferring a mere $7 million over to a billionaire.

Just in case she might decide to fly the jet to another locale to keep our mitts off it as possible settlement assets, I'll be giving the taxpayers a weekly update on The Chris Medlock Show as to where the jet is, and where it has been that week.

If you would like to do this yourself, you can do so at:

"The 411 on KT's 31a." Enjoy.

Richard Studenny Off the Hook?

2008-06-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

[Note: I ran the audio from the video that I shot at the Airport meeting and then ran it through a graphic equalizer. With the audio cleaned up and headphones on, I realized I miss heard the Airport Board's position on this. The Board will retain their claims against Studenny. This doesn't mean that Studenny doesn't get a free pass. The best friends he has within city government are at the airports. We'll see if they ever press the courts for his money.]

I attended the special meeting of the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust that was held at 8:30 AM in Room 1101 of the Tulsa City Hall. Even though this was on the same floor and mere feet from Mayor Taylor's office, Kathy Taylor never appeared during the meeting.

All board members were present in the room with the exception of Meredith Siegfried, who was on a speaker phone as she was in Singapore on business.

The meeting was late starting and relatively brief. There were few surprises, but one jumped out at me. Richard Studenny, the attorney for the Tulsa Industrial Authority AND TAIT [the lender AND the borrower] back when the Great Plains deal was cooked up, will potentially be given a free pass.

TIA, and indirectly BOK, was going after Mr. Studenny's malpractice and/or errors and omissions insurance to recoup their financial losses. Studenny was fired, after a too lengthy drama in the media, by then Mayor Bill LaFortune. It was always speculated that Studenny knew where "all the bodies" were buried at the Tulsa Airport.

Now with Kathy Taylor's rushed and hushed settlement, the word is that both the bank, and TIA will waive any claim to Studenny's insurance. This let's him off free and clear, unless the City Council and/or the mayor muster the political will to pursue him in court. Remember though, this will be a brand new law suit and the clock and the cash machine will have to begin anew.

What's that smell? Can you smell that smell?

Council Powerless to Stop Taylor?

2008-06-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

I have it on very good authority that the Tulsa City Council can do nothing to delay Mayor Kathy Taylor from giving away $7 million in Tulsa taxpayer funds to the Bank of Oklahoma. The resolution the Council will be voting on Thursday night is to "survey" the Sinking Fund, to see if there are sufficient monies available to cover the Mayor's action.

This surveying of the Sinking Fund is considered to be a "ministerial" action which a previous City Attorney, Alan Jackere told the Council when I was a member, that the council is duty bound to certify the figures, if they are true. Ironically, Jackere is the same City Attorney that told the Council in 2005 that the city had no legal obligation to make good on Bank of Oklahoma's bad loan to TIA via TAIT. Doubly ironic is the fact that Jackere was run out of his position early in Taylor's term of office because she alleged that Jackere and Larry Simmons (another staunch opponent within city legal to giving money to BOK) mishandled a law suit against a man improperly prosecuted, which (triply ironic) cost the tax payers millions of dollars from the city's Sinking Fund.

With these two gentlemen gone, can then rely on her appointee as City Attorney, Deidre Dexter, to tell her everything is hunky-dory with the transfer of funds. Remember too, that Dexter is the first City Attorney in recent memory that is employed as one of Taylor's sixteen at-will employees. This means she can also be fired at will. Draw your own conclusions.

The last time the council voted down a "ministerial" action was when it voted not to approve the plat for the F&M Bank that was eventually built at 71st and Harvard. When the Council took that action, F&M filed suit against the councilors individually, threatening their personal assets. Since it took a majority of councilors to deny the plat, a majority of the council were named in the suit. As such, no majority of the council could be mustered to vote to give the councilors [me included] the legal services of City Legal. As such, each councilor was forced to hire their own counsel.

It is quite doubtful that the current councilors will take such a risk to stop this action, given the determined legal actions BOK has been taking to get their money back. Thus, Kathy Taylor will be able to claim that she made the transfer of money with the blessings of the Council.

At best, the council could safely delay the action for a week or two, giving the voters time to muster some political pressure from the public to stop the Mayor.

There will be an 8:30 AM special meeting of the Tulsa Airport Improvement Trust in Room 1101 of City Hall. This is the Mayor's main conference room. It is ostensibly open to the public, but also very likely that they will move to enter executive session to handle the really dicey stuff the Mayor doesn't want the public to know.

Later that evening, the Council will meet at 5 PM to "survey" the Sinking Fund and then will vote on it as a "Mayors Item," during their regular Thursday night meeting.

The citizens of the city of Tulsa need to pack the place and speak out against this waste of our tax dollars. Give the City Council some political cover to delay this, thus assuring the Mayor will pay a political price if she proceeds.

Kathy Taylor to Pay Off Great Plains Despite Former BOK Ties?

2008-06-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

The hot scuttle-butt down at City Hall is that Kathy Taylor is planning to sign over millions of Tulsa tax payer dollars to the Bank of Oklahoma for a questionable loan made regarding the Great Plains Airlines fiasco.

Word is that Friday morning she will meet with the Tulsa City Council in a special meeting to inform them of the deal. She will be using her full authority to bind the city to a contract, so she can act without the approval of the City Council.

