Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt Goes All Ron DeSantis

 Meanwhile back in Oklahoma, Governor Kevin Stitt's act has evolved from strict Donald Trump apery to more of a Ron DeSantis sort of look. You know--that screeching homophobic one. Unfortunately for our Kevin those depraved Disney souls don't have a presence in the Sooner State, but, lucky for him, PBS does.

And, as the white hunter types among us know, sometimes you have to shoot the game that's available, not the great beast you dream of.  

Earlier this week Stitt vetoed House Bill 2820 which would have funded the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority until July 1, 2026. In other words, no more PBS for you, Oklahoma. Stitt's reasoning is straight out of DeSantis' twisted playbook. It says the OETA is a vehicle for PBS to sexualize the state's children by pushing a LGBTQ agenda. 

According to Stitt, "I don't think Oklahomans want to use their tax dollars to indoctrinate kids. Some of the stuff they are showing it just overly sexualizes our kids. If you want to watch that, that's fine. But why am I using taxpayer dollars to prop that up. I don't think we need that and I'm glad to veto that bill."

Yes, now we know where Kevin Stitt stands on the whole Bert and Ernie question, not to mention those salacious leers from Fred Rogers on his show, "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." 

Of course Stitt's judgement of what Oklahomans want and don't want hasn't always been spot on. In June of 2020 he promised then President, Donald Trump he would have a huge crowd of supporters at a political rally at Tulsa's BOK Center. He so oversold the attendance estimate to the Trump campaign it even erected an outside stage to accommodate the overflow crowd. Trump came, but the 19,000 seat arena was barely a third full. The whole thing was such a downer the outside stage was dismantled while El Don was speaking. 

Well, sometimes the governor gets dazed and confused. Like at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. One evening Mr. Stitt made a big show of taking his family out to eat at an OKC restaurant. He went on social media during the dinner and urged all Oklahomans to take their families out to eat. Less than 48 hours later he was forced to shut down all in person dining, gyms, barber shops and other businesses due to the swiftly spreading plague. 

The bill vetoed by Stitt passed the GOP controlled Oklahoma House 79-0 and the equally conservative Senate, 41-7. Given those numbers the guv, like he did with the crowd size in Tulsa, might have overestimated the right wing zeal to get rid of shows like the notorious, "Antiques Road Show." 

A legislative override of the veto might be problematical, however. The governor--who has probably never watched OETA programming: he got all this, "they're sexualizing kids," shit from a Fox News report that condemned two PBS cartoon shows--has framed his veto as a statement against the dreaded, "gay agenda." He has been careful not to mention Masterpiece, or even the suspected lefty Oklahoma News Report, and PBS NewsHour. By doing so any Oklahoma legislator voting to override can be accused of being a, Homo Loving RINO, by not only the governor, but any potential challenger. It is not an accusation you want to face in places like, Boise City, Dewey, Madill, and Binger.

Indeed, given the level of cowardice found in the current republican party it doesn't take much to cause GOP lawmakers to avoid the right decision in order to appease the mob, be it real, or imaginary. At the moment, without an override, OETA will cease to function in exactly two months.  

Ron DeSantis will be happy when she gets the news from Oklahoma. So much so he might even mention the governor's name in some sort of speech, or message. Who knows, there might even be a job in a DeSantis administration down the line.  Sadly that, more than anything else, is probably what Kevin Stitt is going for with this despicable nonsense.

Hey, in the end, it's all he's got.

4-30-23

Fox News Gets Tuckered Out

 Two days after Tucker Carlson and Fox News, "parted ways," there is only one thing we all can agree on. It is our man Tuck got his ass fired. Yes, that it happened is not in question. Why it happened is. 

Everyone has a theory, but only the brain trust, as it is, at Fox and Mr. Carlson know for sure. However, given the nature of both parties involved it is doubtful even they will have the same answer once they tell their versions of the events, if they ever do.

Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin said he felt it was because Fox News was going to come clean. That Rupert Murdoch and the rest had decided to admit they had been lying about not just the whole election fraud nonsense, but everything that had ever been broadcast on Fox. And, honestly, they couldn't do it with Carlson on board. The congressman wasn't clear on what had caused this fantastic epiphany, although he did mention having to pay out $787 million to the Dominion voting machine people had provided some incentive. 

Bill O'Reilly was more of a realist. He believed Carlson was let go because he was an integral cog in not only the Dominion debacle, but also two pending legal actions. The Smartmatic voting systems suit, which is looking to tag Fox for $2 plus billion is one. The other is a suit being brought by ex Carlson producer, Abby Grossberg. She claims her former boss is a misogynistic ass who verbally and professionally abuses women on a regular basis just because, well, he likes to. 

