Constitutional Protection of Hunting and Fishing Clears House Subcommittee

The House Environment and Wildlife Subcommittee voted today to give Oklahomans an opportunity to protect their right to hunt and fish by amending the state Constitution in November.

Senate Joint Resolution 38, by state Rep. Randy Terrill and state Sen. Glenn Coffee, would require the Secretary of State to place a state question on the November ballot allowing citizens to determine whether the right to hunt and angle and take game and fish should be protected by the state Constitution.


"I call this measure the 'Heritage Bill' because we have a long tradition of hunting and fishing in this state that precedes statehood by centuries," said Terrill, R-Moore. "Our right to hunt and fish is inherent and it deserves constitutional protection. It would be a mistake to turn a blind eye to the actions of liberal activist groups that are targeting outdoor gaming activities around the nation. This bill gives our citizens the chance to step up and protect their rights from being stolen by people who have no respect for our traditions and values."

The resolution will add a new section to the State Constitution that gives all Oklahomans the right to hunt, trap, fish, and take game and fish. The legislation would prevent new state laws from prohibiting anyone from engaging in such activities.

Award winning media personality and avid hunter and fisherman Ron Black told the committee than a 2007 study by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation showed the economic impact of hunting and angling on Oklahoma is more than $1 billion annually. In addition, hunting and angling keeps wildlife populations in check, reduces auto insurance rates by decreasing the number of deer that could cause accidents and protects agriculture land and products from destruction by deer and fowl, said Black.

Black noted that last year, more than 110,000 deer were taken during the hunting season.

"We tend to take for granted in Oklahoma that we will always have the right to hunt and fish and pass those traditions on to our families, but that type of thinking has been a grave mistake in other areas of the country where the right to hunt and fish has been restricted by states, if not taken away completely," said Black, host of the television and radio program "Wild Oklahoma." "Our traditional way of life is under attack by animal rights activists and liberal groups that don't understand the importance of outdoor gaming on our economy and our food supply. If we don't use the state Constitution to protect our right to hunt and fish, we won't have that right for very long."

Terrill noted the bill has received the support of both the Oklahoma Rifle Association and the National Rifle Association.

The measure now heads to the House Natural Resources Committee to await a hearing.

German hackers threaten to publish Merkel's fingerprints

German hackers threaten to publish
Merkel's fingerprints

Mar 31 02:10 PM US/Eastern

A German hacker group on Monday threatened to publish Chancellor Angela Merkel's fingerprints as part of a campaign against the government's use of biometric data in new passports.
The Chaos Computer Club (CCC), one of Germany's oldest and largest hacker organisations, on Saturday published Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble's fingerprints in its own magazine.

Schaeubele's prints were taken from a water glass he used at a public debate, said CCC spokesman Frank Rieger, who predicted it would be easy for the group's supporters to collect similar samples from other public figures, including Merkel, who support the increased use of biometric data.

"We are receiving lots of offers from people right now, saying I can get this person here, this person there," Rieger said.

Former interior minister Otto Schily, president of the federal criminal office Joerg Ziercke and Bavarian premier Guenther Beckstein were also all possible targets, he added.

German passports issued since November 2007 contain a biometric chip with a copy of the holder's fingerprints that can be verified by immigration authorities.

The CCC argues that fingerprints are a poor choice for identification documents because they are easy to collect, and also to reproduce -- the group's website contains a 12-step guide for how to create a fake set of fingerprints.

"The main point we want to illustrate here is that biometric fingerprints don't offer any security, they just enhance the surveillance of citizens," Rieger said.

Warren Theater - Opening Day - April 4, 2008 - 11:30am

Click here to see the article featured in

Moore Monthly about the
Moore Warren Theatre!

Ticket Prices
Matinee (Before 6pm) $7.00
Evening (6pm and Later) $9.00
Children (3-12) $7.00
Seniors (55+) $7.00
**Military (With ID) $7.00
**Students (With ID) $7.00
Balcony (Matinee) $12.00
Balcony (Evening) $18.00

**Military/Student Rates Sunday-Thursday Only!
(Excludes Holidays)

Payment Options
Cash, Visa, MasterCard

Other Policies
No Cameras Allowed!
Balcony and Lounge
patrons must be 21!

Grand jury charges 11 in smuggling Drug, Illegal Immigrant and Firearms ring

A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed today charging 11 people with conspiracy to distribute large amounts of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine that was obtained from Mexico and brought into the Tulsa area.

The alleged ringleaders, Manuel and Mario Bonilla, also face charges of operating a continuing criminal enterprise, commonly known as the federal drug kingpin law, according to U.S. Attorney David E. OMeilia.

Two of the defendants, Manuel Bonilla, 36, and Omar Cruz, 27, both of Mexico, are being sought by authorities.

The remaining nine defendants are in custody.

They are: Mario Bonilla, 23, of Tulsa; Holly King, 29, of Wann, Okla.; Cecilia Lorena Bonilla, 20, of Tulsa; Michelle Moreno, 27, of Tulsa; Francisca Bonilla, 63, of Mexico; Jose Silos, 47, of Mexico; Selene Soto, 31, of Odessa, Texas; Felix McVay, 51, of Haskell, Okla.; and Victor Poras, 36, of Kansas City, Mo.

O'Meilia said the investigation that led to the indictment spanned over two years and was dubbed Operation Icepack.

The indictment alleges that from about March 2001, the Bonilla family orchestrated the transportation of drugs across the border into the United States, primarily through the El Paso, Texas, area.

The drugs were ultimately brought into the Tulsa area and Kansas City with the help of Illegal Immigrant, where the organization maintained locations for storing, manufacturing,distributing and selling the drugs.

Also, they are accused of smuggling firearms and Illegal Alien from Mexico into the United States.

Stipe trial nears; witness lists filed

Stipe trial nears;
witness lists filed
By James Beaty
Senior Editor

Federal prosecutors have filed a witness list with 40 names for the upcoming trial of McAlester businessman Francis Stipe, with a number of McAlester-area residents set to be called as witnesses in the case.

Both prosecution and defense attorneys were set to attend a pre-trail conference at the Eastern District of Oklahoma U.S. Courthouse in Muskogee today.

Stipe is currently set to begin trial on April 7 on a four-count indictment accusing him of conspiracy, mail fraud, witness tampering and engaging in illegal monetary transactions.

Former Congressional candidate Walt Roberts has been named as a witness for federal prosecutors. An investigation of his failed 1998 congressional campaign ultimately resulted in the conviction of Francis Stipe’s brother, Gene Stipe, on federal charges of conspiracy and perjury.

Chris Clark, a former McAlester businessman who served as treasurer for the Walt Roberts congressional campaign, is also on the federal witness list.

Two of the main witnesses against Stipe are expected to be former District 17 state Rep. Mike Mass, of Hartshorne, and Kiowa businessman Steve Phelps.

