Beginning Game Programming: Two Chapters Down

September 10, 2021 Posted by zachary

As of today, I have completed the first two code examples from Beginning Game Programming by Michael Morrison. So far, this project has started off fun and even slightly challenging. I am really enjoying it. Here are some of the things I have learned.

Chapter 2: Blizzard Example

This chapter was not too challenging. In the book, this chapter had the reader create a basic game engine in C++. Since we are working with HaxeFlixel, I didn’t need to worry about that. But you do need to know how HaxeFlixel structures its projects. In a barebones HaxeFlixel project you have an assets folder (where all the game’s sprites, sounds etc live), a source folder (where all your source code goes), and a project xml file. The source file starts off with the AssetPaths, Main, and PlayState Haxe files.

The AssetPaths file is a class that scans the assets directory and creates pointer objects that you can use for your games. The Main file Loads in your game and sends the player to the PlayState. The PlayState file is where the core of your game is going to run from. In this file you have the create function, which is where you do all your initialization for your game, and the update function which is where all your game’s core logic will execute from.

In the Blizzard example, I also created a SnowFlake class file which is a basic class file that extends the HaxeFlixel FlxSprite class. The “game” doesn’t have a lot happening other than a timer and counter that controls how many and when to add snowflakes to the game screen.

(more…)

New Game Development Training Program

September 3, 2021 Posted by zachary

Hey Game Development Fans,

My name is Zachary Knight, I am one of the Co-Founders of Divine Knight Gaming. A long while back, we found and fell in love with Flixel, an Actionscript engine for creating 2d sprite based games for Flash. When that engine got ported to the cross platform language Haxe, becoming HaxeFlixel, we couldn’t be more excited about the possibilities. While I have made a lot of progress in learning this engine, there is still much more to learn. That is why I am taking up this new challenge.

(more…)

Why I am A Libertarian Who Is Leaving the Libertarian Party

June 22, 2021 Posted by zachary

Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wasn’t a Republican or a Democrat. My first real exposure to the idea of parties outside the dominant parties was Ross Perot and his Reform Party in 1992. As a kid I was excited to see what a three candidate race for President was like. Even though I expressed preferences based on what my parents felt, I still thought his run was history in my lifetime. I had no idea why when it came to the Clinton/Dole election in 1996 that we only had two candidates. This dulled my interest in elections. It wasn’t until the Bush/Kerry election in 2004 that I took interest in elections again. This came about in my college years and I felt I had an obligation to at least see who was running, but I didn’t take much interest at that time. I don’t even remember who I ended up voting for aside from that it wasn’t Kerry.

During all this time, I never really felt at home in the two dominate parties in the US. When I started voting, I registered Independent and stuck with it until 2012.

Because of that lack of home, I was always curious about what other parties were out there. I read about the rise and fall of political parties with keen interest and thought I might one day start a party. In 2006, I returned to Oklahoma and looked up the procedures in state law to find out what it would take. I was astounded by the high signature count needed to form and even higher electoral burden to stay recognized. I read about how few parties formed in Oklahoma and how none ever survived their first year on the ballot.

Around 2010, I found a group of like minded people at Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform who were fighting to make it easier to form a new political party. I learned that prior to 1968, all it took to form a new party was 5000 signatures. But due to the success of a third party presidential candidate Oklahoma, a Democratic stronghold at the time, the election ended up with Nixon as the winner of the state’s electoral votes. So the Democratic majority in the state legislature increased the petition to 5% of the last vote for President or Governor, and increased the percentage of the vote that a party would need to stay recognized to 10% of the vote. Ridiculous.

I immediately got to work in the fight to change these laws. I worked every legislative session, calling legislators, visiting them in their offices, writing emails and letter campaigns, and writing a ballot access brief. 4 years I worked to get a bill passed to reduce that petition burden. Finally in 2014, we succeeded. After nearly 50 years, Oklahoma’s laws for forming a new party was eased. While not the 5,000 signatures it once was, the new 3% of the last vote for Governor was a huge improvement.

During this time, I worked on other efforts to expand electoral options for Oklahoma voters. In 2012, the American Elect party spent considerable money and effort to get on the ballot under Oklahoma’s old law. But when it came time to follow through with that ballot access success, they failed to organize and nominate a candidate for President. So a small group of American Elect supporters convinced me and others to join in nominating Gary Johnson for the Americans Elect position on the Oklahoma ballot. So I joined the party and registered to be an official Elector for Gary Johnson. We filed the necessary paperwork and immediately the Republican controlled state government challenged the nomination and sued to remove Gary Johnson from the ballot. They were successful in making up law on the spot and convincing the Oklahoma Supreme Court to rule in their favor and Gary Johnson was no longer a candidate for President in Oklahoma in 2012.

