I finally took a peek at the Stop744 website because I do like to get both sides of an argument. Their argument is that this would be another unfunded mandate that will cause the state to cut budgets and/or raise taxes to pay for. While it is true SQ744 doesn’t provide a funding source, it shouldn’t be necessary.
First of all, the money was there, so education was funded at least to a manageable level. But when lawmakers saw the extra money the lottery was bringing in (although less than projected), they decided to raid the education budget instead of budgeting education at the same level and adding the lottery money to that. When federal stimulus dollars came to the state to add to the current education budget, it was raided again.
Because of the fiscal irresponsibility of our state government, education is in trouble in Oklahoma. SQ744 does not require a funding mechanism, it only requires the funds be put back into the budget. We wouldn’t need to worry about a state question such as this if our lawmakers had been responsible with education, the lottery and stimulus monies in the first place.
Of course, putting funds back into the budget is not quite as easy as I made it sound. It is always very difficult to increase a budget once it has been cut to the bones. I have to agree that SQ744 will place a burden on the state and possibly the taxpayers of Oklahoma. Even though SQ744 doesn’t raise taxes in and of itself, money has to come from somewhere. There will be cost associated with SQ744, there has to be.
So, my challenge to the opponents of SQ744 is this: come up with something better to fund our schools; come up with something better to force Oklahoma to fix the lottery; come up with something better to force lawmakers to be responsible with our money.
The real cost if SQ744 fails is our children, our future, our teachers, and our education system.
From the proposed mosque and Islamic cultural center at ground zero to the Koran-burning pastor in Florida, America is questioning rights versus what’s right.
The ground-zero mosque supporters say they have the right to build their mosque anywhere that’s legal. That is true. If it is legal for American citizens to build a mosque at that location, then they have the right to do just that. But, is it right? I know Islamic extremist make up a small percentage of Muslims and most do not condone what their more extreme counterparts are doing, but they should be sensitive to the pain America is still feeling.
To build this center so close to the site terrorists crashed jets full of passengers into the World Trade Center is a slap in the face to America. To me, it seems to say, “Hey, look, we brought down your two tallest buildings and now we’ve got a mosque there.” That is most likely not what is on the mind of those who want to build this mosque and cultural center, but it is certainly what it says to me and, I’m sure, millions of other Americans who watched as the planes hit the buildings. Do they have the right? Yes. Is it right? No.
On the other hand, we have a Christian extremist, pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, who wants to burn the Koran on 9/11. That doesn’t sound much like world outreach to me. I don’t know enough about the Koran to either support or condemn it, but burning it does seem to me to be extreme. What’s the difference between Christian extremism and Islamic extremism? Remember the crusades?
The federal government has apparently gotten in on this action, but they can’t do anything about it as it is a First Amendment issue. The military are concerned about the fallout and increased risk to Americans who are still in the Middle East if this Koran-burning occurs, a valid concern to be sure. This church has the First Amendment right to burn the Koran, but should they do it? They have the right, but it is not right.
Americans enjoy certain rights (for now) and the most revered is the first one:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Maybe we need to not only enjoy our rights, but focus more on what is right.
President Obama’s stimulus plan doesn’t seem to be working, so, of course, he wants to throw another 50 billion dollars at it. I’ve got a better idea, he can throw some MY way. Okay, that’s not going to happen, but it did get me to thinking: would it have been better to give money to taxpayers than throwing money at all these banks and corporations?
I’m not talking $600 or $1200, I’m talking taking the approximately 1 trillion dollars (1,000,000,000,000) that’s already been blown and if, instead of sending it to banks and corporations, divided it up between the approximately 138 million taxpayers (2007 figures) tax-free. If my math is correct, that would have been approximately $7246 per taxpayer.
With $7246 per taxpayer, I imagine quite a few mortgages could have been caught up. In my case, since I never got behind on my mortgage, I would have paid off all my credit cards. By reducing my debt load, it would allow more disposable income at my fingers every month, which would help the local economy. Sure, I would save some of it, but most likely I would save up for something I want, instead of putting it back on the credit cards, and purchase it when I had enough saved up… again, helping the local economy.
Sure, some people would just go out and blow it without reducing their debt load, but the couldn’t say we didn’t try to help them. And, it would have been the quick, short-term boost the economy needs.
I know it’s a bit too late now, but I think maybe my plan would have worked.
What if there was a way for you to watch thousands of television channels, any time you want… and never pay another cable bill again? With Satellite Direct, there is.