Since the meeting is not regularly scheduled, it will not appear on TGOV. Anyone with a video camera and some time should plan to be at the meeting.

The timing of the deal on a Friday is obviously intended to minimize media attention. It appears she's planned this for a time when many Tulsans will be on vacation.

My sources have been telling me this has been coming for some time, but the speed of this move astounds those I have spoken with today.

For more on this, tune in to the Chris Medlock Show today at 2 PM on 1170, KFAQ AM.

Rick "Choo Choo" Westcott

2008-06-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

I've been making a great deal about Rick Westcott's seeming obsession with Amtrak and light rail. Seems he's more concerned and spends more time trying to get an antiquated mode of transportation brought to our city than he is in optimizing the current mode of transportation in his district.

Where are we, Councilor Westcott, on the widening of Lewis Ave from 61st to 76th streets? Randi Miller first got that project into the 3rd Penny in 2001 and I had to fight to get it refunded in 2006 when the '01 tax fell short. I was promised it would be among the first projects funded in the new tax, and yet the downtown streets are getting repaired ahead of them.

Why aren't you screaming to the heavens?

I understand that the project would've hurt the city's ability to host the PGA Championship last Summer, but we should've seen orange barrels first thing this Spring.

Time for you to review your priorities, Councilor.

Oklahoma Gay Democrats Pushing Boudaries of Good Taste

2008-06-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

This ad appeared recently in the Oklahoma Gazette [basically OKC's version of Urban Tulsa Weekly].

What do you think? Offensive? What if you're a WWII vet or a Marine? Does the radical gay lobby have to pervert every iconic image important to traditional Americans?

I know I won't interview any of the candidates listed as being supported by this group without asking them for an apology to our vets, first.

Wonder what Andrew Rice is thinking about this? Given that he has a Masters Degree from a Unitarian-Universalist divinity school, it can't be helping his chances to have such extremist ads making him look anything but the centrist.

Scoop: First Look At ORU Faculty Letter

2007-11-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

As I first reported below, the tenured faculty of Oral Roberts University have sent a letter to the Board of Regents stating a lack of confidence in President Richard Roberts.

Having beaten the Tulsa World by more than five hours in reporting this, I now can be the first to post a copy of letter for public viewing:

You can see the letter by clicking here.

Hear more of my take on the letter and what this all means Wednesday morning on the KFAQ Morning Show at 1170 AM in Tulsa, or at http://www.1170kfaq.com/ from 5:30 AM to 9 AM CST.

Scoop: ORU Faculty Votes "No Confidence" in Roberts

2007-11-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

A source close to Oral Roberts University has informed me that the university's tenured faculty met Monday and passed a resolution of "no confidence" in suspended ORU President Richard Roberts. The resolution was to be delivered today to a representative of the ORU Board of Regents.

On the face of things, this would appear to make it virtually impossible for Roberts, the son of university founder Oral Roberts, to ever be reinstated as to the position he has held for over a decade.

The resolution reportedly contains a clause which states that the document should not be seen as an endorsement of the claims of three former ORU professors that are currently suing the school for wrongful termination.

Two other motions were approved at the Monday meeting.

1: The tenured faculty voted to support efforts by the ORU Provost to facilitate greater faculty governance of the university, as well as greater financial transparency in the school's financial dealing in the future.

2: A call for tenured faculty to be involved in establishing the criteria for a new President, as well as involvement in the selection process of a permanent successor for Richard Roberts.

Mike Jones and Zig-Zag Logic

2007-11-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

When I read an editorial by the Tulsa World's Mike Jones, I often am unsure as to whether I should scream in outrage or laugh. Jones' column from the Sunday, November 4, 2007 Tulsa World entitled "For freedom: Bibles, Qurans and the reason we need both," made me do both.

First Jones directly attacks Rep. Rex Duncan for refusing a copy of the Koran [read below], then he "zigs" to a criticism Rep. Mike Reynolds for calling on Gov. Henry to rename his "Ethnic American Advisory Council" because it is made up exclusively of Muslims. Having done that, he then "zags" toward taking up some of the many negative criticisms he receives from readers that took issue with his attack on Duncan in the previous week's Sunday World. The result is a column filled with what can only be described as "zig-zag" logic.

Making sense isn't so important if enough people who already agree with you think you make sense.

First, let's lay out some facts and then see if we can make sense of Jones' diatribe.

As stated in my entries below, Rep. Rex Duncan did two things. He took the Islamic group up on their offer to decline a complimentary copy of the Koran and then took the opportunity to encourage the group to call for the end of lethal violence against women and children in Iran, citing most Oklahoman's disdain for such violence.
Rep. Reynolds called on the Governor, as stated above to either re-name the advisory group or to disband it entirely, given its religious make up. Many argue [but not, curiously the ACLU supportin' Tulsa World] that such a group could easily be construed, no matter what it is named, as a pro-Islamic group that is receiving public tax dollars to operate.
Finally, in the light of all the "garment rending" and histrionics that Jones and other critics heaped on Duncan, many who agreed with the legislator e-mailed their comments to Jones. A common theme apparently centered on something I, too, said on the KFAQ Morning Show when the story broke. I basically said, "I'd like to see what happened to a Christian group that tried to give Saudi lawmakers a copy of the Bible." The purpose of this was to make a point as to the relative "intolerance" that one would find in the two countries in question.