Back to 2014, during my time at Oklahoman’s for Ballot Access Reform, I met many people who were members of the Libertarian Party. As I learned more about that party, I was sure that I finally found a political home. Even before we were successful in getting the laws changed in Oklahoma, I joined the Libertarian Party and was elected as Secretary for the OKLP in 2012. Once the laws to form a new party were changed in 2014, I joined the effort to petition for party recognition. That petition was successful in time for the 2016 Presidential election.

Even during that time, I was still working to ease Oklahoma’s laws regarding the recognition of political parties. I knew that even if a party was successful in petitioning to form, they would have a severe uphill battle meeting the 10% vote requirement to stay recognized. So I convinced a handful of legislators to introduce a bill to lower that vote test to 2.5% of the vote for Governor or President. That bill passed in time for the 2016 election. That year Gary Johnson won 5.76% of the vote in Oklahoma, surpassing the new 2.5% requirement. Had that 10% requirement stayed, the Libertarian party would have failed to stay recognized and they would have had to petition all over again.

I wasn’t done yet. In 2017, I wrote a new bill that changed the vote test so that it applied to any statewide elected office as well as allow for a party to remain recognized for 4 years rather than 2. I convinced legislators to introduce this bill and pass it in 2018. This new bill again helped the Libertarian Party to stay recognized in Oklahoma. At that same time, I wrote and succeeded in getting passed a law that reduced the signatures needed to get an Independent Presidential candidate on the ballot as well as provide for an optional filing fee. Because of this, 3 Independent presidential candidates were on the 2020 ballot along with the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian nominees.

During this time, I maintained some activity in the Oklahoma Libertarian Party. I still felt that they would be a home for me. However, due to the actions of some members of the party and the way they treated founding members of the modern OKLP, people who I considered to be friends, I reduced my activity to casual observer. I maintained my voter registration but stopped paying dues and attending conventions.

One aspect of Oklahoma election law that I like is the option for recognized political parties to invite voters registered as independents to vote in a party’s primaries. In 2016, the newly formed party invited independent voters to vote in the one primary election we had, for US Senate. While the primary results were not the ones the party, and even the candidates themselves preferred, I still felt it was a major reason why the party went from roughly 700 members at founding to several thousand after the 2016 election. But in 2017, the new Executive Committee chose not to allow Independent voters to vote in the OKLP’s primaries. This was primarily due to concern they had that independent supporters of Joe Exotic would nominate him for the LP place in the Governor Race. These concerns manifested themselves more broadly in 2019 and the primaries were once again closed. I felt this was a betrayal of the ideals of freedom and liberty that the Libertarian Party was meant to exemplify.

This wasn’t my only concerns with the party. For years, the Libertarian Party has had a provision in the Party Platform that allows for all sorts of restrictions on immigration so long as anyone claims that they are “reasonable”. And there are a lot of people claiming to be libertarian who believe that locking children in cages and destroying life saving supplies in the desert are “reasonable” restrictions. Despite many efforts to simply strike the word “reasonable” from that platform statement, it has failed every time. This isn’t my only concerns with libertarians. There are also many who believe that the government should be allowed to deny marriages to LGBTQ+ people. There are Libertarians who do not support civil rights in general. There are libertarians who glorify the Confederacy and hold that defenders of slavery were righteous warriors of freedom. Many libertarians also expressed solidarity with police who murder innocent civilians and who also violently break up protests against those police abuses. Not to mention the libertarians who express support or apathy towards pedophilia. It is frankly disturbing that people in the party of freedom for all would support so many anti-freedom beliefs.

Then the 2016 election came and boy was I not prepared. Trump won that election and the ensuing avalanche of support from supposed libertarians for him was mind boggling. Throughout his presidency with all his increasing of taxes, wall building, cracking down on immigration and asylum seekers and refugees; despite his effort to escalate the wars in the Middle East and start a new war with Iran; despite his terrible handling of the Covid pandemic, and so many efforts to destroy liberty and freedom in the US, libertarians flocked to him as if he was the epitome of libertarian ideals.