In addition to Mike Mass, his wife, Suzanne, and their son, Lucas, are named on the government witness list. So is Mike’s brother, Steve Mass.

The witness list filed by Assistant U. S. Attorney

Gay Guthrie includes the custodian of records for the First National Bank and for BancFirst.

Also set to be called as government witnesses are Greg Brown, of The Bank N.A., and Roi Nelson, of the First National Bank, along with McAlester businessman Bradley Million.

Also named on the witness list is Chester Dennis, director of the Kiamichi Economic Development District of Oklahoma.

He’s expected to take the stand following FBI agent Jim Dawson.

Prosecutors also plan to call Richard “Dick” Dudley, who has served as chairman of the McAlester Foundation.

McAlester realtor John Freeman is also on the government’s witness list.

Roy Hatridge, the operator of McAlester Pet Products, is listed as a government witness.

Other witness include McAlester realtor Randy Saunier and Gregory L. Shores, an accountant for Gene Stipe, whose offices federal prosecutors raided last March.

Former McAlester Economic Development Service Director Jason Smith is also named on the federal witness list.

So is Charlene Spears, the longtime secretary and assistant for Gene Stipe.

Francis Stipe, 76, could face a total of 45 years in federal prison if convicted and given the maximum penalty on all charges.

In additional to the potential prison time, he could be fined a total of $1 million upon conviction of all four counts.

One of the counts in the federal indictment accuses Gene and Francis Stipe of witness tampering in connection with Francis Stipe’s purchase of a mortgage on Mike Mass’ home last February.

Mass pleaded guilty to mail fraud last April with the condition that he cooperate with prosecutors. His sentence is still pending.

Another allegation in the indictments involves a $48,000 kickback allegedly made to Mass after he steered money from the state legislature to help buy the American Pet Products dog food plant property in McAlester from Gene Stipe.

Francis Stipe and Gene Stipe had been indicted on the charges at the same time last October.

However, the case against Gene Stipe has been put on hold while he appeals a ruling by District Judge Ronald White which determined he is incompetent.

The order also directed that Gene Stipe undergo treatment at a federal prison hospital in Springfield, Mo., to see if he may become competent enough to assist his attorneys in defending himself against the federal charges he faces.

White has ordered that Gene Stipe remain under house arrest while a ruling on the appeal is pending.

States rebel - Concerns about Real ID Act turn into Boston Tea Party

States rebel
Concerns about Real ID Act
turn into Boston Tea Party
By JULIE DELCOUR Associate Editor
3/30/2008

The Real ID Act is in real trouble. If the 2005 law were tea it would be floating in the Boston Harbor, dumped there by defiant states revolting against an onerous and unfunded mandate that slipped through Congress in response to the 9/11 attacks.

Real ID requires states to adopt uniform and costly federal standards for driver’s licenses. Souped upards would include a photograph, thumb print and other personal data. States must link their record-keeping systems to national databases so duplicate applications can be detected, illegal immigrants identified and driving histories shared.

States also would have to verify the identity of 245 million drivers and digitally store verification documents.

The price tag for implementation is almost $4 billion over 10 years. So far, the Department of Homeland Security is promising about $360 million in grants to make the transition. Federal officials, however, have appropriated only $90 million and distributed only $6 million.

Oklahoma, along with at least 47 other states, received additional time to comply with the law set to begin May 11. That date later was pushed back to Dec. 31, 2009. But even with that states were required to get a compliance extension. Minus extensions, state residents would have had difficulty boarding commercial airplanes and entering federal buildings without the proper identification.

“It’s important to note that the request for an extension does not include a promise that Oklahoma will ultimately comply with the act,” Paul Sund, Gov. Brad Henry’s communications spokesman, said earlier this month.

Henry agreed to the extension, granted Feb. 15, to protect Oklahomans from federal sanctions that would have created personal and economic hardships.

Last year, the Legislature registered an official protest of the law by passing SB 464. The fight over the Real ID Act is far from over, and protesting states finally may get some help.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., didn’t like the act to begin with but was out-maneuvered by GOP colleagues three years ago who argued the law would stop terrorists from taking advantage of loose identification laws.

Now Alexander, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, has several more arrows in his quiver. He has the support of Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who, like most Democrats, wants to repeal the law. Alexander, a former governor, has state legislatures and governors behind him. The National Association of State Legislatures is on record calling for repeal.

This week Alexander plans to file an amendment to the fiscal 2009 homeland security appropriations bill that would halt the program until the government finds a way to reimburse states for its cost.

“The federal government shouldn’t be able to enforce the Real ID law unless the federal government pays for it,” Alexander told The Hill, a legislative publication. “It wasn’t properly considered in the Senate, it creates a national identification card, and it’s a massive unfunded mandate.”

At this point what Congress should do is give the Real ID Act the hearings it never received prior to passage because the bill was appended to emergency funding legislation.

Concerns over national security, privacy rights and cost should be aired and debated.

Only after that process will Congress be ready to decide if the country needs a national identification card, something Americans have resisted for 232 years.

Julie DelCour, 581-8379
julie.delcour@tulsaworld.com

A Very BAD DAY: Reagan Shooting, 27 Years Later

Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, Jr. on March 30, 1981

Did YouTube KILL Hillary, New Media RULE !!

OP-ED COLUMNIST

Hillary’s St. Patrick’s Day Massacre
By FRANK RICH
Published: March 30, 2008

MOST politicians lie. Most people over 50, as I know all too well, misremember things. So here is the one compelling mystery still unresolved about Hillary Clinton’s Bosnia fairy tale: Why did she keep repeating this whopper for nearly three months, well after it had been publicly debunked by journalists and eyewitnesses?

In January, after Senator Clinton first inserted the threat of “sniper fire” into her stump speech, Elizabeth Sullivan of The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that the story couldn’t be true because by the time of the first lady’s visit in March 1996, “the war was over.” Meredith Vieira asked Mrs. Clinton on the “Today” show why, if she was on the front lines, she took along a U.S.O. performer like Sinbad. Earlier this month, a week before Mrs. Clinton fatefully rearmed those snipers one time too many, Sinbad himself spoke up to The Washington Post: “I think the only ‘red phone’ moment was: Do we eat here or at the next place?”

Yet Mrs. Clinton was undeterred. She dismissed Sinbad as a “comedian” and recycled her fiction once more on St. Patrick’s Day. When Michael Dobbs fact-checked it for The Post last weekend and proclaimed it worthy of “four Pinocchios,” her campaign pushed back. The Clinton camp enforcer Howard Wolfson phoned in to “Morning Joe” on MSNBC Monday and truculently quoted a sheaf of news stories that he said supported her account. Only later that day, a full week after her speech, did he start to retreat, suggesting it was “possible” she “misspoke” in the “most recent instance” of her retelling of her excellent Bosnia adventure.

