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The Wild and Wacky TLO Legislative Review: They’re Back
Feb 10
2012
(Editor’s Note: Here’s the deal, we have no clue what to call this new series, so for now we’re going to call it something different each week! Should be zany fun!)
Fairy dust, anti-abortionists, homeschoolers, pink hair and Ronald Reagan; yep, the Oklahoma Legislature is back in town.
When the gavel came down with a loud smack opening the second regular session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, immediately there was something different in the chamber, something never seen before. It was pink hair being sported by Gov. Mary Fallin’s married daughter Christina sitting in the gallery. It actually looked nice and contrasted well against Rep. Joe Dorman’s head which shined like a Cadillac fender exiting a car wash.
Most of the action during the first week of a session usually takes place in the rotunda area outside the House and Senate chambers. Various groups from dairy farmers to mothers who support spanking are either protesting or promoting their causes. On Monday the capitol was filled with thousands of the best spellers who probably think Jesus crossed the Delaware River with George Washington, as homeschoolers took over the building. Tuesday was the annual pro-life capitol migration with thousands of red roses to hand out, which is followed by the annual dump-the-rose-filled-trash-cans-out day.
But the highlight of the week’s demonstrators came from the “non-partisan” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. They sponsored “What would Ronald Reagan Do” day, complete with a board to post comments and two cakes with Reagan’s picture decorating each. It was probably the best opportunity for liberals to finally take a bite at their old nemesis. Here’s a picture of one of the cakes:
Besides the obvious answer to OCPA’s quizzical question of what Reagan would do — nothing because he is dead — it is highly unlikely any of the board posts included some of the things Reagan did do like running-up some of the highest budget deficits in American history, visiting Nazi soldiers’ graves and being oblivious to his administration’s operation of selling guns to Iran and using the money to fund rebels in Nicaragua. It’s doubtful that will be part of the homeschoolers curriculum.
Doubt might also be the word to describe Gov. Fallin’s proposal of slowly eliminating the income tax, one-third of the state budget, and keeping core government services adequately funded. Several attendees and reporters listening to the governor’s State of the State address were using words like “impossible,” “dreaming” and that it would take fairy dust to make the plan work. Fallin’s method of paying for the tax cut takes some serious leaps of faith, family and freedom. One element is “capitalizing on economic growth we expect to see as a result of our pro-jobs, pro-business policies,” the governor calmly explained.
There’s a line from the Blues Brothers song “Rubber Biscuit” which says “A ricochet biscuit is the kind of biscuit that’s supposed to bounce back off the wall in to your mouth. If it don’t bounce back…you go hungry.” That line seemed to resonate after Fallin explained her plan.
The week also reinforced a very important lesson all politicians must learn: never upset the press. State Sen. Jim Wilson, one of the more liberal members of the Legislature, introduced a bill removing the sales tax exemption newspapers and magazines currently enjoy. He knew he was in trouble from the start when the chairman of the committee taking up his bill simply looked at Wilson and said, “Good luck.”
Wilson explained the reason he went after the media’s sales tax exemption was to help pay teachers their bonuses guaranteed by the state for becoming national board certified teachers. It didn’t help that half of the committee room was filled with journalists.
“I know I’m blood in the water with sharks swimming around,” Wilson acknowledged.
Realizing the Borg futile resistance ending he was facing, Wilson tried a new tactic by appealing to the Senate’s moral values. He brought up the fact the bill would also eliminate the sales tax on the sale of magazines like Playboy. It may be the only time in the Legislature the porn card didn’t work.
When the votes were cast, Wilson only received one vote – his own. The power of the press prevails again, if only because the senators viewed the elimination as a tax increase. Hard to believe porn and the press were saved by a potential tax increase.
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Scott Cooper, an awarding-winning journalist for enterprise and investigative reporting, is the editor and publisher of The Land Run, a state legal news website.
I can tell you exactly what Ronald Reagan would do if he were alive today. The guy was the president of a labor union (SAG), the OG of deficit spending, negotiated with our enemies to end the Cold War (Gorbachev), granted amnesty to all illegal aliens, attacked Libya without a Congressional declaration of war and he got his political start as the Governor of California (3 terms). If Reagan were alive today he would go BACK to being a Democrat before the insane clown posse that the Republican Party has become expelled him.
Why does the lettering in the top left corner say wwwro? What would wooden regan “o”complish?
I think the “o” is actually a cursive capital D, as you can see done again later in that top line on the cake.
You try concentrating with that handsome devil looking you right in the eye.
Saint Ronald also opened the borders from the south to bust those evil labor unions and drive down wages. I guess you could say it worked cause wages have steadily gone down since the ole Gipper was in charge.
Reagan might also rethink his “trickle down” economic policy. It has been over twenty years and we’re still waiting for the trickle to make its way down to the masses. Also, Oklahoma’s first-man looks like he is putting on some weight. The cooking must be mighty tasty at the mansion or perhaps he is sneaking over to Leo’s.
Gotta love how TLO just assumes that every home-schooled child is a brain-washed, bible-thumping idiot while completely ignoring the fact that the average public high-school student couldn’t tell you who the current speaker-of-the-house is if his life depended on it.
Straw man, Charlie.
Nope, just shining a spotlight on the obvious bias here.
CharlieFoxtrot is right. Every homeschooled kid I’ve known growing up – and the number is high, since I was homeschooled for a couple of years in upper elementary school – has gone on to at least get a Bachelors degree. A significant portion has completed graduate work (and not necessarily seminary, either).
Hasty Generalization, JRS.
Perhaps, Govt Mule, perhaps. My experiences may not be the norm. However, statistical studies and other information tend to support the fact that homeschooled kids do tend to be better educated than the public at large, have higher rates of acceptance into and graduation from colleges and universities, and are more active in civic affairs than their non-homeschooled peers.
http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/Beyond.asp#a1
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp
Cool, but those studies don’t hide the unscientific fact that most home school kids are really weird.
Well Patrick, I guess when you live in a society where the
public indoctrination campspublic education system turns outfuture contestants for the Jerry Springer Showfunctionally-illiterate simpletons by the thousands every year, being well-educated really can be considered weird.Exactly!
Could any homeschooler tell you how Natural Selection works and the abundant evidence for its role in shaping all of biology?
A few, perhaps. But likely not most. Most probably know of the concept, though. Also, any student at any private parochial school would probably have the same problem, but they don’t have the stigma you are trying to attribute to homeschoolers. Nobody’s denying there are some fundamentalist homeschool families, but they’re the exception rather than the rule.
Why are you so worried about what someone may, or may not be teaching their kid inside their own home?
Not to mention that the earth is only about 5,000 years old.
Ummmmm…who is the Speaker of the House?
“Ummmmm…who is the Speaker of the House?”
May as well be Juice Newton.