After criticising Duncan and Reynolds and praising the Governor, Jones begins some inane mutterings about how Oklahoma was settled by Christians, true, but was first settled by Indians.

"Yes, Oklahoma was settled on good ol' Christian values, but not until the religion of
the people we gave the land to and then took it away from was all but erased."

Ignoring the glaring condescension towards Christians in that statement, Jones is attempting to set up a Straw Man reference that Christians are hypocrites if they question attempts by Muslims to proselytize. Surely he isn't going so far as to say we Christians would get what's coming to us if we were forced in the future to convert to Islam because we became the minority. We can assume this, because Jones' whole point in the article is about religious pluralism and tolerance. Thus, such an argument would be out of place.

After writing about the varying degrees of tolerance/intolerance in Islamic countries toward Christians and Jews, Jones finally gets to his point about two-thirds through the article. He writes:

The implication in the Bible challenge [that Islam wouldn't tolerate Bibles
being handed out] is that since those countries discourage or even punish
Christianity, then we should do the same concerning Islam.

What the...? Where did you get that tidbit of logic, Mike?

I can't speak for the others that said it, but when I said it, I said it to make a point that politely declining the offer of a Koran because one is a Christian is barely [if at all] intolerant. This is especially true when one compares it to the sometimes murderous intolerance one finds in Islamic countries, where one might be imprisoned, beaten, maimed or killed...not by religious zealots on the street...but by the government itself!

Neither Reps. Duncan and Reynolds, myself, nor I dare say, any of Jones' e-mail critics intended their message to be construed as "let's shut down the practice of Islam in the United States." Does Jones really think that's what is being insinuated? Hard to believe. Jones also wrote:

"For me, I don't want to be like Saudi Arabia or even Indonesia. I prefer every
citizen's or visitor's right to choose their religion. I also endorse giving one
the freedom to choose no religion at all."

Go back and look at the three statements of fact above. Who the heck has been espousing anything different from what Jones believes? Anybody? Anybody at all?

Does declining the gift of a Koran mean you want to deny Islamics the right to worship? How can one make that leap of logic?

Does asking the Governor to rename a politically named advisory council because calling it the Islamic-American Advisory Council might raise separation clause issues mean that you want to take away the right of "citizens or visitors" to "choose their religion?"

Does pointing out the hypocrisy of Islamics screaming "intolerance" from the rafters because someone criticizes them for not accepting a Koran and calling on them to urge others in the Islamic faith to end killing and terrorism carried out in the name of their chosen faith, mean that such critics, ipso facto, must be calling for the end of Freedom of Religion for Muslims in America?

Jones finishes his convoluted exercise in zig-zag logic by writing this:

Quite frankly, the overwhelming majority of Muslims in the world really don't care what religion anyone else is. They might believe that their brand is better than everyone else's, but that's standard for all religions.
They might have their share -- or more -- of religious zealots who misinterpret their holy book and turn it into a personal manifesto for violence. That, unfortunately, is true of every religion.
Not everyone can be or wants to be a Christian. Maybe we can all respect that.
For me, I'll take my chances here. I even relish all those e-mails and phone calls.
After all, it's a free country. We have the freedom to say what we want and worship as we want. How about let's keep it that way.

Once again, how does turning down a Koran equate to wanting everyone to be a Christian?

In closing, let me say I agree with Jones when he says we need more tolerance with regard to religious choice.

Perhaps Mike Jones could be so kind as to extend that tolerance to some Christian legislators who declined the gift of a Koran, because they "choose" not read a book they might consider blasphemous. That would be tolerant of him wouldn't it?

Perhaps Mike Jones could be so tolerant as to quit assuming that Christians who criticize the political actions of Islamic activists in our state are actually hoping to cleanse all Islam from Oklahoma.

If he will extend to we Christians, this tolerance, then we'll try to tolerate his whacky ramblings on the subject.

Accept It Or You're A Bigot

2007-10-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still marvelling at the spin that is following the decision of dozens of Oklahoma's legislators to decline a complimentary copy of the Koran, that seems to have been offered as a political ploy.

Most of the vitriol that has been generated by the outraged left has been heeped on Rep. Rex Duncan, who was one of the first to decline the offer. He has been accused, unjustly, of holding a press conference to make his decision known. As I wrote below, this didn't happen. In the face of conclusive evidence that it didn't happen, the new spin is that he copied the media on the e-mail in which he declined the Koran. Only problem is, he didn't do that, either!

Rep. Duncan was kind enough to forward the e-mail he sent to the Governor's Islamic committee, declining their offer. The exact content of the message follows:

>Marjan,
>
>Please remove my name from the list of legislators receiving a
>complimentary "Oklahoma Centennial Quran."
>
>Please encourage your fellow Oklahoma Muslims to speak out and
>condemn acts of violence committed in the name of Muhammad and the
Quran.
>
>Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women
and children in the name of ideology.
>
>
>Representative Rex Duncan

Most of the critics of Rep. Duncan have been only been quoting the line about "killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology." This sentence, without the sentence that precedes it, seems rightfully peculiar. Parsing the message is a tried and true rhetorical trick.

