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SJR 34: Oklahoma judicial reform
The Oklahoma State House of Representatives is considering SJR 34, a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to change Oklahoma's nominating process for state appeals courts to match the federal method: Nomination by the chief executive with the advice and consent of the legislature. This would put the entire process of...
Eclipse 2024 notes
Composite image of August 21, 2017, total solar eclipse, Madras, Oregon. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani) Monday, April 8, 2024, will be the nearest a total solar eclipse has come to Tulsa in my lifetime. The path of totality stretches from south Texas to northern New England. Oklahoma southeast of...
Are charter schools "state actors"?
The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board has authorized an explicitly Roman Catholic virtual charter school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, to begin operation in the 2024-2025 school year. Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a pretend-conservative and Biden for President donor who won the GOP nomination with the help...
Alinskyite ACTION Tulsa
On Twitter (X), a random reply from a "Progressive Democrat, native born Oklahoman. ELCA Lutheran" condemned my endorsement of KanDee Washington in the Tulsa Public Schools District 2 election, because she didn't attend ACTION Tulsa's "Accountability Session": KanDee Washington is the only candidate not to accept ACTION Tulsa's invitation to...
Stitt saves anti-SLAPP law
Monday, May 22, 2023, Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed HB 1236, a bill that, by the change of a single word, would have significantly neutered Oklahoma's deterrent against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). Deep-pocketed and powerful public figures have used meritless lawsuits to punish critics and chill free speech. The...
NO on Oklahoma SQ 820 recreational marijuana legalization
All of Oklahoma's voters have an election on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The only thing on the ballot is State Question 820, which would enact a law to legalize marijuana for any purpose, over and above the "medical" marijuana law, SQ 788, approved by voters in June 2018. I will...
Cheryl Baber for State Senate District 35
Cheryl Baber is the conservative choice in the Oklahoma Senate District 35 race to replace term-limited Sen. Gary Stanislawski.
Tulsa School Board Office 6: Jerry Griffin questionnaire responses
Dr. Jerry Griffin, candidate for Tulsa Public Schools Office 6, responds to the BatesLine questionnaire.
Pearl District, Crosbie Heights still waiting for answers on eminent domain
Tonight at 5:30 pm, Tulsa District 4 City Councilor Kara Joy McKee is hosting a"2020 Priorities Visioning and Pie Party" at Will Rogers High School. This is an opportunity to support the preservation of the Pearl District and oppose eminent domain abuse, not only in the Central Park Place subdivision,...
Crosbie Heights neighborhood threatened by blight claim, slashed property values
Homeowners in a revitalizing historic neighborhood west of downtown Tulsa are feeling threatened by a sudden drop in the County Assessor's valuation of their lots and the persistent interest of the Tulsa Development Authority, the agency that seeks "blighted" property for redevelopment.
Save the Pearl Coalition launched
A press release issued on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, announced the organization of a group to rescue Paul Harvey's childhood neighborhood from demolition for redevelopment under the guise of stormwater management. Save the Pearl: New Group Formed to Oppose Tulsa Development Authority's Eminent Domain Plans A community in Tulsa joins...
Improve Our Tulsa 2 election today
I'm hearing from many people that they plan to vote against at least one of the three propositions, for a variety of reasons: Because it's daft to invest another $427 million in a financially unsustainable growth paradigm. Because, for the first time in the nearly 40-year-history of Tulsa's "Third Penny" sales tax for capital improvements, none of the money will go toward basic infrastructure.
Institute for Justice warns of Tulsa eminent domain abuse with Elm Creek West Pond takings
Prior to yesterday's meeting concerning the Elm Creek West Pond in Paul Harvey's old neighborhood, the Institute for Justice issued a media advisory: HEARING: Tulsa Residents Protest City's Attempt To Take Their Homes Using Eminent Domain For Redevelopment Project Today, the city of Tulsa has scheduled a public meeting with...
Senators, Governor renege on tax pledge; Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite launched; Ritze harassed by pro-tax rep
Wednesday night the Oklahoma State Senate passed the massive package of tax increases that was approved earlier in the week by the State House, and the bills were signed by Governor Mary Fallin. The largest tax bill, HB1010XX, passed by 36-10, including three Taxpayer Protection Pledge-breakers: State Senators Kim David,...
NSU Women's Studies is an evangelistic enterprise, not an academic discipline
Here is a press release from a month ago about the Center for Women's Studies at Northeastern State University. NSU is funded by the taxpayers of Oklahoma (with additional subsidies from people who shop in Broken Arrow) and governed by the board of regents of the Regional University System of...
Look for the Chamber label -- then vote for someone else
It may seem counter-intuitive, but if you're a conservative, the Chamber of Commerce is not your friend. Not the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, not the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce, not the Tulsa Regional Chamber. If you're a conservative voting in the Republican primary, look to see whom the Chambers are supporting, then give your vote to some other candidate. If the Chambers are attacking a Republican candidate, she's probably worthy of your enthusiastic backing.
Enemies of free speech at the University of Tulsa
Last Tuesday night, Rosaria Butterfield, Ph.D., gave a talk on sexual identity to a standing-room-only crowd in the Great Room at the University of Tulsa's Allen Chapman Activities Center. Butterfield's visit was sponsored by several evangelical Christian groups on campus: Reformed University Fellowship, Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Chi Alpha, and the...
The food truck approach to public transit
Many of my hipster urbanist friends are very fond of food trucks. Food trucks today offer a wide variety of cuisines and a wide range of sophistication and price. The mobility of the kitchen allows the restaurant to go where the customer is. Better food can be offered for...
American distinctive: Private organizations and civil society
Leadership Tulsa executive director Wendy Thomas, writing on Facebook back in late May 2013: Hannibal B. Johnson and I got to visit with a delegation of non profit directors and consultants from Belarus yesterday sponsored by the Tulsa Global Alliance. One of them posed and interesting question. He said they...
Agenda 21 bill HB1412: Feel-good, do-nothing legislation
At some time in the near future, the Oklahoma State Senate may vote on HB1412, a bill that purports to prohibit governmental entities in Oklahoma from implementing any aspect of Agenda 21 or belonging to any United Nations-related organization. After the jump, you can read the full text of the...
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