Since Mrs. Clinton had told a similar story in previous instances, this was misleading at best. It was also dishonest to characterize what she had done as misspeaking — or as a result of sleep deprivation, as the candidate herself would soon assert. The Bosnia anecdote was part of her prepared remarks, scripted and vetted with her staff. Not that it mattered anymore. The self-inflicted damage had been done. The debate about Barack Obama’s relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was almost smothered in the rubble of Mrs. Clinton’s Bosnian bridge too far.

Which brings us back to our question: Why would so smart a candidate play political Russian roulette with virtually all the bullet chambers loaded?

Sometimes only a shrink can decipher why some politicians persist in flagrantly taking giant risks, all but daring others to catch them in the act (see: Spitzer, Eliot). Carl Bernstein, a sometimes admiring Hillary Clinton biographer, has called the Bosnia debacle “a watershed event” for her campaign because it revives her long history of balancing good works with “ ‘misstatements’ and elisions,” from the health-care task force fiasco onward.

But this event may be a watershed for two other reasons that have implications beyond Mrs. Clinton’s character and candidacy, spilling over into the 2008 campaign as a whole. It reveals both the continued salience of that supposedly receding issue, the Iraq war, and the accelerating power of viral politics, as exemplified by YouTube, to override the retail politics still venerated by the Beltway establishment.

What’s been lost in the furor over Mrs. Clinton’s Bosnia fairy tale is that her disastrous last recycling of it, the one that blew up in her face, kicked off her major address on the war, timed to its fifth anniversary. Still unable to escape the stain of the single most damaging stand in her public career, she felt compelled to cloak herself, however fictionally, in an American humanitarian intervention that is not synonymous with quagmire.

Perhaps she thought that by taking the huge gamble of misspeaking one more time about her narrow escape on the tarmac at Tulza, she could compensate for misvoting on Iraq. Instead, her fictionalized derring-do may have stirred national trace memories of two of the signature propaganda stunts of the war: the Rambo myth the Pentagon concocted for Pvt. Jessica Lynch and President Bush’s flyboy antics on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln during “Mission Accomplished.”

That Mrs. Clinton’s campaign kept insisting her Bosnia tale was the truth two days after The Post exposed it as utter fiction also shows the political perils of 20th-century analog arrogance in a digital age. Incredible as it seems, the professionals around Mrs. Clinton — though surely knowing her story was false — thought she could tough it out. They ignored the likelihood that a television network would broadcast the inevitable press pool video of a first lady’s foreign trip — as the CBS Evening News did on Monday night — and that this smoking gun would then become an unstoppable assault weapon once harnessed to the Web.

The Drudge Report’s link to the YouTube iteration of the CBS News piece transformed it into a cultural phenomenon reaching far beyond a third-place network news program’s nightly audience. It had more YouTube views than the inflammatory Wright sermons, more than even the promotional video of Britney Spears making her latest “comeback” on a TV sitcom. It was as this digital avalanche crashed down that Mrs. Clinton, backed into a corner, started offering the alibi of “sleep deprivation” and then tried to reignite the racial fires around Mr. Wright.

The Clinton campaign’s cluelessness about the Web has been apparent from the start, and not just in its lagging fund-raising. Witness the canned Hillary Web “chats” and “Hillcasts,” the soupy Web contest to choose a campaign song (the winner, an Air Canada advertising jingle sung by Celine Dion, was quickly dumped), and the little-watched electronic national town-hall meeting on the eve of Super Tuesday. Web surfers have rejected these stunts as the old-school infomercials they so blatantly are.

Senator Obama, for all his campaign’s Internet prowess, made his own media mistake by not getting ahead of the inevitable emergence of commercially available Wright videos on both cable TV and the Web. But he got lucky. YouTube videos of a candidate in full tilt or full humiliation, we’re learning, can outdraw videos of a candidate’s fire-breathing pastor. Both the CBS News piece on Mrs. Clinton in Bosnia and the full video of Mr. Obama’s speech on race have drawn more views than the most popular clips of a raging Mr. Wright.

But the political power of the Bosnia incident speaks at least as much to the passions aroused by the war as to the media dynamics of the Web. For all the economic anxiety roiling Americans, they have not forgotten Iraq. The anger can rise again in a flash when stoked by events on the ground or politicians at home, as it has throughout the rites surrounding the fifth anniversary of the invasion and 4,000th American combat death. This will keep happening as it becomes more apparent that the surge is a stalemate, bringing neither lower troop levels nor anything more than a fragile temporary stability to Iraq. John McCain’s apparent obliviousness to this fact remains a boon to the Democrats.

The war is certainly a bigger issue in 2008 than race. Yet it remains a persistent Beltway refrain that race will hinder Mr. Obama at every turn, no matter how often reality contradicts the thesis. Whites wouldn’t vote for a black man in states like Iowa and New Hampshire; whites wouldn’t vote for blacks in South Carolina; blacks wouldn’t vote for a black man who wasn’t black enough. The newest incessantly repeated scenario has it that Mr. Obama’s fate now all depends on a stereotypical white blue-collar male voter in the apotheosized rust belt town of Deer Hunter, Pa.

Well, Mr. Obama isn’t going to win every white vote. But two big national polls late last week, both conducted since he addressed the Wright controversy, found scant change in Mr. Obama’s support. In The Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey, his white support was slightly up. As the pollster Peter Hart put it, this result was “a myth buster.” The noisy race wars have failed to stop Mr. Obama just as immigration hysteria didn’t defeat Senator McCain, the one candidate in his party who refused to pander to the Lou Dobbs brigades.

The myth that’s been busted is one that Mr. Obama talked about in his speech — the perennial given that American racial relations are doomed to stew eternally in the Jim Crow poisons that forged generations like Mr. Wright’s. Yet if you sampled much political commentary of the past two weeks, you’d think it’s still 1968, or at least 1988. The default assumptions are that the number of racists in America remains fixed, no matter what the generational turnover, and that the Wright videos will terrorize white folks just as the Willie Horton ads did when the G.O.P. took out Michael Dukakis.

But politically and culturally we’re not in the 1980s — or pre-YouTube 2004 — anymore. An unending war abroad is upstaging the old domestic racial ghosts. A new bottom-up media culture is challenging any candidate’s control of a message.

The 2008 campaign is, unsurprisingly enough, mostly of a piece with 2006, when Iraq cost Republicans the Congress. In that year’s signature race, a popular Senate incumbent, George Allen, was defeated by a war opponent in the former Confederate bastion of Virginia after being caught race-baiting in a video posted on the Web. Last week Mrs. Clinton learned the hard way that Iraq, racial gamesmanship and viral video can destroy a Democrat, too.

What is HB 1804 and the Cost of Illegal Immigration

Highlights of getting
HB 1804 pass and sign !

