Ryan Saylor

In a report that appeared on KWTV in Oklahoma City tonight, reporter Jennifer Pierce stated that the coming match-up between Lt. Gov. Jari Askins (D – Oklahoma) and U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin (R – 5th District, Oklahoma) is only the second time in American history that a woman to woman gubernatorial race has taken place. I hate to be the bearer of bad news to reporter Jennifer Pierce and the news staff at channel 9, but I accurately reported last night that this is actually the fourth time in American history that this has happened, and actually the second time this year alone. It has happened in Nebraska in the 80′s, Hawai’i in 2002, and it is happening in New Mexico and Oklahoma this year. You’d hope that a large television station in a top 50 market could get their facts straight, but I guess that’s too much to ask. Instead, follow my small, independent web site. At least I check my facts and provide documentation to back up my reporting.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Center for American Women and Politics: Woman vs. Woman Fact Sheet
News9.com: Only Second Time in U.S. History Both Gubernatorial Candidates Are Women
Midnight Politics: Oklahoma to have first female governor

I just got sat down and turned on Saturday Night Live and saw one of the funniest digital shorts of the last season: Two Worlds Collide featuring Reba McEntire (sort of). Check it out (via Hulu):

FIND OUT MORE:
Hulu: Two Worlds Collide Ft. Reba McEntire

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — I never thought I’d say this over the last 88 days, but it appears that British Petroleum has finally started doing something right: they have stopped (at least temporarily) oil from spewing out of their broken well and into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a huge step in the right direction and something that needed to happen a lot sooner. I saw the oil washing up in Pensacola Beach and it wasn’t pretty. And I met the governor and saw him say how helpless his state was against this disaster. I can only imagine how the governors and residents of the other states affected feel. Now it’s time to pray that this works and that the Gulf can eventually be made right.

In other news, Glenn Beck is a brainwashing loser and Keith Olbermann had his name bought right out from under him and Mel Gibson officially lost a fan in me after I listened to the infamous audio tapes. Let’s check the headlines:

• The Daily Caller: Keith Olbermann threatens legal action against The Daily Caller via Twitter
• The Huffington Post: Gulf Oil Spill Stopped: BP Says Oil Leak Is HALTED (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
• RadarOnline: EXCLUSIVE NEW AUDIO: Mel Gibson Admits Hitting Oksana, Threatens To Kill Her – Listen To It Here
• WLWT-TV: Glenn Beck Inspired Ky. School Re-Teaches Civics

For anyone who grew up with a father who wasn’t the most politically correct, Sh*t My Dad Says is a must read. It will likely bring back memories of awkward teenage years and even more awkward discussions you had with your father about school, sports and relationships. (more…)

It’s been a pretty boring day. Not much going on, really. Just some storms rolling through. But I wanted to end the evening with a few thoughts on the prospect of high speed rail in America, specifically in the state of Oklahoma.

For those of you who don’t know, I was born in Oklahoma and lived there on and half for my entire life. Total, I figured up that I spent roughly half my life in the state, although I consider Arkansas to be my home (this is where I spent my formidable years). But one reason why I have never considered Oklahoma home and never will consider moving back there is how narrow-minded and ignorant the people are.

State officials have been pushing for years, as have residents of the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metropolitan areas, for high speed rail between the two cities with possible connections to either Dallas/Fort Worth or Kansas City. It’s something that’s been pushed for for many years but nothing has ever happened. Oklahoma City finally did get Amtrak service to Fort Worth, but still nothing to Tulsa.

The idea was just an idea for much of the last ten years until recently when stimulus dollars and other funds were allocated to expand rail in America. This seemed like Oklahoma’s chance. But again, it failed. The federal government would not provide the funding, so the state is stuck again with nothing. Just cars clogging up already clogged highways in the state’s two largest metro areas and the area in between. You’d think that residents would be disappointed, but no. I noticed two comments on KOCO-TV’s web site (Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate) where residents were delightful about the fact that the state is still stuck in the old days:

# Jul. 12, 2010 12:17pm
jbt103
Oh good, something else to fall into disrepair. What a waste of taxpayer money to even spend a minute thinking about it. There’s not that much traffic from OKC to Tulsa and what traffic there is is mostly semi-trucks that are just passing through.

# Jul. 12, 2010 11:13am
boomer
Just what Oklahoma needs. I work at the refinery in Wynnewood and see the Heartland Flyer go by every day. Some days there are even people on it. Would be faster and more efficient to buy a 13 passenger van and drive the few that actually ride that money pit to Ft. Worth. Millions wasted on an ego trip.

Those are the morons that populate the majority of that state and they are what keep the large metropolitan areas so far behind the rest of the nation in infrastructure and development. I hope you all are proud of yourselves. You deserve to drive horse and buggies the rest of your lives. And you two are probably the ones who thought it would be a great idea to put a Bass Pro Shops and the American Banjo Museum in downtown Oklahoma City. Nothing screams 21st century city like banjos and fishing poles!

FIND OUT MORE:
KOCO-TV: State Still Fighting For High-Speed Rail

I can’t believe it. Almost 10 million people wanted to watch LeBron James announce that he was going to Miami. My question is why? Sure, he announced it, but sources leaked it earlier in the day.

The Nielsen Co. estimates that 9.95 million people watched LeBron James announce on ESPN that he’s leaving Cleveland to play for the Miami Heat, making it the third-most-watched program on cable television this year.

“The Decision” that aired Thursday night ranks behind the 12.3 million who watched the NFL Pro Bowl and 11.2 million who watched an episode of “ICarly” on Nickelodeon in January.