During his Presidency, Republican Congressman Justin Amash expressed disdain for the cult of Trump and changed his registration to Libertarian, becoming the first sitting Libertarian Congressman. He even made movements that indicated his intent to seek the Libertarian nomination for President. The 2020 nominating convention scared him off before he could even make an official announcement. Despite a deadly virus outbreak, some in charge of the convention refused to allow an online convention to take place. They fought to death to prevent it because they knew that if an in person convention was held, that their anti-immigration anti-freedom candidates would be nominated because only their Covid denying supporters would show up in person. Thankfully they failed and an online convention was held, but that whole fiasco scared off the best potential candidate since Gary Johnson.

It became quite clear to me that many active members of the OKLP and those seeking leadership roles in the party supporters were people who held the beliefs above. They fought against efforts to reject bigotry. They made it quite clear that bigots were welcome and the victims of bigotry are not. Then came the January 6 assault on the US Capitol that disrupted the counting and certifying of the 2020 Electoral votes. The OKLP refused to take a stand against it stating that it wasn’t an Oklahoma problem.

These kinds of libertarians were gaining extensive traction all over the country, but none so blatant as those in New Hampshire. The series of tweets that came from the official LPNH Twitter account were quite appalling and nary a word from the OKLP. When the national party decided to take action against New Hampshire, those in leadership and influence in the OKLP spoke out against the national party and in support of the edgelord messaging of LPNH.

All of this to say that at one time, I felt like I might have found a political home. There were so many aspects of libertarian ideology that rang true to me and influenced my line of thinking. But there are severe ideological differences between me and those who seek to control the messaging and direction of the Libertarian Party. Over the last week, so many people I admire have resigned from their roles in the party. Many people who started the Oklahoma Libertarian Party have long ago left the public spotlight. I feel it is my time as well.

I am moving soon. I will need to re-register to vote. When I do, I plan on once again registering as an Independent voter. However, I will continue to work toward a world set free. I will work for liberty and justice that is truly for all. I will be renewing my efforts with Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform. There are still so many areas of Oklahoma election law that needs reform. I feel that is where I can be of most help toward a world set free. Perhaps one day a new political party will emerge from those efforts and it will truly reflect the ideals that make up who I am.

-E. Zachary Knight

A Better House Of Representatives

November 6, 2020 Posted by zachary

While everyone is focused on the Presidential Election this year, I want to point out just how undemocratic and unrepresentative the US House of Representatives is.

In 1911, The House capped its membership at 435 members, the number of representatives at the time. The only time that increased was for a brief period after Alaska and Hawaii were brought into the Union. It was quickly brought back down to 435 members after then next census.During the following 100+ years, the US population increased by more than 3 times (92 million to 309 million). But we have not seen an increase in House membership to reflect that.

There are currently 7 states that have only 1 Representative in the House. According to the 2010 census, the populations of these states vary from 563k to 989k. That varying population means that there is less genuine representation in Montana (989k) than in Wyoming (563k).

The limitations in travel and technology present in 1911 when the House was capped is no longer an issue. Representatives can fly from their state to DC in a matter of hours. We have technology today that means that meetings and votes can be held virtually. The need to be in Washington at all is no longer relevant.

To fix this mass undemocratic body, I propose the following change (which I believe has been presented by others before me).

We should eliminate the cap entirely. Instead, we should set a floor. This floor will be that the least populated state in the Union gets at minimum 5 Representatives. If 5 would result in the members representing fewer than 30,000 people (the minimum set in the Constitution) then that state gets as many as that limit would allow. Then the Representation of the other states is based off that proportion.

If this were in place today, Wyoming would have 5 Representatives, and the proportion other states are based on would be 1 Representative for every 112,000 people. So, for example, Oklahoma would have 33 Representatives and California would have 330. For a total House size of roughly 2,700 members. Thanks to technology available today, there would be no reason for all those House members to have offices in DC, or to even have to travel there. They could be permanently stationed in their home states where they are more available to their constituents.

This change will also have the result of reducing the impact of the 2 at large Electors representing the 2 members of the Senate for all States. Meaning that the full Elector slate of each state will be more closely inline with the populations of the individual states.

EDIT:

To go along with this post about the House of Representatives and just how unrepresentative it is, I created a spreadsheet that gave me the data. This spreadsheet shows the population of the 50 US states as of 2010, their current number of Representatives, then in it goes into projecting various scenarios of Representative numbers based on different criteria. Basically, any scenario that isn’t a hard cap is going to increase the total number of Representatives.

