January 2010 Ice/Snow Storm

The latest Oklahoma ice/snow storm dumped about 1/4" of ice and 5"-6" of snow on Muskogee. For just an example of how it looks compared to the previous major ice and snow storms, here are two shot that I have photographed in each storm.

Shot one:

January 30th, 2010 (ice and snow)

December 27th, 2009 (snow)

January 28th, 2009 (ice and sleet)

January 14th, 2007 (ice)


Shot two:

January 30th, 2010 (ice and snow)


January 29th, 2009 (ice and sleet)


January 13th, 2007 (ice)

There really isn't any ice damage this time, especially nothing that can be compared to the Great Ice Storm of January 2007. Judging from how long the Christmas Eve 2009 snow lasted, it may be a while until this snow melts, and it will certainly be weeks until the ground, saturated as it already was, dries out.

Muskogee Mayoral Race Update

Quite a bit has happened since my last post on the Muskogee mayoral race. The last I posted of, sitting Councilman Jim Ritchey announced for mayor on August 20th, and Mayor John Tyler Hammons announced for reelection on November 30th.

The past two days have added new developments.

Chris James, a local travel agent, announced his candidacy for mayor at an event on Tuesday attended by about 150 people, according to reports by the Muskogee Phoenix. James was introduced by former mayor Wren Stratton, who immediately preceeded Mayor Hammons.

On Wednesday, Jim Ritchey withdrew from the race, and threw his support to Chris James. Ritchey will instead run for a second term on the city council. James appears to be uniting the anti-Hammons segment, as well as some of the more "establishment" crowd in Muskogee.

James has a reputation for being somewhat... immature (he has quite a few pictures on his Facebook page many would consider obscene), while Hammons is perceived by some to only be looking for his political future, as he has stated in the past that he wants to run for Governor and President. It remains to be seen as to which of the candidates will be able to garner the support necessary to win this race, and whether or not more candidates will jump in. Filing for the April 6th election begins next week.

Coffee Refutes ODP/OKPNS Smear

From the McCarville Report:

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee today refuted a claim by former Democratic Party Chairman Ivan Holmes in which Holmes alleges an intoxicated Coffee called him at home last week and threatened him. Coffee's comments came in response to an inquiry from The McCarville Report Online after a Missouri blog posted a story in which Holmes infers it was Coffee who called him last Thursday night, but then says the caller "claimed to be" Coffee.

[...]

"This (blog) is absolute sleaze," said one infuriated former Oklahoma Republican Party official. "Did Holmes pay to have this printed? I know blogs don't follow journalistic guidelines, but this one seems intent on constantly printing lies and attacking Republicans with lies."

Click here for the rest of the story.

I agree with the unnamed Republican official. Oklahoma Political News Service likes to tout themselves as a reputable blog, but most of their material is just political sleaze and unproven smears. Ironically, OKPNS isn't even based in Oklahoma - it's run out of Missouri. Unfortunately for the blogger at OKPNS, he has discredited himself too many times to be taken seriously.

Adam Andrzejewski for IL Governor

There's a solid, grassroots conservative running for governor in Illinois that needs our help. Adam Andrzejewski (and-jee-EFF-ski) is running in a tight 6-way Republican primary, with the vote coming up on February 2nd.

I first heard of Adam Andrzejewski on the Race42012 blog, where Adam Brickley started talking about this sterling candidate in Illinois. Brickley was the first person in the blogosphere to really start pushing Sarah Palin for Vice President; how he finds gems like Palin and Andrzejewski before anyone else does is beyond me.



Andrzejewski is running on a platform of reform, transparency and fiscal responsibility. You can find several posts on him here at R4'12. Adam is a stellar, rock-solid conservative with strong anti-corruption credentials - just what Illinois, and the rest of the nation, needs.

Erick Erickson at RedState has picked up the Andrzejewski banner, and other bloggers are trying to rally the conservative 'troops' for a moneybomb to take place tomorrow for Andrzejewski (Give2424.com).

So, Adam Andrzejewski for Illinois Governor!

