Alternative Tulsa

Surprise! NY Times Reports that Cheney Ordered CIA to Hide Project

2009-07-11T16:30:00.003-06:00

AT is shocked—shocked!—to learn former Vice President Dick Cheney has been identified as the government official who personally ordered the CIA to hide a counterterrorism program from Congress.

Not Dick Cheney, the most honest and transparent man in America! It's not like Congress has any role in government or, say, in intelligence oversight.

The details are here.

WSJ's Peggy Noonan on Sarah Palin: 'Rather Horrifying'

2009-07-11T08:20:00.002-06:00

More and more thoughtful conservatives are weighing in on soon-to-be-ex-Gov. Sarah Palin. It's not pretty:

In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying.

Right-wing Political Meltdown: Tom Coburn's Very, Very, Very Bad Week

2009-07-10T16:25:00.006-06:00

Oklahoma's outspoken conservative junior senator, Dr. Tom Coburn, is not having much fun this week.

This is the guy, after all, who said every day in the U.S. senate without Al Franken is a good day.

But this week the former comedian became Sen. Al Franken, the junior senator from Minnesota, effectively ending Coburn's happy reverie.

Even worse for Coburn, he and his pal, Sen. John Ensign, are making headlines, but not in a good way.

Turns out that Coburn and the sexually challenged Ensign have been housemates on C Street in Washington, which gets interesting because the C Street house was home to a group of Christian conservative legislators known as The Family, a group that once included another sexually challenged Republican lawmaker, Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina.

We have no idea what's been going at the C Street house, but the behavior of some of the residents is neither Christian nor conservative.

As we have noted in earlier reports, Dr. Coburn seems to be an honorable man, but his role in advising Ensign is interesting and worthy of further investigation. It doesn't help that Coburn has advanced a bogus claim of "privilege" in advising Ensign or his tendency, expressed today, in blaming the media for the sexual misconduct of his colleagues.

If he's really the honorable politician he presents himself to be, he's going to have to take actual responsibility, which means he's going to have to own up to his actions and stop blaming others.

Clay Clark Out of Mayoral Race; Will Back Dodge-Driving Chris Medlock

2009-07-10T15:48:00.003-06:00

As far as we can tell, Clay Clark had a snowball's chance in hell of being elected Tulsa's next mayor.

So it's no great loss to the citizens of Tulsa that Clark dropped out of the race today. He's throwing his support (such as it is) to another long-shot, former city councillor Chris ("I drive a Dodge") Medlock.

The Tulsa World has the story. Read it here.

MSNBC's Maddow Uncovers the Coburn/Ensign/C Street Power Connection

2009-07-10T08:34:00.004-06:00

No Good Turn Goes Unpunished: Sen. Coburn Linked to Ensign Sex Scandal

2009-07-09T20:16:00.003-06:00

Oklahoma's straight arrow junior senator, Tom Coburn, was probably trying to do the right thing when he advised Sen. John Ensign to end his sexual relationship with a campaign staffer.

But the exact nature of Coburn's advice has become an issue in Washington, as the following report from the Washington Post makes clear:

In an interview this week, Doug Hampton also alleged that Sen. Tom Coburn, a close friend of Ensign's, urged Ensign to end the affair early last year and suggested financial compensation for the Hampton family.

Coburn's office acknowledged that he counseled Ensign to end the affair but denied suggesting any financial deal.

Yesterday, Coburn told the Roll Call newspaper that he would refuse any attempts to compel him to testify in court or at the Senate ethics committee about his role. Coburn, an obstetrician, claimed a legal privilege against such testimony as his physician and religious adviser.
"I was counseling him as a physician and as an ordained deacon," Coburn said. "That is privileged communication that I will never reveal to anybody. Not to the ethics committee, not to a court of law, not to anybody."

But Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor who is now executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that neither privilege would apply to Coburn's case because Ensign cannot plausibly be his patient and because being a deacon does not qualify a person as clergy.

Move Over, Sally Kern. Meet Tulsa Mayoral Candidate Clay Clark

2009-07-09T19:46:00.004-06:00

Humorist Barry Friedman, writing in the July issue of TulsaPeople, took a bite out of the long-shot mayoral hopeful, young Clay Clark.

When he made his announcement, Clark said, "I feel as though I'm called to stand up for the morals, the values, and beliefs of the average local citizen."

Like us, Friedman "always cringes when politicians talk about being call to serve. It's the whole hearing-voices thing."

Friedman continues:

Is it because we're devil-worshipping infidels that God never calls on liberals to run for public office?

Flying High: Senators Rack Up Big Travel Bills

2009-07-09T11:19:00.004-06:00

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a conservative Republican, is not exactly conservative when it comes to travel expenses.

Politico reports that Cornyn has the highest travel bill in the Senate for the first half of 2009, topping $152,000—the highest of all one hundred senators. (Cornyn explained that Texas is "a big state.")

