++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
++ REPUBLICAN PRECINCT MEETINGS FEB 1ST.
++ BOY WONDER MAYOR WANTS PROPERTY TAXES
++ TOM COLE WANTS YOUR INSURANCE TO GO UP
++ COBURN SUCKERED INTO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
++ TIDBITS
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, January 26th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. We will have some
brief information about the Saul Alinsky affiliated Oklahoma
Sponsoring Committee meeting this Friday evening at Taft Middle
School. Our main program will feature an explanation of the efforts
over the past several weeks by leaders of several organizations to
craft a list of items that those with a Judeo/Christian world view and
constitutionalists can agree upon to present to state lawmakers. There
are 15 items and a variety of people who will explain these positions
in 3 minute or less segments. Every one attending will have an
opportunity to sign a document with these 15 points listed. Following
the meeting several people will deliver these documents to Governor
Fallin’s Office as well as Senate President Pro-Tem Brian Bingman and
Speaker Steele’s offices. After hearing these points, if you chose to
sign, a pen will be available. However, if you have a favorite pen,
bring it. Also, sometime on Wednesday, I will put out another e-mail
with a link for people to go and view these positions to sign via the
internet. I suggest arriving as early as possible as I expect a large
crowd for this important meeting. We have invited the press to be able
to cover these issues ask questions of the leaders who put them
together.
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
* TUESDAY EVENING - OKC AREA - Constitutional attorney Don Powers
will begin another of his Liberty and Freedom series classes starting
Tuesday evening January 25th from 7 until 8:30 p.m. The location will
be H&H Range which is Just East of Meridian Ave and on the North side
of I-40. The classes will be each Tuesday evening for 6 weeks through
March the 8th. The class will cover both the Declaration of
Independence and the U.S. Constitution and is free and open to the
public.
* THURSDAY EVENING - WARR ACRES - Constitutional attorney Don
Powers will start the same series of classes as mentioned above, but
these classes will be held on the last Thursday of each month,
starting this Thursday, January 27th at 7:00 p.m.. The monthly series
will finish on July 28th. The location for these classes will be at
Victory Church, 5719 Northwest 41st Street in Warr Acres. This is
being sponsored by the Change A Nation For Christ group at Victory
Church. This is a large facility with the location being the Victory
Youth Building.
* FRIDAY EVENING - SOUTH OKC - With the election of Senator Jim
Reynolds to the Cleveland County position of County Treasurer, he will
be sworn into office in July. A special election will occur to fill
his seat. So far, State Representative Paul Wesselhoft has announced
his intentions to run for that seat. Since he can not raise funds for
that race during session, he has scheduled a campaign kick-off
fundraiser for this Friday evening, January 28th from 6 until 8:00
p.m. at the Frontier State Bank location, I-35 and South 51st Street.
OCPAC by-laws will not allow us to get involved in the primary if
there is one. The Republican nominee will be eligible to appear before
us for the general election. This announcement should not be confused
as an endorsement for Representative Wesselhoft, I was just asked to
do this. If one or more additional Republicans decide to run for this
seat, I will also make an announcement for them if asked.
* ANNUAL WINTER BALL - OKC AREA - The Winter Ball was started 11
years ago and hosted by Emoly West along with others. Emoly, being
busy as Miss Oklahoma and with the Miss America pageant will not be
organizing this year’s ball. However, her mom Stephanie is doing so as
many families have come to enjoy the event. It will occur on February
18th, but next Monday, January 31st is the deadline for discount
admission. If you are interested in attending, log on to www.annualwinterball.org.
++ REPUBLICAN PRECINCT MEETINGS, FEB 1ST.
Republican party precinct meetings will be held across the state next
Tuesday, February 1st. Any registered Republican may attend these
meetings where precinct officers will be elected to serve in that
capacity for the next 2 years. In addition, any registered Republican
may submit a resolution as to what Republican’s are or should stand
for. If those in attendance vote in favor of the resolutions, they
then advance to the county convention for further consideration. Those
in attendance will also elect from among themselves delegates to the
county convention. In most cases, precinct attendees vote to go as an
open delegation, where anyone wanting to attend the county convention
may do so, but all votes at the county convention will be
fractionalized to reflect the allotted number of delegates from each
precinct. If you don’t know your precinct meeting location log on to:
http://www.myokgop.com/oklahoma. Sally Bell, Tulsa county chairman has
also published in the Tulsa Beacon a phone number for that
information, (918) 627-5702. It is really important that conservatives
get involved, to elect state officers, insure a conservative platform
and learn to link with one another.
++ BOY WONDER MAYOR WANTS PROPERTY TAX
About 3 years ago, 19 year old Republican John Tyler Hammons (sp?) was
elected as Mayor of Muskogee, one of Oklahoma’s 10 largest cities. He
had his 5 minutes of glory in the media and has since been re-elected.
This past Friday, mayors from across the state got together at the
State Capitol to in the inaugural “Congress of Mayors” event.
The purpose was to discuss the problems facing cities across Oklahoma
and try to come up with a legislative agenda to help city governments.
Muskogee Mayor Hammons was making the case that when people slow down
purchasing in his city, he then has problems funding city government,
including police and fire fighters. Therefore, he wanted to seek
legislation to allow cities to receive property tax revenues, which
not only are a fairly stable source of revenues, they have even risen
in many cases during this recession.
I am not an anarchist and therefore recognize the need for a proper
amount of government for which we must pay taxes or fees. Determining
that proper level of government is certainly open for debate and the
methods from which the various levels of government derive their
needed revenues are also an important subject of debate.
Here is why a big government RINO (Republican In Name Only) like
Hammons is infected with a greater love of government rather than
recognizing difficult fiscal realities for the taxpayers. When cities
suffer as a result of a slow down in the economy or a recession, it is
because the people are also suffering. When things are tough, people
have to make adjustments to get through difficult times. The taxpayers
should demand government make similar adjustments, not just look for
ways to produce new revenues for their budgets. Many times city
budgets are bloated with waste, duplication, inefficiencies and
expenditures on projects that are improper functions of government.
The one good thing about consumption (sales taxes) taxes and income
taxes is that both of those forms of taxation are sensitive to the
financial well being of the taxpayers. Those people who aren’t making
money don’t pay income taxes and if they aren’t spending money they
aren’t paying sales taxes. Thus government revenues become a
reflection of the financial well being of the taxpayers.
However, that is not the case for property owners. Property taxes are
far more isolated from the financial well being of the taxpayers,
unless there is a significant drop in the value of property and then
it may be difficult to get those property taxes dropped. An important
consideration is that a person who owns their home, should they lose
their job, or miss an extended amount of work due to accident or
sickness, their income will drop, but not so with their property taxes
as they usually only go up, up and up.
If you don’t earn or have money you simply won’t be paying income or
sales taxes, but if you don’t pay your property taxes, you will
eventually be evicted from your home, perhaps something you have paid
on for decades, and your home WILL BE SOLD at a sheriff’s sale.
The risk of people losing their home for not paying property taxes,
sometimes due to no reason on their part, is why the legislature must
not allow cities the opportunity to raise city revenue from property
taxes. That is why conservative Republicans can’t allow some big
government loving RINO like Hammons to ever be elected to a higher
office than that of mayor of Muskogee.
++ TOM COLE WANTS YOUR INSURANCE TO GO UP
Anyone who has read my e-mails for any length of time will know that I
am not a fan of Tom Cole. It isn’t personal, he just isn’t a true
conservative and he has been at the heart and soul of the big
government Republican establishment in the state of Oklahoma.
I will say, in recent months, Cole has sounded much more like a
conservative in his political rhetoric than in the past. However, in
recent days he commented about his desire to repeal Obama care but
find ways to keep some of the better parts of the measure. The one he
specifically referred to was the mandate to force insurance companies
to keep a policy holders’ children on the policy through the age of
26.
I recently read some of the key points to Obama care and almost every
new mandate increases the exposure (the potential to pay out
additional claims) for insurance companies. It shouldn’t take a rocket
scientist to realize that when an insurance company increases exposure
it will have to pay out additional claims and as such to remain
financially stable, they must, let me say it again, must raise rates
to compensate for those additional claims.
What Cole is proposing is a form of “fascist” capitalism. In that form
of capitalism, the government won’t own the business, but through
their dictatorial mandates they rule and regulate how a company
conducts its business. It is no wonder insurance companies have been
raising their rates, it is called survival in the face of a hostile
regulatory environment.
I am of the opinion, based on a good deal of accurate information that
the Obama administration will be quite content to see insurance
companies be forced to put ever higher burdens on their customers. The
eventual goal will be for the consumer to be under such a heavy weight
of costs that they will clamor for someone or something to solve that
problem. The most likely to respond to those public demands will be
government and as such the desire to replace private insurance with a
single payer system, also known as full blown socialized medicine.
I could care less if an insurance company decides to cover the
children of policy holders for an additional time after they turn 18.
However, as a consumer I don’t want to pay increased premiums to pay
for my neighbors adult children to be covered. Therefore, let the
insurance companies extend that coverage if they chose, but only as an
add on expense, the amount of which will be determined by the
insurance company and not by government.
++ COBURN SUCKERED INTO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
A week ago Sunday, Senator Coburn was on the Sunday morning
program ,Face the Nation, regarding the hostile rhetoric surrounding
the shooting in Tucson. In the age of political correctness, now is
not the time to give in to the stylistic or symbolic calls for a more
loving atmosphere.
Congressman Udall from Colorado suggested lawmaker not sit segregated
by political party but rather sit together to show a more civilized
nature of bi-partisanship during the State of the Union address by
President Obama. Coburn took the bait and agreed to sit with Senator
Chuck Schumer, a Senator thoroughly infected with AIDS (Aquired
Intellectual Dishonesty Syndrome).
Here is hoping Senator Coburn doesn’t get caught on camera holding
hands with Schumer during their date night at the big speech. But if
they do, hopefully the Oklahoman will publish the picture in
Wednesday’s paper. That way, I can paste it up on our display board at
our meeting place, right next to the picture last year with Senator
Coburn and President Obama hugging each other following the speech. I
am not suggesting lawmakers should act hostile toward each other, but
the collegial attitudes, especially in the senate, have led to untold
compromises in past years.
We are in a war for the future of our country and I want our front
line warriors to see the opposition for what they are, a danger to the
well being of our nation, not someone to cuddle with and hold
hands.
++ TIDBITS
* We have a volunteer that up-dates the OCPAC blog each time an e-
mail goes out. He just sent me an interesting breakdown as to where
people come from that viewed the e-mail over a month’s time, from
December 19th through January 17th. Following are the number of page
views by country. The United States 1,155, the Netherlands 189,
Germany 98, Russia 57, France 36, The Ukraine 29, The United Kingdom
24, Slovenia 21, Moldova 14 and Latvia 11. In the world of the
internet, I for one have a hard time realizing what reach can occur.
