klabourdeth-blog

[klabourdeth-blog]

Oklahoma House 8

On thursday 16 June 2016, I attended a forum for the Republican party for Oklahoma’s District 8 for the state level house so the next 5 posts will be detailed on the candidates and forum. If I born and bathed in Oklahoma’s baptist blood with very little education then I would say that my experience that night left me with a tough decision on which candidate was more godly. But since I grew up in a realm where Oklahoma style of open political belief was mentioned in hush tones I can proudly say that all four of the candidates left me terrified for the future.

Since District 8 is probably a smaller district that is not getting as much attention at the state or really coverage on a local level. Although the coverage on a local is probably due the fact that the area appears to use very little of the power of the internet due to my inability to find any events besides two in which the candidates are holding a town hall or other forums.

A small rundown of District 8: It's roughly includes parts of Claremore & Broken Arrow (sub of Tulsa) and all of Pryor Creek. The one notable thing about Pryor is that it is home probably one of America’s largest industry park known as Mid America Park (http://maip.com/index.php ). Currently has over 70 different companies inside the park with a Google Data Center, Cherokee Nation and Pryor Chemical Plant being of the most notable of companies plus Rocklahoma. The district is primary a mix of white and native american background with the household median income is $46.1k and about 62.9% of the district at least holds a just a high school diploma. Also Distract 8 is ranked among the lowest districts in Oklahoma for having the least amount of residents to have any form of education above the high school level ( and yes it does show). Due to term limits District 8 Rep Ben Sherrer (D) is reign as Rep is done.

On to the candidates: For the primary on 28 of June, 2016 there are 4 republicans running for the party ticket while Darrell Moore is running unopposed on the Democratic ticket. The 4 who are vying for the party ticket are Dr. Steven L Dill, Tom Gann, Rick Kibbe, and Carl Parson. All 4 claiming to be the anti-politician.

[klabourdeth-blog]

Gun Control

As I type this post there has been 179 Mass Shootings in the United States. 3 of which have occurred since the early Sunday morning attack in Orlando that have resulted in a reported 49 deaths (https://www.massshootingtracker.org/data)  .

I don’t know about you but in the last 17 years  I have just become numb to the fact that when I look at the newspaper, go to facebook, reddit, or the New York Times website there seems to always be a new report on the latest gun shooting. This is a matter that I should not be numb to. No, what I should be numb to is seeing an erected penis or nipples not a story about gun a shooting. Hell, I shouldn’t feel an indifference to a story on a mass shooting of the caliber of Orlando.

Right now when the memory of the Orlando massacre is fresh in our minds would be the ideal to push the anti-gun rhetoric. But in reality it’s not. The ideal time would have been before Orlando occurred.Before Virginia Tech. Before Newtown. Before San Bernardo. Before Columbine. All of these mass shootings have one thing in common which is they all occurred across the United States.  Other countries have respond in ways that would help to prevent the frequency of these attacks unlike the United States that have done very little in response and in some cases made it easier to obtain a gun. So easy in that if I want a gun I can purchase one faster than I could longer term birth control. Hell, I could have a gun in my hands that involved a shorter time frame while jumping through least obstacles than what it take for me to terminate an unhealthy pregnancy. In my personal worldview that is not right. With a gun I would have the ability take more lives than allowing abortion would.

I understand that a gun on its own is not the problem but how a person chooses to use the power of the gun is. Yet if access to guns stay at the current level of access they are currently, then there  is no way that we would be able to stop a person from using a gun for evil purposes. We need to address the problems with responses that would tighten access to guns but also address mental health issues that are often an underlying causes.

Now personally I’m not proposing we go all out and ban all forms of private gun ownerships. I know if we were to do such an action that it would go over unwell with our ‘Merica love of 2nd adamant what I propose is that we look into introducing measures at first that would just eliminate the easiness of purchasing guns. Below are my two proposals:

I would purpose are similar to what we see with TRAP laws. Instituting a 72 hour waiting period, having unintended consequences of owning a gun read, and being forced to watch a video of the damages a gun could do.

Or if those do not interest you here is another idea for measures we could put into place prior to banning certain style of firearms is to require citizens to have a license as well as with registering their firearm while also passing a test given by a doctor and their local police that are all under a unformed guideline before a person would be granted the right to purchase a gun.

