It seems like when you are raising children, your life hinges on life changing events usually tied to the child’s development. It seems like the first big step when they are first born is “if we can just get them to sleep all the way through the night”. To new parents, that is a big deal. For many, step two is “if we can just get them out of diapers”. Then it’s “if we can just get them out of daycare”. I want you to fast forward with the Armes’ family 22 years and it seems like the latest wish is “if we can just get her out of college”. Well, sports fans, we are there. Saturday, we watched our first born, Kathryne Leigh Armes, walk across the stage at Oklahoma State University and receive her degree in what is commonly called “HRAD” which is “hotel and restaurant administration”. Katy, aka ‘Katybob’, ‘Katycat’, also occasionally referred to as ‘drama queen’ is now officially a college graduate and I just cannot describe how proud I am for her to receive her degree and to be ready for the first chapter in her adult life. It is a huge milestone which certainly has not been without sacrifice. There have been several trips to Stillwater pulling a gooseneck stock trailer. But, all in all, I think it has been a very positive experience for all of us and mostly for her. She, like myself and many of you out there, had to work her way through and I am proud of my daughter’s work ethic because I know, like a lot of you do, that it takes a lot of work just to survive. To finally complete a goal like that is an extremely fulfilling milestone.
I know, as I write about this, that I am making it sound like college is the end. In reality, it is only the beginning. I do not believe for a minute that college is a guarantee to success but it is a huge door opener. I kind of think that a college degree in this new century will be equivalent to what a high school diploma was 30 or 40 years ago. There are still a great many unknowns as far as where this path will lead her but I do know that it will broaden her horizons, allow her to see the world from a little higher perch, and it will still be up to her whether she is successful or not but I think she is in a pretty good place to start that journey.
I know it may sound like I am bragging a little and that is certainly not my intent. But, as a public official, our lives are somewhat of an open book so I just thought that I would take a moment to share with my constituents, friends and neighbors, kind of where we are in the Armes’ family saga. I know that I am only half way home because little sister Kelsey has about a year and a half before she heads somewhere to get her education. So, it will only be a brief financial rest, and in a flash, Dede and I will be empty nesters. If you have little ones still in diapers or still hanging in there on the Santa Clause Deal, my advice is to enjoy every precious moment because in the blink of an eye, your babies will be grown and headed out into the world to seek their fortune. For now, as we head into this Christmas season, we are counting our blessings and are extremely proud of Katy for achieving this monumental milestone. Now, “if she can just get a job”.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call
1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -Wiliam Butler Yeats
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
It's Official, She's Done.
It seems like when you are raising children, your life hinges on life changing events usually tied to the child’s development. It seems like the first big step when they are first born is “if we can just get them to sleep all the way through the night”. To new parents, that is a big deal. For many, step two is “if we can just get them out of diapers”. Then it’s “if we can just get them out of daycare”. I want you to fast forward with the Armes’ family 22 years and it seems like the latest wish is “if we can just get her out of college”. Well, sports fans, we are there. Saturday, we watched our first born, Kathryn Leigh Armes, walk across the stage at Oklahoma State University and receive her degree in what is commonly called “HRAD” which is “hotel and restaurant management”. Katy, aka ‘Katybob’, ‘Katycat’, also occasionally referred to as ‘drama queen’ is now officially a college graduate and I just cannot describe how proud I am for her to receive her degree and to be ready for the first chapter in her adult life. It is a huge milestone which certainly has not been without sacrifice. There have been several trips to Stillwater pulling a gooseneck stock trailer. But, all in all, I think it has been a very positive experience for all of us and mostly for her. She, like myself and many of you out there, had to work her way through and I am proud of my daughter’s work ethic because I know, like a lot of you do, that it takes a lot of work just to survive. To finally complete a goal like that is an extremely fulfilling milestone.
I know, as I write about this, that I am making it sound like college is the end. In reality, it is only the beginning. I do not believe for a minute that college is a guarantee to success but it is a huge door opener. I kind of think that a college degree in this new century will be equivalent to what a high school diploma was 30 or 40 years ago. There are still a great many unknowns as far as where this path will lead her but I do know that it will broaden her horizons, allow her to see the world from a little higher perch, and it will still be up to her whether she is successful or not but I think she is in a pretty good place to start that journey.
I know it may sound like I am bragging a little and that is certainly not my intent. But, as a public official, our lives are somewhat of an open book so I just thought that I would take a moment to share with my constituents, friends and neighbors, kind of where we are in the Armes’ family saga. I know that I am only half way home because little sister Kelsey has about a year and a half before she heads somewhere to get her education. So, it will only be a brief financial rest, and in a flash, Dede and I will be empty nesters. If you have little ones still in diapers or still hanging in there on the Santa Clause Deal, my advice is to enjoy every precious moment because in the blink of an eye, your babies will be grown and headed out into the world to seek their fortune. For now, as we head into this Christmas season, we are counting our blessings and are extremely proud of Katy for achieving this monumental milestone. Now, “if she can just get a job”.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call
1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -Wiliam Butler Yeats
I know, as I write about this, that I am making it sound like college is the end. In reality, it is only the beginning. I do not believe for a minute that college is a guarantee to success but it is a huge door opener. I kind of think that a college degree in this new century will be equivalent to what a high school diploma was 30 or 40 years ago. There are still a great many unknowns as far as where this path will lead her but I do know that it will broaden her horizons, allow her to see the world from a little higher perch, and it will still be up to her whether she is successful or not but I think she is in a pretty good place to start that journey.
I know it may sound like I am bragging a little and that is certainly not my intent. But, as a public official, our lives are somewhat of an open book so I just thought that I would take a moment to share with my constituents, friends and neighbors, kind of where we are in the Armes’ family saga. I know that I am only half way home because little sister Kelsey has about a year and a half before she heads somewhere to get her education. So, it will only be a brief financial rest, and in a flash, Dede and I will be empty nesters. If you have little ones still in diapers or still hanging in there on the Santa Clause Deal, my advice is to enjoy every precious moment because in the blink of an eye, your babies will be grown and headed out into the world to seek their fortune. For now, as we head into this Christmas season, we are counting our blessings and are extremely proud of Katy for achieving this monumental milestone. Now, “if she can just get a job”.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call
1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -Wiliam Butler Yeats
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
What's Really Important?
If you have been watching any news at all lately, or especially for you real political junkies who like to read blogs, the “blogisphere” has been full of accusations. We have been doing what us Republicans do best “eating our young”. That has been quite a big deal lately as this is the first time in history for the Republicans to control all three branches at the Capitol. It is what I call the three-legged stool. We have only owned the third leg, which is the Governor’s office, for a matter of weeks and already Republicans are at each other to see who can “out conservative” the other one. I said in 2004 when the Republicans first took the House that “it is all well and good but now we must govern”. Now the minority party will point out the weaknesses of the majority party. We were great at that when we were in the minority. We should have been since we did it for 80 years.
Gradually, year by year, with a little help from Washington, D.C., voters have realized that Oklahoma is a pretty conservative state. I think that message is pretty clear especially considering the seats we picked in Southeast Oklahoma, which has long been considered a stronghold for Democrats. There are those who said for years “you will never switch Southeast Oklahoma”, but now it is happening. The argument as we head toward session this year seems to be “what is most important to conservatives?”. Is it the economy or social issues? When I consider things like this, it seems I often go back to things my mom used to say, one of which was something I heard all too often growing up and something you have heard me say before and that is “life is about balance”. I think it holds true today as we examine where we are as a state. I think if you think of it in other terms like “what is the hottest fire?”, I have to think that the economy is the hottest fire we are dealing with. Now, before you say that I have picked sides and “Don Armes is no conservative” and all that other malarchy, let’s go back to why we sign up as Republicans to start with. One of the big reasons that I am a Republican, even when it was not cool in Southwest Oklahoma, is the freedom to keep and bear arms. That is very important to me and the desire to be left alone transcends into other areas for me personally. I have a pro-life voting record that I will put up against anyone’s. In fact, on the other side of the ledger, I got a seven percent from the latest ACLU rating that just came out. Most liberals score well over 50, so I feel pretty good about that.
I think one thing we have to remember is that not all Republicans think exactly alike. From my experience in the last eight or nine years of politics, I can tell ya that we as a group are not very tolerant of anyone who does not think just like we do. It seems that we do not tolerate shades very well. I guess, maybe those of us who were conservative when it wasn’t cool, get our hackles up pretty easily and tend to “bow up” when someone questions us or our position. I was one of the first Republicans elected in Southwest Oklahoma in this era. I spent two years in the minority party in the House and was there when we made history with the first Republican majority in eighty years. People have been waiting a long time for us to get in position to change some things in this state. They expected things to happen and “right now”. That conservative base out there was not really in the mood for excuses. They were in the mood to make something happen. I can tell ya from being in a ringside seat that the reason Oklahoma is spending more on roads and bridges is because Republicans forced that. I can specifically remember the two members, who are both termed out now, that forced the democrats hands in what I considered a brilliant political move. The members’ names were Jim Newport and Mark Liotta. We took a responsible stance and said “Oklahoma, we need to spend our money wisely and road and bridge infrastructure as a priority and if we continue to neglect it, we will never catch up”. It is more important than getting elected and more important than lots of things.” So, there has been tons of progress and there will continue to be. With the control of both chambers, came lots of good things, especially where social issues are concerned. We can now not only take a pro-life stance, we can actually pass the laws because we have the votes.
The fighting we see within our own party is very frustrating to me but one thing it does create healthy dialogue. Former Speaker, Chris Benge, used the analogy of a “big tent”. I think that sums it up fairly well because as the size of our tent increases, so do the opinions and beliefs of all of us under that tent. We have a lot of things to take care of this year. Personally, I think the hottest fire is the economy and the state budget but, as I said before, life is about balance and our job is to lead. I believe that to do that we have got to do it all. We have to address social issues but I do not think we should let those spin out of control to where we ignore the economic issues. It is a tricky tight rope to maneuver but as an old friend of mine used to say “we have got it to do” so let’s go to work.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle.
Helen Keller
Gradually, year by year, with a little help from Washington, D.C., voters have realized that Oklahoma is a pretty conservative state. I think that message is pretty clear especially considering the seats we picked in Southeast Oklahoma, which has long been considered a stronghold for Democrats. There are those who said for years “you will never switch Southeast Oklahoma”, but now it is happening. The argument as we head toward session this year seems to be “what is most important to conservatives?”. Is it the economy or social issues? When I consider things like this, it seems I often go back to things my mom used to say, one of which was something I heard all too often growing up and something you have heard me say before and that is “life is about balance”. I think it holds true today as we examine where we are as a state. I think if you think of it in other terms like “what is the hottest fire?”, I have to think that the economy is the hottest fire we are dealing with. Now, before you say that I have picked sides and “Don Armes is no conservative” and all that other malarchy, let’s go back to why we sign up as Republicans to start with. One of the big reasons that I am a Republican, even when it was not cool in Southwest Oklahoma, is the freedom to keep and bear arms. That is very important to me and the desire to be left alone transcends into other areas for me personally. I have a pro-life voting record that I will put up against anyone’s. In fact, on the other side of the ledger, I got a seven percent from the latest ACLU rating that just came out. Most liberals score well over 50, so I feel pretty good about that.
I think one thing we have to remember is that not all Republicans think exactly alike. From my experience in the last eight or nine years of politics, I can tell ya that we as a group are not very tolerant of anyone who does not think just like we do. It seems that we do not tolerate shades very well. I guess, maybe those of us who were conservative when it wasn’t cool, get our hackles up pretty easily and tend to “bow up” when someone questions us or our position. I was one of the first Republicans elected in Southwest Oklahoma in this era. I spent two years in the minority party in the House and was there when we made history with the first Republican majority in eighty years. People have been waiting a long time for us to get in position to change some things in this state. They expected things to happen and “right now”. That conservative base out there was not really in the mood for excuses. They were in the mood to make something happen. I can tell ya from being in a ringside seat that the reason Oklahoma is spending more on roads and bridges is because Republicans forced that. I can specifically remember the two members, who are both termed out now, that forced the democrats hands in what I considered a brilliant political move. The members’ names were Jim Newport and Mark Liotta. We took a responsible stance and said “Oklahoma, we need to spend our money wisely and road and bridge infrastructure as a priority and if we continue to neglect it, we will never catch up”. It is more important than getting elected and more important than lots of things.” So, there has been tons of progress and there will continue to be. With the control of both chambers, came lots of good things, especially where social issues are concerned. We can now not only take a pro-life stance, we can actually pass the laws because we have the votes.
The fighting we see within our own party is very frustrating to me but one thing it does create healthy dialogue. Former Speaker, Chris Benge, used the analogy of a “big tent”. I think that sums it up fairly well because as the size of our tent increases, so do the opinions and beliefs of all of us under that tent. We have a lot of things to take care of this year. Personally, I think the hottest fire is the economy and the state budget but, as I said before, life is about balance and our job is to lead. I believe that to do that we have got to do it all. We have to address social issues but I do not think we should let those spin out of control to where we ignore the economic issues. It is a tricky tight rope to maneuver but as an old friend of mine used to say “we have got it to do” so let’s go to work.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle.
Helen Keller
Friday, December 10, 2010
It's A Girl!
Oklahoma made history recently by electing the first female governor ever. Although she has not been sworn in yet, I think Oklahomans have gotten their mind around it now. On top of having a lady governor, one of the first cabinet appointments Governor Fallin made just happened to be a little fireball by the name of Major General Rita Aragon. I first came in contact with “General Rita” as I call her, a little over a year ago. I was privileged to be the auctioneer for the Red Cross Gala in Oklahoma City which was a quite a doin’ with lots of heavy hitters in the crowd. I shared the stage with a lady that had an energy level that was unbelievable. General Rita replaces an old friend to veterans since 1995, my good friend, Norman Lamb who served in that capacity under Governors Keating and Henry and was himself, no slouch when it came to fighting for the needs of veterans across the state. I can honestly say that Rita Aragon will fill those shoes quite nicely.
General Rita’s service to our country has been outstanding as she served from 1979-2006 in the United States Air Force. Rita earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Central State College in Edmond in 1970. She also received her Masters Degree in Guidance and Counseling from there in 1979. She enlisted in the Oklahoma Air National Guard in 1979 as an Airman Basic in the 219th Engineering Squadron stationed in Oklahoma City. She received her commission through the Academy of Military Science at Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1981. She returned to the 219th EIS as an administrative officer. In 1989, then Captain Aragon became the first female commander in the history of the Oklahoma Air National Guard when she assumed command of the 137th Air Refueling Wing at Will Rogers World Airport Air National Guard Base. She became the first female to hold the rank of Brigadier General in the history of the United States Air National Guard as the commander and Assistant Adjutant General for the Oklahoma Air National Guard in March 2003. As Assistant Adjutant General for Air, General Aragon reported directly to the Adjutant General of Oklahoma. While serving as Assistant Adjutant General, General Aragon was appointed to serve as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller. She served in that position from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, General Aragon was appointed Air National Guard Assistant to the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff Manpower and Personnel. In that position, General Aragon oversaw policies and plans covering all parts of the Air Force's military and civilian personnel management.
I would dare say that no one would cross her, or at least no one in their right mind. Whatever she lacks in size, she makes up for in vim and vinegar. She is a take charge kind of gal and I can tell you from my experience with her that when she talks, people listen. She can hold her own with any man and I promise you, veterans will be in good shape with her in the governor’s cabinet. She is no nonsense and commands respect from everyone she comes in contact with. I have been very involved with veteran’s affairs having served for several years on the Veteran’s Committee in the House and over the last six months, my dad, who was a Korean War Veteran, spent his last months in the Lawton Vets Center. I was on the grounds of that first-rate building on a daily basis and know a great deal about that state-of-the-art facility. I can hardly wait to bring General Rita down to Lawton to show her around. I have already extended my congratulations to General Rita privately. I want to take this time to publicly say congratulations to her for being appointed Secretary for Veterans Affairs in Governor Fallin’s new cabinet. Yep, that’s right. It’s a girl. But she can hold her own and veterans across our state will be well represented.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the capitol, please do not hesitate to send an email to donarmes@house.gov or call me at 1-800-522-8502.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.” ~Tom Peters
General Rita’s service to our country has been outstanding as she served from 1979-2006 in the United States Air Force. Rita earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Central State College in Edmond in 1970. She also received her Masters Degree in Guidance and Counseling from there in 1979. She enlisted in the Oklahoma Air National Guard in 1979 as an Airman Basic in the 219th Engineering Squadron stationed in Oklahoma City. She received her commission through the Academy of Military Science at Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1981. She returned to the 219th EIS as an administrative officer. In 1989, then Captain Aragon became the first female commander in the history of the Oklahoma Air National Guard when she assumed command of the 137th Air Refueling Wing at Will Rogers World Airport Air National Guard Base. She became the first female to hold the rank of Brigadier General in the history of the United States Air National Guard as the commander and Assistant Adjutant General for the Oklahoma Air National Guard in March 2003. As Assistant Adjutant General for Air, General Aragon reported directly to the Adjutant General of Oklahoma. While serving as Assistant Adjutant General, General Aragon was appointed to serve as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller. She served in that position from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, General Aragon was appointed Air National Guard Assistant to the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff Manpower and Personnel. In that position, General Aragon oversaw policies and plans covering all parts of the Air Force's military and civilian personnel management.