State Representatives Current and Projected

2020 Election Endorsements

October 13, 2020 Posted by zachary

It is the time of year again. The election is creeping closer and closer. This year has been a very rough election season. With Covid causing havoc around the country, and the election rhetoric at an all time high, this year has been one of the most annoying I have ever experienced. So let’s get down to business, my endorsements.

First off, do not vote Straight Party. Not only is this one of the laziest forms of voting, it hurts the wide number of independents running, and ignores those races that do not have one of the party candidates running. This form of voting needs to go. Several bills have been introduced over the years to repeal this device, and I support any bills introduced in the next few legislative sessions to repeal it.

President

President has been the most annoying race this year by far. With the Democratic Party nominating Biden despite him not joining the race til near the end, and Trump’s nonstop rhetoric about Democrats stealing the election using Covid and mail-in voting, and the Libertarian Party completely screwing the pooch and losing Congressman Justin Amash because they couldn’t do the right thing and go full virtual for their convention, I really have a hard time deciding this race. Normally, I would say to vote for Libertarian Jo Jorgensen for ballot access, but that isn’t as important in Oklahoma thanks to the work of Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform. There are also three independent candidates running in Oklahoma, Kanya West, Jade Simmons, and Brock Pierce. I don’t know much about them. What I do know is that I cannot endorse either Trump or Biden. Neither are good for this country. Neither will end the endless Middle Eastern wars. Neither will pass serious Criminal Justice Reforms. I am inclined to vote for Jorgensen. She is better than the duopoly candidates. She has some serious problems with communication and some policy positions, but she is much better.

Trump is also very likely to win in Oklahoma. There is little hope of any other candidate winning Oklahoma. So vote for whomever you want. But I would love to see a whole lot of votes for the Libertarian and Independent candidates. We need to break the duopoly stranglehold in this country.

Senate

This year Senator Jim Inhofe is up for reelection. This man has been in office for as long as I can remember. He is a warmonger. He supports the never ending wars in the Middle East. He supports the Drug War at home. He supports Trump’s border wall and immigration system. He is not good for the US or Oklahoma. Running against him are Democratic Candidate Abby Broyles, Libertarian Robert Murphy, and Independents Joan Farr and A.D. Nesbit. I have know Robert Murphy for years and know him to be a good man. I will be voting for him and recommend all voters vote for Robert Murphy. This is another race where the Republican will win easily, so if you feel like voting for someone else, I won’t complain.

Congress

I live in Congressional District 2. This race has Republican Markwayne Mullin, Democrat Danyell Lanier, and Libertarian Rickie Castaldo. This is the one race on my ballot that I will NOT vote for the Libertarian. I know Castaldo to not be a good person. He has a habit of lying about people he disagrees with. He also holds several campaign positions that I do not consider Libertarian. Instead, I will be voting for and endorse Danyell Lanier. I think she will do far more to advance liberty in the capital than either Mullin or Castaldo.

For all other Congressional Races, I also endorse voting for the Democrat in the race. Specifically, I endorse Kendra Horn in District 5. I lived in District 5 in 2018 and voted for her, and have not regretted it. None of Oklahoma’s Republican delegation have done anything to end the endless wars, advance justice, or rein in the budget. Voting Democrat will do far more to advance those issues.

Corporation Commissioner

This is a two way race between the Republican Todd Hiett and Libertarian Todd Hagopian. I endorse Todd Hagopian. He has a good head on his shoulders, an employment background that will help him in this position, and a desire to improve the state and advance liberty.

State Legislature

For the districts that represent me, there are Senate District 9 and Representative District 4.

In district 9, we have incumbent Republican Dewayne Pemberton and Democrat Jack Reavis. I am not too familiar with either, but Pemberton voted to increase the filing fees and petitions needed to run for office in Oklahoma. Essentially, he wants to make it harder for people to challenge him and his incumbent friends. So I endorse Jack Reavis.

For District 4, we have incumbent Democrat Matt Meredith and Republican Bob Ed Culver. I have not seen anything in Meredith’s record that really turns me off of him. He has been on the right side of every ballot access bill that came to a vote. As for Culver, this guy is basically running his campaign as if he is trying to impress Trump. Every mailer I have received from him or his supporters has been about how much he loves and supports Trump and how much Meredith doesn’t. Ugh. I endorse Matt Meredith.