Although all of this is just my personal thoughts. If you agree or not then whatever. Now if you want to take more action rather in the direction of gun control or anti-control then I encourage you to get out there and vote. It's who you are voting into office that is acting as a say to what you believe in. If you do not agree with them then vote them out if they are up for reelection. Or if they are not up for reelection then take the actions to write to your congressmen on the federal level. Also do not forget those that are suppose to be your voice at the state level and the local level. Don’t forget one of the best ways to indicate change is to work from the bottom to the top. Now I want a change in our laws so I will be sending out letters to those that are suppose to be my voice as well as voting for those that I think are the best representatives for my voice.

PS. If you are looking to send out a letter check out the Facebook page “Read the damn news” who following the attack posted a template for a letter to send to your politicians. Link we be added when I have reliable access to the internet.

[klabourdeth-blog]

Markwayne Mullin

Background: Rep. Markwayne Mullin was elected in 2012 to serve as US House of Representative for District 2 of Oklahoma. District 2 in Oklahoma is made up of 24 different counties with it’s boundaries touching Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas.In the past 20 years Oklahoma’s District have been represented by Tom Coburn and Dan Boren. For the primary Mullin will face former military man Jarrin Jackson and the winner of the Democratic primary ( either Paul Schiefelbein or Joshua Harris-Till ) as well as the independent candidate John McCarthy.

Education: He attend for an extremely small amount of time at the religious college Missouri Valley College in 1996. 14 years after he achieved an Associate in Construction from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.

Outside of Politics: He took over the family Plumbing business. His role of Us House of Representative is his first position as a politician.

Issues:

2nd Amendment- Feels that there should be no restrictions when it comes to our firearms.

Debt- For balancing our budget while creating policies that encourages entrepreneurs to create jobs that would grow our economy but also leave a fiscally sound budget for future generations. While some of the moves that our government has taken with reducing our spending there is still more when it comes to our spending that we need to reduce.

Tax Reform- Our current tax code is very complex with bad policies that help to foster and enforce horrible programs like the Affordable Healthcare Act. Our tax program should be replace with a Fairtax that would only tax what people consumer versus current taxes that are on income and estate tax.

Jobs- We need to stop our federal government from creating more regulations that would hurt our private sector. Our private sector is what create jobs and more regulations from the Feds would only prevent new jobs from happening. Has voted to in favor of compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. He has voted against federal workers receiving pay when they engage in activities related to their union.

Minimal Wage- Is against the idea of raising federal minimum wage. Cites that if federal minimum wage would be adjust every four years at rate of 15% that it would cost the nation jobs but as well create a drag on our economy.

Education- Our federal government needs to leave our education alone. Our children's education should be left in the control of the local communities that are made up of the school boards, administrators, teachers, and parents. Our parents should be the one’s that have a final say in what their child is taught and the style of education that they feel that are the best.

Poverty- Is against the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Believes that these programs are just made up of people that don’t want to work and are just gaming the system. Feel that if these programs are needed then those who receive them should be required to work.

Abortion- Life starts at conception and should only end in a natural way. He has also voted against measures that would use government funds for anything that is linked to abortion rather it was the procedure itself or to educate citizens about abortions rather it was in a school setting or in a doctor’s office setting. Has also voted for Acts that would prohibit abortions after five months due to the fetus ability to feel pain.

Health Care- The current Affordable Healthcare Act is not working which is why the act needs to be repeal. Our health care should be a market-based, patient-centered. Has voted in favor of No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2015 (H.R. 7). H.R. 7 would establish a permanent ban on federal dollars funding of abortion and health benefits that would include the coverage of abortion.

Social Security-  While social security and medicare are essential programs to our seniors and we need to meet our obligations that we promised them. While these programs needs to be protected we need to remove the government from these programs and privatize them.

National Security- The current administration has weakened our military and our relationship with Israel. We need to fix our military so that we can continue to fight against the growing hostile nations as with as the terror groups that threaten our citizens on our home front but also those that are abroad.

Military-  We need to limit the amount of control the bureaucrats in Washington has with directing our military. Instead it should be those who holds leadership positions should be the ones’ responsible for deciding our what our military needs to combat our enemies.

Veterans Issues- Feels that as Americans we made promises to our military in which we need up hold.

