OkieBrent's Soapbox

124 years ago in April 1887, British historian, politician and writer Lord John Dalberg-Acton penned his most famous quote in a letter.  Lord Acton wrote, “All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Concerning that now well-known pronouncement, Steve Palmer with the Tenth Amendment Center writes, “We can rephrase Acton’s observation and apply it to today’s world by saying that the more power we give our elected officials, the more corrupt they will be.”

If Acton and Palmer are correct, Oklahomans best be prepared for some major corruption at the State Department of Education.  Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi now holds more power than any former holder of her office.

Quickly after the contentious first board meeting with Barresi as Superintendent, the Oklahoma Legislature passed House Bill 2139.  HB2139 takes power away from the Board of Education and bestows it on Supt. Barresi.  Governor Mary Fallin proudly signed the bill into law.  In an April 8, 2011 press release Gov. Fallin said, “In Oklahoma, the superintendent of public instruction is elected based upon the ideas and agenda they present to voters.  And the superintendent – not the unelected Board of Education – should have the power to run the Education Department.”

The transfer of power was scheduled to go into effect in August, but at the last Board of Education meeting on Monday, May 9, 2011, the board voted to go ahead and transfer the power immediately to Supt. Barresi.

Promptly after Monday’s board meeting adjourned, Supt. Barresi’s chief of staff (who was only officially hired at Monday’s board meeting) began firing employees.  Resignations came the following day, and then more firings came on Thursday.

One of those fired on Monday was Jack Herron, assistant state superintendent for financial services.  At a press conference Thursday, he said the contentious board meeting in January was “staged.”  Here is a brief clip from his press conference provided by NewsOk.com.

On Thursday the executive director of fiscal services was fired.  This person was over contracts, invoices, reimbursements – all the daily operations of the department.

It appears that the employees targeted first for the chopping block are those in the financial area.

According to the budget proposal agreed upon this week by the Governor and the Legislature, $3.4 billion of the State’s $6.5 billion budget goes to education.

I hope we have some honest and diligent watchdogs, in government and in the press, to follow the actions of Queen Supt. Janet Barresi.  With all the powers now in her hands, she alone has control over more of our tax dollars than all other divisions of state government combined.

Today marks the 100th day Republicans have been in control of the United States House of Representatives.  Congressman Joe Crowley (D-New York) gave this as a one minute speech on the House floor.

Dictator

[dik-tey-ter]

-  Noun

1. A person exercising absolute power, especially a ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a government.

2. (In ancient Rome) a person invested with supreme authority during a crisis, the regular magistracy being subordinated to him until the crisis was met.

3. (In present day Oklahoma) Janet Baressi, thanks to Republicans in the Legislature

For more information, see here and here

This is not easy for me because I count many members of the Oklahoma Democratic Party Central Committee as personal friends.  But sometimes the best thing a friend can do is be upfront and honest.

I would like each member of the Oklahoma Democratic Party Central Committee to answer one question:  Do you believe Nancy Pelosi should remain leader of the Democratic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives?

Personally – I’m ambivalent about that question.  Perception is reality in politics, and the perception of Speaker Pelosi is horrible, especially in places like Oklahoma.  I admit that I admire the Speaker.  Her performance as Speaker is the most impressive of any in my lifetime, and she was the Minority Leader when Democrats gained control in 2006.  But the public does not care about any of that – her approval rating is lower than Dick Cheney’s.  That will not change in the next two years, which means she will be ineffective as a leader for the Democratic Party.  Therefore, the answer should clearly be “No”.  Anyone who answers otherwise does not understand the reality of perception in politics, or doesn’t care about the next election cycle.

Not a single member of the Central Committee can claim the success that Pelosi has on her resume.  Any member that would answer the question with a “Yes” clearly does not get it.  Those who would answer “No” must apply the same standard to themselves.  As a team, the ODP Central Committee is an absolute failure.  Thanks in large part to the Central Committee’s lack of leadership, Oklahoma Democrats had the worst election cycle in state history.

If the ODP is not taken over by true leaders with goals and visions grounded in the reality of perceptions, it might as well pad lock the doors and become an asterisk in Oklahoma history books.

