The Time Is NOW!

There’s just SO much to be said about SO much that is going on right now; SO much injustice, I don’t even know where to begin. At Loud Mouth Liberal I cover SO many things, minimally, in a day, this is going to be a bit new for me. Although it does present a challenge with SO much information to make sure things get as much coverage as they should. This will be a better platform for that purpose, for sure. I am flattered, excited, and a bit overwhelmed to be here. I can only hope I do Rottenart justice.

 So, what’s relevant? SO much.

The biggest thing going right now, which deserves more coverage, is the occupation of Wall Street. Finally, the media is beginning to talk about it. Though it did take about 4 days before the first mention, by Michael Moore, even for networks such as MSNBC. I was very disappointed by the lack of coverage in the first days, as I’m sure, were the rest of us, the 99%. And, honestly, it still lacks the support from the media the story deserves. But I digress.

So, here we are. The movement has begun. Cities all over the WORLD are organizing!! And that is not an overstatement. I’m stoked!! Locally, which is Oklahoma City for me, the first Action Committee Meeting is this evening. The second General Assembly Meeting is Friday. And the Occupation of OKC is scheduled to commence on the 15th of this month, last I heard. There are also occupations planned for Tulsa and Stillwater. Not too shabby for a state as RED as this one!! Though, I really believe this goes much further than party lines.

Personally, I would LOVE to be able to take a trip to Wall Street but that’s really not an option. I’m sure many, many people would love to do the same. There are things you can do, if you’re hell-bent on going; Carpools and such. But, if you, like I, just can NOT make it there, Make it SOMEWHERE!! Occupy Together has information about occupations going on EVERYWHERE!! [ed. note: You can also donate food, sleeping bags, etc., here]

If not now, when?

Here A Park, There A Park…

While I think there are many positive aspects to Oklahoma City’s rapid downtown development, at times it seems as though no one really has any clue what is going on from one day to the next. The competing economic development committees are one example, but much of that can be chalked up to plain old cronyism. More worrying is the fact that the proponents of the so-called “Core-to-Shore” central park didn’t notice that we already had an amazing central park in OKC being renovated under their very noses. Now we’re faced with the same dilemma that has plagued every new MAPS project since version 1.0: what the hell are we doing? Newly elected city council member Ed Shadid points to the heart of the problem with the two parks:

“This is an entity which is going to have tremendous firepower in terms of the financial backers,” Shadid said. “There will be no coordination between the public running the Core to Shore park and the Myriad Gardens. Do we have two ice skating rinks that compete against each other? We have the public competing against an endowment with $10 million.”

And for all the good that MAPS has done for the city, it’s getting harder and harder to dismiss the nagging feeling that OKC’s renaissance is a thin veil covering a massive get-rich-quick scheme for wealthy investors. From the shady Alliance for Economic Development to the plethora of rentable space in newly renovated Myriad Gardens, I wonder if Mick and the City Council should stop trying to dictate a different vision from day to day based on rates of revenue and take the organic,  bottom-up approach favored my own neighborhood (the thriving Plaza District).

If the only consideration for another giant park downtown is whether it will make the city money, then perhaps we’re doing something wrong.

Rep. Patrick McHenry is a Little Out of Line

What an asshole.

Dr. Tom: Needs More Gutting

Tom Coburn, bag-man extraordinaire, is having a bit of a tough time. Sure, there’s all the questions about the John Ensign affair, which make Coburn out to look not only like the worst Christian ever but also a little bit like a potential perjurer. But that’s not the big issue facing our nation, people! What’s that you say? You’re pretty sure the American public is worried about jobs? Well, what the hell do you know about anything? Haven’t you heard that the most pressing issue of our times is the debt? Jobs, psh…

So, what to do? Everybody’s got a plan. Some are not popular, some are slightly more popular and some are curiously non-existent in the conversation. So, while everyone is arguing about whose budget is more serious, the Senate comes in to the rescue! The Gang of Six are here to offer a bipartisan solution that everyone hates (I wonder if it ever occurred to politicos that the word ‘gang’ is king of a turn-off) and they’ve been working very hard on that last point.

But we’re going to have to wait, boys and girls. Because while Tom Coburn understands that sometimes you have to negotiate with millions of dollars in real estate to keep untidy indiscretions quiet, there is no way he is going to accept anything less than gutting Social Security and Medicare to solve our nation’s ills. From TPM:

A source with knowledge of the negotiations says Coburn ultimately broke ranks after members of the group rejected his proposal to introduce a global cap on Medicare spending that would have cut $150 billion from current beneficiaries.

“The issue we have now is, over the last couple weeks Coburn has been slow walking this and it’s become clear that he’s not been negotiating in good faith,” the source said. “He came yesterday with demands that we make immmedate and deep cuts to current Medicare beneficiaries.”

I mean, if we’re not willing to throw old people in the street, we’re simply not serious enough to deal with the debt. And so Coburn picked up his bible (?) and went home. Reportedly, there is no more Gang of Six, I suppose because everyone besides Dick Durbin wanted to cut even more.

So remember, folks. Tom Coburn is willing to haggle with criminals to cover up an affair and lie about it, but if he doesn’t get his way when we’re talking about the country, he  sticks his fingers in his ears and screams. It’s so serious I could puke.

