“Gubernatorial hopefuls hammer the GOP - Tulsa World” plus 3 more

Gubernatorial hopefuls hammer the GOP - Tulsa World
Brasch Words - American Reporter
Is There a Tomorrow for Little Orphan Annie? - CBS News
New gull-wing SLS AMG: How Mercedes got its groove back - Examiner

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Gubernatorial hopefuls hammer the GOP - Tulsa World

Posted: 13 Jun 2010 01:28 PM PDT

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The two opponents in the July 27 Democratic gubernatorial primary campaigned in Tulsa on Saturday, but not against each other.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins took pains not to criticize each other directly, even embracing when they came face-to-face at a party function in east Tulsa.

They instead took their shots at Republicans, especially GOP front-runner Mary Fallin.

Edmondson, a former county prosecutor and Navy veteran, played the tough guy. Askins took a softer line, but their message was the same: Whichever one survives the primary intends to run as an unabashed Democrat, albeit an Oklahoma-style Democrat, not some form of GOP Lite.

"Mary Fallin can stop measuring the drapes in the governor's mansion," Edmondson said at the Tulsa County Democratic Party's Flag Day rally at the Transport Workers Union Hall.

"This budget cycle has been detrimental to state services, to people who cannot help themselves," Askins said. "We cannot continue to tip the scales in favor of those who do not look to those who are left behind."

That, she said, is why Democrats must unite.

Earlier, at the Teamsters Union Hall, memories of a long ago prairie fire were rekindled as Edmondson rolled out his "new" campaign song — an

only slightly altered version of the ditty that helped sweep his uncle J. Howard Edmondson into the governor's office in 1958.

A reworking of the George M. Cohan song "Harrigan" by Tulsa advertising executive Elaine Ford, the catchy words and tune ("E-D, M-O-N-D, S-O-N spells Edmondson!") may be the most famous political campaign device in Oklahoma history.

Whether it can propel Drew Edmondson to victory or rally Democrats is another story.

Polling indicates Fallin leads Edmondson and Askins by double digits, and Republicans think President Barack Obama's unpopularity in Oklahoma will translate into a massive GOP victory this fall.

Edmondson and Askins said Democrats have to stop tip-toeing around and stand up for the issues they believe.

Askins, implying Republicans think otherwise, said the next governor must make sure the children of Oklahoma have access to "quality PUBLIC education."

Edmondson didn't imply anything.

"We are not going to do what the Republicans do," Edmondson said, "which is every time we get a dollar ahead, cut taxes. We're going to spend it on education. We're going to spend it on the elderly. We're going to fix corrections.

"We have to stop the craziness that's been going on in the Legislature."

Such feistiness may be catching on: Saturday morning, ahead of the two rallies, Tulsa Democrats hosted a fundraiser for Nevada U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the beleaguered majority leader whom Oklahoma Republicans hate even more than Obama.

Randy Krehbiel 581-8365
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

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Brasch Words - American Reporter

Posted: 13 Jun 2010 01:14 PM PDT

Brasch Words
EVEN IN FRESNO, FREE SPEECH IS NOT AN ISSUE
by Walter Brasch
American Reporter Correspondent
Bloomsburg, Pa.

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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The Sunbird Conservatives, a student group, put out some pro-McCain literature at a recruiting table at Fresno Pacific University a week ago.

Seemed innocent enough. The conservatives weren't harassing anyone, nor were they blocking any sidewalks.

But, administrators at this Christian-based college didn't like it. A dean told the students to either remove the McCain literature or to agree to what he said was university policy to present both sides.

The dean correctly noted that the First Amendment applies only to government intrusion. A private university, unlike a public university, may curtail any free speech it wants.

The students still argued "free speech rights." Enter the provost, head of all academic affairs at the university. She reaffirmed the dean's demands. One of the members shouted: "free speech" at her.

They challenged her, arguing that for a political organization to present both views would defy common sense. The provost's response, according to the conservative Leadership Institute, was "Shut-up! I'm the provost. That is disrespectful."

The students were warned if they didn't comply with the administrators' demands, they would be restricted in future activities on campus.

The Founding Fathers wanted all views to be heard. Channeling the revolutionary political philosophy of poet John Milton and judge Lord Blackstone, they believed that mankind is rational, and if all the facts were available, mankind would find the truth. That became the basis of the First Amendment.

Now, the twist is that the Fresno Pacific administrators were wrong. Their own university actually believes that all views should be allowed, as long as there is the opportunity for opposing views. It does not require one organization to put out all views.

But the Fresno Pacific administrators are also right. A private university can do what it wants to do. It can encourage or restrict free speech. Except in California.

California is the only state that extends the First Amendment to private colleges, which as a matter of educational philosophy should encourage, not restrict, freedom of expression.

This means that the wishes of the Founding Fathers have been extended into California, which many believe is a hellhole of liberalism. Disregard the fact that some rabid conservatives actively try to restrict free speech rights of others. Disregard the reality that conservatives who want to keep government out of our lives used both the constitution and state law to underscore their right to distribute political literature.

It's time for all states, especially Pennsylvania where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written, to enact legislation to assure that the principles of the nation, and especially the rights of free expression, are extended to all sectors, both public and private.

AR Correspondent Walter Brasch's latest book is the second edition of Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush (November 2007), available through amazon.com, bn.com, and other bookstores. Contact him at brasch@bloomu.edu mailto:brasch@bloomu.edu> or at his WebsiteHREF>.

Is There a Tomorrow for Little Orphan Annie? - CBS News

Posted: 13 Jun 2010 01:57 PM PDT

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New gull-wing SLS AMG: How Mercedes got its groove back - Examiner

Posted: 13 Jun 2010 02:54 PM PDT

1 comment

Most who see the 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee especially enjoy a scene where a knife-wielding New York subway thug threatens Dundee with a dazzling display of fancy knife tricks, showing off as Dundee just stands there mildly amused, the picture of restraint. After the "intimidating" show, Dundee swiftly but calmly reaches over, grabs the punk's knife and twists his arm behind his back. Mercedes styling used to lead the automotive world through its Dundee-like restraint, a strong looking "quiet dignity" of line that set its cars apart. Then something happened (was it Lexus grabbing a massive chunk of Mercedes' sales?) and the company was traumatized into chasing after the trendy, gimmick-laden style of its former imitators.

Mercedes designers seemed determined to show off how many ways they could torture steel in a die press. Even their famously conservative sedans became flying doorstops busied-up with creases where there weren't any ridges and bulges where they couldn't fit a crease, a "me too" aesthetic that made former copycats like Lexus look good.

Recently introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Mercedes' new SLS AMG shows promise that the company's grope for an appropriate 21^st Century style has ended at last. Inspired by the legendary 1950s gull-wing SL, the SLS AMG's body is clean looking, simple, bold, and muscular. It lacks the over-wrought sculpting and straining for affect that's plagued their cars for far too long. And Mercedes knows it, Volker Mornhinweg, head of the company's AMG performance division laid it out at the car's introduction "Our aim is to create the classic car of the future. One of our goals is to create a new design icon that will help shape the incomparable myth of our brand. At the same time, the new SLS is a harbinger of the design philosophy of future Mercedes Benz sports cars."

Let's just hope Mercedes designers don't stop at sports cars, but let this classical new style wash over the company's sedans as well. Mercedes' stated goal is to create the "classic car of the future." A glance at the slide show below will likely convince most that they've succeeded brilliantly.

We never really liked you posing as a show-off punk, Mercedes. You're better than that.

Welcome back.

For more info check out the slide show below and:

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Philosophy

Sunday, June 13, 2010