As for all other state legislative races I recommend voting for the Libertarian if there is one, and voting for the Democrat or Independent next. Basically, I want to see the GOP lose power in Oklahoma.

County Sheriff

Don’t know much here. New to Cherokee county and have not had a lot of interaction with either candidate. Democrat Jason Chennault is the incumbent. Republican Manuel Holland is challenging him. Not really sure what there is to like about either and will probably skip this one simply because I have no information to go on. But if you know more than I do, I recommend voting for the one that supports ending the war on drugs.

State Questions

State Question 805: This question will put an end to the practice of increasing someone’s criminal sentence if they have been convicted previously. Basically, for all non-violent crimes, the sentence cannot be increased beyond the statutory limit. This will reduce the time people are in prison, reducing the total prison population in Oklahoma. Vote Yes on SQ 805.

State Question 814: This question redirects the majority of funds received by Oklahoma’s Tobacco Settlement and Endowment Trust (TSET) to the general fund. TSET has not done anything in Oklahoma to reduce tobacco use. The board denies health science. They need to be defunded. Vote Yes on SQ 814.

County Questions

Cherokee County has a question on the ballot to allow for sales on Sunday. I do not drink and have no personal stake in this fight, but I think that Oklahoma’s blue laws are an affront to liberty. Vote Yes on this Proposition.

What Is The Point Of Human Electors?

May 30, 2019 Posted by zachary

What is the point of having human Presidential Electors? Nearly every state binds the vote of the Presidential Electors to the statewide popular vote winner. Even if the winner of that state’s popular vote shoots his running mate in the face on election night, the Electors are still bound to cast their vote for him.

If Electors don’t vote for the winner of the state popular vote, they are immediately fired, fined, and replaced with another more willing cog. There is zero autonomy in this.

(more…)

2018 Oklahoma Midterm Election Endorsements

October 22, 2018 Posted by zachary

First things first, DO NOT VOTE STRAIGHT PARTY! I cannot stress this enough. Voting straight party means that many races you could be voting in and have a big impact in will be skipped. If you are voting straight party, and there is not a candidate of that party in some race on the ballot, then you are not casting a vote in that race. There are many qualified candidates who are independent, or are of a party you are ambivalent to that you could be supporting. Do you really want a candidate of a party you hate to win a high profile race simply because you decided to vote straight party and not to vote for their opponent?

Secondly, No one owns your vote but you. No candidate owns it. No other voters own it. It is yours and yours alone to freely give to whomever you wish. You are also absolutely free to withhold your vote in any race. You are not required to vote in any way. So in a sense, this second point counters my first point. So feel free to ignore me telling you not to vote straight party. But if that is your wish, I do ask you to at least look at your sample ballot and decide for yourself if those races that do not have a candidate of the party you support do have a candidate you could get behind.

Now for the simple task of putting forward my endorsements for all statewide and congressional races.

Statewide Races

For Governor, I am endorsing Libertarian Chris Powell. Of the three candidates, he actually supports full criminal justice reform and marijuana legalization for both medical and recreational use. Stitt says he supports the will of the people on medical, but he has expressed interest in blocking its growth. Edmondson was the state AG and used his position to expand the over-criminalization in Oklahoma leading to the problems we are facing right now. We cannot trust him to fix the mess he had a hand in creating. Neither Stitt nor Edmondson will reduce the size and scope of government in Oklahoma. Powell will. Powell has also stated clearly that he support ballot access reform, easing of the initiative process, and other changes to election laws to make it easier for you to vote, or run for office.

For Lt. Governor, we are not given a lot to go on here. In general, I think the office of Lt. Governor is a pointless office and should be gotten rid of. But since we have a race for it, here we go. I checked out the Independent Candidate, Ivan Holmes, but he has no real information to share. One wonders why he is even in the race. As for the Republican candidate, Matt Pinnell, and the Democratic candidate Anastasia Pittman I really have no opinion. Since the Lt Governor in Oklahoma has so little power and basically nothing to do (seriously, when was the last time the Lt Governor had to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate?), I am simply inclined to cast an endorsement for Anastasia Pittman for no other reason than having a woman of color in that office is preferable.