FIND OUT MORE:
The Associated Press: LeBron James ‘Decision’ Ratings: ESPN Gets 9.95 Million Viewers For Special

The weekend is over and it flew by too quick. But here are a few quick hits to enjoy before you go to bed tonight:

• President Clinton presided over a wedding this weekend. Ironic if you ask me. (Politico)
• The Obama Administration is still having trouble closing Gitmo a year and a half after President Obama committed to closing the terrorist prison in Cuba. (The Huffington Post)
• Spain won the World Cup (barely). (Los Angeles Times)

Also, I am just starting the book The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins. The description sounded interesting. I’ll do a quick review of it after I’m finished in a few weeks.

What people do and say online continues to amaze me. Having written for a variety of web sites for about two years now, I know how to keep myself out of trouble for what I do online. But it seems that some television personalities in Little Rock, Arkansas, are not so good at staying out of trouble. In fact, it appears that they went looking for it.

Reporter Pete Thompson is the face of the group that just got fired for making a foul YouTube video that was discovered by the staff at Arkansas Business. Check this out from their website:

In the first video, “Miami or Bust,” Thompson’s character, “Pete Johnson,” believes he’s about to be offered a job at a Miami TV station. He constantly complains about his assignments in both voiceover and in dialogue with his co-workers.

When Thompson’s character is assigned to cover the Malvern Brickfest, he complains, “Please God, get me the hell out of here.”

“It was hot as s**t outside,” he says later. “At least in Miami they have beaches. And good coke.”

Toward the end of the episode, he slaps an interviewee and is reprimanded by his boss, played by KARK weekend anchor Courtney Collins. Collins did not immediately return calls for comment.

(more…)

I originally wrote this article for Arkansas Tonight, where I frequently freelance. Please check them out and give them some love.

Drew Pritt

He’s ran for city council in Warren, county supervisor in Bradley County, the Little Rock School Board, and lieutenant governor in 2006. He then announced a run this year for the US Senate seat currently held by Blanche Lincoln before dropping out of the race last week in order to run for lieutenant governor, again. Any Arkansas political observers hear his name and smirk. Who is this man who’s lost more elections than most politicians have ever ran in? His name is Drew Pritt, a 34-year-old University of Arkansas – Little Rock political science and history major.

Pritt is well-known by most in the Arkansas political establishment, having run in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor against now-incumbent Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, as well as being an outspoken advocate for gay rights in this traditionally conservative state. But while many might know that he has an appetite for politics, many might not know his other passions.

In a series of interviews he did with me for Arkansas Tonight, Pritt shared stories from his life, including his past work as a field operative during Gen. Wesley Clark’s failed presidential campaign during the 2004 Democratic primaries as well as why it is that he was wanting to replace Sen. Blanche Lincoln before deciding to challenge Lt. Gov. Bill Halter to a re-match for his seat.

“I’m maybe the only person you’ll ever meet who actually wants to be lieutenant governor,” he said as we discussed his decision to change campaign direction. “I never wanted to be a US Senator, but I felt that I had no other choice but to run since no one else was challenging Blanche’s decisions regarding health care [reform] and the Employee Free Choice Act.”

The issue of health care reform is important to Pritt. He’s a cancer survivor who knows how important good insurance is. He told me, “it can literally be the difference between life and death.”

With regards to the Employee Free Choice Act, Pritt is very strongly pro-union. He says that unionization is the right of all workers. “They shouldn’t be penalized for doing what is right. If they want and feel that they need to unionize, they should be able to do it without fear of losing their jobs,” he said passionately, as if trying to rally the base, even though it was just a conversation between the two of us.

As part of his fight for the rights of the worker, he comes back to his fight for civil rights, wanting to protect the rights of homosexuals to live and work without fear of losing their own jobs. “We should be able to be who we are without fear,” he said.

And while his fight might appear noble and he might just appear to be a man wanting to make a difference in his home state, there is another side to Drew Pritt. In 1999 and 2000, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that he was charged with felonies in Bradley and Drew Counties related to writing several hot checks. In their report, they also mention an arrest in Jonesboro and being detained in West Virginia for similar charges.

When asked about the charges, Pritt told me, “It was a tough time for me. I made some stupid mistakes. But I’ve learned from them. The charges were dropped and I’m obviously not a convicted felon since I can still vote and hold public office.”

The charges from the last decade aren’t the only embarrassing episodes in Pritt’s life. The Arkansas Ethics Commission investigated Pritt after the 2006 race for lieutenant governor and filed a report stating the following:

“IT IS, THEREFORE, CONSIDERED, DECIDED and ORDERED by the Commission that the Respondent, Drew Pritt, shall be issued a Public Letter of Warning and is hereby fined $250 for: (i) failing to timely file C&E reports for January and February of 2006; (ii) failing to provide reporting for the thirty-day period between January 16 and February 15, 2006 on a C&E report; and (iii) failing to file C&E reports for March and April of 2006.”

Pritt says the matter was just a misunderstanding on his part on how to file proper campaign reports with the commission, although he did admit that he paid the fine after having retained a lawyer to plead his case to the commission. He also went back and filed proper reports to ensure that he was in compliance.

Upon finding out about the ethics violations, I asked Pritt to be completely honest with me and tell me if there was anything else I was going to find out in my research. After stumbling for a bit, Pritt admitted that he has been competing as a drag queen for the last three years and has actually been crowned Miss Gay Central Arkansas. When asked how this would play with family values voters across the state, particularly in northwest Arkansas, Pritt said, “I don’t see that this goes against any morals. I’m not wanting to be a woman, I just happen to do drag shows. It’s a billion dollar a year industry. And if you looked into the history of it you would understand that it’s about more than dressing up as a woman.”

Pritt, a very motivated and politically active individual, does have some issues to work through before becoming a serious candidate for any elected office. It is obvious that while he truly does want to work for all Arkansas voters, this self-described progressive Democrat is going to have to grow a bit first.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Drew Pritt for Lieutenant Governor