Is OU Buying Condom with our Tax $?

Hat Tip to Oklahoma Beagle

Just last week David Boren was at the State Capitol looking at getting more of our TAX $$$ for stuff like this?

OU Students Celebrate National Condom Week

Planned Parenthood and the OU Women's Outreach Center teamed up to host the annual National Condom Week at the University of Oklahoma by handing out free condoms and information promoting safe sex to students.

Every year universities across the United States celebrate National Condom Week in order to educate students about safe sex. The event started at the University of California-Berkley in 1978 and made its way to OU in the mid-1990s. Terry Dennison, director of education services at Planned Parenthood, said he has participated in National Condom Week ever since it made its way to OU's campus. Dennison said National Condom Week happens every February prior to Valentines Day and its purpose is to inform students.

Dennison sets up a table in the student union that offers students an array of information, lubricants and, of course, condoms. University of Oklahoma sexperts hand out condoms on the south oval to students passing by. Political Science major Nick Beckworth helps out by offering students information at the table set up in the student union. Beckworth said he decided to participate in the event because he feels it offers students vital information.

"Safe sex is the best sex," Beckworth said. "I do this to spread awareness. Condoms are important."

Dennison said he plans on participating in Condom Week next year at OU.

Boren found $13M for expansion of OU art museum ?

University of Oklahoma regents this week will consider approving a $13 million budget for a proposed expansion of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

According to the agenda for Tuesday's meeting in Norman, posted on the university's Web site, OU President David Boren has recommended approval of the design development phase for a gallery addition to the museum, along with the budget for the project.

Regents approved the project during a meeting in May as part of the comprehensive master plan of capital projects for OU's main campus in Norman.

According to the agenda, as part of the project, space will created for what will be known as the Eugene B. Adkins Gallery, as well as an archive storage area to display, store and curate works of art included in the Adkins Collection.

The collection includes Southwest- and American Indian-themed items.

The museum's current rooftop sculpture garden will be enclosed to create a new third-floor gallery and a staircase from the lower galleries to the third-floor gallery will be built.

The agenda item notes the university also plans "to pursue the acquisition of another important collection of art works," so the new addition will be sized to include a new mezzanine level with 4,000 square feet of space "to display newly acquired art." The item does not mention what the potential art acquisition might be.

Of the project's $13 million budget, the agenda item notes that $6 million will come from the university's discretionary reserves and $7 million will come from private sources. Construction should begin early in 2009.

Boren run away, Reynolds win

State Sen. Jim Reynolds will serve another four years in the Legislature.

His Democratic challenger today withdrew his complaint that alleged irregularities occurred in the Nov. 4 Senate District 43 race.

A hearing on the complaint was scheduled for this afternoon in Oklahoma County District Court.

David Boren said he withdrew his challenge because there wasn’t enough time to find the people whom he believed voted irregularly and to get them all to court in time for today’s hearing.

Boren, not related to University of Oklahoma President David Boren, earlier sought a recount of the votes cast in the district that covers parts of Cleveland and Oklahoma counties.

Unofficial results showed Reynolds won by 157 votes.

After a two-day recount last week, Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, picked up two votes.

Boren, of Moore, paid $4,500 for the recount. He claimed in his complaint alleging irregularities that at least 161 votes were from people who lived outside the district, but he conceded today some could have been voters who had moved away but had not changed their voting registration.

Boren dropping his complaint clears the way for Reynolds to be sworn in for his third and final four-year term. Legislators in Oklahoma are prohibited form serving more than 12 years.

Newly elected and re-elected senators will be sworn in at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Reynolds will attend the ceremony, but he won’t be able to take his oath of office until the state Election Board certifies the Senate District 43 election results. The Election Board is scheduled to meet at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Reynolds win in Sen 43 re-count, but, its not over

State Senator Jim Reynolds has picked up two additional votes over challenger David Boren following a recount in the close Senate District 43 race.

The recount began Wednesday in Cleveland and Oklahoma counties and concluded today.