Oklahoma's Jim Inhofe is relatively frugal by Cornyn standards, listing his travel expenses at $62,696.42.

But Inhofe is hardly a miser when compared to his colleague Tom Coburn. Coburn comes in at $34,067.14, which would seem to be a relatively good deal for taxpayers.

The full senate expenditure list can be found here.

Conservative Columnist Frum: Palin Cops Out, Cashes In

2009-07-09T10:04:00.002-06:00

Writing in The Week, conservative columnist David Frum points an accusing finger at Gov. Sarah Palin:

Faced with exasperating criticism and the accumulating cares of public office—she quit to cash in. Her admirers can excuse anything, but to the much larger audience of non-admirers, Palin will look a lot like those CEOs who wrecked their banks and the national economy while accepting huge bonuses for themselves. John McCain’s slogan in 2008 was "Country First." Palin’s in 2012? "I seen my opportunities, and I took 'em."

With friends like these, Palin can kiss her political career goodbye.

Sen. Coburn's Advice Ignored in Sen. Ensign's Sex Scandal

2009-07-08T20:19:00.007-06:00

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn is by all accounts a straight arrow. Very straight. But it's hard to say that about his senate pal, Nevada Sen. John Ensign.

You remember Sen. Ensign. He's the Republican Christian conservative (and one-time presidential hopeful) who recently admitted having a sexual relationship with the wife of one of his staffers. Oops!

Today, press reports indicate that Sen. Coburn became aware of the affair at some point and urged Ensign to end it. Had Ensign followed Coburn's advice, the Oklahoma senator's spokesman said, the affair would have ended long before it did.

The Tulsa World has details.

Medlock's Inferiority Complex on Display in Mayoral Announcement

2009-07-08T11:46:00.003-06:00

Poor Chris Medlock.

In a press conference today announcing his bid for Tulsa mayor, Medlock pleaded poverty. "I'm not a millionaire," he said.

And—get this—he drives a Dodge! (Do they still make those?)

Poor Chris—always the outsider, always poor! Woe is Chris! So unloved.

But maybe the voters of Tulsa will love him and elect him mayor. Then, just maybe, he won't feel so bad about himself. After all, it's all about Chris.

Read the Tulsa World story on the Medlock press conference here.

GOP House Leader Rep. Boehner Lies About Stimulus Money

2009-07-07T17:15:00.005-06:00

AltTulsa knows that politicians of all stripes can stretch the truth. It's almost part of the job description—spinning the facts like there's no tomorrow.

Still, the current crop of right-wing ideologues seem to have a special affinity for gumming up the facts. Or, to put it bluntly, lying their asses off.

The latest example is Ohio Rep. John Boehner, a GOP House leader who should know up from down. But Boehner's latest effort to undermine the positive effects of the Obama Administration's stimulus package was a genuine "stretcher."

PolitiFact checked out Boehner's claims that North Carolina "used stimulus money to hire one new state worker." The claim is wrong. The fact-checking is here.

Department of Wishful Thinking: GOP Voters Still Want Palin

2009-07-07T17:07:00.002-06:00

The Republican Party is so desperate for a national candidate that even the half-term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, looks viable.

Crucially, independent voters aren't in this camp and the GOP will need lots of independents if it hopes to succeed on the national stage.

USA Today has the results of a new Palin poll. Find it here.

Conservative Writer Zeros In on Palin: "Manifestly Unqualified" for President

2009-07-07T11:57:00.006-06:00

Writing in the American Spectator's blog, New Orleans conservative activist Quin Hillyer finds little to like about Sarah Palin's decision to resign as Alaska governor:

Sarah Palin's resignation is an appalling dereliction of duty and a highly cynical move to set herself up for a presidential run for which she is manifestly unqualified.

Hillyer pulls no punches. Read more of his column here.

The Blame Game: Huckabee Gets It Wrong

2009-07-06T20:52:00.002-06:00

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee ought to be a reliable guy. He was, after all, a Baptist minister.

But even Baptists can have memory lapses. Or maybe they just get confused.

Whatever the case, Huckabee's recent recollection (on Fox News, naturally) about the Bush years didn't add up to the truth.

Think Progress documents Huck's faulty memory here.

GOP Losing Control of Tea Party Movement

2009-07-06T12:13:00.004-06:00

The Tea Party whiners came out in many cities (including Tulsa) over the July 4 weekend, but their appearance may not bode well for their Republican allies.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a conservative Republican, was booed at a Tea Party rally in Austin. Elsewhere, the Tea Party gang turned up with outlandish and racist posters, comparing President Obama to (of course!) Hitler.

The crazies are out there and the Republicans have no way of managing the inane resentment and over-the-top rhetoric professed by these folks—and ably assisted by Talk Radio and its Republican base.

TPM has the sorry details here.