2nd District Candidate Ranking: Post 4Q FEC

The Muskogee Politico's 2nd District Candidate Ranking
Post-4th Quarter FEC Reports

After the close of the 2009 3rd Quarter FEC reports, I issued my first 2nd District Candidate Ranking. The ranking is to be updated periodically. After the filing of the recent 4th Quarter reports, the ranking needed to be brought back up-to-date. None of this is to be construed as an endorsement of a specific candidate by this blog, merely my view of the race as it currently stands.

And now, without further ado, I present the latest installment of the 2nd District Candidate Ranking from the Muskogee Politico.

1. Howard Houchen (prev. 1st)

I still view Howard Houchen as the "frontrunner" among the current Republican candidates.

The latest FEC reports show that Houchen has raised $19,416 from individuals and $250 from PACs (more on that), and $5,866 in in-kind candidate contributions. He currently has $3,541 cash on hand. Houchen has been in the race the longest, having first announced in early May.

Houchen is a very aggressive and enthusiastic candidate, which can, has, and will be a drawback for some voters, while appealing to others. The Ron Paul/libertarian community seems to be rallying around Houchen, which again, may alienate some people.

Houchen does appear to have a weakness for joining any and every group out there that asks him to (such as Bring Home the Politicians, which aims to hold Congress from every state capitol via teleconference, as opposed to physically meeting in Washington at the Capitol), and I have noticed some strange stuff on his ethics reports - not illegal goings-on, per se, but just odd things (for instance, a PAC contribution was listed under 'Party Contributions' instead of the PAC category*).

That said, Houchen is having more success in raising money, even though he is spending most of it. He has also run some radio ads, and continues to nab interviews on various radio talk shows across Oklahoma. At this point in the game, advantage still Houchen.

* - UPDATE: the Houchen campaign contacted us, and said that the problem was on the FEC side of things, and that they have contacted the FEC numerous times to get it reported correctly.

2. Daniel Edmonds (prev. 2nd)

Daniel Edmonds still remains in second place.

Edmonds has grown as a candidate, and continues to improve as the campaign progresses. While all the candidates hold the same basic positions, Edmonds seems to be the candidate that can have the broadest appeal.

However, as with all of these candidates, Edmonds has difficulty raising funds. So far in the campaign, he has raised just $2,699 from individuals (and $9,382 in in-kind contributions from the candidate). At the close of 2009, he reported $2,707 cash on hand.

Despite his lower fundraising totals, Edmonds led the way in the opening months of the campaign when it came to campaign literature. His material was professional-looking and high quality, while the other candidates' fliers were not as profession. He clearly has a better understanding than the other candidates of what political literature should entail.

If Edmonds wants to jump into the lead, and break away from the pack, he will need to start showing much better fundraising reports.

3. Charles Thompson (prev. 4th)

Charles Thompson has moved up in our ranking, the only change so far. Thompson put his toe in the water back in June, dropped out a week later, and decided to get back in sometime in early September.

Thompson still hasn't officially filed his candidacy with the FEC, which means that he must not have raised or spent $5,000. He must be nearing that level, though, as he has attended meetings and parades across the district and launched a website.

He hasn't been in the race long enough to attract much support, but he does seem to be gaining volunteers at a faster pace than the other candidates. he does have a few ideas that are a little loony, such as this ill-advised one on constituent contact.

If Thompson can start to raise money (and file with the FEC, like he needs to do soon), he might begin to impact the race on a greater level.

4. Dan Arnett (prev. 3rd)

Dan Arnett has dropped to fourth place in our ranking, although in some aspects he has had more influence on this race than anyone else.

I see Arnett as being one of the biggest reasons that Congressman Dan Boren actually held town halls. When Arnett announced, and held town hall meetings of his own in front of each of Boren's congressional offices, he essentially called Boren out, and received media coverage in the process.

Since Arnett has been attending law school in Philadelphia for much of the campaign, he has been unable to be on the campaign trail. This has hurt his candidacy, especially since two new candidates have joined the race, and been very visible at GOP meetings across the area. Arnett has since transferred to the University of Tulsa, which will help him to appear at more events in the 2nd District.