Figures provided by Election Board Secretary Mike Clingman indicate that before the recount Reynolds, a Republican, led by 157 votes after all absentee and provisional ballots were counted from the November 4 election. After the recount, Reynolds led by 159 votes.

One person watching the re-count said "Looks like the other side paid $4,500 only to lose by two more votes."

But the recount does not mean the end of the election dispute. A hearing is scheduled at 3pm on Monday at the Oklahoma County Courthouse to hear allegations of voting irregularities made by both candidates.

Boren, a Democrat, is not related to University of Oklahoma President David Boren.

Update on the Senate District 43 re-count

Election workers in two counties sifted through ballots Wednesday to determine the outcome of a contested Senate seat in a district that includes Oklahoma and Cleveland counties.

So far, Jim Reynolds has pick up a vote in Cleveland County and David Boren has pick up 4 votes in Oklahoma County, making a net gain for Boren of 3 votes. But sill very far from the 157 votes He needs.

Workers in Oklahoma County are expected to resume the count today in the race between Democrat David Boren and Republican incumbent Jim Reynolds.

Boren asked for a recount of the Nov. 4 election ballots in Senate District 43. The difference between the two candidates was 157 votes in latest unofficial vote totals, state election officials said.

Election workers in Cleveland County finished their recount just after 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Boren, a nurse who is not related to the University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren, said he wanted to make sure every vote was counted.

The recount began in Cleveland County shortly after a judge made a ruling at a morning hearing. In Oklahoma County, however, things did not go as smoothly.

A hearing on the recount and allegations of voter irregularities was delayed because Boren was not in court in time for the 10 a.m. hearing. Boren, who represented himself in court, said he was delayed because he was in Cleveland County. Boren arrived in the Oklahoma County courtroom about 10:50 a.m.

Both men had alleged voting irregularities occurred, but while waiting for Boren to arrive, Reynolds’ attorney Tom Prince agreed to drop that complaint.

A few minutes after the hearing was set to begin, District Judge Daniel Owens received a fax from the state Supreme Court advising him Boren asked that Owens be removed from the voter irregularity case.

Later in the day, the higher court assigned the voter irregularity case to Judge Bill Hetherington in Cleveland County. Hetherington is expected to hear arguments on the voter irregularities in Oklahoma County at 3 p.m. Monday.

The recount in Oklahoma County began shortly before noon and election workers were about halfway done when they recessed Wednesday evening.

Counting is expected to resume at 9 a.m. today at the Oklahoma County Election Board.

Reynolds, who has served in the Senate eight years, finished first in the election with 50.3 percent of the vote. Boren received 49.7 percent.

Boren seeks recount in Sen 43

A re-count has been ordered in the Oklahoma Senate District 43 race, which incumbent Republican Jim Reynolds won by 159 votes, according to final but unofficial returns.

David Boren, the Democratic candidate, requested the re-count, alleging voting irregularities. Reynolds also alleged irregularities in the race.

Boren is not related to University of Oklahoma President David Boren, a former legislator, governor and U.S. senator.

The District 43 re-count will begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Cleveland County and at 10 a.m. in Oklahoma County on the same day.

More than 27,000 residents of the two counties voted in Tuesday's election, which saw Republicans picked up two seats to grab a majority in the Senate for the first time in state history.

Boren Try to KICK Dr. David Deming out of OU

He is a geophysicist and an associate professor of arts and sciences at the University of Oklahoma who has published numerous peer-reviewed research articles.

Dr. Deming’s Senate December 6, 2006 testimony is available here. University President Boren is a “staunch supporter of Obama”. One Fascist supports another, I guess...


Press release from Dr. David Deming [profdeming@earthlink.net] below.

For ten years or more, professor David Deming has taught a course in environmental geology at the University of Oklahoma. In October 2008, he was informed that the “general education” certification for his course was being revoked. Under the University of Oklahoma system, this means that student enrollment in the course is likely to drop by two-thirds.

