A Swing and a … Hit! Right Out of the Park
By Tyson Wynn | September 3, 2008 | Print This Post
Tonight was zero-hour for Sarah Palin. After her groundbreaking and base-enthusing pick as VP last week, Palin has suffered the worst attacks the Left and their friends in the media could bring against her. Tonight was her opportunity to stand before the American people and show her mettle. Would she wilt in the face of severe criticism, or would she stand and deliver?
After some real stem-winding addresses by Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Rudolph Giuliani, and the impressive governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, Sarah Palin walked to the microphone and knocked it out of the park. She spoke with eloquence and determination. You could see the fire in her eyes as she smiled, spoke about substance, and gave back as good as she takes. The Churchill quote, modified for this scenario, “I like a [woman] who grins when [she] fights,” comes to mind. She is able to be forceful and direct without being shrew-like. She’s about half a tick from being - and there is no other word to use here - a smart@ss, and it looks good on her. The WynnBlog analysis: Joe Biden better hang on to his hair plugs because the barracuda is in the arena.
In other news, Michael Bates was unable to provide a report tonight due to his schedule. We will try to catch up with him again soon.
And, below is an audio clip of Oklahoma Sentaor Jim Inhofe attempting to cast Oklahoma’s votes. Notice he never stated how many votes Oklahoma was casting for McCain. Check Batesline for more information on this soon.
WynnBlog MP3: Jim Inhofe Attempts to Cast Oklahoma’s Votes - RNC 2008
Topics: Audio, John McCain, Mitt Romney, News, Oklahoma, Politics, Sarah Palin | No Comments »
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RNC Day 2 Recap WynnCast with Michael Bates
By Tyson Wynn | September 3, 2008 | Print This Post
We were fortunate enough to have Michael Bates join us again from the RNC for a Day 2 update. Give us a listen on the WynnCast Blog.
Topics: WynnCasts | No Comments »
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“Copy that, Bandit. I’m gone…”
By Tyson Wynn | September 2, 2008 | Print This Post
I’m a guy. I like movies like Smokey and the Bandit and The Waterboy. I’m also a country music fan. Therefore, it’s a sad day because Jerry Reed has died due to complications from emphysema. We’ll miss you, Snowman.
Topics: Country, Music | No Comments »
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WynnCast Wynnterview: Michael Bates from the RNC
By Tyson Wynn | September 1, 2008 | Print This Post
Over on the WynnCast Blog, you can hear the latest WynnCast, which consists mostly of an interview with Michael Bates, the WynnCast’s man on the ground at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, this week. Give it a listen.
Topics: WynnCasts | No Comments »
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Ooooooooo, barracuda!
By Tyson Wynn | August 29, 2008 | Print This Post
John McCain made up to me for A LOT this morning.
Topics: John McCain, News, Politics | No Comments »
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Deja Vu All Over Again -or- RSU Sued for Wrongful Termination (Yes, Again!)
By Tyson Wynn | August 28, 2008 | Print This Post
In what has almost become its signature characteristic, Rogers State University has been named as a defendant in yet another wrongful termination lawsuit. The latest suit, filed August 21, 2008, in Rogers County District Court, names RSU (i.e., the O.U. Regents), Dr. Linda Andrews, and Dr. Larry Minks as defendants. The plaintiff is Jana Walstrom, a former RSU employee, who alleges that, after she questioned what she suspected was misappropriation of certain funds, she was terminated. Specifically, Walstrom alleges she contacted Minks because $6,500.00 of funds budgeted for the Bit-by-Bit program were spent by another non-Bit-by-Bit-related department.
Thrilled that an astute employee would notify university administration of potential misappropriation of university funds, Minks thanked Walstrom for discovering and reporting the irregularity. Walstrom was promoted, and those responsible for the misdeeds were fired and prosecuted. Oops, slipped into a perfect dream world there for a second. The first two sentences of this paragraph, in addition to being thoroughly out of character for RSU, are total fiction.
