Okla Legislature 2nd Worse in Nation

[bluelake]

Everyone is corrupt.  But you are so right - we never hear about NM doing the stupid stuff we do here!!

Close enough?  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Nearly two weeks after an arrest warrant was issued for a New Mexico man running for Congress, police found him at an Albuquerque apartment complex.

What he's been doing since the warrant was issued out of Santa Fe, is a mystery.

Democrat David Alcon is running for the state's open District 2 Congressional Seat. Now, he's behind bars for allegedly stalking a woman in Santa Fe.

A woman attending a Halloween party on October 28 at a hotel in Santa Fe said she started receiving persistent texts from Alcon — some suggesting that he was watching her, other messages professing his love for her, and one picture of his genitals.

Later that night, the woman said Alcon texted her again, that he was outside her apartment.

A warrant for Alcon's arrest was issued on October 30. Now, rather than turning himself into Santa Fe police, Alcon was arrested Friday in Albuquerque.

Albuquerque Police were called to the Villa De San Felipe Apartments for a welfare check around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. APD did not elaborate on what happened when they got to the scene, just that Alcon was arrested. He's also not facing any new charges out of Albuquerque, according to jail records.

At this time it's unclear why Alcon was there. All of his publicly listed addresses are for Milan, New Mexico.

Alcon is now sitting in MDC on a no-bond hold so he can be extradited to Santa Fe. KRQE News 13 reached out to Alcon's campaign for comment, but have not heard back.

Alcon was previously convicted of stalking a woman in 2007.

http://krqe.com/2017/11/12/new-mexico-congressional-candidate-arrested-on-stalking-charge/

[heironymouspasparagus]

Close enough?  

http://krqe.com/2017/11/12/new-mexico-congressional-candidate-arrested-on-stalking-charge/

No doubt they have crime and their own headlines - I had two cousins and their families in Albuquerque for decades until they died a few years ago and would get to hear about stuff.  But they don't get the national headlines about passing dozens of laws they know are unconstitutional.  Don't get the headlines for being last in the nation for support of education.  And they certainly don't have roads and infrastructure as bad as OK.


They do host Arizona criminals, though - unintentionally.  Since Republican Jan Brewer, Gov of AZ was so focused on building a wall to keep southerners out, and pushing money to her cronies in the private prison sector, she didn't pay enough attention to the killers in her private - for profit - prison system.  3 of the worst escaped about 2010.  Went to Quay Cty, NM, where they kidnapped and killed a couple - Gary and Linda Haas - of Tecumseh, OK.  Drove along with their stolen RV trailer until they noticed blood dripping out, then went to the boonies and torched it.   Linda was the sister of a guy I used to work with.

[Conan71]

Close enough?  

http://krqe.com/2017/11/12/new-mexico-congressional-candidate-arrested-on-stalking-charge/

When MC and I first moved here last spring, we continued our habit of watching the 10pm news.  After a few weeks of the ABQ news leading with all sorts of crime, we turned it off.  Too depressing.  Second reason being, since we are right at the base of a mountain range, the weather can be a bit difficult to predict.  A weather rock seems to be the most accurate.

[patric]

The state supreme court threw out an Oklahoma Department of Public Safety drafted "suggested" law that would have criminalized a person's right to refuse a breath test, as well as eliminating driver's rights to appeal the seizure and destruction of drivers licenses.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/state-supreme-court-strikes-down-new-dui-appeal-law/article_05b9b542-5748-54ad-8225-ae79ffd30c02.html

Yes DUI is bad but it shouldn't be used as an excuse to use the constitution as toilet paper.

[Conan71]

Nathan Dahm has authored legislation to declare wildlife the property of "Almighty God" not the state of Oklahoma.  Keep in mind, this assclown wants to be your new representative to replace Jim Bridenstine in Washington.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/capitol_report/broken-arrow-sen-nathan-dahm-blames-rogue-game-wardens-for/article_7252d282-a3fc-5c57-8080-fbf647ca8564.html

OKLAHOMA CITY — Legislation filed by Sen. Nathan Dahm would make Oklahoma's wildlife the property of "Almighty God" instead of the state.

The measure has been criticized by some as a waste of time and money.

But Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, said the measure is in part in response to some game wardens who made broad statements about their authority and jurisdiction.

"Several game wardens have said that because the state owns the wildlife and they represent the state, therefore, they own the wildlife, and constituents and citizens don't have rights regarding that and they need to do as they are told," said Dahm, who is running for Congress. "Things like that."

J.D. Strong, director of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, said he has been able to work with Dahm in the past and will work with him on this measure, Senate Bill 1457.

