I think this thread needs a new name

I think this thread needs a new name

Or just time to move on. We all know why a large employer won't come here.

I think this thread needs a new name

“OK Sucks. OKC will suck as long as OK sucks. Our kids our stupid. Our pets heads are falling off. We’re all doomed.”

Did I do it right?

I'm not changing the title of this thread, as I'm proud of it.

I've spent hundreds of hours compiling information and tracking all this.

I started way back in 2006 and began documenting the craziness. It led to me participating in two big national articles (for one, I flew in from California to meet with reporters) that blew the lid off the irresponsible spending and led to the complete shakeup in the organization and in turn, at least partially saved the company.

The reporters of those stories reached out after finding this thread because no one else was talking about this stuff at all. Before the national articles, I gave my comprehensive spreadsheet to Steve Lackmeyer but of course he did nothing, which contributed heavily to my current opinion of him.

And we appreciate the efforts.

A lot of CHK's employees still don't think of Aubrey as a shady character. I don't really understand how they can feel that way other than they just want to ignore all of the BS he pulled. He did manage to create something pretty special until it all caught up with him. It's a shame it all ended up falling the way that it did, you have to follow the rules and play fair.

Almost everything Aubrey did was with shareholders' money and they knew almost nothing about it until Reuters and Bloomberg came to town.

Or just time to move on. We all know why a large employer won't come here. Moving on really says, " We are not worthy" or" We do not want to change"? We are all to blame collectively On why Oklahoma cannot attract large employers. It starts with our "mindset" and culture.

Moving on really says, " We are not worthy" or" We do not want to change"? We are all to blame collectively On why Oklahoma cannot attract large employers. It starts with our "mindset" and culture.

'Moving on' means its pointless to talk about it here because it requires a "Political" solution and that talk isn't allowed here. At what point do we stop beating around the bush?

'Moving on' means its pointless to talk about it here because it requires a "Political" solution and that talk isn't allowed here. At what point do we stop beating around the bush?

I miss the good ol' days of the forum when you could go to the political threads and read all the conspiracy theories and backwards ideologies. If you look closely you can still see them in comments made by certain members on here.

It shouldn't be political to identify clear deficiencies and then advocate for positive change.

But, that's not the world in which we currently live. So, we'll continue to do nothing -- apart from acts of self-destruction -- with the majority condoning, excusing, and even rewarding this approach, effectively being a huge part of the problem themselves.

I do feel like if we live in a small town and the town's one sole water pump broke down and needed repairs over half the town would complain about paying the repair bill and some would come up with some conspiracy theory about why the pump broke(ignoring the years of deferred maintenance).

As they say, you get the behavior you allow and reward.

The current situation isn't the fault of any small group, it's a failure of the voting public.

As they say, you get the behavior you allow and reward.

The current situation isn't the fault of any small group, it's a failure of the voting public.

Amen, amen, amen!

It shouldn't be political to identify clear deficiencies and then advocate for positive change.

But, that's not the world in which we currently live. So, we'll continue to do nothing -- apart from acts of self-destruction -- with the majority condoning, excusing, and even rewarding this approach, effectively being a huge part of the problem themselves.

You are on a hot streak. Keep preaching. Maybe it will soak in to some. (I know I am being optimistic. )

'Moving on' means its pointless to talk about it here because it requires a "Political" solution and that talk isn't allowed here. At what point do we stop beating around the bush?

We stop beating around the bush when it STOPS being a political discussion. When parties use schools and education as a divisive tool to further other agendas it is made political. When members blindly agree, then it becomes a virus.

As they say, you get the behavior you allow and reward.

The current situation isn't the fault of any small group, it's a failure of the voting public.

Yep.

I love Oklahoma and all the "failings of OKC/OK" (which really aren't failings) some on this board continue to randomly highlight over and over is just silly.

I love Oklahoma and all the "failings of OKC/OK" (which really aren't failings) some on this board continue to randomly highlight over and over is just silly.

Most regular posters on this board do not like OKC as is and want to make the entire metro into a NYC or LA... not sure why. I like this city.

Wanting the state to not be last in virtually every quality of life/education ranking doesn't mean people want OKC to be New York or Los Angeles lol. An impressive commitment to misrepresent and misunderstand people's concerns.

