Sharpen Your Crayons. It's Time to Draw the Lines.

Every ten years, we stop and do a head count of our nation’s population. We call it a census. Those census numbers tell us a lot of things, mainly which communities and areas have grown in population or have lost ground. Economic development experts, city planners, and those sort of folks can tell a lot by the numbers. Another major activity that happens with census numbers is a phenomenon called ‘redistricting’. It is a process by which the legislature redraws the boundary lines of House and Congressional districts. The idea is to leave each legislator with as equal a number of constituents as possible. This year’s census and the numbers that we are now digesting was a good news/bad news scenario. I do not think there were any surprises in census numbers or any areas where the population declined or grew. I do believe that in southwest Oklahoma, the numbers may not have been as accurate as they could have been. I am not placing blame or bad mouthing anyone. I just believe that the timing of the military growth in southwest Oklahoma was a little off beat with the census count. Again, no one’s fault, just I believe, the way the mop flops. The census count occurred just a little bit before the movement of troops and contractors into the greater Lawton area which caused a big amount of growth not only in Lawton but in the communities surrounding Lawton/Ft. Sill. There would be no reason for the agency that conducts the census count to be in any kind of harmony with the Department of Defense. They each have totally separate missions but I truly believe that dynamic was in play as the census count was being taken as the B.R.A.C. moves were in motion.

The good news is that Oklahoma will not lose a Congressional seat in this redistricting process. I am hearing that Texas may have gained two congressmen which always makes any good Oklahoman ask themselves the question “what is Texas doing that we may not be?” That may be a whole other article. For now, we know that we have held our own as far as the Washington, D.C. picture is concerned.

There have been areas in our southwest Oklahoma region that have gained some population. As far as our state House districts are concerned, I do not think we will see any major shifts here locally. The new number we will aim at for a state House district will be roughly 37,000 people. One of my duties this year is an appointment by the Speaker for me to serve as the Chairman of the Southern Oklahoma redistricting process. I will be in charge of making sure the numbers fit. Again, we will aim at 37,000 per House district for a 3% variance to try to equalize the number of constituents that each House member will serve. I do not foresee my district changing a lot because my 2010 number is 36,149. My district grew in some areas and lost in some areas while Representative Ann Coody who represents a good deal of Lawton as well as eastern Comanche County, grew by 679. Representative T.W. Shannon whose district is mostly west Lawton, lost 1,229. Representative Joe Dorman who serves much of eastern Comanche County and into the Rush Springs area, lost 1,611. Most of those districts, even with the slight gains and losses, are fairly close to the 3% variance that we must work within.

Each House member will go downstairs and work with the redistricting staff and draw lines of what they consider their ideal House district. My job will then be, as Chairman of the process, to make sure that each one of those districts fit within the guidelines. It is too early to tell what the changes will look like but I do believe that they will be slight and nothing “earth shattering”. I think each House member kind of becomes endeared to their district. I have been in office right at nine years and your communities become kind of like your kids. If you spend time as you should in your own district by attending events, school activities and even in my case, a lot of family gatherings, funerals and weddings, you would be hard pressed to move anybody out of a district. If you truly care about your people, you want to continue to care for them and their interests.

So, while the semi-bad news is that we have lost a small amount of population in our outlying areas, we have remained static enough that I do not see any major shifts. If you really like your state representative, you are probably going to keep he or she. The game gets a little more dicey when you move north from our area into areas that become even more rural because some of those areas have lost larger chunks of their population and the fact is, a guy who serves a remote district must grow towards that 37,000 magic number. It is an equalization process that must occur to keep the playing field somewhat level. It is always stressful but the law says we must complete the task. While it is too early to be specific, the process is underway. The crayons are sharpened and the computers are humming. Of course, we will let ya know how it turns out.

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:

“Perfect numbers like perfect men are very rare.” - Rene Descartes quotes

Mr. Sunshine!

Wow! What a winter! As I made my rounds on Friday and thought about this week’s column, I just could not get away from the fact that it was warm and that after tolerating some of the coldest weather I can remember, all of a sudden I was back in shirt sleeves or just a vest. I am in my ninth year as a legislator and I do not remember ever closing the Capitol during session for a weather event. Even on the sunny shores down here on Oklahoma’s southern coast, we had below zero temps last week and of course, when you are battling tough weather like we have had in the last month, it reminds you of all the tough winters in years past.