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When I was a child, I remember going to the Oklahoma (Muskogee) Free State Fair. People all over the state would flock to Muskogee each Fall for the corn dogs, funnel cakes, rides, all that other fair stuff. At some point, this moved to Tulsa and became known as the Tulsa State Fair.
I searched the internet to try to find exactly when this happened, but so far am unable to. But, I do know that for many years, Muskogee had nothing. However, for several years, Muskogee has been trying to revive our fall festivities with Muskogee Regional Fair. It’s not easy competing with the Tulsa State Fair.
Even though the Muskogee Fair has tried different dates around Tulsa’s fair, for a while it seemed as if attendance wasn’t quite enough. However, I have noticed that attendance has increased over the last couple of years, which I find heartening.
The Muskogee Regional Fair runs from September 29 – October 2 while the Tulsa Fair is September 30 – October 10. Muskogee’s fair may not be as large as Tulsa’s, but it does offer good family fun. If you can only attend one fair this year, you should consider making it Muskogee. Otherwise, there is no reason not to attend both Muskogee and Tulsa’s fairs.
Muskogee was once the thriving center of trade and commerce. There is no reason we can’t be again. We have a major North-South highway, the only one in Eastern Oklahoma. We are only 20 minutes north of a major East-West interstate. We are a port on the busy Kerr-McClellan Navigation System and at the intersection of 3 rivers. We are close to several lakes: Ft. Gibson, Eufaula and Tenkiller.
Citizens of Muskogee, this is our city. It is a great place to raise a family, a great place to shop, a great place to live. It takes us to keep it great and make it greater.
Invest in our community and it will return that investment to you.
It seems as if parents nowadays want to be their child’s friend. They want to treat their children as equals instead of children. Children already have plenty of friends, what they need are parents. The need parents who guide, teach, and discipline, not a friend who will back them up no matter what. A good parent will support their child when that child has been wronged, but will also discipline their child when he or she has done wrong. The police don’t just make up reasons to harass your child, there was a valid reason for that contact. Teachers don’t just pick your child to harass, there’s a reason your child has gained that teacher’s attention. Children are NOT innocent little snowflakes most of the time, remember how you were when you were a child.
Be the parent, be in charge, teach your children limits, teach your children how to behave in public, don’t make idle threats and follow through on punishment.
Racism – Can’t we all just grow up?
Okay, people, this is 2010. It’s time to grow up and realize that it is NOT the color of someone’s skin and it is NOT their heritage that counts, but what is inside that individual that counts. People who vote based on race are wrong. It doesn’t matter the color of our president’s skin, but what he does or does not do that should be judged. It is wrong to look at a person and immediately judge them because their skin is white, brown, black, or purple.
A middle school in Mississippi segregated class officers as to which race could run for what office. The president of all grades had to be white. Vice President in 8th grade could be black, but in 6th and 7th had to be white. This was in AUGUST OF 2010. Even though that policy was changed very quickly once it was exposed, why did they even think that policy could be considered correct and how did it stand for so long? Even Mississippi should realize racism is completely wrong.
It’s 2010 – grow up and treat all people like you want to be treated.
You being offended offends me
I’m also tired of everyone being ‘offended’ way too easily. It seems as if every time I turn on the news, or walk down the street, someone is offended by something. If you are offended, let’s make sure it is something to be offended about (see Racism above). We need to learn to let things roll off, ignore the ignorant and watch our stress level decrease.
If you aren’t a Christian and my Christmas (it is Christmas, not X-Mas, not Winter holidays, or anything else) decorations which are in MY yard of the house I own offend you, don’t look at them. I will not remove them simply because you are offended. In exchange, I will not demand you celebrate Christmas the same way I do.
Some people are just plain mean and try to get a rise out of others and pick a fight. Some people are ignorant and don’t know any better and don’t want to. If most of us would just ignore the mean and ignorant when they try to offend, the world will be a much better place.
Whenever it comes to budget cuts, it seems as if education is one of the first victims of the axe. Legislators say education of our children is paramount at the same time they are cutting funding. Oklahoma State Question 744 will force the legislature to fund education to the regional average without raising taxes.
In 2008-2009 school year, Oklahoma spent less per student than all six surrounding states with $8,006 while the regional average is $9,633 and the national average is $10,193. (Source: www.yeson744.com and State Departments of Education). That is over $2,000 less per student than the national average and it is wrong.
A yes vote on SQ744 will:
Guarantee that the average amount spent for each student in Oklahoma is at least equal to the average spent in other states in our region.