I would dare say that no one would cross her, or at least no one in their right mind. Whatever she lacks in size, she makes up for in vim and vinegar. She is a take charge kind of gal and I can tell you from my experience with her that when she talks, people listen. She can hold her own with any man and I promise you, veterans will be in good shape with her in the governor’s cabinet. She is no nonsense and commands respect from everyone she comes in contact with. I have been very involved with veteran’s affairs having served for several years on the Veteran’s Committee in the House and over the last six months, my dad, who was a Korean War Veteran, spent his last months in the Lawton Vets Center. I was on the grounds of that first-rate building on a daily basis and know a great deal about that state-of-the-art facility. I can hardly wait to bring General Rita down to Lawton to show her around. I have already extended my congratulations to General Rita privately. I want to take this time to publicly say congratulations to her for being appointed Secretary for Veterans Affairs in Governor Fallin’s new cabinet. Yep, that’s right. It’s a girl. But she can hold her own and veterans across our state will be well represented.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the capitol, please do not hesitate to send an email to donarmes@house.gov or call me at 1-800-522-8502.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.” ~Tom Peters
Friday, December 3, 2010
In the Zone: The Holiday Zone.
It seems that once the gate opens on Thanksgiving, we enter what I like to think of as the “holiday zone”. Life is pretty normal up until that time and then people shift into a whole different gear. Nobody is really focused on a whole lot work wise or anything else but everyone is planning their holiday parties and family get-togethers or holiday trips. It is really hard to break anybody out of that mindset. Christmas and Thanksgiving are 30 days apart and if you haven’t got in done, whatever that is, you can almost forget it until, at the very least, after Christmas. More likely, after New Years.
In the game of politics, we will be very busy through this holiday zone attending Christmas banquets and holiday get-togethers as well as whatever family events. There is quite an expectation that we attend everything we can. So, this lull in the action can actually be quite fast paced. Even with that being said, it is still a pretty nice time of the year. I certainly do not try to schedule any auctions during that time because I have learned after 25 plus years that peoples’ attention is on anything but business. It is kind of like my friend Mattie Kinder taught me years ago about using the Almanac to work cattle. It is not magic or sorcery. It is just a simple rhythm of the Earth. She has said several times that her Grandma Stoll taught them that you do not even wean babies without the Almanac. I think this “holiday zone” is a lot like that. It is swimming up stream or walking uphill. It is just really hard to get peoples’ minds out of holiday gear and I guess that is as it should be. We do need to take time to be thankful for all the things we are blessed with and to celebrate the birth of Christ and to enjoy our families. Those are the things that really count. Whether you can squeeze in one more real estate deal or one more auction, in the end really does not matter. What really matters is our friends and families. I guess that is really what this zone is all about. It is that little stretch of time when people really are focused on everything but business.
I have fought it for years but I think with my age has hopefully come a little bit of wisdom. So, this year, I am going to try to relax into it and not fight human nature and just try to enjoy this little stretch that used to really frustrate me. Oh, there will be the daily stuff. Making sure cattle are taken care of and things of that nature. I guess the passing of my dad right before Thanksgiving kind of helped serve to tune me into what is important and what is real, and I guess you could say, what really matters. I am going to try my best to work with the rhythm of the Earth and enjoy the “holiday zone” and not fight it so much and just let it happen. It has been a pretty good Fall, for the most part. We have been pretty busy. Just sold our Spring calves. So the world looks pretty level. Got a deer hanging in the shop and a few more days to get another one possibly. So, I am going to enjoy this time of year and I hope you do too.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the capitol, please do not hesitate to send an email to donarmes@house.gov or call me at 1-800-522-8502.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month”. -Harlan Miller
In the game of politics, we will be very busy through this holiday zone attending Christmas banquets and holiday get-togethers as well as whatever family events. There is quite an expectation that we attend everything we can. So, this lull in the action can actually be quite fast paced. Even with that being said, it is still a pretty nice time of the year. I certainly do not try to schedule any auctions during that time because I have learned after 25 plus years that peoples’ attention is on anything but business. It is kind of like my friend Mattie Kinder taught me years ago about using the Almanac to work cattle. It is not magic or sorcery. It is just a simple rhythm of the Earth. She has said several times that her Grandma Stoll taught them that you do not even wean babies without the Almanac. I think this “holiday zone” is a lot like that. It is swimming up stream or walking uphill. It is just really hard to get peoples’ minds out of holiday gear and I guess that is as it should be. We do need to take time to be thankful for all the things we are blessed with and to celebrate the birth of Christ and to enjoy our families. Those are the things that really count. Whether you can squeeze in one more real estate deal or one more auction, in the end really does not matter. What really matters is our friends and families. I guess that is really what this zone is all about. It is that little stretch of time when people really are focused on everything but business.
I have fought it for years but I think with my age has hopefully come a little bit of wisdom. So, this year, I am going to try to relax into it and not fight human nature and just try to enjoy this little stretch that used to really frustrate me. Oh, there will be the daily stuff. Making sure cattle are taken care of and things of that nature. I guess the passing of my dad right before Thanksgiving kind of helped serve to tune me into what is important and what is real, and I guess you could say, what really matters. I am going to try my best to work with the rhythm of the Earth and enjoy the “holiday zone” and not fight it so much and just let it happen. It has been a pretty good Fall, for the most part. We have been pretty busy. Just sold our Spring calves. So the world looks pretty level. Got a deer hanging in the shop and a few more days to get another one possibly. So, I am going to enjoy this time of year and I hope you do too.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the capitol, please do not hesitate to send an email to donarmes@house.gov or call me at 1-800-522-8502.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month”. -Harlan Miller
Monday, November 22, 2010
Got a Match?
Since I will be dressed in camo this week and hopefully concealed from the deer and maybe even politics, here is a reprint of one of my old favorites that if you have not seen, I hope you will enjoy. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
What ever happened to strike anywhere matches? I happened upon this little clandestine plot and I am not sure who is responsible but I think it could be the commies or maybe even terrorist, or at the very least those forces within our government that think we are too stupid to make our own decisions. Who ever is responsible I would like to take them to task.
As a young child I remember my great uncle, who kinda served as my grandfather in my formative years, always striking a match on the seat of his pants. If you are old enough to remember black and white TV then you remember the pose, you hike your leg and reach around and strike that wooden kitchen match on the seat of your britches. They are called friction matches, they have the little white sulfur tip and you can strike them anywhere. You didn’t have to have the box or anything like that. A pill bottle full of these little wonders could be kept in the tool box or by the burn barrel or just about anywhere. Who out there doesn’t remember the little tin box on the wall in Granny’s kitchen? It held a whole box of these little wooden wonders and it was gravity fed. They just fell to the bottom in the little tray, always at the ready to light the stove or the pilot light on the floor furnace and I don’t remember anybody’s Granny being in any kind of jeopardy because of this ignition source. High cholesterol from all that fried chicken was more of an issue but I don’t ever remember an obituary where a kitchen match was the culprit. Kitchen matches were so common and so simple, but I challenge you to try to find them and I think you will see what I mean. I think that you will be surprised how scarce they have become. I know you are probably thinking," My goodness Don, get a life" but here’s how I got to this point.
The conversation occurred quite by chance as a bunch of guys were gathered at a friends house watching Texas Tech beat the stuffin’ out of our beloved O-State Cowboys. As the score became more lopsided the conversation veered towards what it should be this time of year, deer camp. This same group used to make an annual pilgrimage to Southeast Oklahoma during deer season and sometimes we even hunted. But the camp and the comradery were what we really enjoyed. My friend Rod Smith asked "has anybody seen any strike anywhere matches lately?" and we all said "well sure, you can get them anywhere" and he said "No, no you can’t. I’ve looked at the dollar stores, Wal-Mart and even the grocery store; I think they have been taken off the market." Well friends and neighbors, in the twenty-first century you know what we do…we Google it. So when I got home the first thing I did was do a quick little search for strike anywhere matches. Interesting what you find out when you Google. Apparently this is not a local problem, this may be global. There is an entire chat room devoted to this very subject, with people from all walks of life bemoaning the difficulty of finding this very common household product. There is even talk of these matches being outlawed in some states. You guessed it, liability issues. I hope I don’t find out that the office of Homeland Security has determined in its infinite wisdom, that the strike anywhere match is now to dangerous too be sold on the open market, but I think it has.
I don’t remember if the terrorists used these in 9-11 or not but I kinda doubt it. There is even talk in these chat rooms about these matches having Hazmat designation, which means they are considered hazardous material, which I believe boarders on the insane. I remember as a child we used to make stink bombs out of an ink pen, a simple bobby pin and one of these matches. I don’t believe anybody ever died or lost an eye or had any kind of permanent scars from the lowly friction match but I do remember an upset teacher or two. But, somebody somewhere in a big fancy office, who probably never lit a match on the seat of their pants, decided for us that these were too dangerous for the American public.
Now I know that I should use this space to discuss this week in Oklahoma politics but I can’t let this go without at least a little rant about big brother protecting us from ourselves. I challenge you to go shopping, and try to find these matches. I did find a source at a small hardware store, I bought the last three boxes and told them to order me a case and I would buy them all. And I think I will keep them under lock and key and hope my name hasn’t been flagged by the secret agents in the U.S. Government or the "double naught spies" that ‘ol Jethro used to talk about on the Beverly Hillbillies. I bet ‘ol Jed Clampett could light a match on the seat of his pants. I promise I am not going to over throw anything, I just want to light my burn barrel with friction matches in a little water proof pill bottle that I keep down by the shop.
The funny thing is, some would argue that they have been replaced by the these new fangled long stemmed lighters but I am here to tell you whoever designed that little gem is an idiot, they light about three times and then you throw them away. But I am sure that we are much safer. But I promise you we went backward not forward, kinda like "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." I know this seems like a little thing but I think it shows how silly we can get when we start having discussions on safety.
Notice I didn’t tell you where my source was, it’s my own little honey hole, like a secret bass pond or a secret grove of trees where the big buck hangs out. You can torture me, but I ain’t talking. So if you find any strike anywhere wooden matches you better buy them before the government totally outlaws them, for your own good. My goodness what’s next, the round toothpick? God help us. Kinda makes me want to eat paste and run with scissors just to make sure I am still alive, I am such a rebel.
If you would like to contact me, while I’m at the Capitol, please don’t hesitate to call 800-522-8502 or send an email to donarmes@okhouse.gov .
And here’s a little something to think about, as you go down the road:
"The sky never falls all at once – it’s always a little at a time." -Don Armes
What ever happened to strike anywhere matches? I happened upon this little clandestine plot and I am not sure who is responsible but I think it could be the commies or maybe even terrorist, or at the very least those forces within our government that think we are too stupid to make our own decisions. Who ever is responsible I would like to take them to task.
As a young child I remember my great uncle, who kinda served as my grandfather in my formative years, always striking a match on the seat of his pants. If you are old enough to remember black and white TV then you remember the pose, you hike your leg and reach around and strike that wooden kitchen match on the seat of your britches. They are called friction matches, they have the little white sulfur tip and you can strike them anywhere. You didn’t have to have the box or anything like that. A pill bottle full of these little wonders could be kept in the tool box or by the burn barrel or just about anywhere. Who out there doesn’t remember the little tin box on the wall in Granny’s kitchen? It held a whole box of these little wooden wonders and it was gravity fed. They just fell to the bottom in the little tray, always at the ready to light the stove or the pilot light on the floor furnace and I don’t remember anybody’s Granny being in any kind of jeopardy because of this ignition source. High cholesterol from all that fried chicken was more of an issue but I don’t ever remember an obituary where a kitchen match was the culprit. Kitchen matches were so common and so simple, but I challenge you to try to find them and I think you will see what I mean. I think that you will be surprised how scarce they have become. I know you are probably thinking," My goodness Don, get a life" but here’s how I got to this point.
The conversation occurred quite by chance as a bunch of guys were gathered at a friends house watching Texas Tech beat the stuffin’ out of our beloved O-State Cowboys. As the score became more lopsided the conversation veered towards what it should be this time of year, deer camp. This same group used to make an annual pilgrimage to Southeast Oklahoma during deer season and sometimes we even hunted. But the camp and the comradery were what we really enjoyed. My friend Rod Smith asked "has anybody seen any strike anywhere matches lately?" and we all said "well sure, you can get them anywhere" and he said "No, no you can’t. I’ve looked at the dollar stores, Wal-Mart and even the grocery store; I think they have been taken off the market." Well friends and neighbors, in the twenty-first century you know what we do…we Google it. So when I got home the first thing I did was do a quick little search for strike anywhere matches. Interesting what you find out when you Google. Apparently this is not a local problem, this may be global. There is an entire chat room devoted to this very subject, with people from all walks of life bemoaning the difficulty of finding this very common household product. There is even talk of these matches being outlawed in some states. You guessed it, liability issues. I hope I don’t find out that the office of Homeland Security has determined in its infinite wisdom, that the strike anywhere match is now to dangerous too be sold on the open market, but I think it has.
I don’t remember if the terrorists used these in 9-11 or not but I kinda doubt it. There is even talk in these chat rooms about these matches having Hazmat designation, which means they are considered hazardous material, which I believe boarders on the insane. I remember as a child we used to make stink bombs out of an ink pen, a simple bobby pin and one of these matches. I don’t believe anybody ever died or lost an eye or had any kind of permanent scars from the lowly friction match but I do remember an upset teacher or two. But, somebody somewhere in a big fancy office, who probably never lit a match on the seat of their pants, decided for us that these were too dangerous for the American public.
Now I know that I should use this space to discuss this week in Oklahoma politics but I can’t let this go without at least a little rant about big brother protecting us from ourselves. I challenge you to go shopping, and try to find these matches. I did find a source at a small hardware store, I bought the last three boxes and told them to order me a case and I would buy them all. And I think I will keep them under lock and key and hope my name hasn’t been flagged by the secret agents in the U.S. Government or the "double naught spies" that ‘ol Jethro used to talk about on the Beverly Hillbillies. I bet ‘ol Jed Clampett could light a match on the seat of his pants. I promise I am not going to over throw anything, I just want to light my burn barrel with friction matches in a little water proof pill bottle that I keep down by the shop.
The funny thing is, some would argue that they have been replaced by the these new fangled long stemmed lighters but I am here to tell you whoever designed that little gem is an idiot, they light about three times and then you throw them away. But I am sure that we are much safer. But I promise you we went backward not forward, kinda like "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." I know this seems like a little thing but I think it shows how silly we can get when we start having discussions on safety.
Notice I didn’t tell you where my source was, it’s my own little honey hole, like a secret bass pond or a secret grove of trees where the big buck hangs out. You can torture me, but I ain’t talking. So if you find any strike anywhere wooden matches you better buy them before the government totally outlaws them, for your own good. My goodness what’s next, the round toothpick? God help us. Kinda makes me want to eat paste and run with scissors just to make sure I am still alive, I am such a rebel.
If you would like to contact me, while I’m at the Capitol, please don’t hesitate to call 800-522-8502 or send an email to donarmes@okhouse.gov .
And here’s a little something to think about, as you go down the road:
"The sky never falls all at once – it’s always a little at a time." -Don Armes
Thursday, November 18, 2010
So Long, Dad.
As most of you know by now, my dad passed away last week marking the end of an era for our family. I cannot say it was not without some degree of relief. Not so much for us but for him, because for the last year, his health had declined dramatically. My dad was a Navy veteran. He joined up when he was 17 and spent two years on an aircraft carrier and then a destroyer in the sea of Japan during the Korean War. He was just a regular guy but he did his part to keep the war ships in operation and I am proud of his service to our country. My dad’s name was Donald Caz Armes. His father, my grandfather was Marion Caz Armes. The name Caz had to be from somewhere back in the family. Everybody I have talked to said “what a cool name”. But, my middle name is “Lee”. I guess he thought “Caz” was an awful thing to name a kid. I remember a lot of the old timers in my family referring to my grandfather as “Caz”. My dad and his brother always called him “Pop”.
