Big political news in Oklahoma–former State Representative Randy Terrill (R-Moore) has been convicted of bribery. In a trial which saw testimony from former Governor Brad Henry (D), Terrill was convicted of bribing State Senator Debbie Leftwitch (D–Sen 44, South OKC) (of a very powerful political dynasty here in OK–her husband, father-in-law and grandfather-in-law have public buildings and highways named after them) by creating a job in the State Medical Examiner’s office with an $80,000/year salary, and appointing her to that job in the condition that she would not seek re-election, allowing a political ally of Terrill’s to seek the seat uncontested. The jury recommended a sentence of one year imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. He spent the night in Oklahoma county jail after his conviction yesterday. Senator Leftwitch’s trial hasn’t started yet. Terrill is the author of HB 1804, one of the stricter state level anti-immigration laws, as well as the laws that forbid the state of Oklahoma from conducting any business in any language except English. He also spent quite a lot of time in Florida during the Terri Schiavo case, while the legislature was in session. He’s a real piece of work.
Everybody who follows OK politics was pretty surprised that this thing got to trial, but it was the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office that prosecuted him, and not the state Attorney General. Our AG is Scott Pruitt (R-Mary Fallin’s Lap), and NOBODY believed that he would ever go after a prominent Republican in this state, or that he would tank the prosecution if given the chance. In fact, the AG’s office attempted to take over the prosecution of Terrill last year, but was unsuccessful after the OK County DA took the jurisdictional question to the state Supreme Court. Sen. Leftwitch succeded to her husband Keith Leftwitch’s seat in Sen 44 in a special election in December 2003 after he died in office in September, 2003. Sen. Leftwitch’s trial will begin in the next month or so.
Open thread.
Gin & Tonic
I’m going to be that guy this morning and point out that it’s “just deserts”, as in “what he deserved.”
Elizabelle
Jeebus, now they’re prosecuting Republicans for being job creators.
Will it ever end?
Ash Can
I have a minor quibble with your tag — the Republican briber is being sent up the river, all well and good, but the Dem bribee is evidently just as much of a horse’s ass for going along with this bullshit. Take a snapshot, because this may be the only time you’ll ever see me say this, but having only an anti-GOP tag here seems unfair.
Chyron HR
Okay, then why did you assholes shut down the government?
Fuzzy
The shame of it all is that in a couple of years these crooks will be elected to some office or appointed to some job so they do not have to let go of the guvment teat.
rikyrah
Glad they got this crook
MattF
@Chyron HR: No, no. We’re at war with Eurasia, and we have always been at war with Eurasia.
Cervantes
Debbie Leftwitch, and naturally she’s a Democrat.
aimai
What a story. Should make for a good afterschool special: Hallmark bribery tearjerker.
sharl
I like this kind of local politics coverage. Thanks.
The Pale Scot
So funny I could cry
Wisconsin man brutally attacks Hebrew speakers for speaking ‘Spanish’
Apparently has never heard spoken Spanish or Hebrew; check
Thinks Jon Stewart looks “Spanish”; check
Thinks the appropriate response to a language he’s never heard before is violence; check
Needs the instructions on how to pour piss out of your boot to be labeled on the sole; check
Poopyman
@Gin & Tonic: Yeah, but we did just spend the morning talking about a grocery story-bought birthday cake.
Belafon
@Cervantes: Rightbitch was already taken.
Jay C
And now, for something completely different:
I was both heartened and upset at this bit of news: Protests Halt Kelly’s Speech at Brown University; (“Kelly” is NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, notorious for implementing the City’s lamentable “Stop-And-Frisk [nonwhites]” policy).
On one hand, I hate the idea of shouting down “political” – or anything that can be considered “political” expression: no matter who does it: OTOH, it is good to see that today’s students haven’t all retreated into apathy and/or glibertarianism. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy….
mai naem
@Belafon: Who’s Rightbitch?Michelle Bachmann, Sarrah Palin, Jan Brewer?
I am listening to the healthcare hearing with Sebelius. I don’t get it. Why do they keep on wasting time asking her about the number of enrollees? I mean, she’s giving you the same standard answer – you ask her one time, maybe twice, after that are you not just wasting precious time that you could use to ask her more damaging questions? Even the GOP strategery sucks.
MattF
@mai naem: Fwiw, getting the same question over and over and over again is typical for a Congressional hearing. The Representatives all want that film clip of being tough on minions of the Kenyan Usurper.
Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader
Benghazi healthcare.gov eleventy!!!!
IowaOldLady
My outrage of the day was the sight of Rush Limbaugh’s children’s book, “Rush Revere,” prominently displayed in B&N. Rush’s face appears to be stuck on Paul Revere’s body. The clerk rolled her eyes and told me a lot of people were “excited” about the book. I was horrified.