Transportation- Is for providing more funds towards our infrastructure that would help to repair roads and bridges.

Natural Resources- Since Mullin has taken office he voted repeatedly against the Environmental Protection Agency. He has signed Waters of the U.S. Regulatory Overreach Protection Act which prohibits EPA from taking measures to protect our waters in order to keep outdated guidance from other administrations. He have come out against other EPA’s regulations in regards to the Ozone Standard and carbon dioxide.  He is also against the organization when it comes to farmers and ranchers.

Energy- Mullin has voted for expansion of the Keystone. Has voted against measures that would add taxes to the Oil & Gas industry. Co-sponsored a bill that would give rights to states to have control over energy resources that could be found on federal lands. Have voted to reducing funding for the Department of Energy to pre-2008 level.

Values- We need to stand against the liberal agenda that threaten people of faith. The current administration is doing their best to force the evil liberal agenda on our citizens that believe in traditional values like marriage as well as the concept that one’s gender is the one that they are born with. Should be noted that Mullin has spoken out against the Supreme Court’s decisions on gay marriage. For him the SCotUS has acted in an unwise way when it decided to ignore the democratic decisions that were made by the States. Sponsored a bill that would protect the right to speak out against gay and non-profit organizations to engage in political activity focusing on the values of heterosexual marriages while blocking other non-profits that supports marriage equality cannot engage in partisan political activity. Has also sponsored State Marriage Defense Act that would prohibits federal agencies’ interpretations of  “marriage” and “spouse”.

Would I vote for Mullin: No. Since the Paris attack last November I have decided to try and take a more active role when it comes to politics which included contacting my Senators and Representatives that are suppose to represent me at the different government levels. Do to writing letters it have lead me to contacting my District #2 Rep. Markwayne Mullin and each increasing responses I have received from him left me with a small hole in my stomach that has been increasing to larger mass. To me it is obvious that Mr. Mullin does not represent my beliefs. He believes in the far right dangerous rhetoric that does greater harm than good. He has taken up the rhetoric that our current government doesn’t have anything in place to prevent evil refugees from entering our country.  On occasions he speaks against terrorism saying that their radical beliefs in Islam is the real evil behind the attacks not the truth that our actions as a nation towards them is the real cause for them to perform these attacks. Or the fact that as a nation we make it easier to get an assault rifles then to get birth control or government assistance.

As the usually when it comes to the right wing he is against abortion. I personally believe that abortion is a right that anyone should have access to more so than a gun. No women should have to go through an unwanted  pregnancy. Pregnancy can be traumatizing depending on the individual and having an unwanted child as well as forced to keep it could be even more so. Having a child let alone more children can easily set a family’s economic standing back a bracket. By being set back a bracket could easily send a family into needing government assistance like food stamps (that Mullin is against).

Besides of what I have already written about Mullin my anti-preference towards him also comes from attending a town hall last April at the local public middle school. While I cared very little for what he said I took minor notes about what was spoken throughout the hour. When opening the town versus with the Pledge Allegiance it was opened with a Pray to god. Throughout the evening whenever possible usually intervals of five minutes Mullin would drop god or god bless. Although untimed throughout the evening there was at least 50 anti-President Obama comments made by Mullin and several from those who asked questions.

God Count: 3 on his reelection site.

P.S. I do plan on uploading all communications I receive from Mr. Mullin it just might take a bit of time so I can censor my personal information.

Sources:

http://mullinforcongress.com/

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin_Abortion.htm

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/09/2442191/congressman-claims-widespread-fraud-because-he-saw-a-physically-fit-couple-use-food-stamps-to-buy-groceries/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-stoller/back-to-the-struggle-against_b_3787667.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/markwayne-mullin-food-stamps_n_3731770.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/markwayne-mullin-minimum-wage_n_3744554.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/food-stamp-poll_n_3763755.html

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin.htm

http://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/135898/markwayne-mullin/#.V197rbsrJdg

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin_Budget_+_Economy.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin_Civil_Rights.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin_Energy_+_Oil.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin_Environment.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin_Jobs.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin_Social_Security.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Markwayne_Mullin_Welfare_+_Poverty.htm

http://www.heritageactionscorecard.com/members/member/M001190

[klabourdeth-blog]

James Lankford

James Lankford became Oklahoma’s Senator followed by a special election on Nov. 4, 2014 replacing Tom Coburn who decided to retire early. For the Republican primary on June 28, 2016 he is running unopposed and is excepted to be ruining against Democratic candidate Mike Workman, as well as two third party candidate.