Are the critics claiming that Duncan is wrong when he intimates that acts of violence are committed in the name of Muhammad and Islam? Only a fool would suggest this isn't happening in the world. Do the critics claim that "Oklahoma Muslims" have been virtually silent with regard to what is happening and that a frightening number of American Muslims support terrorism in the defense of the faith? Studies have proven this is the case.

Did Rep. Duncan "refuse" the Koran, or simply "decline" the offer. There is a difference. His tone is obviously polite and diplomatic. The reason he sent the e-mail in the first place is that the committee asked the legislators to let them know if they were going to decline the gift. Duncan did so.

Politely doing as he was asked was characterized in a press conference today as "hateful words."

In reporting the press event, the Tulsa World also purposely parsed Duncan's message, taking his remarks out of context to make him look bad. The World writes:

Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, refused a gift of Islam's holy book earlier this week, saying, "Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology." Other lawmakers joined him in refusing the gift, offered by the Governor's Ethnic American Advisory Council as part of the state's centennial celebration.

Go back and read Rep. Duncan's message. Is he "refusing" or politely "declining?"

The World further reports:

"Today, I'm an American Muslim, speaking for our brothers," said David
Bernstein, executive director of the Jewish Federation.

"Hateful words inevitably lead to hateful actions," he said.

Where are the hateful words? Millions of Americans, including me, share Duncan's frustration that "peace loving Muslims" are not openly and frequently condemning the radicals of their faith. Are we never to put our frustrations, no matter how politely constructed, into words?

The other troubling bit of media bias that is rampant in the hyperbolic coverage of this story is the fact that nobody reports that Rep. Duncan is anything more than a elected member of the legislature. What has never been reported since this broke is Duncan's military service.

Here's what is written in Rep. Duncan's on-line profile at the State House web site:

Lieutenant Colonel, OK Army National Guard. Rex has served 28 years in the
Guard, Reserves and active duty.

He volunteered for active duty following 9/11 and served 16 months as a
Special Forces officer with the Special Operations Command-Central. His duty assignments included Middle East and Horn of Africa.

He currently serves as Battalion Commander of 2/189th Regiment, Regional
Training Institute in Oklahoma City.Awards and decorations include: Special
Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist Badge, Air Assault, Pathfinder and
EIB badges and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

Surely, Rex Duncan knows better than any of those who have criticized him as bigoted, what has been done in the name of Islam. After all, the man has served his country bravely in the Middle East. How many of the critics have done the same?

Even if you think this biases his worldview, you would surely have to agree that his service is at the very least a mitigating factor that the readers of the newspaper and the online forums who know little or nothing about Duncan's past, have a right to know.

The feeding frenzy surrounding this manufactured event is predictable. Those that see the rise of Islamo-Fascism as the greatest danger facing the West today have grown accustomed to the tactics of the anti-war types and their allies in the liberal denominations and faiths.

We'll just keep telling the truth and hope enough of it seeps out to make a difference.

Hey Michael Patton! Who You Calling An Idiot?

2007-10-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Tulsa Now Forum began as a fairly even handed, on-line opportunity for Tulsans to discuss local issues on politics, culture and development. However, of late, it has degenerated into a very one-sided rant that is very intolerant of those who might enter to express opposing viewpoints.

Most troubling about this forum, and most such forums, is the ability of posters to hide behind on-line "handles," which allow them to make anonymous accusations (often personal attacks) against others without scrutiny into their own vocations, political affiliations or personal pasts.

When anonymity is granted, falsehoods get ranted.

Currently the carping assemblage is waxing outraged on the decision of Rep. Rex Duncan to not accept a freebie Koran offered by a Islamic group formed by Governor Henry. In this polylogue of opinion and mock-shock, it seems fair game to mix facts in with outright falsehoods to make a good point.

One poster who goes by the nom-de-keyboard of "RecyleMichael" is widely known to be local enviromentalist Michael Patton. Patton's style of rhetoric is to play the part of the diplomat, often feigning fair mindedness as his primary concern, but then slipping in some damning statement amid all of the diplopmatic speech.

In regard to Representative Duncan, Patton utilized just such a strategy, hoping when the lie hit, the slander would be just that more effective. Here's what Patton wrote in a forum string entitled "Oklahoma lawmaker shows predjudice against Islam:"

recyclemichaelTroublemaker
Posted - 10/24/2007 : 19:36:51
As disappointed as I am with these legislators refusing a gift from a
different faith, I am not taking the side of the Muslim group passing these out
either.

They had to know that certain legislators were going to make a big deal out
of refusing the books. I believe they did this in full knowledge that this would
identify the elected officials.It was a set up and 22 of the legislators fell
for it.

The elected officials should have quietly accepted the books, then given
them away or disposed of them in some other manner. Instead, the idiot Rex
Duncan called a press conference to sound like an uniformed bigot. [emphasis added by me]

There are no winners here and all of Oklahoma lost on this one.

Dear Mr. Patton, please get your facts straight. It seems it is you, who is uninformed. I just got off the phone with Rep. Rex Duncan and asked him a very simple question. Did you call a press conference or directly contact the press with regard to this story?

His answer?

"No, Mick Hinton [Tulsa World reporter] called me."

In fact, I learned through my conversation with Rep. Duncan, Mr. Hinton called him within just a few hours after Duncan had sent an e-mail to Ms. Marjaneh Seirafi-Pour stating his desire not to receive the Koran. Just a mere two or three hours, Mr. Patton!

