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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...
Oklahoma school primary 2023
Tuesday, Februrary 14, 2023, is the annual school primary for all Oklahoma public school districts. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can view your sample ballot and find the address of your polling place at the Oklahoma Voter Portal. At least one school board seat in...
Murphey: New taxes are immoral; cut wasteful practices, useless tax credits first
From what I gather, legislative leaders and Gov. Fallin are seeking support for an assortment of fee increases and new taxes to close the budget deficit and give teachers a raise, rather than implement the billions in specific budget saving ideas that OCPA and other groups have recommended for years....
Oklahoma adopts strong anti-SLAPP law
There's one more reason for Oklahomans to celebrate April 22. Last Tuesday, on the 125th anniversary of the Oklahoma 1889 Land Run, Gov. Mary Fallin signed HB 2366, the Oklahoma Citizens Participation Act, giving Oklahomans valuable protection in the exercise of their First Amendment rights. From the bill: The purpose...
Wendy Davis myths busted by Dallas paper
Interesting story in the Dallas Morning News, examining the reality behind the claims Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis has made about the challenges she has faced in life. Davis, a statuesque blonde nicknamed "Abortion Barbie" for her filibuster defending the abortion industry against a bill protecting women's health, is a...
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...
Q & A
Q1. So, are you going to be writing about Kathy Taylor's threat to sue Bill Christiansen? A1. Yep, and I've already started, but I need a little more time, because I don't want to get a scary lawyer letter from Doug Dodd, Kathy's lawyer. (I don't know what to think...
BatesLine ballot card: 2012 general election
For your convenience, here is a list of the candidates I've endorsed, will be voting for, or otherwise recommend in the November 6, 2012, Oklahoma general election. As I have time, I'll add links to endorsements I've already made, brief notes about those I haven't previously written about. Here's a...
Rashad Richey update: Police report details emerge, mainstream media finally notices
Georgia Politcs Unfiltered has several updates regarding Georgia Democratic Party political director Ali Rashad Richey, the topic of an entry here late last week. (The link texts below are the titles of the posts at Georgia Politics Unfiltered.) "Georgia Democrats Say No Comment to Political Director Rashad Richey's Recidivism" "Democratic...
Protect Your Voice
The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity has launched a petition drive to ensure that citizen journalists and bloggers enjoy the same legal protections that cover traditional news media. The initiative is called "Protect Your Voice." It makes sense for a group interested in public integrity to get involved...
International Western Swing: Little Kim and the Alley Apple 3
Second in our series documenting the international reach of western swing music and compiling an invite list for Tulsa's (purely hypothetical at this point) International Festival of Western Swing. From the Bananapeel Jazzclub in Ruiselede, Belgium, here's Little Kim and the Alley Apple 3, performing the Johnnie Lee Wills song,...
PROTECT IP / SOPA's threat to political blogs
Two similar bills targeting online piracy, the PROTECT IP Act (S. 968) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (HR 3261), threaten free speech by putting unprecedented and unchecked power in the hands of the Attorney General, according to an analysis in Conservative Daily News. Under the current circumstances, with the...
Old, rich Republican lawyers and developers for Ken Brune
Democrat Ken Brune sent out a mailer to Republican voters in Tulsa District 4 with a list of 74 "Republicans for Ken Brune (1 MB PDF)." Ken Brune seems to be liked only by an elite and elderly class of Republicans. A BatesLine analysis of the 74 names, using voter...
OKC mayor, MAPS program manager slapped on convention center site
Steve Lackmeyer of The Oklahoman reports that an Oklahoma City citizens' committee (featuring heavy hitters like Larry Nichols of Devon Energy and immediate past Mayor Kirk Humphreys) has recommended a site other than Mayor Mick Cornett's preferred site for the new convention center, funded by the MAPS 3 sales tax....
Paglia: "What kids need is facts"
It's rare that you will find me quoting, with approval, a lesbian, atheist, leftist East Coast professor, but Camille Paglia's love of Western Civilization and her critique of what passes for education in America warms my heart. Paglia's recent interview with Margaret Wente in the Globe and Mail reads like...
Eric Gomez on TMAPC? Seriously?
"He is either totally clueless or absolutely in your face, one of the two." "I guess he wants everybody mad at him." "He's appointing a councilor that threatened to sue one of his constituents over a planning issue to the planning commission?" Those were the instantaneous reactions of my lovely...
District 4 candidate forum audio
It took me too long to upload this file successfully, but here it is, coughs, sneezes, rumbles, and all. Audio from the League of Women Voters candidate forum, held on September 1, 2009, at Fellowship Congregational Church. All four candidates -- Democrats Maria Barnes and Elizabeth Wright, Republicans Rocky Frisco...
Eric Gomez on SLAPP suits
Tulsa District 4 City Councilor Eric Gomez isn't fond of public scrutiny, evidently. He was none too happy that I had my camera running during his answer to this question: "Are you aware of SLAPP lawsuits? Would you consider a lawsuit or threat of a lawsuit against a constituent for...
Oklahoma GOP convention wrapup
When BC Lee (whom I met at the Oklahoma Republican State Convention on Saturday) said he looked forward my opining about the weekend, this is what I posted on Facebook in reply: My opining in a nutshell: Very happy about Gary Jones winning re-election, unhappy at the defeat of the...
Beat blogger; Spring Thing 2009
I hate to go so long without posting, but I'm worn out. Yesterday was a great day of family fun, but between carrying a three-year-old up a snowy hill a dozen times, shoveling the driveway to get the van up the hill and into the garage, making snowmen last night,...
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