To bring the state in line with other states, the wording in current law could be changed from saying all wildlife in Oklahoma is the property of the state to the property of the "people of the state," Strong said.

Strong said Dahm might have had a bad experience with a game warden, but he said that in no way reflects on the vast majority of game wardens who put their lives on the line to protect the public and wildlife.

Sen. J.J. Dossett, D-Owasso, said that while he doesn't disagree with Dahm's bill, he called it a waste of time and taxpayers' money.

Legislative priorities should be fixing the state's budget problems and funding core services, Dossett said.

The bill seems to distract from those efforts, he said.

"I think it is par for the course for the majority caucus at the moment to focus on distractions during an election cycle" instead of focusing on the reality of the state's fiscal crisis, said Rep. Cory Williams, D-Stillwater.

Dahm said the bill is not one of his priorities and noted that he has filed several other measures dealing with the budget.

Williams said of the bill: "You would think it would not get a hearing, but sometimes, as you well know, in the horse trading business, in order to get that fringe part of the party's support and vote, sometimes they trade it for hearings on a bill that would otherwise not see the light of day."

Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Slaughterville, didn't have a problem with Dahm's measure.

"I agree that wildlife doesn't belong to the Wildlife Department," Cleveland said. "It belongs to almighty God."

Dahm is no stranger to controversial measures.

In 2016, he filed Senate bill that would allow the revocation of medical licenses for physicians who performed abortions, essentially banning the procedure.

Gov. Mary Fallin, who is pro-life, vetoed the bill, saying the measure was vague and would not withstand a constitutional legal challenge.

Double-checking the actual bill text since I don't trust the media to accurately convey much of anything political, it's for real.  I wonder if God thinks He needs Nathan do to his bidding for Him?

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2017-18%20INT/SB/SB1457%20INT.PDF

STATE OF OKLAHOMA
             2nd Session of the 56th Legislature (2018)
SENATE BILL 1457 By: Dahm
                            AS INTRODUCED
       An Act relating to wildlife; amending 29 O.S. 2011,
       Section 7-204, which relates to ownership of
       wildlife; making all wildlife found in the state
       property of God; authorizing the management of
       wildlife according to statutes; and providing an
       effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
    SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     29 O.S. 2011, Section 7-204, is
amended to read as follows:
    Section 7-204.  All wildlife found in this state is the property
of the state Almighty God.  The people of the State of Oklahoma
place the authority to manage all wildlife pursuant to the Oklahoma
Legislature.
    SECTION 2.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2018.
             56-2-2652 QD
1/18/2018 5:12:18 PM
Req. No. 2652
Page 1

[heironymouspasparagus]

Nathan Dahm has authored legislation to declare wildlife the property of "Almighty God" not the state of Oklahoma.  Keep in mind, this assclown wants to be your new representative to replace Jim Bridenstine in Washington.

Double-checking the actual bill text since I don't trust the media to accurately convey much of anything political, it's for real.  I wonder if God thinks He needs Nathan do to his bidding for Him?

He is exactly what BA wants and even insists on.  But look who runs the show out there - Rhema Bible Cult.   And First Baptist.   Lifechurch.TV is starting to take away some of their customers, so I kinda expect some "jostling" in the church arena there.


You keep saying you don't 'trust' the media, but then when you verify, you find that for the most part, they are right.  80%?  90%??  Maybe you can trust them a little bit after all...   

Except for Fake Fox.

[rebound]

I saw this last week.  As an avid hunter, I have all kinds of issues with this wording.  There is a fringe element that objects to all hunting regulations.  If the wildlife belongs to "God", then how does state have regulatory authority?   I guess if you are religious, everything is "God's", but that does not subjugate the need for solid National and State regulations.  I think the revised terminology of "owned by the people of the state", or similar, makes sense.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Dahm is such a dipstick.   

See...this everlasting gobstopper of a Clown show has got me insulting.  Oh, wait...that's just an accurate description and characterization of what he is!

[Conan71]

He is exactly what BA wants and even insists on.  But look who runs the show out there - Rhema Bible Cult.   And First Baptist.   Lifechurch.TV is starting to take away some of their customers, so I kinda expect some "jostling" in the church arena there.


You keep saying you don't 'trust' the media, but then when you verify, you find that for the most part, they are right.  80%?  90%??  Maybe you can trust them a little bit after all...  

I've never done a statistical survey on it.  There's often a lot of interpretation of the meaning of proposed bills by whomever is reporting on it or editing it.  