Rep. Duncan had placed a phone call to Ms. Seirafi-Pour on Monday to "opt out" of the gift, as requested by Ms. Seirafi-Pour, and to also inquire as to whether or not tax payer dollars were used to purchase the Korans. She assured Duncan that they were bought with private funds, but asked Duncan if he would send her an e-mail stating he didn't want the Koran "for their records."

This he did. Hours later, he was called by Hinton for the story that ran in the next days' newspaper.

I agree, Mr. Patton. This WAS a set up by this Islamic group, which obviously has political intentions. However, you owe Rep. Duncan an apology [both in the forum and to the man directly] for your idiotic remarks.

Korans Rejected by Two More Legislators

2007-10-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sources tell me that State Sen. James Williamson and State Rep. Ron Peters have joined the growning number of legislators that have declined to accept Koran's that have been offered by a curiously named committee formed by Governor Henry.

While he has declined the offer of a free "Centennial Koran," Williamson said he is willing to meet with representatives of the group.

The committee, inaccurately named the Governor's Ethnic American Advisory Council is entirely made up of Muslims. They sent an e-mail to every Oklahoma legislator, offering the Korans, but making it clear that they were free to decline the offer.

As of this writing, 18 Republicans and one Democrat have declined the Korans.

Hot ORU Rumor

2007-10-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have it from a pretty good source that is NOT Rick Westcott's e-mail that a second law suit will be filed against Oral Roberts University...this time by a student from the government department. I am told that the suit alleges that by cleaning house of much of the government department, the university damaged the student's degree. I'm trying to get additional confirmation. Stay tuned.

Not Even a Hand Slap?

2007-10-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

As noted below, Toby Huyssen, the ORU student who was alleged to have written an e-mail calling on approximately 350 of his fellow students to come to the Government Department offices to sign up to volunteer in the Randi Miller for Mayor campaign, hasn't seemed to have suffered too much from his admitted ethical lapse.

On the surface, the email appeared to have been written by government professor Tim Brooker [you can see a scanned version of the e-mail here]. However, when the proverbial item this the proverbial fan, and someone suggested the IRS might want to look into ORU in general and Dr. Brooker in particular, the explanation was given that young Toby actually wrote the e-mail, using Dr. Brooker's university owned computer and neglecting to remove Dr. Brooker's electronic signature from the bottom.

Not many believed the cover story at the time. However, even those who did believe it agreed that Mr. Huyssen had committed a pretty serious ethical lapse. The kind of ethical lapse that gets students dismissed from their respective institution of higher education.

Not so fast you say. Oral Roberts University is a Christian institution and therefore one should not be surprised that they forgave Mr. Huyssen to the degree that he wasn't ousted from the school, despite having drawn the ire of the IRS down upon the house that Oral built. Temper this, though, with the fact that Dr. Brooker, himself, was allegedly forced out by the university.

So even if Mr. Huyssen wasn't expelled, wouldn't you suppose that his indiscretion would at least preclude him from receiving accolades from the University he had shamed?

Well...if you answered "yes"...then you're going to be perplexed.

On April 4, 2006...less than three months after the alleged phony e-mail was sent out...Tobias Huyssen was among a handful of students at an honors banquet. [You can see the .doc version of the evening's program, here].

Local luminary Hans Helmerich was the featured speaker and Toby was to be honored as the outstanding student in the International Community Development program.

Wouldn't one think that such an honor would not have been granted to someone who had admitted to an action that had brought bad publicity to the school and had placed his professor...the father of his roommate, in fact...in the cross hairs of public scrutiny? No? Then read the text below, which graced the evening's program as an explanation as to why everyone had convened to honor the school's honorees.

Oral Roberts University fosters excellence. It is an institution devoted to equipping people for success and maximizing their potential. Tonight we gather to give tribute to those who demonstrate excellence in their respective fields of study. These chosen individuals exemplify the uncompromising academic standards of the University. Tonight we gather to give honor to whom honor is due, as mandated in the book of Romans.

The men and women being recognized this evening have distinguished themselves in their pursuit of excellence. Such distinction did not come easily. Talent alone did not bring them here. It took more than a good idea or wishful thinking to set them apart from their peers. At a university dedicated to helping individuals reach their full potential, the award recipients had to rise above the good and the great in order to reach the superior.

I'm guessing you are now laughing too hard to read on. I know I can barely type right now.

Draw your own conclusions. Mine involve a trusting student, a sword and a handy place for said student to fall upon said sword for the greater good.

Way to "reach the superior," Toby.

Toby Huyssen Making News...Again!

2007-10-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

The student that allegedly wrote the now infamous "paper tiger" e-mail, imploring ORU government students to get involved in County Commissioner Randi Miller's mayoral campaign is back in the news. Apparently, he is now living in Louisiana and is heading up an organization called the "Louisiana Action Council" which has a PAC called "Louisianans in Action."

In fact, Huyssen is listed as the Executive Director of the group. Not bad for a kid who was a college senior last year. Not bad for a kid who allegedly violated the trust of his professor by using his computer and his name to lure students to the Government Department's offices so that they could sign up to volunteer for Miller.