By the way, we are now above 4,200 that receive the e-mail directly.
Most of those are in Oklahoma and God is the only one who knows how
far those get forwarded.
* Speaker Steele asked that the multi-million dollar contract to
build a new juvenile facility in Ada be held up until it can be
determined if the contract actually represents what the state asked
for? Kudos to Steele, as it sure appears what the state asked for is
not what is about to be built. The controversy has swirled around
Senator Harry Coates’ involvement in the deal and an adulterous affair
he had with a lobbyist representing the company that won the bid to
operate the facility. Senator Coates (R-Seminole), has said all along
that nothing was done improperly and urged the new Attorney General to
look into the situation with a fresh set of eyes.
I received in the mail this past week a letter from a constituent of
Senator Coates. The first part had a copy of a letter sent to Senate
President Pro-Tem Bingman (R-Sapulpa) and others calling for the
Senate to discipline Senator Coates. He even cites a provision in the
State Constitution which declares adultery to be a felony offense for
those holding office. He has also asked me to list his contact
information so other citizens who live in the district that are
embarrassed by the behavior of Coates can get together to organize a
petition drive to ask for his resignation. His name is Bob Godwin and
his phone number is (405) 396-8842. His e-mail address is
emsgodwin@yahoo.com. If more people acted like Mr. Godwin, much of the
corruption and immorality in government would be cleaned up.
* Last week I asked if anyone knew of any children in Oklahoma were
suffering from hunger, since Governor Fallin fell into the trap of
some people who want to be seen as an important savior of the
children. They claim a ridiculous number, 1 out of 4 children, to be
going hungry in Oklahoma. I had several funny responses like one, well
to do reader, that claimed his 3 children go to bed each night hungry
because they are teenagers. However, the following response was a sad
picture of an excessive welfare state, which produces meaningless
statistics that are thrown around all the time:
“ Hi Charlie
We met last May 6 in <&^*-+> while you were campaigning for Randy
Brogdon. I just wanted to let you know that I know for a fact that 1
in 4 children in this state are NOT hungry! I taught school in OKCPS
for over 8 years and found that most all of the children were on a
free or reduced lunch program. They get free BREAKFAST AND LUNCH AT
SCHOOL. How then, is 1 in 4 hungry? I watched over 1200 students eat
lunch each day as I had ‘lunch duty’ and watched 80% to 90% of the
food served THROWN IN THE TRASH each and every day. It was disgusting
to see so much wasted food and wasted taxpayer dollars just tossed
out. They made the children take a carton of milk even if they didn’t
want it. Those also got thrown out. I do not believe for one second
that there are hungry children in this state unless they have parents
that are totally unaware or uncaring of their needs. That is not a
need for more ‘welfare’ but, a need for more/better parenting!!!
Sincerely,
Mrs. *$)^#@_+*&
Professional Educator”
* Representative David Derby (R-Owasso) has introduced legislation HB
1289 to move more funding into the classrooms. Now there are some good
things in this bill but this is a mantra that we hear from time to
time and I don’t thing very many people, even those who use the lingo
can define what that means. Certainly teacher pay is the major part of
that, along with books, classroom equipment and supplies. But what
about heat and cooling costs? What about building repairs and
janitorial supplies and costs? How about bus transportation costs and
the maintenance costs associated with the outdoor classrooms known at
tennis courts, football fields, soccer, baseball fields and etc. I
believe most taxpayers would be shocked at what is considered to be
classroom expenses and those might vary from one school district to
another. Regardless, a lack of money in the classroom is not the root
problem with education and making this a center piece of education
reform will just be another effort in futility.
I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
THE OKLAHOMAN’S HYPOCRICY & OKLAHOMA’S CONSTITUTION NULLIFIED
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
++ CONGRATS TO EMOLY WEST, MISS OKLAHOMA
++ THE OKLAHOMAN’S HYPOCRICY
++ OKLAHOMA’S CONSTITUTION NULLIFIED
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, January 19th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. Our Speaker this
week will be Mr. Jeff Massey. Jeff is an attorney and the former
National Commander of one of the confederate soldier organizations. He
has spoken to us a couple of times over the past 12 years or so and is
always an excellent speaker.
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
* TUESDAY EVENING - TULSA AREA - The Tulsa Area Republican
Assembly will hold their monthly meeting Tuesday evening, January 18th
at the Golden Corral, 71st and Mingo Street. Members will gather at
6:00 for dinner and the program will begin at 7:00 p.m. The speaker
will be Amanda Teegarden. She will be conducting a mini seminar
titled: Citizen Involvement in the Legislative Process. They had about
50 show up for the training this past Saturday in the Village, and
several have reported to me that it is very good information. Besides
the training, questions will be taken from the audience.
* THURSDAY MORNING - OKC AREA - The Business and Professional
Chapter of the John Birch Society will hold their monthly meeting at
the Character Inn, 520 West Main in downtown OKC. A buffet breakfast
is served at 7:15 and the meeting will start at 7:40 a.m. We lack
confirmation, but it is expected that newly elected State Senator
Ralph Shortey will be the speaker. He will be briefing us on up-coming
legislation dealing with the invasion of illegal aliens. I have also
asked him to comment on OKC police Chief, Bill Citty.
On the front page of Sunday’s Oklahoman, there was an article with
Chief Citty was calling for stricter gun control laws. In my opinion,
OKC needs a new police Chief. It appears he is using the recent
shooting of a female officer as his launching pad for greater gun
control restrictions. Sources on the OKC police force tell me Citty is
a really nice fellow, (I agree, he grew up a half block away from me
and was best buddies with my younger brother) but that he is not all
that conservative. That should be no surprise as almost all cities of
any size have a liberal in place as a police chief.
Here is the real problem with Citty. After passage of HB 1804, law
enforcement offices all across the state were allowed to cross train
some or all of their officers and deputies with ICE (Immigration,
Control and Enforcement) agents to help ICE apprehend and deport
illegal aliens. As far as I know, Chief Citty and Sheriff Wetsel have
both refused to do so, thus basically making OKC a sanctuary city.
The person stopped during the time the officer was shot was an illegal
alien. He had been deported more than once but keeps coming across our
border as if it leaks like a sieve. It was his sons who shot the
officer (you know they were only doing jobs Americans just won’t do).
Had Citty and Sheriff Wetsel taken HB 1804 seriously, perhaps this
worth less family would not reside in our City and perhaps the officer
would never have been injured. Fortunately she is doing well though
shot several times. We hope and pray she obtains a full recovery. The
Mayor and City Counsel need to order Chief Citty to get serious about
the illegal alien issue or replace Chief Citty with someone who
will.
* THURSDAY EVENING - MOORE AREA - Our friend Elza Jones will be
doing another Fair Tax presentation this Thursday evening, 7:00 p.m.
at the Earl’s Rib restaurant, 920 Southwest 25th street in Moore. If
you don’t know about the Fair Tax as yet, you owe it to yourself to
find out what it is all about. There is serious talk in Washington
about some level of tax reform. I am a huge supporter of the Fair Tax
as it would significantly reduce the cost of doing business in America
and thus bring back some of the jobs we have lost in recent years.
That is just one of many reasons the Fair Tax is so important. Please
try to attend this meeting and lend your support to this growing
movement.
* STARTING SUNDAY - DURANT AREA - The Fairview Baptist Church in
Durant will host THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH conference in Durant which will
run from Sunday January 23rd until the 26th. The featured speaker will
be Brian Catalucci, one of the presenters with Answers in Genesis
located in Northern Kentucky or just South of Cincinnati Oh. That is
also the home of the Creation Museum. The battle over Creation and
Evolution is at the root of whether or not the Bible is a reliable
source of Truth. The church is located at 1200 West University Blvd.
For more information about times of the seminar, contact Pastor
Ledbetter at (580) 924-2148.
* TRIP TO GETTEYSBURG - Last week I mentioned the edu-vacation trip
to the Creation Museum, then Gettysburg and back to the Shiloh
battlefield in Western Tennessee. The tour will begin on March 13th
and return to Oklahoma on March 19th. The trip is sponsored by Trinity
Baptist Church in Yukon with pastor Dan Fisher acting as the tour
guide. I talked with Dan on Saturday and he only has 6, maybe 8 seats
left open, so if you are interested I would advise you to move quickly
on this. The cost for the bus, 6 nights in hotels, all admissions and
breakfast are included in the price of only $600 per person. Plan on
around another $100 or more per person for lunches, dinners and
relics. If you are interested, call the church office and ask for
Linda (405) 354-4839. My wife and I so enjoyed a similar trip last
October, that we are going again. I can’t wait to see the world class
creation museum that so accurately portrays the Biblical account of
Creation.
++ CONGRATS TO EMOLY WEST, MISS OKLAHOMA
Long time OCPAC friend Emoly West, the reigning Miss Oklahoma, made
the final 5 contestants in the Miss America pageant. This year’s
pageant was held in Las Vegas and broadcast live on ABC this past
Saturday evening. Emoly was the 4th runner up.
Her talent was a beautiful and lively ballet dance. The question given
to Emoly was well suited for her as it was about putting something on
face book as a young person and then possibly regretting it later on.
Emoly explained the importance of and defined the word discretion. She
gave as an example how the Miss America contestants have to learn to
think about their actions, before doing them, having discretion and
that would be wise for others as well.
Emoly also won the swimsuit and fitness part of the pageant, which
earned her a $1,000 scholarship for just that part of the pageant. As
a point of interest, she also won that distinction all five times she
competed in the Miss Oklahoma pageant.
Of course we would have loved to see her win the crown, but to finish
4th runner-up out of 52 contestants is a tremendous accomplishment.
Congratulations to you Emoly and the best for your future. The
Oklahoman dedicated 6 lines to the Miss America contest on page 2 of
Monday’s paper (nothing in Sunday’s edition). They did get around to
mentioning Emoly’s name on line 6. The Edmond Sun had a great article
in Friday’s edition. You have just learned far more about Emoly’s
performance than the Oklahoman had to say.
++ THE OKLAHOMAN’S HYPOCRICY
Over the past several months the Oklahoman has used untold barrels of
ink and truck loads of paper to publish articles about the necessity
to focus on the economy and for our elected officials not to get side-
tracked by those pesky social issues. However, it appears Governor
Fallin’s first order of business after the swearing in and inaugural
activities was to hold a press conference about her effort to collect
food and funds to feed Oklahoma’s needy.
In Sunday’s Oklahoman, they congratulated her on those efforts. I
guess it just goes to show you can focus on the economy and take care
of social issues at the same time. That is assuming you are focusing
on the economy. Monday, Governor Fallin was busy ringing the liberty
bell during the Martin Luther King Jr. festivities. I’m sure the
Oklahoman will report on that activity in a positive light.