Here’s what really happened, according to Walstrom’s petition: Two days after reporting the issue to Minks, she was fired by Minks and Andrews. She was also told by Minks and Andrews that if she did not sign a statement that she was resigning voluntarily she would not be paid for services performed. She signed the document under duress. Further, Minks and Andrews attempted to have her sign a “general release and settlement statement” (geez, do RSU administrators carry these things in their pockets?)
…attempting to release RSU and all employees, including Defendants Minks and Andrews, from all claims and attempting to have Plaintiff agree to a gag order which is unenforceable and void under law, including the Oklahoma Open Records Act, which abhors secrecy in government. The documents would have secreted the unlawful conduct of Minks and Andrews. The document further attempted to limit Plaintiff’s rights by attempting to have Plaintiff agree that “she will not disparage or make adverse public statements against the university or any of its directors, officers or employees.” Such document further specifically prohibited Plaintiff from cooperating with any party, in any lawsuit against the university including testifying as a witness against the university.
Yes, that’s all in bold print. The emphasis was added by me. Now go back and read it again. It’s that important.
Once again, we have very familiar allegations made by a former RSU staffer. It’s just eerie how similar this story is to the many that have come before. The WynnBlog will follow this case and bring you periodic reports.
Click here to see the PDF of Walstrom’s full petition.
Topics: 1st Amendment, Claremore, Larry Minks, Legal, Linda Andrews, News, Oklahoma, Open Records, Politics, University of Oklahoma | 1 Comment »
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Rice Makes RSU State of University Address –or– I’m Sharon Kern, Who Are You, and What Are You Doing Here?
By Tyson Wynn | August 8, 2008 | Print This Post
RSU President Dr. Larry Rice today made his State of the University address. I was in attendance, though not warmly greeted.
Let’s say it this way: I’m 6′4″ tall and even the fake weight on my driver’s license is probably twice most normal men’s. I can’t really blend into a crowd; I don’t try. Additionally, my understanding was that the State of the University presentation was a public event. So, I went.
At just before 9 a.m., I walked into the Will Rogers Auditorium through the front entrance and took a center-section seat near the front of the auditorium. I hadn’t been there long when I was approached by my old friend Sharon Kern (you may remember her from my account of trying to serve legal papers on several RSU staff members (Kern is mentioned on pages 35ff on the PDF)). In her usual warm, friendly way, she walks up and says, “I’m Sharon Kern. Who are you?” with her hallmark passive-aggressive flair. I told her who I was, and she asked what I was doing there. I responded that I believed it was a public event. She informed me that it was for faculty and staff. I asked her if she was asking me to leave. Apparently, her authority ends with accosting members of the community at public gatherings because she said she’d have to go ask about that and let me know. She went and reported on me to the administrators and they huddled. It took them a while, but they must have decided I posed a threat somewhat less than the typical, rabid secretary because the presentation, replete with Brent Ortolani’s spellbinding circa 1997 PowerPoint slides (he even used the “Crawl In” text effect), finally started (about 20 minutes late) without any further contact.
I don’t have much to say about the report. It was the typical “how great we’re doing” presentation. In the “Challenges” section, there was no mention of the huge issues the university is facing with its federal grant programs. And, out of respect for Dr. Rice, I chose not to pose the question during the question and answer period. I hold out hope that he will answer those questions and make the needed changes at RSU.
For your listening pleasure, I provide an audio copy of the presentation on the WynnCast Blog. Too bad I hadn’t had time to get my recorder out when Sharon came to say hi.
Topics: Claremore, Fellman, Joe Wiley, Larry Rice, Media, News, Oklahoma, RSU, Sharon Kern, University of Oklahoma, WynnCasts | No Comments »
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Joe Wiley Lawsuit Update - 7/28/2008
By Tyson Wynn | July 28, 2008 | Print This Post
I’ve been busy with other things and unable to update the progress of the wrongful termination lawsuit brought by Marilyn Goff against Rogers State University (Former) President Joe Wiley, Sheree Hukill, and the O.U. Regents with the regularity I would have liked.