He has raised $5,909 (of which $4,579 is in-kinds contributions) thus far in the campaign. However, Arnett is the only candidate in the race (including Dan Boren) that is carrying debt - to the tune of $6,467.*

Arnett is going to need to show that he can raise money and generate some grassroots interest if he wants to get anywhere this race.

* - UPDATE: "The Dan Arnett 2010 campaign decided, with the blessing and consultation of the Federal Election Commission, to list gas and travel expenditures from the start as loans to the campaign rather than In-Kind Donations. This allows the campaign committee to have a more realistic view of what has been donated as a service, such as an in-kind donation, and what may need to be repaid in the future, like a volunteer's fuel and toll booth costs. According to the FEC, loans may be, at the request of the lender, converted into a donation. Donations, however, may never be converted into a loan. This is why those costs are initially recorded as a loan. Simply stated, receipts collected from volunteers for legitimate travel expenses are recorded initially as a loan to the campaign but may, at the volunteer’s request be recorded as an in-kind donation. This is subject to the donation limits set by the FEC and a volunteer may not make an in-kind donation beyond what they could make as a standard donation. Win or lose, the campaign would like to keep track of costs that, under the FEC’s rules and regulations, are reimbursable so that donors and volunteers may have some of their money returned to them if there is a positive balance on the books at the end of the election process."

Obama: The Difference Between '94 and Now is Me

From Jake Tapper at ABC News:

Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., fears that these midterm elections are going to go the way of the 1994 midterms, when Democrats lost control of the House after a failed health care reform effort.

But, Berry told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the White House does not share his concerns.

“They just don’t seem to give it any credibility at all,” Berry said. “They just kept telling us how good it was going to be. The president himself, when that was brought up in one group, said, ‘Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.’ We’re going to see how much difference that makes now.”

Asked today by ABC News’ Yunji de Nies if the president said that, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs pleaded ignorance.

“I have not talked to the president about that,” Gibbs said, employing one of his favorite dodges.

Gibbs seemed to suggest that he shared that view, whether or not President Obama said it.

“I hope it's not newsworthy to think that the president hopes and expects to be an effective campaigner in the midterm elections,” Gibbs said.

Berry told the newspaper that he “began to preach last January that we had already seen this movie and we didn’t want to see it again because we know how it comes out…I just began to have flashbacks to 1993 and ’94. No one that was here in ’94, or at the day after the election felt like. It certainly wasn’t a good feeling.”

- Jake Tapper and Yunji de Nies

If this conversation took place after Scott Brown's stunning victory in Massachusetts, Obama is clueless about the tidal wave preparing to hit him.

Gibbs said that the President "expects to be an effective campaigner" this coming election cycle. As Mike McCarville so aptly noted, he has been exactly that - for the Republicans.

New OK Government Resource - TheHouseandSenate.com

There's a great new resource for all things state government - TheHouseandSenate.com.

Introducing TheHouseandSenate.com, the web site that was built by two assistants to be your one-stop shop for frequently accessed Oklahoma state web sites and contact information.

Our perspective is unique because we work for Legislators, we work with state agencies, and we work for the people of Oklahoma . Creating this web site is our solution to streamlining and making government more efficient for the state of Oklahoma and the people we serve.

The website is run by two assistants at the State Capitol - one who works for a state senator, and another who works for a state representative. Their experience in working with constituents has been invaluable in finding these resources, which will be very helpful not only for other legislative assistants, but for everyday Oklahoma citizens, as TheHouseandSenate.com is laid out in a much more user-friendly manner than any of Oklahoma governmental websites.

RightOSphere - Coming Soon!

Kavon Nikrad at Race42012.com (formerly Race42008.com) has announced that the conservative blog will be transitioning to RightOSphere.com sometime in the near future.

From R4'12:

As many of you know, we will be transitioning the Race42012 Community to our newly redesigned site in a matter of weeks (though a firm date is yet to bet set.)

