Here are some choice segments of the thrid chapter of the book I'm reading, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Elizabeth reached down to her ankle, taking care not to draw attention. There, her hand met the dagger concealed beneath her dress. She meant to follow this proud Mr. Darcy outside and open his throat.
Were it not for Ronald Reagan who played an instrumental role in bringing my parents to the right, I would have most likely been born into a Democrat Household, a thought which makes be shudder. I've been a Republican all my life. I've even held a few positions in the Tulsa County GOP: House District Director, Precinct Chairman, Precinct Vice Chairman, and Precinct Treasurer. I've volunteered countless hours to various candidates, and to the local party. So it may seem that I'm a party guy, but I'm not sure that would be an accurate statement. While I am a strong conservative Republican, who usually puts party first, I don't do so blindly.
In Michael Bates' latest post he asks "Where's Dewey Jr?" Bates posts a letter he recieved from Herb Beattie who is desperately reaching out to whoever might be able to answer that question. Apparently he is attempting to invite Bartlett to a candidate forum for the League of Women Voters of Metro Tulsa.
I can't decide if Bates was going for Where's Waldo, or Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. To cover my bases, I've created the following two works.
or click here to listen
Well, not really, they both were on the KRMG morning show with Joe Kelley. The full audio from both segments can be found here, and here.
I've mashed them together so it seems like they were really debating. Please to enjoy.
Yesterday I sent an email to each member of the Tulsa City Council asking them some questions regarding possible subsidies paid by Tulsa tax payers to fund the operation of a high-speed rail line between OKC and Tulsa. Councilor Westcott was the first to respond*.
Would you favor subsidizing the operational costs of the high-speed rail line?
The operating costs of the rail service will have to be subsidized by taxpayers. No transportation system can exist only funded by users. Tolls don't fully pay for a turnpike. User fees and tickets don't fully pay for airports. The expansion of I-44 through Tulsa isn't just magic, it's costing taxpayers $150 million per mile. Every form of transportation receives taxpayer subsidies.
I sent an e-mail (below) to each of the members of the Tulsa City Council regarding the proposed high-speed rail line between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. I'm particularity concerned that Tulsa is going to be asked to help subsidize the yearly operational costs required to operate high-speed passenger service between Tulsa and OKC. It is my humble opinion that we cannot afford any additional strain on our budget. Try and imagine what it would be like if the high-speed train was in service today, and we were in the position to have to help fund it. We can’t even figure out how to put needed cops on the street.
There are two kinds of people in this world; those who like auto-tuning, those who don't, and those who like Neil Diamond. No, three kinds of people: those who like auto-tuning, those who don't, those who like Neil Diamond, and those who watch Battlestar Galactica. FOUR...four...ahh no...amongst the kinds of people are: auto-tune, no auto-tune, Neil Diamond, Battlestar Galactica, and those who wear nice red uniforms...OHH! I'll start over.
Perhaps you've heard the phrase "Out of the mouth of babes." This phrase, believe it or not, is originally from the Bible and is a reference to children being an unlikely vessel for perfect praise.(Mat 21:16) It has since become synonymous with the uncanny poignancy of young children. We marvel at the wisdom of childern particularly when it is juxtaposed to the sheer stupidity that only adolescents and young adults are capable of. The truth of this is perfectly illustrated in this final tale of the tattoo.
For the most part, I reject the term racist. Seriously? Racist? A racist is a person with a prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others. I know that there are people that believe that, but I've got to think that most people do not truly believe their race is inherently better or superior to another.
Personally I don't acknowledge that there are different races. Clearly there are defined and distinct lineages, but we are all Humans, we are all part of the same race. Unless we are talking about white supremacists or some other fringe group, I'd like to see a wholesale rejection of the use of that label.
In the early 90s I was pretty awesome. I was captain of the football team, I was popular at school, I had a good looking girlfriend, I was strong, in shape, I was bad! There was a seminal moment at my friend Brian's house when it occurred to us that we needed to celebrate how cool we were with tattoos. What an incredibly great idea! We knew how awesome we were, but when we took our shirts off in the locker room the rest of the guys would know it too. Really, when you think about it, once the idea was tendered, it would have been stupid not to get a tattoo.
I've recently started using Bloggers new "read more" feature.
If you are reading this from the main page you will have to click
Have you seen these pink Yoplait lids? If you mail in your lids, they will donate money to help fight breast cancer. What the heck? Why do I need to send in a lid? If Yoplait wants to donate money to help fight breast cancer, while increasing their sales, why not just say, “For every sale of specially marked Yoplait, we will donate 10 cents to help fight breast cancer.” Surely they can track their sales.