Elections scheduled throughout state Tuesday

School bond issues, sales tax proposals and municipal contests are on statewide ballots Tuesday. Polls in all affected precincts open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.



Alfalfa County

Ringwood Schools: A $1.595 million bond issue to build a new elementary school.


Bryan County

City of Durant: A 5/8-cent, 25-year sales tax to build a new high school for Durant Schools.


Caddo County

Fort Cobb-Broxton Schools: Proposition 1 — A $200,000 bond issue for playground equipment, restroom remodeling and security equipment and computers.

Proposition 2 — A $300,000 bond issue for six buses.


Canadian County

City of Mustang

Ward 6 Council

Len Scott

Katherine M. Callahan

Proposition 1 — A $5.08 million bond issue for street improvements.

Proposition 2 — A $2.91 million bond issue to build a youth baseball complex at Wild Horse Park.


Carter County

City of Dickson

Trustee

Bob G. Akins

Bill Summers

Joe Tibbs

City of Healdton

Councilmember at-large

David Smith

Richard Moss

Peggy Sue Bass

Lone Grove

Ward 2 Council

Kristi Inselman

Carl McCutchen

Chris Young


Cherokee County

Shady Grove Schools

Office 1 Runoff

Connie Anderson

Raymond F. Morrison

Tahlequah Schools

Office 3 Runoff

Luke Foster

Sherry Hadley

Countywide: Making permanent a 1-cent sales tax for repairs and maintenance for county roads, general county operations, law enforcement and for matching funds for grants.


Choctaw County

Boswell Schools

Office 3 runoff

Marilynn Pebsworth

Robby Hitchcock


Comanche County

Geronimo Schools

Office 3 Runoff

Jimmy E. Toombs

Curtis Sims

Indiahoma Schools: A $440,000 10-year bond issue to repair roofs and windows on two campuses.

Flower Mound Schools: A $4.795 million bond issue to build an elementary school building


Craig County

Chelsea Schools

Office 3 runoff

Rebecca L. Fincher

Dan Bunn


Creek County

Mounds Schools

Office 3 runoff

R. Earl Greer

John Truesdell


Garfield County

Pioneer-Pleasant Vale Schools

John Stone

Jim Talbott


Garvin County

Town of Paoli

Clerk/Treasurer

Darlene M. Campbell

Mary Jane Davis

Patricia Dixon


Grady County

Chickasha schools: Proposition 1 — A $12.765 million bond issue for high school renovations and additions, roofing, technology and elementary school flooring.

Proposition 2 — A $500,000 transportation bond issue for buses and fleet vehicles.


Grant County

Pond Creek-Hunter Schools

Office 3 runoff

Gary L. Williams

Curtis Peterson


Harmon County

Hollis Schools

Office 3 runoff

Robert Whorton

Terry Bogle


Haskell County

Kinta Schools

Office 4 runoff

Tom Raynes

Kenneth R. Whitehead

Stigler School

Office 3 runoff

Kenneth Whitson

Michael Rose


Johnston County

City of Tishomingo

Ward 2 Council

Rhonda J. Brown

Anthony Webb

Gloria L. Webb

Ward 3 Council

Rex Morrell

Bill Montgomery


Kay County

City of Ponca City

Ward 1 City Commissioner

Lanita J. Chapman

Brent Colle

Kaw City Schools: $75,000 bond issue.


Kingfisher County

Hennessey Schools

Office 3 runoff

Ray Cordry

Luke Lough

City of Kingfisher

Mayor

Mark Mueggenborg

Jack Stuteville


Le Flore County

Panama Schools

Office 5 runoff

David Bailey

Thelma Colwell

Poteau Schools

Office 3 runoff

Adrian C. Sconyers

Ron Hall


Lincoln County

Davenport Schools

Office 3 runoff

Gary Robinson

William David Nickell


McClain County

Dibble Schools

Office 3 runoff

Ruben Ruiz Jr.

Ben Seaborn

Blanchard Schools: Proposition 1 — A $28.975 million bond issue for a new high school and repair of other district buildings.

Proposition 2 — A $150,000 bond issue for new buses.


Major County

Ringwood Schools: A $1.595 million bond issue for a new elementary school.


Marshall County

Kingston School: A $12.5 million bond issue for a 1,450-seat gymnasium/safe room with band room and conference space, and an 850-seat cafeteria/auditorium.

City of Madill

Place 2 Council

Kevin Eppler

Paul Chaffin


McCurtain County

Eagletown Schools: Proposition 1 — A $170,000 bond issue to install central heating and air conditioning in the elementary and high schools.

Proposition 2 — A $130,000 transportation bond issue for an activity bus.


Muskogee County

City of Muskogee

Mayor

John Tyler Hammons

Glynda Mae Lorraine Oliver

Robert Eugene Thomas

Hershel Ray McBride

Barney Scott Taylor

Ronald Leon Venters

Ward 2 council

Frank C. Borovetz Jr.

Charles Shawn Raper

Ivory Lewis Vann

Ward 3 council

Dale LeRoy Boots Jr.

Robert James Perkins

Ward 4 council

Jackie DeWayne Luckey

Barry Alexander Rader III

Troy Earl Stoutermire

Hilldale Schools

Office 3 runoff

Richard Davis

Jeff Sanders

Braggs Schools

Office 3 runoff

Elsa Irving

Billie Easterling


Nowata County

City of Nowata

City Commissioner At-Large

Karen Boyles

Phil Ogden

Ward 2 Commissioner

Ed Wilson

Melva Hill

Ward 3 Commissioner

Charles R. Price, Jr.

Ruth E. Hill

Ward 4 Commissioner

Nancy Oglesby

Karon Miller

Copan Schools

Office 3 Runoff

Curtis E. Hinkle

Shelley Koster

South Coffeyville Schools: A $150,000 bond issue for two school buses.


Okfuskee County

Paden Schools

Office 3 Runoff

Stephanie Adams

Terri Johnson

Mason Schools: A $2.1 million bond for a new multipurpose gymnasium that would include safe rooms and an expansion for the agricultural building.


Oklahoma County

Deer Creek Schools

Office 3 runoff

(i) Shelley Denton, 45, Edmond

David H. Miller, 63, Edmond

The Village

Ward 5 Council

Debbie Bowen, 50

(i) Jerry Broughton, 38

Jones Schools: $12.4 million bond issue for a new high school.


Okmulgee County

City of Okmulgee

Councilmember, Ward 1

Everett O. Horn

Rae Ann Wilson

Schulter Schools

Office 3 Runoff

Gary R. Terrill

Jerry Baughman

Mounds Schools

Office 3 Runoff

E. Earl Greer

John Truesdell

Beggs Schools: A $2.3 million bond issue to build a track, grandstand and a field house with weight room, dressing rooms, and concession.