Part of this transition is that we are changing the name of the site to Rightosphere.com. This was a big decision for me, as the “Race4″ sites have been a huge part of my life for so long now. But I felt the time had come for a couple of reasons.

First, it is becoming increasingly costly to own all of the “Race4″ URL’s needed to protect the brand I have built. I already, of course, own Race42008.com & Race42012.com, as well as Racefor2012.com, Race42016.com, Racefor2016.com, Race42020.com, Racefor2020.com, Race42024.com, and Racefor2024.com! So it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to decide where to draw the line as long as I stuck with the “Race4″ identity.

Also, it would become increasingly difficult to have the site consistently identified with one name as time went on (some people still refer to us as “Race42008.com”!) I foresee this becoming an even greater problem as time goes on. Having one name that does not change with each cycle alleviates this problem.

Secondly, I have received many requests throughout the years from the members of our community as to features they would like to see the site have. Some people would like to have the ability to from groups or tribes within the site, e.g., “Team Mitt” or “Team Huck.” Other wanted to have a list of the campaign stops that each candidate would make during campaign season. Others wanted the ability to create their own polls. Many thought it would be nice to have a fully functional social network added to the site so that they can connect with other like-minded conservatives.

About a year ago, Kris Lorelli and me were discussing these requests and we asked each “why not?” Why can’t the Race42012 Community have all of these features to have some fun with?

So we set out together to make this kind of community a reality. The results, I feel, speak for themselves. Rightosphere will have all of the features that anyone has ever asked for plus, much, much, more. In fact, I believe that there is no political website, Right or Left, that will have the features and resources that each member of the Rightosphere family will have.

I encourage everyone to head on over to the new site, register, and take a look around. If you are already on Facebook, you can login via your Facebook account (once registered) to keep your social networking profiles in sync.

Of course, I know that some people will miss the old site, and change of any kind is always somewhat scary. However, what is not changing is our community! Everything that made Race42008 & Race42012 great will be what makes Rightosphere great as well. Think of it this way, when a community builds a new town hall, they do not change the people in the city along with the building. They simply provide new, modern facilities to make community get togethers more fun. This is exactly what this redesign is meant to do.

The frontpage of site will still function in the same way as it has before, and will feature articles written by our tremendous staff. The comments sections will still feature the insights of the best conservative community out there. The only difference is that you will see essays that were posted on a commenter’s personal blog (yes, everyone who registers gets their own personal blog that everyone can subscribe to!) promoted to the frontpage, along with our Twitter feed, and a running scroll of all of the blogs written by the Rightosphere Community (entitled, “Right Now.”)

The transition of our little corner of the Internet from R4′12 to ROS represents the work of a little over a calendar year for Kris and I. It was a labor of love meant to give our little family great new digs. I sincerely hope that you all enjoy it as much as I think you will. Please feel free to email me at kavon_w_nikrad@yahoo.com with any questions.

P.S. One little suggestion… If you haven’t yet, please consider downloading Firefox. Firefox is a free Internet browser that is faster, more secure, and more fully-featured that any other browser out there. R4′12, Rightosphere (and any other Internet site you visit) both work and look their best in Firefox.

FF is also highly customizable. I surf the ‘Net using the Aero Fox Theme. Give it a shot and see.

I've registered over at RightOSphere - how about you?

The Conservative View: Too Big For Your Britches

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Too Big For Your Britches

We humans can experience problems in our life; it is a sad fact that many times we create most of those problems ourselves. Whenever anyone becomes so arrogant they think that they are above the law, or too good to lose in any competition, they are on the fast track to getting a much deserved dose of reality. Throughout my life I have heard my parents on many occasions comment on someone that got over confident, they would often say that the person was “getting too big for their britches”. I feel that that same analogy could be applied to the results of the Senate race in Massachusetts.

