Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!

Stay tuned, I am coming back. I have some free time now and will be updating the blog more often now. Sorry for the sabbatical....

Speculation Kills

Why are we paying $4.00 for gasoline?

Has speculation gone wild? Should something like Oil, that has become more of a utility than a commodity, remain on the market?

While congress tries to get a handle on the poor economy and the rising commodities, this should only take 30 years.....sheesh, we the American people are getting hosed at the gas station.

Maybe I am looking at it in too simple of terms when I think that this problem is easy to fix. We should be tapping every inch that we can to find new oil and lower the prices. While we refuse to drill off of our costs China and Cuba have decided to take full advantage of our stupidity by drilling no less than 50 miles off of our southern coasts. Do China and Cuba know something we don't?

Why haven't we built more nuclear plants? Why haven't we built any refineries since 1976? Why are we just now beginning to explore, in depth, the possibilities of alternative fuels. Sure we have looked for alternative fuels over the past couple of decades, but, I would think that if capitol hill didn't have power or some of these lawmakers were not drawing exorbitant salaries they might see what the high cost of oil is doing to the working families and to our economy.

Oil is no longer a commodity it is a necessity.

This link has some interesting things to say about why gas and oil is so high. Please read it.

Ruined by Consultants!

Have campaigns gone to far? Are good men staying out of office because they do not want to put their families through the scrutiny?

Being a publicly elected official opens your life up for everyone to scrutinize. Things you did long ago or friends you have now can bring you down. Who is responsible for this?

The answer is easy. Campaigning has become big business! Consultants that win get big bucks and with the money comes a win at all cost attitude. Winning is good right? Yes! Winning is great! But....... Winning at what cost?

What are we, the electorate, costing ourselves? Great men are no longer encouraged to go into public office. Every President from the beginning could be tied to something bad or someone who was deemed un-American.

Kennedy, Eisenhower, LBJ just to name a few that have been relatively recent all had indiscretions. Eisenhower talked of divorcing his wife while in office.

Reagan divorced his first wife and led the "liberal" Screen Actors Guild. Would he be elected today? Not if a consultant decided to tear into him. Do you think that Karl Rove would have hesitated if all things were equal?

The problem has become this country and our need for paparazzi style news. We are driving the information age by wanting to know everything we possibly can disregarding the fact that we do not need this knowledge nor is it important to the decision process of what makes a great leader.

Did JFK's affairs make him any less of a great president? Did IKE's? What about Reagan and his divorce?

These men were great and led our country through periods that Gen X'ers and Millenial's could not fathom. The cuban missile crisis, for one, was an event that put this country on the edge of WWIII and yet an affair or reliance on pain meds did not affect the ability of JFK to lead and do so at a level that arguably has not been seen since.

I am not recusing any of them for their indiscretions. I do not think that I am the person to judge a man for his sins, however. Affairs, Alcoholism, Drug use, Murder, Being a Traitor all of these have been perpetrated by Presidents.

The exception? They were elected when the press reported the news and not he news they made. The news that as an electorate we now covet.

This cycle will not end! The American way is involved, Capitalism! In order for the government to be governed by greatness we, the electorate, will have learn to accept that Great men are not always Great. Most importantly, government must be taken back by the people after all government derives its power from the governed and it is time. Lobbyist do not represent you or I they represent who pays them. Consultant do not represent the best interest of you or I, they are paid to get people elected.

Who protects us?

Sonics Owners Cry More, More, More...

After passing a sales tax initiative to ensure that Oklahoma City will have the facilities necessary to host an NBA team. The owners and our illustrious Governor said Oklahoma should do more. 

What more do we need to do?  Why should we be providing more to those with the most?  Why do they deserve tax breaks over the small business owner or the everyday tax payer.  

Are we selling our souls just so we can have a basketball team that after five or so years will no longer be economically viable.  I am pretty sure that after the novelty wears off we will be in the same boat as all the other failed franchises...no attendance.  

What will the lasting legacy be for NBA in OKC.  Corporate Welfare at its finest!

What are we going to pay for next?

The Great Conservative Losses of 2008

.....Twas the worst of times......

In 2008 conservatives will likely loose more than just the great William F. Buckley. The enthusiasm and fervor for which both Democrat Presidential candidates are garnering from voters is monumental.  Larger voter turnout and substantially larger bank rolls are mounting a very impressive hill for GOP Presidential candidate John McCain to climb if he is to be the President elect in November.  

Seems as though it would be a much easier hill to climb if McCain were a true conservative.  Which begs the question.  Is conservatism as we know it dead?  

We used to be a party of principles and of higher standards for not only ourselves but for all.  We used to be a party that believed in smaller government.  We used to be a party that believed in sovereignty.  We used to be a party that believed power should be returned to those governments that knew best of what its people needed, i.e. local and state governments.  We used to believe that government should be less involved in our everyday lives.