I think the food drive was fine, but a word of warning for Mary. There
will be many organizations trying to take advantage of you for their
own purposes. During her press conference, she mentioned that 1 out of
every 4 children in Oklahoma was hungry. Mary, Mary, Mary please don’t
get suckered again with that kind of baloney. I am sure there are a
few children across Oklahoma’s vast expanse of OBESE kiddies that are
hungry. However, 1 in 4 has got to be one of the biggest exaggerations
ever heard.
Over the years, I have known of two families who had nothing in the
fridge and nothing in the cabinets, our church quickly took care of
that problem. I know a very large number of people and lots of
children. I don’t personally know of 1 child that is hungry, other
than those instances when little Johnnie or Susie won’t eat their
broccoli so mom sends them to bed without dinner and then the next day
they tell their teacher: muma won’t feed me, I’m hungry.
If anyone knows of children who are hungry, please send me an e-mail
with the number of children in that category. Please send it to
charliemeadows7@gmail.com. If there is evidence that 1 in 4 children
is hungry, I will admit my mistake.
++ OKLAHOMA’S CONSTITUTION NULLIFIED
There has been a lot of attention brought to bare on the situation of
lawmakers having just left the legislature and then going to work for
state government. I believe the law which calls for a 2 year waiting
period before a lawmaker can go to work in state government was
intended to keep a lawmaker from creating a job for him or herself. I
believe such a situation occurred when Kevin Easley left the House a
few years ago to take a job as the head of the Grand River Dam
Authority.
If my memory serves me correctly, Representative Mike Reynolds asked
for an Attorney General opinion on the legality of that case and Drew
Edmondson’s office ruled it was legal as his salary was paid with
federal funds and not appropriated state dollars. Edmondson referenced
a U.S. Supreme Court decision rather than issuing a ruling by simply
examining and up-holding the State Constitution for what it says.
I have a mixed opinion about whether it is good or bad to prohibit a
lawmaker to serve in state government after leaving the legislature.
Some lawmakers have a lot of talent and would serve the taxpayers
quite well. On the other hand, sometimes ex-lawmakers have found a
home in higher education or some other position, simply to draw a pay-
check and increase their retirement.
One lawmaker told me, that serving is a public trust and as such
former lawmakers should avoid any impropriety by not going to work for
the government for at least 2 years after leaving the legislature.
Bottom line, the new Attorney General can take another look at
Edmondson’s decision and change the ruling if it is warranted.
In the mean time, the Oklahoma Constitution has been largely
nullified, as it has been determined that non appropriated funds can
be used to pay the salaries of such individuals. If this is
unacceptable, the legislature can change that this session. In the
mean time, former lawmakers taking state jobs are not violating the
law as interpreted.
I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday.
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
ITS OFFICIAL, TIME FOR THE GOP TO GOVERN
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
++ AN UP-COMING EDUCATION-VACATION TOUR
++ THE LIBERAL SURGE OVER THE ARIZONIA TRAGEDY
++ ITS OFFICIAL, TIME FOR THE GOP TO GOVERN
++ UNDERSTANDING THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, January the 12th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. We will have Jo
Joyce back again this week to continue her presentation on the
Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee (OSC). This is the local organization
which was formed by the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) out of
Chicago. The IAF is a Saul Alinski organization which sets up
community organizing groups. The local OSC group will host a fund
raising effort at Taft Jr. High on Friday evening, January the 28th to
begin the process to implement their leftist agenda into our local
schools. We will also have with us on Wednesday, Jenni White, founder
of Reform Oklahoma Public Education (ROPE).
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
* THURSDAY EVENING - MOORE AREA - The Sooner Republican Assembly
will have their monthly meeting this Thursday, January 13th at Earl’s
Rib Palace in Moore. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. for dinner
and then State Senator Anthony Sykes will speak about the latest
information about SQ 755, that important vote to prevent Sharia Law or
international law from being considered in Oklahoma courts. Please
contact Kathy McBlair at (405) 329-6041) for the address or more
information.
* SATURDAY MORNING - OKC AREA - Oklahomans for Sovereignty and
Free Enterprise (ok-safe) will host a free seminar to train citizens
on how to be involved in the legislative process. The location will be
the Village Library, 10307 North Penn in the Village. The seminar will
begin at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 12:30 p.m.
* SATURDAY EVENING - OKC AREA - The local chapter of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans will hold their annual Lee & Jackson Dinner this
Saturday evening January 15th at Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North
Lincoln. There is a reception from 5:30 to 6:30 then the dinner will
begin at 7:00 p.m. Speaking will be Jerry Brewer, an author,
evangelist and former editor of the Moore Monitor and Sentinel Leader
newspapers in Oklahoma. He also taught television and film production
at OCU in the 1990s and managed the Universitie’s TV station.
The title of Mr. Brewer’s talk will be: DISMANTLING THE REPUBLIC,
which is also the title of his 3rd book. Mr. Brewer’s family arrived
in America long before the War of Independence. His great grandfather
of the 4th generation, William Keyser, served with George Washington
at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. Two of his great-
grandfathers served in the 42nd Alabama Infantry and the 10th Texas
Calvary during the war for Southern Independence. Currently he is
Commander of the Privates Grayson and Brewer camp 2118 of the SCV in
Elk City.
The cost of the dinner is $20 per person. There will be an up-scale
dinner of salad, Lasagna, Chicken Alfredo and desert. Any proceeds
after the costs of the meeting will go towards a monument project at
the Confederate Cemetery in Ardmore. You will need to RSVP by
Wednesday, January 12th. Contact Terry Pierce at (405) 685-1158 or
terrypierce41@yahoo.com
++ AN UP-COMING EDUCATION-VACATION TOUR
Last October my wife and I went on a tour to Washington DC and then
Gettysburg, sponsored by Trinity Baptist Church in Yukon with Pastor
Dan Fisher as our guide. We had a great time as it was truly a
memorable time of learning and fun.
Dan has organized another tour for this Spring. The dates will be from
Sunday, March 13 to Saturday the 19th. This tour will go to the
Cincinnati Ohio area first to tour the Creation Museum. The timing has
been scheduled so Ken Hamm, the Museum’s founder, will be able to give
us a personal tour of the wildly popular Museum. Then we will go to
Gettysburg for 2 and a half days. This was the largest battle ever
fought on American soil. Military officers from all over the world
study this battlefield, even to this day. It was made up of 3 one day
battles which covered several miles in width. There were over 50,000
causalities in those 3 days with many acts of valor performed by men
from the South and the North.
Dan has spent a good deal of time learning about many of the key
events of the battle and as such, is an excellent guide. From
Gettysburg, we will travel to the Shiloh battlefield in Western
Tennessee. This was the location of the largest battle on the Western
front. Following this battle, both the North and South realized this
was going to be a long and difficult war.
Every effort has been made to keep the cost of this trip as reasonable
as possible. At $600 per person, it is a real bargain. All the
admissions to museums, hotel accommodations and the bus expenses are
included in the costs. Breakfast is included at the hotels, so the
only additional costs are for your lunches and dinners and of course
any relics you may want to purchase while on the trip. For more
information, please contact Linda at Trinity Baptist Church in Yukon.
The number is (405) 354-4839 or e-mail to dan@trinityyukon.com. I
would not tarry as half the bus filled within the fist couple of weeks
after the trip was announced in mid December.
One of the things that makes the bus ride easy is the advent of movie
screens. We watched the movie Gettysburg, both going and coming back,
after having been to the battlefield. Every effort was made in the
making of that movie to get it factually correct. One seen in the
movie after the first day’s battle had Colonel Chamberlain’s brother
talking with 3 captured Confederate soldiers.
The dialogue revealed the perspective, from a soldier’s point of view,
as to what this war was about. The Yankee asked the Johnny Rebs why
they were fighting? One of them answered, “for our rats” the Yankee
asked, for what? For our rats (rights). Then the Johnny Reb asked the
Yankee why he was fighting in the war? The answer was to free the
slaves and to preserve the Union. Then the Johnny Reb asked, why can’t
you just live your life the way you want and leave us to live our
lives the way we want. To that question the Yankee just gave a blank
stare.
I believe there is a contemporary question along these same lines
today between the liberals who populate the 2 leftist coasts and the
conservatives who populate the heart of America.
While the war, mistakenly referred to as the Civil War (by definition
a civil war is when 2 or more factions within a nation are fighting
for control of the nation. The South never wanted to control the
nation, they left the nation), was more complicated than the dialogue
I just mentioned, the war was the fruit of the first states rights
movement. However, those on the side of the states rights movement of
that day, wanted to preserve their right to practice what was the very
controversial institution of slavery.
Today, the second states rights movement is building. However, today
the proponents of states rights have the moral high ground on their
side. The issue is still slavery. The proponents of states rights
today are wanting to be set free from the oppression of the tyrannical
Federal Government with all of its mandates and controls over our
lives. Hopefully we can summon the political will to put the federal
government back into its cage of enumerated powers as described in
Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution. If not, the people of America
face 3 choices. 1) the weight of slavery will increase upon every
American, except the special elites, as the federal government will
continue to flex its power and increase its control over our lives. 2)
We will summon the political will to restore the balance between the
states and the people to the proper relationship with a much smaller
federal government. 3) Or there will be another secession movement.
If the latter occurs, hopefully it will take on the characteristics of
a mutually agreed to divorce, one based on irreconcilable differences.
If not, it could lead to another war, hopefully that will never occur.
The one choice that is unacceptable to me is number 1. My choice of
first resort is number 2.
++ THE LIBERAL SURGE OVER THE ARIZONA TRADGEDY
With the murder and wounding of several people including a federal
judge and a U.S. Congresswoman over the weekend, liberals are on a
full court press to attack our free speech rights and the right to
bear arms. They so hope to pin the blame on conservative talk radio,
Fox programming, the internet and the Tea Parties. First off, the
shooter was a deranged mental case that had smoked way too much pot,
listened to way too much pop culture music and had way too much self
esteem.
I would say those are all characteristics of secular, humanist,
liberals. Liberals like to slither along in the darkness of their
activities, never wanting the illumination of truth to shine on their
Godless, immoral and Marxist agenda. That is why they are calling for
“toned down” political and social rhetoric. They want to control and
dominate, they don’t like competition in the arena of ideas.
If you want to see the real haters in our society log on to the
Demokie web site or follow this link to see real hate on a national
scale:
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/10/the-progressive-climate-of-hate-an-illustrated-primer-200-2010/
In the mean time, I would suggest prayer for the recovery of the
injured and God’s comfort for the families who lost loved ones.
++ ITS OFFICIAL, TIME FOR THE GOP TO GOVERN
Yesterday, Mary Fallin officially became the Governor of the State of
Oklahoma. Several other office holders were also sworn in to begin a
new chapter for the citizens of Oklahoma. I have been encouraged by
several pronouncements from Mary Fallin. First were her statements
supporting the next step of reduction in the state income tax rates
and her siding with legislative leaders that the budget will be
balanced through cutting the size of government, and not by revenue
enhancements. Second, she has now said she is willing to speak with
legislative leaders to see what we might do to deal with the problem
of the invasion of illegal aliens.