Liberty School: A proposal to cease operation of the Liberty School District and annex with the Morris School District, effective July 1.


Osage County

Hominy Schools

Office 2 Runoff

Darrell James Brown

Michael D. Jones


Ottawa County

City of Picher: A proposal to grant Empire District Electric Company a 25-year franchise agreement.


Payne County

City of Stillwater

Office 3 Council runoff

Gladeen Allred

Chuck Hopkins

Office 4 Council runoff

Darrell Dougherty

Hank Moore

City of Cushing

Office 5 Commission

Lynda C. Smith

Jim Hogrefe

City of Yale

Office 5 Council

Tyler Sparks

Chuck Thomas


Pittsburg County

Pittsburg Schools: Proposition 1 — A $295,000 bond issue to repair awnings and restrooms, build a boys and girls dressing room and remodel the concession area.

Proposition 2 — A $70,000 bond issue to purchase one school bus.

City of McAlester

Mayor runoff

Kevin E. Priddle

Frank C. Sam Mason

Pontotoc County

Vanoss Schools: A $525,000 bond issue for five middle school and high school classrooms.


Pottawatomie County

City of Shawnee

Ward 4 Commissioner

Timmy Young

Billy Collier, 49

Proposition — Considering terms of new employment contract for Shawnee's police force.

Dale Schools

Office 3 runoff

Ronnie Newton

(i) Tim Steward

Macomb Schools

Office 3 runoff

Don Daily

Linda L. Bowles


Rogers County

Chelsea Schools

Office 3 runoff

Rebecca L. Fincher

Dan Bunn

Foyil Schools

Office 3 runoff

Donald Storie

Mike Dennis

Catoosa Schools: Proposition 1 — $9.125 million bond issue to repair roofs, heating/air conditioning, high school track, band equipment, technology and security cameras.

Proposition 2 — $1.215 million bond issue to buy 14 buses and four other vehicles.


Seminole County

Butner Schools: A $450,000 bond issue for a science lab-classroom and an elementary and high school library.

Wewoka Schools: A $300,000 transportation bond issue to purchase three buses and vehicle for the agriculture program.


Sequoyah County

Vian Schools

Office 3 runoff

Jessie Marie Young

Larry Vickers Jr.


Texas County

Hooker School District

Office 3 runoff

Kaley Martens

Jerry Wiebe


Tulsa County

City of Tulsa

District 3 Council

Roscoe Harry Turner Sr. (D)

David Edward Patrick (I)

District 4 Council

Maria Veliz Barnes (D)

Jason Eric Gomez (R)

District 6 Council

Dennis K. Troyer (D)

Kevin Leory Boggs (R)

District 8 Council

Austin Hansen (D)

William L. Christiansen (R)

District 9 Council

Philip Morgan Kates (D)

G.T. Bynum (R)

Paul Tay (I)

Proposition 1 — Changing city general elections from April to November beginning in 2009.

Proposition 2 — To allow voting in city elections for those who move during periods when voter re-registration is closed.

Tulsa Technology Center

Office 3 runoff

Beatrice Cramer

Tim Bradley

Glenpool Schools: Proposition 1 — $2.515 million for kindergarten and elementary multipurpose rooms, four preschool classrooms, four high school classrooms, walkways and corridors.

Proposition 2 — $150,000 for two new school buses.

Liberty-Mounds Schools: Proposition 1 — A $450,000 bond issue for agricultural classrooms and a shop, high school gymnasium roof repair, and seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms.

Proposition 2 — A $50,000 bond issue for a new bus or two used buses.


Washington County

Copan Schools

Office 3 runoff

Curtis E. Hinkle

Shelley Koster

City of Dewey

Mayor

Ron D. Revard

Kay L. Martin

Ward 4 Council

Robert Wall, Jr.

Tommy Strate


Washita County

Sentinel Schools

Office 3 runoff

Wes Farris

Jimmy Rhoades


Woodward County

Sharon-Mutual Schools

Office 3 runoff

Daisy Adams

Frank Lamberth

City of Woodward: Proposition 1 — City charter amendment to make the city treasurer's position appointive by the city council rather than elective.

Proposition 2 — Increasing the city's hotel-motel tax from 3 percent to 6 percent beginning June 1.

Woodward Schools: Proposition 1 — $17.63 bond issue million for a new early childhood center with safe rooms, kitchen, multipurpose room and library; additions to three school buildings; technology, agricultural barn, band equipment, indoor batting facility and other improvements.

Proposition 2 —A $350,000 bond issue for transportation equipment.

David Hopper announces for House District 45 race

Norman David Hopper, a 6-year member of the Norman City Council, announced this past week that he is a candidate for the Republican nomination for State House District 45.

House District 45 is currently held by Democrat Wallace Collins.

While on the City Council, Hopper served on the Community Involvement Committee, the Planning Committee, the Oversight Committee, and was the Chairman of the Norman Centennial Committee, the organization that led Norman's observance of the Oklahoma Centennial.

Hopper has lived in Norman for 35 years and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School.

His wife, Linda is finishing her 34th year of teaching in the Norman Public Schools; two of Hopper's daughters went to Norman Public Schools and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.

Hopper served five years in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, and then served another 23 years as an Air Force reservist, retiring from the Air Force Judge Advocate General Department as a Lt. Col.

Hopper is a member of the First Baptist Church in Norman and the Norman Rotary Club.

He was one of the incorporators of the Norman Public School Foundation in 1984 and served on the Board of Directors for eight years. In addition to his service as a Councilmember he has served on the Cleveland County Citizens Advisory Committee, the Cleveland County Jail Committee (twice), the Cleveland County Youth and Family Services Committee; and the Cleveland County Cerebral Palsy Committee.

Hopper said his platform will promote strong families, strong schools, and responsible leadership.

"The family is the foundation of our society, and we will only be as strong as our families," he said. "Strong families will also help us build strong schools. Parental involvement in the schools is critical to how well our children perform."

Hopper said he intends to bring responsible leadership to the Legislature.

"For too many years the Legislature has underfunded state pension systems, the Corrections Department and the critical infrastructure of our roads and bridges. We can no longer ignore these critical needs. He will work to insure that the State uses sound fiscal management to provide the services that our citizens desire at the lowest possible cost."

For more information about Hopper's campaign, call 360-3591.

Office Depot to open Moore store

Office Depot, a leading global provider of office products and services, announced this week that it will open its first store in Moore 2 p.m. Thursday.

The store is located at 2200 S. I-35 Frontage Rd. in the Shops at Moore plaza.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, company officials said the Office Depot Foundation will make $500 contributions and donate a number of new children's backpacks to three local non-profit organizations: Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Police Athletic League and Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.

In addition, several local and state officials, including Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis and Brenda Roberts, Executive Director, Moore Chamber of Commerce, will offer welcoming remarks.

