This was my column in last week’s Minco Millennium. 

 

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Last Monday evening, driving east on Main Street after mailing the Millennium off at the Post Office, as I stopped at the red light the view of downtown Minco made my mind drift back about 30 years ago.

 

I grew up in Hollis, a small southwest Oklahoma town.  When I go back it always saddens me to see what is no longer there.  Some of the businesses open when I was growing up that are now just history include two walk-in movie theaters and a drive-in, an Otasco, a Ben Franklin, and Hart’s Variety Store, Anthony’s, Crawford’s Furniture, a Chevrolet Dealer, Ford Dealer and John Deer, and Searcey’s Drug Store which had the best soda fountain.

 

I remember hearing stories from my parents and grandparents about what my hometown had in their younger days, which was a lot more than what was there in my days of growing up.  I remember stories they told about Saturdays downtown, about square dancing barn parties, and traveling road shows that included famous singing cowboys.

 

Times have certainly changed in rural Oklahoma.  So many of our smaller towns, which once thrived on an agriculture-based economy, are slowly fading away as family farms can no longer support a family and younger generations move away to bigger places with more opportunities.

 

In the weekly newspaper of my hometown, there was a weekly column by Bo Guest.  Each week Bo would tell a different story about something that happened in my hometown when he was a child, a young man, or a young father.  His columns later were turned into a book entitled “Keep the Horses up Tonight.”

 

While I’ve only lived in Minco for 10 years, I’ve heard a few stories about a thriving downtown here, which also included movie theatres and much more.  But I bet many reading this have stories that I, and others, would love to read about.  Maybe your story includes a memory about a special Minco teacher, a sweetheart or best friend, or a unique occasion.

 

Maybe you’ve told your children or grandchildren some of these stories.  Why not share them with others?  If you have a special Minco Memory, send it to the Millennium or call and set up an interview and let us share it.

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I’ve been really busy, plus about four days of being ill, so I’m really behind in posting anything on OkieBrent.  Hopefully I’ll do a better job of posting on a more regular basis in the future.

 

In the meantime…here are some interesting tidbits that are worth checking out.

 

From Politico:

 

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is a pig; well at least that is what his Twitter profile picture shows. A very cute, adorable pig-next-door kind of pig.

 

for the rest, click here.

 

From the National Journal’s Hotline:

 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the new leader of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in an interview yesterday that the GOP “squandered” its majority over the last few cycles and that the party must limit “ideological tests out of Republican central” in order to pick up seats in 2010 and 2012.

 …

Cornyn said he expects Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to seek reelection.

Cornyn on Coburn: “I’m getting all the right indications that he is” going to run.

 

For the rest, click here.

 

From Stateline.org:

 

All 50 states recorded an increase in the jobless rate in December and an overall spike since last year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday (Jan. 27). The national unemployment rate rose from 6.8 percent to 7.2 percent —  compared with 4.9 percent a year ago.

…

In employment growth — an indicator of which states are likely to restore jobs most quickly —Wyoming also showed the healthiest signs, with a 2.2 percent increase in employment since last year.  Four other states — Texas (1.5 percent), Oklahoma (1 percent), Alaska (.9 percent) and South Dakota (.8 percent) — recorded an increase in the number of people employed.

 

For the rest, click here.

 

From The Rothenberg Political Report:

 

Here are our latest gubernatorial ratings.

 

He rates Oklahoma as one of six as “Leans Takeover” – which means right now Rothenberg is predicting that the Republicans will win the Governor’s race here in 2010.

 

For the full report, click here.

 

And finally, from Gallup:

This is the first in a four-part series on the “State of the States” to be released this week on Gallup.com. The series examines state-by-state differences in party affiliation, religiosity, consumer confidence, and employer hiring and letting go, based on Gallup Poll Daily tracking data collected throughout 2008.

…

The accompanying map shows party strength by state for 2008, ranging from states that can be considered solidly Democratic (a Democratic advantage in party identification of 10 percentage points or more) to those that can be considered solidly Republican (a Republican advantage in party identification of 10 percentage points or more). States in which the partisan advantage is less than 5 points in either direction are considered “competitive.” (The full data for all states appear at the end of the article.)