If they just want to make you work for it, why not put a special code on the back of the lid and force you to go on line to register the lid to get the donation in?
Here are the Youtube videos from last night's high speed rail meeting.
In the Q&A videos you get to see my big bald head a lot as I try to pan the camera to people behind me. The beginning of Q&A #4 is my question.
David Streb High Speed Rail Overview Part 1
David Streb High Speed Rail Overview Part 2
These are the answers, to the best of my understanding, to the questions I had prepared for tonight's high speed rail meeting
Q: How much eminent domain will need to be used in Tulsa County for this project?
A: While there will need to be land acquisition/right of way/ED used for this project, it does not appear as if it will need to BNSF rail lines/and or right of way to get out of the city.
Q: What is the proposed path through Tulsa of the rail line?
A: Out of Tulsa, the line will use the existing BNSF lines/right of ways, and then will cross I-44 and run along side the turnpike, just to the north. Check out this map. 75 of the 105 miles of track will be new track which will only be used for this high speed project and will not be used for freight.
Use fresh clean water!
Hey...HEY!!! What are you doing? Where did you get that carafe of water? DID YOU GET IT FROM THE BATHROOM?!!!! [CENSORED]
You realize that there is a water cooler filled with fresh, clean, crisp, cold Fizz-O water less than 1 foot from the coffee maker...you realize that right? Yet you have chosen to fill the carafe with water from the freaking bathroom?! Next time why not just skip a step and dunk it in the toilet?
People use that bathroom faucet to wash their hands after they have finished doing unspeakable things. While I don't mind using it to wash my own hands, I certainly DON'T WANT TO DRINK FROM IT!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!
I...I...I give up....I give up.
Part 1
Here are a few questions that I hope are answered at the meeting tonight
How much eminent domain will need to be used in Tulsa County for this project?
What is the proposed path through Tulsa of the rail line?
How will it affect the property values of property adjacent to the lines?
What will be the total sources of money for this project?
Will Tulsans be asked to pay via increased sales or property tax?
There are several cities competing for Federal funds, how confident are we that we will receive enough money for the project?
Will the line be non stop between Tulsa and Oklahoma City?
Will the line between Oklahoma City and Dallas be non stop?
Who will pay for design, surveying and planning?
How much will it cost to travel between Tulsa and OKC? Between OKC and Dallas?
When will the project be completed?
I read a quote from a spokesman for GE who said bullet trains that whiz by at 200 miles per hour or more are "really decades down the road." How fast will the trains travel on day one? How fast will the trains travel 5, 10, and 20 years after day one?
Will the infrastructure of this project support trains that will travel at 200 mph on day one?
[UPDATE] Question from face book comments...
Can this actually turn a profit or will it just be another Amtrak?
There will be a public hearing regarding a proposed high speed rail line between Tulsa and OKC tomorrow night at the Aaronson Auditorium (Tulsa Central Library) 400 Civic Center (just a stones throw from the old city hall, and the BOK center).
The meeting starts at 6:00.
It is my understanding that this will be your only chance to discuss this in a public forum before ODOT's application for Federal Funds is turned in on Oct 2.
If you miss the meeting you can have your voice heard by sending an email to Johnson Bridgwater at jbridgwater(at)odot.org. or by sending an old fashioned snail mail letter to: ODOT Rail Division; 200 N.E. 21st St., Room 3-D6; Oklahoma City, OK 73105.
I plan to place video on Youtube...
I've grown weary of anonymous comments. This is not the first, or the second time I've re-considered my policy of anonymous comments on this blog.
I'm usually tolerant of anonymous comments that disagree with my point of view. My general rule of thumb is that they should be polite, and on topic. However more recently I've had to battle two commenters that have made me re-think my commenting policy
The first is an anonymous coward who I'm fairly sure is the infamous Mike Jones from Sand Springs. There are three or four common elements about his comments. 1. He always comes in via a Cox IP address out of Sand Springs. 2. He always comes in via a link from Medblogged. 3. He always makes extraordinarily degrading comments toward me. 4. He usually makes despairing comments about Medlock. I got sick of his comments, and I let one through and then called him on it...he has not commented since.
I'm not sure who the second person is. I don't let their comments through because they rub me the wrong way. The comments are usually pro-Bartlett and anti-Medlock. It's not so much because his comments are at odds with my point of view, so much is that I feel they skirt my rule of being on topic. They are just enough on topic that I feel I should let them through, but enough not that when coupled the fact that they are anonymous, a decide against leting them pass.
As such, I've removed the ability of folks to make anonymous comments from my blog. You'll have to have a Google or OpenID account.
If you don't like my commenting policy I suggest you get your own blog. I reserve the right to allow or disallow any comment based solely on my whimsy.