Too much of what is published is a headline and or first few paragraphs which construe a quote or issue one way then you read the entire story and the facts don't necessarily bear out what the original intent of the article was but they hooked you in with a headline and sound bite.  Too many op-ed pieces pass as non-biased journalism these days.  Before the internet and 24 hour news cycle there was a much clearer delineation between the two.  I often wonder how many people actually read entire articles anymore or just clip and paste the facts they wanted to mine from the Googles to win an on-line argument or bolster their own personal beliefs.  

My father-in-law is one of the worst offenders...and a huge Trump supporter but we love him anyway.  

People take Huff-Poo or Brighttfart as factual news sites when there is a genuine bias in their political reporting.

The Tulsa Whirled ran a daily troop death count in the A section during the entire Bush II administration- to the best of my recollection.  That little nugget disappeared after Obama took office.  Coincidence?  Editorial bias?

I will say this, amongst political beat reporters, Barbara Hoberock with the Whirled's OKC Capitol Bureau has done an admirable job of reporting facts and keeping her own beliefs out of it.  I have no idea which way she swings politically, but she is pretty old school when it comes to her reporting.

[Conan71]

I saw this last week.  As an avid hunter, I have all kinds of issues with this wording.  There is a fringe element that objects to all hunting regulations.  If the wildlife belongs to "God", then how does state have regulatory authority?   I guess if you are religious, everything is "God's", but that does not subjugate the need for solid National and State regulations.  I think the revised terminology of "owned by the people of the state", or similar, makes sense.

Well, Oklahoma has been trying to establish a Christian theocracy for the last 15-20 years so there is that.

[cannon_fodder]

I think the revised terminology of "owned by the people of the state", or similar, makes sense.

Whenever you see a proposed law, ask WHAT PROBLEM IS IT TRYING TO FIX?  Then ask if the proposal fixes the supposed problem.

In this instance, the "problem" is apparently that unnamed game wardens are being rude when enforcing regulations by basically stating that wildlife belongs to the state, the warden represents the state, so do what you're told.  It isn't clear why this is a problem other than it (anecdotally) hurt someones feelings.  There was no intelligent issue raised with the underlying laws/regulations or the enforcement thereof - simply that a straw man didn't like the way it was explained.

It is likewise unclear how the "solution" would address the "problem."  Presumably, we rename game wardens to "High Priest of Wildlife" and he would express to the citizen that all animals belong to Almighty God, the Priest is God's representative on Earth, so do what you're told. Thus making the persons feeling less hurt because the authority to be bossed around now invokes a God?

Sarcasm aside, there was no indication how the change in language from "owned by the state" to "Almighty God" or "Citizen" would prevent a warden from hurting someones feelings or have a practical implication, though it does raise concerns about the perception of the state, the cost of defending any challenges (pointless challenges to a pointless change?), or defending state regulations against challenges from people fighting against hunting/fishing/environmental regulations.

In short - a problematic and ambiguous change that fails to serve as a solution to what is a questionable problem to start with. So we have to assume "solving a problem" isn't really the motivation behind the bill.  Occam's razor: it's just an excuse to insert God into government to excite a certain segment of the population. 

Honestly - it's worth running the two question test with every new law:
1) What problem are we trying to solve?
2) Does the solution address the problem?
and if you feel like getting complicated,
3) What problems/costs does the solution cause?
4) Is the trade off worth it?

[heironymouspasparagus]

Bottom line - this all came about because some bottom feeder was poaching or hunting/fishing illegally, without license, etc.  Got all bu$$hurt about it when a warden told him to stop - and probably even bent over backwards to give a warning rather than citation - and happened to be good buddies with Dahm.  And working together, they came up with this BS idea.  That is the way Dahm rolls.

[heironymouspasparagus]

I've never done a statistical survey on it.  There's often a lot of interpretation of the meaning of proposed bills by whomever is reporting on it or editing it.  

Too much of what is published is a headline and or first few paragraphs which construe a quote or issue one way then you read the entire story and the facts don't necessarily bear out what the original intent of the article was but they hooked you in with a headline and sound bite.  Too many op-ed pieces pass as non-biased journalism these days.  Before the internet and 24 hour news cycle there was a much clearer delineation between the two.  I often wonder how many people actually read entire articles anymore or just clip and paste the facts they wanted to mine from the Googles to win an on-line argument or bolster their own personal beliefs.  

My father-in-law is one of the worst offenders...and a huge Trump supporter but we love him anyway.  

People take Huff-Poo or Brighttfart as factual news sites when there is a genuine bias in their political reporting.

The Tulsa Whirled ran a daily troop death count in the A section during the entire Bush II administration- to the best of my recollection.  That little nugget disappeared after Obama took office.  Coincidence?  Editorial bias?