Perhaps Dr. Tom Wasn’t Being Exactly Honest?

"I will never tell!"

Tommy Boy has some ‘splainin’ to do.

Never Mind the Indefinite Detention Thing, They’re Eating Well

There goes Jim “Buzz the Runway” Inhofe again, spouting off on stuff like he has any idea what the hell is going on. I keep thinking that if I ignore him, he’ll go away but he seems to just be gaining; in stupidity, arrogance and wrinkly-ness.

The problems with Gitmo are simply mountainous. Never mind that we’re not allowed to charge them or allow them to challenge their detention, which has lasted ten years in some cases. Never mind that there’s a good chance some of them are completely innocent. Never mind that many have undergone torture. Despite all that, we just need to make sure they can’t see their families because they already have it so good.

Jim, you’re not only stupid you’re an asshole.

To All My Anti-Abortion Readers

I know a lot of people reading this blog, especially when it gets linked from random sources, are decidedly not on the same page as me. I would say this is nowhere more evident than on the issue of abortion. I am a strident pro-choice advocate. While I don’t condone abortion per se, I understand circumstances are various, reasons are complicated and ultimately a women should be allowed to decide what she does with her body free from any outside influence. Abortion is a legal medical procedure and it should remain so.

Now, like I mentioned, that doesn’t mean I am necessarily cheering for abortions. I think the radical anti-abortion zealots tend to think the pro-choice crowd are in favor of abortions being offered like after-dinner mints. I think many on the left would agree with Bill Clinton’s stance on the issue: abortion should be kept “safe, legal and rare.”

As many of you know, Oklahoma, where I currently live, is militant in its approach to curbing abortion. Though some of the draconian measures passed over the years have been ruled unconstitutional, legislators, cheered on by a right wing governor, continue to chip away at reproductive rights. What never get mentioned, however, are the underlying problems surrounding abortion and why it occurs. Oklahoma is near the top in teen pregnancy, doesn’t mandate sex ed in schools and generally follows the Bristol Palin approach to talking about sex. And that doesn’t even begin to touch upon the religious zealots’ inanity.

With all this in mind, I’m fascinated by this piece from Amanda Marcotte. Doesn’t it stand to reason that given these problems facing Oklahoma, we’d want solutions to the problems (political and moral) posed by abortion that actually reduce abortions? No, rather than discussing the issue like adults, lawmakers in OK would rather punish single mothers by reducing access to WIC.  That’s because they only see the abortion issue through a shallow, ideological lens: abortions bad, no abortions good. Measures that would actually affect the numbers are non-starters because, ironically, it lets big, bad government fund things like family planning curricula and contraception (as opposed to putting the government between you and your doctor?).  As Marcotte puts it in her closing graff:

Republicans probably haven’t thought about this plan much beyond patting themselves on the back for being clever enough to give something to the anti-contraception fringe without unduly alarming moderates. Still, they should consider the effects of amplifying the differences in red and blue states. Red states already have a reputation for high poverty, teenage pregnancy, STD, and divorce rates. If they continue down this path, the contrast between red and blue states will start to resemble that of undeveloped and industrial nations.

Were I a cynical person, I’d be tempted to think the right wing in OK doesn’t really care about that last bit as long as the donations keep flowing.

Sally Kern Gets a Slap (On the Wrist)

Despite earlier resistance to a full reprimand, the OK House successfully voted yesterday to censure Sally Kern for her none-too-subtle racism. The motion was brought by Democrat Mike Shelton and led to a second apology from Kern, read on the House floor.

It should also be noted that not everybody was on board with the motion. Republican Paul Wesselhoft saw it as an affront to the Christian admonishment to forgive and Randy Grau is worried that punishing racists will lead to Big Brother.

It’s not as good as a resignation but it’s as good as we’re going to get. She’s likely to be re-elected by the bigots in her district but she’s term limited in 2016. Unless, of course, a true progressive mounts a credible challenge… anybody?

The Onion or Oklahoma?

It’s getting harder and harder to tell  the difference.

Ironically, Sally Kern’s subtly racist argument is precisely the reason why Affirmative Action is a necessity; ingrained bigotry such as Kern and Osborn’s will ensure unequal treatment for minorities if the playing field is “leveled” because they discriminate with abandon. Witness the intellectual prowess of the women who considers homosexuals a bigger threat than radical terrorism:

“We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic,” Kern said, “but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school?

“I’ve taught school,” she added, “and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”

I can’t wait for the first southern politician to just come right out and say what’s really on their mind: ‘niggers are lazy’.

Obviously the Budget Gap in OK is No Longer a Problem!

Why else would they waste time on inane laws like this? According to the OK Dept. of  Corrections website, the yearly cost of one inmate is ~$16,500, with around 24,000 people incarcerated today in the state. Another fun fact? “Oklahoma Correctional Industries generates between $15 million and $17 million in annual sales revenues”

Well, I guess it’s a good thing that we’ve decided making hashish, a by-product of marijuana, will now be a life sentence in OK. Can’t have those private prisons losing money or, god forbid, not getting their payments from the taxpayers.

Keep in mind, that I can’t even find statistics for hash use in Oklahoma. So, just to recap, we have no money for private prisons, no documented problem with hashish and yet we’re still determined to enforce a mandatory life sentence for the “crime”.