O'Reilly might know of what he speaks. Inappropriate behavior around women is what cost wild Bill his job, Such odious behavior even brought down the former Grand Poohbah of Fox,, Roger Ailes. Apparently Rupert Murdoch will let you say any kind of vile, conspiratorial, bullshit you want on the air, but behind the scenes you had to at least have a modicum of respect for women.

Or not.

One theory out of Vanity Fair emerged today. It says Murdoch was, not only, "freaked out," by a recent Carlson speech which urged hard core right wingers to pray for the country, but was pissed because his ex girlfriend Ann, Leslie Smith was a huge Carlson fan. That's right, Vanity Fair is reporting Tucker Carlson might have been fired by Rupe, just because he wanted to make sure his ex-squeeze couldn't watch her favorite TV show.  

While the romantic in me wants to believe Vanity Fair the real answer is probably a little more complicated than petty revenge.

No Tuck's foul attitude toward Fox CEO, Suzanne Scott is probably closer to the real reason. According to different sources in emails uncovered by the Dominion lawyers Carlson labeled Scott with a word that starts with C and rhymes with runt. 

Now, as an aside, for those of you who might not have the benefit of spending seven plus decades on the planet I can assure you of one thing. If you call a woman a bitch, a whore, a slut, or some other derogatory term they will get mad. But, and listen carefully, if you call a woman the C word she will go, what is politely referred to as, apoplectic. So much so weapons and potential weapons must be stored in safe and preferably secret locations. And trust me, if you are stupid enough to call  a woman that word right before you go to sleep, you are doomed.

That Tucker Carlson thought, for even a second, he could call his boss that word and get away with it speaks to an arrogance that dwarfs even Donald John Trump's. In fact Carlson's ego was so off the rails one report describes him as angry that the word was redacted when the emails were released to the public. That he lasted as long as he did is a testament to either his power at Fox, or Scott's total detachment from her employees 

Of course there is another, far simpler answer to the Tucker Carlson conundrum. One report tells us his $10 million per year contract was running out and it was time for he and Fox to negotiate a new one. Perhaps getting rid of their most popular host wasn't anything more than a cost cutting measure for the network. After all, they had just paid out $287 million and God only knows how much more in legal fees alone is getting ready to come due. Given such circumstances laying off half the custodial staff isn't going to make a dent in the cash expenditures. Getting rid of your most expensive talent, who also happens to be a major asshole and a legal liability, has to seem like a viable option. Especially to those who count the beans 

Whatever the case, we are finally rid of this reprehensible rube. And even thought there is no doubt he will re-emerge at some point. (the state run Russia Today network has already offered him a spot and former senator, Claire McCaskill thinks he will run for president), we can at least enjoy his absence for now.

With that in mind, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to tell you, the first round is on me.

4-26-23

Listening to the Sheriff Down in McCurtain County

 There are four cardinal directions, or points on a compass. They are north, east, south, and west. If you live in McCurtain County, Oklahoma and travel south you cross the Red River into Texas. If you go east you are in Arkansas. In short, McCurtain County is the very definition of rural. In fact it is so far in the outback the nearest television outlet is in Shreveport, Louisiana.. For local news residents must rely on--yes they still exist--a print only newspaper. It is known as the McCurtain Gazette-News.

The paper has been owned by the Willingham family for 40 years. Unfortunately for McCurtain County Sheriff, Kevin Clardy and other county officials the Willinghams take their role in the community and as a part of the free press seriously. That means their paper is actually going to report whatever county authorities are up to, be it good, or bad.

Now, there is something we must keep in mind here. County sheriffs in Oklahoma, especially rural Oklahoma, have a proud history of corruption and looking the other way when, relatives, or good buddies are involved in questionable activity.  In many places, they not only run the county jails, but should be occupants of them. This is especially true in a county like McCurtain which is so far out in the woods the sheriff is the single most powerful politician around. That's right, presidents, senators, governors mayors, and all the rest pale in comparison to the on your door step impact a rural sheriff has. He is the King and if he knows his business, the County Commissioners are his court of compatriots and toadies.

To them, more than even to someone like Donald Trump, a free and adversarial press is a huge pain in the ass. And since we are talking about a county with far fewer people than Enid, OK  things get personal real fast.

So it was with the McCurtain Gazette-News and Clardy's department. The paper and therefore the Willinghams had been particularly critical of the way his deputies handled an arrest, which ended with the suspect dying, months before. 