I am old enough to remember the blizzard of 1968. I was only seven but I remember huge amounts of snow. In those days we didn’t have Gortex but wore Wonderbread sacks over our feet before we stepped into our snow boots. I remember the winter of ’83-’84 when I was a herdsman for a purebred cattle outfit and I really remember the winter of ’87-’88 when I was losing my own money trying to carry a set of yearlings through an extremely brutal winter. This year, it did not seem to last quite as long and maybe I am older, but it did seem just as brutal. There were lots of cattle lost in these last two storms many of which were yearlings that tried to walk across frozen ponds. I have never in Oklahoma heard of temperatures as low as they had up in Nowata and in the Osage country where those folks dealt with around 30 below zero. I have not heard any horror stories but I know there will be some because a lot of those Osage ranches were already putting cattle together to stock their summer range. It is kinda bad when 25 degrees feels good. But, I think we have made it and I have never seen a more welcomed sign than Ole Mr. Sunshine, as my girls used to call it when they were little, warming up this old frozen tundra. It was almost comical as I drove to Frederick last Friday, to see cattle all over the country just laying flat on their sides stretched out and soaking up the warmth like bovine solar panels. For two or three weeks, they were humped up with snow on their backs eating everything they could just to stay warm.

Last week was the beginning of session and it seemed like we just got going before the weather shut us down. I am afraid it is going to be a little like snow days for our schools. There is going to be a squaring of the account because we had a ton of work in front of us and I just hope it did not get us too far behind. Whether or not it takes a couple of extra days to get finished or not, the sunshine makes it much more tolerable. So, get out and enjoy it! I will be enjoying it from my desk inside the mother ship but I have been here long enough to get a window so hello, Mr. Sunshine!

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:

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome”. ~Anne Bradstreet

How Big An Old Boy Are Ya?: Inhofe vs. EPA

For many years, since I have been involved in state government, I have become painfully aware of the costs associated with every new environmental regulation. Everything from unrealistic standards for rural water districts to ridiculously sulfur-free diesel that has required so many modifications to pickups and trucks, not to mention the ultra-scrubbing of the fuel to the point of not being able to burn it in a conventional engine without additives. Every time those discussions would come up, it would all point to the EPA. It seemed like a government agency with a huge amount of power totally unchecked by anyone in a federal office. It seemed nobody had enough stroke to challenge the idiots to a dual.

Enter Senator Jim Inhofe. Senator Inhofe has decided that he would seek to stop the regulation of carbon. Apparently, according to Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, this effort would hurt Americans’ health. She said the US Supreme Court gave the EPA the authority to address carbon pollution under the “Clean Air Act”. Inhofe flanked by Representative Fred Upton of Michigan and Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, unveiled draft legislation in what they said was intended to block the EPA from making climate change policy that was not approved by Congress. In a joint statement, the three lead by Inhofe who has long been a skeptic of the idea that humans are causing global warming, said that they firmly believe federal bureaucrats should not be unilaterally setting national climate change policy. Their reason: EPA’s cap and trade tax will cost jobs and undermine competitiveness. So, it is Inhofe against Boxer. It is like UFC fight night in Washington. I know who I think the toughest one in that fight is and I am glad that someone finally had the guts to just square off with the EPA and say “I am here with a 55-gallon drum of you know what, don’t make me open it.” I cannot believe that the EPA goes unchecked like they do and that nobody has gotten a belly full to go after them. Whether you love of hate Inhofe, I am proud of our Senator for saddling up and calling their bluff. It is a long way from done but it is certainly a step in the right direction. Oh by the way, did I mention that Barbara Boxer is from CALIFORNIA? Nuff said.

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:

“Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Buddy Treadwell, A Good Man Gone Too Early.

It seems that lately I have written way too many things about people who have passed on. It just seems like we have lost a lot of people in the last several months and I guess that is just kinda how I mark the passing of people who have had an impact on myself as well as others by the way they lived their lives or what they did to make their mark. I have always been in awe of people who did whatever they did well. I have always been a little disappointed that what I seem to be skilled at is politics. I guess it is hard for me to picture politics as a noble profession. I wish what I was good at wasn’t so intangible. I have always had a great deal of respect for guys that took their living to the next level and were respected far and wide for their skills and abilities. Buddy Treadwell was such a person.

Buddy left this earth at the age of 57 which by today’s standards, is much too young. But, he packed a lot of life into his 57 years. Buddy was a farmer and rancher and was really good at it. He had a knack for the cattle business and a work ethic second to none. I delivered his eulogy a week ago Wednesday and did everything in my power to try to capture the essence of who he was. Buddy lived everyday to its fullest. Not only was he a good cattleman but he was also a musician, songwriter and a very good Christian who truly loved and cared for his family with all that he had. His family and their future was extremely important and I believe one of the reasons that he worked so hard. Buddy was an advocate for agriculture and worked extremely hard on issues that affected not only local and state agriculture, but also on national issues as well. He was a deep thinker and was certainly not selfish with his energies and helped many ag producers deal with government and the bureaucracy that can sometimes derail your operation.