Ensure the students have up-to-date classroom materials and supplies, smaller class sizes and high quality teachers.
Require annual reporting to the Education Oversight Board and the Office of Accountability.
Make our children’s future a priority by investing in teachers and schools.
Children are the most precious resource we have. The education of our children will ensure the success of our great state. However, without adequately funding education, we cannot help but to fall behind other states in educational opportunities. Several years ago, Oklahoma voted for the “Oklahoma Education Lottery” where lottery proceeds would supplement, not replace, education money. We have since found out that was the Oklahoma Education Lottery Lie. Money was removed from the budget and suddenly lottery proceeds are part of the funding formula. Now, education depends on the lottery.
It’s time to invest in Oklahoma’s children, our precious resource. SQ744 will give our students a good, quality education so they have the tools to compete for jobs in the region and across the nation. Right now, students must use outdated textbooks, share whatever obsolete technology that may still work, and attend crowded classes.
By voting YES on SQ744, we will be declaring that our children are at least as important as children in other states. We will be preparing them for good-paying jobs by arming them with the skills they need. Smaller classes will also help children receive the more individualized attention they need and deserve. SQ744 also requires oversight, accountability and transparency in school funding, spending and performance.
Oklahoma has one of the best, if not the best, teacher preparation curriculum and standards in the nation. Other states clamor to hire our teachers. SQ744 will help Oklahoma move up from last place in the region in teacher pay and recruit and retain the best teachers for our students. Why should our best and brightest teachers have to move out of state to make a decent living?
SQ744 does NOT raise taxes. What it does is tell the legislature to put the money they raided back into the education budget. Put the priority back into education and our children. Our students are our future and Oklahoma needs to invest heavily in it.
Please, vote YES on SQ744 on November 2. The future of our children’s education depends on it.
I read an article on cquaredsworld.com that has some good thoughts on the basics of Christian life. Sometimes, as Christians, we tend to place ourselves above others and forget to minister to them. Yes, we are to set ourselves apart from the world, but not above it. Sometimes, we tend to depend on our own abilities and not lean on God.
Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God’s workmanship, and that he has created us to do great things, which He has planned out for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says He knows the plans He has for us, and that those plans will prosper, not harm, us, and give us a bright and glorious future. It’s time to get back to basics and put my definition of what my life has in store for me into God’s hands and let Him tell me what He says I should do. I’m not going to turn my life into a crusade to run around and proclaim I’m better than everyone, because that’s not what it’s about. I’m a child of God, and I will follow the plan He has for me. This will take time, but as long as He guides me and shows me what I’m supposed to do, I know I’ll prevail.
Here comes West Nile Virus and it’s going to wipe out humanity. Oh, well, that didn’t quite happen, but look out for the Bird Flu, it’s going to wipe out humanity – don’t touch any dead birds! Oh, okay, so we were wrong about that one, too. Swine Flu, yes, swine flu is going to wipe out humanity if we don’t do something. Oops, ok, now what do we do with all that vaccine we produced ?
Look out, we are going to be in a greater depression since the Great Depression, it’s going to wipe out humanity. Ok, so it was a recession not a depression. Not good by any means, but not as dire as the media made it out to be. Now, we are being told to watch out for a double-dip recession. These fears may be realized, but not only because of the status of the economy. No, this is mostly because of media fear-mongering. When bad times are reported in the news, it makes investors nervous, so they react, which causes the market to react.
We seem to be back in the days when sensationalism was more important than fact. How many times have you seen a teaser on television, “Will the City of Muskogee survive the next flood? Story at 10.” So you stay up to watch it and you hear this, usually from some “expert”, “Yes, if it rains for 200 days straight at the rate of 2 inches per day and the Corp of Engineers can’t keep the river flowing and it backs up and overflows it’s banks and the storm sewers back up and the animals start lining up at a large boat and if… and if… and if.” That’s a lot of ifs for such a sensationalistic headline.
It’s gotten so bad, I don’t like watching or reading the news anymore. When I do, I dismiss most of it. The media has cried “wolf” so much, I don’t pay attention to it any more. We need to get the message to the media to stop the fear-mongering and cry “wolf” only when there is a wolf.
Update 8/26/10: Follow Sweet-n-Sassy on Facebook and Twitter!
Sweet-n-Sassy Baking, which made its web debut a few months ago, now has a brick-and-mortar cafe on main street right across from the federal building. Janet has expanded her repertoire to serve soups, salads, sandwiches and more to her hungry visitors. The menu will be online at her website, http://www.sweetnsassybaking.com, very soon.