WBRZ News 2 reports in a story dated yesterday:

A New York businessman with a history of pushing his favored political issues in other states has quietly contributed thousands of dollars in this year’s Louisiana legislative races, much of it handed out by a group describing itself as a “grass-roots” organization that supports school choice.

Companies connected with real estate tycoon Howard Rich, a noted libertarian, have spread $60,000 among 21 candidates in recent months.
The checks are not made out in Rich’s name but rather come from eight different corporations, all with a listed address of 73 Spring St., New York, NY, that has been connected to Rich and his associates.

Most of the checks were distributed by the recently formed Louisiana Action Council or its political action committee, Louisianians in Action. Louisiana Action Council Executive Director Toby Huyssen declined to identify the source of the campaign finance contributions that his group distributed.

“I don’t know if he wants his name in the newspaper,” Huyssen said.

To explain who Huyssen is, WBRZ gives the following background:

Huyssen, the director, is a Louisiana native who attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., from 2002 to 2006 and has a political résumé that includes work on Haley Barbour’s 2003 gubernatorial campaign in Mississippi and Bobby Jindal’s 2003 gubernatorial campaign in Louisiana, according to Huyssen’s biography on the group’s Web site.
Louisiana Action Council has quickly established itself. The group’s associated political action committee has received $8,150 in contributions — $150 from Huyssen, $4,000 from Louisiana Action Council and $4,000 from the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority — and has spent about $6,600, mainly on phone-banking.

I will have to keep an eye on this developing story in Louisiana to determine what it's all about. However, it is interesting the Huyssen has hit a news story at the same time that his name is being bandied about in Tulsa as the purported author of an e-mail that many believe was written by ORU professor Tim Brooker. Brooker is of course one the three professors suing ORU and Richard Roberts.

I also wonder if the Louisiana reporters know of Huyssen's involvement in the ORU scandal.

Richard Roberts Finds Little Shelter Here

2007-10-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Evangelist and Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts states in today's Sunday World that the proof that his students weren't used in an unlawful manner during the 2006 City of Tulsa mayoral primary is that students also worked on other candidate's campaigns, not just County Commissioner Randi Miller's. The Tulsa World writes:

"Here (for the Miller campaign) we were told, 'Get them over here and . . . use
every resource at your disposal.' " Roberts denies that.
He said ORU students also worked in the campaigns of other Tulsa mayoral candidates including Chris Medlock and Bill LaFortune. "I am not aware of any (university) resources being used" in the Miller campaign, he said.

I can't speak for the LaFortune campaign, but I can state categorically the sum total of the volunteer contribution to my campaign for mayor that came from Prof. Tim Brooker's team of students adds to a couple of hours, on a Saturday afternoon, by a single female student who brought her mother and father with her, to throw Tulsa Beacons that included an ad advocating my candidacy.

This lone student showed up to help out in any way she could. She seemed very nervous to be there and did not seem in the least to fit the mold of the ORU students who had worked previously on my City Council campaigns. In fact, it seemed that she had brought her mother and father along for moral support, more than to help out a candidate she had never before met.

The task she and her parents were assigned, was to join other teams that were throwing the Beacons onto the driveways of targeted Republicans who were known to be frequent voters. They left campaign headquarters in the early afternoon and returned a few hours later. Most of the teams were finishing their routes in less than an hour and a half. When the student returned with her father, she wanted someone from the campaign to sign a note telling Brooker that she had logged time working on the Medlock campaign. I signed it for her.

About an hour after they left, one of my team coordinators returned to HQ and told me that he had seen the student and her parents throwing the newspapers into yards in an area that wasn't assigned to them, and into every driveway, instead of just those of targeted voters.

We immediately wrote her off as an attempt by the university to try to cover their keesters with the IRS and were reasonably sure that we would never see her again. We didn't.

Perhaps this nervous student was for real. Perhaps she truly felt I was the best candidate of the three to support to get her extra credit. I hope I am not doing her a disservice today. However, she is the only help we got and what I am imparting here is an honest retelling of the assumptions that were made during a very heated campaign.

A check of my records shows that of our campaign workers that supplied us with their contact information, not one came from ORU. This, despite the fact that we had had nearly ten students work on my re-election effort in 2004.

So sorry Dr. Roberts, the Medlock campaign doesn't give you much cover.

Randi Not Off the Hook

2007-10-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

Right after the concession speeches were made at the Vote Yes watch party, County Commissioner Randy Miller said that “the people have spoken” and that river development was dead for some time. She is basically taking this no vote as a condemnation of all river development, both public and private.

Wrong again Randi!

The vote no folks, for the most part, support river development. I would imagine a majority of the vote no folks would support the use of some public funds (a reasonable amount) to be used for river development. Further, I am confident that most of the vote no folks, both Tulsans and suburbanites, would bless a well documented plan that was implemented by the relevant cities, leaving Randi Miller and the County out of the equation.

That being said, what Miller is trying to sell to us, in lieu of this defeat at the polls, is that the County will now move on to other priorities, leaving the river in her waterless wake.

Sorry Randi, you can’t do that!

Tulsa County and it’s elected officials have promises to keep. The monies allotted to the low water damns in Vision 2025 are still there. Your promise to construct three dams using those funds, in conjunction with matching funds, still exists. The voters don’t care if the matching funds are from the Feds, the state or from private sources. They DO care that they not come from additional sales taxes.

THAT is the message they sent you, Randi!