While these are good pronouncements, the citizens must stay vigilant
and make sure these elected officials don’t reverse their positions.
There are many voices that pull on the elected officials at he
Capitol, conservatives must make sure their voices are heard. I would
suggest giving some time to Mary and the many other officials to see
if their actions match up with their rhetoric when they were seeking
our votes and support. We congratulate them and should be supportive,
until they show us reason to do otherwise. I would suggest we call it
“trust but verify.”
++ UNDERSTANDING THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT
A reader of these e-mails sent me the following Biblical explanation
as to why the right refers to the good guys and the left refers to the
bad guys. It is found in Ecclesiastes 10: 2 (NIV) “The heart of the
wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.”
The left vs. right paradigm is also expressed in the new Testament in
Matthew 25:33, speaking of Jesus it says, “and He will put the sheep
on His right and the goats on the left.” It is important to
understand it is not good to be a goat. The Word goes on to say in
verse 41: “Then He will also say to those on His left, Depart from me
accursed ones into the fire which has been prepared for the devil and
his angles.”
A statement like that infuriates the goats of our world. In the heat
of their rebellion toward their maker, they want to deny Him, and
claim His Word to be fairy tales which are full of hate and evil. In
all reality and truth, God still loves them and is still willing to
have them come to have a relationship with Him (on His terms of
course, not their terms). In other words, any goat that God calls has
an opportunity to become a sheep, to be seated on the right and not on
the left. God’s love and grace is actually so powerful, it can change
a person’s live and of course that person’s perspective on life if
they will allow it.
I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
++ AN UP-COMING EDUCATION-VACATION TOUR
++ THE LIBERAL SURGE OVER THE ARIZONIA TRAGEDY
++ ITS OFFICIAL, TIME FOR THE GOP TO GOVERN
++ UNDERSTANDING THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, January the 12th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. We will have Jo
Joyce back again this week to continue her presentation on the
Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee (OSC). This is the local organization
which was formed by the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) out of
Chicago. The IAF is a Saul Alinski organization which sets up
community organizing groups. The local OSC group will host a fund
raising effort at Taft Jr. High on Friday evening, January the 28th to
begin the process to implement their leftist agenda into our local
schools. We will also have with us on Wednesday, Jenni White, founder
of Reform Oklahoma Public Education (ROPE).
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
* THURSDAY EVENING - MOORE AREA - The Sooner Republican Assembly
will have their monthly meeting this Thursday, January 13th at Earl’s
Rib Palace in Moore. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. for dinner
and then State Senator Anthony Sykes will speak about the latest
information about SQ 755, that important vote to prevent Sharia Law or
international law from being considered in Oklahoma courts. Please
contact Kathy McBlair at (405) 329-6041) for the address or more
information.
* SATURDAY MORNING - OKC AREA - Oklahomans for Sovereignty and
Free Enterprise (ok-safe) will host a free seminar to train citizens
on how to be involved in the legislative process. The location will be
the Village Library, 10307 North Penn in the Village. The seminar will
begin at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 12:30 p.m.
* SATURDAY EVENING - OKC AREA - The local chapter of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans will hold their annual Lee & Jackson Dinner this
Saturday evening January 15th at Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North
Lincoln. There is a reception from 5:30 to 6:30 then the dinner will
begin at 7:00 p.m. Speaking will be Jerry Brewer, an author,
evangelist and former editor of the Moore Monitor and Sentinel Leader
newspapers in Oklahoma. He also taught television and film production
at OCU in the 1990s and managed the Universitie’s TV station.
The title of Mr. Brewer’s talk will be: DISMANTLING THE REPUBLIC,
which is also the title of his 3rd book. Mr. Brewer’s family arrived
in America long before the War of Independence. His great grandfather
of the 4th generation, William Keyser, served with George Washington
at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. Two of his great-
grandfathers served in the 42nd Alabama Infantry and the 10th Texas
Calvary during the war for Southern Independence. Currently he is
Commander of the Privates Grayson and Brewer camp 2118 of the SCV in
Elk City.
The cost of the dinner is $20 per person. There will be an up-scale
dinner of salad, Lasagna, Chicken Alfredo and desert. Any proceeds
after the costs of the meeting will go towards a monument project at
the Confederate Cemetery in Ardmore. You will need to RSVP by
Wednesday, January 12th. Contact Terry Pierce at (405) 685-1158 or
terrypierce41@yahoo.com
++ AN UP-COMING EDUCATION-VACATION TOUR
Last October my wife and I went on a tour to Washington DC and then
Gettysburg, sponsored by Trinity Baptist Church in Yukon with Pastor
Dan Fisher as our guide. We had a great time as it was truly a
memorable time of learning and fun.
Dan has organized another tour for this Spring. The dates will be from
Sunday, March 13 to Saturday the 19th. This tour will go to the
Cincinnati Ohio area first to tour the Creation Museum. The timing has
been scheduled so Ken Hamm, the Museum’s founder, will be able to give
us a personal tour of the wildly popular Museum. Then we will go to
Gettysburg for 2 and a half days. This was the largest battle ever
fought on American soil. Military officers from all over the world
study this battlefield, even to this day. It was made up of 3 one day
battles which covered several miles in width. There were over 50,000
causalities in those 3 days with many acts of valor performed by men
from the South and the North.
Dan has spent a good deal of time learning about many of the key
events of the battle and as such, is an excellent guide. From
Gettysburg, we will travel to the Shiloh battlefield in Western
Tennessee. This was the location of the largest battle on the Western
front. Following this battle, both the North and South realized this
was going to be a long and difficult war.
Every effort has been made to keep the cost of this trip as reasonable
as possible. At $600 per person, it is a real bargain. All the
admissions to museums, hotel accommodations and the bus expenses are
included in the costs. Breakfast is included at the hotels, so the
only additional costs are for your lunches and dinners and of course
any relics you may want to purchase while on the trip. For more
information, please contact Linda at Trinity Baptist Church in Yukon.
The number is (405) 354-4839 or e-mail to dan@trinityyukon.com. I
would not tarry as half the bus filled within the fist couple of weeks
after the trip was announced in mid December.
One of the things that makes the bus ride easy is the advent of movie
screens. We watched the movie Gettysburg, both going and coming back,
after having been to the battlefield. Every effort was made in the
making of that movie to get it factually correct. One seen in the
movie after the first day’s battle had Colonel Chamberlain’s brother
talking with 3 captured Confederate soldiers.
The dialogue revealed the perspective, from a soldier’s point of view,
as to what this war was about. The Yankee asked the Johnny Rebs why
they were fighting? One of them answered, “for our rats” the Yankee
asked, for what? For our rats (rights). Then the Johnny Reb asked the
Yankee why he was fighting in the war? The answer was to free the
slaves and to preserve the Union. Then the Johnny Reb asked, why can’t
you just live your life the way you want and leave us to live our
lives the way we want. To that question the Yankee just gave a blank
stare.
I believe there is a contemporary question along these same lines
today between the liberals who populate the 2 leftist coasts and the
conservatives who populate the heart of America.
While the war, mistakenly referred to as the Civil War (by definition
a civil war is when 2 or more factions within a nation are fighting
for control of the nation. The South never wanted to control the
nation, they left the nation), was more complicated than the dialogue
I just mentioned, the war was the fruit of the first states rights
movement. However, those on the side of the states rights movement of
that day, wanted to preserve their right to practice what was the very
controversial institution of slavery.
Today, the second states rights movement is building. However, today
the proponents of states rights have the moral high ground on their
side. The issue is still slavery. The proponents of states rights
today are wanting to be set free from the oppression of the tyrannical
Federal Government with all of its mandates and controls over our
lives. Hopefully we can summon the political will to put the federal
government back into its cage of enumerated powers as described in
Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution. If not, the people of America
face 3 choices. 1) the weight of slavery will increase upon every
American, except the special elites, as the federal government will
continue to flex its power and increase its control over our lives. 2)
We will summon the political will to restore the balance between the
states and the people to the proper relationship with a much smaller
federal government. 3) Or there will be another secession movement.
If the latter occurs, hopefully it will take on the characteristics of
a mutually agreed to divorce, one based on irreconcilable differences.
If not, it could lead to another war, hopefully that will never occur.
The one choice that is unacceptable to me is number 1. My choice of
first resort is number 2.
++ THE LIBERAL SURGE OVER THE ARIZONA TRADGEDY
With the murder and wounding of several people including a federal
judge and a U.S. Congresswoman over the weekend, liberals are on a
full court press to attack our free speech rights and the right to
bear arms. They so hope to pin the blame on conservative talk radio,
Fox programming, the internet and the Tea Parties. First off, the
shooter was a deranged mental case that had smoked way too much pot,
listened to way too much pop culture music and had way too much self
esteem.
I would say those are all characteristics of secular, humanist,
liberals. Liberals like to slither along in the darkness of their
activities, never wanting the illumination of truth to shine on their
Godless, immoral and Marxist agenda. That is why they are calling for
“toned down” political and social rhetoric. They want to control and
dominate, they don’t like competition in the arena of ideas.
If you want to see the real haters in our society log on to the
Demokie web site or follow this link to see real hate on a national
scale:
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/10/the-progressive-climate-of-hate-an-illustrated-primer-200-2010/
In the mean time, I would suggest prayer for the recovery of the
injured and God’s comfort for the families who lost loved ones.
++ ITS OFFICIAL, TIME FOR THE GOP TO GOVERN
Yesterday, Mary Fallin officially became the Governor of the State of
Oklahoma. Several other office holders were also sworn in to begin a
new chapter for the citizens of Oklahoma. I have been encouraged by
several pronouncements from Mary Fallin. First were her statements
supporting the next step of reduction in the state income tax rates
and her siding with legislative leaders that the budget will be
balanced through cutting the size of government, and not by revenue
enhancements. Second, she has now said she is willing to speak with
legislative leaders to see what we might do to deal with the problem
of the invasion of illegal aliens.
While these are good pronouncements, the citizens must stay vigilant
and make sure these elected officials don’t reverse their positions.
There are many voices that pull on the elected officials at he
Capitol, conservatives must make sure their voices are heard. I would
suggest giving some time to Mary and the many other officials to see
if their actions match up with their rhetoric when they were seeking
our votes and support. We congratulate them and should be supportive,
until they show us reason to do otherwise. I would suggest we call it
“trust but verify.”
++ UNDERSTANDING THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT
A reader of these e-mails sent me the following Biblical explanation
as to why the right refers to the good guys and the left refers to the
bad guys. It is found in Ecclesiastes 10: 2 (NIV) “The heart of the
wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.”
The left vs. right paradigm is also expressed in the new Testament in
Matthew 25:33, speaking of Jesus it says, “and He will put the sheep
on His right and the goats on the left.” It is important to
understand it is not good to be a goat. The Word goes on to say in
verse 41: “Then He will also say to those on His left, Depart from me
accursed ones into the fire which has been prepared for the devil and
his angles.”
