Here we go again
Where have we heard this before? A public official commits a crime that shames himself and his office and costs him his career and a huge chunk of his pension. But after a series of appeals, the pension is returned. It happened with former state Sen. Gene Stipe. Might it happen again with former Creek County District Judge Donald Thompson? In 2006, Thompson was convicted of four counts of indecent exposure for masturbating and using a penis pump during trials. The Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System revoked most of his pension, which stands at better than $97,000 per year. This week Thompson’s attorney argued that OPERS was out of line and that Thompson didn’t violate his oath of office. An administrative law judge is hearing the appeal and will make a recommendation to the OPERS board in January. Restoration of the pension after such revolting behavior by a man who was supposed to honor and uphold the law would indicate that in Oklahoma, anything goes.
On Memory Lanes
Michael Moore crisscrossed America to make “Bowling for Columbine.” Mike Walsh crisscrossed America to bowl. An Ohio native now living in Chicago (within walking distance of four bowling alleys, he says), Walsh quit his job to go bowling in every state of the union. The result is a travelogue entitled “Bowling Across America: 50 States in Rented Shoes,” published recently by St. Martin’s Press. Walsh gives Oklahoma 5 1/2 pages - two more than Texas – with an obligatory paeon to Route 66, a stop at antique store in Chandler and, finally, knocking down pins at Sooner Bowl in Norman with a league team dubbed “The Old Guys” whose oldest member is 92. The book was inspired by the author’s father. His ambition to play handball in each of the 50 states was never realized. “Bowling Across America” is a throw down memory lane. Have a ball and read it sometime.
40 Years After
Forty years ago was a tragic and seminal time in America, a presidential election year in which Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, the Democratic National Convention disintegrated into chaos and Richard M. Nixon completed his remarkable political comeback. Something else happened on the political scene in 1968, a low-key event launching a movement that remains under the radar for many Americans. It was the debut of reason (its handlers prefer no capitalization on that word) magazine, “just one of many mimeographed zines then pushing a mostly obscure political and philosophical vision known as libertarianism,” according to a retrospective in the December 2008 edition of reason. Founding editor Lanny Friedlander cranked out the first copy on a typewriter. The magazine and the movement behind it was inspired in part by the objectivist sentiment popularized by Ayn Rand. Today, its best-known proponent is game show host Drew Carey. While we find much to like and some not to like about libertarianism, the movement and reason do a wonderful job presenting ideas outside the typical liberal-conservative construct. We congratulate reason in marking “40 years of free minds and free markets.”
Loose lips
President Bush reportedly was pretty steamed that details of his private conversation Monday with President-elect Barack Obama leaked to the press just a few hours later. The New York Times ran a story highlighting differences between the two men over proposed new federal aid to the auto industry. Bush aides blamed the Obama side — and certainly it’s hard to see any motive or benefit in Bush doing the leaking, especially given how much he hates others doing it. It’ll be interesting to see if the story has any shelf life, with both sides keenly interested in the portrayal, at least, of a smooth, graceful transition.
The best advice
Remember post-election selection trauma (PEST), the alleged malady that inflicted some Florida voters four years ago? A Boca Raton psychologist coined the term after noticing that the re-election of George W. Bush triggered deep depression in Democrats for whom the 2000 presidential was still considered stolen. We haven’t yet heard of an outbreak of crippling ennui among the 59 million voters who did not choose Barack Obama last week. Perhaps many McCain supporters weren’t surprised they voted for the losing candidate. Or, unlike the PEST victims, they don’t believe their candidate had an automatic right to win. Solace is available for McCain voters in the form of advice, some for a fee, on how to survive the Obama presidency. BusinessWeek Online ethics columnist Dr. Bruce Weinstein prescribes anger management and a positive outlook geared at taking back the White House in 2012. Losing gracefully, as McCain himself did, is the best advice - one that thousands of Al Gore and John Kerry supporters refused to take.
We crown thee
Probably a slip of the tongue or an unconscious choice of words, but one of Barack Obama’s top transition officials made the Democrat’s ascension to the Oval Office sound a little more regal than most Americans probably are comfortable with. Talking to NBC’s Tom Brokaw on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” transition team co-chair Valerie Jarrett dismissed the suggestion a shadow government is being set up for the period between now and Jan. 20, when Obama will be inaugurated. Jarrett, a long-time friend of the Obamas from Chicago, said President Bush remains in charge, but that Obama will be prepared to “take power and begin to rule Day 1″ — conjuring up images of a crown and royal scepter. You know the die-hards already are fast at work on an ad campaign against King Barack.
Second time’s a charm
Congratulations to Dana Murphy, who succeeded in her second try to become a member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Murphy, a Republican, lost to Jeff Cloud in the GOP runoff in 2002. On Tuesday she defeated incumbent Commissioner Jim Roth, who had been appointed last year by Gov. Brad Henry to replace the departed Denise Bode. Murphy will now serve out the final two years of the term. She displayed her mettle during this campaign, first beating state Rep. Rob Johnson in a tight primary race, and then prevailing in the general election in another close finish. Roth’s departure from the commission is the state’s loss. His work ethic, at the Corporation Commission and previously as an Oklahoma County commissioner, and his commitment to public service should be models for all elected officials. Murphy, an oil-and-gas attorney with experience at the Corporation Commission, is qualified for the job. Our hope is that she is able, as she told us, to work with Cloud and that she follows through on her goal to “empower the people around us to do better … I think I can make a difference.”
Second time’s a charm
Congratulations to Dana Murphy, who succeeded in her second try to become a member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Murphy, a Republican, lost to Jeff Cloud in the GOP runoff in 2002. On Tuesday she defeated incumbent Commissioner Jim Roth, who had been appointed last year by Gov. Brad Henry to replace the departed Denise Bode. Murphy will now serve out the final two years of the term. She displayed her mettle during this campaign, first beating state Rep. Rob Johnson in a tight primary race, and then prevailing in the general election in another close finish. Roth’s departure from the commission is the state’s loss. His work ethic, at the Corporation Commission and previously as an Oklahoma County commissioner, and his commitment to public service should be models for all elected officials. Murphy, an oil-and-gas attorney with experience at the Corporation Commission, is qualified for the job. Our hope is that she is able, as she told us, to work with Cloud and that she follows through on her goal to “empower the people around us to do better … I think I can make a difference.”
The movement’s afoot
A small but vocal league of dedicated Bush-haters never dropped the press for impeachment proceedings against the president and Vice President Dick Cheney. They may even continue to push for hearings in the final weeks of the administration. Not to be outdone, the Impeach Obama movement began just before midnight on Election Day with claims of campaign fundind fraud. This follows weeks of spurious emails demanding that Obama prove he’s an American citizen. Fringe groups dogged George W. Bush from the first day after his 2000 election. Apparently, payback time has arrived just when Americans are ready for some post-election unity and a break from political posturing.
The movement’s afoot
A small but vocal league of dedicated Bush-haters never dropped the press for impeachment proceedings against the president and Vice President Dick Cheney. They may even continue to push for hearings in the final weeks of the administration. Not to be outdone, the Impeach Obama movement began just before midnight on Election Day with claims of campaign fundind fraud. This follows weeks of spurious emails demanding that Obama prove he’s an American citizen. Fringe groups dogged George W. Bush from the first day after his 2000 election. Apparently, payback time has arrived just when Americans are ready for some post-election unity and a break from political posturing.