Just because they rejected an additional county sales tax to make up for the lack of the matching funds you and your fellow commissioners promised the voters you’d get, doesn’t absolve you of your promise.

Quit looking for a quick fix at the polls and get to work, Randi!

I have said numerous times on the KFAQ Morning Show that your mistake, and that of your buddies at the Chamber was, that as soon as the Kaiser Foundation approached you with their offer of millions of dollars for the river, you should’ve said, “Fantastic, let’s put the first 50 to 60 million bucks toward matching the voters millions from the Vision 2025 vote.”

In other words, let’s keep our four year old promises first, and then maybe the voters will trust you enough to pony up new money for überparks and "pedestrian bridges to nowhere" at a later date.

We who said “nay” are not buying your spin. We don’t believe you when you say there won’t be any Vision 2025 overage monies [we just think you have other plans for it], so use the overages to pay for the dams. We don’t believe you that Hurricane Katrina caused the arena over-runs, drying up the Federal dollars needed for the low-water dams [pork is still flying out of Washington every day, you just have to make a case to get some].

Regardless of where the money comes from, Randi, you made a promise to “construct” low-water dams, we voted based on that promise in 2003, and you’re not off the hook. As such, the County either moves forward with “river development” or you need to start looking for another line of work.

Creeks Contribute Little to River

2007-08-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

Word I'm getting from a source that's not Rick Westcott's e-mail, is that the Creek Nation's contribution to the $111 Million in private funding that will be spent on river projects is voters opt to tax themselves is a paltry 5-million-bucks.

"Paltry," you ask? "That seems like a pretty good chunk of change to me!"

Not really, when you compare it to the gains the tribe stands to make if they get a new low-water dam built downstream from their casino operation and the new hotel they are building. To my knowledge, none of the other private contributors stand to benefit financially from their 'gift.' But the Creek Nation will substanitially benefit from a new lake contiguous to their property that just happens to end a few hundred feet upstream. Too bad if you're a Tulsa citizen who lives between 31st Street and 71st Street, because you only get "channelization."

If things were fair, the Creeks should be working with the City of Jenks to pay for the lion's share of the cost of the low-water dam planned for the Oklahoma Aquarium area.

Interesting how little has been mentioned about this. Perhaps it's because the public hasn't been TOLD about each organization's contributions. Something to think about when you go to the polls on October 9.

Hot Buzz On Street Bonds

2007-07-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

The big rumor floating around, that seems to be substantiated somewhat by the front page article on streets in the Sunday Tulsa World, is that Kathy Taylor is planning a $375 million bond issue to fix streets.

If true, I just might support this one. However, word is that the vote will occur on the same day in October that the County Commission is favoring for the River Tax question.

The other interesting thing to keep an eye on will be if some (or most likely all) of the road work on Yale from 96th Street to the proposed Bixby Bridge will be included and expedited, so that Mayor KT can be absolved from her "no bridge" pledge.

Is Mayor’s List Of Possible Developers For City Golf Properties An Exclusive Club Of One?

2007-05-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

Kathy Taylor’s announcement that she wants the City Council to agree to close several city owned golf holes in order balance her 2008 fiscal budget, has caused quite a debate in Tulsa. What appears on the surface to be an attempt to either fund the reopening of some of Tulsa’s long closed public swimming pools (the Mayor’s official spin) or to offset expected losses from the soon to be opened BOk Center, is stirring a lot of discussion about what would be the best establishment of city priorities.

However, sources tell me the real controversy may not come from the closing of the golf holes, but from what happens to the holes once closed.

Sources are saying that Mayor Taylor has already cut a deal with a local developer to sell both of Page Belcher “Back-Nines,” so that the developer can build homes on the properties. The deal calls for the city to be paid upwards of $5 million dollars for the 18 holes lying south of the clubhouse. If true, Mayor Kathy Taylor has struck a deal with a local developer without offering other developers a chance to bid on the properties.

Reports are that a deal may have been in the works for the sale of the golf course properties for a couple of years, which would have put the origins of the plan back into Bill LaFortune’s tenure as mayor. It was reported to me that the developer approached Mayor Taylor’s office about the possibility of purchasing the land late last year. My sources tell me that the developer (I’ve been given two possible names) has already met with the city’s economic development director, Don Himmelfarb, and a deal in principal was struck long before Mayor Taylor’s announcement to the City Council of her intentions to close the courses.

Current golf pro, George Glenn reportedly has a little more than a year left on his contract with the city, but it is speculated that Glenn would be amenable to a buy out.

It is further speculated that the Mayor’s office hopes to enlist Sen. Jim Inhofe to help with the complications arising from restrictions placed on the sale of the properties, due to the fact that some of the original funding for purchase of the properties on which the golf courses lie was supplied by the federal Department of the Interior.

The Mayor’s office hopes that by closing the 18 holes at Page Belcher, coupled with the proposed closure of nine additional holes at Mohawk in North Tulsa, that the savings to the city’s operating fund would make city-subsidized golf a breakeven endeavor. The city’s general fund, the same fund that pays for police and fire, as well as other basic city services, has been forced to increase the amount of its subsidy for the courses, as the demand for golf has declined and the availability of alternate public courses has increased. Proponents of the closure of some holes point out this availability of alternatives is what makes golf a better target for divestiture than say, the city’s zoo.

