No more rodeo for Oklahoma criminals

You have to hand it to Western criminal justice systems. Those states seem to have had a historical legacy of interesting conventions. In McAlester, Okla., there was an annual rodeo for the prisoners and some competitors who went up against the guys on the inside. It was a big deal in the town of 18,000 in the middle of nowhere. To give you an idea of how small this place is, the nearby McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (home of the “mother of all bombs”) dwarfs it in geographical size. Not that it really needs to, right? Just drop those bombs wherever you damn well please.

Anyway, like all governments, Oklahoma is hurting, so it ended funding of the hootenanny. The town would almost double in size every year and bring in a lot of revenue, but the state figured it couldn’t stick the taxpayers with the $120,000 bill so that inmates can tangle with a bronco or two. Come on, Sooners. Let’s get some sponsorships in there. You know, gun makers, bail bondsmen, Army surplus stores and the like.

As you know, an inmate without a bull to ride is a sad inmate indeed. And what of the clowns? WHO’S THINKING OF THE CLOWNS?