To get up to speed, you can read my previous posts regarding the lawsuit.
- RSU/FHU President Joe Wiley Sued for Wrongful Termination (Again!)
- Joe Wiley Lawsuit Update
- Court Documents for Goff v. Hukill, Wiley, et. al.
- Judge: Wiley’s Previous Evasion of Service Not Pertinent in Current Case
Since I last reported on the case, there have been a few things happen and a few documents filed. For the list of and PDF access to the documents filed, visit my Goff v. Wiley page (it has now been updated to reflect the date of filing for each document).
Now for the news: There was a settlement conference between the parties that did not go very well, according to WynnBlog sources. What I can say is that there has not yet been a settlement reached according to court filings.
In other news, the RSU crowd has moved the court to stay the proceedings until O.U. attorney Steve Ashmore can return from Iraq, where he is serving with the military. His return is estimated by O.U. to be November 2008. Goff opposes this delay and has filed a motion to that effect. O.U. moved to strike this motion because it was filed three days late. Goff opposes striking the motion, and has filed a motion to that effect, stating that he was late filing because his office was flooded. The judge denied O.U.’s motion to strike. He as not yet ruled on whether the case should be stayed until Mr. Ashmore returns.
That’s about it for now. I’ll post periodic updates.
Topics: Joe Wiley, Legal, News, Oklahoma, RSU, University of Oklahoma | 56 Comments »
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Crossing the Finish Line
By Tyson Wynn | July 22, 2008 | Print This Post
I previously shared with WynnBlog readers about the situation with a rogue school board member at my high school alma mater. The short version is that a group of concerned citizens decided to deal with the matter rather than to ignore it. They formed an unincorporated group and have been working to hold the school board member accountable for his actions.
The only way to deal with an errant school board member in Oklahoma is to petition the district court for a grand jury to investigate. This is an extreme burden in small school districts, in that grand juries are county-wide. In the instant situation, my hometown of Welch, OK, has a total population of approximately 500 persons. The last school board election saw 274 persons cast votes for a school board member. The minimum number of signatures necessary to impanel a grand jury is 500. So, what you have is a small school district with a board member behaving badly that, to deal with the issue, must get the equivalent of the entire population of the town (and almost twice the number of persons who voted in the last school board election) to sign a petition to have the bad behavior addressed. It’s lunacy to require so much from a small community. Most recalls require only a percentage of the last vote for that specific entity, which is a much lower bar. In this case, if the school board recall bill authored by Representatives Toure and Hamilton had passed in 2003, it would require a petition signed by 25% of the number of persons voting in the last school board election, or 69 persons in this case, to set a recall election of just Welch school district voters. The grand jury petition requirement is 7 times that number! That’s a high bar indeed. In the Welch case, 69 signatures were gathered in less than a week if my memory serves. However, the grand jury does ensure that it’s not a popularity contest. The grand jury can subpoena witnesses and look at the evidence and reach an informed conclusion about Mr. McCord’s fitness for office.
All the above notwithstanding, the citizens of Welch have worked their rears off and traveled the county asking fair-minded citizens to sign the petition. The group, WE CARE (Welch Citizens United for Responsible Education), announced earlier today that it now has in excess of the 500 signatures necessary. WE CARE has given the board member’s attorney notice that they have the signatures and intend to file them with the court if he has not resigned by 4:00 p.m. tomorrow. We shall see what transpires.
The larger lesson here is that Oklahoma MUST reform school board accountability. Waiting up to five years to vote a bad board member out of office is simply not feasible; asking a small school district to gather more signatures than it has citizens is an undue burden. Oklahoma school board members should be subject to recall or impeachment. I will be addressing this in the future.
Topics: Legal, News, Oklahoma, Politics, Welch | No Comments »
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My Hero Graces Brad Paisley’s Latest Music Video
By Tyson Wynn | July 4, 2008 | Print This Post
Andy Griffith helps Brad Paisley out.
Topics: Andy Griffith, Country, Music, Video | 2 Comments »
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