I will say this, amongst political beat reporters, Barbara Hoberock with the Whirled's OKC Capitol Bureau has done an admirable job of reporting facts and keeping her own beliefs out of it.  I have no idea which way she swings politically, but she is pretty old school when it comes to her reporting.

I take everything with truck loads of salt....  never take anything as true until can see same/similar from several independent sources.  (Not like Brightfart, Drudge, Fake Fox - since they all are the same.) 


I also don't have a problem with someone's "bias" if they still report things in a truly balanced fashion.   NPR usually has a more liberal position than not, but they go out of their way to be what Fake Fox News lies about every minute of every day - Fair and Balanced.  I often find myself asking why they are letting some RWRE and/or LWRE come on and say carp that is patently false as proven by wide range of second sources.  Because they do provide in-depth and balanced coverage.

HuffPo is definitely biased and occasionally tends to drop the ball on balance, but I can still get all the sides from all the different places I look, so it works. 

I listen to Fake Fox News quite a bit and the KRMG daily clowns (up until the last few months of last year when I got away from radio in general for quite a while) - I just don't accept their lies like so many others do.  There is seldom anything fair or balanced presented there.

[Conan71]

I take everything with truck loads of salt....  never take anything as true until can see same/similar from several independent sources.  (Not like Brightfart, Drudge, Fake Fox - since they all are the same.) 


I also don't have a problem with someone's "bias" if they still report things in a truly balanced fashion.   NPR usually has a more liberal position than not, but they go out of their way to be what Fake Fox News lies about every minute of every day - Fair and Balanced.  I often find myself asking why they are letting some RWRE and/or LWRE come on and say carp that is patently false as proven by wide range of second sources.  Because they do provide in-depth and balanced coverage.

HuffPo is definitely biased and occasionally tends to drop the ball on balance, but I can still get all the sides from all the different places I look, so it works. 

I listen to Fake Fox News quite a bit and the KRMG daily clowns (up until the last few months of last year when I got away from radio in general for quite a while) - I just don't accept their lies like so many others do.  There is seldom anything fair or balanced presented there.

We have a really good regional radio station out of Raton which reaches about a 60 mile radius.  It is primarily local reporting and a little nationally-syndicated news on the hour from outlets like ABC but no political commentary programming.  Their noon hour is pretty folksy: obituaries, the local classifieds, and events around the area.  They do a fantastic service for our region.  Their music programming is one of the most eclectic I have ever heard.  We get two feeds for NPR in this area.  I usually enjoy their programming.  The political stuff may be somewhat balanced, but their editing leans very far left.

I can't even think when the last time was I've seen anything on Fox.  The last thing we saw on CNN was New Year's Eve in Times Square.  We rarely turn the tube on anymore.  I don't even log in to Facebook very often and if I see political rants in my feed I generally keep scrolling.  I guess you could say we have become pretty unplugged and more concerned about our local community where we can make a difference instead of worrying about the macro-political scene.  I find it pretty gratifying.  We've been out here in Cimarron almost a year and it has been an extremely transformational one.  We've become very active in the local schools, Civic Club and Chamber of Commerce but I did resist the temptation to run for mayor or village council this time around.  I always figured I could do more for the community as the subversive type, not someone in an elected position 

[rebound]

We have a really good regional radio station out of Raton which reaches about a 60 mile radius.  It is primarily local reporting and a little nationally-syndicated news on the hour from outlets like ABC but no political commentary programming.  Their noon hour is pretty folksy: obituaries, the local classifieds, and events around the area.  They do a fantastic service for our region.  Their music programming is one of the most eclectic I have ever heard.  We get two feeds for NPR in this area.  I usually enjoy their programming.  The political stuff may be somewhat balanced, but their editing leans very far left.

I can't even think when the last time was I've seen anything on Fox.  The last thing we saw on CNN was New Year's Eve in Times Square.  We rarely turn the tube on anymore.  I don't even log in to Facebook very often and if I see political rants in my feed I generally keep scrolling.  I guess you could say we have become pretty unplugged and more concerned about our local community where we can make a difference instead of worrying about the macro-political scene.  I find it pretty gratifying.  We've been out here in Cimarron almost a year and it has been an extremely transformational one.  We've become very active in the local schools, Civic Club and Chamber of Commerce but I did resist the temptation to run for mayor or village council this time around.  I always figured I could do more for the community as the subversive type, not someone in an elected position 

Man, I am seriously envious.  I am writing this as I sit on a plane in-route from SLC to PHX and then on to MSP, back home in TUL tomorrow night.  (You know you travel too much when you identify the cities by their airport ID's...)   I'm heading that way as fast as I can, but it will be 4-5 years before I can get there.   Planning a trip out there this Spring/Summer, and I will be sure to stop by.