This is a course which receives outstanding student evaluations. Professor Deming is well-known to be a global-warming skeptic. In 2006, he testified before the US Senate that media coverage of global warming had descended into “irrational hysteria.”
See here

Professor Deming is unaware of any other case in the history of the University of Oklahoma where the “gen ed” certification for a course has been revoked. It would appear possible that professor Deming’s position on global warming was a motivating factor. But in this case, the tragedy is that the people being punished are the students, not the professor. Those who wish to express their concern can do so by writing or calling University of Oklahoma President David Boren.

David Boren, President
University of Oklahoma
110 Evans Hall
Norman, OK 73019
telephone: 405-325-3916
email: dboren@ou.edu

David Boren to hike Tuition 10%

Tuition hikes of nearly 10% will be considered this week for students at the University of Oklahoma, Rogers State University in Claremore and Cameron University in Lawton.

OU regents govern all three schools and will begin their annual retreat in Ardmore tomorrow. They will consider business items from Rogers State and Cameron tomorrow, with OU business set for Wednesday.

Regents will consider raising rates for OU's tuition and mandatory fees by 9.9%. Rogers State students also could face a 9.9% hike, while Cameron officials have requested a 9.4% tuition and fee increase.

Other items on the agenda include potential raises for OU athletic director Joe Castiglione, football coach Bob Stoops, men's basketball coach Jeff Capel, women's basketball coach Sherri Coale, baseball coach Sunny Golloway and softball coach Patty Gasso.

OU President David Boren also is set to receive his annual performance review, during which he could be offered a raise.

OU's leftward tilt points up the need for choice

hat tip to Brandon Dutcher @ http://okschoolchoice.blogspot.com

OU's leftward tilt
points up the need for choice

It's no secret that there's a left-wing bias at most of our nation's universities, including my alma mater in Norman. Thus, "it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that academics give more money to Democrats than Republicans," Professor Jay P. Greene writes. "But when you actually examine the political donations data, it is shocking to see just how uniformly one-sided the contributions are."

Dr. Greene (Ph.D., Harvard University), the endowed professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas, went to the Open Secrets website last week and searched for the political contributions made during the 2008 election cycle. He discovered that at the University of Oklahoma (whose president recently endorsed Barack Obama), a full 93 percent of all dollars contributed by employees go to Democrats.

Greene’s analysis calls to mind something that happened back in 1999 when my friend Kyle Harper (then an OU student and OCPA intern, now an OU classics professor) was editor of The Fountainhead, an alternative (in the good way) student newspaper. Kyle went down to the Cleveland County election board and checked the voter registrations of professors in 19 departments (mostly in Arts and Sciences: economics, history, political science, etc.). He discovered 208 Democrats and 36 Republicans.

Universities pride themselves on their "diversity," yet the most important kind of diversity—intellectual diversity—is sorely lacking.

As I've said before, it's time for state legislators to fund students, not institutions. College students should be given a voucher redeemable not only at Oklahoma's public colleges and universities, but at nonpublic ones as well. After all, why should policymakers discriminate against education obtained at private institutions? Why should Oklahoma's (overwhelmingly conservative) taxpayers subsidize tuition at bastions of secular liberalism, but not at, say, institutions which seek to honor Christ?

As the late Milton Friedman argued, restricting higher ed subsidies "to schooling obtained at a state-administered institution cannot be justified on any grounds. Any subsidy should be granted to individuals to be spent at institutions of their own choosing."

Boren Blackmailing Legislature

University of Oklahoma President David Boren says that if the Legislature does not money for higher education, students can expect heft tuition increases next year.

Boren says those increases could be nearly 10%, or about the same kind of hike students saw this school year.

Headless Oklahoma House to convene

Headless House to convene

By MICK HINTON World Capitol Bureau
2/3/2008

The former speaker and a member who wanted to replace him both bowed out with tax problems

OKLAHOMA CITY -- In a history-making session, the body of the House of Representatives will convene Monday without a head.

"It's the craziest thing I ever heard in my life," said Larry Ferguson, a former lawmaker who served for 20 legislative sessions, including eight as the leader of Republicans who were in the House minority.