While the outcome was a victory for the conservative candidate Scott Brown, we conservatives would be foolish to believe that this one race is a trend for the conservatives to somehow ride a wave of support to being the majority in the US Senate. While some would say that this race is a wakeup call for the Democrat party, I believe it to be a wakeup call for all political parties. The Republican Party gained the majority during the Clinton Presidency because the people of America spoke with a loud voice that they didn’t want the government controlling more aspects of their lives. For a while the Republicans held to their conservative values, and then they fell into the trap of wanting to maintain their power and stay in office at any price. I have found that when anyone is willing to pay any price for something it is just a matter of time until the price becomes so high they can never pay it. When we conservatives hold true to our beliefs we have the ability to make the hard choices based upon logic. Often people don’t like the consequences of the hard choices, but in the long run we are better off to take the bitter medicine and get it over with.

The people of Massachusetts merely made a choice based upon the issues of today. The health care issue has many Americans worried about the size and scope of government. The liberals were locked in full throttle to pass the health care reforms even though the American people were not supporting it. We conservatives need to listen to the voters and be willing to use our conservative values to justify our decisions, if we start to get too big for our britches the voters will let us know.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.

Henry Bans Texting for State Employees

Governor Brad Henry signed an executive order yesterday that bans state employees from texting while driving state vehicles.

"In an effort to ensure safer roads and highways, Gov. Brad Henry today signed an executive order barring state employees from 'text messaging' while driving state vehicles. The Governor said he wants the directive to serve as a model for all Oklahoma motorists."

"'Technological advances like text messaging have revolutionized our lives in many ways, but they have also created serious distractions that can have disastrous results on our roadways,'” he said."

"'There really is no way someone can be an alert and responsible driver while he or she is also reading or typing out keys on a small keyboard. This is a matter of common sense.'"

"Under the order signed today, Oklahoma state employees are prohibited from text messaging when driving government vehicles, driving private vehicles on government business or when using electronic equipment supplied by the state while driving. The directive defines 'texting' or 'text messaging' as reading from or entering data into any handheld or other electronic device."

"In order to give state agency directors time to inform employees of the new policy, the executive order will not become effective until February 1."

"Studies conclude that motorists' use of handheld electronic devices while driving can be significant distractions. According to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office, these distractions contribute to hundreds of injury accidents each year and have also been cited in a number of fatal crashes."

"Nineteen states and the District of Columbia currently ban text messaging while driving.

Henry, a Democrat, signed this order at a time when momentum seems to be building in the legislature for a similar, all-encompassing measure. State Reps. Sue Tibbs (R-Tulsa) and Danny Morgan (D-Prague) have authored a bill that would ban cell phone usage while driving (unless using a hands-free device).

I happen to disagree with this. As with the recent left-lane law, law enforcement should already be able to ticket drivers for inattentive driving (among other possibilities). Rather than passing new laws, that law enforcement officials must read before they can carry out, let's focus on enforcing the laws already on the books.

2nd District GOP Meeting - Saturday

The 2nd Congressional District Republican Party will be holding its first quarterly meeting of 2010 on Saturday, January 23rd in Muskogee at the Muskogee Public Library, 1:00-3:30 pm. State Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso) will be the main guest speaker. State GOP Chairman Gary Jones will give a presentation on voter registration during the meeting.

The Oklahoma Republican Party will be holding a Candidate Training School for local, state and federal candidates from 8:30 am-12:30 pm, at the offices of R&D Medtech, located at 300A West Shawnee in Muskogee, just west of El Chico . The cost is $10 (refreshments will be provided). Please let us know if you will be attending the training so we will know how many to plan for. The training will be held in Muskogee in conjunction with the District 2 meeting, with the exact location for the training to be announced soon.

For more information, or to RSVP for the candidate school, contact 2nd District chairwoman Jo Rainbolt (918.857.1718 or j.rainbolt@cox.net), or the Muskogee County Republican Party (918.616.1747 or gop@muskogeerepublicans.org).

Specter Tells Bachmann to "Act like a lady"

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) had a joint appearance on Philadelphia's 1210 AM radio station yesterday that turned a bit ugly. Here's the audio:



"I'm going to treat you like a lady, now act like one." Arlen Specter has been in Washington too long... it's a good thing that Pat Toomey is leading him by 9 points in a Rasmussen poll released yesterday.