Education: He received his undergraduate degree from University of Texas. As well as a graduate degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Outside Politics Background: Director of Falls Creek Youth Camp from 1996 to 2009. 

Before becoming Senator:  U.S. House, Oklahoma, District 5 from 2011-2015.

Issues: 

              * 2nd Amendment-  Pretty much Lankford is for making access to guns as easy as getting milk from the store. He wants to place zero restrictions on gun ownership. 

              * Budget- Believes that America has a spending problem and as Americans in order to protect future generations we need to balance our budget.Believes that we are wasting tax payer dollars on unnecessary programs, indiscriminate foreign aid and horrible financial management. He is for Fairtax which is based on just consumption.

                 * Taxes- Taxes are a burden on individuals, families, and businesses. Our current tax code is to much and needs to be changed with getting rid of measures that would redistribute wealth. There should be no new taxes and just about every tax should be eliminated and replaced with a Fairtax. Fairtax would introduce a federal sales tax at 23% on just items that a person consumed.

             *Education- Feels that the decision related to education should come from the parents, local government , and state government with the federal government kept out from any decisions made when it comes to education. Has voted and co-sponsored bills  that would teach abstinence only sexual education.

               *Immigration- Is making our borders secure rather that includes using physical barriers. Feels that we need to stop turning a blind eye to those who are here illegally that we should stop offering amnesty towards aliens and hold them accountable for their actions.

               * Military- Believes that the current administration has done what ever they can to weaken our military and that we need to fix it because the United States Military should never be weak. With the military “ the budget should not drive military strategy, strategy should drive the budget.” (http://jameslankford.com/military/ )

                *Agriculture- That in order to protect our farms and ranches we need to stop “federal burdens like fuel tank storage restrictions, the endangered species act, grain storage inspections on family farms, interstate farm truck rules, dust particulate regulations and youth labor restrictions “ (http://jameslankford.com/agriculture/ ) . 

                  * Energy- When it comes to energy we should stop putting regulations on the current ways as a nation we produce our energy since we can not wait around for alternative sources that would only provide for 7% of our energy needs. When it comes to greenhouse gasses there should be no regulations on  Americans’ emissions and that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should stay away from our citizens and business.

                   * Healthcare- The Affordable Health Care Act has been a failure with the current way we are handling our nation health care is unconstitutional and needs to be repealed.Under the current law we have taken away the flexibility of healthcare for both medical professionals and the patients. 

                     * Abortion-  Life starts when a cell is dividing and self-ireplicating with the only difference between a life in the womb and an adult is time.No tax payers’ dollars should go toward anything that supports abortion rather it is on the home front or aid that is provided on international scale. With family planning funds should be prohibited towards programs or health centers that teaches abortion as a method of family planning.

                     * Poverty- The current system of welfare needs a change. The current method is like a trap that holds families down preventing them from escaping poverty and forever living off of government assistance. The best solution is a conservative approach of “hard work, personal responsibility and care for your family and neighbors”, (http://jameslankford.com/poverty-solutions/ )is the way out of poverty. Supports a work requirement for those who receive government assistance and our federal safety net is aimed at giving families hope and opportunities.

                     *Religion-  Believes that the right to practice one’s religion as who one sees fit, Based on other articles in interviews it appears Lankford finds that people’s faith is under attack and has become our new “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. We need to protect our “religious liberty” and “corporate conscience”. Although Lankford is for freedom of religion he finds Islam to be unlike any of the religions of the world with the fact that Sharia law should be prohibited and Council on American-Islamic Relations is a terrorist organization that should be watched.