My dad’s life was far from a storybook. He and my mom divorced when I was very young, in fifth grade. For many years, my sister Laura and I were not around my dad much. But, for the final part of his life, I realized that there can always be a rebirth. It is never too late to work on a relationship. Dad lived in Ft. Worth and was Head of Security for the Tandy Corporation. He had been in the security business for a number of years and had spent time with the Pinkerton Agency as wells as Guardsmark Security. During his time in Texas, he remarried and I have a half sister from that union named Melissa.
About 15 years ago he had a heart attack and almost died. That could have been the end of his story, but in reality that was the beginning. After recovering from quadruple bypass surgery, he moved to Oklahoma and spent 15 years as “Grandpa” to my girls. He helped us clerk auctions, was a great deal of help to me in taking care of cattle and was a pretty good hand on a tractor, as well as a good herdsman helping his granddaughters with their livestock show projects. When Dede and I went to work for the Bank of Elgin and were hired to open a new branch in Cache, Oklahoma, dad became the currier for The Bank of Elgin which evolved into what is now Liberty National Bank. It was a great job for a semi-retired guy because he made the rounds with each day’s work from each bank branch and usually got off early enough to be Kelsey’s ride home. She would get out of school and meet him at the bank and they would come home and take care of the animals together. When we moved into Western Comanche County, he came with us and lived on the farm right next door. He was an integral part of our family. I hope that the last chapter of his life was, for the most part, happy. As with most people’s lives, there were ups and downs. I know that his final years he shared with us on our farm on Pecan Creek were good ones. He spent many mornings watching a flock of wild turkey crossing the yard or watching a little band of deer make their way through the mesquite trees and living what I hope was a pretty good life. His life was pretty simple but I hope that I was able to honor him by providing him a home and a sense of family. I know that when he died, he did not die alone. He died around a family that loved him and he will be missed. He spent the last six months at the Lawton Veteran’s Center pretty much confined to a scooter but at least for a while, was able to get around and visit and even got to do a little fishing, which was probably the one thing that he thoroughly enjoyed. I was so glad we had a facility like the Veteran’s Center that was able to care for him and provide some quality of life to an old Navy veteran with a bad heart. I know that he was always proud of me. When I had my first campaign in 2002, he took the camper shell off his pickup and welded up a frame and carried a “Don Armes” sign with an American flag in the back of his Ford Ranger. I had scheduled a time this past session for my dad to serve as Veteran of the Week. My only regret is that I did not do that sooner, because he got sick and was not able to attend. That was really the beginning of the end as his health continued to decline. I had made up my mind that this year he would be there, even if he had to come in his scooter. But it wasn’t to be. Monday, I hope we made up for it as we laid him to rest at the Ft. Sill National Cemetery. A small trio of Navy men expertly folded the flag that was draped over his coffin and handed the flag to me while a young bugler played taps. One of the neat things about where his final resting place will be is that his gravesite will be right East of Ronnie Jeff Glover’s front pasture and he will always be looking over a pasture full of really good cattle which is actually kind of fitting because the last years of his life were overlooking our pasture and I think that was when he was the happiest.
For me, there is a sense of peace that I was able to provide a place and a family for my dad. I hope that I was a good son and was able to honor his life by caring for him at the end of it. Our family was very grateful for all the support of our community and friends. We will forever be indebted to all those who uplifted us at the passing of Donald Caz Armes. So long, dad. May God rest your soul.
"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich". -Colonel Potter
My dad’s life was far from a storybook. He and my mom divorced when I was very young, in fifth grade. For many years, my sister Laura and I were not around my dad much. But, for the final part of his life, I realized that there can always be a rebirth. It is never too late to work on a relationship. Dad lived in Ft. Worth and was Head of Security for the Tandy Corporation. He had been in the security business for a number of years and had spent time with the Pinkerton Agency as wells as Guardsmark Security. During his time in Texas, he remarried and I have a half sister from that union named Melissa.
About 15 years ago he had a heart attack and almost died. That could have been the end of his story, but in reality that was the beginning. After recovering from quadruple bypass surgery, he moved to Oklahoma and spent 15 years as “Grandpa” to my girls. He helped us clerk auctions, was a great deal of help to me in taking care of cattle and was a pretty good hand on a tractor, as well as a good herdsman helping his granddaughters with their livestock show projects. When Dede and I went to work for the Bank of Elgin and were hired to open a new branch in Cache, Oklahoma, dad became the currier for The Bank of Elgin which evolved into what is now Liberty National Bank. It was a great job for a semi-retired guy because he made the rounds with each day’s work from each bank branch and usually got off early enough to be Kelsey’s ride home. She would get out of school and meet him at the bank and they would come home and take care of the animals together. When we moved into Western Comanche County, he came with us and lived on the farm right next door. He was an integral part of our family. I hope that the last chapter of his life was, for the most part, happy. As with most people’s lives, there were ups and downs. I know that his final years he shared with us on our farm on Pecan Creek were good ones. He spent many mornings watching a flock of wild turkey crossing the yard or watching a little band of deer make their way through the mesquite trees and living what I hope was a pretty good life. His life was pretty simple but I hope that I was able to honor him by providing him a home and a sense of family. I know that when he died, he did not die alone. He died around a family that loved him and he will be missed. He spent the last six months at the Lawton Veteran’s Center pretty much confined to a scooter but at least for a while, was able to get around and visit and even got to do a little fishing, which was probably the one thing that he thoroughly enjoyed. I was so glad we had a facility like the Veteran’s Center that was able to care for him and provide some quality of life to an old Navy veteran with a bad heart. I know that he was always proud of me. When I had my first campaign in 2002, he took the camper shell off his pickup and welded up a frame and carried a “Don Armes” sign with an American flag in the back of his Ford Ranger. I had scheduled a time this past session for my dad to serve as Veteran of the Week. My only regret is that I did not do that sooner, because he got sick and was not able to attend. That was really the beginning of the end as his health continued to decline. I had made up my mind that this year he would be there, even if he had to come in his scooter. But it wasn’t to be. Monday, I hope we made up for it as we laid him to rest at the Ft. Sill National Cemetery. A small trio of Navy men expertly folded the flag that was draped over his coffin and handed the flag to me while a young bugler played taps. One of the neat things about where his final resting place will be is that his gravesite will be right East of Ronnie Jeff Glover’s front pasture and he will always be looking over a pasture full of really good cattle which is actually kind of fitting because the last years of his life were overlooking our pasture and I think that was when he was the happiest.
For me, there is a sense of peace that I was able to provide a place and a family for my dad. I hope that I was a good son and was able to honor his life by caring for him at the end of it. Our family was very grateful for all the support of our community and friends. We will forever be indebted to all those who uplifted us at the passing of Donald Caz Armes. So long, dad. May God rest your soul.
"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich". -Colonel Potter
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
It's Finally Over
I don’t know about you, but it took a lot of Maalox to get me through this election cycle. Every two year cycle it seems like it gets uglier and uglier. It very well could be me and my perspective. Being inside politics, I personally know most of the people. It is hard to watch when good people get beat up and it makes it even harder when you know the other guy is lying. Yes, I said it out loud. In this new political environment, I am an old guy. So, maybe I grow weary and less impressed with political rhetoric and yes, with the lies. We, as a society, are a strange bunch. We say how much we hate negative campaigning but we pay big money to watch UFC fights and cage matches and football and we like sports like bull riding and stock car racing and we do not seem to be phased by blood and gore. It seems like this new generation kinda likes “smash mouth politics”. We act civilized but are we really? There is always the dynamic when there is a male/female race. It seems okay for a man to hit a man but I do think it makes, even the toughest of us, a little queasy for a man to hit a woman.
I have learned a lot more in the last few years about politics than I ever really wanted to know. It is interesting when you are actually in it how much more you pick up when watching races. A candidate very seldom goes negative unless they are behind. How do they know they are behind? From polling data. They pay for a consulting firm to poll their district, county or state. They disseminate that information, analyze it and if they find themselves behind, out comes the negative. It was interesting to watch some of the statewide races this year as some of the negative attacks occurred and some candidates chose the high road. As you are reading this, political agencies all over the state and nation will be crunching numbers and looking at results and analyzing the numbers to see what worked and what did not work because in two years, they will have to do it again. As normal people go back to their lives, these political guys will be strategizing on how this new generation of voters reacted to these attacks, as well as how successful the responses, whether positive or negative, affected the outcome of the election. I do want to commend our gubernatorial candidates for a fairly clean contest. But, from there down ballot, it was ugly.
We always say that it is hard to get good people to run for office. While I think that we have cleaned up government quite a bit in the last few years, I also know from having been involved in my own race as well as others, that when people see an election cycle like we have just seen, it makes it really hard to get quality people to put their name on the line and open up their life to the public knowing that there are going to be ugly things said about them all in the name of politics, which seems to be okay, except that it’s really not. All of us, whatever your walk of life, were raised better. We were not taught that it is okay to bad mouth others. In fact, most of us were taught that if you do not have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. It seems that in the political arena, we forget our raising. An issue or an open seat gives us a green light to try to pulverize another human being. I’m sorry, but I just cannot accept that and I don’t think any of us should. I realize it is a pipe dream for me to think that anything is really gonna change or that we are gonna learn to play nice, especially when nice guys finish last a lot of times. It is a tough, ugly, hurtful business. If I do nothing else in my tenure a legislator, I hope that I educate my constituents and friends to look beyond what you read and to think and study the people who ask to be your public servants. Learn as much as you can about candidates and issues before you make your decisions.
I have heard it said that the only time negative campaigning works is when you are behind, ahead, or just even. It is true and I guess, shame on us for letting that be. Now it’s time to put the knives up and get to work. There are a lot of ruffled feathers to be smoothed and a lot of wounds to heal. To use an old cowboy phrase “some of the gashes need to heal up and hair over” because in two years we will do it again. God help us.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.” –Earnest Benn
I have learned a lot more in the last few years about politics than I ever really wanted to know. It is interesting when you are actually in it how much more you pick up when watching races. A candidate very seldom goes negative unless they are behind. How do they know they are behind? From polling data. They pay for a consulting firm to poll their district, county or state. They disseminate that information, analyze it and if they find themselves behind, out comes the negative. It was interesting to watch some of the statewide races this year as some of the negative attacks occurred and some candidates chose the high road. As you are reading this, political agencies all over the state and nation will be crunching numbers and looking at results and analyzing the numbers to see what worked and what did not work because in two years, they will have to do it again. As normal people go back to their lives, these political guys will be strategizing on how this new generation of voters reacted to these attacks, as well as how successful the responses, whether positive or negative, affected the outcome of the election. I do want to commend our gubernatorial candidates for a fairly clean contest. But, from there down ballot, it was ugly.
We always say that it is hard to get good people to run for office. While I think that we have cleaned up government quite a bit in the last few years, I also know from having been involved in my own race as well as others, that when people see an election cycle like we have just seen, it makes it really hard to get quality people to put their name on the line and open up their life to the public knowing that there are going to be ugly things said about them all in the name of politics, which seems to be okay, except that it’s really not. All of us, whatever your walk of life, were raised better. We were not taught that it is okay to bad mouth others. In fact, most of us were taught that if you do not have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. It seems that in the political arena, we forget our raising. An issue or an open seat gives us a green light to try to pulverize another human being. I’m sorry, but I just cannot accept that and I don’t think any of us should. I realize it is a pipe dream for me to think that anything is really gonna change or that we are gonna learn to play nice, especially when nice guys finish last a lot of times. It is a tough, ugly, hurtful business. If I do nothing else in my tenure a legislator, I hope that I educate my constituents and friends to look beyond what you read and to think and study the people who ask to be your public servants. Learn as much as you can about candidates and issues before you make your decisions.
I have heard it said that the only time negative campaigning works is when you are behind, ahead, or just even. It is true and I guess, shame on us for letting that be. Now it’s time to put the knives up and get to work. There are a lot of ruffled feathers to be smoothed and a lot of wounds to heal. To use an old cowboy phrase “some of the gashes need to heal up and hair over” because in two years we will do it again. God help us.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.” –Earnest Benn
Friday, October 29, 2010
State Questions
With elections coming up in less than a week, I thought readers might like to have a brief synopsis about each state question that will appear on the ballot. I have listed the 11 state questions that you will be voting on in a few days. Many have asked me my opinion on certain ones so I want to make it clear which ones I will be voting ‘yes’ on and which ones I think deserve a ‘no’ vote. To make it simple, I plan on voting yes to every state question except 744 and 750. As discussed in previous articles, I believe SQ 744 is an all-around bad idea for everyone involved. I strongly encourage you to vote ‘no’ on this one. I will also vote ‘no’ on SQ 750. I fear that requiring less signatures to get a question on the ballot would make it too easy for animal rights groups, and people against our way of life in Southwest Oklahoma, to attack animal agriculture or sportsman activities like hunting and fishing. I will vote ‘yes’ on every other question except for these 2, which could both have devastating effects. Please take a look at each state question below and read the summary of what each one represents.
SQ744- A yes vote would mandate the state spend up to $1 billion more per year on common education to meet a regional average. This would be done by raising taxes 32% statewide, or cutting all other state agencies and services by at least 20% each.
SQ746- A yes vote makes voters show proof of identity-voter ID.
SQ747- A yes vote would make all state-wide elected offices have a term limit of 8 yrs, except Corp. Comm., which would be 12 years.
SQ748- Every 10 years redistricting is done by the legislature; if they fail to act then a commission does the job. A yes vote changes the number of people on the commission from 3 to 7, and makes it bi-partisan, with the Lt. Governor as the non-voting chairman.
SQ750- A yes vote would require less signatures on the initiative and referendum petitions. The least election with the Governor on the ballot, instead of the last election with the President on the ballot would be used to determine the signatures needed.
SQ751- A yes vote makes English the common language of Oklahoma.
SQ752- A yes vote modifies the Judicial Nominating Commission, which recommends candidates to the Governor to appoint. Currently, it is made up of 12 (6 non-lawyers appointed by the Governor & 6 lawyers appointed by the OBA.) This measure adds 2 non-lawyer members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate.
SQ754- A yes vote would ensure that the appropriations and budgeting process set up by the Oklahoma Constitution stays the way that it currently is. It would stop any unions or government agencies from demanding that they be funded in a different or higher way.
SQ755- A yes vote forbids Oklahoma courts from using Sharia (Islamic) or international law to decide cases in our state courts.
SQ756- A yes vote allows OK residents to opt-out of Federal health care.
SQ757- A yes vote increases rainy day fund from 10% to 15% of certified funds from the previous years state budget.
Please take advantage of your right as an American citizen and cast your ballot on Tuesday, November 2nd. Remember, one vote really can make a difference. See ya at the polls!
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call
1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear.” – President John F. Kennedy
SQ744- A yes vote would mandate the state spend up to $1 billion more per year on common education to meet a regional average. This would be done by raising taxes 32% statewide, or cutting all other state agencies and services by at least 20% each.
SQ746- A yes vote makes voters show proof of identity-voter ID.
SQ747- A yes vote would make all state-wide elected offices have a term limit of 8 yrs, except Corp. Comm., which would be 12 years.
SQ748- Every 10 years redistricting is done by the legislature; if they fail to act then a commission does the job. A yes vote changes the number of people on the commission from 3 to 7, and makes it bi-partisan, with the Lt. Governor as the non-voting chairman.
SQ750- A yes vote would require less signatures on the initiative and referendum petitions. The least election with the Governor on the ballot, instead of the last election with the President on the ballot would be used to determine the signatures needed.
SQ751- A yes vote makes English the common language of Oklahoma.
SQ752- A yes vote modifies the Judicial Nominating Commission, which recommends candidates to the Governor to appoint. Currently, it is made up of 12 (6 non-lawyers appointed by the Governor & 6 lawyers appointed by the OBA.) This measure adds 2 non-lawyer members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate.
SQ754- A yes vote would ensure that the appropriations and budgeting process set up by the Oklahoma Constitution stays the way that it currently is. It would stop any unions or government agencies from demanding that they be funded in a different or higher way.
SQ755- A yes vote forbids Oklahoma courts from using Sharia (Islamic) or international law to decide cases in our state courts.
SQ756- A yes vote allows OK residents to opt-out of Federal health care.
SQ757- A yes vote increases rainy day fund from 10% to 15% of certified funds from the previous years state budget.
