BatesLine at City Elders: Further reading

This morning I spoke to the weekly meeting of City Elders about the recent school board elections, the Democratic candidates who won despite higher Republican turnout, and the connections of the donors who made their campaigns possible. Here are some links to further reading on the ideas and people I mentioned in my talk, plus some related information worth your time.

Elsewhere:

• The Kaiser System, by Michael Mason: If you read nothing else, read this. Mason approaches the topic with empathy and care as he exposes the groupthink, fear, and divisiveness created as a small group of people use immense wealth as leverage to control our community's civic direction.
• Election results from the April 5, 2022, school elections
• Tulsa Public Schools academic achievement indicator (school report card) from the Oklahoma State Department of Education. I showed the data from 2018-2019, pre-pandemic.
• Tulsa Public Schools: Oklahoma State Testing Report, October 2018. Shows significant decline in proficiency from 2017 to 2018 results.
• Controversial Owasso teacher 'is no longer in the classroom'
• George Krumme OpenSecrets.org donor report
• Burt Holmes OpenSecrets.org donor report
• George Kaiser OpenSecrets.org donor report
• Stacy Schusterman OpenSecrets.org donor report
• George Kaiser's Giving Pledge
• Lynn Schusterman's Giving Pledge
• George Kaiser 2005 Chicago speech on early childhood education
• GKFF Board of Directors
• Schusterman Family Philanthropies statement on "gender and reproductive equity"

At BatesLine:

• Tulsa's Yacht-Guest Subculture: The sycophants who keep the billionaires' boats afloat
• The Anthropomorphization of the GOP: Why it's a mistake to think of the Republican Party as having volition and direction. As Rand Paul has said, "The Republican Party is an empty vessel unless we embue it with values.
• Chambers of Horrors: If you're a conservative, the Chamber of Commerce is not your friend
• "Down with the gummint!" Tulsa's bullies and their willing toadies
• Clueless SOTs and their enablers: Tulsa's insiders refuse to criticize the bad ideas of their peers
• "Any society has to privilege some ethical viewpoint": Why conservatives shouldn't be shy about working to recapture the culture for the worldview and values that built a peaceful and prosperous civilzation
• 2022 Tulsa School Board campaign contributions: Keller, Lamkin backed by leftist establishment donors
• 2022 Union School Board campaign contributions: Democrat donors back McNeil
• The Usual Suspects: Tulsa Economic Recovery Advisory Committee
• Even billionaires deserve scrutiny and skepticism from the media
• Introducing the Tulsa Complacent Council
• Tulsa Election 2011: Pre-general ethics filings; Kaiser, Schusterman lead funders of "Working Tulsans"
• George Kaiser, GKFF, and Solyndra
• Council-suer, SOT member announce picks for City Council (UPDATED)
• Who convinced Tom Coburn to back the bank bailout?
• Great Plains Airlines article archive
• The Build PAC Boys: Post-election City Council contribution reports

Here's the recording of my City Elders talk. There is a bit missing from when the memory card filled up and had to be switched, about the time I was talking about the disappearance of local talk radio, which was a crucial element of media bypass and the modest success we had electing grassroots outsiders to city office in the decade of the 2000s.