 How Lankford score on my personal scale:

                 *Gun Control-  I believe we need to have stronger gun laws not weaker ones. Lankford does not represent these views if anything he is the opposite. 0/5

                   * Abortion- I feel that abortion should be an affordable opportunity for any women. If we restrict access to abortions we are creating a black markets that would lead to unsafe practices of abortions. Lankford is against all things abortions. 0/5

                   * Healthcare- While the Affordable Health Care Act has not been the best but getting rid of everything about it will only create problems. What we need to do is address the areas that are not working and figure out how to fix them; while also stopping excuse on not providing health care. Lankford’s is against the current health care act and measures that he proposes would not improve our troubling health issues but instead make matters worse. 0/5

                     * Taxes- A country wide sales tax is not going to solve our problems. This measure is going to hurt the citizens that are struggling the most already especially if we add new stipulations to welfare, education, and abortion. If you do not believe me look to Kansas a state that is struggling due eliminating income taxes. Right now the state is having a hard time funding public education and have yet to figure out how it’ll keep on schools’ doors next month.If Lankford’s pledge of eliminating income taxes happen we could be facing Kansas’s problem on an national scale. 0/5

                     * Education- While it is important for schools to have community involved with education it’s not exactly a bad thing to have the federal government out of our schools. Keeping the Feds involved to help create nation wide standards would hopefully keep us competitive. If we were to leave it up to local and state level there are good chances that there would be push to eliminate theologies that are controversial but also ideas that keep us competitive, Although it could be safe to assume that what the local school district know about their students is at times better then the feds know which makes me give Lankford’s education policy a second look. 1.5/5

Would I vote for him: In the primaries, Lankford would not receive my vote unless he is of what I view as the lesser of the evils but since he is ruining unopposed on the Republican ticket it doesn’t matter. As for the general since I have yet to review his opponent’s policy I will take a back seat before endorsing someone. 

Main Website Review: While researching candidates I discovered that  having a strong internet presence but also a user friendly web site is key. Since Lankford is running for a US Senator position and also is the incumbent I would expect him to have a site that past a usability test. For the most part everything worked but there were some hiccups up with the marriage and Israel links. His site also works well when viewing it on a mobile device. 

The God count:19 uses of just the word God

Sources:

http://jameslankford.com/

http://www.tulsaworld.com/communities/wagoner/government/sen-lankford-speaks-on-gun-control-executive-action/article_43a5dd6b-966e-597f-b8da-4f707bda3d37.html

http://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/124938/james-lankford/#.V1jlh_krJdg

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Gun_Control.htm

https://ballotpedia.org/James_Lankford

http://www.okfairtax.org/faq.htm

http://www.okfairtax.org/elections.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Budget_+_Economy.htm

http://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/124938/james-lankford/#.V1jlh_krJdg

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Education.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/International/James_Lankford_Immigration.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_War_+_Peace.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Foreign_Policy.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Tax_Reform.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Energy_+_Oil.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Health_Care.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Welfare_+_Poverty.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Abortion.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford.htm#Social_Security

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/sen-lankford-sotu-guest-everett-piper-denounces-opponents-haters-god

http://www.au.org/

http://www.thepostemail.com/2016/03/14/the-dance-of-the-muslim-stoat/

http://www.pfaw.org/category/people/james-lankford

http://dailysignal.com/2016/04/07/us-immigration-agency-returns-freedom-of-religion-to-naturalization-exam/

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/gop-senator-people-faith-new-targets-dont-ask-dont-tell

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/James_Lankford_Principles_+_Values.htm

http://www.thelostogle.com/2012/05/16/james-lankford-is-being-persecuted/

http://votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/124938/james-lankford#.V1kLY_krJdg

https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_Oklahoma,_2016

[klabourdeth-blog]

Some info to keep in mind

1) Senator James Lankford is up for reelection.

2)All of Oklahoma delegation for US House of Representatives are up for  reelection

3) County commissioners who were elected in 2014

4) All 101 seats for Oklahoma House are up for reelection

5) 25 seats for Oklahoma Senate are up for reelection

[klabourdeth-blog]

Primaries

Last night after a long and very complicated several moths with the focus being on who going to be our next Republican and Democratic presidential nominee has finally ca cal and state level politics.

As most people know the state level and local level elections we see a lower voter turn out. Especially at the local level. For me personally I find that its much harder to gather information on the candidates which affect the appealing nature of voting. At the state level its somewhat easier but not really.

This year I happen to be in Oklahoma with our primary for state and local election is June 28, 2016. It should be noted that Oklahoma as a stat is made up of highly religious politicians that believe their version of Christianity is the only right way to practice.Over the next several of days I’ll do my best to create a write up with a focus on the candidates that are running for things that I can vote on. If there is still time I’ll try to get to other candidates for this primary season.