A statement like that infuriates the goats of our world. In the heat
of their rebellion toward their maker, they want to deny Him, and
claim His Word to be fairy tales which are full of hate and evil. In
all reality and truth, God still loves them and is still willing to
have them come to have a relationship with Him (on His terms of
course, not their terms). In other words, any goat that God calls has
an opportunity to become a sheep, to be seated on the right and not on
the left. God’s love and grace is actually so powerful, it can change
a person’s live and of course that person’s perspective on life if
they will allow it.
I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
Monday, January 10, 2011
Charlie’s Pick
If you have been a reader of the OCPAC e-mails prior to the November
elections, you are aware that I issue the infamous “Charlie’s Picks”
prior to any election involving a state legislative seat as well as
state wide and congressional races. The picks are simply my opinion as
to which candidate should win, based on the reasons I provide. I
understand, others my know information of which I am unaware or they
may simply disagree with my opinion. That is fine, my opinion is
simply given as a perspective to those who have not decided as yet or
perhaps they are wavering with their own opinion. This is my
perspective on the special election of fill the State Senate District
# 47 seat, vacated by the election of Todd Lamb to the office of Lt.
Governor. There are 5 Republican candidates running for the seat, the
person who has the largest number of votes by this Tuesday evening at
7:00 p.m. on January 11th, will be the next Senator to represent the
people of District 47. The district includes Edmond generally speaking
between 15th street and Memorial Road and then runs West into the
Northern part of OKC, about to Portland.
SD # 47 - CAROL HEFNER Carol was endorsed by OCPAC and I
wholeheartedly agree with that endorsement. I first met and heard
Carol speak at the indoor tea party in the Bricktown Coca Cola Event
Center about a year ago. I liked what she said, but to be honest, I
was very cautious because of her possible connections with the
establishment folks in OKC. I have now had an opportunity to hear her
speak at 2 forums, had a lengthy phone call with her and a lunch where
I asked permission to grill her as well as speak freely about the
problems that face Oklahoma and the forces with which true
conservatives wrestle. I have been impressed at every turn.
For a variety of reasons, high name ID, sufficient finances, and a
willingness to knock doors and work hard, as well as others, I believe
Carol has been the favored candidate from the beginning. As such she
has been the object of a whisper campaign and other efforts to damage
her. There is even an organization, supported by what appears to be
trial lawyers, to raise issues and blow them out of proportion to help
bring her lead down for the benefit of another candidate.
All of the candidates are pro life and have made strong statements on
certain issues. However, I believe Carol has the most consistent and
conservative positions on the widest variety of issues. I was amazed
when I attended the candidate forum at the High Noon club a few weeks
before the OCPAC interview process. I don’t believe there was any ill
intent, but when the Q&A session began they had Carol answer all of
the questions first, each and every time. That put her at a distinct
disadvantage as the other candidates have more time to think about an
answer and can spin one way or the other off of the answer of those
going before. Even, with this disadvantage, Carol’s answers were right
on spot every time. There were no complaints from her, she just got
the job done.
The one area I find them all weak in is that of primary and secondary
education. They are all caught up in the standard Republican answer
that we have too many school districts and too many superintendents.
While there is “some” truth in these answers, it is a far cry from
understanding the root problems in education and therefore what might
be the real answers to solving those problems. Following will be a few
comments about the other candidates.
As the race was getting geared up, I found out Greg Treat would be a
candidate. I have known Greg for several years, like both Greg and his
wife and I also believed Greg to be a true conservative. Based on
that, there would be a strong chance for me to prefer Greg over the
others but I held back as they all deserved a fair chance to make
their case. Also, I do not contribute to or make any public
endorsements for candidates until they have a chance to come before
the members of OCPAC.
The Edmond Sun’s editorial board, ruled out Kenny Goza and Todd
Brawley, then gave a slight edge to Greg over Carol Hefner and Steve
Dobbs as the 3 candidates who were the most outstanding of the five.
The Sun’s parameters were honesty, attention to detail, intelligence
to understand the political and bill making process and integrity to
take a stand. Those are all important qualifications, but the Sun,
which I would describe as a moderate newspaper, (I was a columnist for
the Sun for over a year) understandably left out the most important
issue, that being the candidates’ ideologies. Ideology is where I
began to struggle with Greg. I believe he has been very honest, but
that has worked to his disadvantage.
My first clue to Greg’s inconsistent ideology began at the High Noon
Club forum where the candidates were asked about corporate welfare.
Greg said he would NOT “across the board” rule out some corporate
welfare. At the OCPAC forum, when asked about the proper role of
government from a philosophical standpoint, he named a couple of
responsibilities then shocked the crowd when he said, “and a little
bit of health care.”
No doubt government currently participates in both corporate and
personal welfare at all levels of government, which is a major reason
for our fiscal problems. However, if a person doesn’t realize that
redistribution of wealth, whether it is personal or corporate, is a
moral issue and wrong to practice, then all that person will do is
argue over how much wealth they will redistribute. If that person
wants to hold the amount of wealth they are willing to redistribute to
“just a little bit”, they will be the big loser as there is no end to
the emotional situations that advocates of such will come up with to
keep expanding the welfare state. Greg’s refusal to tell the members
how much in contributions he had raised as of that day at OCPAC also
hurt him with our members.
Later that afternoon, I received a call from a person who had been one
of Greg’s supporters. He told me, he was so disappointed with Greg’s
answers, especially the question about the proper role of government,
that he had decided not to give him the hundred dollar check he had
brought to the meeting.
I had forgotten until this past week, that Greg had been Fred Morgan’s
campaign manager when Fred ran for Congress in 2006. Fred is now the
President of the State Chamber of Commerce. Personally, that
connection between Greg and Fred makes me very concerned that Greg may
be too greatly influenced by the central planners at the Chamber
rather than be independent enough to represent the people of district
47.
I know that Senator Coburn endorsed Greg, but I expect he did that out
of his relationship with Greg. I rather doubt Coburn even knows much
about the other candidates. One reason we are in trouble today is that
we support people based on relationships first rather than on
ideology, consistency, reliability, communication skills courage and
etc. Relationships are important, but they should be down the list,
not at the top. Since Senator Coburn has probably not evaluated all of
the candidates, his endorsement should mean little to the voters.
Bottom line, I believe Carol Hefner will be the best Senator, but if a
person just can’t vote for Carol, then Kenny Goza came across as the
next most conservative candidate. But remember, he is also a trial
lawyer.
Thanks for your time and attention. Please remember, these are just my
opinions based on the research I have done regarding this race.
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
elections, you are aware that I issue the infamous “Charlie’s Picks”
prior to any election involving a state legislative seat as well as
state wide and congressional races. The picks are simply my opinion as
to which candidate should win, based on the reasons I provide. I
understand, others my know information of which I am unaware or they
may simply disagree with my opinion. That is fine, my opinion is
simply given as a perspective to those who have not decided as yet or
perhaps they are wavering with their own opinion. This is my
perspective on the special election of fill the State Senate District
# 47 seat, vacated by the election of Todd Lamb to the office of Lt.
Governor. There are 5 Republican candidates running for the seat, the
person who has the largest number of votes by this Tuesday evening at
7:00 p.m. on January 11th, will be the next Senator to represent the
people of District 47. The district includes Edmond generally speaking
between 15th street and Memorial Road and then runs West into the
Northern part of OKC, about to Portland.
SD # 47 - CAROL HEFNER Carol was endorsed by OCPAC and I
wholeheartedly agree with that endorsement. I first met and heard
Carol speak at the indoor tea party in the Bricktown Coca Cola Event
Center about a year ago. I liked what she said, but to be honest, I
was very cautious because of her possible connections with the
establishment folks in OKC. I have now had an opportunity to hear her
speak at 2 forums, had a lengthy phone call with her and a lunch where
I asked permission to grill her as well as speak freely about the
problems that face Oklahoma and the forces with which true
conservatives wrestle. I have been impressed at every turn.
For a variety of reasons, high name ID, sufficient finances, and a
willingness to knock doors and work hard, as well as others, I believe
Carol has been the favored candidate from the beginning. As such she
has been the object of a whisper campaign and other efforts to damage
her. There is even an organization, supported by what appears to be
trial lawyers, to raise issues and blow them out of proportion to help
bring her lead down for the benefit of another candidate.
All of the candidates are pro life and have made strong statements on
certain issues. However, I believe Carol has the most consistent and
conservative positions on the widest variety of issues. I was amazed
when I attended the candidate forum at the High Noon club a few weeks
before the OCPAC interview process. I don’t believe there was any ill
intent, but when the Q&A session began they had Carol answer all of
the questions first, each and every time. That put her at a distinct
disadvantage as the other candidates have more time to think about an
answer and can spin one way or the other off of the answer of those
going before. Even, with this disadvantage, Carol’s answers were right
on spot every time. There were no complaints from her, she just got
the job done.
The one area I find them all weak in is that of primary and secondary
education. They are all caught up in the standard Republican answer
that we have too many school districts and too many superintendents.
While there is “some” truth in these answers, it is a far cry from
understanding the root problems in education and therefore what might
be the real answers to solving those problems. Following will be a few
comments about the other candidates.
As the race was getting geared up, I found out Greg Treat would be a
candidate. I have known Greg for several years, like both Greg and his
wife and I also believed Greg to be a true conservative. Based on
that, there would be a strong chance for me to prefer Greg over the
others but I held back as they all deserved a fair chance to make
their case. Also, I do not contribute to or make any public
endorsements for candidates until they have a chance to come before
the members of OCPAC.
The Edmond Sun’s editorial board, ruled out Kenny Goza and Todd
Brawley, then gave a slight edge to Greg over Carol Hefner and Steve
Dobbs as the 3 candidates who were the most outstanding of the five.
The Sun’s parameters were honesty, attention to detail, intelligence
to understand the political and bill making process and integrity to
take a stand. Those are all important qualifications, but the Sun,
which I would describe as a moderate newspaper, (I was a columnist for
the Sun for over a year) understandably left out the most important
issue, that being the candidates’ ideologies. Ideology is where I
began to struggle with Greg. I believe he has been very honest, but
that has worked to his disadvantage.
My first clue to Greg’s inconsistent ideology began at the High Noon
Club forum where the candidates were asked about corporate welfare.
Greg said he would NOT “across the board” rule out some corporate
welfare. At the OCPAC forum, when asked about the proper role of
government from a philosophical standpoint, he named a couple of
responsibilities then shocked the crowd when he said, “and a little
bit of health care.”
No doubt government currently participates in both corporate and
personal welfare at all levels of government, which is a major reason
for our fiscal problems. However, if a person doesn’t realize that
redistribution of wealth, whether it is personal or corporate, is a
moral issue and wrong to practice, then all that person will do is
argue over how much wealth they will redistribute. If that person
wants to hold the amount of wealth they are willing to redistribute to
“just a little bit”, they will be the big loser as there is no end to
the emotional situations that advocates of such will come up with to
keep expanding the welfare state. Greg’s refusal to tell the members
how much in contributions he had raised as of that day at OCPAC also
hurt him with our members.