Libertarian candidate John Yeutter is the only choice for State Auditor and Inspector. His only opponent is Cindy Byrd, Republican. Both are licensed CPAs. But John is also a professor of accounting and is a member of the only political party that will actually do something about the rising cost of government services and tackle wasteful spending throughout the state.

Attorney General is actually pretty easy. After carefully reading and considering their positions, Democrat Mark Myles wins out over Republican Mike Hunter. Unfortunately, both are pro-death penalty, but that is about where their similarities end. I don’t like everything about Myles’ platform, but he at least recognizes the issues that our over-criminalization has had on the State and plans to do something about it. He recognizes that our criminal “justice” system disproportionately harms people of color and the poor among us and wants to fix that. Hunter on the other hand is simply dumb on crime and wants to keep on forcing Oklahoma down the exact same path it has been on.

Who knows what is happening with the State Treasurer‘s race. Republican Randy McDaniel doesn’t even have a website I can find. He is a sitting legislator and seems to be using this to advance his political career. Independent Charles de Coune does have a website but doesn’t have a whole lot of information there. What little I can find, he seems to be the better choice over the establishment Republican looking to advance his political career.

For Superintendent, it is easy to rule out Joy Hoffmeister. She really hasn’t done anything of note during her current tenure. Both Democrat John Cox and Independent Larry Huff have teaching experience and a background in education. I am inclined to support Larry Huff in this race for no other reason than I want to see the duopoly party stranglehold in Oklahoma broken.

The Commissioner of Labor race is something of a mystery. Only Democratic candidate Fred Dorrell has anything resembling an idea of what they want to do in the office. For that reason, I am inclined to support him in the coming election.

In the Insurance Commissioner race, we have a Republican career politician and a small business owning Democrat. Republican Glen Mulready has been in the legislature for over a decade and was part of the insurance committee. He says he has written many laws that impacted insurance in the state but I haven’t seen any indication that those laws have improved anything. I am not inclined to trust anyone making a career out of politics, especially someone who clearly telegraphed his intentions so early. So I will endorse Democrat Kimberly Fobbs.

In the race for Corporation Commissioner, Incumbent Republican Bob Anthony doesn’t tell us much about what he plans to do, instead relying on his long history in that office. He has effectively made a career in this position. His Democratic opponent Ashley Nicole McCray has a plan that includes providing services such as high speed internet to rural Oklahoma, something that it is in desperate need of. She also wants to make sure that the citizens of Oklahoma are protected from the long history of carelessness on the part of major companies in the state. Ashley Nicole McCray has my recommendation.

Congressional Races

In the First Congressional race, we have Republican Kevin Hern and Democrat Tim Gilpin. I honestly don’t see a lot to like about either one. They are both pretty awful on a foreign policy perspective, but Hern’s terrible stance on immigration, one founded on many falsehoods about the Obama Presidency, makes him even worse. I don’t live in the district and if I did, I would likely hold my nose and vote for Tim Gilpin.

In the Second Congressional race, we have a four way race. Incumbent Republican Markwayne Mullin is not right for Oklahoma. He needs to go. His Democratic Challenger, Jason Nichols actually seems to be pretty good on many issues. For example, I love that he supports Net Neutrality. I do not support the Libertarian in this race. He is not a good person in general and has made personal attacks and lies about many of my friends. The Independent in this race doesn’t have any plan to speak of. So vote for Jason Nichols.

In the Third Congressional Race, I endorse Democrat Frankie Robbins. Republican Frank Lucas is a big government conservative and does everything he can to increase government spending. I don’t believe that Robbins will be much better in that regard, but he will at least push back on some of the worst Republican impulses in congress.

In the Fourth Congressional Race, I never liked Republican Tom Cole. He is a war hawk and just loves to increase spending in government. The Independent in the race actually advertises himself as a MAGA Republican, ugh. Democrat Mary Brannon gets my endorsement for her stated goal to retire Tom Cole, Inhofe and Lankford.

In the Fifth Congressional race, I highly recommend Democrat Kendra Horn. She is a solid choice and if any Democrat in Oklahoma has a shot, it is her. The 5th district has been trending Democrat for years and it is high time it flipped. Republican Steve Russell is a major spender in Congress, never seeing a spending increase he didn’t love despite his initial campaign against government spending increases. That needs to end.

Down Ballot

For all down ballot races, I won’t get into any specifics. There are too many to go through. So I will post my formula here. I have not met a single Libertarian running for Oklahoma Senate or House that I don’t like. So if there is a Libertarian running in your district, I highly suggest voting for them. After that, I tend to vote against incumbents. But I prioritize Democrats in races where there is no incumbent.