The public is invited to attend the event.

The new Moore store features Office Depot's industry-leading M2 retail format -- a concept designed specifically for the way people make purchase decisions.

Products are grouped in highly visible, strategically located "pods," with core supplies at the outer perimeter of the store signed for optimal visibility and easy purchase ? and furniture and technology at the center to better support consultative sales.

Company officials said the story would employapproximately 20 full- and part-time associates.

HOO-AH: David Bellavia: Speak about the war in Iraq and the progress we have made

Thank You to my YouTube Buddy UNCLE JIMBO @ Blackfive.net for pointing this out
David Bellavia gets the chance to speak in front of the Goldwater Institute about the war in Iraq and the progress we have made

Black Panther Party ENDORSE Obama

Coffee Talk

In America, those accused of crimes have many specific rights—the right to an attorney, to a trial heard by a jury of their peers, and many other protections. The Founding Fathers included those things for a reason—our judicial system is based on the presumption of innocence, and they wanted to ensure the accused were treated fairly throughout the process.

But somewhere along the way, things got out of kilter. Suddenly, activists seemed to be completely obsessed with the rights of the accused, with no consideration whatsoever for the rights and well-being of the victim or their family members. Many times, people felt like they had been victimized at least twice—once when the crime was committed against them or a loved one, and again as they made their way through the legal process in the pursuit of justice.

Senate Republicans have been on the forefront when it comes to writing and passing legislation dealing with victims’ rights. It was a Senate Republican who authored legislation in the 1990s ensuring the family of a homicide victim had the right to witness the execution of the person who committed this heinous act.

I was author of a measure to allow photos—other than the crime scene pictures—of the victim in court, and I also carried a bill to ensure that a person giving a victim’s impact statement would not be subjected to cross-examination. A fellow Senate Republican, Jim Reynolds of Oklahoma City, authored legislation to allow the family of homicide victims to wear photo-buttons of their loved ones during a trial.

This year, Senator Jonathan Nichols of Norman has won Senate approval for legislation to ensure a victim or family member has the right to discuss their religious faith or the Bible when giving a victim’s impact statement in court. This legislation was filed as a result of last year’s ruling by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn the death penalty in the Trooper Nik Green murder trial—in part because Green’s widow referenced God and the Bible in her impact statement.

Impact statements are given only after the accused has actually been convicted. And I do not believe their first amendment right of free speech is excluded in the court room. Senate Bill 2004 helps protect that right and the right of victims to say what is in their hearts.

Senate Review by Senator Randy Brogdon

As the saying goes, you tax less what you want more of. Economic development will increase as the tax burden decreases on business. It is a simple fact when individuals make the decisions on how to spend their money the overall economy expands. The expansion of the economy will create new business expand job opportunities and increase revenues for state and local governments.

The Senate has been active this session in creating tax relief for Oklahomans. We’ve worked to make a more equitable tax system in our state, and pass reforms that will enable Oklahomans to keep more of their own money. One of the measures we approved last year was a Back to School Sales Tax Holiday to help families with the expenses associated with getting growing children ready for the coming school year. This year, we approved Senate Bill 1149 which would extend the sales tax holiday to include school supplies to the list of items already exempt from sales taxes during the first weekend of August. Currently, clothing and footwear costing up to $100 are tax free that weekend. Senate Bill 1149 would add school supplies such as pencils, paper, crayons, notebooks, calculators and instructional material that cost under $100 to the list of tax-free items.

Senate Joint Resolution 59 has recently passed the Senate and would let Oklahoma voters decide whether to lower the current property tax cap of five percent to three percent. Several years ago, Oklahomans approved a state question which placed the five percent cap on the amount property taxes could be raised each year. The cap was supposed to be the ceiling, but in many counties, it is now the standard. That’s not what the voters intended when they approved that cap.

Reducing the property tax cap to three percent will not take away any money from schools or other county services. They will still receive what they’ve been given in the past, along with yearly increases of up to three percent. SJR 59 gives the people of Oklahoma the opportunity to vote on slowing down how fast property taxes grow, because we as a Legislature trust them with this decision.

Finally, Senate Bill 1383 would speed up the elimination of Oklahoma’s death tax by one year, completely eliminating the tax by January 1, 2009. Under current law, the death tax won’t be phased out until 2010, but SB1383 will relieve this burden sooner.

Each of these measures has been approved by the Senate and is now awaiting action in the House of Representatives.

It is an honor to serve you in the in the State Senate. I can be reached by writing to Senator Randy Brogdon, Room 416, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, or by calling (405) 521-5566, or email at brogdon@oksenate.gov.


Respectfully,

Randy Brogdon

Senate District #34

Rep. Kern Responds to PFLAG's "Misleading" Statement

As a state representative, I have always been willing to meet with any and all of my constituents on any issue with an open and sincere dialog; however, it is apparent from the statement released by PFLAG that their "open dialog' was for the purpose of politicizing the conversation to their benefit.

While I did meet with PFLAG in what was a cordial and polite meeting, they have taken my statements and have spun them to make it appear that I am backing off my comments that homosexuality is a sin. As a Christian who believes in the authority of God's Word, I will never retract my comments that homosexuality is a sin.

PFLAG has also spun my words to say that I am in favor of sexual orientation laws. I unequivocally do not support sexual orientation laws. While I do not advocate employers going on a witch hunt to fire homosexual employees who are performing their jobs in a manner just like any heterosexual employee, I do not support laws that would force employers to check their First Amendment rights to freedom of religion, speech, and association at the workplace door.

Since PFLAG has shown their lack of integrity by interpreting my statements from our meeting to fit their agenda and thus revealing their purpose of open dialog to be just a means of seeking to weaken my position and strengthen theirs, I see no benefit in having future meetings with them.

God's Word does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His Word expresses his moral character. Therefore, my opinion also will not change.

Hillary Clinton and Her Bosnia Trip (aka SNIPERGATE)

Can HRC survive being caught in a bald-faced lie?

Watch a news report from 1996 about HRC's trip to Bosnia and then see her speech from March 17, 2008 where she answers a question about the trip. So embarrassing!

A great mash up !

Media Doesn’t Get Why Hollywood’s Dismal Iraq War Pics Are Flopping

Media Doesn’t Get Why Hollywood’s Dismal
Iraq War Pics Are Flopping

By Warner Todd Huston

On the 25th, the Washington Post served up a lament for Hollywood’s dismal box office returns for the many Iraq war pictures it has churned out over the last several years, wondering why they have all failed so spectacularly? The whole article amounts to the Post just not understanding why moviegoers have stayed away in droves from these dark and dismal movies. But with the anti-Military, anti-American point of view depicted in every single one of these movies, it is no surprise that Americans have ignored these self-denigrating flicks. After all, with soldiers really taking casualties on the battlefield, who wants to see a film that tells us all it’s OUR fault?