We used to be conservative.  For all the things that great conservatives, like Mr. Buckley, have fought so long and passionately for a new wave of "conservatives" is destroying years of hard work.  Government continues to grow at a rapid pace.  Government is more and more intrusive into our everyday lives.  Government has allowed our borders to continuously remain unsecured.  Government has fostered a climate of corruption and greed between the hallowed halls of OUR great capital.

All of the aforementioned things have come under the watch of a "conservative" congress and a "conservative" president.  The only true conservative thing I can think of that has come from 7 1/2 years of a "Conservative" President and 12 years of a "Conservative" Congress is tax cuts.  Please do not misunderstand me.  The Bush tax cuts have been a great economic stimulus but, it was one of many factors that has led to a 7 robust years of growth.  When Congress and the Presidency were both held by "Conservatives" why did we not see the progression of True Conservative principles.  It seems to me that 6 years should be plenty to start enacting the Conservative Agenda.  

I think Bush did great things and lead our country gloriously and valiantly during his first 4 years.  During his first 4 years President Bush was presented with a dead economy that only got worse on 9/11 and from our "bootstraps" Bush pulled us up dusted us off and started us down the road to recovery and vengeance against our attackers.  The problem is that somewhere along the way we lost site of our mission.  Bin Laden is still at large even though another ruthless man was found and subsequently put to death.  I do believe the world is a safer place without Sadam but I also believe that this caused us to loose sight of our true mission.

Which brings me back to the mission of conservatives.  We have lost sight of our mission.  Conservatism was once right and can be again but it will take twice as much work as it did before.  Conservatives must fight to bring an end to the trend of the ever expanding government.  Conservatives must limit the scope and size of government.   Conservatives must lead the crusade to secure our borders and strengthen our sovereignty.

In the end Conservatives must be Conservatives.  Something that William F. Buckley understood and fought for.  His passing has left a hole that as I see it no current conservative talking head can adequately fill.  

Another one bites the dust

Seems that there will be a new trend this year in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.  Retiring so that you can become a consultant.  

The problem I have with this is simple.  The people that are "retiring" are all the individuals that are wrapped up in ethics investigations.  This is just another clever way for crooked individuals to save face and try and keep the appearance of good citizens.  

In his press release he states that he wants to begin his private consulting career and that his business is doing so well that it demands more of his time.

I think what is going to demand more of his time, and his money, is his legal defense.  Maybe he should stay as an elected official long enough for the Republican Legal Fund to bail him out and pay for his defense.  

Full Press Release:

Monday, March 03, 2008  
Worthen Declines Re-election to Pursue Private Sector Career
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 3, 2008) -- Oklahoma City Rep. Trebor Worthen said
he has had enough time to accomplish his primary legislative goals and
announced today that he will not be seeking re-election. 
Rep. Worthen, now 28, was the youngest member of the House when elected
in 2004. He replaced his father, Robert Worthen, who served in the state
legislature for 18 years before being term-limited. Worthen: 
I first ran for office because I wanted to have an impact on policy
issues that affect the lives of every day Oklahomans. My primary goals
were lowering taxes, enacting pro-life legislation, passing sweeping
ethics reform, and keeping government spending in line. It has been an
honor for me to have accomplished those goals with my colleagues in the
legislature.
With his primary goals enacted into law, Worthen said it is time for him
to focus on building his career in the private sector: 
I never ran for office to be a career politician. I ran because I wanted
to help enact conservative policies at the Capitol. Now it's time for me
to focus on advancing my career in the private sector.
Worthen said that Majority Designs, the marketing and consulting company
he started last year, is demanding more of his time and will require his
full attention if it is to continue growing. The company specializes in
political advertising, and already has clients in four states and the
District of Columbia. 
Additionally, Worthen said he will be joining A.H. Strategies as a
Senior Associate. A.H. Strategies is a leading political consulting
company in Oklahoma, most known for its role in electing the Republican
House majority and helping the Senate Republican Caucus grow to 24
members. 
Despite his new role in the private sector, Worthen said he is not
ruling out another run for office in the future. Worthen has eight years
of eligible service in the Legislature under Oklahoma's term limits
provision. 

When will it end?  I do not understand how a so called conservative can consciously vote for anything that places an ever increasing burden on the taxpayer.  

It is a shame that our government's spending has gotten so out of control that it has become a punch-line in joke after joke.  I assure you that our founding fathers did not envision pork barrel spending and a government entirely consumed with itself.  

"The Founding Fathers understood that government is most accountable and effective where it is close to the people.  The Constitution authorizes the federal government to exercise only a few specific powers of national importance and reserves the rest to the states.  A city council or state government is much better suited to match spending priorities with local needs than a member of Congress or a federal bureaucrat. Local politicians have fewer constituents and are more accessible.  With the sphere of government restricted, voters can keep a closer eye on how tax dollars are spent." from www.CAGW.org.

The thing that scares me the most is I am hearing of specific examples of Oklahoma House Members doing the same thing.  Pork is a drug for politicians and to many of our politicians need to go to rehab.