For my local district, OK House District 81, I endorse Jackie Phillips. She has a good plan in place to represent Edmond in the capital.

State Questions

There are 5 state questions on the ballot this year. Here is how I am voting and how I recommend that you vote.

Vote Yes on SQ 793, allowing optometrists to open up shop inside of a retail establishment. This will be good for competition. They only people against this proposal are those benefiting from the lack of cheap competition.

Vote No on SQ 794. The Oklahoma Constitution already has a provision protecting victims’ rights. This question would put victim rights at odds with the right of the accused doing damage to due process in the state.

Vote No on SQ 798. The office of Lt Governor needs to go. Combining its race with the Governor race makes no sense and opens up the potential for the legislature to use this change to harm new political parties.

Vote No on SQ 800. The state does not need another rainy day fund, and they especially don’t need to create a new tax for a new one.

Vote No on SQ 801. Pushing more of the funding for public schools onto property tax payers is a no go. It would create a very uneven funding mechanism for Oklahoma schools, punishing schools in low income areas and propping up high income schools.

Announcing The Simple Game Site Builder

May 3, 2017 Posted by zachary

Simple Game Site BuilderIt has been a long time everyone. I have been working on a few things over the last few months, and I am finally ready to announce one of them. So here goes. Announcing the Simple Game Site Builder. This simple tool will help you get a clean and professional looking game site up and running in a matter of minutes.

A couple of weeks ago, I read a great article by Justin Carroll about the need to have a clean and well structured site to sell your game. Inspired by this article, I set out to make an easy to use tool that will give you a great looking site to sell your game. All you have to do is update the included game_info.xml file, put your images into the images directory, upload everything to your web server and the site takes care of itself.

See Simple Game Site Builder In Action

See Simple Game Site Builder In Action

There are some great features for this too.

  • Use either a link to the location you are selling your game, or use the embed code from your store of choice.
  • Include your trailer from whatever site is hosting it using their embed code.
  • Display any number of images and features.
  • Build a subscriber list for your company by including code from services like Mail Chimp.
  • Point people to all your social media locations.
  • Easy linking to your presskit()
  • Include analytics tracking code.

We have also made the Simple Game Site Builder available to you under the MIT license for open source software. You can use and modify this code for any need you have. We have also made the code available on Github. If you want to contribute to the project, you can do so there. You can also see this tool in action over at the ManlyBoy site.

Simple Game Site Builder Github RepoDownload Simple Game Site Builder Zip

In Which I Express My Election Endorsements

November 7, 2016 Posted by zachary

What a year for an election. There is so much going on and so much at stake. So it is time for some endorsements from this Candidate for Congress.

I will list my endorsements from the top down, first for those running on my local ballot and then in general for the rest of the state.

First Up, I endorse Gary Johnson, Libertarian, for President. He is the only serious and qualified candidate running for the top office in the nation. He has executive experience as Governor of New Mexico. He has a proven track record of working with an opposing legislative branch. He has a proven record of smart budget policies. He has great ideas for our foreign relationships with other nations. In a serious election, he would be the top contender. While I don’t have any hope that he will win Oklahoma, I feel he has a great chance in the national race. But in Oklahoma, a vote for him means a vote for continued competition of ideas in Oklahoma.

Next, I endorse Robert Murphy, Libertarian for Senate. I have known Robert for a while now and he is a really smart and liberty minded individual. He would make a great Senator and advocate for liberty, freedom and peace.

I then endorse myself for Congressional District 5. Of course.

For OK Senate District 41, I endorse Richard Prawdzienski. As a long time Libertarian, I trust Richard to make responsible decisions for the direction of this state.

For OK House District 39, I endorse Clark Duffe. He is a respected friend and Libertarian. He will also help steer Oklahoma in the right direction.

For Oklahoma County Clerk, I endorse Chris Powell, Libertarian. He has been a strong advocate for liberty and he will use his position to strengthen that in this county.

For Oklahoma County Sheriff, I will abstain. Neither candidate is an honest or good person. They have both shown to be corrupt and untrustworthy. I can’t in good conscience vote for either one.

For Oklahoma County Court Clerk, The incumbent lost in the Primary, but her Republican challenger does not possess much better judgement. I suggest voting for Anastasia Pittman for Court Clerk, but don’t make an endorsement.

