Oklahoma Oilman, Mike Cantrell provides some prudent reasoning for a stable economic course forward for the nation. Last May Cantrell stepped up to the plate and gave the Oklahoma legislature a roadmap for scaling back 'corporate welfare' to the oil industry, as a means of bringing the state government's fiscal house in order. | By: Mike Cantrell Guest Columnist The election vitriol has become so intense that a high percentage of voters will either not vote, or vote for whom they consider the lesser of two evils. The rapid and effective dissemination of information through the media, both social and traditional, has forced candidates to adopt a sensational and negative form of communication that none of us like, but most of us watch intensely and react to with emotion. Donald Trump used the press, which was all too gleeful to accommodate, to vanquish 15 primary opponents with outlandish comments on a daily basis. The brilliance of it was that it didn’t cost him a dime and obviously helped him much more than it hurt him. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, hid from the press and unbelievably hasn’t had one open press conference thus far in 2016. Where is the media coverage on that? The national press, which most of us have relied upon for our “objective information,” is now totally, unreliably biased. |
This summer, we have all witnessed the heavy hand of government intervening in the freedom of speech, as the behavior of the Secret Service at both the Republican convention in Cleveland and the Democratic convention in Philadelphia was troubling and unconstitutional.
Given the court's determinations at the time of the initial trial (1981), John Hinckley was treated as a psychotic and deranged individual who desperately needed treatment. the public needed to be protected from the unstable and dangerous man whom Hinckley had demonstrated to be. Hinckley was assigned to the care of a psychiatric facility and his freedom was taken from him in a far greater way than a common criminal ever experiences. He was forcibly drugged with therapeutic drugs. He had no privacy from medical personnel. He had greatly limited information of the outside world. Thanks to the advances in psychiatric medicine, Hinckley now poses no danger to the public. That is a very carefully researched and scrutinized decision this federal judge has ever presided over. The political outcry for Hinckley's further incarceration is little more than if a man cut off his own nose to spite his own face. Hinckley has been costing us millions of dollars in criminal justice procedures and orders. He now finally has to pay for his own lodging and meals. Yes, right now Hinckley is medically disabled. But part of his court order is to begin doing volunteer work. That will hopefully go well and add to the progression of his recovery. Hinckley will never fully repay his debt to society. But no one repays debts by sitting in prisons of any kind.
Ted Cruz began the race cozying up to Trump, and that was a strategic mess, it turned out, because in the end, there were those who didn’t trust him. I was one of them. As it became clear that it would be a battle between Trump and Cruz, Trump not only abandoned the pledge, but took everything to the gutter. He attacked Heidi Cruz’s looks (not everybody can wear plastic and Bond-o like Melania), spread vicious rumors to the tabloids about multiple affairs Cruz had supposedly had, and spewed conspiracy theories about Cruz’s dad. Trump didn’t just go dirty politics. He went dirty. Period. Because he’s incapable of debating policy and record, he did the only thing an adulterous reality TV joke can do, and he tried to ruin Cruz’s family! HIS. FAMILY. Way more important than any public office, and Trump meddled in the sanctity of Cruz’s home by trying to cause hurt and heartache. Were I his wife, and he simply caved to a man of such low character as Trump, there would be hell to pay. His duty as a husband, father, and son should always take precedence over his “job.” Senator Cruz owed Donald Trump less than nothing. He was invited to speak because Trump hoped to snag the conservatives that have been hesitant to take a blood oath of loyalty to the Cheeto-devil. The senator’s words were powerful and gracious, giving an air of sophisticated patriotism to what was otherwise a thin veneer of gaudy revelry, covering a deep swell of corruption, intimidation, and gestapo tactics. For whatever the senator’s ulterior motives may have been – and there are those who insist he’s already setting up his 2020 run – he was right. He didn’t insult Trump. He didn’t take anything away from Trump, but he spoke the words that true patriots needed to hear and embrace. That Trump’s cult believe anything less than bowing as a conquered warrior before the new king is more important than speaking about conscience and principle says a lot about how far they’ve sank. They are the Morlocks spoke of in H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine.” Living in darkness and hating the light. So kudos to Senator Cruz. He stood strong before a hostile crowd of flesh-eaters, and he will be stronger for it when the full horror of Trumpism is laid at our doorstep. Read Susan Wright's complete article at: http://www.redstate.com/sweetie15/2016/07/21/ted-cruz-honorable-thing/ Heidi Cruz is part of Ted’s reason here for not being able to offer an endorsement: How could I support a man, he says, who’d insult my wife? Could you support him if you were in my position? That’s clever politics in that it turns the alpha-male bravado that so many Trump fans prize about him against them. As a matter of simple masculine honor, what kind of schmuck would shill for a guy who’d mocked his wife’s looks (and had casually suggested that his father might be involved in the Kennedy assassination, by the way)? What you’re seeing from Cruz here and last night is a reflection of the two core #NeverTrump arguments, one ideological and the other more moral and visceral. Cruz made the ideological argument last night: I can’t support any candidate who doesn’t take the Constitution seriously. He made the moral argument this morning: I can’t support a bad guy. Whether he would have made this second argument if things hadn’t gone sideways last night is an open question. To me, it seems like he’s lurching towards the moral argument now because he senses that the ideological one wasn’t well received, even with his own delegation from Texas. As we’ve learned through bitter experience this year, a lot of Republicans don’t care much about conservative ideals. Everyone, however, can understand the straightforward righteous fury of a husband in defense of his wife. You may see more of this from Cruz if his beating on the right for snubbing Trump is harsher than expected. What was I supposed to do after what Trump said about Heidi, he’ll say? What was he supposed to do? I’m surprised, by the way, that that’s the only reason Cruz gave here for breaking his pledge. Did he forget that time in March when Trump took a very public dump on the pledge live on CNN? Trump killed the pledge months ago. Cruz was simply following the new rules.
Gov. Mary Fallin's office is still determined to find some criminal activity she can use
â to justify a crackdown on this home education innovation. |
Sooner Politics
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