Listen! DO NOT pour yourself a cup of joe while the coffee is still brewing!
Ohh, no...just..OHH MAN LOOK WHAT YOU DID! You didn't listen to me.
Do you have any idea what you just did? Do you! You just threw off the balance of the entire pot! I saw you, you removed the pot while it was brewing, put a cup under the stream of coffee, while you poured yourself a cup. Then you put the pot back under the still flowing stream of life.
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
The strength of the brew is not a straight line. It's a curve. The start of the brew is stronger than the end. You just took the strongest part of the coffee for yourself, leaving me a weak and blasphemous, ineffectual cup of crap! This is the worst day of my life!
I cannot, in good conscience, vote for Dewey Bartlett Jr. for Tulsa’s Mayor in November. Dewey Bartlett Jr was/is part of the Tulsans for Better Government the group that tired to push at-large city councilors, a move that would have disenfranchised the North, West, and East Tulsa while simultaneously giving Downtown and Midtown more power. This is also the group that tried to push through non-partisan elections. A move designed to quash the conservative movement in this town, again in order to consolidate Midtown and Downtown power in the city of Tulsa.
Dewey Bartlett Jr, the man who, as a member of the airport board, voted to give 7.1 million dollars that Tulsa did not owe to the Bank of Oklahoma,
Dewey Bartlett Jr, suggested it would be a good idea to turn the Broken Arrow Expressway into a toll road to raise taxes on Tulsa motorists,
Dewey Bartlett Jr not once, but twice supported Democrat Kathy Taylor’s bid for Mayor of Tulsa,
Dewey Bartlett Jr’s record and actions consistently run against the conservative movement in this town. He is a GOP pretender who now wants republicans to rally around him and support his bid for Mayor against Tom Adelson.
Anyone who has had occasion to work hard on a campaign should be able to attest to the post-election-doldrums that invariably accompany a loss. When I work hard on a campaign it is because I am passionate about the candidate and/or the cause. When we lose, that passion is turned into passionate depression that usually lasts about 2-4months.
The most recent loss I’ve experienced is that of Medlock for Mayor. My wife was also fairly upset about the loss to Dewey Bartlett Jr; she said that she wished all she knew of Bartlett was from his shiny mailers, that way his win would not seem so bitter to her soul. Ecclesiastes tells us that wisdom brings sorrow and knowledge brings grief; this is a perfect real world example of this scripture.
I didn't get to watch President Obama's speeach last night, I was at church. However It seems that tie big news this morning is the outburst of South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, who yelled out, "You lie!"
(Video link for Facebook readers)
Here in The States, we try to pretend to be civil, and our rules of decorum try to reflect that. But, I wonder if all that pent up aggression causes more problems? Instead of condemning Joe Wilson, perhaps we should re-think our approach.
Watch this video of Prime Minister's Questions. I usually don't have any idea what the heck they are talking about, regardless, I love to watch the PMQ.
(Video link for Facebook readers)
I love it! Joe Wilson shouldn't have to apologize, I say we should have more of that kind of outburst, not less. I would have loved to see Reagan spar against Tip O'Neill, or George W against Nancy Pelosi.
Although, it can be taken too far, we dont want to emulate the Koreans...
(Video link for Facebook readers)
Don't forget to vote today. (7AM-7PM)
If your interested, these are the candidates that I will or would vote for depending on the district I lived in.
Mayor: Chris Medlock
Auditor: Preston Doerflinger
Council
District 2: Rick Westcott
District 5: Bill Martinson
District 6: Jim Mautino
District 8: Bill Christiansen
If you are not sure where to vote check out this Precinct Locator
If you want to see a sample ballot click here.
if you have any questions, call the Tulsa County Election Board at (918)596-5780.
If you haven't seen the Medlock for Mayor TV ads or listened to the radio ad, take some time and watch and listen.
Latest TV ad
First TV ad
Medlock Radio Ad
I was given a copy of a letter that is being circulated amongst South Tulsa residents. It makes some great points about Medlock, Christiansen, Bartlett, Lakin, and the Yale Toll bridge. I'm told that this letter was not created or paid for by either the Medlock or the Christiansen campaigns.
SOUTH YALE TOLL BRIDGE
If you want South Yale to look like South Memorial!
If you do not object to having your church services disturbed by the noise!
If your property values are of no importance to you!
If you don't mind having 18 wheelers rolling along the street during the night!
Then, go ahead and vote for Bartlett and Lakin!!
Bartlett, as a member of the Turnpike Authority, never met a toll booth he didn't like. He is responsible for the pike pass gate at the Tulsa airport.