By Monday's end, however, a new speaker will emerge as the fractured House strives to convince the Senate, the governor and the public that it is ready to do business.

After two top leaders bowed out last week because of embarrassing tax problems, the public is watching, said University of Oklahoma political science professor Keith Gaddie. Residents are alarmed that their leaders have not been paying taxes on time, like they have to, he said.

Speaker Lance Cargill, R-Harrah, resigned Monday; speaker pro tem Gus Blackwell, R-Goodwell, exited the race for speaker three days later. Both acknowledged they had been repeatedly late in paying taxes.

Cargill's resignation occurs at a time when the State Ethics Commission apparently is investigating campaign practices among Republicans under Cargill's leadership in the past two election cycles.

"This better be wake-up time" for whoever ends up leading the House, Ferguson said. "The people out there are tired of reading about this kind of stuff and hearing it on TV."

This follows numerous recent stories about Democrats, including former longtime Sen. Gene Stipe and his excessive campaign donation problems.

Now, Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, a Democrat, has been indicted on multiple counts over campaign irregularities. Former Democratic insurance commissioner Carroll Fisher is in prison after being convicted of embezzling from his campaign funds and of lying on a campaign report.

"Then they hear about the speaker and the wanna-be speaker," Ferguson said.

Four House Republicans have filed to lead the lower chamber for the session. They include Rep. Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, who is the old leadership's choice. He is viewed as a more moderate Republican who can work with both the GOP and Democrats, which he has done as head of the powerful House Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Cargill had the unquestioning allegiance of the freshman lawmakers whom he helped get elected, and they are expected to rally behind Benge when the GOP caucus meets in closed session Monday morning. The next speaker will be elected in open session Monday afternoon, following Gov. Brad Henry's State of the State address.

Benge has said he will keep the current GOP committee chairmen in place so the House can quickly get about its business. It has only three months to deal with a dwindling surplus in the state's $7 billion budget.











Another speaker candidate is Rep. Susan Winchester, R-Chickasha, who was denied a leadership role under Cargill but has supporters among some of the more experienced members.







Candidate Rep. Dale DeWitt, R-Braman, leads the rural caucus of Democrats and Republicans who meet during session to discuss mutual interests.







Another candidate, Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow, leads the Republican Caucus. Last fall, he ran unsuccessfully against Cargill for the position of speaker designate.

All four of these candidates have solid records of paying their taxes on time, county records checks by the Tulsa World show.

This controversy over taxes probably would not have occurred 20 years ago, before tax records were computerized, Ferguson said.

"I've never known a person resigning because of tax problems and an interim leader withdrawing because of the same thing," he said. "This has all left the people confused."

The longtime Republican said several GOP seats are being held by freshmen whose constituents are mostly Democratic, so the party needs to recognize that these seats could be vulnerable.

Ferguson does not expect Democrats to take over of the House, but he is afraid Republicans could lose ground in the fall elections.

The House leadership should look to the Senate, where Republicans and Democrats are evenly split, he said. Surprisingly, "the two parties made progress last session in a bipartisan fashion and both sides got things they wanted," he said.

Ferguson said he has been tempted to talk with University of Oklahoma President David Boren and ask him to call together former seasoned state leaders from both parties. Recently, Boren summoned numerous old Senate colleagues from across the country who gathered at OU. They urged the presidential candidates to quit listening to their entrenched bases and strive for common ground, reaching across party lines.

"Both Republicans and Democrats need to come to the Capitol with the idea of working with the people and being good servants instead of worrying about running for some other office and see how much money they can accumulate," Ferguson said.

"It's gotten pretty much out of control."

US Supreme Court Justices visit OU law next week

The University of Oklahoma College of Law will make history next week when two U.S. Supreme Court justices participate in activities surrounding the investiture ceremony of Robert H. Henry to the position of chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

OU law students will view the proceedings as the Court sits for oral arguments at the OU Law Center on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. OU President David Boren will preside Thursday evening over a fireside chat with Stephen Breyer, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1994, and Sandra Day O'Connor, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1981 to 2006. Justice Breyer also will address OU law students and faculty Thursday afternoon as keynote speaker for the Henry Family Lecture in Jurisprudence.