It is extremely hard to lose a friend, a husband, a father and a grandfather especially when it does not seem like the timing was normal and natural, as was the case with Buddy. But, that is where our faith has to kick in and where as difficult as it is, we have to know that God has a plan and that there are sometimes reasons we cannot see or understand. One reminder that it hammers home for me is how precious everyday of our lives can be because we have no guarantees on this earth. Maybe his life was to teach us to live ours more fully. Do not put off that family vacation and remember, as Buddy Treadwell always did, what really matters. As I said at the end of my eulogy at his memorial service, “the big pasture weeps for a good man today, may God rest your soul, my friend”.

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:
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; But by the moments that take our breath away…..”

Brace Yourself.

As I was preparing this week’s column, I could not help but notice the headlines in most of the papers including the Daily Oklahoman talking about the budget cuts that seem inevitable. One of the common questions that you hear from people is ‘what will it take to get our budget healed up?’. What seems to be the common cure is for natural gas prices to increase. As I thought through that, it seems that we have a supply issue and we do not seem to be using enough natural gas to drive the price to a level that will heal up our state budget. I find myself wondering why. I have to believe that it is an issue of not enough consumption of that resource. If you look at gasoline vs. diesel, we see especially in the winter, diesel fuel climb above gasoline prices at the pump, many times by 30 to 40 cents per gallon. All the old timers say that is ridiculous because diesel is simply a by-product of the gasoline making process. All the oil boys will tell you that diesel is in the same class as heating oil. One of the dynamics that occurs is that in the winter when they use lots of heating oil up north, the price goes up. I have heard that for several years and bought it hook, line and sinker until I saw diesel higher than gas in the heat of the summer. So, I say baloney.

My contention and I do not know if I am right, is that there is so much demand for diesel. Lots of pickups are diesel now and there is a lot of freight traveling down the highways . I just think that supply outweighs the demand. This would come closer to explaining the spread in price that we see in the summer. The question is ‘how do we do the same thing with natural gas?’. I believe the answer is to fuel more vehicles with ‘CNG’ which is also known as ‘compressed natural gas’. There seems to be a lot of talk as we kind of head that direction. I heard that the Tulsa Public Schools have retro-fitted all their buses to run on CNG and can do so at a much lower cost than diesel fuel or gasoline. T. Boone Pickens has said for several years that CNG is “where it’s at”. Some would argue that we do not have the technology. I will tell ya that in other countries, it is as common as it can be. I made a trip several years ago to Argentina. I can tell you from personal experience that every old farm truck in that whole country has a CNG tank in the back. It is very common and it is certainly not rocket science. Every place I went where there was a gas station, they had a row of gas and diesel pumps, and a row of CNG pumps. So, if someone tells you that it is too high tech, they are wrong. Those countries have embraced that fuel source and their infrastructure is in place so I know it can be done. The next question is ‘why haven’t we done it?’. I think part of the reason is that we haven’t had to. Our oil production has been fairly cheap. We had a spurt for a year or so where gasoline prices climbed up in the four dollar range. It seemed to drive the discussion and get people talking again about CNG and then all of a sudden, as quick as the prices went up, they went back down to less scary levels and we then forgot the pain of those high prices. Now, as fuel prices seem to be climbing again, it seems to renew interest in that discussion.

I guess the answer lies in our society’s tolerance for high gasoline at the pump. I think it may be as simple as ‘when it hurts bad enough, we’ll fix it’. We know we can, and we know we need to. It’s just got to hurt bad enough to force us to do it. I drive a diesel pickup and I start getting a little weak-knee’d and dizzy when I see diesel climbing like it is now. But again, it may be necessary to get us thinking and make us change. So, here we are again. Let’s see what we do about it.

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:

“Budget: a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions.” ~A.A. Latimer

Inaguration Day with a Strange Twist

This past Monday, Dede and I attended Governor Fallin’s inauguration at the Capitol. It was almost as cold and damp and snowy as the weathermen had predicted, but everyone just bundled up, hunkered down and got it done. It was a very nice ceremony, full of all the things you would expect, all the pageantry, all the dignitaries, all the normal things that you would expect to see in an event such as that with one notable exception, the flags were at half staff. The reason was the very recent shootings in Arizona where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords along with 19 other people were shot at a town meeting. I have to say, I have been to many events around the Capitol and other places where the Governor or members of Congress or other people like that were in attendance and I cannot say that I have ever been afraid. I was not afraid at this event but as I set with other House members and Senators, you could not help but notice the snipers on the roof of the historical society and the Jim Thorpe building as well as the extra uniformed troopers and the plain clothed security detail, many in dark glasses. You could not help but get the feeling that they were not there by accident. You never know in this day and time when tragedy can strike. Actually, you would expect it more at something like an inauguration than you would at a simple town meeting. I cannot say the feeling was of fear but I could help but be just a little uneasy since all the state leaders were sitting ducks. But, I will bet my bottom dollar that every two story house within view of the Capitol grounds had already been scrubbed.