The airport will never recover the cost of that thing but Bartlett does not care one bit about that fact.
He is the offspring of the Chamber of Commerce crowd and will care nothing about your neighborhood or your property values.
Remember, Bartlett's high endorsements came from Bixby and Jenks residents. Think about that.
CHRIS MEDLOCK AND BILL CHRISTIANSEN BOTH STOOD AGAINST BUILDING THAT BRIDGE. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO CAME TO THE MEETINGS AT ST.JAMES. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO HELPED US!
Please remember this when you vote!
This message was paid for by a private citizen and does not involve either campaign organization.
There are a few questions about the republican primary race for Tulsa Mayor that are rattling around in my brain this morning at 1:30 am. This all started the other day, when I called in to the Pat Campbell show on KFAQ. He was asking people who they were voting for and why. I called in to say that I was voting for Chris Medlock, because he is the proven conservative, and because he is on the right side of all the issues that are important to me (see Medlock’s Issues page).
He asked me, “Do you really think Medlock can beat Tom Adelson?” (Adelson is widely regarded to be the front runner on the Democrat side)
Question 1
Can Medlock beat Adelson? The real question he was asking me was, since Medlock doesn’t have a lot of money(comparatively) do I really think he can win against Adelson? Another way of asking his question is, shouldn’t I vote for Bartlett since he has a lot of money?
Since I believe he is going to beat Dewey Jr, let me answer that with another question. If he can beat one Millionaire, why can’t he beat another one?
This leads me to the next question 2
Question 2
Despite all Bartlett's flaws, should I let my fears of the general election affect my choice in the primary? Alternatively, should I go a head and choose a lesser candidate because I think he might win in the General? Still another way; should I choose a candidate that is closer in position, wealth, and ideology to the opponent in the General election because it might somehow curry favor with those in the middle or with undecided voters?
Again, let me answer that with another question. How well did that line of thinking work out for us in the last presidential election? Abandoning our core beliefs and choosing the more “electable” candidate is precisely what earned President Obama the win. I’ll not repeat that mistake in the Tulsa Mayoral election.
Question 3
Question 2, leads me to Question 3 which I leave you to answer for yourself.
From where I sit, Adelson and Bartlett Jr are not that much different. Given that Adelson has already beat Bartlett once before in the race for State Senate, what makes you think that given the choice between the two, voters won't make the same choice again?
Given Bartlett’s predilection of being a republican pretender, and a democrat supporter, it seems like the choice would be between a wolf and a wolf in sheep’s clothing and I’d rather just take the wolf. From the other perspective, given the choice between a liberal, and a liberal pretending to be a republican, I assume that most liberals would rather just vote for the real thing. I further assume that most conservatives would probably just vote for the independent given those two choices.
This is ironic because, according to Pat Campbell’s logic, we should choose Bartlett because he is the only one who can beat Adelson, when in fact the opposite is true.
Question 4
Question 4 is unrelated to the other 3, but it is bouncing around my head none-the-less.
Sometimes, I like to think by blog has more influence that it really does, but I know that in reality it is of little consequence. Michael Bates on the other hand is the grand-daddy of all Tulsa Bloggers. A link from his blog to yours is worth pure gold in the local blogosphere.
Even still, when most people get their news from the Tulsa World or from TV, why would Bartlett choose to bring so much attention to Bates by having his divorce records sealed after Bates had already blogged about it? His actions have lead to more scrutiny over his divorce, even leading to a Tulsa World article on the matter. Why not just leave it alone? Seems stupid to me, but thankfully I'm not Dewey Bartlett Jr...so what do I know?
Pondering these questions, at now 2:30am, removes all the questions in my mind as to whether or not Medlock is the right choice for the Republican nomination of Tulsa’s Mayor. No Mr. Campbell, on September 8th, I’m not going to vote for Dewey Jr. I am going to vote Chris Medlock.
There is no doubt that these are tough economic times. Business that can't adapt will fail while those who change with the times are more likely to survive. Even Moore Funeral Home has changed. Take a look at their more aggressive business model in action!
Although, I'm not likely to want do business with the folks that killed me....they may want to re-think this strategy.
****!!!disclaimer!!!****
In all seriousness I called the director of Moore Funeral Home. I wanted to make sure that they hadn't actually killed anyone before I joked about it. I think I made him nervous, because he wouldn't confirm or deny to me whether or not any one was hurt in this accident. He would only confirm to me that no one had died.
I like to do a OCIS case search for political candidates in Oklahoma. It sometimes gleans interesting information. I found two cases where Dewey Bartlett Jr sued the estate of a deceased person, but in both cases the dead person is actually listed in the case.
CJ-1995-4952