Wanting the state to not be last in virtually every quality of life/education ranking doesn't mean people want OKC to be New York or Los Angeles lol. An impressive commitment to misrepresent and misunderstand people's concerns.

Or that we don't love OKC. Actually, it proves the opposite.

Or that we don't love OKC. Actually, it proves the opposite.

Exactly. If we didn't love OKC, we wouldn't be bringing these things up. What's the saying, "the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference?"

I want the city I live in to be better.

Most regular posters on this board do not like OKC as is and want to make the entire metro into a NYC or LA... not sure why. I like this city.
I’ll be the first to admit I would love to see Oklahoma City turn into a giant Dallas sized metropolis. But that is my opinion and my opinion alone. I feel like I’m in a super small margin of posters here who share that same sentiment. I get the vibe that most people on this website just wanna see Oklahoma City become better than it is. Not turned into LA or New York City.

I’ll be the first to admit I would love to see Oklahoma City turn into a giant Dallas sized metropolis. But that is my opinion and my opinion alone. I feel like I’m in a super small margin of posters here who share that same sentiment. I get the vibe that most people on this website just wanna see Oklahoma City become better than it is. Not turned into LA or New York City.

I despise going to Dallas. I do not like cities that are huge and spread out like that. I think OKC is growing and in a great way, a little slow for my liking, but I always want to see my City be the best it can be.

I'm not changing the title of this thread, as I'm proud of it.

I've spent hundreds of hours compiling information and tracking all this.

I started way back in 2006 and began documenting the craziness. It led to me participating in two big national articles (for one, I flew in from California to meet with reporters) that blew the lid off the irresponsible spending and led to the complete shakeup in the organization and in turn, at least partially saved the company.

The reporters of those stories reached out after finding this thread because no one else was talking about this stuff at all. Before the national articles, I gave my comprehensive spreadsheet to Steve Lackmeyer but of course he did nothing, which contributed heavily to my current opinion of him.

I remember when you contacted me about some of this. Though I appreciate everything AKM did for OKC to help raise its profile and a bunch of the positive changes he made and trends he started in the oil and gas industry, I was admittedly reluctant to hear the other side of it. You are right, NO ONE here was publicly reporting on any of the negative and potentially negative stuff in the background of all the cool flashy things that were going on aside from rumblings around the industry. It was great, and more importantly…unbiased/fair, investigative journalism.

I’ll always respect the guy for his positive contributions to our city and my industry but it’s a complicated story and it’s important that both sides are told.

I despise going to Dallas. I do not like cities that are huge and spread out like that. I think OKC is growing and in a great way, a little slow for my liking, but I always want to see my City be the best it can be.

Same. Though I enjoy Fort Worth quite a bit.

In the context of this thread, people are just wishing for a good employer to move here and snap up this old Chesapeake property, resulting in a bunch of new high-paying jobs.

And since that has effectively never happened, there is a lot of discussion as to why.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see the educational systems here get better also (thank goodness for the parental choice tax credit!). My point was this group has vastly different (and strong) opinions about the direction of OKC. I respect everyone's view, even if I don't agree with it... or even understand it. I have learned a lot of valuable information in this forum.

Yes, this is next statement is exaggerated to make the point... it's like this general posters in this board want all surface (regular) parking banned for parking garaged, all zoning turned into nothing but multi-use districts that ban all cars, must park in a garage and train or bus somewhere... only certain businesses are good enough to be wanted here, forget the rest. You get the point...

So, back to reality, this great is probably the best in OKC to keep up with current events within the city (and elsewhere in the right thread). Pete is the best I found at documenting progress of, well, just about everything that goes on it OKC... to the point I kind of think he is underappreciated, given all the hard work he puts in (case and point, OKANA). But for the direction of OKC as a whole, this site (more like the posters) has to be taken with a grain of salt because they are typically in the minority of the metro population and seem to align better with other cities (I just use NYC and LA for an example). OKC has made huge strides in many aspects over the past several years, even surpassing Tulsa for the best city in OK (by just about all standards)... but all cities fall short in some aspects.

I have no idea what I just read!

I have no idea what I just read!
Retiny.

I love Oklahoma and all the "failings of OKC/OK" (which really aren't failings) some on this board continue to randomly highlight over and over is just silly.
If you don’t admit the failings you will never overcome them. They should be talked about over and over and over until things change. OK is worth fighting for. Ignorance and denial doesn't mean love or loyalty.