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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...
Tulsa election 2018: Campaign finance reports online, but most are delinquent
The City Clerk's office of the City of Tulsa has at long last begun publishing campaign contribution reports for City of Tulsa candidates on their website. In years past it was necessary to visit the City Clerk's office for physical copies of the reports; more recently they began providing them...
Public choice theory and the Oklahoma teachers' strike
Here is a textbook example of public choice theory, coming from a Norman school teacher, who was complaining that leaders of the Oklahoma Education Association, the state affiliate of the far-left National Educational Association, haven't been listening to teachers and aren't thinking strategically about accomplishing their tax-hike goals. Norman High...
Notes on the Oklahoma teachers' strike
I'll be on 1170 KFAQ with Pat Campbell Wednesday morning, April 11, 2018, just after the 8:00 am news to discuss the teachers' strike, the race for governor and other political topics. Listen at 1170 on the AM dial, online, or on the Tune In app. A collection of notes...
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,...
Run for School Board; filing ends Wednesday
UPDATE Thursday, December 7, 2017: Filing is closed, and here is the final 2018 school board candidate list from the Tulsa County Election Board. Only three of 17 seats will be contested. Shawna Keller, the incumbent from District 4 in the eastern part of the Tulsa school district, has drawn...
Obamacare Medicaid rebalancing bad for Oklahoma
In his Tuesday blogpost, Trent England of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs answers seven questions about "Medicaid Rebalancing", a proposal currently before the Oklahoma legislature. It is an attempt at passing the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, previously rejected by Oklahoma under a different guise, for a short-term benefit (extra federal...
GT Bynum lobbying, possible conflicts of interest in the news
Back in September 2010, BatesLine first looked at Tulsa City Councilor G. T. Bynum's lobbying practice and the obvious concerns that arise when a local official is acting as a paid agent for an organization actively engaged in local political issues. I mentioned Bynum's lobbying for the George Kaiser Family...
Randy Brogdon for Oklahoma Republican Chairman
UPDATE: Jamison Faught reports on Twitter that on the first ballot Brogdon finished first but short of a majority, and incumbent chairman Weston was eliminated -- Brogdon 47.45, Pollard 29.11, Weston 23.43. Brogdon won the second ballot over Pollard, 53.35% to 46.65%. Estela Hernandez was elected vice chairman with 58.12%...
Tom Coburn's farewell to the Senate
Oklahoma's U. S. Senator Tom Coburn did not suffer from senioritis. He made the most of every minute of the final weeks of his ten years in the Senate. On December 9, Coburn issued the latest and last in his long-running series of reports on government waste. Tax DecoderTom_Coburn-Tax_Decoder-2014.pdf, an...
National Popular Vote's Ray Haynes lobbying Oklahoma grassroots conservatives
Despite the outcry over the passage of SB 906 in the Oklahoma State Senate, a bill that would have subscribed the Reddest State in the Nation to a plan to undermine the constitutional method of electing presidents, advocates of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact haven't given up on putting...
Oklahoma Primary 2014: BatesLine ballot card
Here are the candidates I'm recommending and voting for (when I can) in the Oklahoma primary elections on June 24, 2014. (This entry will change as I decide to add more detail or discuss additional races between now and election day. The entry is post-dated to keep it at...
Oklahoma's Common Core Four
National Review has a wonderful history of the effort to pull Oklahoma out of the Common Core curriculum and the four women who spearheaded it. [Jenni] White has spent the past four years telling Parent Teacher Organizations and anyone else who would listen that Oklahoma should not implement Common Core,...
Stanislawski recants National Popular Vote support
Oklahoma State Senator Gary Stanislawski (R-Tulsa) has issued a statement recanting his support for SB 906, and expressing regret for his vote for the bill that would add Oklahoma to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The last several years I have always been against the National Popular Vote. This...
McLean, Virginia, resident considers race for Oklahoma senate seat
Politico is reporting that former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating is considering running to fill the unexpired term of U. S. Sen. Tom Coburn, who is resigning at the end of 2014. Property and campaign contribution records indicate, and autobiographical blurbs confirm, that Keating is and has been a resident of...
Gun Owners of America endorses Bill Christiansen; cites Bartlett obstruction of permitted carry in parks
Press release from Gun Owners of America from yesterday: GOA Throws Support for Christiansen in Race for Tulsa Mayor Gun Owners of America has endorsed Bill Christiansen, a businessman and former Marine, for Tulsa mayor in the primary election on Tuesday, June 11. Christiansen is challenging the current mayor of...
Doug Cox uses tornado to defend Planned Parenthood funding
State Rep. Doug Cox (RINO-Grove) is using the aftermath of a disaster to gain a national platform from which he can heap scorn on his fellow lawmakers and his fellow Oklahomans in order to support Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, from whom he received a national award this...
Vision2 poll's real margin of error
There are a couple of serious flaws with the Vision2 poll that was published today in the Tulsa World and conducted by SoonerPoll.com. The results weren't too surprising, and they may very well match what we see on election day, but nevertheless the results should be taken with a big...
Tulsa 1942: LIFE, Eisenstaedt visit Tulsa high schools
A serendipitous find: LIFE magazine's April 13, 1942, issue included a six-page story about high school education in Tulsa, with photos by Alfred Eisenstaedt. The story, "Tulsa High Schools: They Are Making Progressive Education Work," highlighted non-traditional classes and teaching techniques at three of Tulsa's four high schools -- Central,...
Capitol follies: Simonson and sales tax; Wright and Reynolds rap
Peter Rudy of Oklahoma Watchdog has a couple of intriguing items: Whatever happened to former mayoral chief of staff Terry Simonson? House Speaker Kris Steele appointed him to a municipal sales tax collection task force, and an interesting question came up at today's meeting of the task force: The former...
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