I know the elections are over and done and that’s good. Perhaps I should have written this story last week, but here goes anyway. My preacher said last Sunday that perhaps we should just vote for the politician who sends us the fewest pieces of political mail. Sounds like a good idea to me. I suppose it’s good for a lot of people to be involved and interested in who gets elected to these important offices but when you look at the millions of dollars pumped into this election you wonder why.

For a high office, such as the Governor’s, I can see it to be mighty tempting to be able to hold this prestigious office. The others? Not so much. But nevertheless — millions of dollars? And whatever happened to truth in advertising? Well, it may not have ever been there in the first place. Politicians have been lying about themselves and their opponents for as long as I can remember and that’s a long time when you consider I’ll turn 88 soon.

I see in this past Sunday’s Oklahoman that Governor Stitt is being sued. Not unusual for someone to sue a sitting governor or some other highly placed politician but this one sounded pretty serious. The lawsuit was filed by the family survivors of three murder victims. It appears the governor pardoned their killer, Lawrence Paul Anderson, 43, from prison. Anderson was serving time on drug offenses when he was pardoned.

Anderson eventually found his way to Chickasha where he brutally murdered three people. One was Andrea Blankenship. Anderson cut out this lady’s heart and cooked it with potatoes in a soup which he intended to make her family eat. He attacked her Uncle Earl Pye and then killed his Aunt Delph Pye before turning his attention to their four-year old granddaughter, Kayos Pye. I don’t know which part of Anderson’s crimes are the most repulsive to me but surely the murdering of a 4-year-old girl has to be the worst. The fact this “pardoned” animal cooked a human heart and allegedly tried to make family members eat it goes beyond the pale.

Even though a staff member in the system mistakenly placed Anderson’s name on the list some of the blame does fall on Governor Stitt who is reported horrified at the way that turned out. The governor’s aim was to fast track a block of prisoners out of the system back into society and give a quick remedy to our overcrowded penal system here in Oklahoma. That worked well. It was indeed a quick way to get the census down in our penitentiaries. But who, if anyone, should be accountable for Anderson’s early release. Well, the governor will be held accountable when voters examine his job and decided if he should be given another term. It’s a story that may well follow him into the future.

The lawsuit? I think the suffering family is suing in vain. The Supreme Court is very strong in defending our first amendment rights to free speech and there again, I think the governor is protected in law from being sued over his actions while performing his duties. But all this brings my attention to bear on doing away with cash bails and other “gadget legislation” proffered by politicians to even the playing field between rich and the poor. It’s now very difficult for police in liberal establishments such as in New York City or San Francisco (to name examples) to keep criminals locked up any time at all. They are back on the street in just a matter of hours. Committing more crimes.

In the waning hours of this election, Republicans are being accused of being Nazis. Of endangering Social Security and Medicare by their elections. Democrats are pictured as being in bed with the communist etc. Same old charges. Thank goodness its over for now.

Thanks again for your letters and be sure and go to church Sunday.

Wayne Bullard, DPh

cwaynebullard@gmail.com