According to Bruce Willingham he left the voice activated recorder behind after a meeting of county officials because he suspected there was public business being discussed after interested citizens and the media (ie. him} left the building--a violation of state law, not to mention a juicy headline for the Gazette-News. When he recovered the recorder he found that and more.

Apparently Clardy was upset with Gazette-News reporter Chris Willingham, Bruce's son, who had been covering the death of the alleged suspect. At one point the Sheriff said he was, "gonna bounce his ass." Then things turned even darker. There were offers of finding hit men and digging holes with excavators. The locations of open pits suitable for the disposal of bodies was also brought up.

County Commissioner, Mark Jennings proposed getting a surplus army tank somewhere then running it head long into the offices of the paper. Brother Jennings was also the sad soul who lamented no one could lynch black people any more. It was an odd tangent, completely off the subject of murdering a couple of reporters, but hey, sometimes nostalgia rears its head in the strangest of circumstances. At least Jennings didn't use the N word during his dive into his deeply disturbed mental state.  

So, as an aside, there you go, who says Oklahoma isn't progressive when it comes to race relations. 

Sheriff Clardy's immediate reaction to the release of the tape was Grade A right wing nonsense. The tape, he said, had been altered. There wasn't an explanation of who did the altering, or what was really said, but it didn't matter, because the recording was also illegal. In other words, what we said and meant doesn't count because Willingham broke the law recording it. He is the real villain here. Look the other way, for God's sake look the other way.

Indeed. From top to bottom the excuses are always the same. 

County Commissioner Mark Jennings has resigned. Clardy and the people who work for him who were part of this sordid microcosm of authoritarianism and racist bullshit are still in office. 

As of this writing no one has plowed into the offices of the McCurtain Gazette-News with a tank, or other armored vehicle. Never the less, I suggest Bruce and Chris Willingham keep an eye out for each other's back in the foreseeable future. The Sheriff's Department certainly isn't going to. 

At least not in the good way.

4-23-23

Donald Trump Knows Newspeak

 Between 2AM and 2:30AM this morning Donald J. Trump was up and posting this in all caps on his social media site, Truth Social: IF FOX WOULD FINALLY ADMIT THAT THERE WAS LARGE SCALE CHEATING AND IRREGULARITIES IN THE 2020 ELECTION WHICH, WOULD BE A GOOD THING FOR THEM & FOR AMERICA, THE CASE AGAINST THEM, WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED AT ALL, WOULD BE GREATLY WEAKENED. BACK UP THOSE PATRIOTS AT FOX INSTEAD OF THROWNING THEM UNDER THE BUS - & THEY ARE RIGHT! THERE IS SOOO MUCH PROOF LIKE MASS BALLOT STUFFING CAUGHT ON GOVERNMENT CAMERAS, FBI COLLUDING WITH TWITTER AND FACEBOOK, STATE LEGISLATURES NOT USED, etc. 

That old boy does love his run on sentences. Especially during those hours when he has a snoot full of Adderall , or whatever it is that drives him into manic episodes while most of us are asleep. 

Of course, my grammar and punctuation skills aren't the greatest in the world, so I am loathe to criticize someone else's. It is rather like sneering at somebody who smokes. After 57 years of cigarette and cigar use it rings a tad hollow. 

No, the main problem here, if you look at the post in the cruel light of day, is you realize that while Donald Trump has probably never read George Orwell's novel, "1984," his mind constructs messages in Newspeak perfectly. 

According to Wikipedia "1984' s" Newspeak in part "...is a controlled language of simplified grammar and restricted vocabulary designed to limit the individual person's ability for critical thinking..."  That's right, keep the language simple, then repeat it over and over, no matter what evidence to the contrary is out there.. And when you need to just make shit up. Hey, a struggle for political power isn't for wimps. The truth is what you say it is.

In other worlds FOX News shouldn't have said they knew the election fraud misinformation was a bunch of grotesque lies. They shouldn't have texted each other that Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Lindell are delusional idiots, they are patriots. And yes there is all sorts of proof of massive voting irregularities on tape. You don't have to see it, you just have to believe it is out there, somewhere.

Just like you only have to believe me when I say: 

People of America. I am the truth and the truth is me. Democracy is corrupt while autocracy is pure. Our friends are our enemies and our enemies our friends. I am your savior and your retribution.  And--most importantly--always remember, chaos is peace! 

The republic and the world can't survive another four years of this narcissistic son of a bitch. Let's be real, if you think he wants to emulate Putin and Xi, now, just wait until someone tells him about Big Brother.  After all, he is already fluent in the lingo of "1984's" Oceania.

sic vita est

4-17-23

Marjorie Taylor Greene Gets Back to Her Conspiracy Roots

 Not that long ago Congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared to be stepping back from that which initially made her a far right wing celebrity. What happened was a rumor began to circulate that she was on Don Trump's short list to become his vice presidential running mate. Presumably because even Greene knows being vice president of the United States requires at least a veneer of sanity she began saying things such as, "Like many people I was fooled by some of the things I read on the internet." 