Still, the Washington Post is mystified.

After five years of conflict in Iraq, Hollywood seems to have learned a sobering lesson: The only things less popular than the war itself are dramatic films and television shows about the conflict… A spate of Iraq-themed movies and TV shows haven’t just failed at the box office. They’ve usually failed spectacularly, despite big stars, big budgets and serious intentions.

The Post then goes on to wonder if audiences are “turned off by the war, or are they simply voting against the way filmmakers have depicted it?” As the post asks that question, you’d think they are on the verge of understanding. But, this question is dropped right away as the story details one flop after another. Ridiculously, the Post seems puzzled by the fact that audiences have not just mindlessly followed into the theater the “big stars, big budgets and serious intentions” of these failed flicks and no further attempt is made in this story to explore the public’s disinterest.

The Post quotes TV legend Steven Bochco who imagines that his TV series “Over There,” which failed after only 13 episodes, was not well received because Americans felt “a certain sense of powerlessness” about the war. The Post also quotes film historian Jonathan Kuntz of UCLA that the whole thing is just a “bummer.”

For now, Kuntz agrees with Bochco: “We’re bombarded by information about [Iraq] 24 hours a day,” he says. “We already know plenty about it. We don’t need to learn more about it from the movies. Right now, it’s something people want to forget and escape from. I speak for the American public when I say, ‘What a bummer.’

The American people are saying “what a bummer,” but you don’t speak for them, Mr. Kuntz. The “bummer” is coming from how the films depict every aspect of our current action as wrong, bad, even evil. Too bad the Washington Post dropped their initial inquiry because they might have had something interesting to explore with the question of how these movies portray the war and those participating in it.

Each and every film discussed by the Post portrays the war as wrong, the soldiers as dolts, mislead, murderers, drug addicts or victims of one sort or another. These films also constantly show a U.S. government uncaring and uninterested in the welfare of soldiers, their families or the people living in war torn areas.

There is nothing good depicted in any of these movies and that is why Americans don’t want to pay their hard earned money to go see them. The “bummer” is that each and every one of these movies are aimed at bringing down America’s spirits as far as possible in order to spur the public to acquiesce to Hollywood’s political agenda of ending the war and tearing down the U.S. military.

So, it is a “bummer,” Mr. Kuntz. It is a “bummer” that you and your friends in Hollywood want to make films that attempt to tear this country down and dispirit its people.

Fortunately, most Americans don’t seem to be dumb enough to waste their money on the garbage Hollywood is foisting upon them. But, too bad that the Washington Post eschewed the more interesting and probably more correct angle to this story just to give us the boring lament that America is merely “war weary” as opposed to detailing how Hollywood is failing because of its political agenda.

In the end, there is one thing that isn’t a “bummer.” It is good that Hollywood is losing their financial rear ends with failure after failure letting them know that America isn’t interested in their junk.

About the author
Warner Todd Huston is a Staff Writer for the New Media Alliance, Inc. (www.thenma.org).

A Tribute to the American Soldiers

From my YouTube friends Wyatt...
Dedicated to the brave men and women who serve with courage and distinction, seeking to keep the world safe for freedom, liberty, democracy and justice. They truly are the American heroes, offering themselves in a sense of sacrifice for a true and noble cause.

Illegal Immigrant pleads guilty to federal drug charges

A Illegal Alien, stopped in February in Love County, pleaded guilty Thursday to drug charges in a federal court in Muskogee.

Alfonso Rascon Vasquez, 49, was arrested in February by state troopers after a traffic stop because he was "driving erratically,” according to U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol seized 327 pounds of marijuana from Vasquez.

Charges against Vasquez came from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Vasquez is a citizen of Mexico and is being held by immigration officials, according to Sperling's office.

Judge approves old evidence

A federal judge in Muskogee said Thursday he is inclined to let prosecutors introduce decade-old evidence during Francis Stipe's upcoming criminal trial of congressional campaign fraud.
Stipe's defense attorneys want testimony and evidence concerning Walt Roberts's 1998 campaign excluded, saying it is irrelevant to the four counts Stipe faces.

Stipe, 76, faces an April 7 trial on counts of conspiracy, witness tampering, mail fraud and paying a bribe.

He and older brother, former state Sen. Gene Stipe, were indicted in October in an alleged plot to divert tax money to a McAlester dog food plant built on property Gene Stipe sold.

Professors don't understand gun issue

Letter to the Editor, The The Norman Transcript: published March 18, 2008

Professors don't understand gun issue

Editor, The Transcript:


The editorial published March 18, 2008, entitled "Faculty members fear allowing guns in class" exhibits a lack of understanding by the professors, pertaining to concealed carrying on college campuses. The professors mentioned in this article seem to be concerned about the consumption of alcohol among college students. However, the students that are of legal age to obtain a concealed handgun license tend to consume alcohol at drinking establishments, which are not located on college campuses.

Every state that allows legalized concealed carry has statutes prohibiting license holders from carrying while under the influence as well. Allowing concealed carry on college campuses would not have an impact on the laws restricting concealed carry at bars, pubs, clubs, or parties that are off-campus. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus only promotes the legalization of licensed individuals to carry their concealed firearms into campus buildings, the same way they carry them virtually everywhere else they go.

University presidents were quoted in this articlesaying, "they trust their campus police and security forces." This quote is rather controversial when taking the shootings at Virginia Tech and NIU into consideration. These incidents clearly showed that a disturbed gunman can do a large amount of damage in a matter of minutes. By the time campus police arrived on these scenes, the shooters had already taken several lives.

It is obvious that campus police cannot be dispatched in time to stop a deranged shooter from taking innocent lives. The only efficient way to stop these madmen efficiently is by allowing certified concealed carriers to carry on campus.

Brett Poulos

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus

Cleveland County Sheriff candidate interviews start today

Cleveland County Commissioners will call a special meeting and go into executive session 8 a.m. today to begin interviewing candidates for county sheriff behind closed doors.

Eleven men have applied for the post that will be vacated by DeWayne Beggs on May 1.

The successful candidate will serve out the remainder of Beggs' four-year term which ends in January 2009. If the candidate chooses to seek election to the post, he would be required to file for office and run in the July 29 primary election and Nov. 4 general election.

Commissioners will meet again 8 a.m. Tuesday to continue the interviews. They may make a decision 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The 11 men who have applied for the position are:

Roy D. Magerkurth, Norman, a former sheriff's department employee.

Lloyd D. Blaine, Norman, a current employee with the sheriff's department.

David Williams, Norman, a former undersheriff.

Jim D. Filipski, Norman, the current undersheriff of McClain County.

Christopher Manning, Norman.

Rhett B. Burnett, Norman, who previously ran for the sheriff's post.