It is really hard to imagine what short circuit would have to snap in someone’s brain to make them want to shoot people like the gunman in Arizona. Who knows what his motivation was or even if he got all the targets he had intended, we may never know. What we do know is that there was a senseless loss of life and a Congresswoman who may never be the same and a little girl born on 9/11 whose parents will grieve for the rest of their days the loss of their precious daughter. The shooter had someone in mind and thank goodness for some quick thinking individuals around him who were able to subdue the man and disarm him before he could kill even more people.

I have to say that I was a little bit relieved when the closing prayer wound down and Toby Keith performed “An American Soldier” just because I knew that once it was over we would be back in the building and plus, my toes had about had all they could stand. All in all, it was a great ceremony and congratulations to now Governor Mary Fallin, Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb, and a big congratulations to our neighbor, State Auditor Gary Jones. We have a tough year ahead with a slate of great leaders to get us through. The sun will shine again on the great state of Oklahoma. It was awesome to be a part of history even with that little slight uneasy feeling. It was a great day to be a public servant in Oklahoma.

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:
“For some moments in life there are no words”. ~David Seltzer

He Did Windows

“He Did Windows”
James Delbert ‘Jim’ Porter
April 24, 1921-December 25, 2010

Jim Porter, or Delbert as his family knew him, was a father of one of my best friends since college, J.D. Porter. Jim was one of those guys that you would refer to as the salt of the earth. There was not a flashy bone in his body. I do not ever remember seeing him in anything but overalls or the uniform that he wore as an auto glass specialist when he worked at Gene Burk Auto Glass. He lost his wife, Ada Porter, about 14 years ago and they were the kind of people who would give you the shirt off their back. I have used this space many times to write about and honor people who were much more high profile or who might have made huge marks on the world. But, taking a minute to remember a man like Jim Porter is a lot like getting off the main highway when you take a trip. It is a whole lot like seeing America from the back roads because that is where the real people live, on those back roads.

I remember hanging out with J.D. in college and when it came time for me to do my student teaching, I was needing somewhere to live for eight weeks and did not really have the money to rent anything. J.D.’s mother and dad came to the rescue and we cleaned up an old 22 foot camper trailer that they had on their place that had probably been used more for storage in those days than ever for camping. It did have a heater and a roof, and they would not take any money. It was a lot like a bunk house but I had a warm place to sleep and it didn’t rain on me so it got me through. It was simple, just like Jim Porter, one of the regular people that make this country what it is, part of the fiber of rural America.

Jim was a World War II veteran. He served his country during World War II and as J.D. said so eloquently at the funeral, he was honored to do it. I was around Mr. Porter almost everyday for the last six months, as he lived in the veteran’s center and was neighbors with my dad on the Red Wing. I remember a couple of months ago, J.D., who now lives in Lexington, Oklahoma, had come to see his dad just to spend some time. He loaded him up in the pickup to go to Wayne’s Drive-In just to sit and have a Coke. He had lived with J.D. and Jannie for 11 years until he moved into the Vet Center and had lived there for around three years. A very simple man with very simple ways who lived his life with no glitz, no glamour. He loved stock car racing, he raised hogs, hunted coyotes with greyhound dogs, and just lived. He was not a member of the country club or the president of a chamber of commerce, but he was one of the best glass men in the business. Yes, Jim Porter did windows, car windows, and made it look easy. To see Jim Porter you had to get off the main highway. I still drive by the old Porter place pretty often in Western Comanche County on Deyo Mission Road. There is not much left there. The old house is gone. But, I have some pretty special memories of an old couple who helped me along in my journey in a very small way but at the time, that little kindness was very much needed by their son’s college buddy. They were just that kind of people and would do anything they could to help a neighbor or a friend. Jim’s final resting place is Pecan Cemetery just about a mile from my house in Western Comanche County where he spent almost his entire life and probably chased a few coyotes. Rest in peace, Delbert and thank ya.

As I wrote this piece about Mr. Porter, it served as a reminder that our World War II vets are gradually leaving this earth and we must remember the sacrifice that countless Americans made in that era. One of the things that is being done is a really great cause called “Honor Flights”. Honor Flights is a way to allow WWII vets to go see the National Memorial in Washington, D.C. If you or someone you know is interested in the Oklahoma Honor Flights Program, visit the website at: http://oklahomahonorflights.org/ or contact my office and I will make sure you get in touch with the right people.

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:

“Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” –Scott Adams