The really, really, really big problem as I see it for the ODP is that there are no credible candidates to fill the positions on the Central Committee – at least none who would be willing to give up their current careers to begin rebuilding from the ruble leftover from the disaster of November 2, 2010.

Way to go Oklahoma voters – on November 2nd in your rush to show how anti-Muslim you can be, you also voted to ban the use of the 10 Commandments in court decisions.  And you call yourselves “Christian.”

By voting in favor of SQ755, which read:

Legislative Referendum No: 355

This measure amends the State Constitution. It would change a section that deals with the courts of this state. It would make courts rely on federal and state laws when deciding cases. It would forbid courts from looking at international or Sharia Law when deciding cases.

70% of you voted to ban the 10 Commandments.  Or did you think they were written in Oklahoma and/or America?  Just because your Bible says “printed in the USA” does not mean that is where it was written.

To read the AP story on this subject, click here.

1,034,639 Oklahomans voted for Governor on Tuesday.  There are 2,038,620 + registered voters.  That means only 50% of registered voters even bothered to vote.  There are 3.7 million people in Oklahoma, 2.7 million are 18 years or older.

Mary Fallin won with 625,433 votes.  That means that only 23% of Oklahoma’s voting age population and 30% of registered voters decided who would be our next Governor.

21% of the voting age population decided who would lead our public schools.

20% of the voting age population decided our next Insurance Commissioner.

Oklahomans who don’t vote have no right to complain about our government.  If Oklahoma Democrats want to see Oklahoma turn blue, or at least purple – they need to find a message that will inspire non-active voters to actually take the time to vote.

Click the link below to here one of the Susan Paddack Radio ads.

.

Paddack-At Stake

.

Susan Paddack is the only qualified candidate running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. To learn more, visit her website www.VotePaddack.com

.

Vote for Susan Paddack!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Say No to the Dentist

.

Janet Barresi is a retired dentist who is hostile to Public Education.  I have nothing against dentists – I like my dentist – but I don’t go to a teacher for a teeth cleaning or a CPA for a root canal.  I want an education expert with experience in the classroom to lead the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

.

School Drills

.

Apparently, Janet Barresi is not proud of her past actions.  When Friends of Susan Paddack began airing ads pointing out facts about Barresi’s history of dislike for, and degrading of, public education, the Barresi campaign went ballistic.  On Tuesday, October 19 Barresi campaign manager Jennifer Carter hastily issued a press release attacking the ads and calling them false.

.

“If Janet Barresi and her campaign think this ad is negative, apparently they believe Janet’s history is negative,” said Luke Martin, campaign manager for Susan Paddack.  “The ads are factual and truthful.  Stating documented facts is not negative.”

.

The Barresi camp’s temper tantrums were the results of just three lines in the ad:

.

“Janet Barresi started an elite school that keeps kids out.  The children of Barresi’s wealthy friends were admitted.  Other kids were not.”

.

“The Daily Oklahoman news articles that are cited in the ads clearly states: ‘A lottery system would pick students if too many applied.  However, the organizers’ children would be guaranteed admission’,” said Martin.  “Janet and her elite friends got the thumbs up for their kids being admitted just because they helped organize the school while other kids got the thumbs down because they weren’t as fortunate.  That is elitism.”

.

A second version of the ad airing sent the Barresi campaign into panic mode.  This time campaign manager Jennifer Carter sent a “Cease and Desist” letter to television stations.  The line that drew this frantic action states, “Barresi’s even evicted disabled and special needs kids to make room for her exclusive school.”

.

“Again, the Barresi campaign has a problem with facts,” said Martin.  “Janet and her friends found a location they wanted for their elite school, even if it meant kicking out Special Care.”

.

Special Care, a nonprofit United Way agency, had occupied the building for more than 12 years.  Two-thirds of Special Care’s 135 students were disabled.

.

“Our ads are honest and factual.  Clearly Janet Barresi has a history of being hostile to public education.  She’s continued to make statements in forums and on the campaign trail that she believes Public Education is a failure, that she would refuse to accept funding to keep teachers in the classroom and says that Public Education is one of the last monopolies allowed to continue regardless of results,” said Martin.  “If the Barresi campaign has a problem with our ads, they have a problem with Janet’s take on public education.”