Meanwhile, this is what’s in the offering:
Sandwiches – served with chips & pickle
BLT, club, chicken salad on croissant, deli (turkey or ham), pimento cheese, and fried bologna.
Salads
Chef salad (turkey, ham, cheese, tomatoes, eggs, croutons), spinach salad (baby spinach, bacon, croutons, red onions, eggs), Caesar salad, anti-pasta salad (rotini pasta w/ garlic basil, parsley, dressing w/ black olives, smoked sausage, pepper jack cheese)
Sides
Potato salad, sweet-n-sour pasta salad, black eyed peas, anti-pasta, side salad
Imagine a world where you have absolutely no privacy, similar to Orwell’s dystopian society where privacy is non-existent. A world where the government can spy on you without a warrant and track your every move. Well, welcome to 2010, just 26 years after 1984, where it seems as if that prophecy has come true.
According to this time.com article, The Government Can Use GPS to Track Your Moves, government agents can sneak onto your property and plant a GPS tracking device on the bottom of your car to track your movements and it doesn’t violate your 4th amendment rights because, apparently, you have no expectation of privacy in your own driveway.
The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has declared the government can track you in this way almost any time it wants without a search warrant. The court also showed class bias by suggesting that any personal privacy should belong mainly to the very rich.
It is a dangerous decision — one that, as the dissenting judges warned, could turn America into the sort of totalitarian state imagined by George Orwell. It is particularly offensive because the judges added insult to injury with some shocking class bias: the little personal privacy that still exists, the court suggested, should belong mainly to the rich.
It seems as if Americans are giving up more and more of their rights to privacy in the name of security and crime-fighting. The government says we must take off our shoes and submit to sometimes invasive searches if we want to fly – in the name of security. The government says we must have a passport if we want to re-enter our own country – in the name of security.
It is true there is a fine balance between privacy and security, but we must find that fine balance. Americans need to draw a line at just how many rights we are willing to give up.
I wonder: how would the framers of the constitution view our current society?
Read this article to get the entire story of how this developed.
Click the picture to learn how to protect your children from online predators with PC Pandora
Any civilized society has rules. Whether it is the law of the land, or the rules at school, we are expected to follow them, or live with the consequences. It seems more and more, parents aren’t teaching their children the responsibility to follow the rules and the fact they must live with the consequences if they don’t.
I saw a story on KTUL this morning where a student was suspended right after school started for wearing his hair way too long. This same student was suspended last April for the same reason. Apparently, it is against the rules for boys to wear their hair like this. Mom said that he should be able to stand up for what he believes in, so she’s taught him that much. But, she didn’t think he should suffer the consequences. There’s the fail. This country is full of examples of people standing up for what they believe in and affecting change, mostly positive, but they also suffered the consequences of their actions.
When this country was breaking away from England, many people stood against England and were imprisoned, or most likely killed. They knew this would be a consequence if they were captured, but they stood firm anyway. They were willing to accept the consequences of their actions.
The civil rights movement in this country was a great positive. Many people stood up for what they believed in; many people went to jail or were killed. They weren’t trying to avoid the consequences of their civil disobedience, but were willing to accept it. Without people willing to accept the consequences, we would never have made progress.
Parents should teach their children the responsibility to follow the rules. They should also teach their children how to affect change in rules or laws they don’t believe are just. Yes, stand up for what you believe in. If disobedience is the choice they make to get their point across, so be it. But, parents also need to teach their children there are consequences for their actions and they should decide if they can live with them before they act.
Most major change in this country was affected by those willing to take the responsibility to stand up for what they believe in and accept the consequences of their actions.
Whether your leisure time is spent with World of Warcraft or Starcraft, it’s always nice to be able to quickly gain the advantage and prove your gaming prowess. I’m always on the lookout for ways to improve my game and master my universe no matter what game I’m playing. After some searching and testing, I believe I’ve found some great guides that will help you command and conquer.
Here we go!
Starcraft 2
If Starcraft 2 is your game, then the Shokz guide is for you! The Shokz Guide is the complete Starcraft 2 Mastery Guide. The Starcraft 2 Guide is an in-depth guide teaching you how to master the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg. Learn the top strategies and play styles of all three races to earn your way to #1 rank Diamond.
The Starcraft 2 Guide teaches you every aspect of the game giving you the advantage against any opponent. The Guide has the top strategies used by the pros so you can learn how to micro and macro like a diamond player and take over your diamond division.