Joe Lester, Norman, the former public safety director for the University of Oklahoma.

Neil Vickers, Norman, the former deputy chief of police for the city of Norman.

Eddie Thomason, Harrah, current undersheriff of Cleveland County.

Mark S. Hamm, Moore.


Don Holyfield, Norman.

Incumbent Protection Act of 2008

Letter to the Oklahoman Editor

Incredible disadvantage

The Oklahoma House, by a vote of 92-8, just passed House Bill 2196, which I call the "Incumbent Protection Act of 2008.” The actual title is the "Oklahoma Clean Campaign Act of 2008,” but if the Senate passes it as is and the governor signs it into law, it will hamstring any citizen who dares run against an incumbent legislator. And our legislators know this.

The problem is this clause: "Contributions shall not be made to, nor solicited or accepted by, a member of the Oklahoma Legislature or a candidate for a state legislative office fifteen (15) days prior to, fifteen (15) days after, or during any regular legislative session.” The result is that challengers who decide after mid-January of an election year to run for legislative office won't be able to raise any campaign funds until after the filing period in June. This puts them at an incredible disadvantage against incumbents who've spent the previous summer and autumn raising cash.

As a practical matter, citizens will have to start their campaigns over a year before the general election; not many people can make that decision that early. This part of the bill is anti-democratic, unfair and wrong. Ask your state senator to kill it.

Clark Duffe, Edmond

Campus weapons bill may have latent fiscal impact

Campus weapons bill
may have latent fiscal impact
by Dale Denwalt II
The Journal Record March 28, 2008

A bill allowing concealed weapons on college campuses would require increased security personnel and equipment funded by the Legislature, a Senate Appropriations Committee co-chair said Thursday.

State Sen. Jonnie Crutchfield said House Bill 2513, which has been referred to his committee, may have a latent fiscal impact.

“Everything I’ve heard about this bill would require the possibility of additional security measures,” said Crutchfield, D-Ardmore, citing the need for additional security personnel and equipment.

When asked during a weekly meeting with reporters, the Senate’s GOP leader did not say whether there were any plans to attach money to the bill.

“We’ve always sent a lot important issues related to higher ed and such to that committee, so it seemed appropriate,” said state Sen. Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.


Senate author Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso, calls the committee assignment process “squirrelly” because of the party tie in the Senate, saying the outcome is sometimes surprising when both sides have to agree on where a bill will be heard.

“That’s a big committee and there’s a lot of eyes that gets to look at it, and that may be one of the reasons,” he said.

House Bill 2513 would let active and former members of the military, along with CLEET-certified individuals, to carry a handgun on Oklahoma college campuses as long as they are certified by the state. College and university presidents oppose the bill, but Brogdon said he has not heard a valid argument against the proposal.

“The universities oftentimes have a different view than what the populace has. It’s not surprising they would come out against this,” said Brogdon. “They have a very laser-focused view on their sense of reality, and oftentimes that is not the real view of reality.”

He said there are more than 60,000 concealed carriers certified in Oklahoma.

To stay alive, the bill must be approved by the Appropriations Committee next week.

Jeff Packham contributed to this story.

Oklahomans to mark ‘Tax Freedom Day’ on April 11

Oklahomans to mark
‘Tax Freedom Day’ on April 11
by Marie Price
The Journal Record March 28, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans will celebrate “Tax Freedom Day” on April 11, a dozen days earlier than the nation at large (April 23), according to an annual report from the Tax Foundation.

That’s good news to state Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, chair of the House Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee.


“That’s certainly consistent with the gains that we’ve made in the taxation area in the last three years,” said Terrill. “We’ve made significant progress in cutting individual income tax rates.”

Terrill said rates have been reduced about 20 percent during that time period.

Republican leaders’ goal is to get the top marginal rate under 5 percent, he said.

“We certainly have been heading the right direction in terms of providing tax relief for working Oklahomans,” Terrill said.

He said lawmakers are currently considering expansion of the back-to-school sales tax holiday and the franchise tax exemption for small businesses.

Acknowledging the general slowdown in the economy, Terrill said Oklahoma’s economic picture is rosier than some states due to tax relief at the state level, conservative fiscal policy, the fact that the credit crunch and housing market crisis have not hit Oklahoma as hard as some states and the robust health of its energy sector, among other factors.

Oklahoma ranks 43rd among the states, outscoring Texas, whose residents will stop working for the tax man on April 12. Texas ranks 40th on the foundation’s list.

“Over the past three years, we have been increasing our competitiveness position relative to surrounding states,” Terrill said. “That indicates that our government is less of a burden on our citizens than is the government of the state of Texas on their citizens.”

Tops, at 50, is Alaska, whose Tax Freedom Day will occur March 29. Last is Connecticut, at May 8. New Jersey residents must work until May 7 to satisfy their total tax bills, New York residents until May 5. They rank second and third in the foundation’s study.

Other states close to Oklahoma in ranking are Tennessee, April 11; Kentucky, April 10; and New Mexico and South Dakota, both April 12.

Oklahoma ranked 38th last year (April 17), 42nd the year before (April 15). Oklahomans have experienced reductions in state income tax rates in recent years.

The state ranked 50th from 1970-1972.

The highest Oklahoma has ranked was 18th in 1982.

National Tax Freedom Day is three days earlier this year, which foundation officials attribute to the pending economic stimulus rebates and a projecting of slow growth.

“Government continues to dominate the American taxpayer’s budget,” said foundation President Scott Hodge. “Americans will still spend more on taxes in 2008 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.”

This year, Americans as a whole will work 74 days to afford their federal taxes, 39 more to pay state and local taxes.

Purchasing food requires 35 workdays, clothing 13 days, housing 60 days, health and medical care 50 days, transportation 29 days and recreation 21 days.

Foundation senior economist Gerald Prante said that tax freedom has been a seesaw affair in recent years, occurring on May 3, the latest date ever, in 2000.

“Then a string of tax cuts between 2001 and 2003 pushed Tax Freedom Day up by more than two weeks, so that it fell on April 16 in 2003 and April 17 in 2004,” Prante said.

Incomes and tax collections soared over the next three years, pushing the day back to April 26 in 2007.

Foundation researchers determined that five major categories dominate the tax burden.

Federal and state income taxes require 42 days of work, followed by payroll taxes at 28 days, sales and excise taxes at 16 days, corporate income taxes at 13 days and property taxes at 12 days.

To reach its tax-freedom conclusions, the foundation divided total tax collections by the nation’s total income. This year, taxes amount to 30.8 percent of income, and the number of days from Jan. 1 to April 23 is 30.8 percent of the year. Income and tax data are divvied up among the states to calculate state-specific Tax Freedom Days.

Here’s something to ponder: In 1900, taxes amounted to 5.9 percent of income, which would have set Tax Freedom Day at Jan. 22.