For Judicial Retention, I don’t have the time and energy to research the value of each judge’s rulings. Neither have I heard of any ruling that just made me shake my head as much as the legislation the state courts have overruled. However, any judges that are not retained will have final approval of Governor Fallin for their replacement. Fallin has not been a good Governor for our state and so she should be kept far from replacing any judges. Vote Yes on all judicial retention.

For State Questions, see my previous post.

In all other races, I suggest the following rules: 1) If there is a Libertarian on the ballot, vote for him or her. 2) If there is an Independent on the ballot, Vote for him or her. 3) If there is an incumbent on the ballot, vote for their opponent.

A Libertarian Look At Oklahoma’s State Questions

October 14, 2016 Posted by zachary

Here are my thoughts on Oklahoma’s 2016 State Questions:

SQ 776 – Adds The Death Penalty To The Oklahoma Constitution.

This state question is a response by the legislature to recent court rulings against Oklahoma’s methods of executing people on death row. As a Libertarian, I am completely opposed to the death penalty. The US justice system is not perfect. Too often, innocent people, many of them with mental health problems, are railroaded through the justice system to secure a murder conviction. Prosecution and police use deceptive measures including coerced confessions and withholding and fabricating evidence to convict someone. People deserve every chance to prove their innocence, even if it take years or decades. The death penalty puts an irreversible roadblock to justice. I say we take a stand against the death penalty and Vote No on SQ 776.

SQ 777 – Creates a “Right To Farm” Amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution.

Farming is already a natural right of property owners. However, no one has a right to harm the property of their neighbors. One of the government’s primary purposes is to protect the rights of property owners from fraud and harm. I have heard no compelling reasons to support this Constitutional amendment, nor have I heard any compelling reasons for why this amendment is even needed. Until I see a compelling reason to enshrine such a “right” in the Constitution, I say Vote No on SQ 777.

SQ 779 – Creates a One Cent Sales Tax To Fund Education

While this question sounds good on its face, it has a number of problems. First up, the supporters of this question are falling for their ages old “throw money at it” solution to failing education. They have done this before with taxes on gambling and other taxes before. But the real problem with our education system is bloat and a lack of competition. Public education supporters are afraid to take on these issues. Instead, they would rather increase the Oklahoma sales tax to one of the highest in the nation. Something that will drive people out of this state, reducing tax income. Vote No on SQ 779.

SQ 780 and SQ 781 – Sweeping Criminal Justice Reform

SQ 780 reduces criminal penalties for a wide number of victimless crimes, including many drug possession charges. For years Oklahoma has been a “tough on crime” state. But in reality, Oklahoma has simply made sentences for minor offenses longer and harsher. This has not resulted in a reduced crime rate, but has only resulted in broken people and families. People who could have been a benefit to the state had they not had their lives ruined by time in jail and a criminal record. SQ 781 is a companion bill and can only have an effect if SQ 780 passes. It takes the money saved by not incarcerating those convicted of those minor offenses and puts those funds toward alternative reform programs. Both are great ideas. Vote Yes on SQ 780 and SQ 781.

SQ 790 – Repeals The Constitutional Amendment Preventing Public Funds For Religious Uses

SQ 790 is a direct response to the ruling barring the use of public land to host the Ten Commandment Monument. Many Christian legislators were upset that the courts ruled that way. So they have responded with this question. However, they have not thought through the consequences of this measure. The First Amendment of the US Constitution is clear that government cannot create laws that benefit or harm a religion directly. By hosting the Ten Commandment monument, the OK Government would be propping up Christianity over other religions in this state. No one really believes that the OK Government would allow an Islamic, Jewish, Hindu or other religious monument on State property. This amendment would also open the doors to other means of directly financing religious institutions. Vote No on SQ 790.

SQ 792 – Reforms Oklahoma Alcohol Laws on Sales and Manufacturing

Oklahoma is still a state deeply in a prohibitionist mind set. While not as bad as other states, Oklahoma still heavily restricts the sales of alcohol. This question opens up production, distribution and sales of alcohol. Retail outlets will be allowed to sell wine and strong beer. Liquor stores will be allowed to sell more than just alcohol. Wineries would be allowed to ship directly to customers. And many more changes. These changes, while not where they could be, greatly frees up restrictions on businesses in this state. Vote Yes on SQ 792.