Hal
The hearings over the website issues is incredibly dull. Plus, Republicans are just using it to malign the law. One congressman read a letter from “Sean” about his insurance plan which he liked and was discontinued and gosh, what would you say to poor Sean? What the fuck does that have to do with healthcare.gov? Oh and Mr Congress Ritter use to program so he knows how these things work.
geg6
@IowaOldLady:
Jeebus. This is why I only shop for books online or at our fine local independent bookstore, Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley: http://www.penguinbookshop.com/. I love, love, love that place! Surely you must have something similar locally that you can patronize which will never, ever have that hack’s crap prominently displayed or, more likely, would never even stock it.
Mudge
Let’s mention 4 Republican tactics:
1. Voter suppression to lower Democratic participation. (see Texas, etc.)
2. Gerrymander
3. Bribery (as noted above) and/or Koch Brothers, et al. sweetening to own the state legislatures (see Wisconsin)
4. Repeal the 17th Amendment so that the owned legislature can appoint Senators. (Tea Party)
They are just much more stupid at the state level and get caught.
piratedan
just desserts will be when the Dems sweep these asswipes out of office. Damn the MSM would have kittens and actually have to run stories about legislation being passed rather than devolving into Politics Tonight hosted by Mary Hart as they sit around breathlessly stenographing the latest GOP separation from reality.
IowaOldLady
@geg6: There’s a university bookstore that sells mostly text books, and of course, there’s Amazon. But B&N killed the mall bookstore, so it’s pretty much the only choice.
catclub
“he would tank the prosecution if given the chance.”
This reminds me of the prosecution of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. There was so much prosecutor misconduct (that was all rejected, but only after appeal, and death, and loss of re-election)
that it had to be on purpose. Just strange.
And remember, that was the Bush admin DOJ running the prosecution.
Maybe it was similar to when Trent Lott was kicked to the curb. Some Senator was too big for his britches, as far as Bush was concerned.
OzarkHillbilly
@IowaOldLady:
It’s called a “Suckers Special”.
catclub
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: I posted this just yesterday:
This sounds like… Benghazi! I mean the real story in both cases is:
State Dept asks for more money for security, GOP congress turns them down.
Something bad happens. GOP congress complains about Administration errors that they helped to cause.
HHS asks for funds to implement Obamacare website and rollout. GOP congress refuses any money.
Bad things happen to website rollout. GOP congress complains about website problems that they caused.
… and the media isn’t exactly sharp at connecting these points
Yatsuno
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: You fergot a few talking points in there, but it’s all good.
Happy Birfday to me…
Elizabelle
@Yatsuno:
Is it your birthday?
Will you get your very own Peruvian horse?
Happy bday, you almost little jack o lantern.
piratedan
@catclub: this times a thousand and the MSM won’t fucking touch it because, well gee, haven’t we already bashed the GOP, now it’s time to apply the magical balance fairy and beat up Dems for a bit. After all, we got a narrative to sell.
Elizabelle
@IowaOldLady:
I get tired of seeing all the Republican trash books of the day (Glenn Beck! Bill O’Reilly! Anything about what scum be this Obama) set out at Costco.
This in a warehouse chain that is the anti-Wal-Mart. Longtime employees, and with benefits, good pay, and good working conditions.
Oh well. Just walk by.
Elizabelle
Mid-day showing of “The Shining” in local theatres today.
Have never seen that, and get nervous at scary movies.
That said, it’s a classic; apparently a fine movie.
Will be on a big screen, and might be almost a private showing at the 2:00 p show.
What do you guys think?
Yatsuno
@Elizabelle:
Missed it by 14 hours. Hatched in a military hospital. Been on socialised medicine until I was 17. Somehow I survived.
Elizabelle
@catclub:
The connecting dots, according to Peter Baker in today’s NYTimes:
“Where the Buck Stops, Some See a Bystander.”
That bystander would be President Obama. According to the RNC.
Almost 500 comments, but not sure they approved mine!
Elizabelle
@Yatsuno:
Me too, with the military brat/socialized medicine background.
It be a good way to grow up.
Happy Birthday!!
burnspbesq
Speaking of books, there is now an actual Hyperbole and a Half book.
Jim, Foolish LIteralist
Christ, I just spent about five minutes watching some goober ask what he apparently thought was a devastating gotcha question about whether Kathleen Sebellius would go in to the DC exchange if she didn’t have health insurance, he tried to make “those advisors behind you” into Tom Hagen at Michael Corleone’s Senate hearing and actually fucking cited John McAfee, threw in about fifteen if/then hypotheticals and then when KS started to answer barked “yes or no!”
I guess the good thing is they may make themselves look so fucking silly that Jon Stewart will stop beating the website-horse.
Ramalama
I spent 2 semesters in Norman OK a long time ago, and it was not an OK experience I’d like to repeat ever again. I get the jeebies (bypassing the heebies) whenever I read Soonergrunt’s mentions of his/her homestate. I met some nice people there but for the most part that place can go feck itself.
Mnemosyne
Note for SG or mistermix or whichever techie is around — I was getting a “message failed to post” notice from my iPhone on 3G this morning, which seems to sometimes be an early warning sign of impending database failure, so I thought I should let you know.