In other words she was distancing herself from her pre congressional social media posts which endorsed and promoted many of the more, let's say, out there QANON conspiracies.  Apparently even she understood there are large numbers of voters left who might get a tad queasy over the prospect of electing someone who thinks lizard people are running the deep state to the second highest office of the land. 

Hey, one must show at least a modicum of mental stability when appealing to the uninitiated as it were.

However, something has happened since then. Either Donald Trump told Ms. Greene he didn't need, or want her around--This campaign isn't big enough for two screaming lunatics, sweetie, we have to diversify--or she has decided Trump is quickly proving himself to be a LOSER. A crime for which there is mounting evidence.

Whichever the case Marjorie Taylor Greene appears to be reclaiming her roots as a true believer in the great and wonderful Q. 

How else can you explain her announcement on national TV that democrats are the party of pedophiles, then follow it up with a photo shopped image of Joe Biden purportedly trying to make the moves on a little boy. Rampant pedophilia is a pillar of Q's belief system. Everyone, to the left of Ted Cruz is  involved. Joe Biden, pizza joint owners, Hillary Clinton, even Tom by God Hanks. The baby sacrificing bastards are everywhere. 

Throw in the issue of Transgender rights and the whole evil plot is complete. Recently Ms. Greene coined the word, Transtifa, combining trans with antifa. According to the congresswoman from Georgia Transtifa's agenda is to replace, not white people with brown and black people, but women with transgendered men. 

Why yes, that's right. All of them.

The trans terrorist stuff began after the Nashville school shooter turned out to be a woman who desired to transform into a man. Greene and our pal Tucker Carlson latched onto the idea of trans terrorism. The congresswoman,, who is the more creative of the two, also linked Antifa to the transgender threat and publicly warned of an Antifa sponsored , "Trans Day of Vengeance."  which never happened--or as she might say, hasn't happened yet.

Most recently Ms. Greene has speculated the nation is plagued with mass shootings because of the drugs doctors have been prescribing willy milly to  the mentally ill. In Nashville it was all that testosterone mixed with anti depressants. In Louisville it was the anti anxiety meds swirled in with, "mind altering," chemicals. 

Her close political ally and possible boy toy, Matt Gaetz has gone off in the same direction. On a recent podcast he said democrats and Big Pharma have, "unleashed, the crazies," on us. He urged the government to reopen shuttered asylums so those who have no right to walk our streets because of their mental state can be locked away.

Other than reopening asylums, neither Greene or Gaetz have offered a solution to the deadly combination of drugs, politics, sexual orientation, and guns. Of course it hasn't dawned on either the average American doesn't care what makes people like Connor Sturgeon nuts. We just want someone to make sure they can't get their hands on a fucking assault rifle.  

Indeed, sometimes the answers to the most complex questions are the simplest. Even if they screw up the subtle appeal to anti-vaxxers and the Scientology crowd. 

As of today in this the year of our Lord, 2023 there have been 146 mass shootings in the Untied States. 209 people have been killed and 563 wounded. For those keeping track, April 12th is the 102nd day of the year. 

Given that those are stats and not conspiracies it is doubtful the Gentlewoman from Georgia is interested.  After all, dealing in conspiracies is far more fun and carries no responsibilities at all.

4-12-23

Nathan Bedford Forrest Would Have Been Proud

 According to Tennessee republicans Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were kicked out of the state house of representatives because they broke the rules of decorum. In other words when you approach the well of the Tennessee state house floor without being recognized your ass is expelled,. No exceptions--sort of.

Indeed, it  doesn't matter if you are legally elected, or not. It doesn't matter if you are speaking in support of hundreds of constituents who are there to demand law makers do something about run amok gun violence. It doesn't matter if three nine year olds and three adults have just been murdered down the street  by a lunatic with an AR-15. And it certainly doesn't matter if you are a black legislator.

Oh. Wait.

You see there were actually three people leading that peaceful anti gun protest in the state house. The third was Gloria Johnson, another duly elected legislator. She survived expulsion by one vote. She also just happens to be white.

Afterward when asked about why she escaped the purge Ms. Johnson said, "It might have had something to do with the color of my skin."

Well, what else should we expect from a state that gave us Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Fort Pillow Massacre (Where Forrest's confederate troops massacred the Union garrison,--who was attempting to surrender--because almost all of them were African-American) and the Ku Klux Klan. 