 

 

Notice on the above map – Oklahoma is BLUE!  According the Gallup report, they interviewed 5,027 Oklahomans – 47.5% identified as Democrat or Lean Democrat while only 41.9% identified as Republican or Lean Republican.

 

For  the full report, click here.

This is my column for the Minco Millennium this week, which hits newstands and subscribers’ doors Monday afternoon.

 

The Inauguration of our 44th President – Barack Hussein Obama

 

At the time I type these words, I was scheduled to arrive at Ronald Reagan National Airport for the historic event that will occur at noon (EST) Tuesday, January 20, 2009 in our nation’s Capitol – The swearing in of our 44^th President. 

 

 

About three weeks ago, right before Kelly’s hip surgery I canceled my plans.  We weren’t sure if Kelly would have recovered enough yet and be able to put the Millennium together.  Plus, the more I thought about the crowds of people (2 to 4 million are expected) and the frigid temperatures that are typical for D.C. in January, I chose to stay here and watch the historic event on TV in the warm comfort of home.

 

Oklahoma was the only state in the nation where the Obama-Biden ticket did not carry a single county; however, there are many Oklahomans attending the Inauguration.   

 

Inaugural tickets are only available from members of Congress.  Senators were each allotted 393 tickets and House members were each allotted 198 tickets.  A friend and business associate secured our tickets from Congresswoman Mary Fallin’s office.

 

According to a report last week in the Tulsa World, Oklahoma’s federal delegation said that their offices were flooded with requests for tickets.  Rep. Frank Lucas’ office said that requests were three times the number of tickets it received and outpaced requests from the past three inaugurations.  Senator James Inhofe’s office said they were flooded with requests from Oklahomans immediately after the election.

 

A new poll for NBC and the Wall Street Journal reports that President-elect Obama “enjoys exceptionally high marks on his handling of the transition, with 71% of respondents approving.” While Oklahoma was the most Republican state in the 2008 elections, that doesn’t keep many here from having high hopes for the Obama Administration.  Oklahoma’s junior U.S. Senator, Dr. Tom Coburn, considered by many as the most conservative member of the Senate, had some really good things to say last week on CNBC about Obama.

 

All our members of Congress plan to attend the Inauguration, as well as Governor and Mrs. Henry and numerous other elected officials from Oklahoma.  State Representative Mike Shelton (D-Oklahoma City) arrived in Washington, D.C. Saturday afternoon.  After arriving he called me.  

 

“There is energy here,” he said.  “All types of people here, people who had lost faith and felt disconnected from their government.  They’ve come here eagerly awaiting the change that President-elect Obama campaigned on.” 

 

Shelton said he could not believe the number of children and young people who had traveled for the event.  He said they were all so excited, and he was encouraged to see youth involved and excited about their government.

 

Let us hope that they stay excited and engaged; and, let’s hope that President Obama and his Administration are the most successful to date for the sake of a better America.

CQ Politics has set up an excellent page to make it easy to keep track of the status of each nominee for the Obama Cabinet.  See sample below and click on it to visit the site.  CQ will update the page anytime there is something new to add.

 

From the creative folks at Paste Magazine:

The longest election season in memory is now over, and we wanted to help you unwind and express yourself as we head into the new era.

 

Make your own “Obamicon” — your image in a style inspired by Shepard Fairey’s iconic poster. Regardless of your candidate of choice in the 2008 election, here’s your chance to sound-off.

 

Take your picture with a webcam or upload a photo, choose your own message, and submit to the gallery.

 

Register and login here….and create your own “Obamicon” ….

Below is the original, and three I created.

Today, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced it’s 2009 inductees….and Oklahoma’s own Wanda Jackson is the only one in the Early Influence category.  For more check out the Hall of Fame’s website. Click logo below.

 

Here is a clip from a Smithsonian documentary on Wanda….

