Monday, September 17, 2012

Good News & Bad News from The Sooner State

BAD NEWS:

Oklahoma will be the only state of the 50 United States of America where just two names will appear on the ballot in the presidential election 2012: Barack Obama (incumbent president)- Democrat; and Gov. Mitt Romney (Republican). According to local sources this will be the 3rd consecutive presidential election in which Oklahoma voters will be artificially limited to two choices for President. Oklahoma legislature has denied and blocked all efforts to reform the state's ballot access laws since 1999.

I do not understand how, when a country's citizens have the right to elect a president of the entire nation, all citizens of all 50 states are not entitled to have the same list of candidates from which to make their choice. It makes no sense ! The people of Colorado, for instance have multiple choices (10 or more), while Okies are left with a choice between Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee. Why? Where is the logic, and more importantly where is the justice? I'm beginning to regret having wrangled my way through the tangled (and expensive) route to citizenship so's I'd be able to vote - only to find....what? My choices are unfairly restricted by what smacks of a distinctly fascist-flavoured legislature, intent in keeping a two-headed political monster, whose heads serve the same masters, as the only choice for voters of this state.

Please....anyone....can you explain the reasoning behind this iniquitous electoral system to me ?

Link to a chart showing how various other party representatives have ballot access in the other 49 states. Minor amendments to the details might be needed eventually, as noted HERE.



GOOD NEWS:

$3.5 Billion Wind Power Line Approved for Oklahoma -by Jake Richards, September 14, 2012.
Clip:
The Plains and Eastern Clean Line wind power transmission line in Oklahoma was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Wednesday to start acquiring customers for its potential 7,000 MW of clean energy.
This line will be approximately 800 miles in length and is a high-voltage direct current transmission project. The new line is being developed in order to send clean energy generated by wind farms in western Oklahoma, southwest Kansas, and the Texas Panhandle to customers in the Mid-South and Southeast.

8 comments:

Sonny G said...

good for ya'll getting to GO for wind power.

Twilight said...

Sonny ~~~ Sometimes they do something right (stopped clocks, twice a day an' all that!)
;-)

anyjazz said...

I wonder why more people are not upset by this. Are they unaware? Do they not care? Do they not understand?

I don't know the answer. Sooner or later it will come to a head. Ultimate power breeds ultimate mistakes.

Twilight said...

anyjazz ~~ I can only surmise that it's a mix of all the things you mention, none of which have been addressed by local media in clear enough terms.

The state is redder than red now, it was not always thus, as far as I can tell. But unless a third party and maybe a fourth and fifth can get a look in, it'll never be anything else - which is exactly what those in power want to happen. :-(

Local media could do much more.

Vanilla Rose said...

Well, what can you expect from the state which shows the least imagination of all 50 states in naming its capital city?

Twilight said...

Vanilla Rose ~~ Yes - agreed. But it does rhyme rather well in the Route 66 song... :-)
"Oklahoma City is mighty pretty"
(It isn't though,...not now anyway, it's just a huge sprawl.)

Vanilla Rose said...

Yes, but they could have created an Oklahoma City and made somewhere else the capital.

Or sung about Kansas City.

Twilight said...

Vanilla Rose ~~~ Funny you should mention that. Guthrie, a nice smaller city with nice architecture and now has some nice arty stores, was the original capital.
:-)

http://guthrieok.com/HISTORY.html