Please take advantage of your right as an American citizen and cast your ballot on Tuesday, November 2nd. Remember, one vote really can make a difference. See ya at the polls!
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call
1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear.” – President John F. Kennedy
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Let's Stay On the Issue.
It seems the farther I get into my legislative career, the more of a fighter I become. I do not know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. One thing I have learned in my political career is that one of the best ways to keep from talking about the real issue is to cloud that issue with negatives. State question 744 is still exactly what it was when it was first introduced several months ago. It is a very bad idea embraced by some well-meaning folks who have been sold a really large bill of goods. I have said before and stand by my statement that SQ 744 may well cause the biggest wreck that we have seen in 20 years. Most of the folks that are trying to sell you on 744 and get you to vote yes have never had to struggle with the state budget. I can tell you from eight years of experience through good and bad times that the state budget is a puzzle with many pieces, all of which have to be placed together for it to work. I can also tell you that, as a former teacher as well as a current legislator, I have seen this argument from both sides. I can tell you that if this were a good idea and a fiscally prudent move, Governor Brad Henry would be the first in line to support it. The fact that Governor Henry has come out in opposition to SQ 744 should speak volumes. Governor Henry’s legacy will be that he was the “education governor” and he is opposed.
We have got a state full of good teachers that care very much for our children and take their jobs very seriously. None of my comments are intended in any way, shape or form to disparage the very important job that they do. But, the members of the out-of-state campaign team, whose full-time job is to try to convince you that 744 is a good idea, are not residents of Oklahoma but employees of the NEA who have poured 3 million dollars into our state to buy very pretty, well done television ads to convince you to vote yes. When it is over and the dust settles, they will board airplanes and head back home and we, the citizens of Oklahoma, will be left to sort out the mess. I do not begrudge teachers wanting more money for education or even higher pay. Few could argue that good teachers are not worth more. But, should 744 pass, dramatic budget ripples will look more like waves as the severe cuts to everything else in the state budget occur to meet this mandate. 744 will cost the state of Oklahoma an additional $800 million dollars that must be cut from other important functions of state government. The fact is that it will cost an estimated $1200 dollars from every man, woman and child in Oklahoma in increased taxes just to cover the cost. Right now, the ads are attacking the legislature saying that we pay ourselves more than any other legislature in the region. Let’s set the record straight on who decides what legislators make. In Oklahoma, legislative pay is set by a compensation board. We, as legislators, have no say in how much we are paid and legislative pay has not been increased in over 10 years. Many confuse the Oklahoma state legislature with Washington. Here is what a state representative or senator makes. The annual salary is $38,400. The median income for a teacher in the state of Oklahoma is $43,000. That is not the beginning teacher or the veteran teacher, but the median. Had I remained in the education business as a 12-month ag teacher, I would now make over $50,000 a year. In those attack ads, they also claim that legislators only work four months out of the year. There are many unseen duties of a legislator that many may not be aware of. I never had to back up to get a paycheck as a teacher. I have never had to back up to get my paycheck as a legislator. It is like saying teachers get off at 3 o’clock. We know that is not true also. Teachers work many extra duties and spend a great deal more time than their nine month contract to get the job done right. I have a great deal of respect for the job that educators do and have been a proponent of education since my first election in 2002. I have stood for teachers and public education and have a voting record to substantiate that. In fact, the first bill that I carried as a state representative was to support fundraising efforts in many schools called raffles. I thought it was logical and made sense and was something that would help, especially in small schools.
It would be very easy, given the recent “hit pieces”, for me to come out sluggin’ but that is not my goal. My goal is to convince you that a yes vote for 744 could be a fatal mistake for Oklahoma. Most of the tax credits that are referred to in this latest negative campaign have been done away with and tax credits alone are not evil, especially when they do things like help Goodyear to expand and increase the amount of high paying jobs that expansion will provide. Not to mention, that at some point Goodyear will even pay more property taxes on their expanded plant, which will further support education. My biggest fear is that if 744 passes and we have to cut an additional $800 million from other agencies throughout the state and the awful things come to pass, we have been told that teachers that teachers will have the biggest black eye they have ever had. So, if you want sales tax to go up by 35 percent, just vote yes on 744. Remember that the increase asked for by 744 will require us to spend $120 million more for education than we spend on the entire public safety sector of the state budget. Some of those evil tax exemptions that they speak of are things like the child care exemption and agricultural exemptions. Those special interests that are attacked in these very high quality commercials are you. It is okay to vote no on 744. It does not mean that you do not care about kids.
"Money often costs too much." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
We have got a state full of good teachers that care very much for our children and take their jobs very seriously. None of my comments are intended in any way, shape or form to disparage the very important job that they do. But, the members of the out-of-state campaign team, whose full-time job is to try to convince you that 744 is a good idea, are not residents of Oklahoma but employees of the NEA who have poured 3 million dollars into our state to buy very pretty, well done television ads to convince you to vote yes. When it is over and the dust settles, they will board airplanes and head back home and we, the citizens of Oklahoma, will be left to sort out the mess. I do not begrudge teachers wanting more money for education or even higher pay. Few could argue that good teachers are not worth more. But, should 744 pass, dramatic budget ripples will look more like waves as the severe cuts to everything else in the state budget occur to meet this mandate. 744 will cost the state of Oklahoma an additional $800 million dollars that must be cut from other important functions of state government. The fact is that it will cost an estimated $1200 dollars from every man, woman and child in Oklahoma in increased taxes just to cover the cost. Right now, the ads are attacking the legislature saying that we pay ourselves more than any other legislature in the region. Let’s set the record straight on who decides what legislators make. In Oklahoma, legislative pay is set by a compensation board. We, as legislators, have no say in how much we are paid and legislative pay has not been increased in over 10 years. Many confuse the Oklahoma state legislature with Washington. Here is what a state representative or senator makes. The annual salary is $38,400. The median income for a teacher in the state of Oklahoma is $43,000. That is not the beginning teacher or the veteran teacher, but the median. Had I remained in the education business as a 12-month ag teacher, I would now make over $50,000 a year. In those attack ads, they also claim that legislators only work four months out of the year. There are many unseen duties of a legislator that many may not be aware of. I never had to back up to get a paycheck as a teacher. I have never had to back up to get my paycheck as a legislator. It is like saying teachers get off at 3 o’clock. We know that is not true also. Teachers work many extra duties and spend a great deal more time than their nine month contract to get the job done right. I have a great deal of respect for the job that educators do and have been a proponent of education since my first election in 2002. I have stood for teachers and public education and have a voting record to substantiate that. In fact, the first bill that I carried as a state representative was to support fundraising efforts in many schools called raffles. I thought it was logical and made sense and was something that would help, especially in small schools.
It would be very easy, given the recent “hit pieces”, for me to come out sluggin’ but that is not my goal. My goal is to convince you that a yes vote for 744 could be a fatal mistake for Oklahoma. Most of the tax credits that are referred to in this latest negative campaign have been done away with and tax credits alone are not evil, especially when they do things like help Goodyear to expand and increase the amount of high paying jobs that expansion will provide. Not to mention, that at some point Goodyear will even pay more property taxes on their expanded plant, which will further support education. My biggest fear is that if 744 passes and we have to cut an additional $800 million from other agencies throughout the state and the awful things come to pass, we have been told that teachers that teachers will have the biggest black eye they have ever had. So, if you want sales tax to go up by 35 percent, just vote yes on 744. Remember that the increase asked for by 744 will require us to spend $120 million more for education than we spend on the entire public safety sector of the state budget. Some of those evil tax exemptions that they speak of are things like the child care exemption and agricultural exemptions. Those special interests that are attacked in these very high quality commercials are you. It is okay to vote no on 744. It does not mean that you do not care about kids.
"Money often costs too much." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Monday, October 18, 2010
I Think I Need a Hobby
Throughout my life, I have had to overcome my lack of intelligence with work ethic. One of my standard responses when someone asks how I am has always been “pretty good for an old guy”. When the person says “you’re not old” I have always responded “no, but I am high mileage”. I really cannot remember a period of time in my life when I did not work at more than one thing at the same time. An old friend of mine used to say about me “he knows a thousand ways to make a hundred dollars”. Dede and I married in 1984 and I took my first ag teaching job and I knew that I needed to make extra money. So, with our very first tax return of our married life, I invested in auction school. In addition, I helped people around where we lived by plowing, working cattle, work at night at the co-op, clipped club calves and anything I could do to make a few extra bucks to stretch what was a meager beginning teacher salary in those days. One of the things that I did for over ten years was every Monday night I worked at Southwest Auto Auction and made a hundred bucks a week breathing car exhaust, opening hoods and auctioneering. I learned early in my life that there are lots of ways to earn a little extra walkin’ around money. I have never rested on my laurels and have always been willing to do extra duties to supplement my income. Most recently, those skills that I have learned over the years have come in pretty handy and have become increasingly important as I became a legislator. Even though people think we are overpaid, it has become quite a struggle since my income went down in order to become a public servant.
My most recent endeavor has been a little enterprise that we call Snake Creek Cattle Company that my partner Clyde Hill and I have had going for a little over a year. We purchased and rebuilt an old chuck wagon and have been hiring out to do events and providing a little cowboy flavor that people really seem to enjoy. One of my oldest friends Terry Davis, who has been a Lawton fire fighter for over 20 years has been an integral part of that little side business. Several times over the last little while, the three of us have loaded our little dog and pony show and headed out to cook for groups who have come to visit and have introduced them to beef, beans, homemade biscuits and Dutch oven cobbler. It has been lots of fun but we are also learning that it is a ton of work. Usually by the time we get loaded and head home, we feel like the wagon itself has run over us. We have had some fun groups. Our first official cooking job was last year when the Lawton Chamber of Commerce hosted weapons experts from all of the NATO countries around the world. It is fun to watch people stare in amazement as you create a meal with no electricity with firewood and cast iron Dutch ovens. It is almost as though we are doing magic tricks when really, it is nothing more than an old cooking style developed in the Old West out of necessity to keep cowboys fed as they moved cattle in the days before trucks and trains. This last week has been extremely busy as we cooked brisket and trimmings for over 60 people from this year’s Leadership Oklahoma class that made their annual stop at Ft. Sill to learn about the military presence in Oklahoma. It was really kind of cool to cook right in the historic Ft. Sill quadrangle among the officer’s quarters and prepare a meal using historic cooking methods in a setting so rich in military history. By the time you read this we will have set our wagon and pitched our fly at the Museum of the Great Plains and cooked ribeye steak and fixins’ for The Society of Military Widows who have made their trek back to Lawton-Ft.Sill hosted by the Lawton Chamber of Commerce. They wanted something a little different and the Chamber folks thought that the chuck wagon would be a nice touch. We hope to dazzle them with a little bit of cowboy cookery and hopefully make their stay in Lawton memorable.
And by the way, I did manage to do a little auctioneering over the weekend at the Tulsa State Fair. I served as auctioneer for the short horn and Simmental futurity sales at Tulsa. I guess I better put off the search for a hobby because I think I have got a pretty full plate. I have friends who work normal jobs and have weekends off, but I don’t know what normal is. I know that all the little things that I do will make a few extra dollars. I have a daughter that hopefully will graduate from OSU in December and maybe will give us a little financial breathing room because right now it seems that anytime I make a check of any size, it goes straight to Stillwater. But, our youngest daughter is not too far behind so I guess in the meantime, I will live by the old adage “nobody ever drowned in their own sweat”. I am lucky to enjoy good health and the ability to work, so while I have that blessing, I guess we will just enjoy it because there are lots of folks out there who can’t.
“The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished.” -Unknown
My most recent endeavor has been a little enterprise that we call Snake Creek Cattle Company that my partner Clyde Hill and I have had going for a little over a year. We purchased and rebuilt an old chuck wagon and have been hiring out to do events and providing a little cowboy flavor that people really seem to enjoy. One of my oldest friends Terry Davis, who has been a Lawton fire fighter for over 20 years has been an integral part of that little side business. Several times over the last little while, the three of us have loaded our little dog and pony show and headed out to cook for groups who have come to visit and have introduced them to beef, beans, homemade biscuits and Dutch oven cobbler. It has been lots of fun but we are also learning that it is a ton of work. Usually by the time we get loaded and head home, we feel like the wagon itself has run over us. We have had some fun groups. Our first official cooking job was last year when the Lawton Chamber of Commerce hosted weapons experts from all of the NATO countries around the world. It is fun to watch people stare in amazement as you create a meal with no electricity with firewood and cast iron Dutch ovens. It is almost as though we are doing magic tricks when really, it is nothing more than an old cooking style developed in the Old West out of necessity to keep cowboys fed as they moved cattle in the days before trucks and trains. This last week has been extremely busy as we cooked brisket and trimmings for over 60 people from this year’s Leadership Oklahoma class that made their annual stop at Ft. Sill to learn about the military presence in Oklahoma. It was really kind of cool to cook right in the historic Ft. Sill quadrangle among the officer’s quarters and prepare a meal using historic cooking methods in a setting so rich in military history. By the time you read this we will have set our wagon and pitched our fly at the Museum of the Great Plains and cooked ribeye steak and fixins’ for The Society of Military Widows who have made their trek back to Lawton-Ft.Sill hosted by the Lawton Chamber of Commerce. They wanted something a little different and the Chamber folks thought that the chuck wagon would be a nice touch. We hope to dazzle them with a little bit of cowboy cookery and hopefully make their stay in Lawton memorable.
And by the way, I did manage to do a little auctioneering over the weekend at the Tulsa State Fair. I served as auctioneer for the short horn and Simmental futurity sales at Tulsa. I guess I better put off the search for a hobby because I think I have got a pretty full plate. I have friends who work normal jobs and have weekends off, but I don’t know what normal is. I know that all the little things that I do will make a few extra dollars. I have a daughter that hopefully will graduate from OSU in December and maybe will give us a little financial breathing room because right now it seems that anytime I make a check of any size, it goes straight to Stillwater. But, our youngest daughter is not too far behind so I guess in the meantime, I will live by the old adage “nobody ever drowned in their own sweat”. I am lucky to enjoy good health and the ability to work, so while I have that blessing, I guess we will just enjoy it because there are lots of folks out there who can’t.
“The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished.” -Unknown
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Baby Boomers and Health Care
My whole life, I have heard people speak of the “baby boomers”. According to the United States Census Bureau, baby boomers are considered a generation born in years ranging from 1946-1964. For whatever reason, there was a population explosion in our country during that time that lasted almost 20 years. America, being the land of entrepreneurs, has tried to get ready for baby boomers to become elderly and no surprise to anyone, they are doing just that. You become painfully aware of this phenomenon when you have a family member in the hospital. It is evident as you see the rise of nursing homes and veterans facilities and it really drives the point home when you try to find a parking place at almost any hospital. I spent all last week at Comanche County Memorial with my dad who had been struggling to get over a minor hernia operation, when in reality is not minor for someone in their late 70s who already deals with a host of other health issues. That hernia surgery might be minor for me in my late 40s but it certainly was not minor for dad. As I tried to handle my daily work of my legislative and auction and real estate business, it has been a real challenge as we dealt with getting in and out of a hospital parking lot. As I thought about that, I realized that parking is nothing in comparison to the bigger picture which is “how do we care for this aging population”?
I was born in 1961 and they consider the last official year of the baby boom to be 1964. I am fortunate as I approach 50 to enjoy good health. I can tell you, as I watch my father struggle, that I will never be a smoker. I am not saying that I have never smoked but there is nothing like dealing with declining health of a lifetime smoker to illustrate what that vice can do. We are a lot better nowadays at preventative medicine and we know a lot more than we did 40 years ago in dealing with diseases like cancer, heart issues and a myriad of other ailments. The fact remains, we are still somewhat responsible for our own health and we have to help the health care system help us. It is amazing when you think about it that our health care system in this country can even come close to dealing with the sheer volume that the baby boom generation has placed before it. In addition to the challenge, it is also a big business. You could almost pick any single issue out of the health care discussion and write an entire book. It is so complex and so in-depth that it is a mind boggling situation. Americans in general tend to think that “ObamaCare” as it has been dubbed is certainly not the answer. A lot of that stems from the old work ethic that former generations were raised with. Kind of like the old adage, “you don’t work, you don’t eat”. I would have to say that I agree; people do need to pull some of their own weight. I think we can all agree that there are some situations where folks need a leg up. I, as well as most of you, do not think that socialized medicine is the answer, although many would argue that we are already there.