First Lady of Rock and Roll

and here is Wanda from 1961 singing “Let’s Have a Party”

Have a Party

Oklahoma’s junior Senator, “Dr. No” Tom Coburn lost in a battle in a rare Sunday session of the U.S. Senate.  Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada), a former boxer, placed a choke-hold on Dr. No.  Here is a snippit from Politico.

To read the whole story, click here.

The rumor going around Oklahoma is that Dr. No will not run for re-election in 2010.  I was told, by someone else who was told by one of Coburn’s staffers, that the Senator has told his staff if they are offered another job to take it, that he is tired of DC and has no plans of running for the same office again.  Could he be looking at the Governor’s race?

Oklahoma’s Fourth District Congressman, Tom Cole, has been appointed as a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee.  Read all about it here.

 

With the Congressman receiving such a plum post, many believe that this will take him out of the 2010 race for Governor.

Oklahoma’s Fifth District Congresswoman, Mary Fallin is also rumored for the Republicans as a candidate for Governor in 2010.  If Fallin and Coburn opt out of running for re-election for the seats they now hold, their open seats will cause Republicans and Democrats to stampede.

Two high-profile and highly respected Democrats have already thrown their hats in the race for Governor.  While I love and respect Lt. Governor Jari Akins, I am an Edmondson man.  If you missed it, here is my posting from December 8^th – My Choice for Governor in 2010.

 

But that is not a good thing.  I wish we were 50^th.

The CDC released a new federal report today on the number of teen births for each state.  Again, there is a stark difference between Red states and Blue states.

The states with the lowest teen birth rates continue to be in New England – all Blue states.  The ten states with the highest teen birth rates are as follows – in ranking order.

1.       Mississippi

2.       New Mexico

3.       Texas

4.       Arkansas

5.       Arizona

6.       Oklahoma

7.       Nevada

8.       Tennessee

9.       Kentucky

10.   Georgia

One other disturbing fact from the report:  The teen birth rate declined every year from the mid-1990’s to 2006.  The rate has increased every year since.  Could that be a result of the push for abstinence only programs?

The full report may be read here.

My good friend Kelly had a new hip installed last week.  One of the many hats she wears is that of publisher and editor of the Minco Millennium, our weekly newspaper.  While she is out recovering I’m helping her two offspring with the newspaper.  This is my column for the first issue of 2009 – which hit newstands and subscribers’ doors today.

 

Absurdity: A Bi-Partisan Problem

 

It’s a new year and in one month, the new Oklahoma Legislature will begin the 2009 session.  For the first time in state history, Republicans will control both the State House and State Senate.  One thing will not change no matter who is in control – absurd legislation will be proposed.  Absurdity is bi-partisan.

There are already two pieces of legislation proposed for the upcoming session that are absurd and unnecessary.  One is proposed by Republicans and one is proposed by Democrats.  Both bills concern guns.

The bill proposed by a couple of Republicans is returning after failing to pass last year.  If it passes, it will allow guns on college campuses.  We do not need Oklahoma’s institutions of higher learning to go back to the days of the Wild West.  Perhaps if legislators insist on guns being allowed on college campuses, an amendment should be added to the bill to allow guns to be carried at the State Capitol too.  Heck, if it is such a great idea, why not include all government buildings and properties – court houses, post offices, city halls, and public parks.

The bill proposed by a couple of Democrats would do away with sales tax on the sale of guns and ammunition.  The supporters of this bill say that our Constitutional Rights should not be taxed.  But if that is the reasoning for this piece of legislation, then why not do away with sales tax on all printed materials (books, magazines), and all those pesky taxes on our telephone bill each month.  After all, that all has to do with the freedom of speech and the press (1^st Amendment).  And while they’re at it, get rid of all those taxes on alcohol too – remember the 21^st Amendment gave us the Constitutional Right to drink by getting rid of prohibition.

A few years back, a former legislator told me that she seldom heard from her constituents.  It was a rare day that five people called her office.  More Oklahomans should pay attention to what is happening at their State Capitol and let their legislators hear from them.  The Minco Millennium includes the contact information for our elected officials every week on page 3.  I hope you’ll put that contact information to use.