Henry, an OU alumnus who served as state representative from 1975 to 1986 and as state attorney general from 1987 to 1991, will be formally invested as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in ceremonies Friday. The investiture ceremony, which is open to OU students, faculty and staff, will begin 1:30 p.m. in the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center, 560 Parrington Oval. ?

"The university is proud to host this event, which honors one of our law graduates, Robert Henry, and his exceptional record as a member of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals," OU President David Boren said.

Justices Breyer and O'Connor will offer remarks during the investiture ceremony. Other participants, in addition to Boren and the Supreme Court justices, will be Gov. Brad Henry; Andrew M. Coats, university vice president and dean of the OU College of Law; soprano Leona Mitchell, who will sing the national anthem; and Pulitzer Prize-winner N. Scott Momaday, who will give a poetry reading. Remarks also will be offered by the outgoing chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Deanell Reece Tacha, and David M. Ebel, who has served on the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1988. Adding to the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony will be the Kiowa Black Leggings Society and the Pipes and Drums of the Highlanders, both well-known for their appearances at OU's commencement ceremonies.

Henry joined the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Denver-based court that serves Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, in 1994. As chief judge, Henry will oversee administration of the court, play a key role in misconduct complaints against federal judges in the six states and become a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policy-making body for the federal court system.

Henry was born in 1953 in Shawnee. He earned his bachelor of arts degree with high honors and his juris doctorate in 1974 and 1976, respectively, from OU. At age 23, a month before his graduation from law school, he defeated five other candidates in an election for a seat in the state House of Representatives. Henry became vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee by his second term. He later became chairman of both the Judiciary and Education committees and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee, where he was in a position to oversee all legislation affecting the judicial system in Oklahoma, as well as the Majority Caucus. During his time in the House, he also worked as a part-time associate in a Shawnee law firm.

Henry left the Legislature in 1986, when he was elected the state's attorney general; he was re-elected in 1990 without opposition. As the state's chief legal official, he not only supervised thousands of cases but also helped create a new state ethics commission and revamped the state's grand jury system. As AG, he also fought consumer fraud.

Henry has served as dean and professor of law in the Oklahoma City University School of Law from 1991 to 1994 and as visiting faculty at Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Tulsa.

He has been awarded numerous human rights, humanitarian and environmental awards in Oklahoma. In 2004, he was awarded the OU College of Arts and Sciences' Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 2005, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist appointed Henry as chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on International Judicial Relations.

A limited number of seats are available to OU students, faculty and staff for the Fireside Chat and Dinner. OU students, faculty and staff interested in attending the fireside chat and dinner Thursday can make reservations by calling the Action Line at 325-1212. No reservations are required for OU students, faculty and staff attending the investiture ceremony at the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center. Doors will open at 1 p.m. with overflow seating available in the Rupel Jones Theatre. For accommodations on the basis of disability for either event, call the Office of Special Events at 325-3784.

No one want to come to OU

Because only one presidential candidate has taken him up on it, University of Oklahoma President David Boren again extended his invitation to all presidential candidates of both parties and their spouses to speak at OU during the presidential campaign season.

Republican candidate Mitt Romney came earlier in the school year to the OU Health Sciences Center campus.

"I'm very hopeful that the candidates from both parties or their spouses representing them will come to speak on the campus so that our students and indeed, all Oklahomans, will have a greater chance to fully participate in the Presidential election," Boren said in a press release Tuesday.

"We first extended our invitation to the candidates at the beginning of the school year," he said. "I have again contacted the individual campaign organizations to come to the campus. We have made it clear that we would provide a forum for them which would also be open to the general public. My hope is that they will come before the Oklahoma Presidential primary on Feb. 5.

"Of course, we will also invite the nominees of both parties once they are selected to come to the campus during the general election campaign."