There is no way that I can really address this whole issue in this limited space. The problem is ever-growing and as my generation approaches 50 and my parents’ generation live in their twilight years, it is something that we need to think about and find some answers to because it is here and it is real. Any of us are but an accident or a heart attack away from being in a hospital bed for an extended period of time. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers from constituents, neighbors, Facebook friends and others as we struggle to get my dad over this health issue. It is always tough and I can say that he has had good care from an overburdened system who is trying to win a poker game with a pair of threes. They were dealt a tough hand but, as the old saying goes “a winner is someone who bites off more than they can chew…and chews it”. I think healthcare has got a pretty full plate. Thank God for doctors and nurses who go to work everyday knowing that they are never going to win them all, but they keep trying, and they win more than they lose. In the meantime, as I was deep in thought about this week’s column, that guy just got my parking place!
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“I'll tell 'ya how to stay young: Hang around with older people” -Bob Hope
I was born in 1961 and they consider the last official year of the baby boom to be 1964. I am fortunate as I approach 50 to enjoy good health. I can tell you, as I watch my father struggle, that I will never be a smoker. I am not saying that I have never smoked but there is nothing like dealing with declining health of a lifetime smoker to illustrate what that vice can do. We are a lot better nowadays at preventative medicine and we know a lot more than we did 40 years ago in dealing with diseases like cancer, heart issues and a myriad of other ailments. The fact remains, we are still somewhat responsible for our own health and we have to help the health care system help us. It is amazing when you think about it that our health care system in this country can even come close to dealing with the sheer volume that the baby boom generation has placed before it. In addition to the challenge, it is also a big business. You could almost pick any single issue out of the health care discussion and write an entire book. It is so complex and so in-depth that it is a mind boggling situation. Americans in general tend to think that “ObamaCare” as it has been dubbed is certainly not the answer. A lot of that stems from the old work ethic that former generations were raised with. Kind of like the old adage, “you don’t work, you don’t eat”. I would have to say that I agree; people do need to pull some of their own weight. I think we can all agree that there are some situations where folks need a leg up. I, as well as most of you, do not think that socialized medicine is the answer, although many would argue that we are already there.
There is no way that I can really address this whole issue in this limited space. The problem is ever-growing and as my generation approaches 50 and my parents’ generation live in their twilight years, it is something that we need to think about and find some answers to because it is here and it is real. Any of us are but an accident or a heart attack away from being in a hospital bed for an extended period of time. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers from constituents, neighbors, Facebook friends and others as we struggle to get my dad over this health issue. It is always tough and I can say that he has had good care from an overburdened system who is trying to win a poker game with a pair of threes. They were dealt a tough hand but, as the old saying goes “a winner is someone who bites off more than they can chew…and chews it”. I think healthcare has got a pretty full plate. Thank God for doctors and nurses who go to work everyday knowing that they are never going to win them all, but they keep trying, and they win more than they lose. In the meantime, as I was deep in thought about this week’s column, that guy just got my parking place!
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“I'll tell 'ya how to stay young: Hang around with older people” -Bob Hope
Thursday, September 30, 2010
30 Plus Days
Just a tick over 30 days from right now, it will time for you, the Oklahoma voter, to go to work. All the candidates, whether statewide, district wide, or county level, are heading into the home stretch to see who is gonna be the next office holder, from D.C. on down to the county courthouse. I would hate to guess how much money has been spent in the last few months but I think it has been in the millions. Everyone is trying to convince you, the voter, that they are the next great hope and that they are either going to change the world or finish what they started and basically go to work for you. It can be an ugly business. It can be tough on families and hard on bank accounts. Having been in this business for over eight years, there are days when I feel like I have been able to make a difference. There are other days when I think “who in the heck would want to do this”?
Not having a race this round, I have been able to watch with great interest as many candidates have jockeyed for votes. As always, it is interesting to hear, especially the new ones, tell you what they are about and their plans for changing everything that is wrong and their proposed ‘fixes’. Your job, Mr. or Mrs. Voter, is to sort through the clutter, cut through the rhetoric and make a decision. I want to say a couple of things about that. Number one, your vote matters. In the Democratic Primary for Governor, the winner of that primary was decided by less than three-quarters of a vote per precinct. That is mighty thin! That could be the difference between low turnout and just average turnout. So yes, your vote does make a difference. In addition, there is a full page of state questions that also need your attention, one of which maybe the most important state question in 20 years. That is State Question 744. We have discussed it at great lengths and I think you know by now that even Governor Brad Henry has come out in opposition to this very contentious, and potentially damaging state question. State questions are nothing new, but as an old cowboy friend of mine from Jackson County said, “this one has the makins’ of a wreck”. If Governor Henry opposes it, that is pretty loud and tells a whole lot of the true story. Your state needs you, your chosen candidates need you and for this election cycle, more than ever, you need to do your civic duty and vote.
Between now and November 2, everybody’s campaign will ramp up. There will be a great deal more money spent and a lot more noise through the media channels and you are gonna think that if those dudes are as bad as the other guy says, why aren’t they in prison? It is interesting what I have learned about negative campaigning. We all say we do not like it but, interestingly enough, it works. In fact, a friend of mine would say “negative campaigning only works if you are ahead, even, or behind in a race”. We may not like it and we may get tired of it but it is a very effective tool and almost every race will have a degree of it. We have a new dynamic in Oklahoma politics because we have two women in the race. I hesitate to use the term but they will be “slugging” it out to see who will make history and become the first female governor of Oklahoma. It is ground that we have never plowed before and it will be interesting to see the voting public’s perception of what may look like roller derby by the time it is over. We have learned in our state that people get a little defensive when a guy hits a girl in a political contest. It will be interesting to see how we respond to two females attacking each other. One thing we do know is that negative campaigning works, unfortunately. As unpleasant as it may be, I think we will have a chance to watch a lot of it as this cycle heads to the finish line in November. It does not lessen the responsibility of the voter to study both candidates and issues and the state questions. As one of my old high school teachers use to say “you drag your carcass to the polls and do your job” which is to vote. So, put on your flak jacket and take your tornado safety precautions because it is gonna be a whirlwind. It is gonna get ugly but we know that mud washes out.
“The most important political office is that of the private citizen”. ~Louis Brandeis
Not having a race this round, I have been able to watch with great interest as many candidates have jockeyed for votes. As always, it is interesting to hear, especially the new ones, tell you what they are about and their plans for changing everything that is wrong and their proposed ‘fixes’. Your job, Mr. or Mrs. Voter, is to sort through the clutter, cut through the rhetoric and make a decision. I want to say a couple of things about that. Number one, your vote matters. In the Democratic Primary for Governor, the winner of that primary was decided by less than three-quarters of a vote per precinct. That is mighty thin! That could be the difference between low turnout and just average turnout. So yes, your vote does make a difference. In addition, there is a full page of state questions that also need your attention, one of which maybe the most important state question in 20 years. That is State Question 744. We have discussed it at great lengths and I think you know by now that even Governor Brad Henry has come out in opposition to this very contentious, and potentially damaging state question. State questions are nothing new, but as an old cowboy friend of mine from Jackson County said, “this one has the makins’ of a wreck”. If Governor Henry opposes it, that is pretty loud and tells a whole lot of the true story. Your state needs you, your chosen candidates need you and for this election cycle, more than ever, you need to do your civic duty and vote.
Between now and November 2, everybody’s campaign will ramp up. There will be a great deal more money spent and a lot more noise through the media channels and you are gonna think that if those dudes are as bad as the other guy says, why aren’t they in prison? It is interesting what I have learned about negative campaigning. We all say we do not like it but, interestingly enough, it works. In fact, a friend of mine would say “negative campaigning only works if you are ahead, even, or behind in a race”. We may not like it and we may get tired of it but it is a very effective tool and almost every race will have a degree of it. We have a new dynamic in Oklahoma politics because we have two women in the race. I hesitate to use the term but they will be “slugging” it out to see who will make history and become the first female governor of Oklahoma. It is ground that we have never plowed before and it will be interesting to see the voting public’s perception of what may look like roller derby by the time it is over. We have learned in our state that people get a little defensive when a guy hits a girl in a political contest. It will be interesting to see how we respond to two females attacking each other. One thing we do know is that negative campaigning works, unfortunately. As unpleasant as it may be, I think we will have a chance to watch a lot of it as this cycle heads to the finish line in November. It does not lessen the responsibility of the voter to study both candidates and issues and the state questions. As one of my old high school teachers use to say “you drag your carcass to the polls and do your job” which is to vote. So, put on your flak jacket and take your tornado safety precautions because it is gonna be a whirlwind. It is gonna get ugly but we know that mud washes out.
“The most important political office is that of the private citizen”. ~Louis Brandeis
Friday, September 24, 2010
Temple Grandin: An Amazing Story.
Many of you have recently been introduced to Dr. Temple Grandin after the HBO movie about her life. In the animal business, she has been a well kept secret for almost 30 years. Growing up and dealing with autism was extremely difficult for her and her family. Little did anyone know when she was a young girl that she would be considered a genius one day in livestock circles. I got my Animal Science degree in 1984 and much of what we studied were things that Dr. Grandin had figured out. Many of the livestock handling facilities, chutes, alleyways and tub facilities were designed, at least in concept, by Temple Grandin. If you watched the movie about her life, then you have seen the way that her autism enabled her to see what cattle saw and were frightened by as they moved through livestock handling facilities. Many of the things that would frighten a beef animal, such as light in the wrong place, or movement of people, flags, almost anything that is perceived as an unknown to a cow, she had the ability to visualize. In that respect, her autism was a gift. Maybe not to her personally, but her gift to the livestock industry has been her ability to design handling facilities where cattle can move much easier while keeping stress to a minimum. She understood flight zones, color patterns and numerous other design flaws that the normal eye could not detect or understand.
Dr. Grandin has spent her life making our lives easier. It was nothing for her to get down on her knees in an alleyway just to get the cow’s view as they moved through poorly designed corals, pens and alleys. My entire adult life, I have been in awe of this mystery person who was like a guru who could fix almost any problem that anyone ever had, whether it was slaughter plant, feed lot or any type of facility where cattle were handled. Then, of course, she became a celebrity when her HBO movie hit the airways. I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to meet this lady. Last week, Heather Buckmaster from the Oklahoma Beef Commission called and invited me to a VIP luncheon in honor of Dr. Grandin, as well as a seminar at Gallagher-Iba Arena where she spoke to over 3,000 people about her life’s work and passion. Her reason for being on the OSU campus was to announce a new professorship in her name. The Beef Council was able to raise $250,000, which will be matched by T. Boone Pickens, that will help put a half million dollar professorship in play to help OSU in their already top-notch animal science department.
I know of no one in the world who is more respected when it comes to the treatment of animals, than the iconic Temple Grandin. She has more credibility because of her life’s work and now that she is a celebrity because of her movie, that adds to her expertise because no longer is she just a guru in livestock circles, but she is now a national treasure. People from all walks of life now know her name. To say the least and to borrow a phrase from Heather Buckmaster, “she is golden”. It was a historic afternoon for Oklahoma State University to be able to tie to someone of her caliber and if an animal rights person were to attack, it is a great defense to be able to say “Dr. Grandin is advising us on how we should handle animals”. You search the world over and find me someone who “gets it” any better than she does, and I will buy your dinner. It is interesting when you listen to Temple. She refuses to use the word “harvest” as it relates to slaughter plants. She tells it like it is. She says, “We are slaughtering these animals. We are raising them for a purpose. But, if we can ease that animal’s stress up to slaughter, haven’t we been better stewards of the livestock in our charge?” I believe she is right. I do not know who could dispute that. If we put into practice the things Dr. Grandin has taught us over the last 30 years, we will do a better job and a gentler job in handling the animals that feed America and the world. It was an honor to be there and to meet this very gifted individual. I have always been lucky enough to know when I was in the presence of greatness and I truly feel like I was that day. Thank you, Dr. Grandin, for helping us help ourselves.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” -Harold R. McAlindon
Dr. Grandin has spent her life making our lives easier. It was nothing for her to get down on her knees in an alleyway just to get the cow’s view as they moved through poorly designed corals, pens and alleys. My entire adult life, I have been in awe of this mystery person who was like a guru who could fix almost any problem that anyone ever had, whether it was slaughter plant, feed lot or any type of facility where cattle were handled. Then, of course, she became a celebrity when her HBO movie hit the airways. I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to meet this lady. Last week, Heather Buckmaster from the Oklahoma Beef Commission called and invited me to a VIP luncheon in honor of Dr. Grandin, as well as a seminar at Gallagher-Iba Arena where she spoke to over 3,000 people about her life’s work and passion. Her reason for being on the OSU campus was to announce a new professorship in her name. The Beef Council was able to raise $250,000, which will be matched by T. Boone Pickens, that will help put a half million dollar professorship in play to help OSU in their already top-notch animal science department.
I know of no one in the world who is more respected when it comes to the treatment of animals, than the iconic Temple Grandin. She has more credibility because of her life’s work and now that she is a celebrity because of her movie, that adds to her expertise because no longer is she just a guru in livestock circles, but she is now a national treasure. People from all walks of life now know her name. To say the least and to borrow a phrase from Heather Buckmaster, “she is golden”. It was a historic afternoon for Oklahoma State University to be able to tie to someone of her caliber and if an animal rights person were to attack, it is a great defense to be able to say “Dr. Grandin is advising us on how we should handle animals”. You search the world over and find me someone who “gets it” any better than she does, and I will buy your dinner. It is interesting when you listen to Temple. She refuses to use the word “harvest” as it relates to slaughter plants. She tells it like it is. She says, “We are slaughtering these animals. We are raising them for a purpose. But, if we can ease that animal’s stress up to slaughter, haven’t we been better stewards of the livestock in our charge?” I believe she is right. I do not know who could dispute that. If we put into practice the things Dr. Grandin has taught us over the last 30 years, we will do a better job and a gentler job in handling the animals that feed America and the world. It was an honor to be there and to meet this very gifted individual. I have always been lucky enough to know when I was in the presence of greatness and I truly feel like I was that day. Thank you, Dr. Grandin, for helping us help ourselves.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” -Harold R. McAlindon
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thanks, Lady Gaga!
I am not even sure how to tell you what a Lady Gaga is and when I heard that she wore a “meat dress” to the Video Music Awards, I have to admit, my first impression was “what a freak show”. The media, as you might imagine, was all over it with different interpretations and opinions of what she was trying to say or prove by this obvious publicity stunt. After watching several different news reports and doing a little bit of reading, I found out that PETA was mad at her which elevated her to a whole new level in my book. I still think she is a one-woman freak show but that did not stop her from posing in a meat bikini for the cover of Vogue or wearing a meat dress to the VMA awards. As they say, “pub is pub”. Sometimes an event can create publicity that was unintended but, one thing about it, it created some talk and she stood up on the world stage for her right to be weird. Now, I do not think she will be replacing Sam Elliot anytime soon as the spokesman for beef but, one thing is for sure, she raised the awareness of meat, however weird, because Monday morning, that was all the talk.
Things like that always remind me of weird happenings that create lots of spin and media buzz like when Lisa Marie Presley married Michael Jackson many years ago. People sure were talking about that and it is free. It did not cost anything but it got the tabloids churning. As I said earlier, no matter whether it is positive or negative, “pub is pub”. Is Lady Gaga a pop icon? That remains to be seen. Time will tell whether she is a “flash in the pan” or if she will having staying power of Cher. We will not know that for a while but for right now, she may be the hottest tabloid ticket in the country. For those of us in the meat business, good or bad, it put our product on the front page again. My guess is that she will make the talk show circuit and people like David Letterman and Jay Leno will ask the obvious question “what the heck were you thinking?” In fact, at the time I wrote this article, she had already been on Ellen, where Ellen DeGeneres asked her basically that same question. I could not tell what exact cut of meat she had on her head from the news reports and I know that if it was a steak, I would have liked it cut a little thicker. But again, as I said, the world is talking about meat. She stood up for her freedom in her goofy celebrity way and PETA got mad. Maybe it is the perfect storm. Maybe in the next several weeks, all the “cool kids” will be wearing meat suits. In fact, it would be great if somebody would design a meat prom dress. Might sure drive up the price of fat cattle.