Along with covering all three races and battle.net strategies the Starcraft 2 Guide has a complete campaign walkthrough guide. Our campaign walkthrough guide takes you through all missions with step-by-step instructions while preparing you for battle.net gameplay.
World of Warcraft
For a long time, the only leveling guides available to Warcraft players were dinky little e-books which were filled with limitations. To simply read the guide, players had to do one of three things: go in and out of the game constantly with alt-tab, print the guide out which took hundreds of pages, or use a second monitor which only a few players had. Then they had to scan over the game map trying to find specified locations using coordinates.
Zygor’s guide eliminates all that because it is an in-game guide that can be viewed from inside the game using an on screen arrow which would point you where to go. The guide also knows when a player completes steps and adjusts accordingly on the fly. World of Warcraft players can focus on the game rather than look up hints in an e-book.
The new Zygor guide has better graphical user interface, improved quest step detection, on-screen directional arrow, and help for all classes makes this the essential guide for World of Warcraft. Plus, it is guaranteed not to violate any TOS and get you banned.
For a long time, the only leveling guides available to Warcraft players were dinky little e-books which were filled with limitations. To simply read the guide, players had to do one of three things: go in and out of the game constantly with alt-tab, print the guide out which took hundreds of pages, or use a second monitor which only a few players had. Then they had to scan over the game map trying to find specified locations using coordinates.
Obama’s cross-country fund-raising spree for the Democrats is apparently costing taxpayers millions. Not to mention all that jetting around is not very green. He had Los Angeles hopping mad as his entourage caused new traffic problems amidst all their existing traffic problems.
So, after spending millions of our money and expending untold gallons of jet fuel and snarling ground and air traffic just to tell everyone how good the Democrats are and how evil the Republicans are, we should just say, “oh, well.”
But, we really should be more open, I mean, after all, Barack Obama’s father served in World War II – even though he was apparently a 10-year-old Kenyan (according to Gateway Pundit) at the end of the war…
Oh, well…
Goodbye and thanks for all the sand
So, Obama is pulling out all the combat troops from Iraq. But, the job isn’t finished. According to GMA, some Iraquis are afraid the violence will increase – DUH! We will be leaving troops there, but they won’t be called combat troops. I agree we need to pull out at some time and leave them to their own devices, but history has proven time and time again, if there is no strong leadership, usually a tyrant will step up and we will be right back in the same situation we were before, probably worse.
So, here we go again leaving the job unfinished.
OOoo my God! What a stupid idea!
We have been hammered in the last few years with the idea that there are no stupid ideas. Well, I have to disagree. The OOoo Chairis a stupid idea. Not only is it stupid, but it is moronic. Anyone who uses this idea deserves the damage they do to their house.
Basically, you figure out where you want to sit and cut 2 leg-sized holes in your floor. Yes, your floor. You put your legs through the holes and sit on the floor. What do you do when you’re not sitting and don’t want to fall through your chair? Easy, you cover the holes with recycled plastic disks.
I’m guessing the guy in the downstairs apartment won’t be amused and re-arranging the living room won’t be easy.
I’ve got a great idea! The OOoo toilet! Cut three holes in your bathroom floor!
Many official forms and documents are not only printed in English, but also in Spanish and other languages. Several states have decided that it is too expensive to translate things to other languages and are looking to establish a language in which to conduct official business. Even though America is made up of all different cultures, English is the predominant language and has been the de facto official language in the US. Now, some states are trying to make English the official language in which to conduct business.
Oklahoma’s State Question 751, on the ballot for November 2, brings that decision to the people. Nothing in this says that people should only speak English, or that a translator can’t be used, but that for the purposes of conducting official business, English is the only language in which forms, documents and services must be provided. I fully support this measure and I urge you to also vote Yes on SQ 751.
STATE QUESTION NO. 751
LEGISLATIVE REFERENDUM NO. 351
This measure amends the State Constitution. It adds a new Article to the Constitution. That Article deals with the State’s official actions. It dictates the language to be used in taking official State action. It requires that official State actions be in English. Native American languages could also be used. When Federal law requires, other languages could also be used.
These language requirements apply to the State’s “official actions.” The term “official actions” is not defined. The legislature could pass laws determining the application of the language requirements. The Legislature would also pass laws implementing and enforcing the language requirements.
No lawsuit based on State law could be brought on the basis of a State agency’s failure to use a language other than English. Nor could such a lawsuit be brought against political subdivisions of the State.
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