Later that afternoon, I received a call from a person who had been one
of Greg’s supporters. He told me, he was so disappointed with Greg’s
answers, especially the question about the proper role of government,
that he had decided not to give him the hundred dollar check he had
brought to the meeting.
I had forgotten until this past week, that Greg had been Fred Morgan’s
campaign manager when Fred ran for Congress in 2006. Fred is now the
President of the State Chamber of Commerce. Personally, that
connection between Greg and Fred makes me very concerned that Greg may
be too greatly influenced by the central planners at the Chamber
rather than be independent enough to represent the people of district
47.
I know that Senator Coburn endorsed Greg, but I expect he did that out
of his relationship with Greg. I rather doubt Coburn even knows much
about the other candidates. One reason we are in trouble today is that
we support people based on relationships first rather than on
ideology, consistency, reliability, communication skills courage and
etc. Relationships are important, but they should be down the list,
not at the top. Since Senator Coburn has probably not evaluated all of
the candidates, his endorsement should mean little to the voters.
Bottom line, I believe Carol Hefner will be the best Senator, but if a
person just can’t vote for Carol, then Kenny Goza came across as the
next most conservative candidate. But remember, he is also a trial
lawyer.
Thanks for your time and attention. Please remember, these are just my
opinions based on the research I have done regarding this race.
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
Monday, January 3, 2011
AS 2011 BEGINS, LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
++ AS 2011 BEGINS, LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY
++ TIDBITS
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, January 5th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. We are finally going
to get to show the DVD: AMERICAN TYRANNY STEP BY STEP - SAVING OUR
REPUBLIC. I wanted to show this 21 minute DVD a few weeks ago and we
just ran out of time during our meeting. In addition, we will show the
short video called Big Park. As we were first settling the country,
our founders wanted to get land into the hands of the people. For some
time now we have seen this idea reversed, with government at various
levels acquiring or controlling more and more property. One of the
disturbing trends is the rise of land placed into conservancy
programs. Norman may be the worst offender of this practice in
Oklahoma, but of course Norman may be the most liberal community in
Oklahoma, so that shouldn’t be too surprising. Liberal tree huggers or
animal rights extremists can place their property into such a program
and avoid having to pay property taxes. At the time of their death,
the land is permanently locked into a conservancy, never to be sold or
used for productive purposes for the rest of time.
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
* MONDAY EVENING - DURANT AREA - I have been asked to speak to
the Bryan County Republicans & Conservatives Club in Durant, 6:30 p.m.
on Monday, January the 3rd. The location will be the First Nazarene
Church, which is at intersection of 9th and Texas Street. I have been
asked to talk about holding elected officials accountable and what to
watch for during the next legislative session.
* THURSDAY EVENING - OKC AREA - The Oklahoma Second Amendment
organization (OK2A) will hold their monthly meeting for the OKC area
this Thursday, January the 6th at 6:30 p.m. The location will be H&H
Range which is on the North side of I-40 and just East of Meridian. If
you would like to eat, the 4U Café will stay open until 6, so get
there a little early. Speaking will be Amanda Teegarden, with
Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise
www.ok-safe.org She will present a 1 hour long program on how to
effect legislation at the Capitol. Just because Republicans are in
control, don’t think they will support efforts to re-claim our 2nd
Amendment rights from excessive government controls.
* FRIDAY AT NOON - OKC AREA - The High Noon Club will have an
very special speaker this Friday at “high noon”. The location will
again be at H&H Range, just North of I-40 and East of Meridian.
Speaking will be Rick Green. Mr. Green is David Barton’s right hand
man, filling in for him when necessary. He is a former State Senator
from Texas and recently ran unsuccessfully for the Texas Supreme
Court. That will be Texas’ loss and the nation’s gain as he will
continue to have time for travel and speaking. I believe he spoke at
the 2nd or 3rd Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ conferences, where it
became apparent he has one serious flaw. He is a die hard University
of Texas fan and reminded us of their victories over Oklahoma’s
schools that year. THEREFORE, someone maybe everyone, please ask him
how things are with Mack Brown and his boys this year.
++ AS 2011 BEGINS LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY
I rarely paste an article from other sources, but the recent article
by Chuck Baldwin is exceptional, accurate and relevant to 2011 and our
more distant future. You will be far better informed if you will take
the time to read this.
Enemy Within The Gates
By Chuck Baldwin
December 30, 2010
As surely as William Barret Travis drew a line in the sand at the
Alamo, a line is being drawn in the hearts of men today. By the time
it is over, every man and woman in America will have to choose which
side of the line they are on. Neutrality will not be an option.
Furthermore, this line is separating, not only political and cultural
adversaries, it is dividing friends and families as well. In fact, it
is no hyperbole to say that the enemy is not only AT the gates; the
enemy is WITHIN the gates. Then again, I suppose that during any
momentous turning point of history, it has always been this way. And
make no mistake about it: we are at a momentous turning point of
history.
Consider what our Lord told us: “Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come
to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against
her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a
man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” (Matthew 10:34-36
KJV)
It’s happened before in America. It happened during our War for
Independence. It happened again during the War for Southern
Independence: father against son and brother against brother. And so
it is now.
The enemy has always done its best and most efficient work from
within. At this point, I am reminded of what America’s most
celebrated jurist, Daniel Webster, once said, “There is no nation on
earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction,
should it come at all, will be from another quarter: from the
inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from
their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend
some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in
their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct;
that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and
become the instruments of their own undoing.”
I am often asked, “From whence comes our greatest threat: Iraq,
Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, Russia, China, etc.?” And my
response is the same as Webster’s: our greatest threat is within the
gates of our own country. Our greatest threat is Washington, D.C. I
will even go further than that. Many times, our greatest threat is
within the gates of our own churches, and within the walls of our own
homes!
Remember, the Lord Jesus was betrayed by one of his own apostles.
King David was betrayed by his own son. Samson was betrayed by a
lover. Noah was betrayed by a grandson. Joseph was betrayed by his own
brothers. Moses was betrayed by the ten trusted scouts. The list is
endless.
I remind you that during our War for Independence, the colonial army
had far more to fear from Benedict Arnold than it did from King
George! And so it is today. The enemy at the gates at least looks like
the enemy. It dresses like the enemy; it talks like the enemy; it acts
like the enemy. But the enemy within the gates looks like a friend. It
dresses like a friend; it talks like a friend; it acts like a friend.
But it is still the enemy!
The enemies of freedom are ubiquitous today. They are in our State
legislatures; they sit on the benches of our judiciary; they teach in
our colleges and universities; they preach in our pulpits; they teach
in our Sunday School classrooms; they sit across our dining room
tables; they even sleep in our own beds! And, for the most part, they
are in charge of most things going on in Washington, D.C.
These enemies of whom I speak are those who would rather protect
government (even illegitimate government) than protect freedom; they
would rather please the powers that be than please the Power that is;
and they would rather promote their own success and prosperity than
the success and prosperity of their country. They are
self-aggrandizing statists who suck at the teat of Big Government.
They might be Democrats or Republicans: at the national level, both
have a large welfare-addicted constituency. They might be Christians
or unbelievers. In fact, many of today’s Christians, churches, and
pastors are proving themselves to be the enemies of freedom to an even
greater extent than many unbelievers.
For the last several years, the absence of Christians (and especially
pastors) from the freedom fight is glaring! The vast majority of them
show little interest in whether or not their State defends itself from
ever-increasing federal encroachments; they show little attention to
the exponential growth of a Fascist-style police state that is taking
shape in front of their very eyes; and they seem little concerned over
the demise of constitutional government.
Beyond that, I have discovered firsthand that not only do many
Christians seem to revel in apathy and indifference to the
aforementioned attacks against our liberties, they will often unleash
vehement resistance and hatred to the brother that stands in
opposition to these attacks. It is no wonder Jesus said, “A man’s
foes shall be they of his own household.”
Some of these enemies and false brethren are motivated by jealousy.
Some are motivated by greed or ambition. Still, others suffer from
extreme character deficiencies, such as egomania, pride, laziness, or
intense feelings of insecurity. Regardless of the motivation, they set
their sights and whet their arrows against those who would dare take a
bold and courageous stand for liberty.
My fellow patriots, watch your back, because your greatest enemy is
probably behind you! Remember, Jesus “came unto his own, and his own
received him not.” (John 1:11) And of Christ does the prophet not
say, “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine
hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the
house of my friends”? (Zechariah 13:6 KJV)
I can personally identify with Zechariah’s prophecy. The wounds my
wife and I (and our entire family) carry today were inflicted “in
the house of my friends.”
Perhaps the patriot’s courage convicts the statist of his own
laziness or greed. Perhaps the statist truly despises liberty in his
own heart, because, in his soul, he is either a tyrant or slave--or
even both. In fact, when the discussion of liberty is broached in
today’s Churchianity, I fear this is a major part of the problem.
I have witnessed firsthand the effects that legalism,
denominationalism, and corporatism have caused within the Church. Many
Christians are so enslaved by legalistic churches and institutions
that they wouldn’t know freedom if it came up and bit them on their
blessed assurance! They are told what kind of music to listen to, how
to wear their hair, what kind of clothes to put on, who can and
can’t be their friends--even how husbands and wives should express
their love to each other. Their entire lives are lived as subjects and
servants to the all-powerful institution (read: church, school,
college, etc.). What, pray tell, does the subject of liberty mean to
them? They are already enslaved!
Likewise, many professing pastors and Christians are as enslaved to a
denomination as any political subject in Russia or China. To them,
there is no truth worth defending but the truth proclaimed by the
almighty denomination. There is no battle worth fighting unless it is
sanctioned by the all-wise denomination. And there is no enemy worth
resisting who is not identified by the all-knowing denomination. What,
pray tell, does the subject of liberty mean to them? Are they not
slaves already?
Then there is the corporate slave! This is the so-called Christian
statist who recognizes no church that the IRS does not recognize--or
approve. This is the Christian, who, if he lived in communist China,
would attend the state-approved church, with a state-approved
minister, preaching state-approved sermons to state-enslaved subjects.
But as almost anyone knows, the real Church in oppressed countries is
never the one you see in state-sponsored
“we-have-freedom-of-religion-here” propaganda photo ops.
The real Church in oppressed countries meets in private living rooms,
back rooms, barns, sheds, or even in the backwoods. In all likelihood,
their gatherings are illegal, their ministers unlicensed, and their
worship politically incorrect. This has been the history of the real
Church since the Book of Acts. And it is fast becoming the experience
of the real Church in America!