I understand that some of Gaga’s other views are equally as weird like her support of the transgender population which would be way left of most of us, especially those of us in Southwest Oklahoma. But, none of the reporters will care much about what she thinks on those other subjects, because they are gonna be talking about meat. Even though it is in a weird setting, she and product that we work real hard to raise, are on the front page of almost everything. So thanks, Lady Gaga. Maybe you and Paris Hilton can get together and do a book of beef recipes for our next outdoor cookout. And maybe Angelina Jolie can bring the kids. And maybe Katy Perry can bring her girlfriend and they can all cook burgers or smoke a brisket. The paparazzi could have a field day with that one. Let me know and I will bring a pickup load of mesquite. Or, on second thought, maybe not. Maybe yall should just use charcoal. This is a crazy world but it is still a free country. Maybe when she gets married, her wedding dress could be made of pork, “the other white meat”, with some beef accessories. Be watching the Big Texan Steakhouse, that may be her next stop.
“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” -Salman Rushdie
Things like that always remind me of weird happenings that create lots of spin and media buzz like when Lisa Marie Presley married Michael Jackson many years ago. People sure were talking about that and it is free. It did not cost anything but it got the tabloids churning. As I said earlier, no matter whether it is positive or negative, “pub is pub”. Is Lady Gaga a pop icon? That remains to be seen. Time will tell whether she is a “flash in the pan” or if she will having staying power of Cher. We will not know that for a while but for right now, she may be the hottest tabloid ticket in the country. For those of us in the meat business, good or bad, it put our product on the front page again. My guess is that she will make the talk show circuit and people like David Letterman and Jay Leno will ask the obvious question “what the heck were you thinking?” In fact, at the time I wrote this article, she had already been on Ellen, where Ellen DeGeneres asked her basically that same question. I could not tell what exact cut of meat she had on her head from the news reports and I know that if it was a steak, I would have liked it cut a little thicker. But again, as I said, the world is talking about meat. She stood up for her freedom in her goofy celebrity way and PETA got mad. Maybe it is the perfect storm. Maybe in the next several weeks, all the “cool kids” will be wearing meat suits. In fact, it would be great if somebody would design a meat prom dress. Might sure drive up the price of fat cattle.
I understand that some of Gaga’s other views are equally as weird like her support of the transgender population which would be way left of most of us, especially those of us in Southwest Oklahoma. But, none of the reporters will care much about what she thinks on those other subjects, because they are gonna be talking about meat. Even though it is in a weird setting, she and product that we work real hard to raise, are on the front page of almost everything. So thanks, Lady Gaga. Maybe you and Paris Hilton can get together and do a book of beef recipes for our next outdoor cookout. And maybe Angelina Jolie can bring the kids. And maybe Katy Perry can bring her girlfriend and they can all cook burgers or smoke a brisket. The paparazzi could have a field day with that one. Let me know and I will bring a pickup load of mesquite. Or, on second thought, maybe not. Maybe yall should just use charcoal. This is a crazy world but it is still a free country. Maybe when she gets married, her wedding dress could be made of pork, “the other white meat”, with some beef accessories. Be watching the Big Texan Steakhouse, that may be her next stop.
“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” -Salman Rushdie
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
State Questions that will appear on Nov. ballot
SQ744- A yes vote would mandate the state spend up to $1 billion more per year on common education to meet a regional average. This would be done by raising taxes 32% statewide, or cutting all other state agencies and services by at least 20% each.
SQ746- A yes vote makes voters show proof of identity-voter ID.
SQ747- A yes vote would make all state-wide elected offices have a term limit of 8 yrs, except Corp. Comm., which would be 12 years.
SQ748- Every 10 years redistricting is done by the legislature; if they fail to act then a commission does the job. A yes vote changes the number of poeple on the commission from 3 to 7, and makes it bi-partisan, with the Lt. Governor as the non-voting chairman.
SQ750- A yes vote would require less signatures on the initiative and referendum petitions. The least election with the Governor on the ballot, instead of the last election with the President on the ballot would be used to determine the signatures needed.
SQ751- A yes vote makes English the common language of Oklahoma.
SQ752- A yes vote modifies the Judicial Nominating Commission, which recommends candidates to the Governor to appoint. Currently, it is made up of 12 (6 non-lawyers appointed by the Governor & 6 lawyers appointed by the OBA.) This measure adds 2 non-lawyer members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate.
SQ754- A yes vote would ensure that the appropriations and budgeting process set up by the Oklahoma Constitution stays the way that it currently is. It would stop any unions or government agencies from demanding that they be funded in a different or higher way.
SQ755- A yes vote forbids Oklahoma courts from using Sharia (Islamic) or international law to decide cases cases in our state courts.
SQ756- A yes vote allows OK residents to opt-out of Federal health care.
SQ757- A yes vote increases rainy day fund from 10% to 15% of certified funds from the previous years state budget.
SQ746- A yes vote makes voters show proof of identity-voter ID.
SQ747- A yes vote would make all state-wide elected offices have a term limit of 8 yrs, except Corp. Comm., which would be 12 years.
SQ748- Every 10 years redistricting is done by the legislature; if they fail to act then a commission does the job. A yes vote changes the number of poeple on the commission from 3 to 7, and makes it bi-partisan, with the Lt. Governor as the non-voting chairman.
SQ750- A yes vote would require less signatures on the initiative and referendum petitions. The least election with the Governor on the ballot, instead of the last election with the President on the ballot would be used to determine the signatures needed.
SQ751- A yes vote makes English the common language of Oklahoma.
SQ752- A yes vote modifies the Judicial Nominating Commission, which recommends candidates to the Governor to appoint. Currently, it is made up of 12 (6 non-lawyers appointed by the Governor & 6 lawyers appointed by the OBA.) This measure adds 2 non-lawyer members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate.
SQ754- A yes vote would ensure that the appropriations and budgeting process set up by the Oklahoma Constitution stays the way that it currently is. It would stop any unions or government agencies from demanding that they be funded in a different or higher way.
SQ755- A yes vote forbids Oklahoma courts from using Sharia (Islamic) or international law to decide cases cases in our state courts.
SQ756- A yes vote allows OK residents to opt-out of Federal health care.
SQ757- A yes vote increases rainy day fund from 10% to 15% of certified funds from the previous years state budget.
Feel That? It's Fall.
We seem to forget how lethargic people can get in the “dog days” of summer. I was getting a haircut the other day and the lady who has cut my hair for a long time said that her business had been slow and she could not figure out why. I told her that the heat was really keeping people from getting out and moving around anymore than they had to. With temperatures in the triple digits for over three or four weeks, it just saps your energy and we all suffer from, as my friend calls it, “air conditioner poisoning”. Everything is air conditioned everywhere we go and we just get accustomed to cool temperatures and then cannot take the heat. I know there are some things that I would not even attempt in August. One of those is an auction. One thing I have learned in 25 plus years as an auctioneer is that, given a choice, people will stay inside and will hardly get out, and many cannot get out, during the dog days.
Last week, we felt the first hint of cool air. In fact, last Friday morning as I headed down to the road to get the newspaper before daylight, I almost wished for a light jacket after the cool rain the night before and the north wind. The other thing that it does, especially in an election year, is it energizes those political candidates, who even though many had to get out during the dog days, cool air will put a snap in their step and renew their optimism. That first cool front just makes us feel like goin’. It is like our part of the country just drank one of those fancy, smart alec energy drinks. By the time you read this, what is considered by many “the last big weekend of the summer” has come and gone and people are just out and about more. As voters, we have a big assignment to study for in November. Not only is it an election year for the Governor’s office and several congressional seats but as I have said before there is a whole page of state questions that will require a little bit of study to be able to make sense of. We actually have that page in a printed format that we can e-mail or send out to you if you would like a little preview, so feel free to call my Capitol office at 405-557-7307 or e-mail me at donarmes@okhouse.gov. If you would like copy of those just give us a call or e-mail and we would be glad to send you a copy. I will also be posting a copy on my Facebook page. So, feel free to access that information and be prepared because if voter turnout is anywhere near decent, it may take a while to vote in November.
In the meantime, enjoy this break in the heat and the much anticipated turning of the seasons. Remember to take time to enjoy what I personally consider my favorite time of year. We have got a little ways to go before winter sets in but should have some beautiful days and crisp nights. The kind where a light jacket is just perfect and the days are warm enough to get out and do things. I am reminding myself, as well as you, to stop and realize how great things are and enjoy what should be a beautiful Oklahoma Fall. Whether you are a hunter, fisherman or a biker, or just like to putter around in your yard, this is the sweet spot. Don’t miss it.
Last week, we felt the first hint of cool air. In fact, last Friday morning as I headed down to the road to get the newspaper before daylight, I almost wished for a light jacket after the cool rain the night before and the north wind. The other thing that it does, especially in an election year, is it energizes those political candidates, who even though many had to get out during the dog days, cool air will put a snap in their step and renew their optimism. That first cool front just makes us feel like goin’. It is like our part of the country just drank one of those fancy, smart alec energy drinks. By the time you read this, what is considered by many “the last big weekend of the summer” has come and gone and people are just out and about more. As voters, we have a big assignment to study for in November. Not only is it an election year for the Governor’s office and several congressional seats but as I have said before there is a whole page of state questions that will require a little bit of study to be able to make sense of. We actually have that page in a printed format that we can e-mail or send out to you if you would like a little preview, so feel free to call my Capitol office at 405-557-7307 or e-mail me at donarmes@okhouse.gov. If you would like copy of those just give us a call or e-mail and we would be glad to send you a copy. I will also be posting a copy on my Facebook page. So, feel free to access that information and be prepared because if voter turnout is anywhere near decent, it may take a while to vote in November.
In the meantime, enjoy this break in the heat and the much anticipated turning of the seasons. Remember to take time to enjoy what I personally consider my favorite time of year. We have got a little ways to go before winter sets in but should have some beautiful days and crisp nights. The kind where a light jacket is just perfect and the days are warm enough to get out and do things. I am reminding myself, as well as you, to stop and realize how great things are and enjoy what should be a beautiful Oklahoma Fall. Whether you are a hunter, fisherman or a biker, or just like to putter around in your yard, this is the sweet spot. Don’t miss it.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Could eBooks Save Millions for Education? (Part 2)
Back to our number of students statewide. If the use of Kindles or other E-Book products could save only $10 dollars per student across Oklahoma, that would save approximately $6.5 million dollars, which will not alone save education, but we could possibly redirect those dollars saved into other much needed areas of the education mission. I believe the savings could be greater but again, I really do not know. That’s what an interim study is all about. It’s exactly what it says: a study. I think this one has some merit and I intend to pursue it and see what we find. In casual conversations from different folks who saw the news report that Channel 7 did about the Kindle, some concerns were raised that could be very valid. One concern was “how do we control the content and make sure it’s not inappropriate?” I believe we have enough computer knowledge in the industry to address that concern.
I also believe that children, especially today, would take to this technology easier than those of us who hate change and are somewhat intimidated by computers. You know the old longstanding joke “if you want to set your VCR, ask your kid”. They have grown up with technology and they embrace it more than older generations. Another added benefit to an E-Book would be simply the difference in weight that kids are having to swing over their shoulder in a backpack. Six books will outweigh a Kindle or a Nook or an iPad every time. So, given that alone, there has got to be some benefits to a smaller, more efficient textbook. Lots of unanswered questions but just a basic concept that I think might have some points worth exploring is what this interim study is all about. My hope is that by thinking outside the box, we can save a few million dollars statewide that could go toward other important pieces of the education financial puzzle and maybe just streamline the operation. It will be an interesting study and we should have some answers later in the Fall. So, stay logged in.
I also believe that children, especially today, would take to this technology easier than those of us who hate change and are somewhat intimidated by computers. You know the old longstanding joke “if you want to set your VCR, ask your kid”. They have grown up with technology and they embrace it more than older generations. Another added benefit to an E-Book would be simply the difference in weight that kids are having to swing over their shoulder in a backpack. Six books will outweigh a Kindle or a Nook or an iPad every time. So, given that alone, there has got to be some benefits to a smaller, more efficient textbook. Lots of unanswered questions but just a basic concept that I think might have some points worth exploring is what this interim study is all about. My hope is that by thinking outside the box, we can save a few million dollars statewide that could go toward other important pieces of the education financial puzzle and maybe just streamline the operation. It will be an interesting study and we should have some answers later in the Fall. So, stay logged in.
Could eBooks Save Millions for Education? (Part 1)
In a previous article, I mentioned that I was doing an interim study to look at potential cost savings by jumping out of the 20th century and into the 21st century and taking a serious look at electronic books as a potential replacement for old-fashioned hardback, traditional textbooks. A few months ago, I was introduced to a pretty neat little gadget called a “Kindle” produced by Amazon. A Kindle is a very small, electronic book that has the capacity to store the same information that could be found in 3,500 hardback books. Having spent 13 years in a high school classroom, I know full well what a box of books weigh because I have unloaded many of them. I also know that the cost for that very basic teaching tool continues to escalate. After seeing a Kindle and holding it in my hands and flipping through the pages, I thought “wow, this little electronic tool could revolutionize the way we teach children and could dramatically reduce costs”.
Now, let’s take a look at some possible numbers. Again, this is an interim study and these are just estimates. You take 654,540 common education students statewide (K-12), many of those students have six subjects per day and six books per child. I do not have to extrapolate that figure to see how many textbooks that is. It’s a bunch! Without getting specific, you can just do some common cowboy math and figure out that it is a lot of truck loads of books. I don’t know what it costs to haul a truck load of books but it is not cheap. If you figure a Kindle probably weighs a couple of pounds or less and then you take six copies of almost any book you choose and compare that, I think it would be easy to see that freight alone gets pretty pricey. Also consider the fact that people make lots of money writing the content for textbooks. That probably would not change. It still takes learned individuals to write these. The difference is the cost savings of hauling untold truckloads of hard books versus little compact devices that can hold 3,500 books. There has got to be a savings there just in freight.
Before you think that I own stock in the Kindle Company, I am not stuck on the Kindle as the only option. Although one can be had by an individual for less than 150 dollars, I am sure that there could be a tremendous savings if bought in bulk by a large school system. There may be other brands out there that can do the same thing. If you step up your expenditure, you can go to the Apple iPad which shows illustrations and graphs. To my knowledge, the Kindle is just black and white. One of the questions I have had posed is “what do you do about color?” There might be a device that will do that and Kindle may even have the technology now, I’m not sure. If they don’t, there are some other products from other companies like Barnes and Noble that has a device called the “Nook” and Sony also has the “Reader” that might fit the bill. With the cost of education ever-increasing, we have to figure out if there is a way to carry out the mission of educating our kids with less dollars. It is called efficiency and businesses have to find better ways to be efficient all the time, or they don’t survive. I think it’s only fair that education look at some of these potential efficiencies and see if there is a way to get the job done on less.
Now, let’s take a look at some possible numbers. Again, this is an interim study and these are just estimates. You take 654,540 common education students statewide (K-12), many of those students have six subjects per day and six books per child. I do not have to extrapolate that figure to see how many textbooks that is. It’s a bunch! Without getting specific, you can just do some common cowboy math and figure out that it is a lot of truck loads of books. I don’t know what it costs to haul a truck load of books but it is not cheap. If you figure a Kindle probably weighs a couple of pounds or less and then you take six copies of almost any book you choose and compare that, I think it would be easy to see that freight alone gets pretty pricey. Also consider the fact that people make lots of money writing the content for textbooks. That probably would not change. It still takes learned individuals to write these. The difference is the cost savings of hauling untold truckloads of hard books versus little compact devices that can hold 3,500 books. There has got to be a savings there just in freight.
Before you think that I own stock in the Kindle Company, I am not stuck on the Kindle as the only option. Although one can be had by an individual for less than 150 dollars, I am sure that there could be a tremendous savings if bought in bulk by a large school system. There may be other brands out there that can do the same thing. If you step up your expenditure, you can go to the Apple iPad which shows illustrations and graphs. To my knowledge, the Kindle is just black and white. One of the questions I have had posed is “what do you do about color?” There might be a device that will do that and Kindle may even have the technology now, I’m not sure. If they don’t, there are some other products from other companies like Barnes and Noble that has a device called the “Nook” and Sony also has the “Reader” that might fit the bill. With the cost of education ever-increasing, we have to figure out if there is a way to carry out the mission of educating our kids with less dollars. It is called efficiency and businesses have to find better ways to be efficient all the time, or they don’t survive. I think it’s only fair that education look at some of these potential efficiencies and see if there is a way to get the job done on less.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Honoring a Fallen Hero
On a hot Saturday afternoon, August 21st, a small town congregated to honor a young soldier who lost his life in service of his country in one of those things that should have never happened, a massacre at Ft. Hood, Texas.