Tulsa Tea Party Strikes Again (Sort of)

2009-07-04T19:06:00.003-06:00

The motley collection of malcontents, true believers, and clueless conservatives known as the Tulsa Tea Party made a local appearance today, July 4, to signal their Independence from high taxes and their opposition to an entire laundry list of about everything else this side of the 20th century.

Unfortunately for the Tea Party gang, their leaders include the right-wing fundamentalist Randy Brogdon, would-be candidate for governor, and Clay Clark, the Boy Wonder of Tulsa free enterprise and pretend candidate for Tulsa mayor.

With leaders of such tremendous political savvy and intellectual heft, there's a snowball's chance in hell of popular success even in a conservative place like Tulsa.

Nonetheless, the Tea Party folks believe they have real solutions to problems. It's a delusion of considerable hubris.

But hey, it's a free country, and a few zanies probably won't hurt anything.

Who Would Jesus Starve? Colbert Lambasts Missouri Rep. Davis on Hungry Children

2009-07-02T20:03:00.005-06:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Tip/Wag - Cynthia Davis & Fox News

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Jeff Goldblum

Irritated Tulsan Sounds Off on Sally Kern

2009-07-02T13:17:00.002-06:00

The Tulsa blogger know as Irritated Tulsan has a good post on the misadventures of Rep. Sally Kern, the conservative Republican state legislator who wants us all to think just like she does.

Read his Top Ten list here.

A Bigger Oklahoma: Sooners Move Up Among Fattest States

2009-07-01T14:21:00.003-06:00

A new "fat" study is out and it's not good news for Oklahoma.

It appears the Sooner state has moved up in the "fattest state" rankings. We used to be eighth; now we're sixth. Hey, we're super-sized, even bigger than Texas! But Mississippi—they won the obesity sweepstakes.

An interactive map and more can be found at this link.

Watch the Fox News Freak Out over Sen. Al Franken

2009-07-01T12:23:00.001-06:00

Joe the Plumber Talks to God (So Joe Says)

2009-07-01T09:19:00.002-06:00

The world's most famous plumber, Joe of Ohio, has a pipeline directly to God.

Joe says God told him not to run for public office. Details of the Divine Conversation here.

Woe is US: Sally Kern Blames Everything Bad on Porn, Gays, and (yes!) Divorced People

2009-06-30T17:44:00.007-06:00

If she keeps it up, Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern, a fundamentalist Republican, is likely to become a national joke. But the joke won't be funny in the Sooner state, which doesn't need more ridicule.

We're talking about Kern's latest right-wing manifesto, in which she blames all of the nation's problems on our supposed moral depravity—unending oceans of porn, unlimited abortion, child abuse and even (heavens!) divorce. (Hey, wasn't Saint Ronald of California divorced?)

To hear Kern tell it, most of us are so anxious to degrade ourselves and our families that we don't have time to read Scripture or attend church—we're too busy watching Internet porn with our pregnant (but not for long!) mistresses who beat their starving children when they won't sell their tender bodies to get more money for our booze and drugs.

Okay, we all know that our nation (and every nation) has its share of thoughtless creeps and hard-core criminals, but Rep. Kern is painting with a very broad brush. In spite of her fear-mongering, some people who are different from her are—can you believe it—actually good people.

From what we can tell, Rep. Kern hasn't bothered to look out the window in Oklahoma (or anywhere else in America) where she would see a church on many a city corner, and loving, law-abiding families doing their best to live upright and, yes, even moral lives in spite of her laundry list of "social ills" (some of which aren't).

Instead, she's gotta grandstand and play morality cop for everybody. Here's some good advice for Rep. Kern: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone."

Read more about Rep. Kern's latest screed here.

Moron on the Radio: Rush Blames Sanford's Affair on Obama's Economic Policies

2009-06-30T16:28:00.002-06:00

Wow!

AltTulsa is stunned into silence at the peculiar logic employed by radio blabber Rush Limbaugh, who managed to blame President Obama for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's extramarital affair with a woman from Argentina.

It's as amazing and it is moronic. Law professor Jonathan Turley has the details here.

How Convenient: Cheatin' Louisiana Sen. Vitter Forgets Threats to Marriage

2009-06-30T09:01:00.004-06:00

GOP hypocrisy update, courtesy of Talking Points Memo:

David Vitter (R-LA), the champion of social conservatism whose career became mired in the D.C. Madam prostitution scandal of 2007, has a new fundraising letter that warns of the liberal/socialist threats on a whole range of issues -- though one particular item is mysteriously missing.
The letter warns of the threat posed by Democrats on such issues as abortion, union card-check, the dreaded Fairness Doctrine to eliminate conservative talk-radio, and big liberal spending.

This sentence sums it up: "The left-wing blob of trial lawyers, union bosses, environmental zealots, abortion activists, socialists and gun grabbers along with the Washington Democrat establishment have already trained their sights on me."

But there is one issue that we're used to seeing from conservatives like Vitter, which doesn't show up at all: Protecting the sanctity of marriage.