Yes, a line is being drawn in the sand in this country. One will
either be a statist, who is devoted to the supremacy of the State, or
he or she will be a freedomist, who is devoted to the spirit and
principles of liberty. And just like at Travis’ Alamo, there can be
no neutrality.
I personally believe that God Himself is drawing this line in the
sand. I also believe that many professing Christians are quickly
lining up on the wrong side of that line and have made themselves the
enemies of truth and freedom (and those who love them). I further
believe that because so many Christians are holding their peace, the
“stones” are crying out for truth and liberty (Luke 19:40),
meaning God is often using strangers of the covenant to advance His
truth.
I also believe that God is preparing a robust and righteous remnant
from among those who love liberty (and are willing to guard and defend
it), while the traditional church (read: organized, incorporated,
state-sanctioned) is being given over to servitude and judgment. And
as I’ve also learned (and said before), patriots must watch their
backs, because the enemy is not AT the gates, it is WITHIN them!
© Chuck Baldwin
NOTE TO THE READER:
Chuck Baldwin is a syndicated columnist, radio broadcaster, author,
and
pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which
America
was founded. He was the 2008 Presidential candidate for the
Constitution
Party. He and his wife, Connie, have been married for 37 years and
have 3
children and 7 grandchildren.
Chuck Baldwin's commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished,
reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so
does not
charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied
intact and that full credit is given and that Chuck's web site address
is
included.
Please visit Chuck's web site at http://chuckbaldwinlive.com
++ TIDBITS
* Oklahoma’s Judicial Nominating Commission (JDC) put the pedal to
the metal and rushed 3 names to Governor Henry so he could make a last
minute appointment to the State Supreme Court. I predict Jari Askins
will be his pick. Suits have been filed over the un-constitutional
make up of the JDC, but the suits will probably have to be heard
before the Supreme Court, which will have 5 members added to the Court
by this illegitimate JDC. Justice Taylor, improperly put on the Court
has already indicated he will not excuse himself from hearing the
suit. Maybe the time has come to create a special PAC for the purpose
of removing bad Justices each general election cycle when we have
those judges, that no-one ever knows anything about, on the ballot to
retain or reject.
* One of the Democrat Web-sites know for being confused and getting
things wrong, lists the top 10 stories for 2010. Number 4 and 6 are
laughable, while the rest are actually valid listings. I have to say,
8 out of 10 for this web-site ain’t so bad.
1. Oklahoma elects first woman governor
2. Oklahoma Democrats lose every state office
3. Randy Terrill arrested for Bribery (notice they didn’t mention
Democrat Debbie Leftwich)
4. Obama ends up being a moderate after all (Obama, never has been, is
not and never will be a moderate. He has had to moderate his positions
because he lacks full dictatorial powers)
5. Tulsa in gridlock with Mayor Bartlett
6. John Birch group takes over the Oklahoma House (oh, if this were
only true. If there is an entity controlling the House, it is the
State Chamber and their central planning buddies.)
7. OKC Thunder gives LA Lakers a run for their money during playoffs
8. OKC passes new MAPS which includes new parks and light rail
9. Earthquake swarms rattle central Oklahoma
10. Oklahoman leaks classified documents to Wekileaks
* Oklahoma’s most liberal State Senator Jim Wilson (D-Tahlequah
lifetime conservative index score is a 14) is planning on introducing
5 or 6 bills dealing with health care. I would say he is trying to
implement as much of Obama Care as possible from a State standpoint.
One of the more crazy ideas, is that Hospitals can’t claim visits to
the ER cost them more than a visit to a clinic. Sorry Jim, you can’t
legislate away reality. Wilson ran against Dan Boren in the Democrat
primary because he believed Boren was too conservative. Oh that Jim
would have beat Boren as Boren’s conservative votes were the only
thing that saved his hide from the charging Charles Thompson.
* Representative Eric Proctor (D-Tulsa) will introduce legislation to
allow independents to vote in a Republican or Democrat Presidential
primary race. Not only is this a really bad idea, Proctor shows his
ignorance as to the definition of a political party. A political party
is a private organization, a club if you will. It can establish its
own rules and procedures for membership and what it stands for, how it
selects its leaders and yes its own candidates. Independents or other
political parties have the right to select a candidate of their
choosing. If you live in a neighborhood association, would you want
non residents or non property owners to elect your officers? Would you
want non dues paying members of OCPAC to select our officers,
determine how to spend our money or set our agenda? Of course not and
neither should Republicans want independents or others to run the
Republican party or pick our candidates. Can anyone tell me why a
person registers as an independent? What do they stand for? This is
allowed in many other states and it can reek havoc. The most damaging
effects are usually done when independents join with liberal
Republicans (Sometimes even Democrats are allowed to cross party
lines) in primaries to defeat a principled conservative. Both
Proctor’s legislation as well as all of Senator Wilson’s should die a
swift and decisive death by no votes in committee. Don’t ignore these
bills, defeat them.
* Governor elect Fallin has said she is in favor of allowing the
trigger to occur to reduce the state income tax rate to 5.25% from its
current 5.5%, that is if state revenue predictions grow by 4% or more
over what was budgeted last year. She has also indicated she is
opposed to any tax increases or revenue enhancements. Speaker elect
Steele and Senate President Pro-Tem Bingman have both concurred. While
the budget hole is not going to be a large as predicted, this is
really good news and important as it will allow for further trimming
of government waste, inefficiencies, and hopefully programs which
simply aren’t a proper function of government.
* An official in the office of outgoing Attorney General Drew Edmond
issued an opinion last week that the bidding process was not
compromised nor did the immoral affair of Senator Coates and a female
lobbyist have any adverse affect on the process. However, officials
representing the interests of those losing out on the bid for a new
juvenile detention center disagree. It appears to me their beef is the
belief that the AG’s efforts were lame and a white wash. To me, it
appears that the state put out a Request For Proposal (RFP) for a
certain facility and the winning bid was for something very different.
If the state wants to change its mind from what it first wanted to
something different, then they should have put out a request for an
altered facility. It appears to me, the competitors, who met the
requirements of the RFP were at a disadvantage and were never really
going to be considered. The Oklahoman indicated that Senator Coates
has said that no one has asked him to step down as a Senator because
of the affair and as such he is going about his business of filing
bills. I would suggest, the honorable citizens of Senate District 28
should circulate a petition to ask him to step down since he has
become a huge embarrassment to them.
I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday.
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
++ AS 2011 BEGINS, LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY
++ TIDBITS
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
Our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, January 5th will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. We are finally going
to get to show the DVD: AMERICAN TYRANNY STEP BY STEP - SAVING OUR
REPUBLIC. I wanted to show this 21 minute DVD a few weeks ago and we
just ran out of time during our meeting. In addition, we will show the
short video called Big Park. As we were first settling the country,
our founders wanted to get land into the hands of the people. For some
time now we have seen this idea reversed, with government at various
levels acquiring or controlling more and more property. One of the
disturbing trends is the rise of land placed into conservancy
programs. Norman may be the worst offender of this practice in
Oklahoma, but of course Norman may be the most liberal community in
Oklahoma, so that shouldn’t be too surprising. Liberal tree huggers or
animal rights extremists can place their property into such a program
and avoid having to pay property taxes. At the time of their death,
the land is permanently locked into a conservancy, never to be sold or
used for productive purposes for the rest of time.
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
* MONDAY EVENING - DURANT AREA - I have been asked to speak to
the Bryan County Republicans & Conservatives Club in Durant, 6:30 p.m.
on Monday, January the 3rd. The location will be the First Nazarene
Church, which is at intersection of 9th and Texas Street. I have been
asked to talk about holding elected officials accountable and what to
watch for during the next legislative session.
* THURSDAY EVENING - OKC AREA - The Oklahoma Second Amendment
organization (OK2A) will hold their monthly meeting for the OKC area
this Thursday, January the 6th at 6:30 p.m. The location will be H&H
Range which is on the North side of I-40 and just East of Meridian. If
you would like to eat, the 4U Café will stay open until 6, so get
there a little early. Speaking will be Amanda Teegarden, with
Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise
www.ok-safe.org She will present a 1 hour long program on how to
effect legislation at the Capitol. Just because Republicans are in
control, don’t think they will support efforts to re-claim our 2nd
Amendment rights from excessive government controls.
* FRIDAY AT NOON - OKC AREA - The High Noon Club will have an
very special speaker this Friday at “high noon”. The location will
again be at H&H Range, just North of I-40 and East of Meridian.
Speaking will be Rick Green. Mr. Green is David Barton’s right hand
man, filling in for him when necessary. He is a former State Senator
from Texas and recently ran unsuccessfully for the Texas Supreme
Court. That will be Texas’ loss and the nation’s gain as he will
continue to have time for travel and speaking. I believe he spoke at
the 2nd or 3rd Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ conferences, where it
became apparent he has one serious flaw. He is a die hard University
of Texas fan and reminded us of their victories over Oklahoma’s
schools that year. THEREFORE, someone maybe everyone, please ask him
how things are with Mack Brown and his boys this year.
++ AS 2011 BEGINS LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY
I rarely paste an article from other sources, but the recent article
by Chuck Baldwin is exceptional, accurate and relevant to 2011 and our
more distant future. You will be far better informed if you will take
the time to read this.
Enemy Within The Gates
By Chuck Baldwin
December 30, 2010
As surely as William Barret Travis drew a line in the sand at the
Alamo, a line is being drawn in the hearts of men today. By the time
it is over, every man and woman in America will have to choose which
side of the line they are on. Neutrality will not be an option.
Furthermore, this line is separating, not only political and cultural
adversaries, it is dividing friends and families as well. In fact, it
is no hyperbole to say that the enemy is not only AT the gates; the
enemy is WITHIN the gates. Then again, I suppose that during any
momentous turning point of history, it has always been this way. And
make no mistake about it: we are at a momentous turning point of
history.
Consider what our Lord told us: “Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come
to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against
her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a
man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” (Matthew 10:34-36
KJV)
It’s happened before in America. It happened during our War for
Independence. It happened again during the War for Southern
Independence: father against son and brother against brother. And so
it is now.
The enemy has always done its best and most efficient work from
within. At this point, I am reminded of what America’s most
celebrated jurist, Daniel Webster, once said, “There is no nation on
earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction,
should it come at all, will be from another quarter: from the
inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from
their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend
some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in
their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct;
that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and
become the instruments of their own undoing.”
I am often asked, “From whence comes our greatest threat: Iraq,
Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, Russia, China, etc.?” And my
response is the same as Webster’s: our greatest threat is within the
gates of our own country. Our greatest threat is Washington, D.C. I
will even go further than that. Many times, our greatest threat is
within the gates of our own churches, and within the walls of our own
homes!
Remember, the Lord Jesus was betrayed by one of his own apostles.
King David was betrayed by his own son. Samson was betrayed by a
lover. Noah was betrayed by a grandson. Joseph was betrayed by his own
brothers. Moses was betrayed by the ten trusted scouts. The list is
endless.