Mnemosyne
On the desserts side, I made these mini s’mores cupcakes from Bakerella today. I was lazy and used boxed cake mix and canned frosting, but they were still yummy.
shortstop
@Elizabelle: Cracked me up.
Jay C
@Elizabelle:
Presumably, that’s the 1980 Jack Nicholson/Shelley Duvall “Shining” by Stanley Kubrick?
If so, then “meh”. Not truly awful, but way more Kubrick than King, and (except for the last 10 or so minutes) not even particularly scary (unlike either the book or the 1997 remake). If they had taken Stephen King’s name off it and retitled it Horrors of the Haunted Hotel, it would probably be relegated to a footnote as “Stanley Kubrick’s only B-movie”
Warren Terra
I’m bewildered. The case went all the way to and through trial, the charge is misuse of an $80,000 salary plus betrayal of the public trust … and when he’s found guilty the sentence is a single night in jail and $5000? His lawyers bills will have been a big multiple of that fine; so will the state’s expenses. I’m glad this was pursued all the way, but the penalty seems like less than what the state should have settled for in a plea deal. For a conviction, it seems nauseatingly light. I understand there’s the public humiliation and the derailing of his career, but even so this seems too little.
Mnemosyne
@Elizabelle:
I am Not A Fan, but it does have some spooky images. It’s the story of an alcoholic father who tries to kill his family (King now acknowledges that he was an alcoholic/drug addict when he wrote it), so if you have that kind of family conflict in your past, it may freak you out more than some people.
Usually I find it deeply boring while I’m watching it, but then have nightmares about those damn little ghost girls that night. Come play with us, Danny. Come play with us … forever.
JustRuss
@Elizabelle: Do it. The Shining isn’t gory, but lots of creepy scary suspense. And Kubrick really had some fun with the sets. Some spoilers here, but a very interesting read:
http://badassdigest.com/2011/07/26/the-impossible-layout-of-the-shinings-overlook-hotel-kubrick-wanted-to-mess/
Jim, Foolish LIteralist
@Jay C: It’s probably been twenty-five years (Christ I’m old) since I saw the movie and more than that since I read the book, but my recollection is the movie had some great scenes and shots, but overall, yeah, meh. I know Stephen King doesn’t like it, and I may be putting that mildly.
I was in the mood for a horror movie last week and watch A Cabin in the Woods, which was actually a pretty clever premise, but the rare movie that I thought was too short, could’ve used ten or fifteen minutes more, I think.
Mnemosyne
Speaking of movies, there’s an animated film from Argentina being released worldwide that our soccer fans might like: Metegol.
Another Holocene Human
@Jay C: I just have a problem with lecturing these kids about “civility”.
The students are in an authoritarian institution. That’s what school is. Rightists use their power to impose these people on them. They try to turn the students into both captive audience and platform for this fascist crap that the students are not only against but palpably harmed by–whether it’s warpigs, sex criminalizing crusades, or stop’n’frisk.
But guess what? The kids are growing up. They’re losing their fear of authority. They’re angry. And they don’t have any other way to fight back than to express their disapproval in the most vocal way possible.
So this is what they do.
And they’re WRONG for doing this?! No. Civility is for EQUALS. The students are not equals to Ray Kelly and the old, rich, powerful deciders who put him in front of them to rub their dependency and helplessness in their faces.
Another Holocene Human
@IowaOldLady: Making the world safe for white supremacy.
Another Holocene Human
@Elizabelle: you know what used to burn me? Kevin Trudeau books next to the Walgreens pharmacy counter.
I understand he’s back in prison. Couldn’t happen to a better murderous conman.
I didn’t see any woo woo fake remedies next to the counter when I got my flu shot this time. I guess somebody in corporate finally did get the message that they were hurting their own damn selves selling Oscillicoccinum (imaginary influenza remedy) right in front of the REAL flu preventative.
Another Holocene Human
halp! I’m in moderation hell for mentioning ph_rm_c_. arghhhh
catclub
@Warren Terra: I think you misread ( so did I, first time):
” The jury recommended a sentence of one year imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. He spent the night in Oklahoma county jail after his conviction yesterday”
does not mean he is now out. It looks like he got a year.
It also does not make clear that he got the term ‘recommended’ by the jury.
I blame soonergrunt for the confusion.
WereBear
A phrase I’d never thought I’d see.
IowaOldLady
@WereBear: No kidding. This is not a man you’d hear and immediately think, “Yeah, he’d be great with kids.”
Soonergrunt
@catclub: He hasn’t actually been sentenced yet.
Glidwrith
@Elizabelle: My favorite giggle at the moment is when I’m at the public library. All those hacktasticular books have been shelved in the ‘Fiction’ section.
burnspbesq
@Another Holocene Human:
Yes, they fucking well are. The value of free speech and free expression ought to be obvious to even the most obtuse.
And you’re either for it absolutely (subject to the reasonable limitations imposed by First Amendment jurisprudence) or you’re not for it at all.
You’re not stupid, but your position on this issue sure as shit is.