The Gadfly On The Bedlam Wall
Bedlam: OU takes on OSU in Norman today. Which OU team will show up? And which OSU team will show up? I know not. Should be a whale of a game. Doubt it will measure up to last night's nail-biter between LSU and my Arkansas Razorbacks, who dumped LSU and its No. 1 rating in a three-overtimes thriller keyed by Darren McFadden, Heisman candidate, and Peyton Hillis, the Conway (my childhood home town in Arkansas) running back who scored the final Hogs TD in OT. Bedlam in Norman is special. In one of my previous lifetimes (read that as in decades ago), it was my good fortune to sit in the Owen Field press box and keypunch The Oklahoman's teletype machine for sports gurus John Cronley and Volney Meece. Great times.
It's News: I am bemused by Democrats who criticize this wee effort to provide news on politics and government. Every day, it seems, they find some ulterior motive for almost every news story we post. We follow immigration reform news or take note of gang violence, we're racists; we follow Republican politics, we're in Gary Jones' hip pocket. We're accused of a hidden agenda with regularity. We have no hidden agenda; my personal agenda is pretty transparent: Less government, not more; Republicans as a rule, but not blindly so; Democrats sometimes, but not often; get us out of the UN; support for the 2nd Amendment; civility as opposed to the lack thereof. I am at that stage in my life where petty criticisms from those whose life experiences have yet to match mine no longer provoke me. I've got my own rudder and I keep her amidships most of the time.
You Never Know: Decades ago, Jack Werner was a (very) conservative Republican activist in Oklahoma County politics. He always struck me as well-read, articulate and unbending. I had lost track of Jack until last summer, when I needed an inspection on a home I was buying. Looked at the list of home inspectors; wham, there's Jack. Did a fine job inspecting the home I bought as a rental property. Last week, I had Jack inspect another property we're buying and I was pleased to note, again, that he's still very conservative. As my realtor observed, "He took two hours and most of 'em are done in one." Actually, Jack and his assistant spent more than two hours on the inspection and looked, literally, at almost every square inch of this 1900-square foot home. I've had other encounters with folks I knew previously from politics or campaigns. Just proves it's a small world and you never know when acquaintances will be renewed, albeit in a different context.
It's News: I am bemused by Democrats who criticize this wee effort to provide news on politics and government. Every day, it seems, they find some ulterior motive for almost every news story we post. We follow immigration reform news or take note of gang violence, we're racists; we follow Republican politics, we're in Gary Jones' hip pocket. We're accused of a hidden agenda with regularity. We have no hidden agenda; my personal agenda is pretty transparent: Less government, not more; Republicans as a rule, but not blindly so; Democrats sometimes, but not often; get us out of the UN; support for the 2nd Amendment; civility as opposed to the lack thereof. I am at that stage in my life where petty criticisms from those whose life experiences have yet to match mine no longer provoke me. I've got my own rudder and I keep her amidships most of the time.
You Never Know: Decades ago, Jack Werner was a (very) conservative Republican activist in Oklahoma County politics. He always struck me as well-read, articulate and unbending. I had lost track of Jack until last summer, when I needed an inspection on a home I was buying. Looked at the list of home inspectors; wham, there's Jack. Did a fine job inspecting the home I bought as a rental property. Last week, I had Jack inspect another property we're buying and I was pleased to note, again, that he's still very conservative. As my realtor observed, "He took two hours and most of 'em are done in one." Actually, Jack and his assistant spent more than two hours on the inspection and looked, literally, at almost every square inch of this 1900-square foot home. I've had other encounters with folks I knew previously from politics or campaigns. Just proves it's a small world and you never know when acquaintances will be renewed, albeit in a different context.
Labels: Gadfly's Columns
posted by Mike McCarville @ 10:12 AM
<< Home