Family, friends and classmates of Specialist J.D. Hunt gathered to pay tribute to a young man taken way too early in his life. It was a very well-organized tribute to Specialist Hunt with all the normal participants that you would expect from a small town: the local fire department, highway patrol, sheriff and local police, as well as several from the local community. Two of the extra additions that helped make it a special day and increase the military presence was the Army Band from Ft. Hood where Specialist Hunt was stationed and The Patriot Guard Riders, a group of bikers many of whom are veterans themselves, decked out with veteran flags and the POW MIA flag. I believe they are the same group that shows up at military funerals because of some of the protests that have occurred from the Kansas church that seems to have been causing problems at military funerals across the nation with their war protests. The Patriot Guard Riders that were there did not have to worry about a protest occurring that day because a protest would not have been taken very well by this Southwest community who were there to honor the family and the life of one of their own. There was also a vehicle from the disabled veterans and a vehicle from the Audie Murphy National Fan Club. Many young people who grew up with J.D. and were friends and classmates attended the ceremony as well.
I was able to stop on my way to Altus and present a citation to the family of Specialist Hunt in addition to Congresswoman Mary Fallin who was also on hand to present a proclamation from the U.S. Congress and had some kind words to say about not only J.D.’s service but the service and sacrifice of many of our military people as they put their lives in jeopardy to keep our country free. It was a proud day for Tipton and for the Hunt family who lost a son, grandson, brother and friend in a senseless shooting that happened while he prepared to go serve his country. The show of support was outstanding as the town showed up in droves to honor this young man’s life and to help us remember some basic lessons, the main one being: freedom is not free. I was honored to be an ever so small part in that remembrance and in helping Tipton, Oklahoma swell with pride as they honored their local hero. It was a big day in a small town but very fitting. Rest in peace J.D. Hunt and thank you for your service to our country.
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell
Family, friends and classmates of Specialist J.D. Hunt gathered to pay tribute to a young man taken way too early in his life. It was a very well-organized tribute to Specialist Hunt with all the normal participants that you would expect from a small town: the local fire department, highway patrol, sheriff and local police, as well as several from the local community. Two of the extra additions that helped make it a special day and increase the military presence was the Army Band from Ft. Hood where Specialist Hunt was stationed and The Patriot Guard Riders, a group of bikers many of whom are veterans themselves, decked out with veteran flags and the POW MIA flag. I believe they are the same group that shows up at military funerals because of some of the protests that have occurred from the Kansas church that seems to have been causing problems at military funerals across the nation with their war protests. The Patriot Guard Riders that were there did not have to worry about a protest occurring that day because a protest would not have been taken very well by this Southwest community who were there to honor the family and the life of one of their own. There was also a vehicle from the disabled veterans and a vehicle from the Audie Murphy National Fan Club. Many young people who grew up with J.D. and were friends and classmates attended the ceremony as well.
I was able to stop on my way to Altus and present a citation to the family of Specialist Hunt in addition to Congresswoman Mary Fallin who was also on hand to present a proclamation from the U.S. Congress and had some kind words to say about not only J.D.’s service but the service and sacrifice of many of our military people as they put their lives in jeopardy to keep our country free. It was a proud day for Tipton and for the Hunt family who lost a son, grandson, brother and friend in a senseless shooting that happened while he prepared to go serve his country. The show of support was outstanding as the town showed up in droves to honor this young man’s life and to help us remember some basic lessons, the main one being: freedom is not free. I was honored to be an ever so small part in that remembrance and in helping Tipton, Oklahoma swell with pride as they honored their local hero. It was a big day in a small town but very fitting. Rest in peace J.D. Hunt and thank you for your service to our country.
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell
Thursday, August 19, 2010
2 Beers and a Safety Slide
It’s funny how quickly a working stiff from a pretty normal job can become a folk hero. The reason that Steven Slater was an overnight sensation was because he melted down just far enough to do what almost everyone who has ever had a job has wanted to do at one time or another. He had obviously had a pretty rough day and the rudeness of whoever the lady was that bopped him on the head with her carry-on bag was just about more than he could take. I can tell ya that there have been lots of times in my life that I know just how he feels. If you are honest with yourself, I bet you do too.
There is an old saying about smiling vs. frowning and it is something like this: “it takes half as many facial muscles to smile as it does to frown”. I think that is a pretty good analogy for what happened on that airplane. Madam X, whoever she was, may have had a hard day too but she chose that day to throw her weight around and forget the golden rule to exercise a little common courtesy. It just so happens that she applied a “pop knot” on the head of a guy who was probably in the same spot and he reacted the way most of us would like to, but never would. I have a theory, right or wrong, that we are going to see more of that kind of rudeness as the “me” generation matures. There are people out there who make careers out of service to others and every one of them are human. They make mistakes, sometimes beyond their control and sometimes not. As human beings and inhabitants of the same planet, I think we owe each other at least a little bit of common courtesy. If Madam X would have just said sorry, Steven Slater probably would have said “that’s okay” and gone about his job. But, the fact is, she didn’t. So, he grabbed a couple of beers, engaged the slide, gave her a good cussin’ (which she probably earned) and went tha’ the house. I think it ought to be a lesson to all of us that common courtesy is evermore important as our lives become faster and evermore hectic. It is quickly becoming a lost art, like opening a door for another or saying “yes ma’am” or anyone of dozens of examples of just plain being nice. I’m gonna tell ya, if there would have been an emergency chute out of the fourth floor of the State Capitol, I would have been tempted many times to pop that sucker and go tha’ house. I’ll promise ya in that toxic environment, there is no shortage of tension. There are a whole bunch of contentious issues and people fight for their deal, whatever it is. They don’t mind steppin’ on ya or whatever to get there. It would be real easy to do like many of us would love to do and “take this job and shove it” just like the ole’ Johnny Paycheck song.
It will be interesting to watch what happens with Steven Slaters saga. I am kinda thinking that if I am his airline, I would put my folk hero back to work and make it a big deal to be on the plane where he served. Kind of like a back door Sarah Palin. Poof..instant celebrity! Might sell a few airline tickets with that gig. I think the bottom line is that we need to be nice to each other. Common courtesy never goes out of style. Just plain politeness is a common ingredient to getting along with our neighbors. I had an old ag teaching colleague years ago who taught me a valuable lesson after I had problems with a kid in one of my classes. He said “Don, you don’t know what that young man has been through by the time he leaves your class on Wednesday and gets back on Thursday. So, don’t fly off the handle, just consider that he may have had a rough night”. If we all thought like that a little bit more, we would probably have less reason to pull the emergency lever and go tha’ house.
There is an old saying about smiling vs. frowning and it is something like this: “it takes half as many facial muscles to smile as it does to frown”. I think that is a pretty good analogy for what happened on that airplane. Madam X, whoever she was, may have had a hard day too but she chose that day to throw her weight around and forget the golden rule to exercise a little common courtesy. It just so happens that she applied a “pop knot” on the head of a guy who was probably in the same spot and he reacted the way most of us would like to, but never would. I have a theory, right or wrong, that we are going to see more of that kind of rudeness as the “me” generation matures. There are people out there who make careers out of service to others and every one of them are human. They make mistakes, sometimes beyond their control and sometimes not. As human beings and inhabitants of the same planet, I think we owe each other at least a little bit of common courtesy. If Madam X would have just said sorry, Steven Slater probably would have said “that’s okay” and gone about his job. But, the fact is, she didn’t. So, he grabbed a couple of beers, engaged the slide, gave her a good cussin’ (which she probably earned) and went tha’ the house. I think it ought to be a lesson to all of us that common courtesy is evermore important as our lives become faster and evermore hectic. It is quickly becoming a lost art, like opening a door for another or saying “yes ma’am” or anyone of dozens of examples of just plain being nice. I’m gonna tell ya, if there would have been an emergency chute out of the fourth floor of the State Capitol, I would have been tempted many times to pop that sucker and go tha’ house. I’ll promise ya in that toxic environment, there is no shortage of tension. There are a whole bunch of contentious issues and people fight for their deal, whatever it is. They don’t mind steppin’ on ya or whatever to get there. It would be real easy to do like many of us would love to do and “take this job and shove it” just like the ole’ Johnny Paycheck song.
It will be interesting to watch what happens with Steven Slaters saga. I am kinda thinking that if I am his airline, I would put my folk hero back to work and make it a big deal to be on the plane where he served. Kind of like a back door Sarah Palin. Poof..instant celebrity! Might sell a few airline tickets with that gig. I think the bottom line is that we need to be nice to each other. Common courtesy never goes out of style. Just plain politeness is a common ingredient to getting along with our neighbors. I had an old ag teaching colleague years ago who taught me a valuable lesson after I had problems with a kid in one of my classes. He said “Don, you don’t know what that young man has been through by the time he leaves your class on Wednesday and gets back on Thursday. So, don’t fly off the handle, just consider that he may have had a rough night”. If we all thought like that a little bit more, we would probably have less reason to pull the emergency lever and go tha’ house.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Jack Mitchell
I am writing this week’s column just a couple of hours after speaking at Jack’s funeral. Jack Mitchell may well be the toughest man I have ever known. He was a character and teacher in one of the most important chapters in my life. Jack taught me the most valuable lesson I have ever learned and that was the value of hard work. I spent at least three summers on Mitchell family hay wagons where many times we would put up well over 100,000 bales a summer. I have to laugh when I hear people talk about ‘haulin hay’ and they use numbers in the hundreds when we dealt in thousands. The Mitchell family has been in the hay business for many years and in the days before round bales, they provided a much needed service for many area farmers doing the kind of work that many were unable to do. On a good day, when everything was working and we didn’t have any breakdowns, it was not unusual to put three thousand square bales in the barn in a day’s time.
I was talking to my old friend Greg Tugman and his brother Mike, who spent as much time on their wagons as I did, and we all agreed “we would hate to have to do that today.” We were young and tough and conditioned to the heat and worked from 7:30 in the morning until sometimes after midnight, seven days a week. Looking back, Jack was probably in his mid-fifties then and he drove a truck during the day for Graves Freightline. We would start in the morning with his son Melvin who had worked for the City of Lawton until midnight the night before. It didn’t matter, we started at 7:30. Jack would get off about 4:00 and would come home and climb on the wagons about the time Melvin was going to work. Greg and I got to work both shifts. But, it was a valuable lesson and it serves me well even today because I learned how to work from people like the Mitchell family who knew the value and instilled that work ethic into a young, skinny kid, not knowing that it would be the most valuable lesson I would ever learn.
It was always a treat when we were hauling hay somewhere close to the Mitchell’s “home place” because Jack’s mother, Mary who we all called “Granny Mitchell”, would always cook a big spread. It was like a feast with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and who knows what else. That was rare but memorable because most days, it was “baloney” sandwiches and cold Dr. Pepper with mustard that was always kept in the glove box of the pickup. We would wear out a pair of gloves about every two days. When the blisters between your fingers got broken, you just moved the hay hooks in between another set of fingers and kept going. We also wore out a pair of leggins’ at least every year and treated wasp stings with Garrett Snuff. We prayed for rain on a daily basis, seldom if ever getting our prayers answered. We went about the business of putting up winter forage for cattle across Comanche County and points beyond.
There are enough hay haulin’stories to fill a book. I will never forget one summer when we hauled prairie hay at Ft. Sill for the “Hunt Club” where all the little fancy military girls kept their Hunter jumper horses. We pulled in on the East Range and saw 9,000 bales spread out across endless rows in that native grass pasture. It was the roughest haul that I remember and you could barely stay on the wagon because of the holes from years of artillery shells. I even remember one day on that particular hay field when I grabbed a bale of grass hay and flipped it over, only to find a rattlesnake sticking out. It didn’t take long to jump back and make sure it was dead. It was tough, brutal, hot work. I can only remember quitting because of excess heat two times during the time I worked for them. We didn’t need the weatherman on TV to tell us to drink plenty of water. We had no time for heat advisories. We had hay to get in and we got the job done. We made lots of money. Although it was not much per hour, we just worked lots of hours. I think over the years, I have given it all back to various chiropractors but we would never dare whine. There were only two periods in the summer that we could count on not working. One was the Fourth of July. Not the whole weekend, just the day. The other, was the Lawton Rangers Rodeo week. Make no mistake, we did not get the week off. We just got off early enough to go to the rodeo.
I doubt if Jack Mitchell really realized what he was doing for me. Many times I thought he was trying to kill me. But again, as I stated earlier, it was probably the most valuable lesson I ever learned. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Jack and his family for making me who I am and instilling a “never say quit” work ethic into a skinny kid. I said at Jack’s funeral “if we could put Jack Mitchell in charge of this whole generation of young people today, this country would be way more productive, a lot less whiny and we would not need welfare”. I will never be as tough as Jack but I owe him. So, I just wanted to spend this week’s column saying “thank you Jack, and may you rest in peace.”
I was talking to my old friend Greg Tugman and his brother Mike, who spent as much time on their wagons as I did, and we all agreed “we would hate to have to do that today.” We were young and tough and conditioned to the heat and worked from 7:30 in the morning until sometimes after midnight, seven days a week. Looking back, Jack was probably in his mid-fifties then and he drove a truck during the day for Graves Freightline. We would start in the morning with his son Melvin who had worked for the City of Lawton until midnight the night before. It didn’t matter, we started at 7:30. Jack would get off about 4:00 and would come home and climb on the wagons about the time Melvin was going to work. Greg and I got to work both shifts. But, it was a valuable lesson and it serves me well even today because I learned how to work from people like the Mitchell family who knew the value and instilled that work ethic into a young, skinny kid, not knowing that it would be the most valuable lesson I would ever learn.
It was always a treat when we were hauling hay somewhere close to the Mitchell’s “home place” because Jack’s mother, Mary who we all called “Granny Mitchell”, would always cook a big spread. It was like a feast with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and who knows what else. That was rare but memorable because most days, it was “baloney” sandwiches and cold Dr. Pepper with mustard that was always kept in the glove box of the pickup. We would wear out a pair of gloves about every two days. When the blisters between your fingers got broken, you just moved the hay hooks in between another set of fingers and kept going. We also wore out a pair of leggins’ at least every year and treated wasp stings with Garrett Snuff. We prayed for rain on a daily basis, seldom if ever getting our prayers answered. We went about the business of putting up winter forage for cattle across Comanche County and points beyond.
There are enough hay haulin’stories to fill a book. I will never forget one summer when we hauled prairie hay at Ft. Sill for the “Hunt Club” where all the little fancy military girls kept their Hunter jumper horses. We pulled in on the East Range and saw 9,000 bales spread out across endless rows in that native grass pasture. It was the roughest haul that I remember and you could barely stay on the wagon because of the holes from years of artillery shells. I even remember one day on that particular hay field when I grabbed a bale of grass hay and flipped it over, only to find a rattlesnake sticking out. It didn’t take long to jump back and make sure it was dead. It was tough, brutal, hot work. I can only remember quitting because of excess heat two times during the time I worked for them. We didn’t need the weatherman on TV to tell us to drink plenty of water. We had no time for heat advisories. We had hay to get in and we got the job done. We made lots of money. Although it was not much per hour, we just worked lots of hours. I think over the years, I have given it all back to various chiropractors but we would never dare whine. There were only two periods in the summer that we could count on not working. One was the Fourth of July. Not the whole weekend, just the day. The other, was the Lawton Rangers Rodeo week. Make no mistake, we did not get the week off. We just got off early enough to go to the rodeo.
I doubt if Jack Mitchell really realized what he was doing for me. Many times I thought he was trying to kill me. But again, as I stated earlier, it was probably the most valuable lesson I ever learned. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Jack and his family for making me who I am and instilling a “never say quit” work ethic into a skinny kid. I said at Jack’s funeral “if we could put Jack Mitchell in charge of this whole generation of young people today, this country would be way more productive, a lot less whiny and we would not need welfare”. I will never be as tough as Jack but I owe him. So, I just wanted to spend this week’s column saying “thank you Jack, and may you rest in peace.”
Let's Rodeo!
About the time you read this, one of the greatest shows in Oklahoma will already be under way: The Lawton Rangers Rodeo. For 72 years a group of guys that call themselves the “Lawton Rangers” have been year after year putting together one of the big events for PRCA cowboys and cowgirls across the nation. For those of us who grew up here, it is a time honored tradition. It is not a matter of whether or not you are going to the rodeo. The question usually tossed about among Southwest Oklahomans is which night or nights. As a kid, I really looked forward to getting out of the hay field and going and saddling a horse to ride in the grand entry. It is always fun and a lot of times a rodeo in itself because a lot of those horses don’t get ridden until August. The grand entry is almost never without a blowout or a wreck.