I remind you that during our War for Independence, the colonial army
had far more to fear from Benedict Arnold than it did from King
George! And so it is today. The enemy at the gates at least looks like
the enemy. It dresses like the enemy; it talks like the enemy; it acts
like the enemy. But the enemy within the gates looks like a friend. It
dresses like a friend; it talks like a friend; it acts like a friend.
But it is still the enemy!
The enemies of freedom are ubiquitous today. They are in our State
legislatures; they sit on the benches of our judiciary; they teach in
our colleges and universities; they preach in our pulpits; they teach
in our Sunday School classrooms; they sit across our dining room
tables; they even sleep in our own beds! And, for the most part, they
are in charge of most things going on in Washington, D.C.
These enemies of whom I speak are those who would rather protect
government (even illegitimate government) than protect freedom; they
would rather please the powers that be than please the Power that is;
and they would rather promote their own success and prosperity than
the success and prosperity of their country. They are
self-aggrandizing statists who suck at the teat of Big Government.
They might be Democrats or Republicans: at the national level, both
have a large welfare-addicted constituency. They might be Christians
or unbelievers. In fact, many of today’s Christians, churches, and
pastors are proving themselves to be the enemies of freedom to an even
greater extent than many unbelievers.
For the last several years, the absence of Christians (and especially
pastors) from the freedom fight is glaring! The vast majority of them
show little interest in whether or not their State defends itself from
ever-increasing federal encroachments; they show little attention to
the exponential growth of a Fascist-style police state that is taking
shape in front of their very eyes; and they seem little concerned over
the demise of constitutional government.
Beyond that, I have discovered firsthand that not only do many
Christians seem to revel in apathy and indifference to the
aforementioned attacks against our liberties, they will often unleash
vehement resistance and hatred to the brother that stands in
opposition to these attacks. It is no wonder Jesus said, “A man’s
foes shall be they of his own household.”
Some of these enemies and false brethren are motivated by jealousy.
Some are motivated by greed or ambition. Still, others suffer from
extreme character deficiencies, such as egomania, pride, laziness, or
intense feelings of insecurity. Regardless of the motivation, they set
their sights and whet their arrows against those who would dare take a
bold and courageous stand for liberty.
My fellow patriots, watch your back, because your greatest enemy is
probably behind you! Remember, Jesus “came unto his own, and his own
received him not.” (John 1:11) And of Christ does the prophet not
say, “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine
hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the
house of my friends”? (Zechariah 13:6 KJV)
I can personally identify with Zechariah’s prophecy. The wounds my
wife and I (and our entire family) carry today were inflicted “in
the house of my friends.”
Perhaps the patriot’s courage convicts the statist of his own
laziness or greed. Perhaps the statist truly despises liberty in his
own heart, because, in his soul, he is either a tyrant or slave--or
even both. In fact, when the discussion of liberty is broached in
today’s Churchianity, I fear this is a major part of the problem.
I have witnessed firsthand the effects that legalism,
denominationalism, and corporatism have caused within the Church. Many
Christians are so enslaved by legalistic churches and institutions
that they wouldn’t know freedom if it came up and bit them on their
blessed assurance! They are told what kind of music to listen to, how
to wear their hair, what kind of clothes to put on, who can and
can’t be their friends--even how husbands and wives should express
their love to each other. Their entire lives are lived as subjects and
servants to the all-powerful institution (read: church, school,
college, etc.). What, pray tell, does the subject of liberty mean to
them? They are already enslaved!
Likewise, many professing pastors and Christians are as enslaved to a
denomination as any political subject in Russia or China. To them,
there is no truth worth defending but the truth proclaimed by the
almighty denomination. There is no battle worth fighting unless it is
sanctioned by the all-wise denomination. And there is no enemy worth
resisting who is not identified by the all-knowing denomination. What,
pray tell, does the subject of liberty mean to them? Are they not
slaves already?
Then there is the corporate slave! This is the so-called Christian
statist who recognizes no church that the IRS does not recognize--or
approve. This is the Christian, who, if he lived in communist China,
would attend the state-approved church, with a state-approved
minister, preaching state-approved sermons to state-enslaved subjects.
But as almost anyone knows, the real Church in oppressed countries is
never the one you see in state-sponsored
“we-have-freedom-of-religion-here” propaganda photo ops.
The real Church in oppressed countries meets in private living rooms,
back rooms, barns, sheds, or even in the backwoods. In all likelihood,
their gatherings are illegal, their ministers unlicensed, and their
worship politically incorrect. This has been the history of the real
Church since the Book of Acts. And it is fast becoming the experience
of the real Church in America!
Yes, a line is being drawn in the sand in this country. One will
either be a statist, who is devoted to the supremacy of the State, or
he or she will be a freedomist, who is devoted to the spirit and
principles of liberty. And just like at Travis’ Alamo, there can be
no neutrality.
I personally believe that God Himself is drawing this line in the
sand. I also believe that many professing Christians are quickly
lining up on the wrong side of that line and have made themselves the
enemies of truth and freedom (and those who love them). I further
believe that because so many Christians are holding their peace, the
“stones” are crying out for truth and liberty (Luke 19:40),
meaning God is often using strangers of the covenant to advance His
truth.
I also believe that God is preparing a robust and righteous remnant
from among those who love liberty (and are willing to guard and defend
it), while the traditional church (read: organized, incorporated,
state-sanctioned) is being given over to servitude and judgment. And
as I’ve also learned (and said before), patriots must watch their
backs, because the enemy is not AT the gates, it is WITHIN them!
© Chuck Baldwin
NOTE TO THE READER:
Chuck Baldwin is a syndicated columnist, radio broadcaster, author,
and
pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which
America
was founded. He was the 2008 Presidential candidate for the
Constitution
Party. He and his wife, Connie, have been married for 37 years and
have 3
children and 7 grandchildren.
Chuck Baldwin's commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished,
reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so
does not
charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied
intact and that full credit is given and that Chuck's web site address
is
included.
Please visit Chuck's web site at http://chuckbaldwinlive.com
++ TIDBITS
* Oklahoma’s Judicial Nominating Commission (JDC) put the pedal to
the metal and rushed 3 names to Governor Henry so he could make a last
minute appointment to the State Supreme Court. I predict Jari Askins
will be his pick. Suits have been filed over the un-constitutional
make up of the JDC, but the suits will probably have to be heard
before the Supreme Court, which will have 5 members added to the Court
by this illegitimate JDC. Justice Taylor, improperly put on the Court
has already indicated he will not excuse himself from hearing the
suit. Maybe the time has come to create a special PAC for the purpose
of removing bad Justices each general election cycle when we have
those judges, that no-one ever knows anything about, on the ballot to
retain or reject.
* One of the Democrat Web-sites know for being confused and getting
things wrong, lists the top 10 stories for 2010. Number 4 and 6 are
laughable, while the rest are actually valid listings. I have to say,
8 out of 10 for this web-site ain’t so bad.
1. Oklahoma elects first woman governor
2. Oklahoma Democrats lose every state office
3. Randy Terrill arrested for Bribery (notice they didn’t mention
Democrat Debbie Leftwich)
4. Obama ends up being a moderate after all (Obama, never has been, is
not and never will be a moderate. He has had to moderate his positions
because he lacks full dictatorial powers)
5. Tulsa in gridlock with Mayor Bartlett
6. John Birch group takes over the Oklahoma House (oh, if this were
only true. If there is an entity controlling the House, it is the
State Chamber and their central planning buddies.)
7. OKC Thunder gives LA Lakers a run for their money during playoffs
8. OKC passes new MAPS which includes new parks and light rail
9. Earthquake swarms rattle central Oklahoma
10. Oklahoman leaks classified documents to Wekileaks
* Oklahoma’s most liberal State Senator Jim Wilson (D-Tahlequah
lifetime conservative index score is a 14) is planning on introducing
5 or 6 bills dealing with health care. I would say he is trying to
implement as much of Obama Care as possible from a State standpoint.
One of the more crazy ideas, is that Hospitals can’t claim visits to
the ER cost them more than a visit to a clinic. Sorry Jim, you can’t
legislate away reality. Wilson ran against Dan Boren in the Democrat
primary because he believed Boren was too conservative. Oh that Jim
would have beat Boren as Boren’s conservative votes were the only
thing that saved his hide from the charging Charles Thompson.
* Representative Eric Proctor (D-Tulsa) will introduce legislation to
allow independents to vote in a Republican or Democrat Presidential
primary race. Not only is this a really bad idea, Proctor shows his
ignorance as to the definition of a political party. A political party
is a private organization, a club if you will. It can establish its
own rules and procedures for membership and what it stands for, how it
selects its leaders and yes its own candidates. Independents or other
political parties have the right to select a candidate of their
choosing. If you live in a neighborhood association, would you want
non residents or non property owners to elect your officers? Would you
want non dues paying members of OCPAC to select our officers,
determine how to spend our money or set our agenda? Of course not and
neither should Republicans want independents or others to run the
Republican party or pick our candidates. Can anyone tell me why a
person registers as an independent? What do they stand for? This is
allowed in many other states and it can reek havoc. The most damaging
effects are usually done when independents join with liberal
Republicans (Sometimes even Democrats are allowed to cross party
lines) in primaries to defeat a principled conservative. Both
Proctor’s legislation as well as all of Senator Wilson’s should die a
swift and decisive death by no votes in committee. Don’t ignore these
bills, defeat them.
* Governor elect Fallin has said she is in favor of allowing the
trigger to occur to reduce the state income tax rate to 5.25% from its
current 5.5%, that is if state revenue predictions grow by 4% or more
over what was budgeted last year. She has also indicated she is
opposed to any tax increases or revenue enhancements. Speaker elect
Steele and Senate President Pro-Tem Bingman have both concurred. While
the budget hole is not going to be a large as predicted, this is
really good news and important as it will allow for further trimming
of government waste, inefficiencies, and hopefully programs which
simply aren’t a proper function of government.
* An official in the office of outgoing Attorney General Drew Edmond
issued an opinion last week that the bidding process was not
compromised nor did the immoral affair of Senator Coates and a female
lobbyist have any adverse affect on the process. However, officials
representing the interests of those losing out on the bid for a new
juvenile detention center disagree. It appears to me their beef is the
belief that the AG’s efforts were lame and a white wash. To me, it
appears that the state put out a Request For Proposal (RFP) for a
certain facility and the winning bid was for something very different.
If the state wants to change its mind from what it first wanted to
something different, then they should have put out a request for an
altered facility. It appears to me, the competitors, who met the
requirements of the RFP were at a disadvantage and were never really
going to be considered. The Oklahoman indicated that Senator Coates
has said that no one has asked him to step down as a Senator because
of the affair and as such he is going about his business of filing
bills. I would suggest, the honorable citizens of Senate District 28
should circulate a petition to ask him to step down since he has
become a huge embarrassment to them.
I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday.
Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com
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