More than one republican legislator referred to the demonstration which led to the expulsions as an insurrection and compared it to the Jan 6th 2021, riots in Washington D.C.  You know, that day the mob demanded a national election be overturned, violently attacked police officers, vandalized the building, obstructed lawful proceedings defecated on the floor of the house, and called for the execution of those who got in the way.

That would be opposed to a bunch of kids and parents in Nashville who simply wanted their representatives to curb the availability  of military style assault weapons to those of us who hear voices and see banana people in attics. They may have been loud, but no one attacked any cops, or threatened to hang republicans. No one smashed any doors and windows, and, as far as we know, no one took a shit anywhere other than the rest rooms.

So, yeah, it was a little different. 

Not that it matters. Thanks to their shameless, brute, stupidity, Tennessee republicans have made sure everyone in the country knows the removal of Pearson and Jones had nothing to do with their alleged lack of decorum, or even their cause. It did, however, have everything to do with their race.  

Nathan Bedford Forrest, former buyer and seller of slaves, confederate general, and the very first Grand Wizard of the KKK, would have been proud. 

The rest of us, not so much.

4-9-25

A Long Day With Donald

 Yes, it was weird and chaotic on the streets of lower Manhattan yesterday. In many ways it was a perfect example of what is wrong with this country. In others it was oddly boring, a mind numbing study in media overkill. So much so, it moved former Ohio Governor turned analyst, John Kasich to wonder "Isn't there something else we should be covering?"

Really. I mean how many times do we need to see that photo of Big Don sandwiched between his lawyers in the courtroom. Or watch his motorcade travel up FDR Drive.

In truth, far too many people spent far too much time pointing out how historical the moment was while speculating about what thoughts were rolling around inside Donald Trump's head. The fact is the whole episode could have been covered by about three people in an hour and a half, as opposed an army of experts spread out over a time line that dwarfed Cecil B. DeMille's production of the, "Ten Commandments." High drama it wasn't.

Not even Marjorie Taylor Greene could add spice to the party. Ms. Greene who was fresh off a CBS TV " sixty Minutes," interview during which she claimed democrats are the party of pedophiles, had promised to protest Trump's indictment. She arrived at the scene several hours before the former president and immediately found she wasn't in Georgia any more.

The pro Trump people didn't even seem to know she was there, or if they did chose to ignore her. The anti Trump crowd made such a racket her attempt at a speech was drowned out. The crush across from the court building began to turn ugly within moments of her arrival and after about 10 minutes or so of ignominious futility she was whisked away by security.

Not to worry though, she quickly returned to form. Later in the day our Marjie managed to disgust everyone who has a sense of decency when she posted a spot on Twitter purportedly showing Joe Biden inappropriately chatting up a little boy. In reality the boy, who like Biden, stutters met the president a while back. Mr. Biden was offering him worlds of encouragement and advice regarding their shared disability. 

Meanwhile Brother Don was keeping quiet for a change. The only revelation yesterday afternoon was his campaign would be selling tee shirts sporting his mug shot. As with everything Trumpian  the photo was a fake. The state of New York didn't bother taking a mug shot during the booking process. 

That evening the former president held what was billed as a news conference at Mar A Lago. It was in fact just another campaign speech riddled with self pity, school yard insults, and egregious lies. In other words it was the Donald Trump we all know, the one who had been missing in action during his brief stay in New York.

That's right, America, the presiding judge in Manhattan hates me, Donald J. Trump. The judge's wife hates me and so does their kid. The DA is a crook who should indict himself and his wife for illegal leaks of information pertaining to this case. Jack Smith, the federal prosecutor, if that's his name, is a, "lunatic." The Fulton County DA is a racist. They are all weaponizing the justice system and interfering with the 2024 election. because it is the only way they can beat me, Donald J. Trump.

And that's not all, you commie sons of bitches. Biden is ruining the economy, and while republicans, led by me, Donald J. Trump are the party of peace, democrats are steering us straight into World War III. And by the way, if I, Donald J. Trump had been president the last three years there wouldn't be a war in Ukraine. 

As my grandson might say, whatever dude. 

No wonder the only outlets to carry the speech live were pro fascist organizations like Fox and Newsmax. 

Of course we might as well get used to spectacles like we witnessed yesterday. Trump and his rabid  cult can howl all they want, but odds are this isn't going to be the last time he gets dragged into the dock. That's what happens when you have no sense of responsibility, morality, or right and wrong. 

Hey just because Donald Trump and large numbers of his party have no respect for the law doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't. No matter how boring it is.

sic vita est

4-5-23