Even though the plan to close golf holes seems, on the surface, to be a winner for the taxpayer, Mayor Taylor is actually trading “sunk” tax dollars paid in the past, for the promise of future tax dollars. In order to finance the budget shortfall created by the development of the downtown arena (BOk Center), Mayor Taylor seems content to waste most of the $4.1 million of tax payer money that was spent on improving the city’s Page Belcher courses in West Tulsa, that was approved during the 2001 Third Penny Sales Tax vote.

I have been long saying that Tulsa is “capital dollar rich and operating dollar poor.” Golf courses, unlike other municipal assets, can’t be “warehoused.” Failure to maintain the courses for even one season will render them unusable.

The land on which the Mohawk public golf holes lie is unusable for development, because it lies in a flood plain. As such, there is virtually no demand from the private sector for the city to sell the property to developers.

Some of the additional reasons it is more profitable for the city to divest itself of Page Belcher holes, rather than Mohawk, are the greater cost of supplying water to Page Belcher and the fact that the West Tulsa courses lie within the boundaries of the Jenks school district. The proposed properties are also less than a mile from the construction of the new Tulsa Hills shopping center.

Regardless of your position on whether or not the golf courses should be shut down to save money, it is quite troubling to hear that Mayor Kathy Taylor may be planning to offer the highly valuable land to only one, highly connected, developer.

If sold, the city should ask for Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from the entire development sector. How else will we ever know if the citizens are getting the best deal possible on their tax dollar investment? How else will we know that special favors haven’t been granted for future favors?

Clean government demands an open process.

South Tulsa Bridge: Breakfast Club?

2007-04-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Guess who was overseen today, having breakfast at First Watch, near 81st & Lewis Avenue? I have it from a very good source that Public Works Department head Charles Hardt had a very chummy breakfast with Jenks' mayor, Vic Vreeland!

Wouldn't you love to have been a fly on that runny egg yolk?

It is a well known fact that Hardt is nearing retirement after a couple of decades with the City of Tulsa? Was he there conducting city business on a Sunday with Vreeland, or was he discussing an exit strategy? Might he be looking for a fat consulting fee now that the courts have opened the door for Infrastructure Ventures, Inc. to start work on the controversial Bixby/Jenks bridge?

Time will tell. For now...yet another "Thing to Make You Go...Hmmmmm."

Annexation: Hicks Creates Mock Press Conference

2007-03-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

Media bias often comes not from what is mentioned in a story, but what is not mentioned.

Yesterday, Dan Hicks called a press conference that was pretty well attended, in attempt to represent lack of citizen support for the city's plan to annex the Tulsa County Fairgrounds.

The major news that came from the conference was District 8 City Councilor Bill Christiansen's change of heart regarding the issue. Less that two months ago, Christiansen called for the annexation by the city, referring to the issue as a "no brainer." Now he says he's changed his position because he has "decided to step back and view the situation with the eyes of a citizen."

I served on the council for years with Mr. Christiansen and witnessed many issues on which he later changed his position. This would be admirable, if it weren't so obviously done for political rather than policy reasons. Seeing the situation "from the eyes of a citizen", in this case, means Christiansen's afraid of taking an unpopular position, which he once viewed to be in the best interests of the city he's elected to serve, because it might cost him votes.

It's easy to lead people where they want to go. Leaders are the ones that pursue issues that are not popular at the time, but prove to be correct later.

But what I really wanted to report on deals with the other three participants in the press conference. Three women Hicks found who were willing to voice their opposition to the annexation of county property. They are, Vicki McCabe, Liz Garrison and Candace Chonka. In fact, the Tulsa World's story featured a photograph of the women, instead of a picture of Christiansen. [click here to see photo]

Here's what's interesting. The photo shows McCabe and Garrison looking on as Chonka "speaks against city annexation of the Tulsa County fairgrounds." What isn't shared with the paper's reader is this.

Candace Chonka is Dan Hicks' sister!

What also isn't shared is the fact that both Ms. McCabe and Ms. Garrison (the two women providing "moral" support in the photo] attend the same church as Mr. Hicks [Tulsa Bible Church]. There is, of course, nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but do you think the press conference would have been as effective, if this was known by the press at the outset?

[Correction: I initially reported that Candace Chonka, Mr. Hick's sister, is a resident of Bixby. I based this on a Google search of her name, which returned an address that appears to be within the city limits of Bixby. However, Ms. Chonka has complained to the Republican Party Headquarters that she is a Tulsa resident. I will accept this as true, because her city of residency was originally stated to be an item of "additional interest," and is not central to the point of this posting. I sincerely apologize for any distress that I may have caused her.]

So what we have is a press conference held in the home of a political supporter of County Commissioner Fred Perry [Hicks knocked doors and put out signs for Perry], which featured that supporter's sister and two of his friends from church, and one "waffling" Councilor, who lost his bid for the same County Commission seat now held by Fred Perry, against whom Hicks mightily campaigned only a few months ago. Hmmmmm....

This is a quintisential Dan Hicks tactic. Create the illusion that he has widespread support for his position and then use that "support" to manufacture a news item. It's just a shame that the Tulsa World and KOTV didn't vet these "citizens" before they ran with their stories.

Or...would they have done anything different, even if they had vetted them?