One thing the Rangers have changed this year in their week long celebration is that they have discontinued the rodeo parade. I announced at their parade for many years and was always honored to help such a great group. But, I watched the numbers dwindle as the years went by. It seems a shame, but I think it is a reality in our modern society that people just don’t want to brave the heat. We have all become soft. As my friend Mike Fortney says “we all have air conditioner poisoning”. It is just harder to get people out in the heat to watch an afternoon parade. I am fully in support of the Rangers canceling that event. It is just kinda sad that they had to. I guess nothing is forever. In our fast-paced, air conditioned, internet society, it seems like people don’t have time anymore to cut a watermelon or watch a parade, or heaven forbid, wait for homemade ice cream from a hand-cranked freezer, which is probably another article in itself. Hand-cranked ice cream, which I am lucky enough to remember, tastes better than ice cream from those electric gadgets that make ice cream now. I’m not sure how to prove that but I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of medical fact. Even with the canceling of the rodeo parade, it won’t dampen the excitement at the LO Ranch when Charlie Throckmorton flips the switch on that microphone and welcomes the crowd before a big night of professional rodeo. Usually, by that time of evening, it is not quite dark but at least the sun has started down and it is starting to get bearable outside and whether you are a seasoned rodeo fan or a newcomer to Southwest Oklahoma, you are in for a real treat as pro cowboys and cowgirls try to make a check.
This being an election year just adds to the color and the personality of this great sporting event. Most of the candidates for elected office, whether local, county or state, will be at the rodeo grounds passing out literature, shaking hands and kissing babies. Everyone knows that a very high percentage of Southwest Oklahomans will be there. It is a great time for you to meet your candidates if you don’t already know them and put a face with the names on those signs that you see all over the place.
Another great part of the Lawton Rangers Rodeo is the fact that the Rangers have historically done a great job of honoring our military in Southwest Oklahoma. A lot of young kids in the army come here from all over the world and, for many of them, this is the first rodeo they have ever been to. It is a great time for them to experience some western hospitality that the Rangers are so good at providing. As a community, we have not always been as good as we should at honoring our soldiers but the Rangers have always properly thanked them. In fact, they always have one night devoted to the soldiers where they have their own section. For many of those young people who are in basic training, it is their first night on the town in several weeks for a little much deserved R&R. It erks me occasionally to hear somebody complain about military night when the lines at the concession stand are long and the seating is tight. Those same kids are probably headed to Iraq or Afghanistan somewhere in the near future to make sure we have the freedom to go to a rodeo. So, be courteous and be sure to tell them thanks.
One thing the Rangers have changed this year in their week long celebration is that they have discontinued the rodeo parade. I announced at their parade for many years and was always honored to help such a great group. But, I watched the numbers dwindle as the years went by. It seems a shame, but I think it is a reality in our modern society that people just don’t want to brave the heat. We have all become soft. As my friend Mike Fortney says “we all have air conditioner poisoning”. It is just harder to get people out in the heat to watch an afternoon parade. I am fully in support of the Rangers canceling that event. It is just kinda sad that they had to. I guess nothing is forever. In our fast-paced, air conditioned, internet society, it seems like people don’t have time anymore to cut a watermelon or watch a parade, or heaven forbid, wait for homemade ice cream from a hand-cranked freezer, which is probably another article in itself. Hand-cranked ice cream, which I am lucky enough to remember, tastes better than ice cream from those electric gadgets that make ice cream now. I’m not sure how to prove that but I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of medical fact. Even with the canceling of the rodeo parade, it won’t dampen the excitement at the LO Ranch when Charlie Throckmorton flips the switch on that microphone and welcomes the crowd before a big night of professional rodeo. Usually, by that time of evening, it is not quite dark but at least the sun has started down and it is starting to get bearable outside and whether you are a seasoned rodeo fan or a newcomer to Southwest Oklahoma, you are in for a real treat as pro cowboys and cowgirls try to make a check.
This being an election year just adds to the color and the personality of this great sporting event. Most of the candidates for elected office, whether local, county or state, will be at the rodeo grounds passing out literature, shaking hands and kissing babies. Everyone knows that a very high percentage of Southwest Oklahomans will be there. It is a great time for you to meet your candidates if you don’t already know them and put a face with the names on those signs that you see all over the place.
Another great part of the Lawton Rangers Rodeo is the fact that the Rangers have historically done a great job of honoring our military in Southwest Oklahoma. A lot of young kids in the army come here from all over the world and, for many of them, this is the first rodeo they have ever been to. It is a great time for them to experience some western hospitality that the Rangers are so good at providing. As a community, we have not always been as good as we should at honoring our soldiers but the Rangers have always properly thanked them. In fact, they always have one night devoted to the soldiers where they have their own section. For many of those young people who are in basic training, it is their first night on the town in several weeks for a little much deserved R&R. It erks me occasionally to hear somebody complain about military night when the lines at the concession stand are long and the seating is tight. Those same kids are probably headed to Iraq or Afghanistan somewhere in the near future to make sure we have the freedom to go to a rodeo. So, be courteous and be sure to tell them thanks.
State Question 744: A Major Wreck for Oklahoma.
I usually write these columns pretty carefully and try real hard not to blast through the door with guns blazing so as not to offend a reader. But, this one is gonna be different. As Marvin Crabtree used to say “take a deep seat and a long, distant look cowboy because this deal is for real”. State question 744 sounds real good if you say it real fast and it is going to be sold to you, the voter, as another one of those “for the kids” deals. And, who is not for the kids? We all are. If you are already bristled up, ready to jump on me, you better pack a lunch because I am telling you “SQ744 will lay waste to the Oklahoma budget”. Oh, it will put more money in education all right, but at the expense of what? That is the question. This year alone, if 744 would have been in place, it would have required us to put an additional $800 million into common education. Great for education, but where do you want to make the extra cuts? Senior nutrition, roads and bridges, healthcare? You pick a category. There would have been another $800 million taken away and forced to go into education. Again, I am going to reiterate that I am not against education. I spent 13 years as a high school teacher, I was educated in public school and my kids go to public school. I am absolutely for education. This state question, if it passes, will be extremely detrimental to everything else in the state budget. This year, education received the smallest cuts of any state agency. We try hard to take care of education. We want schools to be able to function and function well. But, we have a responsibility to spend your tax dollars responsibly.
I can already hear some of you saying that this is just a Republican rant. But, there have been many top Democrat state officials who have openly voiced there opposition to SQ744 as well. Lieutenant Governor, Jari Askins, called SQ744 “well-intentioned” but said that it would “hurt other areas of education such as early childhood and career tech”. “It would also erode dollars for higher education putting more pressure on students and tuition and fees would increase too”, Askins said (Tulsa World, 2010). State Attorney General, Drew Edmondson, opposes SQ744 and questions whether the measure would be enforceable. “Money to fund it would come from the budgets of other agencies” he said (Tulsa World, 2010). Even Governor Brad Henry weighed in when he told The Daily Oklahoman (2010) that he opposes SQ744. “I suspect right now that the initiative will not pass” Henry said. He goes on to say “if it looks like it has momentum and may pass, I may speak out more publicly than I already have”. Three of the highest ranking Democrats in our state very openly opposed. Here is what Senate Pro Tempore, Glenn Coffee, had to say. He called SQ744 “one of the most dangerous things ever to go on the Oklahoma ballet.” “It is going to force incredibly difficult decisions if it were to pass”. “It would force cuts in other parts of government with no easy ability to recover those revenues” he said. House Speaker, Chris Benge, also weighed in and said “it would be devastating to the state budget.” “$850 million is either going to be done by tax increases or cuts to areas like healthcare and it should be noted that just because you are against 744, it doesn’t mean that you are against education” he went on to say (Oklahoma City Friday, 2010).
Here are just a few highlights of what could happen under SQ744, should it pass. It could bring massive reductions in state funding for state officials at all levels, and would likely destroy rural fire departments and rural economic programs. If you think it is hard to keep REAP funded now, wait and see what happens if this measure passes. So, I am encouraging you to vote no on SQ744. I know that there are those of you who say that we do not adequately fund education. But, understand, the state budget is a much bigger picture than any one single agency. In good times, we try our best to make sure that education is adequately funded. In bad times, such as we have had this year, we try very hard to spare our educational system from cuts that are so deep that they cause detriment to the business of educating our kids. This year, many agencies were cut deep while education faired pretty well considering the situation.
I can already hear some of you saying that this is just a Republican rant. But, there have been many top Democrat state officials who have openly voiced there opposition to SQ744 as well. Lieutenant Governor, Jari Askins, called SQ744 “well-intentioned” but said that it would “hurt other areas of education such as early childhood and career tech”. “It would also erode dollars for higher education putting more pressure on students and tuition and fees would increase too”, Askins said (Tulsa World, 2010). State Attorney General, Drew Edmondson, opposes SQ744 and questions whether the measure would be enforceable. “Money to fund it would come from the budgets of other agencies” he said (Tulsa World, 2010). Even Governor Brad Henry weighed in when he told The Daily Oklahoman (2010) that he opposes SQ744. “I suspect right now that the initiative will not pass” Henry said. He goes on to say “if it looks like it has momentum and may pass, I may speak out more publicly than I already have”. Three of the highest ranking Democrats in our state very openly opposed. Here is what Senate Pro Tempore, Glenn Coffee, had to say. He called SQ744 “one of the most dangerous things ever to go on the Oklahoma ballet.” “It is going to force incredibly difficult decisions if it were to pass”. “It would force cuts in other parts of government with no easy ability to recover those revenues” he said. House Speaker, Chris Benge, also weighed in and said “it would be devastating to the state budget.” “$850 million is either going to be done by tax increases or cuts to areas like healthcare and it should be noted that just because you are against 744, it doesn’t mean that you are against education” he went on to say (Oklahoma City Friday, 2010).
Here are just a few highlights of what could happen under SQ744, should it pass. It could bring massive reductions in state funding for state officials at all levels, and would likely destroy rural fire departments and rural economic programs. If you think it is hard to keep REAP funded now, wait and see what happens if this measure passes. So, I am encouraging you to vote no on SQ744. I know that there are those of you who say that we do not adequately fund education. But, understand, the state budget is a much bigger picture than any one single agency. In good times, we try our best to make sure that education is adequately funded. In bad times, such as we have had this year, we try very hard to spare our educational system from cuts that are so deep that they cause detriment to the business of educating our kids. This year, many agencies were cut deep while education faired pretty well considering the situation.
The Year of the Wasp
I posted something on my Facebook page the other day and I said “I bet I have been through over 10 cans of that 20 foot wasp spray trying to kill nests of those pesky yellow jackets”. That was a week or so ago. Since then, I have probably been through another three cans. I had a neighbor come help me work some calves at my house the other day and we had to kill about three big nests before we could even sort cattle. We found one big nest on the head gate of the chute. I am glad we found that before we got the first calf in because that could have been a major wreck. We found a couple more under the barn by the gate where the cattle come in. I don’t know what is causing these little suckers to be so prolific, whether it is global warming or the oil spill in the Gulf or maybe even terrorists. I will tell you one sweet thing; those little dudes are everywhere.
Since my Facebook post a week or so ago, I went out after being gone for a week and was gonna kill a nest under an arbor that we have by our back porch and ended up getting stung. Not just stung in the arm or in the hand, but on the end of my nose. While I was shooting one nest there was another one about two feet away that I didn’t see. I was missing them, but they weren’t missing me. Other than the pain of the sting, I normally don’t have a lot of reaction to wasps or things like that. My wife, however, does have bad reactions when she gets stung and it’s never a good deal. Even a horse fly made her arm swell this summer to where we debated on going to the doctor. So after getting stung right on the end of my snoot, it’s not war anymore it’s “holy jihad”! Within a 100 yard radius of the Armes’ house, if it flies, it dies. I grew up here so I know the difference in most wasps. I don’t’ get too worked up over a dirt dauber because they are usually just busy working making mud nests everywhere. I don’t know that I have ever been stung by one. I’m sure they have the ability to sting but they normally don’t. They go about their business and you go about yours. But, I’m sorry; I officially now hate all wasps. I’m not sure what they volume discount would be on wasp spray but I have now become a wasp spray conessuier. I think I have used every brand out there this summer, from Lowes to Wal-Mart to the Co-op. I have killed wasps under trailer fenders, under the eve of the house, cattle chutes, even in trees. And, I’m just getting warmed up because those little yellow jackets are like little F-1 fighter jets and I think my next step may be a flame thrower. I know an old buddy, who I won’t name, who is really into Vietnam era weaponry and I’ll bet you a dollar bill that he would know where to get a flame thrower. In fact, I probably shouldn’t even ask him but I am tired of those little rascals buzzing around and causing trouble. So much for the theory of a good, cold winter reducing bugs. It may affect some of them, but I think it just gave the wasp population a steroid injection.
If you happen to drive by my place and see an old boy running with some kind of aerosol can in his hand, it’s probably me and I have probably just succeeded in making a new nest mad. I guess I should be glad that we have that stuff because I remember back in my old hay hauling days, all we had that would work quick was gasoline. You know the obvious drawbacks to that, but it would kill em’ grave yard dead. We had a lot more misses in those days. It was fun after my Facebook post the other day, some of the responses I got. A couple of my old cattle showing friends said the best wasp spray they had found was leg adhesive. That’s right, the same stuff we used to pull up the hair on a show calf’s leg. Leg adhesive was always the strongest and they said it would glue their wings down. One friend even said it was kinda nice to watch them suffer. After that sting on the nose, I might have to agree. So, if you go into your local hardware store and can’t find wasp spray, it’s probably me stocking up my underground bunker getting ready to wage war. I know the only real cure is winter time but because I just recently got powerfully close to 50, I hate to wish my life away and hurry the seasons along. In the meantime, I will be having a daily wasp killin’ at the Armes’ ranch.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“When you are in politics, you are in a wasp’s nest with a short shirt tail.” –Mark Twain
Since my Facebook post a week or so ago, I went out after being gone for a week and was gonna kill a nest under an arbor that we have by our back porch and ended up getting stung. Not just stung in the arm or in the hand, but on the end of my nose. While I was shooting one nest there was another one about two feet away that I didn’t see. I was missing them, but they weren’t missing me. Other than the pain of the sting, I normally don’t have a lot of reaction to wasps or things like that. My wife, however, does have bad reactions when she gets stung and it’s never a good deal. Even a horse fly made her arm swell this summer to where we debated on going to the doctor. So after getting stung right on the end of my snoot, it’s not war anymore it’s “holy jihad”! Within a 100 yard radius of the Armes’ house, if it flies, it dies. I grew up here so I know the difference in most wasps. I don’t’ get too worked up over a dirt dauber because they are usually just busy working making mud nests everywhere. I don’t know that I have ever been stung by one. I’m sure they have the ability to sting but they normally don’t. They go about their business and you go about yours. But, I’m sorry; I officially now hate all wasps. I’m not sure what they volume discount would be on wasp spray but I have now become a wasp spray conessuier. I think I have used every brand out there this summer, from Lowes to Wal-Mart to the Co-op. I have killed wasps under trailer fenders, under the eve of the house, cattle chutes, even in trees. And, I’m just getting warmed up because those little yellow jackets are like little F-1 fighter jets and I think my next step may be a flame thrower. I know an old buddy, who I won’t name, who is really into Vietnam era weaponry and I’ll bet you a dollar bill that he would know where to get a flame thrower. In fact, I probably shouldn’t even ask him but I am tired of those little rascals buzzing around and causing trouble. So much for the theory of a good, cold winter reducing bugs. It may affect some of them, but I think it just gave the wasp population a steroid injection.
If you happen to drive by my place and see an old boy running with some kind of aerosol can in his hand, it’s probably me and I have probably just succeeded in making a new nest mad. I guess I should be glad that we have that stuff because I remember back in my old hay hauling days, all we had that would work quick was gasoline. You know the obvious drawbacks to that, but it would kill em’ grave yard dead. We had a lot more misses in those days. It was fun after my Facebook post the other day, some of the responses I got. A couple of my old cattle showing friends said the best wasp spray they had found was leg adhesive. That’s right, the same stuff we used to pull up the hair on a show calf’s leg. Leg adhesive was always the strongest and they said it would glue their wings down. One friend even said it was kinda nice to watch them suffer. After that sting on the nose, I might have to agree. So, if you go into your local hardware store and can’t find wasp spray, it’s probably me stocking up my underground bunker getting ready to wage war. I know the only real cure is winter time but because I just recently got powerfully close to 50, I hate to wish my life away and hurry the seasons along. In the meantime, I will be having a daily wasp killin’ at the Armes’ ranch.
If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
“When you are in politics, you are in a wasp’s nest with a short shirt tail.” –Mark Twain
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